gilda_elise | Entries tagged with mount tbr 2024

Over three million acres of dense woodlands make up the North Maine Woods. There are no major towns. No public roads. Nothing but forest for as far as the eye can see.

When two Marines and their Corpsman reunite after a decade apart, they find themselves caught up in the mystery of their former squad leader’s disappearance. With little more to go on than a handful of disturbing charcoal sketches and the whispers of a local legend, they plunge into the depths of one of America’s last truly wild places.

But the trees themselves begin to whisper dark secrets. Secrets of trafficking and violence. Of rotten science and blood. Of something else that lurks in the shadows of the pines — something ancient, savage, and hungry.

This was a pretty great book. The plot was suspenseful and involved, the characters complex and thoroughly constructed. I was totally taken in by the story, and its affect on the three men as they search for their missing comrade.

So, yeah, pretty great. Until it got to the ending. After all the build-up, the book comes to a quick, incomplete and totally flat ending. So much is left unexplained, as if the author, having gotten us there, doesn’t know what to do next.

What was “ancient, savage, and hungry”? Your guess is as good as mine. How do the three men manage to extricate theirselves from their predicament? Don’t know. They’re there, practically at death’s door, and then they’re not.

A completely disappointing ending. What I thought I’d give five stars, I’ve had to give only three. A real shame.

Mount TBR 2024 Book Links

Links are to more information regarding each book or author, not to the review.

1. Bone Walker (Anasazi Mysteries #3) by Kathleen O'Neal Gear, W. Michael Gear
2. Holly by Stephen King
3. Inferno (Inferno#1) by Larry Niven, Jerry Pournelle
4. Fallout (Lois Lane #1) by Gwenda Bond
5. The Secret People by John Wyndham
6. Certain Dark Things by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
7. Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
8. American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins
9. Psyche and Eros by Luna McNamara
10. Count Down: How Our Modern World Is Threatening Sperm Counts by Shanna H. Swan, Stacey Colino
11. Vampires of El Norte by Isabel Cañas
12. Night Songs by Charles L. Grant
13. President Garfield: From Radical to Unifier by C.W. Goodyear
14. The City of Mirrors by Justin Cronin
15. Mine by Robert R. McCammon
16. Time Travelers Never Die by Jack McDevitt
17. We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson
18. The Plots Against the President: FDR, A Nation in Crisis, and the Rise of the American Right by Sally Denton
19. The North Woods by Douglass Hoover

Goodreads 19

In March 1933, Franklin Delano Roosevelt finally became the nation's thirty-second president. The man swept in by a landslide four months earlier now took charge of a country in the grip of panic brought on by economic catastrophe. Though no one yet knew it-not even Roosevelt-it was a radical moment in America. And with all of its unmistakable resonance with events of today, it is a cautionary tale.

The Plots Against the President follows Roosevelt as he struggled to right the teetering nation, armed with little more than indomitable optimism and the courage to try anything. His bold New Deal experiments provoked a backlash from both extremes of the political spectrum. Wall Street bankers threatened by FDR's policies made common cause with populist demagogues like Huey Long and Charles Coughlin. But just how far FDR's enemies were willing to go to thwart him has never been fully explored.

Two startling events that have been largely ignored by historians frame Sally Denton's swift, tense narrative of a year of fear: anarchist Giuseppe Zangara's assassination attempt on Roosevelt, and a plutocrats' plot to overthrow the government that would come to be known as the Wall Street Putsch. The Plots Against the President throws light on the darkest chapter of the Depression and the moments when the fate of the American republic hung in the balance.

It’s amazing how every once in awhile, usually when they’ve lost an election, the far right decides to take matters into their own hands, often with violent intent.

I had heard of both the assassination attempt and the plotted coup; both are well explained here with Denton’s coverage of how things unfolded once FDR became the Democrats’ nominee. While FDR would get flak from both sides, It was from the right that the true threat came. They would denounce him both as a socialist and a fascist (how someone can be both, the right has never bothered to explain,) Unfortunately, while thoroughly covered, I could have wished for better structure in the writing.

The strange plot cooked up by a group of Republican donors and Wall Street bankers, though found to be true by a Congressional committee, has never been well advertised. Maybe it’s about time that it was.

APR - "Who's In Charge Here?" - Read a book where the character's involvement in Royalty, Government, a Kingdom, or any ruling body plays a roll.⁠

The Plot to Seize the White House: The Shocking TRUE Story of the Conspiracy to Overthrow F.D.R. by Jules Archer, Anne Cipriano Venzon
(Foreword)

Merricat Blackwood lives on the family estate with her sister Constance and her uncle Julian. Not long ago there were seven Blackwoods—until a fatal dose of arsenic found its way into the sugar bowl one terrible night. Acquitted of the murders, Constance has returned home, where Merricat protects her from the curiousity and hostility of the villagers. Their days pass in happy isolation until cousin Charles appears. Only Merricat can see the danger, and she must act swiftly to keep Constance from his grasp.

The book reads very much like a fairy tale. Two sisters, one of who has murdered the rest of the family, live in their large house (their castle,) with their invalid uncle. Constance refuses to leave the house, so it’s up to Merricat to go into the village to buy food and supplies.

While Constance lives within the walls of their house, Merricat uses her imagination to create practically an entire world on the estate. She’s almost an adult, but is written as very childlike, and is an unreliable narrator. So, like Merricat, the reader doesn’t know what is real and what isn’t.

What is real is the danger that those on the outside represent, along with the new danger of their cousin, Charles. What Merricat is willing to do to save Constance from that danger brings about an inevitable ending.

It’s a haunting and beautifully written story. I highly recommend it.

Dark Academia novel
1. We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson

When physicist Michael Shelborne mysteriously vanishes, his son Shel discovers that he had constructed a time travel device. Fearing his father may be stranded in time—or worse—Shel enlists the aid of Dave Dryden, a linguist, to accompany him on the rescue mission.

Their journey through history takes them from the enlightenment of Renaissance Italy through the American Wild West to the civil-rights upheavals of the 20th century. Along the way, they encounter a diverse cast of historical greats, sometimes in unexpected situations. Yet the elder Shelborne remains elusive.

And then Shel violates his agreement with Dave not to visit the future. There he makes a devastating discovery that sends him fleeing back through the ages, and changes his life forever.

What could have been a tense search for a missing father, is instead a somewhat jovial ride through time. At times, Shel and Dave act like a couple of frat boys, using the time time devices to visit their favorite historical events.

There are a few moments of crisis, but the boys find a way through with almost ridiculous ease. I never felt that there was any real danger, especially with the men’s song and dance.

The book is a pleasant read, but not one I’d especially recommend. Something of a disappointment from an author whose work I usually greatly admire. I seem to have fallen into a pattern of finding the least likable of my favorite authors’ works.

APR– Darling, Funny, Familiar, Somewhere, List, Meet, Never, Word⁠

Time Travelers Never Die by Jack McDevitt

Adrift in the 1980s and slowly losing her mind, a heavily armed former '60s radical kidnaps a baby with the hope, deluded as it may be, of returning her life to simpler times. The child's mother, though, isn't about to take it lying down and, along with a tracker, begins a cross-country chase to get her child back.

Maybe because there wasn’t any actual horror of the supernatural variety, I didn’t enjoy this book as much as I have practically all of his books. I’m not a fan of suspense stories, so there was that, too. Too often the story moves forward because yet another bad thing has happened, standing in the way for our hero to triumph. Eventually, I can’t help but roll my eyes at the improbability of its all.

I couldn’t stand Mary, the mad 80’s radical, which I guess is the way I was supposed to feel. But I wasn’t all that crazy about Laura, the mother, either. I felt sympathy for what she was going through, but I never connected with the character.

The story is good enough that I was able to finish it, but not one of McCammon’s best in my opinion.

MAR - "Thrill Me" - Read a thriller- Psychological thriller; Action thriller; Crime thriller; etc.⁠

Mine by Robert McCammon

The world we knew is gone. What world will rise in its place?

The Twelve have been destroyed and the terrifying hundred-year reign of darkness that descended upon the world has ended. The survivors are stepping outside their walls, determined to build society anew—and daring to dream of a hopeful future.

But far from them, in a dead metropolis, he waits: Zero. The First. Father of the Twelve. The anguish that shattered his human life haunts him, and the hatred spawned by his transformation burns bright. His fury will be quenched only when he destroys Amy—humanity’s only hope, the Girl from Nowhere who grew up to rise against him.

One last time light and dark will clash, and at last Amy and her friends will know their fate.

I’m of two minds when it comes to this book. There are parts that I enjoyed, mostly when it focused on the remaining humans. Not so much when it came to the long and sprawling story of of Zero, or Tim Fanning as he’s known in human form. Did I really care about his backstory? No, not really. Because, though Cronin tries hard to, what, humanize him, nothing can excuse what he does. Oh, boo hoo, you lost the woman you loved. Get in line.

So I skimmed huge segments of the book, only stopping when it appeared that something important was about to happen. Things do happen; it just seems to take an inordinate amount of time.

But worst is the ending Cronin writes for many of the characters. Not to give anything away, but some deserved better; one deserved far worse. I wish Cronin would have added a chapter or two to The Twelve, and given those characters the fates they deserved.

MAR– Story, Hunt, Plot, City, You, Cry, Another, Paint

The City of Mirrors by Justin Cronin

An “ambitious, thorough, supremely researched” ( The Washington Post ) biography of the extraordinary, tragic life of America’s twentieth president—James Garfield.

In “the most comprehensive Garfield biography in almost fifty years” ( The Wall Street Journal ), C.W. Goodyear charts the life and times of one of the most remarkable Americans ever to win the Presidency. Progressive firebrand and conservative compromiser; Union war hero and founder of the first Department of Education; Supreme Court attorney and abolitionist preacher; mathematician and canalman; crooked election-fixed and clean-government champion; Congressional chieftain and gentleman-farmer; the last president to be born in a log cabin; the second to be assassinated. James Abram Garfield was all these things and more.

Over nearly two decades in Congress during a polarized era—Reconstruction and the Gilded Age—Garfield served as a peacemaker in a Republican Party and America defined by divisions. He was elected to overcome them. He was killed while trying to do so.

President Garfield is American history at its finest. It is about an impoverished boy working his way from the frontier to the Presidency; a progressive statesman, trying to raise a more righteous, peaceful Republic out of the ashes of civil war; the tragically imperfect course of that reformation, and the man himself; a martyr-President, whose death succeeded in nudging the country back to cleaner, calmer politics.

If the author was attempting to enhance Garfield’s reputation, he didn’t do a very good job of it. At least, not for me. My secondary school was named after Edison, which celebrated his birthday with cake from the local power company. We learned all there was to know about him. In contrast, my primary grade school was named after the president, yet he was barely mentioned. Now I know why,

The book tries to show Garfield’s flip flopping as an admirable trait; that it meant that he studied both sides before coming to a decision. But he did it too often, and more than once going back and forth, for it to be an intellectual conclusion. Rather, like so many, he was looking out for his own political career. The author certainly didn’t help his case by constantly denigrating Garfield’s predecessors, especially Grant, either.

Any calming of the politics was probably due to his assassination, not because of anything he had done, just as Kennedy’s did. But it didn’t last. And his part in destroying Reconstruction certainly overshadowed any good he did.

If you’re looking for a book that actually does cast Garfield in a better light, read Destiny of the Republic by Candice Millard. It was what got me to read this one. So, maybe not.

Somewhere in the night they are singing songs of death...

Colin Ross, twice thwarted in love, once abandoned, quit the mainland for Haven's End, a wounded soul on an idyllic island, seeking to heal his life.

But instead of peace, he is hurled into chaos. Some dark and ancient hatred, some evil force, is unleashed, wreaking vengeance on the islanders, mangling the living and mutilating the dead.

And, as the piercing songs rise to met the roaring wind, Colin Ross, against his will, is sucked into the raging storm.

The book took quite awhile to get going, and there were more than a few times that I felt like slapping Colin Ross across the head. Maybe it was supposed to show how damaged the man was, but at the same time he’s supposed to figure out what’s going on and deal with it. Made for a somewhat split personality. Is he weak, strong, a bit of both?

Still, I did enjoy the story once it got going. The characters were interesting, especially Peg, Colin’s love interest, and her son, Matt. The boy plays a large part in fitting the pieces together. He comes across as an inquisitive, yet not annoying kid.

One thing, I wasn’t crazy about the zombie inclusion. I realize that the book is rather old, written before the zombie craze. Yet it couldn’t help but turn me off somewhat.

So not a great book, but I’ve certainly read worse.

Creepy character/object (House, doll, child, etc.)
1. Night Songs by Charles L. Grant

Vampires and vaqueros face off on the Texas-Mexico border in this supernatural western from the author of The Hacienda.

As the daughter of a rancher in 1840s Mexico, Nena knows a thing or two about monsters—her home has long been threatened by tensions with Anglo settlers from the north. But something more sinister lurks near the ranch at night, something that drains men of their blood and leaves them for dead.

Something that once attacked Nena nine years ago.

Believing Nena dead, Néstor has been on the run from his grief ever since, moving from ranch to ranch working as a vaquero. But no amount of drink can dispel the night terrors of sharp teeth; no woman can erase his childhood sweetheart from his mind.

When the United States attacks Mexico in 1846, the two are brought abruptly together on the road to war: Nena as a curandera, a healer striving to prove her worth to her father so that he does not marry her off to a stranger, and Néstor as a member of the auxiliary cavalry of ranchers and vaqueros. But the shock of their reunion—and Nena’s rage at Néstor for seemingly abandoning her long ago—is quickly overshadowed by the appearance of a nightmare made flesh.

And unless Nena and Néstor work through their past and face the future together, neither will survive to see the dawn.

A truly amazing combining of horror, historical fiction, and romance. The horror of the vampires of legend fits perfectly into the history of the “vampires” of the north, those who prey on the weaker and rob them of their land. Against this backdrop is the love between Nena and Néstor, which blossomed when they were children.

They are truly an enchanting couple, who make the history come alive while they battle two enemies. Strangely enough, it’s the vampire of legend who seem the easier to vanquish.

Still, it was the relationship between Nena and Néstor that I found the most interesting. Their efforts to work through their feelings of betrayal and grief are the heart of the story.

I loved The Hacienda; I adore Vampires of El Norte.

By BIPOC author
1. Certain Dark Things by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
2. Vampires of El Norte by Isabel Cañas

In this utterly transporting reimagining of Greek mythology, the god of desire is cursed to fall for a spirited young mortal woman, but if she looks upon his face they will be parted forever—an epic adventure and love story for the ages, sure to satisfy fans of Madeline Miller and V.E. Schwab

Who said true love is a myth?

A prophecy claims that Psyche, princess of Mycenae, will defeat a monster feared even by the gods. Rebelling against her society’s expectations for women, Psyche spends her youth mastering blade and bow, preparing to meet her destiny.

When Psyche angers the love goddess Aphrodite, she sends Eros, god of desire, to deliver a cruel curse. After eons watching humanity twist his gifts, the last thing Eros wants is to become involved in the chaos of the mortal world. But when he pricks himself with the arrow intended for Psyche, Eros finds himself doomed to yearn for a woman who will be torn from him the moment their eyes meet.

Thrown together by fate, headstrong Psyche and world-weary Eros will face challenges greater than they could have ever imagined. And as the Trojan War begins and divine powers try to keep them apart, the pair must determine if the curse could become something more . . . before it’s too late.

A joyous and subversive tale of gods, monsters, and the human heart and soul, Psyche and Eros dazzles the senses while exploring notions of trust, sacrifice, and what it truly means to be a hero. With unforgettably vivid characters, spellbinding prose, and delicious tension, Luna McNamara has crafted a shimmering and propulsive debut novel about a love so strong it defies the will of Olympus.

I wanted to like this book; I really did. The myth of Psyche and Eros (or Cupid and Psyche, as I’ve always known them,) is probably my favorite classical myth. But it’s not a very good book. Forget about all the name dropping (if there’s a mythical character not mentioned, I don’t know who it is,) I just couldn’t get past the reimagining of the two main characters. Neither are especially likable, and Psyche comes across like a modern teenager. She’s spoiled, she shoots her mouth off, and she’s constantly making stupid decisions. Eros doesn’t seem as bad, but that may be because he’s less of the story’s focus.

Leaving that aside, I was amazed at the sloppy research. Eros speaks of terriers, which weren’t around until the 1800s. That’s AD, not BC. And how in the heck does Psyche know about the adrenal gland and adrenaline? The Greeks may have noticed the small piece of matter during a dissection, but they had no idea as to what it did.

Slightly worse are the grammatical slips. Using “I,” instead of “me,” as in “…it will hurt both Psyche and I later (“hurt I later”?)

There are a few good passages, as when Psyche goes with Iphigenia to the wedding she thinks awaits her, that make the book at least passably readable. But mostly, I wouldn’t bother.

FEB - "Dynamic Duos" - Read a book with a couple of characters that make the perfect pair- whether in business, friendship, or in love.⁠

Psyche and Eros by Luna McNamara

Lydia lives in Acapulco. She has a son, Luca, the love of her life, and a wonderful husband who is a journalist. And while cracks are beginning to show in Acapulco because of the cartels, Lydia’s life is, by and large, fairly comfortable. But after her husband’s tell-all profile of the newest drug lord is published, none of their lives will ever be the same.

Forced to flee, Lydia and Luca find themselves joining the countless people trying to reach the United States. Lydia soon sees that everyone is running from something. But what exactly are they running to?

This is such an inspiring, yet heartbreaking book. As we see the harrowing trip north through their eyes, I couldn’t help but be drawn into the hopes and fears of the characters: Lydia and Luca, Rebeca and Soledad, the girls who they meet and befriend along the way, Beto, the young boy who helps them navigate their way through Nogales, and even El Chacal (The Jackel,) the coyote who leads them north.

I think what made the book so compelling, is that, as I progressed through it, I wondered, given the vagaries of life, how easily it could have been my story. If I had been born three hundred miles south. If, a hundred odd years ago, my own ancestors hadn’t decided to make the move north.

This is a book I know I’ll return to, and I look forward to reading more of the author’s books.

Recommended by

justjo2u. And while maybe not the most emphatic recommendation, I can't thank her enough for bringing this book to my attention.

The Mayan god of death sends a young woman on a harrowing, life-changing journey in this one-of-a-kind fairy tale inspired by Mexican folklore.

The Jazz Age is in full swing, but Casiopea Tun is too busy cleaning the floors of her wealthy grandfather’s house to listen to any fast tunes. Nevertheless, she dreams of a life far from her dusty small town in southern Mexico. A life she can call her own.

Yet this new life seems as distant as the stars, until the day she finds a curious wooden box in her grandfather’s room. She opens it—and accidentally frees the spirit of the Mayan god of death, who requests her help in recovering his throne from his treacherous brother. Failure will mean Casiopea’s demise, but success could make her dreams come true.

In the company of the strangely alluring god and armed with her wits, Casiopea begins an adventure that will take her on a cross-country odyssey from the jungles of Yucatán to the bright lights of Mexico City—and deep into the darkness of the Mayan underworld.

Very much a fairy tale, though along the lines of a Grimm fairy tale, but not the Disneyfied versions. Though ostensibly a quest to return items stolen, the story takes the reader along on a journey of self discovery, for Casiopea, and for Hun-Kamé, the god of death she accompanies. It is fraught with danger, both physically and spiritually.

Though having lived a sheltered life, Casiopea is nevertheless feisty. She may be little more than a servant in her grandfather’s house, but she has dreams. This makes her a match for Hun-Kamé, who is dealing with being part human through his link with her.

As their quest progresses, so does their relationship. And though the ending is inevitable, I could have wished it otherwise.

The Sun Bird was beginning to travel fast, close to the edge of the whirlpool. They could look right down into the hollow of spinning water' While flying over Africa's New Sea, a water project in the heart of the Sahara desert, Mark Sunnet's rocket plane crashes and is sucked through a hole in the desert floor into a strange, cavernous new world. There, he and his partner Margaret encounter the survivors of an ancient race of underground dwellers whose whole existence is now threatened. Captured and forced to live with other prisoners taken from the surface, the pair know that they must escape before the waters above drown them all . . .

The Secret People, published in 1935, is John Wyndham's first novel. 'Perhaps the best writer of science fiction England has ever produced' Stephen King

You win some, you lose some. While I can (somewhat,) agree with King on Jizzle,, this book is ruined by its casual racism and constant pontification. That part made the book really boring. But then, the very idea of flooding the Sahara desert to create a “New” sea, seemed like a bad idea from the start. And it was. And why they thought flooding an area with sea water would work is beyond me. Talk about hubris.

I did find it interesting the Margaret is more open to actually finding out something about their captors. Granted, she’s in a different situation, but I wonder if Mark would have handled it was as much grace.

This being Wyndham’s first novel, I suppose I can cut him some slack. It’s an interesting idea, though, I think, completely impossible. But the science in science fiction was often left behind in its early works.

JAN– Secret, Heaven, True, House, Come, Only, Know, Winter⁠

The Secret People by John Wyndham

Lois Lane is starting a new life in Metropolis. An Army brat, Lois has lived all over—and seen all kinds of things. (Some of them defy explanation, like the near-disaster she witnessed in Kansas in the middle of one night.) But now her family is putting down roots in the big city, and Lois is determined to fit in. Stay quiet. Fly straight. As soon as she steps into her new high school, though, she can see it won’t be that easy. A group known as the Warheads is making life miserable for another girl at school. They’re messing with her mind, somehow, via the high-tech immersive video game they all play. Not cool. Armed with her wit and her new snazzy job as a reporter, Lois has her sights set on solving this mystery. But sometimes it’s all a bit much. Thank goodness for her maybe-more-than-a friend, a guy she knows only by his screen name, SmallvilleGuy.

I normally don’t read YA but, hey, Lois Lane. It was a pleasant read, not great but all right. I think the part I liked best was in the inclusion of “smallvilleguy.” Because who is Lois Lane with Superman? Or the reverse?

I was unsure about the main focus of the story. Are video games really that realistic? Or was that something that can only happen in a comic book?

Yet, I can’t say that I wouldn’t mind reading the sequels. It would be interesting to see how Lois’s relationship with smallvilleguy progresses. She’s only sixteen, so their actual meeting is probably years away, but there’s so much to play with until then.

Thanks to

honor_reid for recommending the book.

Fallout

An unearthly voice hisses unholy welcome. And the late, great Allen Carpentier begins his one-way journey into the dim nether regions where flame-colored demons wield diabolically sharp pitchforks and tormented vixens reign forever in a pond of sheer ice. Here, in this land of torment and terror, he discovers the amazing truth of the ultimate adventure that lies beyond the grave.

Frank Herbert -"The somber beauty of INFERNO brought up to the twentieth century with care and humor and with some sins Dante didn't even suspect."

I read this years and years ago, and it hasn’t lost its punch. As Carpentier makes his reluctant way through Hell, led by the mysterious Benito, he’s faced with its ugly reality. Or is there more going on here than is apparent? And why does Benito have free reign in Hell?

The punishments are often the same as those described by Dante, usually over the top and don’t usually fit the crime (the illustrations by Gustav Doré in my copy of The Divine Comedy, are truly grotesque.) It’s the question that Carpentier struggles to answer; why would a god create a hell? And why would a punishment last through eternity? The answer is a surprising one.

JAN - "Red Carpet Reads" - Read a book that has won a literary award or been nominated for one.

Inferno by Larry Niven, Jerry Pournelle

Nominated for the Hugo and Nebula Awards

Stephen King’s Holly marks the triumphant return of beloved King character Holly Gibney. Readers have witnessed Holly’s gradual transformation from a shy (but also brave and ethical) recluse in Mr. Mercedes to Bill Hodges’s partner in Finders Keepers to a full-fledged, smart, and occasionally tough private detective in The Outsider. In King’s new novel, Holly is on her own, and up against a pair of unimaginably depraved and brilliantly disguised adversaries.

When Penny Dahl calls the Finders Keepers detective agency hoping for help locating her missing daughter, Holly is reluctant to accept the case. Her partner, Pete, has Covid. Her (very complicated) mother has just died. And Holly is meant to be on leave. But something in Penny Dahl’s desperate voice makes it impossible for Holly to turn her down.

Mere blocks from where Bonnie Dahl disappeared live Professors Rodney and Emily Harris. They are the picture of bourgeois respectability: married octogenarians, devoted to each other, and semi-retired lifelong academics. But they are harboring an unholy secret in the basement of their well-kept, book-lined home, one that may be related to Bonnie’s disappearance. And it will prove nearly impossible to discover what they are up to: they are savvy, they are patient, and they are ruthless.

Holly must summon all her formidable talents to outthink and outmaneuver the shockingly twisted professors in this chilling new masterwork from Stephen King.

I didn’t mind the politics. It’s life, after all. And King is certainly not the first author to give his characters his beliefs; he’s certainly done the reverse. I hadn’t even known there was a problem until I started reading some of the other reviews (I wonder what they would have made of Star Trek!). I figure, if I don’t like a book that much, I quit reading it.

My major complaint is with Holly, who I’ve loved in all the books in which she’s appeared. I’m not sure what happened, but her spark seems to be gone. And considering that the character has to pretty much carry the book, that’s going to be a major problem. I felt as if she really wasn’t there. That she was a disinterested bystander. Not until near the end of the book, when things are hitting her in the face, does she come alive.

This isn’t a terrible book; far from it. The case is interesting and the villains are truly villainous. But it’s not one of King’s best. I know people can be truly evil, so maybe I just miss the supernatural slant. Is the book horror? Yes, just not in my favorite flavor.