Flowers and bee

Flowers and bee

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

The 2009 Anthony Awards

I had the privilege and fun of being present at the Anthony Awards that were presented at Bouchercon in Indianapolis this past weekend.
Here are the winners!

Best Novel: THE BRASS VERDICT, by Michael Connelly

Best First Novel: THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO, by Stieg Larsson

Best Paperback Original: STATE OF THE ONION, by Julie Hyzy

Best Short Story: "A Sleep Not Unlike Death" by Sean Chercover (from HARDCORE HARDBOILED)

Best Critical/Nonfiction: ANTHONY BOUCHER: A BIBLIOGRAPHY, by Jeffrey Marks

Best Children's/Young Adult: THE CROSSROADS, by Chris Grabenstein

Best Cover Art: THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO, designed by Peter Meselund

Special Service Award: Jon & Ruth Jordan

Congratulations to all the winners and nominees! It was great seeing that there were two Chicagoland connections - Julie Hyzy and Sean Chercover. We knew they were good. Now everyone else knows they are too!

Thursday, October 08, 2009

Never Thought I'd Join a Bandwagon, But Then I Read Charlaine Harris

Yep, the header says it all. I have fallen into obsession with Charlaine Harris' Sookie Stackhouse books. I started tentatively. Finally got a hold on the first one - Dead Until Dark - and read it straight through. I loved Sookie, loved her issues and her "disability" as she called it. Oh and there were vampires. I'm not a HUGE vampire fan and I was not sure quite what to expect. But in Harris' world, it seems normal and logical and matter of fact. That folks, is called good writing. She created a funky world with back story and a multitude of characters that continue to be fleshed out (no irony with that word) throughout the series.

As I have flown through the books (I admit I still have one more to go - but then there are NO more til a new one comes out and besides it is really interrupting my sleep and my grad student class), I have marvelled how creative this world is, and how Sookie is a sensitive person regardless of what happens to her. That delicacy of feeling that you find in the books makes me extremely vary of seeing the TV show made from her work (True Blood). I just don't think you can "act" that stuff.

So why am I so surprised that I like these books? These books have been hyped a lot lately, and if I had a dollar for every book that was hyped that I did not care for - well, I would be very well off indeed! But nope, I have been seduced into staying up til 2 in the morning and not caring. That my friends is what a book obsession is all about. Harris is a talented gal. I have read her other series before this and have enjoyed them as well. (I met her once at a mystery convention - very nice lady too!)

Sookie's just a waitress in a tiny town in Louisiana. People think she is stupid because she has trouble concentrating - well that's because she hears everyone's thoughts all the time. Kind of like non stop chatter in your head. When she meets her first vampire - Bill - she delightedly discovers that she can not hear his thoughts. And he and the other vampires discover there is more to her than what you just see on the surface. It is really a saga about discovering another world and being valued for the talents that others see in you. Join the adventures. Just make sure you start reading early so you can get to bed at a reasonable hour. Because you are not going to want to stop. Trust me. A very fun and good read. I can't wait to see what happens next!

Dead Until Dark (2001)
Living Dead in Dallas (2002)
Club Dead (2003)
Dead to the World (2004)
Dead as a Doornail (2005)
Definitely Dead (2006)
All Together Dead (2007)
From Dead to Worse (2008)
Dead and Gone (2009)
A Touch of Dead (2009) short stories




Saturday, October 03, 2009

Holmes on the Range

Meet the Amlingmeyers. A pair of brothers riding the range from one grub stake to the next. Are they just obsessed cowpokes thinking about food, smokes, horses, women and more food? Nope. Old Red (Gustav) and Big Red (Otto) have other things on their mind. Like detecting. Just like that Sherlock fellow. Welcome to the world of Holmes on the Range by Steve Hockensmith.

Old Red's obsession with all things Holmes - read to him by his brother from Harper's Magazine - leads them to adventure. The slightly shady outfit they have signed up with - the Bar VR - ends up having two deaths on the premises. And the foreman really does not seem to care since everyone is supposed to be preparing for the arrival of the foreign owners of the ranch. Just who is lying to whom? And just what is going on with the ranch finances and stock? And those fancy English folks might have a hand in this mess too.

Hockensmith's characters are great fun. The story is told in Big Red's voice and he is a perfect doubting Thomas about his brother's detection skills. But he will stand by him as a loyal "Watson" and family member should. Old Red sometimes doubts himself - he is just an average uneducated cowboy - but he has studied his hero Holmes' methods.

With wonderful characters and a twisty plot, this series is off to a great start. I'm eager to read the rest. A very fun read!