Tut, tut ...

Mystery writer James Patterson has written - with Martin Dugard - a retelling of Howard Carter's discovery of the tomb of King Tut alongside a speculative account of King Tut's murder.  The subtitle for The Murder of King Tut is "The ultimate cold case - reopened", and an Indiana Jones-like figure is seen entering Tut's tomb with torch held aloft.

I can forgive myself for thinking this might be an exciting story.  But I was surprised to discover as I read this that there was little excitement, even though Patterson had exciting material to work with.  I've not read any of Patterson's other books, so I can't compare this with them.  But I finished the book feeling disappointed.  There just wasn't enough substance to what could have been a great story.

Shudders from "Shutter Island"

While traveling recently I finished reading Dennis LeHane's Shutter Island.  I was intrigued by the trailers for the movie (which I've not yet seen).  U.S. Marshals arrive on an island which is home to a high-security mental institute for the criminally insane; their task, to investigate the disappearance of one of the patients/inmates.  Suspense, mystery, creepiness, a dark gothic setting, and a healthy dose of insanity make for a story whose conclusion caught me completely by surprise.  Always fun when you don't see it coming!  And just enough to make you think, and you leave you feeling slightly "disturbed."  I highly recommend this book - if you haven't already seen the movie.

LOST Knowledge

When I was a boy I was always excited when a new book from the Weekly Reader Book Club would come in the mail.  Now, far from boyhood, I still get excited when a book comes in the mail.  My wife will pick up the mail and tell me, "You've got a present!"  And that's what it feels like.  Nine times out of ten it will be something from Amazon or an Amazon reseller, but sometimes it will be something off of eBay.  The anticipation is such that I can't resist following the shipment using the tracking number Amazon gives me.

Now I have something else to look forward to: The LOST Encyclopedia, by Tara Bennett and Paul Terry.  I don't watch much TV, but once my friends got me interested in LOST, I was hooked.  The combination of mystery, personal stories, survival, philosophy, and even science fiction was irresistible.  My wife and I rented all the old episodes we missed and had marathon LOST-watching sessions each week, catching up as quickly as we could.  And then we stayed with it to the end.  (Although my wife started to lose interest in the last season or two.)  I knew that someone would come out with the definitive "canon" that would tie all the loose ends together for me, and show me things I missed or didn't recognize at the time.

I can hardly wait!  Better go track the package and see where it is now ...

Of Shadows and Mist

I have a habit of reading a number of books in parallel.  But when I discover one that really grabs me, I'll stick with it and quickly finish it.  Such was the case in 2005 when I decided to try Spanish author Carlos Ruiz Zafon's The Shadow of the Wind (rating: 10/10).  In Barcelona in 1945 a boy discovers that someone is methodically destroying every book ever written by an author named Julian Calax.  The mystery behind Calax's true identity grips the boy and won't let go.  Ruiz Zafon does a fantastic job of characterization and really kept my interest.  Few books that I read do I ever rate so highly.

The Prince of Mist by Ruiz Zafon (rating: 8/10) is a much different book but still very enjoyable.  This is a relatively short horror novel for young adults.  The author states in an introductory note that he hopes the young adult books he's written will appeal to readers of all ages.  The Prince of Mist did appeal to me, and I finished it quickly.  Like The Shadow of the Wind, the story takes place during World War II.  To me, there was the barest hint of the movie Summer of '42 - wartime setting, a beach, adolescents trying to understand their feelings for the opposite sex.  And the evil behind the story reminded me of something I would expect Stephen King to write, were he writing something for young adults.

My bookshelf also holds this author's adult novel The Angel's Game, and I'm looking forward to that one as well.  Once again the author turns to Barcelona as a setting, and books play an important role in the story.