Cell by Stephen King

Stephen King is one of my favorite writers, even though most people I know think he’s not worth reading. I like his characters, and I like how he writes the normal everyday things into scariness. When I heard he had written another end of the world type book, like one of my top 10 favorite books of all time, The Stand, I had to get it and read it as quickly as possible. I couldn’t even wait for paperback. I liked this book so much that I read it in a few hours over a couple of days.

Clayton Riddell is in Boston where he has just finished selling his comic book idea. He is happy and looking forward to getting home to tell his wife and son. While he is in line to buy an ice cream cone, the woman in front of him answers her cell phone, and then, the whole world around him breaks into hell. Everyone who had a cell phone and used it was hit, and turned into their basic forms of self. They attack at will, without weapons or with. Riddell seeks shelter and groups up with two others, Alice, a teenage girl, and Tom, a middle aged man who was with Riddell at the first attacks. They decide to head to Maine to find out the fate of Riddell’s son and wife. Along the way, they discover more and more about the people affected by the “pulse” and find many “normies” along the way. Problem is, people have reacted to the event in many ways, and some don’t like them much. Everyone is heading north, and for some reason, the crazies want Riddell and his group safely transported into the middle of enemy territory. What will happen to our group of travelers, and will Riddell find his son in one piece? Will he be able to save him?

The only real issue I had with the book is that it, at times, seems to be a retread of The Stand, mostly the passages about survival, walking instead of driving, and some of the secondary “bad people” characters. Two of the guys in particular reminded me of The Kid that Trashcan Man meets up with on the way to Vegas. It was a bit disappointing, but it did make me want to read The Stand again. I still enjoyed the book immensely, anyway.

Cell is more than just a cool zombie, end of the world book. It is the journey of a man to find his salvation and to make amends with the son he left behind. It’s a peek into what we as a people are like after 9/11. What if there was another attack? How would we react? Stephen King just adds an element of the unnatural to bring the idea into the forefront. It’s a good read, albeit a scary one. It made me think twice about answering my cell phone after I read it.

Rating: 4 ½ Purrs

The Big Nowhere by James Ellroy

Ever since a friend of mine handed me The Black Dahlia, I knew I would have to get James Ellroy’s other books. The Big Nowhere is the second book in the L.A. Quartet after the Dahlia, and it is quite a long, convoluted, but enjoyable read.

The Big Nowhere is set in Los Angeles in 1950, where the heads of the city are chomping at the bit to fend off the Commies and Howard Hughes just wants to get the latest little starlet into bed. Someone is killing gay men, mutilating them, and leaving them out in public places for all to see. Danny Upshaw is a Sheriff’s deputy that becomes obsessed with the murders. His investigative techniques are up and coming, but the case has him all twisted up because he is struggling with his sexuality himself. In his desperate attempt to solve the murders, he gets involved with a task force charged with infiltrating the Communist labor groups in the movie industry. Dudley Smith (a regular character in this quartet of novels) is leading the task force against the Commies. Smith is a rough guy who knows how to grease the right people to move up in the police system, and you see him do so as the book goes on. Mal Considine is working in the task force for the D.A., just so he can advance his career and gain custody of his adopted son. Buzz Meeks is working for the money, so he can take the ex-stripper he’s in love with, who also happens to be a mob boss’s gal, away from L.A and off to safety. Of course, the task force and the murders end up being connected, and lots of blood is spilled before the end.

Danny Upshaw infiltrates the labor group and struggles with his new responsibilities. He is torn between who he is and what others expect him to be. Upshaw is the most well rounded character of the book, but in truth, all three main characters are well sketched out. It does get somewhat difficult to keep track of all the various side characters, especially when I wanted to try and tie them backwards to The Black Dahlia and forwards into L.A. Confidential (the movie anyway, since I haven’t read the book).

As for the plot, Ellroy pulls all of the ugly in 1950’s L.A. out into the open. No one is really clean, and everyone wants something from someone else. Once the cases are solved and you come to the conclusion, you are satisfied. Some things are resolved; others are left open for the upcoming novels.

Overall, The Big Nowhere left me satisfied and ready to read L.A. Confidential, the next in the quartet. If you like hard-boiled detective novels mixed up with noir, you’d like James Ellroy and his L.A. Quartet.

Rating: 4 Purrs

Miracles (Cancelled TV Show with Skeet Ulrich)

Miracles is a cancelled TV show from 2003, and in my opinion it was cancelled way too soon. The show had a good first season, and showed real potential for a second season.

Miracles centers around the story of Paul Callan (Skeet Ulrich), who is a young man raised in an orphanage who investigates supposed miracles for the Catholic Church. When he witness what he sees as a real miracle, and the leaders of the church ignore his report, he resigns and begins working for Sodalitas Quaerito, a group who investigate weird happenings and supposed miracles. Avla Keel (Angus MacFadyen) leads the group, and plays a skeptic to Paul’s religious beliefs. Evelyn Santos (Marisa Ramirez) is a former cop who helps the two in their investigations.

During the season, you get good character development on all three main characters. You have “monster of the week” type episodes, plus an overlying story arc that involves Paul trying to find out who his family was and why he was the one person to see a certain message in the first episode. The most memorable episodes were of course, the pilot (some great imagery there, and stunts), plus:

• “The Friendly Skies” has great moments with the sub characters, and delves deeply into Paul’s nature.


• “Hand of God” continues the underlying story arc of Paul’s true parentage and potential.


• “You are my sunshine” is a great ghost story.


• “Mother’s Daughter” has Maggie Grace from Lost as a young Amish girl who becomes possessed by the soul of a girl long dead.


• “Paul is Dead” is a great season ender, with the appropriate cliffhanger. Unfortunately, we will never know the truth about Paul because of shortsighted TV execs.

Miracles is a good X-Files type show. It’s a pity they cancelled it after six episodes. It could have been a great show with a little time.

Death and Restoration by Iain Pears

I picked up this book because I loved Iain Pears' other books, An Instance of the Fingerpost and Dream of Scipio. Unfortunately, this book requires nowhere near the brainpower to absorb that those two did. It's an okay book that touches on a subject dear to my heart (art restoration, art history, all that good stuff), but it's more like "Iain Pears Lite."

Death and Restoration is a mystery immersed in Roman culture and European iconic lore. You have Jonathan Argyll, an art history professor, and Flavia, one of the members of the Italian police art squad. They are engaged to be married, if she can just take off work long enough for them to set a date. Rumors begin circulating that a valuable painting belonging to a monastery will be stolen while a boisterous art restorer is cleaning it. Flavia is on the case, especially when she sees that her old nemesis, Mary Verney is in town. Mary Verney is a retired art thief, or she was retired, until a Mafia guy gives her an offer she can't refuse and sets her on the path to steal not the painting, but the icon displayed in the same monastery. When the icon turns up missing, the crossing and double-crossing begins.Jonathanthon is keen to find out why the icon would be important enough to steal, and that investigation is what really held my attention. He pokes around in the archives to find out the true story of the icon, finds out some nasty secrets the monastery holds and in that, he finds the truth of the mystery.

Despite the slow start to the book, the end is exciting, with all sorts of twists and turns, and is well paced to keep you reading. Once it starts, it keeps rolling until every one is accounted for. I can't help but like Jonathan Argyll; how can you not like an art history professor, struggling with disinterested students and lesson plans, who still has time to dig through dusty libraries in search of the truth about a piece of art most people have forgotten? It's like a dream come true. I couldn't decide whether to fan girl it or just be jealous.

I liked Death and Restoration. It was, after all, about the study of my favorite subject. However, I was expecting something heavier, so I think that might have colored my judgment overall. I was expecting something I would have to read and reread to follow the intricate plot. That was not the case with this book. It's a bit more cultured than your usual mystery, but it's not a brain twister by any means.

Rating: 3 ½ Purrs

Recent Acquisitions to the Library

After a quick trip to Half-Price Books, I was able to pick up a bunch of books I had been looking for:

• Kurt Vonnegut - The Sirens of Titan, Bluebeard
• Stephen King - Cell
• Patricia Highsmith - Those Who Walk Away, The Cry of the Owl, Edith's Diary
• James Ellroy - Brown's Requiem
• Shirley Jackson - The Haunting of Hill House

I was at a disadvantage, seeing as how I left my iPod at home and didn't have my "want" lists.

Slither

I was just blessed with NetFlix sending me Slither, and while it wasn’t all that I hoped for, it was a fun time. I must admit I am a huge Joss Whedon fan, much to Pandabob’s chagrin, so when I saw Nathan Fillion was in this I had to rent it. And of course, it involved slimy space alien slugs infecting a town, so, bonus!

It was funny, it was gross, and it wasn’t all that groundbreaking. Night of the Creeps was funnier and with a very similar plot, with its extremely dorky heroes and 80’s pastel flair. Nathan Fillion is the town sheriff, who holds a flame for Starla (Elizabeth Banks), who is married to the richest man in town. Michael Rooker is that man, Grant Grant, who, of course, ends up finding a weird piece of space trash (The Blob anyone?) and after awhile ends up becoming a big slimy thing himself. There’s a teenage girl that survives an attack and becomes the Chorus for the movie, explaining everything as you go along.

It’s pretty standard fare, with both good and bad. It was funny, and there were bits of dialog that were worthwhile. The CGI was disappointing, but Grant Grant the slimy man and his transformation into Queen Slug were really well done. It seems like everyone had a good time filming the movie, so there is a sense of joviality underneath.

Slither overall is just a bit too much like Night of the Creeps (which was 80’s cheese ball perfection to me) and just not quite as funny B-Movie as Tremors or horror comedy as Shaun of the Dead. Of course, that doesn’t mean I won’t end up buying it.

Rating: 4 Purrs

Dearly Devoted Dexter by Jeff Lindsay

Dexter came to me as a suggestion from my book club, just like many of the surprises in my bookcase. As usual, the paperback book club did not steer me wrong, and I devoured the first Dexter book, Darkly Dreaming Dexter, in a couple of hours. I anxiously awaited the sequel Dearly Devoted Dexter to reach paperback (cause I am cheap reader like that) and when it finally did, I ordered that puppy as fast as Amazon could ship it to me. Jeff Lindsay and his friend Dexter did not disappoint me.

Dexter is a blood splatter expert for Miami-Dade PD. He has a girlfriend, a sister, and is the foster son of a cop. He is also a serial killer who preys on other killers, if they pass the Harry Test (Harry was his cop father. You learn in the first book that he knew about Dexter’s tendencies and instead of stifling them, trained them to “benefit” society). This time around, Dexter has to deal with his sister coming to terms with what he is, an angry cop trailing him wherever he goes, a girlfriend who expects to move to the next level of the relationship, and a particularly icky serial killer who maims his victims in a really disturbing way. I won’t spoil it for you, cause you need to read that first encounter with fresh, unspoiled brain cells.

The whole premise sounds a bit cliché, and I suppose it is on one level. Serial killers are all the rage, especially since Silence of the Lambs. It’s not often though, that you read about a guy like Dexter and find him to be the hero of your novel. He’s funny, but he’s also cold, and believes that his punishment should fit the crimes of those he kills. He is not a good guy, but somehow you forget that. Somehow, Jeff Lindsay makes Dexter into someone you like, someone you scarily enough, can identify with. That’s what makes these books.

I’m not sure if I found Dexter’s comments about his “Dark Passenger” more annoying in this book because this was my second time around with Dexter, or if it was because Lindsay mentioned it more this time. I do know the killer Dexter hunts is not someone you would want to meet on a dark street, but even so, he too is a believable antagonist. He’s scary, but not so scary that you have to imagine that people like him could not possibly exist. You see too much in the news these days to not believe he could, and that adds even more unease to your psyche while you read.

I wasn’t scared while reading this book, but it did give me chills. I would give the first installment of the Dexter story 5 Purrs, but I can’t give this one a perfect score. Too much “woe is me, Dark Passenger” musings this time for my taste, but it was well worth the read.

Rating: 4 Purrs

It's foggy in here.

I'm watching The Fog (the John Carpenter original of course) and it just dawned on me that Bennett, the handyman at the church at the beginning (you know the come back tomorrow at 6:00 instead guy) is John Freakin' Carpenter. I have watched this movie maybe 15 times and it just registered.

Color me embarrassed.

The Woods

I liked Lucky McKee’s first theatrical release film, May, and I liked his Masters of Horror episode, Sick Girl. His second film, The Woods, is nowhere near as inventive as these other two, and there is no Angela Bettis to liven or weird things up (well, okay, she does the voice of the creepy woods.). The Woods is much like if you blended Suspiria, Satan’s School for Girls, Acacia, the weird tree monsters from Evil Dead, and threw in a psychic teenager for garnish. It’s not bad, but it’s not great either.

Agnes Bruckner is Heather, a girl who is shipped off to boarding school out in the middle of nowhere because she can’t get along with her mother. She doesn’t like the place, naturally, with the creepy teachers and headmistress (Patricia Clarkson) pulling her out of class for weird psychic tests and the school bully calling her “Fire crotch.” After awhile, she realizes something weird is going on, something more ominous than a school bully, when all of the girls who pass the “gifted” test end up turning into a pile of leaves. You know what is going on; there are no surprises there.

Agnes Bruckner is an wonderful actress, as is Patricia Clarkson. They do well with the occasionally cardboard script. Bruce Campbell plays Heather’s dad; I only wish there had been more of him. Rachel Nichols was good as the bully, with just enough of that teenage girl evilness to make her believable.

I wish there had been more atmosphere and more tension overall. The woods were supposed to be creepy, but they ended up just looking like trees in the breeze. The CGI was laughable, but the effects at the end were creepy enough to remind me of a book I read when I was younger that still creeps me the heck out now. (The Plant People by Dale Bick Carlson. There are images in that book that I still can’t get out of my head.) Maybe that is why I am disappointed in this movie. It could have been extra scary, but instead it was lackluster. I can see why it was sent straight to video.

Rating: 3 Purrs, but only because of Patricia Clarkson and The Plant People

Feast

I rented Feast mostly because I heard that it was a jolly good gore fest, with decent acting and decent special effects, and I’ll pretty much give anything a look-see if it has the tag horror-comedy attached. The rumblings were right; it was more than decent. It was funny, it was bloody, and it was sick and twisted. It reminded much of Evil Dead II, The Return of the Living Dead, and other horror comedies. It never takes itself seriously, and once things start moving, they never really let up.

Feast’s tagline pretty much sums up the movie. “They’re hungry. You’re dinner.” There’s no explanation, and after a bit of intro for each character, weird slimy things come out of nowhere and start slicing and dicing. It’s like a drive-by horror movie, with extra rapid fire.

What was good about Feast? The acting was surprisingly good. Krista Allen shows some decent range as a single mom bar waitress, who goes from world weary, to terrorized and distraught, to tough kill or be killed in a matter of 90 minutes. Henry Rollins plays against type as a motivational life coach (yes, you read that right). Eileen Ryan fondly remembered from Eight Legged Freaks, Balthazar Getty, Clu Gulager (from aforementioned Return of the Living Dead fame), and the rest of the supporting cast do well with what they are given. Like I said before, the special effects were good, with plenty of movie-splatter fake blood everywhere and pretty respectable looking slimy monsters. Deaths of humans and monsters alike were inventive, and downright unexpected. Everyone and everything is fair game.

What was not so good? The dialog was laughable through most of it, in fact, I am pretty sure the same character repeated the same lines (maybe slight variations of, but it was darn close) multiple times in 10 minutes. The monster humping I could have done without. It was funny the first time, but excessive after three. The final battle is excellent, with the main character showing some Ripley there at the end, but after that scene, the original ending on the DVD was much better. The one in the theatrical release is too standard Hollywood, with the last “jump” scare before credits roll.

Overall, it was a good splatter fest with acceptable actors and a director with potential. It’s much better than, in my opinion, Saw or Hostel that rely on too much of a pretend “plot” and twist endings. This one is straight up, with no chaser, with no explanations. It’s not a thinking man’s horror movie at all, and that was just what the crazy monster humping the deer head called for.

Rating: 4 1/2 Purrs

Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear

Meet Maisie Dobbs, psychologist and investigator. I found her because of a book club I belong to that puts out paperbacks. I love a mystery, so of course I bit and brought home not one, but all three of the Maisie Dobbs mysteries.

Maisie Dobbs is the daughter of a greengrocer who is sent off to live and work at Lady Rowan’s house. Lady Rowan, when she discovers Maisie reading and absorbing some difficult books in her library, takes the girl under her wing and introduces her to Maurice. Maurice becomes her tutor and second father, and teaches her and sends her on her way into Cambridge to get a degree. Unfortunately, World War I intervenes, and when a girl she knows dies, she leaves school to become a nurse. Later, her experience as a nurse in France helps her in her first case, a seemingly easy infidelity case. Her search for answers leads to more questions about those men injured terribly in the war who decide to leave society and take up residence at The Retreat. Something seems fishy, and she is determined to figure it out. The answers she finds help bring about some closure to her own past, and opens her up to a bright future as a compassionate investigator.

I really enjoyed getting to know Maisie Dobbs. She was a real, well-rounded character. She is compassionate and smart, but troubled as well. She isn’t a cardboard cut out, and when her history is revealed, you feel compassion for her. The mystery is engaging, and although I pretty much figured it all out about as soon as The Retreat was mentioned, I still enjoyed the journey. I liked the way Jacqueline Winspear described England at war and of the struggles of each person in the aftermath. They are realistic without being so awful you need to turn away. You can tell Ms. Winspear speaks from experience (that of her family at least), and I felt as if she was telling me the story of someone she knew. It is delicate but it doesn’t turn away from the brutal facts of war.

I really can’t wait to read more about Maisie Dobbs and her investigations. If you like reading mysteries set in a historical period about intelligent women who use compassion, psychology, and their minds to solve problems, similar to the Jane Austen series of mysteries or the like, you’d like Maisie Dobbs.

Rating: 5 Purrs

I’ll Always Know What You Did Last Summer

You know, for a straight to video movie, I’ll Always Know What You Did Last Summer wasn’t half bad. I’m a horror movie junkie, and I’ll watch just about anything, especially when it comes to the month of October. I heard rumors this wasn’t as bad as you’d expect it to be, and wow, the comments were right.

What’s good about it? The plot isn’t much new, in fact it’s a carbon copy of the other two, but the movie still entertains. You don’t rent a sequel like this and expect a new plot anyway. As required of all good teen slasher pics, the deaths are splatter-ific and fairly inventive. Each kid in on the secret is tormented, so all have good time in the story. The acting is pretty decent, especially the two girl leads, Amber (Brooke Nevin) and Zoe (Torrey DeVitto). How can you not like an Angelina Jolie look-a-like who plays a rocker-chick? And hey, there’s no Jennifer Love Hewitt to annoy you. I even jumped a few times. Yeah, they were cheap scares, but effective.

What’s icky about it? Well, the ex-boyfriend is annoying and not such a good actor. Of course, he could be a good actor to annoy me so much. The whole prank gone wrong idea is good, except why wait a whole year to exact revenge, when all of your secret keepers are already there in town? Well, except for the ex-boyfriend, and you could always take care of him later. Oh, and the killer, not so good an idea. But the dispatching of the killer, way too good.

Overall, it’s worth a rental if you like teen slasher movie sequels. If you are looking for something fresh and inventive, this isn’t it.

Rating: 3 1/2 Purrs

Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman

I owe my obsession with Neil Gaiman’s work to a good friend who lent me her copy of Neverwhere for a business trip I took to Seattle. I read the book in an hour, and was instantly hooked. I got my own copy of Neverwhere for the library, and recently I ordered my own copy of Anansi Boys for vacation reading. It didn’t get here in time for my vacation, but I grabbed it and read it as soon as the box arrived at my doorstep. My enthusiasm and anticipation wasn’t wasted.

Anansi Boys is the story of Fat Charlie, who finds out after his father dies that he has a brother he didn’t know about. He’s living a normal, easygoing life in London, working for a talent agency and getting ready to marry his girlfriend. Then, he makes the mistake of asking a spider to tell his brother to come see him. You see, Fat Charlie’s dad was Anansi, the Spider god, God of Stories. Fat Charlie’s brother is Spider, and he seems to have gotten all of the powers of their father. He’s charming, persuasive, and he does nothing but wreck Charlie’s well-ordered life. He steals his girl, gets him fired, and drives his crazy boss even crazier. The light, happy story works its way to a dark place, and into a mythic battle between Tiger and Spider, but it all works out in the end.

The story flows like an old Anansi tale. Tiger is the villain; Bird Woman is at The End of the World; everyone wants to own the world’s stories. I really like how this book and American Gods pull gods out of the old myths to create modern myths. It’s an interesting and enjoyable idea, a way to bring the old myths into new knowledge. I will always love Gaiman’s stories, for the quirky characters he creates, the absurd situations that somehow feel just right, and the dialogue he creates that suits each character to a tee. However, I admit, I liked American Gods better, and nothing will ever top Neverwhere.

Rating: 4 Purrs

8:55 to Baghdad by Andrew Eames

8:55 to Baghdad was written because of a chance meeting Andrew Eames had while on tour in Aleppo. He discovers his hotel proprietor's mother remembers a very famous guest that stayed at the hotel many times. She remembers Agatha Christie, and Eames's curiosity is stirred. Why was Agatha Christie in Aleppo, and why was she a regular guest? What was her journey to the Middle East like? How did it influence her work? Eames sets out to answer those questions, and in the process provides a very interesting look into how much the world has changed, and how far-reaching Agatha Christie's works actually are.

Eames takes the journey to trace Agatha Christie soon after 9/11, so the journey itself becomes even more out of the ordinary. Not only is he revealing the truth behind the romantic vision we readers have of train travel and of Agatha Christie, but he also offers insights into the pre-Iraq war Middle East and surrounding areas. He meets people, lingers with them over tea, and gets them to share their stories. He does this even in Baghdad, where the U.S. is on the cusp of invading. You get a more discerning look into how people in Iraq reacted to 9/11, and more so, how these peoples' lives are everyday. In his realistic portrayals, you warm to even of some of the more aggravating characters that share his journey.

It's chance that while I was reading this book, I also listened to an old radio broadcast of Murder on the Orient Express, one of Christie's major works, and one of the works that was directly influenced by her journey to the Middle East. It made a nice foil to the early parts of the book, where Eames traces Agatha's journey to Turkey. He takes the Orient Express out of England, which due to world wars and changing politics, has dwindled down to a mirror of its former self. It is a tourist thing, with a few cars and not as much class as you might imagine due to the old 1970's movie.

Reading this book was almost like reading an Agatha Christie mystery itself. He compares each step of his journey with her life and her writings. You get a sort of mini-biography, a travel guide, a biography of her later work, and a history of the areas he travels through, all in one book. It's well worth the read if you are a fan of Agatha Christie (which I definitely am). If you aren't, I'd recommend it anyway, just because you get a glance at what life is like in the Middle East and surrounding areas, out of the mouths of the people themselves.

Rating: 5 Purrs

Recent Aquisitions to the Library

Here are some of the books I picked up recently:

• Good Bones and Simple Murders by Margaret Atwood
• In a Glass Darkly by Sheridan Le Fanu
• Uncle Silas by Sheridan Le Fanu
• Dearly Devoted Dexter by Jeff Lindsay
• Galapagos by Kurt Vonnegut

Welcome to Hiss Hiss Purrr, the place where I (and occasionally my other half) put down all of my thoughts on the books I read and the movies I watch. If it's in the mass media, it's fair game. I love to watch movies, and I love to read. I'll watch or read just about anything, but my favorites tend to fall in the foreign horror film genre and for books, mysteries and thrillers (at least for the moment). My tastes change quite a bit, so no telling what will end up here.

I hope you enjoy whatever that is, and I hope you, whoever you are, will give me recommendations as well.

Happy reading and watch out for the crazy guy with the axe!