Vaempires: Zombie Rising, a review

So, with a little time on my hands I can go back to reading books for enjoyment. I decided to read this one first (though I probably shouldn't have since my library books have due dates!). I went ahead anyway since this one is very short.

***

Vaempires: Zombie Rising
Author: Thomas Winship
Genre: Science Fantasy w/a touch of Dystopian
Series: Evolutionary War

Overview:

Linq and Ray, mid-teen vampire friends, must fight their way to their other friends, Cassandra and Daniel (the stars of Vaempires: Revolution) as a horde of zombies attacks.

What didn't work for me:

The plot is supposed to follow the first novel, Vaempires: Revolution, but there is a very noticeable time-frame hiccup. 

At the end of Vaempires: Revolution, we get Daniel on the ground, Linq and Ray on their way, Vielyn making off with Cassandra. Chapter 4 of Zombie Rising has Linq and Ray charging into the place where Daniel is defeated. Chapter 5 takes place after that, when Cassandra comes to on Vielyn's shoulder wondering if Daniel is still alive. So far so good. 

Between Cassandra's first chapter (Chapter 5) in Zombie Rising and the next chapter we see her (Chapter 10) there is a ton of time elapsed where Linq and Ray kick ass and take no names. The amount of time that has passed for Cassandra since Chapter 5? Literally, a few seconds. Chapter 5 and Chapter 10 could easily have gone next to each other. And then in Chapter 11, I'm not sure if the action takes place after the events in Chapter 10 or before. This is not made clear.

There is a blur here and I am not sure where I am.  

Another thing was that while Cassandra is an enjoyable character to read, her chapters in this book distracted more than they added. I think it was because the focus of this story is Linq and Ray. Or maybe it was because her chapters add little to the overall plot of this novella, especially her second chapter. 

What worked for me:

There are some noticeable improvements in this installment. The characterization of Linq and Ray is excellent beyond the other two installments of this series. It is interesting that Mr. Winship develops both into very dynamic individuals with so few pages. 

The result is that I wish Linq and Ray had been the stars of the Evolutionary War series. This is sacrilege, I know. But these two young men seem eternally more human because they are so vulnerable. 

Why does Ray keep going after finding his family massacred? It is revenge that morphs into more. Why does Linq ignore his comlink, which might give him news about the fate of his family? Because he can't deal with knowing for sure that they are dead and denial is his best defense against that. And there is a beautiful place when Linq is before his dying friend and just doesn't know what to do because there is nothing he can do. 

Those two do seem like kids running around with big guns and muscles, trying to hold onto their principles during a day meant to test principles. The turmoil these two feel is realistic; they don't just tear apart their vaempire opponents, but actually question the carnage. 

Another improvement is the tone. This novella felt like a dystopian story in several places. One place was the way in which vampire culture, while full of beautiful people, is portrayed as dominated by their vanities. 

The vampire guards at the royal castle don't carry guns because they are seen as too formidable for them; assuming that humans are their only potential enemy. And while vampires are supposed to be the typical beautiful creatures, they have a disturbing need to indulge in human culture (like their old movies). Why would they have to do that if they are near perfect in appearance? Vanity. To humans, the vampires are the beautiful creatures of myth. To each other, vampires are just... normal. 

So, while we have this society of superhumans with complex technologies, they are just as unhappy as we are in our society. Linq and Ray are the perfect vessels of this unhappiness. 

Well done. 

Overall:

All criticism aside, this is the challenge of writing a long story in installments. It is not a negative thing. If you pick up the latest Jim Butcher / Dresden Files novel, I doubt you'll know what's going on (so much has happened). An author has to make choices and do the best that they can with what they have in front of them. There are some failures in this novella, but there are also many victories.

And I'm walking away from Vaempires: Zombie Rising with more good memories than not-so-good ones. Linq and Ray's adventures are worth more time than what they get here and I look forward to reading more of them in the future (hopefully in a book that's novel length!).

And now, as much as I want to read the books I bought so many months ago, I have to start reading library books before their due dates so others can enjoy them.


LC

The Pain Scale, a review

I haven't reviewed a book in a while and I think I'm rusty. The Pain Scale is the work of one of my instructors at CSULB, Tyler Dilts. It was a unique pleasure to read it, just to see a sample of the old gentleman's craft.

But I had other reasons for reading this book. It is a detective mystery, even if of a different sort. And I am working on a mystery myself, though I admit not at the pace I would like. Therefore, reading this book is a sort of preparation for writing my own work. Old Tyler still has some tricks to teach me and I picked out many of them in this book.

***

The Pain Scale (Long Beach Homicide series #2)
Genre: Detective, Mystery, Police Procedural











Overview: Long Beach Police Detective Danny Beckett must deal with chronic pain and the gritty nature of his existence while trying to solve the gruesome murders of an upper-class wife and her young children.



What didn't work for me:

There is a difference between what is possible, probable, and plausible. In fiction, authors must work with all three. Depending on the tone and vision of the novel, the author may choose to rely on one of the three more than the others.

Fantasy novels use magic and creatures of myth and legend. These elements are in the far reaches of what is possible in our universe. The events depicted are therefore not probable. Yet, a skilled author may describe what happens in a Fantasy novel in such a way that the story seems plausible, which is also true of Science Fiction--just look at the way George Lucas made us believe in the awesome Sith, lightsabers, the Force, Jedis, etc.

I could argue that plausibility is the driving force behind the elements of fiction. But this is not a completely new concept. This is also known in another by another name: Suspension of disbelief. Or, if you bullshit me the right way, I'm liable to believe you. But this is an essay for a different day.

One of the most enjoyable qualities of A King of Infinite Space, the first novel in Dilts' series, was the level of realism that coated the procedures of the homicide detectives, the city, and the criminal element. As far as the plot went in A King of Infinite Space, it could have happened yesterday or perhaps might happen tomorrow with very few facts changed.

In The Pain Scale, Tyler Dilts again shows us a plot with a similar coating, but it scratches the borders of what is probable. Without giving too much away, my problem was with the spec ops and the Russian mob, both of which could easily find a home in any Patterson or Lee Child novel.

I won't beat him up too much for this though since the resolution satisfies.



What worked for me:

The characters are the most enjoyable aspect of the novel. Danny and Jen are two of the most authentic characters I have read. Their idiosyncrasies, passions, pains--all of it--come across as real. And this is so important in the digital age when literary production rivals the production of burgers at fast food restaurants--McLiterature reigns.  

Did I want to know that Danny loves a certain type of breakfast burrito? Did I want to know that Jen is looking for a new place to live and Danny wants to help? Did I want to know about the myriad of side notes about Long Beach Dilts throws in every page?

I don't have to know these things to understand the plot, but they are essential to understanding and liking the characters. Long Beach is a character in this novel, as much as Los Angeles is in any Chandler novel. All along, I felt as though I was sitting down and having a conversation with the protagonist and could call myself his friend. And though he didn't say it, I could understand why he hasn't made a romantic move on his partner, even though I could sense the attraction he has for her. There is no rush for a sex scene or a declaration of love or a wedding at the end of the novel. It just wouldn't make sense.

Many times while reading a novel, I get the sense that these are characters created for a novel. They are often predictable and their sentiments and reflections are, for a lack of a better expression, "garden variety." There is hardly any human growth, though there is tons of character development. Maybe I confused you just now. I don't see character development as human growth. Character development has become a cliche for novels, which hardly captures what human beings go through.

Character development has the taint of Hollywood films. In most movies, it is expected that whatever ailment the main character suffers from will be dealt with by the end of the film. That's character development, which is part of the traditional story arc, but it's not human growth. What I'm talking about is slow, sometimes circular, and with many failures that are never neatly dealt with.

Think about it: After you get that big promotion you worked so hard for, do the credits start playing, signaling the end of your life? Hopefully not. What happens is, you have new challenges riddled with the possibility for failure. Maybe you didn't get the promotion at all. Does your life then cut to a montage of scenes from the work you did to overcome that failure? No. You look for a new job or become grudgingly content with your current position.

Sometimes, life ends in failure.

In the novel, for example, Danny wants desperately to deal with the chronic pain he suffers from. He finds an outlet in immersing himself in police work, but it creates new perils. In the end, he never successfully deals with the chronic pain and in reality, someone in his situation never can. It is just something to deal with. But because we are human, we want to try different things that may alleviate the pain. This is what Danny does and he is more human because of it.

And that brings me to the other aspect of this novel that worked for me: The pain. It is called The Pain Scale for a reason. Beyond the chronic pain that festers the protagonist after an operation to reattach his severed hand, there is the pain of the cast around him and the city itself. Worthy of note was Harlan, that crusty old retiree suffering quietly, and the pain that Jen and other police officers go through when a partner is injured in their line of work--it is very similar to the pain soldiers go through when they lose a comrade in war.

Pain, pain, pain. Life is pain. Dilts showcases it well.



Overall:

Every work of literature, from the simplest work of genre to the greatest literary masterpiece, suffers from flaws. It is inevitable; the writer is only human. And by "flaw" I don't mean a misspelled word or a formatting error. There are flaws that can never be overcome. But it is a sign of greatness to see an author work onward despite these flaws. The author acknowledges that they do the best they can and can do no more.  

The Pain Scale is an excellent second addition to Tyler Dilts' series. It goes beyond the traditional Mystery by putting character dynamics right up there with the plot.

With this in mind, I would say that The Pain Scale is a fresh story of frustration and pain. It hurts to read it because it is so much like real life. It shouldn't stop you though.



LC

Vaempires: White Christmas, a review

The loving heat here in Southern California has kept me from my work. To be specific, it has kept me from work at home. The laptop is too warm. My eyes are tired. And the Fall semester has just started. But, I still have vision enough to review the last couple of things I read this summer. Sadly, I didn't get to read as much as I wanted to.

This was one of them: Vaempires: White Christmas by Thomas Winship.

I didn't say this before, but the covers to this one and Vaempires: Revolution are very catchy.

I'm currently learning about graphic design using Adobe's Creative Suite 6, so I'm appreciating the artwork differently. All very well done.

***

Overview:

Daniel, Cassandra, and the Vaempires return for a prelude that explores the world of Vaempires: Revolution a little further. The premise is that months before the events of the first book in the series, the leaders of this imagined world must find a diplomatic solution to the decaying relations between Humans, Vampires and Vaempires--mostly the anger rising in the Vaempire race over the failure of science to find a synthetic substitute to Vampire blood (which they need for sustenance).

What didn't work for me:

This isn't really a gripe, but Vaempires: White Christmas would not make sense if you didn't read Vaempires: Revolution. It is an excellent companion novela, but on its own it lacks certain elements that would make it a complete story--the ending only foreshadows the devastation of Vaempires: Revolution. Yet, I have to believe that Mr. Winship meant it to be this way, which is why it's not really a grip.

One thing that both worked for me and didn't work for me (odd) was the way in which Daniel gushes over Cassandra. OMG! Yes, I said that like a teen girl. OMG... It was a little too much for me. I understood that Daniel has strong feelings for her, but come on... come on... did we really need to say, "He looked at her and time froze"? Maybe just a tea-spoon of that would have done it. But I did say that it also worked for me, so I'll explain that in the next section.

There was a curious omission near the end. The whole purpose of the meeting in the mountains was to reveal a certain scientist's findings on the Vaempires. I'm not sure I got what the revelation was, but I have my guesses. It didn't have to be new information (I think it had to do with the Vaempires' mutant powers), but that wasn't explicitly said.

What worked for me:

Let me make a few points:

*This has quiet moments! The first novel in the Vaempires series is non-stop action, but White Christmas takes time to develop the private lives of its protagonists (Daniel directly and Cassandra indirectly). It's running theme is restraint. 

It is the yang to the ying of Vaempires: Revolution and its exploration of the evolved man. The story looks at the restraint shown between two teens who have an attraction to one another; it explores the restraint of politicians before deciding on military action; and yessssss, it looks at the restraint of our nature--those chains that culture and society place on the animal inside all of us. 

*Yes, the teenage love that Daniel feels for his Cassandra was excellent. I had to appreciate it as a writer. Puppy love is very difficult to draw because male teens react to it in such an amplified way. Here that is given to you in all its glory. The POV, which excludes Cassandra a lot of the time, works perfectly to create this fantasy world in Daniel's head.

Oh, if I didn't relate to it, I don't think I would have believed it. But it's all there. The way in which we deify the object of affection. The ridiculous conclusions we come to when she says something or doesn't say something. The way we interpret their every move. The only thing missing was the wet dreams. It's an interesting study in teen male psychology and effective characterization; it filled in Daniel more than the first novel did.

*The reason I felt so strongly about this prelude was its treatment of political haggling. You can't call it anything else. It's haggling. Within the same nation you have these two factions, the Vampires and Vaempires, who are unwilling to come to peaceful solutions to their problems. It is clear that the Vaempires desire outrageous steps from the Vampire government and are too proud to compromise; their absurd wish to see a prominent member of their race married to Princess Cassandra as a token of peace is a throwback to the days when marriage forged treaties. 

But it isn't just the Vaempires at fault. The Vampire leaders have an equal share in this fault. Oh, yes, the book hints that Vampires are the source of the Vaempire aggression. It's the type of story that doesn't paint one side "good" or "evil". 

Look at the way the Vampire king refuses to acknowledge them as a people, even though they are obviously a different race of humans. Look at the way they refuse to invite representatives of this mutant race to their political table. Look at the way the leaders of the world treat the Vaempire mutation as a disease to cure. Though well-meaning, the Vampire government breeds the hatred that will destroy it in Vaempires: Revolution. 

It is a beautiful allegory for our the race relations in our country, and perhaps in countries abroad. I read the Federalist Papers after reading this, particularly Number 14 by James Madison--it is ever relevant in subject matter. 

Overall:

I'm looking forward to the next installment of the Vaempire series (called The Evolutionary War). I warn you that you should read Vaempires: Revolution before attempting to read this one. Once you have, you will have a greater appreciation for the characters involved in this tale. 

Vaempires: White Christmas, is well woven with comedy and a stern look at interracial political dealings. But it is fun the way this vampire story explores a world where they are no longer the monsters in horror movies. It's an excellent read. 

LC