1038. Dead Until Dark

I had to see what all the fuss was about you know. I had to read for myself, at least the first book in this series about this woman, Sookie Stackhouse who meets this Vampire at her place of work, and falls in love with him. Oh, there are so many books with that theme in the marketplace, and unaccountable number of books on the subject. What makes writers, write this type of book? Is every one of these books a singular creation, or does each of these writers sit down and think, I can do the Vampire Story better than everybody else? So, on a company trip I decided to stop at local Barnes & Noble and pick-up the book (and the first sequel).... oh, it turns out there are lots and lots of these books coming out of the imagination of Charlaine Harris!

Meanwhile, there is TV series that airs on HBO called True Blood that covers the events in the books? I don't know, because a) I haven't read all the books, and b) I haven't watched the TV series since I can't afford HBO. So, back in the real world of an adult male, I decide to read a fantasy book written about a young, good looking waitress from Louisiana who can can read minds, and where Vampires exist (they are an every day accepted phenomenon, accepted, and regulated?) Sookie (our heroine) falls for Bill, a Vampire who lives down the street from her house, and they share something intimate and maybe something more. How far back does their history go back? Is their some relationship in their family's past? But Bill has problems of his own. He has come back into town with reputation problems and maybe people pursuing him? Not that Sookie has the easiest life, having to take care of her grandmother and her brother who seems to get into trouble with every women he beds.

Overall, I enjoyed this book, more as a distraction than anything else. It appears that there are now, 10+ books in the series. I definitely have the second one, and I will read it, but I don't know whether I will read anymore in the series. As for the HBO series, since I know nothing about what is going in the books themselves, even though I have sampled it, I can't say I was impressed by it. It is a pretty graphic series. There is something about the printed word that leaves a lot to the imagination.... I like that!

I suspect this book, appeals to a different demographic, but Charlaine Harris IS a pretty good writer, and her characters are well actualized. For this reason, I will give this book 3 and a half stars.

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

Here I am, two months late reviewing this movie, without any links or any other fanfare. Why? Well, because I did not want to add to the original debate, and because the I am not really a movie critic. My opinion on this matter is hardly important. Of course, neither am I a book critic, so there we are.

First of, the basics: Did I enjoy the movie? Yes! A lot. And not in a fan-boy sort of way. Did I enjoy it as much as the first movie? No! The movie did not have the freshness of the first Transformers movie or the originality. Yet, it maintained the spirit of the Transformers franchise.

Now, at this point, you'll say, you lost me, "what are you talking about?" Please understand, that I have been watching Transformers since 1984. Yes, I realize that at the time I was in High School, but call me a "Nerd" if you want, it was something to take my mind off things back then, including my mother's cancer (she passed away that year), and the pressures of High School in the big city, having grown-up in a small town. So I adored, the Autobots, as protectors of the weak humans, just as I adored other superheroes whose adventures I read about in Comic Books (Batman, Daredevil, Spiderman, X-men and Superman come to mind). So, Transformers and I go way back.

I got (as in, I understood, "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen"), maybe because I am clued-in into the mythology, or maybe because I like the special effects, or maybe because I want to be taken to a special place once in a while, where only movies can take us.

But, how did the movie fare as a movie, and how does the plot hold-up to examination? Well, it doesn't... At best, the plot was no better than a three part episode of the original series -- seriously! At worse, let's not go there.

The movie does not deserve to be ranked as some kind of monumental movie making achievement. You can't sit and watch it and think, "well it's between this one and 'Citizen Kane' for best of all time." Not even close. It's not that kind of movie.

But boy, did I enjoy this movie. And, as such mindless, pointless, fun movies go, there was another such movie that Michael Bay made called "Armageddon". I hated that movie. I hated it with a passion. I still do. Maybe because a similar movie had opened earlier that summer called "Deep Impact" which was thoughtful and more realistic. At least, "Transformers 2," while NOT realistic in any way, has this 'mythology' to fall back on, this history to fall back on -- and that, I enjoyed.

One last point: Will I be buying the DVD when it comes out? Yes. For me it was save-worthy.

But, if there is a third movie in the franchise, I expect something a lot more thoughtful, a lot better than what we just experienced. We shall see.

1029. Plague War

I don't know why anybody would say: "...part George Romero, " when describing Jeff Carlson's follow-up book to "Plague Year", second book "Plague War". There is nothing in it that reminds me of "Night of the Living Dead."  Then again, when you're living in the future without hope, it might seem that the "Living Dead" are roaming the land. Me? I just don't see the comparisons.  I mean, nanotechnology infected people are not zombies. There is hope for them. Isn't there? This book is the second book in Carlson's Plague Year trilogy.

So, does Jeff Carlson succeed in continuing his Nanotechnology-cum-Post-Apocalyptic tale? This, the second book, is a good yarn, taking place immediately after the events of the first book. Events take place at a break-neck speed, and as such leave little room to think. Can Ruth Goldman unlock the secrets of the "snowflake" as the nanotechnology is called? Can Cam Najarro protect her from countless adversaries? What is in it for himself? And let us not forget that the title of this book is "Plague War" so what is this War about?

Events in this book escalate rather quickly. The people that were on the International Space Station with Ruth in the first book go their own ways in the second book. One of them, Ulinov, the Russian commander is instrumental in the events that lead for domination and ultimate war. But, while I can the see the logic that led this author down the path of this sequence of events, I still don't understand why he does not embrace showing us the road to salvation. There are hints at what the nanotech can accomplish. These are the private thoughts of Cam Najarro whose point of view we are treated to always. But if these things and more are possible, why is the hero at least not willing to discuss them openly with Ruth?

Still, because of the expanded exposition and lots more action - Jeff Carlson truly paints on an international canvas this time  - I enjoyed this book more than the first.

I give it 3 stars out of 5.

1028. Plague Year

Plague Year by Jeff Carlson is the debut novel of a new talent in the Science Fiction genre. In the back cover of the paperback edition, no less a master of the genre than David Brin says: "One of the best debut novels in years." And Kevin J. Anderson, a writer whose Saga of the Seven Suns kept me enthralled for years is quoted as saying "Fascinating."

With this kind introduction, a novel of this type has to be good, right? After all, a number of forum members on BookMooch actually recommended this book to me. The book covers a subject matter that I adore, nanotechnology...How I did not become a biochemist or a biological engineer, I don't know. I would have loved to play with tiny little machines. So, my expectation were pretty high going into this book. Not discounting the fact that it's also a book in the "Post-Apocalyptic" sub-genre of Science Fiction.

To be honest, I did enjoy the book on a certain level. And yes, I completely identified with Cam. I thought he was the most well rounded of the characters in the book. But apart from characterization problems such as Cam Najarro and Ruth Goldman, I had issues with some of the decisions the characters were making. I understand these characters belong to a certain author who has to lead them to a certain action sequence and then to a certain outcome, but there were times when their actions made no sense. So, I had problems with the structure of the book.

I also had problems with the language as used throughout the book. Granted, I might not have been an English major in College, but the way a lot of sentences were written seemed odd to me. They weren't particularly wrong, but they were off-putting. Oh, I followed the action alright, but the language made that journey a jarring ride. And this could be because of subtleties in the language that even I am not aware of.

What was the bulk of the story about? Quoting from the back cover: "The nanotechnology was designed to fight cancer. Instead, it evolved into the machine plague, killing nearly five billion people and changing life in Earth forever. The nanotech has one weakness: It self-destructs at altitudes above ten thousand feet..."

So, there are survivors, and a group of scientists who are sent onto the International Space Station (ISS) to escape the Plague. But eventually they are going to have to come back because they are going to run out of supplies and because there is only so much they can do up there. Meanwhile the survivors out West, pick-up one of the creators of the Plague.

You know what I kept waiting to happen in this book? Yes, you have destroyed humankind successfully with this Machine Plague. And yes, there are immense consequences for the ecosystem and the entire planet. Now, show us the next step, show us the ingenuity of the human mind and the promise of the technology. Show us what a well-meaning scientist with the right tools can do with nano-technology...

I give this book 2 stars out of 5.

1024. Joker One

Joker One was a book I received through the LibraryThing Early Review program. They send me this book in December of 2008 (or maybe January 2009) and I dutifully finished before it's publication date of March 2009. Like everything else, life caught up with me and this review got held-up in the big ether, so, very belatedly, I am getting it out.

Donovan Campbell was a United States Marine platoon commander and is the author of Joker One. The book is a memoir of his time as the leader of this platoon, prior to deployment, and during their time in Iraq, in Ramadi in 2004, during the height of what is now called the insurgency.

Over the years, I have read a few war related books, whether memoirs, historical perspectives or other such, recounting of things past, novel set in war (realistic or not), and simple description of key events that made history. It was always very hard to gleam, from all such recounting, whether the truth one read was an honest appraisal of the war described. In most cases, this was because the war I was reading about was so much older, whether it was Vietnam, Korea or World War II. Certainly, there have been some seminal books in the genre, but it is not my intention to remember them here.

What struck me from the beginning of this book, is the narrator's perspective on events. Like anything, when we read a book, we bring our own prejudices into the reading of the book. I personally try very hard to avoid this pitfall, but at the same time, I would be lying if I said that I was one of the war's biggest supporters. Nor did I go out and vocally oppose it, but that's another story, for another time. In hindsight, I have noticed, that many reviewers have taken the approach of bringing their personal biases in reviewing this book (pro or against the war and its effects). I would argue that this book is so great, that such an approach is completely unwarranted.

Here are the themes that struck me upon reading this book:

1. It is made very clear that the author is a Princeton and Harvard Business School graduate. Yet, it is not that education which plays the biggest role during his deployment.
2. The military are given certain parameters to operate within (one could say, their hands are tied, before the deployment even begins), however, the reality on the ground is different than the orders.
3. The History of the Marines as an institution comes through those pages very strongly. Yet, for all that, Marines are soldiers, and soldiers are human beings, with human feelings, and human concerns and human problems and human failings.

The strongest truth in this book was its honesty. From the very first page it grabbed my attention and never let me go. That is why I mentioned it was important to forget your prejudices. You can not go into reading this story by hating the Marines for what they are doing. Open your eyes and read Donovan's story and hear it with your heart. Then you will understand what it really takes to serve in the modern military. If you might get to a point where you question how the military functions, or how it handles decisions handed down from the political leadership that could be an outcome of your existing preconceived notions, but in the meantime, you would have missed the human part of the equation; you would have missed the drama of men fighting along each other for a cause they were told was just and right.

There is another truth hidden in the exceptional story telling skills of Donovan Campbell. He cares. He cares for his Marines. He cares for his squad leaders, his NCOs, his sergeants, etc. He tries to always do right by them. This does not mean he is a "soft" leader, but every trial faced by one in the platoon, is faced by all. Ramadi in 2004 is not a welcoming place. There are many dangers, and many of the dangers come from within mosques and other off-limits type places. I do not know if the loses that this Platoon suffers can be regarded heavy in comparison to other Platoons, yet, you feel each one of them as if they were someone you knew. That is the greatness of the story that Mr. Campbell is conveying here.

Finally, one more compliment. At the end of the book, you get the feeling that something was accomplished and yet, a lot remained to be accomplished. Regrets were finally expressed, but they were not so overwhelming as to consume the tone of the book. This then is the highest compliment I can pay to this war memoir: if you had not made-up your mind about this war and you read this book, this would not help you decide, BUT it would give you a very clear and distinct perspective on what the American fighting men and women have to endure in persecuting this war. And isn't that what we all need? Better understanding? For others, this will be just a great war yarn.

On my personal scale, I have to give this book, four stars out of five.