Review by Jason Lush
This book was received through the LibraryThing Early Reader’s Program.
ISBN: 9781932603774
First off, the subject matter narrows the reader pool down to those living with Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) and the people who care for them. But that is where the problems end. The Mayo Clinic Guide to Living with a Spinal Cord Injury is written by leaders in medical research and successfully avoids, or explains where needed, medical jargon. But the writing also isn’t dumbed down to the point of being patronizing either.
At first, I was skeptical about how useful this 200 page tome would be, but with the clear, helpful illustrations and truly useful tips about life style changes that will be beneficial no matter the degree of damage sustained by the patient, my mind has been changed. The unique thing about this title is that the authors did not focus solely on the effects SCI has on the patient’s spine, the book also thoroughly explores the effects SCI has on the patient’s other systems, such as cardiac, nervous and digestive. It also sheds light on the psychological effects on patients and caretakers. The Mayo Clinic Guide to Living with a Spinal Cord Injury is a pleasant, easy read, suitable for anyone affected by an SCI.
This book was donated to the Primal Faith Foundation by author Michele Lee.
24
Apr
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Review by Lincoln Crisler
2006 Leisure Paperback Reprint, 9780843956962, $6.99
I picked up the Leisure reprint of Jack Ketchum’s debut novel, Off Season, last week and it returned my faith in dead Mr. Ketchum. My first foray into the feral world of Jack’s intensely descriptive violence was The Girl Next Door, a book I still sing the praises of a year after reading it. My second was last year’s Old Flames, which I found rather lukewarm in comparison. I’d been hearing about Off Season’s reputation for the last couple years, though, and with good reason; it put Ketchum on the map when it was first published in 1981 and garnered him a good amount of fandom even as Ballentine pulled the book from the shelves after being blasted for publishing torture porn.
Off Season tells the story of three men and three women shacking up for a week of fun in a cabin in the woods rented by Carla, a book editor on assignment. Their vacation is shattered the first night in when the local family of cave-dwelling cannibals attacks, slaying one of the cabin-mates instantly and eviscerating and eating another shortly after. Finally, reduced to an injured man and two women (one catatonic), the survivors stage an escape only to have the women dragged off and the man in hot (if somewhat slow) pursuit. The final showdown between the survivors and the cannibals is swift and bloody, the local law intervenes after finally making sense of a pattern of disappearances and when the smoke clears, only one of the original six is left standing… er… laying on an ambulance stretcher.
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Review by Jason Lush
- Read it for the information about archeology and the people who study coptic writings, but not to learn any thing of Judas or the document “The Gospel of Judas”.
- Simply put, this is an informative and interesting book, but it has nothing to do with its sensational title. The man Judas is mentioned briefly, but the remainder is about the documents’ procurement and the people involved with its translation and preservation.
- Nothing…nothing of the document itself or any of its content. The spiritual content of this book is no more than any thinking reader of the New Testament could surmise on their own.
- Good book, over blown title.
- Review by Jason Lush
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- Really should have been called “When Humans with College Educations Do Really Stupid Things”, but I guess that wouldn’t be sensational enough.
- When Science Goes Wrong is informative and engaging, but I believe it may have been rushed to press to capitalize on some event. The book covers twelve events in recent history in which seemingly smart people committed decidedly careless or outright stupid deeds, always at the cost of others.
- Each of the twelve stories are factual and informative, but every one of them is jam-packed with worthless fluff and personal anecdotes that distract from the point. My advice is read the first three and last three pages of each chapter and you’ll get all the relevant information you need.
Guest Review by Jason Lush
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One hundred and ninety pages of political masturbation disguised as a supernatural suspense story. Of the three main characters we have; Dorian Gray, who is a brainless puppet the personifies vanity; Basil Hallward, the artist who painted the fabled portrait and represents the sorrowful conscience; and Lord Henry Wolton, who is the quintessential 19th Century fop whose sole purpose in the book is to act as Wilde’s voice on politics, religion and homosexuality and as a driving corrupter of everyone else in the book.
The pacing is horrendously slow, the chapters devoted to explaining Gray’s hobbies and the pictures of his ancestors in his hallway don’t help with the lousy pacing. The whole story could have been condensed to a 30 page novella and would have been enjoyable.
And, as a side note to the posthumous Mr. Wilde, forty is not old and hideous.
Review by Lincoln Crisler
One of these two books is my favorite-read for 2008 and the other is my runner-up. Trouble is, I can’t decide which is which. You decide:
In the red corner, featuring a whirlwind descent into the vulgar cesspit of several American cities, from veteran comics writer Warren Ellis… Crooked Little Vein! Michael McGill, a ’shit-magnet’ private eye, accompanied by a free-loving girl he found on a street corner, searches for a hidden, second Constitution of the United States. The plot sounded hokey to me at first, and the nastiest parts of the book are horrible exaggerations (just about anything that happens to Mike in this book would be too much for one man) but the book is well- and tightly-written. I’ve been reading Ellis’ comics work since I was a teenager and this debut novel was a real treat.
In the blue corner, reprinting a Delirium Books publication, from veteran horror writer and journalist John Everson… Covenant! Everson’s mass-market debut tells the story of Joe Kieran, a reporter who’s exiled himself to sleepy little Terrel. Unfortunately for Joe, Terrel’s not what it appears and he just can’t let go of a good story. It’s a complete tale in and of itself but its sequel, Sacrifice, comes out in mass-market form next Spring!
It’s a tough call, really. I read everything Ellis puts out as fast as I can find it and I’ve sought advice from Everson on writing and publishing. I’d point any aspiring pro-writer to both of these guys as shining examples of the craft, and I aim to be where they are as soon as possible. The deciding factor should really be the quality of the books, but both are ten stars out of five. The two are nothing like each other, and I enjoyed them both for entirely different reasons. Vein is witty and vulgar in the extreme and Covenant is the kind of in-depth, detailed story I usually only find from the “masters,” King, Straub or Rice.
Either way, you can’t lose. Check ‘em both out, and drop us a line if you manage to come to a decision!
Review by M.A. Hunt
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Any Given Doomsday, by Lori Handeland, is the first book in her The Phoenix Chronicles series.
Elizabeth Phoenix is a young ex-cop in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, now working in the bar owned by her deceased partner’s wife, Megan Murphy… Murphy’s Bar, of course.
This is a small indication of the kind of wit Handeland brings to this tale.
Phoenix has some latent psychic powers, aided and abetted to partial fruition by two not-quite-human men, Jimmy Sanducci, whom she’s known since childhood, and Sawyer, a Navajo witch, and a dead mentor, Ruthie Kane, who is very much from the same vein as the guide in the Matrix Trilogy, of popular film.
A wonderful romp of a novel, filled with things from the underworld, and beyond, written by a highly intelligent author.
Unfortunately, it’s not until chapter 23 that the real story begins.
The first 22 chapters are mostly filled with fluff, aka ‘back story’, which she would have been better off disseminating in dribs and drabs throughout, as she unfolded the tale, rather than bunch it all upfront.
From there on, Handeland shows considerable and impressive talent in the progression of the tale, even if some of her obvious wit becomes a tad tedious, but it’s a compelling, page-turning read.
If the blurb for the next book is any indication, Doomsday Can Wait promises to be a continuation of very strong storytelling.
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Review by Michele Lee and Michael Lush
Asatru is the pagan path that follows Norse tradition. For laypersons, this means Odin, Thor, Loki, their stories and their kin. Ask any pagan their views on Asatru and you’ll get mixed responses. While many people, especially men, find their spiritual home as followers of the Asgardians, it’s also been adopted by hateful, racist sects. Asatru, however, is not a racist belief system, in fact it’s one of the few ancient paths that holds men and women equal. Goddesses and gods are equal, Odin accepts men and women into his ranks of warriors and in the Norse lifestyle men and women could both own land and hold respected social positions.
Because of Asatru’s adoption by small groups of racists, and the reputation even centuries later of the Viking invaders, books on the subject often hint at the faith only being applicable to those of Northern European decent. However, Essential Asatru is different.
To begin with it points out that the Vikings traveled so far, to the Americas, even into Africa, that it’s possible that many people who don’t look Nordic might still have Norse blood.
Essential Asatru also focuses on the other thing that makes Asatru different from other pagan paths. Asatru is a functional religion, it’s designed to blend into a life, not rule it. In Asatru the gods are allies in every day life, not overlords who must be appeased for humans to survive. Interacting with the religion is, and was, a low priority (which is not surprising when considering that the original Vikings lived with 9 months of winter a year, implying that they often had little time for anything other than survival.)
Essential Asatru is the first fully satisfying non-myth book we’ve added to our collection on Asatru. It’s a choice pick for those interested in the faith, readers interested in religious studies in general and writers looking for research books on the Norse faiths.