The Boston Castrato by Colin W. Sargent

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It's so easy to be smug in a new century--you can't see what you're mistakes are going to be.

This is stories with stories within a story, all summarizing life in post-WWI Boston. From the new immigrants, poor and easily displaced and lost to the Gilded Age blue-bloods dithering, falling prey to ennui or attempting to evolve. Rafael Peach is the axis from which the story is told.

At times, it's like watching a carousel, the story's participants come around and round as you wait for the music to stop. This is historical fiction with salacious on dits of early twentieth century Boston. Everyone has a secret to keep and they're all juicy from murder to cuckold to blackmail it's all dirty, dressed up in pressed clothes.

Rafael Peach, street urchin with a gift for song. He attracts attention one day and every changes. His castration by Diletti and the subsequent betrayal cuts deep as Raffi's promised career is stolen and he's hidden, and then shuffled off to America. He's growing up but his body is not changing. That sense of other is intensified and begins to cause problems with the other boys. 

Fleeing the situation, Raffi learns a trade and an understanding of himself and acceptance. It is Raffi's tenure at the Parker House that alters his life's course. Raffi's fraternization with Victor and Amy Lowell's entourage leads to interesting adventures as the tilt-a-whirl is sent spinning. The unbridled decadence and showmanship as the posh try to outdo each other in outrageous acts careless of collateral damage. Corruption, murder, and extortion, another fine day in Boston as players get moved around the board, and old acquaintances meet again.

Discussions on the spectrum of sexuality touched on are fairly broad. Now is not the first time people are facing it even if it feels like it. Majority oppression merely means that we have to relearn it, again and again. But homosexuality, intersexuality, and gender queer has been around as long as people have. There are no long discussions or debates. Period appropriate terms are used, some wildly politically incorrect by our standards, but reflective of the time. Interestingly enough, those who are less common seem to be more content with their life than those who are deemed "normal". 

While the short, ever-changing point of view format of the chapters was a bit disorienting it certainly added an urgency. I took a few breaks because I found it difficult to jump in and out of people's minds and sub-stories so frequently. The quotes at the beginning of the chapters are wonderful entrees, Neapolitan aphorisms that tied in with each. 

Overall, an entertaining exposé of early twentieth century Boston.

Art is suppose to provoke, not just delight.

Ten Days in August by Kate McMurray

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1896, Manhattan

--Alice Austen photographer, hansom cab of period

All kinds of things happen when it gets hot, too hot.

Nicholas Sharp, a singer for Club Bulgaria, a low rent venue for men sharing likeminded desires. When one of the club's employees ends up dead, Nicky is the one to find them and the police have questions.

Hank Brandt, an Acting Inspector for NYPD has a secret. This secret means that he has no interest in pushing the fairy resort murder aside, especially when another body with like wounds and matching victim profile turns up. Like all jobs, there's the work and there's the politics of work. Hank has a mind for one, but not the other. 

Nicky, and his alter ego Paulina Clodhopper, have an effect on Hank. He suddenly wants things, that which he's denied himself for years since joining the force, and the consequences be damned. That's all fine and good, but between the serial killer and Roosevelt's cleaning shop and "morally questionable" officers are being ousted, Hank's got to be careful. So does Nicky.

--This is an image of the tenements during the heatwave of 1896, source NPR

This is a feel good historical, you meet a lot of interesting characters and while there are some portrayals of the poor and seedier parts of life at the time, the hardships, it isn't gritty. A bit unrealistic and Nicky got a bit wordy and whiny near the end. Loved the setting and all the historical references, but the interactions felt a bit canned towards the end, and my rating reflects that. While I preferred the first half of the book to the second, I enjoyed reading it. Just not in love with it.

Overall, an optimistic love story during difficult times. 

Beastly Manor by Alex Hall

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A faithful retelling of Beauty and the Beast with a twist.

There are things that can't really be explained in the town of Littleton, curses and boons that the residents take as a part of life. But even they know there is evil, a fiend the plagues the black forest. 

Beauty, Hope, Faith and Corbin their elder brother had a seemingly bucolic existence on a small farm near the edges of the dark woods. It is there that de Beaumont family's course changes irrevocably when an annual trip is met with tragedy, which breeds revenge. Corbin is forged into the weapon to mete out vengeance.

The characters in the story are quite good, well rounded and entertaining, and the historical details embellish beautifully. Corbin's mindset is delightfully young and appropriately self-centered. Often knowing what should be done, but doing what one wants instead because... now. Now is now and later is later. Until duty is thrust upon him.

The book is a three act play format wherein we meet Corbin and the trouble the de Beaumont's face. Corbin goes off to train under the tutelage of Sir Thomas and learn about life, allegiance, and duty. Finally, Corbin must face his fate.

Everything is medieval, and feels very much like the imagery was taken from a "Book of Hours" except for a few odd anachronistic mentions. Unfortunately, because the the rest of the story was so faithful in its world-building I found this very disruptive. 

By the end, though the world and tone of the story was very good, I was a bit disappointed. The conflict evanesces more than resolves, at least not at Corbin's hand. The unexpected point of view change probably didn't help though it summarized the conclusion far more easily, nonetheless, I felt cheated. Additionally, the final culmination and scene with the Beast is underwhelming. Never got that passionate clash. So while the mechanics were very good it lacked a spark.

<i>A man trained to revenge has no room in his life for remorse.</i>

The Darkside by Anthony O'Neill

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Welcome to Purgatory

On the Dark Side of the Moon, the far side that never sees Earth is a world less inhibited than our own. Less inhibited, less super ego, and less lawful. A bastion for those hunted on Earth, a thriving Mecca of corruption and unbridled excess--unless it interferes with someone important, like Brass.

It looks a lot like a Las Vegas version of ancient Mesopotamia. 

The exposition has a tour guide quality to it, one can almost hear the tinny voice over the speakers as relevant facts are detailed to the reader summarily. It works well at creating that disembodied sense and distrust of the mechanical delivery, which plays brilliantly into the story itself. 

Fletcher Brass is the iron fist ruling Purgatory. He is a self-made man living by a code, the Brass Code. It is very Hegelian Superman and not Ayn Rand, that blurb comment seemed to be a lure; it's more Milken than Rand.

Purgatory is a restless place with the denizens adopting a laissez-faire attitude. The city itself is a mishmash of pre-Christian architecture; Ancient Near East fans will get a kick out of all the references in Sin, the main city. 

There's a new guy in town: Damien Justus.

Damien Justus, great name, the one who tames and is just. Perfect for a cop. The characters names are hysterical: Nat U. Reilly, Dash Chin, Dr. Janus. In context, they are both punny and a critique. Let's just say that it's been awhile since residents have seen a cop like him. 

Hard science fiction fans: Enough legit science to make people happy. Seriously, I feel much more well versed in lunar procedures. And might I add that it was a delight to not see the same 10,000 words used; in fact, I collected a few of my favorites: sintered, hummocky, internecine, lugubrious, caroms, ablative.

So for a book with a body count that exceeded my fingers and toes it was pretty funny. Really. The humor is dry, even campy at times, but psychotic. Probably says all kinds of things about me that I enjoyed this immensely. The violence is rendered with such an amoral compass that it's hard to be upset, rather I just watched as it blithely happened. 

Needless to say, with all the deaths someone has to be in charge of investigating and that's Justus. There is a good bit of strategizing and gamesmanship employed--Win. And it is a wild ride as we traverse Purgatory dashing from murder to murder. All things must come to an end though, and I took a perverse pleasure at the inevitable. My biggest fear is that the end would be disappointing after all the theatrics--Nope.  *Big smile*

Overall, a nonstop, murder-filled lunar romp with chess masters.

Ravenhearth by Lotus Oakes

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An homage to Beauty and the Beast.

Ash, a young man who willing sacrifices himself to the mage that protects the city of Ravenhearth from the plague of miasma. On the castle that overlooks the town, Ash meets the Keeper and his servants. 

As a companion to the Keeper, Ash is given luxurious accommodations, clothing, and all the food he can eat. The Keeper is solicitous, but distant and busy. Ash uses his free time to pursue his dream of learning magic. The steward, Giles, sets him down a path when Ash asks. Still, Ash waits for the Keeper to call for him.

There's a naiveté and sweetness to Ash that comes through. The whole household of people are interesting and diverse, but seemed underutilized in the story. The real focus revolves around Ash, Giles, and the Keeper. 

Overall, a sweet fairy tale.

Homesick at Space Camp by Francis Gideon

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Okay. Wow. This was cool. Not exactly what I expected from the title, which skews a bit YA in my mind. It makes sense in the context of the story, but just threw me off balance. 

Eastyn Ptolemy patrols Zaffre's space dock all night. Only occasionally passing the others on his crew, he finds the isolation overwhelming at times. Until he finds out about the Blue Station Zero, the radio station and then everything changes for him.

Whelp. Never made the connection between AI and the disembodied gaining form again with online interactions. Becoming friends or falling in love with people whom you've never met except through technology. Slow uptake for me, but a really AHA! moment as it crystallized. 



Here Eastyn befriends Milo and it goes from there. Really sweet and lovely development, and covered a lot of ground for a novella. Where does machine end and entity begin?

Overall, sweet John Hugheseques romance on a remote space station.

Favorite quote:

"You know you can start over again too, right?" said Milo.

Tournament of Losers by Megan Derr

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Placed in a position to deal with his father's debts or else, Rath ponies up. Except he needs money fast. Hence his participation in the Tournament. Common folk enter with the chance to join the nobles. 

Love the commoner to royalty trope. All the challenges set out to prove the contestants worth, to demonstrate that they deserve the shift in social status. Rath's in it for the money, so he just wants to play long enough to win some.

Rath takes a licking and keeps on ticking. He's got too much spirit and fortitude to be anything but a contender. Can't help but like him, he's a lovable guy. 

Derr's fantasy novels have become the getaway books for me. There's adventure and romance in interesting worlds. This one was actually more romantic than the last one I read, THE HIGH KING'S GOLDEN TONGUE. Love manages to find Rath stumbling along and dodging trouble until the very end. 

Overall, a triumph of good and the just desserts of true love.

The Dolphin by Craig Bennett Hallenstein

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The story opens with a bang as we meet young Sean Jordan. All is well until tragedy occurs. 

Fast forward, Sean and his best friend Doug are out having a few beers celebrating. Sometimes being festive has consequences as Doug's fallout from his Mardi Gras reveling shows. 



New Orleans, America's original sin city. Cashing in on the decadence makes Mardi Gras a cash cow. When events threaten the safety of tourists just before the Big Easy gets easier, ranks close. They need a scapegoat and they need one, now.

The story has an underlying discussion of the controversial topic of sex offenders. In many ways overusing the term bullying makes it ineffectual so does the blanket use of the term sex offender combined with the sex offender registry sets up problems. Some of the instances highlighted in this book would make a person want to eat their gun. 

Doug is a sex offender for public indecency charges during Mardi Gras. 
Sean is a sex offender at eighteen for.... you'll have to read to find out for yourself.

There's new kid in town, and he's started a new game. 

Talk radio, the abyss of humanity stirring the sh*t pot. I'm not a fan of entertainment journalism, frankly it's hard to find anything that approaches real journalism today in the media circus world of "We shovel until you push back from the table and still keep shoveling". In the more must be better mindset, LaGrange takes veteran talk radio Breneaux's conservative rhetoric one notch higher--Let's say the consequences are lethal.

Needless to say, when one tries to wag the dog and it bites, zero sympathy.

The city's ablaze with a rising body count and explosions. Mardi Gras around the corner and the city brass needs the situation dealt with, yesterday. Pressure. So many people under it, and cracks appear. 

The pace steadily grows. Tension tightening with each chapter. Relentless and hunted. The last hundred pages had me glued to the book. I could easily see this as a movie, though the frank discussion and approach to sexuality defies mainstream studios and main street readers. This book highlights the importance of having a discussion about sex rather than relegating it to spectacle, and separating natural from psychopathy.

Overall, a nightmare thriller with a political agenda.

"Entertainment ends where vigilantism begins."

A Few of My Favorite Things

My favorite finds this holiday season that were fresh and new and made me rethink concepts. I had three and each was an epiphany.

First, Dean Koontz's SANTA'S TWIN was a great picture book for middle ages and up. Not new, but new to me. It featured two female protagonists and a gritty, visceral rhyming that was both gross and funny. Definitely a win.
Second, the Finnish film RARE EXPORTS was an awesome twist on some well known tropes that just made it an edgy and heroic tale of a young boy. This is a new holiday classic in my house. Gonna watch it every year! Frankly, I haven't been so excited by a foreign film since I watched KUNG FU HUSTLE. I got this two years ago and finally stuck it in to watch it, and my only regret is not doing it sooner.
Third, and probably going to make me people's heads spin when compared to the first two--SIR GAWAIN AND THE GREEN KNIGHT. This translation by Armitage is beautiful. I found myself reading it aloud or mouthing it to feel the words; they were so enticing. I had forgotten how much poetry can lure me and beguile. Just gorgeous and a nice Yuletide addition to my seasonal readings.
So, I loved it enough to recommend to interested parties. 

The Water Thief by Jane Kindred

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Imposter's game afoot. 

Sebastian was senteneced to All Fates Asylum for the crime of killing his sister, August. His twin. Except, he's innocent.The stakes are high as Sebastian struggles to find a way to regain his legacy; danger lurks at Cantre'r Gwaelod.

Lord Emyrs Pryce is power hungry and has plans; he just needs something Sebastian has. Emyrs wields people like tools and no one is safe. Envy, at times unbearable is nearly insatiable. For rarely what we think will assuage it, is what will. To suffer it is truly a torment. 

Macsen is Lord of Cantre'r Gwaelod. After years, suddenly everything he wanted is being challenged and unsettled. Disturbing, but more problematic are the secrets coming to light. Macsen is forced to choose, either will mean loss.

Water, dangerous at times, but necessary. To steal water is to steal life. 

Absolutely engaging read. Once I started it, it was hard to put down-- Who really needs to eat three times a day? While I had ideas of how things would play out, I was tricked a time or two during this tale of magic and malice. There was a twist in the story I wasn't expecting that opened so many more doors, while not closing any which made the resolution near impossible to guess. 

Overall, a tale of greed and family infighting with a surprising romance.