The Language of Cannibals

Rating:
Summary: The worst of the Mongos...
Review: Having followed Chesbro off and on, I've been completing his Mongo series of late--thoroughly enjoying it until this clunker. In a way, a prior book in the series, The Cold Smell of Sacred Stone, led up to this one. In Cold Smell, Garth becomes a religious leader and Chesbro skewers the type, though in a cool, rational way. In Cannibals, Chesbro forgets he has book to write, and spends most of it in an idiotic conspiracy theory designed to mock right-wingers. His political tirade never stops--and always interferes. The X-Files were never this stupid.....In subsequent books in the series, such as Rings, Chesbro returned to his normal self, writing tightly controlled books with a touch of science-fiction or supernatural. This Cannibals book, however, bordered on incomprehensible, with bizarre rants. It's always a mistake to let your politics get in the way of your art.

Rating:
Summary: Mongo's debacle
Review: I've been a big fan of the series since the beginning, and from Book #1 to this one---this is plainly the worst. Chesbro goes off on some tirade to validate his political views and spends much of the book having fun yanking the right wing's chain. Inadvertently, in his book they are right actually---the KGB really has infiltrated the country. Whether you're right or left, this mindless claptrap gets in the way of the story, and is a bizarre diversion that often makes no sense. As the series progresses, the Mongo-isms are reduced. The quirky books with a dwarf detective dabbling in the supernatural become standardized and they become routine. This is the series' nadir, though, lacking in charm, filled with irrelevant tirades. I'm working my way through the newer ones now--hope this isn't a sign of what is to come.

Rating:
Summary: Words
Review: Normally, when I pick up a "Mongo" book, I have already entered a state of quite willing disbelief. Generally, I've saved one as a special treat for myself, but Mr. Chesbro definitely needs to write faster, as I am catching up with him!

This time, however, the suspension didn't need to travel quite so far. This time, the book gave me cold chills.

Don't get me wrong. Mr. Chesbro is ALWAYS fascinating, and I love the characters in the Mongo series... but this particular book I just finished, and it was close enough to reality [or maybe it IS reality] that it is actually scarry! Not that I think his perceptions are wrong - it's just that I'm terribly afraid that they are correct. I've always believed in the power of words - I just had not carried that thought to such a conclusion, but I should have. Thank you, Mr. Chesbro - it was not only entertaining - it was enlightening!

Rating:
Summary: Background
Review: Patriotism may be the last refuge of a scoundrel, but along the way said scoundrel leaves a trail of words uttered not to convey meaning or truth, but to twist reality out of shape. This is a meditation about how words in the mouths of demagogues can become murderous weapons.

Rating:
Summary: My Favorite Mongo
Review: This book was my introduction to Mongo. It caused me to frantically search out the then out-of-print previous books, as well as to anxiously await new installments. These books are a strange mix of mystery, adventure, and science fiction. The characters are very well developed, and the relationship between Mongo and big brother Garth is wonderfully done, and rings true. In addition to very nasty villians,a clever puzzle,large scale science experiments, and the threatened end of the world as we know it, there's a solid thread of humor running through. I have two copies. One is the lending copy, the other doesn't leave the collection. They both get regular workouts. Try this author!

Rating:
Summary: Thought provoking sleeper..
Review: With this book I discovered Chesbro, and I have since purchased and read most of the MONGO books. I liked "The Language of Cannibals" very much and was a little surprised to find that Chesbro was not more popular.

Rating:
Summary: Thought provoking sleeper..
Review: With this book I discovered Chesbro, and I have since purchased and read most of the MONGO books. I liked "The Language of Cannibals" very much and was a little surprised to find that Chesbro was not more popular.

Rating:
Summary: Thought provoking sleeper..
Review: With this book I discovered Chesbro, and I have since purchased and read most of the MONGO books. I liked "The Language of Cannibals" very much and was a little surprised to find that Chesbro was not more popular.