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By Lisa Miscione Mystery St. Martin’s Minotaur April 7, 2003 291 pages ISBN 0-312-28359-8 True crime writer Lydia Strong knows that evil walks among us. Her mother was murdered and she’s been haunted by the killer’s profile since she was a teenager. Years pass and one day she returns to her office to a mountain of fan mail. One particular tape draws her attention. The young woman speaking on the
cassette identifies herself as Tatiana. She appears desperate, suggests danger and that another woman is watching her. Tatiana is not alone in her hour of desperation. That’s good enough reason for Lydia and Jeffrey Mark to fly to Miami. Lydia is a part time consultant with Mark’s private investigation firm: Mark, Henley and Striker. Both are familiar with the darker side of man. Lydia, more so, on a personal level. Jeffrey is a former FBI agent who hunted down Jed McIntyre, the
man who killed Lydia’s mother. Jeffrey became her mentor, colleague, friend and now lover. An Internet search on Tatiana reveals that the stepdaughter of a prominent Miami businessman is missing. Nathan Quinn is major icon in the business community. He believes that someone is out to get him. Already on the case is Steven Parker, who Quinn hired when police were unable to locate Tatiana. Lydia
questions: what was Tatiana’s relationship like with her parents? Had her beauty caused her mother to be jealous? Did her stepfather cross the boundaries of mortality and she felt it safer to runaway? Was someone making it appear as if she was a runaway? In a black Porsche, Sasa and Boris fly through the Everglades in order to deliver a DVD to a client. Twenty black sedans and limousines line his client’s driveway. What’s in his lap is hot, but off limits. He turns down the offer to stay and watch the DVD, being in this house has sickened him enough. Lydia and Jeffrey meet with Detective Manuel Ignacio from the Children’s Division of the Missing Persons Dept. They present the tape to him and then head out to the Quinn’s estate. Very little emotion registers on Tatiana’s mother’s face when she hears the tape. Only the slightest hint of body language is
observed. After Valentina, the Quinn’s maid, is murdered while speaking with Lydia, Detective Ignacio informs them that her brother is involved in the Albanian Mafia. The FBI has been aware of Sasa Fitore’s presence in the U.S. and that he is part of a super-organized, skilled paramilitary group, which promotes drugs,
prostitution and slavery. Then something disturbs Ignacio to make him pull away from Tatiana’s case. Soon after Lydia and Jeffrey visit Quinn Enterprises they learn that the last private investigator on Quinn’s payroll has been found dead. They now have to make a choice: their safety vs. saving a young girl’s life. Unknown to Lydia, Jed McIntyre goes before the Review Board. Can he simply walk out of prison? And is Jeffrey’s partner, Jacob, taking money from the company? Each step Lydia and Jeffrey take logically puts them in further danger and makes them that much closer to learning a horrible secret that governments turn their backs on. THE DARKNESS GATHERS is a very disturbing, but necessary fictional account. It reminds us that we live sheltered lives even with 24 hours a day of global news. That there are small groups of financially secure individuals that manipulate the economy and determine who lives and dies. That even years after a crime
is committed, the criminal still can harm, stalk or kill a victim’s family. Are we truly powerless over the darkness that gathers in our society? Four out of five DVD’s Denise Fleischer, gottawritenetwork.com book reviewer November 15, 2003 |
Long Form
By Jack Phillips Lowe
Free Thought
Publications Poetry Paperback chapbook,
limited edition of 50 2003 46 pages $4.00 USD No ISBN Long Form is a chapbook composed of 12 long poems. Most are written in a narrative prose style with few poetic devices other than simile and metaphor. Each tells a flash story of modern life and its quirks. As you read these poems, you find yourself identifying readily with the characters. Most will bring a smile to your face, although a couple do engage less savory emotions. However, each does engage the emotions of the reader, the bottom line objective of poetry. Lowe’s style is talkative and conversational. While this gives the reader the feeling of being spoken to by the writer, Lowe has a tendency to ramble and become wordy. He could tighten his style considerably and still have the complete story. It would make the poems much more readable, without losing any of the “meat and potatoes.” My favorite of the poems was “The Scene of My Crime.” I really got into this story and identified strongly with the character. How does one part with a collection of cherished books and where does one go after such a traumatic event? In the end, it will leave you smiling. The conflict resolution is superb and reflects a keen wit. I also loved “Infantina.” It will make you speed up when you pass a hitchhiker. Lowe has a gift for storytelling. He can weave a web of enchantment from common, everyday living. His work will entertain the most immovable reader. He simply needs to practice expansion and contraction exercises and edit for brevity. Long Form is
Lowe’s second chapbook. MuscleHead Press published So Much For Paradise in 2000. His work has appeared in Barbaric Yawp, Lucid Moon, The Iconoclast, and Saltpetre. Alicia Karen Elkins,
GWN Reviewer 16 July 03By Jennifer Macaire Jacobyte Books Time Travel Romance Trade 2003 www.jacobytebooks.com 201 pages ISBN: 1-74100-130-7 Ashley, once a time traveling journalist and now the beloved wife of Alexander the Great journeys in the hopes that she may one day be reunited with her son, who was kidnapped by the saltrap Bessus. Alexander leads them down Bessus’s path, across snow-capped mountains and beyond. His other interest is in recapturing Persia, and so sometimes he conquers the lands he crosses, sometimes he doesn’t, but in either case he acts with honor and fairness. Honor, in part, forces him to marry the deceitful Roxanne, despite the fact that he loves his third wife and doesn’t want anyone else. Ashley has long come to grips with the fact that she has to share him, for if she changes history one whit, the people who sent her back in time will kill her. So her challenge is simple...to live as a woman of the times...nay, as the goddess Persephone made human...find her son, and not give anyone an excuse to erase her. This sequel to A Time for Alexander if filled with all the things that made the previous book magic. Alexander is well characterized. He is wise, yet has an innocent lust for life in all its forms, whether it be playing a simple game, making love, or contemplating elephants. He’s intensely likable...his somewhat loose sexuality comes off as more innocent (as in, sort of welcoming without judgment) than licentious, his love for Ashley brilliantly real, the fact that he takes time to speak to everyone and truly respects them making it obvious why he was called Great. Ashley is also a great character, her strength in the face of what she must do, her love for all the people around her are all admirable traits. This does not mean that there is no sorrow...Macaire weaves sorrow with joy, and even the most happy moments have their slight shadow. Ashley can not forget that Alexander only has a handful more years to live, and so she is determined to make every moment count. The historical setting for this story is incredibly rich. Subtle things, like the fact that a boiled egg is a treat, or the way they bathe or share a tent are all telling things that make the book more vibrant. The historical accuracy blends with the eroticism of this novel, such as when Ashley and Alexander engage in a marathon fertility rite. The erotic scenes are well done, bittersweet at times, but always sexy. I love both the books in the series so far, and am genuinely looking forward to reading the rest. 5 out of 5 scrolls Cindy Lynn Speer, GWN
Reviewer 7/23/03 Deadly Brew: She Loved Him to Death
By T. F. Sisters 1st Books
Library Mystery Paperback 2002 www.1stbooks.com 138 Pages $12.50 ISBN: 0-7596-8660-2 If I tell you the entire plot, it will not spoil your pleasure in reading Deadly Brew: She Loved Him to Death. This book is so well written and totally engrossing that even if you know what is going to happen, you will still thoroughly enjoy it. This exceptional quality in a first book is quite rare. It has sold me on T. F. Sisters and has me looking forward to her next release. Now, for the plot … Samantha has the perfect life for all outward appearances. She married the gorgeous, sports hunk with the solid career as an attorney, had two wonderful children, developed her own career in interior design, owns a nice car, and enjoys the luxury of having a summer cottage and a home in the city. She is active in the community and heads multiple organizations. She has the ideal life until her husband makes some bad investments based on insider advice and suddenly announces that they are close to losing their home and their children cannot go to the private colleges of their choice. Just when Samantha thinks things cannot get any worse, she learns that Grant is having an affair with a little, blonde seductress, named Cynthia, that just inherited the estate of her wealthy husband. Meanwhile, Cynthia wrongly believes that Grant is another wealthy mark to be drained dry. She goes after him with a purpose, only to learn after she is his legally bound wife that he is closer to destitute than wealthy. Now she must figure out a way to dispose of him without losing half of her inheritance. Enter her friend, the hit man, … but things do not go as planned. Deadly Brew will surprise you. You will think you have things all figured out, but then the next twist catches you totally off guard and sends you back to the sleuthing blackboard. This is a top-notch murder mystery that will keep you in suspense. You cannot put it down. The ending really threw me a curve. I had it written another way. It brings everything to proper closure and settles all your questions to satisfaction. The twists do not stop with the book. T. F. Sisters is actually a group of four sisters who work in collaboration on their writing. They are: Viola Roth Ebert, Chris Roth Snider, Carol Roth Thomas, and Elizabeth Roth Atwood. Among their backgrounds and educations are a doctorate degree in neuropsychology, business management, telecommunications, a doctorate degree in jurisprudence, and nursing. These ladies have combined travels in much of the world and have experienced a variety of cultures. Deadly Brew is a suspense treasure chest. Order a copy today and let these marvelously gifted ladies enchant you with their brilliance! Alicia Karen Elkins,
GWN Reviewer 16 July 03Fiction Writing Demystified: Techniques That Will Make You a More Successful Writer By Thomas B. Sawyer Ashley Wilde, Inc Writing How-to Paperback 2003 204 pages $16.00 USD 0-9627476-1-0 Fiction Writing Demystified is a powerhouse of solid information that will definitely improve your performance as a writer. Sawyer breaks his purpose down into a simple statement: “In a very real way, this book is about troubleshooting your own writing.” He provides you with the tools to become a self-editor. Sawyer walks you through the mindset of the writer, the beginning of the story, the writing process, the construction, and creating unique dialogue. But for me, the most enlightening portion of the book is the character development chapter. This lengthy chapter makes up almost half of the book and covers aspects of character development that I had not even considered. Sawyer’s writing style is conversational and bright. It moves along at a steady pace and propels you forward. I read the entire book before stopping for coffee. It is one how-to manual that you just cannot put down. From the beginning, I was reminded of my favorite writing how-to book, On Writing, by Stephen King. Sawyer’s tone and style are so close to King’s. His choice of words also resembles King’s. Both men reduce the most complex topics into plain, easy to understand explanations. Fiction Writing Demystified delivers on the promise to make you a more successful writer. If you follow the instructions in this book, I am certain that you will find your manuscripts being accepted more frequently and revised very little. My only problem with any of the advice is when Sawyer warns writers to omit dialect. I have heard this wisdom dispensed by professional writers, editors, publishers, and instructors ever since I began writing. Yet, we repeatedly fall in love with the very characters that have the strongest dialect, proving that the public does tire of making believe that all people are standard Middle American. From Cyndi Lauper and Fran the Nanny to Andy Griffith and Gomer Pyle, we love dialects and variety in our characters. Unfortunately, as long as the icons of the business continue to warn writers to avoid dialects, we will be stuck with Stepford Middle American speech patterns. I would have liked to hear Sawyer stating that dialect is okay, but I am sure that he feels it would greatly reduce the marketability of work. He is providing his readers with solid advice for success. Thomas B. Sawyer has been on the writing staff of 15 network TV series. He has written 9 series pilots and 100 episode scripts. He was the Head-writer/Producer/Showrunner of Murder She Wrote. His resume goes on and only becomes more impressive. You can read my review of his novel, The Sixteenth Man, here at Gotta Write Network Online. Alicia Karen Elkins,
GWN Reviewer 16 July 03 The Creative Writer’s
Style Guide Story Press Writing Hard Cover November 2002 www.writersdigest.com 248 pages, including
index ISBN: 1-884910-55-6 I’ve had this book for a month, and already I’ve put some wear on it. Yes, a month may seem a long time to take to get to reviewing something, but I wanted to test it, to see if I would actually use it. This concept for the review started as an accident...I’d had the book for an hour, and I needed to be reminded about punctuating around parenthesis. Any creative writer knows that sometimes the Little, Brown Handbook doesn’t have everything...especially for a creative writer. In the past, I’ve relied on wading through well loved fiction books to help me figure out how to do things...and we all know how good of an idea that is. I craved a resource that I could turn to, where the rules were easy to find, where I didn’t have to say silly things like, “Well, Barbara Hambly does her dialogue quotes this way, let’s see what John Sandford does.” I hear some murmurings in the crowd. “What about Strunk and White’s Elements of Style?” you say, “What about The MLA Handbook?” And there are some other sources being named, useful in degrees...but there's something about this book that’s special. Now, maybe it’s because I have a slightly old Strunk and White (1960), but they don’t really discuss the same things. And Strunk and White’s not very conducive to quick and dirty research. I think part of the uniqueness of this book is that it’s just for creative writer people. Those who couldn’t write serious journalism if it was dictated to us, those of us who have realized that nonfiction rules don’t always apply to fiction. The book is set up in two sections. The first part is the basics...grammar, usage and stylistic conventions. Here he clearly explains things from nouns and verbs to dialogue. You may roll your eyes over the thought of someone going over nouns again with you, but he reminded me of things I’d forgotten, all the while phrasing it so that I didn’t feel looked down upon. This is important, especially if you find yourself feeling embarrassed when you realize you forget the difference between a mass noun and a count noun. ( A mass noun is when you say “The corn is ready” rather than “The corns is ready,” corn being the mass noun in that instance, and a count noun is one you can place a numeric value in front of, and it sounds correct...a million oranges. See, I told you I knew this! Did I know this yesterday? Well...er...I’m sure it was somewhere in my head.) This section also includes a lengthy section on punctuation, which I refer to often, since so many of the rules have become elastic. The second part, “Ten Issues of Language and Style,” is much shorter, but filled with things of interest. One of the best sections is on character names, where he discusses the problems that some choices can cause (such as picking names for minor characters that are too close together) as well as tips on using the name properly. He also describes borrow words, slang, jargon, offensive words and dialect...all the while making valid and thought worthy points about their usage, and how they affect our work. I’m very excited about this book because it provides, not only a one stop check place (I’ve become extremely familiar with the index -- quick how do I really use a colon here?) but as a place to refresh oneself on a lot of concepts, and to gain new insight on even the most ordinary of style tools. 5 out of 5
exclamation points Cindy Lynn Speer, GWN
Reviewer March 11, 2003Hearts And
Minds: How Our Brains Are
Hardwired For Relationships
By Thomas David Kehoe Published by Thomas
David Kehoe, Boulder, CO Self-help/psychology Paperback4 May 2003 220 pages $19.95 USD ISBN: 0-9657181-4-X What a book! Thomas David Kehoe is an author for the masses. In Hearts And Minds: How Our Brains Are Hardwired For Relationships, Kehoe explains how the brain is geared to abstract thinking and why this creates problems with the emotional side of relationships. He provides common examples of real life situations, analyzes how the brain processes the situation, and offers simple alternatives or solutions. He presents the scientific data in a way that is easily understood by almost any reader. The entire book is written with a wit that will keep you in tears. I laughed so hard that I had to stop reading and wipe tears several times. Kehoe has covered all aspects of relationships, from the stages of life to the effects of hormones. From advice on how to increase the levels of hormones in your body to how to write a personal ad, this man covers all the bases. I was rolling with laughter at his explanation of why older men are attracted to younger women and how a man can increase the level of testosterone in his body. This is a must read for every adult! The section on emotional control systems and archetypes especially thrilled me. It kept me deeply involved and turning the pages, soaking up the information and readily seeing my own archetype and those of the people most closely associated with me. There are ten basic emotional control systems. While we all have each of them, they are not present in the same strength. Some will be strong and others will be weak. This leads to the formation of an archetype in the personality. The more we use one of the systems, the stronger it becomes. This one section is worth the price of the book! It is extremely valuable information that will allow you to analyze your own emotional responses and to make conscious adjustments in your daily routines to modify your overall archetype. As a lunar astrologist, I must note that the astrological connections were dead on the mark! The mythology also is well referenced and accurate. Hearts And Minds is one self-help book that you cannot put down until you have reached the very last page. It makes perfect sense and offers solid advice in a way that will entertain you completely. It is one of the top five self-help books that I have read this year. Get your copy today and enjoy this new look at the world’s oldest subject. Alicia Karen Elkins,
GWN Reviewer 15 July 03 The Bitterbynde Book
1 By Cecilia
Dart-Thornton Fantasy Hardcover (and soft) 2001 www.twbookmark.com 432 pages ISBN: 0-446-52832-3 At first she doesn’t know who she is, or even her gender. She has no name, no memory, no voice, and thanks to a case of terrible paradox ivy poisoning, no face...at least not one people can seem to stand. She works day and night in Isse Tower, a keep that many Stormriders call home. One day she escapes on a Windship, and begins and adventure she never dreamed of. Along the way she meets the burly, pleasant Sianadh, who is on his own quest to a place where untold treasure lies hidden. He teaches her handspeak and gives her the name Imrhien. Eventually she will travel beyond the treasure of Waterstair and to a place outside the capital of Caermelor, where she prays to find a cure. She meets many other friends in her travels, but none effect her so profoundly as the gorgeous and capable Thorn, a warrior of the highest caliber, who wins her heart with great ease. Heck, he’d win my heart with great ease. Dart-Thornton does not cut Imrhien any slack. The forests she travels though are fraught with peril...wights seelie and unseelie call these lands their own, and a when the Shang wind blows, madness afflicts anyone careless enough not to have their metal lined hoods tied tight around their heads. In the wake of these fell winds, which, deceitful, seem to beautify the world, ghosts of past happenings awaken, and tableau of great joy and great terror are reenacted over and over. It is wonderful to see ancient folklore come to life, trows and waterhorses and other old folk tradition are revived in splendid color. It is obvious she did a ton of research to make these creatures come so perfectly to life, even quoting actual sources, such as when a Trow-wife sings a little ditty. The precautions they take against the wights, and their battles, including a rather neat duel to the Last Word make the constant fear of the wights even more real. The ever-present darkness and fear of these creatures, coupled with vivid descriptions, color this book greatly, giving it a subtle undertone. When you open this book, the Shang wind comes again, showing us things of beauty and horror. Dart-Thornton's characters are also very real. Many times in fantasy you encounter characters that are either or. The good guys are very, very good, the bad guys are, well, not. This isn't the case. Sianadh, while extremely likable, is often greedy and foolish in this greed. Grethet, who is very cruel to Imrhien, conducted several actions that seem nasty on the surface, but may have protected her. Even the magnificent Thorn shows that he is not perfect. There are some characters who you would expect to like Imrhien right away, but her face keeps them from seeing that she is a gentle soul. Indeed, her problems seem to have made her into the type of person whose genuine sweetness and compassion gives her a magic all her own. There is much more to this book, but since it is the first book in a series (and I’ve been lucky enough to be given all of them to read) I’ll save some of it for my next review. 5 out of 5 sildron Cindy Lynn Speer, GWN
Reviewer April 25, 2003 The Bitterbynde Book
2 By Cecilia
Dart-Thornton Fantasy Soft cover March 2003 www.twbookmark.com 559 pages ISBN:0-446-61134-4 Imrhien has now recovered both face and voice, but her journey is far from over. Convinced that she is being followed, she changes her name to Rohain, disguising herself as a lady from a far isle in order to journey to the court of the King-Emperor, where she will reveal the secret of the treasure under the Waterstair. At Caermelor she meets two very special people...Duke of Roxburgh, chief of the Dainnan and her own beloved Thorn, and Thomas, Duke of Ercildoune, known as Thomas the Rhymer. She eventually leads them to the treasure, but her reward is not the one she seeks...she wishes with all her might to see Thorn once more. As she travels, attacks by unseelie forces grow, finally convincing her that for some reason they are after her. Who has she angered so much? Why do the unseelie want her? The secret must be in her memory, but it will take a much longer journey to discover the truth of it all. Two of the things that twines throughout these books are stories and songs. The tales are almost always about some aspect of the fae or wights...stories of mischief, horror and the strange harsh judgments of the Faeren kind. These stories do more than tell some interesting tale, they give us important information that will bear great importance later, and set the atmospheric tone of the book. These stories tend to involve us all the more deeply in the main tale, giving the books an older, mythic feel. The story of Rohain has the feel of all the old stories, that sort of magic, mystical aura that makes you almost think that it could have happened, just as Thomas the Rhymer could have been abducted by the Queen of the Fae. Another thing that makes this story hard to put down is the love between Thorn and Rohain...in my last review, I described how lovely he is, and the fact that (I’d put in a spoiler warning, but, well, this whole review is a spoiler of the last book I suppose) he kisses her before she is healed makes the romance sweeter. He accepts her before she becomes beautiful...though, as in all of the old folk tales when a man kisses an ugly woman, (or, to be fair, and vice-versa) he is often rewarded by her shedding her heinous nature and becoming as lovely as a rainbow. Perhaps this is an allegory on love, usually, that love paints the ugliest face beautiful, but in Rohain’s case the action is more literal. The person she becomes is astonishingly beguiling, but as her healer warns her when Rohain would thank her, being beautiful might be an even greater burden than being deformed. Back to what I was saying about the romance: I find myself reading faster...I read well into the night once, promising myself I’d go to bed once Rohain and Thorn got back together, and it was so sweet that I kept reading after that. It adds to the magical aura of the book just as much as the other aspects.
Well, there is one more book to go. I’ve read it, and I can’t wait to tell you all about it, so on to the next review! That is...if you’ve read these two books.
5 out of 5 sildron Cindy Lynn Speer, GWN ReviewerMay 5, 2003 The Bitterbynde Book
3 By Cecilia
Dart-Thornton Fantasy Hardcover April 2003 www.twbookmark.com 451 pages ISBN:0-446-52807 Rohain has gained back her memory, and with it her name, Ashalind, though for her own protection she goes by Tahquil for most of the book. With her memories she has regained the curse of longing for the Faeren world, for once she walked those fair hills, and once she found herself face to face with the attractive Raven Prince Morragan. Morragan has forced the gatekeeper to lock all the gates leading to the Fair Realm, but Angavar, his older twin brother and the High King of the Faeren trapped him in Erith...at the price of trapping himself. Now the king is said to be asleep, and Morragan, whose hatred of mortals is equal only to his desire to return to his homeland before his brother, wanders the land of Erith. Tahquil managed to escape the Fair Lands just after the gates were locked, and she had wedged it open, hoping to find the King and lead him back to the realm...Morragan knows she has a way back, and he has sent his considerable army of wights to find her and to get her to lead him to the gate. Angavar and his knights fight with the forces of Erith to beat back the wights. Now Tahquil/Ashalind must decide if opening the gates will ease the suffering, or will she only bring disaster to the people she loves? This final book continues the journey of the last, as Caitri and Viviana travel with her...at first in search of her memories, and now in search of this gate. Along the way they are joined by some really fantastic friends...Whithiue, a swan maiden who once gave her a feather, (I think Whithiue is one of the most perfect names...if you say it aloud it sounds like something a swan would say) Tighnacomaire, a waterhorse whose kind are more likely to drown their passengers than save them, and an urisk named Tully. These magical additions do something really cool...in the last book, the three ladies are pretty much on their own, traveling, going to some of the neatest places. The adventure is much closer to what we might happen to go through...these three new wights change the journey, not only making it more interesting by creating more perspectives and character actions, but through each of their own special gifts add a great deal to the adventure. This book is the faster paced of the three in many ways...the first, was a huge mystery...who is this girl, and why are all the things that can identify her...her face, her voice, her memories, gone? The second steps away from that, almost skirting the genre of woman’s lit as Rohain struggles to find herself, in both the literal and internal ways. All three are amazing fantasy adventures, but the first two built up to this book, and now that we’re here, things move faster, more surely. Dart-Thornton no longer worries about revealing too much....secrets are revealed and we find ourselves squarely in the middle of the very stories that so many characters have told us about in the past two books. This book ties up all the ends...everything makes perfect sense and flows beautifully. This is a series of fabulous merit...exquisite imagery, seamless story telling, magic and adventure, and a sweetly romantic subplot. The Bitterbynde Books are a wonderful read. 5 out of 5 sildron Cindy Lynn Speer, GWN
Reviewer May 5, 2003 Crossroads of
Twilight: Book Ten of the Wheel of Time Tor http://www.tor.com Fantasy Hardcover January 2003 700 pages $29.95 ISBN 0-312-86459-0 The story is well known to us who have long read the series. Rand Al’Thor, the Dragon Reborn, struggles against the Dark One, with the help of a huge and varied cast. In this episode, Matt Cauthon has found the woman of his heart, the Princess of the Nine Moons, who he knows he is fated to marry. She is not quite so sure that this is her destiny, and so he kidnaps her. Perrin Aybara’s wife Faile has also been kidnapped...by the Shaido, and he desperately searches for some clue to track her with. Meanwhile, Elayne and Egwene each fight their own desperate battles for power. Elayne fights for the Lion Throne, Egwene, recently given the position of the Amyrlin seat by a rebel faction of the sorcerous Aes Sedai, fights to unite the white tower under herself. A short summary, true, and you will see why if you read on. The first thing is, that this is very much not a stand alone book. The structure of the series is such that each addition is just another chapter of a very large concept. While I admire the sweep of what he is attempting, in writing such a huge work, it has some side effects that I am not sure I care for. For example, in this book we have a little bit of Perrin's story here, a little bit of Egwene there. I’ll just be really getting into the story, really cheering the character on...and then the chapter will end, and we may not see that person again for many pages...maybe not even for the rest of the book. I grind my gears, trying to shift into a new situation, another character who I may not have seen since the last book. He could probably fix a lot of this if he had a cast of characters in the back, and a summary of what has gone on before in the front, rather than spend story time trying to plant it all ...nine books worth, now, and probably many more ...into the context. As it is now, I find myself not enjoying the book as much because there is so much going on at once, so many people to keep track of. It blunts the impact of the story because nothing ever finishes. We rarely, if ever, come to an end of anything, and the supposed main idea of fighting the Dark One becomes second fiddle. Characters that he built up strongly and made you care about are abandoned. I can’t help but think if he had grouped things together more, maybe having one whole book assigned to this set of plotlines/characters, resolving them, then going on with the next or using all the characters, but having each story arch pretty much complete in the book...where some small plot lines are resolved but they all strengthen the main goal, I would have been happier. As it is, I feel like he’s just dragging things on too much, and I feel depressed because all these people I care about, all these interesting stories, are never finished...and may never be finished. This book in itself, has some interesting things that it adds to the story as a whole, some well done surprises that make the story interesting, while recalling some of the past things, reminding you of why they are/will be important in the future. The characters are all well done -- the main characters extremely likable, while some of the minor ones are definitely not ...some of these people have a love of beating people that borders on perverse glee. So the book does move the story forward. So, why do I read this series? When the first four books came out, I read them, adored them...the first four books showed Robert Jordan to be one of the most interesting and talented voices in fantasy...and since I loved those first four books so darn much, I guess I keep coming back, just in the hopes that this one is the last, and that I’ll see and understand everything that Jordan was building towards, and how it works out, and Rand, Perrin and Matt, who started out together on this road so long ago, will finally get to live happily ever after. Cindy Lynn Speer, GWN
Reviewer 2/1/2003 Grave’s End: A True Ghost Story Elaine Mercado, R.N. Llewellyn http://www.llewellyn.com Paranormal Trade 174 pages $12.95 USD ISBN 0-7387-0003-7 Elaine and her first husband were desperate for a new home. The proud parents of two daughters, Karin and Christine, they need to spread out a little and make room for their growing children, his growing business, and their growing marriage problems. When they see the house at Grave’s End, they are enchanted. True, it had a lot wrong with it, but it also had so much potential. It was also in their price range. From the start, though, things did not go smoothly. An elderly couple lived on the first floor, and didn’t want to move, despite the fact that their own nephew, who owned the house, was anxious to. Elaine, of course, didn’t want to force them out against their will, and they arrange for the couple to live there until they find a better place. Eventually, they do. But then the feeling of being watched begins in earnest. As the years go by, events escalate...Elaine and Karin have suffocating dreams, where they are actually awake, but paralyzed as some unseen entity pushes them into the bed. The presence sometimes feels very angry, sometimes, at least in Elaine's case, their intentions turn to the sexual as the thing caresses her chest and thighs. Little balls of light dash across the ceiling. Dark, fuzzy things creep along the floorboards. Eventually they actually see ghosts, people looking at them from the attic windows, a thin, scared little creature huddling under the stairs. It takes a long time for Elaine to come to terms with what is going on, while her daughters seem much more accepting. For most of the book, they live with the phenomena, until finally Elaine decides to call in some experts, and her brother Joe manages to convince well known parapsychologist Dr. Hans Holzer and medium Marisa Anderson to come and investigate. Together, they will discover the source of these horrifying disturbances. Reviewing something like this is not easy. Is it written well? Extremely. Mercado has a straightforward, believable voice. What makes it hard is that inevitable question....do you believe her? Are you convinced that there are ghosts? I cannot deny what she says...what makes it seem like real life is not that she’s an RN, not that her voice is so completely practical and you can imagine knowing and liking her. What makes this real is the fact that she doesn’t do anything about it for ages. Nothing about this, not even the ending smacks of story logic or form. The problem does increase, but there are breaks, quiet times where she’s able to convince herself that it’s over. Somehow this lends the story a great deal of veracity, and makes it all the more creepier. She says that she wrote this book so that other victims of hauntings would have the courage to step forward and seek help, and I think that’s admirable. This book is short, but dense. It still took me a long time to read. I’ve read all sorts of gruesome, scary books before turning off the light to go to sleep, but the fact that this is a nonfiction account made it much harder to read before bedtime. 5 out of 5 shivers Cindy Lynn Speer, GWN
Reviewer 12/16/2002 Volume 1 of the “Not
at Night” series By Stephen Jones,
editor PS Publishing Horror Hard Cover October 2002 www.pspublishing.co.uk 248 pages ISBN: 1-902880-55-2 In the 1920’s, the Not at Night series collected the most horrifying selections of British horror, originally edited by Christine Campbell Thomson. While most of the tales were reprints from the popular pulp Weird Tales, some were original, and featured well admired talents such as H.P. Lovecraft, H. Warner Munn, Robert E. Howard and August Derleth. In the new Not At Night series, Stephen Jones (who has edited many wonderful anthologies, such as The Mammoth Book of Vampires, Shadows over Innsmouth and Dark Detectives) continues his tradition of excellence, choosing stories that are both horrifying and intelligent. Some of them recall the pulp past of Weird Tales, while some of them push aside conventions to create moving, unusual stories. Jones approached authors and asked them for stories that they felt had been overlooked or ignored. Looking at the stellar cast, it is hard to believe that any of these writers would find stories that fit this criteria...but each one comes through with some amazing work. The volume starts out with an alumni of the original series, Hugh B. Cave. His “Invasion from Inferno” is as creepy as a story can get...it begins with spiders attacking a young girl, and the twists and turns in the plot are neatly done, as the protagonist, Andy Gale, tries to figure out if the lovely woman he came to claim as his bride is worthy of the title of Spider Woman, and all the mystical evil it represents, or if she is simply the victim of small minded superstition. The next story is by Brain Lumley, and is about a pair of friends who set off to monkey swing across the bottom of a viaduct, which looms high over a river. It seems like an easy enough challenge, until John and David, in an act of boyish meanness, throw stones into the river so that the water splashes Wiley Smiley, a mentally handicapped young man. The price for their mischief may become more than they can pay, for when they begin their swing across the viaduct, they get really tired, and decide to climb up between some boards and walk the rest of the way in safety. Wiley, armed with a sharp stick, has other plans. In some ways, the story is not about horror, nor is it about the consequences of one’s actions, but a story about finding courage within one’s self to overcome the most fearsome of circumstances. Caitlín R. Kiernan’s “Spindelshanks” offers an atmospheric look at being a writer in New Orleans...as well as a look at a relationship between two lovers whose paths seem to be subtly diverging. The writer feels totally stymied in her work, her beloved Emma is painting the town red, getting more and more involved with the supernatural. Throughout this wonderfully wrought story, we begin to worry that perhaps Emma has called something terrible to life, and that her curiosity may be the death of them both. “Homecoming,” by Sydney J. Bounds, is a bittersweet Frankenstein story...more bitter, truthfully, than sweet, as the newly revived man tries to figure out how he’s going to survive in a world that no longer wants him. Neil Gaiman contributes “Feeders and Eaters,” a disturbingly dark tale about how a handsome man becomes nothing more than a wasted shell...it is a strange, horrific story, made more so by the calm acceptance the narrator seems to have of all the weirdness around him. Poppy Z. Bright’s “Nothing of Him That Doth Fade” is a totally different story, more contemplative than horrible, and tells about a pair of lovers who have lost the magic of their relationship. “The Unfortunate,” by Tim Lebbon, is about Adam, who should have died in a plane crash, but is instead saved by a group of ghostly creatures. The price of his good fortune, that now seems to follow him around, is terrible. Dennis Etchison’s “One of Us” has a kind of off handed coolness that I enjoyed. Heyman has been hired to drive some kids to a concert...but his real agenda may be quite different. Another favorite story from this collection was Kim Newman’s “Is Anybody Out There?” Part of the pleasure is in the surprise...a medium is trying to communicate with the dead for her client...and finds herself talking to someone she’d never imagined. The turn about in this story is clever and very cool. “Dear Alison,” by Michael Marshall Smith, is another somewhat sad story...it is a letter, written to a wife, as her husband leaves her...and the explanation for why he’s going is very interesting. The story I’m fondest of, however, is Basil Cooper’s “The Gossips”...the Gossips being a grouping of three huge statues, whose sibilant whispers can almost be heard in the background as you read the story of the horrible things they are capable of. Ramsey Campbell finishes off the set with “Needing Ghosts,” a story about a writer and his madness...which is a rather simplistic way of describing it, but the twists, the uncertainties, the unreliability of the narrator are really well done, keeping you guessing. All and all thirteen stories...which fits. There are several amazing illustrations by Randy Broecker. They are all well done, and worthy of being collected...Jones has promised a second volume to this series if all goes well, and I look forward to seeing what surprises wait In Moonlight Only. 4 out of 5 ghosts Cindy Lynn Speer, GWN ReviewerMarch 13, 2003 By M. LaCourt Mainstream Soft 2002 www.american-book.com 282 pages ISBN: 1-58982-066-5 John Murphy and Sydney Schuster go way back to high school, where John seemed to take special pleasure out of making Syd’s life hell. After John and his cronies beat him so badly that he ends up in the hospital with a broken clavicle and ribs, Syd must learn to live with the terror and the psychological damage, a process that takes years. Forty-five years later, John, a priest, meets with Sydney, now a millionaire, with a proposition, hoping to get money to save his school. During the dinner they exchange recriminations...John insists that though he was wrong to hurt Syd, that Syd somehow brought it out in him. Syd, whose careful treatment of his own children didn’t keep them from being bullies...instead, they’re bullies of the worst kind...blames many of the same things that John thinks would be the salvation of many of these kids. Thinking about their discussion later, Syd hits upon an idea...why not find an environment where they can explore the relationship between bully and victim, where they can see if, without the authorities (who never did Syd any good) the kids can somehow work things out for themselves. He’ll give them the best incentive, a half a million dollars a piece, to be used for their education. All they have to do is follow a few simple rules...no pregnancies, no meetings behind locked doors, not fights...basically, behave themselves. The ten students they eventually pick create an interesting mix...Jenna and Becca, a pair of twins who, until recently were going to a fancy private school. Mohandas, a shy Indian boy and Maria, an even shyer Italian girl. Tashina, a street hard African American who doesn't need no man. Karter, a smart aleck whose quick temper and constant desire for sex and domination show him to be the nastiest kind of bully. Eddie Cortez, whose parents run a barely successful restaurant and expect him to continue the business. Demon, who can barely read, but plans to become a carpenter with his father. Sam, who is just a normal kid, neither good, really, or bad, and Melissa, whose book worm preferences mask a deeper fear. Watching these ten students interplay with each other is as fascinating as it is sometimes heartbreaking. When I first looked at this book, frankly, I wasn’t sure I’d really want to read it. It is subtitled, “A Novel about Bullies and Victims...and What Drives Them.” Hardly the type of world I would want to revisit. I figured it would be very hard to care for any of these people...but once I started reading, I found myself having a hard time putting the book down. It's a very short book...and so things happen very quickly. Even so, you have a strong understanding of each student's attitudes and goals, the desperation with which each lives their life. This is further made evident by a contrast LaCourt creates...Syd and Denise, who is also working on the project, rekindle their relationship. Melissa, whose mother’s boyfriend is stalking her, comes to Denise for help, and she ends up staying there. Her involvement in Syd and Denise’s new relationship, including a scene where they all stay home and act like the typical Ozzie and Harriet couple, and Melissa’s reaction to this never before seen life, tells us more clearly than anything about the realities that these kids face. I would highly suggest this book to any person who works with kids. LaCourt herself helped create a bully prevention program, and while I’m not sure if she used her actual study in this book, I can see that she took a lot away with her from her experience, and used it to create a truly clear picture about the realities of the bully victim relationship. It is not always an easy read because of this...the problems feel very immediate, and the book offers no easy solutions -- nor should it. Any educator or person who wants some insight into this relationship should pick up this book. It is a relationship that is having increasingly violent and tragic consequences (this study was inspired by the Columbine tragedy), consequences that parents and teachers can no longer ignore in the hope it will work itself out. 4 out of 5 textbooks Cindy Lynn Speer, GWN Reviewer April 25, 2003 “Children of Gaia” “Black Furies”“Bone Gnawers” Joe Gentile Moon Stone Books As with their Vampire: The Masquerade line of comics, these series of one shot deals are inspired by the White Wolf role playing game, and feature a different werewolf tribe. The Garou, as they are all called, live under the “veil,” in secret from human kind. They are in constant battle with the evil Wyrm, whose dark creatures desire to bring about the apocalypse. The Garou, in their various clans fight this, but are weakened by the fact they also fight each other. It is a tribal, mystical world, where every shape-shifter is a warrior in the fight for their honor, their totem, and their clan’s survival. In “Bone Gnawers” we are introduced to a quirky group of friends - Byron, Keats, Mary and Shelly. Like all of their clan, they took on names and personas from the past, in this case famous poets, while another group act like a bunch of 50’s motorcycle bad boys. While they are discussing things appropriate to their namesakes, they hear a pained howl. When they investigate, they find themselves in time to hear the dying words on an elder from another clan. He describes how he was captured and used as part of an evil experiment, to find a “cure” to his shape-shifting condition. They take this news to their caern, but are distracted by the annual hide and seek. Further news, however, will bind them together to fight the most dangerous threat to their kind yet. This was my favorite story of the three because there is so much character. It’s a lot friendlier than the others, because of the light heartedness of the tribe, and the rivalries between the groups. The rivalries aren’t real serious...and so they create a harmless sort of tense interaction that adds to the mood. With a series set up such as this, you only get a short amount of time to spend with certain characters...so I can truly say, I missed these four when the book ended, and wanted to see more. Steve Ellis’s style was perfect for this, the evil bad guys looked truly vile, and the art was expressive in such a way that it really fit the overall feel. “The Black Furies” is a much darker comic. Libra’s human sister is beaten by her boyfriend, and Libra wants to punish him. She talks to her clan, a tough group of women that she has been friends with for years, have formed the core of her existence. Their desire to help Libra’s sister may well be the destruction of them all, and will set Libra on a path to a new destiny. Now, to say that they look like, and act like, a girl gang may seem stereotypical. I think it was intentional on the writer’s part, and I think it was an important and savvy move. The five of them are tough, warriors because they have to be -- they bind together, and each serves their own purpose, according to their moon sign. They have a great deal of strength and loyalty, and welcome fights...to the detriment of good sense. It is an interesting take because when you think of furies, you usually think of the Greek myth...Gentile, but urbanizing these five women, giving them the clothes and the look of tough, urban women takes us out of the stereotype. He also brings, in all three issues, a mix of racial backgrounds, busting the cultural vision of the werewolf as being a skulking white guy. This book exemplifies what the Black Furies could be, and their place in the Garou society. Eddy Newell’s art is amazing...the book is drawn in gray tones that give everything a soft feel, even while the lack of color punctuates the harder message of the story. “The Children of Gaia” is about Trick, whose search to understand his past becomes a battle to save his own people from being revealed to the media, as his mentor, Light Bringer, attempts to betray his own kind. (Thinking of other well known stories, why am I not surprised that a character called Light Bringer is a traitor? Nifty Easter egg.) I found the idea that this group is attempting to bring about peace through battle interesting. The group, called the “Peace mercenaries” often has tensions within themselves as newcomer Dove, a quiet, gentle man, disagrees with the increasingly aggressive actions of Silencer. People -- or Garou -- who fight battles in the hope of creating peace are often at risk of finding themselves unable to stop fighting. I liked Terry DeCaire’s action filled art, although I did wonder why the lady werewolf, when she transformed, kept her top and boots, but lost her pants?
There are not enough werewolf stories out in the world, and this series, using a rich and very clearly marked out world fills that need in an interesting and original way. 4 out of 5 moons Cindy Lynn Speer, GWN Book
Reviewer Rich Koslowski Top Shelf Productions Trade Paper 1-891830-90-0 $14.95 137 pages Rickey Rat was one of the most popular Toon star to ever see the silver screen. He had it all -- looks, a sense of humor, and a remarkable personality that easily drew people to theaters. But why? Why did this Toon of all the others rise to fame? And why were fellow Toon actors who had just as much talent doomed to failure? Scandal, and the words “The Ritual” would stalk Ricky all his life, shadowing his career and asking questions that were never satisfactorily answered. Three Fingers is a documentary style look at Ricky, and his human partner, Desmond “Dizzy” Walters, who would gain an empire from Ricky’s hard work. The list of faces that are interviewed are very familiar -- Carhorn Armwhistle, a rooster who seems to yell everything he says, the bitter Portly Pig, and the snide, smoke jacket clad Buggy Bunny. The characters are very familiar, and each is so cleverly done so that, even though their identities are changed to protect copyright, you know exactly who Koslowski is talking about. Whether he’s interviewing Toon actors, executives or historians, Koslowski’s characterization of them is flawless. Anyone who has sat down to watch an episode of Nova or a Ken Burns documentary is familiar with the format: talking heads, voiceovers and photographs. His treatment, from art to dialogue manages to poke a little bit of fun at this format while keeping the whole of what he is doing intact. While the feel of tongue and cheek to what he's doing makes the story a lot of fun to read, he never goes too far with it. Even while you’re waiting to see what character he is going to interview next, he’s never over the top...his light handedness with these elements are wise, as they keep the story strong and interesting. He also has some interesting things to say about fame, and about what lengths people are willing to go to gain it, especially in the movie industry. In here is where we get our sharpest edges of satire. How different are these Toon stars from the actors of today? We have people starving themselves to fit the proper Hollywood look, getting themselves trimmed and tucked into a mold of what the studios see as what the viewers want. We look back at stars such as Rita Hayworth, who had so many things done to her to make her ”acceptable” to standards, and think how terrible it is. Yet today, when we are in a more “enlightened” age, the same thing -- and worse, thanks to new technologies -- are still going on. Koslowski, in his depiction of the ritual, says much the same thing.
The combination of pencil and pen and ink art is very cool. The pencil portraits of the interviews are both very suggestive of the character, and lend a softness to the person that feels more round, more like skin. The ink and was photographs are well rendered, and the choice of this medium nicely separates them from the interview footage panels. He is a very talented, very realistic artist. His pictures of Marilynn Monroe and other historical figures are lovely and his portrayals of the Toons are clever and deft. 4 out of 5 inkwells, Cindy Lynn Speer, GWN
Book Reviewer 11/22/2002 |