escape yourself and gravity

Overall rating: 2/5 stars for a great concept and pretty decent beginning

I was looking for the next great fantasy epic when I picked this up at the bookstore.  Unfortunately, after reading this, I'm still looking.

( A couple of spoilers here, but they're important spoilers that you should know about )

I finished the book to find out what happened, but I won't be reading the second book.

I just finished reading Spare Parts: A Marine Reservist's Journey from Campus to Combat in 38 Days by Buzz Williams.

I've been reading more non-fiction over the past couple of years, but this one stands out because it's about "my" war. Every generation, I think, has a war that shapes them in some way. For me it was Desert Storm. THE Gulf War, as I've been known to call it. I was a freshman in high school and my best friend's brother was posted on the USS Saratoga, which carried F-14 Tomcats and F/A-18 Hornets that would be involved heavily in the air action of the war. At that point in my life I was yearning to be a military pilot, though since my eyesight is so bad I knew I would be limited to helos. (Side note: the only reason I didn't end up in the Air Force is because I'm a snob; my senior year in high school I had ROTC papers, but they didn't at that time want Communications majors, so I didn't sign up, because I was damned if I would be an enlisted man. Yes, seriously.)

So anyway. Desert Storm was "my" war. I remember the controversy, I remember the protesters, and I remember that my school was covered in student-made anti-Iraq propaganda. Not only that, but the current war in Iraq would have literally been my war if I had gone through with my ROTC intentions, so desert warfare has always interested me. So when the parents and I were at the armor museum at Fort Knox and I saw this book (and an autographed copy at that), I knew I had to pick it up.

Williams' writing is full of attitude but very genuine as he recounts his time as a reservist and the conflicting emotions he felt about being a Marine and eventually being called up to war. He doesn't talk about strategy and tactics. He doesn't talk about the reasons for the war. In fact at one point he relates that an officer informs his company that they are going to Iraq because the officer told them to, and they will stay as long as the officer wants them to stay. To be a Marine is not to question why you fight. To be a Marine is to fight.

He addresses the dichotomy of being a soldier one weekend a month, the struggle he had adjusting back to civilian life after boot camp at Parris Island, as well as how spending Christmas with his family just before deploying to Saudi Arabia actually made this harder for him. He talks openly about how inept his company was in some respects, and it's obvious that the lack of training they were given before their deployment weighed heavily on him.

Williams also displays a sense of humor in some of the stories he relates, so the book doesn't come across either as a diatribe or a paeon to warfare. But reading it, you're never spared the idea that Marines are killers. Period. It was a lesson drilled into the recruits on their first day by their drill instructor, and it's an idea he comes back to more than once. At the same time, he talks about the Marine Corps giving him direction and teaching him how to be a "respectful boyfriend, disciplined student, and productive employee". He's still very much connected to his own identity as a Marine, even though he became a civilian in 1995. And though he very clearly appreciates the Marines, he doesn't dodge the more difficult topics, such as deficiency in training and the Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder that so many veterans suffer.

The writing style is friendly and approachable, more like you're sitting at the table with a beer in hand, listening to "Master Gunner Weeams" tell his stories. I burned through this book in a few days, and it was nice to get a little update, in the epilogue, on the lives of several key figures in the book. For a man who is not too much my senior, who fought in the war that in many ways shaped both my generation and the one that followed, Williams has turned out a fantastic commentary on the life of a Marine Light Armored Vehicle crewman during Desert Storm.

The Merlot Murders by Ellen Crosby

My review

Rating: 4 of 5 stars
I really enjoyed this one. The main character, Lucie, is an engaging character, and the setting is like a character of its own. You learn a lot about the process of growing grapes and making wine, as well as the history of the Virginia wine country.

Lucie Montgomery has needed a cane to walk since the accident that ended her relationship with Greg Knight two years ago. She went to France to recover and only returns to America when her father is found dead in the family vineyard. There she discovers her younger sister dating Greg, her brother ruled by his high-flying lifestyle, and the family estate mortgaged to the hilt.

As she struggles to keep the vineyard and make the harvest, more bodies turn up, and she has to face the fact that someone will stop at nothing to persuade her to sell the farm. Add in a vintner with a mysterious past and old high school friends, and you have a nice blend for a good mystery.

I'm definitely looking forward to the next volume in the series.

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Night Fall by Nelson DeMille

My review

Rating: 3 of 5 stars

I keep trying to like Nelson DeMille's books. This is the second I've read, and I enjoy the writing style and the way he builds up an intricate plot. But the ending of both novels left me feeling a little let down. Not because the ending was unhappy, but because there wasn't the closer one might expect from a 650-page terrorist-plot suspense novel. There was no answer, no closure...

I enjoyed the book, but I'm not sure I'd recommend it to anyone. The General's Daughter was a stronger piece with more closure.


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Since I wrote this up for Goodreads.com, I thought I'd share it here.

The Sound of Angels by Lisa Silverthorne

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
I confess, I wanted this book to be better. I used to work with Lisa Silverthorne, and she was a great encouragement to me in my own writing. I felt this collection could have been stronger overall. Some of the stories had weak endings, and the copy editing wasn't that great (which isn't Silverthorne's fault, of course.)

That said, there are some magnificent stories in this collection. The beginning story, "When Sparrows Fall" is fascinating both in premise and in execution. The title story, "The Sound of Angels", is a sad-yet-uplifting near-future speculative story. "Snow Angels" is a chilling futuristic tale. "Rena 733" is probably my favorite of the book (though "When Sparrows Fall" runs a close second). "The Spirit House" is another excellent story.

The others in this collection aren't bad by any means. But several stories seem to end rather abruptly, or at least without punch. Stories like "Wild Feed" and "Peace of Lace" have a fantastic premise and inspired execution through the beginning and middle, but leave the reader feeling a bit let down at the end. I do think this book is worth buying, and that Lisa Silverthorne is definitely a name to watch.


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You can check out the author's website at www.drewes.org.