July Reads

Hey! I hope your summer is going well.

My own summer (inadvertent Deftones reference) has been flying past—it was May just yesterday! The campground has been busy and I’ve been hard at work on revisions for my upcoming novel, The Orchid Room, which is slated to be released early in 2024. More info and an actual publication date for that one are on their way. Because I’m some sort of masochist, I also did the first read-through of another novel that I’m hoping to release in 2024, maybe by summer. But I’ve eaten my share of crow in the past.

So for this entry, I present you with four titles subject to my musings, two of which I listened to the audiobook for. Read ‘em and weep.

The Keep by F. Paul Wilson

This book has been on my list for a long time (nine years, according to Goodreads, though I’m pretty sure that’s when I created my account). I became a fan of F. Paul Wilson’s work a decade ago or more, when I started reading his Repairman Jack series. If you haven’t read any of the RJ books, I highly recommend it. I’ll be revisiting them all again soon.

The Keep is the first of seven books in Wilson’s “Adversary Cycle”, which basically tells of the war for our world between two cosmic forces. The books include standalone novels, as well as books in the Repairman Jack series. Trying to understand the timeline and order of these books can be a confusing affair, so from here on out, I’ll try to focus on The Keep.

The book takes place in Romania during the nazi occupation and is set almost entirely in, you guessed it, a keep. The titular structure rests in a nearly sunless valley in a small Romanian village, and is made the operating base for a squad of nazi soldiers. Shortly after the nazis take over the keep, a dark presence begins to hunt them. Searching for answers, the nazis send for history professor Theodore Cuza and his daughter, Magda. Almost immediately, Cuza and his daughter are swept up in the mystery of the dark presence preying on those within the keep.

This entire book was fantastic, old-school horror from start-to-finish. I had some idea of the direction things would go, since the Repairman Jack books take place in more modern times and are tied to the Adversary Cycle, but I found myself wrapped up in the story and wondering how exactly this book would kick off a universe full of some of my most beloved novels.

Even as a standalone book, The Keep is worth checking out, especially for fans of older (80s) horror novels.

The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson

You’ve more than likely heard of this one.

The Devil in the White City was described to me as a narrative telling of the crimes of the notorious serial killer H.H. Holmes. As a fan of horror and as someone who is fascinated by tales of true crime, I was immediately sold on it.

Unfortunately for me, that is not what the book is. The Devil in the White City would probably have interested me more if I was an architect, a gardener, or a city planner. The book primarily tells the story of Daniel Hudson Burnham, director of Chicago’s World’s Fair, with interludes to speculate on the machinations of Dr. Holmes’ mind and movements during his time in Chicago.

As an historical account of one of the biggest / most attended events in US history, this book is fantastic. As the tale of a twisted serial killer, it falls a bit short. The two stories don’t really go together. On one page, Larson lists each item on the menu at a particular event (this happens several times in the book), and on the next, he is musing on the thoughts and intentions of Holmes.

Apparently very little is actually known about the murders committed by H.H. Holmes, though his macabre hotel is fascinating.

It was neat to read about the World’s Fair and I’m glad I learned what I did about it, but the book was a bit of a slog for me overall. That said, it’s very popular and if American history, architecture, or landscaping is your thing, I recommend checking it out.

Head Like a Hole by Andrew Van Wey

This book had been popping up on my feeds for some time now, always with comments about the satisfying 90s nostalgia throughout. Let me tell you, while the 90s vibe is enjoyable, there is so much more to this book.

Head Like a Hole is the tale of Megan Monroe and her group of friends, who are each haunted by a young woman from their shared past. As Megan and friends hunt for answers, it becomes clear that they are targets of a violent, terrifying life form.

This book checked all the right boxes for me: strange creatures, 90s setting, a group of friends solving a mystery that threatens their existence, and so much more. At times, this felt like an X-Files episode, while at others, it resembled something directed by John Carpenter.

If you like horror, add this one to your to-be-read pile.

A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor (The Carls #2) by Hank Green

In June I stumbled across the audiobook for Hank Green’s sci-fi mystery / adventure, An Absolutely Remarkable Thing, and loved it. Not only was the story original, entertaining, and well-written, the performance by Kristen Sieh was fantastic.

When the sequel popped up as a suggestion in my Libby app, I immediately downloaded it. The audiobook is very well performed, though Ms. Sieh does not do the majority of narrating—she shares the task with over half-a-dozen other performers.

A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor takes place something like six months after the events of the first book. It continues the story of April May, her friends, and the Carls.

This novel does a good job of explaining everything that happened in the first book and brings the short saga to a satisfying conclusion. It leans heavily on some pretty extraordinary scientific premises that feel all-too plausible.

While I didn’t love this book as much as the first, it was an entertaining and well-told adventure.

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And that’s a wrap. What’d you think? Have you read any of these? Any suggestions for what I should read next? Drop me a line or leave a comment!

And have a good day.

-Chris

May Reads

Another month gone by, another pile of books consumed. May’s books include culinary musings, haunted puppets, a trip to Mars, and mythological embellishment. Read on for my thoughts on what I read this past month.

Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain

This is one book that’s been recommended to me more than almost any other, especially as far as biographies / memoirs are concerned.

As a fan of the gonzo / beat era of literature, I immediately fell in love with Bourdain’s way of storytelling. Kitchen Confidential reads like something Hunter S. Thompson may have written had he spent his years in kitchens as opposed to newsrooms. It’s a wild ride through Bourdain’s upbringing in the often-seedy world of restaurant kitchens and backrooms. As someone who has spent a fair amount of time in such environments (though never, thankfully, in fine dining), I found myself frequently nodding in commiseration as Bourdain describes some of the shenanigans that take place in many a kitchen.

The book is highly regarded and well-written, but if you are easily grossed out and are someone who enjoys eating out, beware. Nothing in these pages really came as a surprise to me, but the uninitiated may not be happy about some of the grosser “practices” that occur in a kitchen, fine dining or otherwise.

Circe by Madeline Miller

This is ostensibly a reimagining of the story of the nymph Circe from Homer’s Odyssey. As a kid, I was obsessed with Greek mythology. When the first God of War game came out in 2005, my passion was rekindled. When, based on numerous recommendations, I got my hands on a copy of Circe, I was hoping for the same thing.

Sadly, I fall into the minority of readers who did not love this book. It starts off strong, introducing us to the precocious titular nymph getting into all sorts of mischief in the courts of Helios. While there are some very cool moments throughout, I found a lot of the story to be meandering. Almost as if a lot of the words were there to increase page-count.

What was cool about this book were the various descriptions of the mythical monsters and creatures, though I don’t think Trygon received nearly enough attention.

Don’t let my disappointment deter you from reading this! It’s a hugely popular book and like 90% of readers love it—and for the most part, there is a lot to love.

Appleseed by Matt Bell

I was not ready for how truly incredible this book is. It’s the second book by Matt Bell that I’ve read, the first being his instructive Refuse to be Done, which has been enormously helpful to my writing process. This cli-fi (I promise that’s the only time I’ll use that term) epic proves his capability as a writer of fiction. Climate-change-sci-fi isn’t something I’ll always to go out of my way to read, as it can get preachy in the wrong hands, but at no point did I feel this novel was berating me for not driving an electric car and living in a geodesic dome.

Told from three perspectives in three very different eras, Appleseed tells the story of our planet’s ecological doom. It’s a bleak tale from the start, but one filled with hope. From the very beginning, it took turns I would never have seen coming. Throughout the book, I found myself left in wonder at the imagination behind it all. There were some things I would love to have had explained a bit better in the end, but ultimately the story had me by the short-and-curlies the entire way.

How to Sell a Haunted House by Grady Hendrix

I fell in love with Grady Hendrix’s writing a number of years ago when I read his hugely entertaining novel Horrorstör, ostensibly about a haunted Ikea.

How to Sell a Haunted House walks a fine line between being amusing and scary. The title is a bit of a mislead as it is very swiftly revealed that the paranormal happenings are related to haunted puppets. Hendrix does a good job crafting some pretty creepy puppet scenes and ends with a climax straight out of your favourite 80’s horror movies, all while dealing artfully with themes of grief and loss.

It’s not the scariest or the funniest of this author’s books, but I can confidently recommend How to Sell a Haunted House to any and all lovers of horror.

The Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris

What is it about Hannibal Lecter that makes him such an intriguing character? Is it his brilliance? His penchant for devouring human flesh? I’d argue it has more to do with the characters the author surrounds him with.

The Silence of the Lambs is one of my favourite movies. The series Hannibal is some of the most riveting and upsetting television I’ve had the pleasure of watching. Red Dragon, the prequel to The Silence of the Lambs was also a fantastic novel. In each of these tales (I haven’t yet had the pleasure of reading the final two Lecter novels) brilliant, strong, loveable, and interesting characters find themselves at the intellectual mercy of Hannibal Lecter. None of them want to deal with Lecter. None of them want to go to him for help. All are powerless—if they want to save lives—to ignore the brilliance dwelling within Lecter’s dark mind. Thus we get to see these characters reflected in the monster’s eyes, picked apart for his amusement, and toyed with as a means of passing the time. These characters, Will Graham in Red Dragon and Clarice Starling in The Silence of the Lambs, are then given the opportunity to grow, become stronger, and ultimately win the day after being confronted with the monster that is Lecter.

If you enjoyed the movie of the same name, check out The Silence of the Lambs. If you’ve never seen the movie, read the book then watch the film. If you have the time or interest for it, start with Red Dragon.

Out of the Silent Planet by C.S. Lewis

This was my second time reading this classic sci-fi and I’m so glad I revisited it. Imaginative and deeply philosophical, this short novel about a man’s unwilling trip to space is one that I think about a lot.

The novel ostensibly follows an academic named Ransom, who is taken prisoner aboard a spaceship headed to another planet. Once landed, he finds himself growing to love the strange planet he finds himself on and is ultimately sent on a quest that could change the course of history for the entire universe. Throughout his adventures, Ransom is forced to question the trajectory of human existence, and to scrutinize our social hierarchies.

It’s a swift read packed with imagination and adventure and sure to leave you thinking. The subsequent novels, Perelandra and That Hideous Strength are also incredible reads.

Stolen Tongues by Felix Blackwell

This one comes highly recommended by many in the online horror community. Often sited as being one of the scariest modern horror novels, it tells the story of a couple’s vacation at a mountain cabin and the trouble they find themselves in when something from the woods follows them home.

The first third or half of this book held me pretty fast. I flew through those initial pages, my curiosity piqued by the very creepy presence Blackwell crafts. However, I soon found myself counting how many pages I had left. Though my interest wained the further I got into the book, I really wanted to find out what happens at the end. Unfortunately, a fair amount was left unexplained or forgotten entirely and the ending felt rushed.

The author does do a pretty good job at painting some very creepy pictures. The thing stalking the main characters is, at times, truly frightening.

Ultimately, Stolen Tongues entertained me but left me wanting more. Blackwell is apparently working on a prequel, which I will absolutely be reading in hopes that some questions are answered.

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And that’s all I’ve got for you this month. Have you read any of these? What are your thoughts? Let me know in the comments or shoot me a message through the contact page.

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Thanks for reading. See you next month!

-Chris