Jay Caselberg

I must admit, these novellas aren’t really convincing me that horror/dark fantasy is a genre that I’m missing out on. Fans of the genre will likely find more to like in them than I have done. It’s not as if the writing has been especially stand-out – and in this one it’s noticeably, well, not bad per se, just very, very ordinary. Gerry has just moved to Abbotsford to take over the local veterinary practice, which is mostly farm animal work rather than domestic pets. But the Dark Days are coming again, which seems to manifest as wind (as in climate, not as in farm animals alimentary processes), and an enigmatic red-haired young woman called Amanda. Like the Lotz, this is set in rural UK but doesn’t quite convince. The prose manages a good British voice, but there are odd details which don’t fit. Like the village shop, which resembles more something out of Open All Hours, or the use of “used cars” instead of “secondhand cars”. Or referring to Gerry as the “veterinary” instead of “vet” or “veterinarian”. The author is apparently an Australian living “in Europe”. They make a nice collectable set, these four novellas, with a lovely piece of cover art spread across all four books. But three novellas in and they’ve not been as memorable as the first and third series of novellas, both of which were science fiction.… (altro)

I I am not overly impressed with this book. The main character, Jack Stein, spends a lot of time wallowing in self-pity because his psychic powers seem to have deserted him, or simply atrophied. There are a lot of scenes that do nothing to really advance the plot. He goes to talk to someone, and instead of getting anywhere, he basically leaves the conversation with nothing. Perhaps he's too busy bewailing his lack of insight, or he's just unused to having to use his cognitive abilities without benefit of his gifts. He is a terrier, but not a bulldog. He will stick with something, chew it over and over and worry at it, but he's not relentless, per se, since he spends a lot of time waiting for his gift to kick in and bail him out of his quandries. Honestly, I was amazed Jack actually made it to the end of the case without giving up. I was even more surprised that he actually ended up successful, with $$ in the bank.

The rest of the characters in the book, with the exception of Billie, Jack's 14yr old charge, were stereotypes and two dimensional. Billie seemed to be fairly well drawn, but even she was a little sterotyped.

The plot was okay. Chick comes in wanting Jack to find an antique which her former partner seems to have stolen. She's pretty vague and evasive, and she doesn't even blink at Jack's inflated fee and request for a hefty retainer. Big red flag. The partner turns up dead, but the antique seems to have been stolen. Of course, the cops think Jack had something to do with the death, but can't prove it. More BS with the chick, and again she doesn't blink when Jack asks for an even heftier additional retainer. Jack and Billie then go to a resort planet that sports some alien ruins. This is where the artifact (the antique) came from, those ruins. The artifact is possibly a map to the alien homeworld, or at least a part of a map. Jack just gets more questions, no real answers, so he returns home to find a message from a bigwig, also looking for the artifact. Jack gets another retainer from this guy. More hijinks ensue. Jack comes to find out the artifact was never on his planet; it was enroute from the resort planet on a slow freighter, the captain of which ends up dead on Jack's sofa, but only after bringing the artifact with him. Now comes the final vision-dream that ties all the questions up in a neat little bow. Without spoiling the ending too much, Jack gets paid, the artifact and murders and thieves end up with the police, and the crap between Billie and Jack somehow gets resolved, sort of.

Again, I found this book easy to put down even in the middle of a paragraph. I finished it, but I wasn't driven to finish. As such, I'm trading this one off.… (altro)

I'm not sure where I got this 2004 paperback. It has a price tag from "Dollar Haven" on the back for $2, but that store name doesn't ring any bells.

This is a sequel to a book called Wyrmhole, and feature Jack Stein, a psychic investigator, and Billie, his 14-year old ward. In this book they have left the hellish crime slum of the Locality, and are living in a wholesome little city called Yorkstone. The problem now is that it's hard for an investigator to find much business in such a respectable place. Until Bridgett Farrell shows up and wants Jack to find a metallic tablet inscribed with mysterious symbols. Then Ms. Farrell's main suspect is found murdered.

I like Jack, tho he's a bit passive at times. I wanted to kick Billie on occasion - but she is a teenager, so she's expected to act a bit angsty. I'm not sure I could follow the mystery very well - there were times when I was completely lost - but it all came to a satisfying conclusion. I'll be looking for other books by this author.… (altro)

I was interested in this book because it is SF and mystery combined. The story is set in the future and the POV, Jack Stein, is a psychic investigator (he picks up vibes, and has dreams). He is a typical down and out, solitary, noir-ish character.

The setting is an interesting outgrowth of a trend today, the gated community. It becomes so insular that everything needed is encapsulated in it, and with the advent of nano-tech, it becomes a growing and self-perpetuating entity. There are echoes of the City of Levels in the Chung Kuo series.

It is called the Locality and it has degrees of innovation and newness which correspond to price. There is New, where everything is shiny and fresh, and up to the minute in trends. Then there is Middle where the older New has been displaced, and finally Old where everything is falling apart, poorly maintained and soon to be re-absorbed. Stein lives on the Old side of Middle because its what he can afford. Of course he can hop the trans for the parks and shops of New when he needs a break. The Locality programs 'outside scenes' so that no one ever has to think about reality.

Jack is hired by a big company to look into the disappearance of a group of miners on a far away planet. The problem being that they are not sharing everything or really cooperating in the search for the miners and the truth.

There are multiples players, all with their own hidden agenda, and Jack has to figure out what happened, why, who did it, and who is blocking the investigation.

There are interesting side characters, and Jack picks up a teenage ward when a crony of his is killed. Billie adds a good touch to the story.

Jack looks into various metaphysical and mathematical theories to explain the vanishing of the miners. It is interesting, but doesn't bog down the story.

I liked the writing, the setting, and the characters. I have the rest of the series and will continue reading.… (altro)