Icepocalypse now

Here in Oklahoma City – and most of the state as well – we've spent all weekend under a state-of-emergency-level ice storm. I'm kind of partial to bad weather, because it gives me a good excuse to not go anywhere, thereby (at least in theory) freeing up time I can use to read. Yesterday the postman (proving that "neither rain nor snow" adage true) dropped off an Amazon box on our front porch, but the two-foot ice drift literally had frozen our front door shut. I had to scale the backyard fence (which also wouldn't open) just to get around the house to get to it.

As expected, it contained lots of reading goodness, soon to be covered at Bookgasm. In the meantime, here are a few things we covered last week (and the week before that); just click those links for the full monty.

•  NEXT by Michael Crichton – "What makes Crichton's latest so interesting is not how he works in real-life politics behind the issues of stem-cell research and gene patenting, but how the novel is structured. Rather than telling one story, he tells about half a dozen, with chapters alternating between the threads. Imagine TRAFFIC, then replace 'drugs' with 'DNA,' and you have NEXT."

• BIG CITY, BAD BLOOD by Sean Chercover – "As of right now, I can safely say this title will be one of my top 10 books of 2007, and the year just started. Trust me. Chercover gives the crime genre a much-needed kick in the ass with – finally – a totally hard-boiled detective in the vein of the masters of the past, be they James M. Cain, Cornell Woolrich or even Mickey Spillane."

• HANNIBAL RISING by Thomas Harris – "Overfamiliarity: It's for that reason critics have taken RISING to task as something of a cash-in – a sure thing for Harris' coffers. Perhaps they have a point, in that Harris' bibliography amounts to five books in 30 years, with all but one – his debut, BLACK SUNDAY – dealing with Lecter. Maybe it's time for him to stretch and use his talents to come up with something as fresh and exciting as his first two or three times at bat, especially since he takes so many years between books. Is HANNIBAL RISING scary? No. Is it essential? No. Is it entertaining? Most of it, yes. It's an unnecessary but pleasantly diverting prequel; as literature, its edible equivalent may be some jelly beans with a nice Cherry Coke, but I can't deny my sweet tooth."

• MORE TWISTED: COLLECTED STORIES: VOL. II by Jeffery Deaver – "Despite his incessant need to remind readers that he's a huge fan of the soap opera ALL MY CHILDREN, Jeffery Deaver is one of the greats when it comes to the modern short-form mystery. As demonstrated time and again in 2003's TWISTED, his first collection of short stories, he harbors an uncanny ability to pose a riddle, lead you like a leashed dog to see things one way, only to yank you the other way in the final few paragraphs, sometimes leaving you flat-out amazed at the artistry in the deception. For me, his novels don't carry the same impact."

• SHOWCASE PRESENTS SHAZAM!: VOLUME 1 – "Who is this for? Is it Superman-lite for younger readers? Or is it tongue-in-cheek parody for the older, jaded ones? The answer: Who cares? With SHAZAM! being unlike anything else at the time, it's a must. ... There's a chimp in his own Captain Marvel suit, wreaking havoc in a TV studio. A crook dressed head to toe in old newspapers. Best of all, there's the bald, bespectacled Dr. Sivana pelting the Marvel Family with a 'badness' ray. 'Quick,' Captain Marvel tells Mary Marvel and Captain Marvel Jr., 'think good thoughts!' Their responses are 'Apple pie!,' 'Christmas!' and 'Motherhood!' Yes, Virginia, SHAZAM! seeks the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval. It gets mine, too."

• EPSILON ZETA by Jock Young – "Perhaps a good subtitle for EPSILON ZETA would be THE RULES OF ATTRACTION FOR COMPLETE RETARDS, because that's exactly what this regurgitated novel of the woes of frat life is: one big pity party for a group of spoiled, racist, homophobic white frat boys whose primary interests include date rape, calling each other 'faggot' and constantly lamenting their frat's ne'er-do-well status on campus and with their national board. ... Author Jock Young (what, was Chest Rockhard or Jet Brickfist taken?) has written a completely unneeded and unwanted love letter to fraternity living that might appeal to those types who wistfully remember their days of pissing in the mouth of a freshman pledge."

Believe us, there's much more where that came from, with reviews of new books from James Grippando, Steve Hockensmith, Robert Heinlein/Spider Robinson, Charles Todd and others. Plus, don't miss our savage review of Ron Howard's DA VINCI CODE movie. And, hey, who knew there was an ALL THAT JAZZ novelization? We've got proof.