The Passage - Justin Cronin (Audio)

Among bloggers, I think I'm one of the last to read one of this summer's hottest sensations, The Passage. Entertainment Weekly made it one of its top selected summer reads, it is the first of a trilogy (the hottest trend in the literary world these days), and is being fast-tracked by Fox 2000 and Ridley Scott for a movie adaptation. At 784 pages, or 29 discs, America was doing a whole of reading over the last few months.

For those new to the scene, here it the gist. The military, of course, have discovered a virus in the jungles of South America that could potentially create a super-human soldier. But as we all know, these things rarely turn out well, and the virus in fact transforms humans into something called "virals", or vicious, vampire-like creatures that can fly. While in the experimentation stage, twelve of the test subject get loose, as they are wont to do, and unleash their unholy rage upon humanity. In a period of months, the US has been rendered a wasteland, overrun by millions of these nocturnal killing machines. Chaos ensues...cities burn to the ground, bombs are dropped on unsalvagable communities, Louisiana is a toxic dump, and California recedes from the union (I'm having a hard time keeping a straight face). Survivors must go to ground, learning to live without modern conveniences.

The shining beacon of hope is Amy, a young girl who was also a test subject, but only inherited immortality and none of that ugly ripping and killing stuff.

The book is multi-generational, from the point of impact (now considered "year zero") to a hundred years "AV", and are even given a peek into the diaries of the survivors a thousand years later. The story is epic, therefore, there are words. So many words, and so many details. But I am a student of Stephen King, and cut my teeth on The Stand, so I am a firm believer in detail. You need this detail to LIVE the experience and invest in it. Needless to say, while I had a hard time taking it very seriously (or maybe it was like whistling in the graveyard) but I really enjoyed this book.

I did experience periods of dejavu. It had whiffs of The Stand, and maybe a little of The Road. It reeked of I Am Legend. But I won't hold it against Cronin for possibly allowing pop culture to subconsciously seep into the plot. It was entertaining in its own right. By the way, I am way over vampire books, and while this one might initially sound like another one that has hopped on the bandwagon, it is not.

I had a couple small prose irritations. The constant use of the exclamation "flyers!", which I am assuming is like saying "damn!", was annoying. Cronin was also at times very liberal with the similes. Not enough to start a drinking game with them, but enough that I noticed.

I did experience periods of mental wandering. After the thrill (if that is what you want to call it) of the initial cataclysm, Cronin takes some time to set up the scene a hundred years later - the personalities, the socio-economic structure, and the governing laws of one surviving community. I had to push a bit to get through this middle section of the book, but the pace picked back up again two-thirds of the way through, and blasted me out of my seat right to the very last cliff-hanger. Damn that man. How long to I have to wait for the next installment? Two years?

A word about the audio production. Not the best narrator. Scott Brick had a big job assigned to him here, but I'm not sure he was the right man for the task. His voice had very little inflection, except for a slight downturn of each sentence, like you would expect to hear from a martyrish, long-suffering type. There are also two small narration parts, one for each of the diaries preserved and read a thousand years into the future. Those narrators were female, and were very good, just not enough of them. That being said, I dealt with it, and it never became so intrusive that I considered quitting.

Overall, I would recommend this book to anyone that has a little patience and a love for the apocalypse.

4 out of 5

So Cold the River - Michael Koryta

When I discovered that "So Cold the River" was a mystery/thriller that took place at the West Baden Resort in French Lick, Indiana, I cast all caution and reading commitments to the wind, ran out and bought the hard cover book. This NEVER happens in my life. OK, I had a coupon, but unless a book is given to me gratis for a review, hard covers are saved for library rentals. Why was I worked into a lather? Because I visited this resort last fall, and it blew. my. mind. I even published a post about it, I was so utterly breathless over this resort that absolutely DID NOT BELONG in a small, southern Indiana town. It was like finding the crown jewels in a (charming yet modest) pile of chicken feed.

Eric Shaw, a down-and-out film maker living in Chicago, is approached by a beautiful young woman to make a documentary of her father-in-law, Campbell Bradford's, life. Because Campbell is approaching death and unable to communicate, Eric has very little to go on, except that the old man spent his childhood in French Lick, Indiana. The young woman also hands him an old bottle of mineral water taken from that town's springs, and has been in Campbell's possession for his entire adult life.



So Eric head's down to French Lick to stay at one of it's two famous hotels, the West Baden Springs Resort. The hotel, with its restored dome and rich history, immediately entrances Eric. Since I'd been there, I knew exactly how he felt.







Entrance to West Baden Resort, which is described in detail in this book.


















The infamous dome. You can see the balconies that overlook the enclosed area, similar to the one where Eric stayed.




But soon Eric is distracted from the hotel's beauty and observes another side to the area, and begins to have visions of a buried evil that threatens to resurface and destroy everyone in its path. And that old bottle of water...why is the surface of the bottle always so cold? Strangely, this water seems to have more going on than just the purported healing qualities.

You know when they say that the location of a novel (or movie) can act as another character? This is one of those times, whether you have visited the resort or not. Koryta grew up near French Lick, and felt his writer's muse stir when a local businessman renovated both historic hotels to their original grandeur. His description of the grounds and the hotel, and its history, is complete, and you will feel like you have heard your own footsteps echo under the giant dome.

Some of the characters I thoroughly enjoyed, particularly the elderly but spirited Anne McKinney, the town historian and weather-watcher, who goes to the resort's bar for her daily tipple. I also liked Kellen Cage, a lively African-American student at Indiana University who was writing his thesis on the history of blacks in the area, and attempts to assist Eric in unearthing information about Campbell Bradford. On the other hand, Josiah Bradford, a descendant of Campbell, was a little bit of a parody of an angry southern boy. And our protagonist, Eric Shaw, seemed to be overly obsessed with his failures in life, even a tad whiny.

The story delves into the paranormal, which is something I was not expecting. At times, it seemed slightly outlandish, and I had to let go of all the practical little voices inside my head. Once I gave myself permission to go with it, it sucked me in. Ghosts, murders, secrets, and vengeful demons abound, and while I couldn't take it too seriously, the whole gothic feel to the whole story, interspersed with real history, was incredibly riveting.

Overall, I am thrilled to have read it. And now I want to go back...

4 out of 5 stars

Wordless Wednesday: Yosemite #7

For more Wordless Wednesday photos, click here.

The Stand Volume 2: American Nightmares

Here is the hard, cold truth...once you start this series, you won't be able to stop. The concept of Stephen King's The Stand is compelling enough - a super flu wipes out 99% of the earth's population, leaving only the good and the evil to fight it out to determine who will rule the world. The words themselves are graphic and frightening, but seeing the reality of it spring to life in graphic novel form is a whole different animal.

It started with Volume 1: Captain Trips, which was a birthday prezzie from The Bumbles. I promptly ordered the next two volumes, which are the only ones available at this point.

Pretty much the entire population has died of the flu at this point. The wagons begin circling, and the line between the good and evil has been clearly drawn. Everyone begins to have dreams of The Walking Dude (the devil or a high level minion) and of a little old black woman living in the cornfields of Nebraska named Mother Abigail. Stu escapes from the CDC in Vermont, and meets up with Glen Bateman, his dog Kojak, Fran and Harold (and oh I wish I could find a picture of Harold...he is just repulsive), Nick leaves his post as the jailer of Shoyo, Arkansas and heads for Mother Abigail. We meet the Trashcan Man (no doubt who's side HE will be on):

And also catch up with Lloyd Henreid, the miscreant trapped in an Arizona prison, starving and going a little insane:

Probably one of the most vivid scenes in this volume is also one of the most vivid in the printed book, and that is Larry Underwood's trek through the Lincoln Tunnel. You know, the long, dark tunnel full of dead people?






















Like Volume 1, the plot in Volume 2 is very true to the original story, as far as I can remember. As with the book, once the virus has done its horrific damage, the pace starts to slow a little, and our characters begin to trudge down the road of no return. The scenes are no less shocking, however, and the artists are clearly enjoying themselves.

It appears that the artists have decided to give us little bonuses with each volume. In this one, in addition to offering different cover variants, they explain how inking and shading is used to create mood and texture. They also stress the importance of making particular scenes (New York for example) authentic. It is almost more awesomeness than one fangirl of Stephen Kind can handle. Stay tuned next week for Volume 3...

5 out of 5 stars

The Girl Who Played With Fire (2009) - The Movie

Down here in Orlando, we are slightly deprived of culture, particularly in the indie movie category. (I've probably moaned about this before, so pardon my continued whining. My only escape is Netflix.) We have one theater that shows something other than blockbusters, and it is a small, limited-seating, one-screen deal. They generally show one movie a week, so it can take ages and some finger-crossing to get to see the lesser known movies of our choice.

With all that in mind, do I really need to tell you how loud I screamed when my friend Marianne called me and informed me that "The Girl Who Played With Fire" was now showing? This movie just released in the US recently, and I was shocked at how quickly our theater snatched it up. Apparently, the shows have been sold out, which makes my heart happy (except when I have to stand in line to fight for a seat). Right after this phone call, I received an e-mail from a local blogger, Zibilee (Heather) at Raging Bibliomania, giving me the same great news. I invited her to come along. So two highlights in one...more Lisbeth, and getting to meet my second-ever blogger in real life!

I'm not going to go through the plot of the second installment of the Millennium series here. What I will tell you is that the story stayed generally true to the book, but there were massive amounts of details left out. I recognize this is the way it must be, when the book is over 600 pages long. I was happy to see they didn't change small but critical details like they did in the first film.


In this movie, we find Lisbeth to be a tad bit more feminine (only a tad!) with longer hair and less piercings. I never noticed this until Heather mentioned it, but she says very few words in the film - it is all about her actions and facial expressions. We aren't privy to her internal thoughts, which is always the benefit of the printed word. Casting on the new characters (Zala and Neiderman specifically) were excellent, and really exactly what you would expect. I'm still finding the character of Erika to be a little creepy and worn-out looking.



Similar to The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, this is not a flick for the faint of heart. It re-lives some of the violence from the first movie (via the infamous DVD), plus adds some new violence with guns and an ax for good measure, and includes a lesbian sex scene. In other words, don't take the kids!




I will leave you with a picture of Heather and I, with our glasses in hand, waiting in our queue to get into the movie. She was so sweet...she brought me books and bookmarks! It was so nice to get to know her a little better. What I find amazing is how two people, who have never met before, can instantaneously jump into a conversation like they've known each other for years. The world is so small in that way, and is what makes the book blogging community so special. I'm hoping that we can get together again soon.

Sunday Salon: Last Days of Summer

The last week of summer has passed. Back to school, back to waking up early, back to driving hundreds of miles a week, back to separate sports schedules and homework. Back to peace and serenity during the day. Ahhhh!

So how did we spend the week? The kids and I went to Universal twice...once to finally see the Wizarding World of Harry Potter (post coming on the 26th!) and once to ride everything else. It was hotter than all get out, but it pleased the little cherubs temporarily. We also completed the second week of daily football practices, in between some ugly storms that were a result of that Tropical Depression that pushed off into the gulf. I got a little more yard work done. Overall, we were pretty lazy, but I was willing to chalk it up to enjoying the last bit of irresponsibility.

Last Sunday evening, my friend Marianne and I went to see "The Girl Who Played With Fire" for our high-octane shot of Lisbeth, AND we met up with Heather/Zibilee from Raging Bibliomania. I will be posting my review of the movie and our adventure tomorrow, in place of the Monday Movie Meme. Suffice it to say, however, Heather is a sweetheart and I so enjoyed meeting her!

You would think that with all that laying around being a slug, I would have finished a dozen books, but for some reason I was in slow motion. I did finally finish the audio of "Middlesex", and Jenners and I are working on a little co-review of that piece of literary brilliance. The kids and I also finished "How I Live Now" on audio, and we loved it. So what audios are on the agenda for next week? The kids and I will listen to Carlos Ruiz Zafon's newly released "The Prince of Mist", and I will be listening to Joshilyn Jackson's "Gods of Alabama". (These are both short audios, which is what the doctor ordered after "The Passage" and "Middlesex", which both were turning into careers!!!)

On the print side of things, I just wrapped up "Body Work" by Sara Paretsky and then made a beeline to "The Gendarme" by Mark Mustian, the newest Amy Einhorn book. I've got other things I really need to be reading, but I just couldn't resist really.

I was contacted this week by a lady who works at our country club. She wanted to know if I would be interested in helping start up a Literary Society at the club. I jumped at the chance! I was particularly intrigued by the use of the term "literary", which I am hoping means that I don't have to read any Nicholas Sparks?! (I am so bad, I should be ashamed.) We will be able to use the board room for our meetings, it will be held over the lunch hour (aka no babysitting issues) and will provide a great opportunity to perhaps conference or Skype in an author or two. Since my current book club always meets at a noisy restaurant, we've never been able to do this, so I am pumped.

So, what do you all have going on today? What are you reading?

DNF: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (audio)

With all of my heart, I tried. We adapted to the somewhat difficult narrator and actually enjoyed The Hobbit, but that story was simple, sweet and dear. With the complexities of LOTR, and an increased amount of chanting, singing, Shakespearean trilling and droning on, we crashed and burned. (This has only happened five times in my history of listening to audios.) I fear Viggo will never fall for me now.

It is entirely possible that this is my fault. It is summer, and we are distracted. We just finished Harry Potter, which is an audio masterpiece. But I found myself wanting to read my book in the car on roadtrips instead of listening to the audio. A bad sign, because I am very tolerant. So we took a break. The kids watched movies instead. Then we listened to another disc and it felt physically painful. It was confusing, and I tended to drift. We watched The Fellowship of the Ring the movie, and got a nice long look at Viggo, all sweaty and handsome and brave. But at the end of the day, after the kids and I arrived home from Indiana, none of us were inspired to pick up where we left off. I could have forced the issue, but that tact rarely meets with successful results with my children. We made it through 9 of 16 discs, so we did give it the old college try.

Beth Fish Reads loves these audios, in fact she has listened to them more than once. So my advice, if you are interested, would be to at least give them a chance. These are classic stories that are in need of admiration. I'm not crying uncle yet - maybe the printed version?