Fun Read for Many Ages

Posted on December 31, 2010 by Karen

Drift House The First Voyage
by Dale Peck

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Really cool unexpected fantasy with a touch of science theory and real thought, everything from theories about time to mermaids and pirates, but none of it seems pedantic or too frothy or frivolous, either.

Set in 2001, not long after the September 11th bombings, the three Oakenfield children, Susan – the eldest, and her younger step brothers Charles and Murray are sent by their parents from New York to their uncle’s place in Canada. Real city kids, used to the congested but busy life in New York City, they are not sure really why they are being sent away, but their parents inssist it’s for their safety. The kids, though Susan had a different biological father, are typical siblings, and have their squabbles and tease each other, more Susan – born in England – and Charles, the next youngest, than Murray, who is only five years old.

Nothing is quite what it seems, aand it’s kind of refreshing that these are no Disneyland mermaids, and even the sea they are “adrift’ on is no ordinary see. It’s also cool that the kids do not automatically come together as the adventure begins, but continue their evolving relationships at what feels like an ordinary pace in extraordinary circumstances.

I highly reccomend this book to anyone age 8 to 800 who enjoys a good story, and doesn’t mind thinking about things a little as they go. It’s not too simple for adults, and it isn’t little with sly pop culture references to keep adults interested, either, it’s fine as is. And I am not even terribly bothered by the “sequel alert” subtitle of “The First Voyage” as this stands on its own, without the annoying “see what happens next” of some book series.

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Predictable Fun

Posted on December 30, 2010 by Karen

Burned: a Regan Reilly Mystery by Carol Higgins Clark

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So, I know I said yesterday’s book was a “thriller” but really had more to it than that. Well, this book is a “mystery” that is just the opposite. There are no lingering questions, nothing disturbing, just a simple mystery book, like many others. It’s “A Regan Reilly Mystery,” so I guess it’s just one in a line of them, and it is a pleasant diversion, just a little break from reality. I have a signed copy of this, as I stood in a (very long) line to get a signed book at the BEA from Mary Higgins Clark, the very famous mystery writer, and she was doing a joint signing with her daughter, who while not as famous as her mother, is pretty well known.


A quick aside: I was startled when I got to the front of the line and met them, at the amount of make-up they were both wearing. It was frankly a little scary, and I thought “this is a crowd of book people, no one cares, really, how you’ll photograph, they just like your books. It was just plain odd, and while I don;t know how old either woman is, I thought it was trying to make them look younger but instead aged them a lot. Just odd, have to say, made me a little sad for them.


Anyway, the book is a quick read, and you kind of have it figured out by at least halfway through, but there are a few mildly surprising moments. Many of the characters are predictable, or just cartoonish – “Jimmy” the shell museum man, whose speech and mannerisms are stilted of no discernible reason, “Glenn,” the snarky but always smiling hotel worker, the evil older twins, the newly enageed couple, the man-hungry gal, and even the “best friend who always needs rescuing,” but every ends as it should, and is almost too pat. Read it in a day, a pleasant little diversion, like candy – fun while you’re at it, but pretty formulaic and forgettable afterwards. Set in Hawaii, but that doesn’t seem to matter much, aside from token objects, you get the feeling it could have taken place almost anywhere with a beach. But I’m sure it sold a ton, anyway!

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Dark but Fascinating Read

Posted on December 29, 2010 by Karen

The Black Angel by John Connolly

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This is one of those books that’s kind of hard to classify – it says it’s a “thriller” and it certainly fits that genre well, but it also has a certain amount of history, including World War II era, and occult as well as some gruesome characters, the dark underside of humainty and modern culture and explicit gore. It is darkly fascinating and you learn about places that are quite real, like the ossuary at Sedlec in the Czech Republic, which is a chapel decorated with intricate displays of human bones, and ceratin myths that have surrounded the place, as well as ones original to this book. None of the characters are pure, or even very sympathetic, and though we root for the protagonist and his group on cohorts, you somehow know, through the whole book, that no one is going to live happily ever after, if indeed any lives – or was alive in the first place, or was a fallen angel, and therefor not dead or alive, exactly.


Not for the squeamish, but there is a good deal to figure out as you read, and it kept me absorbed. All in all somewhat disturbing, but an interesting book anyway. If you are not in need of cheering up, or being reminded that there is good in the world, look elsewhere.

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