Reviewing the Evidence! - The First Man by Gavin Frankle

Title: The First Man. (US Link.)
Author: Gavin Frankle.
Genre: sci-fi, fantasy.

A few starting notes:

I received a free digital review copy of this book via NetGalley. NetGalley provides review copies from publishers in exchange for fair and honest reviews.

I'm a bit of a rebel me. So a novella (it's just a touch too short to call a novel,) with as bold a premise as this was always going to catch my eye - and I'm kind of glad that it did.

Hold on tight folks, I've got a lot of ground to cover.

Premise:

You think you know about Adam and Eve? The truth of the serpent and the tree? What you know is a lie. Eden was a prison, and Adam escaped.

World-weary, and close to immortal, Adam spends his modern-day life trying to avoid contact with the humans he created. But his past is about to catch up with him, in the form of someone he hoped never to see again.

Best bits:

It is undeniable that Mr Frankle has talent. He adopts a confident and impressive tone, and makes use of sharp and sparse prose (and my regular readers will know how much I love me some well-done sparse prose.)

For all the flaws of this book (discussed in just a sec,) Frankle can write. It flows exceptionally well, and there are hints of that spark - that rhythm, lilt, and weave of words - that only a writer of real talent can evoke. There is something here - something that's worth bringing out into the light.

And of course, anyone who has the gumption and bravery to take on such a bold and ambitious concept is well worthy of my praise - push the boundaries folks!

This book is also great for discussion - I guarantee that everyone will have something to say about it (Lord knows that I'm rabbiting on enough about various talking points,) and that can only be a good thing.

Oh, and I love the character of Kaliyah - he just rocks. End of.

Not so great bits:

It probably goes without saying that this book is going to be offensive to a lot of people. You start messing around with Bible stories, and people get p**sed off pretty quickly; this is not your book if you are a devoted Jew, Christian, or Muslim, and/or are easily offended. I will remind people however that this is a work of fiction - it's an exploration of an idea: not an attack on your personal beliefs.

There's a lot of blood and unpleasantness in places that some readers won't like.

There are references to, and sort-of-scenes of, rape - not overly graphic, but will be distressing to some readers all the same. And there are references to child abuse.

I also have to mention the poop. Frankle has a thing about poop. I get that sh** is a metaphor - but, really? I got the point - you don't have to keep repeating it!

An argument can be made that the plot doesn't always seem to fully be in Mr Frankle's control (I still have no idea what the sentinels and scions were really about.) Granted, this is always a danger when being ambitious.

 

The characters feel a touch underdeveloped - not least Eve (I understand that she's batsh** crazy, but after centuries I would expect some level of in-depth motivation, or maybe just a hobby.) Adam though, while relatable, is also more than slightly immature for an immortal(ish) fella.

Verdict:

OK, so it has some issues. But there is something about this book - some undefinable thing that makes you read on, and think about what you're reading. For that reason, I refuse to dismiss it out of hand. This is one to get the brain cells whirring.

What Makes a Good Book Review?

It's a tricky question, that of reviews. The thoughts swishing around my brain suggest that if you have a books blog, reviews are like the foundation stones. A lot of people may disagree with me. And that's fine. I'm an open-minded kind of gal, and one of these days I may change my mind on a whole host of things.

But what makes a good review?

I actually really like reading reviews which are well-written, sometimes humorous, and/or thought-provoking.

A good review is readable, as far as I'm concerned, for its own sake, whether or not you have any real interest in the book that's being reviewed. That, in itself, means that I might consider a book, after reading a review, that I wouldn't have considered previously. And that's pretty awesome.

I also like reviews to do a little more than just give me a synopsis, a blurb, a plot-line, whatever. I can flip the book over and read the back for that. I can get hold of it on any number of websites - Goodreads, Amazon, whatever - what I want is a review.

If I'm going to read 250+ words about a book, then you need to write well.

You need to mention the good points, the bad points, and the points up for discussion.

In short, I need to feel like I'm getting your honest opinions about what's going on between front and back covers. I don't want you to just repeat what everyone else has said, or provide extracts that take up more than half the post. If you want to provide an extract, that's fine - but one or two paragraphs is plenty.

But, as with everything in this world, this is just one opinion (in this instance, mine.)

Just like there's no one-size-fits-all book, there's no one-size-fits-all book review. I just hope that some of the reviews you enjoy reading are mine ;)

Nerd Church - A Little Bit of Hope

The world can be a dark place. We've been reminded of that over the past few days with world events being what they are.

This post is not about the dark. This post is about the light within it. Remember that where there are demons, there are Shadowhunters. Where there is the Dark Lord, there is Harry Potter. Where there are super-villains, there are superheroes.

That's what we need, more than anything. We need to make sure that the things in the dark aren't in control of the light. The way to keep the light going? Believe in the good. Believe in the heroes. Believe in people who care about others. As any Avengers fangirl will tell you, Steve Rogers didn't need to be Captain America to be a hero, just to be acknowledged as one. Find the light, dear nerds, til the end of the line!

The Writer Diaries (or NaBloPoMo Week 2, Re-Cap)

The second week of NaBloPoMo (National Blog Posting Month - hosted by BlogHer,) was, I have to admit, a bit more of a challenge than the first. But I made it goddammit!!! With a good slosh of coffee, a fair pinch of luck, and a f**k load of typing, I made it! :) Yay.

Hopefully (she said, doubting her words before they're even spoken,) I won't have such trouble in the next two weeks - I'm half-way through after all! Posting every day for a month! I can do this! ...Probably. No. I can do this. Wish me luck!

Week 2 Re-Cap:

*A reminder that I write dates in the British/European format of dd/mm/yy*

Sunday 08/11/15

Nerd Church - A Reader Lives a Thousand Lives...

Monday 09/11/15

Books Everyone Else Seems to Have Read (But I Haven't)

Tuesday 10/11/15

Reviewing the Evidence Time - Exposure by Kathy and Brendan Reichs

Wednesday 11/11/15

The Bookish Rebel

Thursday 12/11/15

Comics Wrap Up - A World in Trouble 

Friday 13/11/15

Friday Fics Fix! (In Which There is Nothing but Smut)

Friday Fics Fix! (In Which There is Nothing but Smut)

Warning: Much adult humour and a smutty piece of fanfiction ahead

This week, I haven't been able to find anything that isn't truly filthy to recommend for this Friday's Fics Fix. So I gave up and just picked something that's so smutty my eyeballs might fall out - yet not as smutty or depraved as many of the things I've read online. Obviously, this fic is 18+ only I mean it - save yourselves.

A few things to mention before I give you the link. Firstly, a quick reminder that pretty much everyone in fanfiction has gay sex. Like, a lot of gay sex. Right, now I should explain a facet of the Avengers fandom that is the Thorki ship. As I've told you before, shipping is fantasised romantic relationships, usually between male characters, that is then usually given a shipping name of some sort. Thorki is... well, it's Thor and Loki having sex. I'm going to be honest. Luckily, they aren't biologically related - which dials down the creepy factor considerably; but they were raised as brothers, which is still weird. In no way is this the creepiest relationship in fanfiction (off the top of my head I'd have to say, excluding ships that involve real people, the creepiest is probably twincest. Twincest is from the Harry Potter fandom. And that is the most explaining I'm going to do about that.) Some people however will find Thorki too weird to handle - and that's ok. To those people I say: run, fast, and don't look back.

Thorki In Furs by BlackMorgan is a fairly tender Thorki fic - but not so much so that it pulls them out of character. It's also considerably less dodgy than the title suggests. The furs are blankets. It's nice, straight-forward, plot-lacking, erotic gay fanfiction - and doesn't involve the more extreme stuff that many fanfictions are rife with. It's also quite well written - again, assuming that fanfiction hasn't warped my perceptions to too great a degree.

There's also a fab line in this fic, that made me laugh (although, I'm not entirely sure it was meant to, it probably was though):

'Loki rolled onto his side, long legs tangling in the silver furs, skin aglow as he held out his hand in invitation. "Come Brother, the furs are warm but I am cold. I need to feel the sun." He lowered his gaze towards his brother's groin and smiled. "And I see that it has already risen."'

I'll try to come up with something more respectable next week. I promise.

Comics Wrap Up - A World in Trouble

I haven't really read much comics/graphic novel-wise this week. But then, after the binge I had last week, I'm not surprised.

What I have read this week, in terms of comics, is Avengers World #1; a Marvel title from 2014. This was pretty damned awesome to be honest - and has the best during-earthquake artwork I've ever seen. The world is, essentially, going to hell in a hand-basket, and The Avengers (who, luckily, seem to be working with swelled numbers at this point,) are trying to patch over the cracks. It's pretty cool, and the artwork is swish.

All in all then, this is a great series-starter; and it feels relevant - what with the riots and the climate change issues and the sense of everything spiralling slowly out of control. Not that I'm a cynical millennial or anything, honestly (shifty glances, reassuring smile.) :)

The Bookish Rebel

 

 

Hey, I can be a rebel* too, y'know? Let me show you:

 

*Well... depends on your definition of rebel

 

I am a clutz. As such the likelihood that I'll accidentally bend or tear pages, spill coffee, or otherwise damage books is high. And I don't care. That's right, check me out! Told'ya I was dangerous ;)

 

I lend my books out to others... and I don't  mind if they come back in less than perfect condition. Although, I draw the line at marbles embedded in the pages (actually happened to my copy of HP:OotP,) then I will have to verbally kick your a**. Because c'mon, a freaking marble?

Sometimes I start a book series in the middle or just, y'know, dart around them from like, book 5 to book 7, and then back to book 3. I just roll with it - come on people, live a little! Read dangerously!

I'm a book polygamist; I read like 5 or 6 books at once. Because I clearly have a problem. On the plus side, I'm usually in the middle of reading a book that matches my mood perfectly... if I can remember where the hell I put it down... coffee table? Under my bed? Sofa?

I wanna jailbreak reading. Graphic novels are books. Comics are books. Fan-fiction still counts as reading (and will definitely change your views on a few things... ah, my lost innocence...) Magazines and newspapers count as reading. And reading is awesome. I'm going to get an e-reader! I know! Me! The anti-technology chick! It won't, however, be an Amazon k-device. Because I still can't even bring myself to say/type the word. I just don't like them, so will be going with a different manufacturer - but if you do like them, then good for you; I got nothing against you.

I read random assortments of cr*p. This year, I've read things that are as far apart as Quick Reads and James Joyce. And I'm f**king lovin' it! I will not be a slave to genre! I will not be a slave to length! I will try to cut down on the coffee!

So maybe rebel is stretching it... but I had an excuse to use that song... and I regret nothing!