Summer Reading Project #4: Richard Castle - Storm Front

I won’t tell you about how I came to this book; whoever knows me just a little bit knows about my Castle-obsession. So I don’t think that I need to elaborate on this.

            I have to admit, though, that I haven’t read the Derrick Storm novellas – I don’t pay for books I can’t see, touch and smell, that’s my principle; once they are out in actual paper-and-ink format, I’ll buy them –, but I got the main gist from the TV series and the portion of one of the graphic novels I’ve read so far, so I got more than less what was going on.

            So, given a former PI who now moonlights as a frontman for the CIA. He is clever, strong, resourceful, and (of course) ruggedly handsome. He has worked on many high-stake cases, cheated death several times, and now he has another shot at saving the world (kinda), when a certain party plans to trigger a financial crisis that would completely devalue the Dollar. The novel has everything it needs to work: a typical guns-and-wits hero, a bona fide bad guy, another sorta bad guy, pain in the neck bosses, some geniuses in the background, a couple of sexy ladies and many gunshots. Oh, and muscle cars. No story like this works without muscle cars. Not that I know anything about muscle cars.

            The plot itself was pretty well-written – just complicated enough to make it surprising, but not so much that the whole thing becomes confusing and hard to follow (although I won’t say that I that I got all the financial jargon). There were action packed parts, there were light, funny parts, and there were sexy parts – although nowhere near as steamy as the now proverbial page 105. Sure, it wasn’t entirely flawless: there were some awkward sentences that are still in need of some polishing, and there was some plot points that felt like a punch in the gut – although it has nothing with the quality of the book.

            Although I’ll admit – I just couldn’t make myself like Clara Strike. I mean, I am not even sure we are supposed to like her. All the time while reading I was expecting her to turn out to be a double agent or something like that, since the woman who inspired her did betray the USA and Castle’s trust in the series. But at the same time in that certain episode Castle also said that although Clara Strike started out as the fictional version of Sophia, she ended up being more like Kate. So I am asking you now: should we trust Clara Strike?

            Being a Richard Castle book, of course it has some Easter eggs, although not as many as a Nikki Heat book – reading it I found no reference to any of Castle and Beckett’s cases, but some of the Castle characters make appearances (e.g. Agent Kevin Bryan or – airplane – Capt. Roy Montgomery), alongside with two of Kate Beckett’s exes – and these two, just for fun and so Castle could work out his latent jealousy, are shown in not too nice light (Sorenson’s alter ego being a disgusting old man cheating on his wife with a teenager, for example).

            In consensus, I really enjoyed this book – Castle or not, it worked and it was an enjoyable read. Should there be any sequels, I’m sure I am gonna read them all.

Summer Reading Project Progress: 1217/10000

Summer Reading Project #3: Stephen Chbosky - The Perks of Being a Wallflower

It was my destiny to read this book. Somehow I kept coming across it: a friend of mine, my ultimate book-buddy wrote me a couple of weeks ago, and said that this book was “perfection itself” (or something like that); I visited my old dorm, where the library had just acquired it; a book-blogger I met back in April at a book launch sang odes about it on Facebook; I found my best friend reading it last week. So, yeah – I simply had to read it.

            It’s hard for me to talk about this book – have you ever read something you just opened, and it got you under its spell instantly? Got a grip on you that wouldn’t release? This book was just like that for me. For those about twenty-four hours that took me to read it, I was under this… this dome of melancholy, completely in sync with the narrator of the novel, who, even when appears semi-happy, is in fact in some kind of blues.

            Charlie is broken. We don’t get to see where the cracks exactly are, but it’s still true. He’s alone, he’s an out stander, an onlooker, somebody who puts his own wants and desires aside to please people, to be, to some extent, loved – he’s a wallflower. When he loves, he loves with his whole heart – there’s nothing to stop him, but when he’s hurt, he’s hurt badly. He wants to be accepted, understood. A kiss on the cheek, an ‘I love you’ from his sister or mother makes his day. He’s this simple – and yet, he’s much more complicated.

            See what I am getting at?

            Another thing about this book is that it doesn’t sugarcoat things – there are sex, booze, drugs and Rocky Horror Picture Show. Amongst other things. Not that it’s a problem, I am only warning the potential, more sensitive future readers.

            And thinking about it, the reason it got me so much might be that it’s addressed to me – and to you, and anybody who reads it. In fact, it’s an epistolary novel, meaning that it is composed entirely of letters, all addressed to Charlie’s ‘Dear friend’, who’s never named. We have to assume that this friend is us. Through these letters we can see not only how his life, but how his style unfolds: in the beginning, the letters are rather unfocused, leaning towards stream of consciousness, but as we read on, they become more focused, which is another nice touch to the novel.

            I don’t want to go on and on about it, so I’ll just say one more thing: read it. Really, I am not joking. Go to the closest bookstore, library, friend who has it, and read it. It’ll worth your time.

            And one more question: do you participate in life?

P.S.: Funny thing that the book’s author also wrote the screenplay for one of my favorite movies ever: RENT. You should watch that, too. Not joking.

Summer Reading Project Progress: 899/10000

Summer Reading Project #2: Michelle Moran - Cleopatra's Daughter

I bought this book just last week, on the basis of “I just finished my last exam, I have some time to kill before I meet my former classmate, and I have only one other book to read until I get home on Saturday morning” (it was Wednesday). Also, let me tell you – this little gem was not easy to find: it was quiet mischievously hidden under the escalator, on a shelf facing a narrow aisle between the said escalator and the wall. All the good historical novels on Egypt and such were hidden there. It’s a shame.

            But about the book itself – I’ve read another book from this author before, The Heretic Queen, which I loved. To be frank, I usually love any novel featuring a heroine in a historical setting.Cleopatra’s Daughter takes place mere decades before the birth of Jesus, and our heroine is Selene, daughter of Cleopatra VII and Mark Anthony. The young girl, alongside with her brothers, is brought to Rome after the suicide of her parents, where they are placed under the care of Octavia, sister of Octavianus (who later becomes Augustus Caesar). She is reluctant to accept this foreign world, mostly because she knows that although at eleven they – she and her twin brother, Alexander – are not much of a threat, but when they turn fifteen and come of age, they’ll be nothing but problem for Octavianus.

            The novel is mostly about power play (like The Heretic Queen) – how can Selene prove herself worthy enough to be taken seriously? Who will be Octavianus’ heir – his nephew, Marcellus, or his stepson, Tiberius? Who will have bigger influence over Octavianus – his sister, Octavia, or his wife, Livia? How can Octavianus keep and strengthen his power in Rome? How can the slaves be contained? And what about this rebel, who leaves pamphlets all over Rome and calls himself the Red Eagle? –, but it’s also a thorough portrait of life in ancient Rome. Over the course of four hundred pages we visit lavish feasts, we see chariot races in the Circus Maximus, we visit shops in porticos, theatres, listen to trials on the Forum, see slaves up for sale and spend summers on Capri, while getting nice descriptions of everything from the clothes the characters are wearing, through the foods, to the buildings. So, it’s really fascinating to read.

            However, the only taxing thing I found about this novel was to remember who is who – all the adult characters have been married at least twice, have kids from all the marriages, and so all the kid/teenager characters (Selene is ten in the beginning of the novel and fifteen by the end of it) are either cousins or half-siblings. It took me a good hundred pages to learn all the family relations.

            All in all, it was an amazing read – not only entertaining, but educational as well. I am sure I’ll read her next book as well.

Summer Reading Project Progress: 669/10000

Summer Reading Project #1: Agatha Christie - The Pale Horse

            There’s a story behind this book – it was the very first Christie book I’ve ever read, when I was about eleven or twelve. I came across it by accident, when my mum and I were sorting through a bunch of books we got from somebody, selecting the ones we wanted to keep. I chose to read this because of one simple, childish reason: I was going through my Charmed-phase back then, which, in Hungarian, is titled Bűbájos boszorkák – “bűbájos” can either mean “charming” or “one wielding magical powers”, while “boszorkák” means witches – and this book was titled Bűbájos gyilkosok in Hungarian – which approximately means “Charming Murderers”. Same word, it got my attention. I read it.

            I couldn’t really appreciate it back then, and almost completely forgot about it after reading.

            But then a few weeks ago I was coming up from the subway, and there was a girl standing in front of me on the escalator, with this very book in her hand – it was even the same version.

            It was a sign.

            Then, some time later my friend Flóra and I visited this very low-profile second-hand bookshop, and there, while browsing through the books, I found this little gem: same book, same cover, same version – printed in 1984. Of course I bought it.

            But the exams were breathing down my neck, so I didn’t have much to read it, until this Wednesday, when I finally, finally took my last exam. After that, I needed less than thirty-six hours to finish the book.

            Okay, story-time done, let’s talk about the novel itself a bit.

            As far as I know, it’s one of Christie’s lesser known works – it’s neither a Miss Marple nor a Poirot – although there’s a character, who’s technically Christie’s alter ego, who knows him. Our narrator is a certain Mark Easterbrook, an author who writes books on art history. He, on several accidental occasions, hears about a former inn of sorts, allegedly owned by ‘witches’, called The Pale Horse – and, at the same time, he, through a friend, hears the story of a murdered priest, who, at the time of his death, had a list of names on him, dictated to him by a dying woman – the only problem is that three people from the list are already dead.

            Things happen, acquaintances are made, and Mark slowly links the deaths to the witches of The Pale Horse. He suspects, although even he can’t really believe it, that the deaths of the people from the list – although all of them appear to be completely natural – are, in fact, caused by black magic.

            And so the investigation begins.

            I won’t say that it was completely satisfactory. The idea is awesome, the start is awesome, the scene with Mark and Christie’s alter ego is awesome, but after about a hundred pages, the story somewhat… dulls down. Of course, the ending, the revelation of the real killer is stunning and surprising, but the middle part of the novel somewhat feels­ rushed.

            Although, what I really liked in this book is Ginger. She’s a lovely, lively young woman, partner in crime/investigation of Mark. When he has doubts, when he doesn’t know what he should do – if he should do anything –, Ginger is right there beside him, pushing him forward, coming up with crazy and dangerous ideas. So, yeah – I really liked her.

            So, all in all, it was a delighting book. Not Christie’s best, I assume, but still entertaining.

Summer reading project progress: 254/10000