Cluck: Murder Most Fowl, Eric D. Knapp, Booksurge LLC, 2007
An untapped corner of the horror novel genre involves stories about dead chickens. Until now, that is.
Bobby Garfundephelt buys a sprawling, multi-building farm, with the intention of turning part of it into a bed and breakfast. Included with the farm is a chicken coop, full of loud, stupid and filthy chickens. Janice, his wife, likes the chickens, and has to repeatedly remind Bobby to feed them. In a moment of frustration, one night, Bobby sets fire to the coop, with the chickens inside. Janice leaves him. Stuck somewhere between life and death, the zombie chickens go on the attack. Led by an evil undead Rooster, bigger than the average rooster, they chase Bobby throughout the labyrinthine rooms of the farmhouse. The house has been altered and added to so many times over the past 200 years, that it has gained a rudimentary intelligence, and assists in Bobby's torment.
Arnold is a young boy with a unique ability. Remember the famous movie line, "I see dead people?" Arnold
could say, "I see dead chickens." After years of seeing a blue light coming from everyone, and being attacked by undead chickens, Arnold's parents ship him to a secret monastery in France. Their specialty is chicken exorcisms. On his deathbed, the present leader of the order transfers the being, or presence, living inside him to Arnold, making him the new leader. Many years later, Arnold, now called Armand, arrives at the farmhouse, to do battle with these undead zombie chickens. Amid everything else, Armand has to deal with a chicken spirit that takes over Bobby, so that, one minute, he is cowering in fear in the corner of a basement, and the next minute, he is trying to kill Armand.
If nothing else, this is a very different sort of novel, and it's a very good novel. It's nice and strange,
and the author does a fine job with it.
Showing posts with label knapp. Show all posts
Showing posts with label knapp. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
Thursday, August 16, 2012
Volcano
Volcano, Rosa Turner Knapp, Pulsar Books, 2001
In this sequel to Force of Fire, Ana Kane and Mark Neal are now husband and wife. Mark is still active in the intelligence field in Washington, working for one of those agencies about which the public knows nothing, while Ana stays home to be a full-time mother. Ana has recently been going through a period of mental fogginess, like leaving doors open and losing her keys, more than once. The stress between Ana and Mark has started to affect their marriage. Ana asks her father, Albert Kane, a senior member of US
intelligence, for a simple, low-level assignment so she can show Mark that she hasn't totally lost her mind.
This "simple"assignment gets Ana kidnapped by a group of Chinese terrorists. Meantime, reports come in about people all over the country suddenly up and quitting their jobs, and heading home fearing for the safety of their families. They all suffered some sort of minor computer glitch just beforehand. This "glitch," much more than a computer virus, has even hit the supposedly impenetrable computers of the Defense Operations Service (DOS), of which Mark is a senior member, causing most of the staff to leave.
It seems that during the height of the Cold War, a secret US plan was hatched which only three people knew about (Albert Kane was one of them) to destabilize communist societies from the inside. Au Yang was supposedly killed by the Chinese Secret Service several years previously. Tom Mooney, now a US Ambassador in Central America, seems to be helping a group of Chinese and Middle Eastern terrorists use the plan on the US. When the people of America clamor for a strong leader to save them, he will be perfectly placed to accept the "burden of leadership". The plan's crowning moment will be a
terrorist attack on New Year's Eve 2001 celebrations in Washington. After all, one year after Y2K, everyone's guard will be down.
This is another excellent novel from Ms. Knapp. She knows her way around Washington, the story is plausible with good characters, and, for political junkies like me, it's more than juicy enough. Highly recommended.
In this sequel to Force of Fire, Ana Kane and Mark Neal are now husband and wife. Mark is still active in the intelligence field in Washington, working for one of those agencies about which the public knows nothing, while Ana stays home to be a full-time mother. Ana has recently been going through a period of mental fogginess, like leaving doors open and losing her keys, more than once. The stress between Ana and Mark has started to affect their marriage. Ana asks her father, Albert Kane, a senior member of US
intelligence, for a simple, low-level assignment so she can show Mark that she hasn't totally lost her mind.
This "simple"assignment gets Ana kidnapped by a group of Chinese terrorists. Meantime, reports come in about people all over the country suddenly up and quitting their jobs, and heading home fearing for the safety of their families. They all suffered some sort of minor computer glitch just beforehand. This "glitch," much more than a computer virus, has even hit the supposedly impenetrable computers of the Defense Operations Service (DOS), of which Mark is a senior member, causing most of the staff to leave.
It seems that during the height of the Cold War, a secret US plan was hatched which only three people knew about (Albert Kane was one of them) to destabilize communist societies from the inside. Au Yang was supposedly killed by the Chinese Secret Service several years previously. Tom Mooney, now a US Ambassador in Central America, seems to be helping a group of Chinese and Middle Eastern terrorists use the plan on the US. When the people of America clamor for a strong leader to save them, he will be perfectly placed to accept the "burden of leadership". The plan's crowning moment will be a
terrorist attack on New Year's Eve 2001 celebrations in Washington. After all, one year after Y2K, everyone's guard will be down.
This is another excellent novel from Ms. Knapp. She knows her way around Washington, the story is plausible with good characters, and, for political junkies like me, it's more than juicy enough. Highly recommended.
Friday, August 10, 2012
Force of Fire
Force of Fire, Rosa Turner Knapp, Pulsar Books, 2000
Ana Kane is a sub-contractor for the State Department working in the Central American country of Costa Negra. On a recent trip, her driver is killed, her escort, Joe McFadden, is left for dead, and Ana is kidnapped. The rebels, part of a Basque separatist movement that wants to overthrow the Spanish Monarchy, don't want money in exchange for Ana. They want the Blue File, a very secret file supposedly kept by Albert Kane, her father, formerly a senior member of US intelligence. He died when Ana was little, so she has no idea what they are talking about.
The file of Ana's disappearance lands on the desk of Mark Neal, intelligence analyst at the Defense Operations Service, one of those Defense Department agencies that officially don't exist. He and McFadden travel to Spain to begin their search for Ana. While the bullets start flying, they seem to acquire an invisible guardian angel who watches their backs and helps them out of some tough spots. Could it be another Basque separatist faction is on their side, or perhaps the Spanish Government?
This novel is excellent. The author's experience as a State Department contractor in Central America, living for a time in Spain, and her knowledge of US intelligence really shows. It's thrilling, an easy read, and is very well done. This one is well worth the reader's time.
Ana Kane is a sub-contractor for the State Department working in the Central American country of Costa Negra. On a recent trip, her driver is killed, her escort, Joe McFadden, is left for dead, and Ana is kidnapped. The rebels, part of a Basque separatist movement that wants to overthrow the Spanish Monarchy, don't want money in exchange for Ana. They want the Blue File, a very secret file supposedly kept by Albert Kane, her father, formerly a senior member of US intelligence. He died when Ana was little, so she has no idea what they are talking about.
The file of Ana's disappearance lands on the desk of Mark Neal, intelligence analyst at the Defense Operations Service, one of those Defense Department agencies that officially don't exist. He and McFadden travel to Spain to begin their search for Ana. While the bullets start flying, they seem to acquire an invisible guardian angel who watches their backs and helps them out of some tough spots. Could it be another Basque separatist faction is on their side, or perhaps the Spanish Government?
This novel is excellent. The author's experience as a State Department contractor in Central America, living for a time in Spain, and her knowledge of US intelligence really shows. It's thrilling, an easy read, and is very well done. This one is well worth the reader's time.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)