Lit Fest Magazine (litfest) - Sherman Oaks, CA (96 books)

Lit Fest Magazine is now friends with Sheryl Monks

Lit Fest Magazine voted for Every Thing on It in Best Middle Grade & Children's in the Final Round of the 2011 Goodreads Choice Awards.

cast your vote

Lit Fest Magazine gave

to:

A Better Man
by Audrey Lynn (Goodreads Author)

My rating:

Lit Fest Magazine is now following Bradley's reviews

Lit Fest Magazine gave

to:

The Silent Pulpit
by Donald Allen Kirch (Goodreads Author)

My rating:

A priest gives himself to God, marrying the church and devoting himself to the word of the lord, but in Donald Allen Kirch’s novella, “The Silent Pulpit” we are forced to contemplate the cost of such devotion. Author Donald Allen Kirch, who so maste...more

Lit Fest Magazine is currently reading:

Machine of Death: A Collection of Stories About People Who Know How They Will Die
by Ryan North

My rating:

Lit Fest Magazine said "yes" to attending the event: NEW STUFF AT LIT FEST

date: February 14, 2011 11:05AM
location: www.litfestmagazine.com, The United States
description: This week Lit Fest Magazine has some incredible new material. Our February Guest Blogs enter their second week with authors Kim Harrison, Robert Barclay, Lisa Dierbeck and editor Matthew Bennardo.

New Book reviews include the awesome MOONLIGHT FALLS by Vincent Zandri.

And what everyone has been waiting for, the long awaited conclusion to our exclusive novella by Donald Allen Kirch, THE SILENT PULPIT.

Come by and enjoy: www.litfestmagazine.com! Also, enter a contest while your there!

Lit Fest Magazine became a fan of Goodreads Author Pat Bertram and Goodreads Author Julie K. Rose

Lit Fest Magazine gave

to:

Dust City
by Robert Paul Weston (Goodreads Author)

My rating:

Dust City
by
Robert Paul Weston

I would have picked up Dust City by Robert Paul Weston on my own if I had seen it on the shelf at a bookstore. Modern, gritty next-generation re-imagining of the Grimm fairytale world? Yes, please, and seconds while you'...more
Dust City
by
Robert Paul Weston

I would have picked up Dust City by Robert Paul Weston on my own if I had seen it on the shelf at a bookstore. Modern, gritty next-generation re-imagining of the Grimm fairytale world? Yes, please, and seconds while you're at it. It's like someone wrote a book for me.

Henry Whelp, son of Little Red Riding Hood's big bad wolf (who is currently doing time in prison for the infamous double homicide), has been bounced around the foster system his entire life, until he finally ends up in juvenile hall. Because he's a wolf, and anthropomorphic animals can't get a fair shake in a society run by hominids, Henry hasn't got much to look forward to on either side of the reformatory wall. That is, until his father contacts him, asking for help finding out how he was framed. Soon, Henry finds himself involved in the city's seedy fairydust-pushing underbelly, fighting for his life, as well as the lives of all the other disenfranchised scum.

Dust City works because it's obvious that Weston has studied fairy tales, and because he doesn't hit us over the head with the fact. A hint here and there informs entire blocks of fairytale knowledge, and not just the ones that have gotten the Disney movie treatment. Sure, we meet Snow White and Cinderella, but we also brush past the heroine of “The Juniper Tree” and other more obscure characters. Sometimes it will take several pages before the reader realizes who Henry's just met. It's a thrilling little world Weston has created, full of interesting parallels (fairydust might look a bit like marijuana in the right philosophical light, and the entirety of the city's society is based on pre-1960's civil rights issues) that make Dust City a particularly insidious bit of satire.

There are a few rough patches in the novel. The book is fairly slim (only about 300 pages), but the third act is rushed. Another ten or so pages would have made the resolution that much more resounding. Also, some parts of the city economy don't make sense in light of the end of the novel. Still, I would totally pick up a sequel.

The only thing that kills me is that this book will never be made into a movie in America – at least, not in any recognizable form. For the most part, it's a pulp novel, light and airy for all of its heavy subtext, but the – by far – most interesting section is completely unfilmable by American movie houses – even the independent ones. That scene is also what would make me hesitate in recommending it for any readers younger than 14. Which is a tragedy, because in a market of mediocre, broadly-adapted comic book movies, the screen version of Dust City could be absolutely spectacular.

Reviewed by Kat Barron for Lit Fest Magazine(less)

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Lit Fest Magazine is now friends with Sheryl Monks
Mar 26, 2012 06:55pm
Lit Fest Magazine voted for Every Thing on It in Best Middle Grade & Children's in the Final Round of the 2011 Goodreads Choice Awards. cast your vote
Nov 22, 2011 06:33pm
Lit Fest Magazine gave to: A Better Man by Audrey Lynn (Goodreads Author)	My rating:
Nov 19, 2011 08:20pm
Lit Fest Magazine is now following Bradley's reviews
Sep 30, 2011 12:09am
Lit Fest Magazine gave to: The Silent Pulpit by Donald Allen Kirch (Goodreads Author)	My rating:
A priest gives himself to God, marrying the church and devoting himself to the word of the lord, but in Donald Allen Kirch’s novella, “The Silent Pulpit” we are forced to contemplate the cost of such devotion. Author Donald Allen Kirch, who so maste...more
Jun 03, 2011 08:32pm · see review
Lit Fest Magazine is currently reading: Machine of Death: A Collection of Stories About People Who Know How They Will Die by Ryan North	My rating:
Feb 14, 2011 10:12am
Lit Fest Magazine said "yes" to attending the event: NEW STUFF AT LIT FEST date: February 14, 2011 11:05AM location: www.litfestmagazine.com, The United States description: This week Lit Fest Magazine has some incredible new material. Our February Guest Blogs enter their second week with authors Kim Harrison, Robert Barclay, Lisa Dierbeck and editor Matthew Bennardo. New Book reviews include the awesome MOONLIGHT FALLS by Vincent Zandri. And what everyone has been waiting for, the long awaited conclusion to our exclusive novella by Donald Allen Kirch, THE SILENT PULPIT. Come by and enjoy: www.litfestmagazine.com! Also, enter a contest while your there!
Feb 14, 2011 10:10am
Lit Fest Magazine became a fan of Goodreads Author Pat Bertram and Goodreads Author Julie K. Rose
Dec 09, 2010 08:17pm · all of Lit Fest's favorite authors
Lit Fest Magazine gave to: Dust City by Robert Paul Weston (Goodreads Author)	My rating:
Dust City by Robert Paul Weston I would have picked up Dust City by Robert Paul Weston on my own if I had seen it on the shelf at a bookstore. Modern, gritty next-generation re-imagining of the Grimm fairytale world? Yes, please, and seconds while you'...more
Nov 28, 2010 08:33pm · see review

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