Review: Gun Machine by Warren Ellis

On playing back the 911 recording, it’d seem that Mrs. Stegman was more concerned that the man outside her apartment door was naked than that he had a big shotgun.

John Tallow’s partner has just been killed on the job as a police officer in New York City.  While examining the crime scene he discovers an apartment filled with hundreds of guns; on walls, on the floor, in every room.  Several guns are collected at random and test-fired, to reveal each gun had been used in an unsolved homicide in a 20 year span.  John is assigned the case and realises he will have to solve each shooting before he can find the killer.

Not a comic book fan I was a little dubious the author Warren Ellis would write a crime novel that would appeal to me.  I was totally wrong – this book is fantastic!  The opening sentence snagged my attention and never lost it.  The excellent storytelling tells a dramatic tale of the gritty world of policing and offers hope the good guys sometimes win.  The manipulations and reasons behind the murders are chilling once you figure it out.

The characters are so life like and interesting, with the CSU’s having so many quirks you’ve got to love them.  The killer is creepy, with the psychotic side of him becoming clearer as the story unfolds.  I saw the ending coming halfway through but on the journey there more sinister details emerged.

If you like psychological thrillers, read this book!

Title: Gun Machine
Author: Warren Ellis
Publisher: Mulholland Books, c2013
Reviewer: Jan

Review: An Extraordinary Land by Peter Hayden [Jan]

New scientific discoveries about wildlife unique to New Zealand are detailed in a collection of stories in this book.  Flowing together seamlessly and sensibly organized, some stories look at the unusual behaviour and strange life of animals, such as what nocturnal birds do at night and little blue penguins also do not like living in cold places.  Interesting knowledge is shared; did you know not only birds are responsible for pollination?  Lizards and bats also help plants pollinate.  The efforts of people and organizations battling to safe guard the future of New Zealand unique natural environment are noted and their dedication is amazing to hear about.

Written so the layman can easily understand it, the stories offer an up close view of the fascinating world and inhabitants of is natural New Zealand.  The writing is warm and friendly, sharing a glimpse into the personal experiences and memories of the writer and photographer.  The photography is splendid and seems to be alive on the page.  Rod Morris has been wildlife photographer for years and all the photos in this book are stunning.  The pages of this book are a high grade, glossy paper and it enhances the colour.

Anyone with an interested in nature or curious about New Zealand will love this book.  It will also appeal to anyone who likes a well written story enjoys stunning photos.  I highly recommend adding it to the collection on your shelf.

Title: An Extraordinary Land: Discoveries and Mysteries from Wild New Zealand
Author: Peter Hayden
Published: HarperCollins, 2013
Reviewer: Jan

Tickle, Tartt and Trollope

I think there's some truth to 'the best things in life are free' because I am endlessly entertained by people's hilarious/different/weird names. Here are some examples that are impossible not to enjoy just a little. And yes, I am very easily entertained. It's delightful. 

Phyllis A. Tickle

Donna Tartt

Jane Christmas

Joanna Trollope

Alan Butt

Review: Anticipation by Tanya Moir [Jan]

Janine is a successful real estate agent who also buys derelict houses too do up and sell.  This time she buys an island to live on and while doing it up tells the story of her life, switching from her present life; to her childhood with her mother; to her recent past with her husband.  Her mother was obsessed with genealogy and finding out about her ancestor’s lives.  She used to tell Janine idealized stories of their lives, viewed though rose-coloured glasses.  Then she gets sick and Janine continues the search and recording their stories.

This is a very well written book with a tightly wound, fascinating plot that moved seamlessly between the different time periods.  You have to concentrate at first to keep everything straight but as the story continued, you got a better understanding of the story.  The character of Janine is strong and likeable, with minor character real and believable.  The stories told of ancestors are very realistic and enjoyable.  Buy this book and read it cover to cover.  It’s great.

The talented author is a New Zealander and the book is set in the Invercargill of the past and present-day Auckland.  Her second novel, this is a compelling read and raises the question of how much of our past and future we want to know.

Title: Anticipation
Author: Tanya Moir
Published: Vintage, 2013
Reviewer: Jan

Veronica Mars

This morning I was left in a dreamlike state due to the following video:

If you're a Veronica Mars fan such as myself, this clip will have you squealing with anticipation about the upcoming film. In short, the clip has the cast of VM getting all cute about whether they're Team Piz or Team Logan.

This movie is the result of an amazing Kickstarter campaign. Rob Thomas and cast got together to promote the campaign, offering T-Shirts, special screenings, and even an answer machine message recorded by Kirsten Bell herself, for all the different amounts contributed. The speed with which the goal was reached and surpassed was spectacular. It just shows how much VM fans want to see her and the gang again! So basically this movie is going ahead largely in thanks to all the crazy fans out there than contributed money towards the project.

This definitely paves the way for other much loved but cancelled TV shows, with rumors about many similar Kickstarter campaigns, in particular Joss Whedon's Firefly. Watch this space!

For the record, I'm totally Team Logan!

To tide you over here are some of the VM related goodies we house at the library:

Neptune Noir : unauthorized investigations into Veronica Mars

This is a collection of essays edited by the creator of VM, Rob Thomas! The essays cover a range of topics from Veronica and the kickass vigilante justice she dishes out, to her relationship with Logan Echolls. This collection highlights the issues of socioeconomic disparities as shown in Neptune, not to mention highlighting the powerful woman VM is in a world of sappy girl teen dramas!

Teen dreams : reading teen film from 'Heathers' to 'Veronica Mars'

While not strictly only about VM, this book chronicles not only the history of awesome teen movies, from the classic John Hughes films through favourites like Heathers and Clueless, and cult-classic TV Shows like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Popular, and our favourite VM. It's an excellent expose on how these movies and TV programmes highlight the alternate side to the "American Dream".



And leaving the best to last!

Veronica Mars Season One

As well as Veronica Mars Season 2 and Veronica Mars Season Three