This Week in Reviews– October 29th, 2022
I read and watch a lot of interesting things, and I often want to recommend them, but I don’t have enough time for full reviews. That’s why I’m starting a new occasional feature– capsule reviews of books and movies and TV shows I’ve enjoyed recently.
The Power Broker, by Robert Caro
This classic, award-winning biography is the story of Robert Moses, the man who reshaped New York into his preferred image through his control of parks, roads, and public housing. Some people revered him, others despised him. Caro covers the rise and fall of not only Moses, but New York City as well, discussing the problems plaguing the city at the start of the final third of the twentieth century. It’s a massive tome where every page is fascinating. It may just be paper, but it’s done as much to shape the legacy of Robert Moses as all of his parks and bridges combined. I could write a review that’s nearly as long as the 1,160 page book, but I’ll just say that it’s a morality tale, a cautionary tale, and an American epic. I don’t know how accurate Caro’s psychological portrait of Moses is, and I’m sure that too much nuance would have muddled the story arc Caro wanted to tell, but there’s real power in this tale, exploring how one man became an unaccountable bureaucrat who could only be defeated by even more raw political power and his own hubris. Highly recommended for everybody.
The Stone, The Cipher, and the Shadows, by Brad Strickland
I have loved John Bellairs’ books since I was in Lower School. His Gothic mysteries have long been among my favorites, and after his untimely death, Brad Strickland completed some remaining manuscripts and wrote some original novels featuring Bellairs’ characters. The twelfth book in the Johnny Dixon series came out in 1999, and after over two decades of with no new entries in the series, it seemed a fair bet that we’d seen the last of Johnny, Professor Childermass, Fergie, Father Higgins, and the rest of the gang. So it was surprising when, without any fanfare, a thirteenth Johnny Dixon adventure was released as an ebook.
It’s clearly inspired by current events, as the 1950’s New England setting is battling a nasty flu pandemic. Although some of the pandemic references can be a little on the nose, causing the first half of the book to be a bit slow, the second half becomes more exciting as a mysterious supernatural figure threatens the town, and there’s an actual mystery over which of three suspects is the mystical villain. It’s not the best-paced entry in the series, but it’s good to see old fictional friends again, long after it seemed like they had their final bow.
–Chris Chan
Chris Chan’s anthology Of Course He Pushed Him and Other Sherlock Holmes Stories Volumes 1 & 2 was released on June 22nd. His first novel, Sherlock’s Secretary, was released by MX Publishing. His Agatha-nominated book Murder Most Grotesque: The Comedic Crime Fiction of Joyce Porter was published by Level Best Books. His first non-fiction book, Sherlock & Irene: The Secret Truth Behind “A Scandal in Bohemia” is available for sale at Amazon.com and the MX Publishing website, as well as at Book Depository (with free worldwide shipping there). It is also available in a Kindle edition.
