Mulengro by Charles De Lint

Book synopsis from Goodreads:

        The increasingly bizarre murders have baffled the police--but each death is somehow connected with the city's elusive Gypsy community. The police are searching for a human killer, but the Romany know better. They know the name of the darkness that hunts them down, one by one: Mulengro.

 

My Thoughts:

       Well, folks, De Lint did it again. He wrote another good book. (Shocker!) Charles De Lint is the White Wizard of urban fantasy, but he takes a slightly different turn with "Mulengro," and dishes out some good horror. It's dark, it's violent, it's gory. But the story still has that special something that all De Lintian stories have. I can't even explain it properly, but every time I read him he reminds me of the raw magic that exists in every single moment and day. If you haven't read him before, try "Greenmantle" or "Moonheart." If you like fantasy you'll be hooked.
          As a writer, I catch myself trying to dissect the author's style. Near the beginning of the book, I came across a character description that I absolutely loved:

"Briggs looked up at his partner's call. Will Sandler was a tall and sharp-featured black man who went through life in a constant state of suppressed tension. It showed in the taut pull of the skin at his temples, around his eyes and the corners of his mouth, in the bird-like darting of his gaze. He contrasted sharply with the unimposing figure that Briggs cut- five-eight with a perpetual slouch that made him appear shorter, dark hair that was prematurely gray at the temples, sorrowful eyes. His suit was rumpled, tie loose, shoes scuffed. Will, on the other hand, always looked like he'd just left his tailor's. But the two men made an effective pair, for their strengths augmented each other's weak points. Briggs was a slow mover, a deliberate collector of details with little imagination, while Will's mind moved in intuitive lunges. Since they'd been paired, their success on cases had reached a departmental high of sixty-seven percent."

        So you're just meeting these guys and already you have a SENSE of them. Good writing.  The next scene that just sealed the deal for me that Charles De Lint is magnificent is that he actually has a moment in the book where the cat, Boboko (who is a talking cat, by the way), is watching on TV what his owner is dreaming of in the next room....!?! And the way he describes it is so vivid that it borderlines on intense.
        All in all, this book will keep you interested. There are enough characters from different backgrounds and with different perspectives that it creates a variety that will not bore you. Also, if you are interested in gypsies (or Rom) then you will fly through this book. It moves quickly, but once you reach the last quarter of the book it is fast-moving and action-packed.

Favorite Quote (by one superb hippie named Zach): "Some say that the devil's like a big old ugly black dog...there's a little piece of him in every one of us- a place where it's dark and our fears grow, where anger comes roaring up and bad vibes hang out. And the thing we've got to do in this life is to, like, keep that darkness down and not let it creep up and take us over. That's how you get an evil man, you know. He doesn't come from a bad family, or a bad street or a bad part of town. He comes from somebody who wasn't strong enough to hold back the darkness, or was too lazy to, or just plain didn't care. I think they freak me out the most-the ones that don't care."

The Author

Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman

Book Synopsis on Goodreads: 
Sisters Gillian and Sally Owens were brought up by their two elderly guardian aunts in a world of spells and exotica. As the magical charm of their childhood wears away, they escape from this mystical mayhem - one by running away, the other by marrying. Many years go by before strange circumstances thrust them together again, and once more they are in a place that blends the mundane and mysterious, the familiar and fantastic. Three generations of Owens women are brought together in an experience of unexpected insight and revelation, teaching all of them that such perceptions are rare and wonderful and - to be sure - practical.

My Thoughts: 
Alice Hoffman writes the modern-day fairy tale. There's a harshness in her books that's reminiscent of fairy tales before Disney got a hold of them. But she balances it with a healthy dose of whimsy and magic. Her language is concise and simple, but the way she describes things creates very strong imagery. Her books are always a treat and so was this one. Especially since it's so different from the movie. In fact, forget the movie. It was good, but the book focuses more on the sisters and the two younger girls than it does on the aunts or the ghost of Gillian's boyfriend. You get an extremely personal look into the lives of two women and two girls on the brink of becoming women; their fears, insecurities, sexuality and love lives. The book doesn't have the somewhat hokey quality that the movie has in regard to witches and magic. Even if this book isn't up your alley, at least give the author a try. You won't regret it.

Favorite Quotes: “My darling girl, when are you going to realize that being normal is not necessarily a virtue? It rather denotes a lack of courage." - Aunt Frances” 

“The moon is always jealous of the heat of the day, just as the sun always longs for something dark and deep.” 


Author Tidbit: After being treated for breast cancer at Mount Auburn Hospital in Cambridge, she helped establish the hospital's Hoffman Breast Center.

Dune by Frank Herbert

          Book Synopsis from Goodreads: Here is the novel that will be forever considered a triumph of the imagination. Set on the desert planet Arrakis, Dune is the story of the boy Paul Atreides, who would become the mysterious man known as Muad'Dib. He would avenge the traitorous plot against his noble family--and would bring to fruition humankind's most ancient and unattainable dream. A stunning blend of adventure and mysticism, environmentalism and politics, Dune formed the basis of what is undoubtedly the grandest epic in science fiction.    

          My Thoughts: I chose this book for a book challenge that consisted of reading 10 books from 10 different genres that I either did not like or did not read often. I am not a big science fiction fan, but I loved this book. The world that Herbert creates along with the culture of the native Fremens had me entranced. At the suggestion of a friend, I read the appendices first and found that to be very helpful when starting the actual story. I was able to understand more of the terms without having to constantly check the back glossary and it gave me a basic understanding of the political and religious history in the book. So if you have not yet read this book then I'd suggest you do the same. I am more than pleasantly surprised and would recommend it to others who have had a hard time getting into science fiction.
              I'm not a big desert fan. I'll take big green trees and mountains any day, but the imagery that Herbert creates with the landscape, sand worms and Fremen riders is far from colorless. It's beautiful and, along with the unique customs of the Fremens, it kept me interested. And it gave me a new respect for water.

Favorite Quote:
"Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past me I will turn to see fear's path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain."

The Author

*Book Tidbit: Dune won the Hugo and Nebula award for Best Novel (well deserved).

Fables by Bill Willingham (DC Comics-Vertigo)

          So growing up, I was never really into comic books. I was more of a classics kind of girl. The first comic book I got into was Hellboy then The Walking Dead, which I think are some of the trendier comics to get into. Forgive me. But I recently got into this series, Fables, where fairy tale characters are real people living in our world but are hiding their identities. There's even a Farm for the more conspicuous. In the city (Fabletown), Snow White is the unofficial mayor of all Fables (King Cole is the not very helpful face of the operation) and Bigby Wolf is the legal muscle. It's kind of awesome and clever with a nasty sense of humor.
         
          I just finished #3 "Storybook Love" and am still enjoying it. So far my favorite is #2 "Animal Farm" because, well, the pigs take over the farm. It's a nice little salute to Orwell. Did I mention that Goldilocks is a gun-toting, furry-loving revolutionary? And of course Prince Charming is a worthless mooch that lives off whatever woman he's shacking up with. Fantastic.

      Even more fantastic is the artwork. Every issue offers a seamless but layered variety of styles that meshes really well. Take your time looking, because you'll always find a new little detail that you missed the first time. If you read the first one and love it then there's plenty more. I buy the trade paperbacks and there are currently about 22 volumes of the trade paperbacks (each consists of 5 issues sometimes more). There's also some spinoffs.

Here are the first two volumes:

 


Comic Book Tidbit: This series has won 14 Eisner Awards.

The Creators:

Bill Willingham- Writer

Lan Medina- Penciller

   

Wilderness by Dennis Danvers

       I am pleasantly surprised by "Wilderness." It's easy to be cliche with things like werewolves and vampires, but Dennis Danvers pulls off the werewolf story with crisp but endearing language. I love Alice, the lonely werewolf looking for love (that turns into an actual wolf by the way). She's concise and practical with a slight masculine quality. But as the book goes on you see bits and pieces of a vulnerable side and, by the end of it, you just want the girl to be happy.
        The author put Barry Lopez's "Of Wolves and Men" to good use. Instead of pulling on just folklore, Danvers pulls on the biology of the wolf and how it relates to other wolves. You get an honest feel for the creature and the confusion between the wolf and the woman.
       This is definitely a love story with very little cheese. Although there's not a lot of sex, the writing style is definitely charged and, at times, erotic. But this is not erotica. It's more a tale of being lonely and finding someone to love. Dark but sweet.
       And because great books don't always have good endings, I have to give a shout out to the author for the one he came up with. Loved, loved LOVED it. You see Alice come full circle and it makes you want to sing.
         
         Unfortunately, the new cover (below) makes me want to wretch. The publisher should have stuck with the old one (above) to avoid looking like your stereotypical paranormal romance. Don't let this cover deter you!

Book Synopsis from Goodreads: Alice White has a secret. There is no friend or family member she can confide in—and she cannot trust it to the strangers she chooses for the fevered one-night stands that are as close as she dares come to love. Then she meets Erik Summers, college professor and biologist, who draws Alice from her cage, igniting a passion within her that she can't control or deny. Though he shares her fire and a deep spiritual and emotional kinship, Erik recoils from Alice's apparent delusions and dark truths. But in the vast Canadian wilderness, he will be forced to confront a staggering reality—when the moon shines down on Alice White . . . and the change begins again.

*Author Tidbit: This book was nominated for the Bram Stoker Award for Best First Novel

The Author

Animal Dreams by Barbara Kingsolver

Synopsis from Goodreads:
"Animals dream about the things they do in the day time just like people do. If you want sweet dreams, you've got to live a sweet life." So says Loyd Peregrina, a handsome Apache trainman and latter-day philosopher. But when Codi Noline returns to her hometown, Loyd's advice is painfully out of her reach. Dreamless and at the end of her rope, Codi comes back to Grace, Arizona to confront her past and face her ailing, distant father. What the finds is a town threatened by a silent environmental catastrophe, some startling clues to her own identity, and a man whose view of the world could change the course of her life. Blending flashbacks, dreams, and Native American legends, Animal Dreams is a suspenseful love story and a moving exploration of life's largest commitments. With this work, the acclaimed author of The Bean Trees and Homeland and Other Stories sustains her familiar voice while giving readers her most remarkable book yet.

My Thoughts:
This is an amazing book with well-thought out characters and perspective. Barbara Kingsolver makes you feel like you are immersed in the culture and history of her characters in a way that is subtle and absorbing. Be prepared to laugh and cry especially if you are a woman who has a sister. This is my first Kingsolver book and I'm looking forward to reading the next one.

Personal favorite quotes:
"...the very least you can do in your life is to figure out what you hope for. And the most you can do is live inside that hope. Not admire it from a distance but live right in it, under its roof."

"A miscarriage is a natural and common event. All told, probably more women have lost a child from this world than haven't. Most don't mention it, and they go on from day to day as if it hadn't happened, and so people imagine that a woman in this situation never really knew or loved what she had. But ask her sometime: how old would your child be now? And she'll know."

*Book Tidbit: This book won the Edward Abbey Award for ecofiction

The Author