Reported by Ambrea
This
week, Nevermore started with an old favorite, a novel that’s passed between
numerous readers and received some excellent reviews: Deception
Point by Dan Brown, a thriller that bounced from the offices of NASA
teeming with scientists and engineers to the far and distant ice floes of the
Arctic. Featuring Michael Tolland, a
scholar, and Rachel Sexton, an intelligence analyst, Deception Point is a suspenseful story about a bold and terrifying
deception that threatens to destroy a nation—and possibly the world. Although Dan Brown’s novel received some high
praise from other readers, it didn’t fare so well this week. Our most recent reader said she just wasn’t
thrilled by Deception Point, calling
it both “formulaic” and “incredibly disappointing.” Too much of the novel felt predictable for
our reader, and she argued she couldn’t enjoy the trite romantic entanglements
between Rachel and Michael; moreover, she just didn’t like it and called it
quits. She decided, as she told her
fellow readers, “[If I’m] not hooked by page 107, then it’s not worth it.”
Next,
Nevermore looked at The Universe
Below: Discovering the Secrets of the
Deep Sea by William J. Broad. A
Pulitzer Prize author and scientific journalist, William J. Broad delves deep
into the “planet’s last and most exotic frontier” in his book, taking readers
on an incredible adventure to the deepest parts of the sea. He follows modern and ancient explorations of
the ocean, examines the darkest trenches and recesses of the sea to show
readers the bizarre wildlife of the depths, and offers compelling articles
about advance technology and research that is slowly allowing humankind to
explore this last great frontier and uncover what strange things still lurk
beneath the surface. Our reader
absolutely loved reading Broad’s book. A
thrilling examination of one of Earth’s little-known territories, The Universe Below is an intriguing and
wonderful book that offers unparalleled insight into the ocean and provides
readers with beautiful illustrations (courtesy of Dimitry Schidlovsky). Overall, she was very pleased with her pick,
saying the illustrations alone were worth flipping through the book.
Nevermore
also picked up an Inspector Van Veeteren mystery by Håkan Nesser and introduced
a brand new Scandinavian crime mystery to the group. In Mind’s
Eye, Chief Inspector Van Veeteren is confronted by one of the easiest cases
of his career: Janek Mitter, after a
debauched night of wine and excess, is accused of murdering his wife of three
months in the bathroom—and having only the flimsiest excuses, Mitter is found
guilty and imprisoned in a mental institution.
But when Mitter is found murdered, Chief Inspector Van Veeteren knows
his case isn’t as open-and-shut as he hoped.
Our reader greatly enjoyed reading Inspector Van Veeteren’s first
mystery. Compelling and surprising, Mind’s Eye was an incredible little
Nordic novel that left our reader reeling with the concluding pages. The ending, she said, was “really
awesome.” It made the entire novel worth
reading.
Additionally,
our readers decided to look at local author Marilyn Smith Nielans, reviewing
her novel Saying GoodBye to the Iris Lady. The “Iris Lady” of Williamsburg, Virginia, is
an eccentric and obsessive widow who has become an icon in her community. But when she is hospitalized with cancer, her
three middle-aged children must return home to confront their mother’s
dwindling health, her house and gardens, and their long-buried sibling roles
and rivalries. Labeled a “true life
novel,” Saying GoodBye to the Iris Lady
is a poignant story that captures the family dynamics of mothers and
children. Our reader actually had the
opportunity to meet the author one year, saying she really enjoyed their
conversation. Neilans was a delightful
personality and a wonderful author, and her book was decreed equally enjoyable.
Next,
one reader picked up an old, battered paperback from a friend to share with Nevermore: The
Shifting Tide by Anne Perry. William
Monk is a private investigator, spending his days earning his living from the
streets and the mysteries which lurk there.
But when Clement Louvain hires him to investigate a missing shipment of
ivory from the Maude Idris, Monk
finds himself caught in a desperate situation as he attempts to keep his family
and his wife’s charity clinic afloat—and stop a terrifying plague from ravaging
London. Although our reader has never
been a fan of Anne Perry, she said The
Shifting Tide was not a bad book.
She noted it’s quirky and “very improbable,” but it wasn’t a terrible
novel. “It’s a day-and-a-half book, at
best,” she pointed out, so it’s a very quick read for a slow afternoon.
Last,
Nevermore looked at a familiar title, Empire
of the Summer Moon by S.C. Gwynne.
Although our reader had only finished half of the book, he was very
impressed by Gwynne’s work and the depth of the author’s research. Split into two narratives—one, an inspection
of the Comanche, Apache, Sioux and other tribes of the western United States;
two, a narrative about Cynthia Ann Parker, who was kidnapped by the Comanche,
and her son Quanah Parker who was the last and, arguably, the greatest chief of
the Comanches—Empire of the Summer Moon
was “amazing to read.” Our reader said
Gwynne’s book is incredibly complex.
“There’s so much [to keep track of],” he said, “with the hierarchy of
the tribes…and relationships.” Even
between the Comanches, relationships were complex and, sometimes,
difficult. He continued, saying it’s a
fascinating book, but it has to be taken in slow doses to remember all the
little details, to fully comprehend this vast well of Native American history.
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