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06-03-10: Three Books with Alan Cheuse

The Millennium Trilogy by Stieg Larsson, The Nearest Exit by Olen Steinhauer, The Passage by Justin Cronin


Even as I type the write-up of this podcast on my hopefully-working computer, I'm getting ready for another confab with Mr. Cheuse later this week. I trust that readers will understand that it will take me a few days to catch up with myself. The last time I caught up with NPR's Alan Cheuse, we were both reading a batch of thrillers that generally speaking, lived up to that description.

One of the most difficult things to admit as a reader, to experience as a reader, is the end.

The end of a great novel; the end of a great series; the end of an author's work. Knowing, that you can never read a book from an author whose work you enjoy for the first time again. This is the end.

In this, case, the end comes with more bangs than whimpers, but plenty of both in 'The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest' by Stieg Larsson. If you've been hiding under a rock, or more likely, swapping out one logic board after another in the faint hope of getting your computer to the point where you can once again return to your normal workflow, (only to find yourself up against a gnarly license manager that thinks your trying to steal the product you paid $600 for), then you might not have noticed that in your absence, the late Stieg Larsson slipped in and conquered the world of bestselling, intelligent thrillers. Alan and I first set our sights to discuss these books, so that the esteemed critic may suggest why they are more than worth your valuable time.

Worth your time as well is 'The Nearest Exit,' by Olen Steinhauer, his sequel to 'The Tourist,' featuring the return of Milo Weaver. For readers who like murky, grey-on-grey espionage novels with characters as complicated as the plots they are caught up in, this is a great way to vacation in Berlin. But please make sure you read 'The Tourist' first to fully enjoy your stay.

And speaking of extended vacations, Alan and I talk about 'The Passage,' which, as noted above is but the door-stopping first of a trilogy that starts with the end of the world, then works forward from there. There's a science fiction explanation to what happens here, but no, this isn't the giant grasshopper apocalypse of 'The Beginning of the End.' There's plenty of material to talk about here, and you can hear Cheuse and I discuss this week's Armageddon by following this link to the MP3 audio file.



06-02-10: The Agony Column Live


A Panel Discussion with Guy Gavriel Kay and Zachary Mason, March 8, 2010

The idea is sort of to build an avalanche. You plant the seeds of the snowball and sent it downhill, Pretty soon you don't have to do anything. It's a panel discussion and the authors are talking to one another as well as to the moderator — in this case, me.

Zachary Mason and Guy Gavriel Kay and I had a very entertaining conversation about how and why they write fiction that falls just a bit outside of every easily-defined genre.

It's not easy to set up an event that involves two authors. Even one can be a challenge; thus the May 22 appearance at the Capitola Book Café by Carlos Ruiz Zafón ends up getting postponed. But having managed to get Mason and Kay sitting at the table with me, it was not difficult to get them talking. As they did talk, I began to re-think the seating arrangement. Maybe the moderator shouldn't sit in the center. I'll certainly explore that possibility in upcoming events.


Moreover, I definitely want to get out into the audience when we take the break, just to get a sense of who comes to the events, and to find out what the audience wants to hear in the discussion. You can hear the first Agony Column Live panel discussion with Zachary Mason and Guy Gavriel Kay by following this link to the MP3 audio file.



06-01-10: A 2010 Interview with Karl Marlantes

"..these are common human foibles and failings, it's just that they get magnified in a combat, war situation..."
— Karl Marlantes

When you read Karl Marlantes' 'Matterhorn' you'll find an impeccably crafted and powerful novel — period. In a sense it's a historical novel, insomuch as it is set in Vietnam during our war, but it is so immersive, so engaging, and so foreign to our experiences now that it reads like a science fiction novel. For all the passion, power and strangeness in the novel, you'll find Marlantes himself to be quite a scholar. He's really quite down-to-earth.

I spoke with Marlantes at KQED bright and early at, what, 8:30 AM on a Monday morning? I had no idea what to expect, but I think listeners will find his story of writing the book and the stories behind the book nearly as amazing as the novel itself. You can understand why they put him in charge; he has the naturally powerful voice of a leader.

As an interviewer, in these sorts of situations, there are many temptations. One is to simply focus on Marlantes' own time in Vietnam, which is certainly germane, but only so much. I could easily have spent most of the interview talking about the thirty-year process of writing 'Matterhorn.' And I could simply focus on the wild events in the book itself, but I trust that at this point most listeners will understand that I eschew talking about the plot; I want to illuminate, not ruin the reading experience. The interview opens with four short readings to give a flavor of the novel, separated by bits of music from Jon Hassell. You can actually hear the gears grinding in my tiny little brain and Marlantes' entertaining responses by following this link to the MP3 audio file.



New to the Agony Column

02-01-12: Commentary : Stan Lee Splashes 'Stan Lee's How to Write Comics' and 'Stan Lee's How to Draw Comics' : Lessons in the Form, From the Master

Agony Column Podcast News Report: A 2012 Interview with Stan Lee : "When we got a telephone, it was a big thing."

01-31-12: Commentary : Archive Review: Lucius Shepard 'Floater' : Why We See the Way We See

Agony Column Podcast News Report UPDATE: Time to Read, Episode 29: Dave Barry and Alan Zweibel : Lunatics

01-30-12: Commentary : Dave Barry and Alan Zweibel Meet 'Lunatics' : Craft, Timing, Character and Laughs

Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2012 Interview with Alan Zeibel and Dave Barry : A 2012 Interview with Alan Zeibel and Dave Barry

01-26-12: Agony Column Podcast News Report UPDATE: Ian Shoales, in Cooperation with KQED : NASA

01-25-12: Commentary : Laurie R. King and Leslie S. Klinger Perform 'A Study in Sherlock' : Holmes as Archetype and Inspiration

Agony Column Podcast News Report : The Agony Column Live with Laurie R. King : January 21, 2012 : "Conan Doyle was never convinced by Holmes."

01-24-12: Commentary : Archive Review: Neal Asher 'The Skinner' : The Balm of Violent Ecology

Agony Column Podcast News Report : Time to Read, Episode 28: Sara Paretsky : Breakdown

01-23-12: Commentary : Sara Paretsky Nails 'Breakdown' : The Machine Stops

Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2012 Interview with Sara Paretsky : "Everything in a courtroom is a story; it's not justice, it's combating narratives."

01-18-12: Commentary : Téa Obreht Conjures 'The Tiger's Wife' : The Grammar of Vision

Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2012 Interview with Téa Obrecht : "I had been raised with three religions..."

Agony Column Podcast News Report UPDATE: Ian Shoales, in Cooperation with KQED : Consumer

01-17-12: Commentary : Archive Review: Randall Sullivan Becomes 'The Miracle Detective' : Investigating a Spiritual Journey

Agony Column Podcast News Report : Time to Read, Episode 27: John Lescroart : The Hunter

01-16-12: Commentary : Michael Gazzaniga Asks 'Who's in Charge?' : Dream Lives of a Narrative Species

Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2012 Interview with Michael Gazzaniga : "I started flashing things left and right field ..."

01-13-12: Commentary : Hard Case Subterranean Block : Not from Bob's Basement Tapes

Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2012 Phone Interview with Lisa Randall : "...there seems to be some evidence, especially from one of the experiments."

Agony Column Podcast News Update : Ian Shoales, in Cooperation with KQED : Siri and Newt

01-10-12: Commentary : Archive Review: Terry D'Auray Catches Lawrence Block and 'The Burglar on the Prowl' : "A show well worth the price of a ticket."

Agony Column Podcast News Report : Time to Read, Episode 26: Steven Naifeh and Gregory White Smith : Van Gogh: The Life

01-09-12: Commentary : John Lescroart Unleashes 'The Hunter' : Detective as Mystery

Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2012 Interview with John Lescroart : "...it's all about the details..."

01-05-12: Commentary : Adrian Bejan and J. Pedar Zane Reveal 'Design in Nature' : First Law of Flow

Agony Column Podcast News Report : Speaking Frankly With Thomas Frank : Semper Infidelis

01-03-12: Commentary : Tom Standage Unveils 'The Turk' : The Life and Times of the Famous Eighteenth-Century Chess-Playing Machine

Agony Column Podcast News Report : Podcast Update: Time to Read, Episode 25: Jonathan Lethem : The Ecstasy of Influence

01-02-12: Commentary : Steven Naifeh and Gregory White Smith 'Van Gogh: The Life' : "As my work is, so am I."

Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2011 Interview with Steven Naifeh and Gregory White Smith : "... he was such a voracious reader ..."

12-29-11: Commentary : My Life in the Bush of Books : Island of Vice by Richard Zacks, Iago by David Snodin, The Coincidence Engine by Sam Leith and The Dipatcher by Ryan David Jahn

Agony Column Podcast News Report : The Agony Column Live, October 8, 2011 : Josh Mohr and Steven R. Boyett

12-28-11: Commentary : Pamela Jackson and Jonathan Lethem Reveal 'The Exegesis of Philip K. Dick' : Science Fiction Testaments

Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2011 Interview with David Goyer and Michael Cassutt : "Our approach was: 'OK, what happens next?'"

12-27-11: Commentary : Archiving 'Chronic City' : Re-Sync

Agony Column Podcast News Report : Time to Read, Episode 24: Robert K. Massie : Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman

12-26-11: Commentary : Jonathan Lethem Enjoys 'The Ecstasy of Influence: Nonfictions, Etc.' : The Non-Fictional Storyteller

Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2011 Interview with Jonathan Lethem : "I'm amazed to be taken so seriously as I am."

12-22-11: Agony Column Podcast News Report UPDATE : Ian Shoales, in Cooperation with KQED : Current Events

12-21-11: Commentary : Cold Hand in Mine by Robert Aickman : From the Seedy to the Sublime

Agony Column Podcast News Report : Three Books with Alan Cheuse : 'Kill Bin Laden' ; Ryu Mitsuse, '10 Billion Days and 100 Billion Nights' ; Michael Crichton and Richard Preston, 'Micro'

12-20-11: Commentary : David Blackbourn Visits 'Marpingen: Apparitions of the Virgin Mary in a Nineteenth-Century German Village' : Externalizing a Culture Clash

Agony Column Podcast News Report : Time to Read, Episode 23: David Vann : Last Day on Earth: A Portrait of the NIU School Shooter

12-19-11: Commentary : Robert K. Massie Paints 'Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman' : Balancing a Life

Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2011 Interview With Robert K. Massie : "...she abolished capital punishment..."

12-15-11: Commentary : Ayize Jama-Everett Reveals 'The Liminal People' : The Powers That Be

Agony Column Podcast News Report : The Agony Column Live with Lisa Goldstein and Ayize Jama-Everett, and music by Fenyang Smith, December 10, 2011 : "... let's look at what happens if people have abilities that other people don't have ..."

12-14-11: Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2011 Interview with Peter Orner : "...the humor of hard things is what gets us through it."

12-12-11: Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2011 Interview with David Vann : "...we're out of control, and we're a nation built on giant lies."

12-07-11: Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2011 Interview with Vicki Goldberg : "Most of the images were in the digital archive."

12-05-11: Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2011 Interview with Sue Grafton : "Go to Sears, get a hammer and knock the guy on the head."

11-28-11: Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2011 Interview with Scott Wallace : "Within months of first contact, these groups experience a huge die-off."

11-22-11: Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2011 Interview with Charles Frazier, Part Two : "It's not me telling you, there's this storyteller voice."

11-21-11: Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2011 Interview with Charles Frazier : "If we're going in the wrong direction, we could turn around and go back."

11-17-11: Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2011 Interview with Gianni Mola : "The only way you can learn, I told them, is to watch me cook it."

11-11-11: Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2011 Interview with Karl Marlantes : "...the way I "think" about things, with quotes around think, is I tend to write them down..."

11-07-11: Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2011 Interview with Lawrence Lessig : "The first constitution was a complete disaster."

10-31-11: Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2011 Interview with Colson Whitehead : "In the Apocalypse, somebody's gonna have to do the grunt work..."

10-24-11: Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2011 Interview with Michael Reynier : "I just started typing..."

10-17-11: Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2011 Interview with Russell Banks : "They are in a sense, permanently marked and thrown into this darkness..."

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