Folks Still Read: Autonomously Yours

I have read a lot of books and don't write reviews as much as I really should. Mostly because people like to say they have no time to read but will post and re-post stuff from Huffington Post and Buzzfeed daily but not take the time to read something I have written. Yes, this is me being bitter.

I have friends that do many forms of creative things so when they want or ask for my help I am grateful because I love the process of creativity. K.N Parker previously wrote a short story called The Death of Death that I reviewed. This story shows that not only can he write longer stories but that he has grown as a writer in this time.

I've read another story that he was working on, one that has nothing to do with either TDOD or this new one Autonomously Yours, that blew my mind. The way his brain works is on a strange wavelength that I dip my toes into but have not truly dove into. Autonomously Yours is a story that will make you laugh, cringe, and question not only the future in terms of robotics but also relationships and letting go.

This is the story of a robotics engineer named Dr. Harold Okamura that is given the chance to create a realistic robot. I don't mean realistic as in “Oh, look. It thinks its people!” I mean it looks, feels, and behaves like an actual human. And it is built to look, act, and do anything you want.

Folks Still Read: The Death Of Death Book Review

A few months back Parker posted a sample from his short story The Death of Death and I was intrigued. Just from the sample he gave I wanted to know if there was more to it. I knew that he wrote but had never seen his stuff. Hell, I'd “acted” in one of his short films but never had an opportunity to see how he wrote. He sent me the story and I was pissed because it was something I could never write.

One of the things I love most about reading certain authors like Phillip K. Dick, Walter Mosley, and Derek Landy, is that they will do something that makes me know that I am not at a level that is possible. 

This story, The Death of Death, made me think this and for that I owe Parker a punch in the throat.

Folks Still Read: California King Book Review

I love books. I have never understood people who say that they don't read or have time to read. There is always time to read no matter how busy your life. I read a couple of books a week not because I'm in school or anything but because reading is fundamental. I really believe that. Books are better than movies in most cases and are a great way to keep your imagination sharp. On the flip side of all this are bad books. There is nothing worse than a bad book. I've read stuff from friends and they have ranged from complete ass to good. So when I was asked by a friend, Heather Cox, to read her book, I have to admit that I was nervous.

I had never read anything she had written besides Facebook updates and emails and had no idea whether or not she could write a book. Well, allow me to tell you all that she can indeed write. She can write her ass off! When I read books most of the time there is a moment or two where I laugh, cringe, or very rarely get emotionally involved.

California King does all of these.

Folks Still Read: Gil's All Fright Diner Book Review

Cam let me borrow this book called Gil’s All Fright Diner last week. Its by writer A Lee Martinez who hales from Texas which is where the story takes place. it’s the tale of a werewolf and vampire who must stop the end of the world. I remember seeing this cover a while back but never bothered to pick it up. Because I’m an ass.

The vampire, Earl, is a skinny and balding vampire with a comb over. His surly werewolf friend Duke is gigantic. They pull into a town called Rockwood and end up at a diner that is almost immediately attacked by zombies. They help the owner, Loretta, fight them off and are surprised at how not terrified she is at the fact that the undead are attacking and that a werewolf and vampire helped her. Apparently weird things have been happening in Rockwood for years.

They tell her that they’ll stay a while and help her install a gas line to the diner while they also investigate why zombies are attacking. Marshall Kopp, the towns officer, wants Loretta to close the place down on account of the zombies but she refuses to. Duke and Earl stay in a spare room where Earl sleeps in a trunk.

According to the story all vampire rules apply except for a stake through the heart which doesn’t kill him but freezes him in place. He feeds mostly from animals and has preferences. Duke can change into a giant wolf-beast at will and heals quickly. He became a werewolf after running over another one and inheriting the curse. He strong and tough which helps him fend off Loretta’s advances.

A young girl named Tammy who prefers to be called Mistress Lillith is attempting to bring about the end of the world by raising Old Gods. Her minion is a dumb jock named Chad who pretty much will do whatever she asks, including stealing body parts, as long as he can fondle or sleep with her.

Other characters include Cathy who is a ghost that Earl has to speak to which he hates since ghosts scare him. Napoleon, Cathy’s ghost dog. And then there’s Gil himself. This story is crazy as hell and I’m not sure if this is a young adult novel. I have read some pretty crazy ass stories that were in the 12-18 age range and they have lots of sex, violence, and gore. This one is no exception. I have talked to people with children and my librarian BFF and it seems to boil down to maturity. In which case I probably shouldn’t have been allowed to read this.

The story feels as if you’re jumping into the middle of other stories since the characters are already set up in their relationships. There is some backstory provided but you know there is so much more that can be explored. I checked to see if there were indeed more books with these characters and sadly there isn’t. I mean, any story that can have zombie cows, magic 8 balls that cops an attitude, and evil zombies that pat each other on the back for their growling skills is surely worthy of a sequel.

Folks Still Read: The Hunger Games Book Review

I received The Hunger Games as a gift (thanks, Miss E.) and dove right into this book. I have been hearing so much about it for the past few months but mostly from the movie trailers and the hype surrounding it. I’d never heard of it before then which some would find strange since I read so much. I’ll try and write the premise without ruining too much of the story for those who, like me, are late as hell when it comes to popular culture.

The story takes place in the future where North America got wrecked and got split into 13 different colonies. Each of these colonies specialize in something. The main character, Katniss Everdeen, live in District 12 who handles the coal mining for the nation of Panem. That’s what America is called now. She hunts for food for her mother and sister as her father died years ago in a coal mining accident. Her partner in crime is Gale who dreams of one day taking down the system for the way they treat everyone.

The Capitol, which is where the rich folks live, has an annual event called The Hunger Games. Its pretty much a honked up event where kids ages 12 to 18 have their name placed in a lottery and each District has a boy and girl entered. It’s a televised show where they murder each other until one is left. Katniss’ younger sister, Prim, is called to participate but Katniss chooses to replace her. Another kid named Peeta, the son of a baker, is chosen as well.

They arrive at The Capitol and are overwhelmed by how clean and enormous everything is. They are groomed and restyled and presented for the nation to see. After interviews and some training they are released into a zone where The Hunger Games will take place. Immediately kids are slaughtered as Katniss makes her way into the woods.

There is more but you’ll have to read this book or see the movie in a couple weeks. It’s a good and easy read but I do have some complaints. The pacing, once the games begin, is strange. There isn’t enough character development of many of the “tributes” aka contestants, so when some are killed it has no real impact.

Also, as interesting as it is for some readers, likely females, the love triangle that is attempted feels forced. Girl likes boy but not really. Boy loves girl. Other boy has never given love for girl who thinks she may love both boys but not quite sure. My brain started to play the theme to Dawson’s Creek whenever Katniss started pining. “I don’t wanna wait for our lives to be over…”

The ending gave me the same feeling as some of Stephen King’s later books in the 90’s. Here is a sample of my reaction while reading stuff like The Cell. “Wow, this is good. Okay, what was that for? Cool, good again. Better wrap this up. Huh? The hell was that?!” There were several points where the book should’ve ended but it kept going. And going. And going. By the time it was done such outlandish things happened that I could only wonder how the filmmakers were gonna handle it. Especially the fact that the main character does not talk much. She internalizes everything. Though this is a book for youths it is very violent and very bloody.

I’m still gonna watch the movie, don’t get me wrong. But this book just let me down towards the last 30% or so of it. A very strong start that had an ending that obviously built towards another book I’m not sure if I want to read. Lots of comparisons are being made between The Hunger Games and Battle Royale. They’re similar in that kids far from home are fighting to survive. So I guess its just like Lord Of The Flies.

There’s a whole theme that is a social commentary on war and reality television which is funny since for two years I have worked in reality television. As a reader you are told how messed up The Capitol is and how a revolt against them failed years ago. But then you wonder “Why not do it again instead of fighting to the death for people’s entertainment?” The whole point is to show the poor “This is to remind you not to step out of line!”

If the tournament is boring The Gamemasters, producers, will throw things in to make the game more interesting. You know the game is rigged and bets are placed. You earn sponsors by being entertaining. You wonder why it took so long for someone to use this to their advantage the way Katniss does.

I give The Hunger Games a 3 out of 5.