Book review

The Twelve by Justin Cronin: A Gripping and Masterful Sequel Done Right

Eric Michel Book review, Fiction Tags: , , , , , , , Leave a comment

 

IMG_3880 2

Conventional book wisdom would have readers believe two things: 1) The book is always better than the movie, and 2) A sequel cannot be better than the book from which it stems. Obviously, there are some exceptions, but adages like these don’t develop from thin air–they’re based in something, whether it’s hundreds of anecdotes or thousands of online ratings. It often feels edgy to say that a sequel is better–and, most times, this simply isn’t the case. Once the novelty of a new world wears off, the difficulty of sustaining reader interest intensifies substantially, and many writers resort to gimmicks and cheap tricks to warrant revisiting a story’s characters again. Every so often, though, a sequel comes along that not only enhances enjoyment of the first book, but improves upon the flaws from the first story in nearly every conceivable way. The Twelve by Justin Cronin is one such tome– it masterfully continues the story where The Passage left off, hooking readers with its nonlinear narrative and indelible characters, and it does so in a much shorter timeframe. The Twelve is 200 pages thinner than its predecessor, forcing the story to move at a breakneck pace that whips readers along for the ride. Not a second is wasted, and every narrative move pays dividends by the story’s end. Everything that made the first book so memorable is still present and in the forefront–it’s just better on this second go around. Continue reading →

The Passage by Justin Cronin: A Sprawling, Apocalyptic Thriller that Makes Vampires Cool Again

Eric Michel Book review, Books Tags: , , , , , , Leave a comment

IMG_3869

If you watch cable television these days, it’s a safe bet that you’ve seen an ad for a FOX show called The Passage, a drama starring Mark-Paul Gosselear, Henry Ian Cusick, and up-and-coming actress Saniyya Sidney. FOX’s marketing campaign was extensive, with ads beginning in the weeks leading up to the premiere and showcasing scenes of intense gunfights and fiery explosions.  The Passage seems all but destined to be a moneymaker for the network; it contains all the elements of compelling TV: pretty people, intense action, and evil monsters trying to destroy them all.

For those uninformed, The Passage is based on a series of books from author Justin Cronin, the first of them being the book from which the TV show takes its name. It first came across my radar in 2012, when I saw it on Complex.com’s list of The 25 Best Horror Novels of the New Millennium. I’ve just finished my second reading of the novel, and let me tell you–it more than lives up to that billing. The Passage reclaims vampires for the horror genre, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Surprisingly literary, the true horror comes less from the blood and guts and more from the characters’ constant struggle for survival in a ruined world. The Passage takes readers around an unrecognizable United States, meandering at times but ultimately reaching its destination in climactic fashion; it more than sets the table for the rest of the series, but it’s also strong enough to stand alone. Think Dracula meets The Stand, but with better writing. Sign me up.  Continue reading →

Fire and Blood by George R.R. Martin: Perfect for the Hardcore “A Song of Ice and Fire” Fan, but Probably not for You

Eric Michel Book review, Books, Uncategorized Tags: , , , , , , , , 2 Comments

IMG_3779

 

At this point in its life cycle, everyone knows George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series–which burst onto the fantasy scene in 1996 and amassed cultural clout with the arrival of the HBO adaption in 2011– isn’t going to be completed any time soon. It’s been eight years since the last main-series installment, and, while we’ve been given numerous ASIOF themed books and spinoffs, things have gotten to the point now where the TV series has surpassed the show, and fans who don’t want things spoiled for them (that’s me) will have to hide under a rock for years starting this April, It sucks, but that’s the way it is.

Our constant clamoring for the sixth book in the series, The Winds of Winter, has been heard by Mr. Martin, and while he has continued work to work on the book since the completion of the last one, he’s shared his struggles with completion time and time again.  It’s unfathomable why writing a series with literally hundreds of characters and nearly 5,000 pages of text might get difficult after the fifth book, but George has been having a time with it*. For those of you who are more addicted to ASIOF than a rat to cocaine, there is a silver lining: The end of November saw the release of Fire and Blood, a Game of Thrones .5, if you will. The book is the first part in a two-volume history that takes readers back 300 years before the events of A Song of Ice and Fire, to a land ruled by dragons and those damned Targaryens about whom everyone in the main series keeps talking. Fire and Blood is less novel and more textbook, opting for a (mostly) linear march through time as it chronicles the reign of every Westeros king from Aegon the Conqueror to Aegon III. The book is teeming with historical information, and if you’ve ever wanted to know how Maegor’s Holdfast got its name, Fire and Blood can deliver than answer. It’s absolutely fantastic if you’re immersed in the Ice and Fire universe, but readers who have only dabbled in the first book or two would probably be better served staying away.  Though compelling and characteristically witty, Fire and Blood only sustains its charm for so long. Eventually, it becomes a laundry list of names and places with little significance to the average fan who likes to watch direwolves bite Lannisters. Fire and Blood caters to the niche ASIOF fan, and unless you fit that bill, you may want to wait out The Winds of Winter with the rest of the world.

Continue reading →

2018: Year in Review

Eric Michel Book review, Books Tags: , , , , , Leave a comment

To call 2018 a milestone year for me would be doing it a disservice. A lot of big things happened to yours truly, the biggest of those being my graduation from Butler University in May. It’s an odd feeling to spend four years of your life away from home and then have to return to it indefinitely as the minutiae of adult life begins to take hold, but that’s what I ended up doing. I moved back in with Mom & Pops (thanks, dudes, for not kicking me out by the way–I owe ya one) and I took a job at a bookstore. Fitting, right? Well, as of January 7th, I started a new job, and I’m loving it. Technically a 2019 thing, but I was hired at the tail end of last year so it counts as a change.

A lot of my 2018 was spent searching–searching for a career, searching for my next workout plan, searching for my next pet project. I started a baseball-writing website that has since been abandoned. I flip-flopped back and forth on whether or not I wanted to re-start my fitness brand. I accepted a job writing for a film website and to this day still haven’t seen single penny of compensation for my work. I DID finally decide I wanted to spend the rest of my life talking about books, but I won’t get into the Youtube channel for which I made videos for about a month and a half before scrapping that project, too. For every big thing that happened, there were three that flopped and fizzled.

However, 2018 saw the revamp of this website and a reinvigorated personal interest in reading. I read (probably) the widest array of authors since I began to track such things, and I developed the barebones for a format for my reviews. This post is not going to be a book review, but will be a review, of sorts. Goodreads.com does this neat little thing where they summarize your reading year, and I figured we’d take a quick look at mine. I’ll give paragraph-length reviews of the books I ended the year with but didn’t have the time to officially talk about, and I’ll wrap everything up by discussing my expectations for 2019. Continue reading →

Elevation by Stephen King: Lightweight, Political, and Meh

Eric Michel Book review, Books, Uncategorized Tags: , , , , , , , , 1 Comment

IMG_3320

We’re at the tail end of October, so it’s only fitting that the most prolific writer of scary stories this world has ever seen should have a new novel out. Stephen King has graced us with a second book this year, and just in time for us to read in between trips to the door to give candy to trick-or-treaters. The book is called Elevation, and there’s a good chance you’ll finish it before the final goblins show up on your porch for last call–it stands in at a whopping 146 pages, and even that amount is only made feasible due to the small physical dimensions. As others have said, this “novel” would probably have been better served in a collection of novellas a la Different Seasons, but beggars can’t be choosers, and we should just be happy King gave us something new to sink our teeth into–if you can call it that. You know, cause the book is short.  Continue reading →

The Little Black Book of Workout Motivation by Michael Matthews: Mastering Drive and Productivity, Both in the Gym and Outside It

Eric Michel Book review, Books Tags: , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

“I want to work out, but I don’t have the time or the energy. I’m just. too. busy.”

As someone who has been immersed in the fitness space for years now, I’ve heard the same trite remark from friends, family members, and internet strangers. It’s a common fallback for the unmotivated–those who prefer to spend their nights on the couch than in the squat rack. “Motivation” is a difficult concept to define, but you know it when you see it. Motivated people have some intrinsic force that persuades them to act the way they do as opposed to giving into easier alternatives. Motivation is what one needs to transform his or her life and body, and motivating people is Mike Matthews’ forte.

Matthews has written several books, including Bigger, Leaner, Stronger: The Simple Science of Building the Ultimate Male Body, which has been a constant in the Amazon.com’s top 5 fitness books for a while now. This time, Mike ditches the exercise science and opts for a more psychological approach to fitness, one that focuses more on getting and keeping people in the gym rather than guiding them through what to do once they show up.

The result is The Little Black Book of Workout Motivation, and this glossy hardcover certainly lives up to its name. It’s small in stature and contains just over 200 pages of no-nonsense content, meaning it’s easily read in a couple of hours. However, as you’ll see, this isn’t the optimal approach to the book, as each chapter is packed with “Do This Nows” and additional reading supplements that give it value much beyond the $15 price. Continue reading →