Reading Recommendations 9
Ok, guys. It's time for our next featured author. With most of the authors I've covered so far, I had already read one or more of their books, which made things easy for me. For writers whom I wasn't familiar with, I would try to read a significant amount, but keep it manageable; one complete or in-progress novel; several short stories; one novel and a short story, etc.
In this case, though, I decided to instead read two complete novels. Doing so required a lot of time, a lot of energy, and a lot of cramming and processing. And guess what? I'm DARN glad I did it.
Voodootown
Schism
As usual, I'll start in the order I read them in. First up we have Voodootown. Best-selling novelist Scott Sigler described this book as "Coraline meets Fight Club." Well, I never watched Fight Club, but Coraline is a favorite movie of mine, so we'll work from there.
The "Coraline" part of the equation is something I can definitely recognize, especially in the very first chapter, where our antagonist spends his time meticulously dismembering a hapless doll. This parallel is further confirmed as we learn of the relationship between the dolls and the people they protect.
Having said that, this is still a story all its own, and there are differences between it and the aforementioned movie. I think the biggest thing is overall style or feel; I think of Coraline more as a horror story with some mystery and action-adventure elements, while Voodootown is an action-adventure story with a horror/supernatural flair. There IS some zombie action, though. Or rather, zombi action. (You'll learn the difference when you read the book).
I love how creative this book is; the different powers and skills the characters have, and also the rules they - - and the world itself - - operate by. He's found that balance between giving them some kick-butt skills that are a heck of a lot of fun to watch, but also making them vulnerable, and constantly pushing them to the limits as he ups the ante further and further.
"Creating clear and defined stakes, upping the hell out of them, and then complicating them too for good measure...." As explained by writer @jowatson_101 in the official "Just Write It" guide by Wattpad, this is one of the elements of making a great story, and I would say it's definitely an element that Bruce Elgin has mastered. In fact, I said before that this basically seems to describe his writing style in a nutshell. It's enough to have the weight of the world on your shoulders; he'll also throw in a couple of asteroids - - y'know, just for chuckles.
Moving on, one unique thing that sets this book apart is that you really have a team of protagonists, rather than just one. You get to see a variety of viewpoints, and they each have different skills, physical and mental/emotional weaknesses, and different relationships to every other member of the group.
Plus, there are some very funny and memorable moments in the story, and I think the nerds and movie buffs in the audience will appreciate the various references. (I can attest from experience, though - - you'll still enjoy the story even if you don't catch those.)
Voodootown is definitely a book that I would feel comfortable recommending for preteen readers - - it's a moderate-to-strongish PG - - but I also think it'll be a very fun and entertaining ride for older readers, as well. Here's a tip, parents: motivation is essential. Nothing quite like learning how to drive the quick-and-dirty way: while being chased by a horde of zombis. They'll learn quick.
And there's no way I can talk about this book without a quick nod to one of my favorite characters - - Eun Kyung. I think I'm kind of a mix between her and Ash (aka, the school weirdo.)
The only question is, what power would my doll have? I still haven't figured that out myself, but it's sure neat to read other readers' ideas for their own dolls.
Now that we've talked about Voodootown - - which has sequels in the works (yay!), we gotta move on to Schism.
Oy, what to say about Schism? Ok, how about this...you know that earlier quote about upping the ante, complicating things, and essentially making your characters' lives miserable? Well, let me explain the difference between Voodootown and Schism. Being a character in Voodootown is like being thrown into a rodeo from Hades, where you're getting nailed by a mix of paintball pellets, rubber bullets, and beanbags, all while dodging - - and sometimes getting run over by - - a angry rodeo bull (maybe even the legendary Bodacious.) If you're not familiar with paintball, you may be surprised to learn that it can hurt. A lot. I've seen some very nasty bruises result from getting hit with those pellets. And those rubber bullets and beanbags? Turns out, non-lethal means just that - - it won't kill you. Not only do they hurt, but they can also jack you up.
So, if being a character in Voodootown is rubber bullets, paintball pellets, and an angry bull, then what is Schism? Try live fire, javelins, and a bull elephant. Oh, and you know that guy whose toes you stepped on when you were on your way to your seat earlier? Yeahhh...apparently, he's now in the nosebleed section lobbing Molotov's and napalm at you - - which, if they don't hit you directly, are still guaranteed to turn the tent into a raging inferno. And remember, children - - the smoke'll get you before the fire does!
Trust me, the circus analogy applies very well in the last few chapters, which are absolutely exhausting and draining just to read and process. And I mean that as a compliment. If you wanted a dramatic, gripping-the-edge-of-your-seat climax, you'll get your wish and then some. In fact, forget the characters - - wasn't sure how much of that I could take!
Of course, all this talk about the climax...you'll never even get there if the journey itself doesn't even feel worthwhile. It does.
Like Voodootown, Schism is an action-adventure story. However, it has a much darker, grittier feeling, and focuses on the supernatural in a way that's very down-to-earth, yet also super-heroic. (Although in an amusing irony, any comparison between him and superheroes will invariably draw an eye roll from our protagonist.) Also, for much of the story, the supernatural is more narrow and focused in scope, not as broadly distributed among the cast as it is in Voodootown.
One thing's for sure, though - - our hero is much more Batman than Superman. (No disrespect to Superman, ha!) He's surprisingly fragile and vulnerable, yet still unquestionably cool, with some slick moves.
For those of you familiar with the Arkham game series, I think Batman's journey in Arkham Knight is a very apt parallel. As we make our way throughout the story, we see our character getting torn down, broken down, little by little. As you see the wear and tear on both his mind and body, you really start to wonder just how much more this guy can even handle, and he himself isn't sure he's going to make it through.
I kind of have this mental picture of walking down an elevated path, with clawed beings grasping at you from either side. You can mostly avoid them, but some always manage to get you. A grab here, a slash there. The wounds aren't fatal, but they add up, and eventually you're not gonna be able to stand, and then they can reach higher up - - to your chest, your neck.
I recently went through a period that felt like this. A combination of illness, chronic fatigue, lack of sleep, and severe stress and physical & emotional pain wore me down day by day. Each day I was progressively worse, and not just physically; it clouded my mind, as well, and made it harder to think straight, focus, keep my emotions in check, and function overall. Kind of like our protagonist's journey, except without all the cool, awesome parts. (Ah, and speaking of mental states, another commonality between our hero, William, and the Batman of Arkham Knight is that both are hearing and - - to varying degrees - - being led by voices.)
Having said all that, my verdict would be that it's pretty depressing and morose, right? Wrong! This isn't a story of unresolvable angst and misery. There's way more to it than that. We find ourselves playing detective and riding along as we try to wage a mini-guerrilla war on a growing, organized coalition of White supremacists who have big plans for our home city. Meanwhile, we have a series of arsons also pulling for our attention, and we have to figure out who's behind them, and whether or not they have any relation to other crimes in the city.
On top of that, our main characters are also engrossing, unpredictable mysteries within themselves. Think you'll figure them out quickly? Probably not. Just when you think you understand a character and how they work, they'll slip out of your grasp - - and maybe clonk you in the back of the head with something. The evolution and devolution that go on are unpredictable and startling, yet also feel genuine, and deeply thought out - - as does the whole story - - rather than feeling random and thrown in. And I have to say, I suspect Bruce had a lot of fun coming up with ways to make us like even the worst people, and then feel guilty for liking them, then feel even more guilty for being so hard on some of them.
Why inflict the emotional whiplash on us?
"For the POWAH!!!!" - - Debra Barone.
Ok, I'll get serious. While it is fun to throw people for a loop worthy of "Coaster Wars," I think it's safe to say there's more to it than just that. People talk about books, about art in general, providing escapism; they're a way to be transported into a world beyond our daily lives, experiences, and troubles. Bruce's books provide that for sure; they provide new realms for us to enjoy, explore, and dive into.
However, with Schism, we also have major real-life issues to handle, and I think the author wanted this book to ring true. He gives us some general guidelines so we don't get too off-base, but there's no cheat sheet, way we can speed our way through the test or simply dial it in and still come out on top.
I just find the story as a whole to be so rich and well thought out, and the people in the story reflect this. I can't imagine how much work went into writing Schism but we get an idea when we see the result: a world that gives us kick-butt, action-hero, comic-book fun, while yet feeling jarringly real.
Ah, I almost forgot, but there's one more really cool thing about Bruce: he's interactive. Crazy interactive. He's a heck of a lot of fun to talk to, and he goes out of his way to respond to each comment his readers leave...a policy he probably regrets by now, because I loved the book so much and found it so engaging that I felt compelled to leave multiple comments on almost every chapter...and this is a long book. Ahem.
I know commenting isn't a bad thing - - it's how you "see" your readers' reactions to different parts of your story as they read - - but I feel a little guilty for giving him that much work! Of course, on the bright side, I just found out today that leaving comments, especially a lot of them in a short period of time, can help boost a story's rankings. And actually, his personableness (and sheer awesomeness) are a huge part of the reason I decided to read and feature two full novels for the sake of this post, instead of just one.
I'm going to end this post with a quote from chapter two of the book. Not that I didn't enjoy the prologue, but it was the beginning of Chapter One, Part 1 that truly hooked me, especially that very first sentence.
William Adams had always known that one day, the voices would kill him. He'd been ready for that, accepted it. But he hadn't been prepared for what had happened to him over the last two years.
If that doesn't draw you in, I don't know what will!
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