Taken in Death

I'm not done with J. D. Robb. Not just yet. With two novellas (or is it novelettes?) to find and complete, only then I will be officially caught up. Luckily, my local library had a copy of the novella anthology, Mirror, Mirror (2013), featuring an In Death short called Taken in Death.

Taken in Death features a story about fraternal twins, Gala and Henry’s, kidnapping from their New York East Side home. Unfortunate for the twins–and their nanny–the parents are out of town when this incident happens. This leaves the twins’ nanny to fight with their abductor, leading to her murder and the call for New York City homicide lieutenant Eve Dallas. Upon reviewing the home’s security footage, it seems as if the children’s mother committed the murder/kidnap. However, when the twins’ parents arrive upon the scene, it appears that it was, in fact, the crazed and highly deranged twin of their mother found entering the home.

Sounds crazy, right? Well, it really was. Crazy and warped. I've long recognized that it’s these In Death shorts that allow Robb to really go to town with twisted villains. And I mean this one was twisted. We're talking cannibalistic, blood-licking twisted. Nevertheless, there’s a theme here. The theme is fairytale villains, spirited-away children, heroes, breadcrumb trails, and the consumption of tampered sweets. And that’s exactly how Taken in Death operates, with its In Death characters and police procedural bend.

This was easily one of the better In Death novellas. A few were boring and forgettable, but Taken was a thrill that I had no choice but to swallow in one sitting.  Now I need to find a copy of The Unquieted anthology, which features the novella Chaos in Death.  Then, I'll be good until September.

Okay. I gave in for $5

I feel somewhat like a cheap whore. Let me explain why. You see, after all that fussing I did about Sandra Brown, suspense romance, and her formulaic writing; I crawled back to her for $5. (According to my library’s used bookstore, that’s expensive.) So as you can see, I’m now the owner of Brown’s latest, Mean Streak. To be fair, I did say in that video that I wanted to try Mean Streak. I also prayed that it wouldn't be a frustrating disappointment similar to her 2013 release, Deadline. I pray even more that it isn't as awful as Smash Cut (which I consider the worse). 

Nevertheless, I saw it on display the minute I stepped inside, and I couldn't resist it for that price. I've held out since its release last August, and now I'm going to copy and paste its Goodreads synopsis so you guys can tell me if it sounds promising or not.

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Dr. Emory Charbonneau, a pediatrician and marathon runner, disappears on a mountain road in North Carolina. By the time her husband Jeff, miffed over a recent argument, reports her missing, the trail has grown cold. Literally. Fog and ice encapsulate the mountainous wilderness and paralyze the search for her.

While police suspect Jeff of "instant divorce," Emory, suffering from an unexplained head injury, regains consciousness and finds herself the captive of a man whose violent past is so dark that he won't even tell her his name. She's determined to escape him, and willing to take any risks necessary to survive. 

Unexpectedly, however, the two have a dangerous encounter with people who adhere to a code of justice all their own. At the center of the dispute is a desperate young woman whom Emory can't turn her back on, even if it means breaking the law.

As the FBI closes in on her captor, Emory begins to wonder if the man with no name is, in fact, her rescuer.

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I see the formula.  It's screaming in my face.  And yet... I can't resist....  I'm a slave to some authors.  I have to learn to accept that. 

Naked Jacqueline Kirby

Jacqueline Kirby is back for the final time in Naked Once More. For her last murder mystery, Kirby has settled with becoming the popular, bestseller author of two books. Her ex-librarian days are behind her, and it’s time to keep her winning momentum with a third book. She has ideas. She has potential drafts.  She has the will. However, she’s not 100% sure of her direction, until her literary agent calls her for lunch to discuss a project that may be worth her efforts.

Kathleen Darcy collected millions off her debut novel, Naked in the Ice. From her publisher's advance, a movie deal, and heavy promotion, she’s created just enough wealth to take care of her family.  This also provides her leeway (as well as pressure) to start on her second novel. With an outline partially at hand, matters seem promising until a string of "accidents" start to happen to Kathleen. Accidents so frequent that Kathleen soon finds herself driven over a cliff.  Her body unfound, the locals and her family label her fate as suicide.

Seven years later, Kathleen’s agent, family, and family attorneys have come together to audition and interview a few popular authors for the task of completing Kathleen's second book. And that's where Jacqueline Kirby’s agent shoots her the idea of taking a part in the auditions. It would be perfect for Jacqueline’s career–so he says. While it took some heavy convincing to the forever cynical Jacqueline, she eventually nails the project.  Afterwards, she decides to temporarily relocate to Kathleen’s town to dig into the late author’s files, and uncover everything she needs to produce the sequel properly. Unfortunately, a stream of accidents begins to happen to Jacqueline as well. Accidents meant to stop Jacqueline from uncovering some of Kathleen’s secrets. On the other hand, maybe something else entirely.

~5. Back 2 High School - Towel Style~

Nearly forgot to update date the junior year comic post.  So here we are with pages 21-25.

The two stories kind of bleed into one another at this point.  Towel's still there (fighting with her kid brother over video games) and so are the two new girls who decided to chase a cat (it somewhat resembles Sailor Venus's Artemis) into a black hole of some sort.  The Naoko Takeuchi influenced kicked into overdrive at this point.

If you pay close attention, you'll probably recognize that the character with the braided pigtails has on Claire Redfield's Resident Evil 2 outfit.

The two girls jump into the black hole, and on starts another adventure that should eventually cross into Towel's.  Meanwhile, Towel is getting ready to go hang out with her best friends.  Apparently, she's given up on finding the missing students and the hypnotizing new student.  Yet, she still has an uneasy feeling about her night.

We'll see what happens next time...

Friday Reads

I’m about 60 pages from the end of Elizabeth Peter’s Naked Once More; and considering I'm off tomorrow, I have plans on sitting down tonight and finishing it. That means no PS4. So… I wobble a bit. 

Nonetheless, I do want to share the newly purchased books I'm following Naked Once More with. As seen, that'll be the latest by Toni Morrison, God Help the Child. Many of you know how I feel about Morrison’s writing post-Beloved. Therefore, I won't get into all that. The subject of brevity of style in place of coherency within scenes just won’t be discussed. But I feel like God Help the Child is going to be a good fit.  At 178 pages, it'll be the perfect weekend read. And that’s exactly what I plan to do with it. Just to be certain of my decision, I stood in the front of the bookstore for a good ten minutes reading a couple of pages.  I wanted to make sure Morrison's scenes bubbled up into my imagination effortlessly.  I say that in contrast to a wall of prose I have to sift through to gather my bearings on what exactly is taking place within the story.  Luckily, I got scenes.

On the opposite side of Morrison’s display was a newly released book called God is Always Hiring. It’s written by Regina Brett, and is subtitled with the statement, “50 Lessons for Finding Fulfilling Work.” I ached over it, while squeezing my coupons in my pockets. Then I answered that little voice inside of me telling me that this was exactly–in this right moment and time in my life–what I needed read.

It wasn't until hours later that I realized both titles contained "God" in it.  Hmmm.  I take that as some kind of sign.

Bein and His Wind

Tokyo is about to find itself in the grips of a stream of terrorist attacks driven by a religious zealot named Joko Daishi. Joko is dedicated to his beliefs, those of which circulating around how society needs purification through a baptism of fire. However, the unconcerned citizens of Tokyo are too wrapped up in their bustling lives to give a damn about his message. And not “giving a damn” may be the reason Joko found himself released from police custody after his last terrorist event (check out book two in the series, Year of the Demon). And while Tokyo’s police department may have turned somewhat of a blind eye to Joko’s terrorism, Detective Sergeant Mariko Oshiro has not. Unfortunately, there’s not much she can do.  Having thwarted Joko in the past, Mariko's petition for her Captain to detain and hold Joko eventually causes her her badge. (You know, because she’s a woman and can’t be vocal.  That type of bullshit.)

Without the support of the Tokyo Police Department, Mariko has to find other resources to stop Joko from destroying Tokyo.  What Mariko doesn't know is that she's already drawn the attention of an underground syndicate known as The Wind. The Wind once harbored and trained Joko Daishi and, in effect, is responsible for him. Regardless, they need Mariko’s help.  She carries an Inazuma blade, handed down to her by her deceased senshi.  Inazuma blades are centuries old and cursed; The Wind believes this is their means of stopping Joko.  So Mariko's choice becomes simple–yet highly complicated.  She can join The Wind to stop Joko Daishi, or go at it alone before her city is destroyed. And the longer she contemplates her choices, the more personal her decision becomes.

Wow. Now where do I really start with this one? First, this is book three (and I believe it’s the last) in Steve Bein’s Fated Blades series. As I've mentioned in previous posts about previous books, the series is part contemporary crime thriller and part historical fantasy. It switches time and space.  A lump of chapters are told in the today's world, viewed through Tokyo Detective Sergeant Mariko Oshiro.  Her chapters focuses on her role as the owner of one of the various cursed Inazuma blades crafted in ancient Japan, and how she uses the blade to stop terrorists. Meanwhile, the counter chapters follows the story of a young, crippled samurai named, Daigoro. During Japan's Azuchi-Momoyama period, Daigoro is the owner of the same Inazuma blade as Mariko. The majority of his narrative revolves around him using the sword as a means to protect his clan.  With a mother suffering from a nervous breakdown after the death of his father and brother, adjacent clans use political manoeuvres and intrigue in attempts to take what little honor and status Daigoro has.  Naturally, they want his blade as well. 

These two have carried the series since the first book. However, in the second book came a new character named Kaida.  

Kaida was a pearl diver who turned away from her family to become an assassin working for The Wind.  Unfortunately, the continuation of her story isn't in Disciple of the Wind. So I was a bit disappointed.  Clearly her portion was meant to give readers the history behind the origins of The Wind, origins that would've been beneficial to Disciple.  But for Disciple's length purposes, her story is available in a Kindle novella.  I'll probably get to it at a later date.

Despite all that, I'm happy to say that there is more Mariko in this entry. And more Mariko means far more action in the form of shoot-outs, sword fights, and a healthy dose of detection and crime boss confrontations. In Year of the Demon my biggest complaint was the lack of her presence, so I suppose it worked to cut out Kaida’s story. Nevertheless, that’s not to say that Daigoro’s portion isn't as strong, as it draws to its own conclusion within the series (his opponent is easily the most interesting and best). I love his bits in particularly because they're all about ancient Japanese political intrigue.  Careful navigation of politics operate better than a flat-out sword fight, if you want to save your family and save your ass from a beheading. But trust me, there are still plenty of sword fights and action in his story as well.

Now I still have to mention how–after three books–some of the characters in the series come across as slightly overblown. One example comes in how Mariko’s Captain was an unapologetically drawn bigot who did a lot of fist-waving and kowtow-demanding of Mariko...still.  It just got old with him shrieking at her, and no amount of head-bowing could save Mariko or my patience.  Also, I know I just said that I was happy to see more Mariko, but even she suffered from moments of overdrawn-ness.  She karate chopped and sprung her way through some scenes where she didn’t appear threatened or in immediate danger.  So yes, there were times when I wished she would chill out for a second on the Zero Woman act.  

There were also moments where action scenes were muffled and scrambled with disorienting choreography. A bad guy leaping from a hail storm of bullets manages to hide undetected behind the leg of a pool table inside of a bar, meanwhile Mariko and her partner are underneath that pool table unaware of him. And when they finally notice said bad guy, he jumps up and leaps out of the window.  You can only wonder if the bullets stopped raining over the place enough for him to take the risk. Or still, how and when did he get behind that pool table’s leg undetected?  Lots of scenes came across like this.  Those hazy, semi-teleporting characters and scene transitions that aren't quite clear.

All in all, I highly recommend the Fated Blade series. Especially for those interested in Japan, Japanese culture, crime fiction, and historical fantasies.  Additionally, if you're like me and have mostly given up on the urban fantasy genre, this may be your ticket back in.  Give this series a greenlight.  

Lastly, if this is the last book, I can say I'll miss the series.

My Simple Understanding of Short Fiction

I was talking to a relative during lunch about Kindle singles, flash fiction, and novellas. She shared how she loved following these itty-bitty stories provided by Amazon for .99. She loved them so much that she wanted to try her hand at creating a series of short pieces of fiction dished out in the same bite-size manner. My idea was to encourage her to write one, seeing that she had a story inside of her that she obviously felt needed telling. I urged her to give herself a chance, and starting small was a good move. Just write something, hire a decent editor, if at all possible, and just throw it out there and see what happens. But she still chewed her lip in concerns to how long her story should be. So our discussion turned into the differences between novellas and such. It was interesting trying to decipher the differences.  Eventually, we settled with the fact that we needed to do a little more research. And that’s what I'm bringing here to this post.

So let’s start with the shortest form then work our way up. I learned that the differences in all these short forms of fiction appears mostly in their word count (though that seems apparent, I prefer focusing on page count). Following that notion comes brevity of style, as you probably don't want to get so caught up in prose and details within a limited amount of space.

Flash fiction are stories under 1,000-2,000 words. I guess this would be difficult for someone like me, as I love every scenic detail and morsel of character development available in fiction. Nonetheless, with flash fiction it’s obvious that you have to get to the point of your narrative. These are the kind of stories that provide little to no build up, as the reader is instantly thrown into what may be considered a narrative conflict. I think of it as throwing readers at the emotional peck, or climax, of a story and let their imagination fill in whatever holes lay available. Or something to that extent. Nevertheless, all overtures are tossed aside. It’s sort of like the proverbial knife gone right into the gut. How do you respond? Flash fiction may show you how.

Length wise, short stories are probably a step up from flash fiction. They're somewhere in the realm of 1,000 and 6,000 words. (But seriously, who keeps up with that mess?)  I think short stories differ than flash fiction because it gives you the tiniest of room to present the majors: character, setting, narrative, and conflict. Each wrapped in a handy theme.  I kind of get the feeling that short stories take on a far more thematic approach than flash fiction. Actually, I would guess that short stories line its bases in a theme of some sort. Immediate to mind I think about the Chinese superstition that you shouldn't sweep your floor on New Year’s Day because you may sweep away bad luck. You can take that uncomplicated concept, decorate it with the "majors," and give a nice consequential conclusion as to why you have to honor that superstition. All in a simple, quick story.

The novelette just boggles me. Dictionary.com describes a novelette as “a brief novel or long short story.” I never even considered such a thing; I probably would've touted a novelette as a short story. Nevertheless, it’s really a middle child in all of this. The Jan Brady in the mix. A novelette gives itself probably a stretch or two more narrative room unavailable in a short story; however, it doesn't jump completely into the involvedness that makes up a novel or novella. So I would assume a novelette’s word count (should it matter) would arrive somewhere between 8,000 and 20,000 words. Just guessing of course. So in essences, it’s a touch longer than a short story while not considering it a short story. I guess…. And I say “I guess” because I’ve probably heard of a novelette in passing, but never gave it a thought until I actually looked up the subject of fiction short forms. It’s a cute word, if anything else.

Last–but not last–we have the novella. This is the one everyone is familiar with. It’s a novel that’s not a novel... exactly. It’s a short form fiction far more intricate than its common comparison, the short story. It’s a short novel, or it has just about everything that makes a novel except for a lower word count. Even that sounds unrehearsed and superficial. But I digress. Everyone knows what a novella is.

And that’s basically my understanding, guys.  A touch self-deprecating, but most certainly told in my own words. Nonetheless, a less than thorough understanding of the different forms of fiction. Don't quote me on any of this! Just pray that I take the time to produce some kind of work out of either of them–along with that relative I spoke of.

Add any ideas or thoughts about these fiction short forms in the comments below.  Expand our understanding.  And share whether you have a healthy appreciation for any one form.

Carry on.