Book: The House of Silk

“London, 1890. 221B Baker Street. A fine arts dealer named Edmund Carstairs visits Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson to beg for their help. He is being menaced by a strange man in a flat cap–a wanted criminal who seems to have followed him all the way from America. In the days that follow, Carstair’s home is robbed and his family is threatened. And then the first murder takes place.

The House of Silk brings Sherlock Holmes back wiht all the nuance, pacing, and almost superhuman powers of analysis and deduction that made him the world’s greatest detective, in a case depicting events too shocking, too monstrous, ever to appear in print…until now.“

The House of Silk is the first Sherlock Holmes novel I’ve read that isn’t written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle; and while this is Anthony Horowitz’s best work (among his books I’ve read, I mean), it doesn’t really feel like an authentic Holmes novel.

Don’t get me wrong: Horowitz does get the time period right, and more importantly, he doesn’t deviate from the established characters of either Holmes or Watson–although, I must say his Watson is a lot more sentimental than what I remember from the stories I’ve already read.

What really sets The House of Silk apart as not a Doyle-written Sherlock Holmes novel is that it’s written for today’s readers.

I’m not saying that the original stories of Sherlock Holmes are slow-paced. They’re not. But neither were they written with the mindset that a reader can and will put a book down if they don’t find it engaging. Books today are written to be far more accessible, and thus, there is more competition.

The House of Silk is a fine novel, and author Horowitz makes a great attempt at emulating the voice of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. But it is just that: an attempt. I think I would have enjoyed it more if the author had decided to give his own take on Sherlock Holmes–kind of like what Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss had done with their BBC drama series. Personally, I find the drama series more to my liking that the two blockbuster films featuring Robert Downey, Jr. because it’s more fresh and more interesting because of its new angle on the characters.

Then again, there’s the new Sherlock Holmes series Elementary that I feel took things too far. I love Lucy Liu, but John Watson should have stayed a guy. If they really wanted a strong female presence in the show, they could have chosen Mrs. Hudson (who is very bad-ass in her own way) or Irene Adler. But, I digress.

Going back to The House of Silk, it’s worth the price of the book and it is a fun read. But if you’ve already read a few of the original Sherlock Holmes novels, the challenge falls on not comparing this book to the ones Sir Arthur Conan Doyle wrote.

Reviews for Anthony Horowitz’s The House of Silk:
Visceral Observations
Rivers I Have Known
Vintage Frills
YouTube Review: Rawesome4815

Book: The Knife of Never Letting Go

“Todd Hewitt is the last boy in Pretisstown. But Prentisstown isn’t like other towns. Everyone can hear everyone else’s thoughts in a constant, overwhelming, never-ending Noise. There is no privacy. There are no secrets.

Or are there?

Just one month away from the birthday that will make him a man, Todd unexpectedly stumbles upon a spot of complete silence.

Which is impossible.

Prentisstown has been lying to him.

And now he’s going to have to run…”

This is one of those books that everyone keeps recommending, but I never really found the desire to read—much less, buy. But whilst killing time at the mall, I found myself being drawn to the bookstore. And though I still had around a dozen books left to read, and an Ilustrado that’s still waiting for me to finish reading it (and maybe because of this), I decided to give The Knife of Never Letting Go a chance. This time, learning from the Twilight mistake, I only bought the first book from the Chaos Walking trilogy.

After the first couple of chapters, I was happy with my decision not to buy the second and third book—because I found the story absolutely boring. I did not love The Knife of Never Letting Go.

Well, not at the beginning anyway. The author’s choice of storytelling was confusing and infuriating.

And then there was no Noise.

And then there was a girl.

And then, I understood.

The way Patrick Ness, the author, structured the story is for the reader to discover the secrets at the same time as the protagonist. Infuriating, as I said earlier, but it made for compelling storytelling—once we got to the part where something actually starts happening, when Todd first encounters the gap in the Noise. Prior to that though? I was ready to strangle Todd myself.

As the story commences though, it becomes tough to put the book down. You wouldn’t want to. Because the world Patrick Ness creates, a real New World if there ever was one, is so complete, so real that you can’t help but picture yourself in it.

No, it doesn’t have minute descriptions of the moss that grows on the rocks that our protagonists pass by. But the atmosphere created by the way our hero describes how he feels about everything, about the new things he’s seeing, it’s enough to create the world. You fill in the blanks with your own experience of the world we’re in.

And for me, that’s better than describing the texture, the color, and the other what-nots. Because by letting us, the readers, color in the world, we’re giving part of ourselves to the story. We’re becoming part of the story. And that in itself, I think, makes the book engrossing for a reader.

And that feeling of connection, how to book draws you in into its world, is enough for me to recommend this book to anyone looking for anything to read. Seriously.

I’m not going to write about how well-written the story is, or how I’m not a fan of the spelling that Mr. Ness employs for the dialogues. I think that’s been done enough by other people who’ve read the book and written about it before me.

I’m basing my recommendation on the fact that The Knife of Never Letting Go is one of the most engrossing books I’ve ever read.

Still, if you’re the type of person who wants a review, here are some blogs where people actually do a review:
Dodging Commas
District YA
Chachic’s Book Nook

Book: Deadly Storm

“While tracking down a missing husband for a desperate wife, private investigator Derrick Storm discovers there’s a lot more to the job than he’s been led to believe when he discovers the missing husband is actually a rogue CIA operative involved in selling national security secrets to enemy forces. He soon finds himself knee deep in international intrigue when he’s recruited by the lovely and dangerous Clara Strike, a CIA agent with a penchant for trouble and adventure.“

So I picked up the Castle graphic novel. Yeah. I haven’t even gotten around to finishing the third season yet, and here I am reading. Granted, it took me less time to read the book than it would take me to finish the episodes I’ve yet to watch. And why am I explaining this anyway?

Richard Castle’s Deadly Storm is anything but deadly. It reads like the first (really) published Richard Castle book: Heat Wave. It has a servicable story, but it’s mostly a set-up to what seems to be a series of graphic novels–much like what they are doing with the Nikki Heat books. That said, there’s nothing bad about the title. It’s just very ordinary. Of course, once we move past this first issue and delve into the stories without the need for set-up and introductions, my guess is things would start to pick up. That’s assuming Marvel will greenlight another one.

The art though isn’t very ordinary. It’s very well done. Especially how they likened Derrick Storm’s features to Nathan Fillion’s. Unless that wasn’t the intent. In that case, the art was still very well done. But what were they thinking?!

Okay, so that indignation was completely fake. Let’s move on.

What I really liked about the Deadly Storm title was the extra in the end. Castle the show has mentioned time and again the other novels Richard Castle has written. Except, aside from the Nikki Heat novels and, now, Deadly Storm, we don’t really know much about the other books aside from their titles. The extra in this book had summaries for the other Derrick Storm books, and the supernatural-thrillers our titular author has supposedly written. Some of them read like the usual supernatural-thriller books I enjoy, so I am looking forward to those–if ABC decides to license them too.

Hey, maybe Christopher Golden can ghost-write a few!

Overall, I enjoyed the extras more than I did the graphic novel of Deadly Storm. But when Marvel does come out with another title, I’m sure I’ll be picking that one up too.

Check out what other people are saying about the graphic novel:
Geek Dad (@Wired)
YA Book Nerd
Multiversity Comics

book: mind the gap

always assume that there’s someone after you.

MIND THE GAP is the first story of the hidden cities series, and it’s a phenomenal start for the series. i mentioned in a previous post that i started the series reading the second book, THE MAP OF MOMENTS, and i never found that novel lacking. it never needed to explain what the hidden cities conceit was.

but reading MIND THE GAP? it clears everything up so much. the book really is a beginning.

yes, i’ve mentioned before that the two novels that followed, the aforementioned MAP OF MOMENTS and CHAMBER OF TEN, can stand on their own. but reading MIND THE GAP has put things in perspective. this is where everything begins, where the conceit of the hidden cities is explained, and so i must now say that it’s very important to read this book before you read the other two.

not reading this book doesn’t make reading the others not-enjoyable. but it would certainly clear up any questions you might have when you start the other books.

now, MIND THE GAP is the story of jasmine towne. a teenaged girl who comes home one day to find her mother murdered with one message written in her blood: jazz hide forever. so what’s a girl to do? run and hide, of course.

we, the readers, join her as she travels the underground world of london, discovering hidden secrets in the tunnels of london’s tube system. and as she uncovers these secrets, she also begins to find out that her mother’s paranoia are very much well-founded.

christopher golden and tim lebbon have managed to create an intricate world and a colorful past to create the hidden cities series. and while i didn’t enjoy CHAMBER OF TEN as much, MIND THE GAP just gave me reason to look forward to the fourth hidden cities novel, when it does come out.

salt

who is salt? the trailer of the movie showcased it as one of those action films where the protagonist is accused of being a double agent. we’ve seen films like that before. and frankly, i was not interested in watching yet another one.

but my mother is a big angelina jolie fan–and so one friday afternoon, i found myself watching SALT.

the official synopsis say, “As a CIA officer, Evelyn Salt swore an oath to duty, honor and country. Her loyalty will be tested when a defector accuses her of being a Russian spy. Salt goes on the run, using all her skills and years of experience as a covert operative to elude capture. Salt’s efforts to prove her innocence only serve to cast doubt on her motives, as the hunt to uncover the truth behind her identity continues and the question remains: “Who is Salt?“

and this is the first time i’ve encountered an official synopsis that barely gives anything away. it gives you the premise, that there is this woman who is accused of being a spy for the enemy. except, russia is not so much an enemy these days. but the threat is there–she’s a spy working as a spy for the united states. so it only seems logical that everyone would treat her warily.

the thing is, nothing is what it seems with SALT, and with agent salt.

i like action movies just as much as the next guy, but there are times when you’re tired about the same old story: protagonist is accused, protagonist goes on the run, protagonist proves innocence, the end. SALT manages to subvert the expectations on this one–but the question remains, “who is salt?” is she really a russian spy, or was the defector lying? what is so important to salt, that she would run away from an investigation–making herself look guilty?

and to answer those two questions would be to give away one of the movie’s twists. i think asking those questions might already serve as a teaser as to what’s really going on.

then again, even with the twists, there really isn’t much going on in the story. not that there was much promised. SALT is an action-oriented film about a hot woman who looks hot wielding guns and bombs. and in that aspect, SALT delivers more than what is expected. but in terms of storytelling, it’s a little confusing. but i can’t count that as a negative, simply because the confusion viewers get is integral to the twists of the story.

though, i can say this much: if there are holes in the plot of SALT, i didn’t notice it.

so is it a good movie? i still can’t say. is it worth the ticket price? maybe, if you’re into hot chicks wielding guns while looking hot. but would i recommend it? it depends if you’re looking for a movie where you think you want to think, but really don’t.