It’s almost a shame that this is a Bill Hodges story, because he doesn’t need to be here.  Instead, we get a tale about ownership of an author’s works.  John Rothstein created a beloved character in Jimmy Gold, and wrote a trilogy where his character became normal.  A trio of burglars steal into Rothstein’s home and rob him of $24K and almost 200 Moleskine journals which contain two more Jimmy Gold novels.  Flash forward 30 some years to Pete Saubers, a teen whose father was crippled […]

A fantastic concept — a less over-bronzed steampunk western taking place in a remote desert town.  It covers all manner of religious and mythological topics.  And that’s the problem.  It covers ALL MANNER.  There’s Native American, Mormon, Christian, Chinese, Cthulhu-ish, King in Yellow, Lilith/First Mother.  By the time we’ve met all the characters and gotten their backstories, the book is 7/8ths over and the finale kind of gets briskly settled by six or seven CHOSEN ONES.  Still, it’s worth a read.

Another historical-ish retelling, this one recounts the explosion of a dance hall in 1929 and what was the result of the aftermath.  While there are plenty of really heartrending and macabre vignettes detailing certain folks who attended the disaster, the primary focus of the story is the narration of Alek, the grandson of the titular maid, Alma.  This feels more like southern fried Bronte, and not nearly as captivating as what could have been.  Guess I prefer outlaw Woodrell to historian Woodrell.