Review of The President Is Missing by Bill Clinton and James Patterson

The President Is Missing by Bill Clinton

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


This was formulaic and cliché.

It's well-written (and probably heavily edited), but the plot uses a standard formula that I'm just tired of. Of course the fate of the entire world is at stake. Of course there's a "ticking time-bomb" scenario. And when we finally do find out the motives of the evil actors, it is laughable, because any idiot would know the harm done would boomerang on them big time.

The old "oh, *that's* what has been happening all along" is not inspired.

I think we're supposed to feel an "oh, crap, this could actually happen" moment, but I never did, because the main threat was not very believable to me.

Three stars because it is really well-written (however that sausage was made). I've always loved the really short scenes during action sequences, and while that is formulaic, too, it always works well. So the storytelling was good. It also wasn't boring in any part (though I couldn't get *into it* as the same time) EXCEPT the really long speech at the end (Bill Clinton has always been known for his long-winded boring speeches).

Overall, a mixed bag. I'd say it was really good for a first novel, but because it was co-written with one of the most successful writers in the business, I really can't give praise for that.




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Review of The Invisibles, Vol. 4: Bloody Hell in America by Grant Morrison

The Invisibles, Vol. 4: Bloody Hell in America by Grant Morrison

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


The Invisibles Vol. 4: Bloody Hell in America is about The Invisibles infiltrating a secret U.S. government facility in Dulce, New Mexico in order to retrieve an HIV vaccine kept under wraps.

Bloody Hell is right. The blood and gore are dialed up to 11 in this one.

Add in remote viewing, ceremonial magick, weather dancing, and mind control, and you've got a recipe for an exciting yarn. Plus the fact that Oppenheimer was a secret priest of Azathoth.

Oh, and we find out what they recovered at Roswell, and it's tied to Oppenheimer's creation of the atom bomb. Morrison doesn't mention the other tie of Roswell to the bomb--the first responders at the Roswell crash were the 509th bomber group, the same group that dropped the first atomic bomb. (This is true! The military has never disputed this.) But he may have known about this connection nonetheless.

A fun and very quick read. It should take you less than two hours to read this one.



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Review of The Invisibles, Vol. 3: Entropy in the U.K. by Grant Morrison

The Invisibles, Vol. 3: Entropy in the U.K. by Grant Morrison

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


The Invisibles are scattered and in serious peril. Can they even survive the magic of the trans-dimensional beings that have arrayed against them? King Mob is being tortured and is on the brink of death. But Jack Frost, seeming to be a chosen one, is still missing. He seems to be the key to everything. They will require the whole team to save him, if they're that lucky.

Terribly violent and loaded with magic and monsters galore, this installment is the best one yet. Don't read this if you're squeamish, but it is fantastically cool.




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Review of The Invisibles: Apocalipstick (Vol. 2) by Grant Morrison

The Invisibles, Vol. 2: Apocalipstick by Grant Morrison

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


This is the second volume in The Invisibles graphic novel series.

Jack Frost abandons The Invisibles in the windmill, which was good for him because they have been tracked there and will almost certainly be killed. Actually, so will Jack, because he has taken off in King Mob's car, which is booby-trapped. How will they get out it? Read on...

In other stories, there's the father who betrays his evil master to save his own daughter. And then the daughter betrays him. There's a recurring theme of powerful men committing horrible atrocities. Sometimes they win, sometimes they lose. In one Hoodoo/Voodoo story, they lose horribly and grotesquely.

Fanny's (one of The Invisibles) origin story is meant to make us feel horrified. A boy who was raised as a girl because only girls can be sorcerers, and then sent to Mexico at age 12 to essentially have it cut off and hope that a god will accept her as one. And the parade of men who have taken advantage of her ever since.

This is heavy stuff. It's terribly violent. It's a fascinating, riveting read, but you must be a certain type (like me) who can stomach this sort of thing.



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