Why is there no title here? Did I forget?

I just finished Charles de Lint's Mulengro. I liked, but then I like just about everything de Lint writes.

Mulengro is story about gypsies in Canada. There's a supernatural killer called Mulengro on the loose who targets them. He captures the mule of his victims--that's a sort of gypsy ghost not a donkey/horse hybrid--and uses them to kill. All in all, it's very creepy.

This novel features all the regular de Lint elements: an underdog hero (the gypsy Janfri Yayal), a writer or other artist (Ola & Jeff), Magic (Mulengro and the mule), and a talking cat (ok, that's not a standard de Lint Element, I just wanted to see if you're paying attention).

From reading this book, you can learn something about the Rom, that is the Gypsies. I would assume that de Lint actually did research to provide the bits of their culture peppered throughout the book, and this book interests me enough that I might do a little of that same sort of research. The bits of Gypsy folklore sound interesting, though I admit, I've always been interested in folklore.

The only real complaint I have about de Lint's stuff is that it's so damn hard to find and expensive. It seems like most of his more recent books aren't released in mass market paperbacks. Most of them seem to be small press type books that sell for a bundle. This one is at least from a major publisher and in paperback--probably because it's a reprint from 1985--though, it's one of those larger, more expensive paperbacks (it cost me $15).

Anyway, even though this book is darker than de Lint normal rare, it's still an excellent read. I give it 5 yo-yos.



I'm not exactly sure what I'll be reading next; I'm going to Borders later on today, so if I pick up anything really interesting I'll read that next. Otherwise, I'll probably read Trudi Canavan's The Last of the Wilds, unless I get the copy of Robert Jordan's The Knife of Dreams that I ordered from Zooba.

I'm Back

Ok, it's been about six months since I've updated this blog. I have been reading quite a lot during these past few months, but for various reasons, I haven't bothered to write my usual reviews. At first, my computer crashed and I had to use my dad's to get online. Then, once mine was replaced, I was out of the habit of writing reviews. I've decided that it's time for this laziness to end. So, I bring you The Presiden't Vampire by Robert Damon Schneck.

I've always been fascinated by the "strange but true" type of story. I've never really cared if it was about ghosts fairies, UFOs, cryptids, strange crimes, weird archeology, or whatever. I probably have dozens of works on the subject, many of which I've read several times. Unfortunately, much of what I've read seems to be written by overly credulous morons who'll believe anything they hear. Don't get me wrong, they're still good stories, I just have a hard time swallowing some of this stuff when there are no references to the sources or anything.

Mr. Schneck is different. His stories are well researched, and he provides lots of endnotes listing sources and other references. Not only that, but he doesn't get into the same bad habit other writers share of endlessly recycling the same tired, old stories; of the eight stories in the book, the only one that I was even remotely familiar with was the story of Pedro the mummy, and that one all I'd heard was the story of the mummy's discovery.

Of the eight stories, the one I liked best was "The Bridge to Body Island," which was the personal account of a friend of the author. The Bye-Bye Man, and his dog-thing called Gloom Singer, are genuinely terrifying, and would probably make a pretty damn good horror movie. Though, I must admit, Bye-Bye Man reminds me somewhat of The Corinthian from the Sandman comics. Still, under the circumstances, perhaps that's not too surprising.

My least favorite of the stories was the title one, "The President's Vampire." Mainly because it wasn't particularly mysterious. The original version of the story sounded strange, but once the author began researching it, the strangeness evaporated. The vampire wasn't a vampire, just a murderer. I actually found it pretty boring.

Still, the book itself was excellent, and I heartily recommend it. I give it 4.5 yo-yos., and I'd give it more if I didn't dislike the title story so much. Up next, I'm going to read Charles DeLint's Mulengro.

Sub-Par Fantasy

I wasn’t too terribly impressed by Dennis McCarty’s Flight To Thlassa Mey. It’s not actually a bad book, but I would hardly call it good either. All in all, I’d have to rate it as sub-par.

Flight To Thlassa Mey is about an escape. Princess Berengeria and her servant Aelia are being held prisoner by the evil Lothar the Pale. The knight Ursid, Lothars nephew, helps them escape from the palace. They hire Sir Palamon, a fallen knight turned bouncer, to aid them in their escape. Soon, they are pursued by Lothar’s men and the servants of the mad wizard Alyubol.

The book is actually well plotted, and the pacing is done well enough to maintain interest throughout the story. The main characters are very human, and I did think that they were pretty fleshed out.

Unfortunately other parts of the book aren’t so good. The villains are pretty two-dimensional. The major “surprise” plot twist at the end of the book is so predictable that I figured it out almost as soon as we learn that there is a mystery about Palamon’s birth. And the dialogue is just plain terrible.

I hate it when authors have their characters constantly talking in a sort of pseudo-medieval dialogue. This author uses more of a pseudo-Shakespearean, but it’s still pretty damn annoying. Here are few random examples:

I wind into my knitting gossip’s threads. I head those whom few others stop to hear, committing into memory’s counterpane all things that pass into my weaver’s grasp.

Infirmities of age will soon become your friends and boon companions, more so every year. Well could I tell you that much, even if I were no sage.

Do not converse where strangers may appear. The privacy of this small chamber shall be yours, for it is I who shall go forth.

Now imagine a whole book filled with that sort of thing. Ugghh!

Because of the annoying language, cruddy villains, and idiotic plot twist, I can only give Flight To Thlassa Mey 2.5 yo-yos. Up next will probably be Arthur C. Clarke’s Childhood's End.