Hannibal by Thomas Harris

Hannibal is a great book.

There is one thing about great books: everyone can find something in them. Judging on the sample of reviews I had time to read, it is also the case with Hannibal.

If you have not yet seen the movie, do not go. The movie is a sloppy job intended to scare. The book is much more of a discussion.

If you have not read The Silence of the Lambs, do it. Do not skimp on time - you will enjoy Hannibal more if you savor the details of its language, the complexity of its characters and the subdued references to the Silence.

Hannibal is a mature writing. Harris does not seem to be much interested any more in hunting the monster. He is rather amused with exploring his Frankenstein, poking from time to time beyond the surface, every time wary of the danger to slide into the abyss of Lecter's soul. That is probably why Lecter's personal story in this book is like the shaking of hand on a drawing that deserves to be spotless. Do not go deeper than you are allowed to... In Hannibal, Harris makes some tough decisions. Many changes happen to people and places, comparing to the times of the Silence. The changing preferences of the author are also easy to recognize. Original Dante comes to replace FBI slang. Quantico surroundings transform into the landscape of Florence. Psychology goes into philosophy. The world of technique disappears, history and art taking the free space. Just like cheese getting aged, wine getting mature, people getting seasoned.

It might seem weird not to mention Clarice Starling. Yet this is exactly what makes the book so great - the story manages the author, not the way around. Harris wanted her to be in to star. Instead, she is inferior to the context, pulled out for use whenever needed. So are the other human characters. Because Hannibal addresses issues of superhuman nature, something we are not supposed to know, only to guess. So there is a lot of guessing there, complemented with facts from the surface. In the end it is still much more of a fairy tale, luring us all along with scenes changing from pain to beauty. There was not much beauty in the Silence, but there was quite some craving for it. Harris somehow did not hit the balance right, in the hindsight. Now he does.

One of the few books that deserve to be on any shelf, Hannibal must be translated with care. I skimmed the German version and was disappointed. It may take years to get good interpretations - in other languages, in movies, in reviews. For now, you'd better read the original English text.

Do you share Marcus Aurelius' belief that the future generations are not any better than the passed ones? Then start building your own memory palace. In the end, there was much more order in the past, as Lecter learned from some theorists. But does the past contain answers to some of our most desperate inquiries? A good analysis always leaves you with more unanswered questions than before.

"We can only learn so much and live."

Read this book -- you will not regret it.

(Reviewed by Pletnev, taken from www.amazon.com)

A Traitor To Memory by Elizabeth George

Eugenie Davies death was no accident. Someone struck her down with their car, and then continued to run over body, leaving nothing behind but a gruesome crime scene, and many questions.

What was Eugenie doing on the street that rainy night? Why was she carrying the name of the name that found her body? Who in her life would want her dead? And, is there a connection between her death and the brilliant violinist who lost the ability to play?

Detective Thomas Lynley wants answers, and once his investigation has begun he will discover more questions without answers, one of which will challenge him both professionally, and personally.

For the first time, Lynley's career is put on the line, as his superior, the man who put him on this case, had a connection to Eugenie Davies many years before in a major criminal trial.

Lynley enlists the help of his long time partners, Barbara Havers and Winston Nkata to untangle the web of secrets surrounding Eugenie's death.

'A Traitor To Memory' is a good, but VERY, VERY long mystery. Those familiar with George's previous works may be a bit surprised at the slow start the novel has, but as each secret is revealed, a new piece of the intricate puzzle falls into place. Well written (as usual), featuring a large cast of characters, and many plots twists, 'A Traitor To Memory' is a good book for a long weekend.

Elizabeth George has made a career of writing smart mysteries, that contain interesting characters, and gripping plots, and her latest is no exception. Fans should enjoy this new addition to the Lynley series despite it's length, and somewhat slow pacing.

This is a non-stop page turner from one of the best mystery writers around. You will enjoy the way Elizabeth George uses a major character's diary to show the process of psychoanalytically oriented therapy and the psychological changes he went through as his repressions began to unravel. If you like great writing and psychological insights, we highly recommend this book. This is a series with very interesting continuing characters, so if you enjoy this one, give yourself a real treat and read the series in order.

There are some minor details that aren't completely clear, but this novel is more about family secrets than about "who-dunnit." I'm continuing to read the earlier books, but I'm still waiting for the series to get up to this level.

The quality of the writing is just incredible. The device used of one character writing a journal is very effective. Ms. George truly understands what motivates people to do the things they do.

A Place of Hiding by Elizabeth George

It is a novel with an interesting setting with intriguing historical contexts and a mystery of all is not what it seems.

Here, she takes the story to the Channel Island of Gurnsey, an enclosed community very much with its own individual identity, which she evokes very well indeed. One morning, Guy Brouard, millionaire and generous benefactor of many projects on the island, is killed on the beach after his morning swim, and his death will send disastrous ripples through not only his own fractured family, but the fragile community too.

A plethora of evidence is discovered that clearly implicates someone in the China, one China River, an American staying on the island for a few days after couriering a package for Guy over from the USA., and she is swiftly arrested. Desperate to prove his sister s innocence, and having found no aid at the American embassy, Cherokee River (their mother was a hippie, of course) rushes to England to enlist the help of the only person he can think of: Deborah St James, China’s old friend from youth. Maybe there is something she can do, perhaps? However, when even a word from friend in the Metropolitan Police Thomas Lynley has no influence upon the Gurnsey police, Deborah (with Cherokee and husband Simon in tow) hurries to the island to help save her friend, and to atone for past failings.

This book is refreshing and rather nice that she's brought these two characters out of the shadows a little more and given their relationship an almost incredible amount of depth all in a single book. George is adept at creating realistic and engrossing relationships between her main characters.
But, then, character has always been George’s strong point. There are very few writers today who can create so many completely rounded and whole and human characters, make them all equally interesting and give them all equal shrift and importance within a single novel.

And it’s not as if she skimps on plot here, either. It’s developed, multi-stranded, paced very well indeed, has a very good solution and is wholly satisfying. She tells her story with beautiful and incredibly rich prose, and in my mind is probably the finest American exponent of this type of traditional British mystery (even if she doesn’t always get it 100% right, but that doesn’t matter.)

Existing fans will love this book and may think it her strongest in a while, and it surely will encourage anyone whose never read her before and likes this kind of book to begin with A Place Of Hiding as soon as possible.

We would recommend this book to fans of the mystery genre ( particularly English mystery), fans of Elizabeth George (she's back in form-I, Richard was a disappointment), fans of "english books" (A Place of Hiding is more than just a mystery). I would caution die hard George groupies-her two main characers, Barbara Havers and her partner, the aristocratic and dashing Inspector Thomas Lynley, are not featured in this book. (Lynley makes one or two perfunctory appearances but that's it.) Don't let that stop you-the book is still wonderful without them.

Song of Kali by Dan Simmons [SOLD]

Song of Kali is Dan Simmons’ first novel and was published in 1985. It is set in Calcutta in 1977 with the Emergency as a backdrop. It has been categorized as a horror novel or a work of fantasy and has even been awarded the World Fantasy Award. However, in My opinion, I see it as a work of crime fiction with the Tantric sect of Kapalikas as the centerpiece and the accompanying Tantric rites contributing to the eerie atmosphere and a supernatural element that contributes to the “horror”.

For those who like this genre of work, this is a good read. Simmons is able to capture the atmosphere of Calcutta of the 70s. Those familiar with the city in those times will recollect well the author’s description of the endless power cuts, dead telephone lines, communist posters all over the city and the general sense of decay that made Rajiv Gandhi call it a “dying city”. Considering that Dan Simmons is said to have spent just two days in Calcutta when he wrote the book, I must say that he conveys the essence of the city as it was in the 70s very well.

The chief character of the book is an American Poet and journalist Robert Luczac who is married to Amrita, an Indian born mathematician. He travels to Calcutta with her and their infant daughter to collect a work by a noted Indian and Calcutta based poet, M. Das for publication in Harper’s Magazine as well as a small literary publication called “Voices” edited by his mentor Abraham Bronstein. Das has been missing for some years and is presumed dead but recently rumors have begun circulating of a new and epic work by the poet which Harper’s would like to use. But Bronstein who has been a journalist before and has been to Calcutta briefly decades before warns Luczac not to go without citing any specific reasons.

Things start going wrong from the time Luczac and his wife land in Calcutta. The man who was supposed to meet them is not there, but there is some one else and he presents convincing credentials and so they allow him to guide him to their hotel – The Oberoi Grand. From there the story proceeds at a very rapid pace till Luczac finds himself sucked into the shadowy world of the Kali worshipping Kapalika community and their shadowy rituals which include their initiation ceremonies which include human sacrifices. Dan Simmons recreates the ambiance by inserting recitations from the Sathpatha Brahmana, an almanac on sacrificial rituals, the Gayatri Mantra as well as tantric verses like:

“O terrible wife of Siva / Your tongue is drinking the blood, / O dark Mother! O unclad Mother……”

in creating a mystical atmosphere in which the super natural occurrences in the book occur.

In the last chapter, Simmons departs from the usual style of horror novels as he gets Luzac to attempts some kind of an explanation for what he has seen and experienced. Luzac’s summary is “I think that there are black holes in reality. Black Holes in the human spirit. And actual places where, because of density or misery or sheer human perversity, the fabric of things just comes apart and that black core in us swallows all the rest”. Maybe Luzac is right. But meanwhile, the book is worth a read not so much for its horror element but for the very vivid way in which Calcutta of the late Seventies when the Left Front government had just come to power.

Have a good reading-time, guys....

Reviewed by Riswan Lintang-RL

The Book of Air and Shadow by Michael Gruber [SOLD]

What would a lost Shakespeare play be worth? In Michael Gruber's The Book of Air and Shadows, the estimate is 150 million dollars. Now there's a treasure, and every good thriller needs a treasure hunt. To heighten the tension, some valuable, or invaluable, item must be at the center of the quest. The more valuable it is, the more people will want to get their hands on it first, or steal it from someone who manages to grab it first. It's a mad, mad, mad world after all. Michael Gruber elevates The Book of Air and Shadows above the usual "treasure hunt thriller" with an intriguing premise, interesting characters, and enough wit and erudition to entertain the reader all the way to the end.

The Book of Air and Shadows is told from three perspectives. Jake Mishkin tells the story in retrospect while hiding out at Mickey's lake house. Albert Crosetti's story is told in third-person as he struggles to understand the ciphers and find out what happened to Carolyn. Richard Bracegirdle tells his story through his letters, giving a peek into life in the 17th century and how he was hired to spy on William Shakespeare in an attempt to ruin the famous bard. The Book of Air and Shadows takes this treasure hunt and turns up the intensity. To protect their loved ones, Jake and Crosetti must find the missing play, although there is the possibility that if it even once existed, it may be lost to time forever. To make matters worse, there is evidence that it may all be a hoax. Bulstrode had already suffered a devastating career setback earlier when he authenticated forged Shakespeare documents. The Russian gangsters, and there appears to be more than one group involved, will settle for nothing less than the discovery of the missing play. Who they work for remains a mystery.

Michael Gruber keeps the pace of The Book of Air and Shadows moving at a suspenseful clip. There are double crosses, kidnappings, gun battles, the search for clues which might never be understood, and an ambiguous understanding of just where the truth lies. The truth is something different to Jake and Crosetti. At one point Jake explains that all a lawyer does it concoct a fiction that seems more realistic to a jury than the opposing counsel's fiction. Crosetti, who keeps seeing everything through a filmmaker's lens, sees reality created by the movies. He keeps predicting their enemies' next moves by what they would do if it were all a movie, since life imitates art.

Reviewed by Riswan Lintang