Joint Review Discussion: In the Shadow of Blackbirds

Lenore Appelhans did a joint review discussion of Beth Revis' Shades of Earth, and that was so much fun we had to do another. This one isn't dystopian, but we both loved it so much that we had to talk about it. We'll really dive into some of the main subjects. We endeavor to keep it at as non-spoilery as possible, but you might learn a few things. I gave In the Shadow of Blackbirds 4.5 stars.

Description from Goodreads:

In 1918, the world seems on the verge of apocalypse. Americans roam the streets in gauze masks to ward off the deadly Spanish influenza, and the government ships young men to the front lines of a brutal war, creating an atmosphere of fear and confusion. Sixteen-year-old Mary Shelley Black watches as desperate mourners flock to séances and spirit photographers for comfort, but she herself has never believed in ghosts. During her bleakest moment, however, she’s forced to rethink her entire way of looking at life and death, for her first love—a boy who died in battle—returns in spirit form. But what does he want from her?

Featuring haunting archival early-twentieth-century photographs, this is a tense, romantic story set in a past that is eerily like our own time.

Lenore and I are discussing 4 topics: Atmosphere, Romance, History, and Ghosts. The first two are over at Presenting Lenore, so pop over there to check those out, if you haven't been there already. Just keep reading to hear our thoughts on the history in the novel and the ghosty business.

History

Christina:

You may not know this, but I was actually a history major in undergrad. Though that was not my calling, I still get a serious author-crush on those who can do historical settings well, and I’ve got one on Cat Winters now. There are so many books set during WWI, but this isn’t like any of the ones I’ve read. Mary Shelley’s life is only peripherally affected by the war. Instead, she has to deal with the Spanish Flu, and all of the horrid superstitious attempts to cure the Spanish flu, like eating endless amounts of onion and burning sulphur. Yuck!

Lenore:
I knew that! Oh see, and I have a weird thing for historical plagues. Give me a book about an epidemic/pandemic and I’m all over it. However, I can’t really recall reading much fiction dealing with the Spanish Flu, so the onions were new to me.

Christina:
How macabre of you! I haven’t read any spanish flu fiction, either. I think the closest I’ve come to that in fiction is Twilight. Wasn’t Edward dying of the Spanish flu when he was turned in 1917? It scares me that I remember that. Anyway, this is so much better. Winters made me want to go research the reactions to the Spanish flu, but I suspect I will be too lazy. Still, she’s inspiring me to want to be better. Props!

Lenore:

Confession time: I’ve never read Twilight, and though I did see the first movie (dubbed into German on TV here), I don’t remember the Spanish Flu. But I could see it. He is pale and sickly, haha.

In any case, the addition of the Spanish Flu here makes it a great read alike for other plague tales - my absolute favorite being Doomsday Book by Connie Willis.

The Ending

Christina:

One thing I love about the paranormal elements of In the Shadow of Blackbirds is how un-paranormal they feel. It comes off more like they either just exist, so they’re realistic, rather than paranormal, or like Mary Shelley’s lost her mind, perhaps because of all the onions. Do you have any thoughts on this, Lenore? Do you think the ghosts really exist or that Mary Shelley’s brain broke at the loss of her boyfriend?

Lenore:
Oh good question! I guess I’m so used to reading paranormal these days that I took Mary Shelley’s visions at face value. But I’m intrigued by the idea that too many onions can cause madness ;)

One element that supports the ghosts really existing in the story is the fact that Mary Shelley died for a few minutes and she was changed afterward. Like the compass always pointed at her. That’s some serious freakiness!

Christina:

Well, maybe it’s not the onions per se... Still, I love to consider whether things are actually happening or if the MC’s just going crazy. I enjoy reads that fuck with your mind, and, with something like this, the door is wide open for that.

True! I loved what she did with the compass, like it registered your amount of paranormalness. That’s a word now, by the way. I wonder if you could test Julius’s spirit-photographing abilities with the compass? There are some seriously freaky ghosty scenes in here. I hope they’re real, even if it would also be awesome for them to be all in her head...

Lenore:
I agree - it’s definitely open to interpretation. That makes great fodder for discussion. Recommend it to your next book club!

Remember, there's more discussion (and a GIVEAWAY) at Presenting Lenore!

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In the Shadow of Blackbirds, Cat Winters' debut novel comes out April 2 from Amulet Books! This one's definitely worth a preorder, folks! You can see my standard format review on Goodreads. 

Check back tomorrow for a giveaway of In the Shadow of Blackbirds, which is going to be the Book of the Month.

Review: The Passing Bells

The Passing Bells
Passing Bells, Book 1

Author: Phillip Rock
Pages: 448
Publisher: William Morrow
Source: Publisher via TLC Book Tours

Description from Goodreads:
Before Downton Abbey, there was Abingdon Pryory, the elegant country home of the Grevilles—a titled English family who, along with their servants, see their world turned upside down when England goes to war. Once their well-kept lawns and whirling social seasons give way to the horrors of World War I, no one, upstairs or downstairs, is left untouched. For fans of sweeping historical fiction, the reissue of Phillip Rock's New York Times bestseller The Passing Bells is a breathtaking family saga not to be missed.

First Sentence: "The dawn came early, tinting a cloudless sky the palest shade of green."

Review:
First published in 1978, The Passing Bells has gotten a new lease on life, thanks to the popularity of the BBC show Downton Abbey. As you can see from the description, this book is being marketed as similar to Downton, and, thankfully, there is some truth in that. However, the focus in The Passing Bells is much more on history than on romantic drama. The Passing Bells reads more like Herman Wouk's Winds of War in a Downton-like setting.

The Passing Bells gets off to a rather slow start, introducing the myriad characters, but not delving too deeply to any one of them. This portion before the war is most reminiscent of Downton Abbey, but was also my least favorite part, because it lacked drama to pull me in and I did not yet know the characters well enough to be more than mildly interested in them. Given the 500+ pages in the book, I feared I might regret my decision to be on the tour for all three novels in this series, but, thankfully, the novel picked up for me about 150 pages in.

In Downton Abbey, WWI happens largely off-screen, and it's over quite quickly. The show races through history, but Rock lingers. He does not gloss over the war or keep the perspective more on the romances. He also shows off more of the dark side of war, which may have been his goal in composing the series. Rock highlights this time period as the turning point in England from the time of the landed estates to a more modern sensibility.

The Passing Bells encompasses the whole of WWII, with an emphasis on the first couple years of the conflict. The characters in The Passing Bells have roles in the war that range from soldier to nurse to doctor to journalist to living a slightly reduced life back in England. There's a great scope of British experiences during the war, all done very well. If you love historical fiction about World War I, The Passing Bells is a must read.

Rock develops a good cast of characters, some of whom are even reminiscent of characters in Downton Abbey, like Lydia who reminds me a lot of Lady Mary at her most scheming. I do wish there were more of an even focus on the female characters. The men receive a lot more attention than the women, who mostly appear only in relation to the male characters. The book does pass the Bechdel test, but only just barely.

Rock's The Passing Bells is a family drama of large scope that poses serious questions about the nature of modern warfare. History fans will not want to miss this. I am looking forward to reading the next installment of the trilogy quite soon.

Rating: 4/5

Favorite Quote: "'Ever first novelist feels that the story of his life and his family is a world-shaking event that simply screams for print. I went through that stage myself, Martin. I was twelve at the time, and I suddenly noticed something that perhaps you have noted yourself—that I simply do not look at all like my father. Well, I began to ponder on that and reached the febrile conclusion that I was the result of a liaison between my mother and the King of Spain. Then, filled with plans for an epic saga of my first twelve years on earth, about the little English Jew who was in reality a bastard claimant to a Catholic throne, I went browsing in the attic and found a trunk. In that trunk were tintypes of my father and his long-dead sister, Rose. I was exactly like her, a carbon copy of the poor departed dear.'"

I'm Sticking with You - The Decemberists

Goliath
Leviathan, Book 3

Author: Scott Westerfeld
Illustrator: Keith Thompson
Pages: 537
Publisher: Simon Pulse

Despite having been somewhat disappointed with the Uglies series, mostly because I didn't care for the characters much, I have pretty much adored this series. In fact, I like them so much I've gotten both of my parents reading these books after me. Haha. Their complaint is that they get really tired of Westerfeld's invented slang, like 'bum-rag' and 'barking spiders,' the latter of which seems to particularly irritate. Personally, I find these things more amusing than annoying, but to each her own.

Anyway, Goliath is a good conclusion to the series, although the ending is a bit abrupt. Of course, to make the alternate version align with what happened in real life, he was somewhat constrained in what the ending of the tale could be. Westerfeld chooses to end, and I really don't see this as a spoiler, with the entry of the US into the conflict. Even though that is not, as I hope everyone well knows, the end of the war, but it works because it puts a nice cap to the tale of our heroes.

Reasons to love The Leviathan Trilogy:

• Steampunkery!
• Fabricated creatures and crazy metal contraptions...they may not always make sense, but they're just so cool.
• Awesome art work, if you read the print version.
• Prefer audiobooks? That's almost better, because those are narrated by the incomparable Alan Cumming.
• You can learn a new vocabulary of swear words.
• The lorises, which are just the most awesome little creatures.
• A kickass female heroine, who's much stronger than the boy she loves.
• Crossdressing!
• A prince in disguise!
• Nikola Tesla as a mad scientist, in fact the villain (of sorts) for book three.

Are these books perfect? No. However, they are still incredibly awesome and full of nerdy, action-adventure fun. Basically, if you ever got a kick out of history or fantasy, you should do yourself a favor and read these, starting with Leviathan.

Rating: 4/5

"We could go into the stratosphere
Soldiers fighting in the Cong
But with you by my side I can do anything
When we swing we hang past right and wrong

I'll do anything for you
Anything you want me to
I'll do anything for you
Oh, I'm sticking with you"

How You Gonna Keep 'Em Down on the Farm - Andrew Bird

1919
U.S.A. Trilogy, Book 2

Author: John Dos Passos
Narrator: David Drummond
Duration: 16 hrs, 12 mins
Publisher: Tantor Audio

What a seriously strange book this was. Having received a copy of this book to listen to, I was somewhat dismayed to discover that it was the second book in a series. I absolutely abhor reading or listening to things out of order. However, I decided to start in on it without attempting book one, figuring that if I liked what I was hearing, I could run out and find book one and come back to 1919. The fact that I am reviewing this, having not reviewed the first book in the series should be rather telling.

1919 has zero plot. This is by design, but that does not endear it any more to me. The book is told in various sections: headlines/jingles, stories about regular depressing Americans, autobiographical segments (called Camera Eye) and biographies of famous Americans. Although that mixture of elements sounded really intriguing to me, it came of ass just a confusing jumble, something that I suspect may have been worse in audio format, especially with the headlines.

None of the segments interested me at all, except for some of the stories of regular folk, although those tended not to keep me enthralled either. The problem was that every one of them will destroy themselves with bad decisions, as you discover in the forward by E. L. Doctorow. So, basically, even if I did like someone, it was inevitable that I would come to hate them because they would act like an idiot. Argh!

I will give the narrator his props, because I think he did a pretty good job with this confusing mess of a book. He happily sang the songs in the headline bits and did a pretty good job differentiating the sections. I think he did mispronounce some of the Italian though.

This definitely was not a book for me. In theory, it sounded interesting, but the execution of the different sections and the pointlessness of the main people's stories just wore me down. Maybe it would have been better had I read the first book.

"How you gonna keep 'em down on the farm
after they've seen Paris, Paris?"

Hit That - The Offspring

A Man of Parts

Author: David Lodge
Pages: 432
Review Copy Acquired from: Penguin

A Man of Parts is a fictional biography of author H.G. Wells. I did not go into this book knowing anything about H.G. Wells, except for his having written quite a few novels and his being one of the founders of the genre of science fiction. Given that, I cannot assert with complete assurance that the events related in Lodge's book are all faithful representations of the author's life, but I suspect they are. The extensive acknowledgements certainly suggest that Lodge did his research before writing the book, not that I would expect less.

Why, then, is this written as a novel, rather than a biography? My suspicion is that it is simply much more fun to write historical fiction than a strictly correct biography. Why? Because, had he written this as nonfiction, he would have been unable to put words into the mouths of the characters, and would have had to rely solely on, instead, the literature, letters and speeches of Wells. While that does a lot, it does not give the same freedom that the label of fiction does.

His Novels Were as Plentiful as His Mustache

This is my second experience with David Lodge, although my only successful one, as I gave up on the first book of The Campus Trilogy quite swiftly. I found the opening pages not at all to my liking and decided to move on. Lured by the interesting subject matter here, I could not resist requesting a copy of A Man of Parts. Thankfully, I found myself much more drawn to the book than I ever expected. The writing is excellent and what I learned completely shocking. Impressed by this one, I will definitely be giving The Campus Trilogy another go, especially since Penguin was kind enough to give me the new, completely gorgeous edition containing the whole of the trilogy with this book.

You may wonder why I found the contents of the novel so entirely shocking. That's because it turns out that H.G. Wells was one heck of a horndog. Seriously. He spent all of his time that was not devoted to writing pursuing sexual intercourse with various ladies, most of whom were many years his junior. Many of these sexual partners were authors like himself.

This Is the Face of a Man That Makes B*tches Crazy

Honestly, the descriptions of Wells' social life and his completely nutty (and hypocritical) opinions on sexual relations were the most intriguing part of the book. Wells espoused a belief in free love, although he did (mostly) attempt to only sleep with women he cared for, although, given the opportunity, any relatively good looking woman would do. (On one occasion, he even slept with a woman with a shriveled hand.)

Author Elizabeth Von Arnim - He Tapped That

At the same time, Wells fervently believed in the institution of marriage. He married twice (the first, which was to his cousin by the way, ended in divorce, since he wanted to marry his second wife, Jane). Both marriages were passionless, which increased his straying. Jane seems to have been okay with it, although certainly not thrilled. I imagine she was not as pleased with the arrangement as Wells seems to have believed. Despite his constant straying, Wells was remarkably constant to Jane, and never really wanted to leave her. Of course, his affairs also had other consequences, like babies and scandal. It's funny how this is never the part of history that you get to learn about in school.

Amber Reeves and Wells' Love Child #1

Lodge largely uses a pretty straightforward narrative style (third person, mostly following Wells' viewpoint). However, he occasionally switches to a very strange style, wherein H.G. Wells responds to some sort of interviewer. I'm not entirely sure what to make of these sections, but they did tend to be fascinating, since the voice really liked to probe Wells about the subjects he least wished to discuss. I suspect that this was either employed solely as a narrative device or, perhaps more likely, was used to depict Wells' dementia at the end of his life, as he tried to account for his behavior.

Author Rebecca West - That Too

While I did enjoy the novel, I will warn that it is not an especially quick read, or, at least, it was not for me. Nonetheless, I found it to be well worth the time, and, if you ever want to have your illusions of a classical author shattered, this is definitely the way to go.

"He said 'Now I'm on a roll
With all the girls I know'
His baby mama
She ain't so slow
He said 'Now I'm on a roll
With all the girls I know'
I know you wanna hit that
I know you wanna hit that, hit that
All of the world
Is getting way past me
Consequences are a lost party
That's the way
That's the way things go"

I'm Not That Girl - Idina Menzel

Behemoth
Leviathan, Book 1

Author: Scott Westerfeld
Pages: 496
ARC Acquired from: Simon & Schuster @ ALA 2010

Brief Summary:
The Leviathan arrives in Istanbul (not Constantinople) only to discover that the Germans are controlling pretty much everything happening in the city, except for the rioting. The diplomats try to do their thing and convince the Ottomans that the British are better allies than those clankers or, if that doesn't work, to win the ensuing conflict. Meanwhile, Alec and his men are trying to escape the ship, fearing that their welcome will soon run out, despite having only done the best they could for the Leviathan. Dylan is doing well in her role as an airman, but struggles with her inner woman, who has fallen really hard for Alec...who will be leaving soon and is totally out of her league anyway, what with being a prince.

Review:
Scott Westerfeld writes some really strange stuff, some of which I love and totally want to high five him for. Others, though, I have been less impressed by. The Uglies series was interesting, but also highly frustrating to me. I loved his short story in Zombies vs. Unicorns and I really enjoyed Leviathan, the precursor to this book, although I was not sure whether that joy stemmed from Westerfeld's talent or Alan Cummings' as I listened to the audiobook version.

Having finished Behemoth, read on old-fashioned paper, I have to say that I really do like some of Westerfeld's stuff. His writing may not especially impress me, but he does have a crazy mind full of fantastic ideas. Of course, some of those ideas don't pan out (or so I've heard about what happens in Peeps). Anyway, I'm still totally digging this completely ridiculous and delightful revisionist history.

One nice thing about not having the audiobook, even if I do miss Cummings' vocal stylings, was getting to see the illustrations. They're really awesome and definitely a nice spice for the eyes (if you've read the book, you know what I did there).

Unlike the Uglies series, I also really like the characters, except for Dr. Barlow, who I still find annoying. Alek is a bit stodgy, but generally a nice kid, suffering only from his rather unique upbringing. Dylan is an awesome girl, who does not let mooning over a boy stop her from being a badass; she can moon and be a badass at the same time. My new favorite character, without a doubt, is Bovril, a perceptive new beastie.

If you enjoyed the first installment, you will not be disappointed by this one, unless you wanted more than five pages of the title beastie. Next up is the final book in the series. I am so ready!

"Don't dream too far
Don't lose sight of who you are
Don't remember that rush of joy
He could be that boy
I'm not that girl"

The Thing That Should Not Be - Metallica

Baltimore, Volume 1:
The Plague Ships

Authors: Mike Mignola, Christopher Golden
Illustrator: Ben Stenbeck
Pages: 130
ARC Acquired From: Dark Horse Books via NetGalley

Brief Summary:
During World War I, a plague struck Europe, effectively ending the war and life as it was previous known. This plague turned ordinary people into man-eating monsters. Regular humans are struggling to survive in this terrifying changed landscape. One man, one-legged Lord Baltimore travels the world killing these demons and searching for one in particular, the scarred one, who he owes an especially painful death.

Review:
The story of Lord Baltimore follows a similar line as that of many antiheroes. He must always be alone and cannot enjoy even a moment's peace. He is haunted and driven by the need for revenge. Without that, he would likely have given up, what with having only one leg and all. Speaking of the one leg, am I the only one who really does not think the device he rigged up would work? This guy needs to step into the Fullmetal Alchemist world and get Winry to make him up a nice leg.

The vampire horde/plague is definitely attempting to capitalize off of the vampire craze, which, I suppose, is understandable. In some ways, he has returned to some parts of the mythology that have been largely abandoned, such as vampires turning into bats, although in this case they totally resembled something more like a werebat than an actual bat. The weirdest thing, though, was the explanation for how the plague began, which seems really improbably to me. Apparently, a vampire bleeding will convert anyone who's dead/dying on the same field to vampirism.

The part that interested me the most, the historical setting for all of this stuff, really did not come into play too much, other than to serve as a breeding ground for said plague. Hopefully, later volumes make use of the time period more. Honestly though, I do now expect that I shall be continuing with this series. It wasn't for me, but I know some people will dig it. For folks who love some serious, grisly action in their comics and antiheroes, definitely give this a go.

"Out from ruins once possessed
Fallen city, living death

Fearless Wretch
Insanity
He watches
Lurking beneath the sea
Timeless sleep
Has been upset
He awakens
Hunter of the Shadows is rising

Immortal
In madness you dwell

Not dead which eternal lie
Stranger eons Death may die
Drain you of your sanity
Face The Thing That Should Not Be"