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Harriet Klausner reviewed:
The Moon in the Mango Tree by Pamela Ewen
 strong early twentieth century relationship drama, April 30, 2008 However, not long after arrival in rural Nan, Babs is unable to adjust to the abject poverty she witnesses or the conditions of their lifestyle. Harvey is appalled with his spouse's failure and irate with her weakness when she suffers a nervous breakdown. Still they return to the States for her to heal, but fanatical Harvey forces them to return to his Siam practice soonest. THE MOON IN THE MANGO TREE is a terrific historical tale that allows the audience too look deeply at the role of women in society. Fascinatingly Harvey cares and loves his spouse, but is disappointed in her failure to adjust; her ambition and goals are irrelevant. Babs wants to adapt as she accepts that is her position in life, but resents giving up her goals and cannot cope with what she has seen in Siam. Although the description of time and place is extremely vivid enabling the reader to feel they are in America and Siam circa 1920s; that also slows down the pace of an otherwise strong early twentieth century relationship drama. Harriet Klausner |
| April 30, 2008 |
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Harriet Klausner reviewed:
Sisters, Ink (Scrapbooker's Series #1) by Rebeca Seitz
| interesting tale with its therapeutic scrapbooks, April 30, 2008 Tandy takes a leave of absence to return home to Stars Hill, Tennessee where her three adopted sisters Meg, Kendra, and Joy still reside. The trio advises their sibling to reconsider her life goals as defending the guilty is ripping her gut even if it keeps her from sleeping on a beach. They also encourage her to give her former boyfriend Clay Kelner a second chance. Through all this her sisters show her the good times commemorated in scrapbooks; some electronic. The first SISTER'S INK book (three to follow) is an interesting tale starring an unhappy urbanized sibling finding love and happiness by returning to her rural roots. The story line is at its best when Tandy argues for a pragmatic look at life especially the plight of the homeless; shaving, deodorant, and change of clothing are not easily accessible. The use of scrapbooks is a fascinating way to look back on the past without dwelling to long; however that technique is overdone and eventually feels intrusive. Still this is an entertaining tale with a fascinating concept of diverse adopted sisters, who are also best of friends always there for one another as affirmed by the therapeutic scrapbooks they have maintained. Harriet Klausner |
| April 30, 2008 |
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N. Durham reviewed:
Fido DVD ~ Carrie-Anne Moss
| Wonderful tale of a boy and his do, err...zombie, April 30, 2008 |
| April 30, 2008 |
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E. A Solinas reviewed:
The Harlequin by Laurell K. Hamilton
 What's a little sex between allies?, April 29, 2008 The Anita Blake series started off well, continued for awhile, then took a sharp plunge down into the literary abyss of bad porn. Well, "The Harlequin" scrabbles PARTLY back out of that abyss, but Laurell K. Hamilton's fifteenth Blake book still suffers from a surfeit of squickly sex, constant sexual ramblings, and a promising plot that gets swamped by the sex-with-Anitacentric politics of vampires and weres. First a vamp cleric tells her of a threat so terrible that he can't name it, then a movie night with Nathaniel leads to a strange warning -- a white mask. Jean-Claude reveals that it's the warning of the Harlequin, a cruel vampire police who can warp their victims' minds. And apparently Anita and her string of adoring lovers (plus the still-upset Richard) have upset them. And the politics of the situation are getting quite nasty, with alliances between weres and vamps getting nasty as they try to all have sex with Anita for power and influence, and Anita repeatedly getting hit by her various "beasts." And if they don't manage to kill the Harlequin soon, then Marmee Noir will reawaken -- and the Harlequin will be working for her. "The Harlequin" sounds promising at first -- it's almost a hundred and fifty pages before Anita has sex with anybody, and there are actual villains to be defeated this time around. It's been several books since Hamilton could boast a length like that, and at first glance it seems to be promising a return to prior form. Unfortunately, the sexless parts even duller than actual sex would have been: talking/remembering/agonizing about sex, and worrying about feelings. There's two long chapters devoted to Nathaniel wanting Anita to tie him up and hurt him during sex, and Anita getting squeamish about it. And about halfway through, she starts having public ardeur sex, bloody sex, lesbian vampire dream sex, feathery sex, and Hamilton seems to be paving the way for sex with Edward's sixteen-year-old stepson. None of this would matter quite so much if the plot were good, and there are a few genuinely suspenseful moments such as Jean-Claude and Richard's pitched battle. And the Harlequin (aka evil vampire enforcers) are an interesting concept... but sadly Hamilton never fleshes them out beyond mask-wearing weirdos, and she chickens out at the idea of actually fighting a physical battle with them. Time for more feeeeelings... Unfortunately, the more promising plots are bogged down in -- you guessed it -- sex. Everyone wants sex with Anita, and chapters of arguing about who gets bouncy-bouncy with her is just stupefyingly dull. As if that weren't bad enough, Hamilton takes another jab at her former fans, by announcing disdainfully that, "God hasn't forsaken me; it's just that all the right-wing fundamentalist Christians want to believe he has." Nice that now God is worshiping Anita, rather than the other way round. And though Anita is not quite as two-dimensional as in books past, she still comes off as annoying, sexually-obsessive, hypocritical (she likes bloody sex, but gets squicked at the idea of tying a guy up?) and ridiculously superpowerful. And her mob-boss mentality is reaching unreal heights, with her ordering the death of a werelion for refusing to have sex with her, and ogling an adolescent boy. And few of the long-haired, animeish femme-men do much but adore Anita, and the few who don't are either banished yet again (Richard) or are pale shadows of their former selves (Edward). In fact, the supporting characters just seem to float in and out on whims, without any logical reason for them to be there -- or to leave. "The Harlequin" takes some baby steps back toward quality, but the obsession with sex and long-winded arguments drown the promising plot points. Better keep the mask on this one. |
| April 29, 2008 |
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Harriet Klausner reviewed:
The Pig Did It by Joseph Caldwell
 terrific satirical character study, April 29, 2008 Although he feels like a failure with his female relationships, Aaron finds a lost pig that adopts him; wherever Aaron goes the pig is sure to follow him. When the pig digging in the back yard uncovers a human skeleton, Kitty says he is the missing Declan Tovey. She believes the pig's owner, Lolly McKeever is behind the death and burial, but she won't admit even owning the pig. Although he learns Lolly had a motive for Declan's death, Aaron is attracted to her while also wonders if his aunt, who butchers the language, might be a modern day Lady Macbeth. The western Irish countryside is rarely this much macabre fun as found in THE PIG DID IT, a terrific character study. Joseph Caldwell satirizes manners using the pig and the corpse to force everyone to wrestle in the mud, dirt and sea. The whodunit is cleverly designed not as much as a murder mystery, but more to allow readers to look deep into the souls of the prime trio especially the visiting American, who must choose between desire and blood. Harriet Klausner |
| April 29, 2008 |
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Harriet Klausner reviewed:
Act Two: A Novel in Perfect Pitch by Kimberly Stuart
| delightful contemporary romance , April 29, 2008 In farm country, Sadie realizes her peers like voice teacher Kent Johansen loses his voice when she is near him or like conductor Gunther Rienhart flirty and her student assistant Mallory Knight is snippy when she is being kind. However the worst is living on a pig farm with Cal and Jayne Hartley and their three kids. Finally there is the veterinarian Mac who shockingly has her reconsidering her countdown back to the real world of culture even though she is appalled that even though it is not country western, he has never heard her sing. ACT TWO is a delightful contemporary romance between two opposites as the fish out of water diva and the local vet fall in love in his pond. The story line is owned by Sadie, who finds Iowa to live down to her expectations only somehow she makes caring friends and realizes mentoring Mallory actually makes her feel great. Mac is her perfect contrary as the city slicker and the country animal doctor prove love has no artificial boundaries except the individual's construct that can destruct. Harriet Klausner |
| April 29, 2008 |
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Harriet Klausner reviewed:
Murder's Madness by Alex Matthews
| 1 of 1 people found the following review helpful: exciting amateur sleuth , April 29, 2008 Medicated for schizophrenia Delia Schiff recently rented Zach's condo in Marina City; Cass has befriended the lonely woman. However, when Delia calls her hysterically about Dark Angels, a corpse in a closet and magic, Cass assumes her new pal is off her meds. She goes over to reassure the distraught woman, but though Cass fails to find a body, she notices some blood. As Delia vanishes, Cass calls the police even as she intends to conduct her own investigation to insure Delia is okay. The ninth Cass McCabe mystery, IN MURDER'S MADNESS, is an exciting amateur sleuth tale that stars a caring therapist hoping to save the life of a schizophrenic, who is off her medicine and may or may not have seen a corpse. The story line is driven by the heroine's need to help a lonely person; a trait fans of the series know is part of Cass' make-up. However, the plot is owned by Delia even though her appearances are limited; as she enables the audience to go deep inside the tormented soul of a mentally ill individual who needs to stay on her meds to keep some mental equilibrium. Harriet Klausner |
| April 29, 2008 |
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N. Durham reviewed:
Onslaught Reborn by Jeph Loeb
| Why?, April 29, 2008 |
| April 29, 2008 |
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N. Durham reviewed:
Grand Theft Auto IV by Rockstar Games
| An incredibly stunning achievement, April 29, 2008 Fun: It's here, it's here, it's finally here. Grand Theft Auto IV has finally arrived after what seems like eons of anticipation, and Rockstar's flagship franchise doesn't disappoint to say it lightly. Putting you in the shoes of European illegal immigrant Niko Bellic, you are back in Liberty City, although this is a much different Liberty City than the one you remember. This Liberty City is so incredibly detailed and constructed that you will often find yourself in complete awe. Not since GTA III has an open world environment been so innovative in its scope, and never before has there ever been this kind of interaction. At its core, the tried and true GTA gameplay remains, but there is so much more to do: ranging from dating (yes, dating!), surfing the in-game internet, seeing a comedy show, watching TV, and listening to the radio among other things. Besides all that, there is a story here, and it is indeed one of the most engrossing and compelling stories you will ever find in a video game. Niko is no ordinary crook like we've seen before, and ends up being one of the most fully realized video game protagonists in quite some time. The rest of the residents of Liberty City are wonderfully designed as well, all helping Liberty City feel like a living, breathing place. Gunplay elements have been much improved upon as well, as have the driving mechanics and overall controls. Combined with a 16 player multiplayer mode, Grand Theft Auto IV is a glorious, instant classic that more than deserves your attention. If there are any downsides to GTA IV, and this is just me being nitpicky for the sake of being nitpicky, is that there are a few graphical hiccups to be found now and then, but definitely nothing major or all that noticable. Other than that, GTA IV is nearly perfect in every regard. All in all, Grand Theft Auto IV is an incredibly stunning achievement of modern gaming that must be played to be believed. Ranking as possibly one of the finest and most immersive video games to ever see the light of day, Grand Theft Auto IV is a masterpiece that should be checked out in the very least, even if you aren't a fan of the series. Yes, it is that good, now go play it. |
| April 29, 2008 |
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N. Durham reviewed:
Justice Society of America Vol. 2: Thy Kingdom Come, Part 1 by Geoff Johns
| Thy will be done indeed, April 29, 2008 |
| April 29, 2008 |
