Tuesday, July 01, 2008

Entropy by Anthony Lawrence Gordon and I've got the I Can't Change My Sidebar Blues

Entropy by Anthony Lawrence Gordon
Copyright 2008, CreateSpace
137 pages, including bonus short story
Author's blog, here

Cover blurb:

When it all seems to be falling apart....
Gradually but irresistibly, events in Nick's life have spun out of control and Nick can only hold on and survive. He finds himself trying to understand the ending of past relationships while becoming involved in new ones, and he finds himself falling in love. As everything seems to be falling apart, Nick tries to piece together the pieces, tries to restore order. Halt the entropy.

What led you to pick up this book? I saw J. Kaye's comment about the author needing additional reviewers and the link to Booking Mama's review of Entropy. It sounded good, so I requested a copy.

Summarize the plot but don't give away the ending. A man who suffers from loss and loneliness gets involved with a couple who are into kinky sex and drugs, leading him into a downward spiral.

What did you like most about the book? It flowed well and was compelling, so I kept reading although what happened in the book really was pretty racy and disgusting. Entropy is definitely different from my typical reading material.

What did you think of the characters? The protagonist is a bit of a wimp, although he occasionally tries to yank himself out of the mess he's gotten himself into. I kept hoping he'd stand up for himself and say, "Nope, I'd rather be in my empty house than hang out with you two weirdos."


Share a favorite scene from the book: Strange but true . . . I liked the tragic ending. Everything in the book led to the ending. It fit; it worked. I won't give away what happens in the end, but I thought it was very well described and perfect for the story.

Iffy on recommendation: Entropy is a pretty good book, but it's about sex and drug addiction. So, it's packed with scene after scene of graphic sex and drug use. I don't enjoy reading sex scenes; I just don't. The description of the book didn't indicate that there would be characters with a sex addiction or I would not have requested the book. However, the book is a very quick read. The "What's going to happen?" question pulls the reader through the book. I would simply caution readers to avoid it if you dislike graphic sex; it's not family friendly. If that doesn't bother you, Entropy is a decent read -- not brilliant or lyrical in any way, but I thought the tone worked for the story. It's just not my thing.

In general, I feel the same as Michele:

"I expected to read about a man's struggle with choices he's made, reactions to things that have happened to him, and his thoughts and actions as he grows or at least moves through the current events in his life. However, that's not what I read. The book focuses on the choices Nick makes, or others makes for him, with a friend from work and his wife. It focuses on drugs and sex, lots of sex that makes him uncomfortable and definitely made me uncomfortable."

Read other complete reviews, here:
Booking Mama
Cheryl's Book Nook
Michele - only one 'L'

Totally unnecessary aside: "Entropy" just happens to be one of my favorite words. I love the sound of it and I'm fascinated by the concept. I'm sure that influenced my decision to request the book.

Yesterday was a good mail day. When the mail truck arrived and the postal worker reversed then pulled into my driveway, I assumed there must be a book or two in the mail. Sure enough, I came inside with a little pile:

The Questory of Root Karbunkulus by Kamilla Reid (fantasy)- I got two copies of this one, so watch for a giveaway
Down to a Sunless Sea by Mathias B. Freese (short stories)
What if . . . ? by Steve N. Lee (eco-thriller, I think)
Legerdemain by James J. Heaphey (history)

I'll be diving into this pile, immediately.

The I Can't Change My Sidebar Blues: For the second time this year, I'm unable to make changes to my sidebar. I can get to the "edit layout" page, but only the top 6 items can be viewed or altered. The scroll bar halts, at that point. So, I'm unable to change photos, add to my links or update my "currently reading" and "recently finished" categories. Grrr, frustrating. Please bear with me while I wait for the situation to resolve itself.

Not a great photo, but here's one of the fun sights I got to view through my mother's window, while I was in Oklahoma -- bunny chase!!! Squeeeee!

Happy Tuesday!

21 comments:

  1. Nancy, I don't know if I've told you lately, but you totally rock.

    Just thought you should know.

    Entropy sounds very interesting...I'll have to look it up. And I just posted new pictures of Wesley, thought you might like to see ;)

    I'm going to try to get the girl sometime this weekend. It's hard to catch her sometimes.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Heather,

    I rock? Why, thank you! :)

    Want my copy of Entropy? I'm sure the author would love it if I passed it on to another blogger. More reviews, right? LOL

    I'll dash right over to see the Wesley pics. Mine got so sick of being photographed that they're both hard to catch (especially now that my eldest lives out of state -- have to work fast before he gets sick of me, when I see him!). Thanks for telling me!!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous5:51 PM

    Of course you rock! You didn't know that? I've been reading a lot about this book on blogs and I really wondered if the sex was as graphic everyone has said. Well, you put that question to rest...lol!

    Great review!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Anonymous6:03 PM

    Bunny chase! Awesome.

    Entropy sounds like a book I should avoid, considering how I'm feeling about sex-therapist main character of th book I'm reading. He's uncomfortable? And stays? Moron.

    ReplyDelete
  5. J.Kaye,

    I think I'd assumed I'm too old to rock although I feel plenty rocky. LOL Thanks, you guys are too cool!

    So, I got it across that the book is really heavy on the sex, then. Yep, it's definitely graphic.

    Thank you muchly. :)

    Carrie,

    Isn't that cool? I was watching Bunny #1 munch away on Mom's grass when Bunny #2 showed up and looked at Bunny #1 like, "What the hell? What're you doing eating my grass?" It was hilarious. They ran around her little juniper tree three times.

    Yeah, I'd avoid it if you don't like a character who is uncomfortable with the kinky things he's doing but can't pull himself away. Moron is right. I wanted to klonk him on the head.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Great photo, as always.

    And I cannot imagine a book that I would imagine you reading less than this one...

    But, I have a quote for you. It's from an old TV series called Witchblade:

    Dante: Where is she? Where's Sara Pezzini?
    Ian: She graces the intersection of primal cause and pervasive entropy.

    It's a great word.

    cjh

    ReplyDelete
  7. Thanks, CJ.

    I know. On reflection, I'm surprised that I finished. It's definitely not my type of book!

    Oooh, great quote!! Entropy is a terrific word, isn't it?

    ReplyDelete
  8. Oh, I got those short stories myself and the book looks think enough to manage in one gulp and write a scatthingly fast review.

    Anyways this sounds liek a novel, I would love to read. I grew to like explicit French movie art and it has lots of uncomfortable sex, so yup, this is a novel for me. Thanks for the review.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Daydream,

    Your comment is similar to my thoughts -- I'm reading Root Karbunkulus, but I'll probably slide in some Sunless Sea, later on today. I like the size. :)

    Funny. Those French flicks can be pretty bizarre, but at least one of my favorite movies is French: Le Bossu (anglicized to En Guard for sale in the U.S.). You're welcome. You might want to try contacting the author to see if he needs any more reviewers.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Sorry to hear about your back. Once in a while H screws his up and is out of commission for a few days. Hasn't happened in quite a while, fingers crossed!
    For your sidebar blues, try using a different browser. Ever since I put my own header in and messed with the HTML, I've had that problem with the sidebar elements not fully loading (in Firefox). I usually use Firefox but when I want to update my sidebar I use another, like Internet Explorer, or now Safari (Mac browser) and it always seem to work fine there. (shrugs)

    ReplyDelete
  11. Oh, I think anthologies are hard to review as I like to mention every single story in them. Right now I am juggling three titles all near the end and I canät wait to get some free time from one of them to start the next. Quite frankly I don't think I can handle a new one on my list.

    As for French movies. You shouls see Angel-A. One of the most brilliant movies by Luc Beson.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Nat,

    Thanks. This back thing is a new experience for me. I'm enjoying the reading time, but I really would like to get to the point I can go walk in the park. After a while you start to feel like a toad. LOL

    I do use Firefox, so I'll try Microsoft, later on, thanks. I'm currently working on my old laptop and it's got just Firefox, I think. Kiddo played on my desktop computer and it's down with a virus, at the moment. Teenagers. LOL

    Daydream,

    You know what I usually do with anthologies? I choose a few favorite stories and just briefly describe them, with a general opinion of the entire book. That's worked well for me. I've recently started a blog for short stories only, though, in case I feel like elaborating. I posted once before leaving for Oklahoma, and that's it, but I'll get back to it. You probably don't want to do that, since you already have plenty of blogs, right?

    I've heard of Luc Beson, but not Angel-A. I'll look it up, thanks. I tend to really love European (and sometimes Japanese) flicks because they aren't stuck in a rut, using the same old boring format as Hollywood. It gets really tiresome when you realize you can pretty much always predict an ending, you know?

    ReplyDelete
  13. sorry, i lost interest after seeing all that 'falling'... :(

    ReplyDelete
  14. Entropy IS a fun word! (Great review...will have to check this one out.)

    ReplyDelete
  15. Laughingwolf,

    That's okay. No book is for absolutely everyone. :) Pssst, I deleted your other two messages. Yeah, I have to approve -- had too much spam trouble when I tried to remove comment moderation. Thanks for visiting!

    Jess,

    Isn't it? I love the way it sounds. Watch my blog -- I'm thinking I'll make this one a giveaway if Heather doesn't claim it, since I offered it to her. Thank you for visiting my blog! :)

    ReplyDelete
  16. Entropy--reminds me too much of college science. One of my favorite words is serendipity.

    And if a tragic endings works--sometimes I prefer it to the happy ending. Not sure what that says about me. ;)

    ReplyDelete
  17. Trish,

    Serendipity is a great word, too, definitely.

    Well, in my case, I want the ending to fit the rest of the book. Sometimes a tragic ending is simply what has to occur, you know? Usually, I prefer sweetness and light, but I don't care for deus ex machina endings or endings that are totally wrong for a book, even if that means I have to run for the tissues.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Interesting book. Bummer about the sidebar.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Myutopia,

    It's definitely interesting. :)

    Nat advised me to try using a different browser and it worked! My sidebar is up-to-date! Now, I need to go take some new nature pics.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Yay! I'm glad it worked. I don't know why it's like that, a little Firefox/Blogger incompatibility?
    I do love your Monochromatic Critter Chronicles! :)
    BTW, did you want to be entered in my giveaway, since you haven't specified a book? Or you never know, you may love 'Roxanna Slade'.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Nat,

    I don't know why it worked, but I'm relieved! It's quite annoying not to be able to change the sidebar; I feel like it makes the blog look like I've moved out. Thanks for the help! And, thank you for the compliment on the critter pics. :)

    Oh, hmm, I guess you may as well enter me for Roxanna. True, you never know!

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for visiting my blog! I use comment moderation because apparently my blog is a spam magnet. Don't worry. If you're not a robot, your comment will eventually show up and I will respond, with a few exceptions. If a comment smacks of advertising, contains a dubious link or is offensive, it will be deleted. I love to hear from real people! I'm a really chatty gal and I love your comments!