Back To The Future?

Tom Barren, the lover-not-a-fighter, time-travelling, hesitant hero, of screenwriter Elan Matsai’s debut novel All Our Wrong Todays, comes from the future Baby Boomers were promised. That George Jetson beauty of a place with jetpacks and flying cars and voyages to the moon. Yet through a comedy of errors that are eloquently and self-effacingly pointed out all in the first person, Tom reluctantly becomes a chrononaut – a time-traveler, right? – and changes the time stream. Before you can say, “Great Scott, Doc Brown!” 2016 changes… to our present day of smartphones, Uber, Facebook, and political anxiety.

Followers of sci-fi, fantasy, and comic books will find this set up familiar - alternate timelines, parallel universes and the chronal butterfly effect – but Matsai cleverly digs into the “Space” element of the Time-Space Continuum and provides in Tom Barren an everyday hero who is more Marty McFly than Doctor Who. Tom is neither doctor nor scientist, but he is funny and normal, easily capturing the reader’s attention and interest. Matasi, through Tom, paints a delicious alternate world based on the 1950s pulp novels and comics, and equally points out the strangeness in how our present day world would appear to an outsider. He also questions what home is while proving the value in having such a place.

Matsai’s writing is smooth and approachable with a unique voice combining humor, love, and the overarching desire in striving to do what is right, all wrapped around a highly-enjoyable, time-hopping tale that many would find as the ultimate in escapist fantasies.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the Penguin Group for the chance to read this extremely enjoyable novel well before publication. I am honored to have received this advance copy and look forward to passing on my recommendation of this read.

As always,

theJOE

A Murder in Darktown most Noir

Historical fiction at its best. Thomas Mullen presents a very real, not-too distant past of post-WWII where, as more of a PR event than actual progressive behavior, the Atlanta PD recruits African-American patrolmen, but denies them any actual authority. What happens in Darktown is standard noir fare – a man out of his element, a complex murder mystery, corrupt power – but Mullen’s setting is distinct and unique, not to mention depressing in ways that pre-Civil Rights tend to be.

Mullen’s writing style is a pleasure to read. He creates fantastically-believable, yet flawed as all humans are, characters that are ripe and real, that both dream and are subdued.  For this setting in the Atlanta summertime, the sun, and its heat, is just as much of a presence as are the story’s heroes and victims. Such as officers Boggs and Smith, two of the new Atlanta patrolmen who call Darktown their beat, who must deal with racism and social inadequacies, not only from the scores of white policemen, but also the community they desperately want to protect and serve. There is a fine line in playing the role of guardian and savior, a balance Boggs and Smith must learn, especially as they begin to look into the murder of a young African-American woman.   

Mullen takes the reader both on a tour of 1950s Atlanta as well as into the justifications of Darktown’s central characters - Smith and Boggs, as well their white counterparts, Rakestraw and Dunlow – whose inner drives, and demons, are not as simple as black and white. Murder may always be a dark deed, but is justice always bright? Mullen, in a most excellent story, crafts his answer.

Give Darktown a read!

As Always.

theJOE 

After reading Stormy Weather, I guess the joke's on me

The Coen Brothers’ enjoyable Burn After Reading was given a fantastic piece of praise I have yet to forget. A critic called the film “a smart movie about stupid people”, and it is this quote that comes to mind regarding Carl Hiaasen’s Stormy Weather, albeit with an update. So how about this? Stormy Weather is a smart-ass book about reprehensible people. Although “stupid” also fits.

Hiaasen is known for his humor. I guess. Humor is always subjective and I found myself being subjected to his brand of humor for all 400 pages. Granted, there were those moments when I did laugh. Out loud even. A few times. Mostly, however, such styling was lost on me like the hurricane winds that were the title’s key plot device.

In Stormy Weather, a major hurricane hits Dade County, Florida and every worm, nightcrawler, blood sucker, and pond scum washes ashore looking to scam, steal and thieve their ways into making a fast buck from those whose lives the storm devastated. The book’s characters, save for perhaps three, range from cringe worthy to downright vile. To give Hiaasen credit, he does create a boutique of scum, formulates their rationale, how everyone relates to each other, and creates back stories, for even minor characters whose sole existence is the punchline of a joke that was built up over a few too many paragraphs; at times you need a spreadsheet and Venn diagram to categorize and track all the players within. The downfall being that none of these people are enjoyable or relatable. Perhaps everyone and their situation is supposed to be deliberately laughed at, but such seems too simple an answer.

True love wins the day, surprisingly, and most people within get their due resulting from their misconduct. To thine own self and all that, but really, to what end?

Stormy Weather will no doubt please Hiaasen fans as well as those of more common black comedies. I bet with a healthy re-write, Joel and Ethan Coen could make this a funny film. For me, I’m just glad to be finished with south Florida.

As Always,

theJOE

A Fast, Short Drop

Computer hacking, a kidnapped girl, political intrigue, torture, and guns, guns, guns. Matthew FitzSimmons packs a lot into his fast-read, debut crime novel that introduces prime character, Gibson Vaughn, who is a fun, resourceful chap, albeit with the cliché tortured past, and is just intriguing enough to gain a follow-up. Naturally, of course, The Short Drop does begin a series as there must be an answer for the pseudo-cliffhanger presented within, although that is really nothing more than an unresolved plot thread. Regardless, the show must go on.

FitzSimmons’ writing style is clean and sharp with just enough of an added procedural element to both enlighten and satisfy a general readership that contains enough basic knowledge on the functionality of a Smartphone and how to access public Wi-Fi hotspots. The pace is fast and the content lean, both elements essential for a fun thriller, which summarizes The Short Drop.

Fun although it is, The Short Drop is somewhat akin to an order of fast food with an extra helping of cheese. Totally delicious and enjoyable going down, but probably forgotten by the time the next meal comes around. Yet, Gibson Vaughn, the unwitting protagonist, is the sundae dessert, complete with sprinkles and a big-old cherry on top. You’ve had it before, but you keep coming back to it nonetheless.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for the advanced copy, which made for an enjoyable read.

As Always,

theJOE