Review: A different side of L.A.
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 06 19, 2014
3.50 StarsEveryone knows where Los Angeles is, they know that stars and everything Hollywood is there, deals are made, lives are impacted, and life is different.  What if what everyone knew really wasn’t what everyone knew?  Ever wondered why L.A. is called the city of Angels?  Is the San Andreas Fault really simply a big ole earthquake waiting to happen?  Is there truth to the saying “he sold his sold to devil” when describing how someone got a plum role/job/career?  These questions and more are answered in the rewritten history of  L.A.  Angels, vampires, ghouls, wolves and Satan himself live in La La land, but you knew that didn’t you?Author Eric Czuleger gives us a somewhat tongue in cheek, slightly dark and totally unexpected look at Los Angeles.  He tells his story with little vignettes separated by rewritten chapters of the history of L.A.  Each vignette circles around the other, each telling one individual’s tale and how it relates to the other.  The characters are as different and diverse as they can get, there are angels come to earth, vampires trying to find peace, dead people who just won’t die, a woman out to get where she wants, snow and wolves.  Last but not least the man himself, the evil one appears, just wanting to fit in.The story we are told is an interesting take on the history of L.A. and the people who live there but I did have a few niggles with it.  First, and this is a little niggle, the blurb leads us to think this is going to be a humorous tale, it does start out that way but soon starts getting darker and darker.  I have no problem with dark tales, actually like them, but I think maybe that blurb needs a rewrite.  Second, this is a bigger niggle for me, the little vignettes start out in third person, then switch to first and so on.  I’m not a fan of this style; I like my storytelling to be consistent.  Third, a medium niggle, some of the portions of the L.A. history were a little dry and I found myself skipping over parts to get to the meat.  Last, a personal niggle, I couldn’t seem to figure out who, when, where and how the history was being rewritten.  Have people read this history?  If so, wouldn’t they have known of the paranormal activities?  Is it just being written to never be released?  Background is important to me and I felt a little hung out to dry.My niggles aside, this was a fun/interesting/different/unusual story that at times had me completely under its spell.  Anyone who enjoys a slightly different take on paranormal will enjoy this book; I look forward to seeing what Mr. Czuleger’s mind comes up with next.Member of the Paranormal Romance Guild Dual Review Team