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SYNOPSIS

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WHAT I LOVED MOST 

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LOVING CRITICISM

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MY FAVORITE CHARACTER

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SHOULD YOU READ THIS BOOK?

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You can find "XXXX" on Amazon or at your favorite bookstore. 

Support Black Authors Week

This week is Support Black Authors Week, and I would like to turn everyone's attention to some wonderful books by black authors. The initiative was started by Amistad Press and calls for the purchase and reading of two books by black authors to support black writers and publishers. 

"This Bridge Called My Back: Writings by Radical Women of Color," edited by Cherrie Moraga and Gloria Anzaldúa

A collection of writings by women of color describing their experiences with race, gender, sexuality, and class, and what feminism means to them. 

Buy "Bridge" here. 

Two Non-posthumous Novellas by H. P. Lovecraft

 

INTRODUCTION

Hello, I’m back. I understand I went through the trouble of informing of the biweekly shift, but I am still holding onto that. This is simply a bonus edition meant to coincide with last week’s sort-of-mini-review. But I mean, when you live in The Attic all day, you have to hope some can pick up the sheets I slide through the cracks.

Ehem, an important announcement on this regard, H. P. Lovecraft was a horrific slanderer. The Beings, well they aren’t really being as they don’t be-, anyways, that I represent want to wholeheartedly, well they don’t have- wholeheartedly state that this is fiction and not representative of their goals. Though, if this moves you down the path of contacting them then by all means, read along.

Now that the important things are out of the way, let’s talk about the two novellas published during Lovecraft’s life.

THE SHADOW OVER INNSMOUTH

This was actually the only book published by Lovecraft containing an individual story in his lifetime. Originally, Lovecraft refused to publish it, and it took the efforts of correspondent August Derleth to get it published (Lovecraft was not happy about it) as a cheaply produced book.

This story begins as the narrator starts telling of how his experiences in the coastal slum town of Innsmouth led to a massive federal investigation, arrests, and an attempt to destroy a local reef. What could have led to this? Why, the revelation that the town had a dark secret, involving sacrifices to eldritch abominations and said beings slowly intermingling with humanity (yeah, that is the issue with Lovecraft. His stories seem so cliché nowadays.), is what did the trick.

This book does feature Lovecraft’s standard themes, including fears of degeneracy (particularly mixed with racism, and possibly metal illness.) It actually has a moving plot, and where it does have your standard infodumps, it actually has a legitimate action scene.

Honestly it’s pretty good. And I feel is one of his more approachable stories. The story tells of a town that is wedged between several real town that became desperate in troubling economic times and what was done in order to save the town, even if it might appear reprehensible to outsiders. While that may be moving, I feel that Lovecraft's classism means the story is supposed to move us to disgust rather than pity for the inhabitants of Innsmouth, but I pity them regardless.

AT THE MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS 

This is probably one of Lovecraft’s best stories. I won’t say it is his best, as there is another story that I feel deserves that title, but this is definitely top ten worthy. It is also the only one that Lovecraft knowingly (at least I think) approved publication of.

This story tells of a professor and geologist named William Dyer at the Miskatonic University at Arkham, Massachusetts (the asylum was named in tribute to this), who after hearing of a exhibition to a bizarre territory at the center of Antarctica that an expedition Dyer co-headed discovered has decided to explain his horror of the place and tragic and terrifying reasons that he abandoned hope of learning more of the Antarctic interior.

The story is quite good, though it is more of the fact that it has well developed plot details, and on action it is not often. It tells of a expedition to the unknown and how after losing contact with a sup-expedition after they made the discover of a lifetime, a horrifying truth is uncovered about the history of our world. The horror is more of a subtle suspense, an existential consideration of the facts before you. Ultimately, I find myself feeling that Fantasy fans may enjoy the elaborate history generated from the finding, and it definitely is one of the largest info dumps he wrote.

Well, I am afraid you won’t hear from me for another two weeks as I get back to my promised schedule. I would like to know your thoughts so far so I can feed them to- I mean I would like to know what you think and if you have any recommendations so far on what you would like me to read. I’ll have a print-out slid under through a crack in my door.

Two Post-humorous Novellas by H.P. Lovecraft

 

INTRODUCTION

I decided that, due to the different nature of this review, I would alter this week’s format. I decided to cover my most hated of my favorite authors, Howard Phillips Lovecraft. While famous in the weird fiction community, he could be called a socially awkward xenophobe with too much bigotry to count, but he still wrote moderately good existential horror that inspired many works. This week we will cover his four novellas/short novels.

Because of this decision, I will have to divide the parts up based on the works themselves as I am not really buying jumping across them, and of course, you would struggle to keep track of which one I am talking about. I always care about my readers' sensibilities.

Lovecraft was mostly a writer of short fiction, but he did write four stories long enough to be considered novellas. I will break this into two halves in order to digest it better and make it easier for me. Lovecraft had two of these works set aside due to his dissatisfaction with them, and personally, I find that he may of had a good reason to. While I cover these two this week, I will cover the two published during his lifetime next week. Now, let us go and see what these works have in store for us.

THE DREAMQUEST OF UNKNOWN KADATH

“The Dreamquest of Unknown Kadath” is the first novella Lovecraft wrote, believed to have been written around 1927, but Lovecraft declined any attempt to publish it, and it was not until around five years after his death, in 1943 did it get published.

The story details Randolph Carter, a quiet, introspective, and bookish man who had previously appeared in several other stories as he sets out across the “dreamworld,” a bizarre cross between the shared dreams of reality and an alternate dimension, in search of Unknown Kadath, a mountain palace where the “gods of earth” dwell. Carter is an experienced dreamer, someone who can move into the deeper levels of the dreamworld, yet he is stumped after he dreams of a beautiful sunset city. After praying to the gods, the vision disappears, so Carter decides to travel to Unknown Kadath to get answers, even though nobody in the dreamlands knows where it is.

Frankly, this book is a bit of a rollercoaster ride. The imagery, like classic Lovecraft, is lush and bizarre, yet opaque and undescriptive. It is a fantasy story with often surreal beings appearing and interacting with Carter, with very few of them getting a proper introduction and a few require you to be familiar with his work.

Unfortunately, the plot seems to go all over the place and it is really more out of luck and allies that gets Carter where he needs to be, and the meandering story with no chapter breaks makes it feel like it goes on forever. I feel this is probably a mediocre story, and it constantly features call-backs to other works. Essentially, it was badly paced, with no real drive and a lack of objectives beyond the overarching quest.

I like Carter, who is intelligent and knowledgeable, but I feel he suffers from being a mostly inactive protagonist. He has the know-how and the connections to go places, but when faced with threats such as the men of Leng, the moon-beasts, or the High Priest Not to Be Described, he really doesn’t have any way to fight back against threats.

Honestly, this book is really only for dedicated fans of Lovecraft, and this is more for the world building and descriptions rather than any entertainment value. Most of all, I feel it would be a mistake for this to be your first Lovecraft story.

THE CASE OF CHARLES DEXTER WARD

The next work is Lovecraft’s second novella, and like the prior one, Lovecraft abandoned it and it was not published in his lifetime. This work, Lovecraft’s longest, addresses the recurring themes of ancestral taint and the dark past of New England found throughout his fiction.

The narrative first describes the mysterious disappearance of Charles Dexter Ward, a bookish young man with an interest in the occult and antiquity after being confined upon the advice of several alienists (an old term for psychologists who specialized in deviant behavior,) due to his aberrant behavior. The narration follows a family friend named Dr. Willet as he investigates Ward’s bizarre behavior which began with his fascination with Joseph Curwen, an ancestor of Ward who dealt in the supernatural and was hated as one who dealt with the devil, and Willet’s ultimate confrontation with the evil that surrounds Ward.

Honestly, this book is better than "Dreamquest," and is a good story, yet it tends to drag on far too long. Multiple plot reveals become obvious, yet Willet takes forever to discover. (The plot is a bit obvious and cliché to modern readers, I think.) Ultimately, I have to admit though that is due to us knowing he is in a supernatural horror story, so I can’t get too annoyed (yes I can.)

This book is relatively good if one is interested in Lovecraft, though it does drag on a bit, so I can only say that you should expect a slow burner with mostly a mystery style structure, with little action. This book is paced much better than “Dreamquest,” but that isn’t saying much. The book is interesting for those who like Lovecraft’s style, but can be off-putting to casual readers who expect a more tense or event-focused.

Thank you for reading, and I promise that the special review next week will be better, where we will be moving onto the much more famous (and better) “The Shadow Over Innsmouth” and “At the Mountains of Madness.”

"The Things They Carried" by Tim O'Brien

 

SYNOPSIS

This is a brilliant work of metafiction, telling the stories of a platoon of American soldiers in the Vietnam War and based on first-hand experience. Meditating upon topics such as innocence, love, comradeship, bravery, and the power of stories and the truths they tell, O’Brien, through a fictional version of himself, talks of life, the people he saw, and the things they carried with them.

OPENING THOUGHTS

First of all, I would like to make some announcements. First, I would like to apologize to my readers for not releasing a post last week, but prior commitments to the old- I mean adult arrangements prevented me from doing so. I will be forced into a biweekly (once every two weeks,) schedule from now on, so I apologize to my readers for forcing them to wait twice as long. I feel very sorry, especially since it gives me great joy to see that people actually read these things. To segue off of the announcement, I thank you for reading and here is this week’s review.

My thoughts on this book was honestly how moving it was. The book constantly moves around through interconnected stories displaying a theme on what exactly is the nature of truth in a story, and whether there are problems with fictional accounts or maneuvered truth if it displays how things felt. 

This book blends reality and fiction, both within the story-world itself and in its worlds relation to reality. It weaves together narratives of camaraderie and life with dark humor and death. It mixes love with fear. Remembrance and loss.

Ultimately, it is a tale spoken through metaphors and morals, stories that paint a portrait of the young boys sent across the Pacific Ocean and into a war zone. It may not be a political story, or really about the war and the enemy, but rather one of personal reflection and compassion.

LOVING CRITICISM

Often times, people might be confused by the broken up nature of the novel, with each story jumping back and forth through time, and the narrative is a very contradictory on the nature of truth, with O’Brien consistently admitting scenes prior brought up as entirely fabricated and ultimately people may find this very confusing, especially those who desire actual answers.

The lack of character development may also put some off, and is part of the reason this review lacks a section for it.

SHOULD YOU READ THIS BOOK?

Yes, it is a funny, yet deeply moving work that uses its metafictional elements that explores the deeper meaning in life, and what truth is, not as fact, but as true expression of emotion.

REVIEW: "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" by L. Frank Baum

 

SYNOPSIS

This is the story of Dorothy, a young farm girl from Kansas, as she is swept up in a cyclone and dropped into the strange land of Oz, a fantasy and untamed realm of magic. Here she quests for a way home by searching for a user of magic strong enough to send her back home.

She makes friends along the way, the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodsman, and the Lion, each one suffering a predicament they believe only magic can fix, and she and her friends are forced to fight through the wilds of Oz and some evil inhabitants who lurk there.

MY INITIAL TAKE

Now, we have a children’s book whose fan base was so rabid, (as we all know most children and adults are) that the author was enslaved to pump out sequels until his death. Frankly, I don’t think that the book was that good, but then again, I didn’t read it until after I aged out of the intended audience range. Unlike usual, I will talk about events that do spoil plot points, but it’s story almost everyone knows, even if they haven’t read the book

This book, to me, is a simple and whimsical tale about a fantastic adventure with almost child-like attributes in descriptions and threats. It's a fun book, but mostly for a boring afternoon, or if you read it to children.

And sometimes, that's what you want. Nothing big or fancy, just a simple tale meant to entertain (I don't buy that silver nonsense. It's just looking into things too deeply.)

WHAT I LOVED MOST

Frankly, the most lovable thing about it is that it’s a cute story, with fun and silly characters. The story doesn’t require much thought, yet the situations are quite imaginative and fun to read. There’s not much to say about the book, as much of it is widely known, but there are a few differences, with one making the ending make far more sense.

LOVING CRITICISM

The most criticism that I can muster would be that the book is principally a children’s book, and people at a higher reading comprehension level may find it boring and unengaging. Like the last section, I don’t have much to say.

MY FAVORITE CHARACTER

Honestly, my favorite character would be a tie between Dorothy’s three companions: the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodsman, and the Lion.

The Scarecrow is an animate scarecrow who was made a few days before meeting Dorothy while she traveled through Munchkin land that seeks to be given a brain. He starts the story as clumsy and naïve, he begins to show a sense of cleverness. He creates intelligent and thoughtful solutions to Dorothy and the others’ problems, but because he equates having a brain with intelligence, he ironically believes himself incredibly dull.

The Tin Woodsman is a woodsman who was cursed by a witch to slowly lose his body parts until he had replaced all of it with Tin because he loved a girl. He believes himself incapable of love, and so abandoned his pursuit of the girl. Yet, he felt guilty and as such seeks to regain a heart. He thinks of himself as cold-hearted, but he is one of the most compassionate and sympathizing people in the whole book.

The Lion is a lion who lives in the forest, but was so intimidated by everything, used his reputation as a lion to frighten everyone away. He is the last to join Dorothy, and like the others, has a wish he wants granted. He desires courage, even though he shows it as he throws his life on the line for the others whenever they have need of his strength.

The reason I like these characters is the irony of their tales. Each one desires a quality that they fail to realize that they possess. The Wizard even points this out to them, and when they force him to give them it anyway, his solutions are obvious placebos. They really learn to show it as they continue on their journey, but they have become so focused on it being contingent on a physical quality, they fail to realize it until they receive placebos from the Wizard.

SHOULD YOU READ THIS BOOK?

Yes, though I do caution some. This book is different, and actually longer than the classic film, but it is meant for a young audience, and as such, may not be appealing to some.

REVIEW: "Jurassic Park" by Michael Crichton

 

SYNOPSIS

An astonishing technique for recovering and cloning dinosaur DNA has been discovered. Now humankind’s most thrilling fantasies have come true. Creatures extinct for eons roam Jurassic Park with their awesome presence and profound mystery, and all the world can visit them—for a price.

Until something goes wrong. . . .

WHAT I LOVED MOST

Now we move onto Jurassic Park, a novel many only know because of the movie adaptation. Which makes explaining the premise of this book quite easy. A team of experts assembled by a wealthy genetic engineering corporation are brought to a zoo/theme park where dinosaurs are reconstructed by skilled technicians when accidents put the feasibility of the park opening at risk. Several accidents, caused by glitches and people alike, throw the park out of control, and now the team must fight for their survival.

Before we move deeper, I must comment that the book and the movie are not very similar. They both feature the basic premise, and most of the characters have the same names, but the plot doesn’t always match up and many characterizations are extremely different. Just because you watched the movie, doesn’t mean you will know the plot of the book, and concurrently, you may be a fan of one and not the other.

On a personal note, I found this book to be a thrilling novel. It had an interesting premise that was expanded into an interesting plot. You have a large cast, some of which will be likable and some not, that the narrative moves around. The shifting narrators allow us to follow both the personal feelings of the cast and the action, while also creating an atmosphere of suspense as the reader becomes increasingly aware of events and dangers that the current narrator may fall victim to without realizing it. It was a fun novel, not really taking that much effort to finish. I really enjoyed the plot, though that may be my bias speaking, due to my interest in dinosaurs.

LOVING CRITICISM

The book may seem dull due to the in-depth descriptions afforded to the scientific processes, a fact that the novel even admits though the young narrator Tim to be boring, and the characters feel stale and overused, particularly if you are familiar with Crichton’s work. You certainly see it in Dr. Ellie Sattler, who frankly reads like most of the women created by Crichton.

The archaisms may be a little amusing, such as the top-of-the-line computers used to automate the islands are actually inferior to most modern smartphones, and there are several inaccuracies with the dinosaurs.

The final criticism is that the theme of  the dangers of abusing technology can get boring, as it’s basically the same theme that every other Crichton book. As I once heard someone describing the differences between book and film (though I can’t recall who,) for every speech about it that Malcom gives in the movie, he gives nearly five in the book, and I feel this can get preachy after awhile.

MY FAVORITE CHARACTER

My favorite character would have to be Dr. Alan Grant. I feel he is the most likeable and is actually very different from the movie. Instead of being a young professional man who dislikes children, he is a middle aged, friendly, casual and bearded widower and has a healthy love of children, particularly those fascinated by dinosaurs.

He has a similar role in the movie, where he is a paleontologist who briefly met years ago and is funded by John Hammond, and is invited to the island. During the chaos he is forced to watch after Tim and Lex, and later becomes one of the leaders of the group attempting to survive the dinosaurs.

SHOULD YOU READ THIS BOOK?

While I feel this book to be a bit slow in the beginning, it quickly makes up for it once at the titular park, and I feel it to be a fun, if long, and exciting thriller that I would recommend to many.