Marvin's Bookish Blog

The violence piles up quickly in Roger Smith's action packed yet depressingly realistic thriller Dust Devils. Set in South Africa, it tells a story full of deception, corruption, murder, revenge and pretty much everything else you might find in a thriller. The author's strength is not just that he can handle all of this and keep you on the edge of your seat but that he can also transport you into the South African culture in a way that makes you feel you are there. At the end you may be glad you are not there.

South African journalist and pacifist Robert Dell is framed for the murder of his wife and son. At the same time, a powerful ex-warlord who is entrenched in the upper echelons of the Zulu nation is preparing for his marriage to his fourth wife, a young girl whose mother he killed. Dell is broken out of jail by his ex-CIA father who is the total opposite of everything Roger stands for. All of this comes together in a tale of revenge but one that is also a story of political corruption and cultural conflict.

Roger Smith has a talent for creating real life characters. They are not good or bad but just real. The Zulu villain is the only one that comes out as basically evil. The rest seems more like people caught up in a complex and corrupt environment. They have done terrible things but are trying to atone fr them in their very imperfect way. The story barrels through on all six cylinders and even when you think you know what is to happen, the author throws a little reality your way. Due to its foreign setting, it is hard for me to compare it to any other novel. Yet I feel there is some similarity to fellow thriller writer Jim Thompson's ability make the lurid and unthinkable believable. They also are similar in having a taut, frankly brutal style that manages to have its own poetic and literary charm. This is one of the most powerful thrillers I have read in a long time. Roger Smith is a writer who is deserving of a wider audience.

In the 1890s and 1900s the city of New Orleans instituted boundaries for a place where there would be legalized prostitution and all the vices that go with it. Nicknamed Storyville, a reference to the man who proposed the idea, it became a notorious few blocks serving both Blacks and Whites as a prurient playground for lust. Its most remembered contribution to history was as a musical incubator where ragtime pianists and early jazz innovators like Jelly Roll Morton, King Oliver, and Louis Armstrong set the beginnings of Jazz. Contrary to the popular myth that Jazz began in Storyville, its real importance was how the musicians of Storyville spread the music throughout the country due to the large amount of sailors and other travelers who heard it in the whorehouses.

Madam is a fictional account loosely based on Mary Deubler who later became one of the leading madams under the name of Josie Arlington. It starts with Mary's low stature as a prostitute in a "crib", one of the lower settings of her trade, to the emergence of Storyville and her rapid ride to the role of Madam. In between we are given a few feuds and murders, a look at New Orleans style voodoo and other corrupt and decadent events. Authors Kari Lynn and Kellie Martin employ a number of historical characters in this novel including pianist Morton, photographer E. J. Bellocq and others. The authors attempt to evoke a feel for the era while telling a personal story of a woman at the bottom working her way up in the only way she was allowed.

But does it work? This is where I had some problems. The style of writing seems rather light and melodramatic for such a often bleak historical tale. I never really got a good grasp on who Mary was except that we should have sympathy for her plight and admire her gumption. None of the other characters really stood out and the historical "cameos" didn't really add much. Storyville never came alive for me partly because the novel ended at the first days of the district. The first task of a historical novel is make the era sound authentic and this never happened. Instead we get a soap operatic telling of a often told story that felt like the treatment for a TV mini-series.

Overall, despite my enthusiasm for that period of history and the important role it played in American music, the novel fell flat. It is a mildly entertaining novel that fails to give us anything new and inspiring. This book will appeal to those who like hard luck tales and "poor girl fight to the top" stories. But as an historical novel that gives you insight on the times and human nature, I just can't recommend it.

Before I start this review, Let's put out my opinion out for all to see. Then you can decide if you want to read this review. I view the story of Noah's Ark as a myth and an analogy meant to help us understand the nature of man. The Bible is not a science book. The first part of the Old Testament, especially Genesis, isn't even good history. The first person in the bible that has any historical collaboration at all is King David. It is a collection of myths and wonderful stories that established the basis for three religions. But it is not a book of science. Frankly I'm not even sure if the original authors meant for these origin stories to be taken literally.

Are you still with me? Good.

Larry Stone's purpose in Noah: The Real Story is to explain how the story of Noah could have happened. He believes in a literal interpretation of the bible story. The author discusses most of the questions that skeptics have asked about the ark story. How did Noah get all the animals on the ark, how did he feed them, was the flood local or global, where did it land and how did the animals get to the ark or spread out, etc. Pretty much all the corners are covered. He focuses on Noah's tale specifically with only a fleeting look at the geological and geographical problems the flood presents. For a skeptic like me, I found it an interesting read if only because it presents most of the talking points that Creationists and literal interpreters of the bible will set forward. My guess is that for most readers, it will be preaching to the choir.

Yet there were very troubling issues for me, like "Why now?" This brief book (under 200 pages) feels like a cut and paste job. It feels loosely structured and a bit sloppy, like when it throws in an interview by a Great Flood expert. There is quite a bit of talk about a developing Noah's Ark amusement ark that sounds like a commercial. The overall feel is a quick, not well thought out book that is hastily done. The fact that it was published when the commercial film Noah is about to be in the theaters pretty much confirms my position. My suspicion is it was hurried for publication specifically to ride on the film's coattail.

That is uncomfortable enough, but Stones' explanation for many things just aren't very good. Many are the usual creationist explanations. For instance he explains the number of animals referred to as "kind" in the Bible as being genus rather then species. That, according to the author, would bring the amount of animals from millions to a conservative 16,000. He seems to think the ark could have been able to hold that many animals. I doubt most others would agree with him. Then there is the questions about feeding, waste disposal, and keeping the predator from eating all those cute little vegetarians for over one year. Almost all of Stone's answer are pure speculation derived from the sparseness of details found in the Bible. Any explanation, scientific or historical, that contradicts the Bible is simply ignored.

One interesting aspect is that the author will actually say to questions, like the waste disposal problem, "We don't know". I find that a bit refreshing. Yet it is a totally different type of "I don't know" from the one that scientists will say. When a scientist says I don't know he means "I don't know but some day with the right discoveries and evidence we might." Stone's I don know is "I don't know but it means God took care of it". I'm not implying this. the author actually states "It means God took care of it."

It very important that I state that I am not reviewing this poorly because I disagree with it. I enjoy reading topics I have different views of, especially religious explanations of events, when they are well done. I even find Ken Ham's website Answers in Genesis quite entertaining and once in a while, like what Bill Nye said to Ham in their debate, "I learned something". I gave this book a poor review because I did not learn anything. It does not do a good job in expressing its viewpoint and it is hastily, even sloppily, written. As a book of Christian Apologetics or a Creationist perspective. you can do a whole lot better.

There were two areas I found informative. Stone gives a nice rundown of the attempts to find Noah's Ark which, according to legend, landed on Mount Arafat...but maybe not. He is also quick to note those claims that have been correctly deemed hoaxes. I also enjoyed his brief history of how Hollywood has treated the story of Noah although he left out my two favorites: John Huston's performance as Noah in The Bible and Disney's delightful excerpt from Fantasia 2000 about Noah's Ark as seen through the eyes of Donald Duck and set to Elgar's "Pomp and Circumstance".

But that is not enough to save this book. This book easily gets my one star rating which can be translated to "Run Away! Run away!".

Runner is a high voltage thriller with a dash of science fiction. If you like your suspense thrillers exploding with action from the first page then you will really love this novel. Runner starts in a full-out gallop when ex-special forces Sam Dryden is interrupted on a night jog by a desperate girl who claims someone is trying to kill her. It is quickly confirmed that people are trying to kill her..and now Sam...and the action continues.

I on the other hand want more than chases, gun battles and far-fetched conspiracy plots. I like heroes who have some dimension and plot twists that do not hang on a thread of spider silk. I found Runner a little flimsy in those categories. I did find Patrick Lee to be a very good writer of this type of thriller even if the plot was a bit too familiar to anyone who have read Stephen King's Firestarter. I also liked how the author kept us guessing about the true nature of the girl's powers and about her own agenda. However, the plot seems a bit too formulaic and predictable in where the twists and turns were going.

So I enjoyed this book marginally as long as I could tolerate a little eye-rolling at some the more unbelievable turns. My best claim for this novel is that it would make a great action movie of the Die Hard variety. Let's get Renny Harlin or Michael Bay to direct it. They're pretty good with overblown scenes and under-whelming logic as long as you don't have to think too much.

A few words about book series. I'm skeptical about them. It's not that there's anything wrong with them. It's just that I prefer to visit new worlds and experiences when I read. But I understand the attraction to series. Some readers like to enter an escape world that they are familiar with. They like to see their constant hero/companion struggle and win over and over again. There's a certain amount of pleasure and security in that. I totally understand. I remember how I became obsessed with the James Bond books when I was in Junior High, hiding Goldfinger under my mattress less my conservative parents spotted the nude gold girl on the cover. My mother did find it and showed my father. I thought I was in trouble but the father read it and became a James Bond fan too. But unfortunately many series become a bit redundant like the reader is writing only to keep the audience and only to cash the checks. In my humble opinion, few book series heroes continue to grab me over and over again. I hate to say it but it's easy to get lazy...

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ...

Excuse me. I fell asleep. Where was I? oh yes...

Which brings us to Jonathan Kellerman's Alex Delaware series. Killer is the 29th book of the series. That bodes well for his pension. Book series writers do get a pension, don't they?. But it is the first Delaware novel I've read. I now plan to go to book one and start from scratch because this novel really grabbed me in the same way James Bond, Sherlock Holmes, Hap and Leonard, and Charlie Huston's Joe Pitt and Hank Thompson did. It's probably not all surprising since the main character is a psychologist who works cases from the court and I am a retired clinical social worker who did my share of court cases. But Killer felt fresh. I didn't feel like I was reading a retread or missing a lot like I did with the currently released White Fire of Preston & Child's Pendergrast series. Delaware felt like the kind of constantly returning hero I could hitch a ride with.

So here's the scoop. Alex Delaware occasionally does evaluations for child custody cases. He kind of hates them but sees the need for it. At this point, I want to step into my day job for a minute and say I don't blame him. His remarks about child custody cases are brutally honest and dead on. His current case looks to be fairly cut and dry until the losing side places a hit on him. Then a body shows up. It's not his but if you read plenty of mysteries. I'm sure you can guess whose it is.

The body count piles up while Delaware and his homicide detective friend attempts to uncover the killer. There's an obvious choice and some not so obvious choices. All of this unfolds in a very entertaining style with loads of realistic grit. What I really like is the character of Delaware. He is sharp and observant to the psychological makeup of the people he deals with. This novel feels more like a psychological thriller than most mystery novels with continuing characters. His therapy session scenes, which are my favorite parts of the novel, are real and appropriate to the profession.That may be a small thing to you but I cannot tell you how often writers get it wrong. If I read one more novel about a therapist who falls in love with his client I am going to use that book for kitty litter. Suffice to say that doesn't happen here. The author is too smart and too good to do that. Kellerman writes dynamite dialog and knows how to tease the reader. That's pretty much essential in mystery series. Over all Killer is what the mystery reader wants in a novel.

So to rehash. I am skeptical about mystery series. Series can disappoint and drag. Kellerman's 29th installment about Alex Delaware doesn't disappoint or drag. Good sign. Fresh. Exciting. It has a beat and I can dance to it. I'm going to get the rest starting with number one and will hide them under my mattress for old times' sake.

Quite a few years ago, My wife and I were in a major car accident. My car was totaled but miraculously everyone in the accident had no more than a few minor cuts and bruises. I remember having to squeeze myself out of the car wondering how so much twisted metal managed to miss hitting both of us. But since then I have been very alert to the fact that our lives can change instantly in a few seconds or be forever altered by a split second decision. It is something I knew intellectually before. But now it has a deeper more intuitive meaning and the knowledge has forever heighten my appreciation of what I have and for the fragility of life.

Dream of the Serpent by Alan Ryker is about that. Cody Miller is a successful young man who is in a horrible fire brought on by a second of forgetfulness as he texts his girl friend. For the next third of the novel and in first person narrative, we are witnesses to the devastating experiences of a burn victim. Each moment and action is described in torturous detail. It is not something that everyone will be able to read. Just as devastating are the descriptions of Cody's thoughts and emotions as he endlessly relive that one moment and thinks about what could have been "if". He is immersed in his own pain but also privy to the emotional pain of others around him. Cody's girlfriend lives with the thought that she may have been at least partly responsible and those feelings reignite her past drug addiction.

As you can see, this is pretty heavy stuff. If this was all, Dream of the Serpent would still be a very powerful book especially with Ryker's ability to bring alive the emotions and feelings of the characters. Yet this is a novel of the supernatural even though the story proceeds halfway through without any trace of the other-worldly. Cory is having dreams of what his life would be like if the accident did not happen. Soon he gets a phone call from his girl friend. "I think I found a way to fix everything."

At this point, things change. I won't say how but I sure it is the sort of the thing accident victims..no..all of us at some point in life have dreamed about. The author examines, in the unpredictable style of horror fantasy, the consequences of altering our life and the devastation our actions have on others. While the first half of the novel is steeped in the physical horrors of the natural world, the second half explores, in a just as horrific but more psychological way, the horror of our actions and the effect of them on the ones we love.

This is a superior horror novel; one that should be remembered for its power and relevance. I found myself looking back on my own experience while reading it and thinking about how different things could have been if I reacted a second later or that chunk of metal moved only one foot closer to me. I also wondered that if we could change something terrible in the past, would the sacrifice be worth it. There is always a sacrifice, in real life as well as fiction. It's that type of novel. The kind that makes you a little uncomfortable. The kind that makes you look at your own choices. And the kind that makes you glad you read it despite the horrific descriptions and uncomfortable feelings it evokes.

My highest recommendation.

When The Tyrant's Daughter was offered to me for review, I was not aware that it was from Random House's Children's Books division, aka a Young Adult novel. If I have known this, I probably wouldn't have accepted it as I rarely review YA books. I glad I did read it because, YA or not, it may be a contender for best fiction in 2014.

Laila is a fifteen year old girl and the daughter of a controversial ruler of a foreign country. Her father is killed in a coup by her more traditional and military-minded uncle leaving Laila, her mother, and her six year old brother, who she describes in the first sentence of the book as "The king of nowhere" in peril. Having escaped with her family and now living in America, she not only has to adjust to a very different lifestyle but is confused by her mother's seemingly indifference to their decline from opulence and importance to rather sparse surroundings as exiles. She is suspicious of the gatherings of expatriates, who her mother would have not associated with in the past, and particularly of a lone American man who she suspects is with the CIA. She is also discovering through her new friends and the much more open media, that her father may have not been who she thought he was.

In telling Laila's story, and in immersing the reader into the thoughts of this smart but sometimes innocent girl, J. C. Carleson makes some wise moves. While there is enough information to clearly place Laila's country in the Mid-East and presumably a Muslim nation, the author never makes it specific. This allows the reader to be less judgmental and accept Laila as she is; a young girl caught in a myriad of cultural and political conflicts. Yet the events that take place in the novel seem all too real to anyone with even a slight knowledge of world events. Carleson has managed to latch on to just the right amount of empathy without the baggage that often accompanies this type of cross-cultural tale. Laila is just a young teenager trying to grow up, but also a victim in a nasty power game and maybe even a unwilling player of the same repressive regime. Her conflicts and dilemmas seem real especially since she essentially comes across as a typical teenager despite how others see her. She is also smart and appropriately cynical, especially when she asks herself things like, "Why am I the only one seems to feel luck like a sunburn?" How she survives her plight is what makes this story mesmerizing. I won't give away anything about the end except to say that it is as emotionally perfect and powerful as endings can be.

While The Tyrant's Daughter is classified as YA, it should be noted that the author does not water down anything. While respecting her audience, she does present some events that can be disturbing to the very young. For the teenage audience that I feel this book is aimed at, it is exactly the right amount of reality that they would respect. But I do not see this as purely a YA novel. I think adults will love and admire it too. Beside, in a YA world where fantasy and science fiction dominates the charts, it is nice to see a quality work that deals with the real world.

Strange Bodies is science fiction. But it is the kind of science fiction that is a springboard for larger conceits. In this way, it is similar to the novels of Margaret Atwood and Doris Lessing in that it is much more interested in philosophical examination than future speculation. The author Marcel Theroux has written a novel about identity and the state of reality. That put him in the company of a definitive sci-fi author, Philip K. Dick. Yet Theroux throws another philosophical log on the fire. What is authenticity? If your conscience can be duplicated and placed into someone else, is that person you? Is he every bit as authentic in his emotions and meaning as you?

A man, simply called Q, is living in a mental asylum. His identity is unknown to the doctors but he states he is Dr. Nicholas Slopen. This is impossible since the death of Dr. Slopen is well documented and the patient looks nothing like him. Through Q's chronicles and pasted psychiatric notes the mystery unfolds. We discover that Dr Slopen was asked to authenticate some letters by 18th century British writer Samuel Johnson. The letters appear authentic in the sense of subject and writing but are clearly not, due to the kind of paper used which was not in existence during Johnson's time. We are then introduced to savant Jack Telauga who can perfectly enact the writer's style. Yet there is more to this than imitation and this is where we go into sci-fi territory. Could the conscience of James Johnson, or anyone else, be transferred to a body? What does this mean for the rest of society. Would that make one immortal?

These are just some of the questions Theroux tackles. This is a somewhat complex and dense novel. Yet it is a compelling read because Theroux has created some complex and compelling characters. Slopen is not very likable at first, being stuffy and full of himself. Yet as the plot develops he is brought along by the intricacies of the plot and we see him developed into a fuller protagonist. Jack is both fascinating and pitiful, while the other characters are alive in their motives which we find out eventually. The most poignant parts of the novel for me is when Slopen ruminates on his past life as the physical Slopen, dwells on his mistakes which he can never correct. It is a emotional novel drenched in what-ifs and why-nots. But we are always brought back to identity and the idea that we are real...or are we?

Identity and the fragility of reality seems to be an occurring theme this year. I recently finished E. L. Doctorow's new book, Andrew's Brain in which the author tackles many of the same questions in a totally different way. But I found Theroux's more elegantly structured tale to be much more enlightening in this area. even if it may bring up more questions than answers.

This is the second book I've read from Darkfuse's novella series. They continue to be of good quality and pretty straight-ahead horror. Dead Five's Pass by Colin F. Barnes is a great read for the Lovecraft crowd. It is a nice addition to the Cthulhu Mythology and does a good job of combining modern horror and Lovecraftian elements. The ancient ones are stilling reeking havoc, this time in a mountain resort area and it is up to two mountain rescue professionals with a bit of history between them to try to save the world. The author is quite excellent at describing the horror of the ancient ones complete with madness and tentacles. While Barnes certainly has a good grip on this horror sub-genre, the novella also has a firm action-adventure feel as our heroes race against time. The only thing that bothered me was in the relationship between our protagonists. It seems a little too soap operatic for my taste and took away some of the dread. Yet I think most readers will not necessarily agree with me. I still see it as a firm three and a half star read and would like to read more

Menace by Gary Fry is part of the Darkfuse novella series. I was given a few of the books for review purpose. Menace is the first one I've read and I have to say that, if this novella is typical of the series, it is a quality act indeed.

Gary Fry's short novella (about 60 or so pages) is a quick read but it is nicely paced and manages to convey a good bit of...if you pardon the redundancy...menace. The tale is about a model, Jane Marlow, who finds herself pregnant by a B-movie actor. She considers aborting it but soon becomes fond of the idea of having her child. She is also developing some strange behavioral and physical changes as is the father...

This story works because the author introduces these changes logically and gradually, along with strategically placed clues about what may be going on. This is not a blood and gore story. It is more of a supernatural psychological suspense story, the kind that grabs you slowly but firmly. The ending may not surprise the seasoned horror fan but it is quite satisfying in that eerie "gotcha" way. This is also my first book by Gary Fry and I am very pleased with it. I believe Fry and the Darkfuse novella series will be in my radar for a while. If you like your horror on the quietly scary and somewhat literary side then this novella is for you

I'm not a big fan of Chuck Palahniuk's novels. That is a little odd since I will concede that technically he is one of the best writers alive. As i have often said, he writes like a sumofabitch. Yet he is also unrelenting in his nihilism and creates characters that are void of passion and hope. The pessimism and feeling of existential void that permeates his writing tends to be overpowering. I don't think I have ever rated one of his novels more than two stars. It says a lot about the writer, and perhaps me, that in Fight Club, the only interesting and sympathetic character is the imaginary one!

But his short fiction is another matter entirely. In the shorter format, horrific elements play out faster. The shock of the plot (there is always a shocking plot) carry you through and you will find yourself riveted, maybe grossed out but, above all else, entertained. You will also have more time to contemplate just what is Palahniuk trying to say and why did they let him out of the asylum.

Phoenix is one of those marvelous Kindle Singles. At about 30 pages even the slowest reader should finish it in an hour. But it packs a wallop. It features a dysfunctional family and a strange, perhaps psycho, mom. She is away from home and all she wants to do is hear her blind daughter's voice over the phone. She seems to blame all her misfortunes on others which is never a good sign in a story or, for that matter, in real life. In an odd way, it reminds me of the great short story, The Yellow Wallpaper with the roles reversed. Palahniuk's short fiction is clearly horrific but stays with you like the throbbing pain of a hammer-smashed finger.

Perhaps one day Palahniuk may write a novel that gives me the same goose-bumps and dread that his short fiction does. But if you are someone like me who find his novels a bit too much, or a novice reader who simply wants to check out the king of gross, then Phoenix is a good way to put your toe in the muck.

Descending Son wants to be a mystery, a horror novel and a soap opera all at the same time. All that does is stretch the story into a meandering mish-mash. It starts out well as a mystery with our main protagonist returning home to his ailing father after a seven year absence. A mysterious car accident and the strange demise of his father moves the novel into suspense mode. Yet after a third of the tale passes, a supernatural aspect emerges and we are in horror city. I don't want to ruin the "surprise". Lets just say it's an over used concept. This isn't to say that this type of mystery / horror hybrid of family secrets haven't been done well before. It's just that the author's blending of current events and past comes across a bit too choppy and haphazard. Not to mention that I am getting tired of the cliff-hanger ending that hints a sequel. Can't anyone write a single stand-by-itself book any more? I'm tempted to give it an extra star just for being based in my hometown but frankly, the Coachella Valley and Palm Springs locales doesn't really add much. Overall, I found this to be a major disappointment. I'm still waiting from something worthwhile from the Amazon First program.

Dennis Hart is a funny man. He has a style that seems to be between Carl Hiaasen and Elmore Leonard in the witty thriller department. It can be argued that the plot in Gulf Boulevard may be slightly thin but it is still an entertaining read and it is full of pithy humor. I guess it is ostensibly a mystery but it isn't a whodunnit as much as it is a whogonnadoit. But a funny mystery it is.

So what makes Gulf Boulevard so fun? Like I said, Dennis Hart is quite clever in throwing out hilarious situations and clever repartees left and right. I mean, you gotta love a parrot that can recite every line, especially the obscene ones, from Scarface. But the crowning achievement is the character of Jason Najarian. Jason is a man after my own heart. He's a dreamer whose dream comes true. A sharp but impulsive fellow whose digs and pranks sometimes get the better of him. (Number one tip: Do not throw tomatoes at gangsters) The plot pretty much sinks or swims based on your feelings toward Jason. In my case, Jason wins the day.

It's a good premise. Jason Nazarian hits the lottery jackpot thanks to some M&Ms and moves to Florida to be a rich hermit. However it doesn't work out that way thanks to a busybody real estate agent, a hot Native-American femme fatale, a gold-digging ex-wife, and, most importantly, a mafia hit man who happens to be Jason's neighbor. And here is where the novel hits a minor snag. As good as the premise is, it meanders a bit around the middle and doesn't really pick up steam until nearly the end. Despite all the humor, I was hoping for a little more intensity.

One of my writing teachers told me that the middle makes or breaks a novel. Here, it doesn't break it. The author is too good for that to happen. But as it is obvious that Hart is a really good writer, I was hoping for one out of the ball park. However, being his first novel, there's plenty to be proud of. There is going to be a sequel (of course) so I have high hopes for Hart's next opus.

I've read the first novel of the Pendergast series, Relic by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child, when it first came out in the 90s. It didn't impress me much, at least not enough to check out another Pendergast novel. I'm assuming I didn't like it because I remember hardly any of it. I have the enviable skill of being able to mentally block out books I don't like. It is a helpful superpower in which only the political rants of Anne Coulter seem to be immune to. Anne Coulter is my Kryptonite. But my talent is fairly reliable with anything else. When the recently published White Fire came under my radar as being the 13th book of the series, I figured I might as well return to it. After all, the novels seem to be popular enough to last two decades.

I must admit White Fire was fun, albeit average fun. I do remember Relic as having supernatural elements. Yet White Fire is a fairly straight mystery. Pendergast is a somewhat eccentric FBI agent with Sherlockian perception and a disregard for the unconventional. He also seems to have amassed a loyal range of sidekicks and researchers. The main character in this novel is not Pendergast but a young forensic science student and Pendergast protege, Corrie Swanson, who he has helped in previous books. There is a lot of references to characters and events for the reader who has kept up with the series yet White Fire stands well on its own. The basic premise is that Corrie is researching the history of a 19th century string of grizzly bears attacks in an old frontier town for her university thesis. That frontier town is now a winter resort for the wealthy and her investigation is not only stirring up the town elite but pointing to a bigger mystery.

I found it very entertaining. Yet I also felt it was slightly contrived. There are lots of set-up situations with sane people acting illogical. The main violator was Corrie Swanson who, for a person who is supposed to be quite bright, has a habit of doing really stupid things that would only happen if you needed it to move on the plot line like going out alone in a blizzard or ignoring the signs that say, "Caution, Do not feed the homicidal maniac". Pendergast is more interesting but he seems to have been placed a little on the back burner for this installment. But I must admit I now have an urge to go back to some of the older books.

So overall, it is a very fun read. Despite the wintery background, I would label it as a good summer read for the beach or maybe even by the fireplace at a ski resort. You really don't think you'll find me on a snowy hillside trying to break my neck, do you? I'll read. You go out there and ski, Mr. Bono.

It has become a bit of a cliche to say 50s artists like Ray Charles contributed to popular music by merging a gospel feel into rhythm and blues. It is a good example of a cliche that rings true. Yet not much is said about the accomplishment of Pops Stable and his children. While Ray was merging gospel and soul together, Pops was taking elements of the blues and blending them into gospel.

It is also unfortunate that most people know The Staple Singers for their hits in the 70s like "I'll Take You There" and "Respect Yourself". These are great songs but I prefer the earlier gospel and folk sound of the Staple Singers. There were a few things that made this gospel group so good but sound so different. First there was Pops Staple's guitar with its generous amount of tremolo. It was right out of delta blues and it made their gospel sound unlike any other. Second, there was Pops' limited but intimate voice and his stirring narrations before and during the songs. Third, and maybe most importantly, there was the rich contralto voice of Mavis Staple, a deep, solid voice that rivaled both Mahalia Jackson and Aretha Franklin for pure emotion.

Greg Kot has written a detailed and solid biography of the Staple Singers. In fact, I would say it is one of the most enjoyable biographies I've read in a long time. But it should be mentioned that, while Mavis gets her name in the title, it is a biography about all the Staples with emphasis of the patriarchal Pops. He starts with the birth of Roebuck "Pops" Staple. Roebuck's father was a sharecropper in the south. It is simply coincidence that I was reading this during the flap with Phil Robertson of Duck Dynasty over his comments on gays and blacks. But if anyone want the truth about the era before civil rights when Robertson stated the "Blacks were happy" in the deep south, they should read the first 50 pages of this book. Roebuck related how it was and what black-white relations were really like at that time. Pops Stable was raised in the church but enjoyed hanging around blues men where he learn his distinct guitar style. The author follows Pops Stable and his family to Chicago where they formed the Staple Singers and became major gospel stars. But what I found fascinating is how Kot explains the shifts in the Staple's music from being gospel stars in the 50s to regulars on the 60s folk circuit to R& B stars with Stax Records in the 70s. Yet the sound remains unmistakable and loyal to the family's spiritual values. Pops for the most part stayed in his gospel roots and recorded song that were either spiritual or had an uplifting message. Whether it was a church song, a Dylan song like "Masters of War", The Band's The Weight.", or the definitely secular "Respect Yourself" there was always a message. The Staple Singers were not only great musicians but they made you feel good about...well..everything.

So whether it was gospel, folk or R&B, the author of this excellent biography has it covered. But he also hits the more gossipy parts; Pops' friendship with Martin Luther King, Mavis' love affair with Bob Dylan, and Pops' unusual business dealing that sometimes involved a pistol. Kot spends a lot of time on their 70s stint with Stax Records not only because that was where they made hits that made them an household name, but was also a difficult time for them due to issues with music moguls Al Bell and other people attempting to interfere with their signature sound. The author continues through Pops death in 2000 and Mavis' solo career in the 20000s. There is plenty of good info on early gospel scene and the author certainly knows the music.

I would recommend this book to anything who likes gospel, soul and R&B and wishes to learn about one of the most influential group in all three genres.

This review is from Maslow the Wonder Cat.

Hello, mere mortal humans. This is the feline version of Despicable Me addressing you.

Marvin brought home this book one day. He said I might like it . First thing I noticed was that it had really thick pages. I figured Marvin thought I might not be able to chew up the cardboard pages so easily. Fine. I love a challenge. But then I saw the title, Sleepy Kittens. So I set aside demolition mode and read it. It was a really cute story about three kittens who didn't want to go to bed. Their mother brushes their fur, gives them a bowl of milk, and sings them a lullaby. Eventually the kittens go to sleep. The end.

Not exactly War and Peace, is it?

But it is a fun book with cute drawings. The really cool thing is that it comes with three finger puppets representing the three sleepy kittens. Plus there are three holes in the sturdy pages so your little br...er...child...can play out the plot. For instance when Mama gives them a bowl of milk they can pretend to drink the milk. It is probably the only time kids can play with their fingers in the milk and not get yelled at. I tried to place my paws in the puppets but my claws kept getting stuck. Now the three finger puppet kitties look like they got their chests ripped open.

However, despite my four stars for it being a really cute book, I feel I must warn parents about a potential problem. I am worried that, as the kids play with this book, they will get the idea that it is OK to put their fingers up Kitty's butt. This is not OK. This could result in a dangerous and potentially fatal situation, more so for the kid than the cat. I repeat. Sticking fingers up a cat's butt is not OK. But diligent monitoring by the caretaker should alleviate any disaster.

I wish to thank Manny Rayner for recommending this book to me. I guess you don't hate cats after all.