Black Cats & Four-Leaf Clovers: Origins of Old Wives' Tales and Superstitions in Our Everyday Lives by Harry Oliver

(pb; 2006, 2007: nonfiction. Illustrations by Mike Mosedale. Originally published in Great Britain as Black Cats and April Fools, hence the above cover.)

From the back cover:

". . . Harry Oliver delves into the stories behind the traditions and superstitions that permeate our everyday lives, unearthing the fascinating histories of these weird and wonderful notions. So before you search for any more four-leaf clovers, worry about the next Friday the thirteenth, or avoid walking under any ladders, dip into this amazing tome and discover:

"Why breaking a mirror brings seven years bad luck.

"The best day of the week to ask for a favor.

"Why you should never jump over a child in Turkey."


Review:

Black is a tightly-written, adult- and kid-friendly introduction to the world of superstitions, with its concise, entertaining and sometimes intriguing chronicling of often strange beliefs, as well -- when possible -- the reasons that may have brought about these beliefs. Sporting a touch of light humor, this is a worthwhile purchase if you are new to the subject or looking for something fun to help you pass an hour or two.

Preacher: Gone To Texas by Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon

(pb; 1995, 1996: graphic novel, collecting issues of Preacher #1 - 7. "Foreword" by Joe R. Lansdale. First entry in the Preacher graphic novel series.)

From the back cover:

"Jesse Custer is a small-town minister slowly losing his faith. . . until he merges with a half-angelic, half-demonic being called Genesis. Together with Tulip, Jesse's trigger-happy ex-lover, and Cassidy, a hard-drinking Irish vampire, Jesse sets out on a bizarre road trip from the heart of Texas to the bitter soul of New York City."


Review:

Preacher is a hyper-violent, more-Texas-than-Texas, blasphemous and darkly hilarious graphic novel series whose character interactions and supernatural storyline elements come together into a wild-ride, distinctive and entertaining read. This is one of my all-time favorite comic book/graphic novel series, not for the easily offended (religious) and faint of heart.

Followed by Preacher: Until the End of the World.

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The television series version, created by Sam Catlin, Evan Goldberg and Seth Rogen, is scheduled to debut on the AMC channel on May 22, 2016.

Dominic Cooper plays Jesse Custer. Joseph Gilgun plays Cassidy. Ruth Negga plays Tulip O'Hare. W. Earl Brown plays Hugo Root. Jackie Earle Haley plays Odin Quincannon.

Ian Colletti plays Arseface. Lucy Griffiths plays Emily. Tom Brooke plays Fiore. Anatol Yusef plays DeBlanc.

The Voice and Other Stories by Seicho Matsumoto

(pb; 1989, 1995: story anthology. Translated from Japanese to English by Adam Kabat.)

From the back cover:

"Six of the best detective stories from Japan's foremost master of mystery. The puzzle in these intriguing tales lies not so much in 'who dunnit' but rather in how it was done."


Overall review:

Voice is an anthology that is worth owning -- its stories, published between 1959 and 1965, are clever and intriguing reads, even with their 'crime doesn't pay' finishes (perhaps this is due to editorial and/or multicultural leanings). Matsumoto once again shows himself for the exemplary author that he is, even when the outcome follows a traditional, moralistic pattern.

Stories:

1.)  "The Accomplice": A successful businessman (Hikosuke Uchiboro), fearing reprisal stemming from a past crime, seeks a way to nullify that reprisal (which, of course, hastens his potential downfall). Good, tightly-written read.


2.) "The Face": Another successful man -- this one an up-and-coming actor (Riichi Umetani) -- tries to erase all evidence from a past crime. Like Uchiboro in "The Accomplice," Umetani's actions only serve to further endanger himself. Good, tightly-written read, an interesting variation on "Accomplice".


3.)  "The Serial": Intriguing, clever tale about a woman (Yoshiko Shioda), whose expressed interest in an author's work opens her life to an unwanted investigation. One of my favorite stories in this collection, it shares many (reworked) plot elements with Matsumoto's later novel Points and Lines.


4.)  "Beyond All Suspicion": A man (Tadao Kuroi) makes a long-term plan to murder the man who sullied his murdered sister's honor. A solid storyline and otherwise excellent writing make this worth reading.


5.)  "The Voice": Another intriguing and clever tale (for the most part), about a telephone operator (Tomoko Takahashi) who hears and remembers a murderer's voice -- a well-publicized remembrance that may get her killed.

When reading key parts of this story, a modern reader may think, 'Wow, that woman makes some bad choices -- why is she so stupid?' I initially thought this at one point, until I took into account cultural and time period differences: in Japan, losing face is sometimes deemed more important than survival, so what Americans like myself may consider stupidity may have seemed like acceptable risks in Japan in 1959. Bearing this in mind, this is another excellent story, despite a few questionable elements and choices.


6.)  "The Woman Who Wrote Haiku": When a regular contributor stops sending in her poetry, the editors of a magazine grow concerned and investigate. What they discover is a devious plot and other odd circumstances. This is an all-around superb story, one of my favorites in this anthology.

Kill Your Friends by John Niven

(pb; 2008)

From the back cover:

"Meet Steven Stelfox.

"London 1997: New Labour is sweeping into power and Britpop is at its zenith. Twenty-seven-year-old A&R man Stelfox is slashing and burning his way through the music industry, a world where 'no one knows anything' and where careers are made and broken by chance and the fickle tastes of the general public - 'Yeah, those animals'.

"Fuelled by greed and inhuman quantities of cocaine Stelfox blithely criss-crosses the globe ('New York, Cologne, Texas, Miami, Cannes: you shout at waiters and sign credit card slips and all that really changes is the quality of the porn') searching for the next hit record amid a relentless orgy of self-gratification.

"But as the hits dry up and the industry begins to change, Stelfox must take the notion of cutthroat business practices to murderous new levels in a desperate attempt to salvage his career."


Review:

This satiric, horrific-as-a-rape-revenge-flick, American Psycho-esque take on the 1990s Britpop scene is a good, entertaining and quip-quotable novel. Kill is a more cohesive read that flows better than Bret Easton Ellis's failed-experiment American Psycho, even if it does run a bit long around the middle of the story -- worth reading, this. possibly worth owning (if you do not mind the extended middle section).

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The resulting film was released stateside on April 1, 2016. Owen Harris directed the film.

Nicholas Hoult played Steven Stelfox. James Corden played Roger Waters. Georgia King played Rebecca. Craig Roberts played Darren. Jim Piddick played Derek Sommers. Bronson Webb played Rob Hasting. Rosanna Hoult, real-life sister of Nicholas Hoult, played Katy.

Bad Chili by Joe R. Lansdale

(hb; 1997: fourth book in the Hap and Leonard series)

From the inside flap:

"Fresh from a stint on an offshore oil rig Hap arrives home in LaBorde, Texas, to find his best friend Leonard brooding over the break-up with his lover, Raul. Things get worse when Raul's new lover is found murdered and Leonard is the prime suspect. Hap sets out to clear his friends name, but there are complications in the form of a nurse with an abusive husband, a tornado, and threatening behavior from LaBorde's Chili King - not to mention more dead bodies than you can shake a stock at."


Review:

Bad is another excellent, fun entry in the Hap and Leonard series. It has all the elements that made the preceding books so enjoyable: a mix of quip-sharp banter (usually involving Hap and Leonard); sadistic, twisted bad guys; sudden and raw violence, punctuated by effective warmth and humor; and, most effectively, the rapport between the titular characters, whose bond makes Lansdale's entertaining, addictive-read writing shine even more.

Like the other books in this series, this is worth owning. Followed by Rumble Tumble.

Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett

(hb; 1990)

From the back cover:

"According to The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch (the world's only completely accurate book of prophecies, written in 1655, before she exploded), the world will end on a Saturday. Next Saturday, in fact. Just before dinner.

"So the armies of Good and Evil are amassing, Atlantis is rising, frogs are falling, tempers are flaring. Everything appears to be going according to Divine Plan. Except a somewhat fussy angel and a fast-living demon—both of whom have lived amongst Earth's mortals since The Beginning and have grown rather fond of the lifestyle—are not actually looking forward to the coming Rapture.
And someone seems to have misplaced the Antichrist . . . "


Review:

Omens is a mostly fun, laugh-out-loud hilarious and clever tale of a divine, bureaucratic apocalypse with engaging characters, (mostly) fast action and Hitcher-Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy-ish silliness. I say "mostly" because during certain bits -- particularly those involving the Them (eleven-year old Adam and his three adventurous peers), Aziraphale (an angel) and his various books, and Shadwell (a witch-hunter) -- could have been trimmed, cutting the book down by a quarter of its length, making Omens a better read. (Part of my boredom with the aforementioned, overlong parts may be due in part to my not being an Anglophile, as most of these parts are uber-British giggly in tone. . .  the interview at the end of the book confirms that those overlong parts were likely written by Pratchett, something worth noting.)

This is a worthwhile purchase for fans of silly-Brit humor, and a decent -- if sometimes a chore of a read -- book to borrow from a local library for those who are not Anglophiles.

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In April 2016, Neil Gaiman said in interviews that he was three-quarters of the way through a six-episode teleplay version of the book. (Pratchett died in 2015.) Thus far, there is no release date for resulting cable miniseries. I will update the information about this miniseries when I get more information about it and have time to post it.

I Can Barely Take Care of Myself: Tales of a Happy Life Without Kids by Jen Kirkman

(hb; 2013: nonfiction, humor)

From the back cover:

" 'You'll change your mind.' 

"That's what everyone says to Jen Kirkman—and countless women like her—when she confesses she doesn't plan to have children. But you know what? It's hard enough to be an adult. You have to dress yourself and pay bills and remember to buy birthday gifts. You have to drive and get annual physicals and tip for good service. Some adults take on the added burden of caring for a tiny human being with no language skills or bladder control. Parenthood can be very rewarding, but let's face it, so are margaritas at the adults-only pool.

"Jen's stand-up routine includes lots of jokes about not having kids (and some about masturbation and Johnny Depp), after which complete strangers constantly approach her and ask, "But who will take care of you when you're old?" (Servants!) Some insist, "You'd be such a great mom!" (Really? You know me so well!)

"Whether living rent-free in her childhood bedroom while trying to break into comedy (the best free birth control around, she says), or taking the stage at major clubs and joining a hit TV show—and along the way getting married, divorced, and attending excruciating afternoon birthday parties for her parent friends—Jen is completely happy and fulfilled by her decision not to procreate."


Review:

Barely is a smart, funny (in a dark-ish, underlying-serious way) book that entertains even as it, with Kirkman's well-articulated arguments and autobiographical bits, lists many of the reasons why she -- like many of us who decide not to have kids -- have made that decision. Her humor and points, sharp and not intended for children and the thin-skinned, are empathetic to those who are parents -- further showing Kirkman's humanity, even when she is making jokes and going against the stated grain.

This is a good read, worth owning for those inclined toward Kirkman's logic and wry, dark-ish sense of humor. If you like this book, you might want to check out her follow-up, I Know What I'm Doing and Other Lies I Tell Myself.

Tower of the Medusa by Lin Carter

(pb; 1969)

Review:

Carter packages Tower's science fiction elements with pulp-vivid aplomb. Its action-packed plot involves a master thief (Kirin), who is hired by the rich, portly Doctor Temujin to steal a legendary jewel -- the well-guarded Heart of Kom Yazoth, a demon associated with widespread destruction. Kirin and Temujin are en route to enact the dangerous theft, when they are taken prisoner by Azeera the Witch Queen, who also wants the jewel, with which she will rule the known universe. 

Other characters in this fast-paced, exciting mix include: Caola, an Amazonian War Maid of Nar, whose wits and physical prowess may prove valuable to Kirin and Temujin; evil wizards of varying power, Pangoy the Nexian and his magickal master (Zarlak), who also commands the vicious Death Dwarves, whose job it is to guard the Iron Tower, where the jewel -- also called the Medusa -- lies beyond a series of elaborate traps.

There is not much in this story that will surprise readers familiar with science fiction-pulp tropes, but Carter's well-sketched characters, lean-and-mean storytelling and cinematic-friendly writing keeps Tower fun and thrilling: worth owning, this.

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Tower of the Medusa was packaged as a reverse-bound "Ace Double" novel, which means that if readers flip the book upside down and over, there was another science fiction novel, penned by another author, on the other side. (Considering that these books sold for 75 cents a pop, this seems like a great deal, even back in the Sixties.)

In this case, the flipside novel is George H. Smith's Kar Kaballa.

Points and Lines by Seicho Matsumoto

(hb;1958: translated by Makiko Yamamoto and Paul C. Blum)

From the back cover:

"A senior official in a ministry tainted with scandal. A dining car receipt. A name missing from a passenger list. And a young man and woman dead on a beach in an apparent suicide. Disconnected points, but not to a determined detective who keeps searching for the lines that link the living and the dead."


Review:

Points is a clever, word-exact police procedural that immediately immersed me with its crisp, hyper-focused prose and well-sketched characters (as well as its Japanese milieu and abbreviated social commentary). This is a compelling how-the-crime-was-committed read, worth owning.

The Two-Bear Mambo by Joe R. Lansdale

(hb; 1995: third book in the Hap and Leonard series)

From the inside flap:

"Florida Grange, Leonard's drop-dead gorgeous lawyer and Hap's former lover, has vanished in Klan-infested Grovetown while in pursuit of the real story behind the jailhouse death of a legendary bluesman's blackguard son. Fearing the worst, Hap and Leonard set out to do the kind of investigating the good ole boy cops can't - or won't - do. In Grovetown they encounter a redneck police chief, a sadistic Christmas tree grower, and townsfolk itchin' for a lynchin'. Add to this a dark night exhumation in a voodoo graveyard, a thunderstorm of Biblical proportions, and flat-out sudden murder. Hap and Leonard vow to face the hate and find Florida, even if Leonard has to put a hole in anyone who gets in the way. Besides, they've packed a lunch."


Review:

This third entry in the Hap and Leonard series is darker, more violent and harrowing than its predecessor books, Savage Season and Mucho Mojo. When Leonard Pine and Hap Collins' investigation into the disappearance of Hap's ex-girlfriend (Florida) leads them into an entire town populated by pernicious racists, even Hap and Leonard's junkyard dog attitudes, trenchant wits and general bad-assery may not be enough to pull them through this rain-drenched nightmare that will shake them to their cores.

Two-Bear is my favorite Hap and Leonard novel thus far, another impressive, character-expansive work. This, like its previous books, is worth owning.

Followed by Bad Chili.

Dracula by Bram Stoker

(pb; 1897)

Review:

Told through a series of various characters' journals, notes and cables, this nineteenth-century, milestone novel of vampirism, slow-burn horror, desire and other emotions is an enthralling, descriptive work, one that deservedly has been acknowledged as the blueprint for most vampire-themed art and writing. Stoker crafted the perfect bloodsucker book when he wrote this (I rarely use the word "perfect" to describe any writing); for this reason, this is one of my all-time favorite reads.

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Dracula has inspired so many other works, visual, literary, aural and cinematic, I will not even attempt to show the creative strands stemming from it.