The Whisperer in Darkness (2011)

**

Professor Albert Wilmarth is a skeptic. He is an expert in folklore, but he knows better than to actually believe any of that nonsense. So when tales surface of strange happenings in the hills of Vermont, Wilmarth is, shall we say, unimpressed by the backwoods citizens' claims that they've discovered bizarre tracks and monstrous corpses. Until, that is, he starts getting letters from Henry Akeley, a surprisingly rational and intelligent denizen of the area in question, whose son shows up with evidence to back up his father's claims: a recording of an unearthly voice incanting an unknown language, as well as a few photographs of the strange tracks these beings leave behind. Further correspondence bolsters Akeley's claims--tales of midnight gunfights, dogs gone missing, and a curious whispering in the dark. Wilmarth finally decides to venture into the Vermont hills to see for himself... but what will he find?

Based on H.P. Lovecraft's well-known short story "The Whisperer in Darkness", this film is the second produced by the H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society--their first film being the excellent The Call of Cthulhu (2005). As with the first movie, the filmmakers decided to tailor the medium to the time period in which the story was written. The Call of Cthulhu (written in 1926) was a silent film; The Whisperer in Darkness (written in 1930) is shot with sound, but in black and white, using a combination of vintage and modern techniques to give it the appropriate period feel.

The Doorbell Rang, by Rex Stout

***

It is 1965, and J. Edgar Hoover and the FBI are hot topics in the public mind. Investigative journalist Fred J. Cook has just published The FBI Nobody Knows, and reader (and wealthy widow) Rachel Bruner is so incensed at its accounts of the Bureau's flagrant overreaching and abuses that she sends 10,000 copies of the controversial book to powerful people across the country. Of course, it's not long before Ms. Bruner notices that she has company everywhere she goes--federal company. The FBI is after her--following her, tapping her phones, and otherwise harassing her family and friends. There's only one man in the world who can help her now: corpulent genius and private detective Nero Wolfe. Assisted by his crackerjack second-in-command, decides to put the screws on The Man. Will he be able to protect his client from the most powerful enforcement agency in the country and, more importantly, earn the sizable fee being offered?

Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal, by Christopher Moore

***

The title pretty much tells you everything you need to know--that this is a 're-telling' of Christ's life on earth from the perspective of, well, Biff, who knew Jesus (here called 'Joshua') when he was still in short pants (or the first century Hebrew equivalent). Biff sticks with his pal through thick and thin, through childhood, into young adulthood and a time of self-discovery (the boys track down the three magi who made an appearance at (or around) the first Christmas, in the hope that they can teach Jesus how to be a better Messiah), and culminating in Christ's earthly ministry and death. Biff narration stops shortly after the crucifixion; he is not around for the aftermath, but learns of the resurrection later on, when he himself is 'resurrected' to write his version of events (that is, this book).

Not the best book ever, but much better than I expected. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that Moore addressed Jesus' claims directly and assumed that He was in fact who He said He was. (It can be tempting for modern writers to argue that Jesus was not in fact the Son of God, and that He never claimed to be. Tempting, but clearly contrary to His explicit statements in the Bible.)

Blood and Whiskey: A Cowboy and Vampire Thriller, by Clark Hays and Kathleen McFall

***

A perfectly serviceable sequel to the surprisingly readable The Cowboy and the Vampire.

This installment starts off with Lenny, our favorite conspiracy theorist/munitions expert/militiaman--or rather, with his niece Rose. Rose has been living on the streets in Portland, but a run-in with some very well-dressed cowboys scares her into calling her uncle, and he and BFF Tucker barrel into town, gun a-blazin'. Trouble is, Rose ain't in Portland anymore, and when the two friends run her to earth, they don't like what they find.

Meanwhile, Vampire Queen (and momma to be) Lizzie is having trouble adjusting to her new responsibilities. The fate of her race rests squarely on her sassy shoulders, and it all depends on whether she can 'turn' humans into vampires, thus swelling the diminished ranks of the 'good' vampires (those who eat only bad people) and enabling them to resist the Reptiles (who eat pretty much anyone). She's got to prove her mettle to a whole horde of vampire overlords and deal with some unexpected (and very nasty) visitors, all while protecting the new life (or unlife) growing inside her. Will she be able to save her loved ones . . . and the world?

Real Marriage: The Truth About Sex, Friendship, and Life Together, by Mark & Grace Driscoll

**

A day late and a dollar short is better than never, right?

Mark Driscoll, the shock jock of the Reformed world, waded into the marriage book fray earlier this year with Real Marriage, which is essentially his sermon series on the Song of Solomon distilled into book form. And not distilled all that well, honestly. I suspect many interns were involved, which may explain the rather scattered and disjointed feel of the book.

But let's be honest: Average-to-below-average writing is not exactly unheard of in the evangelical (or even the Reformed) world. And Driscoll's a preacher, not a writer. So let's cut him some slack on the presentation and dive into the substance.

The pros of this book, at least according to the many, many reviews I've seen, are twofold: 1) Driscoll sticks to his complementarian (albeit hyper-masculine) guns, and 2) he addresses the (heretofore largely unexplored) relationship between friendship and marriage. Fair enough, I guess.

No Wind of Blame, by Georgette Heyer

***

Wally Carter is a jerk. He cheats on his wealthy wife Ermyntrude, squanders her money on shady schemes, and even asks her to pay off his pregnant girlfriend (and then moans about how much it sucks for him that he's so broke he has to ask for her help with said blackmail). He's ill-tempered, greedy, and lecherous. He's an indifferent guardian to his adult ward (and heir) Mary, and completely uninterested in his stepdaughter Vicky, a young would-be actress with a penchant for making scenes and a fierce desire to protect her foolish mother from harm. In fact, pretty much the only person he gets along with is his ne'er-do-well neighbor/distant cousin Harold. So when Wally winds up dead, it's a bit of a mystery who did it--after all, there are so many choices! Was it his wronged wife, Ermyntrude? The strong, silent farmer (aptly named Steel) who dotes on her and hates to see her treated so poorly? The impoverished Russian prince who's been staying with the family and making eyes at the wealthy Ermyntrude? Or someone else altogether? When the local constable is at a loss to makes heads or tails of the matter, it becomes clear that this is a  case for Scotland Yard . . . and the delightful (and insightful) Inspector Hemingway.

As with many Heyer mysteries, the murder takes place at a country manor, and the list of suspects includes pretty much everyone staying in the house, along with a few interested neighbors.  The solution is, perhaps, a bit more convoluted than is strictly necessary, but it's still a fun story.

Night Watch, by Sergei Lukyanenko

****

An excerpt of a review posted on Schaeffer's Ghost:

Years before emotionally stunted vampires first sparkled in idyllic mountain meadows, bloodthirsty creatures of the night stalked the streets of Moscow in search of human prey—and they are not the only ones.  To the vampires, shape shifters, and dark sorcerers of the world, humans are a commodity, a resource to be exploited by any means necessary to any end deemed desirable.  The only thing restraining these “Dark Ones” is a treaty with the other side—the agents of Light.  From sunset to sunrise, the Night Watch (“Light Ones”) patrols the city, monitoring the Dark Ones’ compliance with the treaty and, if necessary, punishing the less compliant.  When the sun rises, the Day Watch (Dark Ones) takes over, enforcing the treaty on the Light Ones.  And so the never-ending battle between good and evil has slowed to a Cold War—still deeply serious and intense—but tempered by the restrictions of the treaty.

Full review available here.