Critique Week and NanoWrimo

Might be off the net for a bit. There's this write a novel in a month contest and I'm thinking of taking the plunge. There's an idea that's been kicking around in my head for the last couple of months and this could be my chance to get it down. 50,000 words by the end of November (starts Nov 1st) So no arcs and put GhostWriter on hold for one month. I've reviewed quite a few books in the last couple of months so I don't feel bad about taking a break. Normal service or what passes for normal in this house:-) will be resumed at the end of November. Wish me luck!

New Lisa Lutz

I only bagged one arc this week. The Curse of the Spellmans by Lisa Lutz. I read the Spellman Files this year it's about this disfunctional family of private eyes seen through the eyes of daughter Izzy and this is the sequel - it comes out in March next year but so far it's as funny as the last one.

I'm trying to keep reading to a minimum this week. Critique time is fast approaching and my supposed 10 pages is actually a measly 2!

The Ghost by Robert Harris

This is a bit of a conundrum - I liked it but more for what's behind the story than the story itself. Adam Lang (Tony Blair anyone) retired PM writing his memoirs - holed up on Martha's Vineyard in the winter. Like any celeb he has a "ghost" helping him. His first ghost, one Mike McAra dies in mysterious circumstances and another ghost is hired as a replacement. Now here's one of the cool bits - you never know the new ghost - our narrator's name. Harris names everyone else but not him. Also he gives us a small insight into the world of the ghostwriter - interesting to me because my main character earns their living as one.

Of course walking in a dead man's shoes the narrator is apt to repeat the mistakes of McAra but what was his fatal mistake? The one that got him killed. It's all there in the manuscript - the original manuscript The secret that the narrator leaves as his legacy - if you finish the book - you'll know what I mean.

Didn't get to Stiff this week. Life got in the way again.

Secret History of the War on Cancer

Davis is meticulous about citing her sources - those with no life might like to try and trip her up. To say I read this with my jaw on the floor would be an understatement. Sometimes you have to read books that upset you or in this case make you mad. This book shows how big business - not just the tobacco companies although they are equally complicit - deliberately suppressed information that would either harm sales or productivity. They were further ahead with cancer research in 1936(!!!!!) than we are today. Go figure. Still shaking my head in disgust.....This is a book which I'm surprised got published but you need to read it and you need to understand that USA (or UK for that matter - we didn't introduce regular pap screening until the 80's) way isn't always the best.

Spook, more arcs but these are for October 07!

Loved Spook. Insightful, fascinating and funny. Six Sacred Stones is brilliant and I'll review it fully when it comes out in January '08 and I will be buying it - in hardback - it's that good!

I'll get to Stiff if I get the time. Secret History of the War on Cancer by Devra Davis, I've already started it - scary stuff. I heard her interviewed on NPR and then came across the arc in a back room.

Other arc The Ghost by Robert Harris, looks like a ripped-from-the-headlines aka the Blair and Bush smoke and mirrors routine but we'll see. The last Harris I read was Fatherland and that was years ago.

Review of Seven Deadly Wonders, ARC and Spook

If you like action this is a great book but it has an element of family as well. You’ll cheer the heroes and boo the villians – and you may not like who the villains are. Hey the Brits were the baddies in Ice Station – deal with it, I did.

An international team of commandos, all deadly but charged with raising and protecting a little girl called Lily. It’s a global treasure hunt ten years in the making with high stakes for all of humanity. America, Old Europe and “the nine” race between the seven wonders of the world – including the long lost hanging gardens of Babylon. (If they exist as Matt Reilly envisions them they would be a truly awe-inspiring sight.) They’re all looking for the pieces of the golden capstone that used to sit atop the great pyramid in Egypt. But do Aussie, Jack West Jr and his team of underdogs have a traitor amongst them and will Lily survive the ritual she was born for? This book made me laugh out loud in a couple of places, especially the bit with the London bus! And what is it about fictional heroes named Jack?

More Jack West and co on the way in January – I’m just starting the arc for Six Sacred Stones.

A little palate-cleansing non-fiction. “Spook”, by Mary Roach. Science tackles the afterlife and so far Roach’s fascinating insight and sometimes earthy wit are making me think I should try “Stiff” next.