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THE REST
OF THE REVIEWS:
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Black Jack Point by Jeff Abbott
In this mystery/thriller we know who
committed the murders and pretty much why, but the intrigue comes from
watching the protagonist and his friends track down the perpetrators while
we see that countdowns to other potential disasters are proceeding.
Treasure hunting, crime drama trappings, boating, local politics, Texas
Beach communities, sex, friendships, betrayals, fast thinking, and violence
and threats of violence all come into play. I have no proof that
Abott is consciously imitating Jeffrey Deaver or was influenced by him, but
many of the scenes and incidents in the book certainly echo Deaver's style
and sensibilities. The book isn't quite up to Deaver's level, but it
is entertaining and I'll look for more from Abbott.
Rated: R
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The Book of Three by Lloyd Alexander
This page-turner of a sword and sorcery
tale was written for young adolescents, but can be enjoyed by those of us
who are much older, too. The action and suspense is leavened with
humor which comes from memorable and very likable characters. And
some of the novel's themes - that we spend far too much time moaning about
what we are not instead of appreciating what we are, that we're all called
on in life to do tasks for which we're not prepared and simply have to carry
on the best we can, that when we're home we long for adventure and when
we're in the middle of an adventure we long for home, that as we grow up
our homes grow smaller, that even an Assistant Pig-Keeper can have honor,
nobility, and a sense of duty, and that there are secret supernatural
forces and beings working out plans which may include you in some way - can
cause adults to think and to wipe a tear or two from their eyes. The
novel echoes the language of the biblical book of Revelation as it tells us
that if one faithfully stands up to everything the enemy throws one's way,
secrets will be revealed and final, ultimate victory achieved. I
can't wait to read the other volumes set in the land of Prydain.
Rated: PG
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Captain Nemo by Kevin J. Anderson
An entertaining adventure/pseudo-sci fi
tale that expands on its fanciful premise that the people, inventions, and
events Jules Verne wrote about were real. Though the fantastic
happens, the characters remain true-to-life, the historical references are
well-researched, and you'll soon be pinching yourself trying to remember
that there never was a Nautilus or a trip around the world in eighty
days. Anderson makes it all seem so authentic. Oh, it's a love
story and a character study, too.
Rated: PG
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Caves of Steel by Isaac Asimov
A robot who can pass for a human works
with a cop to solve a murder. But, while there is a mystery to be
solved in this novel, Asimov is less concerned about it and about future
police procedures than he is with exploring the world, the cultures, the
philosophies, and the societies of the characters, with the clashing of
ideas and ideals, and with speculating about where mankind is
heading. It's interesting to note that while religion is seemingly
dissed as being irrelevant in the book, the Bible underpins many of the
important character developments and a teaching from Jesus informs the
robot's action at one point and helps him act more "human."
Recommended for fans of thoughtful, not suspenseful, science fiction.
Rating: PG/PG-13
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The Gods Themselves by Isaac Asimov
I admit that the science in this novel
went way over my head and made my eyes glaze over, but, fortunately, Asimov
makes enough of it sort of comprehensible so that the reader can know all
that he or she really needs to in order to comprehend the gist of what's
going on. And the novel isn't really about science anyway. It's
about how all scientific breakthroughs are made by fallible creatures and
are therefore tainted, limited, and perhaps even threatened, by politics,
ego, greed, preconceived notions, and self interest. The title of the
novel echoes this theme. It comes from a quote, "Against
stupidity the gods themselves contend in vain." The first third
of the book is the hardest to get through, but when Asimov switches over in
the bulk of the novel to examining the lives, cultures, outlooks, and
sexual practices and mores of the beings on para-Earth and the human
colonists on the moon, the book is hard to put down. Totally
fascinating stuff. Asimov is literate and intelligent and all his
characters are also, in their own ways. Plus, Asimov has a couple
ingenious twists and solutions up his sleeve.
Rated: PG-13
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Doctor Who: Eater Of Wasps by Trevor Baxendale
Everyone's favorite Time Lord and his
companions must deal with a mutating man-monster, swarms of killer wasps
directed by an alien intelligence, a nuclear bomb, the police, a
para-military squad from the future, and the inhabitants of a cozy 1930s
English village right out of All Creatures Great And Small.
Because this is an original story and not a screen play adaptation, and
because the Dr. Who series has veered over the years away from being
children's entertainment, some scenes in the novel are more gross and
brutal than viewers of the television program may be used to. The
Doctor even performs an autopsy! Speaking of The Doctor, he is in his
eighth incarnation here, and though I'm not familiar with it, I found him
to be very Tom Baker-ish - part self-sacrificing hero, part selfish and
absorbed genius, part child, part world-weary adult, part commander, part
eccentric madman, part clown, and part man on a mission. Thrown into
the mix is "part action hero" as well. This Doctor races
across the top of a speeding train, engages in fisticuffs, and roughs
people up to get answers. And though the book raises some questions
about how in control The Doctor really is of himself and how much he does
or doesn't care about those around him, the philosophical and psychological
doubts don't obscure the fact that, at his core, this is the character we
love. The author loves him too, and wisely doesn't let very many
pages ever go by before we check back in with The Doctor. He is
definitely the star of this hard-to-put-down book. Grown-up Dr. Who
fans (like me) will love it.
As a Christian, I appreciated the fact
that the vicar was at least a sympathetic, if not very useful,
character. And though the author never uses the word, the last
chapter comes to the conclusion that The Doctor is "holy," in
other words, different than we are. He looks like a human and
willingly interacts with humans, but he is not a human. To expect him
to think and act like one at all times is a mistake.
Christianity is seen by the squad from
the future as being a dead, "primitive" religion. They
don't even recall what it was all about. Sadly, if I lived in England
and looked around at the state of the churches, I'd be tempted to believe in
that future, too.
Rated: PG-13 for
violence, horror, some coarse talk by those around The Doctor, and for
touching briefly on some adult themes (the lifestyle of a Tristan-like
wastrel; the parentage of an illegitimate child; a broken home; and deaths in
a family).
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Never Dream Of Dying by Raymond Benson
The influence of the James Bond movies
has made itself felt in the James Bond novels over the years. For
instance, in this entertaining entry, there's an action-filled
"pre-credit sequence" which haunts Bond throughout the book;
there are "set pieces" - Bond wreaks havoc at a televised dog
show, during an elaborate stunt sequence for a film, and at a
celebrity-filled screening at the Cannes Film Festival, and takes refuge in
a tourist attraction; Bond incapcitates or kills scores of badguys; there
are several vehicular chases; Bond is aided by cool, high tech gadgets;
several villains' bases are infiltrated or stormed; lots of things get
blown up real good.
Benson writes in an Ian Fleming-like
style, though, and, as in the original novels, here the violence is
sometimes more blunt and brutal than it is on screen. Bond gets
roughed up and injured, and there are torture scenes. Bond's nemesis is a
freakish, possibly supernaturally powered killer, and there's more sex
(though Bond is a "one woman man" here) than in the movies.
Speaking of which, most of the sex occurs "off camera."
However, there are a couple of disturbing paragraphs where Benson decides
to get graphic, but rather than being erotic, they are rather boring (like
reading a sex manual) and make one feel creepy, not romantic. Some
things are better left between the lovers only and to the audiences'
imagination.
A major plot point deals with a previous
case and the death of Bond's wife, Tracy. As one who is interested in
continuity, I appreciated that. And, as in both the movies and the
early books, there are exotic locals, interesting allies, and people we
don't know whether to trust or not.
In our day and age, Bond has new life
fighting terrorists and this novel proves it.
Rated: R
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From The Dust Returned by Ray Bradbury
TV sit-coms have presented us with
families made up of supernatural creatures who look at the world much
differently than we do. Bradbury gives us a family of vampires,
ghosts, werewolves, mummies, witches, a cat, a spider, a mouse, a strange
house, and myriads of different types of spirits, and one human, mortal
boy. But Bradbury isn't going for laughs. For the most part he
plays it straight. And though stories of the family are told,
Bradbury isn't primarily interested in telling stories. He's
interested in conveying atmosphere, mood, feeling, and in conjuring up
forgotten memories in the reader. So, many times the book seems more
poetry than prose and is, therefore, more demanding of the reader than the
average novel. While the world's religions are seen as the enemies of
the creatures who inhabit the book's pages, the religions and the creatures
also share common enemies - wars, modernity, and the rationalistic,
material, scientific view of the world that is so prevalent today.
Still, the book isn't about religion. It's about history, love,
changes, coming-of-age, regrets, alienation, loneliness, the death of eras,
displaced persons, family, and the inner you.
Rated: PG-13
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K-PAX by Gene Brewer
Though this novel seems to denigrate
religion, the story demonstrates that when troubled, hurt people are held
out the promise of a place where life will be different, given a purpose,
and challenged to live a radically different way of life, these things
enable the people to make postive changes in their own lives and the lives
of others. Hmmm...sounds like religion to me! The narrator of the
story is a psychologist who is treating a man who calls himself
"prot" and who may even be an alien from deep space. But it
is the unexplored depths of the human mind that are the main subjects of
study here. Resilient, yet fragile, able to accomplish the seemingly
impossible, yet equally able to fixate on some little thing and to limit
itself, the mind is a mystery worth exploring. Another mystery the
author probes is the nature of reality. There were times as I was
reading this novel that I felt my psyche and my past and my perceptions,
not prot's were the one being probed. I do have one complaint,
though. The author seems never to have met a liberal cause or a new
age-y thought he didn't like. That gets a little tiresome once in a
while. But if you can get past it and want to have your own mind
blown, you might want to pick up this book.
Rated: a hard PG-13 or a
soft R
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Elvis In The Morning by William F. Buckley, Jr.
This story of a fictional friend of Elvis
is a page-turner, that, from what I know of The King, pretty accurately
captures Mr. Presley. But I was left wondering, "What's the
point?" There are certainly enough biographies of Elvis out
there. Given Mr. Buckley's political and philosophical views, perhaps
he wanted to demonstrate that in order to survive in our world, everyone
has to compromise and give up some of their dreams, especially the lead
character who has to leave behind idealistic 60s socialism because only
capitalism could lead to the medical technology necessary to save his wife
and give him the means to support his family. However, the novel
demonstrates that Elvis' compromising and abandoning his first calling is
partly what led to The King's destruction. And though we're meant to
shake our heads over the many inconsistencies and contradictions that were
Elvis Presley, particularly in the area of "love," the book's
protagonist has a quick, meaningless affair himself. Maybe Mr.
Buckley wants us to examine the contradictions in our own lives? Or
maybe the author is merely trying to give us a snapshot of what life was
like in certain circles in the late '50s, the '60s, and early '70s.
Who knows? The book has an uncertain tone - but it was hard to put
down.
Rated: R
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Iron Man: The Armor Trap by Greg Cox
A decent Iron Man and War Machine
adventure (though there is more War Machine in the book than Iron Man) with
plenty of battles. And aren't battles what anyone who picks up a
novel titled Iron Man: The Armor Trap is really looking for?
It's what I was looking for. And the battles compensated for some of
the plot holes.
Rated: PG-13
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Atlantis Found by Clive Cussler
A novel that borrows heavily from Doc
Savage, James Bond, '40s detective stories, and Indiana Jones and Lara
Kroft-like adventures. Dirk Pitt and his intrepid band of
friends/associates go globe-trotting to find evidence of the Lost Continent
and foil a neo-Nazi plot to dominate the world. Adventure mixes with fact,
science fiction, and fantasy. The novel doesn't exactly dare you to
put it down, but it does cajole you to keep going and promises you an
enjoyable enough time if you do.
Rating: PG-13
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The Hanna Swensen Mysteries by Joanne Fluke
Though clearly aimed at women, these
pleasant-to-read novels can be enjoyed by men as well. Each one
continues the tale of the heroine, an independent-minded thiry-something
who has returned to her small, resort hometown of Lake Eden, Minnesota, to
run a bake shop, The Cookie Jar. She is being wooed and pursued by
two eligible men. And she just happens to keep stumbling upon dead
bodies. Then the amateur detective is off and running. The
mysteries themselves are okay - sometimes I can solve them and spot the
twists coming and sometimes I can't - but the real strengths of the books
are their day-to-day portrayals of Hannah's life, and her interactions with
her equally independent-minded cat, Moishe, and her family members
(particularly her sister, Andrea), and the residents of Lake Eden.
While luck often plays a part in bringing Hannah to the right places at the
right times, there is detection and fast-thinking involved in the books as
well. In fact, highlights of the books are the stories and excuses Hannah
and Andrea come up with off-the-cuff in order to gain people's confidences,
information, evidence, and even admission to locations where clues are
located. The sisters are appealing characters and, speaking of
appealing, since Hannah is a baker, each book comes with recipes for the
mouth-watering treats mentioned in its story (several of which I have
enjoyed eating!). I highly recommend both the novels and the recipes.
Rated: PG/PG-13
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Fantastic Four: Redemption of the
Silver Surfer
by Michael Jan Friedman
Though I'm a fan of superheroes and comic
books, novels about Marvel and DC heroes usually leave me cold because they
have any or all of the following defects:
- They concentrate too much on secondary or new
characters.
- There's too much description and
interpretation.
- The heroes don't use their powers and
alibilities much.
- The stories are too straight-forward and
predictable.
- The action scenes are poorly written.
- The heroes and villains don't really seem
totally themselves.
- The characters' histories are explained too
slowly and pedantically.
However, Friedman's novel
has none of these problems. Instead, it's a pretty good Fantastic
Four and Silver Surfer tale that could have come right from the comic
books, as the five travel to the Negative Zone to deal with a Galactus-like
being who destroys worlds. But things may or may not be as they seem
to be and the Surfer may or may not have the opportunity to atone for his
past. Adventures and plot twists abound. And the novel's morals
- no matter what one has gone through in life one can always choose Good
over Evil; there are shades of gray as well as blacks and whites; one
shouldn't just accept what life hands out but one should wrestle with it -
are certainly ones I can endorse. And as a religion/philosophy major,
I appreciated Prodigian's roots in ancient mythologies. There are
some minor plot holes, and though the novel tries to fit into Marvel
continuity, it seems blissfully ignorant of the events of FF #123.
However, none of these things detract from the fact that the book is an
entertaining read.
Rated: PG-13/soft R -
Blastaar can be pretty cruel and brutal at times.
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Thoughts on William Harringtons's
Columbo novels:
If you're expecting the mostly off-camera
and usually bloodless murders of the Columbo TV movies, you'll be shocked
by the violence and gore in these books. Not to mention the graphic
sex and the strong language. Not that Columbo engages in any of these
things. His characterization in the novels is the same as it is on
television, but the rich movers and shakers are portrayed as being real
slimeballs and sickos. There's another difference between the novels
and the TV movies - the novels are basically "police procedurals"
featuring Columbo. And that's okay, because I like "police
procedurals." If you do, too, you'll probably enjoy these books
(as long as you can tolerate the level of "gross out" scenes and
occasionally stomach-turning forensic evidence that you'd find in, say, an
Ed McBain novel). Not that there aren't snatches of the Columbo we
all know and love in every book. In fact, the best book of the series
(and also one of the most graphic), The Helter Skelter Murders, is
much like an R-rated version of a Columbo TV movie would be, with the
Lieutenant bugging a murderous couple who think they've pulled off the
perfect crime, while finding circumstantial evidence and that "one
little thing" which cracks the case and convicts them. There's a
great exchange between the couple in which the man expresses confidence
that Columbo is buying their attempt to frame a former Charles Manson
disciple and the woman wonders why, if that's truly the case, is Columbo
spending all his time hanging around them. The novels are fast-moving
page turners and good "summer reading" any time of the year.
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Right Behind by Mr. Sock and Nathan D. Wilson
This spoof of the bewilderingly popular Left
Behind series is not for everyone, but it had me laughing out
loud. While some might feel that the book is blasphemous, it doesn't
attack the Bible, just one overblown, hyper, poorly thought out
interpretation of it and the implications for the Church and Christian life
of that interpretation. The typical Evangelical/Fundamentalist
mindset is also given a ribbing, as is the shlocky writing style of the Left
Behind books and their predecessors that I was reading back in the
1970s. By the way, Mr. Sock is a sock puppet who, the book's back
cover tells us, "for the last four decades has been carefully
predicting the beginning of the apocalypse as always within the next four
years."
Rated:PG-13
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Magic Time by Marc Scott Zicree and Barbara
Humbly
The first book in a saga that mixes
elements of sword-and-sorcery, sci fi, Stephen King-like horror, and modern
action/adventure stories. SOMEONE or SOMETHING from SOMEWHERE has
entered our world and is transforming it into HIS/HER/ITS own image.
Now an unlikely band of heroes must save the day. The novel moves
right along, exploring a world where electrical power no longer works,
bullets are useless, large numbers of people are slowly changing into who
knows what, and magic holds sway. The characters are also thoroughly
explored, but in ways that don't slow down the plot. There's some
humor and pop culture references sprinkled in without slowing down the
plot. But I need to warn you that some of the descriptions of human
suffering and the infrastructures breaking down may be a little hard to
take.
Rated: R
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Christmas In Harmony by Philip Gulley
This is a pleasant way to spend an hour
as the author spins the tale of Christmas in a small church in an equally
small town. Philip Gulley understands the strange dynamics of
committees and congregational meetings. He also understands bulldozer
personalities who try to get their own way. In this case, a
"church boss" has the bright (?) idea to do a "Progressive
Nativity Scene," and, of course, complications ensue. Gulley is
familiar with the tensions found in a tradition-bound group that finds its
identity and comfort in routine and memories of the past, when trying out
new things. These tensions lead to the congregation in the story
being upset that there were so many visitors at a Christmas Eve service
that the regulars couldn't sit in their usual pews. Believe me,
stranger things have happened in small churches in our real world!
The book, as enjoyable as it is, has three weaknesses. First, it's
unsure of what sort of universe it takes place in. Incidents of total
parody and outrageous satire take place alongside of things designed to
seem real and to tug at our heartstrings. Second, neither the pastor
nor most of the congregation seem to believe much of anything. Only
the wackos in the story do. Third, in our day and age when clergy sex
scandals fill the newspapers and airwaves, do we really need to read about
a supposedly happily married pastor obsessing on a former high school
beauty queen?
Rated: PG
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From A Buick 8 by Stephen King
King uses a tale of The Alien Thing That
Lives In The Shed as a means of exploring a more horrific concept - what if
life has no purpose and everything that happens is just a series of random
events, the only predictable thing being that everyone will one day
die. Some of King's books are about Good vs. Evil, even on Cosmic
Levels, but this one is very much like the Book Of Ecclesiastes. Its
viewpoint being that there isn't anyone upstairs in charge who cares about
you and your life and there's no way to ever figure out life's mysteries,
if they even have any solutions. Since everything is meaningless, the
best we can do is to enjoy whatever little pleasures we can find and throw
ourselves wholeheartedly into jobs so that we won't be thinking frustrating
thoughts that are too big and troubling for us.
The characters in the book are
Pennsylvania State Troopers who not only have to find some way to cope with
the horrors connected with The Thing, but with the gruesome aftermaths of
traffic accidents, suicides, domestic disputes, etc. The story is one
that anyone in a "helping" profession, who routinely sees exactly
what living in a fallen world among fallen humans means, can relate
to. It's about trying to copy and move on while facing an endless
stream of tragedies. It also explores the questions of why what gets
bent can never be straightened, and why do people continue destructive
behaviors when they know they should quit? And why do good people die
young and senselessly while worthless, or even evil, people just keep
pointlessly living on and on?
Read this novel and then read the book of
Ecclesiastes. (Then maybe Psalm 73 and the Gospel Of John before
you're tempted to cash in your chips.) Ecclesiastes ends with
"...the dust returns to the ground it came from and the spirit returns
to God who gave it. 'Meaningless! Meaningless!' says the
Teacher. 'Everything is meaningless!'...of making many books there is
no end, and much study wearies the body. Now all has been heard; here
is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for
this is the whole duty of man..." Near the end of King's novel,
Sandy says, "You don't know where you came from or where you're going,
do you? But you live with it just the same. Don't rail against
it too much. Don't spend more than an hour a day shaking your fists
at the sky and cursing God...There are Buicks everywhere."
Buicks stand for cosmic irrationality, injustice or maybe no ultimate
justice at all, the many causes of death, and possibly supernatural beings
or forces that delight in messing with you. The book is a
page-turner, though reading it, because of its themes, is not always a
pleasant experience. Nor, like the book of Ecclesiastes, is it meant
to be.
The State Trooper stuff is fascinating
and has an authentic ring to it. And, as one who has a family tree
deeply rooted in the Keystone State, I can tell you that King gets the
Pennsylvania part right, too. The characters, setting, atmosphere,
and day-to-day bits feel so Pennsylvanian they made me homesick.
The last couple of chapters pack an
emotional wallop as familial love may just be what can save one from
despair - or worse. Or maybe not. And maybe we can get a handle
on our questions and even triumph, in a sense, over them by living our
lives. And maybe we can't. Maybe Life is greater that
Chaos. And maybe that's just an illusion. Maybe Death has the
last word.
Recommended for those who like to wrestle
with theology, psychology, and personal demons as they read
sci-fi/fantasy/horror novels. That's me!
Rated: R for language,
sexual innuendoes, adult themes (in the best sense of the term), and
graphic descriptions of violence and its aftermath.
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James Bond: The Authorized Biography
of 007 by John
Pearson
This novel starts with the premise that
Bond was a real person that Ian Fleming wrote about. It sets out to
fill in the backstory and personal histroy that Fleming left out of his
books. We learn about Bond's early years and where his attitudes
toward "the good life" and women came from. We see Bond
being trained and learn of missions and exploits that Fleming didn't
mention such as Bond's adventures in World War II and his encounter with a
death cult and its "goddess." The book reads as though
Fleming himself wrote it and fascinates the reader throughout. It's
one weakness is its explanation of why the Secret Service let Fleming write
his novels. But, other than that, I recommend it to old school Bond
fans. You'll even find out which Bond girl James still has a
relationship, of worts, with when he's middle-aged.
Rating: R
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Mother Night by Kurt Vonnegut
A superbly written examination of the
irrationality of hatred and the belief systems and political structures
that support it, as well as a meditation on the fact that even the most devilish
of men can have very human sides to them. The novel purports to be
the memoirs of Howard W. Campbell, Jr., a man awaiting trial in Israel for
war crimes. Ironically, though, while he was a Nazi propagandist in
World War II, he was actually an agent for the Americans. Irony could
almost be considered as a character in the book because it is prevalent
throughout Campbell's life story. While the book doesn't blame God
for Man's hatreds and thinks it's unfair to try to associate Him with
humanity's ills, it does ask the question, "Why doesn't God intervene
more often?" And how does one carry on after one has gone
through life's wars and seemingly received little help and no answers from
the Divine? Campbell throws himself into creative, committed, erotic,
monogamous love, and gets a little help from his friends. However, he
knows that people, and he himself, are changeable. Ironically enough
again, the things he has to trust in - himself and others - are the
creatures he knows to be untrustworthy.
Rated: R
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