Alex C. Telander's Blog, page 72
October 5, 2012
“The Complete Short Stories of Mark Twain” by Mark Twain (Everyman’s Library, 2012)
For anyone who’s grown up in the United States, you’ve more than likely been exposed to Mark Twain in one form or another, whether it’s having read one or more of his books in high school, seeing a biographical story about him on TV, or hearing one of the many hundreds of references about him; to many his is the quintessential “Great American Author.” And just a little over a century after his passing, Everyman’s Library has released a beautiful hardcover edition collecting all of his short stories. What makes these different stories compared to his novels? Twain is freer and seems to have more fun with his short stories, being more uproarious, satirical and rollicking in the short prose than with the long. This is the Twain that many may not be as familiar with, but it is well worth the read.
There is the strange tale of “The Facts in the Great Beef Contract” about a debt owed to a family by the US government for beef, and how as each family member passes without the payment being fulfilled, the next member ventures forth to try and get back what was owed. There is the famous “Jumping Frog of Calaveras County” set in the familiar Northern Californian “Angel’s Camp.” “Journalism in Tennessee” is about a journalist taking on the agriculture section of a local newspaper, even though he knows nothing about farming, and proceeds to spew complete lies and fiction, incurring the ire of the local farmers.
Collectingall of Mark Twain’s sixty short stories, this collection shows the great author’s full breath from writing entertaining fiction, to travel pieces, to contemplative nonfiction; the only problem is that at times the line between fiction and reality becomes somewhat blurred. But with Twain’s conversational and comforting voice, readers will be welcomed and taken on a truly great adventure.
Originally written on September 13, 2012 ©Alex C. Telander.
To purchase a copy of The Complete Stories of Mark Twain from Amazon, and help support BookBanter, click HERE.
October 3, 2012
Book Report: Book News for the Week of September 30th
J. K. Rowling’s A Casual Vacancy
Here’s what reviewers and critics are saying about J. K. Rowling’s new book A Casual Vacancy; some love it, some not so much.
A Casual Vacancy Ebook Recall
In a sign of what can go wrong with ebooks sometimes, Rowling’s A Casual Vacancy is recalled for errors.
J. K. Rowling’s Next Book
J. K. Rowling has hinted that her next book will very likely be one for kids.
The Strain TV Series
Director and author Guillermo del Toro has announced there will be a TV series of his co-written vampire trilogy, The Strain.
October 1, 2012
Bookbanter Column: Get Lost in a Good Fantasy Series, Part 7: “The Kingkiller Chronicles”
The Name of the Wind, the first of the Kingkiller Chronicles by Patrick Rothfuss, showed itself to the world in 2007.
It was a story that seemed to have every trope and cliché that epic fantasy is expected to have from an old innkeeper named Kvothe telling his tales of yore, to a magician learning the ways of his craft at a magician’s school . . .
. . . And yet there were also facets of the book that made it fascinating and quickly a bestseller, from Kvothe’s abilities and talents as a musician, to some of the amazing characters and friends he has gotten to know, to the magic itself, as they consider themselves arcanists and the magic feels more like a form of science.
The Name of the Wind spent a good long time on the bestseller lists, and earned the epithet: “Harry Potter for Adults.”
Rothfuss took his time with the second book in the trilogy, The Wise Man’s Fear, which was released in 2011, almost a thousand pages long.
But by the end of the book, there still seems too much story to tell.
September 28, 2012
“Kill Decision” by Daniel Suarez (Dutton, 2012)
Bestselling author Daniel Suarez delighted readers with his gritty and hard-edged take on technology gone haywire with Daemon and Freedom, and now he’s back with his next techno-thriller, Kill Decision, scrutinizing the subject of unmanned drones that cover our skies when we’re not looking. Suarez certainly seems to be fortifying a bridge between the late, great Michael Crichton and Tom Clancy, which fans of either or both will thoroughly enjoy.
Told mostly from the viewpoint of Linda McKinney, a talented scientist and studier of the social structure of ants, known as a myrmecologist, she is soon dragged into a big conspiracy covering the globe and going up to the very top of the United States government involving these unmanned drones. Her character serves as an excellent perspective to clue readers in to what’s going on, as she has very little idea, but at the same time her skills are still important to the mission at hand. A Special Ops soldier known as Odin “recruits” McKinney to his elite group to find out who is controlling and targeting these drones to attack specific locations within the United States and ordering the kill decision; it’s up to them to get to the bottom of this and prevent an all-out unavoidable war.
Daniel Suarez has once again managed to take hold of a subject that is featured in today’s headlines and spin it into a bunch of what ifs that serve to educate as well as terrify. Told with skill, tension and drama, Kill Decision is a book that won’t leave you sleeping easy at night as you imagine those unmanned drones flying overhead.
Originally written on March 17, 2012 ©Alex C. Telander.
To purchase a copy of Kill Decision from Amazon, and help support BookBanter, click HERE.
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September 26, 2012
Book Report: Book News for the Week of September 23rd
55% of Young Adult Books Bought by Adults
In a fascinating (and perhaps not too surprisingly) article from Publishers Weekly readers learn that over half of all young adults are purchased and read by adults.
Dr. Sleep Release Date
A release date has been announced for Stephen King’s sequel to his bestselling The Shining. Doctor Sleep will be released on September 24th, 2013.
Junot Diaz on Men Who Write About Women
In a brilliant article from bestselling author Junot Diaze, of The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao and the recently released This is How You Lose Her, talks about male authors writing female characters.
Could Ebook Prices on Bestsellers “Rise, Not Become Lower?”
A quick short piece on Shelf Awareness on the possible future prices of ebook bestsellers.
September 24, 2012
Bookbanter Column: Get Lost in a Good Fantasy Series, Part 6: “A Song of Ice and Fire”
A Song of Ice and Fire
Little did George R. R. Martin originally know that when he started writing A Game of Thrones, the first book in the Song of Ice and Fire series, changing from an idea in his head to something real on paper, that it would become such a bestseller and so popular with readers around the world.
Now with the success of the HBO series, even more people are turning to reading the books for the first time.
But it can be pretty intimidating facing that premiere heavy hardcover tome or that weighty fat paperback for the first time as you begin the series, so here’s a rough breakdown of what happens in the books.
While Martin had originally intended for the series to be trilogy and soon realized it was going to be much longer, the planned length is now seven books, with five books now released and two more to go.
One hopes Martin can reach the end of the series before the HBO TV show catches up with him.
September 21, 2012
GUEST REVIEW: “The War of the Worlds” – Steampunk Fiction with a Blend of Victorian Age and Futuristic Technologies – Review by Mark Steve
Steampunk is a subgenre, which takes us to a different world. We find ourselves in a scenario which is set in the Victorian Era, but the events taking place are not confined to that era. This is the fictional scenario imagined by the authors like H.G. Wells and Jules Verne in their science fiction novels. Time machine, gears, spacecrafts, and many other things running through steam power are the salient features of this subgenre.
“The War of the Worlds” composed by H.G. Wells is a brilliant example of the punk fiction. It seems to be influenced by the imperialism of the Victorian era, but in a distinct manner. An invasion takes place in the story, but this invasion is not by another nation. Martians from Mars invade the earth, with their army of three-legged fighting machines. The novel is divided into two parts – “The Coming of the Martians” and “The Earth under the Martians”.
The novel is based on the first person narrative. In the first part, the narrator tells the story of coming of the Martians to earth in a cylinder. Their three-legged fighting-machines are armed with heat rays, black smoke and a chemical weapon. The second part of the novel is based on the efforts of the narrator and his companion to save them. In the end of the story, the narrator finds the Martians died from microbial infection as there is no bacterium on the Mars.
This story became the inspiration for various other science fiction stories and films in the modern times. A large number of modern fictional tales based on the invasion of the creature from other parts of the galaxy or universe came in the limelight after this novel.
Some of the fantasies of the Wells were later a reality. For instance, use of black smoke by the fighting machines of Martians, was witnessed during the First World War. The heat rays mentioned in the novels were developed in the military technology in the later ages and became a forerunner of the laser weaponry. The flying machines are yet to be developed, but the machines run by human such as modern age tanks can be their beginning stages. But, the fighting machines are nearer to the futuristic robotic technologies. The idea of moving from one planet to another through cylinder is thought to be impractical by the modern scientists.
Besides, H.G. wells fictionalized some other concepts also in his literature. He wrote, “The Time Machine” earlier, in which he mentioned the fantasy of travelling across the time.
Such fictions provided an edited version of Victorian Era, which became popular among the masses in the modern age, and impacted their lifestyle in various ways. Steampunk fashion clothing is the one of the best instances of this influence. This fashion is highly influenced on the Hollywood films based on the punk themes. Many of these films are based on the Victorian fiction literature. Innovation of the contemporary dress sense can also be witnessed on the punk outfits.
There are a number of websites where you can find the steampunk and Victorian style clothing. We also provide the costumes for women on our site Steampunk Dressing.
Author Bio
My name is Mark Steve. I am a Historian, researcher and writer. I regularly write articles, reviews on books and novels on Historical topics related to Medieval, Renaissance, Pirate, Gothic & Steampunk themes. If you want to know more about me and my blog, see my blog: Steampunk Dressing and Renaissance Outfits.
GUEST REVIEW: “The War of the Worlds” – Steampunk Fiction with a Blend of Victorian Age and Futuristic Technologies – Review by Mark
Steampunk is a subgenre, which takes us to a different world. We find ourselves in a scenario which is set in the Victorian Era, but the events taking place are not confined to that era. This is the fictional scenario imagined by the authors like H.G. Wells and Jules Verne in their science fiction novels. Time machine, gears, spacecrafts, and many other things running through steam power are the salient features of this subgenre.
“The War of the Worlds” composed by H.G. Wells is a brilliant example of the punk fiction. It seems to be influenced by the imperialism of the Victorian era, but in a distinct manner. An invasion takes place in the story, but this invasion is not by another nation. Martians from Mars invade the earth, with their army of three-legged fighting machines. The novel is divided into two parts – “The Coming of the Martians” and “The Earth under the Martians”.
The novel is based on the first person narrative. In the first part, the narrator tells the story of coming of the Martians to earth in a cylinder. Their three-legged fighting-machines are armed with heat rays, black smoke and a chemical weapon. The second part of the novel is based on the efforts of the narrator and his companion to save them. In the end of the story, the narrator finds the Martians died from microbial infection as there is no bacterium on the Mars.
This story became the inspiration for various other science fiction stories and films in the modern times. A large number of modern fictional tales based on the invasion of the creature from other parts of the galaxy or universe came in the limelight after this novel.
Some of the fantasies of the Wells were later a reality. For instance, use of black smoke by the fighting machines of Martians, was witnessed during the First World War. The heat rays mentioned in the novels were developed in the military technology in the later ages and became a forerunner of the laser weaponry. The flying machines are yet to be developed, but the machines run by human such as modern age tanks can be their beginning stages. But, the fighting machines are nearer to the futuristic robotic technologies. The idea of moving from one planet to another through cylinder is thought to be impractical by the modern scientists.
Besides, H.G. wells fictionalized some other concepts also in his literature. He wrote, “The Time Machine” earlier, in which he mentioned the fantasy of travelling across the time.
Such fictions provided an edited version of Victorian Era, which became popular among the masses in the modern age, and impacted their lifestyle in various ways. Steampunk fashion clothing is the one of the best instances of this influence. This fashion is highly influenced on the Hollywood films based on the punk themes. Many of these films are based on the Victorian fiction literature. Innovation of the contemporary dress sense can also be witnessed on the punk outfits.
There are a number of websites where you can find the steampunk and Victorian style clothing. We also provide the costumes for women on our site Steampunk Dressing.
Author Bio
My name is Mark. I am a Historian, researcher and writer. I regularly write articles, reviews on books and novels on Historical topics related to Medieval, Renaissance, Pirate, Gothic & Steampunk themes. If you want to know more about me and my blog, see my blog: Steampunk Dressing and Renaissance Outfits.
Schedule of Weekly Posts
I’ve decided to be more regular in my posting here on the Bookbanter blog, instead of sometimes posting everyday, sometimes Monday through Friday, and sometimes intermittently. So starting today and continuing into next week the posting schedule for Bookbanter from now on will be Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, ideally at 9am Pacific time. That way people wanting to get updates and see what’s going on with Bookbanter will know when to come back — though of course, you can always subscribe to this blog in the top right hand corner by entering your email address and then you’ll get every post personally delivered to your inbox — and when to expect new stuff from Bookbanter. Also with my planned site overhaul at the beginning of next year, this will coincide well with my 2013 focus on my writing and book reviews.
September 18, 2012
BOOK NEWS: Book Report for the Week of September 16th
Berkeley/NAL Launches InkLit Graphic Novel Imprint
The publisher Berkeley/NAL has launched their very own imprint specializing in graphic novels, called InkLit, beginning October 2 with Patricia Briggs’ Alpha and Omega: Volume 1.
50 Books to Build Your Character
Looking to make more of an impression on people? Here are 50 recommended titles to help build your character.
Judge Approves Department of Justice Settlement
Hachette, HarperCollins and Simon & Schuster have reached a settlement over their previous involvement in possible ebook price collusion. Under the new agreement, they are required to end their sales agreement with book retailers on the pricing of ebooks for the next two years, giving these bookstores to option to price ebooks from these publishers at whatever price they choose.
Salman Rushdie Honors the Courage of Independent Bookstores
In this forthcoming biography, Joseph Anton, Rushdie recognizes and thanks independent bookstores for their courage after continuing to support and sell his books since 1989, when a fatwa was put upon his head.
http://oedb.org/library/beginning-onl...
