The Evolve author/editor chat at Bitten By Books is still going on until noon tomorrow. Drop by and ask one or all of us questions and enter the contest to win valuable prizes. (Real valuable prizes, not NECON valuable prizes.)
As I write this, thirty-one of the thirty-three Chilean miners have reached the surface. The second one up, the first thing he asked his wife was, “How’s the dog?” How do you say “doghouse” in Spanish? Well, how about the 21st guy up, who was greeted by his mistress rather than by his wife. They found out about each other shortly after the crisis began. The guy might have been safer staying in the mine.
I’m glad I stuck with Haven through its first season. The finale had some surprises, introducing a new villain and then almost immediately killing him off in the most surprising way. And the explanation for all the cracks—I definitely did not see that coming. Even the revelation of Audrey’s nature was a late-season surprise that deserves a payoff next year. My favorite line of the episode was Duke addressing the daughter of the recently deceased medical examiner: Coming to dislike me up close?
The Event is sort of petering out. This week’s episode used a gimmick that is getting very old. I first saw it used in Silence of the Lambs. The cops approach a house where they believe they will find the bad guys. A camera accompanies the cops. Another camera accompanies the bad guys inside the house. Then the big reveal: they’re two different houses. It was effective that first time—now it just feels like a stale gimmick. I did like the trick with the blanks—that one surprised me. However, it feels like the show has lost its forward momentum.
Sons of Anarchy ended on a note that was like the calm before the storm. Tomorrow they’re on their way to Belfast, but tonight, the couples are together in bed—even Agent Stahl. All except Tara, who is now by herself, while Jax gives the porn star “a ride home.” Chucky gets a chance to act like his own crazy self again. Do we know what the deal is between Tig and the guy who wanted to transfer? I don’t remember, but there must be some history there. And is Stahl using Gemma as a way of dumping her lover. And by “dump” I mean “send down the river.” Darby keeps showing up like a bad penny, fomenting trouble whenever he does. My favorite line of the episode came from Hale: “Why are you sharing this with me and my pie?”
Here are some book reviews I posted on Onyx Reviews lately: The Masuda Affair by I.J. Parker, Moonlight Mile by Dennis Lehane, The Reversal by Michael Connelly and Painted Ladies by Robert B. Parker.