WHEN THE NINES ROLL OVER & OTHER STORIES by David Benioff

GRADE: B+

Many know David Benioff as one half of the team that created the stellar Game of Thrones HBO series adaptation. And no problem, that show is awesome and it's one of the most impressive film adaptations I've seen of fiction. But I originally was a fan of Benioff's work as an author, with both of his fantastic novels (the New York crime drama The 25th Hour and the WWII coming of age adventure, City of Thieves) on my list of favorites! Now I've finally completed the author's short list of fiction work with this solid collection of short stories.  

Each story is a slice of life tale, not featuring large moments of action, but instead focusing on each character at a critical turning point in their lives or at a time when they have to make the hard decisions. As usual, Benioff writes with a poetic ease and injects each story with a tangible atmosphere. My favorites in the collection were "De Composition," about a man struggling with his sanity after hunkering down in a survival bunker during the end of the world (I love how Benioff is intentionally vague with what is possibly an awesome reveal), "Garden of No," about a young waitress/wannabe actress in Hollywood about to hit her big break, and the heartbreaking final story "Merde for Luck," that follows a gay couple in New York City as they struggle with AIDS during the mid-90's.

"So many die without our caring, decline to silence in rooms beyond hearing. We honor the dead and abhor the dying."

As much as I love Game of Thrones, a hope that Benioff returns to write more awesome books, he's up there on my list with Scott B. Smith as being overdue for another great novel!

CITY OF THIEVES by David Benioff

GRADE: A

This book is a blast! With vivid, memorable characters, including an endearing, vulnerable, and highly relatable protagonist, this is a novel that I would recommend to anyone. During the Nazi's savage siege of Leningrad during World War II, young Lev Beniov is arrested for looting and sentenced to death. He gets the opportunity for a pardon though, when he is given the near impossible task of collecting a dozen eggs for the wedding cake of the daughter of a powerful colonel. He's accompanied by a fellow inmate and sets out on an adventure that will change both of their lives forever.

It combines a beautiful coming of age story, an odd couple friendship, a buddy road trip, and a historical war thriller, producing an adventure that's truly exciting. I didn't think that a book that takes place during the deplorable conditions in the siege of Leningrad could be so enjoyable! You may recognize the writer's name, David Benioff. Yes, aside from being the creator/writer/producer, of the immensely awesome HBO adaptation, Game of Thrones, Denioff is also a very accomplished novelist. Make sure you check out his other first great novel, the crime drama, The 25th Hour. 

THE 25TH HOUR by David Benioff

GRADE: A-

"This life came so close to never happening..” 

This is the real deal. Taut, engaging writing, themes that aren't shoved down your throat, and great characters that stick with you. Pretty-boy drug dealer Monty gets pinched and is about to get sent upstate for 7 years, so he decides to spend his last free day saying goodbye to his friends and family, including Wall Street hustler Frank, school-teacher Jacob (who fantasizes about his sexy high school student), and Monty's girlfriend Naturelle, whom he thinks just might've been the one that dimed him out. It's not only a story of three young, professional men trying to deal with their own insecurities while forced to say goodbye, but it's also a farewell to New York City. The story moves at a captivating pace all the way up to it's soaring, poignant, and memorable ending. An awesome first novel by the talented David Benioff and the basis for one of my favorite movies.