Cari Mora by Thomas Harris

(hb; 2019)

From the inside flap

“Half a ton of a dead man’s gold lies hidden beneath a mansion on the Miami Beach waterfront. Ruthless men have tracked it for years. Leading the pack is Hans-Peter Schneider. Driven by unspeakable appetites, he makes a living fleshing out the violent fantasies of other, richer men.

“Cari Mora, caretaker of the house, has escaped from the violence in her native country. She stays in Miami on a wobbly Temporary Protected Status, subject to the iron whim of ICE. She works at many jobs to survive. Beautiful, marked by war, Cari catches the eye of Hans-Peter as he closes in on the treasure. But Cari Mora has surprising skills, and her will to survive has been tested before.”

Review

Cari is a fun, fast-moving summer read, highlighted by Harris’s quirky, mordant humor, violence and gore, as well as a few pointed political references. I read this 300-page treasure-hunt novel in one sitting, something I rarely do. Fans of Harris’s other books─particularly his Hannibal quadrilogy─may well appreciate his humor, although this is a relatively light read (on the surface), when compared to his other books. This is worth checking out from the library, or owning, for the price of a regular-sized paperback.

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre: The Film That Rattled a Terrified Nation by Joseph Lanza

(hb; 2019: nonfiction/film)

From the inside flap

“When Tobe Hooper’s low-budget slasher film, TheTexas Chain Saw Massacre, opened in theaters in 1974, it was met in equal measure with disgust and reverence. The film─in which a group of teenagers meet a gruesome fate when they stumble upon a ramshackle farmhouse of psychotic killers─was banned in several countries and was pulled from many American theaters after complaints of its violence. Despite the mixed reception from critics, it was enormously profitable at the domestic box office and has since secured its place as one of the most influential horror movies ever made. In The Texas Chain Saw Massacre: The Film That Rattled a Terrified Nation, cultural critic Joseph Lanza turns his attentions to the productions, reception, social climate, and impact of this controversial movie that terrified an already-rattled America.

“Joseph Lanza transports the reader back to the tumultuous era of the early-1970s, defined by political upheaval, cultural disillusionment, and the perceived decay of the nuclear family, in the wake of Watergate, the onslaught of serial killers in the US, and mounting racial and sexual tensions. The Texas Chain Saw Massacre: The Film That Rattled a Terrified Nation sets the themes of the film against the backdrop of America’s political and social climate to understand why the brutal slasher flick connected with so many viewers.”

Review

Texas is one of my favorite 2019 reads. It immediately absorbed me into its time early-Seventies period, with its mix of cinematic influences, intentions and reactions, as well as the often-iconic events and cultural players who were part of them. These artists, politicians, criminals, religionists, and other citizens of the milieu─as shown in Lanza’s entertaining, waste-no-time and informative book─are given their proper due, while the author keeps the pace lively, clever and worthwhile. This is a rare read for me, one that I hope to revisit again. Or, to put it another way: it is worth owning, and re-reading, whether you are interested in the 1974 film, the Vietnam era, or the early 1970s in general.

Rom: Cold Fire, Hot War by Chris Ryall, Christos Gage, David Messina (artist), Ron Joseph (artist), Paolo Villanelli (artist), Guy Dorian (artist) and Sal Buscema (artist)

(pb; 2018: graphic novel, collecting “all fourteen issues of the 2016—2017 IDW-imprint/comic book series, the 2017 Annual, and the Rom: Revolution one-shot”)

From the back cover

“The evil Dire Wraiths have escaped to Earth, but are hounded by  a Knight of the Solstar Order, the one feared more than all others.

“He is Rom, the Wraith-slayer. Rom the Spaceknight!

“Having followed the Dire Wraiths across the galaxy, Rom finds they have infiltrated all levels of society, hiding in plain sight. Replacing many humans in key leadership positions, the Wraiths’ plan to dominate the planet─and everyone on it─is gaining momentum. But Rom finds resistance from the humans as well, who fear he is just another alien invading Earth. He is joined in the battle by two other Solstar Knights. . . but are they here as friends or foes?”

Review

Cold Fire is a fun, smart and character-interesting update of the original Rom comic books series, which ran under the Marvel imprint from 1979—1986. (Even the villains, the Direwraiths, are presented as fully realized beings, making them─and their viewpoints─more fascinating.)

Not only that, this IDW-based update incorporates modern elements and artwork (that, thankfully, does not suck in the way that computer-generated drawings sometimes do). Rom also respects the action-based storyline and spirit of the original run, as well, which made me, who read the 1979 series as a child, just as happy now (as I was then). This brief series ended after fifteen issues, which is a shame, because it looks like they were gearing up for some intriguing tale-spiral possibilities. Worth owning, this.

Hannibal Rising by Thomas Harris

(hb; 2006; fourth book in the Hannibal Lecter quadrilogy)

From the back cover

“Hannibal Lecter emerges from the nightmare of the Eastern Front, a boy in the snow, mute, with a chain around his neck.

“He seems utterly alone, but he has brought his demons with him.

“Hannibal’s uncle, a noted painter, finds him in a Soviet orphanage and bring him to France, where Hannibal will live with his uncle and his uncle’s beautiful and exotic wife, Lady Murasaki.

“Lady Murasaki helps Hannibal to heal. With her help, he flourishes, becoming the youngest person ever admitted to medical school in France.

“But Hannibal’s demons visit him and torment him. When he is old enough, he visits them in turn.

“He discovers his gifts beyond the academic, and in that epiphany, Hannibal Lecter becomes death’s prodigy.”

Review

This prequel to the first three Hannibal Lecter books is perhaps my favorite of the quadrilogy, because of it is a (mostly) straightforward revenge─there are parts that occasionally run a bit long about art, directly related to his family’s death and loss of fortune, that foreshadow his later obsession with high culture (art, culinary and its other facets). That is a minor nit, however, considering that my favorite genre is lean ‘n’ mean pulp tales, that allow for little or no word-fat.

This is an excellent, burn-through read, if you like World War II history, dark thrillers and interesting characters.

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The resulting film was released stateside on February 9, 2007. Peter Webber directed it, from a screenplay by the book’s author, Thomas Harris.

Gaspard Ulliel played Hannibal Lecter. Aaran Thomas played “Young Hannibal.” Li Gong, billed as Gong Li, played Lady Murasaki.

Dominic West played Inspector Popil. Rhys Ifan played Vladis Grutas. Richard Brake played Enrikas Dortlich. Kevin McKidd played Petras Kolnas. Joerg Stadler played Bernd.

Helena Lia-Tachovska played Mischa Lecter. Ingeborga Dapkunaite played “Mother Lecter.” Richard Leaf played “Father Lecter.”

Grunt: The Curious Science of Humans at War by Mary Roach

(hb; 2016: nonfiction)

From the inside flap:

“Grunt tackles the science behind some of a soldier’s most challenging adversaries─panic, exhaustion, heat, noise─and introduces us to the scientists who seek to conquer them. Mary Roach dodges hostile fire with the US Marine corps Paintball Team as part of a study on hearing loss and survivability in combat. She visits the fashion design studio of US Army Natick Labes and learns why a zipper is  a problem for a sniper. She visits a repurposed movie studio where ampoutee actors help prepare Marine Corps medics for the shock and gore of combat wounds. At Camp Lemonnier, Djibouti, in east Africa, we learn how diarrhea can be a threat to national security. The author samples caffeinated meat, sniffs an archival sample of a World War II stink bomb, and stays up all night with the crew tending the missiles on the nuclear submarine USS Tennessee. She answers questions not found in any other book on the military: Why is DARPA interested in ducks? How is a wedding gown like a bomb suit? Why are shrimp more dangerous to sailors than sharks? Take a tour of duty with Roach, and you’ll never see our nation’s defenders in the same way again.”

Review

Roach’s Grunt, like her other books, is an entertaining, informative and often witty read, one that may change the way you view human nature, as well as the science behind government-funded experiments, and how scientists and military personnel apply the results of those experiments. Favorite chapters: “Old Chum”; “That Sinking Feeling” and “Up and Under.” This is an excellent nonfiction book, one worth owning.

Rob Guillory’s Farmhand, Volume 1: Reap What Was Sown by Rob Guillory

(pb; 2019: graphic novel, collecting issues #1—5 of the Image-imprint comic book series. Publisher: Image.)

From the back cover

“Jedediah Jenkins is a simple farmer. But his cash crop isn’t corn or soy.

He grows fast-healing, highly customizable human organs.

“For years, Jed’s organic transplants hve brought healing to many, but deep beneath the soil of the Jenkins Family Farm there is something sinister taking root. Today this dark seed will begin to sprout, and the Jenkins family will be the first to taste its bitter fruit.

“From Eisner Award-winning artist Rob Guillory (Chew), comes a new darkly comedic series about science gone sinister and agriculture gone apocalyptic.

“Nature is a Mother.”

Review

Farmhand is an entertaining, fast-paced comic book series with its eye-catching art, well-written and relatable characters, and storyline-inherent multilayered themes of generational conflict, cutting-edge science vs. religious faith, as well as the oft-told, nature-flouting lessons of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. These elements make Farmhand an intriguing, familial, horrific and science fiction-ish read, one that I am glad I own. (I am picky about what I keep on my bookshelf.)

Labyrinth by Eric Mackenzie-Lamb

(pb;1979)

From the back cover

“A handsome, brilliant college professor framed by the sexual hysteria of a lovelorn student and forced to leave civilization and safety behind. . . A vicious psychopath with bizarre carnal tastes and a bestial talent for killing. . .  A lovely young heiress drawn by forbidden desire into a nightmare of her own perverse making. . . All of them deep in the heart of a vat, unmapped Okefenokee swamp, where a fabulous lost treasure baited the most hideous trap this side of hell.”

Review

Labyrinth is a great, entertaining pulp novel with vivid, simile-rich descriptions, effective and often enthralling action sequences and well-written characters whose passions, light and dark, make for heroes worth sympathizing with and rooting for, as well as villains worth hissing at. If you are looking for fast read, pre-Eighties thriller with a Southern Comfort setting,Civil War history and a violent treasure hunt thrown into the mix, this may be a book you would want to own.

Before the Chop IV (and After): LA Weekly Writing (and More), 2012—2018 by Henry Rollins

(pb; 2018: nonfiction/media column collection)

Review

Chop IV continues in the thematic vein of its first three volumes, with Rollins writing about his love of listening to vinyl, travel and learning, as well as the joys and downfalls of spoken word gigs. He also, of course, geeks out about his favorite bands and friends (e.g., Iggy Pop) and shares blunt, smart observations about getting older in a society that does not value aging, nor the its (hopefully) attendant wisdom.

Of the four volumes, this is the least joyous and fun, but that is not Rollins’s fault, nor is it a reflection of the quality of his writing. It reflects, rather, the times: like so many things in the now, it is tainted with our current US President and his effect on─it seems─everything. This a minor caveat, at worst, for those of us seeking a respite from the daily toxicity oozing from the White House. Or, to put it another way: Chop IV is worth owning despite its inevitable reflections on our current societal climate.

Hannibal by Thomas Harris

(pb; 1999: third novel in the Hannibal Lecter quadrilogy)

From the back cover

“You remember Hannibal Lecter: gentleman, genius, cannibal. Seven years have passed since Dr. Lecter escaped from custody. And for seven years he’s been at large, free to savor the scents, the essences, of an unguarded world. But intruders have entered Dr. Lecter’s sanctuary, piercing his new identity, sensing the evil that surrounds him. For the multimillionaire Hannibal left maimed, for a corrupt Italian policeman, and for FBI agent Clarice Starling, who once stood before Lecter and who has never been the same, the final hunt for Hannibal Lecter has begun. All of them, in their separate ways, want to find Dr. Lecter. And all three will get their wish. But only one willlive long enough to savor the reward.”

Review

Hannibal is part witty comedy, part travelogue and part bloody thriller. This third entry in the Hannibal Lecter quadrilogy ups the series’ humor and Grand Guignol elements, as well as Hannibal’s love of Florence, Italy─whose sensory-based glories get plenty of “air time” in this cinematic-descriptive horror work. I tired quickly of this latter element (I’m a barebones thriller reader), but I understand why Harris included these parts in the book: it is consistent with Hannibal’s sensibilities and the tone of the previous novels. I laughed quite a bit, especially during the dinner scene near the end of the book. An over-the-top work, this is worth reading, possibly worth owning if you are into the above, well-written elements.

Followed by a prequel, Hannibal Rising.

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The film version was released stateside on February 9, 2001. Ridley Scott directed the film, from a screenplay by David Mamet and Steve Zaillian.

Anthony Hopkins played Hannibal Lecter. Julianne Moore played Clarice Starling. Gary Oldman played Mason Verger. Ray Liotta played Paul Krendler. Giancarlo Giannini played Insp. Rinaldo Pazzi. 

Frankie Faison, billed as Frankie R. Faison, reprised his role of Barney from The Silence of the Lambs.

Essential Marvel: Spider-Woman Vol. 2 by various authors and illustrators

(pb; 1979–1983, 2007 ─ graphic novel, collects Spider-Woman #26–50, Marvel Team-Up #97 and Uncanny X-men #148.)

From the back cover

“The first part of Spider-Woman’s career concludes as her collection of challenges and crises is completed! Some of Marvel’s most stupendous scribes set the heroine against Morgan la Fay, the Viper, Gypsy Moth and other fearsome foes, forgotten or otherwise! Plus: the first appearances of X-Factor’s Siryn and X-Force’s Caliban! But after tearing through a gauntlet of magicians, mad scientists, murder and mystery, what final fate awaits the webbed wonder? Guest-starring Spider-Man, the Hulk, the X-men and the Werewolf!”

Overall review

The second half of this series is a vast improvement on it first half, which struggled to find the character “voice” of its titular character, who also went by the name Jessica Drew. For the most part, the writers ditched the uneven, sexist writing and unlikely character twists─these flaws still pop up, but they are relatively rare in the comics that make up the second Spider-Woman volume.

This is a fun, mostly well-written comic book collection, with a character who got better with each progressive issue. It is worth reading, possibly owning if you are a fan of superheroines of that era (late Seventies to early Eighties).

Issues / story arcs

“The Blades of the Grinder!” (#26): Spider-Woman’s crime-fighting activities catch the attention of a sleazy newspaper owner (Rupert Dockery), who makes Spider-Woman front-page news. He also sets her up for an attack from a new, blade-spinning foe, the easily defeated Grinder.

“Blacked Out—By the Enforcer!” (#27): Dockery, owner of the Los Angeles Courier, continues to endanger Spider-Woman by springing supervillain-thief Carson Collier (a.k.a. the Enforcer) from prison─Carson was last seen in issue #19. He goes on a robbery spree that violently reunites him and Spider-Woman. Cliffhanger finish in this issue.

“That Scotty Should Not Die!” (#28): Spider-Woman is forced to aid the Enforcer in his big-time robberies if she wants to get an antidote to save her crippled assistant, Scotty McDowell, from the Enforcer’s poison. Readers may be required to utilize a higher-than-usual suspension of realistic disbelief while reading this issue.

“Spider-Man is Dead─And I Killed Him!” (#29): News of the Enforcer/Spider-Woman robbery spree reaches Spider-Man, who flies from New York to LA to suss out whether or not his fellow arachnid-themed friend has truly turned to a career in crime. Meanwhile, LA Courier owner Rupert Dockery continues to track the super-thieves (via a listening/tracking device he planted on the Enforcer) and profit from the front-page crime wave he brought into being. Scotty McDowell clings precariously to life.

As in the previous issue, readers may be required to utilize a higher-than-usual suspension of realistic disbelief while reading this issue.

“Come Into My Parlor─Said the Fly!” (#30): Spider-Woman once again confronts Rupert Dockery in a non-violent way. The Enforcer makes an appearance. A supervillain, The Fly, repeatedly attacks Spider-Woman, his assaults indirectly aided by a scientist named Dr. Malus.

“Marvel Team-Up: Hulk and Spider-woman—‘Doctor of Madness’ (#97, crossover issue): The Hulk and Spider-Woman, taken prisoner by Dr. W. Lee Benway, make their escape from the crazed scientist and his misshapen monsters.

“The Sting of the Hornet!” (#31): Scotty McDowell is transformed into the chaos-causing Hornet, a villain who flies around L.A. and stirs up trouble with Spider-Woman. This is because of the “cure” that Dr. Karl Malus injected him with in the previous issue.

“The Fangs of Werewolf By Night” (#32): Dr. Karl Malus continues to manipulate Scotty into becoming the Hornet─an erratic, villainous irritant to the clueless Spider-Woman. Malus also tricks Jack Russell, Werewolf by Night, into becoming his lycanthropic puppet. His target? Spider-Woman, of course.

“Yesterday’s Villain” (#33): Jessica/Spider-Woman visits San Francisco to reap the bounty on an arsonist and murderer, Turner D. Century, a.k.a. Morgan MacNeil Hardy. Century’s mission: relentless purification of the city.

“The Wildfire Express!” (#34): While a wildfire blazes in L.A., the tough-to-beat techno villains Hammer and Anvil kidnap an industrialist CEO, Amanda Sheridan, one step in an attempted corporate takeover. Enter Spider-Woman, who must infiltrate DRC─Sheridan’s main corporate rival─and battle Mandroids, in order to save Amanda  and her company.

“Farewell to L.A.!” (#35): David Angar─a.k.a. the Screamer─is an escaped felon whose sonic screams cause mass hallucinations and amnesia, running loose in Los Angeles.Jessica/Spider-Woman not only has to deal with him, but the increasing tension between her and Scotty McDowell.

Lindsay McCabe, Jessica’s roommate, makes an intriguing offer to Jessica. Great storyline and artwork in this issue.

“The Wanderer!” (#36): En route to their new home, San Francisco, Jessica and Lindsay get in a car accident. They are swept into a small-town murder and a UFO visitation/confrontation.

This issue introduces the the extraterrestrial Tsyrami and their female leader, Elhalyn, into the Spider-Woman timeline. This is a fun, off-kilter tale, with great artwork.

“Who Am I?” (#37): Jessica, now living in San Francisco, interrupts a bank robbery. The robbers: rogue mutant Black Tom Cassidy and Cain Marko─a.k.a. the Juggernaut. Not only that, Jessica, as Spider-Woman, must face off against Siryn, a mutant whose voice can be used as a sonic blast.

“Criminal at Large!” (#38): Spider-Woman, accused of another crime she did not commit, is aided by select X-Men─Angel, Colossus and Storm─as they foil Black Tom, the Juggernaut and Siryn in their criminal endeavors.

Two nits: (1) The cops do not immediately unmask Spider-Woman when they catch her─this does not ring true with cop, even human, nature; (2) one character gives an unlikely confession, given his character─it’s something out of a 1950s crime drama.

I realize this is a comic book, but given how good some of the writing is in this series, these are glaring examples of sloppy writing.

“X-men: ‘Cry Mutant!’” (#148, crossover issue): In the Bermuda Triangle, Scott Summers─a.k.a. Cyclops─and Aleyty Forrester, a sailing ship captain, are shipwrecked. They wash ashore a strange metal city.

Elsewhere, when Kitty Pryde is kidnapped by a mysterious shadow man, the Dazzler, Spider-Woman and Oroco rush to rescue her. This is a fun, good issue.

“Death Stroke” (#39): When Jessica discovers her friend, David Ishima, has been implicated in a murder, she dons the Spider-Woman suit to help him. While doing so, she fights the leader of an assassination group, a spandex-wearing baddie named Death Stroke.

A Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) train provides a fun backdrop for this pulpy tale, which makes overall great use of East Bay, California locations.

“Flying Tiger—Kills!” (#40): Another assassin, the Flying Tiger, is hired by Morgan Le Fay to kill Jessica/Spider-Woman.

This issue is mostly good, action-packed. There is, however, an indication that Le Fay can read Jessica’s mind─probably just a gimmick to keep the story flowing while hyping the next issue, but it is a glaring inconsistency.

“La Morte de Jessica” (#41): In the setting of Camelot, Jessica battles Morgan Le Fay, so that she might rescue Lindsay, her roommate, from the fiendish sorceress. Also: a revelation, possibly?!

“The Judas Man” (#42): A failed kidnapping attempt of a college student, Pamela Kramer, leads Jessica Drew to work with Lt. Sabrina Morrel of the SFPD. They need to put down the Silver Samurai, a metal-armored swordsman, and his boss, Viper. The latter foe, an ex-Hydra agent, was first was encountered by Jessica in Marvel Team-Up #85. Viper may have a mystical link to Jessica. Cliffhanger finish to this issue.

“Last Stands” (#43): With her roommate, Lindsay McCabe, in danger, Jessica Drew continues to battle an armor-stripped Silver Samurai and the shadowy Viper, whose physical resemblance to Jessica is uncanny. Another cliffhanger finish in this issue.

“Vengeance!” (#44): Jessica vows revenge on those who caused Lindsay’s near-death: SFPD Lt. Sabrina Morrel and Viper. Complicating Jessica’s furious mission, Morgan Le Fey─previously thought banished to another realm, and possibly dead─appears to Jessica, prophesying our arachnid heroine’s demise.

Viper’s link to Jessica is revealed. The mysterious villain is Meriem Drew, Jessica’s mother, once a Hydra agent and unwilling killer for Cthon, a demon. Fun, nice denouement to the events of the past few issues.

“Mission: Impossible” (#45): The Impossible Man, an impish, cone-headed alien, livens up Jessica’s crime-fighting adventures. Whimsical issue.

“Yakuza” (#46): When yakuza thugs try to kill her boyfriend, David Ishima, Jessica─with help from Lt. Sabrina Morrel─seeks out the orchestrator of the attack: Nguyen Ngoc Coy, a former Vietnamese general-turned-crime czar.

Also helping Jessica: Imura, Morrel’s non-criminal clan lord, and the unlikely and curiously cordial Wilson Fisk─a.k.a. the Kingpin. Fisk is a business partner with the shrill Coy.

This is one of my favorite issues. It is fun, well-written, with unexpected character and plot twists. I love the dynamic between Fisk and Jessica in this storyline.

“Twisted” (#47): Jessica Drew battles Daddy Longlegs─a mutated, freakishly tall dancer whose failed ambitions have led him toward murderous tendencies.

“Original Sin” (#48): Gypsy Moth─a.k.a. Sybarite, born Sybil Dvorak─returns as the leader of a cult of drug-induced followers. Jessica takes her on, again.

Gypsy’s origin story, that of a betrayed woman, is revealed. Also: Jessica goes to visit her friend, Jack Russell, a.k.a. Werewolf By Night, while he locks himself up and transforms into a lycanthrope.

“Runaway” (#49): While searching for a runaway boy with “weird powers” (Mickey Silk), Jessica meets─and briefly battles─his new protector, Tigra.

“Lifeline” (#50): Jessica Drew finds herself in a high-tech prison populated with fellow superheroes and supervillains. The prison is run by a failed, bitter Magician (Locksmith) and his psychic lackey, Ticktock.

Then things get strange, even for this wild-ride title. Magnuss, her mentor who disappeared, died, in issue #16, returns to astral-guide her to the sixth century, where it is likely she will fight her final battle with Morgan Le Fey.

This is the last issue of the series.

Cronenberg on Cronenberg edited by Chris Rodley

(1992, 1993: nonfiction/filmmaking)

From the back cover

“The volume charts David Cronenberg’s development from The Brood to Naked Lunch, demonstrating how he has invested his own developing genre with seriousness, a philosophical dimension and a rare emotional intensity, and reveals the concerns which continue to dominate his increasingly rich and complex work.

“This edition also includes a new section on Cronenberg’s most recent film, M. Butterfly.”

Review

This is an excellent nonfiction Cronenberg-related read, one of my favorite books read this year. Hearing the auteur talk about his motivations, themes, technique and other stuff related to his cinematic art is consistently interesting (in a good way) and inspiring, even with the intense and sometimes grim elements his work traffics in. If you are a Cronenberg fan, this is a book you should read, if not own.