May the Road Rise Up to Meet You
by Peter Troy
Genre: Historical Fiction
Publisher: Doubleday
Publish Date: February 28, 2012
Format: Hardback | 400 pages
Rating: 4 of 5
In May the Road Rise Up to Meet You we encounter four remarkable characters in this memorable debut of historical fiction spanning the mid-nineteenth century through the end of the Civil War.
Ethan McOwen leaves Ireland in 1847 at the height of the famine and sails to America under squalid conditions joining his father and brother in New York. He becomes a successful photographer and volunteer in the Civil War with the Irish Brigade. Marcella Arroyo is a young Spanish woman whose wealthy family moves to America. She yearns to be independent and join the abolitionist movement as soon as she turns 21 and can move out of her parents home. Mary and Micah are slaves. While each has suffered harsh treatment in the past, Mary now has a better position as a house slave and companion for her owner’s daughter while Micah is considered a prize possession as a skilled carpenter and works long hours.
The four characters have parallel lives. Each is setting out on a journey, a new beginning, and along the way their stories intersect. Ethan has moved to American to escape the famine, Marcella begins anew when her family shuns her for leaving home, and Micha and Mary both experience being sold to new owners and separated from everything they have ever known. We learn their history and experience their present as the period comes alive with richly detailed descriptions. We feel the despair of a people suffering a famine, the grim conditions on a ship crossing the ocean, the harshness and pain of life as a slave, the horror of the Civil War battlefield and ultimately the beauty of love. There was much to like about each of these strong, complex characters.
The story is told in alternating points of view, rotating between the four main characters. The writing style took me a few chapters to get used to. There are no quotation marks around the dialog. Often the characters talk with a dialect. Occasionally the author slips into the second person and then seamlessly returns to third person the next time we read about that character. Different, but definitely worth the effort to read.
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The publisher has made available two copies for me to give to my readers in the US. For a chance to win, click here to enter. Giveaway ends March 11th, US only.
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Source: Review copy provided by the publisher.
Mailbox Monday was created by The Printed Page. It is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their home last week.
Mailbox Monday is currently on tour, hosted by a different blog each month. The March host is Anna of Diary of an Eccentric.
From Blackstone Audio for review:
Immortality, Inc.
by Robert Sheckley
First published in 1959 as a startling, revolutionary novel of the future, then pushed to new cinematic limits as the feature film adaptation FREEJACK in 1992, Robert Sheckley’s unsettling vision of Tomorrow now arrives in audiobook format for the 21st century.
Thomas Blaine awoke in a white bed in a white room, and heard someone say, “He’s alive now.” Then they asked him his name, age and marital status. Yes, that seemed normal enough—but what was this talk about “death trauma”? more
From the publisher for review:
The Gift of Fire / On the Head of a Pin
Two Short Novels from Crosstown to Oblivion
by Walter Mosley
New York Times bestselling authorWalter Mosley delivers two speculative tales, in one volume, of everyday people exposed to life-altering truths.
More info HERE at goodreads, and they are having a giveaway of 10 copies for US readers.
From the publisher for review:
The Third Gate
by Lincoln Child
Under the direction of famed explorer Porter Stone, an archaeological team is secretly attempting to locate the tomb of an ancient pharaoh who was unlike any other in history. Stone believes he has found the burial chamber of King Narmer, the near mythical god- king who united upper and lower Egypt in 3200 B.C., and the archaeologist has reason to believe that the greatest prize of all—Narmer’s crown—might be buried with him. No crown of an Egyptian king has ever been discovered, and Narmer’s is the elusive “double” crown of the two Egypts, supposedly possessed of awesome powers.
A win from Jessica at Jess resides here:
Sausage Maker’s Daughter
by AGS Johnson
The sausage maker’s youngest daughter is heading for the fight of her battle-scarred life. It’s the era of the counterculture and Vietnam. But twenty-four-year-old Kip Czermanksi is nowhere near her home in California. She’s in a jail cell in her hometown in Wisconsin awaiting a court appearance in the mysterious death of her ex-lover, who happened to be her brother-in-law. Given her father is the small town’s leading citizen; Kip isn’t overly worried, at first. But the personal grudge the DA holds for all the Czermanskis is about to find a foil Kip. What follows is a wild ride through Kip’s present predicament and her past.
How was your week?
The latest installment of Bloggiesta will be taking place the weekend of March 30, 31 and April 1. I’m planning on participating to do a little spring cleaning and housekeeping around the blog and perhaps get a few new ideas to make it better.
What is Bloggiesta?
Bloggiesta is a blogathon created nearly three years ago by Natasha of Maw Books to spend the weekend working on your blog, getting new ideas and learning from other bloggers. There will also be some fun mini-challenges to take part in. The level of commitment is open. Do as much or as little as you want.
What to Expect
If you decide to participate, here’s what you can expect:
• to create a to do list to share on your blog and link up with other participants
• to hopefully participant in several mini challenges and learn something new
• to connect with other participants through blog hopping or twitter
• to make new blogging friends
• to come away at the end of the three days with a spiffed up blog!
How to Participate
Bloggiesta is hosted by It’s All About Books and There’s a Book. Head over to the sign up page and add your name to Mr. Linky.
What about you? Are you going to Bloggiesta?
I saw this Yellow-throated Warbler when I was in Playa del Carmen, Mexico, several years ago. He was in the same group of palm trees as last week’s bird, the Hooded Oriole. I’m not sure if it was a male or female as they look similar. This little guy didn’t stay still for long. I only got a chance for a few shots and then he was gone.
This was another lifer bird for me. Yellow-throated Warblers are not often seen in Northern Illinois, preferring the warmer climate of the Southeastern US in the summer, and Central America, Eastern Mexico and the Caribbean in the winter. Smart birds.
Occasionally a bird will show up in a place it’s not expected to be found. In November, 2008, a Yellow-throated Warbler was sighted in Alberta, Canada at a backyard feeder and documented with photos.
This was big news in the birding community. If you report a rare bird, expect strangers to show up in your backyard. There really are rare bird hotlines and email lists, just like in the movie The Big Year.
Saturday Snapshot is hosted by Alyce at At Home With Books. Visit her blog to see more great photos or add your own.
Mile 81
and bonus story: ‘The Dune’
by Stephen King
Genre: Horror
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
Publish Date: January 10, 2012
Format: Unabridged CD, 2 disks
Rating: 3½ of 5
Pete’s brother is supposed to be watching him but he’s gone off with his teenage friends and little brothers are not welcome. But Pete doesn’t care, he has something better to do and heads off to the boarded up rest stop on the Maine Turnpike. That’s where all the cool kids go to hang out and drink liquor.
Add the following plot elements: Pete finds an old bottle of vodka, gives it a swig and quickly passes out cold, a mud-covered station wagon with no visible driver arrives at the rest stop, and an assortment of Good Samaritans attempt to aid the broken down station wagon only to disappear one by one. Mix those together and you get classic Stephen King reminiscent of his early days.
Once again King takes the familiar, in this case the seemingly harmless family auto, and turns it into a monster while placing helpless children in harm’s way. I liked it; it was just creepy enough to be a scary story but not gory and bloody. I would call it horror-lite. Anyone who has read a lot of Stephen King will recognize familiar themes in the story. One of the characters even mentions Christine, so King does acknowledge that he is borrowing from past scenarios.
This novella is really more of a short story, and for Stephen King it is very short indeed. I would have expected it to be one of several stories in a collection such as Night Shift or even Four Past Midnight (a favorite of mine) rather than a stand alone book.
The Audio CD inculded a very short bonus story, The Dune. A retired judge tells his lawyer about a mysterious dune that he has been compelled to visit every day since he was 10 years old. What was on that dune? There’s a nice twist at the end of that one.
Each story in the audiobook had a different narrator and both of them did a nice job. The children’s voices in the first story were realistically done but other than that, there weren’t a lot of characters and the audio was, for lack of a better way to put it, good but uneventful.
If you’re looking for a short creepy story or two this would be a good choice. And if you’re listening while driving, watch out for abandoned cars at the rest stops!
Come and Find Me
by Hallie Ephron
Genre: Mystery
Publisher: William Morrow
Publish Date: February 28, 2012
Format: Paperback | 304 pages
Rating: 4 of 5
Diana Highsmith is prone to panic attacks and hasn’t left her house in over a year. She wasn’t always this way. After Daniel died falling to his death while they were mountain climbing in Switzerland, her life fell apart. Fearful of everyone except her mother and her sister, Ashley, she has fortified her house with the best alarms and monitoring system available.
Diana, a reformed computer hacker, now works from home running a high-tech internet security company with Daniel’s best friend, Jake. Using state of the art software they can meet with clients online through virtual technologies and internet conferencing. Most of her life now takes place in the virtual world know as OtherWorld where she meets friends and clients. There she is known as Nadia, and hides behind the safety and anonymity of an avatar, trusting only two online friends that she knows solely by their screen names.
When Ashley disappears and Diana can’t find her for days she is forced to face her fears and venture out of her self-imposed comfort zone. She needs to go to Ashley’s apartment, she needs to go to the police and report her missing, and she needs to leave her house to do these things. One step at a time Diana begins her journey back to the outside world. As she ventures out of her cocoon she finds that things are not as they appear to be.
The story is told from Diana’s perspective and she is the most developed character in the story. We don’t learn as much as I would have liked about some of the other characters. Although I often got frustrated with Diana, I liked her and I could relate to her and her alter ego, Nadia. My internet days go back to the time of bulletin boards and discussion forums where creating an online identity separate from the real world was common. It’s not unusual to meet people online and become ‘friends’, as Nadia does, and never know their real names. What’s not normal is to only live in the online world and through Diana we experience the fear of her panic attacks as she begins to regain her strength and ability to function in the real world.
Once Diana leaves her house and begins to conquer her fears the suspense picks up. About half way through I began to suspect what was really going on. As a former hacker and computer expert Diana should have been able to spot a few things (I won’t mention spoilers) that slipped past her for too long. Only after she leaves the house does she begin to see these things.
Read more…
Wanna Get Lucky
by Deborah Coonts
Genre: Mystery
Publisher: Forge Books
Publish Date: May, 2011
Format: Paperback | 464 pages
Rating: 4 of 5
As the head of Customer Relations at The Babylon, a Las Vegas Casino, Lucky O’Toole finds herself at the center of a lot of crazy things. A normal day includes keeping things running smoothly and the well-heeled guests happy; everything from straightening out an incident with a wrecked rental car, a Ferrari, no less, to finding a guest’s lost cats, when the hotel doesn’t even allow pets.
For Lucky, this is going to be a hectic week. The entire porn industry has descended on Vegas for their annual awards banquet, trade show and spouse-swapping convention, and the geek crowd is arriving to attend ElectroniCon. In the midst of all this a young woman, Lyda Sue, falls from a helicopter while sightseeing and lands right in the middle of the pirate’s lagoon, disrupting the show. Someone is trying to frame Lucky’s boss for the murder but she suspects someone else pushed the woman out of the helicopter and sets out to find the culprit.
I’m probably the only person in America that hasn’t been to Vegas, but when I do get there I want to hang out with Lucky O’Toole. The author has created a fun and exciting character in Lucky. While she is totally in control in her professional life, her romantic life is a different story with a tendency to choose the wrong guys. Lucky’s best friend and neighbor Teddie, who works as a female impersonator, has taken a romantic interest in her. And he looks better in her clothes than she does! Her mother runs the most famous brothel in Nevada. When Lucky gets home from a long day she is greeted by her talking pet bird, Newton, a belligerent macaw with a foul mouth, and he has some of the funniest lines!
This is a fast-paced page turner that is laugh out loud funny. A little off color at times but in a humorous and fun way. A great choice for a light read. I’m looking forward to the next books in the series.
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Wanna Get Lucky? is the first book in this series. The most recent book, So Damn Lucky, is released today. Thanks to FSB for the review copy.
Under My Apple Tree 