Bucking the Tiger: A Novel

Book Description

John Henry Holliday, an Ivy League-educated dentist from a genteel Georgia family, was diagnosed with consumption at 22 and given six months to live. He spent the next 15 years on the frontier, bluffing death and attaining his own form of immortality. In this genre-blurring collage, Bruce Olds animates Doc Hollidays varied incarnations frontier dentist, saloon gambler, and occasional shootistand redeems a full-blooded human being from the distortions of romance and myth.

Customer Reviews:

Chucking the Tiger.......2004-09-30

Bruce Olds' postmodern fictional treatment of the life of Doc Holliday begins with some fine moments. Describing brilliantly a poker game in which the legendary gambler stabs a cheating card player through the hand, Olds treats us to the drawled lines, "My dear sir, if the queen of hearts, as you but a moment ago thought to fob it sight unseen from your vest, is not just there impaled beneath your hand, as I know it upon memory of my sainted mother, I fear I do owe you an apology." However, as Olds continues to attempt to flesh out the life, and primarily the psyche and verbiage, of a man about whom relatively little is really known, the characterization, in spite of the relative complexity of Olds' narrative form, soon dissolves into the simplistic pattern of a distasteful (and oddly voluble, in this case) sociopath with whom many readers of Doc Holliday literature are only too fatigued with familiarity. Olds is able to bring some depth to the suffering tubercular gambler for a while, and the fragmented stream-of-consciousness style of the novel lends itself well to the purpose. Bits of poetry with flashes of occasional genius are interwoven into a vivid narrative of daily pain and endurance that promises much but ends up delivering little except Doc's further-tortured remains.

Portions of the novel adeptly re-phrase some of the most famous statements about Doc by people who knew him, including those who clearly misunderstood him. For instance, Olds gives us a Bat Masterson who just doesn't get it, something many of us suspected about him all along. There are even a few touching moments, which do justice to Doc's memory, like these lines from Wyatt Earp: "...for what it may be worth, I miss him, every day." And fair enough is Olds' insistence on regaling us with the phlegmy and bloody details of living, and dying, with tuberculosis. The pain Doc endured has seldom gotten the sort of attention it deserves, nor has its complex impact on his mental state.

For a while, Olds develops Doc's personality with skill. For instance, his withdrawal from life and relationships with other people is described aptly as "not so much a retreat as a secession." However, when Olds attempts to supplement this insight with Doc's detailed philosophy, the reader is served up leftovers hidden beneath a sauce of postmodern writerly posturing. This Doc, like bad movie villains and serial killers before him, shoots cats for the hell of it and refuses to shake hands with anyone. This last detail may actually be lifted from the movie Tombstone, in which Val Kilmer's Doc refuses to shake hands, specifically, with a crooked lawman. There are other details from the film Tombstone that Olds also extracts and runs with, including: the imperial facial hair arrangement, the wink at the OK Corral (Val Kilmer's idea, apparently) and the line "I'm your huckleberry," among others. Strangely, with all of Olds' pastiche-preoccupied authorial talent, Tombstone actually does a better job of portraying Doc as a human being in the end.

And this wouldn't even be so bad, if all Olds were interested in were half-satiric verbal pyrotechnics, but there are plenty of places where he seems to be genuinely interested in characterization but merely unable to follow through. It is, for example, predictably clever to have the bacterim-ridden gambler be an obsessive-compulsive personality type. Olds somehow seems to lose literary steam or perhaps simply to tire of his subject about half-way through. However, part of the failure of the novel for those who are interested in Doc Holliday is Olds' tendency to fill in historical blanks with occasionally faulty or questionable information. Olds has his Doc doing things he almost certainly never did. But beyond that, this Doc is not the reserved and even somewhat laconic Southerner that Doc's few actual quotes reveal, but a man enthralled with his own voice, who, by mid-text, drones on with pompously annoying alliteration aplenty. Doc was a refined Southerner, yes, but he often used brief, informal, to-the-point phrases like "Wyatt turned loose with a shotgun and killed Curly Bill." Olds' Doc, on the other hand, brings to bear any and all thesaural possibilities, not only during his meandering fictional reveries but also during well-documented dialogue. Adding lines to the famous gunfight at the OK Corral, Olds seems breathless with his ability to put words in Doc's mouth. All Doc said during the 30 second fight was: "Blaze away. You're a daisy if you have." But Olds seems to feel it not nearly enough, and instead has him prattle on to Frank McLaury with what seems, in spite of its relative brevity, prissily smug interminability.

Perhaps even more difficult to understand is his insistence on having the well-bred Hungarian prostitute, Kate Elder, speak with a strangely backwoods patois, using the word "warn't" and having little in common with Doc except their mutual enjoyment of down-and-dirty sex. Reducing Kate to little more than a simple frontier whore is almost as devastating to the narrative as reducing Doc to a cartoon southern gentleman who clicks his heels and bows to the Earps before proceeding to his speechifying appearance at the Tombstone gunfight. But where Olds really lost this reader was the way in which he chose to answer a common question savored by Doc afficionados: "What was Doc whistling as he arrived at the OK Corral?" Olds' ridiculously eye-roll-worthy and clichéd answer is hardly redeemed by the postmodern pretensions of his text. He was whistling-- Dixie.

Excellent.......2004-05-30

This is, to put it bluntly, one of the best novels I've ever read. Olds' prose is hypnotic and lyrical, and he somehow manages to give us a compellingly real Doc Holliday who is also strikingly mythical. The book's account of the gunfight at the O.K. Corral is stunning, like nothing you've read (or seen) before. This is a novel that will live for a long time.

Bucking the Prosody.......2002-08-14

On the opening page of "Bucking the Tiger," Bruce Olds gives fair warning of his love for wordplay, and the form his novel is going to take, and if you're not ready for bricolage, collage, or pastiche, you're not ready for this book. Mr. Olds tells the story of gentleman, gambler, gunslinger, Doc Holliday by using just about every literary device he can get his hands on. There are lists informative, monologues instructive, histories illuminating, "facts astronomical, solemn or comical." Infectious, and had there been a way to connect a PowerPoint between the bindings I think Mr. Olds would have done it.

Even with all the wild technique, "Bucking the Tiger," is a biography (of sorts, maybe a "mytho-biography" would be more like it,) a love story, an adventure both meta and physical, a treatise (on poker, gunslinging, and death,) and ultimately rather touching.

I recommend this book for a story interestingly told, and for a shower of language and verbal effects that were quite refreshing.

A bedazzling fever dream of a novel.......2002-07-29

Readers who demand a simple, chronologically linear narrative, please apply elsewhere. "Bucking the Tiger" is a fever dream of a novel, kaleidoscopic in its fragmented vision and very nearly hallucinatory in its voices. There is nothing straightforward about this book, an ambitious labyrinth largely made up of first person observations from Doc himself and Big Nose Kate and Wyatt Earp and Bat Masterson and Dodge City [women] and TV cowboy show heroes. Even Thomas Berger's Jack Crabb makes a walk-on appearance under another name. The Doc Holliday within its pages is something of a Gilgamesh in ancestry, one third man and two thirds cinematic image. In the Gunfight (almost) at the OK Corral segment - hands down, the best recreation of that event I have ever read - picture Val Kilmer in the starring role. And from that starting point, Olds delves deep into the mind of Holliday. When you pick up this book, prepare to be dazzled by pyrotechnics and perhaps occasionally daunted by its determinedly literary demeanor. Just don't expect Louis Lamour.

A bedazzling fever dream of a novel.......2002-07-29

Readers who demand a simple, chronologically linear narrative, please apply elsewhere. "Bucking the Tiger" is a fever dream of a novel, kaleidoscopic in its fragmented vision and very nearly hallucinatory in its voices. There is nothing straightforward about this book, an ambitious labyrinth largely made up of first person observations from Doc himself and Big Nose Kate and Wyatt Earp and Bat Masterson and Dodge City whores and TV cowboy show heroes. Even Thomas Berger's Jack Crabb makes a walk-on appearance under another name. The Doc Holliday within its pages is something of a Gilgamesh in ancestry, one third man and two thirds cinematic image. In the Gunfight (almost) at the OK Corral segment - hands down, the best recreation of that event I have ever read - picture Val Kilmer in the starring role. And from that starting point, Olds delves deep into the mind of Holliday. When you pick up this book, prepare to be dazzled by pyrotechnics and perhaps occasionally daunted by its determinedly literary demeanor. Just don't expect Louis Lamour.

The Accomplice: Bucking the Tiger (The Accomplice)

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The Accomplice: Bucking the Tiger (The Accomplice)
Marcus Galloway
Manufacturer: Berkley
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Bruce Olds. Bucking the Tiger.(Brief Article): An article from: The Review of Contemporary Fiction

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Bruce Olds. Bucking the Tiger.(Brief Article): An article from: The Review of Contemporary Fiction
Brian Evenson
Manufacturer: Review of Contemporary Fiction
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

Book Description

This digital document is an article from The Review of Contemporary Fiction, published by Review of Contemporary Fiction on March 22, 2002. The length of the article is 1548 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Bruce Olds. Bucking the Tiger.(Brief Article)
Author: Brian Evenson
Publication: The Review of Contemporary Fiction (Refereed)
Date: March 22, 2002
Publisher: Review of Contemporary Fiction
Volume: 22 Issue: 1 Page: 129(1)

Article Type: Book Review, Brief Article

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bucking the tiger
bruce olds
Manufacturer: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OXAOPO

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Bucking the tiger
Achmed Abdullah
Manufacturer: Robert J. Shores
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
ASIN: B0006AHQV0

Book Description

Whether she's going to school or hanging out with her friends at the Coffee Bean, Mary Jane Watson is always the life of the party. But what no one knows is that this gorgeous redhead's exuberant personality is a shell designed to make her forget about life's harsh realities. From her social life to her undying interest in becoming an actress to her crush on that costumed crime-fighter who swings along the New York City rooftops, it's clear that Mary Jane just wants to escape. Join MJ, Harry Osborn, Liz Allen, Flash Thompson and Harry's nerdy friend, Peter Parker, as they experience the thrilling highs and the crushing lows of high-school existance in this new teen drama! Collects MARVEL AGE MARY JANE #1-4.

Customer Reviews:

Mary Jane and her friends Harry, Liz and Flash have problems.......2005-05-28

"Mary Jane, Volume 1: Circle of Friends" reminds me a lot of more of television's "Smallville" than any of the Spider-Man comic books for several key reasons. First, this four-part story by writer Sean McKeever and artist Takeshi Miyazawa is set in its own little Marvel universe. This is not "The Amazing Spider-Man" where Mary Jane Watson was not around when Peter Parker was attending at Midtown High, nor is it "The Ultimate Spider-Man" where Mary Jane is not only around at the beginning, she is the girl next door and knows that Peter is Spidey.

Second, both Peter Parker and Spider-Man are really secondary figures in this story. The emphasis is on Mary Jane, her boyfriend Harry Osborn (who was not around in the high school days of the original comic), her best friend Liz Allen, and Liz's boyfriend Flash Thompson. Peter is the science geek that Flash insults and when Spider-Man rescues MJ from Electro and takes her home (he explains he knows where she lives because it is, ah, one of his special powers) she has a crush on the mysterious superhero and she confesses to Liz she wants him to take her to homecoming.

But this is not about a high school girl having a superhero as a date for homecoming. It is about a high school girl who does not understand why she is not happy with her boyfriend. Harry pays for everything and MJ does not like it, so she goes out and gets a job to carry her own weight. She is also a kid who is concerned that Liz is calling Flash "stupid" all the time and she thinks it is really starting to affect him. But then she finds out there is a bigger problem for her small circle of friends when she discovers Flash is "crushing" on her.

Sound like a teenage soap opera? Absolutely. But take away the fact that every once in a while MJ runs into Spider-Man and you have a pretty serious attempt at dealing with typical teenage problems (certainly more realistic than "The O.C." and arguably more so than "Smallville"). There is also some decent role-modeling involved since these kids talk about their problems, albeit indirectly in many cases. At the heart of the stories is Mary Jane, which justifies having the Spider-Man face that appears between her first and middle names on the cover is in the shape of a heart. She is an interesting kid.

We are currently three-quarters of the way through the next story, "Mary Jane, Volume 2: Homecoming," which picks up right where "Circle of Friends" leaves off, which is good because this one ends with what is no so much a cliffhanger as a major crisis point for MJ and her friends. These comic books are doing more than re-modeling Mary Jane Watson as the girl next door, whereas she was the ultimate party girl in "The Amazing Spider-Man." Besides, the way Miyazawa draws her Mary Jane is really cute. No wonder Peter Parker is pinning for her from afar and no wonder the rest of us are willing to read these comic books.

Good and Bad.......2005-03-03

It is great to see a comic book aimed at teenage girls, there should be a lot more of them. The small size allows it to go on the shelf with the manga rather then with the comic trades.

The problem is that the comic itself is quite predictable and nothing that is any more interesting then what one would find on any of the television dramas aimed at teenage girls. It is also a very fast read for six dollars.

It is great to see Marvel (in this case, though i could easily be saying DC also) marketing something like this, I only wish that it would have been something better.

A rarity ; a book aimed at the female demograhic.......2004-11-06

I, having a rather well documented history of not being a teenaged girl, can only speculate on whether or not this book would appeal to them but my gut tells me its probably so. `Mary Jane' is a re-imagining of the Spider-Man mythos from the viewpoint of 16-year-old Mary Jane Watson and the world around her. One of the points of interest is that Spider-Man himself has very little on-panel time in this book, making only two solid appearances over the four issues with Peter Parker having little more than a handful of lines in his few cameos. Most of the four issues collected here focus on the relationships between MJ, Liz Allen, Flash, and Harry Osborne. Sean Mckeever of Marvel's Mystique and Sentinel (of which he makes light of here, forever endearing him to me) handles the writing chores for MJ's adventures that include teen-age staples like shopping for a homecoming dress, getting your first job, and your first boyfriend. Art chores are handled by Takeshi Miyazawa, who brings a very anime-styled flair to the book. However, don't denounce the book off the bat just for that fact. Even as someone as staunchly against eastern styled art in my comics as I am I was able to enjoy the series, and my distaste for it is almost as well documented as the me not being a teenaged girl thing. Special mention should also be given to Christina Strain, the series colourist. Because of her, every image contained here nearly pops off of the page.

Should you buy this book? Why not. I know some people may be to stuck up to think of having a book like this on the shelf with books like Watchmen or DKR, but Mary Jane is a fun, different take on the love of Spider-Man's life, and for the price is too good to be passed up.

Book Description

What begins as a sticky political problem soon evolves into full-scale chaos for Commander Sisko when a tomb of Cardassian soldiers is discovered on Deep Space Nine ™. While Sisko searches for a diplomatic way to return the soldiers to Cardassia, the "bodies" begin to pulsate with life, determined to seek revenge on the enemies now occupying the former Cardassian stronghold.

But as the soldiers launch their attack to cripple the station, and Sisko struggles to regain control, another old enemy plots to destroy the soldiers at any cost -- even if it means destroying Deep Space Nine as well!

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What begins as a sticky political problem soon evolves into full-scale chaos for Commander Sisko when a tomb of Cardassian soldiers is discovered on Deep Space Nine. While Sisko searches for a diplomatic way to return the soldiers to Cardassia, the "bodies" begin to pulsate with life, determined to seek revenge on the enemies now occupying the former Cardassian stronghold. But as the soldiers launch their attack to cripple the station, and Sisko struggles to regain control, another old enemy plots to destroy the soldiers at any cost, even if it means destroying Deep Space Nine as well.

Customer Reviews:

Not a bad story, not too badly written........2004-08-27

As any regular reader of my reviews knows, I've never been a fan of Diane Carey's writing, and while this book doesn't change my overall opinion of her writing (as her entry in the "Day of Honor" series almost did) it also doesn't do too much to reinforce it. She still has a bit of a tendancy to use words in ways that she obviously defines as "creative" and that I can only call "weird and distracting", but it isn't nearly as pronounced in this book as it is in, say, "Descent" or "The Search". Further, since this is an original story, rather than an adaptation of a TV episode as both of the aforementioned books were, it plays to her strengths, which are plotting and characterization, pacing, and virtually every aspect of writing that does NOT involve word choice, and if her plot was somewhat implausible in places, still, it was interesting and moved well.

Lots of action and surprising depth.......2004-01-16

This is a book with a lot of combat, hand to hand and ship to ship. The descriptions, in general and of the action specifically, are good and quite vivid. The character interaction is very good. The characterisation and writing in general are good but a bit odd. The actions and behaviour of the characters fit, but the dialogue and internal thinking are not how the DS9 crew talk. It's not overdone in this particular book, but noteworthy. There are also odd little mistakes, like the Infirmary supposedly not being on the Promenade. That all aside, the action in this book is well thought out, both in terms of writing and in terms of planning and execution by the characters. It is a real battle of minds between Sisko and the leader of the station's invaders. This is a great action book and with more depth than one would expect.

DS9 #13 Station Rage - An excellent DS9 novel!.......2003-12-01

"Station Rage" is author Diane Carey's first original Deep Space Nine story and it is most certainly one of her best Star Trek stories ever. Even more than usual with one of her stories, I found myself amazed with how well designed the plot and overall premise of this story was setup and executed. As is usual with one of her better stories, the characterizations and pacing for this incredible early DS9 tale are beyond reproach.

The cover art for this great story and the story itself aren't quite in synch, which only goes to reproving some of the difficulties the fiction writers had when trying to keep up with the fast paced series and its constant shifting and changing. The cover art itself isn't all that interesting, but the fact that it shows Sisko as he was during the early seasons, with hair and the rank of Commander is in direct contradiction with the story where he's a Captain.

The premise:

As was usual for O'Brien during the early years of the series, he and Odo are exploring through some of the less traveled areas of the space station and they soon discover a cache of Cardassians. The Cardassians come back to life and start causing major problems for the Starfleet and Bajoran crews. Finding the situation untenable, Captain Sisko attempts to handle the situation diplomatically, but soon finds that impossible.

What follows from there is most certainly one of Diane Carey's best Trek stories and one of the best early Star Trek Deep Space Nine stories that I would highly recommend to any and all fans of Star Trek fiction! {ssintrepid}

Good concept.......2003-03-11

The concept of soldiers hidden within DS9 coming to life and emobodying an age old rage is original and makes the book stronger than most of the series lot.
What I did appreciate about this book is Diane Carey's work, she is one of the better Star Trek writers because her books tend to be more thoughtful and drawn on.
I recommend this book for the on target characterization it has as well as the strong writing. Sisko really comes to life on these pages.

ST: DS-9 Station Rage.......2003-02-16

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Station Rage written by Diane L. Careyis a fast paced action-adventure book set on the space station Deep Space Nine.

Deep Space Nine used to be a Cardassian stronghold neighboring Bajor durning the Cardassian occupaton. As Starfleet takes over the station, they fine a tomb of Cardassian soldiers on the station and they begin to pulsate life signs and seek revenge upon the Starfleet/Bajorian crew.

Commander Benjamin Sisko seeks to return these Cardassian soldiers to Cardassia through diplomatic means, but the carnage has already commenced and is starting to cripple the station.

The reader has a very good story replete with political intrigue and action just short of full-scale chaos. You'll be entertained with this well-written book till the ending. This is one of the better Deep Space Nine books written to keep the reader involved with the story plot till the end.

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Arkansas Business, published by Journal Publishing, Inc. on November 19, 1990. The length of the article is 1788 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Battle rages over TV turf. (KARK, Channel 4; KATV Channel 7)
Author: Carrie Rengers
Publication: Arkansas Business (Magazine/Journal)
Date: November 19, 1990
Publisher: Journal Publishing, Inc.
Volume: v7 Issue: n30 Page: p10(2)

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My gas station rage ends with a humble apology.(Columns): An article from: Winnipeg Free Press

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My gas station rage ends with a humble apology.(Columns): An article from: Winnipeg Free Press
Gale Reference Team
Manufacturer: Thomson Gale
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital
ASIN: B000OIZPW6
Release Date: 2007-03-13

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Winnipeg Free Press, published by Thomson Gale on March 13, 2007. The length of the article is 958 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: My gas station rage ends with a humble apology.(Columns)
Author: Gale Reference Team
Publication: Winnipeg Free Press (Magazine/Journal)
Date: March 13, 2007
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Page: b1

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Book Description

Biblical Foundations of Spirituality offers seekers guidance on what to read, how to read, and why to read the Bible as a source of spiritual nourishment. Informed by the latest scholarship, this book makes the Bible more intelligible and user friendly for contemporary audiences by stressing the spiritual dimension of the search for God evident in our biblical ancestors and showing how the Bible can be a friend and companion in our search for God today.

Customer Reviews:

Great Level of Detail.......2007-03-09

The book is spiritually satisfying. The author is thorough without being tedious. The level of detail facilitates in-depth understanding of the spirituality found in scripture and is invaluable for anyone who needs to articulate the substance of the material in a teaching situation.

Beyond Words on a Page.......2006-12-26

Early in her book Bowe writes "I learned that the Bible has extraordinary power to shape people's lives--both for good and for ill. Depending on how we read this text, either the biblical word can liberate and console those straining for human dignity or it can be, as Marx once wrote, the 'opium of the people,' lulling people into complacent disregard for this world and its strivings in favor of an undisclosed future world, unrelated to this world and wholly beyond our control."

The the pages that follow, Bowe discusses biblical Christian spirituality and leads us on a journey from Genesis through Revelation, tracing God's covenant relationship with humanity. The relationship is dynamic, mysterious, intimate and revelatory. The words on the page are the reference point for our unique saving and blessing journey with God. We discover how the whole of Scriptures reveal Jesus, the Christ.

Chapter Two: God beyond All Names - encourages us to multiply our metaphors as we describe and understand who God is and Chapter Seven: Prophetic Spirituality creates a helpful context in which to read the prophetic books of the Bible. Chapter Nine: That Man Jesus encourages us to look at Jesus as the face of God for us and to live a life marked by forgiveness, healing, compassion, service, justice and agape love, knowing that Jesus is always present with us.

This book offers helpful insights into meaningful Christian living in this world with an eye toward eternity. Traces of Catholic theology may stretch the traditional Protestant reformed mindset, but perhaps that brings us to a more critical understanding our own traditions. It is a clear, helpful and worthwhile read.

Biblical Foundations of Spirituality: Touching a Finger to the Flame.(Book Review): An article from: Theological Studies

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Biblical Foundations of Spirituality: Touching a Finger to the Flame.(Book Review): An article from: Theological Studies
Joy Milos
Manufacturer: Theological Studies, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

General | Philosophy | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Theological Studies, published by Theological Studies, Inc. on March 1, 2005. The length of the article is 358 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Biblical Foundations of Spirituality: Touching a Finger to the Flame.(Book Review)
Author: Joy Milos
Publication: Theological Studies (Refereed)
Date: March 1, 2005
Publisher: Theological Studies, Inc.
Volume: 66 Issue: 1 Page: 238(2)

Article Type: Book Review

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