JC

This is about the Trump family, and how it made Donald the POS he is today. There is nothing in this book about him that will surprise you, but it may help explain how being a member of an utterly dysfunctional, unloving, uncaring family can result in the the man we are suffering under now. The most profound part is where the author equates her uncle to Frankenstein's monster, a product of those who created him, and driven by the rage born from that creation process. She quotes the monster in the 1994 film Mary Shelley's Frankenstein: “I have love in me the likes of which you can scarcely imagine, and rage the likes of which you would not believe. If I cannot satisfy the one, I will indulge the other.”

A sensational story told in a slightly less sensational book. Having watched a documentary about these characters...and that's really what they were...self-manufactured identities...I was fascinated and read several articles, which led me to seek out this book. The authors do a good job explaining who these kids were, where they came from, how they met up and then unfolding the story of the many disastrous consequences resulting from their friendship and the shared worldview they created. I found it difficult to get a handle on these kids. On the one hand, most of them seem articulate and of at least normal intelligence. But their failure to understand that the almost cartoonish “Satanic” imagery their musical heroes projected was just an act paints them as highly immature, or excessively naive. The fact that they then attempted to live up to such nonsense, to the point of committing murder and arson more than hints at some degree of mental instability. What really disturbed me the most was the absolute lack of remorse these guys expressed, even years later. Those who committed murder were even indifferent to what they'd done or the effect it had on the victims' families and friends. That may be due to the fact their own cohorts seemed just as unmoved. Even those who had been close friends with the killer or the victim offered not much more than a shrug when asked how they felt about it. Beyond that, the authors provide plenty of background information about the environment in which these events took place. My only criticism is that the second half of the book seemed a bit tedious as the authors reached beyond the original story/events and interviewed many who we're not directly involved and provided only tangential interest.

Based on other reviews I've read, this seems to be a “love-it-or-hate-it” book. I happened to have loved it. The author, Lauren Owen, is a scholar of Victorian literature, and it shows in this, her debut novel. “The Quick” is a brilliant homage to the authors and literature of the era, as well as a lovely example of Gothic literature. The Dickens meets Austen meets Wilde meets Stoker meets Shelley meets Conan-Doyle style makes for a cracking good read for fans of the genre. The first quarter of the book reads like a classic Dickens or Austen story of familial angst and coming of age. Then a transition begins...and this is where, I suspect, the story took a turn that caused the “hate-it” crowd to jump ship. New characters, introduced via diary entries and letters...a common weapon in the writing arsenal of the time...may have thrown some off, but those who allow themselves to be steered along are rewarded with a second half that is a roller coaster ride of intrigue, suspense and mystery that culminates in an action-packed climax. The denouement returns, in tone, to that found at the beginning of the book, and ends, as was common in such literature, on a bit of a question mark. That might suggest to some a sequel is in order (who knows?) but, to fans of the genre, that question mark actually serves as more of an exclamation point.

If you've watched the Amazon original series based on this book, and read it thinking you'll be seeing something just like the TV show, you might be disappointed. The premise is the same, and some of the characters are the same, or at least have the same names, but the story is less widely dispersed. The action in the book takes place only in the Pacific States and, to a lesser extent, the Rocky Mountain States, and there are no films...instead there is a book written by the Man in the High Castle. Despite this, if you can read the book and judge it on its own merits, it's a great read and an intriguing story. I found that it being different from the story depicted in the TV show made it more enjoyable...I didn't know what to expect, or what to think about some aspects of the book as I read it.

My favorite Dean Koontz books have long been his action-packed thrillers, whether they have an element of sci-fi and/or the supernatural or not. It seemed many of his more recent books over the past dozen years or so had lost that edge, that excitement, so I've not been very interested lately. Having said that, I still have hope and that hope has finally been rewarded with a thrill-a-page book that burns rubber off the first page and never lets up. If I had one criticism, it would be that, while Jane Hawk is a fascinating character that is pretty well-developed, many of the other characters seem a bit one dimensional, more stereotype than archetype. But, considering how much I enjoyed the story, and how much I want to read the next title in the series, I'll let that slide for the moment.

Far from a typical true-crime recitation of facts and interviews with investigators, this is the very human story of an admirably obsessed woman's quest for the truth and justice. The facts and figures are still there, but McNamara's determination to identify the killer with no name, save for the nickname she tagged to him, is the real and highly intriguing story here.

This was the best musical autobiography I've ever read. Larry Kirwan's songs are all stories set to music, often humorous, sometimes heartbreaking. His way with words translates well to prose and his stories are imparted with the same measure of humor and emotion one familiar with his songs might expect. He is an easily relatable author, as he is in face-to-face conversation. I met Kirwan briefly...VERY briefly...in 1996 when I bought a Black 47 CD from him at an Irish festival. Ten years later, I spoke briefly to him again, buying another CD at another Irish festival. Twelve years later...last year...I saw him perform solo. As he stood on the stage tuning his guitar, he looked out into the pre-show audience. Our eyes met and he gave me one of those reverse nods...a quick uptick of the chin that is generally reserved as a sign of recognition. When he finished tuning, I went over to the merchandise table and bought this book. When I handed it to him so he could autograph it, he smiled and said, “We've met before...”

Having known a bit more about Slade than the average American prior to “Run Runaway,” I was interested to read this autobiography by co-founder and guitarist Dave Hill. I read a lot of these “rock star” autobiographies and, while most tend to be a bit narcissistic or perhaps an attempt at some sort of justification, “So Here It Is” is neither. Hill's story is as refreshing as the manner in which he tells it. He lets the reader know right off the bat, by relating that he was living at home with his parents at the same time that his band had the number one song in the UK, that there is very little in the way of pretense here. Hill fills the story of Slade with anecdotes that one can tell are written exactly as he's told them dozens of times in the pub with his mates. Rather than putting on airs, Hill's narrative instead lays it on the line: here's what happened, and these are all the things we accomplished, these are the failures we endured, these are the things we did right, these are the mistakes we made, these are the things I'm proud of and these are the regrets I've had. Through it all, Hill's gregarious, humorous and down-to-earth manner makes for a pleasant, as well as informative, read. I quite enjoyed this book and found myself laughing along with Hill as he related incidents that obviously still crack him up or still fill him with wonder after all these years. It's nice to see someone who's gone through so much come out at the other end with a sense that they are content, and I think Hill's genuine humility has a lot to do with that.

I really wanted to love this book but, in the end, I just liked it. Any time you attempt to plug bands into the myriad of sub-genres that have been established under the prolific “metal” umbrella, very few will agree 100% on where this or that band fits in. Honestly, the number of metal sub-genres has grown to such in idiotic number that almost any attempt at classification is, at best, a valiant effort. This book is no exception. The authors, for the most part, do a fine job of explaining the major sub-genres, a bit of their history, and some of the key players in each. I can't really argue too much with some nit-picking disagreement over where a particular band fits in, I can't excuse a few flagrant mis-steps, like including Motorhead and Judas Priest in the leading bands of the NWOBHM, when each band existed for a number of years prior to that movement. Judas Priest may have jumped on the NWOBHM bandwagon, but they were hardly pioneers. Lemmy, when asked if Motorhead was part of the NWOBHM said no, because they were around long before and never really tried to fit in to that category. Regardless, other than these, as I said, nit-picking disagreements, I found the authors' use of humor to be quite refreshing, especially considering the somber tone most books on the subject tend to adopt.