Entries Tagged 'Alternate History' ↓

Reviewed by: Stan “The Man” Hill

I PROMISE YOU WILL GET HOOKED AND NOT BE ABLE TO PUT ANY OF THESE DOWN

There is one of two things this book will do. This book will scare the Hell out of you or scare you out of Hell. As a fictional account about the Book of Revelations (Holy Bible), whether you are a believer in the bible or not, this will make you think of the possibilities. This book wastes no time in getting straight to the point. The story starts at the Rapture of the Church, which Christians believe that Jesus Christ comes and take believers right out of thin air. Millions of people disappear and those left want to know why.

Left Behind leaves no pages unturned as the book follows the exact chronological order as Revelations is written in the Bible. The story starts out as Rayford Steele (an Airline Pilot) has half of the passengers on his plane disappear. There is mass destruction and confusion around the world. Rayford’s wife and son have disappeared and he is grieving their loss. They were both active members of their Church and Rayford suspects that God has come and taken them. He doesn’t know for sure until he speaks to the local preacher at their church. The story picks up from there. If you have ever read Revelations you know how it goes. If you haven’t read Revelations - you will be in for the ride of your life.

The only problem with this book is that there is no ‘end’ at the end of the book. The good news is that there are five other books that carry on the story from one to the other. Bad news is - that once you start reading it, you will not be able to put it down. I have read five of the six books, and it’s only taken me two days to read each one. Be prepared to do a lot of reading!!

Book One - Left Behind
Book Two - Tribulation Force
Book Three - Nicolae
Book Four - Soul Harvest
Book Five - Apollyon
Book Six - Assassins

Paperback - 468 pages (April 1996) Tyndale House Pub; ISBN: 0842329129 ; Dimensions (in inches): 1.27 x 8.19 x 5.45

Reviewed by: The Goose
Wednesday, June 30, 1999

Let me start off by saying that I wrote another draft of this review and after talking with Blind Monkey about it I tossed it in the proverbial circular file. It was choppy and didn’t create any interest in the book. Bad monkey! So I am starting over. And before he can cry foul, let me say that Blind Monkey suggested that I discuss the ‘original monster board’.

So that said, let’s talk about this creepy book. It’s full of mystery and horror. Both genres which I have little experience with. I don’t know if you have noticed, but I’m pretty much Sci-Fi and Fantasy kind of monkey. Stepping out of those genres is difficult at best for me. On the other hand, this story is absolutely fantastic. I think I read it over the course of two days whenever I had a free moment or two I was reading this thing. If I had had the time I wouldn’t have stopped reading until I was done!

Whew! I hope that’s a resounding endorsement.

The premise here is that three friends, a journalist, a recently appointed Police Commissioner, and an Alienist are trying to solve a series of murders in turn of the century New York. One of those three is a young Teddy Roosevelt.

Now Teddy is on top of things and sets up what amounts to a secret cabal to solve these murders. The leader of which is Dr. Lazlo Kreizler - an Alienist. John Moore is the journalist and is included in the investigation more or less by association, the two having gone to Yale together. Rather ironically, Moore had recently returned from England where he had been reporting on ‘The Ripper’ murders.

The ‘monster board’ is a huge blackboard set up by Kreizler to track the murders using what is known, unknown, and the assumptions the team is making. It becomes a fine example of a ‘living document’ that changes as the team learns new things or must discard old assumptions. This is what the master Monkey meant by ‘The Original Monster Board’. A tool which is used by brain-storming teams everywhere and as a concept has found its way onto the internet.

Tracking a serial killer in the city of goth would be hard enough as it is. People disappear, die, and are murdered with frightening frequency. Usually with no rhyme or reason! But, because Roosevelt is the newly appointed chief of police and has been charged with cleaning up NYPD and the streets, he can hardly afford a misstep. If he is somehow embarrassed on this case, all the bad cops and underworld bosses will be on him like white on rice! And they’re not the only problem — the city’s elite don’t want the investigation continued either. Out of site, out of mind. Who cares if some little boys get killed? They were just scum working the streets for money, right?

This story has more weird turns than an Escher drawing. All of which are against a seething backdrop of political and social turmoil which threatens to swallow it before the case is solved. Throw in some bizarre Native American warpath rituals and our stage is set for a very gruesome but interesting story.

The characters are rich and fully developed-if a little dark. Teddy is the only really bright character. Then again, how else could you paint him? The feeling of macabre is like an itch between your shoulder blades, it’s there, you can’t reach it and it seems to grow worse with every passing minute. This story is like that it just builds, and builds, and builds until finally…

Oh! And what about the title? What is an Alienist? Well let me answer that indirectly with a quotation from the very beginning of the book:

Prior to the twentieth century, persons suffering from mental illness were thought to be “alienated,” not only from the rest of society but from their own true natures. Those experts who studied mental pathologies were therefore known as alienists.

Absolutely fascinating, and definitely worthy of its place on Blind Monkey’s Top Ten List!

Hardcover - 496 pages 1 Ed edition (April 1994) Random House; ISBN: 0679417796 ; Dimensions (in inches): 1.54 x 9.53 x 6.65

Reviewed by: The Blind Monkey

Well, I have not reviewed a Top Ten novel in a while and really, we are trying to get reviews done for all these books so here you go…

I think that Jennings may be just a little disturbed. Which is why I am sure that Blind Monkey loved this book. The hero (although I prefer protagonist) is so twisted and wrong that you wonder how this could happen at all, and yet it could.
Our hero’s name is Mixtli. Dark Cloud is what it means, and it is a not so subtle metaphor for the book. He’s near-sited. He’s not exactly brave. And he’s often undeniably dense. But he’ s also cunning and survives life that way with some help from the people who are drawn to him (for whatever strange reason).

He is Mexica, or Aztec, as the Spaniards prefer. He is the middle class son of a stone mason. His sister is Tzi-Tzi, or ‘the sound of ringing bells’. The story, taking place around the time that Cortez arrives in Mexico, revolves around Mixtli.. or should I say reels? It seems that Mixtli blunders from one thing to the next, whether it is heroism, tragedy, joy, or nothing, really. Throughout the story it is obvious that things are way beyond Mixtli’s control, even when he thinks they are.

He is a twisted hero just by the circumstances he is in and through the knowledge the reader is given it is obvious that Mixtli’s interpretation or view of things is often flawed, very flawed–which is one of the many ironies of the story. In all reality there is only one point in the story where I can say that Mixtli has control and is aware of the true meaning of the things going on around him.

Enough of that.

The story is framed in a series of missives from the Arch Bishop of Mexico to the King of Spain. Each new section starts of with a diatribe from the bishop to the King that belies the Bishop’s limited understanding of things which also helps to engender the Mexica, and especially Mixtli, to the reader.

In itself the story is well written and enjoyable to read. The language is clean and well paced. Jennings connects everything together rather well so that you won’t ever be left asking ‘How’d he get there from here?’ or some such thing. I promise that you won’t be bored, disgusted maybe, but not bored. And it is a great story of the fall of the Aztec Empire, personalized through the myopic eyes of Dark Cloud.

Addition from Blind Monkey:

Gary’s 10 years of research only begins to lie the foundation for the genius of this tale. There’s a reason Aztec is on my Top Ten. It’s shocking. It’s dynamic. It’s down-right awe-inspiring.

What it isn’t is a book that passes the Mom-O-Meter. If you’re the sqeamish type, or even mildly easy to offend by violence or sexual situations, then this isn’t the book for you. But if you like ADVENTURE, with rich characters thickly braided in fantastic emotional plots set in exotic settings and situations, you won’t go wrong with Mixtli’s stunning tale.

Mass Market Paperback - 1038 pages Reprint edition (August 1997) Forge; ISBN: 0812521463; Dimensions (in inches): 1.80 x 6.79 x 4.17

Reviewed by: The Goose

…Twenty years after Columbus’ Crusade. What Rome called ‘The Final Victory over the Infidel’. Europe and Asia are on fire as the Tlaxcalan Confederacy storms East. Jeruselum is raised and a Temple to Huitzilopoctli is dedicated with the blood of Europe’s royalty. It could have been…

Science Fiction is SUPPOSED to deal with the future. GOOD Science Fiction takes cultural and sociological issues of today and transposes them into an alien environment so that those issues stand out in STARK relief. Novels that deal with how things Might Have Been are called Fictional or Alternative History. So, what do you call a book that deals with two, count them TWO pasts? One of those being a very strict Historical Fiction and the other being a Wild Alternate History. Plus, THREE Futures. As if that were not enough complexity, there are at least SIX identifiable protagonists. As you can tell, Orson Scott Card’s Pastwatch: The Redemption of Christopher Columbus takes these disparate threads, multitude of characters, and weaves a compelling story of the struggle for Utopia.

Imagine a world just after the Cataclysm. Humanity reduced to a very small fraction of its former size. The technology needed to save the planet (read Homo Sapiens) in the Near Past (read Our Present) is now available in the Near Future. It is, of course, too late. Envision this near future with the ability to View the past and One Person who rages at the fact that it cannot be changed. What happens when these Descendants discover that they are living in a world Not entirely of their making. And what if these people discover the ONE individual who can change it all… Again.

Enough, way too much really. Read it! Decide for yourself.

Card, a consummate writer in the Science Fiction Genre, (See Monkey’s Top Ten List) thouroughly researched the historical, cultural, and scientific data presented in this…Novel. There is even an annotated bibliography. With the usual Card Flare he creates entirely believable Worlds, some past, some present, some future. With the Exception of Ender’s Game this would be his Magnum Opus. The characters are Strong, Real, and create a level of Empathy and Compassion in the reader rarely seen from this type of writer. The ‘What Ifs’ it raises are overwhelming and intriguing. The Alienism of the environment is enough to elucidate the social and cultural issues that Card wishes to explore (See Paragraph 2). Yet, Harry Turtledove would stand in Awe of the Alternate Histories raised in this story.

Go! Read! Reply!
I already know what I think. You tell me what you think!

Mass Market Paperback - 422 pages 1 Mass mkt edition (January 1999) Del Rey; ISBN: 0345424603 ; Dimensions (in inches): 1.11 x 6.85 x 4.22