I get around a lot.

But shockingly, there’s a lot out there I haven’t done.

First, I have never listened to an audiobook. Secondly, I have not yet read Charlaine Harris’ Sookie Stackhouse series. I know, I know!! Bear with me here.

Last month, I did something amazing. Something unbelievable. Something naughty. I signed up for Audible.com. The first thing I downloaded was Charlaine Harris’ Dead Until Dark. I got sucked in (haha, get it?). Now I got it bad, for both audiobooks and Ms. Harris alike.

But aren’t audiobooks just for listening while driving? Au contraire, dear readers! I thought that too, not so long ago. Dead Until Dark, a delightful 8 hours, kept me entertained while I:

• walked/played with the dog
• worked in the garden
• prepped and cooked dinner
• tried to fall asleep
• folded laundry
• prepared boring spreadsheets at work
• drove

Now, normally, I would never be able to read while doing some of these things. Many a time have I wished I could walk the pup while reading a book (though I have a feeling it would end in disaster). Of course, for safety, I walk with only one earbud in so I can still hear what is going on around me.

This has been a breakthrough. Of course, I knew audiobooks existed, but for some reason (mostly $$) I never really got into them. I am furious at myself now for not experimenting earlier! When I was in college, it was a 3 hour drive to get home to see my parents. The time wasted trying to figure out new radio stations when I could have been immersed in a book! While driving! Ugh. Well now I know better. Now, with a long distance wedding coming up next month, a lot of driving, and a dog that needs exercised, I couldn’t be happier about this choice.

Now. On to to Sookie. Did I mention I really enjoyed Dead Until Dark?

Charlaine Harris is both hilarious and deadly, in the same instant. Dead Until Dark tells the story of Sookie Stackhouse, a cocktail waitress in a small town in Louisiana. She has a certain “disability” (reading thoughts) that makes relationships very difficult. While Sookie’s world is similar to ours, hers includes vampires, who “came out of the coffin” several years prior. When vampire Bill Compton first sets foot in the bar where Sookie works, she only hears silence, as opposed to the yammering thoughts she has to continually block out. To her, this magical silence is a godsend, and she continues to see Bill, until women begin turning up dead. Women who have had previous relationships with vampires. In such a small town, Bill’s arrival and the coincidental timing with the murders sets tongues wagging, and it’s up to Sookie to figure what is going on, before she becomes one of the murderer’s next victims.

The book is at times terrifying and funny, and I found myself loving Charlaine’s writing. She goes from extreme to extreme with barely a thought, and reader has no choice but to haplessly follow along. There are laugh out loud scenes, steamy sex scenes, and utterly frightening scenes. She writes all with ease and then links them together for a thoroughly satisfying read.

What made this first time experience even better was the narrator. Listening to a book adds a fun new element–voice. The narrator was just as I would imagine Sookie–a honeyed southern accent that voiced all the other characters with ease.

If you loved library time in grade school, check out audiobooks. You won’t regret it.

Dr. Peter Brown is a cynical, dark, and deeply flawed protagonist, which is what makes Beat the Reaper such an exciting read. The book’s action takes place over the course of one day, though it recounts many events from Peter’s (Pietro’s) sordid past. A mobster recognizes him and makes a deal: keep him alive through his harrowing surgery and recovery, and he will never breathe a word about Dr. Brown’s real identity. Should he die at the hospital, Dr. Brown’s identity will be made known to all the wrong people. What happens after this is a messy, gory line of events that is even comical at times. For example, a clandestine meeting at the Russian Baths:

“I thought the idea was to keep Adam out of the mafia,” I said.

At the word “mafia,” Locano looked around.

“Don’t be a Chatty Cathy,” he said. “Even in here.”

“Mafia mafia mafia,” I said.

Dr. Brown’s narcissistic attitude (in addition to popping pills like candy) occasionally reminded me of the infamous Dr. House from House, M.D.

Overall, it was an action packed read, though not always believable— Dr. Brown’s ability to get out of every tight situation is mythically MacGyver-esque.

Note: You will eventually learn the difference between femur and tibia. Beat the Reaper is a fast paced game of Operation, and it will make you jump.

There is also word that Leonardo DiCaprio will be playing Dr. Brown in the cinematic remake. I’m wondering how the shark tank will go over.

Santa Olivia

Santa Olivia is located in a “no man’s land” between Mexico and the US, when it was cordoned off during a pandemic. Santa Olivia is a military outpost and the locals have no hope of ever leaving this highly secured area–in fact, the rest of the world doesn’t even know they exist. Computers, television, and other luxuries are practically mythical.

The story begins with Carmen Garron, a waitress who falls in love twice. The first time she bears her son Tommy, and the second time her daughter Loup. However, her daughter is very different–she is stronger, faster, and feels no fear–traits she inherited from her father Martin. Martin is a legendary “Lost Boy”, the victim of genetic experimentation in Haiti. He is clearly different from the other villagers and when suspicions arise, Martin is forced to leave town, though not before he explains to Carmen and Tommy what Loup will become and how to best protect her. As she grows, Tommy does his best to tell her to be careful. This involves not telling anyone about her father, and watching her actions. Loup moves preternaturally fast and must slow down in order to look like a regular person. She also has to think about consequences, since she lacks fear.

Eventually, Carmen dies, and Loup must live in the local orphanage.  She creates a sort of vigilante team, with herself doing the most dangerous feats while taking up the mantle of “Santa Olivia”, the city’s patron child-saint.

Santa Olivia is also centered on boxing, which is the only way to get a ticket out. There are regular boxing matches held by the general, and the winner is given two tickets out of Santa Olivia. Many locals try for this prize, but the story really turns when Lou begins training for it herself. There are some excellent scenes, like when Loup is finally unveiled as the “mystery contestant”:

The crowd quieted, uncertain, seeing only a smaller-than-expected figure in a vivid blue robe. She pushed back her hood. It could have been a loose white kerchief slipping from her hair.

The soldiers in the bleachers erupted in howls of laughter, hoots of derision, and catcalls of disappointment. But among the Outposters in the square, there was a hush as her name went around, its meaning dawning on them…

And on the heels of that revelation, a second significance dawned. A girl in a blue dress; a girl in a blue robe.

“Santa Olivia!” someone shouted.

Others took up the cry. “Santa Olivia! Santa Olivia!”

I thoroughly enjoyed Ms. Carey’s twist on the whole werewolf theme. Tommy affectionately refers to Loup as lou garou (french for werewolf), and she is stronger, faster, etc., but from genetic mutation rather than any sort of supernatural means.  Loup’s attraction and eventual relationship with Pilar is absolutely beautiful because it is so different from the standard, and Ms. Carey simply treats it as it should be–absolutely normal.

The downside was that I felt the characters were cliched. Tommy plays the concerned and good-natured “big brother”, becoming embarrassed when Loup unabashedly tells him she learned about sex. Loup’s coach is a gruff, taciturn man whose only love is boxing. Miguel Garza is a street-thug-turned-friend, who slowly warms up to Loup as they becoming sparring partners. Further, it was repeated over and over how Loup had to be “careful” and keep her identity secret–only to have her blab to the first kid that’s nice to her at the orphanage, who of course turns around and tells the rest of the orphans. Later, as she begins training, she nonchalantly tells both her coach and and another boxer about her big secret: “I dunno exactly..It’s some kind of genetic engineering thing. My dad was an experiment who ran away…”

Finally, Loup’s first act as Santa Olivia is vengeance for fellow orphan Katya, who is raped by a solider. I understand it would have to be something huge in order to push her (and the other orphans) towards their first vigilante act, but I thought it was a cheap way of achieving those means.

This is especially true as another act of “Santa Olivia” is to punish a dog killer. Yup, a soldier who maliciously killed a dog. An evil dog killer. If the vigilante acts continued to punish rapists, murderers, etc., that would be one thing, but the sudden downgrade from humiliating a rapist to punishing a dog killer leaves quite a bit in between.

Overall, an average read but extra points for simply being so different (werewolf-esque, boxing, etc.). I wonder if the author’s clout alone makes this a popular book–fans will definitely be flocking to pick this up, though I wonder if it will be as acclaimed as the Kushiel series.

Now, in the year 2022, ten years after Peacemaker, David receives a prerecorded message from his father, shattering the very foundation of all he knows: that his father was not responsible for the Peacemaker attack, but found a lethal virus and was going to attempt to expose those behind it. Now, David begins to put together the pieces to clear his family name. He is tracked by both the Technos and the Church: the Technos want to eliminate him before he exposes the truth while the Church wishes to follow his progress and hopefully uncover enough information to bring down the Technos. These opposing factions take David on a terrifying ride as he struggles to find the truth.

Unholy Domain is a fast paced thriller that never lets you rest. Ronco’s worldbuilding is excellent, which in a way is the scariest part–think about how the internet has pervaded our lives in the past ten years. Where will be in another ten? What will religion look like? The way things are going now, an Army of God whose symbol is a fireplace and bolt-action rifle isn’t that far off. The only downside was a slew of characters that I couldn’t always keep track of.

Overall, Unholy Domain is a great standalone, but I definitely would like to follow up on the other two in the trilogy: Peacemaker and Tomorrow’s Children.

Once you have read Unholy Domain you may want to check out this article about Reinventing Slavery…Dan Ronco is clearly on the right track

And can I just say…this ad is HOT.