The Prodigal Son, Frankenstein by Dean Koontz

Last summer I binged on Dean Koontz!  I started reading his ODD THOMAS series and got totally hooked on his writing.  I was browsing Barnes & Noble over a month ago and saw one of the books in his Frankenstein series, and thought, "Why not?  I've enjoyed all the other books I've read by Koontz."  So, I went to his website and found book one in his series, The Prodigal Son.  I then ordered it from a member of PaperBackSwap.com.  (Is that ever a cool site!  That's a post for another time.)

Anyway, I waited patiently and got the book.  I devoured it!  What started as a binge last July was reawakened!  I highly recommend the novel, but then I've also become something of a Dean Koontz fan.  As I've said many times before, I'm not a professional reviewer, but I always like to throw in a few words.

Here goes:
The story of Frankenstein has long been retold,
but Koontz's rendition will never grow old.
The monster, Deucalion, is quite a hero.
Victor Helios, the bad guy, is a big zero!
I did want to see more character development from the detectives, Michael and Carson,
but know that in time that goal will be won.
Koontz has a gift for creating an interesting character,
yes sir!
I got totally caught up in the mystery.
Of turning the pages I didn't grow weary.
As I read a sense of horror gripped me.
I won't let this series be.

I'm reading a memoir right now, so my copy of City of Night is waiting in the wings.  Soon I'll end my fast and hit the Koontz again!

The Play's the Thing...

"The play's the thing wherein I'll catch the conscience of the King." 

This is one of my favorite Shakespearean quotes from Hamlet.  I always like to quote the first four words, though.  For my purposes, the play's the thing wherein I'll catch my joy and sense of being.  Ok, it's not true iambic pentameter, but I've never claimed to be Shakespeare either.

I'm a theater geek; I enjoy acting.  I was involved in plays throughout high school and college and always had a wonderful time.  Four years ago I took the plunge to get back into acting by auditioning for a show called More Fun Than Bowling.  I didn't think I'd have a shot at getting a part, but I thought, "Why not? Nothing ventured nothing gained."  I took the step and got a role!  I enjoyed working with the cast and director, getting out of my home, and being busy.

In January an opportunity presented itself to audition for a show called The Diviners by Jim Leonard, Jr.  I screwed up my courage and decided, "Why not?"  I was pleasantly surprised and happy when I got a call from the director and he offered me a part.

For the past two months I've had the chance to play the character Norma Henshaw.  I've been having a wonderful time!  We just finished our first weekend of public performances.  I'm glad that I've had the opportunity to work with such a talented ensemble cast in a community with a great tradition of fabulous theatre productions.  Next weekend we have three performances, but we're not done yet. 

In mid March we'll be presenting our show for the MACT Fest.  MACT stands for Minnesota Association of Community Theatres.  We'll be competing against nine other shows.  The top two plays will go on to a Regional competition in Fargo, ND.  I'm hoping we'll do our best, knock 'em dead, and advance to North Dakota competition!

  

Jitterbug Perfume by Tom Robbins - It has beet!

While at a Dairy Queen in Hutchinson, MN, my book club group was brainstorming potential books for upcoming months.  A young woman wearing incredibly high heels said, "Jitterbug Perfume by Tom Robbins; it's the best book ever!"  Being an adventurous sort of group we decided to follow her advice.  In keeping with my last attempts, I will give my review in a few...sentences that is.

The prose read like poetry.
The language was beautiful!
Intriguing characters abound.
Alobar and Kudra were the best.
I kept reading to see if they would find rest.
The search for immortality is intriguing to all.
Do a bandaloop jitterbug and you may never fall.
The search for the perfume formula needed to be found.
Throughout the book the sense of smell would abound.
Going back and forth in spaces and times made for quite the epic.
The character of Pan also lent the book a kick.
 I'll always think about beets differently now. 
Because from the beginning I thought,"What's the beet? Wow!"
Wisdom was sprinkled throughout
and sometimes my laughs were a shout!
Overall I guess I would proclaim
that Robbins deserves his fame.

If I were to see that nice young lady again, I believe I would have to thank her for the suggestion. I'm not sure if it's "the best book ever," but it was quite the adventure!

“The beet is the most intense of vegetables. The radish, admittedly, is more feverish, but the fire of the radish is a cold fire, the fire of discontent not of passion. Tomatoes are lusty enough, yet there runs through tomatoes an undercurrent of frivolity. Beets are deadly serious.

Slavic peoples get their physical characteristics from potatoes, their smoldering inquietude from radishes, their seriousness from beets.

The beet is the melancholy vegetable, the one most willing to suffer. You can't squeeze blood out of a turnip...

The beet is the murderer returned to the scene of the crime. The beet is what happens when the cherry finishes with the carrot. The beet is the ancient ancestor of the autumn moon, bearded, buried, all but fossilized; the dark green sails of the grounded moon-boat stitched with veins of primordial plasma; the kite string that once connected the moon to the Earth now a muddy whisker drilling desperately for rubies.

The beet was Rasputin's favorite vegetable. You could see it in his eyes.” 
― Tom Robbins, Jitterbug Perfume