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batwood

batwood

Former English Major and one time Senate Proofreader.

The best story about the Senate gig was the newspaper article about my marriage that came out while I was working at the Capitol. Although we gave them the correct information, something got lost in the translation. The last line of the article read, "He is a member of the Texas... more »
  • member since October 11 2006

Reviews

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Displaying 1-10 of 12 reviews
  • Watchmen
    • Rated 5 stars

    “Not that I doubted a "comic book" could be one of the top 100 books of the last century, but I approached the work with mild skepticism. That quickly turned to awe at the overlapping narratives, commenting upon each other, the writer's eerie and prescient notions (especially with the current Russia/Georgia conflict), and the fact that this graphic novel was written in the 80s.

    I'm pretty sure Alan Moore is Doctor Manhattan, and he's just been waiting in the future for us to catch up.”

    batwood wrote this review Thursday, August 28 2008. ( reply | permalink )
  • The Kid Who Climbed Everest: The Incredible Story of a 23-Year-Old's Summit of Mt. Everest
    • Rated 4 stars

    “The book gets four stars for the sheer tenacity of the author in climbing Mount Everest. While the narrative seems to drag and one often feels like Bear is repeating himself, it only represents the reality of life on the mountain, waiting for her to open her arms as "no one conquers Everest." She only allows certain people at very certain times to ascend. Being ignorant of the art and science of mountaineering, I learned much about the hardships of climbing the tallest peak in the world. I was almost shocked that acclimatizing takes so much time, having to climb up to Camp One, then back down to Base Camp, then back up to Camp Two, then back down, etc. One actually climbs the mountain four times to make an ascent, and, even then, the reality of death on the descent is even more probable than in ascent. Many a spiritual metaphor could be drawn from Bear's book, and he touches on them sporadically throughout the book. I'd recommend it for adventure readers and those who like to see what it takes to survive in an inhospitable environment. (Speaking of - Watch Bear's show Man vs. Wild, it's great).”

    batwood wrote this review Friday, August 10 2007. ( reply | permalink )
  • Pistol: The Life of Pete Maravich
    • Rated 5 stars

    “Pistol is the first biography that has ever entranced me. Forget the fact that I love basketball and profess Christianity - two central points of the Pistol's tragically short life. Read the story for a tale about a genius ahead of his time, a son trying ever harder to please his perfectionistic father, and a man struggling to realize his individual dreams within the confines of a team sport. The pace is perfect, the deft-handling of characters is like Pistol's play - quick, but meaningful, and the arch of the story, though most know its ending, plays like a plot written for a tragic hero. What I did not know before about the Pistol, I will, now, never be able to forget.”

    batwood wrote this review Tuesday, July 10 2007. ( reply | permalink )
  • The Man Who Fell to Earth (Del Rey Impact)
    • Rated 3 stars

    “A strange little sci-fi book, but apparently a classic in some circles. I enjoyed it, and it made me think I should see the film based on it. It's almost a cliche story now - an alien is sent to earth to save its species or mankind or both, and Christ allusions abound - but this story forgets the superhero aspect, despite the alien's greater abilities in technology and knowledge, and attempts to plunge into the emotional world of an alien on an alien world trying to help the aliens around him. In other words, it's more than a little depressing. A black cloud larger than any UFO hovers over this novella.”

    batwood wrote this review Monday, July 9 2007. ( reply | permalink )
  • The Zero: A Novel
    • Rated 3 stars

    “The Zero is a fictional rumination on grief, memory, trust, politics, patriotism, and national tragedy. Written with oblique yet transparent references to the fall of the World Trade Center and the ensuing aftermath, Walter creates a story that may well have been true. Described as Helleresque, this part political satire starts out well, delivering dark laughs in a gray world of dust and tragedy. Unfortunately, yet maybe necessarily, the humor lessens as the plot increases, racing you (against time) towards a tragic end. The narrator is seldom trustworthy, even denying his own point of view. Gaps, zeroes, and negative space repeat themselves throughout the work: 0 x 0 x 0 x 0 = 0. It’s a stark metaphorical reminder of the void created in NYC, what memory does with tragedy, and the seeming meaningless of it all.”

    batwood wrote this review Sunday, June 10 2007. ( reply | permalink )
  • Death of a Writer: A Novel
    • Rated 3 stars

    “I'm not much of a mystery reader, and that's what Death of a Writer is at its core, so that could account for my mediocre feelings towards the work. I picked it up for the title, kept reading it for the setting and the characters, then finished it, well, because it's a mystery and I had to know whodunit. In my opinion, it's a little uneven, with abrupt turns to dark scenes; necessary for a mystery, yes, but very abrupt and seemingly out of place. If it's your cup of tea, drink it. I would have needed two lumps. Of sugar.”

    batwood wrote this review Monday, May 28 2007. ( reply | permalink )
  • A Sharpness of Grief

    A Sharpness of Grief

    by James H.
    • Rated 5 stars

    “Yes, I'm biased. My uncle wrote this collection of poems and short stories, but they are healing, worthwhile, and deeply impacting. As a minister going through a fairly public divorce in a small town in Alaska, he sought solace through two outlets - prayer and writing. These words, sometimes harsh, other times lonely, have a resounding undercurrent of hope with the knowledge that the grief in the present is purposeful. His transparency disarms the reader, invites them to share the pain, then simply says "I know." Learn more at www.asharpnessofgrief.com.”

    batwood wrote this review Wednesday, May 23 2007. ( reply | permalink )
  • God Knows
    • Rated 4 stars

    “Hilarious - ribald to be precise. If your religious sensibilities are easily offended, don't read this book. On the other hand, if you think God can take a joke, read it. Although I didn't finish it because it is a lengthy book (that's my confession), what I read, especially the early parts, had me laughing out loud. Maybe it's my long history with the church, but reading biblical stories through Heller's unique lens made for some riotous reading. I mean, really, how many pastors dwell on David's major character flaws? It's a work that makes us look at our human-ness to realize how desperately in need we are of something to elevate us above our depravity. Even, some might say especially, the "great ones" of the Bible were chosen because of their flaws, not in spite of them.”

    batwood wrote this review Wednesday, May 23 2007. ( reply | permalink )
  • Rant: The Oral History of Buster Casey
    • Rated 4 stars

    “Rant is a macabre, future-modern-day horror story about rabies, car wrecks and rubbernecks, time travel, dual personality disorder, incest, greed, and an insatiable need to create meaning. Elements of Fight Club linger in different guises, but exist for the same reason - to create order out of seeming chaos, peace out of violence, and reason out of insanity. With this book, Palahniuk belongs somewhere between Joseph Heller, Stephen King, and William Gibson, but it’s a style distinctly his own. I imagine the movie will be out in five to ten years.”

    batwood wrote this review Wednesday, May 23 2007. ( reply | permalink )
  • U2: At the End of the World
    • Rated 5 stars

    “The best book about U2 chronicles their adventuresome journies through their various transformations in the public eye and in their private lives from the late 80s, at the peak of their world domination, to the early 90s, when everyone was wondering what the heck they were doing, to the early 2000s, when the band that's been together for 20 years shows how they're still the best in the world.”

    batwood wrote this review Wednesday, November 1 2006. ( reply | permalink )
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