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Wednesday, January 9, 2013

By Darkness Revealed by Kevin O. McLaughlin

Goodreads Synopsis: Ryan Blackwell thought to escape his magic by burying himself in the military college at Northshield, Vermont. Instead, he finds himself in the midst of a deeper and more dangerous sorcery than he has ever encountered before. Suddenly, only Ryan's wit, will, and the talent he once hoped to leave behind stand between a nightmarish creature and everything he cares for.


By Darkness RevealedBy Darkness Revealed by Kevin O. McLaughlin
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I bought this book several months ago--or downloaded it because it was free.  At any rate, I saw it, was interested, and had to get it.

When I finally sat down to read it, I was not disappointed.  It's not a long book, and it reads fast and the action stays moving.  It met and exceeded expectations.


I cheated and did my Goodreads copy-paste thing.

Now, this book is a load of OH MY GOODNESS, THIS IS FREAKING AWESOME.  I don't know.  There weren't many typos and it's kind of creepy, but it kept my attention.  I read it in two days.  One hundred twenty pages isn't a lot, so the length was an added bonus.

And, I'm a sucker for a good ending, and it ended splendidly.

Did you hear the one about the masochsitic insomniac?

I scare really, really easy.  I've never even seen a horror movie.  I don't read a lot of horror novels either, which is pathetic considering the amount of Stephen King books I have.

There's this book I got for Kindle several months ago.  It's been sitting there, on my device.  I've been wanting to read it.  I liked the cover.  I liked the synopsis.  It looks like everything a book should be.

And then I started reading it tonight.  Last night?  I started it before midnight, and it's a little after 1am here in the Central Time Zone.  I got a quarter of the way through, granted there's not extras at the end of the Kindle book.  I don't know if it was self-pubbed, although I do think it's a debut novel.

It's freaking scary.  I thought it was a fantasy novel--which it is, but it's scary.  You know that part in the scary movie when the music changes?

That's the part where I run out the room crying.  And this book is one long, scary-music song.  Actually, it's not that long, but that's beside the point.

I've come to grips with the fact I'm a masochist.  Reading horror is just one of those things.  I'm terrified, but I can't look away.  And the book is really well written.  I haven't noticed many--if any typos.  And that's been a problem with self-pubbed and trad-pubbed books alike.  I like the character and the problem that's risen up.

And, because it's so good, I can't stop, but it's scary so I want to, but I really, really really want to read, but I got to get up tomorrow morning--in a few hours--to put the trash by the road and...

And now it's 1am and I can't sleep.  I've been off the melatonin since November and this is the first time I've had trouble sleeping since then.

Stupid insomnia.  Stupid scary awesome book.

Tuesday, January 1, 2013

Make It Count

Ever wonder what people did before social media, television, mass agriculture, fitness clubs and WalMart?

I did.  Sometimes.

And then I realized, people were too busy trying to farm or make a living.  They didn't need social media, television, or the grocery store.

They broke their backs making their living. They didn't live long.  Usually between 30-40 is the average.  Would you have known your grandchildren?  Grandparents?  How old would you have been when you lost your parents?

Every day counted.  Every day you worked was a day you got fed.  You went to church on Sundays, probably.

It's easy to say, "Oh, I'm going to do such and such and such before I die."

Jesus only had thirty-three years of life on earth.  By the standards of the day, it was a full life.  During the Middle Ages, you had about forty years if you were a serf/peasant.

If you knew you were only going to live between thirty and forty years, because it was the average of the day, what would you do?

Someone made a comment last night that kids were getting pregnant younger and younger.  I said that it's going back old school.  People are getting married and having babies at thirteen, and dying at thirty.

Sometimes I wonder how bad of an idea that really is.  If you were only going to have a short amount of time, you're too busy trying to live to think about dying.

I wish I had the book with me (I'm at Amanda's), but in Stephen R. Lawhead's The Spirit Well, a character asks why the Egyptians were so obsessed with death.  You're familiar with the mummification process aren't you?  It's a long, drawn-out process, and it works like nobody's business.  It's in preparation for the life after death.

The character being asked the question answers, it wasn't about death.  "They were obsessed with life."

THAT made me stop.  Life.  Not death.  Life.

“Seize the day, whatever's in it to seize, before something comes along and seizes you.” 
Lloyd Alexander, The Arkadians

So happy New Year!  Make your years count.