Joe Hill has written a classic work of Fantasy and Horror with his new novel NOS4A2. The novel is an epic battle of Good vs. Evil, filled with dark, disturbing imagery and original characters who stay in your mind.
NOS4A2 is the license plate on an ancient Rolls Royce with the model name of The Wraith. Nosferatu is also the German word for vampire. The Wraith is driven by a diabolical, inhuman fiend named Charles Manx, who abducts children in the car, then feeds off their souls to keep himself young. Manx takes them to his hideous alternate world called Christmasland, which none of the undead children will ever leave.
Working to stop Manx is Vic McQueen, first as a young girl, then later as an adult woman. Trying to aid Vic is the touching figure of Maggie Leigh, a troubled, stammering girl librarian and offbeat psychic.
The conception of Christmasland is a nightmarish, original invention. So too are the garrulous, malevolent Charles Manx and his childish, sadistic henchman Bing Partridge. The most grotesque character of all is the car itself, NOS4A2, a unique horror creation in its own right.
NOS4A2 is a remarkable work of dark imagination. But the novel is also a profound metaphor for the real life crimes of child abduction, abuse, and exploitation worldwide.
It took Joe Hill two years to write this huge work. He put a lot into it and it shows. NOS4A2 is highly recommended.
BEACH RATING: 4 Palm Trees
Friday, June 14, 2013
Saturday, April 20, 2013
WORLD WAR Z a Documentary Horror Novel
World War Z by Max Brooks is a horror novel about a worldwide plague that turns the infected into living dead predators. The novel is written in documentary fashion, from first hand personal reports, giving it a credible, immediate realism. If Michael Crichton ever wrote a science-based zombie novel, this would be it.
World War Z stands apart from other typical zombie tales in the way it explores scientific issues, government actions, and the military program to exterminate the infected hordes. Another difference is that these predators are fast moving, tenacious, and work together in cooperative masses to overrun everything. This is a big canvas portrayal of how the plague sweeps around the world, doing massive damage to human society. The novel recalls other pandemic thrillers like Contagion and 28 Days Later.
The movie version of World war Z is scheduled to be released this June and could be a summer box office hit. Read the chilling, addictive novel first to get a sneak preview.
BEACH RATING: 4 Palm Trees
World War Z stands apart from other typical zombie tales in the way it explores scientific issues, government actions, and the military program to exterminate the infected hordes. Another difference is that these predators are fast moving, tenacious, and work together in cooperative masses to overrun everything. This is a big canvas portrayal of how the plague sweeps around the world, doing massive damage to human society. The novel recalls other pandemic thrillers like Contagion and 28 Days Later.
The movie version of World war Z is scheduled to be released this June and could be a summer box office hit. Read the chilling, addictive novel first to get a sneak preview.
BEACH RATING: 4 Palm Trees
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
Inspector Rebus Is Back in New Ian Rankin Mystery
Author Ian Rankin brings back his iconic character, Inspector John Rebus of the Edinburgh Police, in the chilling new mystery Standing in Another Man's Grave.
Rebus officially retired several years ago, but he's back working as a civilian consultant on a police cold case team. Here, he is drawn into the disappearances of a series of women along the same stretch of isolated country highway.
Rebus begins to suspect that a serial killer is at work. But as he digs deeper into the case, he runs up against the resentment of police force members who may not want him to solve a mystery that they could not. Rebus plunges ahead anyway with his usual tactless attitude, like a rude bulldozer that won't be stopped.
The plot is gripping, but the real pleasure of the novel is watching the character of Rebus himself, with his deep cynicism and his sardonic remarks. John Rebus is one of the most entertaining continuing characters in a crime series, along with Michael Connelly's Harry Bosch and Jo Nesbo's Harry Hole.
Standing in Another Man's Grave is a first rate read for mystery fans.
BEACH RATING: 4 Palm Trees
Rebus officially retired several years ago, but he's back working as a civilian consultant on a police cold case team. Here, he is drawn into the disappearances of a series of women along the same stretch of isolated country highway.
Rebus begins to suspect that a serial killer is at work. But as he digs deeper into the case, he runs up against the resentment of police force members who may not want him to solve a mystery that they could not. Rebus plunges ahead anyway with his usual tactless attitude, like a rude bulldozer that won't be stopped.
The plot is gripping, but the real pleasure of the novel is watching the character of Rebus himself, with his deep cynicism and his sardonic remarks. John Rebus is one of the most entertaining continuing characters in a crime series, along with Michael Connelly's Harry Bosch and Jo Nesbo's Harry Hole.
Standing in Another Man's Grave is a first rate read for mystery fans.
BEACH RATING: 4 Palm Trees
Monday, November 26, 2012
Best Mystery and Crime Novels of 2012
2012 saw the release of some outstanding novels in the Mystery genre. Here are the picks by this Blog for best of the year:
The Leopard by Jo Nesbo - A chilling new entry in the series that features Oslo police detective Harry Hole. This one is a near-epic hunt for a serial killer who uses a fiendish device called the Leopold Apple on his victims. A gripping and psychologically complex narrative of Harry's obsessive pursuit of the killer. Jo Nesbo's novels are rich in character and twisted, big canvas plots. This crime thriller was the best read of the year.
The Black Box by Michael Connelly - LAPD detective Harry Bosch returns to investigate the cold case of a female journalist murdered twenty years before during the 1992 Rodney King trial riots in the city. As Bosch digs deeper into the death, seemingly mundane threads weave together to link to powerful people and a past war crime. A solid and methodical police procedural, with Michael Connelly writing at his satisfying best.
Defending Jacob by William Landay - Both a riveting legal mystery and a troubling picture of a family cracking apart under the stress of a murder indictment against one of its members. The teenage son of a Boston Assistant D.A. is arrested for the bloody murder of a classmate. Jacob insists he is innocent, but his worried parents face mounting doubts. The novel is a compelling, disturbing read with a hideous twist at the end. A can't-put-down plot and a tense moral puzzle. Outstanding.
The Expats by Chris Pavone - An intriguing tangle of deception and an innovative take on the espionage novel. A woman who is a retired CIA covert agent begins to suspect that her husband may be involved in a secret life of his own. When the couple comes under surveillance by someone, alarm bells begin to ring. The plot is full of unexpected twists as each layer of lies is peeled away both within the couple's marriage and their covert lives, which have been kept secret from each other. An unpredictable and thoroughly enjoyable spy thriller read.
Raylan by Elmore Leonard - Best outing in years for crime writer Leonard as he brings back his iconic character, fast-draw U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens. Here Raylan is up against canny, treacherous offenders in backwoods Kentucky coal country. Full of the author's trademarks of dead-on dialogue, oddball criminal types, and quick, lethal violence. An entertaining treat for Elmore Leonard fans.
Honorable Mention - Broken Harbor by Tana French, The Fear Index by Robert Harris, Driven by James Sallis.
The Leopard by Jo Nesbo - A chilling new entry in the series that features Oslo police detective Harry Hole. This one is a near-epic hunt for a serial killer who uses a fiendish device called the Leopold Apple on his victims. A gripping and psychologically complex narrative of Harry's obsessive pursuit of the killer. Jo Nesbo's novels are rich in character and twisted, big canvas plots. This crime thriller was the best read of the year.
The Black Box by Michael Connelly - LAPD detective Harry Bosch returns to investigate the cold case of a female journalist murdered twenty years before during the 1992 Rodney King trial riots in the city. As Bosch digs deeper into the death, seemingly mundane threads weave together to link to powerful people and a past war crime. A solid and methodical police procedural, with Michael Connelly writing at his satisfying best.
Defending Jacob by William Landay - Both a riveting legal mystery and a troubling picture of a family cracking apart under the stress of a murder indictment against one of its members. The teenage son of a Boston Assistant D.A. is arrested for the bloody murder of a classmate. Jacob insists he is innocent, but his worried parents face mounting doubts. The novel is a compelling, disturbing read with a hideous twist at the end. A can't-put-down plot and a tense moral puzzle. Outstanding.
The Expats by Chris Pavone - An intriguing tangle of deception and an innovative take on the espionage novel. A woman who is a retired CIA covert agent begins to suspect that her husband may be involved in a secret life of his own. When the couple comes under surveillance by someone, alarm bells begin to ring. The plot is full of unexpected twists as each layer of lies is peeled away both within the couple's marriage and their covert lives, which have been kept secret from each other. An unpredictable and thoroughly enjoyable spy thriller read.
Raylan by Elmore Leonard - Best outing in years for crime writer Leonard as he brings back his iconic character, fast-draw U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens. Here Raylan is up against canny, treacherous offenders in backwoods Kentucky coal country. Full of the author's trademarks of dead-on dialogue, oddball criminal types, and quick, lethal violence. An entertaining treat for Elmore Leonard fans.
Honorable Mention - Broken Harbor by Tana French, The Fear Index by Robert Harris, Driven by James Sallis.
Monday, October 15, 2012
PHANTOM By Jo Nesbo a Must-Read Crime Thriller
The new Jo Nesbo work Phantom is a must-read for crime novel fans. The novel is the latest in a series that features Oslo police detective Harry Hole, who appeared in the previous outstanding novels The Snowman and The Leopard.
This time, Harry isn't hunting for a serial killer, but is on a more personal quest. A young man Harry is close to is arrested for murder. Harry digs into the case, even though he is not currently on official police duty.
The case takes him into the murky, violent world of drug smugglers who exploit the spreading heroin addiction problem in European countries. The drug ring is led by a mastermind phantom known as Dubai. The smugglers even have a planted mole inside the Oslo police. Enemies who cross the ring are dealt with using a diabolical device called The Beetle.
As Harry Hole keeps hunting for the identity of Dubai, the case takes him toward awful truths he doesn't want to know. He must face at last the inner demons that now lead him to a final dark end. Phantom is a tense crime thtiller that doesn't disappoint and another winner for Jo Nesbo.
BEACH RATING: 4 Palm Trees
This time, Harry isn't hunting for a serial killer, but is on a more personal quest. A young man Harry is close to is arrested for murder. Harry digs into the case, even though he is not currently on official police duty.
The case takes him into the murky, violent world of drug smugglers who exploit the spreading heroin addiction problem in European countries. The drug ring is led by a mastermind phantom known as Dubai. The smugglers even have a planted mole inside the Oslo police. Enemies who cross the ring are dealt with using a diabolical device called The Beetle.
As Harry Hole keeps hunting for the identity of Dubai, the case takes him toward awful truths he doesn't want to know. He must face at last the inner demons that now lead him to a final dark end. Phantom is a tense crime thtiller that doesn't disappoint and another winner for Jo Nesbo.
BEACH RATING: 4 Palm Trees
Wednesday, September 5, 2012
Horror Movies - A Dying Genre?
Back in 2009, this blog did a post asking if the Horror movie genre had itself become one of the walking dead lately. Not much has changed since then.
We still get too much recycling of well-worn stereotype plots. How many more vampire and zombie retreads do we need to see? How many more formula slasher movies that kill off victims by ever-gorier methods?
Occasionally, a fresh new take on horror themes will appear. The creepy paranoia of The Ring, an import from Japanese horror films. The pandemic hysteria of 28 Days Later. The claustrophobic intensity of Blair Witch Project and Paranormal Activity.
Sadly, these inventive breakthroughs are all too rare. Last year's Insidious was an unsettling portrayal of hidden demonic forces around us. 2012 has so far offered only Cabin in the Woods, a sardonic commentary on the empty nihilism of the whole slasher movie format.
If the Horror movie genre is to revitalize itself, it needs to get off a stale, dead-end road and find vivid new ways to portray the elemental fears of human existence in modern society. That's what the Horror genre is there for, after all.
We still get too much recycling of well-worn stereotype plots. How many more vampire and zombie retreads do we need to see? How many more formula slasher movies that kill off victims by ever-gorier methods?
Occasionally, a fresh new take on horror themes will appear. The creepy paranoia of The Ring, an import from Japanese horror films. The pandemic hysteria of 28 Days Later. The claustrophobic intensity of Blair Witch Project and Paranormal Activity.
Sadly, these inventive breakthroughs are all too rare. Last year's Insidious was an unsettling portrayal of hidden demonic forces around us. 2012 has so far offered only Cabin in the Woods, a sardonic commentary on the empty nihilism of the whole slasher movie format.
If the Horror movie genre is to revitalize itself, it needs to get off a stale, dead-end road and find vivid new ways to portray the elemental fears of human existence in modern society. That's what the Horror genre is there for, after all.
Wednesday, August 8, 2012
Best Hard Boiled Crime Writers Out There
The hard boiled crime genre is a harsh, unsparing one populated with morally crippled characters, gritty street realism, and outbreaks of sudden, graphic violence. The genre's bloodlines run through the classic works of Jim Thompson, George V. Higgins, and James Ellroy.
Here are three of the best hard boiled crime writers working today:
George Pelecanos - His novels are set in Washington D.C., but not in the world of big time politics. This world is one of working class streets, gang turf, and small time hoods with vicious ambitions. A series of novels feature streetwise former cop Derek Strange, beginning with Right As Rain. The author's recent novel The Cut introduces a new character, Spero Lucas, an Iraq war veteran and freelance investigator who will work for almost anyone, including local criminal types.
Pelecanos writes with a clean, razor-sharp style that seems to move with an effortless momentum through the hard-edged stories that he tells.
James Sallis - Author of the novel Drive and its sequel Driven, whose main character is known only as Driver. He works as a movie stunt driver and sometimes makes side money driving in robbery jobs for crime gangs. Sometimes, those jobs go bad.
The novels are brute, existentialist parables. Driver lives day-to-day. He defines himself only by his actions to survive in the moment, whatever that uncertain next moment may be, Stay alive, keep moving somewhere.
That restless, spontaneous movement is a metaphor for the character and for the novels themselves. Sallis writes with an ice-cold minimalism that embodies the bleak, violence-spotted road that Driver travels down.
Dennis Lehane - His work is set in the rough-edged blue collar neighborhoods of south Boston -- areas of worn brick tenements, raw red complexions, and shabby local bars filled with tired, embittered patrons. A petty crime act is only a step away for people who don't have much to begin with.
An ongoing series of novels features private eye Patrick Kensie and his partner, and later wife, Angela Gennaro. The series includes the classic Gone, Baby, Gone and its recent sequel Moonlight Mile.
Central to the novels is the sardonic narrative voice of Kensie and how changes in his new family situation with Gennaro and their small daughter affect his philosophy in facing the brutal violence he encounters in his work.
Here are three of the best hard boiled crime writers working today:
George Pelecanos - His novels are set in Washington D.C., but not in the world of big time politics. This world is one of working class streets, gang turf, and small time hoods with vicious ambitions. A series of novels feature streetwise former cop Derek Strange, beginning with Right As Rain. The author's recent novel The Cut introduces a new character, Spero Lucas, an Iraq war veteran and freelance investigator who will work for almost anyone, including local criminal types.
Pelecanos writes with a clean, razor-sharp style that seems to move with an effortless momentum through the hard-edged stories that he tells.
James Sallis - Author of the novel Drive and its sequel Driven, whose main character is known only as Driver. He works as a movie stunt driver and sometimes makes side money driving in robbery jobs for crime gangs. Sometimes, those jobs go bad.
The novels are brute, existentialist parables. Driver lives day-to-day. He defines himself only by his actions to survive in the moment, whatever that uncertain next moment may be, Stay alive, keep moving somewhere.
That restless, spontaneous movement is a metaphor for the character and for the novels themselves. Sallis writes with an ice-cold minimalism that embodies the bleak, violence-spotted road that Driver travels down.
Dennis Lehane - His work is set in the rough-edged blue collar neighborhoods of south Boston -- areas of worn brick tenements, raw red complexions, and shabby local bars filled with tired, embittered patrons. A petty crime act is only a step away for people who don't have much to begin with.
An ongoing series of novels features private eye Patrick Kensie and his partner, and later wife, Angela Gennaro. The series includes the classic Gone, Baby, Gone and its recent sequel Moonlight Mile.
Central to the novels is the sardonic narrative voice of Kensie and how changes in his new family situation with Gennaro and their small daughter affect his philosophy in facing the brutal violence he encounters in his work.
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