This review originally appeared on Goodreads on February 5, 2013.

Guardian of the Dawn

By William King – Self-Published – August 1, 2011

Review by Robin Marx

This atmospheric fantasy short introduces Kormak, a disreputable-looking stranger belonging to a semi-mythical order of monster hunters. Wounded and caught out on the night of the full moon, when hostile creatures roam, he takes shelter at an isolated house. Realizing his true identity, the house's residents use his code of honor to coerce him into defending them against one particularly menacing creature.

The premise is appealing, and while Kormak himself is only vaguely sketched out as a character, he seems interesting. I also liked the setting hinted at in the story, with a sort of uneasy detente between the human realm and the bestial “children of the moon” roaming just outside the borders. However, I was disappointed when the story name-checked elves, dwarves, and orcs. Those Tolkienian races are completely played out, and their seemingly automatic inclusion marred an otherwise original sword & sorcery setting. The ending was also a bit of let-down. I respect the author for taking a daring chance with the narrative, but I can't help feeling that it effectively invalidated much of the preceding excitement.

Still, this was a good read overall. While I wasn't quite moved to run out and buy the other Kormak books, this story put King on my radar, and I'll keep an eye out for his stories in the future.

★★★☆☆

#CapsuleReviewArchive #BookReview #SwordAndSorcery #Fantasy #WilliamKing #GuardianOfTheDawn #TheKormakSaga

This review originally appeared on Goodreads on May 3, 2012.

Armageddon 2419 A.D.

By Philip Francis Nowlan – Amazing Stories – August 1928

Review by Robin Marx

Published in a 1928 issue of Amazing Stories, this novel is both a fun pulp adventure and the origin of the Buck Rogers character of comic strip and radio serial fame.

The premise is simple but intriguing. World War I veteran and scientist Anthony Rogers (he doesn't gain the “Buck” nickname until the comic adaptation) finds himself caught in a mine cave-in and immersed in radioactive gas. He awakes to find himself nearly 500 years in the future, where after a devastating second World War Mongolians have taken over the world, with Americans reduced to a semi-tribal existence hiding in forest camps. Although there's a tinge of the Yellow Peril themes prevalent of the time, the Mongolians aren't painted in too racist a light. They're decadent and soft, unlike the hard-living Americans, but they're also clever and technologically advanced. Given the period the book was written in, I was surprised by the egalitarian role of women in the story as well. Wilma Deering plays a strong, active role, working and fighting alongside the men.

The writing itself is workmanlike. There are some bits of info-dump style exposition, and none of the characters are very complex, but the action is engaging and the pace brisk. The technology presented in the story (anti-gravity belts, rocket pistols, levitating airships, etc.) is fun and exciting, even today. The main theme, of an outsider leading a group of underdogs to victory against technologically-advanced enemies, is pretty well-worn territory, but it may have been fresher at the time. It was interesting how Rogers serves as sort of a reversed example of A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court: he's from a primitive past, but his knowledge of WWI tactics—lore lost over the centuries—ends up playing an important role in the story's battles.

While this book didn't quite enthrall me as much as Edgar Rice Burrough's A Princess of Mars, a thematically similar pulp yarn, I enjoyed this look at Buck Rogers's origins. I look forward to reading the sequel, The Airlords of Han.

★★★☆☆

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This review originally appeared on Goodreads on September 13, 2012.

Cadaver in Chief

By Steve Hockensmith – Self-Published – July 31, 2012

Review by Robin Marx

This novella is by the author of a prequel and sequel to Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (but not that book itself, interestingly). While Cadaver in Chief continues to deal with zombies, this time the undead menace are blended with a satire of election year politics.

The story was brief but engaging, with many interesting implications. Retiring reporter Jan Woods comes across a blog post claiming that the President of the United States was attacked and killed by a zombie while on the campaign trail, and that the whole affair has been covered up by the government. Despite the unreliable source of the claims, she decides to investigate further, with hazardous results.

The setting was especially fascinating. While most zombie apocalypse stories take place after the sudden collapse of society, Cadaver in Chief depicts an invasion in progress, with an America that is slowly crumbling. Citizens are trying to cope: everyone is constantly armed and new social rules have cropped up. Those who damage a zombie (or “nasty”) are responsible for finishing it off, and pedestrians greet each other loudly to avoid being shot by wary neighbors. Gallows humor is everywhere. It'd be nice to see this setting revisited by the author. It could easily serve as the stage for a serious horror novel if some of the comedic elements were toned down.

Somewhat depressingly, I actually found the fictional Beltway pundits' diatribes to be less tone-deaf and absurd than the real-life political discourse going on in the US right now. Truth is stranger—and dumber—than fiction in this case.

Elements of comedy and horror are generally tricky to balance, but I think Hockensmith succeeded in walking that tightrope. The end result is a fast-paced story that spices its humor with some genuinely creepy moments. It's very important that a comedy story not outstay its welcome, but I wouldn't have minded spending more time exploring this world.

★★★★☆

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This review originally appeared on Goodreads on July 28, 2015.

Chapter and Verse – New Order, Joy Division and Me

By Bernard Sumner – Corgi Books – September 10, 2015

Review by Robin Marx

I read this book in parallel with Peter Hook's Unknown Pleasures: Inside Joy Division, and the two books could not be more different.

Chapter and Verse is appealing in that it covers the history of New Order as well as Joy Division, but it felt like the narrower scope of Unknown Pleasures allowed a much more satisfying level of detail. Hooky really got into the nitty-gritty of Joy Division's history, full of juicy anecdotes. This book was still very interesting, but written in a brisk, breezy style that ended up feeling shallower than Hooky's book.

The portions about Sumner's childhood, the gradual failure of the Hacienda, and his falling out with Peter Hook were the most fleshed-out and, perhaps consequently, the most intriguing parts of the book to me. While Hooky's book was mostly dismissive of Sumner, Sumner seems genuinely hurt and puzzled about the reasons behind the deterioration in their three-decade friendship. Fans hoping for much insight into individual events in the band's history or the story behind many of New Order's most famous songs (apart from the rather dispensable World Cup theme “World in Motion”) are likely to be disappointed. That being said, I felt like I gained some insight into Sumner's life, and that was enough for me.

★★★☆☆

#CapsuleReviewArchive #BookReview #Nonfiction #ChapterAndVerse #BernardSumner

This review originally appeared on Goodreads on March 12, 2018.

Some Fruits of Solitude

By William Penn – 1682

Review by Robin Marx

Part of the Harvard Classics reading list, like the Journal of John Woolman this is the work of a colonial era Quaker. Apart from founding Pennsylvania, William Penn was a principled and devout theologian and worked to spread religious tolerance in his community. (He was also the original face of the Quaker Oats brand, until they rebranded to a more generic figure later.)

The book itself is a collection of homilies and observations, generally having to do with personal improvement and faith. A lot of them are well trodden ground, but others remain good advice today. That being said, I found it a bit ironic that someone who extols the virtue of humility would write a book that aims to provide moral instruction. To me, that seems to be the epitome of “holier than thou.”

The passages about “servants” also didn't sit very well, as Penn was a slave owner. Those sections made me reflect fondly on fellow Harvard Classics member John Woolman's abolitionist fervor, but perhaps it's unfair to judge Penn by the merits of a Quaker who wasn't born until two years after Penn's death.

Overall this book was an interesting look at the values of Penn's time, but modern readers will find a lot of the advice either obvious, outdated, or too tied to specific aspects of religion.

★★★☆☆

#CapsuleReviewArchive #BookReview #Nonfiction #Philosophy #SomeFruitsOfSolitude #WilliamPenn

This review originally appeared on Goodreads on February 11, 2019.

The Phantom City (Doc Savage #10)

By Kenneth Robeson (House Name)/Lester Dent – Street & Smith – 1933

Review by Robin Marx

After what seems like too many America-bound stories (The Red Skull, The Czar of Fear, Quest of the Spider), this entry is a return to globe-trotting adventure. After being attacked by a group with high-tech weapons (basically rail guns, which was surprising to see in a story this old) Savage is approached by an Arab seeking to hire the Helldiver submarine (last seen in The Polar Treasure) for mysterious reasons.

Put simply, this is the sort of story I read Doc Savage for. It has a brisk pace, world travel, a lost civilization, subhuman savages, advanced technology, and an exotic beauty. It was nice to see the return of the Helldiver submarine, as it seems like gear, treasure, and vehicles acquired in pulp stories and comics all too often evaporates between episodes.

I was starting to lose interest in the series after bland installments like The Red Skull and The Czar of Fear, but this story was a return to form. It looks like the following volume is another story set in America, but hopefully it maintains this level of energy.

★★★★☆

#CapsuleReviewArchive #BookReview #PulpFiction #ThePhantomCity #DocSavage #KennethRobeson #LesterDent

This review originally appeared on Goodreads on October 15, 2020.

A Head Full of Ghosts

By Paul Tremblay – William Morrow – June 2, 2015

Review by Robin Marx

When psychiatric treatment fails to cure a 14-year-old girl’s bizarre outbursts, her desperate father turns to religion. And with the family’s finances in dire straits, he allows a film crew into their home to film a reality TV show about the apparent demonic possession and ensuing exorcism.

This book is told through the eyes of Merry, the 8-year-old sister of the troubled teenager. Tremblay’s handling of such a young viewpoint character is truly masterful. As the father of an 8-year-old girl, Merry felt authentically kid-like, not like the weirdly precocious miniature adults so often seen in entertainment. She’s stuck in a terrifying situation that she’s even less equipped to handle than her struggling parents, betrayed by and frightened of the older sister she used to idolize.

Unfortunately, despite a great viewpoint character, the story isn’t quite as fulfilling as it could have been. The possession and climactic exorcism are handled in a pretty traditional manner that’s been seen in fiction a dozen times. The reality show trappings and passages of the book featuring a horror blogger providing wry retrospective commentary upon the TV episodes add some originality to the proceedings, but in the end it felt more could have been done with those elements.

I enjoyed this book and raced through it pretty quickly, but despite moments of excellence it felt like there was some wasted potential.

★★★☆☆

#CapsuleReviewArchive #BookReview #Horror #AHeadFullOfGhosts #PaulTremblay

This review originally appeared on Goodreads on May 14, 2012.

The Final Solution

By Michael Chabon – Fourth Estate – November 9, 2004

Review by Robin Marx

The Final Solution has a compelling premise, but the execution (perhaps a poor choice of words when dealing with a book that obliquely refers to the Holocaust) leaves a bit to be desired.

Although he's referred to solely as “the old man,” it's immediately apparent that the protagonist is intended to be Sherlock Holmes at 89. The idea of Holmes coming out of retirement during World War II to solve one more mystery is intriguing, but the reason why he becomes involved in this particular case (a murder and a bird-napping) seems a bit flimsy. While I'd hoped to see the master detective—even a Holmes diminished by age—there wasn't much in the way of brilliant deductions, just a few “Easter egg” references to past cases and an admittedly clever allusion to the title of what was intended to be Holmes' final case, “The Final Problem.”

The characters were too many in number, and too sketchily rendered to leave much an impression. This surprised me, since characterization was such a strong point in his previous novel, The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay.

Another issue I had is that the viewpoint character for the climactic scene is a parrot. This isn't an unforgivable sin—it was an interesting portrayal—but it IS pretty goofy.

Finally, detective novels (even self-consciously literary ones) live and die on their mystery, but here Holmes solves the lesser one while ignoring the larger one. He nabs the murderer while failing to uncover the nature of the German numbers constantly recited by the parrot at the heart of the case. The reader will likely figure it out right away, but Holmes never does. I imagine this was intentional on the part of Chabon; he seems to want to say that even a master detective is incapable of realizing the scope and true horror of the Nazis' depravity. However, it didn't feel right or authentic that Sherlock Holmes would let this particular puzzle slide.

While I don't feel like my time was wasted reading this book, I do feel like the interesting premise was wasted on an undercooked story.

★★☆☆☆

#CapsuleReviewArchive #BookReview #Literature #Mystery #TheFinalSolution #MichaelChabon

This review originally appeared on Goodreads on May 15, 2012.

Heart of Darkness

By Joseph Conrad – Blackwood's Magazine – 1899

Review by Robin Marx

While Apocalypse Now gave me a vague idea of what to expect in the original novella, Heart of Darkness still ended up pleasantly surprising me.

This book can be best summed up with two key words: tension and intensity. Heart of Darkness reads almost like a Gothic horror novel, with a creepy sense of uneasiness and isolation that grows over time.

After narrator Marlowe arrives in Africa, the reader is treated to a continuous series of vignettes showing the brutal reality of slavery and the methods used to keep the ivory trade going. African characters are presented as bestial savages, but the white characters Marlowe encounters are also contemptible without exception. They're brutal thugs, incompetent stuffed shirts, or conniving cheats. They stand in stark contrast to Kurtz, an almost mythical figure spoken of with awe, fear, and jealousy. With mechanical failures and hostile natives, Marlowe's steamboat trip grows more and more hellish and desperate over time, while Kurtz himself becomes even more mysterious and sinister.

Just as this narrative tension reaches its height, we finally come face to face with Kurtz himself. Despite being weakened by illness and insanity, Kurtz is nothing if not intense. Marlowe finds himself horrified by the jungle theocracy Kurtz has set up for himself, but even he can't help being cowed by his charisma and force of will. Marlowe finds himself marked by his brief contact with the man, and left with a decidedly grim view of humanity as a whole.

Literary Classics™ are frequently imposing, monumental works, but Heart of Darkness turned out to be an unexpectedly swift read. So much has been made of the book's exploration of the “duality of mankind” that I'd expected a dry, verbose story, but this wasn't the case at all. Instead, the book was engaging throughout, and its exploration of man's inhumanity to man avoided becoming didactic and impenetrable. I found the book to be much more vibrant than the dense, fossilized analysis and criticism that has accreted around it.

★★★★☆

#CapsuleReviewArchive #BookReview #Literature #HeartOfDarkness #JosephConrad

This review originally appeared on Goodreads on June 7, 2011.

The Boats of the 'Glen Carrig'

By William Hope Hodgson – Chapman and Hall – 1907

Review by Robin Marx

This is a rather gripping survival horror story that follows the crew of a pair of lifeboats, sailors adrift after the sinking of the titular 'Glen Carrig.' Hodgson wastes no time getting into the action; the shipwreck itself is covered in basically a single perfunctory paragraph, and events start getting strange and deadly very quickly.

The Boats of the 'Glen Carrig' is similar to his other novels, The House on the Borderland and The Night Land, in that they're basically a linear narrative following the protagonist through a number of bizarre episodes. They read more like travelogues than carefully plotted novels, but the events are interesting enough that this isn't much of a complaint.

The story is written in an intentionally archaic style, with no quoted dialogue and few named characters, but it's fast-paced and packed with engrossing imagery. Stylistically it's a much more approachable read than The Night Land, which—while challenging—I also enjoyed considerably.

Hodgson delivers a thoroughly entertaining and imaginative story. I've enjoyed everything I've read by him thus far, and it's become clear that he's one of the more underrated figures in early 20th century horror fiction. I recommend The Boats of the 'Glen Carrig' wholeheartedly.

★★★★☆

#CapsuleReviewArchive #BookReview #Horror #TheBoatsOfTheGlenCarrig #WilliamHopeHodgson