I’m thrilled with this book. Mark Evanier, onetime assistant to comics legend Jack Kirby, has written the definitive biography of the creator of such iconic characters as the Fantastic Four, Captain America, Thor, the Hulk, and the New Gods.

More than the text, however, the real treat of Kirby: King of Comics is the lavish presentation of Kirby’s art. Never before have I seen comic book art reproduced so faithfully (and if anyone deserves such treatment it surely is Kirby). In fact, when I first peeked inside the book’s covers, I literally gasped.  More »

It’s interesting to watch William Gibson’s efforts to reinvent the cyberpunk genre, even if they’re not always rewarding. The problem, of course, is that nothing dates faster than a book about the near future. (Gibson himself has pointed out that no one in Neuromancer has a cell phone.) By bringing his setting closer and closer to the present day, he can stick to writing what he knows while still giving it a touch of his patented futurist color.

This is a fine enough idea, but unfortunately Gibson’s execution lacks whatever spark might make it work in practice. His own personal zeitgeist is just a little too eager, a little too agog with the possibilities of modern technology for my tastes. He has a bad habit of repeating himself, going over and over the same old ideas. And worst of all, in the case of Spook Country, he’s not above delivering a dull, flat little book.  More »

“It’s certainly a phenomenon in all walks of life. At one point you’ve got it. Then you lose it. Then it’s gone forever.”

From Sickboy’s mouth to God’s ear, courtesy the pen of Mr. Irvine Welsh. And with his latest scribblings, Welsh completes the circle. Sickboy’s Unifying Theory of Life: Beautifully fucking illustrated, in the form of If You Liked School, You’ll Love Work.

It’s difficult to tell if this collection is an attempt to cash in, an attempt to cash out, or just a bunch of failed experiments. One thing is certain, however: It’s far from Welsh’s best (a spot that I might reserve for Porno, though Glue is definitely in the running).  More »

It’s been a long time since I’ve read Frank Herbert’s classic sci-fi epic, and a lot of things have happened in the meantime. Most significant, probably, was the release of David Lynch’s movie based on the book. As is often the case with movies — especially one so visual — readers will probably never again be able to read Herbert’s novel without thinking of the film’s baroque costumes, set design, and aesthetics.

Dune fans are deeply divided on the film. I enjoy it, myself; but on this recent re-reading of the book, I was struck by two things. First, the film does a far better job of following the storyline of the book than I expected it to. But at the same time, the book is a very different creature from the film.  More »

Chuck Palahniuk’s latest novel is an odd bird. That didn’t really surprise me, mind you. I’ve been reading his recent works mostly out of curiosity — and because they’re such quick reads — but I can’t say I’ve been particularly fond of any of them since he first vowed to “reinvent the horror genre,” beginning with Lullaby.

What is a surprise is that Palahniuk really seems to be serious about trying experimental approaches to writing. His last book, Haunted, was pretty much a short story collection in the form of a novel, but at least it showed him trying something new, after a series of novels that was growing increasingly repetitive. His latest, Rant: An Oral Biography of Buster Casy, takes the experimentation even further. It attempts to be what its title sounds like: a kind of postmodern epistolary novel delivered in the form of sound bites and monologues.  More »

Much has already been written about Carl Zimmer’s Parasite Rex, and I have to concur with the early reviewers: it’s a fascinating work. Not a novel, but it occasionally reads like one, especially if you’ve never contemplated the mysteries of parasites in all their various forms.

Probably you have not. Even the word “parasite” has a bad connotation in our society. Parasites are the spongers, the moochers, the lowlifes. Call someone a parasite and it’s clear you have nothing but contempt for him.

But that’s human society, says Zimmer. In nature, the role of the parasite may be considerably different. Modern thinking in the field of parasitology suggests that parasites might not be mere afterthoughts in natural ecosystems, but absolutely essential to them.  More »

I have an announcement to make! Mark Haddon’s latest novel, A Spot of Bother, is an amusing light comedy-drama about an upcoming wedding and the inevitable wacky family turmoil that ensues. And that’s about it.

I feel it’s necessary to point this out, because it flies in the face of the melodramatic copy on the inside dust jacket, which promises a story of suspense, “sinister” lesions, and the lead character “going mad.” This is a shame, because it seems like the author and publisher would be better served marketing this otherwise well-written and tightly paced novel to the type of people who might actually be interested in reading it. Instead, they seem to be selling it as a follow up to Haddon’s earlier book — The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, an unorthodox mystery told from the point of view of an autistic teen — which it most certainly is not.  More »

“The mysteries of childhood and of coming of age have long been rich ground for novelists to mine.” That might be one way to start a review of a book like M.J. Hyland’s Carry Me Down, but every time I read a review that begins with a sentence like that I instantly think to myself, “So what is he saying? That this book just rips off a bunch of other books?”

The answer is yes and no. While Hyland’s novel does cover some familiar territory, she does so with a keen sense of perception that allows her to draw her characters in meticulous detail. Every situation in which they find themselves and their every action simply rings true, a quality that ultimately makes for a satisfying (if quick) read.  More »

Africa is a forgotten continent to most Americans. We hear about the tragedies — the famines, the crooked governments, the occasional genocide — and we look away. The mainstream media, if they cover Africa at all, somehow fails to bring a sense of significance to it. These are alien people, living lives that are unlike ours, laboring through problems that cannot be solved.

Two recent books aim to put a human face on the struggling peoples of Africa. One centers on the civil war in Sierra Leone in the 1990s. The other focuses on events that are even now unfolding in Sudan. Both succeed where news reports have failed us, even if the pictures they paint are not pretty.  More »