Blog Archives
Tarbabies: The Shadow Man of Ichabod Lane
Tarbabies follows the protagonist, Josh, as he and his wife experience a catastrophic event that changes the world as we know it. Through news reports, Josh watches as New York City falls victim to what he calls “tarbabies”, monsters made of a soft, gooey substance. These tarbabies have the ability to change any living thing they touch into one of them, and they are immune to physical attack. It’s not long before the simple yet dangerous monsters show up in his neighborhood, and despite their slow, plodding movements, they manage to increase their numbers daily. Josh and his neighbors try to learn as much as they can, but their knowledge might not be of any use, as they are slowly running out of allies. What they do learn, though, is just as mysterious. There is something attractive about these monsters. People attacked by them feel no pain, and instead seem to experience some kind of euphoria before being taken over completely. Josh and his wife leave their quiet neighborhood, determined to reach the safety of her parents’ home across the state. Will they make their journey safely? What are these monsters, and are they getting smarter?
Josh and his wife have loving, fun interactions. Brady did very well crafting these two, and I spent almost every page of the story hoping that both of them make it through. The author also excelled at creating each of the characters on Ichabod Lane, especially the young boy Logan, who treats the dangerous, slow-moving monsters as a fun activity.
The novel also has a nice balance of settings. There are scenes taking place in big cities, small communities, woodlands, and more. The characters travel well and the descriptions of their travels are very entertaining. Particularly, it was fun to read about Josh and his wife and their hiking adventure through the Catskills.
This novel is written very well. If I have any complaints, I would say that the pacing is a little rough, due mostly to the slow pace of the monsters, themselves. The main thought for the first half of the book is that if the main character does get captured by any of these creatures, it would be a silly mistake that would only immensely frustrate the reader. The events also take a long time to unfold once the initial shock from the discovery of the monsters takes place. There are several characters that are well written, but their interactions are difficult to care about as the action is a bit dull.
Overall, this novel provides plenty of tension and suspense through the monsters that have invaded New York. While the reader may want to experience more suspense and action, the author seems to be in this story for the long game, taking his time to develop the characters and to develop the rapidly evolving monsters. This series will be more entertaining the longer one reads, so don’t quit if the first hundred pages aren’t enough.
Pages: 272 | ASIN: B017PSKB58
Mystery Time
Mystery Time by Janet Hannah will leave you lost in a bit of a mystery, but in a good way. Professor Alex Kertész and Hildegard Kraus found themselves in the shadow of trouble after the death of a colleague caused the loss of a timepiece that would reveal itself as more than a teller of time. As though instinctively determined to get it back, Kertész and Kraus’, expeditions take them outside of their science convention in Prague, into the unknown. Escaping unwanted advances and skirting uncertain thoughts of desire, murder, lies, secrets and fate find their way into the lives of the two scientists. As if public speaking was not a daunting enough task, Professor Hildegard now has to contend with her colleague dying in her arms. After Bernard Green’s almost lifeless body crashed into Hildegard, professor Alex Kertész, assisted her in taking Green into a room, where his dying confession would direct suspicions to his killer. A fellow colleague and longtime rival, Joe Klein, would be in the hotseat as authorities tried to identify Bernard’s Killer. As casual as his death was expressed it guided the story onto a new focus, the loss of the watch. While the death of a colleague is traumatic, Hilgard had lost her own husband about a year earlier. Bernard, before his passing, had borrowed a watch that Hildegard’s husband had given to her. The timepiece however, was not found on Bernard’s body and she was intent on getting the watch back; no matter what it took. Alex, even endangered his own life in an attempt to retrieve the watch, although he had didn’t understand it; other than it was important to professor Hildegard. There was a mysterious bond Alex held with Hilgard, that added intrigue and romance to the story in subtle bits, as the plot thickened. After retrieving the watch, whenever Hilgard touched it, she had unexplainable visions. Somehow she could see Alex in pain at some point in time, future or past, she could not tell. While the watch did not trigger visions in Alex, his pains seemed to trigger something in the watch. He had his own past and present demons to fight, some from his previous life in Hungary and one by the name of MaryAnn. MaryAnn was a giddy headed girl, who did not understand or seemingly respect that Alex was a married man. Even though, ironically, his own thoughts of Hilgard never seemed to conflict with his marital status, although his admiration, on some levels, mimicked MaryAnn’s.
As their lives continued after the molecular biology congress, the death of Bernard Green remained unsolved and new information came to light about research Joe Klein argued with Green about, hours before his death. Hildegard and Alex worked in sync and found some shocking revelations that would help solve the mystery and motive of Bernard’s death, and it questioned the integrity of a few. Integrity was also a matter in the history of the watch. Dating back to previous owners, it was a trait that all owners were confronted with, as though the watch had a moral clause. The book tells two stories, one progressing in time and the other going back in time. The parallels between the stories indicate that this cosmic occurrence could have been linked to previous owners. The watch may have been mechanised to somehow defy the laws of physics and not only capture time, but instead a moment, but this watch had only known moments of pain. Mystery Time is a very interesting and unique read that will leave you inspired.
Pages: 241 | ISBN: 1432788442
Notes from a Very Small Island
Notes From a Very Small Island by Anthony Stancomb is very literal in the sense of its name. The book is mainly a collection of experiences surrounding the island of Vis. Croatia’s historical events and current culture were brought to the fore as locals looked towards what a future with the European Union (EU) might mean. The book brings to life, the characters, as seen through the eyes of the narrator and primarily focuses on day to day conflicts and situations that arise. Throughout the book, there are comparisons of the fast city life and the relaxed island life and factors that contribute to the differences and similarities.
We are first introduced to Dario, a local Disc Jock/ hardware store worker, who I assumed to be the protagonist of the story, and his wife and son; Sofia and Dino. Dario is from the island of Vis and prefaces most of the chapters in the book through humorous and political banter via his radio show. Over the first few paragraphs we meet Karmela, the housekeeper and Ivana, the narrator’s Croatian wife. We get an idea of who the narrator is by the establishment of his English nationality and his history in broadcasting, however, throughout the chapters, he was never identified by name and for me, this made the rest of the stories somewhat less personable.
The transition from London to the quaint island of Vis was not easy for the narrator and his wife. They left the city, their jobs, friends and two adult children behind, for a more scenic and native lifestyle. It was a move that was compounded by rebuilding, a theme that stood out in the majority of the book. Cricket seemed to be a cultural icebreaker in assisting the Stancombs in settling in.
It was only the mention of Facebook in chapter 13 that gave an idea of the era the narrator spoke from. A sizeable amount of the chapters had many historical references, much of it informed by locals like old Marinko. There were historical and political themes about the island as it related to their current realities and what it meant going forward for the locals and the narrator, should Croatia become a part of the EU.
Both the church and Dario had outspoken views in regards to the EU change. Urbanizing Croatia, adopting foreign lifestyles and fashions were just a few of the things they were concerned would undermine their freedoms or the simple things such as, Zoran’s bar after church service, their food, wine or culture. Attitudes to foreigners were evolving, the Craigs and Duffys, friends of the narrator, would end up testament to that.
Milena and Christopher, the narrator’s children, Milena’s boyfriend; Andrew and Ivanna’s Serbian cousins all exacted specific views from locals. The reason why this was so, was evident in the historical context of various nationals with Croatians. These dynamics are what established the island’s character.
I found the book relatively hard to follow, it fluctuated between the past and present too much, too quickly, with no transitional sentences or forewarning. There were several in text person references that were ineffective as well, as they weren’t general knowledge. The story was anticlimactic but there are surprises to look for. This is a book for a modern historical story enthusiast.
Pages: 312 | ISBN: 1910670456
LITERARY TITAN 