The Saturday Night Ghost Club by Craig Davidson – Book Review

Following and perhaps capitalizing on the “1980s group of kids” trend, The Saturday Night Ghost Club revolves around one man’s memory of his twelfth summer. The book has drawn comparisons to Stranger Things, and while there is a friend group and it does take place in the 1980s, I found that the similarities ended there. A more apt, if not current, comparison would be the Goonies, especially considering the urban legend type stories the aforementioned club explores.

Now, I know what you may be thinking. The Goonies and Stranger Things are also similar. And that is a fair point. However, Stranger Things contains far more elements of horror and science-fiction, while the Goonies is more of a straight-up adventure. In this regard, the Saturday Night Ghost Club is closer in tone to Stand by Me than It. If you loved Stranger Things and you’re hankering for more of the same, I suggest you check out One Word Kill by Mark Lawrence. If you loved the 1980s feel but want FAR less paranormal elements, The Saturday Night Ghost Club may be what you’re looking for.

The Saturday Night Ghost Club is a coming of age story, wrapped in a memory play, and written with the precise hand of a neurosurgeon. I’ve never read anything written by Craig Davidson before, but I can say I’m certainly impressed with his ability to carve a mental picture.  The story concerns one Jake Baker, an adult neurosurgeon reflecting on a particularly important summer. A relatively short book, Davidson uses specific moments to show the profound changes taking place in Jake. He further illustrates the significance of these moments by drawing comparisons to Jake’s adult career and life. There were several moments where, despite Niagara Falls being hundreds of miles from where I grew up, I found my mind wandering to my own childhood, shading Jake’s world with my own experiences. I can’t say for certain this was Davidson’s intent, but considering the story’s memory element, I suspect it was.

The Saturday Night Ghost Club may not be another Stranger Things. However, it is a compelling and emotional journey certain to engage anyone who remembers feeling that first exciting surge of uncertainty when facing the end of childhood, the beginning of something new. If you’re looking for a new story to read on vacation, look no further. This is the perfect summer book.

5/5

Kings of the Wyld: A Review(ish)

Hey everybody,

I have an absurd fantasy in regards to writing. Skip this if you already know it.

I want to write someone’s favorite book.

I want someone to come up to me one day and say something along the lines of…
“I’ve never read anything like this before. This is my favorite book.”
(Maybe not that stilted, but you get the point).

I would then say (or sign the book):

Dear So-and-so,
I wrote this for you.

Nicholas Eames doesn’t know this yet, but…

He wrote Kings of the Wyld for me.

I don’t do book reviews often, and in the 3ish years I’ve been inconsistently blogging, I think I’ve review maybe one (maybe two. More to come hopefully).

But I feel compelled to tell you about this FREAKING AMAZING BOOK.

Do you like Fantasy? Read this book.

Do you like Rock n’ Roll? Read this book.

Do you like heroes with heart who have deep and meaningful character arcs? 

Read. this. book.

I will buy two more copies by the end of this year to give as gifts. I kid not.

So where to begin…

So. Kings of the Wyld is a one part Led Zeppelin Reunion Tour, Two Parts Dungeon & Dragons, and One Part Action-Comedy. The humor is never overdone, but often serves to undercut heroic fantasy expectations where the heroes are set up to do something awesome, but falter due to age, alcohol, or just being rusty. Also, SOOOOO many allusions to classic rock songs: A few chapter titles (Rambling On comes to mind), Character names (There’s a Layla in there, and a Sabbatha – Which makes me think of Encino Man era Pauly Shore introducing someone to Black Sabbath-uh), and so many others that I should have highlighted when I read them and chuckled to myself. There are also some meta-ish references to the likes of Lord of the Rings (just certain lines that ring reminiscent of Tolkien).

The story concerns itself with Clay “Slowhand” Cooper, the bassist…I mean…a member of the legendary band of mercenaries, SAGA (who I recently bad a badge of for an ill-fated badge contest).

Ask Michael McClendon over at Booknest. He’s got my back…I was robbed. I would wear the hell out of this.

Clay has resigned himself to a comfortable life in the countryside with his adorable wife and daughter when the ex-leader of Saga, Robert Plant…I mean, “Golden Gabe” Gabriel shows up asking for Clay’s help rescuing his daughter-turned-mercenary, Rose, who has gotten herself trapped on the far side a fantasy-monster infested forest in an ancient stronghold by a giant horde of said fantasy hell-monsters.

 

Golden Gabe circa Saga’s glory days…Not really…This is Robert Plant holding a sword. My google images search kung-fu is strong.

Gabriel has gotten it into his head that the only way to save his daughter is to reunite their legendary band and go after her, which after a change of heart (which is too character driven to talk about) Clay agrees to.

Together they pick up the rest of their band mates, who I will describe as the following:

Matrick Skulldrumer (the drummer), the murderous rogue turned fat-drunken king.

John Bonham. I’d say Neil Pert, but Matrick reminds me more of this late great drummer.

Moog (The synth/keyboard man), the eccentric wizard suffering as he tries to cure the incurable disease which claimed his husband (Freddie). I can only assume Freddie is a reference to the greatest rock vocalist of all-time, Freddie Mercury and his battle with HIV/AIDS.

I use Ray Manzarek because I don’t know keyboardists well and his work in The Doors is the only part of the band I love.

Ganelon (On Lead Guitar/Axe), the greatest warrior possibly ever who has been…ya know what? I’m not telling you where he is because HE IS FREAKING AWESOME.

I’m gonna go with two guitarists to describe him because in attitude he reminds me of Slash (But I also think Slash is largely overrated) So…

Slash is he could play like Jimi.

And finally, our protagonist, Clay Cooper, who I’ve already described above as the bassist of the band…

John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin but crossed with a BEAR.

Clay is the heart and soul of Saga. Gabriel is the frontman, but it’s Slowhand that moves the song along with his steady bassline. They follow Gabe, but Clay is the reason they follow. The monster who chose to be a good man.

Kings of the Wyld hit me on multiple levels.

As a lover of classic rock and a loather of some current bands like…
The Screaming Eagles. I don’t know. They’re just who I thought of. A band with a lot of glitz and glam but lacking the substance of the old. They scream, they shout, they are the fallen angels, but does anyone REALLY care? Are we going to be listening to this song in 40 years? I think not.

As a fantasy fan and novice Pathfinder player.

And most importantly as a father.

If it one of my sons…Nothing would stop me.

If I haven’t convinced you to buy and read it yet, let me add this…

In a year where I have read: The Broken Empire Trilogy by Mark Lawrence, Ready Player One by Ernest Cline, That Hideous Strength by C.S. Lewis, The Man Who was Thursday by G.K. Chesterton, Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clark, Two Dresden Books by Jim Butcher, Two Wheel of Time books by Robert Jordan, and A Tale of Two Cities by Charles freakin’ Dickens…

This has been my favorite read.

I’m hard pressed to say it’s my favorite book of all-time. I think time will tell that (and we’ll see how good Bloody Rose is)…

But!

I’ve never read a book before where I wanted to start it all over again when I was done.

It was like some of my favorite go-to movies.

They’re not my favorite movies of all-time, but there’s a reason I return to them.

I will return to Kings of the Wyld.

I will buy Bloody Rose.

I will buy whatever the hell else Nicholas Eames writes.

Because it is that freakin’ good.

Buy it.

Read it.

– Scritch out.

 

Goodreads

Hey everybody,

I know I did this recently, but I still wanted to write it down.

Mostly for my own accountability.

For the first time in ever, I’m actually using Goodreads to track my reading!
This was inspired by my wife’s boss who tries to read 50 books a year.

They’re in publishing so that makes sense.

I decided, fancying myself a fledgling writer, to really work on reading to better improve my writing (excluding this blog because, let’s face it, this hardly counts).

Therefore I am going to try to stick to reading the following list of books (in this order)

1. Fool Moon by. Jim Butcher (Finished 3/24)
2. A Darker Shade of Magic by. V.E. Schwab (Finished 4/29)
3. Salvation by Allegiance Alone by. Mattew Bates (Buy Here)
4. The Judge of Ages by. John C. Wright (15% in)
5. Speaker for the Dead by. Orson Scott Card
6. The Reader by. Traci Chee (Finished 5/13)
7. Ready Player One by Ernest Cline (Finished 5/22)
8. Grave Peril by. Jim Butcher
9. The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaimen (Finished 5/1)
10. Station Eleven by. Emily Saint John Mandel
11. Storm of Swords by. George R. R. Martin
12. The Silmarillion by. J.R.R. Tolkien
13. The Man Who Was Thursday: A Nightmare by G.K. Chesterton (Finished 5/19)
14. Prince of Thorns by Mark Lawrence (Finished 5/30)

AND on Audio Book

1. That Hideous Strength by. C.S. Lewis (Finished 3/28)
2. A Crown of Swords by. Robert Jordan (Finished 4/6)
3. The Path of Daggers by. Robert Jordan
4. Wheel of Time 9+

My goal for the year is 25. I think that’s doable.
I may bounce around this list a bit, but I want to get through all of these as part of my 25.

I am already 5 books in, by the way, having read:

1. Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by. Susannah Clarke
2. Lord of Chaos by. Robert Jordan (audio book)
3. The Hermetic Millenia by John C. Wright (so glad this is done)
4. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by. NOT J.K. Rowling
5. Storm Front by. Jim Butcher

Mind you, all of this while revising Bloodseeker and reading/memorizing scripts.

It really is a good time to be me.

-scritch out

Am Reading

Hey everybody,

Even when I don’t have much to say, I’d like to get back in the habit of posting early in the week…And here I am.

So if you recall from one of my earlier posts, we closed Taming of the Shrew yesterday.

Adios

It was great time.

While you were setting up (or at dinner…I forget), a few castmates and I were discussing books and what we were reading.

I mentioned how my book, The Shadow of Fate, has been getting some good feedback and keeps turning up in some of Inkitt’s promotional material (pretty neat).

Side note: If you’re reading my book, I desperately want a new title…
I just can’t seem to contrive a better one.

During this discussion, someone said, “I’m one of those people that reads like six books at a time.”

A stack of books.

This got me to thinking…

How many books am I reading/listening (Audible) to right now?

Catalyst Moon: Incursion by. Lauren L. Garcia
This is an Inkitt winner. I have not had as much time as I would have liked to read it, but it is great so far (I’m about 25% through). You can pick it up on Amazon.

Audible

Lord of Chaos (Book 6 of the Wheel of Time) by. Robert Jordan
Holy crap do I want to get back to this, but I feel like I have no time for anything. Please, for the love of all that is decent and holy go read Wheel of Time.

A Storm of Swords by G.R.R. Martin
This one I’ve been on for awhile. Not because I’m not enjoying it…I am. It’s just mind consuming, and I haven’t had the mental prowess to tackle it more than a few pages at a time. It really is bumming me out.

Audible

A Tale of Two Cities by. Charles Dickens
To be fair, I just started this on Audible yesterday and listened to some today. My friend asked me if I loved it as much as he did…THERE IS ONLY ONE CORRECT ANSWER! I told him I hadn’t read it in years and he gifted me the audio book… Nothing like listening to Dickens to make me feel like a terrible author… I mean.

The Immortal Iron Fist by. Ed Brubaker
I’ve loved this so far, but haven’t finished it.

 

 

In the queue.

The Assassin’s Apprentice by. Robin Hobb
I’ve wanted to read this for awhile…So I took it out from the library… And it’s still sitting there… Accusing me.

The Ocean at the End of the Lane (Audible) by. Neil Gaiman
This is an extremely short audiobook (under 6 hours and I’m used to 30+). I will probably start this when I finish Two Cities.

Jonathon Strange and Mr. Norrell (Audible) by. Susanna Clarke.
I know literally nothing about this other than it’s good.

 

The Hermetic Millenia by John C. Wright
I would drop everything to start reading this today, but it’s in Pennsylvania… Wright’s Everness Chronicles changed me as a reader. They’re two of my favorite books. I read Count to a Trillion (the first book of this series) awhile back and have two, three, and four (and five just came out). I NEED to read them…

A Whole Bunch of Books on Inkitt.
The community has given me a lot of visibility, and I’d like to do the same for other authors. Unfortunately, I am so little damn time raising my sons.

To say nothing of the writing, movies to see, and video game playing I’d like to do…

C’est la vie.

#AmReading

-scritch out

 

 

 

P.S. Hopefully, I’ll have a more traditional post later this or next week.

P.P.S. A baby sucking on his/her hand is the single most annoying sound in the universe.

That is all.

Lives Change @ the Library (or how I won $150.00)

Happy Saturday, Readers!

In March, the Regent University LIbrary held an Essay/Video Contest in honor of National Library Week. In April, I discovered I won it. I was ecstatic. Mostly because the prize was $150.00. Huzzah! One hundred and fifty dollars I can spend on me and not on diapers! Very excited. Buying Wool by. Hugh Howey. Going to see what all of the fuss is about.
When I finished writing  my essay (as I have recounted a few times since) I thought to myself, “No one is going to beat this.” I was right. A library changed my life. What’s better is that this story isn’t at all fabricated.

 

Real life is often more interesting than fiction.
Without further ado…

The One Hundred and Fifty Dollar Essay:

I was eight years old, reading Farmer Boy, when I decided I hated reading. The curriculum at school required me to read a number of books throughout school year, which, to me, seemed like a monumental waste of time. Time, I believed, which would have been better spent playing Sonic the Hedgehog or watching Batman. For four years I toiled away at the school’s reading list, reading books like The Black Arrow, Treasure Island, and Moby Dick. It was during this dark time in my life, my parents decided it was time we moved closer to our church. The apartment we ended up moving to was conveniently situated four blocks from our church and right beside the Peckville Public Library.

The library was located in a former fire station and stood like an archaic monument to literature. Its faded brick exterior now stands out in my memory as one of the most beautiful images of my childhood. One day, spurred on by boredom, I took the brief ten foot walk to the library to inspect it. I had often heard of the wonders of these places, but I had never been brave enough to venture to one. When I arrived, I was met by a wall of VHS tapes unlike I had ever seen before. I stood amazed and awestruck before the selection.

I grabbed the first one that piqued my interest, the BBC’s The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Timidly, I approached the counter where the Librarian asked for my Library card, which I didn’t have. She made polite conversation with me as I waited for my card and consequently my movie. As she handed me the card, she asked if I’d ever read the book. I, of course, hadn’t. In spite of my protests, she led me to the fiction section where she set not one but seven books in my hands. These books were, of course, The Chronicles of Narnia by, my now favorite author, C.S. Lewis.

I took my eight items home and placed them on the coffee table. I reached for the movie immediately and watched it in all of its poorly produced glory. I was captivated. The moment it was over, I picked up and began reading the second book of the series, Prince Caspian. I was hooked. For the next five years, I spent every Saturday in that library picking out new books to read. I was there so often I managed to memorize my fourteen digit library card number so I could take out books even if I’d forgotten my card. I am now twenty-four with a fairly substantial library, working on editing my first novel, pursuing a Master’s degree, and have a list of books I intend to read to my son (the first being The Magician’s Nephew). I honestly don’t know what my life would be like without literature, but I do know the life I have I owe in part to that old brick library.

 

– Scritch out.