Outside of a Dog

Alex Cabe reviewed Battle Cry of Freedom by James M. McPherson

Battle Cry of Freedom (2003, Oxford University Press, USA)

A military, political, and social history of the Civil War.

Deserves its Reputation as the Best One Volume History of the Civil War

4 stars

This is a long and comprehensive history of the Civil War. It makes an excellent first book for people who are interested in the subject and want to get in depth. McPherson does a very good job mixing in strategy and battle descriptions (with a middling amount of depth that worked well for me) with sidebars about other issues like POWs, battlefield medicine, diplomacy with Europe, etc. It gives a clear explanation of the back and forth flow of the war and helped me learn a lot more about US and Confederate internal politics during the war. I got some flashes of personality from the players, but would have appreciated more fleshing out beyond the very top leaders.

It includes a lot of the run-up to the war, but ends abruptly after Appomattox and leaves the Lincoln assassination and reconstruction to other volumes.

The maps weren't very useful in an …

This is a long and comprehensive history of the Civil War. It makes an excellent first book for people who are interested in the subject and want to get in depth. McPherson does a very good job mixing in strategy and battle descriptions (with a middling amount of depth that worked well for me) with sidebars about other issues like POWs, battlefield medicine, diplomacy with Europe, etc. It gives a clear explanation of the back and forth flow of the war and helped me learn a lot more about US and Confederate internal politics during the war. I got some flashes of personality from the players, but would have appreciated more fleshing out beyond the very top leaders.

It includes a lot of the run-up to the war, but ends abruptly after Appomattox and leaves the Lincoln assassination and reconstruction to other volumes.

The maps weren't very useful in an e-book format.

This was written 35 years ago, so I would be interested to see what current historians think about it and how scholarship has changed.

Alex Cabe reviewed Sovereign by Daniels, April (Young adult author)

Only nine months after her debut as the superhero Dreadnought, Danny Tozer is already a …

Deep Continuation the Builds Out a Great Character

5 stars

Pros:

More than perhaps any other author, April Daniels has somehow figured out how to write hand-to-hand combat in a way that's both understandable to me and fun to read. Usually my eyes glaze over for those scenes, but here I could follow it and was excited to see what was next.

Danny continues to be a very sympathetic character, and it was engrossing to read about her struggling with her anger and trauma.

Would love to see the conclusion of the trilogy, but, even if we never get it, we came to a satisfying stopping point.

Cons:

Kinetiq is barely a character. I know they're a nonbinary anarchist and have some kind of light powers, but beyond that we get almost nothing of their background and personality.

There were a lot of subplots going on, and they fit together satisfyingly, but there was maybe one too many for the …

Pros:

More than perhaps any other author, April Daniels has somehow figured out how to write hand-to-hand combat in a way that's both understandable to me and fun to read. Usually my eyes glaze over for those scenes, but here I could follow it and was excited to see what was next.

Danny continues to be a very sympathetic character, and it was engrossing to read about her struggling with her anger and trauma.

Would love to see the conclusion of the trilogy, but, even if we never get it, we came to a satisfying stopping point.

Cons:

Kinetiq is barely a character. I know they're a nonbinary anarchist and have some kind of light powers, but beyond that we get almost nothing of their background and personality.

There were a lot of subplots going on, and they fit together satisfyingly, but there was maybe one too many for the length of the book. Could have used another 40 or 50 pages to let, e.g., the Karen or the courtroom subplots breathe.

Alex Cabe reviewed Disney War by James B. Stewart

The dramatic inside story of the downfall of Michael Eisner—Disney Chairman and CEO—and the scandals …

Much More Readable and Personality-Driven Than Your Average Business Book

4 stars

More than anything this is a business biography of Michael Eisner, and no matter the depth of Stewart's access, he remains mysterious throughout. At times it was difficult to tell if people were behaving so bizarrely because that's how top level executives are, or if Michael Eisner is just that odd a person.

Stewart is great at giving senses of each profiled person's personality and juggling a huge cast of characters in a way that keeps everyone relevant.

It was a great idea to make this book about Disney because it anchors complex business intrigue in a company the reader is familiar with and cares about.

Criticism here is that, narratively, the book ends too early and doesn't show the end of Eisner's tenure. You get the climax of the Roy Disney campaign, but not the denouement. It seems like that, in the years since, the author could have added …

More than anything this is a business biography of Michael Eisner, and no matter the depth of Stewart's access, he remains mysterious throughout. At times it was difficult to tell if people were behaving so bizarrely because that's how top level executives are, or if Michael Eisner is just that odd a person.

Stewart is great at giving senses of each profiled person's personality and juggling a huge cast of characters in a way that keeps everyone relevant.

It was a great idea to make this book about Disney because it anchors complex business intrigue in a company the reader is familiar with and cares about.

Criticism here is that, narratively, the book ends too early and doesn't show the end of Eisner's tenure. You get the climax of the Roy Disney campaign, but not the denouement. It seems like that, in the years since, the author could have added an afterword about the end of Eisner's tenure.

Alex Cabe reviewed The Cabin at the End of the World by Paul Tremblay

The Cabin at the End of the World (2018)

"The Bram Stoker Award-winning author of A Head Full of Ghosts gives a new twist …

Entertaining but Ultimately Pretty Average

3 stars

An entertaining read that was fun and went quick, but didn't break a lot of new ground for me.

I can't help but compare this to the movie (which was also pretty average) and ultimately think the choices the movie made worked better. Leonard's personality also came through much more in the film.

The prose showed occasional flashes, but was ultimately pretty straightforward. The author tried some innovative things with point of view, including narrating the last chapter in third person plural, but I don't think they really paid off in a significant way.

I enjoyed the writers notes at the end about particular symbols and the writer's process, and I wish more books would do that.

If this were a Stephen King book, it would be in about the 40th percentile of Stephen King books.

Alex Cabe reviewed Lost in the City by Edward P. Jones

Lost in the City (Paperback, 2004, Amistad)

The nation's capital that serves as the setting for the stories in Edward P. Jones's …

Great Character Work With a Deep Sense of Time and Place

4 stars

(Reviewed together with the companion volume All Aunt Hagar's Children)

What struck me the most about these books were Jones' ability to write believably and memorably across different ages, genders, classes and time periods. His characters are only united by race and place, but they have distinct yet harmonious voices.

Jones gives very specific, granular detail for where in Washington DC his stories happen, down to frequently giving intersections and street addresses, and as someone who knows and loves the city, it added an extra layer to me to imagine the stories happening in specific places I'd been and could visualize. I don't know if this would add anything for non-residents, but it worked for me. Refreshing to book about DC that rarely mentioned the Capitol or the Monuments or the Smithsonian.

Favorite story from this collection: Young Lions

Alex Cabe reviewed All Aunt Hagar's Children by Edward P. Jones

All Aunt Hagar's Children (2007, Amistad)

In fourteen sweeping and sublime stories, five of which have been published in The New …

Great Character Work With a Deep Sense of Time and Place

4 stars

(Reviewed together with the companion volume Lost in the City)

What struck me the most about these books were Jones' ability to write believably and memorably across different ages, genders, classes and time periods. His characters are only united by race and place, but they have distinct yet harmonious voices.

Jones gives very specific, granular detail for where in Washington DC his stories happen, down to frequently giving intersections and street addresses, and as someone who knows and loves the city, it added an extra layer to me to imagine the stories happening in specific places I'd been and could visualize. I don't know if this would add anything for non-residents, but it worked for me. Refreshing to book about DC that rarely mentioned the Capitol or the Monuments or the Smithsonian.

Favorite story from this collection: The Root Worker

Alex Cabe reviewed Dreadnought by April Daniels

Dreadnought (2017, Diversion Publishing)

What happens when a trans girl who is not out to her family accidentally inherits …

Pure Power Fantasy for Girls Who Could Really Use One

5 stars

There were a lot of familiar superhero tropes here, but the protagonist was from such an underrepresented perspective that everything felt fresh.

In interviews, Daniels will directly say this is a power fantasy to make trans girls feel strong, and Dreadnought sticks to that mission. However, Daniels resists the temptation to give her hero a perfect transition, and she deals with both fantasy and down to earth versions of realistic struggles.

It's always tricky to create a new superhero continuity from scratch. It's easy to see the fingerprints of Marvel and DC, and difficult not to feel like you're reading the store brand. The most successful attempts, like the Incredibles, stay tightly focused on the central characters. Daniels (mostly) succeeds here, but I'll be interested to see how the world evolves as the focus broadens a bit.

Looking forward to the second book (already in my Kindle) and hope we …

There were a lot of familiar superhero tropes here, but the protagonist was from such an underrepresented perspective that everything felt fresh.

In interviews, Daniels will directly say this is a power fantasy to make trans girls feel strong, and Dreadnought sticks to that mission. However, Daniels resists the temptation to give her hero a perfect transition, and she deals with both fantasy and down to earth versions of realistic struggles.

It's always tricky to create a new superhero continuity from scratch. It's easy to see the fingerprints of Marvel and DC, and difficult not to feel like you're reading the store brand. The most successful attempts, like the Incredibles, stay tightly focused on the central characters. Daniels (mostly) succeeds here, but I'll be interested to see how the world evolves as the focus broadens a bit.

Looking forward to the second book (already in my Kindle) and hope we get the third someday.

Alex Cabe reviewed All the Rage by Courtney Summers

After being assaulted by the sheriff's son, Kellan Turner, Romy Grey was branded a liar …

Very Well Written Characters, Average Story

4 stars

My third Courtney Summers book, and it's become clear to me that her biggest strength is creating complex, difficult protagonists that are easy to relate to, but you want to rescue at the same time. Another great protagonist, story was fairly conventional and ended a little flat, but I really enjoyed the journey.

Alex Cabe reviewed Sky in the deep by Adrienne Young

Raised to be a warrior, seventeen-year-old Eelyn fights alongside her Aska clansmen in an ancient, …

Conventional love story with a ton of violence

2 stars

A fairly conventional love story with a lot, lot of violence that makes the protagonist very hard to relate to. It can be effective to involve a character in a war, but Eelyn kills dozens of people, which is just cartoonish. Story doesn't cover a lot of ground and is generally predictable.

The prose is generally very well done.

Alex Cabe reviewed The Project by Courtney Summers

The Project (Hardcover, 2021, Wednesday Books)

Propulsive Thriller with a Great Villain for Anyone Who's Interested in Cults

5 stars

Really enjoyed this one for the villain and the insight into cults. Lev felt like a cross of Jim Jones and a Junior Hannibal Lecter.

It was creepy but sympathetic to read about the cult manipulation tactics used on the characters. Lo as a main character wasn't as interesting as Sadie, but still a good point of view.

Alex Cabe reviewed Sadie by Courtney Summers

A missing girl on a journey of revenge and a Serial—like podcast following the clues …

Works Best By Far as an Audiobook

4 stars

Content warning Ending Spoilers

Perfect audiobook for a long car trip where you can listen in one sitting, it really makes the podcast gimmick pop. I really enjoyed the author's voice and the prose, although it occasionally tried too hard. I don't think this would have worked nearly as well in print.

Alternated between wanting to protect the protagonist and give her cocoa, and wanting her to succeed in her violent revenge. And that's the way I like it.

Four stars instead of five because of the ambiguous ending. It was a bold choice and I see what the author was goin for, but I simply would have preferred more finality.

Alex Cabe reviewed Tracy Flick Can't Win by Tom Perrotta

Tracy Flick is a hardworking assistant principal at a public high school in suburban New …

Worthy Followup that Deepens Tracy's Character, but Doesn't Mention Others

4 stars

Content warning Character spoilers

This was a very fun read and a good look at Tracy. I was a bit disappointed that we never heard anything about the live of Mr. M or Tammy. It lacked a central plot that was as clear as election, but the character work was strong. You could tell that the writer was older and he understood the characters' middle-aged anxieties well.

Will have to think about this for a while, but was Tracy supposed to be gay? She never shows any signs of same-sex attraction, but neither does she seem excited or passionate about any of her relationships with men, either. Is she oblivious about Marissa throwing herself at her, or not being honest with herself and/or the reader?

Alex Cabe reviewed Election by Tom Perrotta

Election (Hardcover, 1998, G.P. Putnam's Sons)

Very fun read with memorable characters

5 stars

Quick, breezy read, where I very much enjoyed the character's individual voices. Tracy was kind of sad, Mr. M was enjoyably hateable, and Tammy was relatable.

Nearly every character was incredibly horny, and I hope that high school teachers don't talk about girls like that in real life.

Aside from the ending, the movie was the most direct adaptation I've ever seen.

Can't wait to start the sequel.