(hb; 1998, 2005: prequel to Shadow Family. Translated by Deborah Stuhr Iwabuchi and Anna Husson Isozaki)
From the inside flap:
"Young, pretty Junko Aoki has the extraordinary ability to start fires using just willpower. Furthermore, she believes it to be her duty to use her pyrokinetic powers to punish violent criminals who have evaded justice.
"A chance encounter one night sends Junko on a mission to rescue a young woman abducted by a vicious gang of youths. The trail of bodies she leaves across Tokyo attracts the attention of two very different groups: a secretive vigilante group that tries to recruit her, and the arson squad of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department.
"Hardly able to keep up with Junko's killing spree, Detective Chikako Ishizu finds herself drawn deeper into a case that defies belief.
"Although on opposite sides of the law, both Junko and Chikako are committed to fighting evil, and both find their deeply held beliefs challenged. While Junko is increasingly disturbed by the innocent lives lost in the crossfire, Chikako is gradually forced to accept the possible existence of paranormal powers."
Review:
Insightful police procedural, made memorable by intriguing story elements, deft writing, and complex, relatable characters.
Excellent, entertaining novel: worth your time.
Crossfire, along with another Miyabe novel (Hatobue-gusa), became the basis for a film, Pyrokinesis (aka Kurosufaia).
Pyrokinesis was released in Japan on June 10, 2000.
Akiko Yada played Junko Aoki. Kaori Momoi played "Chikako Ishizu, the Detective". Hideaki Ito played Tada Kazuki. Ryuuji Harada played Yasuaki Makihara. Masami Nagasawa played Kaori Kurata. Hisashi Yoshizawa (billed as Yû Yoshizawa) played Kouichi Kido. Hidenori Tokuyama played Masaki Kogure.
Shisuke Kaneko directed and co-scripted Pyrokinesis. Kota Yamada and Masahiro Yokotani also co-scripted.
Saturday, December 19, 2009
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Earthbound, by Richard Matheson
(pb; 1989)
From the back cover:
"David and Ellen came to the lonely beachside cottage in hopes of rekindling their troubled marriage. Yet they are not alone on their second honeymoon. Marianna, a beautiful and enigmatic stranger, comes to visit when Ellen is away. But who is Marianna, and where is she from?
"Even as he succumbs to her seductive charms, David realizes that Marianna is far more than a threat to his marriage, for her secrets lie deep in the past and beyond the grave. And her unholy desires endanger the lives and souls of everyone she touches."
Review:
This is one of Matheson's lesser novels. Even Matheson's sharp prose fails to elevate this predictable ghost story above its clichés.
If there's a bright spot in this novel (aside from Matheson's crisp writing), it's the philosophical musings of his protagonist, David, who ponders the shapes marriage takes over time. These sections are wonderful, touching, and wise, and made up for my boredom during the other parts. (Fortunately, Earthbound is relatively short, less than three hundred pages.)
Not entirely bad, I'd hesitate to recommend this one. Better to read Matheson's earlier, short fiction if you want a Matheson fix.
From the back cover:
"David and Ellen came to the lonely beachside cottage in hopes of rekindling their troubled marriage. Yet they are not alone on their second honeymoon. Marianna, a beautiful and enigmatic stranger, comes to visit when Ellen is away. But who is Marianna, and where is she from?
"Even as he succumbs to her seductive charms, David realizes that Marianna is far more than a threat to his marriage, for her secrets lie deep in the past and beyond the grave. And her unholy desires endanger the lives and souls of everyone she touches."
Review:
This is one of Matheson's lesser novels. Even Matheson's sharp prose fails to elevate this predictable ghost story above its clichés.
If there's a bright spot in this novel (aside from Matheson's crisp writing), it's the philosophical musings of his protagonist, David, who ponders the shapes marriage takes over time. These sections are wonderful, touching, and wise, and made up for my boredom during the other parts. (Fortunately, Earthbound is relatively short, less than three hundred pages.)
Not entirely bad, I'd hesitate to recommend this one. Better to read Matheson's earlier, short fiction if you want a Matheson fix.
Thursday, December 10, 2009
The Partly Cloudy Patriot, by Sarah Vowell
From the inside flap:
". . . [Sarah] Vowell. . .ponders a number of curious questions: Why is she happiest when visiting the sites of bloody struggles like Salem or Gettysburg? Why do people always inappropriately compare themselves to Rosa Parks? Why is a bad life in sunny California so much worse than a bad life anywhere else? What is it about the Zen of foul shots? And, in the title piece, why must doubt and internal arguments haunt the sleepless nights of the true patriot?
"Her essays confront a wide range of subjects, themes, icons and historical moments: Ike, Teddy Roosevelt, and Bill Clinton; Canadian Mounties and German filmmakers; Tom Cruise and Buffy The Vampire Slayer; twins and nerds; the Gettysburg Address, the State of the Union, and George W. Bush's inauguration."
Review:
This is an earlier, slightly better book than Vowell's Assassination Vacation.
Partly, shorter, more focalized and laugh-out-loud funny, is darkly snarky like Assassination Vacation. Its emotionally-resonant, logical points about why she feels the way she does, again, are often dead-on with constantly-hilarious asides.
Stand-out chapters: "The First Thanksgiving"; "God Will Give You Blood to Drink in a Souvenir Shot Glass"; "The New German Cinema"; "The Nerd Voice"; "Tom Cruise Makes Me Nervous"; "Cowboys v. Mounties"; "The Partly Cloudy Patriot".
Partly is worth your time, this, if your humor runs dark, sardonic and politically liberal.
Wednesday, December 09, 2009
Prizzi's Glory, by Richard Condon
(hb; 1988: third book in the Prizzi quadrilogy)
From the inside flap:
"The Prizzis have long proved that with good planning, a Mafia chief can take his family from the humblest beginnings to a billion-dollar base in America. And the acquisition of such large amounts of money automatically commands respectability -- success demands it, money buys it. After all, those old robber barons, the Mellons, the Astors, achieved the ultimate in respectability, so why not the Prizzis? And in Prizzi's Glory, they go for it!
"Franchising their multifarious operations, the members of the Environment will turn their attention to mainstream America where the Game of Politics is played. Helping old Don Corrado Prizzi, capo di tutti capi, achieve his last wish, his granddaughter Maerose -- interior decorator de luxe -- sees to it that the word goes out: the gambling, narcotics, extortion, murder, pornography, loan-sharking, prostitution -- all their old lines of work -- will be franchised to other up-and-comers, while the Prizzis will use the profits for a new kind of plunder: national political power."
Review:
Another sharp-eyed, politically smart and plot twisty skewering of the American Dream from Condon, whose Prizzi family -- along with Charley Partanna and other players -- experience a Life makeover, the likes that few people have fully imagined or realized.
I love reading about these characters. Reading about the Prizzis, the Partannas, and the other characters is like visiting passionate, romantic, calculating, and blackly funny family: you feel what they feel, see what they see, etc., whether you admire their craftiness, or groan at their disingenuous reasonings.
Check this series out.
Followed by Prizzi's Money.
From the inside flap:
"The Prizzis have long proved that with good planning, a Mafia chief can take his family from the humblest beginnings to a billion-dollar base in America. And the acquisition of such large amounts of money automatically commands respectability -- success demands it, money buys it. After all, those old robber barons, the Mellons, the Astors, achieved the ultimate in respectability, so why not the Prizzis? And in Prizzi's Glory, they go for it!
"Franchising their multifarious operations, the members of the Environment will turn their attention to mainstream America where the Game of Politics is played. Helping old Don Corrado Prizzi, capo di tutti capi, achieve his last wish, his granddaughter Maerose -- interior decorator de luxe -- sees to it that the word goes out: the gambling, narcotics, extortion, murder, pornography, loan-sharking, prostitution -- all their old lines of work -- will be franchised to other up-and-comers, while the Prizzis will use the profits for a new kind of plunder: national political power."
Review:
Another sharp-eyed, politically smart and plot twisty skewering of the American Dream from Condon, whose Prizzi family -- along with Charley Partanna and other players -- experience a Life makeover, the likes that few people have fully imagined or realized.
I love reading about these characters. Reading about the Prizzis, the Partannas, and the other characters is like visiting passionate, romantic, calculating, and blackly funny family: you feel what they feel, see what they see, etc., whether you admire their craftiness, or groan at their disingenuous reasonings.
Check this series out.
Followed by Prizzi's Money.
Saturday, December 05, 2009
The Chrysalids by John Wyndham
(pb; 1955: introduction by Christopher Priest)
From the back cover
"The Chrysalids is set in the future after a devastating global nuclear war. David, the young hero of the novel, lives in a tight-knit community of religious and genetic fundamentalists, always on the alert for any deviation from the norm of God's creation. Abnormal plants are publicly burned, with much singing of hymns. Abnormal humans (who are not really humans) are also condemned to destruction -- unless they succeed in fleeing to the Fringes, that Wild Country where, as the authorities say, nothing is reliable and the devil does his work. David grows up ringed by admonitions: KEEP PURE THE STOCK OF THE LORD; WATCH THOU FOR THE MUTANT.
"At first he does not question. Then, however, he realizes that he too is out of the ordinary, in possession of a power that could doom him to death or introduce him to a new, hitherto unimagined world of freedom."
Review
Classic, quirky, compact science fiction novel from a great writer.
This would make a wonderful English class novel, for the above reasons -- not only that, it's rich with many of the themes that Wyndam has ably more thoroughly mined in some of his other books: apocalyptic societies, religious and social repression (and other dynamics),and mutations/genetics.
Short, provocative, fleet-paced work, worth buying.
Thursday, December 03, 2009
'T' is for Trespass, by Sue Grafton
(hb; 2007: twentieth book in the Kinsey Millhone mysteries)
From the inside flap:
"Beginning slowly with the day-to-day of a private eye, Grafton suddenly shifts from the voice of Kinsey Millhone to that of Solana Rojas, introducing readers to a chilling sociopath. Rojas is not her birth name. It is an identity she cunningly stole, an identity that gives her access to private caregiving jobs. The true horror of this novel builds with excruciating tension as the reader foresees the awfulness that lies ahead. The wrenching suspense lies in whether Kinsey Millhone will realize what is happening in time to intervene.
"'T' is for Trespass,dealing with issues of identity theft, elder abuse, betrayal of trust, and the breakdown in the institutions charged with caring for the weak and the dependent, could not be more timely. It targets an all-to-real rip in the social fabric."
Review:
Suspenseful, compelling read that constantly had this reader muttering, "Ooh,'Solana Rojas' is creepy and infuriating!"
Rojas, as a devious character, is a worthy, if petty and vindictive, adversary for Millhone. That said, don't expect Rojas to read like a timeless villain, like, say, Sherlock Holmes's Moriarty, or Doctor Who's The Master.
Excellent novel from a writer who constantly delivers greatness. Check this series out.
Followed by 'U' is for Undertow.
From the inside flap:
"Beginning slowly with the day-to-day of a private eye, Grafton suddenly shifts from the voice of Kinsey Millhone to that of Solana Rojas, introducing readers to a chilling sociopath. Rojas is not her birth name. It is an identity she cunningly stole, an identity that gives her access to private caregiving jobs. The true horror of this novel builds with excruciating tension as the reader foresees the awfulness that lies ahead. The wrenching suspense lies in whether Kinsey Millhone will realize what is happening in time to intervene.
"'T' is for Trespass,dealing with issues of identity theft, elder abuse, betrayal of trust, and the breakdown in the institutions charged with caring for the weak and the dependent, could not be more timely. It targets an all-to-real rip in the social fabric."
Review:
Suspenseful, compelling read that constantly had this reader muttering, "Ooh,'Solana Rojas' is creepy and infuriating!"
Rojas, as a devious character, is a worthy, if petty and vindictive, adversary for Millhone. That said, don't expect Rojas to read like a timeless villain, like, say, Sherlock Holmes's Moriarty, or Doctor Who's The Master.
Excellent novel from a writer who constantly delivers greatness. Check this series out.
Followed by 'U' is for Undertow.
Wednesday, December 02, 2009
SuperFreakonomics, by Steven D.Levitt & Stephen J. Dubner
(hb; 2009: non-fiction. Follow-up work to Freakonomics; precedent work to Think Like a Freak: The Authors of Freakonomics Offer to Retrain Your Brain)
From the inside flap:
"Four years in the making, SuperFreakonomics asks not only the tough questions, but the unexpected ones: What's more dangerous, driving drunk or walking drunk? Why is chemotherapy prescribed so often if it's so ineffective? Can a sex change boost your salary?
"SuperFreakonomics challenges the way we think all over again, exploring the hidden side of everything with such questions as:
"How is a street prostitute like a department-store Santa?
"Why are doctors so bad at washing their hands?
"What's the best way to catch a terrorist?
"Did TV cause a rise in crime?
"What do hurricanes, heart attacks, and highway deaths have in common?
"Are people hardwired for altruism or selfishness?
"Can eating kangaroo save the planet?
"Who adds more value: a pimp or a realtor?
"Levitt and Dubner mix smart thinking and great storytelling. . . whether investigating a solution to global warming or explaining why the price of oral sex has fallen so drastically. By examining how people respond to incentives, they show the world for what it is -- good, bad, ugly, and in the final analysis, superfreaky."
Review:
Another off-beat, real-world smart, logical and compelling read from Dubner and Levitt.
As in Freakonomics, the authors back up their eye-catching chapter titles with solid, economist-minded reasoning -- much of controversial on multiple levels -- that makes practical sense.
Own this, if you're willing to set aside your preconceptions of how people, society, morality, etc., work, and entertain a cooler (as in: more rational) view of how things work.
From the inside flap:
"Four years in the making, SuperFreakonomics asks not only the tough questions, but the unexpected ones: What's more dangerous, driving drunk or walking drunk? Why is chemotherapy prescribed so often if it's so ineffective? Can a sex change boost your salary?
"SuperFreakonomics challenges the way we think all over again, exploring the hidden side of everything with such questions as:
"How is a street prostitute like a department-store Santa?
"Why are doctors so bad at washing their hands?
"What's the best way to catch a terrorist?
"Did TV cause a rise in crime?
"What do hurricanes, heart attacks, and highway deaths have in common?
"Are people hardwired for altruism or selfishness?
"Can eating kangaroo save the planet?
"Who adds more value: a pimp or a realtor?
"Levitt and Dubner mix smart thinking and great storytelling. . . whether investigating a solution to global warming or explaining why the price of oral sex has fallen so drastically. By examining how people respond to incentives, they show the world for what it is -- good, bad, ugly, and in the final analysis, superfreaky."
Review:
Another off-beat, real-world smart, logical and compelling read from Dubner and Levitt.
As in Freakonomics, the authors back up their eye-catching chapter titles with solid, economist-minded reasoning -- much of controversial on multiple levels -- that makes practical sense.
Own this, if you're willing to set aside your preconceptions of how people, society, morality, etc., work, and entertain a cooler (as in: more rational) view of how things work.
Tuesday, December 01, 2009
The Devil's Whisper, by Miyuki Miyabe
(hb; 1989, 2007: translated by Deborah Stuhr Iwabuchi)
From the inside flap:
"The three deaths come in quick succession: one girl jumps from the roof of a six-story building; another falls in front of a train; and the third is hit by a late-night taxi. But how are they related? And are they accidents, suicides or murders?
"Slowly, the answers are uncovered by sixteen-year-old Mamoru, the nephew of the taxi driver currently being held by the police on charges of manslaughter for the death of the third victim.
"Determined to help his uncle, Mamoru discovers that the girl killed by his uncle's taxi had participated in a devious scam to separate vulnerable men from their money, and that three of the four girls involved in the ploy are now dead.
"A powerful businessman comes forward with new evidence in favor of Mamoru's uncle and also to reveal the truth about Mamoru's long-lost father, who disappeared when the boy was only four.
"But in the meantime, Mamoru must go out if he is to save the last of the four girls being targeted by the real killer.
"And then the killer contacts him. . ."
Review:
Masterful, sublime, plot-twisty and tightly-executed work, with occasional touches of humor to lighten the suspenseful proceedings. The denouement is character-true, off-kilter and curiously humane, its tone distinctly Japanese (keeping with the down-played tone of the Japanese novels I've read in the past few months).
Perfect, this: worth purchasing and keeping.
From the inside flap:
"The three deaths come in quick succession: one girl jumps from the roof of a six-story building; another falls in front of a train; and the third is hit by a late-night taxi. But how are they related? And are they accidents, suicides or murders?
"Slowly, the answers are uncovered by sixteen-year-old Mamoru, the nephew of the taxi driver currently being held by the police on charges of manslaughter for the death of the third victim.
"Determined to help his uncle, Mamoru discovers that the girl killed by his uncle's taxi had participated in a devious scam to separate vulnerable men from their money, and that three of the four girls involved in the ploy are now dead.
"A powerful businessman comes forward with new evidence in favor of Mamoru's uncle and also to reveal the truth about Mamoru's long-lost father, who disappeared when the boy was only four.
"But in the meantime, Mamoru must go out if he is to save the last of the four girls being targeted by the real killer.
"And then the killer contacts him. . ."
Review:
Masterful, sublime, plot-twisty and tightly-executed work, with occasional touches of humor to lighten the suspenseful proceedings. The denouement is character-true, off-kilter and curiously humane, its tone distinctly Japanese (keeping with the down-played tone of the Japanese novels I've read in the past few months).
Perfect, this: worth purchasing and keeping.
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Freakonomics, by Steven D. Levitt & Stephen J. Dubner
(hb; 2005: non-fiction; precedent work to SuperFreakonomics)
From the inside flap:
"What is more dangerous, a gun or a swimming pool? What do schoolteachers and sumo wrestlers have in common? Why do drug dealers still live with their moms? How much do parents eally matter? What kind of impact did Roe v. Wade have on violent crime?
"These may not sound like typical questions for an economist to ask. But Steven D. Levitt is not a typical economist. He is a much heralded scholar who studies the stuff and riddles of everyday life -- from cheating and crime to sports and child rearing -- and whose conclusions regularly turn the conventional wisdom on its head. He usually begins with a mountain of data and a simple, unasked question. Some of these questions concern life-and-death issues; others have an admittedly freakish quality. Thus the new field of study contained in this book: freakonomics.
" . . What unites all these stories is a belief that the modern world, despite a surfeit of obfuscation, complication, and downright deceit, is not impenetrable, is not unknowable, and -- if the right questions are asked -- is even more intriguing than we think. All it takes is a new way of looking. Steven Levitt, through devilishly clever and clear-eyed thinking, shows how to see through all the clutter."
Review:
Entertaining, off-beat, real-world smart, logical and compelling read, with eye-catching chapter titles: "What Do Schoolteachers and Sumo Wrestlers Have in Common?"; "How Is The Klu Klux Klan Like a Group of Real Estate Agents?"; "Why Do Drug Dealers Still Live with Their Moms?", etc.
The authors back up their flashy chapter titles with solid, economist-minded reasoning -- some of controversial on multiple levels -- that, for this reader, ultimately rings true, and has made this already-wary reader even more wary (but not in a negative way)... even the darkest truths contained in Freakonomics are presented with a skilled, deft hand.
Own this, if you're willing to set aside your preconceptions of how people, society, morality, etc., work, and entertain a cooler (as in: more rational) view of how things work.
From the inside flap:
"What is more dangerous, a gun or a swimming pool? What do schoolteachers and sumo wrestlers have in common? Why do drug dealers still live with their moms? How much do parents eally matter? What kind of impact did Roe v. Wade have on violent crime?
"These may not sound like typical questions for an economist to ask. But Steven D. Levitt is not a typical economist. He is a much heralded scholar who studies the stuff and riddles of everyday life -- from cheating and crime to sports and child rearing -- and whose conclusions regularly turn the conventional wisdom on its head. He usually begins with a mountain of data and a simple, unasked question. Some of these questions concern life-and-death issues; others have an admittedly freakish quality. Thus the new field of study contained in this book: freakonomics.
" . . What unites all these stories is a belief that the modern world, despite a surfeit of obfuscation, complication, and downright deceit, is not impenetrable, is not unknowable, and -- if the right questions are asked -- is even more intriguing than we think. All it takes is a new way of looking. Steven Levitt, through devilishly clever and clear-eyed thinking, shows how to see through all the clutter."
Review:
Entertaining, off-beat, real-world smart, logical and compelling read, with eye-catching chapter titles: "What Do Schoolteachers and Sumo Wrestlers Have in Common?"; "How Is The Klu Klux Klan Like a Group of Real Estate Agents?"; "Why Do Drug Dealers Still Live with Their Moms?", etc.
The authors back up their flashy chapter titles with solid, economist-minded reasoning -- some of controversial on multiple levels -- that, for this reader, ultimately rings true, and has made this already-wary reader even more wary (but not in a negative way)... even the darkest truths contained in Freakonomics are presented with a skilled, deft hand.
Own this, if you're willing to set aside your preconceptions of how people, society, morality, etc., work, and entertain a cooler (as in: more rational) view of how things work.
Thursday, November 26, 2009
**NON-REVIEW** TreSart L. Sioux interviewed on Logical Lust's Blog
My funny, talented erotica writer-friend TreSart L. Sioux was interviewed on Logical Lust's Blog, in May 2009.
Here's the link!
It's worth checking out if you're open-minded about writing, erotica, have a realistic sense of humor, and want to hear a great writer talk.
Here's the link!
It's worth checking out if you're open-minded about writing, erotica, have a realistic sense of humor, and want to hear a great writer talk.
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
'S' is for Silence, by Sue Grafton
(pb; 2005: nineteenth book in the Kinsey Millhone mysteries)
From the inside flap:
"Cases don't get much colder than that of Violet Sullvian, who disappeared from her rural California town in 1953, leaving behind an abusive husband and a seven-year old named Daisy. But PI Kinsey Millhone has promised Daisy she'll try her best to locate Violet, dead or alive. All signs point to a runaway wife -- the clothes that disappeared; the secret stash of money Violet bragged about; the brazen flirtations she indulged in with local men, including some married ones. Kinsey tries to pick up the trail by speaking to those who remember Violet -- and perhaps were more involved in her life than they let on. But the trail could lead her somewhere very dangerous. Because the case may have gone cold, but some people's feelings about Violet Sullivan still run as hot as ever."
Review:
Grafton nails the suspense/PI genre again, with this tension-steadily-mounting, insanely suspenseful end-burn novel. This one is especially dark, as it deals with small town folk, and their long-held secrets and feelings.
Check this series out.
Followed by 'T' is for Trespass.
From the inside flap:
"Cases don't get much colder than that of Violet Sullvian, who disappeared from her rural California town in 1953, leaving behind an abusive husband and a seven-year old named Daisy. But PI Kinsey Millhone has promised Daisy she'll try her best to locate Violet, dead or alive. All signs point to a runaway wife -- the clothes that disappeared; the secret stash of money Violet bragged about; the brazen flirtations she indulged in with local men, including some married ones. Kinsey tries to pick up the trail by speaking to those who remember Violet -- and perhaps were more involved in her life than they let on. But the trail could lead her somewhere very dangerous. Because the case may have gone cold, but some people's feelings about Violet Sullivan still run as hot as ever."
Review:
Grafton nails the suspense/PI genre again, with this tension-steadily-mounting, insanely suspenseful end-burn novel. This one is especially dark, as it deals with small town folk, and their long-held secrets and feelings.
Check this series out.
Followed by 'T' is for Trespass.
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