Vermin

Vermin by Allison M. Dickson
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

After reading Dust, I was super excited to read some more stories by Allison M. Dickson. And so I dove into this story with high expectations. The first page was filled with excellent descriptions that painted a vivid mental image. You can tell the author loves using metaphors and is very skillful at putting them to use in her stories. But by the end, unfortunately I just didn't enjoy this one as much as I had hoped.

Basically we have the local "haunted house". This house was the scene of a horrible massacre, where a senator killed his own family. It has sat empty for quite some time and as expected, has been overtaken by vermin. Someone has decided to purchase the house and clean it up, so the local exterminators have arrived on the scene to clear out the infestation. There is Wes, an inspector who rarely works in the field anymore but wants to personally oversee this job, and there is Oscar. Oh Oscar.

I think he is one of the main reasons I couldn't enjoy the story. He seems to be so painfully inept at his job that it was hard for the story to maintain one iota of believeability. Sure, he's cleaning out a house that was the scene of gruesome murders. I'll give him that. I would be jumpy too. But he freaks out a little too easily. Not only does he panic, attempt to run away and has his foot go through the moldy floor, he then kicks a hole in the wall in the process of freeing his foot. As the new homeowner, I'd be pretty ticked off.

Things go downhill from here for our unfortunate exterminators. Turns out this house is infested beyond their wildest imaginations. Since it is a rather short story, I'm going to use spoiler tags for a moment:

So after Oscar's freak-out, he regroups outside the house and then decides to find his partner. Wes should've been in the backyard securing the windows, but Oscar only finds his tool kit and an open window. Upon further inspection, he hears wheezing noises coming from the basement - which he believes to be his partner, possibly wounded. He hurries to the basement, BUT OH NO!!! The battery in his flashlight AND cell phone are almost dead! See what I mean about Oscar? Obviously long abandoned houses aren't going to have a lot of lighting, yet he is utterly unprepared. Before his lights go out, he does see that the basement is filled with human bodies in various levels of decay, including the body of his partner. I would run at this point. Run very fast and very far and never look back. But I'll let you read the book to see what Oscar does.

I have to say, the ending almost makes up for the rest of the story's shortcomings. It makes your skin crawl. It makes you want to stock up on Raid. But overall, I feel that the story relies too much on your fear of bugs instead of being a truly good read. I am still looking forward to reading more stories by this author though!

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Dust

Dust by Allison M. Dickson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I'm such a sucker for "end of the world" stories. Especially ones involving alien intervention. So naturally, I didn't even need to finish reading the description to know I wanted to read this. I got as far as "A hungry alien substance has traveled to Earth following a doomed Lunar mission", and hit the download button.

Those who know me, know that I hugely prefer print books to digital books. It's not even a competition. But I have to admit that I have stumbled across some pretty neat books that I never would have read if not for the digital version. This is one of those.

The story is told from Clyde Jackson's point of view. A lucky survivor of the mass destruction caused by some sort of alien space dust, he is cooped up in his panic room. Although he has plenty of food, water, and booze, his main concern is keeping the room free of the invasive killer dust. We never really find out what it is, although it's hinted that it could be the result of an alien contaminated Kuiper Belt object colliding with the moon ten years previously. This is one theory circulating the internet while the failed Lunar mission is on it's return flight back to Earth, shown to Clyde by a wound-up young man in a diner.

I very much enjoyed that the author shared with the readers where she got the idea for the story. She says learning of the possibility of human material remaining on the moon, combined with the movie Apollo 18, was the reason for writing this story. It really focuses on a part of space exploration that certainly deserves some thought.

I would've loved for this book to be longer. It's a great story idea that could easily be inflated into a full novel - which I would read in a heartbeat!

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Dutch Schultz: the brazen beer baron of New York

Dutch Schultz: The Brazen Beer Baron of New York by Nate Hendley
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I received a copy of this book in a giveaway.

This isn't really a book I would normally go for, but the description piqued my curiosity. I went into this book with very limited knowledge about Prohibition, but walked away with a huge appreciation for how it affected the lives of so many - the public, the mobsters, the cops. But this is certainly not just a history lesson. It is also the personal adventures of Dutch Schultz, and his rise to be one of the top mobsters of the Prohibition era.

"January 17, 1920: Prohibition, the government's greatest gift to the criminal world"

Boy, is this ever true!! I had no idea that it enabled so much crime and corruption! And this book tosses you right into the middle of it all. You learn the operations and workings of various well-known mobsters and get to see exactly how they amassed their fame and fortunes. The power and money behind these crime lords is poignantly shown when describing the funeral of one mobster - a 100+ car funeral procession (35 cars just containing flowers!), thousands of attendants, mob bosses clamoring to send the best flower arrangement. At one point, Dutch is pulling in $35,000 A DAY. I'll let that soak in for a minute. $35,000 A DAY. There are tons of people out there right now that make that much money ANNUALLY! He employed a math whiz who enjoyed a cushy paycheck of $10,000 a week. I'd love that sort of employment opportunity.

I also learned that tax evasion is apparently the Achilles heel of mobsters. Who knew? The government may not be able to convict you of any other crimes you've committed in your crime career (due to "disappearing" witnesses or tight-lipped detainees, etc), but if you don't perform your civic duty and pay taxes - they'll GETCHA! Unless of course, you are Dutch Schultz. In that case you will just breeze through the trial and come off looking like a hero. Twice.

This was an enjoyable read. It is one of those rare books that I honestly think would hold any reader's interest, regardless of their usual choice of genre. The story is interesting and gripping. The "poor kid rises above his past to make something of himself" story is told without coming off as cheesy, and despite Dutch's apparent lack of compassion for those around him, I still found myself rooting for him throughout the book.

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Subliminal: How Your Unconscious Mind Rules Your Behaviour

Subliminal: How Your Unconscious Mind Rules Your Behavior by Leonard Mlodinow
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I read an Advance Reader Copy of this book.

I've always had a keen interest in books involving the mind and how the brain works. There are some very thought-provoking books out there about the inner-workings of our mind, and this book is another strong contender within that topic.

As the author explains, the Latin root of the word "subliminal" translates to "below threshold" - as in below the threshold of the conscious mind. This book focuses on how our subliminal minds is constantly having an effect on our daily actions.

The best thing about the book is how the author can take a scientific concept, with examples of studies conducted, and translate it into something the reader can relate to. Such as when he explains anthropomorphizing in regards to pets. How our mind "tricks" us into seeing human thought patterns in Fido or Mittens. I know I'm guilty of this, to the extent where there are times I marvel at my cat's apparently human response to my words or actions.

This book is also easy to read, while making you stop to think every so often. Something as innocuously whimsical as the author pointing out how easy his name is to pronounce makes you stop and wonder if this is a subliminal cue to enjoy his book further (if so, it worked!). Or when talking of soldiers enduring trench warfare in WWI - he describes their heads as having the "topography of a doughnut", which certainly makes the topic seem less gruesome at first. Until you stop and think about it.

And I learned lots! I had no idea anything such as blindsight existed - I was blown away by this phenomenon! Did you know social pain is associated with the same brain structure as physical pain and that pain killers purportedly prevent/alleviate emotional pain? Or that 150 may be the natural group size of humans in the wild (if we didn't have demands that required the cooperation of thousands of people or many nations - such as building large cities, good importing/exporting, etc)?

I found the differences in reproductive strategy between men and women to be very striking. Although it may seem really obvious to anyone who has ever left met another human being that there are vast differences in social bonds between men vs women, the simple explanation gives one the feeling of the mental light bulb turning on. And who knew that success in office politics were so deeply ingrained into our psyche??

If you couldn't already tell (my praise has not exactly been subliminal), I really enjoyed this book. Or were subliminal factors at work to make me think I enjoyed it? Even if this were so, I am at least slightly more aware of this influence. And to quote the book, "that realization doesn't bother me; it gives me a greater appreciation of my unseen partner, my unconscious, always providing the support I need as I walk and stumble my way through life."


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