The Fall suffers from the dreaded middle of the trilogy syndrome badly. I loved The Strain, the first book in this vampire's take over the world trilogy. It set up the "problem" nicely, giving us great detail as to the biology and make-up the vampire cabal that had been living off humans forever.
And we meet our protagonists. Abraham Setrakian, who first encountered the vampire mastermind behind the current plot to wipe out humans while trapped in a concentration camp during World War II. Eph Goodweather, the CDC scientist, his son and lover. Then we get the gang bangers who take up the human cause, and the rat catcher. All band together to stop the fall, or least prevent humankind from going totally down the tubes.
Too bad but by the end of this book, it looks like humankind is in for being at the bottom of the food chain behind the vampires.
While this book as great action as we watch the futile effort to stave off what seems inevitable, and this novel does certainly advance the story, it could have been written in half the number of pages and words. It starts to seem like a grade B horror flick that breaks the reader's suspension of belief instead of serious novel about the fall of the world to vampires.
This middle book of the trilogy is a fun read nonetheless, but I hope for better in the final chapter of the story. And very much look forward to it.
Showing posts with label Non-Fiction. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Non-Fiction. Show all posts
Friday, March 11, 2011
Friday, July 2, 2010
Faces in Time by Lewis E. Aleman
Faces in Time is a mildly entertaining time travel romp with some rather interesting new twists on the concept.
Chester Fuze, our rather odd and introverted protagonist, is madly in love with the unattainable actress Rhonda Romero. In his first go around in life, he is essentially a loser that wastes away his time on earth pining over Rhonda, at times sinking into insanity. He watches as Rhonda lives a tragic life with an abusive husband and once Rhonda faces what he considers a grave tragedy, he is determined to go back in time and save her from herself.
Once he makes the leap back Fuze becomes an entirely different person as he seeks out Rhonda to change her future, and his.
This is a solid and well-written story and worth a read. The only drawback to the novel is there is a thread in the story about an escaped convict and you never really know how he fits into the novel until the very end. That thread is way too long and an unnecessary break in the main storyline. It really adds nothing to the novel and could have been shortened a great a deal. Otherwise, for a quick lark, this is a fun read.
Chester Fuze, our rather odd and introverted protagonist, is madly in love with the unattainable actress Rhonda Romero. In his first go around in life, he is essentially a loser that wastes away his time on earth pining over Rhonda, at times sinking into insanity. He watches as Rhonda lives a tragic life with an abusive husband and once Rhonda faces what he considers a grave tragedy, he is determined to go back in time and save her from herself.
Once he makes the leap back Fuze becomes an entirely different person as he seeks out Rhonda to change her future, and his.
This is a solid and well-written story and worth a read. The only drawback to the novel is there is a thread in the story about an escaped convict and you never really know how he fits into the novel until the very end. That thread is way too long and an unnecessary break in the main storyline. It really adds nothing to the novel and could have been shortened a great a deal. Otherwise, for a quick lark, this is a fun read.
Thursday, July 1, 2010
One of the Better Post-9/11 Histories
Coll provides a highly detailed, well written account of the history of the CIA and United States in Afghanistan from the Soviet invasion to 9/11. I highly recommend this work for anyone who is interested in how we came to the point we are in Afghanistan post-9/11, and how we inadvertently provided Bin Laden fertile ground for a successful terrorist operation.
Frankly, after reading this account, I became empathetic toward the CIA, Clinton and those in his administration, and the Pakistani and Saudi governments. Clearly their positions and actions lead to the rise of the Taliban. While lots of mistakes and maybe some shortsightedness existed among these players, they were all dealing with intricate and sensitive internal political issues that drove their decisions, or in the case of the United States, lack of action, in post-Soviet Afghanistan.
While Bin Laden would likely have existed without the safe haven he found in Afghanistan, his ability to train and draw followers so freely and with impunity is partially "blowback" from actions taken by the CIA, Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia during the Soviet-Afghan war as money and weapons poured into the country.
There is also quite a bit of information about Ahmed Massoud, leader of the Northern Alliance. It's interesting to speculate how more assistance to Massoud might have thwarted or overthrown the Taliban and as a result push Bin Laden into less favorable circumstances. But given Massoud's failure as a political leader in his first opportunity, the brutality of his troops, and being an ethnic minority in his country, again one can empathize with why the United States was reluctant to pin their hopes on him.
If you are trying to decide which of the very large number of books about Afghanistan, the Taliban, and Bin Laden are worth reading, this is one of them.
Frankly, after reading this account, I became empathetic toward the CIA, Clinton and those in his administration, and the Pakistani and Saudi governments. Clearly their positions and actions lead to the rise of the Taliban. While lots of mistakes and maybe some shortsightedness existed among these players, they were all dealing with intricate and sensitive internal political issues that drove their decisions, or in the case of the United States, lack of action, in post-Soviet Afghanistan.
While Bin Laden would likely have existed without the safe haven he found in Afghanistan, his ability to train and draw followers so freely and with impunity is partially "blowback" from actions taken by the CIA, Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia during the Soviet-Afghan war as money and weapons poured into the country.
There is also quite a bit of information about Ahmed Massoud, leader of the Northern Alliance. It's interesting to speculate how more assistance to Massoud might have thwarted or overthrown the Taliban and as a result push Bin Laden into less favorable circumstances. But given Massoud's failure as a political leader in his first opportunity, the brutality of his troops, and being an ethnic minority in his country, again one can empathize with why the United States was reluctant to pin their hopes on him.
If you are trying to decide which of the very large number of books about Afghanistan, the Taliban, and Bin Laden are worth reading, this is one of them.
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