Book Recommendation: The Face

This par-level Koontz romps around in a wintry-SoCal-familiar-territory and intentionally remains not too supernaturally over-the-top. His smooth writing style (although riddled with repetitious exposition in places) compliments the routine plot, which is equally comfortable-predictable while the suspense is slightly restrained. In this story, city detectives with guardian angels are pitted against one caotic-obsessive kidnapper. Not as good as From the Corner of His Eye, or Odd Thomas, but better than dozens of others. This book can be found in second-hand bookstores.

Snaprating Legend

Book Ratings

I was asked, in the meat, if my book recommendations had a star-scale similar to my film scale. I responded, "of course". And then posed a question (the answer of which would provide me with necessary seconds to think and compose a scale, which I figured would not be difficult). I was wrong. So, I blathered an incomplete answer and then confessed. "I obviously haven't thought it through."

This is my result of thinking it thru:

• Hardback: Worth new-cover publishers retail hardback price (currently approaching thirty dollars US). The term Hardback is not used to infer a book is available in hardback, merely that it is worth this price. Only books considered worth re-reading time and time again are worth this price.
  
  
• Paperback: Worth new-cover retail paperback price and the six to twelve month wait (currently ten dollars or slightly more).
  
  
• WFU: Wait For Used, worth waiting for availability at a used book store; web-based or locally, availability always fluctuates and some authors never stay on used bookstore shelves. Second-hand bookstores normally begin at half the cover price and fluctuate depending on supply and demand. With gas or postage, average cost is seven dollars.
  
  
• WFL: Wait For Library, worth waiting for availability at your local library (unpredicatable range of time from months to years, depending on your library). The public library is normally free, but with gas and occasional late-fees, average cost is one dollar.
  
  
• WFT: Waste of Fucking Time, reading this book would be a mistake. If you are at all intrigued by the story: Wait For Themovie.
  
  

book recommendation: Nightwings

In the early 1970's Robert Silverberg was an author with an agenda. Not satisfied with merely penning a story with a moral or with an underlying message (which most writers do to some extent) this future-fantasy focuses on the vast mistakes of genetic tampering and mankind's callous disregard (disdain?) for other life-forms. From beginning to end, the "bad humans" dead-horse is kicked and kicked some more.
When I read an author who handles any subject with a heavy hand, I immediately suspect personal politics and religious zealotry guide the author's hand more than any imagination and creativity.
I enjoyed the characters, the setting(s), and the smoothly eloquent writing style, but I suspect the reason this book won a Hugo Award was because of it's 1974 political relevance.
This book is available at most major libraries.

book recommendation: The Architect of Sleep

Because the central characters are intelligent raccoons, many may consider this a work of fantasy. In my opinion, it's simply an alternate-universe speculative fiction story with communication as the primary focus.

The first pages snagged me with their smooth, believable style. However, once the back cover of the book loomed closer, I suspected and eventually realized there was no fucking way this story would be completed in one throw. On the last three pages, readers are left with a muddy, confusing, unresolved dangle over the edge of an unknown abyss.

I re-examined the front and back covers. (Although I always look for series-traps, especially when selecting sf or fantasy novels, I doubted myself and re-scanned everything.) Not one hint. No mention of: “First in the Truck series” or, “Book one of …” and, worst of all, the covers contained quotes using the word: book; nowhere was the word trilogy used.

If QT released Kill Bill and neglected to mention it was the first of a two-part film, audiences would have felt like suckers. This is worse. This book is almost a quarter of a century old and Stephen R. Boyett never wrote a sequel (although I’ve — now — learned it may be partially poorly written and just unpublishable). The author has a website where he begrudgingly blames himself for being 'young when he wrote it'). The publisher (Ace) gets much bashing and blame. I blame only the author. I no longer give one hoot why no caveat lector was included on the book cover. He sold an unfinished story. I’ll never pick up another book of Boyett’s. Neither should you.

Consider this the last book in the world worth reading. If there's a planet-wide catastrophic holocaust and you find yourself in an underground bunker with this book: It's not completely useless. You'll need something to wipe your ass with.

Book recommendation

Just finished Steven Gould's latest: reflex. A relatively predictable sequel to Jumper, Gould re-visits the main character and his wife after a ten year sabbatical. This story is paced more like the problem-story of Harry F. Saint's 1988 Memoirs of an Invisible Man than the character-story of Jumper. Pick up a copy at your local library.