Review: Deadlocked by Charlaine Harris

I discovered the Sookie Stackhouse series (Southern Vampire Mysteries) last fall and whizzed through 11 of the novels. They were pure fun to read and not my usual fare. I recall I was in "the curve" of the semester, where the newness had worn off, and I needed a mental snack break. The Sookie Stackhouse series was just the pick-me-up I needed.

Heretofore, the mystery in each story has held my attention. But in Deadlocked the mystery lagged a bit. The who-done-it was obvious and the suspense of watching the culprit outed wasn't as suspenseful as I'd liked. Sookie's relationship status didn't help much either. She's waiting for him to commit. He's waiting for her to commit. Lots of distrust. The novel is aptly named -- Deadlocked. Everyone is waiting for someone else to make the first move.

Several story lines fizzle out in this novel which makes for a downer read. Many of my favorite characters do put in appearances so that was nice. And Harris' writing style is fluid and makes for an easy, fun reading experience. There were answers in this novel but few conclusions...I guess that's why it's a series!

If you like Southern Vampire stories I recommend the series. Neither romance nor mystery are my usual reading choices but I have enjoyed Harris' characters and sense of humor and have picked up a few books  from her other mystery series (non-vampire related) to read.

Publisher: Ace, 2012     Pages: 336
Rating: 3 Stars     Source: public library

Review: Exposure by Mal Peet

When I picked up Exposure at the library I internally groaned and several fears cropped up before I got past the book jacket blurb. First of all, it has sports in it and I don’t “do” sports. And not just any sport but soccer (yeah, I'm American =) of which I know nothing about. Then I made the connection to Shakespeare’s Othello and worried about having not read the play. Then there was a celeb chick on the cover in a strappy dress and dangly earrings.  Exposure was nothing I expected and I thoroughly enjoyed it. At every chapter I expected the themes to shallow or the prose to deteriorate. The prose was excellent throughout. The themes were dealt with realistically despite the unusual and extravagant lifestyles of the characters. Celebrity is an unusual phenomenon, especially when popular individuals do not seek fame or do nothing particularly excellent to warrant huge fan bases. The novel explores the phenomenon of fame and how people come into it and how they deal with it. Dezi and Otello seemed like real people coping as best they could in situations they never expected to be in.

Summary:"This is the third "Paul Faustino" novel by multi-award-winning Mal Peet. A massive soccer star has it all, but someone is plotting his downfall...Revered as a national hero...married to the desirable Desmerelda...cherished by the media...soccer star, Otello, has it all. But a sensational club transfer sparks a media frenzy, and when he is wrongly implicated in a scandal, the footballer's life turns into a tragic spiral of destruction. South America's top sports journalist, Paul Faustino, witnesses the power of the media in making and breaking people's lives." "

Teenagers, much like Bianca (a teenage street rat), become enamored with celebrities. They look up to these fashionable trend setters with expensive toys who appear to have the world at their fingertips. With reality T.V. we do get a glimpse at some celebrities’ lives. But we know that they know we are watching and that they are being paid to perform a role that may or may not be who they are. Exposure shows a negative reality that accompanies fame which is often masked or overlooked in the media. By changing perspectives in the novel, seeing celebrities through the eyes of several characters from different walks of life, Peet shows the three dimensional lives of the rich and famous and the many people affected by their fame.

There are so many aspects of this book – the racial issues, the class divides, the consuming quest for success, balancing family relationships and literary comparisons – that make Exposure one I want teens to read. Luckily, I won’t feel like I’m pushing an “issue” book. Exposure is a mix of mystery, pop culture and foreign culture which was interesting to me. Being fun to read is the icing on the cake. There is great substance to the story but I still had fun reading it. Actually, I think Exposure is an excellent adult read, too. I'm looking forward to reading more by Peet!

This title counts towards the POC Reading Challenge!

Publisher: Candlewick, 2009     Pages: 448

Rating: 5 Stars     Source: IC Public Library

Review: The Athena Project by Brad Thor

From the inside cover: “When a terrorist attack in Rome kills more than twenty Americans, Athena Team members Gretchen Casey, Julie Ericsson, Megan Rhodes, and Alex cooper are tasked with hunting down the Venetian arms dealer responsible for providing the explosives. But there is more to the story than anyone knows.”

                                

The Athena Project is an interesting mix of science fiction, thriller, mystery and historical fiction. What I liked most about this book was the WWII back story of Nazi experiments which resurface in a horrifying way. The all-girl Delta Force team kicks butt all over Europe as they parachute, karate chop, BASE jump, kidnap and breach and clear bad guy hide outs… all while dressed to kill, in both senses of the phrase.  

The characters could have used a lot more development. Most of the time, the girls were little more than stereotypes. I felt this book might have been called “Bond Girls Strike Back.” The Athena team reminded me of Bond girls but with more brains. Do you remember Bambi and Thumper from Diamonds are Forever? The girl body guards whoop 007 up pretty good before Bond regains the upper hand…anyways! The Athena girls are about as shallow as the Bond girls but they get the job done for King and Country…except they’re not British but American. The slim character development was the only major problem I had with the book. I found the story interesting and exciting and there was plenty of action. Do be aware that this is the first of a trilogy; however, I think The Athena Project has good closure and works well as a standalone novel.

Some may recall that I’m not normally a mystery/thriller type of reader. In an earlier post I talked about how the covers don’t usually draw me in. I’ve only had fair success with the genre, generally feeling unaffected to mildly entertained when finished reading. So, I’m not the target audience. Nonetheless, I had fun reading this book. I can envision The Athena Project becoming a movie and won’t be surprised if it does become one someday.

Publisher: Atria Books, 2010      Pages: 324

Rating: 3 Stars                                Source: As a Shelf Awareness subscriber I received The Athena Project for free from the publisher. Thanks, Atria!

Guest Review: A Superior State of Affairs by Tom Maringer

My mom has provided a review for us today! She bumped into the author who, in addition to being a writer, is a geologist and fantasy coin and button maker. My mom collects buttons and rivets so she was very interested in Tom's work. But Mr. Maringer's book isn't about buttons... Here's Mom's review:

A Superior State of Affairs by Tom Maringer is a sci-fi mystery set in the year 2017 in a post-United States now know as the “North American Federation”.  Geologist “Digger” Puttonen has developed an invention that could change the world.  Arne Harjaala is an old drunk known for telling tales about the “old days” of mining.  But one evening when Digger hears Arne mention a 1906 mining disaster in which Arne is rescued by a “blue light”, Digger's interest is piqued.  That same night, Digger and Arne must fight for their lives, surviving a raging blizzard and the hostile pursuit of men out to silence Arne for good.  And, it seems like the whole world is set on procuring Digger and his invention in their quest for world-dominance.

This story is full of science and science fiction, intrigue, geography, and a cast of characters that runs the gamut from spies to Indians, assassins to politicians, and telepaths to psychopaths.  A lot of action is packed into a few short wintry days, along with a lesson in all things mining, which I found interesting and out of the norm from my reading regimen.  Before delving into the story, it would be helpful for the reader to get acquainted with the Glossary of Terms found in the appendix.

I enjoyed the basically good-guy image of Digger, and could relate to his “fight for the right”.  Each chapter is written from the point of view of just a few of the books' many characters, which is how so much action can take place over the space of a few days, in roughly 500 pages.

Themes such as “Big brother is watching you”, humanity vs. technology, and personal freedoms vs. the “common good” all intertwine in this imaginative thriller.  Some strong language and sexual situations make me suggest the 17+ crowd would be an appropriate audience. 
Publisher: AuthorHouse, 2004     
Source: purchased directly from the author via this website (you can get a signed copy this way).
Pages: 497     Additional Info on Tom Maringer 

Thanks for the review Mom!

The Good Thief by Hannah Tinti

For this text I will begin with the negative and move into the positive. That’s the simplest way, I think, to do a review for it.

This novel has been on my bookshelf for several months and, after a previous attempt to read it, I finally made a point to finish it. So, as you can imagine the text was not an attention grabber. Although I liked Ren, the twelve-year-old orphaned protagonist, I had a difficult time connecting with him and caring about what happened to him (or the rest of the characters). Tinti does a good job at capturing childhood in poverty. Ren is naive, likes to collect rocks and gets into fist fights with his friends – a pretty normal boy for the most part save his missing hand. The elements for character development are all there but maybe I’m too old (and perhaps being a girl doesn’t help me) to really connect with Ren. The story was a bit unbelievable but I could suspend my beliefs enough to enjoy the plot; however, the plot was predictable. When the answers behind Ren’s missing hand were revealed I felt disappointed. I don’t like being able to see every twist coming and I saw too many beforehand. And the ending is very happily ever after. Now, I do like happy endings, and not everything is perfect for Ren, but the ending seemed too good to be true (even with suspended beliefs). I did like Dolly, the good-hearted murderer (yes, the murderer was my favorite character). Otherwise the players in the plot didn’t do much to enhance the story for me. The real villains needed to be much darker and menacing. As to the prose, it is good in the sense that it is grammatically correct. But it stinks in the sense of enjoyable reading. Tinti can write very well but the prose was too standard and well, boring. I fell asleep reading more than once. There were some high moments when action started happening in which I became excited to read on. I kept thinking, ok, it’s going to get better now, but then those moments passed and it was a long time before another came along.

On to the positive. The Good Thief is a recipient of the Alex Award which, in a nut shell, is given to adult books which appeal to young adult readers (age 12-18). I can see this novel appealing to teachers who are tired of reading/teaching Oliver Twist. There are many similarities between the two novels: orphans, con-men, poverty. The depth of Dickens is hard to achieve and his work is definitely better. But I think many a ninth-grader would rather read Tinti than Dickens. I remember reading Oliver Twist as an adult and it was hard to get through. What I appreciate about YA in general (70% of the time, perhaps) and the Alex recipients (I’ve read two so far) is that the stories are fast passed, the foul language is toned down or non-existent and there are few if any “sex scenes.” These are not hard and fast guarantees but definitely factors that draw me to the genre. On top of these qualities, the Alex recipients I’ve read manage to retain an edginess – sometimes scary or unexpected moments – which I enjoy. I plan to read more in the future. I enjoyed the historical info on American dentistry and medicine during the 19th century which adds that edginess I mentioned (think cadavers). The story shows the resiliency of the human spirit and how one good deed can open the door to many positive outcomes. So, wrapping up, I liked this book for its potential to offer young adults different reading. But personally I wasn’t that into The Good Thief. I hope Tinti digs deeper into her writing well and comes back with something better.
Publisher: Dial Press Trade, 2008     Source: Barnes and Noble            Pages: 327
Rating: 3 Stars                                 Recommended Age: 14 and up

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

If I had to define this novel in one word it would be intrigue. There are layers of secrets that journalist Blomkvist is drawn into uncovering. Every truth he reveals leads him further down a dark tunnel in search of more answers. The novel is set in Sweden with two main threads – a family mystery and a corporate mystery – that bring Blomkvist and a young P.I. into an unlikely alliance.

I liked the character development and third person point of view in which the story is told. The narrative has several breaks within a chapter that visually signal a switch to another character. The narrator was at least semi-omniscient and could get inside the heads of characters, telling us what they thought and felt. It worked well and provided some irony. I feel mixed about Blomkvist’s characterization. Some of the women threw themselves at him and he gladly slept with them. It was a bit unrealistic. I really liked Salander, a.k.a. the girl with the dragon tattoo, and her quirky off-kilter personality. For the most part, the characters seemed like real individuals with personal problems like anybody else.

The writing was good and the book fun to read. One small annoyance was the foreign names. Usually, that sort of thing doesn’t bother me but these names were hard to keep straight because several characters go by more than one name/nickname. We call guys named William, Bill, which doesn’t make much sense. So, imagine such nicknames in a foreign language. For the first half of the novel I was trying to remember who people were and should have written their names down. There were a few spots that broke out of the normal narration, moments not exploring a character’s thoughts or actions, which felt like an unnecessary political spiel. It would have been enough to let the characters' thoughts about a situation stand on their own and left the narrator’s commentary out. But these out-of-character harangues were fairly brief and were not a big downer overall. It was nearly two hundred pages before I was hooked because, generally speaking, I am not that interested in financial scandals, with which the novel opens. But by page 200 I had to know the ending. There was a fairly intense scene that I didn’t see coming that kept me turning pages. After the cases were summed up I wanted to know more about the main characters. I am even interested in reading the sequel (not for awhile though. These are some big heavy books) so The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is a thumbs up for me.

THE MOVIE COMES OUT MARCH 19th IN SELECT THEATERS!! If you see the movie please let me know how it is. I live in a small town and will be lucky to see it on the big screen. Here's a link to the trailer:
http://dragontattoofilm.com/
Publisher: Knopf, 2008 (originally in Swedish in 2005)     Source: IC Public Library
Rating: 3.5 Stars                                                                Pages: 465