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THE PARTLY CLOUDY PATRIOT by Sarah Vowell — a Review

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Ostensibly, THE PARTLY CLOUDY PATRIOT is a collection of essays by Sarah Vowell about politics, history, and pop culture.

I think based on the title or the back cover or the blurbs, many people approach this book thinking it will be about politics and history, with a bit of humor to make the dusty facts more lively. These people get upset to see essays about family visiting for Thanksgiving, playing Pop-A-Shot, or Buffy the Vampire Slayer. And some people are not aware of Vowell’s work with NPR, and they get upset with her liberal point of view.

But I think these arguments miss the main point of a book. In my opinion, this isn’t a book about history and politics. It’s a confessional. With each essay, readers will learn more and more about what Vowell is passionate about–unabashedly, in true nerd fashion. And, unsurprisingly, this may include unpopular things like the Civil War, antiquarian maps, the Salem witch hunts, and Pop-A-Shot. And it is the combination of these amusing, goofy, moving, and serious essays that give readers not only an understanding of Vowell, but also her understanding of America. Yes, you will learn something about American history, but you will also learn more about Vowell.

And yes, like every anthology, not every essay is a home run, and not every essay will appeal to every reader. There are some definite standouts, but it is the arc and the variety of the collection that give it its value. Vowell circles back to common themes, viewing them from different angles with each essay. But Vowell’s humor and knowledge of historical trivia keeps it from being boring.

This is a very quick and enjoyable read. Perfect for a flight or a few hours on a beach. But unlike most light reads, you will come away having learned something. Given how many times Vowell will make you feel like you don’t know much about American History, I say this is a good thing.

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PRACTICAL GOLF by John Jacobs — a Review

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Just looking at the cover of PRACTICAL GOLF you will read blurbs by Jack Nicklaus and Golf Magazine praising the book’s author, John Jacobs. High praise indeed. But does the book live up to such claims? Based on my experience, almost entirely. I read this book before my first outing this season. Looking at old score cards, it’s as if I skipped the offseason. I picked up right where I left off, and I experienced no increase in score. More importantly, I was hitting the ball straighter and further on nearly every hole. Even more importantly, when I didn’t, I knew exactly what I did wrong, and I could correct it. And my chipping was more accurate than ever before. What’s not to love about results like this?

In the introduction, Jacobs says his goal is to teach readers how to form a repeatable, solid swing. It’s a fundamental goal that every golfer strives for. He starts with the moment the club strikes the ball and builds out from there, teaching readers all the bits necessary to form that repeatable swing: grip, set-up, the takeaway, the backswing, and the swing itself. He then moves on to finer points such as chipping, pitching, and putting. Finally, he concludes with tips to fix your mistakes, improving your mental game, and where to turn for further reading.

As I mentioned above, Jacobs describes how to do each of these things correctly. More importantly, he also teaches you 1) the various ways a golfer can do them incorrectly and 2) how to fix those mistakes once they are identified. This was particularly useful during my outing. A missed shot isn’t shrugged off. It’s not a wasted shot. I could take a moment to figure out what went wrong and fix it the next time the shot is attempted.

For the visual learners among you, don’t worry, PRACTICAL GOLF isn’t page after page of how-to text. There are plenty of illustrations. This was perhaps the best and the worst part of PRACTICAL GOLF. On the one hand, the illustrations make Jacobs’s advice crystal clear. On the other hand, they were placed a few pages after the relevant text, so I found myself flipping back and forth, back and forth throughout the books. This was the biggest annoyance I had with an otherwise incredible book. If the formatting had been a bit improved, I would have given this book a perfect score.

PRACTICAL GOLF is a quick read, and you will finish the book with a short checklist to make your swing automatic, square, and repeatable. Read it, apply it, and watch your score improve.

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THE SIX-GUN TAROT by R.S. Belcher — a Review

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I first heard about THE SIX-GUN TAROT by R.S. Belcher on the Adventures in SciFi Publishing podcast (website, Facebook, Twitter). It was the first time I had heard the term “Weird Western.” I was intrigued by the idea of a story that blended fantasy and horror with western tropes. It was one of those “Duh, of course. Why didn’t I think of this before?” moments. To me, it seemed like a natural mix. Westerns are filled with stories of good guys vs. bad guys (the white hats vs. the black hats), antiheroes, desperate odds, tough guys, tougher women, love, liquor and violence. These are elements you’ll often find in fantasy, so why not mix them together? Sorcerers and six-shooters? What’s not to love? Well, when it comes to THE SIX-GUN TAROT, the answer is “not much.”

Although the cover art and the first chapter would have you believe this is the story of Jim, a 15-year old heading west to outrun his past, THE SIX-GUN TAROT is really about the town of Golgotha. It’s a typical Western town–a boom town next to a busted mine that has probably seen better days, situated on the edge of the desert. But it’s population is anything but typical. There’s the sheriff who can’t be killed, the deputy who is part coyote, the mad scientist on the edge of town, the heir to a near-immortal female pirate, and more. Lots more. I haven’t even mentioned the gods or the angels. This impressive cast of characters must all come together to fight off an evil older than existence. You see, something is stirring under that silver mine, something that threatens to eat all of Golgotha, Earth, and the universe.

This is a really impressive first novel. Belcher has not only created a rich, detailed world, but he has also populated it with characters that are detailed, sympathetic, and clever twists on common tropes. He has a real flair for description: choosing precise, colorful terms to describe people and things of a religious, mystical, superhuman nature. Additionally (and amusedly), Belcher has provided Golgotha with a bizarre history, and this story feels like only the most recent episode. I hope we will get to learn more about this town in future works.

I only have a couple of quibbles with this book. The first is that some descriptive passages were a bit repetitive. For example, every opened door or withdrawn curtain seemed to reveal motes of dust floating in a beam of light. Also, while I felt that Belcher kept the backstories and flashbacks from slowing the story down too much, I would understand if other readers were put off by it. Lastly, the female characters were drawn a touch weakly in my opinion–they are different, yet all are described and defined by their relationship with their husbands.

But, like I said, this are minor complaints. This is a fun read, with one helluva climax that will have you turning the pages and staying up late. I can’t wait to see what Belcher writes next.

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AMERICAN VAMPIRE VOL. 5 by Scott Snyder, Rafael Albuquerque, and Dustin Nguyen – a Review

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Like the last volume, the latest installment of the American Vampire series is broken into two parts. The first, Lord of Nightmares, involves Linden Hobbes and Felicia Book going after Dracula. The second involves Pearl Preston (nee Jones) and Skinner Sweet taking out a L.A.-based coven of vampires. While the first part is not without its moments, it is the weaker of the two. On the other hand, the second part, and the epilogue (“The Gray Trader”), not only shine, but also set the stage for the next wave in the American Vampire series. Given that the series is going on hiatus (unfortunately), it makes sense to think of Volume 5 as a season finale.

REVIEW IS SPOILER-FREE. PERHAPS VAGUE, BUT SPOILER-FREE.

Regarding the Lord of Nightmares issues, bringing in Dracula is always going to be a tricky scenario, if not a no-win one. Much time is spent building Dracula up into this all-powerful, mega-vampire capable of destroying the world. And yet, the conclusion doesn’t live up to hype, so that’s a little disappointing. However, the story arc does have good moments. First, Felicia Book comes back into the story in a big way. Second, readers are introduced to The Council–a group of vampires (most the last of their kind) who live in hiding, but work together to fight a specific kind of vampires. The future relationship between the Vassals of the Morning Star could have big consequences in the next “season” of American Vampire.

As for the second part, Pearl is back with the VMS after vampires attack her husband, Henry. This time, she’s teamed up with Skinner Sweet, who’s joined up with the VMS after being tamed/neutered/blackmailed. I am always excited to see Pearl back in action, so I’m glad she’s more of a presence in this volume. I’m also a big fan of Sweet, when he’s the remorseless, badass killer. Thanks to the VMS’s control, Sweet isn’t that same killer. And speaking of that device, not only is it a little cheesy, but it also doesn’t live up its own rules. However, all that being said, this volume leaves both Pearl and Sweet in very interesting positions. I’ll be excited to catch up with them after the hiatus.

Lastly, the epilogue brings back an important character–Abilena Book–and introduces a new character, “The Gray Trader,” who looks very intriguing and creepy. It also gives readers a few glimpses into the future of the series as well as a brief hint about someone special hiding out with Book.

I also want to highlight the artwork of Albuquerque and Nguyen. Even just flipping rapidly through the book, you get a sense of the wide-ranging palette they used in these issues. Watching the colors change from cool to warm, and seeing the characters change from ink sketches to softer water color is impressive. the fight scenes are violent and vicious. And Albuquerque and Nguyen have a knack for creating powerful, sexy monsters.

Once again, Snyder and crew have put together a volume that shouldn’t be missed. This is a fun, exciting, dynamic series, despite the faults I mentioned above. I can’t wait for the hiatus to end.

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MILLION DOLLAR OUTLINES by David Farland — a Review

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I know, I know. The title seems a little silly. But when you learn that David Farland taught the likes of Brandon Sanderson and Stephenie Meyer, and that Farland pushed Scholastic to bid on the Harry Potter series, you realize why Farland called his book MILLION DOLLAR OUTLINES. His goal is to teach writers how to fully develop their stories, such that it will find success with the widest audience possible.

Million Dollar Outlines Cover

While this idea might bother the “art for art’s sake” crowd, I didn’t really have a problem with it. To me, a big part of being a writer is finding an audience. I want my stuff to be read; I want my stories to sell; I don’t want to shout into the void. And I don’t think that it’s any coincidence that the books that I (and millions of others) love are the ones that are the most richly detailed, that have the most well defined worlds, that have the most interesting characters, and that have the most elegant plots. So yes, Farland’s approach to outlining is very aware of marketing. But I also think it’s one of the more specific books on story pre-planning out there.

In fact, the bulk of MILLION DOLLAR OUTLINES is about answering questions before you write a single word of your outline. Farland advises writers to first answer questions about their fictional world, their characters, backstories, conflicts, character arcs, a target audience, the emotions they want to arouse, reversals, twists, themes, and more. Only with that information on hand, Farland says, can you properly begin to structure your story. Only then does Farland show readers how to build an outline based on a series of plot charts or plot diagrams.

In my opinion, this was the one weakness of MILLION DOLLAR OUTLINES. Although the logic behind these diagrams is sound, Farland assumes his readers know how to create them. I don’t. I can create try-fail cycles of increasing scope and intensity, but I don’t know how to graph it onto a chart. That being said, I think if I went through all of the exercises Farland offers, this is a minor concern. I could probably put the pieces together into an outline despite the lack of diagrams. But I think I’d still miss having that final visual checkpoint before I start writing.

There is a moment at the very end of MILLION DOLLAR OUTLINES when David Farland says something along the lines of beginner writers are sometimes too eager to start writing, and they begin writing before doing adequate planning. The result is a thin book that doesn’t live up to its potential. I found myself nodding. My first novel–perhaps never to rise from the trunk–suffered from just such a problem. It felt thin and disappointing, as if the colors were pale, washed out. I won’t make the same mistake on my next novel, thanks to Farland and MILLION DOLLAR OUTLINES.

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