Sometime the Title Grabs Ya

Many people love noun groups like Murder of Crows or Wisdom of Owls. I was perusing Goodreads when I ran across this one.

I don't know if I would have used the term "Rapture" for a group of Nerds. Or perhpas he means "rapture" in the biblical sense. If it is the first case I would have thought "a class of nerds" or "a study of nerds" would be more apropos.

Still, probably won't read it.

Cons: None . . . I'll Take It

Cons: None. Pros: well written, great plot, realistic fiction, realistic characters. Her Rating: Thumbs Up.

All of these I will gladly take in regards to the book review I just received from Mom's Thumb Reviews for my book On the Edge (still available here for a super discounted price!).

The review (here) which was posted on the 20th, is yet another not too bad one. Keep in mind that I asked Miss Carr to review my previous effort, Toe the Line (even more discounted here) as well as others (here and here), so she's a bit of a fan. But this time I think she too thinks that I've gotten a bit better at writing.

His imagination is colorful, artistic, creative, and detail oriented.  He creates fiction stories and spins real life examples into his novels for a great adventure for all of his readers. 

I agree with her.

Diagramming First Lines

Anyone who reads this blog even sporadically will know that I enjoy logging the first/opening lines/passages that I come across. I organize them all for quick reading by linking to there (here). I've even started categorizing good vs bad lines and have a listing of last lines (here) and lines about the morning (here).

I ran across a post on Metal Floss that has 25 first lines diagrammed out. The post, 25 Literary Opening Lines Diagrammed on One Giant Poster by Hannah Keyser is fun to check out. I haven't diagrammed anything in years, probably not since eighth grade, but seeing these first lines blocked out like this, really is interesting to see.

My favorites?

I'll leave it to you to de-diagram out these first lines to determine whose and from which books these first lines come, or to follow the link and see it first hand.

My Modern Met

I was tooling around My Modern Met the other day and ran across these two posts that caught my fancy. The first one, Terry Border Brings Old Books to Life with Wire is described this way:

Artist Terry Border gives new life to old books in his latest series titled Wiry Limbs, Paper Backs. The artist, who is no stranger to breathing new life into inanimate objects, utilizes his handcrafted technique of bending wires to serve as limbs and combines it with a great sense of humor. Each whimsical creation in the ongoing project is a sculptural work that stands on its own, reflecting its respective text.

My favorite piece is this one, but the whole series is worth looking over:

That little suitcase is a perfect bridge to this second link, Artist Transforms Books into Exciting Sculptural Stories which I also found on My Modern Met.

Ships, monsters, and mermaids pop out of books handcrafted by Delta, Pennsylvania-based artist Jodi Harvey-Brown (aka wetcanvas). Taking inspiration from the materials themselves, each three-dimensional scene the sculptor constructs reflects popular works of fiction. Whether it's a calm depiction of an outing from The Wind in the Willows or a rigorous struggle from The Old Man and the Sea, there is a sense of motion in the simulated waves.

Although these don't speak to me as much as Terry Border's work, these are still fun to look at too. This, from Return of the King, particularly was fun to see.

King Rat First

“I’m going to get that bloody bastard if I die in the attempt.” Lieutenant Grey was glad that at last he had spoken aloud what had so long been twisting his guts into a knot. The venom in Grey’s voice snapped Sergeant Masters out of his reverie. He had been thinking about a bottle of ice-cold Australian beer and a steak with a fried egg on top and his home in Sydney and his wife and the breasts and smell of her. He didn’t bother to follow the lieutenant’s gaze out the window. He knew who it had to be among the half-naked men walking the dirt path which skirted the barbed fence. But he was surprised at Grey’s outburst. Usually the Provost Marshal of Changi was as tight-lipped and unapproachable as any Englishman. 

“Save your strength, Lieutenant,” Masters said wearily, “the Japs’ll fix him soon enough.”

Clavell, James - King Rat

The first line/passage, as well as his other works had me thinking that this was going to be a serious, sonorous and heavy novel to read. So far, 25% in, it's not looking like it which is both good and bad.

Finished Kristory's Book

I don't commonly read romance nor mythological fantasy novels, so this was way off the beaten path for me. BUT, I read, and liked Kristi's first effort, The Corpse Goddess and enjoyed it (see my review here), and felt compelled to give her second book a try as well. 

I really liked Valkyrie's Kiss! Kristi's writing is fluid and fun and the themes, descriptions of characters and the overall story were well fleshed out and intriguing. Although I don't commonly go in for romances, Kristi was able to integrate it smoothly into the story. Her tone and voice, which is fun, nicely descriptive without being overbearing or boring, and compelling might be the reason I keep coming back to her novels. 

My complaints? It wasn't long enough. It was like an amuse bouche. Whetted the old appetite but I wanted much more. A tad more story, a bit more meat on the bone, a few more thousand words. But as a short diversion from the mysteries and thrillers I commonly read, and a quick sojourn into a genre I'm not used to, it was nicely done.

A First Time Thriller

Whether out of spite (here) or not, I'm glad I read Daniel Suarez's Daemon.

Engaging? Yep. Easy to understand? Yep. Fun to read even if you have a bit of an IT background? Yep again.

It reminded me of when the reader discovers who the enemy in Wool is (here). The one critical point I have? It became a tad prosaic in the final few chapters, far too rote and stereotypical. I also didn't care for the fact that the book ended in a cliff hanger. I like resolution in my novels, no matter how long that might take or how expansive the novel must become.

Still, it was gripping. Daemon reminded me of when I read Jurassic Park and stayed up till 2 AM to finish it.

The last line of the book is:

Sebeck gazed back along the road behind them— away from the blue thread. He thought of his previous life. Of those he’d left behind. Of the sheriff’s department, Laura, and his son, Chris. Of everyone and everything he’d ever known. Peter Sebeck was dead.

Suarez, Daniel - Daemon 

Naturally if we want to know what happens to Sebeck we must read his next book, Freedom.

It's a Tautology

I'm telling you it's just something that authors love. They love to write about the morning in their works (see here). Here are two that I've spotted so far in Kristi's.

First this one:

The morning dawned with its usual luminescent brightness. Jess slept beside me,

Then this one:

The night blended into a dark and rainy morning.

Jones, Kristi - Valkyrie's Kiss

Not a bad thing mind you, just a feature of "professional" writing. I'm glad to see that based on the evidence, Kristi is now firmly "coach class" (here).

Sure Its a Bit Romancy for Me

Yes, this is outside my the typical genres I read, but I know the author and always support local artists.

I wanted to kiss him the moment I laid eyes on him, but of course that was the one thing I most definitely could not do. The young girl with the AK-47 held him steady in her sights.

Jones, Kristi - Valkyrie's Kiss 

I read Kristi's earlier work (here) and really liked it. This one is even better (so far). Plus I think she's gotten better with first lines.

Pulp Covers for a Holiday Post

The other day I wrote about Big Red's Daughter (here and here) and how much the book didn't agree with me. One thing that did agree with me was the cover art I found. Despite what some may think of my covers, which are meant to evoke a Dick Francis cover (here), I really dig cover art. I remember years ago tooling through the aisle at Bookstop ranking my selections for purchase purely on the cover. I read some doozies based on this one criterion.

I ran across a series of cover's (here) that stoked my interest by following a link at Stuff You Should Know (here). My favorites are listed below.

This first one I like purely for the fact that I want to read it to find out what the hell is happening. Is he trying to stage a murder or saving her from herself.

This second one I enjoy if only for the title. The cover is good, but just how have the characters determined the sexual proclivities of Satan? That's what I'd like to know.

Finally, this one I love just because it could be the title slide for this blog.

There are more out there on the site (here) and they're quite fun to see. These were just my favorites.