The Old Gods Waken by Manly Wade Wellman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
"In the wilds of Southern Appalachia lies Wolter Mountain -- a sacred place for the Indians and for their predecessors. But the land atop the mountain, taken over by two Englishmen, Brummitt and Hooper Voth, is undergoing frightening changes.
"Strange and evil rumblings begin to happen around the mountain -- man-like creatures prowling around, mysterious voices reciting evil incantations that terrorize Luke and Creed Forshay who live at the foot of the mountain. Then a wandering minstrel, known only as John, learns that the Voths are Old World druids who are hell-bent on reawakening the pre-Indian spirits that sleep at the summit of Wolter Mountain. Armed with his own arsenal of mystical powers, John and an Indian medicine man must fight their way through the druid's sorcerous defenses to rescue their friends from certain death at the hands of the blood-sacrificing priests.
"A tale of mysticism and terror featuring the author's famous wanderer-hero."
~~front & back flaps
I've loved this series since I read the first book,Who Fears the Devil? a good 30 or more years ago. Silver John wanders the Appalachias, his guitar strung with silver strings, and comes upon situations that prove the truth of the old folk songs: "In the pines, in the pines, where the sun never shines ..." Eerie, haunting songs. And Silver John wrestling against evil, vanquishing it with his silver strings.
The first stories of John were collected in Who Fears the Devil? This book is the first Silver John novel, written 16 years later. It differs by being a novel rather than a collection of stories, and also because John takes second place in the final battle against the evil at the summit of Wolter Mountain. A bit of research informs me there are other books in the Silver John series that I haven't read. It will be interesting to see how they compare with these two.
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Nature Noir: A Park Ranger's Patrol in the Sierra by Jordan Fisher Smith
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
"A nature book unlike any other, Jordan Fisher Smith's startling account of fourteen years as a park ranger thoroughly dispels our idealized visions of life in the great outdoors. Instead of scout troops and placid birdwatchers, Smith's beat -- a stretch of land that has been officially condemned to be flooded -- brings him into contact with drug users tweaked out to the point of violence, obsessed miners, and other dangerous creatures. In unflinchingly honest prose, he reveals the unexpectedly dark underbelly of patrolling and protecting public lands."
~~back cover
I loved this book! Perhaps because the land patrolled by the author is just up the road from me, so I'm familiar with the terrain and the sort of people who are drawn to it. Perhaps because I've worked for the Forest Service, and so am familiar with the other side of public land stewardship -- it's definitely not all scout troops and birdwatchers! It's marijuana gardens, meth lab residue, illegal hunting, etc.
The author tells the story of these lands and these people with convincing and compelling honesty. I could hardly put the book down.
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Miss Hargreaves: A Novel by Frank Baker
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
"When, on the spur of a moment, Norman Huntley and his friend Henry invent an eighty-three-year-old woman called Miss Hargreaves, they are inspired to mail a letter to their new fictional friend. It is only meant to be a silly, harmless game -- until she arrives on their doorstep. She is, to Norman's utter disbelief, exactly as he had imagined her: eccentric and endlessly astounding. He hadn't imagined, however, how much havoc an imaginary octogenarian could wreak on his sleepy Buckinghamshire town. Norman has some explaining to do, but how will he begin to explain to his friends, family, and girlfriend where Miss Hargreaves came from when he hasn't the faintest clue himself? Will his once-ordinary, once-peaceful life ever be the same again? And what's more,does he want it to be?"
~~back cover
Here's a review from my friend Simon. Simon loves this book -- it's got to be one of his Desert Island books:
"...if you only read one book I recommend, let this one be it. It will change your life - honest. (Only very *slightly* over the top...) I can't think of a novel which compares; Miss Hargreaves is truly in a class of its own.
"Norman and his friend Henry are on holiday in Lusk - on a dull day they wander into a church, and have to make conversation with an even duller verger. On the spur of the moment, Norman says he has a shared acquaintance with the parish's old vicar - and that acquaintance is one Miss Hargreaves. She's nearly ninety, carries a hip flask, bath and cockatoo with her everywhere, not to mention Sarah the dog. Continuing the joke, they send a letter to her supposed hotel, asking if she'd like to come and stay. When Miss Constance Hargreaves arrives on a train, Norman has some explaining to do, and the strange occurences are just beginning...
It is a cliche of criticism, but Miss Hargreaves genuinely did make me both laugh and cry - and pretty much every emotion in between. I thought the theme would pall, but Baker keeps the momentum going for every page, and I never wanted it to end. And though this is without doubt Connie's book, the secondary characters are also wonderful - especially Norman's bookshop-owning father, Mr. Huntley. As my friend Curzon recently said "what a joyous book! I loved every moment" - in fact, don't just take our words for it. I have forced - apologies, suggested - this book to so many people, probably two dozen, and only one has not raved. If you've liked any of the other books I've mentioned, I guarantee you'll love this. And you're in hallowed company - Elaine at Random Jottings, Lisa at Blue Stalking, Ruth at Crafty People, and Lynne at dovegreyreader are all fanatics."
~~Simon Thomas, stuck-in-a-book.blogspot.com
From Amazon:
www.briansibleysblog.blogspot.com says: "A fantasy of the most hilarious description. Miss Hargreaves may be the utterest lunacy - a tissue of moonshine - but it is the kind of novel, I fancy, that is badly wanted at the moment, and its central idea is one which has rarely, if, indeed, ever, been used before."
The Sunday Times says: "A comedy about the creative imagination, loss of control and the pressures of conformity."
The Independent says: "This is a masterpiece of imaginative fiction ... mystical, humorous and poignant. Once this extraordinary woman has entered your life, you'll never want her to leave."
Sometimes I wonder if I've read the same book as everyone else did. It started out as great fun: Miss Hargreaves arrives in Cornfold in answer to Norman's letter and the fun begins. I expected her to be just a remarkable coincidence, but then the coincidences became too strained: Norman and Henry decided that Miss Hargreaves has a cockatoo named Dr Pepusch, and sure enough, the real Miss Hargreaves arrives complete with a cockatoo named Dr Pepusch. Etc.
I expected a sweet old lady, all tea cozies, WI and herbaceous borders. Which she definitely is not! I didn't find her a sympathetic character, although Norman did (alternating with anger and loathing.) Norman, by the way, started out as a Bertie Wooster sort of young man: weedy & a bit wet. As things progressed, he became more and more ineffective, as I suppose he must have done or the story would have been completely different.
This book is the "utterest lunacy", but it wasn't a lunacy I could join in. I'm much more a P.G. Wodehouse lunacy sort of person.
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Little Chapel on the River: A Pub, a Town and the Search for What Matters Most by Gwendolyn Bounds
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
"Forced from her downtown Manhattan apartment by the terrorist attack of September 11, journalist Wendy Bounds was delivered to Guinan's doorstep -- a legendary Irish drinking hole and country store nestled along the banks of the Hudson River in the small town of Garrison, New York -- by a friend.
"Captivated by the bar's charismatic but ailing owner and his charming, motley clientele, Bounds uprooted herself permanently and moved to tiny Garrison, the picturesque river town they all call home.. There she became one of the rare female regulars at the old pub and was quickly swept up into its rhythm, heartbeat, and grand history -- as related by Jim Guinan himself, the stubborn high priest of this little chapel. Surrounded by a crew of endearing, delightfully colorful characters who were now her neighbors and friends, she slowly finds her own way home.
"Beautifully written, deeply personal, and brilliantly insightful, Little Chapel on the River is a love story about a place -- and the people who bring it to life."
~~back cover
I couldn't have said it better myself. I fell into this book, couldn't put it down, and wished with all my heart that I could move to Garrison and be part of this world.
A Killing Kindness by Reginald Hill
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
"When Mary Dinwoodie is found choked in a ditch following a night out with her boyfriend, a mysterious caller phones the local paper with a quotation from Hamlet.
"The career of the Yorkshire Choker is under way.
"If Detective Superintendent Dalziel is unimpressed by the literary phone calls, he's downright angry when Sergeant Wield calls in a clairvoyant.
"Linguists, psychiatrists, mediums -- it's all a load of bloody nonsense as far as he's concerned, designed to make fools of him and his department.
"And meanwhile the Choker strikes again ... and again ..."
~~ Back Cover
You know, I think I didn't care much for this little mystery. I've read several of the Dalziel and Pascoe mysteries, and thought I liked them. This is number 17 in the series, and I assume that the characters have gained depth as they've gone along. The trouble is, I don't really like Dalziel and his theory of policing. So as the book rollicked along towards the discovery of the Choker and the end, I was thinking I didn't care much for it.
But since I've finished it, I find myself going back to it in my mind. Wondering how I didn't see who the Choker was until the final piece of evidence. Thinking about the Choker's rationale for why s/he did what s/he did, wondering why I didn't see the pattern before it was spelled out in the book.
Evidently I liked it more than I thought I did.
If I'd Killed Him When I Met Him... by Sharyn McCrumb
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
"When forensic anthropologist Elizabeth MacPherson becomes the official P.I. for her brother Bill's fledgling Virginia law firm, she quickly takes on two complex cases. Eleanor Royden, a perfect lawyer's wife for twenty years, has shot her ex-husband and his beautiful late-model wife in cold blood. And Donna Jean Morgan is implicated in the death of her Bible-thumping bigamist husband.
"Bill's feminist firebrand partner, A.P. Hill, does her damnedest for Eleanor, an abused wife in denial, and Bill gallantly defends Donna Jean. Meanwhile, Elizabeth's forensic expertise, including her special knowledge of poisons, leads her into the most challenging case of her career ..."
~~back cover
Well, yeah, sorta. The writer of this blurb forgot the mention the girl who wanted to marry a dolphin, legally.
And not to include spoilers, but this blurb also does not even whisper about the big emotional upheaval that permeates this book (and the next.)
And I still don't know why the author picked this title, aside from its eye-catching qualities.
