Rachel Manija Brown's Blog, page 84
November 4, 2020
Childhood TV Nostalgia Poll and Discussion
View Poll: Childhood Nostalgia TV Poll
NOTE: Today (and maybe tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow), I will periodically put up posts that have nothing to do with the election. Come on in and vote in polls, discuss ridiculous books, etc, if and when you need a break. You will be able to find them all by clicking the "election respite" tag.
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NOTE: Today (and maybe tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow), I will periodically put up posts that have nothing to do with the election. Come on in and vote in polls, discuss ridiculous books, etc, if and when you need a break. You will be able to find them all by clicking the "election respite" tag.
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November 3, 2020
Childhood Book Nostalgia Poll and Discussion
View Poll: #24805
Please tell me all about the books of your childhood.
NOTE: NOTE: Today (and maybe tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow), I will periodically put up posts that have nothing to do with the election. Come on in and vote in polls, discuss ridiculous books, etc, if and when you need a break. You will be able to find them all by clicking the "election respite" tag.
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Please tell me all about the books of your childhood.
NOTE: NOTE: Today (and maybe tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow), I will periodically put up posts that have nothing to do with the election. Come on in and vote in polls, discuss ridiculous books, etc, if and when you need a break. You will be able to find them all by clicking the "election respite" tag.
comments
Twilight Eyes, by Dean Koontz
The one about the carnival goblins.
The first-person narrator, who adopts the name of "Slim" MacKenzie because he's seventeen and thinks it sounds cool, is on the run due to having axe-murdered his uncle because he was one of the evil goblins that only Slim can see beneath their human disguises.
If this sounds like incredibly creepy psychological horror in which the reader keeps wondering whether there really are goblins or Slim is a delusional homicidal maniac, Koontz keeps you guessing on that count for a while. Possibly he kept me guessing for way longer than was intended. But since I already gave it away in the poll and the book gives it away on the cover copy: yes, the goblins are real.
Slim has incredibly beautiful purple "Twilight Eyes," which means he has premonitions in addition to being able to see goblins. It's 1963, and he ends up in a carnival which, surprise, is being stalked by goblins.
I was more into the carnival than the goblins, but there are satisfactory amounts of both. Koontz went all-out into period carnival research, and it's really atmospheric and fun. A lot of the characters are from the freak show, and while Koontz writes about them in his usual overblown style, they're all sympathetic characters who have their own lives and motivations. The owner of the freak show is also its star attraction, Joel Tuck, who has severe facial disfigurements including a third eye. He's a great character.
Slim falls for Rya, the lovely young owner of several carnival attractions. She has a darkness in her and dark secrets and their romance is pure angsty swoony genre romance. Since he's psychic they end up with a psychic bond and can see into each other's very souls!
Meanwhile, there's a lot of goblin action. It's pretty fun, but so OTT in Slim's insistence that they are PURE EEEEEVIL and YES HE REALLY CAN SEE THEM and NO THEY'RE NOT HUMAN that every now and then I started wondering if he was protesting too much and was just a delusional serial killer. (This is not actually supported by the text.)
Bonkers and fun. I could have used more carnival in the last third but there was enough to make it not disappointing.
Twilight Eyes[image error]
[image error] [image error]
NOTE: Today (and maybe tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow), I will periodically put up posts that have nothing to do with the election. Come on in and vote in polls, discuss ridiculous books, etc, if and when you need a break. You will be able to find them all by clicking the "election respite" tag.
comments
The first-person narrator, who adopts the name of "Slim" MacKenzie because he's seventeen and thinks it sounds cool, is on the run due to having axe-murdered his uncle because he was one of the evil goblins that only Slim can see beneath their human disguises.
If this sounds like incredibly creepy psychological horror in which the reader keeps wondering whether there really are goblins or Slim is a delusional homicidal maniac, Koontz keeps you guessing on that count for a while. Possibly he kept me guessing for way longer than was intended. But since I already gave it away in the poll and the book gives it away on the cover copy: yes, the goblins are real.
Slim has incredibly beautiful purple "Twilight Eyes," which means he has premonitions in addition to being able to see goblins. It's 1963, and he ends up in a carnival which, surprise, is being stalked by goblins.
I was more into the carnival than the goblins, but there are satisfactory amounts of both. Koontz went all-out into period carnival research, and it's really atmospheric and fun. A lot of the characters are from the freak show, and while Koontz writes about them in his usual overblown style, they're all sympathetic characters who have their own lives and motivations. The owner of the freak show is also its star attraction, Joel Tuck, who has severe facial disfigurements including a third eye. He's a great character.
Slim falls for Rya, the lovely young owner of several carnival attractions. She has a darkness in her and dark secrets and their romance is pure angsty swoony genre romance. Since he's psychic they end up with a psychic bond and can see into each other's very souls!
Meanwhile, there's a lot of goblin action. It's pretty fun, but so OTT in Slim's insistence that they are PURE EEEEEVIL and YES HE REALLY CAN SEE THEM and NO THEY'RE NOT HUMAN that every now and then I started wondering if he was protesting too much and was just a delusional serial killer. (This is not actually supported by the text.)
Bonkers and fun. I could have used more carnival in the last third but there was enough to make it not disappointing.
Twilight Eyes[image error]
[image error] [image error]
NOTE: Today (and maybe tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow), I will periodically put up posts that have nothing to do with the election. Come on in and vote in polls, discuss ridiculous books, etc, if and when you need a break. You will be able to find them all by clicking the "election respite" tag.
comments
A Day of Election Respite
Today (and maybe tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow), I will periodically put up posts that have nothing to do with the election. Come on in and vote in polls, discuss ridiculous books, etc, if and when you need a break. You will be able to find them all by clicking the "election respite" tag.
If you'd like to do that same, please comment to the post so everyone will know to take a look.
comments
If you'd like to do that same, please comment to the post so everyone will know to take a look.
comments
November 2, 2020
Final Girls, by Riley Sager
I hated this book so much that I looked up Sager's other pen name to make sure I didn't accidentally read anything else by him.
The premise is that three women are the sole survivors of massacres, the media calls them "Final Girls," and then someone starts killing them...
The Final Girls were all the sole survivors of unrelated massacres. Considering how many massacres happen in the US, I'm not sure that would be enough to make them still famous ten years later (or that there wouldn't be a lot more Final Girls) but that wouldn't bother me if the book was generally satisfying. Be that as it may, the Final Girls are a media creation, not friends. Linda embraced the label and wrote a book about empowerment, Sam dropped off the grid, and Quincy, who hates being called a Final Girl, had one phone call with Linda and never met Sam.
Ten years ago, Quincy survived the massacre of a bunch of her friends on a camping trip in college, including her best friend. The story of the massacre (95% of it is lead-up) is intercut with her present-day life. Both timelines are boring and annoying. All we know about the massacre in the present day is that she ran screaming through the woods, was found by a cop who shot the pursuing slasher dead, and two other cops found it very very suspicious that Quincy was the lone survivor when everyone else was killed, she claims to have no memory of the massacre itself, and her wounds, though serious, were not life-threatening.
Right off the bat, this makes no sense. It's common for a massacre to involve many people killed and some or one not hurt at all; that shouldn't make them a suspect. Traumatic amnesia is also common. Quincy is a young white woman so there's an additional reason not to suspect her. Finally, if Quincy was the real slasher, then shouldn't the cops be trying to figure out who the dude who got shot was and why he was chasing Quincy with a knife?
Meanwhile, Quincy now has a baking blog and a fiance, compulsively shoplifts, and takes Xanax washed down with grape juice as is repeated a bazillion times. She's still in touch with Coop, the hot cop who rescued her. When Linda commits suicide, Quincy gets caught up in a media frenzy, and Sam shows up on Quincy's doorstep insisting that Linda was murdered.
Quincy makes absolutely no sense as a character because we're supposed to be in doubt as to whether she is the real murderer, so sometimes she acts like a violent psycho and sometimes she seems like a regular traumatized person, and she makes random, contradictory choices. Two-thirds of the book is her having repetitive conversations with the same three people while baking and/or popping Xanax, and then there's a flurry of utterly nonsensical twists.
There's tons of talk about what it means to be a Final Girl and whether Final Girls should stick together, but none of it is insightful or comes to more than "being a Final Girl means that you survived"/"actually us Final Girls have nothing in common."
I thought the book would be some kind of revisionist take on the Final Girl trope, and it's instead every misogynist stereotype from every bad slasher flick, only revised so it disappears up its own ass in a flurry of frantic handwaving and incoherence.
Also, THERE IS EXACTLY ONE SLASHING SCENE. It's like one percent of the novel's total verbiage. The heroine washing down Xanax with grape juice is probably four percent. I felt so cheated.
( Spoilers make zero sense and are also extremely skeevy. )
Final Girls: A Novel[image error]
[image error] [image error]
comments
The premise is that three women are the sole survivors of massacres, the media calls them "Final Girls," and then someone starts killing them...
The Final Girls were all the sole survivors of unrelated massacres. Considering how many massacres happen in the US, I'm not sure that would be enough to make them still famous ten years later (or that there wouldn't be a lot more Final Girls) but that wouldn't bother me if the book was generally satisfying. Be that as it may, the Final Girls are a media creation, not friends. Linda embraced the label and wrote a book about empowerment, Sam dropped off the grid, and Quincy, who hates being called a Final Girl, had one phone call with Linda and never met Sam.
Ten years ago, Quincy survived the massacre of a bunch of her friends on a camping trip in college, including her best friend. The story of the massacre (95% of it is lead-up) is intercut with her present-day life. Both timelines are boring and annoying. All we know about the massacre in the present day is that she ran screaming through the woods, was found by a cop who shot the pursuing slasher dead, and two other cops found it very very suspicious that Quincy was the lone survivor when everyone else was killed, she claims to have no memory of the massacre itself, and her wounds, though serious, were not life-threatening.
Right off the bat, this makes no sense. It's common for a massacre to involve many people killed and some or one not hurt at all; that shouldn't make them a suspect. Traumatic amnesia is also common. Quincy is a young white woman so there's an additional reason not to suspect her. Finally, if Quincy was the real slasher, then shouldn't the cops be trying to figure out who the dude who got shot was and why he was chasing Quincy with a knife?
Meanwhile, Quincy now has a baking blog and a fiance, compulsively shoplifts, and takes Xanax washed down with grape juice as is repeated a bazillion times. She's still in touch with Coop, the hot cop who rescued her. When Linda commits suicide, Quincy gets caught up in a media frenzy, and Sam shows up on Quincy's doorstep insisting that Linda was murdered.
Quincy makes absolutely no sense as a character because we're supposed to be in doubt as to whether she is the real murderer, so sometimes she acts like a violent psycho and sometimes she seems like a regular traumatized person, and she makes random, contradictory choices. Two-thirds of the book is her having repetitive conversations with the same three people while baking and/or popping Xanax, and then there's a flurry of utterly nonsensical twists.
There's tons of talk about what it means to be a Final Girl and whether Final Girls should stick together, but none of it is insightful or comes to more than "being a Final Girl means that you survived"/"actually us Final Girls have nothing in common."
I thought the book would be some kind of revisionist take on the Final Girl trope, and it's instead every misogynist stereotype from every bad slasher flick, only revised so it disappears up its own ass in a flurry of frantic handwaving and incoherence.
Also, THERE IS EXACTLY ONE SLASHING SCENE. It's like one percent of the novel's total verbiage. The heroine washing down Xanax with grape juice is probably four percent. I felt so cheated.
( Spoilers make zero sense and are also extremely skeevy. )
Final Girls: A Novel[image error]
[image error] [image error]
comments
November 1, 2020
The Servants of Twilight, by Dean Koontz
A horror novel about a single mom stalked by cultists who think her darling moppet is the Antichrist.
Part I, sensitively titled "The Hag," introduces the premise and cast of characters.
Christine is a single mom due to the only fling of her life. Her young son Joey is six years old but very wise for his age. He never ever complains or does other normal but annoying kid things. He is extremely handsome to the point where it's normal for strangers to compliment him, polite, quiet, and plays silently by himself for hours. His big flaw is that he cutely can't pronounce February. Reading all this stuff about darling moppet Joey, I began to wonder if Koontz had a hyperactive toddler at the time of writing.
Other than the annoyingly perfect Joey, the setup is cool. An old woman dressed entirely in green accosts them, insists that Joey's birthday is Christmas Eve (it's actually February 2, or so Christine says - I thought this would be a plot point but it's never mentioned again), and says he must die! This scene is genuinely eerie.
Since this is a Dean Koontz novel, they have a golden retriever named Brandy. In Koontz world, all dogs are golden retrievers. Sometimes they are angels or God in the form of golden retrievers.
They go home, where Christine examines herself nude in the mirror because a dude wrote this book. She is generally satisfied, except that her waist is too small, but on the plus side it makes her breasts look bigger.
It's all spoilers from here on out. ( Read more... )
The Servants of Twilight[image error]
[image error] [image error]
comments
Part I, sensitively titled "The Hag," introduces the premise and cast of characters.
Christine is a single mom due to the only fling of her life. Her young son Joey is six years old but very wise for his age. He never ever complains or does other normal but annoying kid things. He is extremely handsome to the point where it's normal for strangers to compliment him, polite, quiet, and plays silently by himself for hours. His big flaw is that he cutely can't pronounce February. Reading all this stuff about darling moppet Joey, I began to wonder if Koontz had a hyperactive toddler at the time of writing.
Other than the annoyingly perfect Joey, the setup is cool. An old woman dressed entirely in green accosts them, insists that Joey's birthday is Christmas Eve (it's actually February 2, or so Christine says - I thought this would be a plot point but it's never mentioned again), and says he must die! This scene is genuinely eerie.
Since this is a Dean Koontz novel, they have a golden retriever named Brandy. In Koontz world, all dogs are golden retrievers. Sometimes they are angels or God in the form of golden retrievers.
They go home, where Christine examines herself nude in the mirror because a dude wrote this book. She is generally satisfied, except that her waist is too small, but on the plus side it makes her breasts look bigger.
It's all spoilers from here on out. ( Read more... )
The Servants of Twilight[image error]
[image error] [image error]
comments
October 31, 2020
The book poll you've been waiting for!
One of the most frustrating aspects of the pandemic was that for the first time in my life, it became very difficult for me to read books. Short stories, articles, manuscripts for review, audiobooks, sure. Actual published books on paper/Kindle for my own enjoyment? My eyes would glaze over after two pages.
Thankfully, I managed to break that streak by reading a combination of trashy horror, legit good horror, and excruciatingly depressing yet strangely compelling books. THANK GOD. Help me continue breaking my reading block!
View Poll: #24782
comments
Thankfully, I managed to break that streak by reading a combination of trashy horror, legit good horror, and excruciatingly depressing yet strangely compelling books. THANK GOD. Help me continue breaking my reading block!
View Poll: #24782
comments
October 30, 2020
It's my birthday!
Well, yesterday. I am 47! Hard to believe.
If you feel so moved, tell me something you like about me.
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If you feel so moved, tell me something you like about me.
comments
October 25, 2020
Last day to sign up for Yuletide!
Let's have ONE thing be joyful this year.
comments
comments
October 23, 2020
Seeking reviews for Her Magical Pet
If you read this book, please consider reviewing it on Amazon. We currently have ZERO reviews. Comment with your email and preferred format if you'd like a free review copy.
It's selling nicely but reviews would help that - and remember, all the money goes to OutRight!
Reviews for His Magical Pet would be awesome too but at least it has some as opposed to NONE.
If you're wondering why only Her Magical Pet has a paperback edition, it's because I am now on my eighth go-round with Amazon trying to get them to approve it. It isn't any sort of content-related thing, it's just Amazon being Amazon and finding new and bizarre technical rules I've broken - all of which also apply to Her. Anyway, it is forthcoming. Eventually. Probably.
Her Magical Pet[image error]
His Magical Pet[image error]
[image error] [image error]
comments
It's selling nicely but reviews would help that - and remember, all the money goes to OutRight!
Reviews for His Magical Pet would be awesome too but at least it has some as opposed to NONE.
If you're wondering why only Her Magical Pet has a paperback edition, it's because I am now on my eighth go-round with Amazon trying to get them to approve it. It isn't any sort of content-related thing, it's just Amazon being Amazon and finding new and bizarre technical rules I've broken - all of which also apply to Her. Anyway, it is forthcoming. Eventually. Probably.
Her Magical Pet[image error]
His Magical Pet[image error]
[image error] [image error]
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