Book Review: Criminal Minds: Jump Cut by Max Allan Collins (Reread)

August 14, 2021March 7, 2022 ~ Liz Harrison ~ Leave a comment

Title: Criminal Minds: Jump Cut
Author: Max Allan Collins
Series: Criminal Minds Tie-Ins
Publish Date: November 6, 2007
Publisher: Signet
Format: Print, Paperback

Goodreads Summary:

The Behavioral Analysis Unit, an elite team of FBI profilers, are tasked with examining the nation’s most twisted criminal minds-anticipating their next moves before they strike again…

The BAU team is dispatched to Lawrence, Kansas, to investigate a series of fatal stabbings among the town’s homeless population. The victims have all been found freshly bathed, neatly groomed, and wearing new clothes. To profiler Jason Gideon, these look like carefully staged murders in isolated settings, fulfilling the sick fantasies of one or more Unknown Subjects.

When the kidnapping of a young heiress presents a second, seemingly unrelated crime for the BAU to help solve, Gideon deduces a sinister connection, despite the variance in MOs. The kidnap victim must be found – before she too is a player in the mind games of a pair of UnSubs who are inventing horrific new ways to kill.

Review: I’ve been on a Criminal Minds binge lately, and I happened to remember that I owned all the tie-in novels. I’ve read them several times before, but not in the last three years. And wow, did these not age well.

The case presented in the novel is fine, matching the length and subject matter that would normally be present in the show. The author takes the time to get into the head of the UnSubs, which makes things a little interesting.

What is less interesting is just about everything else. There’s an overabundance of description of everyone and every thing. Six pages of a homeless man’s life? Not necessary. The constant need to remind the reader that Dr. Spencer Reid is 25 but looks young for his age? It’s rude. The stilted dialogue among the main characters that puts them vastly out of character? It’s distracting.

But the thing that really annoyed me was the horribly aged “jokes” and descriptions. Within the first fifty pages, there were several character that, within their points of view, made some rather uncomfortable comments about female characters and their clothing. The kicker was the “joke” told towards the end of Chapter One, which was apparently about logic… but it really was just a façade to make a homosexual joke. Even in 2007, that wasn’t cool.

I’m rereading all three books, but this one reminded me exactly why I stopped reading tie-in books. At this point, I think I’d rather stick to the fanfiction.

Rating: 3/5

Goodreads Goal 17/52

(Quick note: I didn’t write a review for the 6th, 8th, 10th and 16th “books” I read this year, as they are the first three The Old Guard: Tales Through Time issues, which are 32 pages each. I decided I’ll just review the series as a whole when the final issue is released in September.)

The Immortal Genius – Blogmas!

December 3, 2020December 2, 2020 ~ Liz Harrison ~ Leave a comment

I spent all November trying to drag this out of my brain where it has been living rent free. This is my NanoWrimo story that failed to exist when I needed it to. I’ve talked about it before, but now I can finally say more.

The prologue of sorts is now up on AO3.

I realized early on that I didn’t want to write a long story. But I also didn’t want to just write one or two short stories and call it a day. I’ve done it before, and I haven’t been every happy with doing that.

I started The Immortal Genius the same way I always do, with a brain dump. By that, I mean I open a new document (this time on Google Drive) and just write whatever comes to mind. I didn’t plan out what was going to open the story, how I was going to structure it, or even where the natural end point was. I just wrote single lines and quick plot ideas. From there I took a few lines and started to plan.

I came up with four plot ideas quickly: Reid’s introduction into immortality, conversations on Malta, the aftermath of Booker’s betrayal, and the family coming back together.

For obvious reasons, I immediately decided to not do that last plot idea yet. Starting a story in the middle is one thing, starting at the end is boring. Instead I tried to start at the beginning, but for some reason, it just didn’t flow. By now, so many people has done stories featuring that Hankel scene in Criminal Minds, and I just don’t think I could do it justice.

So, instead, I decided to combine the first three ideas. Flashbacks and introspection are a thing!

Unfortunately, because I wanted to get it out, I cut my planned last scene with drunk!sassy!Booker and sleepdeprived!Reid discussing a certain someone’s choices of late. That will be apart of the second story, where I also hope to at least have Nile have a conversation with Reid. They have a thirteen year age difference, but I’d really love to write a millennial vs the intellectual, or rather, Ms. Tech vs Mr. Anti-Tech. Because why not.

I would also love to have Nicky and Joe make appearances, but I think I’ll wait until the third part for that. Not that I don’t love our Immortal Husbands, but I’m kinda enjoying making these shorter pieces.

I’m planning on having the BAU make appearances in the next fic, mostly because having Reid be worried on the plane is so much fun. But we will see how it goes. If not soon, they will appear.

I’m also thinking of new plots and looking from prompts to play with. Reid’s been around for about five years now, and there has to have been some times he’s unintentionally joined in on the Guard’s missions. Plus, I want their reactions to some of this more… dangerous escapades. (Liberty Ranch, the Anthrax incident, the Barton incident…) And I really want to have the Guard cross paths with the BAU, but that’ll be later on.

For now, I’m going to take my time. I want to build into this world. And I’m having fun with it. We shall see where this takes me.

Until next time!

Let’s Talk Fanfic and NaNoWrimo- Blogtober!

October 26, 2020 ~ Liz Harrison ~ 1 Comment

At the time I’m starting today’s post, it is 8:00pm PST. Which means I’m late. Very late. By the time it goes live, it will probably be 11:00pm.

But there’s a reason.

For over ten years now, I have taken part in NaNoWriMo, or National Novel Writing Month. The goal is to write 50,000 words during the month, which is the approximate size of a novella, or about half to two thirds of a novel. I usually get about to my birthday in the middle of the month and fall off.

I’ve been avoiding thinking about it all year, because I always say I’ll do it, sign up and then fail yet again. Very demoralizing. Some years (pre-2015) was because of school, as November is right before finals. I was an English/Creative Writing major, I had enough writing to do for a grade. In years past, it’s been because I was working (or, 2018 when we moved across the damn country in the middle of the month. I did write a bit of a travel log, but it was only like eight thousand words, nothing to even feel remotely proud of).

So I wasn’t planning on doing it. A couple people on the Immortal Disasters Discord (The Old Guard fandom, but much smaller and with less bullshit than the other two big ones) were talking about doing Nano. I have been firm in my beliefs. No no no.

And then.

I was looking through my old bookmarks on FF.Net last night during the Dodgers game (during the commercials, I’m not that damn stupid). I kept on finding old Criminal Minds fics that I used to love, most of which were written before the end of Season 8. I used to be love the show, but I had to stop watching when it started giving my mom nightmares. I still wear mismatched socks in honor of my favorite character, Dr. Spencer Reid.

So there I was, looking at all these old fanfics, and a thought crossed my mind. What if, during Season Two, when Reid is kidnapped and tortured by Tobias Hankel, something happened. Reid is killed in the episode due to a seizure, after being drugged with dilaudid (cut with a hallusinagetic) and beaten. It’s a whole thing. But Reid is clinically dead. Hankel administers CPR which saves his life.

What if, when Reid died, he came back immortal? Yeah, I’m going there. Let’s cross Criminal Minds with The Old Guard

Now, this episode, Revelations, took place in February 2007, which places The Old Guard about 12 years into the future (Sunday April 21 is what Nile’s phone shows at about an hour and fifteen minutes, and the nearest year that would be is 2019, when the movie was filmed). So that actually gives me a lot to work with. It’s before the first time the team worked with Copley (9 years? prior to the film’s beginning). It could be fun.

I’ve been meaning to do a CM rewatch anyway, since I never finished off the series, and I find that to be, well, criminal. So. I’m gonna be blasting through seasons one and two before November 1st. And yes, this is possible, surprisingly. We’re not doing Halloween this year, so I don’t have to post up next to the door (where I end up watching a random movie over the course of the evening. Two years ago, it was Dylan O’Brien’s American Assassin. 2017 was Spider-Man: Homecoming.). The Dodgers’ game should be over by 8 or 9 pm, which leaves a bit of time. We’re planning a movie night after the end of the World Series, but that’s just one film. There’s enough time to watch… 40ish episodes (there’s a few I do skip for reasons. Most of which are in Season One anyway…)

So yeah. How would The Old Guard have changed if they had a 25-year-old FBI agent on the team. Obviously Reid couldn’t travel with the team, as I think it would be more fun to explore some of the later episodes that Reid has a major role in, but with an immortal twist. Does he tell the BAU? Probably not. Am I planning on shipping him with anyone? Nah. At least, I’m not actively thinking about it.

But this will be fun. And I get to play in two worlds I love.

Maybe if I do this, I’ll finally get around to the other fifty or so prompt ideas I have floating around my head.

(Of this I doubt.)

Until next time!