Conservative Book Talk

Part 6 of 6

I’m not big on short stories, mysteries excepted. After reading this book, my horizons have been broadened, and I’m going to go find some more fun short stories to check out. Unfortunately, this anthology includes a selection of “mystery” stories that are more like horror, or fairy-tales gone amok; so I can’t recommend the whole batch of 50. That said, there are too many stories for one review: this is review 6 of 6, the (more than ten) short stories which are clearly NOT mysteries; with few exceptions, horror stories.
• The Clock, by A.E.W. Mason
• The Silver Mask, by High Walpole
• Suspicion, by Dorothy L. Sayers
• Treasure Trove, by F. Tennyson Jesse
• Philomel Cottage, by Agatha Christie, p. 2
• The Mad Tea Party, by Ellery Queen, p. 4
• The S. S., M.P. Shiel, Prince Zaleski.
• The Two Bottles of Relish, by Lord Dunsay, Mr. Linely
• The Most Dangerous Game, by Richard Connell
• Faith, Hope, and Charity, by Irvin S. Cobb

I’m not bothering to recap these, because they are, by and large, that type of horror story that makes you shiver but is so stupid that, the second your brain kicks in, you start shaking with uncontrollable laughter. Three were reviewed in other sections anyway. And with that we wrap up a review of 101 Year’s Entertainment. I didn’t like it overall, but there were some good things to recommend, and an interesting lesson in history to be drawn.

The volume as a whole has several strengths. First, the historical aspect of each story is mentioned in some way, either in the story itself (set during 1800s England or what have you) or the editorial comments. The different genres within detective stories and mysteries are all given their turn, and the eras of each are evident by the context. Also, the different writing styles create a genre-within-a genre effect; the colorful language of the 1920s contrasting vividly with the refined philosophy of the 1840s. Most interesting of all, variety. There are all kinds of stories here, from the philosophical (The Problem of Cell 13) to the probing (The Criminologists’ Club) and the downright problematic (The Mad Tea Party).

It’s the problematic variety (mainly the stories above) that get to you after a couple hundred pages. Yes, there are some fine stories, and they are interesting to read in comparison to the other stories. Really, though, what is entertaining about justified mass murder (The S.S.), or torturous deaths (The Silver Mask and, more variously but still equally gruesome, Faith, Hope, and Charity)? Can’t we have variety and quality? The editor obviously thought so, but then, the editor’s taste leans toward the macabre (note, his own story gets into the “Criminals Win” and “Non-Mystery” categories); and therein lies the biggest problem with an anthology like this. Its totally up to the editor’s tastes as to what does and does not get included. And this editor, sadly, falls into his own category of “Doyle-imitators”; a mystery writer wannabe whose style is not entirely without merit, yet also without talent (and often without even that first qualifier, “mystery.”)

I don’t recommend the book, though if variety is the spice you want in your reading life, some of the short stories mentioned hereto would be a good place to start (I suggest parts 2, 3, or 5 of this review for a list: the stories above are, as I mentioned, more in the realm of terrifying stupidity than of stupefying mystery). Overall, however, the idea behind the book has led me to broaden my horizons in the short story realm. That bit of wisdom, however, can be easily shared without having to trudge through (all) the above.

Tags: 101 Years Entertainment, Ellery Queen, Mystery, Sincerelyornot

Have you ever read a book by Clive Cussler? Strangely enough, I’ve met plenty of people who haven’t read or heard of him, and frankly, that’s a shame. Cussler is an extraordinarily talented writer of adventure stories. He has several series but the most famous is the Dirk Pitt series. You may have heard of the movie Sahara with Matthew McConaughey in it. That was a Cussler story.

The main characters, Dirk Pitt and his side kick Al Giordino, work for the National Underwater and Marine Association. From the NUMA website:

Founded by Clive Cussler, the National Underwater and Marine Agency (NUMA) is a non-profit, volunteer foundation dedicated to preserving our maritime heritage through the discovery, archaeological survey and conservation of shipwreck artifacts.

This quote describes the books precisely and they describe Clive Cussler. Cussler found and raised the Hunley, the first submarine.

Dirk and Al travel the world and go on adventures that combine history, archaeology, and intriguing marine facts into page turning books. The most interesting part? The books typically don’t seem to absurdly impossible. What makes the books even better is that Cussler often ties some alternate theory into the books. Consider Atlantis in which Cussler makes use of the theories of Charles Hapgood (reviewed by me here). Hapgood stands out against the standard interpretations of the scientific community, but his theories aren’t easily dismissed. Hapgood makes credible claims and Cussler ties them into the story. Of course, Cussler does this with many other things as well. Atlantis also references the crystal skulls which apparently are the source of the Indiana Jones 4 script.

I know, that information is useful, but what about the book? The characters are well written and hilarious. The pages turn themselves. And Cussler always gives you reason to stop and think about the way you view things by his choice of plot direction. Whether its his interpretation of Atlantis, a discussion of the smuggling of illegal Chinese immigrants into the US in the 1990s or an alternate view on the Illiad or Odyssey, Cussler challenges your opinions and preconceived notions. So, these are just page turning thrillers, they are also thought provoking.

Dirk travels from submerged mines in Colorado to South America to Antarctica in an effort to find people who tried kidnapped a linguist and tried to kill Dirk and Al. Their search takes them to amazing discoveries and brings them face to face with the most catastrophic event in human history: a universal flood. (Well, OK. Cussler agrees that a mostly universal flood occurred but that humans survived in the mountain tops and not by an Ark.) Still, he has most of it correct here. Beyond that, I won’t say much more on the plot, because I don’t want to ruin it.

There is seldom objectionable content beyond a few swear words so I’d generally recommend that you grab a book, settle down over the holidays and enjoy yourself. You will enjoy these books. At least, I always do.

Please, do yourself a favor. If you haven’t read Cussler (Dirk Pitt series; I’ve never read the Kurt Austen books), please read one over Thanksgiving or Christmas.

Tags: adventure, Clive Cussler, Dirk Pitt, fiction, Matt Gardenghi

Plot: I found this book in our car; I have no idea to whom this belongs. I know two things for sure though: It was in our car for weeks, and I was bored so I started reading it.

As it turns out, (of course I found out at the end of the book) this book is four in a series about the O’Malley family. Thankfully, as far as I can tell, you do not need to read the first to read the forth; each book is about one of the seven different children in the O’Malley family.

This book happens to be about Jack O’Malley, a firefighter with Ladder 81, a fire station that also investigates arson fires. His boss, Cole, and he are very concerned about one arsonist that keeps setting fires at the edge of the district and leaving popcorn behind as a sign. It takes them longer to reach each fire as the arsonist sets them at the edge of the district, where there are closed fire stations. Oddly enough, Cole figures out that each arson fire is set whenever Jack is on duty. Fighting fires does not bother Jack, but being a target does.

The story also revolves around Cassie, a fire woman burned badly in a retirement home fire, and is now unable to fight fires. Jack visits Cassie often, he is determined to make her laugh and come away from the grief of her accident.

A romance sparks between Jack and Cassie, but Cassie is a Christian and Jack is not. The subject of religion is a sore area for conversation; Jack listens willingly, yet cannot bring himself to believe in the resurrection of Christ. This causes Cassie much stress, knowing that Jack could die at the arson fires and not be in heaven.

Jack has this and his sister, Jennifer’s cancer weighing on his shoulders, not to mention the arsonist who persists in setting fires and writing notes on walls. In one fire, Cassie happens to catch a glimpse of the arsonist, before he fades from sight. Sure that she could recognize him on sight again, Cassie takes Cole’s offer to join the fire fighters once more. She is only allowed to watch and help clean up, but Cassie still enjoys being back on the job.

Following the arsonist sighting, Cassie also seems to become a target, leaving Jack to become a protector, willing to risk all to save her.

Positive: This book had great Christian content, our hero and heroine were lovable characters and the plot kept moving with no slow. Well written, this book kept me guessing until the end, and it was very surprising then. No swear words that I recall. The author’s style is very engaging, and she draws you into the characters and helps you feel their pain and joy.

Negative: Nothing really, this one man committed suicide, and another keeps setting fires.

Overall: I hardly dared put this book down I enjoyed it so much. The mystery, storyline and character kept me in the book. I recommend this book to all, it is very clean and a wonderful read.

Tags: fiction, Hannassus, Modern, Romance