Book Review: “Stories”, Neil Gaiman and Al Sarrantonio, eds.

Like many people, my commute can be pretty variable. With little traffic, and favorable traffic-light timing, I can make it to work in less than 20 minutes. Add something innocuous as a car on the side of the road, and it can almost double. In the early part of the summer, I started to get pretty annoyed at grinding through traffic and the same old iPod playlists and my patience were wearing a bit thin.

So, in an effort to stave off crankiness, I decided that I might try listening to audiobooks during my commute. I have to say, that it’s really helped the crawl to the point that I almost don’t really mind if things are a little slow. Almost.

For the latest book, I tried an anthology of short stories succinctly named “Stories”, edited by Neil Gaiman and Al Sarrantonio, which includes a number of very well-known authors as contributors.


Reading a bunch of short stories consecutively can get a little tough (which I tend to read a few between other books, sort of like a literary intermezzo), but I thought that here they serve as good “commute-sized” fare, and I wasn’t disappointed. The aural format really fits the short story very well, feeling like someone is “telling you a story” rather than “reading this novel outloud”.

As with any anthology, there were hits and misses, but overall this was a very strong selection – varied in scope and tone, which I think kept it fresh. Some standouts:

"Blood" by Roddy Doyle: interesting take on a vampire story and wonderful lead-off to the collection. Great off-beat wry-writing. Irish accent of reader was perfect for the story – definitely rethinks the whole “bloodsucker” cliché.

"Fossil-Figures" by Joyce Carol Oates: An evil twin story. Incredibly creepy and dark. Told slowly and dreamily – there were conventions in the writing that really worked aloud – but I’d be curious if they worked in text.

"The Stars Are Falling" by Joe R. Lansdale: Wonderfully dark tale about a WWI veteran returning home to a wife that isn’t necessarily happy to see him. Gripping. Sad.

"Loser" by Chuck Palahniuk: Dirtball frat kid on LSD goes on a game show that is never referred to by name but is clearly “The Price Is Right”. Not really dramatic, but pretty funny and a nice counterpoint to the standard "fantasy" short story.

"Unwell" by Carolyn Parkhurst: Nasty tale of an old woman that manipulates her sister – as she had her entire life. Pretty mean-spirited but pretty good.

"Parallel Lines" by Tim Powers: Strangely enough, another story about an old lady’s overbearing sister. Here, her twin dies and seeks to return from the grave. Taut story, good turns. Very well-executed.

"Human Intelligence" by Kurt Anderson: Clever story of a young scientist that discovers an alien base in the Arctic and of the alien “spy” who’s been marooned here for more than a millennium. Odd, abrupt, comic twist on the ending that I’m not sure will work for everyone, but did for me.

I have to say that I'd be very curious to see how this list would change if I'd read these stories rather than heard them. That aside, all in all, this is a very good collection that I’d recommend to even the most casual “fantasy” fan.

To be Read

Cover of The Mists of Avalon

I finished my most recent book and wasn't sure what I would pick off of my shelf read next. I have a shelf of books that I am trying to get through. I bought the books at various times and have always preempted them with other books. I am trying not to request books from the library or buy anything until I finish the shelf (exceptions of course for book club books and amazing deals like the copy of Spook County that I picked up a Big Lots for $3. But I plan on going ot a William Gibson reading this month and will take that and maybe a couple of others to get signed).


With my mind drawing a blank and wanting to read some of the more recent additions as opposed to some books that had been collecting dust for a while, I decided to use the only truly random method; a child. I called my daughter over and asked her which one I should read next. She picked Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley. I have read only one other book by MZB and it was a Darkover novel that I didn't care for. So, I wasn't looking forward to it. I pulled it down and it was sooooooo heavy. It comes in at about 900 pages.

Thanks a lot, Ashli. Guess I had to read it sometime

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How to Read Book Reviews

With the exception of a reviewer that I trust, I seldom read book reviews.  I say this knowing that I have a book review coming up in the near future.   Well, let me correct myself.  I seldom read book reviews before I read a book.  I quite like reading them afterwards.  I like seeing how other people feel about the book and comparing and contrasting my own feelings.  It will sometimes help me to understand why I liked or disliked aspects of the book or may point out easter eggs that I missed.  So, having read a lot of reviews after the fact, I have developed a sense for which reviews are going to acurately describe the book. 

As Amazon is the largest collection of book reviews, I will use them as the review reading platform. 

1.  Skip the plot summaries-  They are full of spoilers and aren't really reviews.  I don't really care to have the book condenced to 600 words by somone. 
2.  Look at the one star reviews first.  Some books have a political message that others don't like and that you may not like.  These are always revealed in the one star reviews.  Sometimes the one star reviews attack the book because of the writer's view points or other works and are not based on the current work.  A good percentage of one star reviewers didn't attempt to read the book. 

3.  Avoid the 5 star reviews*.  Every genre and every writer has fanboys.  No wrong can be done in their eyes.  These reviews are usually all praise and will not point out shortcommings. 
4.  Read every 3 star review.  These are the best.  They generally can see both the good and the bad and express them well.  They are not biased towards the book in any way or will admit their bias and explain how they overcame it.  The 3 stars are the most informative reviews. 
*5 star reviews can be helpful if the tally is very top heavy, but then 4 star reviews usually take the place of the 5 stars. 

I hope that anyone that reads reviews before reading get some help from this list.  I also hope that the reviews I write provide the information that I praise three star reviews on Amazon for containing. 

If you have a sci-fi book you would like reviewed, drop me a comment.  I will review it if I have read it.

Suck it Wonder Woman- Book Review

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This is a memoir by Olivia Munn.  It is also a flip book.  It is a very light hearted book and is a very quick read.  This is in part due to the large type and wide margins.  Not sure that the book fits the memoir genre for me.  More along the lines of random stuff with some antecdotes thrown in. 

The only real reason to do a memoir is to name names and tell people about your life.  She names Evander Holyfield, but you are left to speculate who she is referring to in the other antecdotes.  She doesn't really give you much about her life except a great chapter in the middle of the book where she talks about her Grandmother's death. 

I don't think she had a ghost writer.  She had a co writer, but I don't know how much he did.  If he did a lot he isn't very good.  Maybe he did that one chapter that was really good.  I think this was just her writing stuff that she thought was going to be fun.  It is very conversational.  There are filler pages that consist of Tweets of Princess Leia and Olivia's romantic advice.  These felt out of place in the book and seem to come up at random. 

As a casual fan of Olivia Munn, this book didn't satisfy me.  I was less interested in her trying to be funny and more interested learning about her life.  I know a little more than I did before, but I got that off of wikipedia.  The book just wasn't satisfying.  I am positive that she is smarter than she plays on TV, but this book didn't show me that. 

While some of it was entertaining the book kind of fell flat.  I could have done with a lot less of her talking about how she isn't hot or skinny or how she doesn't fit the Hollywood mold.  She does.  I would give this book a 3 and it isn't for kids to language and adult situations and humor.

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Kick Ass Vol.1 review

I haven't seen the movie yet, but I just finished volume 1 of the comic.  I am going to say that it was pretty good.  Not your normal superhero book in the slightest.  That might be because no one really has superpowers.  They are all a bunch of geeky Batmans.  Well, without the money. 

This comic is so not for kids.  It is totally completely violent, in the most violent of ways.  It so put the graphic into graphic novel.  There are also some adult situations and imagery that kids might not need to see.  Actually, I was reading this on the train and found myself having to cover some of the art from potentially prying eyes of other commuters. 

The story was pretty good.  The idea isn't completely original, but is very fresh.  The book knows what inspires it and other geeks and references that material.  In a way it almost seemed like a giant in joke. 

Overall it was pretty good and I recommend it, just not for kids. 

Little Brother Book Review

*This review is for the unabridged audiobook version. 
Pretentious much, Cory Doctorow?  I man the book oozes pretention.  The protagonist is the coolest, most justified, smart and always right person ever.  The bad guys are one dimensional and are all uniform carbon copies of each other.  They are uncool, unjustified in any action, and always wrong and stupid.  Wait the bad guys are all racist, homophobic, and republican.  Wait, the bad guys aren't republican, Republicans are the bad guys.  There is a difference there and Doctorow preaches it to you.

I actually liked the book at the beginning.  It was interesting if a little unplausible.  The premise is that a bomb blows up the Bay Bridge and Bart tunnel.  Four friends, cutting class to play an ARG (alternate reality game) are caught in the thick of it and get hauled in by Homeland Security as suspects.  After their secret detention and humiliation, all the kids cooperate and are released except one that had been stabbed in the chaos after the explosion.  The protagonist vows revenge for his humiliation.

Ninja Assassin Movie Review

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Originally posted at PracticalBlackBelt.com

I was excited when I heard about Ninja Assassin. I watched the preview and thought that it was going to be a modern special effects extravaganza with an old school 80’s ninja movie feel. It came out and the reviews were absolutely horrible. At first I thought they must not understand what the film was trying to do, but then it was reviewed by someone that wanted it to be exactly what I did. They said the movie failed. So, I put off watching it.

How to Judge a Scifi Book by its Cover

They say to never judge a book by its cover, but sometimes you don't have anything else to go on.  Say you are in a bookstore and you are about to leave on a flight. Uh oh, they don't have the next volume of The Lost Fleet.   You have no other choice but to browse what they do have.  In these cases you can often find the book you have been meaning to read or you could take a chance and Judge a book by its cover. 

I will break this down by three subgenres:  dystopian society, space opera, and military scifi. 

First of all, all three can be judged by the rule of B.  Look for these three things:  Big futuristic looking guns, Babes- of the human or non human kind, and bombs blowing up, because explosions are exciting.  If you can get a book with two out of three you are sure to enjoy yourself at least a little.

Dystopian Society-  You want to see a city in decay.  Whether it falling apart because zombie hordes are destroying the future, Bombed out due to some war, or overcrowded till it is a shanny town, the cityscape shouldn't be bright and impressive.  These covers should be bright and the characters should look grimey and unhappy. 


For space operas, you want large elaborate spaceships and a really cool looking planet. There should be a lot of contrast on this cover.  You want the void of space with colorful planets and explosions. 



For military scifi you are going for simple.  You want a big gun with a big dude holding it, or a space ship engaged in battle.  It also never hurts to have an image of the evil alien agressor.

One day I will write my book and it will have the best cover ever.  A man with a big gun will be clutching a babe with his free arm.  The background will consist of a bombed out city with space ships floating above engaged in battle.  The sky will show a colorful planet in the distance.  With that cover the book won't even have to be good. 

Did I miss something?  Do you have examples of me being right and/or wrong?  Let me know in the comments. 

Buffy the Vampire Soda

The wonderful people over at Jones Soda have graced us with Buffy Collector's Edition Sodas.  I mean, this is pretty cool.  They are a bit pricey though $12.99/6-pack and $21.99/12-pack.

Personally I would have to drink these Buffy the Vampire Slayer sodas and then refill them with something else.  Jones soda is good stuff. I am not sure that my wife would let me display these and they would have to be displayed. 

There are a total of six flavors with Buffy: Season 8 inspired names and label art.
The Flavor are:
Buffy's Blue Bubblegum (pictured)
Dawns a Centaur! Rootbeer
Xander's Strawberry Lime Elixer
Twilight's Old Moon Orange-Cream
Willow's Green Apple Witches Brew
And Giles' Grape Potion

Book Review: "Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter" by Seth Grahame-Smith

In the brief author interview that follows the conclusion of “Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter”, Seth Grahame-Smith relates that he got the idea for this book by going into bookstores in 2008. At that time, historians were gearing up to commemorate the bicentennial of Lincoln’s birth and of course there was “Twilight” fever. Everywhere he looked were books about Lincoln and books about vampires. Lincoln and vampires... Lincoln… vampires… – hey, I got an idea!

Now, I’m usually not one for “gimmick” books and I have not read Grahame-Smith’s “Pride and Prejudice and Zombies”, which I know spawned a torrent of similar classics-into-horror knock-offs. But after Budd’s positive review the other month, I had this book in the back of my mind when I was thinking about downloading an audiobook to listen to during my daily commute.

I have to say that this book was a lot of fun. The premise is pretty clearly spelled out in its title and the fun conceit of it that Lincoln – probably the American with the most studied and examined life in history – had a secret life as a vampire hunter (vampires in America were enjoying a bit of a heyday in the first half of the 19th century as it turns out).

Primarily, the book reads (what verb do you use here for an audiobook? “The book is presented?” anyway…) as a biography derived from Lincoln’s heretofore unknown private journal. With surprising depth and cleverness, Grahame-Smith interweaves the vampire yarn into the fabric of Lincoln’s life (and American history) – from his youth, through his adulthood and even to his Presidency and the Civil War. In fact, most of the book could be described as non-fiction, which is a weird thing to say. Real people, real events are all re-interpreted and re-presented. I couldn’t help but smile at the ingenuity of it all. It’s not all played for wry smiles though; there are definitely some parts in there that give a few chills and are not for the squeamish. And somewhere in there, I started to really like this Lincoln. I was rooting for him, even though you sort of know how it’s going to turn out on April 14-15, 1865.

Yes, this book is a lark, and I’m really not going to line up to read (or listen to) all the knock-offs, but if you want to take a stab at this mini-genre, this one is pretty fun.

Resident Evil 4 Wii

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I finally played through Resident Evil 4 on the Wii.  I have to say that this is a great game.  I have liked all of the movies for what they were, but this is the first Resident Evil game that I have played.  I think I may have played RE2 once way back in the day but I wasn't hooked immediately.  I knew people who were though. 

I picked this game up used for fairly cheap as I was looking to buy a game that was for me on the Wii and not for the kids.  I like zombies and thought that a game where you shoot them would be a blast.  To my disappointment there are no zombies to be found in this game but I pretended those infected with Las Plagas were zombies and for all intensive purposes they are. 

The game immediately struck me with how scarry it is.  The music is creapy.  The maps are set up so that you don't always see the bad guys before they are on top of you.  You get just enough ammo in this game to get you through.  I learned to conserve by attacking single enemies with my knife.  I liked to turn the lights out while I played to make it extra creepy. 

The controls are what make this game.  The wii mote is an awesome controller for this.  It takes a little time to get used to them but once you do they are a lot of fun. 

The game takes about 20hrs on your first play through, but after you play through it, you unlock weapons and minigames that increase replayability.  This game is highly recommended and a lot of fun.  You can pick it up cheap too.