Tuesday, October 13, 2009
devil bones by Kathy Reichs .
This book was written in 2008 and it is the latest novel by Kathy Reichs to be published in paperback. This is the 11th book in the series to feature Dr. Temperance Brennan, the forensic anthropologist. This book has 370 pages, after which there is a transcribed interview with Kathy Reichs, where she does a simple question/answer session about her books and work. Kathy explains that she is under contract to write 14 novels. devil bones is the 6th book written by Kathy that I have read so far.
devil bones is about minority religions, religions that ignorant people may class simply as devil worship. It features in fair detail the syncretic religion of Santeria and Wicca , a neopagan, nature-based religion. This story explores religious ritual and the ignorance that can be whipped up in society about minority religious belief systems. This book is okay, it passes my quality threshold but it is not as good as cross bones or bones to ashes .
Kathy writes well and she can be very descriptive, for example on page 21...
Though faint, the odor was unmistakable. Sweet and fetid, it heralded the presence of rotting flesh.
But this wasn't the cloying, gut-churning smell with which I am so familiar. The reek of active putrefaction. Of innards ravaged by maggots and scavengers. Of flesh greened and bloated by water. No other stench can compete with that. It seeps into your pores, your nostrils, your lungs, your clothing, rides you home like smoke from a bar. Long after showering, it lingers in your hair, your mouth, your mind.
This was gentler. But still undeniable.
Kathy is also technical but she explains procedures well, for example on page 45...
Fordisc 3.0 is an anthropometric program that employs a statistical procedure called discriminant function analysis, or DFA. DFA's rely on comparison to reference groups composed of known membership, in this case skulls of individuals whose race and sex have been documented, and whose measurements have been entered into the database. "Unknowns," such as the Greenleaf skull, are compared to the "knowns" in the reference groups, and evaluated as to similarity and difference.
Kathy, although dealing a lot with death, does display a light humour in the narative, for example on page 304...
I knew I was ranting, couldn't help myself. Finney was dead. Slidell was snubbing me. Tyrell had just fired me. Ryan wasn't at fault. But he was there in my face so he took the hit.
"And look at you." I flapped an agitated hand at Ryan. "You're almost fifty. Who the hell are the Dead Milkmen?"
"Beats me."
"You're wearing the T-shirt of a group you don't even know?" Disdainful.
"I figured it was a charity for the widows and orphans of deceased dairy workers." Delivered deadpan.
That did it.
I laughed.
...So, that ends my season of reading 5 Kathy Reich novels in a row! I have started another book today and it seems rather strange to loose Dr. Temperance Brennan from my daily thoughts, not unlike the finishing of an affair! Now, what am I to do with that box of latex gloves?
This book was written in 2008 and it is the latest novel by Kathy Reichs to be published in paperback. This is the 11th book in the series to feature Dr. Temperance Brennan, the forensic anthropologist. This book has 370 pages, after which there is a transcribed interview with Kathy Reichs, where she does a simple question/answer session about her books and work. Kathy explains that she is under contract to write 14 novels. devil bones is the 6th book written by Kathy that I have read so far.
devil bones is about minority religions, religions that ignorant people may class simply as devil worship. It features in fair detail the syncretic religion of Santeria and Wicca , a neopagan, nature-based religion. This story explores religious ritual and the ignorance that can be whipped up in society about minority religious belief systems. This book is okay, it passes my quality threshold but it is not as good as cross bones or bones to ashes .
Kathy writes well and she can be very descriptive, for example on page 21...
Though faint, the odor was unmistakable. Sweet and fetid, it heralded the presence of rotting flesh.
But this wasn't the cloying, gut-churning smell with which I am so familiar. The reek of active putrefaction. Of innards ravaged by maggots and scavengers. Of flesh greened and bloated by water. No other stench can compete with that. It seeps into your pores, your nostrils, your lungs, your clothing, rides you home like smoke from a bar. Long after showering, it lingers in your hair, your mouth, your mind.
This was gentler. But still undeniable.
Kathy is also technical but she explains procedures well, for example on page 45...
Fordisc 3.0 is an anthropometric program that employs a statistical procedure called discriminant function analysis, or DFA. DFA's rely on comparison to reference groups composed of known membership, in this case skulls of individuals whose race and sex have been documented, and whose measurements have been entered into the database. "Unknowns," such as the Greenleaf skull, are compared to the "knowns" in the reference groups, and evaluated as to similarity and difference.
Kathy, although dealing a lot with death, does display a light humour in the narative, for example on page 304...
I knew I was ranting, couldn't help myself. Finney was dead. Slidell was snubbing me. Tyrell had just fired me. Ryan wasn't at fault. But he was there in my face so he took the hit.
"And look at you." I flapped an agitated hand at Ryan. "You're almost fifty. Who the hell are the Dead Milkmen?"
"Beats me."
"You're wearing the T-shirt of a group you don't even know?" Disdainful.
"I figured it was a charity for the widows and orphans of deceased dairy workers." Delivered deadpan.
That did it.
I laughed.
...So, that ends my season of reading 5 Kathy Reich novels in a row! I have started another book today and it seems rather strange to loose Dr. Temperance Brennan from my daily thoughts, not unlike the finishing of an affair! Now, what am I to do with that box of latex gloves?
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