Pact of the Fathers by Ramsey Campbell
- Purchase it here
- Published December 1993 (paperback version)
- Finished reading it on May 23, 2004
- This novel started off pretty strong but then lost much of its power about halfway through. It starts with Daniella, a young woman in college, who quickly loses her father in a car accident that's not quite suspicious. During the natural events that follow, she discovers her father was part of a secret society, one that she keeps investigating to uncover what and why. And this is about the point that I started losing interest. The story didn't really take any new approaches to the secret society idea and followed the standard formula. Each new discovery that Daniella makes and each person that she can't trust is not really a surprise to us. After all we knew about the secret society before even starting the book; hell, it's in the title. And the final resolution continues in the same mediocrity of not being new or different and even worse the ending at times is just plain stupid at points. The actions taken for the big reveal left me shaking my head and just disappointed. You should look elsewhere for a good Ramsey Campbell book because this one didn't meet my criteria.
Pain Management by Andrew Vachss
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- Published October 2002 (Vintage Books paperback edition)
- Finished reading it on July 10, 2004
- Book 13 of the Burke novels
As the story picks up, we find Burke is still in Portland after recovering from an assassination attempt against him, i.e. Dead and Gone. He's now recovered and beginning to get back into the game Burke style. This means finding a runaway girl for a wealthy father, but it also means that something is not quite right with the story of the missing girl. Vachss does an excellent job of showing Burke lost in this new city and having to slowly build his rep back up. At the same time, he shows us how lost Burke is without his family. It's another biting chapter in Burke's life and we definitely get to enjoy it. Vachss is still at the top of his game and turning out hard hitting novels.
Paradise by Koji Suzuki
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- Published September 2006 (Vertical, Inc paperback edition)
- Finished reading it on May 10, 2007
- While an enjoyable read, Paradise wasn't something that I would call overly great. The book is broken down into three sections, each following two lovers as they move through time to reunite. "Legend" sets the scene as a prehistoric Mongolian tribe spawns the lovers and sets their path in motion. "Paradise" picks up their spirits now in the 18th century on a desert island. And in the 1990s, "The Desert" finally has the two lovers reconnect after further turmoil. Considering the time shift between the chapters, the story is more about the spirits and drive than the lovers themselves. This makes the big story more along the lines of similarly themed short stories rather than a single cohesive novel. As such, it's interesting but not great. The characters are real but each story left me feeling incomplete with the endings and/or beginnings.
Pattern Recognition by William Gibson
- Purchase it here
- Published February 2004 (Berkley Books paperback edition)
- Finished reading it on September 12, 2005
- At first I had some problems getting into this novel, but after I got over my cold and was able to concentrate for more than five minutes without things going all fuzzy, I found the novel much more enjoyable. The story of Cayce Pollard and her exploration of footage along with her ability to know what will resonate with today's society made much more sense. In fact, like all of Gibson's novels, this one quickly became a joy to read and something that is both "here and now" while also part of the future. I love his science fiction because of that reason: it's not something so far out there that you have to suspend belief in lots of things. Usually you can imagine his worlds happening in five years or less. Anyway, back to Pattern Recognition. I would definitely recommend it. You are not going to go wrong with his story and style and characterization. Pick it up and enjoy! I guarantee it.
Peaceable Kingdom by Jack Ketchum
- Purchase it here
- Published August 2003 (Leisure Books paperback edition)
- Finished reading it on November 30, 2005
- I am still highly enjoying the bulk of stuff done by Ketchum. I'm so glad that I discovered him and made him
one of my favorite authors. Sometimes collections of short stories like this don't read quite as well as an
author's novels. In this case, it is not true, but considering that several of Ketchum's novels clock in at
between 200-300 pages, they almost fall into the novella realm instead of novel. There's no official cutoff on
the difference but I've always thought of 300 pages as that magic mark. Under 300 is a novella. Over 300 is a
novel. Anyway, Peaceable Kingdom contains 32 short stories by Ketchum. I found the bulk of the
stories to be very enjoyable with only a select few leaving me disappointed. And in my mind, that makes the
collection a recommendation. As always, you'll find my favorites below.
"The Haunt" - A New Orleans bar takes an enterprising approach to their ghost.
"Sundays" - A single squirrel changes a hunter.
"The Exit at Toledo Blade Boulevard" - Events transpire to show that fate does have a fickle hand.
"Megan's Law" - An overly cautious father has two many facets.
"The Great San Diego Sleazy Bimbo Massacre" - A fun tale of murder, greed and stupidity.
"The Work" - Atrocities aren't limited to just bodily damage.
Point of Impact by Stephen Hunter
- Purchase it here
- Published December 1993 (paperback version)
- Finished reading it on October 28, 1999
- I might be a bit late in discovering Stephen Hunter but discover him I have. And now I am hooked! Point of Impact is an excellent story involving snipers, war, a secret organization, the FBI and a massive conspiracy. The secret agency slyly recruits an ex-Marine who is also a world class sniper to help prevent an assassination from occurring. Instead the ex-Marine is framed for the attempt, starting a manhunt. Everything comes together in the tradition of Ludlum and with just as many thrills and twists and turns. Except with this novel I was able to see some but not all of the clues. At times I knew what to expect although not exactly, so the thrill was still there. If you are a fan of action, suspense and intrigue, then definitely don't miss this thriller!
The Poker Club by Ed Gorman
- Purchase it here
- Published February 2000 (paperback version)
- Finished reading it on January 06, 2003
- While this was a good novel, it didn't pack as much of a punch for me and it could have. Not because of the novel itself but because I read the short story "Out There In The Darkness" which was the basis for this book. The short story is roughly forty pages and covers the same plot and the same twist at the ending. The book is 393 pages with much more characterizations, more events and a more satisfying but not as spooky ending. Bill, Curtis, Neil and Aaron are four friends that get together once a week to play poker. Their game is interrupted by an attempted burglary which goes awry as the friends accidentally kill one of the burglars. Due to a vigilante streak where they were going to torture the burglar, they all decide to not call the cops. Unfortunately this gets used against them by the burglar's partner who is now out for revenge. Other than an occasional mumble on my part of "Just call the cops already.", I didn't have any problems with the book. I kind of wish that I hadn't read the short story so that I could enjoy the novel more, but then I would have wished the same about the novel so that I could have enjoyed the short story. Either way I would recommend reading the book.
The Policy by Bentley Little
- Purchase it here
- Published September 2003 (Signet paperback edition)
- Finished reading it on August 23, 2004
- Little is great at tapping into the frustration, anger and yes, even fear that we all feel towards certain parts of life that we just sort of accept. The Association dealt with homeowner's associations. The Store dealt with the corporate take over of small mom and pop stores. And now we have The Policy to deal with our despisement of insurance companies. The story follows Hunt Jackson as he resettles in his home town of Tucson. He quickly settles in, finds a job, makes new friends of old friends, and starts to have problems with his insurance. Like usual, Little takes things farther than you would ever find in real life but that is part of the fear, that there really isn't that much to stop insurance companies from doing some of the stuff detailed here. Things follow through nicely and come to a much nicer and cleaner ending than I thought was going to occur. If you're not already a fan, reading this novel will put you well along the path to becoming one.
Portent by James Herbert
- Purchase it here
- Published July 1997 (paperback edition)
- Finished reading it on June 09, 1999
- One of the things that I like most about Herbert's books is that you never know what to expect in them. He has no problem with leaving the story with a depressing end or killing main characters or even, as is the case with Portent, destroying major cities around the world with (un)natural disasters. A thinly disguised save-the-environment book, it is none-the-less extremely entertaining. Disasters strike the world while the root of the solution is buried within a pair of twins who literally are the next generation. The pace of the story and action slowly build the entire time to a non-stop page-turning conclusion that kept me up late. My only regret in the whole story is that the main antagonist is not developed enough; more time could have been spent on her to make her scarier.
Portrait of the Psychopath as a Young Woman by Edward Lee and Elizabeth Steffen
- Purchase it here
- Published July 2003 (Necro Publications paperback edition)
- Finished reading it on December 23, 2006
- This is a hardcore novel. Extremely brutal. There are enough torture scenes in this novel to give you at least one thing to cringe about. If you're like me, you'll find several. The new uses for power tools was one. The red pepper was another. If you get squeamish easily, pass on this book. Kathleen Shade is a regular columnist for a feminist magazine when she starts getting stories from a serial killer. Not so much stories as descriptions of the torture inflicted on her victims. There are also glimpses into her childhood which is more depressing than the pain experienced by the men she kills. Detective Spence is the police officer assigned to investigate the killing spree but he can't quite find the connection between killer and columnist and is left a step behind as the victims pile up. While a good read, Lee has done better. The torture is over the top at times and we don't usually find out too much about the victims. This leaves us not feeling much for them one way or another when they are killed. And there are even victims that we cheer the killer on with their torture. Without feeling for the victims, the book becomes more about the killer and those with who she chooses to communicate. We get a good view of these characters but for me, the feelings as to what might happen to them wasn't there. The novel is still kick ass and not one I would pass up but Lee has done better.
The Presence by John Saul
- Purchase it here
- Published August 1997 (hardcover edition)
- Finished reading it on August 29, 1999
- Saul has written another solid book. Unfortunately I can't seem to get in to his stories much anymore. Maybe it is because he follows too much of a pattern. Maybe it is because I'm bored of the pattern. Maybe my tastes have just changed away from him. Whatever it is, I just wasn't pulled in to the story this time. It was interesting but only in an abstract sort of way. The characters didn't seem real to me despite the amount of individuality they were given. The only surprise that I found in the whole thing was that he went for the happy ending rather than killing one of his main characters like he usually does. But even that seemed like a wimp out to me. I haven't written him off quite yet like I have Koontz but I might just migrate away due to entropy.
Pressure by Jeff Strand
- Purchase it here
- Published August 2006 (Earthling Publications hardcover edition)
- Finished reading it on August 17, 2008
- This book is a departure from Strand's normal horror / comedy novels. And I loved it! As he points out in his afterword, the story is pretty straight forward. Not very complex. But it is well worth his straight line approach. The story is about a relationship between two guys: Alex, a good natured boy dealing with a hard life, and Darren, an introverted boy with psychotic tendencies. As they both age, mature and grow older, their two lives intersect at key points. From a mutilated dog through kidnapping and beyond, Darren is constantly making Alex's life harder. Applying pressure to become and do things Alex does not want to do. While there might not be the extra material to flush out the story, there does not need to be. Everything focuses on Darren and Alex and what they do. From that point, every works perfectly. The characters are complex and engaging. While dealing with crazy situations, everything that occurs makes total sense. Their actions are what one would expect. It makes the book extremely enjoyable and well worth it.
Private Eye Action as you like it... by Joe R. Lansdale and Lewis Shiner
- Purchase it here
- Published July 1998 (paperback version)
- Finished reading it on January 01, 2001
- This book is a collection of some of the earlier works of both Lansdale and Shiner. Specifically it is some of their first works published. As the title suggests, they involve private eye stories; in Lansdale's case they center around Raymond Slater while in Shiner's case they revolve around Daniel Sloane. And then ending the book is a couple of stories where the two authors teamed up and wrote stories about John Talbot. So how were the stories? Fun and entertaining but not overly impressive. They are well done and very likable but I found them more interesting from a "looking back" point of view. Knowing at least Lansdale's current style and writing, it's fun to look back on some of his early stuff and see how he's evolved. Then helping out in that view is the author's notes that complement the book. They give additional history and a point of view to enjoy the creation of the stories. While I wouldn't necessarily recommend this collection for everyone, I would recommend it to fans of Lansdale or Shiner.
Send comments or your opinions on these books to mike@kazba.com.