Category: Books

Hundred-Dollar Baby

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Robert B. Parker’s Hundred-Dollar Baby is his 34th Spenser novel. A new one comes out every year, and when you’ve been reading them for as long as I have, each new novel is like a visit from an old friend. That’s both good and bad. It’s good because the characters have a long history and are well-defined. It’s bad because after so many years the reader can anticipate how the story will unfold. With a long-running series like the Spenser novels, the journey becomes more important than the final destination. Well… normally that’s the case.

Hundred-Dollar Baby breaks that mold. Sure, the story begins like most Spenser novels when he accepts case for a young woman [who first appeared in two earlier books, Ceremony (1982) and Taming a Sea Horse (1986)]. The story moves along in a very predictable fashion until about 3/4 of the way through when it takes on an unexpected twist. Hundred-Dollar Baby concludes with one of the most memorable endings of any Spenser novel.

If you’ve never read Robert B. Parker’s Spenser, then I’d suggest that you start with The Goldwolf Manuscript [the first in the series]. If you used to read the Spenser novels, but drifted away, then Hundred-Dollar Baby would be a good place to rekindle your friendship.

Huston Continues His Streak

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Charlie Huston just keeps hitting homeruns.

No, he’s not a baseball player. Huston’s a writer. And a very good one. I told you about how much I enjoyed Huston’s writing HERE. Now he’s back with his second Joe Pitt novel called No Dominion. It’s even better than Already Dead [and you know how much I liked it]!
So who is Joe Pitt? Let’s let Huston tell you in his own words:
Joe is a kind of a detective. Kind of. In the same way he’s kind of alive. Duck around the issue as long as you want, sooner or later it’s gonna bite you. See, Joe’s a vampire. Yeah, a blood sucker. But not in the usual way, least not in the way you’re thinking from the books and the movies. Joe’s got a sickness, same sickness a lot of other poor slobs got. And all of them are creeping around Manhattan, trying to stay out of the public eye, out of the sun. Got themselves organized into Clans, each one laying claim to some turf. Wanna stay alive, gotta be with a Clan. Except Joe. He doesn’t hold with that way of life. That way is no life at all as far as he’s concerned. Ha, life, that’s funny. Sort of.
At any rate, after you check out Joe Pitt, you might want to try Huston’s Hank Thompson trilogy. [You should start with Caught Stealing, then Six Bad Things, and finish with A Dangerous Man.] They’re as good as the Joe Pitt books. And it doesn’t get much better than that!

King Loves Huston

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One of the cool things about running the ZONE is getting to be one of the first to tell you about cool movies, comics, tv shows, artists and authors.

I’ve been talking up Charlie Huston since his first novel, Caught Stealing. I selected him as my favorite author of 2006 HERE. Guess who else is a Charlie Huston fan. Stephen King!
Stephen King said this about Charlie Huston in a recent interview: “When you came in we were talking about Charlie Huston, this guy who has written a trilogy. One’s called Caught Stealing and one’s called Six Bad Things and the last one, which I’m reading now, is called The Dangerous Man. I feel the same way…” …you don’t want the series to end.

Just another example of ZONErs being ahead of the pack!

Already Dead Gets New Life

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Remember when I first told you here about how much I enjoyed Charlie Huston’s writing? And then here when I wrote that Huston placed 2 books in my top five for 2006? [Actually it was 4 out of the top 7, if you want to get technical about it.]

Anyway, seems like I’m not the only one enjoying Huston’s work. Already Dead has been optioned for a potential movie franchise. 

Just another example of ZONErs being ahead of the crowd!

Drink and Draw Launch Party

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Remember when I told you about the Drink and Draw Social Club?

Ok. Do you remember when I told you about their cool art book [The Drink and Draw Social Club Vol. 1]?
Well, you won’t want to forget this… especially if you’re able to attend. [And if you do make it, be sure and tell Reverand Dave that the I sent ya!] Anyway, the Drink and Draw Social Club is having a launch party for their new book on February 10th from 6pm until closing at the Meltdown.Drink and Draw Social Club founders Dave Johnson, Dan Panosian and Jeff Johnson will be joined by LeSean Thomas, Josh Middleton, Felipe Smith, Jim Mahfood, Tragnark, Michael Avon Oeming, Kat Von D and many others.

If you can’t attend, you can still get a copy of The Drink and Draw Social Club Vol. 1 by clicking on the link. And if you do go, be sure and get some photos!

Drink and Draw

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Artists, for the most part, live solitary lives. They usually work alone, spending long hours at the drawing board. In an effort to combat this isolation, Dave Johnson, Jeff Johnson and Dan Panosian formed the Drink & Draw Social Club. Once a week these talented artists would get together to eat, drink, draw and socialize. The idea was such a great one that more and more artists began to join in.
Soon talents like Andy MacDonald, Josh Middleton, Jim Mahfood, Lesean Thomas, Kat Von D and others began to swing by for some drawin’ and jawin’.The idea was such a natural that similar groups began to spring up around the country. Heck, even “Big” John Beatty started his “Sketch Society” last year wrapped around the same concept.Can you imagine how cool it would be to hang out in a relaxed atmosphere with these talented artists as they drew stuff that THEY wanted to see? Well, you might not be able to hang out with these talented cats, but you can see some of the cool art that their Drink and Draw sessions produced! The Drink and Draw Social Club Volume 1 is now available. Featuring over 100 pages chock full of art,! My order is in!

300: The Art of the Film / Z-View

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I received my Art of 300 book today and it’s a beaut!With 300: The Art of the Film you get to go behind the scenes and see how director Zack Snyder (Dawn of the Dead) translates Frank Miller’s award-winning graphic novel to the big screen. The book includes more than 100 pages of production photos, concept art, and much, much more. What makes the deal even sweeter is that if you order using the link provided you can save over 33%!Now if the movie’s release date would only get here!

300: The Art of the Film rates an “A”

Books – Best of 2006

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Last year I read a number of exceptionally well-written books. Of course there were old favorites such as Andrew Vachss, Barry Eisler, Robert Crais, David Morrell, Stephen Hunter and others. Surprisingly, the list this year is dominated by authors that I read for the first time. And when I say dominated I mean it! Literally all of the authors in this year’s top five made it on my first exposure to their work.

5. Already Dead by Charlie Huston. Modern day vampire clans are at war and Joe Pitt has a missing girl to find. Huston’s next Joe Pitt novel, No Dominion, is available now.

4. Persuader by Lee Child. I’m coming to this series late in the game, but that doesn’t make me like it any less. Child has a winner with his Jack Reacher novels. In this outing, Reacher is working undercover with the FBI to catch an international gun-runner.

3. The Road by Cormac McCarthy. A father and young son journey south through a bleak post-apocalyptic world. Food is scarce and only what they can scavenge. They must make the journey to escape the brutal winter that is almost upon them. If they don’t starve odds are one of the roaming bands of cannibals will find them. Still they press on.

2. World War Z by Max Brooks. A haunting book that Chad Hunt also recommends!

1. Stealing Home / Six Bad Things / A Dangerous Man by Charlie Huston. Yeah, he’s the same Charlie Huston that wrote Already Dead. In this trilogy we meet Hank Thompson. When we first meet Hank he’s ten years out of high school and working as a bartender in New York City. Had it not been for a badly broken leg, he would have been a big league baseball player. Now he’s the nice guy who drinks too much and lacks real ambition. That is until the night two strangers yank him over the bar and beat him nearly to death. When he gets out of the hospital he gets more visitors and another beating. Soon he’s on the run from crooked cops, mobsters and hit men. If he lives maybe he’ll get a piece of the millions of dollars that they believe he has. Six Bad Things and A Dangerous Man complete Hank’s story. I loved every page and wish that it didn’t have to end.

World War Z

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Over at his blog, my buddy Chad, was talking up what an awesome book War World Z is.

And it is.

I read it a few months ago and regularly think about how cool it was. Chad had the great idea to get the audio version of the book. After seeing how much Chad enjoyed listening to it [and this is AFTER reading it], I may have to do the same. [It would be to fun listen to on a long road trip at night!]

Well, my post can’t just be about how cool Chad’s post was, can it? I guess it could, but I always like to bring something to the table. So HERE is a link to the official World War Z site. It has a lot of fun things to check out. For instance, I had a 34% chance of surviving the zombie war. Ok, maybe THAT wasn’t the best example I could have used for a fun thing… but you get the idea.

Ok… you guys check out the World War Z site and I’ll get to work on scooping Chad‘s next post.

Drive… Wheelman

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There’s not much better than a good crime novel… unless it’s two good crime novels. Today I’m going to recommend two excellent ones which interestingly enough both feature a getaway driver as their main character!

Drive written by James Sallis opens with Driver [the main character] wounded and slouched against a cheap hotel room wall. Three dead bodies lay around him. From there the story takes us back showing us glimpses of how a violent childhood led to his current double-life where his talents behind the wheel have brought him to a potentially bloody end. Before his betrayal on a heist doomed from the start, Driver simply drove. He didn’t even carry weapons. Now, wounded and with a price on head, things are about to change…

The Wheelman by Duane Swierczynski opens in the middle of a bank robbery which has gone south. Still, with a little bit of luck Lennon [the driver] and the two robbers get away… briefly. What follows is a fast paced, violent, and at times humorous story of what happens when crooked cops, the Italian mob, the Russian mob, and other quirky characters take an interest in getting their hands on Lennon and the money. Swierczynski takes the story [which moves at a breakneck pace] and fills it with double-crosses, surprises and great prose.

A Dangerous Man

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Tomorrow, the third [and last] book in Charlie Huston‘s Hank Thompson trilogy [Caught Stealing; Six Bad Things; A Dangerous Man] becomes available. And while I can’t wait to read it, I am sad that the series will come to an end. I do applaud Huston for having the integrity to say, the story has been told and that’s that. Still, the fan in me hopes that if Hank’s still alive at the end of A Dangerous Man, there may be more story to tell.I’m also looking forward to the second book in Huston’s Joe Pitt series, No Dominion. It’ll be out this December.

Vampires, Anyone?

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I’ve been into vampires lately. Remember back here when I told you about the new Blade comic series that Howard Chaykin was going to draw? 

I’m currently reading Underland by Mick Farren. It’s got modern day vampires, as well as modern day Nazis, conspiracy theories, UFO’s and more. I’m digging it and am only about 1/2 way through.

Before Underland I read Already Dead by Charlie Huston. Huston has quickly become one of my favorite writers. Already Dead also features a modern day vampire, uh vampyre. As much as I’m enjoying Underland, Already Dead is even better. It combines The Godfather, Raymond Chandler, Mickey Spillane and the end result is pure Charlie Huston. I highly recommend this one!Okay… enough about me and vampires. I’d write more but I’m off to watch the latest episode of Blade.