Script Frenzy

The same people who run NaNoWriMo have planned something called Script Frenzy. The first in what should turn into an annual event launches next June. I decided to participate since I first heard about it, but it didn't occur to me until the last few days why I ought to do it. Visuals and descriptives are a problem for me.

In my first novel, most of the time you couldn't tell what season it was (kind of important to know when your novel is set in New England) or anything that made one city distinct from any other city or setting.

I tried to do better in my last NaNo novel, and I did improve. But I think by working on a script, it will force me to think more visually and -- hopefully -- cross over to my novel writing.

My contemplations on imagery began with a book I read recently, a book with great visuals, but one that has elements difficult to convey in a screenplay. I began thinking of all the books I'd read and how some of them had been turned into movies and how sometimes I wished they hadn't cut certain parts, or shot scenes differently. And I began thinking about ways I would shoot the opening of this book, how I could condense the beginning into a sight-dependant form that, while different from the novel's, still have the same impact.

Script Frenzy has to be totally original. We're not even allowed to use anything we've written as a novel or short story. But I'm considering writing an adaptation of that book for practice, even if I don't do a complete script.

Of course, I have to find time between finishing my 2006 NaNo novel, collaborating on a novel which is in the plotting stages right now, and working on my blogs and web site. If only I didn't need so much time for my procrastination...

The Black Sun by James Twining

Tom Kirk an ex-CIA agent and art thief who, in this sequel to The Double Eagle, has gone into the legitimate antique business. When a series of bizarre robberies and murders that point to the Kristall Blade, a group of neo-Nazi extremists, the British Secret Service (MI6) tries to recruit him. But he isn't interested until he learns his old enemy, Harry Renwick, is involved.

I'm so-so about this book. On the one hand, it is an interesting topic: the search for a treasure that was hidden by a group of Nazis at the close of WWII. But the main characters really didn't hold my interest. Tom spent too much time agonizing over the past; his business partner wasn't that well-fleshed out; and Dominique, Tom's possible love interest (if he ever allows himself to get close to her) even less so. She's beautiful, poised, and intelligent, but there's nothing that makes her memorable.

There's one character who comes in toward the end: Viktor -- the Russian crime boss -- who makes the last third of the story come to life. She (yes, Viktor's a she) has an interesting background and made me care about her. Which made it harder when Twining used her for cliche fodder.

The book kept the action moving briskly, but not so briskly that I didn't wonder how they seemed to solve mysteries that people had been looking into for sixty years so quickly. Also, about halfway through Tom realizes that Renwick's following him, letting Tom solve the riddles for him. And yet, Tom doesn't take any more precautions once he knows this, just keeps trying to pinpoint the location of the treasure.

Not a bad book, but I don't recommend it.

A Christmas Secret by Anne Perry

Dominic Corde and his wife Clarice are elated when he becomes the temporary vicar of the small village of Cottisham while Reverend Wynter is away on vacation. Everything seems perfect at first. It's a beautiful rural area with warm and welcoming villagers. The couple even entertain hopes that the situation might become permanent. But then Clarice discovers that Reverend Wynter isn't on holiday; something more sinister has transpired.

This is the fourth in Anne Perry's Christmas-themed mysteries, which feature minor characters from her other series. My only problem was, with this one, remembering who Dominic Corde was (he's Charlotte Pitt's former brother-in-law, widowed when her eldest sister is murdered in The Cater Street Hangman -- the first Pitt mystery). He did turn up in another of the series, but it's been almost ten years and it took me awhile to get enough info from this book to remember him.

Not an overly complicated plot, since these Christmas mysteries are more novelettes, but not overly thin either. She manages to give readers several strong suspects and a plausible reason for the murder. Anne Perry has a way with characters. Even her minor ones are fully realized, interesting, and sympathetic people.

Perhaps this won't be as enjoyable to those who have not read the main series first. On the other hand, it serves as a good introduction to her style and, at 208 pages, is a quick and entertaining read.

Death Match by Lincoln Child

The computer dating system at Eden, Inc. guarantees the perfect match. They've never failed to find the ideal life mate for anyone they accept for their service. Although all the couples match high on compatibility, there are the rare "super couples" -- those who match 100%. When one of those couples commits double suicide, the company calls in Christopher Lash, an ex-FBI forensic psychologist, to determine what caused their aberrant behavior. But when a second super couple dies, Lash begins to suspect murder.

Interesting thriller with a strong main character. I found the explanation of the psychological tests interesting, the computer tech less so. Spoiled by a rather predictable ending, though not so implausible given the advances in computer intelligence. Worth reading.

Critique of Criminal Reason, by Michael Gregorio

An historical mystery set in 1804 Prussia. The main character, Magistrate Hanno Stiffeniis, is called from his small town to Konigsburg to investigate four seemingly random murders. The only connection is that the victims are all found kneeling with no visible injury. The public, already nervous about the possible invasion of Napoleon, is thrown into a panic, attributing demonic powers to the killer.

Hanno discovers he has been recommended by his mentor, the philosopher Immanuel Kant, who had encouraged him to study law as a way to atone for the guilt he feels over his brother's death. He must unmask a serial killer before anyone knew that such a criminal existed.

He is helped by Kant, who in this book uses his philosophical tenets to invent what would become forensic analysis of crime scenes and the psychology of the killer. Elderly and frail, he gives Hanno nudges in the right direction, though Hanno is inclined to trust the usual methods of brutality and torture at first.

Gregorio does a good job of invoking the atmosphere of early 19th century Prussia, from the damp cold to the casual cruelty -- from the filthy table and blood encrusted knives of a bewitching abortionist to the filthy beds and blood encrusted apron of the barrack surgeon. Hanno wavers from believing the killings to be the work of pro-Bonapartists trying to foment chaos and fear to wondering if it might be witchcraft. He gradually begins to see the merit in Kant's methods.

The book is worth reading, for the atmosphere first, and for the mystery which kept me guessing until close to the end of the book. There are a few surprising revelations which I won't hint about here.