Stale Book Review #20: The Zero Game

The Zero Game by Brad Meltzer

Cost: $0.90US

Page Count: 468

I've reviewed Brad Meltzer's books on Stale Reviews before.  In fact, I believe that I have read most of his catalogue.  To be absolutely truthful, I'm growing tired of his subject matter.  They always have the same protagonist with a similar plot line.  It's growing stale for me and I really wish he would mix up his formula a little bit.

Anyway, The Zero Game is just what you would expect from Meltzer.  There's two guys, both of whom have positions within offices on Capital Hill.  Nothing new there, Brad.  One of them presents the other with a game, The Zero Game, that places friendly wagers on legislation, how many pubic hairs a senator has, or any other mundane activity within Congress.  It seems harmless, of course.  That is until one of the two protagonists gets offed within the first forty pages.  Killing off a main character fairly early in the book is actually something new.  I liked it.

So, there is some betrayal.  There are some hair-raising chases.  There is a diabolical killer with a weird weapon of choice. The Zero Game is pure Meltzer.  Really, no one else could have written this book and no one reading would mistake it as anything but a Brad story.  

The Zero Game is kinda lame.  But, it's a super easy read and if you have the reading ability of a fourth grader you can knock this thing out in a day or two.  It might be the literary equivalent of an Everybody Loves Raymond Episode.  

Spoiler alert:  The good guys come out on top.  

Stale Book Review #19: The Resort

The Resort by Bentley Little

Cost: $0.50US

Page Count: 310

Oh Bentley Little.  You are forever a sick fuck.  Every single one of his books, that I have read anyway, have ended up being a mind bender and twisted in the most extreme of ways.  The Resort was no different.

Tucked away in the Arizona desert lays the Reata.  The Reata seems a typical five star resort where the rich and famous go to relax their cares away during the nicer months of the desert.  However, in the depths of the summer when temperatures soar, The Reata cuts their rates dramatically, giving normal folk a chance at some luxury.  That's exactly why Lowell Thurman and his family decided to take their family vacation in the desert.

In typical B. Little tradition, the resort is not what it seems.  There are ghosts, and phantoms, and visions, and a myriad of other fucked up situations that arise.  The Thurmans' sons get caught up in the whole mess and try to do a little Scooby Doo investigating.  Needless to say, their investigations do not turn out well.  There is no old caretaker hiding under a sheet spooking the guests like in the cartoon.  Nope, this is some real deal shit going on down at the Reata.

This book...it's messed up.  But, in a good way.  Bentley Little can write a page turner and I plowed through this one a day or so.  Not exactly Tolstoy.  However, you won't be disappointed when you put down The Resort.  

Good book.  Fun times.  Just a little twisted.

On a side note:  Bentley Little has a very limited presence on the internet.  He's one of the few writer's that I have noticed that does not have his own web site.  Odd.  But, to each his own.

Stale Book Review #18: Wouldn't It Be Nice

Wouldn't It Be Nice: My Own Story by Brian Wilson

Cost: $0.75US

Page Count: 390

Wouldn't It Be Nice is the autobiography of the Beach Boy legend, Brian Wilson.  Admittedly, this book took me an abnormally long time to finish.  I will get to my reasons why this was so in a minute.  However, the book covers the early years with the Beach Boys, as well as some early family stuff, which I'm not normally into but, in Wilson's case is critically important to the story.

So, Brian Wilson is a musical genius.  Totally true.  The man has a gift for harmony and putting together pop tunes that were the absolute shit when my mother was a kid.  However, Brian Wilson is totally fucking nuts, too.  Not "Hey watch him snort a line of ants"-nuts...more like, "Hey, the dude hasn't showered in a few weeks nor has he come out of his house in six months"-nuts.  There is a hug difference.  One is amusing, the other is just sad.

This was easily the saddest book I have ever read.  The mental decline of Wilson brought tears to my eyes on more than one occasion.  This, my dear friends, never happens when I read.  Ever.  

Brian Wilson, while I am sure no saint in the eyes of many, is just a tragic figure in pop history.  Albeit homeboy isn't dead yet.  He sure came close, though.  The tragedy of him recounting the successes and meteoric rise of the Beach Boys and then in the same breath reliving his slow descent into madness just made my heart sink.

As far as "music biographies" go, Wouldn't It Be Nice is a good one.  Far heavier than I ever thought it would be, the story is gripping and the characters...well, the characters you should all know by know.  An emotional read, sure.  But, you won't be disappointed in the end.

Here are few random notes after reading:

1.  Brian Wilson was THE reason the Beach Boys were famous.  The others should kiss his nuts whenever they see him.

2.  The Wilson father was a twat.  Greedy, conniving, just a complete douche.

3.  Mike Love came off as another big piece of crap.  Maybe he is or maybe he isn't, but I do like his voice.  However, it's still kind of sad that a 70+ year old man is singing these songs.  But, I guess if Ozzy and the Stones can do it...

4.  Dennis Wilson was friends with the Manson Family.  That is just way too crazy for me.

5.  There was this big hoopla about Wilson's relationship with Dr. Landy.  It was a big part of the book since the man essentially saved Brian's life.  There was also rumor that this book was actually written by Landy and he slapped Wilson's name on it.  That I doubt.  But, the Beach Boys hated this doctor even though he helped their cash cow save himself.  Personally, I didn't find the Dr. Landy thing in the book to be that big of a deal.  Yes, he was important but he wasn't THE story for me.

Cool book.  Very sad but at least it had an uplifting ending.

Stale Update #2

It's been a while, dear readers.

I can't say that this particular blog hasn't been far from my mind.  It has.  I think about adding to it frequently.  However, it takes a lot of time to sit and read a book and work and do stuff around the house and be totally fucking awesome.  It takes work.

But, we are back with a whole new batch of books that have been plowed through.  I must admit, recently I have been on a reading kick about musicians.  So, expect a bunch of music biography reviews.  As I type this, I have a massive collection of music-related biographies.  They interest me, what can I say?

Anyway, we are back.  We've been reading so that you may check out what I think about certain books.

The bargain bin has been kind with its bounty.  Now, I will share more with you...

All the best!

Stale Book Review #17: Riders On The Storm

Riders On The Storm by John Densmore

Cost: $3.00US

Page Count: 319

Riders On The Storm by the venerable drummer of the rock band The Doors was a refreshing read.  For once, a rock star didn't recount his inability to kick drugs and speak of his ever-so-public fall from fame.  Nope, this was a straight up biopic on the life of Densmore, his career with The Lizard King, and his frustrations in working with such an unstable human (Morrison).

The book is Densmore's account of the band and how frustrations grew within the band because of their troubled lead singer, Jim Morrison.  Unlike No One Gets Out of Here Alive, another book on The Doors, Riders On The Storm is full of flashbacks, flash-forwards, and the narrative is continuously interspersed with a long, heart-felt letter to Morrison.  The effect is kind of trippy and fun.  Sure, at times the overuse of these literary devices bogs the narrative down.  But, at least Densmore is trying something different than what is usually put forth in these music biographies.  Give him props for that.

Riders On The Storm was a great book for a weekend read.  As with most of the books within the genre, it helps if you are or were a fan of the band.  But, with this one...well, it's just pretty good.  So, I don't even feel like you need to be a fan of the band to get some enjoyment from the book.

Through Densmore, you really get a feel of what the other members of The Doors were like during that time period.  Here's kind of a run down of those personalities:

Densmore (Drums):  Fun, lively, creative, and always ready for a new challenge.

Krieger (Guitar):  Talented, quiet, reserved, yet still ambitious.

Manzarek (Keyboard):  Driven, reserved, talented, and exceptionally normal.

Morrison (Vocals):  Fucked-up and confused, genius lyricist.

A little more on Morrison.  Not too much, though, since so many books and articles have been written about the man.  Anyway, it struck me as how naive and "soft" Morrison came off during the early stages of his career.  It was hard for me to read about his decline in mental state and about his inability to separate Jim the performer from Jim the philosopher-dude.  You hate to see that sort of mental decline.  But, there is a fine line between genius and insanity.  A fine line, indeed.

Anyway, Densmore created himself a pretty decent little book.  No, it's not in the same literary vein as Flannery O'Connor or Hemingway, but, it's still pretty fucking good.

Check it out.

Stale Book Review #16: Nobody Likes You

Nobody Likes You by Marc Spitz

Cost: $0.75US

Page Count: 182

Well, we're back here at Stale Reviews.  It's been a long time and there has been some serious reading going on here around the household.  So, there will be a multitudinous splatter of reviews right off the jump.  Hope you are ready.

Nobody Likes You: Inside The Turbulent Life, Times, and Music of Green Day turned out to be a really short and really quick read.  As a fan of the band, it is sad for me to say that there is little in the way of new information revealed within the pages of this text.  The reason it is sad is that I was looking for new insights, something different, anything that would urge me to push forward in my research on the band.  Nope.  The book reads like rehashed Spin articles mixed with a few interviews with some of the folks from the Gilman St. scene.

The added interviews, with the likes of Tim Armstrong, Jessie Michaels of Op Ivy, and Fat Mike, were what kept this relatively uninteresting piece of "literature" moving.  As someone who grew up on this type of music, these were the guys in the punk scene who I looked up to.  Seeing their insights were the highlights of the book.

Thankfully, Spitz didn't go too far into the childhood activities of each of the members of Green Day.  Many biographers will go so far deep into the past of the artist that the text just completely loses interest for me.  Spitz didn't do that.  He gave just enough info and then moved on.

The book itself is lighthearted even if the author didn't mean it to be.  To me, it was the literary equivalent of a VH1 Behind the Music episode.  Quick, to the point...kind of senseless.

For less than a buck, though, this was one worth reading.  That is, if you are a fan of Green Day.  If you are not a fan and view Green Day as your father's or older brother's punk band, move along.  

Stale Book Review #15 - In Search Of Captain Zero

In Search of Captain Zero by Allan C. Weisbecker

Cost: $3.00US

Page Count: 328

I love me a good travel narrative.  In Search of Captain Zero involves friendship, surfing, a beat up travel vehicle, and a good storyteller.  It has all the elements to make up a travel narrative that is worthy of coveted space on the bookshelf.

In Search of Captain Zero is the recounting of the travels by the author throughout central America in search of his friend, Christopher, who has seemingly fallen off the face of the planet.  Christopher had always been a free-spirit whom the author suspects has gotten lost on purpose.  So, he packs up the beat up van and his surfboards and heads south from the states to find his friend.  The stories of his journey are well told, humorous, and pretty vivid.  The first few hundred pages of the book are a great read.  Weisbecker does quite well in painting verbal pictures that are extremely well done.  Then...well, then you get to the end.

There is a spoiler in here, so you have been warned.  Anyway, after a long ass time of searching, Allen finds his buddy Chris.  Here's where I was completely deflated.  Over the course of the narrative, Allen reveals his friend to be a caring, free-spirited, soul-surfer type guy.  The first three quarters of the book had me really looking forward to the eventual meeting.  Well, do we ever meet Chris.  He is, to the relief of the author, still alive.  But...but...he's hooked on CRACK!  What the fuck?  I was so disappointed to know that the guy we had been searching for throughout the entire book was a fucking scumbag crackhead.  I was gut-punched.  I can only imagine what the author had felt when he discovered this elegant fact about his friend.  The ending of this book was such a downer.  I like happy endings, not cracky endings.  This still pisses me off.

But, overall, I think In Search of Captain Zero is worth a read.  It does exactly what a good book should do: elicit an emotion.  That it did.  That emotion was pissed-offed-ness.  I'm pretty sure that's not a real word...but, it should be.

Read the book.  Get mad.  Fuck Christopher, you crackhead.