Stale Book Review #24: The Burning Wire

The Burning Wire by Jeffrey Deaver

Cost: $4.95US 

Page Count: 414

This review has been sitting in my 'Draft' folder for a little while now.  I figure that I might as well go ahead and write the review before every single detail about the book goes right on out of my head.  These things tend to happen.

Anyway, The Burning Wire is yet another in the Lincoln Rhyme series of books by Jeff Deaver.  For those that have never read a Rhyme book here's a little bit of info:  Rhyme was a hotshot forensic detective dude before he got injured and is now a quadriplegic.  He struggles with the condition but his mind is sharp and he still solves crimes with the assistance of Amelia Sachs, a cop and his lover.  Interesting, yes.  But, I am never interested in the romantic aspects of any book.  It just doesn't get to me like it does some people.

An interesting side note:  In the movie adaptation of The Bone Collector (an early Deaver work), Lincoln Ryhme is played by none other than Denzel Washington.  I love Denzel but Rhyme is clearly a white dude in the books.  Read them and you will see.  The casting really threw me off and ruined what could've been a great flick.  Still got love for you Denzel!

In The Burning Wire, a killer is on the loose and Rhyme and his team must catch him using their wits and forensics and such.  Not really a new plot theme, Deaver.  But anyway, the killer is using massive amounts of electricity to kill the victims.  That one IS new and pretty cool.  As is Deaver's style, the reader is led down many wrong paths, is pointed at would-be suspects that turn out to be innocent, and the like.  The Burning Wire doesn't have many surprises.  Until the end.

A side-plot of the novel is Rhyme's tracking, along with Mexican officials, of his arch-nemesis The Watchmaker.  The final showdown and reveal of the killer at the end of the book is what makes the whole thing worth reading.  It's actually kind of cool that Deaver somehow got his main plot and sub-plot to intertwine at the end.  But, I am not giving away book endings and shit.  That ain't my style.

You've gotta read it for yourself.  Or, check out the synopsis on Wikipedia if you're a punk-bitch and don't want to read the book.  If you can't afford it, shoot me an email and I'll send you my copy for free!

Stale Book Review #23: Inferno

Inferno by Dan Brown

Cost: $0.00US (Gift)

Page Count: 611

Ah, Dan Brown.  For all of his supposed faults, the man can write a fuckin' story.  Yes, there are those that nitpick on his 'facts' and claims.  I disagree with those people for one reason:  Brown is a FICTION writer and has, to my knowledge, never claimed to be writing true stories.  So, Inferno is another Brown work that I'm sure will get the history-buff's panties into quite a twist.

Inferno follows the ever-present Brown protagonist, Robert Langdon throughout Italy (again) while he efforts to regain his lost memory.  Yes, at the beginning of the book Langdon is suffering from a bout of amnesia.  Not the most clever start of a novel, but I can live with it.  Anyway, the chase is on with a cabal of enemies (again) as Langdon tries to find the missing death mask of famed author, Dante.  You know, the guy from the Divine Comedy fame.

So anyway, Langdon gets help from a lady (again), Sienna, a kind doctor who was helping him during his convalescence.  There's a whole twist about Sienna that you will have to read for yourself.  But, as usual, the inclusion of a secondary female character is getting a bit old.  Brown really needs to work on this aspect of his novels.  Sienna and Langdon find a little projector thingie that shows a map of Hell that must be interpreted if the mystery is to be solved.  Luckily, Langdon is a fucking genius at that shit.

Of course there are chases, gunshots, secret passages, and items within magnificent works of art that must be interpreted to reveal the location of the mask.  Of course there are bad guys hell bent on making sure Langdon fails.  Of course there are conspiracies involved.  Hell, this is what makes a Dan Brown novel.  Why should he stray from the formula?  It's made him one rich motherfucker.  

What's cool about Inferno is that there is never a lack of action.  The book ALWAYS moves along.  That is what makes Brown so popular.  People want to read a book that goes along at a brisk pace and Brown appeals to the TV watching public.  Kudos...he's a smart dude.

No spoilers here, folks.  You've just got to read the book.  Trust me, if you have a fifth grade education you can read this novel in no time.  

So, is Inferno worth a read?  Sure.  Is it something that is going to tax your brain and really cause you to think about the plot line?  Fuck no.  Inferno is the perfect beach-read or vacation novel.  It won't crush your brain and it'll keep your attention.

Is this 'high literature'?  Nope.  But, it's fun and that's what we look for in popular novels.

Isn't it?

Stale Book Review #22: The Man Who Loved Books Too Much

The Man Who Loved Books Too Much by Allison Hoover Bartlett

Cost: $6.98US

Page Count: 262

Proving that I AM capable of spending more than a buck or two, I picked up The Man Who Loved Books Too Much for a staggering seven bucks..it was a hardback in the clearance bin.  So, not everything I read has to be paid for with pocket change.

The premise of The Man Who Loved Books Too Much is quite interesting.  It follows the author, yes this is a pseudo-biographical work, in her search for the title character, a man named John Gilkey.  Apparently, Mr. Gilkey was a scam artist who looked only to pilfer fine books in order to satiate his addiction to literature.  He wished to own a huge library filled with rare and valuable tomes.  So, the author, Ms. Bartlett, searches and interviews Gilkey and a small cast of booksellers who have been duped by the scammer.

There's actually not much in the way of 'action' in this book.  But, that's ok.  It's really a well-written document of one man's insatiable addiction to books.  The author tries to understand what makes the criminal tick, interviewing him in various places including prison.  Gilkey spends as much time in jail as he does free but doesn't really have much remorse for ripping off countless booksellers around the country.  In my humble opinion, Gilkey is a common thief and a typical lying douche.

One particular book-man, Ken Sanders, is prominently involved.  That's because he is the de-facto watchdog for the booksellers.  He acts as a sort of detective in trying to solve the theft of rare and valuable books.  Pretty neat job, if you can get it.  But, Sanders is obsessed himself.  Obsessed with finding those, not just Gilkey, that steal literary masterpieces.  So, in some respects there is a correlation between the criminal and the sleuth.  Sanders, at times, comes off as kind of a douche, as well.

Overall, I'd say The Man Who Loved Books Too Much was worth a read.  But, only because it is short.  Any longer, and I would have grown tired of the back and forth between the author and the criminal.  There is, however, a whole cornucopia of information about rare books and the business itself.  To me, that's cool because I am somewhat interested in the whole realm. But, to the layperson this may be sort of a snoozer.