Bird Box

by Josh Malerman

293 pgs  (Bird Box series #1)

Most of the time, having really high expectations for a book means I'm going to be disappointed, at some level, with it when I read it. But sometimes a book comes along that is able to meet and even exceed my high expectations. Josh Malerman's Bird Box was one of those books. 

I haven't seen the Netflix movie based on the book, but I had definitely heard about it. So I had a pretty good idea of what the premise of the story was before I even read the cover flap. And the premise is what had me so excited to read the book. 

Malorie is a young mother in a post-apocalyptic future in which creatures exist that drive everyone who sees them to go violently insane and kill themselves. Malerman never makes it known where these creatures came from, what they look like, or what it is about them that causes such a deadly reaction.

It takes everything Malorie has just to survive every day and keep the two children alive. And the only way she's able to do that, is to black out all of their windows and wear a blindfold anytime she has to venture outside the house.

Bird Box the type of story that should be experienced for oneself and not spoiled by a review, so I won't say much more about it. Suffice it to say, it's intense and scary, in a way that will make the soles of your feet sweat. 

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

To Green Angel Tower

 by Tad Williams

1083 pgs  (Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn series #3)

To Green Angel Tower concludes Tad Williams' Memory, Sorrow and Thorn trilogy, which he "finished" almost thirty years ago, but which he recently elevated to a series, with the publication of two new installments within the past couple of years, with a third yet to come. This has been a series I have thoroughly enjoyed so far, and which I look forward to continuing after a little bit of a break. It's a series George R.R. Martin has said inspired him to write his A Song of Ice and Fire series, which alone should be enough of an incentive to read Williams' books.

To Green Angel Tower picks up right where Stone of Fareell left off. The small band of forces led by Prince Josua Lackhand, which includes the newly-knighted Simon and the troll Binibik, have made it to the Stone of Farewell, where they hope to successfully raise up an army to defeat the followers of the undead Sithi Storm King. Included in their plans is the finding and bringing together three magical swords: Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn, which they believe represent their only chance of ultimate victory.

This book and the series so far are excellent examples of everything that is great about the fantasy genre. They are Tolkienesque, but stand categorically on their own merit. There is great action, fantastic characters, political machinations, and just enough sorcery and magic included to appeal to the stereotypical readers of the genre, the ones rarely exposed to direct sunlight and vegetables that aren't sold in a bag coated with cheese dust.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

The Splendid and the Vile - A Saga of Churchill, Family, and Defiance During the Blitz

by Erik Larson

585 pgs

Erik Larson's latest, The Splendid and the Vile - A Saga of Churchill, Family, and Defiance During the Blitz offers an interesting and thorough look at the leadership of one of the most successful and influential leaders of our time. It also provides a timely reminder of just how valuable a great leader can be during challenging times of uncertainty and hardship.

Winston Churchill became Prime Minister of Great Britain in May of 1940, when his predecessor resigned due to poor health. Churchill was a fairly unpopular figure at the time, within both his own Conservative Party as well as with the Labour Party, and he took over as Prime Minister at a very tenuous time in Great Britain's history.

Operation Dynamo, the operation that successfully evacuated over 300,000 Allied servicemen from Dunkirk, was only days away and France would soon surrender to Germany, which gave Hitler's army the ability to mobilize only a few miles from the coast of England. The nightly bombing campaign of London and other cities known as the Blitz would begin about four months later, which lasted over a year. But throughout it all, England and its citizens remained defiant, never faltering or wavering in their certainty that they would eventually be victorious, a conviction that was in large part a result of Churchill's leadership and ability to bring the country together under a common cause.  

As it just so happens, I finished reading the book the day after the first "Presidential" debate between Trump and Biden took place here in the U.S., and I couldn't help but reflect on the glaring contrast and deficiencies that exist between the quality of both of those men when compared with Churchill. Admittedly, Churchill was no saint, and his proclivity for wearing pink silk underwear and nothing else at times while conducting the business of Britain is questionable at the very least. But it's pretty easy to overlook the odd and slightly unsettling aspects of a leader's personal nature, when he's successfully navigating a country through the uncertain times it's facing. Unfortunately, the best we can hope for in this country right now, is a mediocre replacement for the disaster we've had for the last three and a half years.

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆