Identify Containing Books Blackout (Cal Leandros #6)
| Title | : | Blackout (Cal Leandros #6) |
| Author | : | Rob Thurman |
| Book Format | : | Mass Market Paperback |
| Book Edition | : | Deluxe Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 336 pages |
| Published | : | March 1st 2011 by Ace Books |
| Categories | : | Fantasy. Urban Fantasy. Paranormal. Fiction. Vampires |
Rob Thurman
Mass Market Paperback | Pages: 336 pages Rating: 4.14 | 4272 Users | 209 Reviews
Chronicle In Favor Of Books Blackout (Cal Leandros #6)
Loved, loved, loved. Thurman has done a lovely twist on the old amnesia device, successfully re-inventing Cal and writing a riveting book. While technically it could be a stand-alone book, it's genius is in the setting of the series and character development.The sarcasm is much less dark and self-flagellating and closer to genuine playfulness--more than once I giggled with Cal's lines like "Sun in the sky, bacon in the skillet, and a cell phone for everyone past the first stage of mitosis." Then there was Miss Terrwyn saying, "You have a mouth on you, don't you? I was thinking you were the quiet sort, but maybe I was only thinking you should be the quiet sort." And Cal's boast of confidence, "While I might have the haircut of a sheepdog, I was one badass mother-effing sheepdog." Or during a fight with a pack of spiders: "The other one fell but dragged itself behind the refrigerator. Wasn't that always the way? Off to the ultimate spider sanctuary." The section with the mummified cats (view spoiler)[ in Robin's house was merited a laugh out loud--"Salome perched on top of that giant refrigerator with dimly glowing eyes crossed in pleasure... It was only right. Every power-mad villain merited minions." (hide spoiler)] It was been torture to put it down so I could do those annoying things like go to work and sleep.
The writing has flashes of beauty that I don't often see in the Leandros series, perhaps because it is so preoccupied with the darkness in Cal's life. Cal's re-introduction to Promise deserves mention: "she was more of a marble statue under a cascade of moonlight, smelling like flowers and ivy--the glory of a weeping graveyard angel."
I found the plot engrossing and still somewhat unpredictable, even as we knew it would revolve around the returning memories. Cal's memories started to return in fragments (view spoiler)[ but had the surprise of them receding again, both for organic and inorganic reasons. (hide spoiler)] Much better development than the stately pace or sudden return amnesia artifice.
Perhaps my only complain is that even on re-read, I'm still not sure about the gestalt moment when Cal pieced together (view spoiler)[ Niko's role in his memory impairment. It seems like a eureka! sort of moment that deserves more reflection, but instead we get cagey hints that Cal has realized something but needs to check it out. That coyness was inappropriate for such high-quality character development (hide spoiler)].
Warning, my star rating is entirely in context of the series--until Roadkill, I've been feeling like I was losing interest in the series. Roadkill gave it a new spark and Blackout set off fireworks.
Details Books During Blackout (Cal Leandros #6)
| Original Title: | Blackout |
| ISBN: | 0451463862 (ISBN13: 9780451463869) |
| Edition Language: | English URL http://www.robthurman.net |
| Series: | Cal Leandros #6 |
Rating Containing Books Blackout (Cal Leandros #6)
Ratings: 4.14 From 4272 Users | 209 ReviewsEvaluation Containing Books Blackout (Cal Leandros #6)
Id been the monster all along. Me. What wed been chasing was nothing compared to what lived inside of mewhat was me. With every job we did, every case we took on, every mystery we tried to untangle, Id been the real monster and wed all pretended we didnt know it. Id been half right a week ago. A killer had woken up on that South Carolina beach. A killer and a monster; that was who I was, and it was never going to change. So what?actual rating: 2.5Except for Nevermore - which honestly is just The3.5 starsHe wakes up at a beach, remembering nothing but the knowing that he is a good killer and that monsters are bad. Then when he reaches a motel to stay, he finds three fake names. He gets a free hair cut, he works as a waiter ... then two guys, one claiming to be his brother comes to take him back to New York. They say that his name is Cal; but who is Cal and how can he believe that not ALL monsters are bad. And what is with the killer spiders and monsters asking of his brothers and
It was good! This story was a nice refreshing change in this series and I enjoyed it. It shows what could have been, and makes you appreciate what it actually is even more.
Grumble. A watered-down amnesiac Cal Leandros yapping on and on about how he hopes he's a good guy and how he wants to be worthy of his brother is not my idea of an awesome read. It certainly doesn't measure up to the books that came before. Still, I'm sticking with the series because I think this particular plot was mostly to blame for my bad attitude. Amnesia stories are not my favorite, The Rook notwithstanding. Might have to take a break before I pick up another one, but pick up another one
This book was quite a surprise as it didn't go the way I thought the book following Roadkill would go. (Roadkill, btw, one of the sadest ending of a book I've ever read, when Catcher finally went completely Wolf and Rafferty followed him into the wild, serious lump in the throat.) I expected Cal to slip further down the dangerous Auphe-hill and into more madness. Instead we get Good Cal who can't remember a thing except that he is a killer and that there are monsters in this world. I thought it
4.5 (B+)Well, Blackout was a surprise! After reading Roadkill, I was expecting dark and downright bloody. Instead Rob Thurman takes Cal and the reader on a trip to Neverland. Yes you heard right, it is Peter Pan all over again. The boy who didn't want to grow up and forgets his family because it's so much fun and easier to live a "let's pretend" life, than it is to live with reality. Thurman even reprises her own version of the land of "lost boys."On the surface Blackout takes Cal's character
Loved, loved, loved. Thurman has done a lovely twist on the old amnesia device, successfully re-inventing Cal and writing a riveting book. While technically it could be a stand-alone book, it's genius is in the setting of the series and character development.The sarcasm is much less dark and self-flagellating and closer to genuine playfulness--more than once I giggled with Cal's lines like "Sun in the sky, bacon in the skillet, and a cell phone for everyone past the first stage of mitosis." Then
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