Books: Good And Bad

Gallery of Horror edited by Charles L Grant.

This anthology has some good stories and some mediocre ones. There are a lot of famous writers represented, and one or two stories made me go "eeew", but it is best bought in a used bookstore.

Arctic Adventure by Willard Price.

This should have been called "Dumb Adventure". I didn't expect a book aimed at young adults to be too profound but this one is too simple even for ten year olds. The ideas and language fit that age group but the plot is geared towards 8 year olds at most.

For example:

The younger brother is 15 but acts like he is ten. The older brother is an experienced animal collector for zoos yet he makes dumb mistakes just to fit the plot.

In the first chapter the younger brother sits on a wild polar bear and is chased by it. He and his brother capture it, tame it and use it to catch other animals.

In one chapter they lasso seals under water. I think using a rope in the water would be a tad difficult.

For no reason they visit Churchill, Manitoba to get Polar Bears (leaving Greenland to do so). While there they see a bear served raw meat in a cafe. That was the dumbest chapter in the book.

The reason I read the book was that I used to be such a fan of the series in elementary school. I hadn't read this book but I fondly remember others of the series. Sigh. Now I know why I out grew the series.

I guess you can't go back to those good old days even via books.

Wizard's First Rule by Terry Goodkind.

Finally I have a good adult book to sink my teeth into. I am about ¼ of the way through and enjoying it.