“Beautiful You,” by Chuck Palahniuk

FM's ratings:

1. Premise 10
2. Prose 7
3. Plot 8
4. Characters 7
5. Overall 8

Comments (optional - but try to keep it under 3000 words!)

I recently read in an online forum of a particular reader’s low opinion of Palahniuk’s prose. Having read only “Choke” and “Haunted,” my opinion had been rather high. This book, fascinating as it is, did fall a little short in that category. Worse, the characters were rather wooden, almost as if the author was going for an allegorical effect. The genius of Palahniuk is nevertheless, on display in full force as he gives us, yet again, a work of shocking originality. The premise is a little slippery, revealed gradually, but enticingly over the course of the plot, though morbidly mesmerizing throughout, as his books tend to be; exploring thorny philosophical issues with just the right seasoning of sardonicism. This is not the first Palahniuk book I would recommend to someone unfamiliar with his works, but for its originality alone, if nothing else, it is not to be missed.

Here’s the April line-up!

“Dragon Tears,” by Dean Koontz [4-1-17]

“Whose Little Girl Are You?,” by Bethany Campbell [4-8-17]

“Alice in La-La Land,” by Robert Campbell [4-15-17]

“Wolf at the Door,” by Ann Campbell [4-22-17]

“The Lost Stars: Perilous Shield,” by Jack Campbell [4-29-17]

(As always, if there are any books you’d like to recommend for next month, please do so. Also, if you have already read one on our previous lists, you are invited to send your ratings and or comments for that book!)

“There Goes the Bride,” by M. C. Beaton

FM's ratings:

1. Premise 8
2. Prose 7
3. Plot 7
4. Characters 8
5. Overall 8

Comments (optional - but try to keep it under 3000 words!)

Previously, I had only been familiar with Beaton’s “Hamish Macbeth” series, which I enjoyed very much. This “Agatha Raisin” series is similar in many ways, including a prose style that borders on “terse.” The setting is a small ordinary English town rather than the dramatic Scottish Highlands, and the “supporting cast” if you will, is more closely knit with the protagonist. Whereas Hamish is a sort of Highland “sheriff,” Agatha runs her own detective agency. But the similarities actually outweigh the differences, including a protagonist who is constantly distracted with the search for companionship and the inconveniences of not having a significant other. These stories often seem to veer off on a tangent that, in fact, comes back to the main storyline. They aren’t as loosely plotted as they seem, but it can be jarring. And despite being rather tame on the surface, the “bad guys” are usually really, really bad, while the protagonist is often placed in a life-or-death struggle – not just at the end like a lot of mysteries. The lack of depth in these stories is made up for, to my mind, by a lively pace and character interaction, spiced with some nice British/Scottish humor. Great light reading when you’re in the mood for it.

Here’s the April line-up!

“Dragon Tears,” by Dean Koontz [4-1-17]

“Whose Little Girl Are You?,” by Bethany Campbell [4-8-17]

“Alice in La-La Land,” by Robert Campbell [4-15-17]

“Wolf at the Door,” by Ann Campbell [4-22-17]

“The Lost Stars: Perilous Shield,” by Jack Campbell [4-29-17]

(As always, if there are any books you’d like to recommend for next month, please do so. Also, if you have already read one on our previous lists, you are invited to send your ratings and or comments for that book!)

“Slow Apocalypse,” by John Varley

FM's ratings:

1.      Premise 7

2.      Prose 8

3.      Plot 7

4.      Characters 8

5.      Overall 8

Comments (optional - but try to keep it under 3000 words!)

I really want to rate this book higher, but it suffers from a couple of drawbacks.  First, did we really need another “Aftermath” novel or “Collapse-Of-Civilization” novel?  Yes, it’s handled as well as any, better than most, but the premise has been done too many times.  Any new ones had better have a VERY interesting twist.   Here, the cause is the accidental destruction of all oil fields worldwide, and then a massive earthquake in the L. A. area.  The rest is just a variation of a tired-out theme.  Maybe Varley feels that any Sci-Fi writer worth his salt should do an “Aftermath” novel, the more realistic, the better.  His wildly imaginative earlier works (“Steel Beach” is magnificent!  “Mammoth” is brilliant!) maybe didn’t get him the long-term recognition that more mainstream writing might bring.  His “Red Lightning,” also more recent, featured more mainstream Sci-Fi fare as well.  The plot?  In a novel like this, plot is understandably random, as random as reality might be in such a situation.  But we expect more from a writer of Varley’s stature.  The characters are necessarily ordinary, perhaps, if the author wants to show what might actually happen to real people.  Even the main protagonist here is just a little too predictable in his reactions to the events of the story.  And the prose: technically first-rate, but the story demanded a lot of detail to give it credibility, and too much detail is deadly to a good read.  Still, the overall rating reflects a master writer’s work.  There is a lot of superb action and situational material, even some nice philosophical asides.  An impressive work, despite the drawbacks.

“‘J’ is for Judgment,” by Sue Grafton

FM’s ratings:

1.      Premise 9

2.      Prose 9

3.      Plot 8

4.      Characters 8

5.      Overall 8

Comments (optional - but try to keep it under 3000 words!)

Faking one’s death to collect half a million in insurance money is an obvious premise, but a good treatment of it is a treat.  Kinsey Millhone is a treat, always, and the other characters that come and go in this series are usually very good, but they are just a little stereotypical in this one.  The prose gives us a very convincing first person narrative by Millhone, which is always appreciated as well.  Having now read the first 10 in the series in order, I’m ready to skip around some.  (Mainly because I have some of the later ones in my stack already!)