21 - Wednesday, June 21, 1989 — North Shore News Books for summer reading run the gamut IT’S AN odd selection of books this week folks, with subjects ranging from — science fiction to the super- natural, from stock market conspiracies to the penetra- tion of an American em- bassy by Soviet intelligence. The sole science fiction is Gregory Maguire's I Feel Like The Morning Star (Harper & Row; 273 pp.; $14.95 in hardcover), a post- apocalyptic tale of teens struggling to do more than simply survive. MIKE STEELE book review Five years after the world is devastated by nuclear and chemi- ca! weapons, 400 American men, women and children are eking out a spartan, highly controlled living in a sophisticated, underground fall-out shelter known as the Col- ony. Entombed far below the surface of the eastern U.S., deprived of contact with whatever remains of the world above, adolescents Ella, Mart and Sorb struggle in true-teen fashion with a rigid hierarchy and adults convinced that any attempt to tunnel out is futile. Sixteen-year-old Ella and her two male comrades grow increasingly sceptical of the adults’ pessimistic viewpoint, questioning as all ado- lescents must the rationale behind the rules. Written for readers aged 12 and up, I Feel Like The Morning Star may be juvenile fiction, but the premise and sexual undercurrents place it on the borderline of adult interest. see There are awards aplenty for great fiction: what a pity there is none for the truly worthless. If there were such a prize, Peter James’ Possession (Doubleday; 270 pp.; $22.95) would be a serious contender. This is quite possibly the worst book I’ve wasted time on during the past few years and, with some 1,300 titles crossing my desk an- nually, that says something about just how awful this piece of trash is. Admittedly, in outline it doesn’t sound that bad. Businesswoman Alex Hightower has lost her dearly-beloved son, Fabian, in a European car crash. Then the bizarre comes into play. Alex ex- periences strange chills in her home, visitors are afraid to stay in the house and, to top it all off, Fa- bian begins to haunt his mum's desktop computer. As Alex begins prying into her son‘s background in a dangerous attempt to understand the reason for these ghostly occurrences she uncovers hints that her family phantom may not have been the affectionate, doting son she believed but was instead a sadomasochistic young man who may have brutally murdered his girlfriend. The trouble with Possession is that it reads like a gothic romance novel, complete with silly first and Jast names that seem to be stapies of the literary blight. Across between a Harlequin haunting and Shirley MacLean’s worst nightmare, Possession is, according to the dust-jacket blurb, «the result of lames’) own ex- periences with the supernatural.” Under the circumstances, he would have been better off con- sulting an exorcist than an editor. ss Norman Garbo’s Dirty Secrets (Dutton/Fitzhenry & Whiteside; 321 pp.; $26.50) fares somewhat better even if it is standard para- noia fiction. When the head of the U.S. Fed- eral Reserve Board and the presi- dents of five of the country’s big- gest banks are indicated for massive stock fraud, financial writer Paul Forster leaps in a la Ludlum to save the Free World from financial ruin. Add a beautiful but warped woman, a dedicated and sexy ex-wife, a handful of Iranian ter- rorists, some anti-Semitic secrets and voila! A mediocre novel is born. Sears Cana Inc: Satclaction guaranteed or money retunded “Peg” ‘and “Was” refer to Sears Canada tno. prices. Richmond 278-5542, Surrey 588-0611; Monday, Tuesday and Saturday 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 pm. There’s a Sears store near Dirty Secrets starts off well enough, has a grotesque twist at the end in the best “Chinatown” tradition, but is far too low on lit- erary calories to satisfy any but the most diet-unconscious of readers. zeae This week's real find is Ronald Kessler’s Moscow Station, the true story of how the KGB pulled off one of the greatest spy coups of all time by penetrating the Ameri- cans’ Russian embassy. Moscow Station has everything you could wish for: blackmail, traitors, bureaucratic in- competence, bungling CIA types and plenty of sex. Kessler not only details the ex- traordinary circumstances sur- rounding one of the worst blows to American security credibility on record, but convincingly proves that this episode which continues to make headlines was painfully predictable and preventable. We've all heard about the em- bassy disaster: how bricks supplied by Russian contractors were ‘rein- forced’ with microphones, but did you know that the KGB was so blatant and cocky that some of Window Coverings Sales, and Typewrters "Players and VCR's “Warranty Gotats m glove Peg prices stated are Sears paces SEARS your money's worth...and more Prices In effect till Sunday, June 25. 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If you’ve ever doubted that “truth is stranger than fiction,” grab a copy of this book. Moscow Station (Collier Macmillan; 305 pp.; $27.95 in hardcover). , 1989. Home Appliances: Electric Ranges, Built-in Cooking Units. Range Hoods, Dish- washers, Compactors. Microwave Ovens, Washers. Dryers. Freezers, Refrigera- tors. Sewing Machines, Sewing Furauture, Vacuum Cleaners, Cameras, Files. Home Entertainment: Color TV's, Music Systems. Portabie Audio, Compact Disc Excluding chandelars, ceiling tans and ready-made drapes, Liquidation & Clearance Centre tems. SEARS-0-PEDIC...FOR COMFORT AND QUALITY . 399.98-589.98 LUXURY CHIRO-GENIC® b-45% off! Innerspring or foam mattress. 15 year set warranty’. Twin, Double and Queen. #71380 ser. Reg. 799.96-1139.96. Set ... Engneered to meet the standards of the “imernatonal Chiropractors Association ” LUXURY SUPREME li c-45% off! Innerspring or foam mattress and box spring. 15 yr. set warranty’. Twin, Dbt., Qn., King. #79640 ser. Reg. 919,96- 1799.96. 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