09.12.08
Posted in Books at 11:34 pm by Administrator
The very first “Supernatural” novel was something of a disappointment. While many of the common fan complaints were somewhat questionable, the story suffered from too much idle characterization and a weak antagonist. For the most part, the characters were well represented, however, so the challenge in this follow-up was all plot.
The author focused his first novel on his own home turf, and it felt a bit too insular as a result. I’m not sure that problem was resolved in this novel, however, because the Key West setting seems a bit too familiar to the author as well. A good portion of the novel feels like the travel section of the town paper. If the intention was to interest me in a possible future vacation in the area, then it worked. But it felt a bit heavy-handed for a relatively short novel.
The plot, on the other hand, was a vast improvement over the first novel. In fact, it came a bit close to overkill. As I’ve said before, when novels are introduced into a property with relatively strong continuity, the trick is to keep events from becoming too substantial. Otherwise, it’s too easy to question why the events aren’t discussed in the series. The crisis in this novel is just below the threshold for the third season (where events vary wildly in scale anyway).
Kudos also go to the author for continuing with the capable characterization. The dialogue doesn’t always work, but the motivations definitely fit the third season mold. The author takes great pain in placing the psychology of the Brothers Winchester in context with the major events of the series (sometimes to a fault), and that resonates with the tone of the series itself.
The book is a bit short in terms of word count, so it doesn’t require much of a time investment. I finished it in a few hours over the course of a couple days. In terms of content, it is probably the best of the current tie-in properties, beating out the first two novels and the disappointing comic books. That doesn’t mean the novel is perfect “Supernatural”, however; there’s plenty of room for a dark horror volume, should the publisher ever find the right author and enough courage.
Rating: 7/10
Permalink
Posted in Books at 11:31 pm by Administrator
It’s been quite some time since I read this novel, definitely more than ten years. This novel (and the early “Vampire Chronicles” volumes) eventually led me into my first internet fandom. I was a longtime contributor to an Anne Rice online RPG, I wrote novel-length fan fiction, and I attended the Memnoch Ball in New Orleans in 1995. Those are some of my fondest fandom memories, at least until I found a similar “family” in the “X-Files” fandom.
It’s no secret that Anne Rice has fallen from her superstar status, and I never bothered to read several of the more recent volumes of the saga. Like many of the books I enjoyed in college, however, I was tempted to return to the Vampire Chronicles and see if the intervening years had enhanced or changed my impression of the novel.
Conceptually, I found it difficult to see the novelty that was there in the beginning. At the time the novels were fresh and emerging in the public eye, when the film version was impending and had people wringing their hands in anticipation (or terror), they were fairly unique. There wasn’t a glut of vampire fiction out there, and there certainly wasn’t a subgenre of paranormal romance. Now, the subgenre is overflowing to the point of absurdity, and what was once erotic is now paled by the acrobatics of the Anita Blake novels.
In terms of the eroticism, I actually prefer the less graphic descriptions. It leaves more to the imagination, for one thing, and it puts the emphasis on the psychological aspects of the vampiric world. That was always one of the more intriguing elements of the series, and that was still one of my favorite parts of the book.
Unfortunately, the rest of the book suffers from the passage of time. With most of the surprises of the novel now cliché in popular culture, the clunky writing style is amplified. In fact, much of the book is written in such a pretentious tone that the more serious aspects are buried in the resulting frustration.
I’m not saying that “you can never go home again”, since even those many years ago, I found “The Vampire Lestat” to be the more interesting and engaging early novel. Louis is such a morose character that his mood is relentlessly depressing, and that’s a factor. But I don’t think the novel has aged well.
Rating: 6/10
Permalink
09.07.08
Posted in Books at 12:08 am by Administrator
I love books that deconstruct the myths of science and history, exposing the truth and shedding light on our popular misconceptions. This pertains directly to the central theme of my ongoing commentary on our popular mythologies. Societal reality is consensus reality, and it’s shocking to realize just how wrong most of that “reality” is.
The author of this book is particularly interested in how those myths are not only created, but how they are propagated as bland and disconnected “facts” in the nation’s classrooms. He rips apart twelve of the most used American history textbooks and demonstrates how often they parse information and leave out anything other than the most heroic and Eurocentric interpretation possible.
This sounds like a liberal’s dream, but if anything, it’s a simple principle: history should be taught with context, focusing on cause and effect, not as a list of names and dates to be deified. Context can be grist for the debate mill, and it can force students to look into more direct sources of information, thus learning history by understanding its gestalt nature. Instead, history is taught in chunks to be memorized, and the “facts” are often chosen by special interest groups.
Much of the historical information provided by the author is backed up by direct sources, so it can be quite troubling to see how disturbing some of the information can be. It’s also disturbing to realize how much of the mythology continues to this day. All I need to do is open up my daughter’s American history book to have that verified for me.
Some have criticized the book because it doesn’t reflect what they were taught. I agree with that criticism, to an extent. Unfortunately, the history teachers who taught beyond the myth and legend were also the ones who ignored textbooks or used them sparingly. And that is not the kind of teaching the author criticizes and exposes; the author specifically notes that he’s focusing on the sins of the textbooks and those who blindly adhere to their content.
One valid criticism is the tone of the book. Too often, the author strays from his goal of debunking myths into endless philosophical rambling. Much of the content is very informative, but there’s a lack of focus and structure. Some of the chapters could have been condensed and edited into half the space with twice the impact. The lack of structure made some chapters relentless, to say the least.
The author certainly has an axe to grind, and some of his interpretations are begging for challenge. On the other hand, that’s precisely the point that the author makes throughout the book. History is better served when cause, effect, and context are discussed and debated. Many readers will be inspired to “debunk the debunking”, and I can’t think of any better reaction.
Rating: 8/10
Permalink
09.06.08
Posted in Books at 12:31 am by Administrator
Despite the fact that this is one incredibly popular series, I’ve never been inspired to give it a read. Not that the subject matter wasn’t intriguing enough, because I clearly love fantasy novels and read a ton of them. The problem was one of completion. I can’t stand it when a series drags on for book after book, only to sputter away before the ending ever comes to pass.
Robert Jordan died before the completion of the final volume of “The Wheel of Time”, so I never expected a conclusion to be written. Now it appears that the final book will be written by another author with a strong pedigree, so I have no reason to postpone any longer.
The first book is a monster of a novel, rich in detail regarding the world in which this relatively familiar tale takes place. This is the typical setup novel, and it follows the usual template for building up a fantasy saga. There’s the group of young characters with an unexpected destiny, driven to far off lands and pressed into development of unexpected abilities. There’s the wise mentor figure (a few of them, actually), and the kingdom under siege and suffering from internal strife. There’s a Dark Lord and a source of magical power.
The difference is in the detail. All of the characters manage to get some measure of development over the course of nearly 800 pages, and the key relationships emerge. I think some of the characters are a bit two-dimensional, but there’s the inherent promise of more to come, and there’s room to grow.
I cant’ say that the length of the novel is immaterial, or that it’s the easiest of reads. I usually polish off a book a week, but this took a little more than twice as long. As engrossing as it is, it requires a little patience and recognition that the story rarely skips a moment. And for the most part, that is deeply satisfying at the end, because it makes the world more “real”.
Because this is an introduction to a fantasy world and it is inevitably compared in most readers’ minds to Tolkien and his genre descendants. To make a simple comparison, I would say that this novel reminds me of Raymond Feist’s best work, if the books were far more detailed and expanded. I’m eager to discover how well the saga unfolds.
Rating: 8/10
Permalink
