Must Read of the Week: Nerd Do Well

I've always had a fondness for all things Simon Pegg.  Name one person who has not seen, quoted, laughed, and rewatched "Shaun of the Dead".  Hot Fuzz scores big with me, too.  I love Run, Fatboy, Run, ate up his bit part in both Star Trek and Mission Impossible 3, and laughed my ass off at Spaced.  So, when his autobiography dropped, I knew I was in for something special. 

I hadn't a clue.

Simon Pegg is a geektastic nerd of the highest order.  Cut in between the narrative, Pegg pokes fun of himself and the creative process.  He writes a little fiction of him writing the book as some sort of superhero while his robot butler, Canterbury, interrupts him with the Coke Zero/fatty Coke dilemma and other such stuff.  In those moments, you get a sense of Pegg's influences and his style.  For example, here's one of my favorite sentences (maybe ever) about giving Canterbury an earring:

It was the eighties when he had installed the accessory, a time when men wearing earrings was cool and not the least bit twatty.

And...

...said Pegg, standing up to reveal his great body which was muscular but not too big (like Brad Pitt in Fight Club).

This thing is a minefield of pop-culture references.  What's more, if you're a kid who grew up with Star Wars and Raiders and the awesometude of the seventies, then you'll read this and on every single page hear the nostalgic alarm signal in your brain. 

Outside the humour, Pegg really does an outstanding job of offering a very intimate look into his personal life (something, admittedly, he has trouble doing, except with his dog Minnie).  We see the first flirtations with comedy, how his first joke was worked through in his brain.  Also, we see some schoolyard antics that elicited laughter.

You get a glimpse of the confusion of sex in the teens.

We glimpse how everything - every nano-detail - from his past led to the genius of his collaboration with Nick Frost.

And, we learn a little of how this ginger, average-looking guy became a pop-culture hero.

What's Good?  Everything.  Unlike many autobiographical works, this one paces relatively well.  I think that's a nod to those little fiction bits on the creative process.  The humor of the book is outstanding as well; Pegg never onces forces the funny on the reader.  Instead, the reader finds the funny in much the same way that Pegg found his initial funnyside.

There's also a genius easter egg here, too.  You know those Marvel movies and the little scene that is hidden at the end of the credits?  Yeah, thisbook has one of those and it's pure genius.  It just runs after the book...er, uh, rather the trailer.

What's Not So Good?  Not a whole lot.  The book may be the perfect autobiographical work.

Verdict?  Not enough praise can be given.  Worth your money.  If you're a fanboy or girl, a geek, a nerd, a dork, and can remember seeing Star Wars on the big screen this is required reading. 

The Must Read of the Week: Spell Bound by Kelley Armstrong

Hello, my name is Eric and I'm an Otherworld fan. It's not a bad thing at all. In fact, of all the writers writing urban fantasy Kelley Armstrong continues to be one of the best...and sadly, one of the most overlooked in the sea of amateurs. This saddens me, but I still carry a Kelley Armstrong book with a certain sense of pride.  Now that the Otherworld seems to be garnering attention, we're introduced to the last two books of the series.  Two words come to mind - boo and hoo.

While the urban fantasy subgenre has some heavy hitters, most of those writers are focused on one character and their pitfalls.  One of the things that makes Kelley Armstrong's series transcendant is that she has created a fully realized world - one where there are more than just one main protagonist and endearing supporting players.  Yes, there are endearing supporting players.  And, yes, each book features one strong protagonist that we can cheer for.  But, Otherworld continually shifts the focus to different players.  Spell Bound, for instance focuses on Savannah Levine (introduced in Waking the Witch).  This fully actualized world - Otherworld - is on the level with Terry Pratchett's Discworld.  It's that good.  And like Pratchett, I am filled with the sadness of a world with no new Discworld yarns...and, now, no new Otherworld books.

Yes, Armstrong is closing out the Otherworld series at 13 books.  Morose as this makes me, I can't squabble.  She's closing it out with a bang! 

At the end of Waking the Witch, Savannah offered up her powers to reverse a horrific outcome.  While the whimsy of youth makes such drastic deals seem like a good plan, Savannah never once thought that somebody would take her up on the offer.  At the beginning of Spell Bound, we discover that, sure shooting, Savannah Levine is stripped of every power that she ever had...and that makes thwarting the witch hunter on her tail a little problematic.

As if that's not enough, there seems to be all sorts of supernatural activity brewing.  Not only is Savannah going to be impacted by this, but the whole of Otherworld. 

At first I wasn't crazy for Savannah Levine (personally, I prefer Elena) as the spearhead of these last few novels.  This book changed that for me.  I really adore the vulnerability of her character, sans powers.  I also felt that she's the most "aware" of all of Armstrong's characters, if that makes sense.  But, if you've had your heart set on revisiting Elena or Paige or Jaime or Hope...well, it's your lucky day!  The gang is coming back into play, and they're playing with a juggernaut of an evil.

What's Good?  Well, just about everything.  The focus is in place (more focused than Waking the Witch) and the pacing is solid enough.  Kelley once again brings her A-game to the craft, as evidenced by the spot-on dialogue.  And, the length feels right.

What's Not-So-Good?  The only thing that feels a little off is an air of convolutedness.  Allow me to explain.  With this book and the next one signifying the close to a series, there are a lot of loose ends to thread off.  No doubt that Kelley can do it, and the book certainly doesn't suffer for it.  But there are passages that feel slightly forced (like, "Oh, I've got to get that in there, too").  But these are few and far between and really just an indulgent byproduct of my nitpicky side.

Verdict?  Duh!  Purchase the thing.  Already on Amazon, the price is greatly reduced - $14 - and this entry to the series is easily worth that and much, much more.

Shift Happens

It's been a little bit, hasn't it.  Where, have I been, some of you have wondered.  Well, sometimes life requires a little shift.  Shift, after all, does happen.  And while change is change (it's neither here, nor there, good nor bad), change can require a certain absence.
In keeping the Authors Speak operational, I've taken a new "day job" - one that I adore, but commands a little more time than I'm used to.  That said, I'm going to try and keep this thing running just as long as I can as we trudge ahead.  The fact that you miss me means a lot.  My best is what I try to give, and that's what I'm hoping to offer you.

This week as we plow forward, I'll not offer one Must Read of the week.  I'll offer you three!  So stay tuned as we move forward.

Tuesday, July 26th, we'll look at Kelley Armstrong's latest Otherworld book.  On Wednesday, July 27th, Simon Pegg will serve as a nerd done well.  And, lastly, on Thursday, July 28th, we'll offer a few thoughts on the new, weird fiction contained in the Copeland Valley Sampler.