"When the Killing's Done" - T.C. Boyle

Published in 2011 by Penguin Books

You know what I have always wondered? What does the C stand for.  Not the T, I assume Tom, Timothy, Toreador, who cares. But the C, oh the C.  And now I know.

T. Coraghessan Boyle

wowsers, that's a name.

I shall name my first born son Coraghessan, and he shall stand up to the ridiculously named youth of his generation (Rykers, things with "X" in them, etc)

Moving on.  I am not usually a fan of Mr. Boyle's work.  I couldn't get through 40 pages of Tortilla Curtain, and The Women was taxing at the best of times.  But this was surprisingly innovative and delightful.  While I wouldn't say that it lived up to the hype that the review on the back cover gave it, it also never dragged or dimmed.

The story is about Santa Barbara and the Channel Islands off the coast, it tells of shipwrecks, endangered species, and non-native animals who threaten the balance of life on the island.  The war waging between two environmental groups (one pro-killing of animals not native to the islands, one a douchey guy who Boyle makes sure you know you should hate) and their increasingly dangerous interactions.

Overall, I was a fan.  Hooray Mr. Boyle!

Rating: ***

Quotes:
nothing particularly memorable. meh!

"Ready Player One" - Ernest Cline

Published in 2011 by Dark All Day, Inc.

The year, 2044.  The world, going to hell in a handbasket.  The protagonist, Wade Watts aka Parzival.  In reality (a pretty awful place by this point) Wade lives with his Aunt in a stack of double wide trailers that threatens to fall over at any point, she hawks his technology and school gear to buy drugs and people don't usually live very long without a safe hiding spot.  In the OASIS though, a magical technological other world, he is Parzival, a slightly more muscular fellow with admittedly better skin and the potential for greatness.

James Halliday created the OASIS and introduced the world to a new better place that wasn't overrun by disease, pollution, and general effed-up-ness.  The OASIS is infinitely large and can be whatever the user wants it to be.  Kids attend school there, people meet and date, in fact they don't even need to be people.  Why not be a flying Ork with lighting bolt tattoos   The quest is to find James Halliday's egg.  Before he died, he programmed the world to have three hidden challenges that if completed would give the winner access to his vast personal fortune (in real life and in the OASIS.)  So what's a pudgy kid from the trailer parks supposed to do?  Obviously, battle evil forces and try to win while making some friends along the way.

Filled 100% with strange, funny, cheesy, stupid, wonderful 1980's references, this novel was a quick and delightful read.  It probably won't be winning the Man-Booker prize but after Schindler's List I needed a little pick-me-up.

Rating: ***

"Granta 117 - Horror"

Published in 2011 by Granta Magazine

"Horror is everywhere" and this collection of short stories shows that it isn't always something that goes bump in the night.  Authors ranging from Stephen King to Will Self give us sneak peeks into the many forms that Horror can take in our lives.

While some were not quite my style, a majority of the stories were exciting and engaging, urging me to just read "one more page."

Rating: ***