It’s a sequel to his first novel, published in 1966 (which I haven’t read), picking up the story of an apocalyptic cult somewhere in coal mining country, five years after the world was supposed to end but didn’t.
Overall I find his writing quite compelling. He gets into the heads of a diverse assortment of characters - some true believers (though what they actually believe has less to do with religious doctrine than “what’s in it for me?”), town bankers, cops, barflies, teenage lovers, and a guy who swears he’s Jesus and everyone’s got him all wrong. Also, the baddest bunch of bikers seen in recent literature - how bad? They eat cocker spaniels.
At 1,000 pages it could have used some pruning; still as a satire on a very American species of mass hysteria, and the parasitic exploiters of the foolishness of others, it cuts deep.
*Come Closer *didn’t knock my socks off, but I liked it fine. It took maybe an hour to read, so if the premise (demon possession) interests you, I’d say go for it.
Now on to Killer Move by Michael Marshall. It’s about a successful realtor who receives a mysterious postcard with a one-word message: modified. I’m still in the process of discovering what that means but it’s certain to be unpleasant for Mr. Realtor.
I’ve been on a religious kick lately and Kindle Unlimited has given me some quick fodder for that.
I finished Welcome to Islam: A Step-by-Step Guide for New Muslims by Mustafa Umar while reading it aloud while we made and ate dinner. It’s a very, very perfunctory guide and at 44 pages, quite quick.
Next up, I’m working through the offensive (to me) *How to Talk to a Skeptic: An Easy-to-Follow Guide for Natural Conversations and Effective Apologetics * by Don Johnson (no relation to Miami Vice). What I’ve gleaned so far is that:
Christianity is the one true religion
Christianity isn’t faith, it’s fact
Other religions (or worldviews as the author euphemizes) aren’t factual.
It’s the Christian’s job to flip the argument and move the burden of proof to the skeptic.
That only the author’s view of how Christianity is is correct. He dismisses fundamentalism “as wrong as Dawkins”.
I must say, it’s interesting to read something that is completely out of my comfort zone. Something that I just wholeheartedly disagree with. Neither of these books were written for me and that’s what’s intriguing.
Between Silk and Cyanide: A Codemaker’s War, 1941-1945 by Leo Marks. A bit dry/technical at times (and overly dramatic at others), but a fascinating look behind the scenes of WWII-era UK intelligence. I didn’t realize how many civilians were involved in the coding arena & how far some of them got (like Marks). Recommended to fans of Fleming & other WWII era spy novels who want more real-world knowledge.
Bad for You: Exposing the War on Fun by Kevin C. Pyle, Scott Cunningham. Complete with a lurid cover reminiscent of the classic 1950’s EC Comics, this middle-grade book takes a look at all the stuff that is supposed to be bad for kids/teens (comic books, video games, skateboarding) and whether or not it really is. Surprisingly well researched, with many historical references, this engagingly illustrated and pleasantly snarky book would be a great resource for social studies teachers or anyone wanting to challenge what They Say.
One more: The Knowledge: How to Rebuild Our World from Scratch by Lewis Dartnell. Another pickup off the New BOoks shelf at the library - With my interest in post-apocalyptic fiction, I thought I’d see how Dartnell approaches how we might pick up the pieces after a worldwide catastrophe. After addressing several common scenarios (meteorite, nuclear war, global warming) - he chooses the deadly epidemic scenario.
He then proceeds to walk the reader thru how to rebuild society, starting with the necessities of food and shelter. He touches on quite a bit of history, and science in this realistic look at how we got to where we are now and how we might return to a similar lifestyle after an apocalypse. While he refers repeatedly to this work being a “quick-start guide”, it’s more an overview than a step by step manual; a thought experiment versus a how to. Nonetheless, I quite enjoyed his well-researched exploration of humanity’s trip towards technology and found his insights into what steps we might skip over next time quite intriguing.
I finished dying on the Vine by Aaron Elkins. As I suspected it wasn’t a complicated mystery and there were no great truths to be explored but it was an engaging story perfectly suited to whiling away an afternoon or two while on vacation.
I pcked up Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children at Powell Books last week so I thought I would kill this morning reading it.
Did you really think the end of The Magus was lame, astorian? I didn’t like it at first but it grew on me. But it’s a while since I read it so maybe I’ll read it again and see what I think.
I finished a couple of books in the last two days.
First: The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly. It’s fantasy that reworks a lot of the ‘old stories’ to create something haunting and new. There’s a LOT of emotional depth here, or there was for me, as main character David evolves from a grieving boy and petulant stepson into a brave, resilient man. Much good stuff on the power of nightmares and the frailty of humanity but very readable too.
Second: This Is Not the Story You Think It Is by Laura Munson. Non-fiction account of a woman whose marriage has hit a critical patch, as well as her somewhat unconventional methods for handling this. It’s rather slight - it’s clear she’s kept out some details that would make for a more emotionally-frank, richer account - but still useful for a different model of handling marital crisis. Gave me plenty to consider, whether or not her responses would be mine in a similar case.
Still working on A Game of Thrones (thanks for the correction, Siam Siam) and have also picked up Gillian Flynn’s Dark Places. Wow. Flynn really gets dysfunction and draws it so well!
