American Gods is a book that I had an incredibly difficult time getting in to. I read the first ninety or so pages and was ready to shred it. The main character was dull, nothing seemed to be happening, and it had made me feel so smart because I had already figured out the identities of some of the more secretive characters. (Helpful Hint: They aren’t that secretive at all.) With that, I put the book down for a bit. In the mean time I read Lucky Peach Vol. 2: The Sweet Spot.

After a few friendly chats with the recommenders I resolved to pick up where I left off in American Gods. Which was certainly the correct decision.

At its core American Gods is the tale of the old Gods who have landed in America through years of emigration. Now the old Gods are forced to contend for attention with the new Gods. There is a war coming between the two, and we are along for the recruitment journey, via Shadow.

Shadow is the protagonist in this story. Love him or hate him, he’s who we have. Shadow is released from Prison at the beginning of the story, and meets a stranger as he is travelling home. The stranger, answering to Wednesday, is there to recruit Shadow’s help in his wayward adventure across the American Midwest.

As the story progresses we meet a bevy of other characters and Gods with birthrights from Norse to Egyptian mythology. There are plenty of recognizable faces in the crowd if you have done any religious reading at all, but then there are also some lesser known entities that I found to be highly intriguing.

Eventually the entire scheme begins to fall into place. We’ve seen hardship, and more than one surprising twist along the way. Whenever I finished the book I was very satisfied with the end of it all. There was nothing that happened where I thought, “No, that doesn’t make sense. Why is he motivated to do this?” These are the kind of endings I like. The ones where, and I’m stealing this from a blogger I read for the first time yesterday, you are left with a book hangover. There are ideas implicated with American Gods that can stick in your brain for a while. It’s fun to back this blog up against my Slaughterhouse-Five blog, with all of its fun thoughts and interpretations of fatalism. I hope this book leaves you with that same sense of wonder.

The things I didn’t like about American Gods all happen in those first 90 pages, and I addressed a few of them already. However I wanted to bring up a way that I feel Gaiman was a little sneaky, at least for me. He writes in a simple language. It is easy to understand and usually to the point. His similes and metaphors aren’t lacking, but they aren’t really the greatest I’ve ever read either. This immediately tricked me into thinking that I am smarter than him. As the plot unfolded I learned that this is not the case, well…maybe I know more than him about something or another, but definitely not how to write an intriguing story. Not yet anyway.

Final call is, yes you should definitely read this book. It’s dark, it’s a bit fantastical, and it will stay with you for awhile. Trust me, when you hit that brick wall around page ninety, just hammer through it. You will not regret it.

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Slaughterhouse-Five is acknowledge as not only one of the best science fiction books ever written, but also as one the very best books written full stop. I first picked it up a couple of years ago intrigued by those facts. I like at least trying to read the books that are considered to be the epitome of human genius, and I always love a good sci-fi read. Top it all off with a dose of war fiction, and I am set. Oh! I nearly forgot. It’s also listed on the ALA‘s list of the 100 Most Frequently Challenged Books of 1900 – 1999. Who doesn’t read banned books?

The novel is primarily set everywhere, and by everywhere I mean the European front of World War II, Billy’s home after the war, and Tralfamadore. The narrator relates the story to us as Billy was prone to experience his life. This nonlinear style makes for a story that is sometimes inconveniently interrupted, but then again we aren’t unstuck in time as Billy was. Imagine how difficult this was for him to deal with.

Allow me to explain what is meant when it is said that Billy Pilgrim is unstuck in time. Generally Billy lives life as we all do. He wakes up in the morning, accomplishes some tasks, then sleeps at night. However, at any point in Billy’s day, he may find himself at any other time in his life. He has no control of his time travel, and no one else seems to notice.

My copy at home is a pocket-sized paperback, and it is one of the few books I’ve ever marked in. Most of my markings are with regard to statements the Narrator makes within the first chapter. After that one I usually consume the rest of the book so quickly I forget to take notes. Here are some of my highlighted pieces:

I have told my sons that they are not under any circumstances to take part in massacres, and that the news of massacres of enemies is not to fill them with satisfaction or glee.

There was nothing I could do about it. As an Earthling, I had to believe whatever clocks said— and calendars.

And finally, my favorite.

And Lot’s wife, of course, was told not to look back where all those people and their homes had been. But she did look back, and I love her for that, because it was so human.

There is much and more to be said about Slaughterhouse-Five. Themes in the book range from a rather fatalist outlook on life to persistence and existence of wars and glaciers. I had a conversation about another book with a friend recently. I was having a rough time getting through that book despite numerous recommendations. He said to me,

“If you want to read a book, and be able to think about what happened in it long after you’re done, then finish this.”

This is something that should be applied to Slaughterhouse-Five. Taken at face value it is a science fiction novel about an accidental time traveler. If one were to start searching, or thinking more deeply about it you could discover ways to question how you live and experience life on Earth. Give it a try.

Have you read Slaughterhouse-Five? What did you think? Love it or hate it, I want to know.

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The entire book is told from Biff’s perspective, and he begins his story by explaining Jesus’ name isn’t actually Jesus Christ. From there on Jesus is referred to by either Joshua or simply Josh. It’s humanizing and makes the character more approachable. Biff met Josh when they were six years old. Josh knows he’s the son of God, because Mary is apparently the earliest and proudest soccer mom of all time. When we meet little Josh he has a lizard in his mouth, it’s a nice meeting filled with smashed zombie lizards. As readers we are welcomed into this world where Josh is just a normal little boy with the same curiosities as all little boys.

There are a few more misadventures in the early part of Josh and Biff’s friendship that include dealing with bullies and murder, meeting Mary Magdalene (Maggie), taming a Cobra (asp?). I’m not sure why Josh had such an affinity for reptiles. Also, Biff invented sarcasm.

Here’s a quick interchange between the two that will help highlight the difference between the two boys:

Josh: Have you committed the sin of Onan?
Biff: No, but I’m looking forward to it.”

As Josh and Biff grow older and begin training for their stations in life as masons. Yes, Joseph was a carpenter, but he allowed Josh to train under Biff’s father as a stone worker. Josh struggles with the fact that he doesn’t feel like he knows how to be the Messiah of his people. This is the battle that leads him to leave home to find the three magi who were present at his birth. Biff came along, naturally.

Each of the three Magi teach Joshua and Biff, but mostly Josh, a new aspect of life and enlightenment. There is a blending of the eastern religions into Joshua’s identity as the messiah. This blending is recognizable in the non-fictitious parts of Josh’s life as we know it. The again Moore took pieces of each religion that show up in nearly every form of human spirituality. Notably the Golden Rule.

There are, of course, more misadventures. These however are both humorous and mournful. We witness the death of a mighty peaceful being, as well as a complete destruction of innocence. There are battles with demons and challenges for vengeful and violent Hindu gods. There is a point where a demon has been unleashed in the caves Josh and Biff have called home for a few years. Josh is able to calm the demon down with a touch. Before banishing the demon from Earth, Josh offers to allow him a moment of truly free will. It was a poor judgement call on Josh’s part.

While Josh is seeking Nirvana in India, Biff pays a lovely woman to teach him through every page of the Kama Sutra. He uses Josh’s new found skills to make enough money to do so, without having to beg in the streets.

Eventually Josh and Biff are called back to their homelands. The story then switches from totally fictional, to only sorta, sometimes fictional yet coincidentally related to events as described in the Bible. For the most part we know how those events go, as well as how Josh’s story as a human ends.

Lamb does go on through the crucifixion, but I’m stopping here. By time the books reaches this point Moore has done a great job of switching from full-on comedy to complete reverence and respect of the subject at hand. Never while reading the “Lamb” or “Passion” sections of the book did I feel like cheap shots were taken toward any religion as a whole. There are comedic scenes, including one where Josh regrows a little girl’s arm, and thusly teaches her a very important symbol involving one finger to share with the Pharisees. Overall, however the respect is there, and I think that really solidifies this book as more than just a mere parody.

Go find this book today, and read it if you haven’t. You won’t regret it. Also, don’t worry about being offended by it, or worrying about it raising any deep religious stirrings within you. As Christopher Moore writes in the end of the book, and I’m paraphrasing because I don’t have the book with me, if this story shakes your religion, you should probably do some more praying.

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Graphic Novels

You bet your britches that was Comic Sans! If ever there is an appropriate place to use that much maligned font face it is when one is discussing comic books and the like.

Let’s begin with the sad fact that before I read this graphic novel I had never once seriously read anything that belongs to that particular genre of publishing.

GASP!

That’s right, all of my knowledge of any and all super heroes, mutants and villains are born from second-hand knowledge, cartoons, movies, and video games. I know some of my friends and family are on the verge of disowning me as they read this, but when it comes down to it I’m a pretty neat person and they like me enough to forgive me of this.

So which series did I decide to begin with? Was it one of the newest variations and/or incarnations of the comic book titans? (If I knew who all qualified as a titan I’d list them here. Since I do not you may now insert whichever character you would like to have that status.) Much to my much more graphic-novel-savvy friend’s disdain it was nothing so glorious. It was however awesome for me.

If you’ve read half of my blog you know I’m a tiny bit of a nut when it comes to the happenings of the Enderverse. Recently released was the Volume One collection of The Formic Wars: Burning Earth. If you have read Ender’s Game and always wanted to know more about the great war that led to the construction of Battle School, here is your chance.

I read through the entire volume in one sitting, on my lunch break. It’s not nearly as long as I wanted it to be, and ends at an inconvenient moment in the story line. I realize the importance of cliff hangers, but come on.

In these seven issues — yeah that’s right, only seven — we’re introduced to the asteroid mining crew which encountered the first Formic craft, as well as Mazer Rackham. Both sets of characters are appropriately bad ass.

I felt that this small volume really opens up the history of the Formic wars in a great way with appropriately smart, Orson Scott Card approved dialogue, and beautifully drawn art work.

It has left me wanting more, and I don’t know if I will be able to force myself to budget for each issue as it releases in 2012, plus I sort of like having them all hardbound. There are plenty of cheesy jokes and references to the future of the Enderverse as we know it. I found myself chuckling at most of them, but there are a few that deserve nothing more than an acknowledging eye roll.

If you’re interested go buy it from your local bookstore (Preferably not a big box store, but hey, it’s your money and your community.) I recommend it to anyone that has invested any amount of time into the stories and histories of the Enderverse.

The title of this post is very foreboding compared to the rest of the entry. Though I took a lighthearted path to telling y’all about this book, it is not a lighthearted story line. Within those few pages you will see all of the horrors of every man-made war of all time, and then some. This was never meant to be a war it was to be conquest and extermination of all life on Earth. It shows in these vividly colored pages.

Want a link? The Formic Wars: Burning Earth on Goodreads

I thought you would.

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I’ve been working on this post on and, mostly, off since last week. I’ve been struggling with it because I am always weary of letting out too much information for people who have not, and would like to read this series. As of this title I feel that I’ve reached a particular point of no return. Wherein if I even begin discussing events past a certain setting in this book, then one of the most well developed story points in this series will be ruined for you. The end.

As much as I have tried I just haven’t found a way around this yet. I suspect this has a lot to do with my still burgeoning skills as a book reviewer, rather than just some guy that occasionally talks about something he read somewhere. With that said I think I’m going to end my series on A Song of Ice and Fire until I have written respectful posts that convey the emotions of the books and their characters, as well as my feelings on them without causing a catastrophic melt down of spoiled reading time. I will not be the one to ruin Westeros for you.

If you’re interested in whose POV this portion of the epic is told from here’s a handy list.

• Jaime
• Jon
• Catelyn
• Tyrion
• Sansa
• Arya
• Bran
• Samwell
• Davos
• Daenerys

If for some bizarre reason you don’t know who any of these characters are you can check out the Wikipedia article on A Storm of Swords.

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This edition is the Ramen issue. It is ~200 pages of well-written, knowledge-filled articles about the history and art of ramen making. I’ve known for a little while that ramen is the chicken soup of Japanese culture. However I’ve never taken the time to truly learn about all the numerous ways this beautiful dish can be served. I think the one I’d like to eat most is a model known as Tsubame-Sanjô Ramen. Unlike traditional western soups where copious care is put into clarifying a broth, this dish has as much lard dissolved into the broth as possible. It’s supposed to be thick, slurpable as gravy, and delicious. It’s served in colder areas in Japan, the fat helps keep heat in the food.

Aside from the discussion on ramen there are also several extra tidbits that only increase the gross value of this book. Firstly there is a discussion between David Chang, Wylie Dufresne, and Anthony Bourdain. Purportedly they are all drunk, or at least approaching drunk, and they are discussing the state of mediocrity in the restaurant in the United States, specifically New York City. There are a lot of great opinions to come out of that discussion, including some about the farm-to-table movement that I was a little surprised when I found myself thinking, “You’re so right…” I believe my favorite one-liner to come from this little discussion may be:

Ingredient-driven food. What the fuck does that mean?

Now may be a late time to point out that most of the people and chefs involved in the making of this book enjoy the use of the word fuck, so if you have a particular urge to avoid that word, then just skim over it while reading, but most definitely still get this.

My favorite article is one written by Todd Kliman entitled The Problem of Authenticity. It’s an investigation into what makes food authentic. I mean he goes into the deepest crevices that exist in the word authentic. I don’t want to discuss it much out of fear of ruining it for anyone who may actually go buy this based on my recommendation. Though I will say he boils the argument down to: what is more authentic? Tuscan Food in New York made with ingredients from Tuscany or Tuscan inspired food made with ingredients from the culture surrounding the restaurant’s borough.

Other things you shouldn’t miss out on: The Instant Ramen Taste Test (Maruchan doesn’t even show up for the final showdown.), Seven Spectacular Egg Recipes, Ramen Recipes (Did you think there were none?), Chang and Meehan’s (He’s part of the backbone of this whole production, but I gave him very little credit until now. He deserves more.) adventures in Tokyo, and the art. There are so many things that make this book beautiful. I found myself wanting to cut out every other page and so that I could frame it and hang it on my wall. I’ve considered getting a second copy just for that.

Buy it here: McSweeney’s or at the typical big box stores, or if you’re lucky a local book store.

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Over the weekend I finished Clash of Kings. It is just as well written a story as Game of Thrones. This time we are flung even deeper into the conflict raging across the nation of Westeros. Four men have been claimed as king, and each thinks the other a traitor. The battles are brutal and bloody, and because Martin doesn’t like for anything to ever be truly resolved everything is always unpredictable.

I’ve learned while reading his books that I should never trust that what seems like a resolution, is not actually going to be the way this or that particular siege ends. I’ve already developed the wits to not attach myself too closely to characters, because of his annoying yet graceful way of doing horrible things to them. There is one character’s death of near-death that has been celebrated at least three times at this point. To reiterate: don’t get overly attached to characters, do not trust the resolution in your gut.

I am still enjoying the story though. Naturally, Clash of Kings ended in such a way that I’ve been dieing to read A Storm of Swords since I finished this one on Saturday. Alas my pusher is out of town.

Here are some new things to take away from this book: not all bastards are bastards, honor isn’t always what it seems to be, Theon Greyjoy is the son of a whore*, the Stark family is hardy, Winter is, in fact, coming.

*This isn’t an actual detail from the book, but it seems like a more fitting derogatory title than a modern day curse.

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Ender’s Shadow

The first in the series is often considered a companion novel to Ender’s Game, however it’s most assuredly more than that. Beginning in Rotterdam, The Netherlands we learn just how rough Bean’s life has been as an orphan. Scrounging for tidbits of food until he is taken into a family of children, led by a slightly older girl, known as Poke. Throughout Rotterdam there are many foes and bullies to the younger children, but Bean’s early on-set intellect allows for him to help create a plan to use a bigger bully to get better treatment for the younger children. That particular character, named Achilles and pronounced with a French tongue, will come to play an incredibly large role spread throughout the series.
Bean is eventually found by a nun, Sister Carlotta, who puts him through the standard battery of Battle School tests. Her perseverance is what eventually brings Bean into Battle School to join Ender’s cohort, but there’s more to be learned before then.
While at Battle School Bean figures out many things that help throughout his adventures. He learns how to hack into the computer system to read teacher and student files, as well as discovers that if he takes off his assigned clothing, no one can track him. Yes, that means there is a little naked Bean running around throughout the book.
Eventually Bean is put into Ender’s army where their genius meets and they both work well with each other, creating strategies that ultimately defeat army after army. When Ender leaves Battle School briefly Bean is given his own army to fight with, but Bean defies the IF rules by refusing to play the games anymore.
Once Ender and his Jeesh are rejoined we find ourselves fighting to the final battles of the Formic War.
From there, there is a power struggle on Earth between the Hegemony and the Warsaw Pact, once things are settled out the children are returned to their respective home countries, including Bean.

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From the moment I cut through the tape on that Simon & Schuster box back in February, to the chilly afternoon where I completed my time with R and Julie, I was in love with this story. Overall the book is so engrossing that it feels like a quick read, but there’s so much going on that readers really should take time to savor the characters that Marion has created. R is an intelligent, emotionally capable zombie who finds love in Julie. The daughter of a military man, and very nearly anything but military herself, Julie is loving and open minded. Instead of spending her days revolted by R she converses and bonds with him.

Warm Bodies is an incredibly well-versed waltz into the depths of the total human condition. A study in love, caring, courage and friendship. Marion uses the traditional zombie paradigm to ignite a new understanding behind the plague. The best summation of this tale’s virtues can be stated as: We are human. We broke it. We can fix it if we want it badly enough.

Favorite lines:

The Dead are adrift on a foggy sea of ennui.

Want some wine? It’s an ’86 Mouton Rothschild. I’d describe it as yummy, with notes of fucking delicious.

I think we crushed ourselves down over the centuries. Buried ourselves under greed and hate and whatever other sins we could find until out souls finally hit the rock bottom of the universe. And then they scraped a whole though it, into some… dark place.

Starlings zip and dive against the distant sky, pretty much unaffected by the end of our silly civilization.*

We will not let Earth become a tomb, a mass grave spinning through space. We will exhume ourselves. We will fight the curse and break it. We will cry and bleed and lust and love, and we will cure death. We will be the cure. Because we want it.

In the sunny fields of my imagination we are not a teenager and a walking corpse driving in a rainstorm. We are Frank and Ava cruising tree lined country lanes while a scratchy vinyl orchestra swoons out sound track.

*This one makes me think of There Will Come Soft Rains by Ray Bradbury.

Do not pass by this novel because, “It’s just another zombie book.” Unlike many of the other fluffy novels being cranked out by publishers across the country, Warm Bodies can and does stand on its own legs. I waited nearly two years for this book to release, and received an ARC from the lovely people at Simon & Schuster. Lucky for you it’s now available at your favorite local bookstore and library.

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The Road is single-handedly the most beautifully written description of Mother Earth at her most bleak and forlorn that I have ever read. The scenery is ash gray and void of life, save a few humans here or there. If you’re not willing to feel a little sad and insignificant for the sake of fantastic prose, then don’t read this book. You would probably just be miserable.

The surface plot concerns a man and his son surviving, hardly, as they traverse the road to somewhere better than the day before. There are struggles and obstacles at almost every turn. The “good guys” are few and far between. Most of the humans they come across are broken and dying or have resorted to cannibalism for survival. There appear to be no other species left alive.

The story cycles through days of sleep deprivation and hunger, days of good fortune and food, days of danger, illness and death in such a beautiful way that one nearly forgets how horrid this place must be. There are no chapters, instead the book is a constant stream of stanzas. Each paragraph flowing easily, almost more poetry like than anything. It felt a little off-putting at first, but I eventually fell in love with McCarthy’s style for The Road. I’m hoping his other works are just as well laid out.

I think for once I’ll include some quotes from the book to help convey some of the greater phrasings he was able to parse together for us.

He lay listening to the water drip in the woods. Bedrock, this. The cold and the silence. The ashes of the late world carried on the bleak and temporal winds to and fro in the void. Carried forth and scattered and carried forth again. Everything uncoupled from its shoring. Unsupported in the ashen air. Sustained by a breath, trembling and brief. If only my heart were stone.

Dark of the invisible moon. The nights now only slightly less black. By day the banished sun circles the earth like a grieving mother with a lamp.

And perhaps beyond those shrouded swells another man did walk with another child on the dead gray sands. Slept but a sea apart on another beach among the bitter ashes of the world or stood in their rags lost to the same indifferent sun.

Read this book. You won’t regret it.

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