Imagine, for a moment, that you’re the mother of a intelligent young man who graduates with a degree in archaeology only to renounce said degree about four hours after he receives it while on his first dig. Your name is Mrs. De Castell, your son is Sebastien. Ma’am, let me take this opportunity to relieve you of any heartbreak: everything is as it should be. Your boy is a much finer writer than he could have ever been an archaeologist.
BFD appreciates, applauds, celebrates authors (AND their mothers, who doubtless fretted and gnashed their teeth waiting to hear that the first paycheck came in). Authors make our bedtimes dreamier, our brains bigger, our cocktail party conversations…cockier.
The authors of this month’s BFD entries are, as usual, FANTASTIC (well, seven out of eight of them anyway). They’ve given us a murder mystery inspired by real life (Ausma Zehanat Khan’s The Unquiet Dead), a real life mystery that sounds like fiction (Ben Macintyre’s A Spy Among Friends), realistic fantasy (Traitor’s Blade by Mrs. De Castell’s boy) and reality that approaches the fantastic (Scott Simon’s Unforgettable) PLUS we have the notable, inspiring Reach: 40 Black Men Speak on Living, Leading, and Succeeding.
All this awesome is part of the BFD world, peeps—welcome to it.
De Castell, Sebastien. Traitor’s Blade. Jo Fletcher: Quercus. 2014. 372p. ISBN 9781623658090. $26.99. F
In the best Musketeers trope since Dumas’s original, we find three down-on-their-luck Greatcoats late of the employ of recently-killed King Paelis. What’s a Greatcoat, you ask? It’s a combination of guard, duelist, man-at-arms, and justice-giver all rolled into one elite superdude (and yes, they were modeled after me). They wear nearly-magical protective cloaks and are sometimes called Trattari (or “tatter-cloaks” in the pejorative). The leader and tactician is Falcio val Mond; an expert with rapiers whose dark history propels a fiery zeal, Falcio is also a smartass on the scale of Groucho Marx unleashed in Terry Pratchett’s Discworld. Falcio is joined by the smart, humorless, swordsman Kest, and the boastful, womanizing archer Brasti. Defined by their great cheer, they quip stuff like, “The first rule of the sword is to put the pointy end into the other man.” Lacking a king, but bravely upholding his laws against a bunch of tyrannical Dukes, they find work as mercenaries and Falcio finds himself protecting a young noblewoman in a city famous for nasty political assassinations. To save her takes everything he has and then some. De Castell’s plotting, while often convenient (e.g., ‘hey guys, I just happen to know the secret to defeating these hundreds of undefeatable ninjas’), is propulsive, and the story is interspersed with explanatory flashbacks. Fights are well-thought out as SDC is a former “fight choreographer” (I dare you to put that on your tax return). Fighting, swordplay, and escaping from same form most of the action alongside ten kinds of witty banter, bravado and brio— make no mistake, this is a fun read. The light tone is challenged by ruthless villains, especially Duchess Patriana who, though truly repugnant, is as notably well-constructed as other female characters. VERDICT An energetic, fun adventure that puts the “musk” back in “musketeer.” Guaranteed to increase household swashbuckling by 100%.
Khan, Ausma Zehanat. The Unquiet Dead. Minotaur. 2015. 352p. ISBN 9781250055118. $25.99; ebk. ISBN 9781466858312. F
Reserved, elegant widower Esa Kattak is head of a Community Policing Section in southern Ontario (near Ottowa – Go Senators!!) where he works sensitive cases. He’s partnered with the direct and likeable Rachel Getty, and the two are called in to investigate a death—is it murder? Suicide? Either way somehow the palindromic Kattak knows that the croaker, Chris Drayton, “was a man risen from hell.” From Drayton’s pushy, abrasive girlfriend the two get references to mysterious letters which eventually identify him as Dražen Krstić, a “notorious war criminal” from Bosnia-Herzegovina, specifically Srebrenica. This chilling idea for a novel is unfortunately destroyed by poor execution. Readers might wonder where (if anywhere) this is going as it feels plastic, sometimes dull and at others histrionic (e.g., “The truth wasn’t difficult. It was devastating.”). Perhaps Khan’s reticent style intends to involve the reader? Does also that explain frequent flip-flop in narrators, the lack of a true main character, the choppy, unfocused sprawl? Also, there is infinite, needless detail. When Getty arrives at a museum: “…in the forecourt…curtains of wind brushed against her face, carrying the scent of grape myrtle, jacaranda, and chorisia from the courtyard….” VERDICT Notes of chorisia (lovely as they are), are no substitute for characters, plot, and dialog. Too much work for too little payoff.
Macintyre, Ben. A Spy Among Friends: Kim Philby and the Great Betrayal. Crown. 2014. 384p. ISBN 9780804136631. $27. HIST
Britain’s version of the CIA is called MI6, and Harold (Kim) Philby was pretty high up in the organization for many years circa 1936 to 1949— at one point even considered for the directorship. Trouble was, he was a double agent spying for the Soviet Union the whole time. Macintyre, author of 2012’s Double Cross: The True Story of the D-Day Spies, does a definitive, well-researched job detailing what little is known about such a secret and obviously embarrassing situation. Philby was initially recruited by the Soviets as part of a group later known as the Cambridge Five; he started out as a journalist and, because he was well-educated and high class, little vetting was done on him prior to his rising in rank in the intelligence world. Philby duped (and destroyed) plenty of people including his besties James Jesus Angleton and Nicholas Elliott—who were top intelligence officials (in America and Britain, respectively). Macintyre focuses especially on the relationship between Elliott and Philby as the one-time friends wound up as “the most intimate of enemies.” Their relationship ended in “an unsparing, bare-knuckle fight” masked as a civilized-seeming set of conversations over cups of tea in Beirut. Macintyre keenly characterizes this climax as “the death throes of a bloodied friendship.” The audacious Philby passed innumerable secrets to the enemy during World War II and the Cold War, causing incalculable damage, failed operations, and thousands of deaths. After years of suspicion, the Brits finally nailed him in 1962, then (most probably) let him run away to Moscow (Go PFC CSKA!!) to avoid the embarrassment of a trial. VERDICT Overall this is a sad, complex, and fascinating story about how far a winning personality and brass balls can take someone.
Neuhaus, Nele. The Ice Queen. Minotaur. 2015. 352p. ISBN 9780312604264. $25.99. F
There’s slow-burn-revenge aplenty in this German thriller from the well-regarded Neuhaus (Snow White Must Die). Two cops from the Hofheim Regional Kripo (criminal police) in Hesse (Go KSV Hessen Kassel!!), Oliver von Bodenstein and Pia Kirchhoff, investigate the executions of three elderly Jewish people. It turns out they’re not whom they seem to be; one had all sorts of Nazi gear in a classic “creepy-basement-room” situation, another sported a hidden SS tattoo. The link between victims appears to be the rich, high society philanthropist Baroness Vera von Kaltensee who, despite being almost universally loved, is hated by her own family, especially her son Elard. Swirling into this mix is Thomas Ritter, married to Vera’s daughter Marleen as part of an elaborate, long-form revenge plot while penning a tell-all about Vera who “appeared out of thin air in Frankfurt in 1945.” Though he’s kind of a poopbag, Ritter is valuable to the two cops as they trace this mystery back to the Prussian side of the war. Motives fly all over the place and there are twists’n’turns and red herrings galore. You like to guess whodunit? You’ll be wrong 100 percent of the time here, pal. VERDICT This is a smart novel that manages to be a lot of things. It can seem to progress slowly and yet moves nimbly, and it’s intricate but not delicate. It’s absorbing and engrossing despite the darkness, lies, and hate/fear at its root. As such, there is broad appeal for fans of war, spy, mystery, thriller, procedural, and historical fiction. The book is the third in a series…time to hunt down the others.
Reach: 40 Black Men Speak on Living, Leading, and Succeeding. ed. by Benjamin Jealous and Trabian Shorters. Atria Books. 2015. 304p. pap. ISBN 9781476799834. $15. SOC
This is a serious book of essays by 40 individuals who have reached a pinnacle of accomplishment in their lives. The editors both contribute essays; Jealous headed the NAACP from 2008–13 and Shorters was a VP with the Knight Foundation before founding BMe. “This is a book of everyday heroes,” writes Jealous, explaining the book’s noble raison d’être: to inspire, strengthen, encourage, and empower, to give young men of color “access to positive images and stories.” Though some of the contributors lived on the cusp of— or even in— segregated America, most of the contributors are young and wildly successful. Represented are pilots, business magnates, musicians such as John Legend, pastors, physicians, nonprofit CEOs, computer scientists, activists, politicians, and social entrepreneurs. Superstars include NBA Hall-of-Famer Isaiah Thomas and Al Sharpton. As with any group of works, the outliers form notable pieces. Shaka Senghor’s essay, for example, is like the others in that it is well-written and powerful and quite unlike them in that he is a convicted murderer who has since set about righting his wrongs. Also, and to some extent naturally, powerful men can sound hubristic (e.g., Russell Simmons of Def Jam Records who sounds as artfully boastful as ever). VERDICT These powerful accounts will prove immensely useful for all readers who want to understand the titular points of living, leading, and succeeding.
Schwab, V.E. A Darker Shade of Magic. Tor. 2015. 400p. ISBN 9780765376459. $25.99. F
There’s a lot to like about this tidy fantasy, including the great opening sentence: “Kell’s coat had neither one side, which would be conventional, nor two, which would be unexpected, but several, which was, of course, impossible.” Kell is one of only two Antari, magical persons who bear messages between the royal families of Londons that exist in parallel time; he changes his coat depending on where he is “Travelling.” Though similar in terms of geography and the names of pubs and places, Grey London is drab and non-magical and White London is a cutthroat affair, something out of Game of Thrones season one. While Black London, seat of some awful power, is only a rumor, Red London, where Kell serves, seems to be best, a beautiful place of magic and respect. Kell is both proud and wary of his uniqueness; he doesn’t fit anywhere but is also “capable of controlling any element, of drawing any spell, of using their own blood to command the world around them.” As such he’s all too aware that he could be used as a “…tool, and in the wrong hands, a weapon.” Naturally, this comes to pass. Someone (perhaps Holland, the White Traveller?) uses Kell’s hobby of smuggling objects between Londons to spark a battle for control of the powerful magic binding the worlds. While hiding in Grey, Kell meets Lila, a ballsy cross-dressing pickpocket/pirate and before you can say, “buddy story” the two are busy saving all the Londons (Go Manchester United!!) from doom. VERDICT Schwab (Vicious) has created a story both compelling and subdued, and despite being a bit of an action/adventure/steampunk/medieval mashup, it’s still a few cuts above the average fantasy novel¹.
Simon, Scott. Unforgettable: A Son, a Mother, and the Lessons of a Lifetime. Flatiron. Mar. 2015. 256p. ISBN 9781250061133. $24.99; ebk. 9781250061157. MEMOIR
Host of National Public Radio’s Weekend Edition Saturday, this Scott Simon fellah can really spin a yarn and here presents a fluid, easy-to-read, and unapologetically sentimental love letter to his mom. Patricia had looks and a loving spirit; she was a part-time Chicago (Go Blackhawks!!) model (the Jon James Hairspray girl) who mostly worked jobs such as secretary and coat room “girl” in the era of Mad Men when women got little respect. Simon’s very personal recollections mix freely with conversations the two had while she was on her deathbed and at various other times of life to create a warm tapestry of mother-son closeness. The two shared a tiny apartment during Simon’s youth, a situation that forced an intimacy with each other and with Patricia’s numerous husbands and boyfriends. Though money was often tight, luck was sometimes with them. “Some nights we barely had a can of soup, right baby?” says Patricia at one point, adding “and some nights it was chicken kiev.” It hurts Simon to see Patricia spending her last days dying of cancer in a Chicago hospital that seems to have fumbled her case. His emotive tweets about that experience led to him pen this book. “I wouldn’t say that our lives were always a laugh a minute,” he writes, “But I’ll bet that two days never passed during which my mother and I didn’t laugh out loud and long about something that we would find funnier than anyone else.” VERDICT A feel-good experience with genuinely beautiful moments, Simon sure learned about love from his mom. Most people wish they had a mother or a son like this. Pick it up².
Thompson, Edward H., Jr. & Lenard W. Kaye. A Man’s Guide to Healthy Aging: Stay Smart, Strong, and Active. Johns Hopkins. 2013. 592p. index. ISBN 9781421410555. $65; pap. ISBN 9781421410562. $30.95. HEALTH
Medical sociologist Thompson (Coll. of the Holy Cross) and Kaye, a gerontologist and professor of social work (Univ. of Maine— Go Black Bears!!) have produced an authoritative manual that’s reliable, safe, straightforward, and trustworthy. A variety of medical experts and the authors themselves provide a comprehensive guide to healthy aging for men. There are four main parts, and while one might characterize them as common sense, such advice isn’t usually ganged up in one place like this, so it’s really helpful. “Managing Our Lives” concerns the components of health (e.g., When is one’s ‘prime’? Mine was ten days ago): staying active, keeping stress manageable, and eating right, for example. “Mind and Body” goes over sleep, mental health and spirituality, the dangers of booze-n-drugs, and what aging looks like (e.g., your face is gonna sag, sucka). “Bodily Health” is the longest part of the book and covers the different stuff that’s going to break during the march to your 100,000 mile checkup—mostly your heart, kidneys, brain, teeth’n’bones. This same section goes over the diabeetus, gives the 411 on ‘mature’ sexing (insert your own joke here), vision and hearing, all with an eye (or ear) to staying long-term healthy. “Living with Others” is the shortest part (probably because it’s totally unnecessary. Who wants to live with others? Icky) and covers having/being a good friend, retirement, and end-of-life decisions. All the information is sourced and vetted with 50 pages of notes and a big fat index. Interestingly, most of the material is written by female authors. VERDICT This isn’t scintillating prose or a gut punch of adrenaline, it’s the owner’s manual for your body and it’s going to answer many questions, including “Prostate? WTF is a prostate?”
