Capsule Review: Tyrannosaur Canyon

Written by Douglas Preston
Forge Books, 2005; 398 pages

Another ripping yarn by the master.  This thriller from the incredibly prolific Douglas Preston starts with the Apollo 17 mission to the moon, and leaps from there to the American desert Southwest and the death of a prospector who has just made a major, and possibly earth-shaking discovery. Another traveler passing by stops to help the dying man and is caught up in the frenzy spurred by the mysterious discovery. Soon Tom Broadbent (the passerby) and his wife are running for their lives and trying to figure out what's going on and who they can trust.

Just a typical day in the life of a character in a Douglas Preston novel, of course.  I love his stuff -- so nice just to abandon all concept of reality and immerse myself in the action. This one has a little bit of everything -- as the publisher's blurb says:

A moon rock missing for thirty years... 
Five buckets of blood-soaked sand found in a New Mexico canyon... 
A scientist with ambition enough to kill... 
A monk who will redeem the world... 
A dark agency with a deadly mission...
The greatest scientific discovery of all time... 

Now how could I not love that?

Capsule Review: The Dovekeepers

Written by Alice Hoffman
Simon & Schuster, 2011; 500 pages

Publisher's Description:

 Nearly two thousand years ago, nine hundred Jews held out for months against armies of Romans on Masada, a mountain in the Judean desert.  According to the ancient historian Josephus, two women and five children survived. Based on this tragic and iconic event, Hoffman's novel is a spellbinding tale of four extraordinarily bold, resourceful, and sensuous women each of whom has come to Masada by a different path. Yael’s mother died in childbirth, and her father, an expert assassin, never forgave her for that death. Revka, a village baker’s wife, watched the murder of her daughter by Roman soldiers; she brings to Masada her young grandsons, rendered mute by what they have witnessed. Aziza is a warrior’s daughter, raised as a boy, a fearless rider and expert marksman who finds passion with a fellow soldier. Shirah, born in Alexandria, is wise in the ways of ancient magic and medicine, a woman with uncanny insight and power. The lives of these four complex and fiercely independent women intersect in the desperate days of the siege. All are dovekeepers, and all are also keeping secrets — about who they are, where they come from, who fathered them, and whom they love.

I enjoyed The Dovekeepers much more than I expected I would. Before this, I'd only read one other book by Alice Hoffman -- Practical Magic.  I liked that one a lot, too, but it was a very different sort of work. I'm not usually attracted to historical fiction dealing with this period or subject matter, so I was surprised at how addictive this was. And even though it's something of a chunkster, I finished it in just a few days -- also unusual for me.  This is one I'd definitely recommend.

Capsule Review: The Horned Man

Written by James Lasdun
W.W. Norton & Co., 2002; 193 pages

Publisher's Description:

Lawrence Miller—an English expatriate and professor of gender studies—tells the story of what appears to be an elaborate conspiracy to frame him for a series of brutal killings. We descend into a world of subtly deceptive appearances where persecutor and victim continually shift roles, where paranoia assumes an air of calm rationality, and where enlightenment itself casts a darkness in which the most nightmarish acts occur. Written with sinuous grace and intellectual acuity, The Horned Man is an unforgettable excursion into the lethal battleground of desire and repression. 

Strange book, but an enjoyable read. Nothing is what it seems in the story of Lawrence Miller, English expat and professor of gender studies at an American college, who develops an obsession with the mysterious Bogomil Trumilcik, a former lecturer at the same college. Is Trumilcik really out to frame Miller for murder, or is the whole story one man's descent into madness? The mystery and paranoia keep building right up to the book's final pages.

One of my favorite passages comes early in the novel, when Miller realizes there's something strange about the configuration of furnishings in the office he's been assigned:

As I looked at the computer on its cumbersome desk, I was struck for the first time by the arrangement of furniture in that part of the room.  The two oversized desks had been pushed together in such a way as to contain, I realized now, an enclosed space at their center. How large it might be I couldn't tell from the outside, but I was suddenly curious.

I went over and pulled at one of the desks. Nothing budged at first, and it wasn't until I heaved at it with all my strength, bracing my foot against a raised rib on the side of the other desk, that I was able to slide it a few inches. I peered in through the gap: there did seem to be a sizable space in there. I prized the desks far enough apart to squeeze inside. (p.49)

And so begins all the craziness to come....

I've been meaning to read this one since it first came out, and I'm really glad I finally got around to it.

Capsule Review: A Fall of Moondust

Written by Arthur C. Clarke
PAN Books, 1964; 206 pages

First published in 1961; Hugo Award Nominee for Best Novel. In the book, the Dust-cruiser Selene has been buried beneath the Moon's Sea of Thirst, trapping the crew and passengers under many feet of deadly dust. Plot revolves around efforts to come up with a way of getting to the Selene and getting everyone out before the cruiser is destroyed or loses its oxygen supply. A really good "hard" science fiction tale that seems only slightly dated. There's an appealing you-are-there, almost documentary feel to the novel. My only quibble is that sometimes the sci gets in the way of the fi -- that is, character development tends to take a backseat to all that technical detail. Still, a good, fast read.

Reading Reports: Playing Catch-up

Where reading is concerned, 2012 has been a frustrating year for me.  Real life has intruded much more than I'd planned, what with moving from Virginia to Texas, house-hunting and house-buying (and house rehabbing), reconnecting with family and old friends, and just generally having my existence turned upside down. It's been a fun experience, but hectic -- hasn't left me much time for reading, and almost none for reviewing.  Consequently, I haven't been doing a very good job of posting regular reading reports on the books I have read.

So, since the year is rapidly drawing to a close, I've decided to post a number of "capsule" reviews of some of the books I've read this year, but haven't reviewed -- a few very short (very short) lines about each work, mostly just a brief description and a word or two about how I felt about it.  I think that should be doable, and then I can start next year's reading with no guilty "hangover" from this year.

So here's the first catch-up review:

The Inn at Lake Devine
Written by Elinor Lipman
Vintage Contemporaries, 1998; 253 pages

Publisher's Description:

It's 1962 and all across America barriers are collapsing. But when Natalie Marx's mother inquires about summer accommodations in Vermont, she gets the following reply: "The Inn at Lake Devine is a family-owned resort, which has been in continuous operation since 1922. Our guests who feel most comfortable here, and return year after year, are Gentiles." For twelve-year-old Natalie, who has a stubborn sense of justice, the words are not a rebuff but an infuriating, irresistible challenge.
In this beguiling novel, Elinor Lipman charts her heroine's fixation with a small bastion of genteel anti-Semitism, a fixation that will have wildly unexpected consequences on her romantic life. As Natalie tries to enter the world that has excluded her--and succeeds through the sheerest of accidents--The Inn at Lake Devine becomes a delightful and provocative romantic comedy full of sparkling social mischief. 

Great little book! I read Lipman's The Ladies' Man a few years back and really loved it, and I've been wanting to read more by her ever since. I was hoping that first experience wasn't just a fluke, and I'm delighted to say it definitely was not. This tale of how an introduction to antisemitism at an early age affects the life of a young Jewish girl and all those around her is gorgeously written, moving and amazingly funny as well. Lipman is becoming one of my favorite writers -- I'm wondering if I dare try a third sample.

Marking the Day

Mark Twain was born November 30th, 1835. 

I love his writing, and I love that he was also a cat lover.

Teaser Tuesdays: Little Women

This week my teaser lines come from Louisa May Alcott's Little Women.  I'm not actually reading it at the moment, although I've read it several times over the years, since I first discovered it at about age 8 or 9.  I always think of it as a Christmas book (even though it's not) because I received it as a Christmas gift back then.  And, of course, it has that famous opening at Christmastime, with the March sisters gathered together, discussing what they won't be getting for Christmas:

"Christmas won't be Christmas without any presents," grumbled Jo, lying on the rug.

"It's so dreadful to be poor!" sighed Meg, looking down at her old dress.

"I don't think it's fair for some girls to have plenty of pretty things, and other girls nothing at all," added little Amy, with an injured sniff.

 "We've got Father and Mother, and each other," said Beth contentedly from her corner.

I've read that first chapter so many times, I've almost got it memorized. I always admired Jo (Alcott's alter ego), but as a youngster I really wanted to be Amy, the pet and the "star" of the family.  And although I was always sorry for tragic Beth, she was always much too perfect for me -- I would have strangled her long before the fever carried her off (oops -- guess I should have put up a SPOILER alert there!).

The old Whitman edition I had as a child

Teaser Tuesdays is hosted by mizB at Should Be Reading. If you'd like to read more teasers, or take part yourself, just head on over to her blog.

And please feel free to leave me a link to your Teaser Tuesday post in your comment here.