Short Timers

The Short-Timers by Gustav Hasford, 180 pages

"The Marines are looking for a few good men."  So the young man we know only as Joker enlists.  He soon learns more.  "The Marine Corps does not want robots.  The Marine Corps wants killers.  The Marine Corps wants to build indestructible men, men without fear."  If he never quite reaches that ideal, he pursues it, never alone, but always in the company of his fellow Marines, through the narrow hell of boot camp on Parris Island and the wider hell of war on the banks of the Perfume River.  "I understood that my own weapon could do this dark magic thing to any human being.  With my automatic rifle I could knock the life out of any enemy with just the slightest pressure of one finger.  And, knowing that, I was less afraid."

The Short Timers is no doubt best known as one of the two semi-autobiographical novels on which the film Full Metal Jacket is based (the other being Dispatches by Michael Herr).  The book is significantly different from the film - more brutal, more repetitive, and also more obvious.  Questions of credibility arise at certain points - how many Stars and Stripes photojournalists dabbled in cannibalism?  Perhaps more than one might think, but at times the reader will be very conscious that this is a novel and not a direct factual account, a problem that is compounded by some surreal sequences and others which are ambiguously unreal.  If the writing is uneven, however, there are certainly more than enough unforgettably visceral passages to justify the trouble.

The Traitor’s Kiss

TheTraitor’s Kiss by Erin Beaty, 344 pages

“To escape the threat of being married off by her uncle, orphaned Sage Fowler accepts an apprenticeship with a matchmaker. Intelligent and unruly, she's perfect for gathering information on prospective clients. Protected by a small army contingent, Sage and her mentor escort a group of ladies to be matched with noblemen. Sage spies on soldiers and brides alike as they travel. Amongst rumors of a political uprising, a handsome solider recruits Sage to infiltrate the enemy ranks. The more she discovers, the more uncertain she is of whom to trust. Sage becomes caught in a dangerous balancing act that will determine the fate of her kingdom. With secret identities and a tempestuous romance, The Traitor's Kiss is Jane Austen with an espionage twist.”  This was an intriguing story.  I had trouble putting this book down.  A must read for teens who like fantasy type books, although this one has no magic.

Tool Of War

Tool Of Warby Paolo Bacigalupi, 377 pages

“Set in a dark future devastated by climate change, Tool of War is the third book in a major adventure series by a bestselling and award-winning science fiction author and starring the most provocative character from the acclaimed novels Ship Breaker and The Drowned Cities. In this gripping, eerily prescient sci-fi thriller that Kirkus described as "masterful," Tool--a half-man/half-beast designed for combat--proves himself capable of so much more than his creators had ever dreamed. He has gone rogue from his pack of bioengineered "augments" and emerged a victorious leader of a pack of human soldier boys. But he is hunted relentlessly by someone determined to destroy him, who knows an alarming secret: Tool has found the way to resist his genetically ingrained impulses of submission and loyalty toward his masters... The time is coming when Tool will embark on an all-out war against those who have enslaved him. From one of science fiction's undisputed masters comes a riveting and all-too-timely page-turner that explores the intricate relationships connecting hunter and prey, master and enslaved, human and monster.” This was amazing.  It may be my favorite book in this series so far.  Tool was a masterful character and even if the other characters were weak or the action sparse, it probably would have been worth reading just for the development of Tool’s character.  Teens who like fantasy and dystopian novels will definitely want to read this.

The Emperor Of Any Place

The Emperor Of AnyPlace by Tim Wynne-Jones, 324 pages

Evan’s father died and Evan’s only living relative, his estranged grandfather, Griff, comes to help him with logistics.  Evan found a book on his father’s desk, a book that his father had just read, a book that a stranger has been calling Evan about.  This stranger, Leo, wanted something from Evan’s father in relation to Griff, but he won’t explain to Evan exactly what he wanted.  Evan reads the book and finds a fantastic tale about World War II that involves ghosts, monsters, and stranded soldiers, both Japanese and American, on an island in the Pacific.  This was an intriguing story that can’t be pinned to just one genre.  Part historical, part fantasy, part realistic, I thought it was fascinating.  I would recommend this to teens who like eclectic types of books.

The End of All Things by John Scalzi
380 pages

"Humans expanded into space...only to find a universe populated with multiple alien species bent on their destruction. Thus was the Colonial Union formed, to help protect us from a hostile universe. The Colonial Union used the Earth and its excess population for colonists and soldiers. It was a good arrangement...for the Colonial Union. Then the Earth said: no more. Now the Colonial Union is living on borrowed time-a couple of decades at most, before the ranks of the Colonial Defense Forces are depleted and the struggling human colonies are vulnerable to the alien species who have been waiting for the first sign of weakness, to drive humanity to ruin. And there's another problem: A group, lurking in the darkness of space, playing human and alien against each other-and against their own kind -for their own unknown reasons. In this collapsing universe, CDF Lieutenant Harry Wilson and the Colonial Union diplomats he works with race against the clock to discover who is behind attacks on the Union and on alien races, to seek peace with a suspicious, angry Earth, and keep humanity's union intact...or else risk oblivion, and extinction-and the end of all things."

This is less a novel and more a linkage of related novellas set in Scalzi's old men universe.  Characters are well developed and book is easy to read.  If you haven't read any of Scalzi's previous books I would recommend reading the Old Man's War and the other prior books first since they set the background for this novel.

Miracle in the Rain

 

Miracle in the Rain  by Ben Hecht   52 pages

When I was a kid back in the late 1960s-early 1970s, I loved to watch old black-and-white movies on Sunday afternoons. One of those films that stuck with me was Miracle in the Rain, a rather sappy WWII romance. I hadn’t seen it again until recently when it aired on TCM.

The 1956 movie starred Van Johnson and Jane Wyman. Really I only remembered the final scene; it had stuck with me for all those years. 

Watching the credits, I saw that the movie was based on a “novel” by Ben Hecht, who also wrote the screenplay. I was excited to learn that the St. Louis Public Library had a copy.

The “book” turned out to be a short story---or as one is defined in 2015---of only 52 pages. The genre was current fiction when it was written in 1943, but now I would consider it historical fiction.

The film was true to the story. A lonely woman living in New York, caring for her mother, meets a lonely solider about to be sent overseas when she stops to wait out a rainstorm. He, Art Hugenon, inserts himself into her, Ruth Wood, into her life. And lickety-split, they are in love.

The movie had to add scenes to stretch it out but that didn’t take away from the storyline. It’s still a sappy WWII romance, but the plot is strong, the character well-developed, and the perfect amount of details.

I have to admit, I loved watching the old movie again, and reading Hecht’s story. It’s a great way to kill a couple of hours. Sentimentally, I give Miracle in the Rain, five out of five stars.

The Cat At The Wall

The Cat At The Wall by Deborah Ellis, 152 pages

Clare was a girl living in Bethlehem, PA, until the day she died and ended up as a cat in Bethlehem in Palestine.  As a cat she understands what everyone else is saying but no one pays much attention to her.  The story fluctuates between her current life as a cat and her remembering her previous life as a girl.  When she was a girl she wasn’t really a very nice person, aggravating her teacher, throwing tantrums at home and picking on her sister and other kids at school.  As a cat, she is witnessing a possible tragedy unfold, with two Israeli soldiers taking over a Palestinian home to spy on the neighborhood.  No one is home in the house except for a seven or eight year old boy.  This seemed to be a good portrayal of the conflict in Palestine today and a good journey of self-analysis for Clare.  Overall, I thought this was a good story but felt a little unresolved at the end.  This would appeal to a wide variety of upper elementary kids.