- Watership Down (re-read) - Richard Adams
- NOS4A2 - Joe Hill
- Jeeves and the Tie that Binds - P. G. Wodehouse
- Young Annabelle - Sarah Tork
- A Hell of a Woman - Jim Thompson
Next up is Stephen King's new one for the Hard Case Crime imprint, Joyland.
Friday, May 31, 2013
Books read in 2013: May
I read a bunch of books one day, in the merry merry month of May...
Thursday, May 30, 2013
Literary places I don't want to visit
One of the most enjoyable things about writing my novels The Day After Yesterday and Ashes was creating the towns that are key settings in the books: Los Cielos and Haven Cove, respectively. They are places I wouldn't mind living in, let alone visiting.
I can think of many fictional places I'd love to visit... and a few I'd avoid like the plague. Let's tackle the ones I don't want to visit.
Leaving out the obvious dystopias (Oceania, Panem, Gilead), here are some places that I don't want to get any closer to (beyond the printed page):
Peaksville - from "It's a Good Life" by Jerome Bixby
It's never clear where Peakesville is. It used to be somewhere in the Midwest United States, but now it's literally in the middle of nowhere. That's thanks to Anthony Fremont, who either made the rest of the world disappear or took Peaksville somewhere else - no one knows. And it hardly matters, because the residents are trapped. Anthony has the power to do anything with his mind, and he combines unimaginable power with the no-limits mindset of a sociopathic child. In the story's opening pages he forces a rat to devour itself, and all the townsfolk have to be perpetually cheerful lest their true thoughts draw Anthony's wrath. The tale is best known as an excellent Twilight Zone adaptation, but the story is just as good and well worth seeking out.
Morgantown - from The Brave by Gregory McDonald
I've talked about The Brave before in my "Most Depressing Books" post, and no small reason for that book's depressing qualities is its setting. Morgantown is a shantytown in the American Southwest, perched on the edge of a dump that provides subsistence for the residents. The people who live there are society's castoffs, living without clean water or electricity. Even the government assistance has abandoned the town, which isn't on any official maps. Yet it's home to those who live there. It's a trap as well, easy to get into and difficult to get out of, and one man's desperate attempt to help those he loves escape may only make things worse.
Derry and Castle Rock - from numerous works by Stephen King
Evil clowns. Stranglers. Rabid dogs. Evil shopkeepers. I could go on and on. Chances are if you've read more than one book by King you've encountered these towns and you know what I'm talking about.
Mordor - from The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien
For about the first half of the Lord of the Rings saga, Mordor is just a distant name of dread. But once Frodo, Sam, and Gollum get to the Dead Marshes, things get real. Tolkien's descriptive language makes it clear what a hellish wasteland this place is, from the stinking marshes with their faces of the dead (a detail apparently inspired by Tolkien's World War 1 experiences) to the endless vistas of barren rock and ash, where even the memory of sunlight, water, and plants is forgotten. If Sauron gets the Ring back, all of Middle Earth will be like this - by experiencing Mordor with the characters, we realize just how high the stakes are.
The high rise apartments - High Rise by J. G. Ballard
The new high rise apartments outside London have everything its residents could want - restaurants, playgrounds, pools, gardens. Things start going wrong, first on a small scale - random (or are they?) power outages, territorial squabbles - escalating quickly. Before three months have gone the residents are engaged in full-scale warfare within the building. It's Lord of the Flies with all mod cons, and its closing pages will leave you very unsettled.
I can think of many fictional places I'd love to visit... and a few I'd avoid like the plague. Let's tackle the ones I don't want to visit.
Leaving out the obvious dystopias (Oceania, Panem, Gilead), here are some places that I don't want to get any closer to (beyond the printed page):
Peaksville - from "It's a Good Life" by Jerome Bixby
It's never clear where Peakesville is. It used to be somewhere in the Midwest United States, but now it's literally in the middle of nowhere. That's thanks to Anthony Fremont, who either made the rest of the world disappear or took Peaksville somewhere else - no one knows. And it hardly matters, because the residents are trapped. Anthony has the power to do anything with his mind, and he combines unimaginable power with the no-limits mindset of a sociopathic child. In the story's opening pages he forces a rat to devour itself, and all the townsfolk have to be perpetually cheerful lest their true thoughts draw Anthony's wrath. The tale is best known as an excellent Twilight Zone adaptation, but the story is just as good and well worth seeking out.
Morgantown - from The Brave by Gregory McDonald
I've talked about The Brave before in my "Most Depressing Books" post, and no small reason for that book's depressing qualities is its setting. Morgantown is a shantytown in the American Southwest, perched on the edge of a dump that provides subsistence for the residents. The people who live there are society's castoffs, living without clean water or electricity. Even the government assistance has abandoned the town, which isn't on any official maps. Yet it's home to those who live there. It's a trap as well, easy to get into and difficult to get out of, and one man's desperate attempt to help those he loves escape may only make things worse.
Derry and Castle Rock - from numerous works by Stephen King
Evil clowns. Stranglers. Rabid dogs. Evil shopkeepers. I could go on and on. Chances are if you've read more than one book by King you've encountered these towns and you know what I'm talking about.
Mordor - from The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien
For about the first half of the Lord of the Rings saga, Mordor is just a distant name of dread. But once Frodo, Sam, and Gollum get to the Dead Marshes, things get real. Tolkien's descriptive language makes it clear what a hellish wasteland this place is, from the stinking marshes with their faces of the dead (a detail apparently inspired by Tolkien's World War 1 experiences) to the endless vistas of barren rock and ash, where even the memory of sunlight, water, and plants is forgotten. If Sauron gets the Ring back, all of Middle Earth will be like this - by experiencing Mordor with the characters, we realize just how high the stakes are.
The high rise apartments - High Rise by J. G. Ballard
The new high rise apartments outside London have everything its residents could want - restaurants, playgrounds, pools, gardens. Things start going wrong, first on a small scale - random (or are they?) power outages, territorial squabbles - escalating quickly. Before three months have gone the residents are engaged in full-scale warfare within the building. It's Lord of the Flies with all mod cons, and its closing pages will leave you very unsettled.
Saturday, May 25, 2013
My books available at Pegasus Books in Berkeley, CA
Good news! Both The Day After Yesterday and Ashes are both available at Pegasus Books in Berkeley, CA.
It's always so exciting to know my books are on store shelves.
It's always so exciting to know my books are on store shelves.
Friday, May 24, 2013
5-star review of The Day After Yesterday
The blog Mom In Love With Fiction posted a five-star review of The Day After Yesterday - take a look!
Thursday, May 23, 2013
Watch this now: Cookie Monster and Tom Waits again
The genius who brought us Cookie Monster singing Tom Waits' "God's Away on Business" has done it again. Now Cookie takes on "Hell Broke Luce." It's truly marvelous, and I am flat amazed at the craft and patience that has gone into this.
Now if Cookie could just sing "Come On Up to the House" I'd be ecstatic.
Now if Cookie could just sing "Come On Up to the House" I'd be ecstatic.
Review: NOS4A2
My review of Joe Hill's creepy new novel NOS4A2 is up at Horrorview. Read it and learn why Christmas will never be the same for me.
Sunday, May 19, 2013
Win a free copy of Ashes
The blog Book Maven's Picks is hosting a giveaway of Ashes. Enter to win a paperback or ebook copy. Check it out here.
Friday, May 17, 2013
Author spotlight at Just One More Chapter
I've got an author spotlight post over at Just One More Chapter. Hop on over to learn a bit more about me, and while you're there take the time to get acquainted with the blog (it's a good one!).
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
Tuesday, May 7, 2013
Monday, May 6, 2013
Books read in 2013: April
Well, didn't get nearly the reading done on vacation that I wanted, and was pretty swamped after that. But here's the tally for April:
Safe Haven - Nicholas Sparks
The Green Ripper - John D. MacDonald
Clockwork Twist: Waking - Emily Thompson
Lost and Fondue - Avery Ames (unfinished)
Web of the City - Harlan Ellison
Next up, the billionth or so re-read of Richard Adams' Watership Down.
Safe Haven - Nicholas Sparks
The Green Ripper - John D. MacDonald
Clockwork Twist: Waking - Emily Thompson
Lost and Fondue - Avery Ames (unfinished)
Web of the City - Harlan Ellison
Next up, the billionth or so re-read of Richard Adams' Watership Down.
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