What a fascinating glimpse into the life and mind of Jim Jones..the infamous cult leader behind the Jonestown settlement in Guyana. Jones is probably most remembered for forcing the suicide (so...murder?) of his cult in 1978. He can also be credited with adding the phrase "drink the Kool Aid" to the pop culture lexicon thanks to killing his Peoples Temple members with the addition of cyanide poison into vats of Flavor Aid (a Kool Aid knock off). Jeff Guinn starts at the beginning -- with Jones's birth. It was so interesting to see the evolution of Jim Jones. We go from his childhood and eventual marriage to Marceline...to Jones's hopping around church denominations...to the establishment of the Peoples Temple...and then, ultimately, to Jonestown. One can easily find the horrific images of the aftermath at Jonestown...but HOW does it get to that point? Guinn sympathetically presents the information to where one feels sorrow at its culmination...as well as anger that it even happened. I will note that the book, while continually moving forward, does seem to stall out about halfway through. One can only state so many times how Jones was a bona fide con man during Temple services. Guinn presented Jim Jones's cancer "healing" trick on several occasions...each time presenting it like he hadn't already addressed it before. It just became a bit repetitive to continually visit service after service in town after town of Jones conning the service attendees. Once I was through that bit, however, the book picked back up as we sped toward Jonestown. Ultimately, this book documents a tragedy that is almost incomprehensible. How does one man control the minds of over 900 people to where they would kill themselves (some willingly, some not) just because he says so? Does absolute power corrupt absolutely? Or, was Jim Jones evil from the very beginning?
Rating:
0 Comments
What an unusual read....I'm not even sure how to describe it. Unexpected? Atmospheric? Bizarre? Enthralling? Confusing? Jarring? Weird? Vague? Excellent? Not sure... I have not read anything else by John Darnielle and I'd be curious to know if this fits the same "theme" as his other writing(s). Universal Harvester is very well-written. The characters are fascinating and Darnielle allows us just small glimpses of them before he moves to another aspect of the story. I was kept guessing as to what was happening in the immediate portion of the story...and for the story at large. I was expecting a thriller and a mystery, but I'm not sure that this is what that was. I do not want to give any spoilers as that would ruin the experience of the story...but this defied my expectations in many ways. Because of the vagueness of the story I think this book may frustrate some readers. Go into the story for an atmospheric read and let it take you where it will...expectations about genre or typical plot progression may cause the reader to be irritated at the pacing and story. I wasn't sure what I was going to read when I opened up the book...and I think that's the perfect start to a wonderfully weird story. Rating:
This was a fantastic read! This reads more like a piece of scandalous historical fiction/mystery rather than history. The characters (who actually existed) are colorful...their actions (which they actually did) are unbelievable...the outcome (which actually happened) is crazy. I was enthralled with the saga of Rudolf and Mary Vetsera from start to finish. It seemed like there were more twists and turns in this story than your average soap opera. I'm not that "up" on Hapsburg history so the Mayerling incident was completely new to me. I knew that the Hapsburgs had a sordid family tree full of intermarrying (and all the health ramifications that come with that), but Twilight provides a glimpse into just how twisted their family tree truly was. This is a "must read" for armchair historians, historical fiction or mystery fans, and anyone in between. The adage "you can't make this stuff up" comes to mind -- a fascinating and unbelievable chapter in the history of the Hapsburg empire. Rating:
An enjoyable glimpse into the life of the Prince of Wales that was equally entertaining, informative and boring...much like I imagine Charles to be in real life. Obviously sympathetic to Charles (especially during his Diana years), Smith was still fair enough to point out some flaws an irritations in Charles' manner and approach. The author spent more time on Diana, Camilla, William/Kate, and Harry than I thought the book warranted -- I signed up for a biography of Charles, not his family. It was interesting to hear about the Diana years through a view that was decidedly sympathetic to Charles. I've read plenty of Diana-themed material over the years and it was refreshing to get the "other side of the story" that presented the "People's Princess" in a more realistic light. If you read some biographies of Diana and then read Smith's account of Diana, I would imagine the reality falls somewhere in the middle. Passions and Paradoxes was an interesting glimpse behind the royal curtain into the life of the perpetual King-In-Waiting. It filled some holes about the Royal Family that I didn't know were empty. An enjoyable read for fans of the RF and/or aristocratic modern life. Rating:
I'll confess...I'm "over" the fairy tale retellings. BUT -- a retelling of Labyrinth?! Sign me up for that one. Before ever hearing him sing, I remember watching David Bowie as the Goblin King and Jennifer Connelly winding her way through the maze. Wintersong does not disappoint. I was hooked from start to finish. As far as fairy tale retellings go I think it was fairly standard. You knew you were reading about Labyrinth despite the changes throughout the story. The movie is so vivid in my mind, however, that it was hard to allow Wintersong's characters to have their own uniqueness and appearance. You say Goblin King and I instantly think of Jareth: ...not the Goblin King in Wintersong who's name plays a minor role in the plot line of the story. Jae-Jones also focuses a lot on music and music theory...which is delightfully different from many young adult novels. As a hobby musician who works in a music school, I really enjoyed seeing this light glimpse into music theory and composition. Wintersong was such a delight - both in its retelling of Labyrinth and in its freshness as a fairy tale retelling. I am looking forward to the sequel which should be released in 2018! Rating:
This was so enjoyable! I was in the mood for a good mystery and/or crime drama and this book filled both gaps. The characters were engaging and interesting and the small town element was fascinating. I enjoyed that just as much as I enjoyed the mystery element. The mystery itself was good -- it was actually two fold. We examine the mysterious deaths of Luke and his family in present day...while also flashing back to examine a mysterious death of one of Aaron's childhood friends. The two mysteries blended seamlessly together with the small town characters creating a rich story full of depth. I can't write too much about the story lest I give away spoilers (and that's the absolute worst...especially with a good mystery). So, long story short -- check out this book if you are in the mood for a good mystery with interesting characters. Rating:
This book is getting four stars based largely upon the strength of Christian Coulson who narrated the audiobook. You might know Coulson as the young Tom Marvolo Riddle in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. He was absolutely fantastic. He has the most pleasant voice that it made this book so enjoyable to listen to. As far as content goes, I found Gentleman's Guide to be pretty good. The characters were interesting and the plot, once it started moving, was decent. I was worried at first because it seemed like the book was just going to be Monty rhapsodizing about how amazingly good looking he was...and that got old really fast. In fact, I almost put the book down right before Monty steals the item that kicks the plot off...I'm glad I stuck it out, though, because it picked up from there. As has been my tendency of late with any historical fiction, let's talk about my biggest issue biggest issue with this genre...anachronism. When I read historical fiction I want the research of the time period and attention to detail to shine through the characters and setting. It drives me crazy when historical fiction is riddled with modern sentiment. Gentleman's Guide had a goodly amount of anachronisms sprinkled throughout that popped up every so often to annoy me. The strength of the writing and the fun characters (even though they were often the vehicles of the anachronisms) made the story worth continuing...I just wish authors would take the time to not promote modern themes in a historical fiction. (Although, part of me wonders if I can really complain about anachronisms in historical fiction when part of the plot centers around successful alchemy...which, while alchemy was an aspect of history, there's no proof it ever bore fruit...so would that make this a historical fantasy as opposed to a historical fiction which would then make my issue with anachronisms pointless? Don't know. I do know, however, that that was most likely a poorly written run-on sentence.) My complaint about anachronisms aside...<b>Gentleman's Guide</b> was a fun listen with solid character building. Can't speak to the print version, but definitely check out the audiobook for a fantastic listen. Young Tom Ridde does a great job with A Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue. Rating:
I won't lie...one of my primary motivators in attending YALLFest was that Jason Segal and Kirsten Miller would be keynote speakers. When YALLFest announced that they would be keynotes I was already intrigued by the premise of Otherworld (even though it was not yet published) and knew I would like to hear them speak about the book. Plus...I'm a fan of Segal's tv/movie credits as well so count that as a plus. While I ended up having mixed feelings about Otherworld (check out my review here), it was great meeting Jason Segal and Kirsten Miller. Their keynote panel was interesting (Segal even sang the Muppet song) and the meet and greet with them following the panel was great. Definitely the highlight of the day!
A quick rundown of what exactly I did at YALLfest (in list form because I'm a tad bit tired after the business of the weekend):
Pros and Cons of the weekend? Pros --
Cons --
Interested in YALLfest 2018? Be sure to visit their website [www.yallfest.org] for more information!
Warning: There are some spoilers! I'm really enjoying this new genre that's popping up (Is it a new genre? it's probably not new at all and I'm just late to the game...) -- the "Oh hey, the video game I like is actually real" genre. I read Warcross earlier this year (really enjoyed it) and Otherworld plays into some of those same tropes as well. Otherworld presents some intriguing ideas...what if your favorite MMORPG game (anybody for World of Warcraft?) was revamped to allow for VR headsets? What if the AI in the game becomes sentient? What constitutes "life"? I think these questions raised by Otherworld are the shining moments of the book and I wish more time was spent diving into them. The Children were a fascinating subset of characters that I feel we barely scratched the surface on. I think we will encounter them in future books...but I wish more time was spent fleshing out their dilemma and their origins. If you've played any MMORPGs before you will probably appreciate the various realms within Otherworld. I chuckled at Mammon which translates to anyone who is interested in inventory management and wealth accumulation in game (*cough* me *cough*). The jungle realm is essentially one big PvP arena. And the list goes on. Fun little nods to those types of players who play MMORPGs. The book is dragged down somewhat by typical young adult characters. We have the rebellious teenage boy who is just "misunderstood" by his out of touch family. We have the damsel in distress...but not too much distress...that the boy is trying to rescue. Evil parents - either through deliberate maliciousness or being out of touch - make regular appearances as well. The characters seem a bit flat in light of the Otherworld backdrop. I had one big issue with the book's plotting (spoiler ahead!): We spend most of the book trying to find Kat...where has Kat gone...how do we meet her at the Glacier...where is Kat...etc... Then Simon plugs back in at one point and -BAM- there's Kat. She's just...there. I remember feeling really irritated when I read that. We just spent 2/3 of the book on a search for Kat and there's no reward for it. He plugs back in and she's just there whispering to him to wake up in Otherworld? How...anticlimactic. I wanted more from their reunion...more from Simon finally catching up with Kat. It felt like it kind of fizzled. I was rather let down by the ending as well. I thought it was a solid build up with a decent plot (despite the flat characters) only to have a trite and forecasted young adult ending. I also think the story was designed to leave on a cliffhanger and anxious for the next book, but I did not really find it so. I re-read the last few paragraphs just trying to see if I missed the big cliffhanger...but didn't see anything indicating a cliffhanger. It almost ends like the end of a chapter rather than the end of the book. This one is falls between a 3.0 and a 3.5 in my opinion. I originally rated it a 4 star read, but after more consideration I just find that the characters and the rather "meh" ending knocks it down a peg. I still really enjoyed the book and I think this series has potential - especially as we dive into the questions that the Otherworld raises. As the series moves forward I do hope that the main characters of the story become as multi-faceted as the AI characters who dwell in Otherworld Rating:
What a great read. In Blood Song we follow Vaelin Al Sorna as he finds himself at a very young age unwillingly enlisted in the Sixth Order - a military branch of the Faith. We journey with Al Sorna as his connection with his classmates turn into the bonds of brotherhood. From the Sixth Order he begins a journey of political and military intrigue with twists and turns the whole way. I really enjoyed the character development and world building in Blood Song. Anthony Ryan spends his time honing each character, presenting a rich cast of people that the reader cares about. There is gradual world building throughout the story - no info dumps here. I am slightly concerned by the reviews for book two and three...it looks as though Ryan shakes up his storytelling technique and branches out to maybe bite off more than the book(s) can feasibly chew? I will still move on to Tower Lord, however, based on the strength of Blood Song...hopefully knowing that Ryan changes his storytelling technique ahead of time won't throw me out of the story? Hopefully? We'll see. Fretting about the next books in the series aside (I'm probably just borrowing trouble), I really enjoyed this. Blood Song is the type of slow-burn fantasy that really holds my attention. This is military fantasy done right. Rating: |
Currently Reading:
|