Raeden Zen's Blog, page 25
December 6, 2014
December 5, 2014
crossconnectmag:
Samuli Heimonen born 1975 in Saarijävi,...
Samuli Heimonen born 1975 in Saarijävi, Finland is an artist painter who graduated as Master of Arts 2002 from the University of Art and Design in Helsinki. He has made solo exhibitions and participated in several group exhibitions since 1998 both in Finland and in Europe. Samuli Heimonen also teaches and lectures visual arts. Currently lives and works in Kangasniemi, Finland.
My works are not about the animal world, but I have wanted to use the animal figure as a metaphor for human hopes, aspirations and fears. For me, animals seem to crystallise in a great way something fundamentally human. An animal or the nature is a mirror which provides an interesting platform to study the human being.
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Book Review: A Valuable Girl by Paul Micou
A Humorous, High-Tech, Engrossing, Disturbing Short Story
When southerner Dwight Burnett (56) decides it’s time to take up a career in politics—running for the US Senate—to upend his (unsuccessful) career in the security business (as CEO of IronClad), his family is thrown into a whirlwind of sex, lies, and the internet.
On paper, Candidate Burnett has the perfect family, a wife named Cathy, and four loving children, Isobel (13), Benjamin (16), Cara (18) and Emily (20), and conforms to the ideals of conservatism—love of guns, God, and country. Despite the story’s political overtones, the prose isn’t preachy; in fact, dare I say this story isn’t about politics at all. It’s about America’s obsession with technology and information. Nothing we do any longer is private, and that can be a haunting thing, especially when someone uses technology to pursue their desires. In “A Valuable Girl,” Burnett’s Senate campaign is upended when someone begins to publish lewd photos of young Cara on the internet. Enter the charismatic (and deviant) Stu Carson, who is running damage control for the campaign, and the revelations rise to the unexpected and, in some cases, outrageous. Who is publishing these photos, audio, and video of Cara? Is she doing it herself? Is it her techno geek little brother? Or her sisters? Or mother? Or is it the rival campaign? The intrigue lasts until the final paragraph, with a lot of laughing and cringing along the way as Mr. Micou holds a mirror up to America and says, “This is what you’ve become.” It’s quite a disturbing sight.
The bottom line: Mr. Micou is 2 for 2 in the short story department, with the unputdownable “A Valuable Girl,” which followed the equally engrossing and suspenseful Kindle Single best-seller, “How to Get Into Harvard.”
Book Review: A Last Act of Charity by Frank Westworth
A Dark, Serpentine Crime Thriller
“Dangerous days, these. All of them. Trying too hard can be dangerous. If in doubt … do not try; simply do it.”
Thus begins Frank Westworth’s debut novel “A Last Act of Charity” with wise words Master Yoda would approve of. “A Last Act of Charity” is the first book in the Killing Sisters series. Following a gruesome murder, it shifts to JJ Stoner—a good looking, lethal blues musician—in a coffee shop. He’s accosted by a stranger, who wasn’t prepared for Stoner’s skills and pays the price. Nothing is what it seems, however, and even here, there’s an undertone, something operating in the shadows, and Mr. Stoner is beckoned to his employer, the Hard Man, who wants Stoner, now a contract investigator, to find the perpetrator of recent, violent killings. Here’s where the plot takes off, and we’re treated to a story at once noir and mysterious, and at others a fast-paced thriller. Stoner’s allies are varied, and not all friendly: there’s the Dirty Blonde (a hooker with an obsession with crime and sex), Shard (a fellow former assassin and sometime friend or foe from Stoner’s past), Amanda (aka Handy Mandy, a kinky saxophonist), Dave Reve (an adventurous cop), Bili and Stretch (fellow blues performers), Mallis, Menace and Mr. Tran (informants). None are trustworthy and all have an agenda. As the story progresses, the Killing Sisters get more creative and elusive—the conflict crescendos when they challenge Stoner directly. How will he handle their manipulations? Can any man survive an encounter with the Killing Sisters? Find out in “A Last Act of Charity.”
The bottom line: “A Last Act of Charity” is an intriguing debut novel that combines the best of crime fiction: a gritty hero, a weaving plot, and constant suspense. It does, at times, slow down with exposition—particularly in the club and in the garage—which tends to distract from the main investigation, but might be interesting for fellow connoisseurs of blues bands and motorcycles.
Frank Westworth’s Killing Sisters series can be found on Amazon, and includes: “A Last Act of Charity,” the first book in the series, as well as companion short stories “First Contract,” “Two Wrongs,” and “Third Person.”
