jdcorley's reviews
156 reviews

In the Best Families by Patricia Sprinkle, Rex Stout

adventurous mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

The last book in the Zeck trilogy, it makes a turn into the more rip roaring pulp hard boiled adventure than was normal for Wolfe. The unexpected nature of the adventure is a delight. Sure as hell it's better than anything Doyle wrote about Moriarty.

The Spitting Image by Michael Avallone

adventurous fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Noon finds his feet more in this one, and you start to feel the casual fun that the series will deliver more consistently. Slight, but pleasingly deft.

Children of Lovecraft by Ellen Datlow

dark reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Quite a mix between the traditional Lovecraft tale and the darkly fantastic which have somewhat overtaken the tribute field in the last decade. Some (Barron in particular) are just a sluice of whatever they can think of, but most (including a harrowing descent into a decrepit mine) are both sympathetic and chilling. A truly excellent collection, well curated.

The Stay-Awake Men and Other Unstable Entities by Dave Felton, Matthew M. Bartlett

dark fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

Although Bartlett is best in small doses, amply supported by any excuse to go into a rambling, homicidally hallucinogenic monologue, it's rare that he hits exactly in the bullseye of how long the story should be and how much it should be a story. If you're like me you'll find the first few stories (and the last one) just a phantasmagorical slog, but in between there's more than one which is a real delight that balances the need for the spew of horrific images with the desire for an actual character or even a comprehensible event. It's pretty much as good as you're gonna get.

The Second Confession by Rex Stout, William G. Tapply

adventurous challenging medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

One of the better "Zeck novels", in which Wolfe faces off against someone who, like him, is devoted to grammar, but is EVIL (a fantastic concept for a Wolfe recurring villain).  The plot becomes tangled up in the anti-communism of the era, which, although Archie and Wolfe both share it, for reasons obvious to anyone who has read even one of these novels, is treated more like an environmental hazard than a motivating consideration. In fact, the high ranking communists are presented rather as sympathetic as men - a couple of guys who can't really catch a break in midcentury America, and who have to have their defenses up 24-7.  Combine that with some of the most charming Archie-and-a-girl interactions in the whole series and you have a winner.

Killing Is Harmless: A Critical Reading of Spec Ops: The Line by Brendan Keogh

informative reflective medium-paced

3.0

It's a bit of an indictment of the "enthusiast" nature of the video game press that there has been very little in depth critical development of the form.  Even today, in depth discussions fall into small press hidey-holes, academic round files and, worst of all, long-form Youtube exegeses.  This work is a firm but simplistic step into a field that should, at this point, be well-developed, but often seems to be late to the party, wanting to be taken seriously, but tantrumming whenever anyone tries to treat it like real art with something to say.  For someone curious about where video game criticism is in comparison to other artistic criticism, you'll be satisfied enough, but find it very basic.  But it can't be overstated that this book  (and this game) was all that anyone wanted to talk about at the time it came out.  It is clear that enthusiasts also thirst for deeper thinking.  I wish we could get past first steps like these.

Trouble in Triplicate by Rex Stout, Randy Russell

adventurous funny fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

Three absolute home runs from Stout make this collection one of his masterpieces. It leans a little more to the classical mystery - even the story of rival gangsters and shootouts in the street is solved in a classical mystery way. Everything adds up and plays fair, Wolfe is extra irascible and grumpy and Archie's sly descriptions of attractive mid century ladies have never been better. 

Night-Gaunts: And Other Tales of Suspense by Joyce Carol Oates

dark emotional slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

A little bit lesser set of Oates-iana, her circuitous delve into the Lovecraftian lacks the force needed to believe in the alien. And although she tries it often, the point of view of the killer doesn't quite fit her deeply introspective tone. Still, Oates is a horror fan at heart, and we all should cheer every time she comes home to us.

Witch by Iain Rob Wright

dark emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.0

The horror elements of this book are certainly second-rate, derivative, call it whatever you want, they don't add up to much except a few gross-outs and jump scares that seem made for a B-movie rather than a novel.  However, the central relationships, between two bullied kids, and then, as the book turns, the bullies themselves, are well turned, and the environment, both manmade and natural, feels real and well-occupied.  We run around and around it with our leads and never get lost.  I would be interested in a book that's just about people in these environments! The horror elements do very little here.

The Doll-Master And Other Tales Of Horror by Joyce Carol Oates

dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

The "academic Bluebeard" is a consistent go-to for Oates, but her observation of the strains of poverty and isolation are also marvelous. Somewhat less so when she takes on the point of view of the killer in these lovely little short stories.