Monday, December 31, 2012

New Year Giveaway Hop



Happy New Year Giveaway Hop



Welcome to the New New Giveaway Hop hosted by I am a Reader, Not a Writer and Babs Book Bistro.  It's hard to believe it's already that time to celebrate another new year, but here we are, ready to jump into 2013, into another set of challenges and exciting reading material.  For me, it's been quite a challenging year and I'm not quite sure I'm ready to make the jump into the new year, but it's exciting nonetheless and it's not hard to reflect on everything that one has accomplished during the past year. 

Complete the rafflecopter below to win a book (or books) of your choice up to $15 from The Book Depository.  The contest is international as long as The Book Depository ships to your destination.  Only the first entry is mandatory. 


a Rafflecopter giveaway
 
Take a look at some of the other blogs participating in this contest when you have chance!!

 
Thursday, December 20, 2012

Review: The Beautiful Mystery by Louise Penny

The Beautiful Mystery (Chief Inspector Armand Gamache, Book #8)
by Louise Penny
Release Date: August 28th, 2012
2012 Minotaur Books
Hardcover Edition; 373 Pages
ISBN: 978-0-312-65546-4
ASIN: B0071VURHW
Genre: Fiction / Mystery
Source: Library

4 Stars

Summary
No outsiders are ever admitted to the monastery of Saint-Gilbert-Entre-les-Loups, hidden deep in the wilderness of Quebec, where two dozen cloistered monks live in peace and prayer. They grow vegetables, they tend chickens, they make chocolate. And they sing. Ironically, for a community that has taken a vow of silence, the monks have become world-famous for their glorious voices, raised in ancient chants whose effect on both singer and listener is so profound it is known as “the beautiful mystery.” But when the renowned choir director is murdered, the lock on the monastery’s massive wooden door is drawn back to admit Chief Inspector Armand Gamache and Jean-Guy Beauvoir of the Sûreté du Québec. There they discover disquiet beneath the silence, discord in the apparent harmony. One of the brothers, in this life of  prayer and contemplation, has been contemplating murder. As the peace of the monastery crumbles, Gamache is forced to confront some of his own demons, as well as those roaming the remote corridors. Before finding the killer, before restoring peace, the Chief must first consider the divine, the human, and the cracks in between.

My Thoughts
The Beautiful Mystery is the eighth book in the Armand Gamache series and while it is somewhat different than some of the other books in this series, I really enjoyed it because of this difference; the change of pace and intensity was welcome and I was glad to learn a bit of history regarding the Gregorian chants that I didn't know before.

For me, a good mystery is not necessarily about the death of the victim and the search for the who-dun-it.  I like to really delve into the psychological aspects of what motivates the murderer as well as the characters that are also involved in the events in which they are suddenly thrust.  I find it fascinating to see how everyone and everything fits into the puzzles and why things are done the way they are, and if the unraveling is done slowly, then the wait is that much more agonizing and great for me.  I enjoyed delving into the lives of these monks, men who seem on the surface to seem to have such a tranquil and peaceful life, with all of these swirling emotions lying just below the surface.  It reminds of a calm lake where you can't see the bubbling spring lying at the bottom, but still muddies the waters and creates havoc for everything that enters its path.  And it was interesting to see how those layers of calm were stripped away as Gamache began asking questions that were more and more personal and reflective and really had the monks betraying little emotions here and there, emotions that led to more and more outbursts.  And I read, just waiting for the dam to burst, soaking it all in.  

I enjoyed the setting in this novel, a bit of a departure for Ms. Penny, but it was the monastery and its secrets which drew me in the first place and at the first hint of treasure, I was definitely intrigued, wondering what it could possibly be, knowing that in a Louise Penny novel it would not be the dragon treasure or mason treasure that would show up in other novels, but something more in your face, and I was not disappointed.  It made complete sense considering the subject of this novel, which was the "plainchants", dominated the lives and emotions of these men and were the crux of everything they did.  It was nice to get a bit of a history lesson about the Gregorian chants as this is an area that I have not had time with regards to history, although I have always been meaning to, and it was nice to learn more about them.  I actually went searching on the Internet to listen to some to get me in the mood for this novel.

While I did find the lives of the monks quite interesting, and as usual, the ongoing storyline with Gamache and his superiors intruded even in his forlorn monastery with the arrival of Francoeur (the name reminds of my kindergarten teacher of whom I was deathly afraid), and the ongoing storyline with Beauvoir and his dealings with his oxycontin addiction (which by the way led to my frustration with the ending of this novel), the actual mystery to this story was rather simple and somewhat predictable.  It was the lives of the monks and the other storylines that really carried the novel for me and if they hadn't intruded, I think the novel would have been rather mundane and boring.  What I like about the intrusions is that the problems with Gamache and Francoeur and with Gamache and Beauvoir are not being neatly wrapped up in a box with a bow, but are continuing and causing him a lot of anguish and concern, both for his job and his personal life, which is really mimics real life.  While I was not happy with the ending as I have to wait for book nine in order to find out what happens between Gamache and Beauvoir as their separation was not pleasant, oxycontin addictions are difficult to control and beat, so I'm glad Ms. Penny is not making this easy but is showing what it is really like.  Kudos to her!!! 

Verdict
The Beautiful Mystery was a rather good addition to the continuing Armand Gamache series, but not everyone may like the continuing storyline between Gamache and his superiors or between Gamache and Beauvoir as they may find it somewhat repetitive.  I like them as they seem to reflect real life much more and show that life is not neatly wrapped up and compartmentalized so easily, and nor do problems just go away.  But that's life and we have to deal with issues over and over again.  I am looking forward to the ninth book in this series to see how Armand will cope with his life spiraling out of control.

 
Sunday, December 16, 2012

Get Steampunk'd 2013 Reading Challenge

About: The Get Steampunk’d Reading Challenge is all about Steampunk! Read anything as long as it has that Steampunk theme, with steam-powered gadgets, dirigibles, and punked up Victorian dress.

Steampunk Examples: The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen by Alan Moore, Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare, Boneshaker by Cherie Priest, The Difference Engine by William Gibson.

To sign up, visit Bookish Ardour.

The Finer Deets

  • Running dates for all 2013 challenges: 1st of January – 31st of December 2013
  • Sign-Ups are accepted until the 16th of December 2013.
  • Formats: All BA Challenges are eBook, audio, short story, and graphic novel friendly.
  • Crossovers: You’re welcome to crossover with BA’s challenges. Include as many books across all the challenges as you can, I always say.

How To Sign-Up and Join In

  1. Choose Your Level: Choose a challenge level listed below.
  2. Sign Up Post: Create a post on your blog, in a group, or on a forum (where possible) to let others see what you’re aiming for (a predefined list of books is optional).
  3. Grab The Badge: Download or grab the badge and place it in your sign up post. Then link back to Bookish Ardour.
  4. Link Up: Grab the direct URL to your sign up post, not your blog, click the Mr Linky graphic and enter your link.
  5. Blogless? Don’t worry, you can sign up with your social network profile (YouTube, Twitter, GoodReads, Shelfari included), just make sure you link to your review list, shelf, tweet, or category. If you don’t have any of those feel free to comment.
  6. Your Reviews: Reviewing is optional! But if you do review it would be great for you to share them by submitting them on the review page.
  7. Finished: When you’re done it’s completion post time and you can share these on the completion/wrap-up page.

Challenge Levels

  1. Geared – Choose 5 books to read
  2. Cogged – Choose 15 books to read
  3. Goggle Mad – Choose 30 books to read
  4. Victorian Lord/Lady – Choose 50 books to read
  5. Inventor – Choose 75 books to read
  6. Zephyr Pilot – Choose 76-135 books to read
  7. Steampunk’d – Choose 136-200 books to read

Extra Challenges

If you feel like that extra kick to your reading challenges here’s several you can choose from.
  • World: Choose a country as your theme, reading only books from that country or where it’s the setting. For how high you go you can choose more than one country;
    • Level Geared and Cogged: Choose one country
    • Level Goggle Mad and Victorian Lord/Lady: Choose two countries
    • Level Inventor to end of Zephyr Pilot: Choose three countries
    • Level Steampunked!: Choose four countries.
  • Gender Battle: Read books only by female or male authors. Another alternative is to read equal amounts of both.
I am choosing the Cogged Level, but I actually read so much of this genre I will probably end up at Goggle Mad.
Friday, December 14, 2012

2013 Dystopia Reading Challenge

About: The Dystopia Challenge is all about, well, dystopia. Read books set in dystopian settings, with totalitarian governments, or something more close-knit. The Dystopia Challenge includes Post-Apocalyptic themes as well. For more about Dystopia check out Diva Schuylers’s definition and BA has a Must Reads list to get you started.

Dystopia Examples: Inside Out by Maria V. Snyder, Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, 1984 by George Orwell.
Post-Apocalyptic Examples: The Road by Cormac McCarthy, I Am Legend by Richard Matheson, Above Ground by A.M. Harte, Angelfall by Susan Ee.

The Finer Deets

  • Running dates for all 2013 challenges: 1st of January – 31st of December 2013
  • Sign-Ups are accepted until the 16th of December 2013.
  • Formats: All BA Challenges are eBook, audio, short story, and graphic novel friendly.
  • Crossovers: You’re welcome to crossover with BA’s challenges. Include as many books across all the challenges as you can, I always say.

How To Sign-Up and Join In

  1. Choose Your Level: Choose a challenge level listed below.
  2. Sign Up Post: Create a post on your blog, in a group, or on a forum (where possible) to let others see what you’re aiming for (a predefined list of books is optional).
  3. Grab The Badge: Download or grab the badge and place it in your sign up post. Then link back to Bookish Ardour.
  4. Link Up: Grab the direct URL to your sign up post, not your blog, click the Mr Linky graphic and enter your link.
  5. Blogless? Don’t worry, you can sign up with your social network profile (YouTube, Twitter, GoodReads, Shelfari included), just make sure you link to your review list, shelf, tweet, or category. If you don’t have any of those feel free to comment.
  6. Your Reviews: Reviewing is optional! But if you do review it would be great for you to share them by submitting them on the review page.
  7. Finished: When you’re done it’s completion post time and you can share these on the completion/wrap-up page.

Challenge Levels

  1. Asocial– Choose 5 books to read
  2. Contagion – Choose 15 books to read
  3. Soldier – Choose 30 books to read
  4. Drone – Choose 50 books to read
  5. Conditioned – Choose 75 books to read
  6. Brainwashed – Choose anywhere between 76-135 books to read
  7. Totalitarian – Choose anywhere between 136-200 books to read

Extra Challenges

If you feel like that extra kick to your reading challenges here’s several you can choose from.
  • World: Choose a country as your theme, reading only books from that country or where it’s the setting. For how high you go you can choose more than one country;
    • Level Asocial to Soldier: Choose one country
    • Level Soldier to Conditioned: Choose two countries
    • Level Conditioned to end of Brainwashed: Choose three countries
    • Level Totalitarian: Choose four countries.
  • Gender Battle: Read books only by female or male authors. Another alternative is to read equal amounts of both.
I am choosing Contagion as my level for next year.  I'm sure I can read at least 15 novels from this section as there will be so many books released in 2013 in this genre.
Wednesday, December 12, 2012

2013 Historical Fiction Reading Challenge

I am excited that Historical Tapestry will again be hosting the Historical Fiction Reading Challenge in 2013, and hope that you are all excited at the prospect of joining in.

The challenge will run in the same way as it has over the last couple of years that the challenge has been hosted. The only thing that has changed is the names of the categories.


Here are the details:

Each month, a new post dedicated to the HF Challenge will be created. To participate, you only have to follow the rules:

  • everyone can participate, even those who don't have a blog (you can add your book title and thoughts in the comment section if you wish)
  • add the link(s) of your review(s) including your name and book title to the Mister Linky that will be added to the monthly post (please, do not add your blog link, but the correct address that will guide Historical Tapestry directly to your review)
  • any kind of historical fiction is accepted (HF fantasy, HF young adult,...)
During these following 12 months you can choose one of the different reading levels:

20th century reader - 2 books
Victorian reader - 5 books
Renaissance Reader - 10 books
Medieval - 15 books
Ancient History -25+ books

You can tailor the challenge to suit you in whichever way you like! To join the challenge you only need to make a post about it, grab the button below if you like and leave your link in the Mr Linky at Historical Tapestry or just leave a link to your blog if you are not yet ready to post about it yet. If you don't have a blog you can just leave a comment for this post saying that you are joining.

I adore reading historical fiction / non-fiction so I have decided to tackle the Ancient History category this year and aim for 25+ books.
Sunday, December 9, 2012

Review: Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher

Thirteen Reasons Why
by Jay Asher
Release Date: October 18, 2007
2007 Razorbill
Softcover Edition; 304 Pages
ISBN: 978-1-59514-188-0
ASIN: B0054R6BFM
Genre: Young Adult Fiction
Source: Razorbill

4 Stars

Summary
Clay Jensen returns home from school to find a mysterious box with his name on it lying on his porch. Inside he discovers thirteen cassette tapes recorded by Hannah Baker, his classmate and crush who committed suicide two weeks earlier.


On tape, Hannah explains that there are thirteen reasons why she decided to end her life. Clay is one of them. If he listens, he'll find out how he made the list.

My Thoughts
First of all, before I get into the nitty gritty of my review, I do have to mention that I did really like Thirteen Reasons Why, and that it did make an impression on me, and that I did think about it for quite a while after I finished reading it.  I work with teenagers on a daily basis, and mental health, suicide, and depression are huge issues that adolescents face today and as professionals, we are constantly dealing with them on a regular basis and incorporating them into our regular plans as much as possible in order to open up communication with regards to these issues.  And they are HUGE!!!  One of the big criticisms I read over this book was how did everyone around Hannah miss the warning signs about her impending suicide, but sometimes the clues are so small and so well-hidden that even trained professionals can miss them. And I may get flack over this comment, but unless you work on a regular basis with this age group, for hours on end, then you may not understand what it is really like.

Personally, I liked to duality of the storytelling, first hearing Hannah's point of view, then hearing Clay's comments from a different perspective.  It was interesting hearing the two sides of the story and somewhat sad as well, knowing what the final outcome was.  I tended to be far more empathetic towards Clay's pain than I was towards Hannah's pain, but I wonder, looking back, if that was actually intentional on the author's part.  I never felt that the author was setting out to make Hannah the victim, but was just telling her story and sharing with the readers the pain from someone who was left behind.  Often with suicide, we don't know why the person chose to kill himself/herself and friends and family are often left wondering why, but here Hannah left her reasons for why she did it and sent the tapes to everyone involved.  This is where I get to some of the issues in this novel however, as Hannah had to deal with rumours about her, people touching her without her permission due to the rumours, rape issues, and people not really willing to get to know the real her or using her for her reputation. 

I am wondering why she would have sent them to Clay, why she would have been him through an agony like this, when he did nothing wrong,  And poor Tony, to put that kind of pressure on him, and to make him a kind of watch-person for the others who had to listen to the tapes.  And why make the tapes in the first place?  What was her intention with that as it never really said? Was it make the other people's lives miserable and to ruin their lives like she thought hers was ruined?  Personally, as a professional, I think it sets a bad precedent and I hope that others don't read too much into this and try to copy this method of "tying up loose ends", so to speak.  I realize this is not what the author intended, but it sort of left a bad taste in my mouth, even if I liked the way the novel was set up.  Does any of this make any sense?  My other concern was Hannah's interaction with her parents was very limited and we know absolutely nothing about her relationship with them.  Did they receive the tapes too?  How much did they contribute to Hannah's sense of isolation and desolation?  This is an area that I thought was extremely lacking in this novel as parents play such a huge in this stage of development and there was barely any mention of them.

As for the suicide itself, even I found myself waiting for the "big" moment when something really bad must have happened for Hannah to want to take her life, but when that didn't happen I thought about the effect of all of these things on a personality and realized how it could affect people differently.  One of the things we have to keep in mind is that everyone is different and what would slide of my shoulders, could affect someone else far differently.  It's not always the big things that cause people to commit suicide, but sometimes the piling on of everything that people just can't shrug off anymore and if that person suffers from depression on top of it, it sets up a situation of despair and desolation.  I was somewhat critical of the hair comment in the novel, as students constantly change their look and while it would be noticed, it happens so often that I would not necessarily note it as a suicide watch-for.  Perhaps the author was trying to point out that it's not always the big things but the small constant things and we should look out for each other.  What bothered me the most is the fact that nobody seemed to be talking about it afterwards.  And this is often the case now, isn't it? Let's sweep it under the rug, until the next time, and perhaps this is what Hannah was trying to avoid with her tapes.

Verdict
Thirteen Reasons Why is one of those novels that many people should read even if all it does is being up discussion points about a really serious issue.  Even if it doesn't affect you personally, but it does help one person who sees himself/herself in these pages and that person can reach out to somebody for help, then it has done its job.  I really feel that the author has made a point that it's not for us to judge what makes a person suicidal but to reach out to those who might be in trouble, to sympathize, to empathize, and to help. 





Thursday, December 6, 2012

Guest Post: C. Elizabeth

I am pleased to welcome C. Elizabeth, author of Absolute Obstruction, the second book in the Absolute Series, which released October 1st, 2012.  She is here today to discuss "escapism", probably the main reason why so many of us are addicted to the books we read; we are all just looking for something that will take us away from the reality of our lives and let us enjoy the troubles and joys of somebody else's life for a change.  Why else would we read?


Being lonely isn’t anything new for 45 year old Rose Terrance. After all, that’s what she signed up for when she married beautiful, 33 year old movie star, Michael Terrance and in spite of her loneliness, their love stays strong.

However, their love, nor Michael’s vehement overprotectiveness, can shield Rose from a threat that is beyond Michael’s comprehension, one that annihilates his heart and lines his soul with guilt.

Michael has murderous intentions that lead him to a place he has already asked Rose to forgive him for, taking the phrase “I would die for you” to the extreme.




REALISM VERSUS ESCAPISM

I am no different from anyone else, my life is hectic, running here, running there and finding that there are simply not enough hours in the day.  It seems that we wake up, rush out of the house and in a blink of an eye we’re yawning, trying to stay awake just to get through our favorite TV show in the evening.  We have all been programmed to put everyone else on our schedules and forget about ourselves.  That is why I write.

When I pick up a book, as with everyone, I want it to take me to a new world, to watch someone else fall in love, breakup, cry, laugh, and the like.  That is what I want; to get to know the characters as my friends, feel for them, and send them a get well card if one should get sick or hurt.  Those are the signs of the ultimate escapism in a good book.

Now what would happen if you picked up a book and literally became the characters?

For me, that is my primary goal when I write; to give the readers a strong base in the real world, something they can connect with.  What a wonderful thing to take an hour or two for yourself and be literally swept into another life, a world where you live surrounded by new people, yet you know them.  Perhaps fall in love with the hero, who of course is the hot hunk of a man you’ve always fantasized about or to have the arguments face to face, feeling the anger gripping your stomach, or that first kiss that titillates your senses. 

When I write it is for the reader and to have my characters come alive in their mind, thrills me to death.  I don’t want them to be simply a fly on the wall, I want them to live it, breath it, taste it – that is the ultimate realism and that is why I write.

About the Author:
C. Elizabeth lives in St. Albert,  Alberta, Canada and during her short writing career she’s learned a lot about herself, sometimes to the point that she wonders how the heck she got this far in life and know so little about herself.

For the majority of her life she dabbled in many things, such as drawing, photography, sewing, only to find that after a while, she would lose interest, but writing is a different story — it found her and continues to be an addiction, as well as a most wonderful, incredible passion.

Not only does she write novels, but she does whatever she can to hone her craft.  Such as attending the New York Pitch Conference, seminars and the like, as well, she writes for online magazines on the topic of… you guessed it, writing.

Her latest book is the romantic suspense, Absolute Obstruction.

You can learn more about C. Elizabeth at her website at www.celizabeth.ca.

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Review: The Runaway Princess by Hester Browne

The Runaway Princess
by Hester Browne
Release Date: October 2, 2012
2012 Gallery Books
Softcover Edition; 431 Pages
ASIN: B007EE4N1W
ISBN: 978-1-4391-6885-1
Genre: Fiction
Source: Review Copy from Publisher

4 Stars

Summary
If Amy Wilde’s new boyfriend, Leo, treats her like a queen, that’s because he’s secretly a prince himself: Leopold William Victor Wolfsburg of Nirona, the ninth most eligible royal bachelor in the world. Amy soon discovers that dating an heir to a throne has many charms—intimate alfresco dinners, glittering galas, and, for a girl who lives in jeans and wellies, a dazzling new wardrobe with tiaras to match. But there are also drawbacks: imagine the anxiety of meeting your boyfriend’s parents multiplied by a factor of “riding in a private jet,” “staying in a castle,” and “discussing the line of succession over lunch.” Not to mention the sudden press interest in your very un-royal family. When an unexpected turn of events pushes Leo closer to the throne, the Wolfsburgs decide to step up Amy’s transformation from down-to-earth gardener to perfectly polished princess-in-waiting. Amy would do anything for Leo, but is finding her Prince Charming worth the price of losing herself?

My Thoughts
The Runaway Princess was one of those books that I really needed to read at the moment: it was light, fluffy fun, with some serious undertones, that kept me captivated, but didn't require me to really think too hard about what was going on.  I was already familiar with Hester Browne's writing through her Little Agency Series, and I was curious as to what her other writing would be like.  I was not disappointed.

Amy Wilde is one of those characters I had no trouble identifying with and empathizing with almost immediately.  Down-to-earth, she considers herself a normal Yorkshire girl with aspirations of becoming a well-known garden designer.  With little knowledge of the elite, even though her roommate was quite into the personalities and famous people of London, when she finally meets that "special someone" she has no idea that he is actually a prince and is completely embarrassed by some of the things she said to him on their first date.  Thrust into the limelight, she handles it to the best of her ability and is shocked at quite easily Leo and her family can manipulate others and use money to try to solve all problems.  This is one of the areas that causes stress between them as Leo is constantly trying to solve all of their problems through money, and personally, I don't really feel like the issue was resolved at the end of the novel, as even the ending was kind of resolved using money.  He wold often make decisions without consulting Amy, another area that was causing stress in their relationship, and again, I don't really feel like this situation was resolved in the end.  And these are big issues in a relationship.  When issues are just swept under the rug and not fully discussed, that's when the problems really start to come out.  

Their relationship moved fairly quickly, but it didn't bother me that much as it wasn't really insta-love, as it did develop along fairly regular patterns.  I did feel that their initial love was mostly physical and that their communication was somewhat lacking however, as both of them seemed to be really reluctant to really discuss the important issues.  I thought Leo was fairly understanding of Amy's shyness and inability to cope with the public as he grew up with the press, and I liked how he was patient with her and tried to show her the ropes, so to speak.  I can't imagine that suddenly being thrust in the public eye would be that great and the author did try to convey that in this novel through humour which I thought worked rather well.  Most girls grow up wanting to meet and marry a prince, but the reality is that most of us wouldn't want that kind of lifestyle as it exhausting to always be in the public eye.  I know I would love to dress up in one of those dresses that were mentioned and attend a ball, but would I want to do it all of the time?  Probably not.  And have all of the papers digest everything about me?  Probably not.  And then have the press dig up all the dirt they can find on me?  And as Amy was hiding big secrets from Leo about her family, it was bound to end up in the press and create enormous problems for everyone.  Sometimes it bothers me when an author hints and hints at a "big" secret and when it is revealed, the "big" secret is not that big of a deal.  I sort of felt that way about this secret in this novel, although I was certainly intrigued and I was caught off guard by one event that I never even suspected, although I really should have if I'd been paying attention.

Verdict
The Runaway Princess was an enjoyable and light read that was entertaining and downright fun.  I did feel like a lot of issues were not resolved between Leo and Amy which kind of makes me wonder if a sequel is in the works.   Otherwise, it's good clean fun, and lovers of chick-lit will probably really enjoy this one.  

  
Monday, December 3, 2012

Interview with Repairman Jack - Part 7



The following is the final part in the "F. Paul Wilson Interviews Repairman Jack Series".  If you have not been following the series, take a look at Parts 1-6 before reading the final installment.

www.literallyjen.com - Part 1
www.openbooksociety.com - Part 6

The first of three Repairman Jack prequels, revealing the past of one of the most popular characters in contemporary dark fantasy: a self-styled “fix-it” man who is no stranger to the macabre or the supernatural, hired by victimized people who have no one else to turn to.

We join Jack a few months after his arrival in New York City. He doesn’t own a gun yet, though he’s already connected with Abe. Soon he’ll meet Julio and the Mikulski brothers. He runs afoul of some Dominicans, winds up at the East Side Marriott the night Meir Kahane is shot, gets on the bad side of some Arabs, starts a hot affair, and disrupts the smuggling of preteen sex slaves.


The Repairman Jack Interview - Final Installment 

We’re back for the last time:  I’m winding up my talk with Repairman Jack with some questions asked by his readers plus some of my own. 

He’s adamant about no more stories after Nightworld, so I’ve gone back and written a trilogy based on his first years in NYC, before he became That Guy.  Cold City is the first.

FPW: Here’s another from a reader: “What job do you think you might be doing if your parents hadn't been driving under that overpass?”

RJ: (leans back with a sigh) You know, I asked myself that same question countless times all through those years I considered the incident a case of colossal bad luck, simply a matter of tragically poor timing – if my father’s speed had been a few miles an hour faster or slower, that cinderblock would have crashed through another car’s windshield, and killed somebody else’s mother.  But as I came to understand the forces at work, the subtle manipulations all through my life – I’m talking about since my freakin’ conception–

FPW: The reason your mother called you her “Miracle Boy” in Secret Vengeance.

RJ: (gives me a warning look) You’re doing it again.  But yeah, exactly.  I came to the conclusion that the overpass incident was a setup.  The psycho scumbag who dropped the cinderblock was a tool.  Yeah, he was going to drop the block anyway because that was his sicko thing, but I can see him standing there ready to do it, watching the cars, going eenie-meenie-miney-moe until he sees ours and something in his head says, Bingo!  

FPW: So you think it was all part of “a spear has no branches”?

RJ: Absolutely .  Act One of that play.  And I don’t think it was an accident that I found him one night–

FPW: –and turned him into a human piñata for the trucks on the Turnpike.

RJ: Yeah.  That screwed up my head.  Nothing seemed the same after that.  Pushed me to the point where I canceled the old me, closed up shop, and headed to New York to become someone else.

FPW: Which I chronicle in Cold City.

RJ: As Abe would say, Enough already!

FPW: Okay, okay.  One last question: What’s your all-time favorite fix?

RJ: Hmmm.  Tough one.  I might go with Luther Brady.

FPW: From Crisscross

RJ: You're pimping again.

FPW: Just adding a point of information. Yeah, that was a nice one.  Any reason in particular?

RJ: Style points.  The successful resolution of a fix is the focus – that's what the customer is paying for – but isn't the whole story.  The means to that end matter as well.  To make it work for me, the getting there requires a certain élan, an elegance, a symmetry.  The fact that the Brady fix also rid the world of Richie Cordova raises it to the next level.

FPW: Cordova’s demise was ugly.

RJ: Many of your bloodthirsty readers thought he didn’t suffer enough.

FPW: Yep, those are my peeps.  Any others?

RJ: Milos Dragovic and Luc Monnet – another two-fer.

FPW: I love biter bitten.

RJ: The expression is "biter bit."

FPW: But that's bad English.

RJ: Don't be such a tight ass.  It's the idiom.

FPW: It's also from All the Rage.

RJ: Couldn't resist, could you.

FPW: I guess we're done here.

RJ: Ya think?

SIDEBAR 

RJ: Please don't tell me you sneaked Gia into Cold City.

FPW: How could I?  She was still in college Iowa.

RJ: That doesn't mean you wouldn't find a way for her to visit New York while that whole mess was going down.

FPW: No, it's Cristin all the way.  And why would I write something like that if it didn't happen?

RJ: Because of your fetish for tie-ins.  "Hmmm… what if Gia was visiting on a trip to MOMA and passed Jack on the street."  That kind of crap.

FPW: Hey, not a bad idea.  She could–

RJ: Forget it!  We're done.