The movie "21" is out at theaters right now, so when I saw the book the movie was based on, I thought it would be a good one to blog about. All I knew of the storyline was what I had heard on the history channel, that some MIT math geniuses had come up with a way to count cards with alarming success, and it paid big. This was true to an extent, but the casinos caught on eventually, and banned the people from the casinos completely. I thought this was what this book was about, but it turns out the people I had learned about were from the 70's, and this was about a totally different group of kids.
The author writes it in an interesting style, alternating from a third person story of Kevin Lewis, and a first person account of the author researching his book. Kevin Lewis (we find out in the second paragraph that its a fake name) is one of about a dozen math whiz kids who were recruited to be on a card counting team. These guys learned an effective method for determining when the deck was going to be hot, even with six decks in circulation. They worked in teams, and played different parts to trick the casinos into believing they were playing the game the losing way. The thing is, card counting isnt illegal, so all the casinos can do is ban you from playing blackjack. This isnt a good thing, since the word started to get around about these kids. They started getting shook down at every casino they went into, and this wasnt very good for business.
Even though Kevin was eventually driven out of the business, his team made like 4 million dollars in three years. Pretty amazing. The author does a great job describing Kevins struggle with his duel life, and all the scenes with casino security are pretty nail biting. This book is definitely worth a read, and it stirs up thoughts that probably are better left alone..
So double down and enjoy.
Monday, April 14, 2008
Neverwhere
This book was one of the stranger ones I decided to read at the advice of my girlfriend, but it was really quite good. The story is easy to follow, and the character (I say this because none of the other people are revealed that much) is likeable. The author does a good job of describing the mood of Richard Mayhew, and you really get a sense of what it would be like to be taken to a strange place just beneath your own streets.
The premise of this book is interesting and strange at the same time. There are undersides to every major city in the world, and these sides are filled with magic and strange creatures. It was like the author took all the local myths from London and turned it into a real place, with competing groups, legends, and heroes. The main guy, Richard, is accidentally drawn into this world when he comes across a woman bleeding on the street. Her name is Door (seriously) and we already know that she is running from two creepy hired killers named Mr. Croup and Mr. Vandemar. By helping her and trying to save her, Richard is drawn into this world on accident, and the result is that people in the normal world can no longer see him, and barely notice him even when he is shouting in their faces. Due to the craziness of this, he is forced to go hunting for Door, and through the people she led him to, is able to gain access to this world. in fact he is becoming part of the world. Richard eventually finds her and helps her to avenge the deaths of her family. They are drawn into service by an actual angel, and through this they are constantly assailed by Croup and Vandemar, and a variety of other obstacles and problems. Richard is finally faced with the reality that he is becoming more a part of this world than his own.
It sounds like a childrens book now that I am looking at my review, but it is actually quite good, with some seriously dark stuff in there regarding the corruption of good, loss and regret. I know I say this too much, but if you are looking for a good story, try "Neverwhere."
The premise of this book is interesting and strange at the same time. There are undersides to every major city in the world, and these sides are filled with magic and strange creatures. It was like the author took all the local myths from London and turned it into a real place, with competing groups, legends, and heroes. The main guy, Richard, is accidentally drawn into this world when he comes across a woman bleeding on the street. Her name is Door (seriously) and we already know that she is running from two creepy hired killers named Mr. Croup and Mr. Vandemar. By helping her and trying to save her, Richard is drawn into this world on accident, and the result is that people in the normal world can no longer see him, and barely notice him even when he is shouting in their faces. Due to the craziness of this, he is forced to go hunting for Door, and through the people she led him to, is able to gain access to this world. in fact he is becoming part of the world. Richard eventually finds her and helps her to avenge the deaths of her family. They are drawn into service by an actual angel, and through this they are constantly assailed by Croup and Vandemar, and a variety of other obstacles and problems. Richard is finally faced with the reality that he is becoming more a part of this world than his own.
It sounds like a childrens book now that I am looking at my review, but it is actually quite good, with some seriously dark stuff in there regarding the corruption of good, loss and regret. I know I say this too much, but if you are looking for a good story, try "Neverwhere."
Sunday, April 6, 2008
When does CPR become deadly?
Well in keeping with the theme of my last few posts, this time I am posting about another dark suspense novel by Dean Koontz. This one is called "Hideaway" and it was pretty good. The author definitely did a good job of keeping me on the edge of my seat. The plot was a little out there, but overall I think that any fan of scary books or scary people would think this was worth their time.
The book is based around four people, with a fifth loosely intertwined at the end. There is a couple named Lindsay and Hatchford(called Hatch), who at one time were very much in love with each other, but found their love strained after the death of their only child to cancer at the age of five. They were reminded of his death by each other, but neither had the courage to leave the other. Well they are on a trip to some cabin or something, and are driving in a blizzard when they accidentally hit the back of a semi which is stuck in the road. They are thrown down an embankment and into an icy river. We find out that the driver was drunk, and feels bad, kind of. Well anyway, Lindsay manages to pull Hatch out of the car, but he drowns and freezes or both.
Enter the creepy Dean Koontz stuff. Well there are some doctors who have found ways to bring people back from the dead after they have been gone for over and hour. Hatch is the perfect candidate because he is frozen and thus well preserved. But, and this may come as a shocker, SOMETHING GOES HORRIBLY WRONG..........
well not at first really, but Hatch comes to find that is somehow psychically connected to this really frightening young man who calls himself Vassago. After this there are a number of chapters from Vassago's point of view, and I must say the author created a very psychotic character. I have to wonder a bit about the overall sanity of any author who can come up with someone that creepy. Vassago was also brought back after a long time dead by doctors, but he isn't all nice like Hatch, oh no.... He wanted to go to hell, and is now killing as many people as he can to earn his way back in.
Well since Hatch can see his crazy counterpart, it works the other way too. Vassago starts to obsess about killing Lindsay, and their newly adopted daughter. You can see how all this might come to a thrilling conclusion, but I won't ruin it by spouting the details.
My opinion of this book is that it was very well written, and it had that elusive original premise. Mr. Koontz is now 2 for 2 for books I liked. I guess he's not as cheesy as I was led to believe..... Or maybe I'm cheesier than I'm willing to admit.
The book is based around four people, with a fifth loosely intertwined at the end. There is a couple named Lindsay and Hatchford(called Hatch), who at one time were very much in love with each other, but found their love strained after the death of their only child to cancer at the age of five. They were reminded of his death by each other, but neither had the courage to leave the other. Well they are on a trip to some cabin or something, and are driving in a blizzard when they accidentally hit the back of a semi which is stuck in the road. They are thrown down an embankment and into an icy river. We find out that the driver was drunk, and feels bad, kind of. Well anyway, Lindsay manages to pull Hatch out of the car, but he drowns and freezes or both.
Enter the creepy Dean Koontz stuff. Well there are some doctors who have found ways to bring people back from the dead after they have been gone for over and hour. Hatch is the perfect candidate because he is frozen and thus well preserved. But, and this may come as a shocker, SOMETHING GOES HORRIBLY WRONG..........
well not at first really, but Hatch comes to find that is somehow psychically connected to this really frightening young man who calls himself Vassago. After this there are a number of chapters from Vassago's point of view, and I must say the author created a very psychotic character. I have to wonder a bit about the overall sanity of any author who can come up with someone that creepy. Vassago was also brought back after a long time dead by doctors, but he isn't all nice like Hatch, oh no.... He wanted to go to hell, and is now killing as many people as he can to earn his way back in.
Well since Hatch can see his crazy counterpart, it works the other way too. Vassago starts to obsess about killing Lindsay, and their newly adopted daughter. You can see how all this might come to a thrilling conclusion, but I won't ruin it by spouting the details.
My opinion of this book is that it was very well written, and it had that elusive original premise. Mr. Koontz is now 2 for 2 for books I liked. I guess he's not as cheesy as I was led to believe..... Or maybe I'm cheesier than I'm willing to admit.
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