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By Sean Clark, on May 1st, 2012 I don’t know about you guys, but April couldn’t end fast enough for me. Here’s some haiku-ed up versions of this month’s reviews as a recap.
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The Company of the Dead
save the Titanic?
we all want to change the past
that could fuck the world
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Pure
bleh dystopia
a Hunger Games for adults
prob just read Collins
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Portrait of a Spy
ooh, an artist/spy
this book’s not much good at all
potential wasted
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City of Bohane
excellent writing
too bad the rest lets you down
still could be worth it
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The Sugar Frosted Nutsack
super zany shit
but Leyner can really write
well worth the effort
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Out of My League
this is Dirk’s second
very good baseball memoir
but a bit whiny
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Fires of Our Choosing
great story set here
Dzanc delivers yet again
knocked off Beeman’s socks
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The Cove
too small, too quiet
no dolphins killed in this one
film will star Katniss
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Autumn’s Only Blood
formal poetry
elegy to Troy Davis
sounds quite elegant
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By Sean Clark, on March 30th, 2012 Things picked back up in an overly-warm March. Here’s all the reviews, shriveled from the sun:
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Clash of Kings
picks things right back up
HBO GO here we come
read the books first though
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Resuscitation of a Hanged Man
Johnson nails setting
engaging, witty, noir
darkly comic? zhang.
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Watch the Doors as They Close
soul-search post affair
novellas need love too, guys
this one’s worth the read
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Behind the Beautiful Forevers
here’s nonfic done right
Nico includes a lesson
ebook has movies
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The Comedy is Finished
don’t tell Scorsese
Westlake buried this for fear
he’d be labeled “thief”
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Super Sad True Love Story
satire looks at
our absurd dystopia
are we headed there?
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Lost at Sea
deeper than you’d think
I mean, he wrote Scott Pilgrim
soul-stealing kitties?
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Cain, Abel and the Family Cohen
serviceable prose
allusions seem a bit unclear
where’d the bro come from?
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Love Begins in Winter
Eric’s Christmas gift
a gift he’s glad he received
bold, direct stories
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A Storm of Swords
still a great epic
concerned about undead though
“ice” and “fire” real
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By Sean Clark, on March 1st, 2012 Is it spring or winter still/yet?
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One Model Nation
Dandy Warhols’ guy
the story lacks urgency
the art’s pretty good
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The Demi-Monde: Winter
oh good vampires
this book es muy terible
the plot makes no sense
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Kill Shot
Mitch Rapp number twelve
realism not to be found
read on planes only
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The Lies of Locke Lamora
quite the unique world
not plain ol’ high fantasy
leave it at one book
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Blueprints of the Afterlife
writing is quite good
better concept than payoff
not tea for Nico
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A Visit from the Goon Squad
stories or novel?
doesn’t matter this book rocks
p-point works even
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1Q84
moons, little people
this book is all bananas
plot, setting schism
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Dine-Rite: Breakfast Poems
restaurant poems
Brodsky is quite prolific
charming and witty
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From the Darkness Right Under Our Feet
brand new Great Read here
grim industrial nightmare
stark, pointed stories
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By Sean Clark, on February 1st, 2012 We’ve been swamped lately, so January was a bit content-light. If you missed any of these reviews though, here’s their bite-sized samples.
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Drinking Closer to Home
sprawling family tale
Great Read kicks off the new year
warm humour abounds
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The Call
book about a vet
uncommon presentation
some great writing here
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Live Free or Die
not a brain-buster
sometimes gets too housewife-y
but a pleasant read
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Nocturnes
5blends King and Gaiman
ranging horror collection
stories spook, not scare
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Robopocalypse
shallow, no diving
does what it sets out to do
like the title? read
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The Big Sleep
hard-boiled sleuth book
seminal gumshoe novel
mystery fans: read
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We The Animals
more a novella
love your family, and hate them
library check out
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By Sean Clark, on December 30th, 2011 Happy New Year!
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got a cool cover
many stories are quite good
too bad they’re the same
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nonfiction Great Read
part psychology, part laughs
we are just machines
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book of flash fiction
lets you connect all the dots
look for Meg Pokrass
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off the beaten path
dark humor is at work here
these stories are good
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set in Israel
Jewish-American tale
lacks the needed spark
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pairs pictures with words
it is what it claims to be
small book, mini tales
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stories from Facebook
could have used a good edit
art is the best part
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Catholic killers
kind of a Seven rip-off
fun diversion still
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who saw this coming
Maile Meloy goes for YA
strength can be weakness
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By Sean Clark, on December 1st, 2011 2011 is almost over. Bring on the eggnog.
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Eco is A-list
newest book, up to standard
deep as you can get
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keeps you on your toes
sly, subversive poetry
potent themes at work
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fantasy thriller
concept better than result
fails to sync things up
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don’t see this often
taxi driver poetry
smart and funny verse
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something doesn’t click
though all the pieces are there
lack something special
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good ol’ family tale
multi-generational
very well crafted
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By Sean Clark, on November 7th, 2011 Start dreaming about gorging yourself with turkey before the Halloween candy digests. Hooray for fall. Here’s one last bucket of fun-sized treats.
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my dorkness on page
the history of a toy
insert toadstool joke
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cohesive linked themes
Woodrell a voice worth reading
strong set of stories
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such a hyped up book
but it’s just mediocre
starts strong then falls off
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God-freak fare? Maybe
still, a decent Dickens clone
might be worth your time
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Stephenson’s new tome
holy dense novel, Batman
worth the time it takes
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looks good indeedy
Holden Caufield parallels
love the cover art
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Stevens’s memoir
let’s learn about Supreme Courts!
insightful stuff here
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despite all the hype
literary horror that’s good
rarer than you’d think
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good, solid stories
non-traditional zombies
uniqueness is good
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robin hood, Luddites
turn of Industrial Age
dense novel Great Read
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Hall of Famer and
the NBA logo guy’s
depression memoir
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By Sean Clark, on October 7th, 2011 Welcome to autumn. Here’re some bite-sized reviews.
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big old dork opus
nerd stuff flows like Mountain Dew
but it’s not that great
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chimpanzee blow jobs!
this book is really insane
audiobook rocks
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grandma’s boring farm
more like Forgettable Hill
story good, write bad
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excellent poems
space and time seemingly cease
topical and smart
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prose: simple, direct
longer than most short stories
great complexity
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Bible aliens?
paunchy Indiana Jones?
pretend it’s fiction
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great gumshoe noir
tons of style, also booze
Asta is the dog
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Danish crime novel
features hapless detective
Laarson wannabe
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muted time travel
just the right splash of sci-fi
excellent thriller
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By Sean Clark, on September 7th, 2011 Just a week late, no big thang. Snuck in a secret haiku for you to make up for it all the same.
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“gloomy scum” in here
at least one character lives
Dave Duhr eats babies
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best line of the month:
“You play this: do-do do-do…”
book: not great, not bad.
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pretty weak sleuth fare
someone edit poor Nora
she does show promise
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the art is quite good
Dave doesn’t eat any kids
before was a lie
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who is this author?
excellent set of stories
postmodernism primer
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almost a mash-up
very Beemonic review
can that be a word?
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Fillory part 2
a sequel wasn’t needed
still, good adventure
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solid mystery
by John Banville’s alias
literary fare
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this book really sucks
so little makes enough sense
would make a fine flick
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Aliens, Language,
Mieville likes his ideas,
sacrifices plots
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here are great poems
it’s brimming with dark humor
dancing skeletons
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twenty-six authors
that’s a recipe for fail
but it came out win
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began as a blog?
best sci-fi book of the year?
hands down a Great Read
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a greatest hits plus
compiles new works with old
no excuse to skip
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based on young King’s yarn
not the lame NBC show
it’s fair; says a lot
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By Sean Clark, on August 3rd, 2011 Halfway through summer. Enjoy some haiku with your watermelon.
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cold case cop takes drugs
hacks and punches through the tale
memory cop, bam!
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mostly grade-A stuff
politicized space opera
’tis a tad shallow
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little girl kidnapped
an inside out Lolita
well-constructed book
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solve crimes through charades?
I’m glad Nico reviewed this
I’d have killed myself
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grandaddy of soul
anyone heard of this guy?
died young and in jail
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comics are cool now
Superman: man’s greatest feat?
nonfiction action
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very clever plot
Victorian time travel
steampunk robot fights
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a good page turner
solid audiobook too
rock-and-roll type book
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open is a slog
soon, plenty of gore and sin
old man’s debut book
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whoops, forgot the plot
House can’t support it’s own weight
Last Child it is not
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not being biased
superb self-published memoir
get it P.O.D.
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