"Well then, if my identity lies in books, let's go read me a life."

 

 

I just finished another light read in between some heavy research and non-fiction stuff. This is a novel written about Sherlock Holmes and his arch nemesis Professor Moriarty. This book is not written by Holmes’ creator, Arthur Conan Doyle, but it was one of the many modern day narratives written in an attempt to keep the spirit and story of the genius detective alive.

John King did a pretty good job of staying true to the original version of Holmes but it helps if you have read the originals extensively because then you can project the real essence of Holmes into the story to keep it as true as can be. Reading this book is sort of like watching the modern movie adaptations. The director and in this case the writer can put their own spin onto the character and portray him is they see the vision. Robert Downey Jr. and Benedict Cumberbatch have done phenomenal versions of Holmes within the last 5 years but it is not necessarily the exact version that Conan Doyle created in the late 1880’s.

The narrative for this new adventure is an interesting one continuing on from the final dual of Sherlock Holmes and his equally brilliant rival James Moriarty. In the original series the two meet at the top of Reichenbach Falls for their final duel, with both being plunged over the side of the cliff, seemingly to their death. Holmes’ truest companion John Watson even thinks he is dead and is a deep state of grief. However, both men survive and continue their chess match of wits. This story tells us the story of Moriarty’s wife Susanna and daughter Anna while trying to explain how we went from revered master scholar to ruthless crime boss.

 

As a fan of all things Sherlock Holmes (I did name my dog Watson after all) this was a fun extension of the sleuth’s adventures. The collection of original Holmes stories is obviously a classic but it is nice to step outside of it a bit and read it with a modern flare. It is helping filling the gaping hole in my soul that keeps growing waiting for season 3 of PBS’ series Sherlock to come back.

How do Sherlock and Moriarty survive the fall? Can equations and science predict the activities of London’s criminal underground? Do Holmes and his companions bring an end to the terror of Moriarty? Find out in The Shadow of Reichenbach Falls by John R. Smith

If one choice can change your life, one choice can destroy it.

Insurgent continues the reader on our journey with Beatrice 'Tris' Prior in her struggles to define herself and the world she is living in. Book two, in this as yet incomplete trilogy, picks up exactly where Divergent leaves off with so many questions unanswered. Having survived the intentionally deadly simulation brought on by Jeanine Matthews, Beatrice and her boyfriend/protector/partner Tobias Eaton try to unravel the mysteries of faction life and to do so they need to rely on every aptitude of there personality and dig through some very painful memories to put the pieces of this far reaching plan of destruction together.

Insurgent brings a lot of the same action as Divergent which makes them flow seamlessly as if they were all one book. The pace is swift which correlates with what is happening to the characters so at times you feel yourself on a frantic pace of energy and curiosity which makes for entertaining reading.

Also in Insurgent we start to see more of Tris and Tobias' personalities and start to understand a bit more of their intentions and motivations. I think in a very small way this book falls into the trap of middle series in that it not only has to keep the narrative going from the first book but it also has to set up the last book which is a very difficult thing for a writer to accomplish. There are points where I feel my interests waining for the smallest of margins and I think I lose the characters a little. That may also be because I read book 1 and 2 back to back so maybe I was on overload. I think I would still have these moments if I had read a buffer book but not as badly.

Overall Insurgent takes us deeper into our characters and their struggle. It leaves you before you're ready for it to and the wait until book three seems like an eternity now that I'm ready for it. I am looking forward to the conclusion of the Divergent story in the currently unnamed third book which is slated to release October 22, 2013.

At least by the time the movie releases in Spring 2014, I will have the full story and have had time to anticipate seeing it on the big screen.

3.5 out of 5.

One choice can change your life.

I think I may have stumbled upon something good with this one. No, I'm not the first to realize it seeing as this series is coming to the big screen at the end of the year and is already well known in the Young Adult community, but better late than never.

Divergent by Veroinca Roth is the first book in a trilogy centering on our young hero Beatrice. The story tells of a society broken up into factions that are designated based on personality traits. You have Candor who are truthful, Erudite who are intelligent, Dauntless who value courage above all, Abnegation who are selfless to no end and Amity who are friendly and peaceful. Upon a person's 16th birthday they take an aptitude test that classifies them into one of these categories but ultimately they get to choose where they want to go and make their new lives. The underlying message to this book is that one choice can change everything.

Once a faction has been chosen, the child becomes an initiate and must go through trials and training to learn the way of life of their new home. If they do not make the cut, they become factionless and are slated to a life of poverty on the streets with no identity. Each faction runs a portion of society based on their values and supposedly this keeps things under control and peaceful.

Beatrice struggles with her choice after she's made it and is constantly wondering if she made the right one or if her true intentions will give her away as a fake. When a manufactured revolution breaks out among two factions, Beatrice will rely on all aspects of her personality regardless of what category she is boxed into in order to save the citizens of all factions. In her quest for self discovery she finds love, friendship and a courage she never knew she had.

You may be reading this and thinking it sounds a lot like the Hunger Games Trilogy and I'm not going to lie to you there are a lot of overlapping  similarities. They are both post modern societies with governmental unrest, with a young girl as the main character who is proving to everyone and most importantly herself that she is strong enough to handle anything. I loved the Hunger Games trilogy so I really enjoyed the first book in this one. I think if you can mentally separate the two and not compare you will enjoy it as well.

Also with reading this book you will be ahead of the trend when it comes back into popular culture with force when the movie is released. Reading it now will put you ahead of the curve and you will be able to delve into book two, Insurgent, to kill time waiting for the movie to come out.

The third and final book in the series is still unnamed and does not release until October of 2013 so you can build a little suspense and make the conclusion that much sweeter by reading them now.

Gospel re-imagined.

 

 

 

I have had a string of less than stellar fiction reads lately so it was time to switch it up. I went for a compilation of short stories by Jonathan Goldsteing entitled "Ladies and Gentleman, The Bible." I find religion to be a fascinating, yet enraging concept so it is rather interesting that I read so much about it. I have no religious affiliations, in fact if asked I would say I'm an atheist. I read about religion and religious materials in an attempt to understand the fervor people hold and also to have the knowledge to sustain and intelligent and non emotional conversation if ever they do arise, which they often do.

What Goldstein does in this book is take some of the more famous stories of the Bible and re writes them in a satirical way. He does not rail against them in a way that makes a mokery out of them so much as he just modernizes and re imagines them. He says that David fought Goliath because he was an aspiring comedian and thought that killing a giant with a stone would be the most hilarious thing the people had ever seen. He enlightens us on Jonah's time in the whale, Samson and Delilahs relationship and the true happenings in the saga that is Jacob and Esau.

This book is nothing to go yelling at the moon about but it was funny and made for some enjoyable light reading. I finished it in about a day and a half and it served as a great bridge into my next book. It's one of those that you find on the discount shelf at your local bookstore and hang onto because it's interesting enough and it's cheap. If you happen to come across it on sale go for it.

Lord Cromwell's man at your service

I wavered back and forth on deciding to read this book and unfortunately came out on the losing end. It is a murder/mystery which I hate but was set in Tudor era England with Thomas Cromwell as a key player in the story so I thought my love for historical fiction and the Tudor era would make a murder mystery enjoyable...I was wrong.
 
Dissolution  by C.J. Sansom tells the story of hunchbacked lawyer Matthew Shardlake who, under Thomas Cromwell's commission, is sent to Scarnsea to investigate the murder of a fellow commissioner who went there to investigate forgery and corruption within the monastery. When word got back to Cromwell that his man had been murdered, he wanted it investigated quickly and quietly with the intention that not only would the murderer be found, but that enough evidence would be uncovered to shut down this major Benedictine house of prayer as falls in line with King Henry's latest whims in the way of reformist religion. The idea that a man of the cloth would be the murder brought all the more intensity to the search as Cromwell saw it as corruption and use it as further evidence to support closing all the houses of prayer across the English countryside. As a week came and went with nothing significant in the way of progress made, Cromwell reminds Shardlake that he has the power not only to create reputations and rankings, but the absolute power to destroy them as well. Shardlake returns with a startling revelation as to who the killer is an has to bid his time wisely in order to make an arrest of this dangerous and unlikely killer.
 
There is nothing inherently wrong with this story other than changing the time period and mixing in some new names and you have any other mass market murder mystery story. The investigator runs into blocks in the investigation, his life becomes endangered as he comes closer to the truth, and in the end he puts the pieces together and like magic the mystery is solved and the investigator reminisces on the danger and conflict of the situation hoping to never repeat it again. Predictable. 
 
I do have to give Sansom major credit though for tackling a period piece. When you write about another era the writer essentially has to become a historian. They need to know the details of it all down to the minute details of costume in order for the story to be as accurate as fiction is meant to be. In this case Sansom blended historical knowledge with crime drama seamlessly. For that I do applaud his work. The story held my interest on the historical side because it portrays the turmoil of the time period alongside the drama of a fictional murder. It takes place right after the execution of Anne Boleyn and sheds light on the details of the execution while also delving into the conflict of Henry's reformation of England and disbandment of the Catholic Monasteries which is one of the most far reaching, world changing acts in recent human history.
 
 
For this book I would say if you enjoy the Patterson, Child, Flynn type of fiction then this one will fall right in line with that bringing along the history of the early 1500's. If you're like me and hate them, then will you'll probably not like this one either. This review comes completely down to a matter of personal taste and for me I just did not enjoy it.

Land of oppurtunity?

 

 

 

 

Round three of book club and I Love Yous are for White People was brought to us courtesy of Ms. DeHaven. The memoir by Lac Su is the story of his escape from Communist Vietnam when he was 3 to the seedy and gang ridden streets of Hollywood. Lac had a severe man for a father who brought the old world traditions of beatings and humiliation as a form of child rearing with him to this new world.

Lac grew up seeking the approval of his father so severely that when he didn't get it, it caused him to rebel in an equally severe way. He got in with the wrong crowd at a very early age and starting participating in the lively gang culture of the area. He escaped Vietnam under gunfire at 3, saw a man stabbed on this doorstep at 5, and his uncle molest him at 7. He stole from his parents, beat a fellow classmate close to death, got himself beat close to death and really made just about every wrong decision he could when the opportunities presented themselves.

His upbringing didn't give him much to lean on but I am a firm believer that at some point you make your own decisions and cannot blame everything on the mistakes or shortcomings of others. He may have had no hands up in early life but he also didn't have anyone making the decision but himself.

As far as book club went I think we all had mixed feelings. We thought the story was lacking in continuity with large chunks of time missing where Lac would mention something about a younger sibling and you couldn't recall ever hearing about one being born. We all agreed the writing quality was not superb but it made for a more conversational type read which made it quick and easy. Several of us felt that the whole point of this story was lost because there was no explanation of Lac's redemption in life. He is currently a respected professional in a large company with a wife and children which is commendable because of how successfully he turned his life around but we didn't get to hear that part of the story. There was no explanation of how he broke free from the violence and gangs and no talk of his relationship with his father now that he is an adult and that ruined the story for us. The build up of the negative created a ripe environment for the positive that is his current life and yet we got to experience none of the triumph and it really turned us off. Overall it was a good pick because there is never a negative to learning about other people's ways of life and where they come from. I don't know what LA gang culture is like first hand but I have no knowledge about them now from reading this book. Anytime we as people can be exposed to new things is always an opportunity for learning and people who love to read get that experience daily.

This was an interesting story of an interesting life. I'm generally not a huge fan of memoirs so it's hard to enthusiastically recommend this one but there is nothing glaringly negative about it. There are better written, just as interesting stories out there though to enjoy.

Fun fact; we did learn what the difference between an auto-biography and a memoir is. An auto-biography tends to be about the person's whole life whereas a memoir deals with a certain period of time of section of their life.