Author Spotlight #1

Dean Koontz

Book reviews are great.  It's fun to hear why someone loved or hated a book.  That's a huge reason why I've decided to do them.  But for now I want to shift gears and discuss something a little different, a specific author. 

This is my first of hopefully many Author Spotlights.  I'll pull from my somewhat selective pool of authors that have always been my favorites and talk about what type of books they tend to write, as well as other things I think you should know about them.  Finally, I'll send you off with a list of the author's top three books (in my opinion, at least) that you NEED to check out.


Without further ado, I introduce to you one of my favorite authors, Dean Koontz.  I first started reading his work a couple years ago by pure chance.  Well, pure chance and some cool cover art on one of his books that drew me in.  The book Velocity (which I'll talk about later) was my first book of his that I read, and from then on I was addicted to Dean Koontz's unique style and writing.

This may not seem special or outstanding, but for some reason after seeing it I had to read it.

It's economically sound!

As it turned out, Velocity was amazing.  Not soon after reading it was when I found out that Dean Koontz has a TON of books published.  As of right now, he has written a total of 106!  Which leads me to my first major reason why you should check him out:  you can buy his books without spending too much money.  He has around 84 standalone titles that are priced reasonably.  And for all you folks lucky enough enough to have a used bookstore or stocked Goodwill, I can almost guarantee that you will find at least five books of his, waiting patiently on the shelf for you to discover.

There's gotta be a catch...

At this point, you may be worried (and with good reason) about the great quantity of books he has written.  A similar thought popped into my head, "If there's so many, they can't be that good."  Let me quell your worries, because this is the wonder of Dean Koontz.  He seems to just pump out literary gold.  He has a passion for creating stories and characters that is evident and I can only imagine how much time he spends writing each day.  

There are other reasons why you should check Dean Koontz out, and bullet point lists are fun to read.  You're welcome.

Read Dean Koontz if you like:

• mystery, with a pure emphasis on the mystery and less so on the mushy gushy romance aspect.  Fifty Shades of Grey fans looking for their next batch of "literature" won't find too much of what they are looking for with him.

• like ending your reading sessions with occasional feelings of paranoia, fear, and/or downright uneasiness.  DK's books are scary, suspensful, and while most include some supernatural element, the characters and situations seem real enough to effect you in some powerful way.

• like animals or have a special attachment to your household pet(s).  If you look at the back of most of Dean Koontz's books, you'll find his picture just like any author.  But it's rarely just him.  His golden retriever is almost always featured.    He clearly loves animals (especially dogs) and if they don't at least have a minor role, they are typically featured in some small way.

Wook at duh widdle puppy...

You Need to Read These

So you all probably got the point, I love Dean Koontz.  So if I piqued your interest enough, here are the three books you should start out with if you want to check him out.

Intensity

A young woman witnesses the murder of her family and friends, and instead of running away for her life she ends up going on a cross country personal vendetta to save a potential victim of the killer.   I loved this book because it goes against the usual formula and highlights the bravery of a person facing a dire consequences.

Fun fact:  This was made into a movie featuring Scrub's Dr. Cox as the serial killer.  It's weird seeing him as a murderer and watching Scrubs after seeing the movie was awkward, to say the least.

Velocity

 A man is faced with a grisly ultimatum and deals with the consequences of his decisions.  All the while he figures out more about the people or person behind the sadistic notes.  You will potentially be frightened of answering the phone after reading this. I warned you, fair and square.

Definitely not a children's book

The Taking

The Taking- A mysterious rainstorm potentially brings the end of the world in this book, forcing a small community to ban together to face the mysterious threat. It's easy to compare this to Stephen King's The Mist, but I challenge you to see past that and check this book out.  

Thanks for reading my first Author Spotlight, everyone.  I hope you are able to read some of Dean Koontz work soon!

Where Things Come Back by John Corey Whaley

Where Things Come Back Review

Quick Points:

-228 pages

-copyright year: 2011

-Winner of the William C. Morris Debut Award

-Winner of the Michael L. Printz Award for Excellence in Young Adult Literature

"Yeah, my cover image is cool.  It's just hard  because there are so many awards covering it."  -what I would say if I was John Corey Whaley.

The Vaguest of Overviews:

Lily is a small town in Arkansas inhabited by one of our main characters, Cullen Witter.  He is a high schooler/borderline pessimist.  Across the globe is where another important character, Benton Sage, currently resides.  He is on a mission. 

Sorry everyone, but with my strict anti-spoiler policy I don't feel comfortable sharing any more of the plot.

What I Thought:

It's been a while since I've read a book without crazy magic, grisly murders, or long lost artifacts... or books with all three of those things, (cough cough Dresden Files cough) for that matter. They just appeal to me.  Where Things Come Back by John Corey Whaley is rooted in none of these things, but somehow it has earned the prestigious title of My All Time Favorite Book.  I can't speak of its triumph's enough. 

The characters in this  novel will grow on you in about a page after you meet them.  Within the first half-page I felt compelled to read on just to know that something good would happen to Cullen Witter.

Benton Sage quickly earned my empathy because of his situation.  The questions he deals with are personal ones, and I'm sure that we've all thought about the same things as he does.  No matter who you like the most, there is bound to be someone in this book to which you can relate.  This aspect is just one of the many reasons why I couldn't stop reading.

This is John Corey Whaley's first published novel, but it sounds like he is a master story teller well beyond his years.  There are tragic events in this story, and they are all told skillfully and beautifully and you'll probably have to take a breather or two in order to digest them.

You caught me, I'm bluffing. What's UFC?

These occurrences are so well told that I cried a total of four times while reading this book.  (No worries, afterwards I got an anchor tattoo, cracked open a beer and watched UFC.  Man points: redeemed.)  I teared up twice in two consecutive chapters for totally opposite reasons!  The happenings of this book will matter to you because of how poignantly they're written.

Cullen Witter has a notebook where he writes down titles for potential books, as well as a big imagination typically brimming with zombies and other bizarre things.  These devices serve their purpose not only as creative quirks, but as catalysts for character development.  It gives us readers a better idea of what Cullen thinks or how he feels. These moments are akin to things found in Chuck Palahniuk novels.   They are consistent (but never redundant)  and help push the well-woven plot along.

Enough about how awesome this book is.  I have poured my heart out in hope that you will someday read this work of art that John Wayne Correy has worked so hard on.  

The Verdict:

Where Things Come Back by John Wayne Correy gets a solid three Lazarus burgers... of three.

Before you go!

If you are a fan of Sufjan Stevens, you are sure to enjoy the multiple references to his work scattered throughout this book.  If you aren't a fan yet, here is a song from which Correy pulls an excerpt.

Thanks for reading.  Let me know what you think via a comment below or an email.  I'm always open for book suggestions and would love to hear from you.

Stardust by Neil Gaiman

Stardust Review

Quick Points:

-333 pages

-copyright year: 1999

-there is a battle between a unicorn and a lion in it. 

Told you.

The Vaguest of Overviews:

Stardust is about a young man named Tristran (that isn't a typo with that "r" that just kinda comes outta nowhere) Thorn, who ventures into a mysterious kingdom to find a fallen star.  He isn't the only one looking for it, however, and before he knows it his seemingly simple mission turns into quite the toughie. 

What I Thought:

I hate to say it, but any previous desire I had left in me to be an author was vanquished after reading this book.  Of course, I mean that in the most compliment-y way I possibly can.

Chapter after chapter, I would stumble upon brilliant and accurate observations so profound that I'd have to stop and think about them for awhile. Here's the deal, with this book, Gaiman doesn't give you time to stop and think.  You cannot stop reading this book because you want to know what happens and discover everything you can about the world you just found yourself in.

Therein lies the reason I don't want to be an author anymore.  I'm inadequate!  How can Gaiman write such cool moments and move on in the book like nothing happened? Where does one find an imagination so big that it seems to manufacture brilliant insights and ideas and just slap them down so frequently? My of-average-intelligence mind could never do that.  

So I guess I'll just stick to blogging...

I'm being pretty general.  That's probably because there isn't just one thing that I liked.  It's a brand new world that isn't bogged down by heavy amounts of lore and introduction.  You are gradually shown the world of Faerie, because that's exactly how the main character experiences it.  You will meet evil people with resources and magic that at first doesn't seem fair, but as any good fantasy author knows, there are always limits or consequences for things like that.

You may be looking for a fast read rooted in fantasy, or maybe just an adventure filled book with memorable characters and a plot that won't leave you long after you read it.  Whatever the case, I cannot recommend Stardust enough.   

The Verdict

I give Stardust by Neil Gaiman a solid three Babylon Candles... of three.

Before you go!

Stardust was also a motion picture released in 2007.  Gaiman himself was a producer.  Personally, I saw the movie before reading the book, and cannot vouch for having it one way or the other.  They have major and minor differences but nothing that I could throw a fit about.  I highly recommend the movie.

Thanks for reading.  Let me know what you think via a comment below or an email.  I'm always open for book suggestions and would love to hear from you.