Black Orchid, by Neil Gaiman & Dave McKean. DC Comics, 2012

This book gathers the three part graphic novel story arc of Black Orchid into one paperback. Originally published around 1990, this the origin story of a DC character that had been around for years but little used. The original character was a woman of mystery; she never even had a secret identity given to her. This book explains why: she had no human identity, but was created by placing the genes of a specific woman, Susan Linden, into an orchid plant. Black Orchid was not born, but grown.

It’s a very violent story of vengeance and greed; film noir meets superhero story. Other characters from the DC universe are in it; Lex Luthor places a large part, while others make only brief appearances. It’s very different from what I would have expected from DC comics in that era; it’s not just a superhero story, it’s a very personal one. Black Orchid’s relationship with the plant world in the Amazon is almost spiritual. The art is stunning; McKean’s use of light and dark is beautiful.

 





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Deeply Odd, by Dean Koontz. Thorndike Press, 2013

This is the latest volume in the Odd Thomas series, about a young man who can see the lingering dead and has the ability to find people by a sort of psychic magnetism. Trouble seems to seek him out, and his conscience won’t let him step away from it when he can possibly help someone. This book starts out with Odd walking to the store, only to run into a someone he tags ‘the rhinestone cowboy’, a trucker who tries to kill him right in the grocery store because Odd was looking in his truck. When Odd touches the trucker, he sees a man torching some children, and he knows he has to follow the rhinestone cowboy to prevent the deaths of innocents. With the help of the ghost of Alfred Hitchcock and a little old lady with a 12 cylinder Mercedes limo, he goes into action against the most dangerous foes he’s faced yet, a demon worshipping cult. He also learns that the world is a far, far weirder place than even he thinks it is.

Koontz writes a find blend of horror and black humor. Written in the first person from Odd’s point of view, he gets to make dry comments about society that wouldn’t be possible in a different format. He describes things in a these are just the facts manner that is none the less very humorous, a relief from the suspense of the rest of the writing. I love this series, and I see I’ve missed a couple. I must remedy that before the next one comes out- one that may be the last of the series. 

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Pantomime, by Laura Lam. Strange Chemistry, 2013

Iphigenia Laurus (who prefers to be called Gene) is the daughter of one of the noble houses on Ellada. She is being taught the usual pursuits of a noble lady- embroidery and the like- which bore her to tears. She prefers reading, or the company of her older brother, Cyril, and running through the woods with him, climbing trees and scaffolding in the city. At the same time, she loves dancing and lovely dresses. Her parents have her future all planned out for her: a proper marriage that will bring more fortune to her family. When she finds out that something awful is planned for her before her entry into the marriage market, she wants to flee.

Micah Grey is a teenaged runaway, trying to join the circus. To prove they should take him in, he does some crazy things on the high wire- despite never having been on one before. He impresses the aerialists, Arik and Aenea, enough that he is taken in, a new member of R.H. Ragona’s Circus of Magic.

I’m not giving anything away by letting out that Gene and Micah are one and the same – you can figure it out in the very beginning of the story. That’s not all that unusual a situation in a YA story where there is a teen runaway. But Micah/Gene has a secret that, if discovered by the wrong people, could get hir beaten, ousted or killed.

This is fantasy, an incredible coming of age story where the protagonist has a lot more to discover about them self than the usual teen, a circus story, and a love triangle all brought together beautifully by the author. In a cast of fleshed out, well drawn characters, Micah/Gene is a brilliant creation. I eagerly await the next book in the series! 

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The Small Hand and Dolly: Two Novels, by Susan Hill. Vintage Books, 2010, 2012

Susan Hill is the author of “The Woman in Black”, and so I expected some very creepy ghost stories. With “The Small Hand” she delivers beautifully. A man, lost while driving to a client’s house, accidentally comes across a deserted house and garden in the English countryside and he feels drawn to it; while there, he experiences a small, childlike hand grasping his own- except there is no child there. Most people would want no more to do with the premises at this point, but the man- Adam Snow- delves into the history of the property with the aid of his client’s wife. While she does this, though, he finds that the invisible child has followed him- unusual for a ghost as they seem to be tied to a property. And the child keeps trying to pull him into very dangerous situations. Who is this child, and why has he attached himself to Adam? A discover by the client’s wife gives him a clue not just to who the child is, but to his own past. The ending was a great surprise to me; it was not what I was expecting. A very good, creepy story.

“Dolly”, on the other hand, left me cold, and not in the good, scary way. Cousins Edward and Leonora are sent to spend a summer at their Aunt Kestral’s house in the English countryside. Kestral has no children and has no experience dealing with them; the only other person in the house is her housekeeper Mrs. Mullen, who actively dislikes children. The cousins are pretty much on their own and it soon becomes apparent that Leonora is a budding sociopath, just like her mother. When Aunt Kestral, aided by Edward, attempts to give a nice birthday present to Leonora it’s not the right doll and she rejects it, smashing on the stone floor. That action is to have consequences forty years down the road.

Evil inanimate object stories can be very scary, and dolls can creepy just sitting still. There are eerie moments- rustling sounds and crying in the night- and Hill is the master of atmosphere. But somehow the story just didn’t hang together. It’s more a story of “Well, that’s truly unfortunate” than horror. 

 

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This book was given to me by the Amazon Vine program in return for an honest review. This in no way altered by review. 

The Family Guide to Mental Health Care, by Lloyd I. Sederer, MD. W.W. Norton, 2013

This book is a very thorough overview of what is available out there for mental health care in the USA. While there is a large section that describes the various mental disorders, what symptoms the patient is apt to display, and what therapies (both medications and talk therapies) are useful for those disorders, this is not a self help book – there are no work sheets or exercises for the mentally ill. This is for helping the family (or the patient) find professional aid. This book can help save precious time and money by seeking the correct treatment right off the bat. If you have a family member or friend with a mental illness and they aren’t getting help, this can help guide you.

 

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A Clockwork Heart, by Liesel Schwarz. Del Ray, 2013

After reading the first book in this trilogy, ‘A Conspiracy of Alchemists’ I had hopes for the second installment. Sadly, the things that disappointed me in the first book didn’t get any better in this one. Elle Chance, the main character, now married to Hugh Marsh, has not matured. She still refuses to take advice or even listen to people, acting like a sullen 14 year old. As the Oracle, she can hear the voices of all the Oracles before her- a source of great wisdom- and she banishes them because she is tired of listening to them. Hugh, with his powers bound because of his marriage, is bored with life as a mortal, especially with Elle still running her airship business; a number of reviewers have condemned Elle for continuing to fly after her marriage, but Hugh knew she was an avid pilot before he married her! And the couple hasn’t learned to talk to each other.

The ideas presented in the story are good- Hugh has gone missing, and someone is kidnapping people, replacing their hearts with clockwork, and using them as a zombie army. But while there is a lot of action, it frequently fails to thrill. It’s like the author was just getting it out of the way, doing a job. Adele the absinthe fairy has a part, but it’s an unsatisfactory part. Baroness Belododia the vampire plays a large part in this novel, but she’s not enough to save the story. It’s just… flat.

I’m torn about reading the next installment when it comes out. Will Elle and Hugh mature and become a team? I’m not sure I care enough to find out. I probably will end up reading it, because there is so much potential here, but it will be with some trepidation. 

This book was given to me by the Amazon Vine program in return for an honest review. The fact that I got it from them in no way influenced my review. 

 

The above is an affiliate link. If you click through it and buy the book, Amazon will give me a few cents. This in no way influences my review. 

Hallucinations by Oliver Sacks. Alfred A. Knopf, 2012

The most people think of hallucinations as things on people suffering from a psychosis have, it looks like the majority of hallucinations aren’t caused by psychosis at all. There are all sorts of hallucinations that arise from all sorts of disorders, including migraine, Parkinson’s, sensory deprivation (including loss of sight for whatever reason), and falling asleep and waking up- this last type can be terrifying.

The book starts with one disorder, Charles Bonnet Syndrome, which sometimes occurs in people who have lost their sight. Suddenly, they will begin to see again- except they are the only people who can see the things. Once told that the people (or whatever) are not real and that there is nothing wrong with them, some patients actually find the illusions interesting and amusing and even miss them when the hallucinations abate.

Those things we ‘see’ in the dark as we’re falling asleep are hypnagogic hallucinations; they usually have no emotional impact. Hypnopompic hallucinations and sleep paralysis, however, can be terrifying. Occuring as the person wakes, these hallucinations happen with they eyes open and are projected into the external environment and seem real- the monster is in your bedroom. Add sleep paralysis, where the mind is awake but the body hasn’t gotten the message yet, and you can’t fight or escape from the monster, dubbed in the past as the Hag or the Night Mare.

Told in Sacks’ usual amusing but informative style, this book is rich in detail but easily understandable by the person with no neurological knowledge. In this book, Sacks tells us something of his own history with hallucinations due to drug use in the 60s. One doesn’t expect this sort of openness in a medical book and I found it amusing as well as instructional; he can look at the drugs from the point of view of both doctor and user, providing an unusual balance. As always with one of Sacks’ books, it’s not to be missed if you have an interest in the brain. 

 

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