My feelings about the second book in the Timmy Failure series largely mirrors the first. In Mistakes Were Made, quite a bit of the book's first half is familiarizing the reader with the characters and their story. The narrative of the second half sort of rushes through things, yet has some of the story's funniest moments. In Now Look What You've DoneStephan Pastis doesn't take nearly as much time setting the stage. The result is that the jokes start right from the beginning, and these moments are Timmy's best in the novel. Once the larger story is established, it actually begins to drag quite a bit. There's a balance in there somewhere that I imagine will be found in one of the subsequent books in the series.

I shall press on as I want to see what other hijinks Pastis can invent, and I'm most curious what will happen with Molly Moskins.

Despite the way she's portrayed, Molly's actually quite endearing. Molly, if you're reading this, please listen: If Timmy doesn't ever catch on, know that I do. I love the smell of tangerines and I think symmetry is vastly overrated. You will always have a special place in my heart. -CB

Mistakes Were Made is not the sort of book I'd normally pay much attention to. I'm not a huge fan of children's lit and this one looked a bit too juvenile for me (not that I'm not very childish at heart). I picked up this novel for one reason: Tom McCarthy, genius behind such movie gems as The Station Agent, Win Win, and Up, is adapting the novel to film. McCarthy isn't a filmmaker who deals in adaptations, so I was intrigued with what this book was all about.

Frankly, I'm a bit surprised that McCarthy has taken on this project. It's quirky, which is right up McCarthy's alley, but it has a different tone than McCarthy's usual “quirky with heavy underlying dramatic weight.” But enough about a film that doesn't even exist yet.

This is a hilarious book. The humor is fresh and often unexpected—even though Timmy's lack of common sense is established early, the disconnect is so absurd and finely drawn that I laughed out loud every time he reached a conclusion. This is the kind of humor that can be understood by children and adults alike, but may at times be lost on some children.

The narrative was great and the plot worked fine for the style. I was very much engaged for the bulk of the story. At the point where the story begins to wrap, however, the plot sort of fizzled. The conclusion was very rushed and not all that entertaining. For a novel which spent so much time setting up the dynamics of the narrative and the setting, as well as introducing us to a myriad of wonderful characters, I guess there just wasn't enough room to build a satisfactory ending. Hopefully, now that the stage is set, the following books in the series provide a stronger story arc. (And, yes, I do plan on continuing this series.)

The Timmy Failure movie is schedule for release in 2020. I'm sure given McCarthy's handling, it'll be a fabulous movie—though one cannot forget (and maybe not forgive) The Cobbler.

„Schwarzes Blut“ von Max Wilde ist ein Mängelexemplar vom Grabbeltisch, das ich vor einigen Jahren erbeutete. Ich erinnere mich, dass der wenig aussagekräftige Klappentext meine Neugier entfachte. Damals wusste ich nicht, dass Max Wilde das Pseudonym des erfolgreichen südafrikanischen Thriller-Autors Roger Smith ist, dessen Roman „Kap der Finsternis“ 2010 den zweiten Platz beim Deutschen Krimipreis belegte. „Schwarzes Blut“ erschien bei Heyne Hardcore, einer gesonderten Sparte des Verlags, die neben einem Angebot von Musik- und Erotikliteratur auf grenzwertige, sehr blutige und brutale Horrorliteratur spezialisiert ist. Kurz, ich wusste, worauf ich mich einließ.

 

Skye weiß, dass sie verfolgt wird. Sie kann die Männer hinter sich hören. Sie hat Angst. Nicht davor, dass sie ihr wehtun könnten, sondern davor, dass der Andere die Kontrolle übernimmt, wenn sie sie verletzen. Seit sie zurückdenken kann, teilt sie ihren Körper mit diesem… Ding, einem Monster, das sich unter ihrer Haut verbirgt und unerträgliche Gelüste hat. Skyes Wachsamkeit darf niemals nachlassen, denn die Konsequenzen wären furchtbar. Für sie selbst, für ihren Adoptivbruder Gene und für ihren kleinen Neffen Timmy. Ist der Andere frei, sterben Menschen. Skye ahnt nicht, dass ihre Verfolger erst der Anfang sind. Da draußen lauert jemand, der die Wahrheit über sie kennt. Jemand, der mehr über ihre Herkunft weiß, als sie selbst. Jemand, der nur ein Ziel verfolgt: er will den Anderen.

 

Herzlichen Glückwunsch Max Wilde aka Roger Smith! „Schwarzes Blut“ ist meine erste 1-Stern-Bewertung des Jahres 2017! Jawohl, ich schrieb, ich wusste, worauf ich mich einließ, als ich mir dieses Buch vornahm. Ich hatte vorher sogar wohlweislich einige Rezensionen gelesen, die tendenziell stark auseinanderdrifteten. „Faszinierend und erschreckend“ hieß es da, aber auch „eklig“ und „bestialisch“. Als stolze Schlachten-Veteranin bin ich wahrlich nicht zartbesaitet; ich nahm an, dass die negativen Rezensionen von Leser_innen stammten, die sich versehentlich ins falsche Genre vorgewagt hatten. Kann ja mal passieren. Ich hätte nicht erwartet, dass ich mich ihrem Urteil anschließen muss. „Schwarzes Blut“ ist buchstäblich das widerlichste, abstoßendste, ekelerregendste Buch, das ich jemals gelesen habe. Es ist ein Fall für Trigger- und Jugendwarnungen auf dem Cover. Es löste in meinem Kopf eine hitzige Debatte mit mir selbst hinsichtlich einer FSK für Bücher aus. Zugegeben, ich habe mit Hardcore-Literatur keine Erfahrung, aber wenn die entsprechenden Bücher alle so sind wie dieses, möchte ich diesen Umstand keinesfalls ändern. Bäh. Würg. Ich habe mit Gewaltdarstellungen keine Schwierigkeiten, ich kann Horrorfilme (für die Kenner: Exploitation) bereits zum Frühstück sehen, doch dieses … nennen wir es mal neutral Werk, sprengt selbst meine Grenzen. Das Problem ist, dass „Schwarzes Blut“ Gewalt um der Gewalt willen abbildet und ansonsten grottenschlecht ist. Die Story ist fadenscheinig, absurd und völlig sinnentleert. Selbst wenn man akzeptiert, dass die Protagonistin Skye ihren Körper mit einer Art Dämon teilt, der einen gesunden Appetit für Menschenfleisch pflegt, ist das ganze Konstrukt rettungslos unrealistisch. Skyes Verwandlungen (jap, Plural) in den Anderen sind lächerliche HULK-Gedächtnis-Momente, samt schwellenden Muskeln und reißenden Klamotten. Es gibt eine Vielzahl aufgesetzter, unechter Charaktere, die in schöner Regelmäßigkeit abgeschlachtet werden, eine psychiatrische Abteilung aus der Hölle und einen undefinierbaren Brei aus Okkultismus, Korruption, Vergewaltigung, Kindesmissbrauch und Drogenhandel. Es wird gefoltert, aufgeschlitzt, gewürgt, erschossen, zerstückelt, enthauptet, vergiftet, gefressen. Die extrem expliziten, voyeuristischen Beschreibungen sollen die Leser_innen schockieren, das ist die Quintessenz von „Schwarzes Blut“. Alle Elemente der Handlung dienen lediglich dazu, dieses Schlachtfest, diese Gewaltorgie irgendwie zu verbinden, komme was wolle. Max Wilde aka Roger Smith schmeißt einfach alles, was irgendwie gruselig, gefährlich und abartig ist, in einen großen Topf, stellt die Flamme auf Anschlag und rührt kräftig durch. Was dabei herauskommt, ist dieses Buch. Ich hangelte mich von Kapitel zu Kapitel, verlor immer mal wieder den Faden und konnte einfach nicht fassen, dass irgendein Verlag diesen Dreck überhaupt mit der Kneifzange anfassen würde. Nein, ich entschuldige mich nicht für das Wort „Dreck“, denn ein Manuskript, das dermaßen gewaltverherrlichend ist, verdient es nicht besser. Es ist eine Sache, scheußliche Darstellungen zu verwenden, um etwas zu vermitteln, irgendeine Botschaft, ein Motiv, eine Moral, eben IRGENDETWAS, aber wenn es dabei offenbar nur um eine perverse Freude an Blut, Folter, Mord und Tod geht, läuft meiner Meinung nach etwas falsch. Da drängt sich die Frage auf, nein, sie springt mir geradezu ins Gesicht, was es über den Autor aussagt, dass er so etwas schreibt.

 

Ihr mögt es blutig? Ihr mögt es brutal? Nur zu, ich urteile nicht über euch. Aber bitte, bitte, bitte lasst die Finger von „Schwarzes Blut“, die Begeisterung für grenzwertige Literatur in allen Ehren. Das Buch ist schlecht, so einfach ist das. Da kann es noch so explizit und farbenfroh sein oder eine spezielle Zielgruppe ansprechen, eine miese Geschichte bleibt eine miese Geschichte. Ich muss zugeben, dass ich von einem etablierten, preisgekrönten Krimi-Autor weit mehr erwartet hatte. Wenn er seine verdrehten Fantasien literarisch verarbeiten möchte, ist das für mich vollkommen in Ordnung, weil dieses Ventil zumindest harmlos ist, aber ein gewisser Qualitätsanspruch muss gestattet sein. In dieser Form taugt „Schwarzes Blut“ meiner Ansicht nach nur als Trinkspiel für Hartgesottene. Kippt man bei jedem Toten einen Kurzen, ist man am Ende der 320 Seiten garantiert ordentlich betrunken. Und vielleicht ein wenig traumatisiert.

A couple of my kids have been reading this series since #1, and since one of my favorite comic strip writers wrote it, I always intended to read it. Then I stumbled upon Steve Usery's podcast interview with him, and I really wanted to. But haven't gotten around to it yet. I stumbled on to the audiobook last week and figured it'd be worth a shot -- especially with his appearance in town this last weekend. If I can make it amusing enough to bother reading, I'll tell you the story tonight of how my son and I didn't make it. But on to the book.

 

Timmy fancies himself a fantastic detective with a polar bear sidekick (named Total), he believes he's on the verge of becoming a multimillionaire with offices throughout the world. In reality, he's a lousy detective who can't solve even the easiest of cases, like "Who stole my Halloween candy?" when the victim's brother is literally surrounded by the evidence. You almost get the feeling you're headed for an Inspector Gadget-style conclusion to the mysteries, where things are solved accidentally, in spite of the detective. Nope -- Timmy cannot solve anything. He considers cases closed, but he's so far from the truth (and so near personal vendettas) that it's laughable. Which is the point, thankfully.

 

There's a level to all of this that's really sad -- Timmy's the child of a single mom (we don't know why, at least in this book), struggling to make ends meet, and Timmy's created this world in which he's thiiiiiis close to providing financial security for her. She's at the end of her rope with him, but finds ways to indulge and support his delusions and dreams (and get some actual completed homework from him). She dates a creep for a while, but thankfully, the fact that he and Timmy don't mesh too well dooms that.

 

Obviously, the big drawback to the audiobook format is that I don't get to see the drawings that accompany the text -- and that probably detracted a lot. Thankfully, Goldsmith did a great job -- the voice was a little annoying, but I'm sure that was intentional. I don't think I could listen to more than one of these at a time, but that's probably just me.

 

A cute story, best suited for younger readers, with enough grin-inducing lines to keep adults reading (and/or listening). I'll be back for more.

Heartifact - Aisling Mancy,Timmy Ashton Book – Heartifact
Author – Aisling Mancy
Star rating - ★★★★☆
No. of Pages – 88
Cover – Nice
POV – 3rd person, one character
Would I read it again – Maybe
Genre – LGBT, Romance, Archaeological, Contemporary, Fantasy


** I WAS GIVEN THIS BOOK FOR MY READING PLEASURE **
Reviewed for Divine Magazine


This was an interesting one for me. I've only ever read one book by the author before and it wasn't a resounding success, so I was hesitant and unsure about what I'd find, though the blurb intrigued me. This one was a story of two halves, the first being a little more unsure than the second, which really picked up the story and ran with it.

First, I'm going to run through the cons, because I want them out of the way.
I feel slightly cheated by the length, as it's only 88 pages and the story didn't begin until 5% then ended at 97%. That's a total of 8% of the story that I missed, which it could have used to round up the ending in a less abrupt way.
There was a lot of confusion in the first few pages, what with the mass amount of metaphors and brand names. I'm also not a fan of the theme that is so common in the genre of introducing the character by using their full name as the first words of the story. It's a pet-bug of mine. Beyond that, the brand news bugged me because I have no idea what Sperrys (shoes?) and the Seamaster (watch?) are, and although it was instantly made clear that it was shoes, kicked off, and a watch that told the time, it was kind of frustrating at the same time.
Another pet hate was the sexism of this comment which totally rubbed me up the wrong way → “a woman without a vagenda.” I shouldn't even have to explain why that is wrong.
There's also a moment where Harper mentions Atlantic out of nowhere, claiming that someone else was bringing it up, even though they didn't. It was confusing.
I would have liked an identifying marker – italics or otherwise – to separate the dreams from reality, because it was often confusing which was which.
Oh, and there was a serious misuse of ship and boat throughout. Now, if there's one thing that proper divers, archaeologists, marine archaeologists, shipmates and such can't stand it's when someone messes up and calls their ship a boat. Yet, Harper makes this mistake countless times and is never corrected.
I have to say that the story follows the blurb like a paint by numbers, because you get exactly what the blurb tells you to expect in that precise order.

But, by the halfway point, they're on the ship and ready to get started with the excavation and that's when the story really kicks off. So let's explore the pros.
First off, I liked Harper as a character. He was relatable and believable both as a lonely man, a marine archaeologist and as the leader of the team at the excavation site. He had the attitude, the knowledge and the demeanour to handle being in charge without floundering at the first hurdle or being afraid to challenge the opinions of his peers. He somehow manages to keep his personal life private on the ship, while doing his job to the best of his abilities and holding out hope for something that he's been told is impossible.
I liked Sticks, who was a strong female and not too butch, like some women are in MM stories.
There is a great balance between the dreams and reality, with Harper admitting that it's difficult to separate them first thing after waking, but without the complication of him being nuts enough to force the others to believe that they could be 'real'.
The authenticity and incredible detail of the excavation is what really woke me up to this story. Before that, I was bordering on a 2 or 3 star rating, because I just wasn't feeling the passion, the excitement or the chemistry between Pelora. But once Harper got onto the ship and they began working, it all became real and tangible, allowing us readers to see the work they were doing, how the revelations affected Harper's moods and his feelings for Pelora.

In the end, while the ending was abrupt, it was a great way to end the story. I liked the choices Harper made, the reasons for them and loved that he had to choose between sense, reality and friendship or something that might not even be real but felt intense and fulfilled all of his deepest needs and dreams. I'd definitely have liked to have seen more, but perhaps in a second short? Something where we can follow Harper into the next phase and see how it happens. It felt a little up in the air, at the end of this one, because there was no guarantee that it would work or what might happen, if Harper even realised what had happened. I would have liked some hint of something simple, even something as small as Harper smiling or feeling relief.

Overall, it was a good story with a dodgy start. I might read it again, but I won't be reading the beginning when I'm already tired as I did today, because it's just not exciting enough to keep my interest until the halfway mark.