*SPOILERS*

Anyone feel like talking about this one a bit? I read it a couple of months ago and was, er, blown away.

- First of all, by how much goddam research was in it. How has FPW had a medical practice and a family and still cranked out novel after novel, including monsters like this that seem to contain a bachelor's degree worth of historical information and a pretty deep take on another culture? These serious born-to-write types (Matheson, King, FPW, etc.) must all have some form of ADD or ADHD or Digital TV or _something_.

- I thought it was fun how much -- (um, I'm just remembering that I'm an absolute idiot when it comes to names, and I'm not going to be able to remember any of the characters' names) -- how much some of the parts of the novel dealing with the Japanese protagonist resemble a RJ book. The detective work he does, the clever solutions to problems, his lightning-fast decisions when it's crunch time, are all very Jack-like. (Plus the incredible amount he accomplishes in a short period of time -- like figuring our the entire U.S. nuclear plan in a few days; reminded me of Jack in CrissCross, gravely injuring the Dormentalists in a simliar time frame. Not people you want to have against you!)

- Humanness. The humanity! I think this novel is more affecting than just about anything else he's written. I love RJ, but Jack's relationship with Gina is just not terribly smokin'. By contrast, BW has a couple of really terrific romances in it and a lot of deep, rich, etc. emotional relationships among many of its characters. I liked seeing FPW pull this off, a lot. Hm, and along these lines, simply the depth of the characters themselves, their elaborate back stories and inner lives, etc., is really terrific.

- The plot. Well, in part this relates to the point above, about all the research FPW did for the book. Basically, an amazing horror-fantasy plot providing a secret history of Pearl Harbor and the nuclear strikes against Japan is not exactly a snore. So: Not bad! The Black Winds themselves are very frightening. I know that these days we relate the Black Winds to the Otherness; I wonder if FPW was consciously relating them at the time or if that only became a "fact" after he'd written/as he wrote so much more about the Otherness during the Adversary Cycle.

- The ending. The "ending" -- the whole, big, final coming together of all the parts -- occupies quite a few pages and I think is a masterwork. Once again, the amazing _cleverness_ that so shines in the best RJ stories is seen here, too. I think it's just fantastic how FPW gets all the lines to connect at the end -- not only the fictional lines he's created, but also the actual historic events. Just.... bravo. Oh, AND it works perfectly at the human/emotional level -- so it's not just cleverness and plot elements working out -- it's also all the human stories and agendas and fates and choices, etc., coming together in an immensely affecting way. Goshers.

The whole damn book is so interesting, so entertaining, so thought-provoking, and so MOVING that it sets me timbers ashiverin'. Too bad FPW just writes crappy genre fiction, maybe a search for him in the NY Times database would come up with some serious critical treatments and respect instead of his letters to the editor and his "Universal Prose Care" squib. ARRRGH!

-oss

I read APhew's post and thought I'd just reply, but I thought that was getting kind of long and I had a separate thought. I had a major problem and I was wondering if anyone agreed.....or disagreed, for that matter.

FPW definitely combined two of my favorite literary forms - RJ and a race against time. That was great. It definitely made the book un-put-downable. I even cried at one point.

But I felt like the end was almost a deus ex machina. You know - the dramatic tool dating back to the Greeks? When the situation is so dire, that only a god could fix the problem. So a god would enter at the end of the play and set everything right.

In my mind, that's a copout. (Maybe not so extreme, but I can't think of a better word).

I felt like the ending of INFERNAL was almost like a deus ex machina. I think it's great that Tom made a big turnaround but:

1.) It was quite abrupt (only a few hours earlier he was still decided in not doing anything).
2.) I thought it was very convenient that they were able to override the rules of the Lilitongue
3.) And it just seemed like a quick ending leaving a weak resolution. I don't mind the lack of action in the book, but at least a bigger ending. It was like.....only a few minutes to go til death.....problem solved......end of story.

Not to mention, the whole Wrath of Allah didn't seem to fit. It was almost like it was thrown in there so as to have a second storyline. It may come in later on (I wouldn't be surprised), but usually the second storylines have some sort of resolution, even if not everything is completely wrapped up.

I guess my main concern is that RJ is losing his touch. I still love RJ, and rate FPW's novels a cut above the rest (several cuts actually), but first, two people he was working with in CrissCross were murdered, in horrific ways (I know it wasn't his fault, but still....) and then everything kept getting botched in Infernal, and there was this quick wrapup ending which didn't ring true and ended everything pretty quickly.

I hate to criticize because I don't want to offend anyone.....especially the man who constantly amazes me with his creative and brilliant stories that affect me like no other. But Infernal actually concerned me. But maybe that's a good thing......the reason I'm concerned is because I care.

Thoughts anyone?

I can't wait for next year! My favorite comic got into a film. It's "Ghost Rider". A few decades ago, I found Ghost Rider's comic in Tower Records. It was English, but cover art was cool, so I bought a few books. Nicholas Cage as Johnny Blaze/Ghost Rider. Good casting! I watched trailer. It looks great.

Ghost Rider trailer

Two weeks in Nantucket with a sloooow dial-up (16.8 kb connection). Now you know why you haven't heard from me. It'll take me a while to cach up.

Saw MirrorMask last night with my friend. It was amazing. In fact, I'm having a hard time coming up with the words to describe it. It was, however, like stepping into one of Dave McKean's art works. I remember FPW did one of the introductions to Preludes and Nocturnes for Neil Gaiman's Sandman and I remember how surprised and happy I was to see two of my favorite authors come together.

If you guys like any of Neil's work, I highly, *highly* recommend you check out MirrorMask.

I found out information about Japanese edition "THE HAUNTED AIR".

The title is not yet fixed. It's only "Repairman Jack(6)".

Release date: Late October.(Maybe October 30)

Publisher: Fusosha.

Style: Vol.1 & Vol.2.

I got Hosts in January 28, and The Haunted Air is October....the interval is only 9 months! The interval of "All the Rage" and "Hosts" was 2 years and 6 months......

I read THA in English. But of course I buy Japanese edition. This is my favorite RJ novel. I must say it's best one! So I'm looking forward to it.

BTW.......what is Japanese title??? In my guess, it's.....

1, 心なき少女の館(Kokoro naki shojo no yakata)"The House of heartless girl"
2, メネローズ・マノーの怪(Menelaus Manor no kai)"Mystery of Menelaus Manor"
3, 霊媒師の災難(Reibaishi no sainan)"The trouble with scammers"

What do you think about them? My favorite is 1. "Heartless" have two meaning. "No heart" and "cruel". Well, someday I'll know it!

Check out this preview of a new version of "The Shining" (now called "Shining"). The file takes a bit to load, even on Cable modem, but it's worth the time.

Shining Preview

Just got back from a midnight screening.

Holy shit.

First, story was top notch. Not any major flaws I could see. A friend who hates everything Whedon (the writer/director) loved this flick.

Second, for a movie that only cost $40 million (we are talking Hollywood here) it looked GOOD.

Third, all the actors did a great job. The right delivery, the right reactins, the right emotion all perfect.

Now the "What the fuck?" part of the thread.

Why was Book in the film so little? It worked (he was just passing through in the series) but I wanted more of him. He was always the wise old man that seemed to help keep everyone grounded.

And Walsh? Jeez! My mouth just dropped open and didn't shut again for several minutes as it sank in. That came out of NOWHERE.

All in all a fine movie. Definitely worth the cost. Actually, worth seeing it a second time (already have tickets for Fri. night).

I have to mull it over a bit and see if I can find any faults with the film. I'm sure it's not 100% perfect but it is damn close.

For those who have seen it, what are your thoughts?

Are they shipping the Borderlands Press- Reprisal yet? I haven't ordered, but will when they are actually shipping.

I've edited this because there are major

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Anyone care to give their ideas on this pressing question...

After the LTG does its job on Tom, where does it go? Back to its origin - but where is that ? Any clues in other FWP stories?

Where does the LTG send Tom?

I have a weird - no bizzare - idea on the latter. Maybe the LTG sends Tom back in time and he is reborn as Jack. That explains why everyone thought he and Tom looked so much alike, and why Tom had this unreasonably strong crush on Gia. Now that Tom goes back, Jack will begin to have flashbacks of Tom's life iin the next book.

Gotta remember: it's only a novel, only a novel, only...