Twilight Eyes by Dean Koontz

Guest post by Heidi Angell, Author of "Royal Prince Vince" and "Creative Exercises to Inspire"


Genre: Horror

Review: Welcome to the world of Slim McKenzie, a young man wanted for murder. However, Slim tells you he is saving humanity from monsters that look like humans. If you have ever seen Frailty, they totally ripped their idea straight from this book! Slim is a good guy, despite the fact that in his introduction he tells you he is wanted for murder. Despite the fact that he goes on a killing rampage throughout the book. It is okay, because he is killing goblins. Monsters who appear to the rest of humanity as normal people, but who Slim can see for what they truly are, just beneath the surface. Looking back, this book is part of the reason that I love the T.V. series Supernatural. Same idea! Vigilantism at its finest!

I loved reading this story, but when you sit back and think about it from a real-world perspective, it is even more creepy. As mental illness is on the rise, it is surprising that we have not had a serial killer yet who claims the same. At least, we haven't that we know of.  In some people's mind, this book could be viewed as giving permission to kill those that you consider evil monsters, even if in a figurative manner. The symbolism is... disturbing. Yet, I love this story. It feeds on the Zombie fanatic in me. The deep down desire to get rid of Evil in Humanity by putting a monster's face on it so that I have permission. (Don't worry, I am not going to go on a rampage!!)  And I think that is the reason that books like these are popular. It gives us that permission to be disgusted and allows us the fantasy of being able to do something about it. Take it to the next level and find the figurative way to "kill" the evil and you have a parable! Love it!

Author: Dean Koontz is a phenomenal writer who has blessed the world with such brilliant works as Shattered, Night Chills, Dark Fall, Watchers, Intensity and Fear Nothing. Having published over forty novels, Mr. Koontz is a master of horror and suspense. He lives in Southern California and works full-time as a writer. To learn more about Dean, visit his website at http://www.deankoontz.com/


Rating: **** Four out of five stars.

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The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

Genre: Coming of Age

Review: The story follows a young boy growing up amid the modern changes in Afghanistan and forced to flee his home. The difficulty of becoming an American Citizen and learning to find success in this new world. Then returning to his native home after his childhood friend dies and the struggle to save his friend's child.

It is moving, haunting and enlightening. We see this young man grow up from a somewhat spoiled and privileged child, to having nothing and starting over in a foreign land and in the end returning to his home country to become a savior to one small child. What is there not to love? Yet, for me... I didn't.

I cannot put my finger on it. At first, I blamed my general distaste for drama stories. Life is hard enough, I don't need to read about others trials and tribulations. But I knew it was not that. I thought that perhaps it was the very serious content matter (he describes, in detail, the rape of a young man.) Yet I have read worse. I thought maybe my sensitivity to boys, having two myself, may have been a contributing factor. I don't know what it is, but I did not like this book.

Of course, one could argue that you are not supposed to like this book, given its very serious and horrible contents. Much like watching Lords of War. You aren't supposed to like the story. The goal is to learn from and grow from the story, not like it. And perhaps therein lies my problem. I found the back drop interesting enough. I knew enough about what was going on in Afghanistan and it was interesting to get more of a look into that history. But at the end of the day, I did not feel that I, as a reader, had grown.  Am I saying you should not read it? No. The story has all the elements a story is supposed to have. It clearly spoke to millions. Just not me.

Author: Khaled Hossieni was born in Afgahnistan. His family was relocated to Paris and eventually the United States (much like the character in the story.) He finished high school and went on to obtain a Bachlor's degree in Biology , then completed his medical degree from University of California's school of medicine. While working his residency at Cedar-Sinai hospital in Los Angelos, Ca. he wrote the Kite Runner.

He is a goodwill Envoy for The United Nations Refugee Agency and has a foundation, the Khaled Houseini Foundation, that provides humanitarian assistance in Afghanistan. He lives in Northern California.

Rating: *** Three out of five stars.

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The Eye of the Hunter By Dennis L. McKiernan

Genre: Fantasy

Review: The Eye of the Hunter is an oldie but a goodie! It was published in 1992. I got it for a quarter in a garage sale. It was my first introduction to fantasy and I loved it!! When I got older and read J.R.R. Tolkien, I realized that McKiernan was obviously a fan! Sadly, I read this story over and over until the pages were falling out. I recently got a couple of boxes of books from a friend who was going digital and was super-excited to find not one, but two copies of Eye of the Hunter in his collection! Of course, I had to re-read it! I loved it yet again!

McKiernan develops this fantastical world that often feels more real than your own. For hardcore fantasy fans, he sticks to common fantasy themes, so there is not an awkward moment where you have to adapt from other fantasy worlds to his. The story flows so beautifully and the characters are so real. As a child I was in love with Aaravan! Riatha shaped my perceptions of the type of woman I wanted to be; strong, elegant, a protector of others. Gwilly always makes me laugh and cry and Faeril was my best friend. B'arr was a amazing and Baron Stoke haunted most of my nightmares! This is a must-read for anyone even remotely interested in fantasy!!

Author: Dennis L. McKiernan was born in Missouri, served in the military and then obtained a bachelors degree in electrical engineering from the University of Missouri. He went on to get an M.S. of the same from Duke university and worked for the phone companies. He did not begin his career as a writer until after a major accident. During his recuperation time he wrote what was meant to be a continuation to the Tolkien series, but the Tolkien estate would not allow it. His agents asked him to change some things and make it his own and they would go ahead and publish it. Hence the Mithgar series was born. Eye of the Hunter is apparently the seventh in the Mithgar series. (ahh, the things I learn! Now I will have to go back and collect them all!!) Despite the fact that many feel he has simply ripped off Tolkien, I strongly recommend his work!!

**** four (and a 1/2?) out of five stars ( because there is no such thing as the perfect book!)

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Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck

Synopsis: Grapes of Wrath was published in 1939 and follows the Joad family from Oklahoma to California in an effort to find work and make money during the great depression. Once in California they are faced with substandard working and living  conditions, bullied about and fall apart. A haunting depiction of the Great Depression and the madness that was running this country at the time.

I remember reading this book in eighth grade, not for a school requirement, but because my brother-in-law owned this and Of Mice and Men. He assured my mother that it was okay for me to read. At the time I only sort of understood, on a philosophical level, what I was reading. Without my knowledge, this book shaped the way I saw poverty and people. It, along with many others, (such as Les Miserable and No Promises in the Wind) gave me a perspective on why people might do things that seemed so completely illogical to my black and white world. I only read it the one time, never being required throughout high school or college to read it again. (Sad, right?) But when Linda asked me to pick a book that was banned at one point, I was surprised to find this on a banned books list. Since I had not read it in so long, I went to work!

Why it was banned: Originally it was banned because the California Farmers Association found it libelous in its depiction of their camps. Then it was touted as socialist/ communist propaganda. But the few wealthy left in this country at the time could not stamp it out! It went on to win the Pulitzer in 1940 and is listed as one of the best books in the English language. There have been attempts over the years to ban the book because of its vulgar depictions. (Getting my high school and college education in the South, I suspect this contributed more to why it was never on our reading lists!)

I won't deny that the book could be labeled as vulgar. There are several deaths, a couple of murders, a woman breast feeding a man to keep him from starving and a healthy amount of language. As I child, I did not remember the details of those aspects of the book. As an adult it was a slap in the face! It will be a time before I will allow my children to read it, but I think that everyone should read this book! Sadly, the world is an ugly place and ugly things happen. Turning a blind eye to it, trying to ignore it,or sweep it under the rug will not solve these problems. Bringing these issues to light, examining them, and trying to understand why it is happening is the only true solution. Steinbeck did not write vulgarity for the sake of vulgarity. He wrote to show the world what was happening and make people address the issues. As our country once again declines, I feel more than ever that my children will need to read this book one day!

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M.O.D. By J.C. Allen

Genre: Thriller (?Ehh... sort of?)

Review: I read this book for my radio show review with Dawn Tevy on Angels and Warriors. I must admit, when I finished it, I had a three page long insult for this guy. But then I spoke with his mother on the radio and got his story and now... well, I feel bad giving him a negative review. But, I cannot lie to Linda's readers, so here is the truth. I did not like this book at all. (And that says a lot for a woman who cannot talk politics because they make her so angry!) Generally I try to find something good about a book, but I could not find it here. There were a lot of grammatical errors, the characters were flat. The massive contradiction in the story just rub me the wrong way. (One example: the internet hacking group, M.O.D., is fighting to get back to the constitutional rights of citizens; but has stolen money, weapons and other equipment from the U.S. for this purpose. Their members live in an Utopian society where people set their own work hours, choose what they want to do and get paid whatever they need to live. Very, socialist/communist society! And how does this jive with the Constitution?!?!?) The whole story is surreal and science fiction, at best. Which would be fine if it were not set in 2009! Hmm... but you get it, I don't like it at all!

Author: And here is why I am not totally bombing this book. The guy who wrote it is in jail, for a crime he claims he did not commit. He says his ex-wife set him up to keep him from getting custody of their two daughters. Now, I am not gonna weigh in on whether or not I think he is innocent or guilty, but the guy wrote this book (and about 20 others) on an old-school type writer. He does not have the same capabilities of research that are at the fingertips of most writers. And given that pens and pencils can be used as weapons in prison, I'm guessing he doesn't have a whole lot of access to those either. Which seriously limits the pre-planning phase most authors go through. Could I have done better under his circumstances? Mmmm... don't know, don't want to find out!

Rating ** Two Stars

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The Lost City of Z

Genre: Non-fiction

Review: This is a fascinating  study of one of the most amazing mysteries of the 20th century, the disappearance of British Explorer Percy Fawcett in his search for a "lost city" in the Amazon Jungle. It also discusses some of  the hundreds of people who have become obsessed with the story of the lost city and/ or Fawcett's disappearance and risked their lives to find both. The author, David Grann, is one such individual.
I don't usually enjoy non-fiction books as they tend to be dry and drab. Yet David weaves a remarkable story, building your own obsession with the city, the events going on at the time and taking a personal look into Mr. Fawcett, making us care about this time-lost individual and wonder what really happened.

The Author: David Grann is a journalist who has been working for The New Yorker since 2003. He has two books under his belt, The Lost City of Z and Sherlock Holmes: Tales of Murder, Madness, and Obsession. He has earned several awards, been published in multiple papers and is an excellent writer. For more information, see his website at 
http://www.davidgrann.com/

Rating: **** Four Stars

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Trapped by James Alan Gardner

Genre: Umm... Sci-fi/ Fantasy?

Review: Despite the incredibly boring and WAY too common title, I thoroughly enjoyed this book! Sorry about the confusing genre description. Trapped feels like a fantasy book. The main characters are four average teachers from a second-rate privacy school who go on a quest after finding the ghost of one of their students. One of the teachers is a sorceress, one is a psyonic (meaning telekinetic). Everyone carries swords and cutlasses and other fantasy-ish weapons. Except that the story setting is somewhere in the future where alien beings have invaded, messed around with and then been kicked out of planet Earth by other aliens to "protect" the human population that is left. Yup, that is completely sci-fi. I love Sci-fi. I love fantasy. But I have always been offended that these two get lumped together in book stores. Until now. The author does an excellent job of blending two very distinctly different genres in a very natural and unforced manner. The characters are flawed, yet engaging. The creation of this alternate future reality is amazing. It was wonderful!

Author: James Alan Gardner has a Bachelor's and Masters degree in Applied Mathematics and works as an educator. He published his first book in 1997 and has had a total of nine books published in that time. Trapped was his sixth book. He has also published about two dozen short stories. All of his work is listed as sci-fi, yet on his website he often lists multiple genres. (I love that! I do the same thing!!). He is a resident of Canada and married to Linda Carson.


Rating **** Four Stars

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Flashing My Shorts by Salvatore Buttaci

Genre: Collections (Often referred to as Anthologies, but not nearly as boring!)

Review:  This is a self-published book with over 100 short stories, flash fiction and drabbles. (No, I did not make those terms up! This is real!) Each was written by Salvatore and they are all interesting, exciting and entertaining. This is a great little book for anyone who does not have time to read a whole book, but craves a good story. There are so many genres packed into this little book! He has paranormal, dark comedy, science fiction, romance, and pretty much anything else you can think of! The author has a sharp wit and a twisted sense of humor that I find refreshing. One warning: DO NOT SIT DOWN AND READ THIS BOOK ALL AT ONCE. It is never good to have that much of a roller coaster of emotions! Although the author has taken a painstaking effort to make the book flow, much like a CD album flows; each story creates an emotion and deserves its own individual thoughts. To voraciously devour it as I did is highly dangerous to one’s mental psyche!

Author: Salvatore Buttaci is a retired school teacher who I would have thoroughly enjoyed having in school! He is witty, charming, funny and thought-provoking. His wife Sharon is a wonderful support to his creative process and may even be considered his muse! He has several self-published works available and you can purchase this book or any of his many others by going to Salvatore Buttaci's Website 

Rating **** Four Stars

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