Some quick book reviews to end 2006

Personally, I find it distressing to read a book - hate it - and still acknowledge that it's bound to be a best seller.

 

Creepers by David Morrell fits that bill.

 

Written by the author of First Blood, Creepers is nominally about urban explorers, glorified pranksters that break in to abandoned property as sightseers. In reality the book is about as much about creepers as Cheers is about the wine served at the bar. The fact that the characters are 'creepers' is just a convenient ploy to find them alone in an abandoned building,

 

The novel quickly turns into a standard thriller, with a plot as predictable and laughable as any second rate movie.

 

And that's the rub. The novel reads like less of a book than a movie treatment, with a story driven by theatrical turn of events and inane dialogue. There's no doubt that a version of the book will eventually hit the big screen.

 

Hopefully its box office failure is just as inevitable.

 

The Ruins by Scott Smith creates just the opposite impression.

 

The new novel concerns two American couples on vacation in Mexico who are drawn to a remote archeological site. Once there they are trapped by a malevolent and deadly creature.

 

The Ruins is a beautifully written book reminiscent in tone to Peter Straub's Ghost Story. It's the rare book that lives up to the cliche that it just can't be put down.

 

The Godfather's Revenge by Mark Winegardner is a follow-up to The Godfather's Return, and both are sequels to Mario Puzo's Godfather saga.

 

This time around the Corleone family is under siege by renegade capo Nick Geraci in the years immediately following the events of Godfather II.

 

I'm a big Godfather fan, but by no means a 'cultist' of the movies or book. That group has reacted harshly against the sequels, but I disagree with their extreme views of Winegardner and his work.

 

The book has drawbacks, mainly because it is obliged to conform with the canon established by the films, but is well written and a decent (if forgettable) read.

 

I detest the fate that befalls Tom Hagen however; he remains my favorite character of the books/movies and deserves better.