Is All Well?

The two sources I trust the most have finally weighed in on the Harry Potter phenomenon.

On the front page of the Book Review, The New York Time printed a review that revealed no major spoilers (although if you're not aware of the ending by now, it's time to sublet that granite subterranean flat you've been living in). Reviewer Christopher Hitchens takes a few high brow swipes at the series as a whole and the final volume in particular, but I expected nothing less.

The most anticipated analysis came from my Uncle Stevie over at the Bible of Popular Culture, commonly known as Entertainment Weekly. Stephen King has been the most loyal reader and defender of Harry Potter , J.K. Rowling and their combined exploits. He is also one of the most astute commentators on the state of today's popular culture.

I'm still mulling over Hitchens' piece and his perceptive parallels drawn between Orwell, Dickens, Kipling, Conan Doyle, and Rowling. Your thoughts?

Go Scare Yourself

Horror just gave birth to terror.

Joe Hill's debut novel, Heart-Shaped Box, is so hip and so frightening that you can expect to see some scaredy copy cats next year.

Aging metal rock god, Jude Coyne, is enjoying his semi-retirement on his reclusive farm with his beloved dogs, current groupie girlfriend, Georgia, and a creepy hobby, collecting objects des macabres. In his collection Jude owns a used hangman's noose, a signed confession from a witch, and a cannibal cookbook. Now Jude is about to add a ghost to his collection. The spectre resides in an old-fashioned Sunday suit and he's on a revenge mission.

Hill employs a tone that is gleefully morbid and drives a plot that plunges and flies like a rollercoaster trying to dump all of its shrieking passengers. Sprinkled liberally with snarky humor and ghoulish jokes, teens will get a kick out of this novel that pays homage to Stephen King.

This book was discussed on The Walt Bodine Show 's Book Doctors program March 12, 2007. 2007. KCUR 89.3