(Or, a lesson in not judging a book by its cover.)
Lately I've been having a tough time finding something to read that holds my attention for more than a couple of chapters. Apparently I'm jaded when it comes to science fiction and nothing new has captured my imagination. Vampires, one of my stand-by genres, have been taken over by Romance and YA authors (with a few notable exceptions), and werewolves and other things that go bump in the night have been dragged along with them. (Zombies seem to be immune from the romance infiltration, presumably because it's tough to make the shambling, mindless undead sexy… but zombies have never been one of my favorite tropes, so that doesn't do me much good.) There have been some interesting books in the dark fantasy area… The Blade Itself and Iron Angel come to mind, and Interred with Their Bones was a great read as well (think of it as a Shakespearian DaVinci Code). But scattered amongst those books, I've started and stopped another half dozen that simply couldn't keep my attention (including the sequel to Iron Angel).
A few weeks ago I stumbled across Sharp Teeth. Browsing the SF shelf, picking up and putting back book after book, bored by pretty much everything I tried, the book's trichromatic cover (deep red background with the black silhouette of a vicious dog and white text) caught my eye. Werewolves aren't really my thing when it comes to the supernatural — I still prefer a good vampire story every time — so I passed it by several times. Finally, still unable to find anything else that interested me, I picked up the book and read the back cover. Here I learned that the author, Toby Barlow, was (among other things) an advertising agency executive creative director. Thinking of all the mind-meltingly stupid commercials we've all been subjected to over the years, this was NOT going to sell me on this book. Then I opened up the book and discovered it was written in free verse. Suddenly, this wasn't just the work of some hack who'd decided that moonlighting as an author sounded fun… he had artistic pretensions!
But I started reading anyway… and minutes later found myself 20 pages in and anticipating each turn of the page. (Admittedly, the free verse helps you plow through pages, but still…)
I just finished Sharp Teeth a couple of days ago. It's a great read, and the free verse somehow helps propel you through the story. Perhaps it's all the Shakespeare I've read, but after the first couple of pages, I simply didn't notice the structure.
The story, about three different werewolf tribes on the streets of LA, was fresh, with an interesting take on the whole werewolf mythology (they’re really more dog packs than wolf packs, but let’s not debate semantics). The main characters were all strong and well defined, and I found myself honestly caring what happened to each of them. And, refreshingly, the ending simply felt right, and well earned. (There's a "P.S" section at the end with a brief interview with the author — touching on the choice to write in free verse, and the nature of his werewolves — a cast of characters and the author's playlist of songs he was listening to while writing the book. Interesting stuff, and the playlist looks promising.)
Once again, my tendency toward mockery nearly kept me from an exemplary reading experience. Fortunately, my curiosity overrode that initial reaction, and I discovered Sharp Teeth. I'll look forward to the next book by Mr. Barlow.
Lately I've been having a tough time finding something to read that holds my attention for more than a couple of chapters. Apparently I'm jaded when it comes to science fiction and nothing new has captured my imagination. Vampires, one of my stand-by genres, have been taken over by Romance and YA authors (with a few notable exceptions), and werewolves and other things that go bump in the night have been dragged along with them. (Zombies seem to be immune from the romance infiltration, presumably because it's tough to make the shambling, mindless undead sexy… but zombies have never been one of my favorite tropes, so that doesn't do me much good.) There have been some interesting books in the dark fantasy area… The Blade Itself and Iron Angel come to mind, and Interred with Their Bones was a great read as well (think of it as a Shakespearian DaVinci Code). But scattered amongst those books, I've started and stopped another half dozen that simply couldn't keep my attention (including the sequel to Iron Angel).
A few weeks ago I stumbled across Sharp Teeth. Browsing the SF shelf, picking up and putting back book after book, bored by pretty much everything I tried, the book's trichromatic cover (deep red background with the black silhouette of a vicious dog and white text) caught my eye. Werewolves aren't really my thing when it comes to the supernatural — I still prefer a good vampire story every time — so I passed it by several times. Finally, still unable to find anything else that interested me, I picked up the book and read the back cover. Here I learned that the author, Toby Barlow, was (among other things) an advertising agency executive creative director. Thinking of all the mind-meltingly stupid commercials we've all been subjected to over the years, this was NOT going to sell me on this book. Then I opened up the book and discovered it was written in free verse. Suddenly, this wasn't just the work of some hack who'd decided that moonlighting as an author sounded fun… he had artistic pretensions!
But I started reading anyway… and minutes later found myself 20 pages in and anticipating each turn of the page. (Admittedly, the free verse helps you plow through pages, but still…)
I just finished Sharp Teeth a couple of days ago. It's a great read, and the free verse somehow helps propel you through the story. Perhaps it's all the Shakespeare I've read, but after the first couple of pages, I simply didn't notice the structure.
The story, about three different werewolf tribes on the streets of LA, was fresh, with an interesting take on the whole werewolf mythology (they’re really more dog packs than wolf packs, but let’s not debate semantics). The main characters were all strong and well defined, and I found myself honestly caring what happened to each of them. And, refreshingly, the ending simply felt right, and well earned. (There's a "P.S" section at the end with a brief interview with the author — touching on the choice to write in free verse, and the nature of his werewolves — a cast of characters and the author's playlist of songs he was listening to while writing the book. Interesting stuff, and the playlist looks promising.)
Once again, my tendency toward mockery nearly kept me from an exemplary reading experience. Fortunately, my curiosity overrode that initial reaction, and I discovered Sharp Teeth. I'll look forward to the next book by Mr. Barlow.
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