Here's a breakdown of the trilogy from goodreads:
Flash Bang: Books, Movies and Musings
The Complete Tales and Poems
by Edgar Allan Poe
by Edgar Allan Poe
Okay, if you already like Poe, then you don't need me telling you about his work. For the neophyte, however, I will say this. You can skip the stories you've never heard of, and stay with the ones you have, like The Tell Tale Heart, because the less familiar tales are less, as in not very good. I would insert adjectives like ponderously dull, long winded, and anti-climatic. The famous tales are worth spending some time with, as I'm sure most of you know.
Robots of Gotham
by Todd Mcaulty 2018.
If you like Isaac Asimov's robot series, then you'll probably
glom on to Mcaulty's book. I really liked the political landscape he
created along with the concept of super intelligent A.I.s ruling a bit
here and there in the world, as well as taking over parts of Countries
like the U.S.. Also, I like how the A.I.s figured out how to procreate
almost as if they were biological organisms with their chosen genders.
Barry,
the main protagonist is likeable, but I found him to be a static
character. He's the male version of a Mary Sue. Let's call him a Barry
Lou. Everything he attempts, while risky, he is successful at doing,
there's nothing his uncanny ability to use either dumb luck, or mastery
of a technology he's never used before, like the special battle suit he
get a hold of, can't accomplish. Because of this, there's little to no
character arc for this guy. He's the James Bond of Canada, which is
where he's from, although the action takes place in an occupied Chicago.
I suppose if all you're looking for is adventure and cool
concepts, then this book will do the job for you. I just wish he was a
bit more flawed, not only in his ability to achieve his objectives, but
also in his character. He's a boy scout without any serious vices. If he
was more Like Indiana Jones in that regard, I think I would have liked
this book more than I do. But maybe that's just me. Barry doesn't really
grow as a character, he just saves the day with the help of his
friends, which is very cool, don't get me wrong. I would just like to
see him change by the climax of the story.
Despite being around
seven hundred pages, it's a fairly quick read, and the book ends with
the promise of a sequel. It's his first book, so I'm sure he'll be much
better come the second one.
The Outsider
Stephen King 2018
I'm a huge Stephen King fan. I have forty-seven of his books,
have read thirty-seven of them, and I'm working on some of his older
stuff that I hadn't read yet, because I didn't become a fan until 1993.
So when I got wind of this book and how it was nominated for the
goodreads best horror and I think, won, I couldn't wait to get my hands
on it.
Having said that, I wasn't as enthralled by the story as I hoped I would be. Yes, it was neat how he included Dayton, Ohio in the story, had said when he stopped by there on his tour a couple of years ago that he was looking around the city for an idea he had, but it just seemed like we running over all too familiar ground. It was as if IT and Salem's Lot had a love child, and begat The Outsider. I realize it can take King a while to ramp things up, but for me this book didn't really get started until about a hundred and thirty pages or so. It should have done that about fifty to eighty pages in, but as is often the case with King, I usually don't mind the slow buildup with King, because you get to know the characters and the town well and it's worth the wait. I didn't feel that way with this one as much.
Something that bugged me a little were the outdated references about the Beatles with this couple who had grade school girls. The husband was a huge fan with all their vinyl in his garage with a stereo to play them on, which is fine, because there are lots of Beatles fans from Grand parents to young adults, but then the passage goes into how when the couple were dating, they would watch a beat up VHS tape of Hard Day's Night. Which would mean they were an item in the nineteen eighties. They could have been in high school or junior high then, but the passage goes on ask if they were watching it before John Lennon was killed, which was in 1980. So, that would have put them at around thirteen years old, unless they were in their twenties, which would put them in their late fifties, early sixties at the time that the story takes place, 2018. Did they wait thirty plus years to have children? Are their children adopted, because the wife would be too old to conceive by then? No, this couple seemed to be in their early to mid thirties, I think. So there's that.
Having said that, I wasn't as enthralled by the story as I hoped I would be. Yes, it was neat how he included Dayton, Ohio in the story, had said when he stopped by there on his tour a couple of years ago that he was looking around the city for an idea he had, but it just seemed like we running over all too familiar ground. It was as if IT and Salem's Lot had a love child, and begat The Outsider. I realize it can take King a while to ramp things up, but for me this book didn't really get started until about a hundred and thirty pages or so. It should have done that about fifty to eighty pages in, but as is often the case with King, I usually don't mind the slow buildup with King, because you get to know the characters and the town well and it's worth the wait. I didn't feel that way with this one as much.
Something that bugged me a little were the outdated references about the Beatles with this couple who had grade school girls. The husband was a huge fan with all their vinyl in his garage with a stereo to play them on, which is fine, because there are lots of Beatles fans from Grand parents to young adults, but then the passage goes into how when the couple were dating, they would watch a beat up VHS tape of Hard Day's Night. Which would mean they were an item in the nineteen eighties. They could have been in high school or junior high then, but the passage goes on ask if they were watching it before John Lennon was killed, which was in 1980. So, that would have put them at around thirteen years old, unless they were in their twenties, which would put them in their late fifties, early sixties at the time that the story takes place, 2018. Did they wait thirty plus years to have children? Are their children adopted, because the wife would be too old to conceive by then? No, this couple seemed to be in their early to mid thirties, I think. So there's that.
The
climax where they confront the evil was okay. I was entertained but
again, it felt like familiar ground for King. For another author I would
say it's a good first attempt at writing a novel of this type, but for
King, whom I think is one of the best of the best and in recent years
has been recognized as such by the critics, it left me a little flat for
one of his works. Maybe I should put his name aside and try to just
judge the book on its own merits, maybe I'm putting too high of
expectations on King. I really wanted to like this book more than I did.
However, I am still a tremendous King fan, and I will look for his new
works and read his older works too.
Doctor Who Scratchman
by Tom Baker
** spoiler alert **
I enjoyed this book
probably in great part due to nastalgia. I grew up watching reruns of
Doctor Who from the Tom Baker era on my local PBS station, he's my
favorite doctor, although David Tennant is a close second.
This book read like an episode from the seventies and it was conceived during that time as a movie. The pacing might seem a little slow, but it reflects the show of its era and I didn't mind it. The isolated village on a small island off the coast of Scotland is creepy and suitability disturbing with people who felt real to me with a ghostly atmosphere. The pace quickens during the second half of the book with reality bending in directions it's not meant go. It wasn't clear to me how the Doctor's solution to defeating Scratchman actually worked, unless the doctor has powers I didn't know about. I don't want to give anything away, but there was a psychic transfer in which the doctor turned the tables on him. It was a good yarn, even though I can't stand the character introduced at the end, but that's not because of the book itself. (less)
This book read like an episode from the seventies and it was conceived during that time as a movie. The pacing might seem a little slow, but it reflects the show of its era and I didn't mind it. The isolated village on a small island off the coast of Scotland is creepy and suitability disturbing with people who felt real to me with a ghostly atmosphere. The pace quickens during the second half of the book with reality bending in directions it's not meant go. It wasn't clear to me how the Doctor's solution to defeating Scratchman actually worked, unless the doctor has powers I didn't know about. I don't want to give anything away, but there was a psychic transfer in which the doctor turned the tables on him. It was a good yarn, even though I can't stand the character introduced at the end, but that's not because of the book itself. (less)