SarahRae scribbled: This is a novel of passing time, finding people and finding ourselves mixed in with all of the life that we can’t stop from happening. It’s about recognizing when it’s time to forgive, cope with the present and venture onward. “Terror from Beyond Middle England” is a quirky and absorbing read, realistic and yet so out of the ordinary.

SarahRae scribbled: “Devil Jazz” begins with the depiction of a young man awaking to find himself floating in a boat with no recollection of his life before that moment, stumbling towards the Doomsday Diner bathroom where the local fishermen say he will find his face etched on the wall, with a mysterious voice in his head warning him that the world will end in seven days. Almost instantly he finds that not only may he be the messiah, but he also has disciples, and although slightly uncomfortable with the idea, he decides to go by “J.C.” Could this indeed be the Apocalypse, Jesus Christ’s final arrival, the ascension of the blessed and the damnation of the wicked? Craig Forgrave certainly makes us wonder, especially as global devastation ensues and Satan makes his appearance as the benevolent alien, Armageddon. Satan also sends his demonic charges to do his work; Marilyn Monroe, Vincent van Gogh, and Adolf Hitler all set out to corrupt the innocent, the dreamers, and the youth. While J.C. is compelled to urge the people of the world to repent their sins and be saved, Satan ensures that the population sins to its full extent. “Devil Jazz” seems to begin as a modern day morality tale, and yet is transformed into a social and cultural commentary. It asks us to reconsider what we classify as “good” and “evil,” and to renegotiate our own existence within this specific cultural framework. Is it all good and bad? Is there no gray ambiguity to our existence? Forgrave has written a clever novel that forces the reader to think, to reevaluate, and to question. “Devil Jazz” is a fun and funny examination of faith, human nature, and the individual identity.

SarahRae scribbled: What author Walt Maguire has created cannot justifiably be called a novel. “Monkey See” is an evaluation of human life, a social satire, a how-to guide for creating talking monkey children, an advice column for dealing with teenagers, an analysis of cultural values, and a collection of recipes all bound together. Whether your interests lie in learning the proper etiquette for a job interview with an ape overlord, or if you were really only searching for a user-friendly chart to help you find the perfect name for your newly created monkey mutant, “Monkey See” is a highly informative and a truly laugh-out-loud read. Mixed in with guidelines to follow for your own fiendish at-home lab experiment is the story of Ed the Talking Monkey, created accidentally by power-obsessed scientist Dr. Cogitomni, and Gigi, the Doctor’s newest experimental plan for world domination. Ed attempts to find a suitable place for himself in a society, which is either human, or evil monkey army. He is also confused by his romantic attachment to Gigi, the soon-to-be sixty foot tall monster with spikes and killer breath. Being the first stage of talking ape, Ed is neither equipped to understand the social world of humans, nor is he of the same intellectual capacity as other talking ape spawn. It seems he is truly the only one of his kind, and must therefore struggle with his place among primates. A similar situation exists also for Gigi, who is designed to be the ultimate diabolical monster, and yet cannot get on board with the idea. Reading “Monkey See,” I laughed from start to finish. This “novel” is full of scientific information regarding primates, ridiculous footnotes that keep surprising you with their absurdity, and genuinely witty writing. It’s impossible not to laugh after reading parenting advice for your ape child’s proper development that urges you to hire a trained professional to do the job: “…if you are the sort of person who had taken the time and effort to create a talking ape, you are unlikely to have the parenting skills necessary to do anything except emotionally cripple those around you.” Don’t let your new life as mad scientist, parent to mutant apes, and prospective dominator of the world overwhelm you. Let Walt Maguire walk you through it.

SarahRae scribbled: "Dear Mr. Unabomber," by Ray Cavanaugh is an exploratory journey of identity in a technologically consumed, and dependent, world. What begins as a series of letters to the infamous “Unabomber,” Ted Kaczynski, evolves into a contemplative study of human nature as it becomes infiltrated by addictive television crime dramas, internet dating sites, and isolating excursions into the apparent “lives” of MySpace and Facebook users. The young college student who writes obsessively to Kaczynski attempts to extrapolate upon the Unabomber’s ideals of deindustrialization and to come to terms with his violent career of combating technology and its progression. This epistolary novel delves into issues of superficiality in academics, work life, and human relationships. How is it possible to succeed in any of these areas without conforming to the accepted, perfunctory social and political frameworks? Where does a person with true passions and opinions find a space that offers possibility for a genuinely fulfilling life? It is clear that a space for this young man is found in his writing to the incarcerated Unabomber. Yet, how would society view this as an appropriate outlet for self-discovery and justification? Cavanaugh exposes technology as both an enabler of positive change and knowledge, and yet also of stagnation and social degeneration. It is impossible that our society will eventually become disentranced by technology, as it is already embedded into our lives, but will we become so reliant that digression in inevitable? Peppered with original drawings by the author, "Dear Mr. Unabomber" is a captivating analysis of a culture which values the artificial in every respect, and which demands inquiry from its readers into the effects that all forms of technological innovation have upon humanity.

SarahRae scribbled: “Moon Beaver” begins with Benny Henderson, an inhabitant of the increasingly drab Norwich, who finds himself struggling to retain his sense of originality in a city that has been permeated by Company rhetoric; it is being blanketed by propaganda that forces the relinquishment of an individual identity in order to create manageable conformity. As the city slowly grows greyer and falls deeper into an abyss of Company compliance, a young woman of unspecified age and origin, who calls herself Moon Beaver, unexpectedly enters Benny’s flat while he is in the middle of a bubble bath and entrances him with her “cult of one.” From thence on, he unquestioningly allows the strange woman to invade his life, deplete his savings, and guide him away from his fiancée, Louise, as they venture overseas. Enthralled by her spontaneous lifestyle and her belief in her own immortality, Benny attempts to learn from her the mysteries of time, which she purports to manipulate. It is clear to Benny that he will eventually be abandoned by Moon, and thus feels as if every day with her could be the last. The occult of Moon Beaver pervades and complicates the lives of every character: Louise attempts to come to terms with Moon’s sense of freedom, and ultimately her own, as she delves into Moon’s indeterminate past; Lou, a Midwestern hen farmer from the States, tries to reconcile his love for his hens with his love for Moon; and Benny, attempting to understand Moon’s philosophy, concentrates on negotiating issues of time and sustainability outside of the Company norm. Andrew Hook’s “Moon Beaver” is a novel of life, death, and the transitory time spent in between. Moon’s character and sense of self is eerily inspiring and makes for a read that is both absorbing and beguiling. The issues raised by Hook are poignant to everyday life, and the consequences of living in every kind of way are potentially haunting: how do we immortalize our finite selves, and how do we do so without sacrificing the people we love?

SarahRae scribbled: Olga Gardner Galvin’s The Alphabet Challenge depicts our world’s future as one that has transcended discrimination of all kinds, becoming compassionate and overly sensitive to the needs of the population. It is the PeopleCare organization that has acquired a monopoly on care activism and that runs the business of caring. It has possibly more control over laws regarding fair and non-discriminatory practices than the national four-party political system. PeopleCare works to level the playing field so that every group of people has an equal access to life and happiness. However, while it works to create diane faupprogress for groups like “People for Free Orange Juice for Everyone,” it must also assist the needs of “People Against Citrus Fruit.” Gardner Galvin’s novel points out the absurdity of caring for everyone, attempting to bring advances to different groups of people who have conflicting goals. It also makes explicit the horrors of assuming a group identity over an individualistic one. The “group” becomes more important than the individual within it, therefore resulting in the needs of the person being neglected. After all, red meat cannot be made legal simply for one “uncaring” individual in society. Such an occurrence would deeply offend those groups of people opposed to eating meat. It is bad enough that chicken, although socially stigmatized, can still be legally acquired. This hilarious, satirical, and eye-opening novel is witty and engaging. At a time when we are also working to combat social injustice and all forms of discrimination, Gardner Galvin’s work reminds us that while, of course, we must not overlook the needs of our neighbors, we must also not be afraid to have a dissenting opinion. It also reminds us that life, in general, is not fair, and it is close to impossible to protect everyone. We simply have to persevere and work for what we need in life as an individual. A powerful message, The Alphabet Challenge also insists that we cannot wait for someone else to do the work for us. I read this book in just a few days. It was easy to love the characters and impossible to put down. It continually surprised the reader with the ridiculous ways in which “caring” has turned into: tattle-taling non-recyclers into jail, thriving in the black-market sales of sugar and butter, and pushing smokers towards designated smoking areas at the very edges of society. The people of this world must walk on eggshells to ensure that their actions do not offend others, and they must do so by giving up their own personal freedoms.

SarahRae scribbled: Set in the year 2028, shortly after the destruction of half of the world’s population due to an asteroid-Earth collision (known as The Shudder), The Amadeus Net, by Mark Rayner, tells the story of love and survival in Ipolis, the man-made utopia dedicated to the preservation of art and to scientific exploration. While Ipolis itself may appear to be paradise, the world around it is certainly not. Divided still by wealth, the world is put in danger of destruction by the religious fanatics of the poverty-stricken South, who give the North an ultimatum: Distribute wealth and resources fairly, or suffer global annihilation. Living among this global turmoil, in Ipolis, are: Bella, the sadistic artist struggling with her past as a warrior-like survivor of The Shudder; Les, the Canadian consulate desperately and obsessively in love with Helen Printo, a world famous reporter; Alex Burton, the power-driven egoist determined to rule Mars; and the beautiful Katerina, who is set on chasing after unattainable women, and yet is loved by a man. Run by One, the mind of the Ipolis machine, the inhabitants of this futuristic civilization are under constant surveillance and surrounded by technology: their multifunctional data-pads, 3Vs (the future’s TV equivalent), robotic bartenders, etc. However, one citizen of Ipolis is monitored by One more closely than the rest: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, believed to have died in 1791. The 272-year-old composer, in love with Katerina, now goes by the name of Will Armstrong, yet continues to compose the music of Mozart. This does not become a problem until dedicated news reporter Helen Printo is set on discovering the truth, and One becomes intent on keeping the man safe. The Amadeus Net is a compelling read from start to finish, containing engaging characters, an intricate plot, and powerful insight into what it means to be human in post, and possibly pre, apocalyptic Ipolis. Most poignant to me was its examination of the nature of art, love, and sex: What drives an individual to love and to create? How important is the existence of art? It delves also into the mind of the computer as it controls its “children,” the people of Ipolis, and reworks their fates. I wonder too: How do the members of a technologically advanced society still maintain freedom, privacy, and a unique identity?