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By Arthur McCulloch, on February 8th, 2012 Author: Scott Lynch
2006, Bantam Spectra
Filed under: Fantasy, Sci-Fi
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| C4 Ratings...out of |
10 |
| Language..... |
7 |
| Entertainment..... |
10 |
| Depth..... |
7 |
In The Lies of Locke Lamora, Scott Lynch has created an incredibly unique world, populated it with engaging characters, and orchestrated a driving, action-filled plot.
This book features one of the best, and most pertinent, prologues written in the fantasy genre. We get introduced to the protagonist from the eyes of two very different thieves—Chains and the Thiefmaker. Most prologues are written from incredible distance and only give a sense of pre-destiny, myth, and/or a generic world setting. Lynch delivers main character backstory while simultaneously introducing us to his world. After exiting the prologue, I was aching to know more about Locke Lamora and what thievery and mischief has got him into so much trouble. …
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By Arthur McCulloch, on April 4th, 2011  So I’m on a desert island. John Donne be damned. Of course, my first concern is to check that I’ve packed the one and only book I’ve been allowed to bring. Luckily, I’m prepared and I whip out my copy of Kitchen Confidential, by Anthony Bourdain.
Arriving at this choice was much more difficult. First posed with the question of what to take, my immediate ideas turned out to be rubbish. I considered the Bible. What better choice for a man in need of some serious faith? Almost immediately, my selection starts to break down. Most of the New Testament is about relating to other people, which is no longer pertinent given my current circumstances. The Old Testament still seems to hold some merit. That’s the kind of god that would get a kick out of sticking some poor bloke out on an island to let him rot. But once again, I’m alone on this island. And in the absence of another human consciousness, I’m now my own god. So, to hell with the Bible.
A nice bit of pornography comes to mind next. A little good morning sunshine in the form of an inviting nude might get me through my rougher moods. But while an improvement over developing an unhealthy relationship with a volleyball, the prospect of having conversations with a tattered, wind-blown pin-up is too sad to contemplate. …
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By Arthur McCulloch, on November 12th, 2010 Author: John Flanagan
 2005, Puffin Books
Filed Under: Young Adult, Fantasy
| C4 Ratings.....out of |
10 |
| Language..... |
5 |
| Entertainment..... |
8 |
| Depth..... |
6 |
Read this book. If you are an active reader of fantasy, someone who has a former appreciation for the genre, or an adult interested in passing on a your passion to a young reader, you will definitely be rewarded by reading this initial installment in the widely popular series by John Flanagan.
Frankly, I balked at the prospect of reading the New York Times Bestselling Ranger’s Apprentice series. First of all, it’s genre fiction on the New York Times Bestseller List, too often a haven for popular but rather uninspired writing. And “Ranger’s Apprentice”? Does that not smack too much of Tolkien’s king hero: a kind of young Aragorn type of book? Does this series represent yet another writer’s and publisher’s attempt to cash in on the popularity of the movies by Peter Jackson? Or, is this the series that a big name publisher is putting its weight behind to make sure that the momentum of the Harry Potter phenomenon does not dissipate?
The series kept cropping up in conversations with friends and colleagues; their comments were overwhelmingly positive. Jumping to a slew of wild conclusions based simply on a cursory reaction to a book’s title certainly didn’t seem too fair, or open-minded a treatment of a book. Young adult, and 249 pages, I wouldn’t lose much time by reading it, so I gave it a shot. …
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By Arthur McCulloch, on October 13th, 2010 Author: Catherine Fisher
Dial Books, 2010
Filed Under: Young Adult, Fantasy, Sci-Fi.
| C4 Ratings.....out of |
10 |
| Language..... |
8 |
| Entertainment..... |
7 |
| Depth..... |
8 |
Incarceron is a wonderfully imaginative fantasy novel. Normally I don’t go for fantasy blended with science fiction, but Fisher’s novel incorporates the science fiction element seamlessly into the fantasy theme.
Incarceron is the name for a prison developed by a highly advanced society, a place for the criminals and unwanted that had survived an era vaguely referred to as the Years of Rage. The history and technology behind the creation of Incarceron remains a mystery that is slowly, and satisfyingly, unraveled over the course of the novel. Designed with benevolent intentions, the prisoners were to be transported to a place where they could live out normal lives in a near utopian world. Everyone on the Outside believes this to be true. Nothing could be further from the truth.
The world of Incarceron is a post-apocalyptic hell. The technology used to create the prison was so advanced that the prison itself became sentient. Once sentient, Incarceron became cruel and evil. The prison is like a God, both creator and destroyer of life, and ever-present and ever watchful. It is a vast fortress where the very structure and environment of the prison can be altered at will; and punishment is always looming. …
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By Arthur McCulloch, on September 8th, 2010 Author: Jess M. Brallier, with illustrations by Peter H. Reynolds
 Harper Collins, 2009
Filed Under: Children’s
| C4 Ratings.....out of |
10 |
| Language..... |
4 |
| Entertainment..... |
5 |
| Depth..... |
8 |
| Art.... |
8 |
When I saw Tess’s Tree on display at The Blue Bunny, the local independent bookstore in Dedham, I grew excited. Here, I thought, was an opportunity to satisfy my interests on many different levels. A relative newcomer to Dedham, I’ve been making an effort to read books by local authors. I started with Peter Reynolds, an author, illustrator, and bookstore owner. The first book of his I purchased was The Dot. This was a wonderful story that my entire family enjoyed, and a book that I have since purchased to give as a gift. The illustrations were lovely, the character was both feisty and adorable, and the themes of the genesis of the artist and overcoming the fear of trying new things were compelling and well executed.
I purchased Tess’s Tree in the hopes of not just another great reading experience for me and my children, but one that would hold a special place on their bookshelf. I would be supporting the work of a local bookstore, a local artist, and I could do my best to advocate for it with a lovingly and spectacular review. My enthusiasm was doubly buoyed because I recognized the name of the author, Jess Braillier. I wouldn’t go so far as to say I worked with Jess, but I knew Jess from the days when our former employers shared an office space. Jess was the publisher of Planet Dexter, and among other books, he brought us the New York Times Bestselling title Grossology, by Sylvia Branzei, another book I consider special.
So I walked into The Blue Bunny and bought a signed copy of Tess’s Tree and everything was set for a great night. I removed the dust jacket delicately just before settling down into my glider and then plopped my daughter down on my lap and planned to be amazed.
My expectations were set too high. Tess’s Tree is a solid, well-illustrated book with an original story line and a wonderful message. However, I felt somewhat disappointed. Though I couldn’t quite figure out why. …
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By Arthur McCulloch, on August 23rd, 2010 [A new entry in our "I Loved This Book When..." series will appear every Monday this summer. To keep up with this series or any other, check out our Special Features page.]
 Fantasy. After three years of grinding out an MFA, and reading all the literature that entails, a fantasy book reinvigorated my passion for books. The concept behind “I Loved This Book When…” must have already been knocking around in my head when I came down with pneumonia this spring.
Pneumonia. An old man’s disease. Lying in a hospital bed, an asthmatic just trying to breathe, I found the situation almost laughable. Like when my wife broke her hip two summers ago. An old woman’s debilitation. What are the odds? I thought. But that’s just the kind of lucky couple we are.
In the hospital there wasn’t much to do except read. I could have turned to any number of books. Or I could have re-read the last book I finished prior to attending graduate school: Portrait of an Artist as a Young Man. It would’ve been a kind of book-end to the experience for a middle-aged man now three years older.
Instead of Joyce, I chose Roger Zelazny’s Great Book of Amber: a 1,200 plus paged behemoth of a book that contains all ten novels of a series. Heavy and cumbersome, the base of the spine dug through my Johnny and into my gut as I settled in to read the first novel: Nine Princes In Amber. …
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By Arthur McCulloch, on March 23rd, 2010 This book has been chosen as a Great Read
 Author: Robert Stone
Houghton Mifflin, 1974
Filed Under Literary
| C4 Ratings.....out of |
10 |
| Language..... |
8 |
| Entertainment..... |
9 |
| Depth..... |
9 |
Dog Soldiers is a hell-ride full of tension and terror that carries the reader into the wildly unpredictable and dangerous world of drug trafficking in the 1970’s. Two amateurs, John Converse, a fear-wracked journalist who volunteered to go to Vietnam for “writing material”, and his disturbed wife, Marge, concoct a half-assed plan to smuggle three kilos of pure heroin from Vietnam to the U.S. Oblivious to the dangers involved, they quickly discover they have been set up by their source in Vietnam and are being pursued by a corrupt federal agent. …
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By Arthur McCulloch, on February 22nd, 2010 This is the second installment of our new series, “Read This Book Now.” Put aside everything you’re doing and read Reap immediately. (See the other entries here.)
 Reap, by Eric Rickstad, is a coming of age story set in rural Vermont, where life is bleak and there is little hope of a future. Jessup Burke, an easily distracted, over-trusting youth stumbles into the company of Reg Cumber, a callous ex-con who introduces him into a ruined and paranoid world of drug trafficking.
Reg and Jessup’s worlds intersect when Reg nearly runs down Jessup with his car. Reg, a mechanic by trade, pledges to resurrect Jessup’s inoperable Vega. Lured by prospect of finally being able to visit his out-of-state girlfriend, Jessup agrees to work for Reg, unaware at first that he’s getting paid for harvesting and transporting drugs. Despite sudden moments of fear and unease, Jessup welcome’s Reg’s company, and soon the older man is introducing him to abusing booze and weed.
Rickstad captures the youth and innocence of Jessup, his habit of daydreaming and mooning over his girlfriend, Emily, without being sappy or sentimental. Jessup’s character undergoes complex changes as he is gradually corrupted. As Jessup sheds his adolescence, Rickstad (with wonderful directness and careful prose) allows him to grow increasingly aware of some of his circumstances while retaining a boyish obliviousness to others. …
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By Arthur McCulloch, on January 25th, 2010  Author: Austin Grossman
2008, Vintage Books
Filed Under Literary, Fantasy
| C4 Ratings.....out of |
10 |
| Language..... |
5 |
| Entertainment..... |
8 |
| Depth..... |
7 |
In Soon I Will Be Invincible, the world’s greatest villain, Dr. Impossible, has once again escaped from prison and the diabolical genius is about to embark on his latest scheme to take over the world. As usual, standing in his way is a league of superheroes, in this case the Champions. Nothing terribly original so far, right? Wrong.
Austin Grossman does nothing short of re-invigorate the superhero story and takes great strides in legitimizing the comics genre as a subject worthy of literary pursuit. Grossman greatest achievement is adding depth and richness to his characters in an arena where characters are usually reduced to superficial props that set a stage for epic battles and the showcasing of ludicrous powers. As is evident in the title of the book, and the chapter titles within, such as “Riddle Me This,” “Welcome to My Island”, and “But Before I Kill You”, there is a good deal of playfulness and send-up at work, but Grossman’s use of comic book clichés is more an act of celebration rather than of subversion. …
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