Swan Song by Robert McCammon

My husband has been after me for years to read this book, it is one of his all time favorites. After reading it, I can see why. It has to be one of the most engrossing books I've read in quite some time.

When written in 1987, Swan Song was a horror novel, now it is more of a horrific alternate history. Set in a world where nuclear war has occurred, and the world is left in ruins.

The chapters revolved around three groups of survivors spread throughout the United States. We start out in New York City, where we meet a homeless woman known as Sister Creep. She survives the explosions by being in the subway system when the bombs hit. Shortly after the bombs have landed, Sister Creep encounters another survivor while looking for supplies. His name is Doyle Halland, a shoe salesman from Pittsburgh. They decide to make their way to Pittsburgh to find out if his wife survived. Neither thinks that she has survived, but it gives them a purpose and and goal.

Next we go to a survivalist compound inside Blue Dome Mountain, there we find a Vietnam vet who is the spokesman for the compound named Colonel James "Jimbo" Macklin. We also encounter a 13 year old boy named Roland Croninger who is upset that his parents dragged him here and he can't play his computer games. They have come for a visit before completely committing their money to help fund the construction of the shelter. They all become trapped when the concussion wave from a nearby missile causes most of the mountain to collapse.

The final group of survivors that we accompany through this devastated land are Swan, a young girl, and Josh Hutchins, a wrestler known as the "Black Frankenstein". They are thrown together when they are trapped in a basement trying to escape the fireball from the missiles launches. As they escape from the basement, Josh notices grass underneath the place where Swan slept.

The book is quite long, but you don't really notice this while you read. I can't think of any time where I wasn't eager to learn what would happen next. McCammon's descriptions were gritty and often harsh to match the setting and the story, but never grotesque for the sake of grotesqueness. One of the things that amazed me the most was that though the protagonist and antagonist don't encounter each other in chapter twenty-three, you never feel like the story is dragging.

If you are looking for an excellent, dramatic post-apocalyptic story this is an excellent choice.

Happy reading!

Why Online Schooling is Better than Traditional Schooling

I have studied in both traditional and online schools, and I have found I greatly prefer online learning. When I started my online masters degree program, I was very concerned about being able to make myself complete the work in a timely fashion, as I'm generally a procrastinator when it comes getting studying done. Would I be able to balance a full-time job and taking care of my family while studying without getting behind in anything?

What I found was that I could make the most of my time while taking classes online. The schedule is much more flexible in online schooling because lectures aren't at a set time. The student can pick the best time to watch the presentation, listen to the material, or read the texts rather than being bound by the teacher's or school's schedule. You have constant access to resources if you need clarification and do not have to wait your turn or fear running out of class time to ask your question.

There is no fear of looking foolish when you ask a question because you can just email the instructor or teacher's aide privately. The classroom discussion boards allow interaction with classmates, the professor, and the teacher's aides while also keeping a running record of the discussion that can be used for later study.  Developing study groups that meet through chat, video conferences, email conversations or collaborative websites provides a educational support network that you can customize to suit your needs and learning style.

Zombie Autopsies by Steven C. Schlozman, MD

I found The Zombie Autopsies while browsing through Barnes and Noble, it was one of those trips I should have avoided because I walked out with books when I should have left empty handed. Damn books, destroying my budget!! Zombie Autopsies was one of several zombie books I looked at that trip, and after much deliberation I adopted it.

I was attracted to this book because of it's different take on a zombie story. It is written like a research journal kept by a scientist as they try to develop a cure for the plague. The fact that the author is a real doctor added a certain amount of realism to the research feel of the story. The anatomical drawings that are included as part of the research notes are beautifully rendered, though grotesque and disturbing.

The journal pages are interspersed with military reports and comments on the research which was collected from the research facility at a later date. Dr. Blum, the research scientist whom wrote the notes, was sent to the research facility after a garbled message was sent by the previous doctor in charge and all contact was lost. The facility is in a race against time,  not only because it's a world wide pandemic, but because the research itself is a death sentence. All the researchers and guards at the facility are volunteers.

One of the things that I really enjoyed about the book, and an aspect that added to the reality of it, was that you can see the loss of the doctor's ability to focus and concentrate as the story goes on. This fits wonderfully with the description of the diseases progression and the drawings showing the deterioration of the previous victims.

I would not recommend this book for those with week stomachs as the drawings are extremely detailed and life-like, or rather death-like despite being pencil sketches. If you are a lover of zombie stories and fascinated by science, I recommend this book.

Happy reading.

City of Bones by Cassandra Clark

I have run across City of Bones by Cassandra Clare many times online, and I was intrigued by the cover. I admit between the cover and the series title, Mortal Instruments, I thought it would be a steam punk novel. A friend of mine got a copy and passed it on to me. Once I held it in my hand and read the synopsis I discovered it is a fantasy set in our world. When I held the book in my hands, I became apprehensive because the blurb on the front cover was from Stephanie Meyers. Those of you that know me, know that I am not a fan of Twilight in any way. I feared that this book would be another poorly written paranormal romance novel. Luckily, I escaped that ill fortune.

The story centers around Clary Fray, a 15 year old girl living in Brooklyn. She lives with her mother who is an artist and has never known her father, who died in a car accident. Her main companion is Simon, her best friend.

Clary and Simon are at a local club, when Clary witnesses something unusual that only she can see. It comes to her attention while she is watching an unusually handsome boy move about the club led by a ethereally beautiful girl. She follows the two because she feels something is wrong, and sees the girl and several others kill the boy. When she calls for help, Simon and the security guard can't see the teenagers or the victim. Clary is astonished and pretends to have panicked. Before she departs the scene, the apparent leader tells her that the boy they killed was a demon.

When at a coffee shop with Simon the next day, she sees the group leader, she cautiously goes outside with him and learns his name is Jace. While talking to him, she receives a horrifying call from her mother telling her not to come home. Of course, being worried for her mother, she completely ignores this and rushes to check on her mom. She gets home and finds her mother missing, the house torn up, and a terrifying monster awaiting her.

The creature almost kills her and Jace takes her to his tutor so that she can be healed. Clary then learns that there is an entire world that is unseen by the majority of people, the fact that she can see this world means that she is not a regular person. Clary also begins to learn that there is much more to her mother than meets the eye.

There is of course the usual hints of attraction and possible love between her and the mysterious and handsome stranger that rescues her. Thankfully, Clare doesn't follow this trope, and we end up with a Star Wars moment.

The story is well paced and entertaining. Clare does a good job of blending the supernatural characters into the modern day world. It's perfect for a vacation read. I passed it on to some stewardesses at United Airlines. I look forward to the second volume.

Happy reading.

Soon I Will Be Invincible by Austin Grossman

Austin Grossman tells a tale about people with superpowers, it is full of action and humor. The story is told from two perspectives. One is our anti-hero and main character, Dr. Impossible. He is a veteran super-villain and evil genius. The other a fledgling super-hero, Fatale. She is a cyborg looking to earn her reputation and adapting to working as part of a world famous super-hero team.

You can see Grossman's love of the super-hero genre from the first page. And like many of the fans of the genre, he seems to have a soft spot for the horribly misunderstood super-villain. The signs of sympathy for the bad guy don't just come from the segments narrated by Dr. Impossible, Fatale's questioning of how the hero's do things and her reflections on Lily (Dr. Impossible's ex-girlfriend turned hero) show a tendency to see areas of grey rather than strict black and white.

Soon I Will Be Invincible offers a funny and very entertaining look at a world with super-powered people. I think that those that try to read it without being fans of superhero comics, movies, or novels may miss out on some of the humor and twists to the rules of those mostly black and white worlds. I enjoyed the world that Grossman created and was reluctant to leave it.

This book is great for vacation reading, whether you are on a beach or cuddled under some blankets at home.

Happy reading!