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(take the chalk?) Reading the Alienist books to their timelines [04 Mar 2009|07:57am] littletendrils [ mood | busy ] I thought I'd share a reading exercise for the Alienist books that I've decided to try on the off-chance that some of you would also like to give it a try. :) A while ago, a group of fans of another novel (I think it might have been Lord of the Rings) decided to try reading to the story's actual timeline. So, for example, they read the sections taking place on September 18 on the real 18th of September, the sections taking place on September 19 on the real 19th of September, etc etc. I remember hearing that it was a great experience as it not only provides a novel way to re-read a story you already know well but it also allows you to get a better feel for the length of time that a story is set over. As both The Alienist and The Angel of Darkness have very clear timelines, I thought that this exercise might adapt well to the series which is why I've decided to try it this year. If you would also like to give it a go, however, you'll have to start soon: the day that The Alienist begins is March 3rd (i.e., today)! Alternatively, you might like to skip The Alienist and try reading The Angel of Darkness to its timeline, starting on June 20th. Anyway, I hope some of you do decide to give it a go. For those who do and would like a reference for the book timelines, they can be found at these locations. :) Happy reading!

(2 took and wrote. | take the chalk?) Rec: The Night In Dublin [28 Dec 2008|12:10am] gnomad [ mood | sleepy ] I participated in the yuletide fic exchange this year and received as my gift fic a wonderful piece of Alienist slash. Marcus Issacson and the Doctor go to Dublin to pursue a lead on a case the team is working on, and both find the distance from their lives and daily rituals to be liberating. It's a very sweet, quiet first time fic told from Kreizler's POV that has a spot-on voice and characterization. The doctor's uncertainty and insecurity about interpersonal issues rings very true to me, and Marcus handles these issues with a surprising gentleness. So despite being a little biased, I highly recommend reading this one. The authors for Yuletide are anonymous until January 1st, but reading and commenting is open now. The Night In Dublin Author: Anonymous Summary: Laszlo Kreizler and Marcus Isaacson grow closer. Pairing: Kreizler/M. Issacson Rating: NC-17 Excerpt: His anger towards his father fueled unpredictable bonds with the men in his life, but his mistrust and naivete towards women affected his life even more, and Laszlo was now self-aware enough to know it. The only women who interested him he imagined it within his power to fix. He would forever attempt to save his mother from his father by saving the women in his life, but it kept them from ever being his equals, no matter how enlightened he was as a male. That he felt closer to his male friends, however, was immaterial in any practical sense.

(take the chalk?) New Alienist Books Message Board Open! [30 Apr 2008|12:11pm] littletendrils I have recently opened a new message board dedicated to the Alienist books and Caleb Carr's other works. As you are all fans of his Alienist books (I would assume!) I thought that this might be of interest to some of you. :) The board be accessed at http://board.17thstreet.net. If you would like to discuss the books, please consider joining. After you've joined, make sure you read the welcome message and the board guidelines. I will be posting up some new topics for discussion soon but in the meantime, I would encourage you to start your own discussion topics. I hope to see some of you at the board!

(3 took and wrote. | take the chalk?) [27 Jul 2007|01:58pm] wildcards HELP. I've tried and tried, but I can't find ANY books that compare to The Alienist or Angel of Darkness. Everything seems like such a huge letdown. :[ Does anyone have any suggestions in the same vein that I might try?

(4 took and wrote. | take the chalk?) Hi. [27 Mar 2007|08:43pm] interpretthis Well hello.  I realize it's rather quiet around here, but I figured I'd drop an intro anyway.  I read The Alienist last year for a school book club and fell absolutely in love with it, and I just recently discovered the sequel, which I finished earlier this afternoon.  Two magnificent novels, I must say.  Anyone know if Mr. Carr will pen a third?  That would just about make my life. :)  Either way, I look forward to reading more of his work.  Glad to find a group for these wonderful pieces of lit!

(take the chalk?) New here [26 Dec 2006|12:46am] komori13 [ mood | artistic ] [ music | God moving over the face of the waters (Moby) ] Hi. My name is Anne and I'm a French girl of 29. I'm a fan of these books since the first time I've read them in French (almost 10 years now). I think that "The Alienist" is the book I've read the most until now (can't remember how many times...). I'm happy to find a community like this one.

(1 took and wrote. | take the chalk?) 17th Street Updates [02 Jul 2006|03:36pm] littletendrils [ mood | accomplished ] [ music | Nothing ] I hope nobody minds me posting this here. I just wanted to let anybody interested know that I am in the process of making some fairly large updates at 17th Street, my Alienist and Angel of Darkness fansite. I have almost completed the full character list (a couple of minor characters are still missing but I'm working on that) and I have also installed an email notification component to the updates page. Shortly, I am also going to start working on a timeline of events for The Angel of Darkness, similar to what I've done for the Alienist timeline; that might take a couple of weeks to finish though. Anyway, I just thought some of you might be interested in this. I should add that if you have any suggestions on what else I should add to the site, please feel free to let me know. Thanks! :)

(2 took and wrote. | take the chalk?) [23 Jun 2006|11:27pm] thegeekgene Hi. I'm a sixteen-year-old Jew from the depths of the Appalachian Mountains, and the story of how I got into the Alienist is something like this: ( Because I am long winded... ) I'm a bit excitable, also.

(6 took and wrote. | take the chalk?) Fanfiction [15 Jan 2006|08:06pm] littletendrils [ mood | busy ] [ music | Nothing ] Under the cut is a piece of Alienist fanfiction. If you decide to read it, I'd appreciate any feedback. Thanks. :) ( The Funeral )

(3 took and wrote. | take the chalk?) [11 Jan 2006|12:36am] olivertwist [ mood | hopeful ] I've heard rumors of another book to follow The Angel of Darkness. Is there any truth to this or is someone just tugging on my heart strings?

(take the chalk?) 17thstreet.net Open! [31 Dec 2005|10:22pm] littletendrils [ mood | happy ] [ music | Hands Clean - Alanis Morissette ] Well, I've been talking about it for a while but with the coming of the new year, I am happy to announce that 17thstreet.net and it's forums are now open! :) I'm hoping that 17thstreet.net will become a major internet source for information on the Alienist books. It will probably take a while for people to find out about 17thstreet.net but we (Cait and I) hope that once the site has had some advertising, discussion at the forums will start to occur. If you enjoy the books and/or studying the era that the books were set in, please feel free to join up and get posting. Don't forget to have a look around the rest of the site as well though; there's lots of interesting information available at the moment on the characters and the era. Anyway, enjoy and have a very happy new year! :)

(4 took and wrote. | take the chalk?) New here [17 Nov 2005|04:31am] super8filmboy [ music | sigur ros - "staralfur" ] Well, I suppose this is an introduction. Simple enough, really: fan of the books, fan of the characters, fan of the era, fan (and resident) of the city in which it's all set. I'm a film student in New York, and I'd love to see a faithful adaptation of the books to the screen. I'd love to do it, but I'm willing to step aside for someone with a real budget. In lieu of a drawn-out explanation of who I am and so forth, I'm instead posting an original picture I've made of Dr. Laszlo Kreizler. Enjoy!

(3 took and wrote. | take the chalk?) New Alienist book in the making! [11 Nov 2005|08:42am] littletendrils [ mood | excited ] [ music | Nothing ] wherenothingis has just sent me a recent article about Caleb Carr which is interesting in itself about the connections between his own life and the character Laszlo Kreizler. But, more exciting than any of that, we at least now have confirmation that Carr is definitely working on another Alienist tale. You can read the article here and on the last page, it states that he is "currently working on third Alienist novel". Yay! :)

(4 took and wrote. | take the chalk?) Ohh, Caleb, just give in... [09 Sep 2005|11:09pm] wherenothingis So, I'm starting to get quite antsy; I really want a third book in The Alienist series. I've been thinking about it a lot lately, especially since this little quote from the NY Post a couple months ago: "Carr is "hard at work" on a new novel for Random House, with which he has a contract for two books." What could this new novel be? Is he really going to make another awful attempt at a non-Alienist-series fiction book? I realise the reason he's branching out is because he doesn't want to become completely associated with those novels, but I think he's doomed; it doesn't matter what he does, even 11 years after the original and 8 years after the sequel, all anyone wants from him is another novel starring Laszlo Kreizler. It's apparent in every article I read on any thing he ever publishes; he's always referred to as Caleb Carr, author of "The Alienist," and many critics come right out and ask the question we're all dying to have answered: when the hell will he just give in and he give us what we want? I'm not saying that everything he's done since The Alienist and The Angel of Darkness has been a complete waste of time. He's a good writer, so anything he does is going to be at least mediocre. But that's what it's all been to me: mediocre. The Alienist series, on the other hand, is excellent. It's what Carr is best at. Has anyone here heard any news besides said quote concerning Carr's future endeavours? Does he plan to ever fulfill his original plan to have each of the seven main characters narrate a novel? Because if he does, he really ought to get a move on it.

(take the chalk?) There's Action To Get! [14 Aug 2005|01:23am] bodhishugenja Howdy folks. I'm still in the middle of the Alienist and woah...yeah, its that good. I'm an instant fan of this particular book and I'm glad I stumbled upon it. You see, I'm a history student about to embark upon a master's thesis, and my thesis is sort along the lines of this book, as well as others like it. I'm interested in the era's development of criminological theory, particularly where it intersects with victorian anthropology. So, I'm gonna hang out for a while, soak up a little atmosphere, and listen to the discussions. Already, I dig this particular community and I hope can participate and contribute a little. And don't worry about giving anything away, or slipping out with a spoiler. I know what happens. Maybe later on, sometime in the near future, I would love to bounce some ideas off you guys. But, let me get this book read before the semester comes around...

(3 took and wrote. | take the chalk?) My pick for Laszlo..... [12 Aug 2005|09:26am] jeanski79 Sergio Rubini. Do a google image search. He IS Laszlo. I first saw him in the french miniseries Count of Monte Cristo. He has a restrained passion that can be expressed in violent bursts of emotion. He also has the ability to be father like and also have a sense of humor. All the things that someone portraying Laszlo needs to have. :^} Love him. Don't laugh...I think Josh Duhmal (sp) could be a good John. He can be immature but yet when called upon convey strength and loyalty. I can picture him being sarcastic with Sarah, playing/gambling with Stevie, getting caught with that actress in his apartment by Sarah, Steve and Cyrus....I can really see him as John. Sara....I could picture that girl from Firefly as Sarah. The one that fixes the ship. I forget her name.... she is the only one I can think of to play her. She can be fiesty and I think she has the right look for the time.

(3 took and wrote. | take the chalk?) My first post here [11 Aug 2005|02:42pm] jeanski79 [ mood | cheerful ] [ music | New Order - Shell shock ] I am from New Hamphire USA. I am 26 (Aug.18) and work in the dental field. I came across Caleb Carr's book The Alienist completely by chance. I hardly ever peruse the book aisles at the local store. I was approaching the fiction section, right on the corner of the first row of books I saw the binding. Something drew me to it. I read the synopsis and looked at the cover art and the rest is history. :^} I have read the books so many times. I find something comforting in these books. Maybe because the people are all so different yet are all (in my eyes)worthy. I think the characters are so complete. I like them all equally. Usually there is a particular one I would identify with, but all of them I identify with. They are all very human, even the killers have something I can relate too. I don't have a favorite among his first three fiction novels (still haven't read italian secretary) Even though Killing Time is totally different. I like it just the same. Again, very human characters. I have blabbed on long enough.

(take the chalk?) Alienist Character Portraits [22 Jul 2005|08:32am] littletendrils [ mood | awake ] [ music | Nothing ] In all the HP fuss, I forgot to post up the portraits completed by Marta (artdungeon.net) of the Alienist series characters I commissioned from her for use at 17thstreet.net. :D They're rather large files so they are behind the cut. (Note: These are for my use only so please do not use them elsewhere, thanks!) ( Character Portraits )

(3 took and wrote. | take the chalk?) Hullo [13 Jun 2005|06:12pm] frankenspam [ mood | creative ] [ music | Metallica - The Call of Ktulu ] Just joined this comm the other day--I'm a big fan of both The Alienist and Angel of Darkness, and decided to find some fan communities. I was struck by the marked lack of fan art, and decided to remedy the situation, but I've struck a slight snag--I can find almost no online resources concerning late Victorian fashion, particularly for men and children. If anybody knows where I can research this, please let me know, and then maybe I can bully myself into drawing something worth linking up here. ^_^ Cheers, Spam

(5 took and wrote. | take the chalk?) Fanfiction [12 May 2005|04:06pm] littletendrils [ mood | cheerful ] [ music | Nothing ] Note: I'm not sure how familiar you guys are with fanfiction but basically, it's fiction about a movie/book/tv show that is written by fans. I've been working on a piece relating to the Alienist series so feel free to have a read. This is only a tiny bit but I figured that you might be remotely interested (and the community's been a bit quiet). I should warn, though, that I'm not the best writer so it's not all that good. Four hours had passed but I could still feel the sting across my face and hear those spiteful words lingering in my ears. Combined with the darkness of the night, the experience could only be described as suffocating. As the clock ticked closer to 2am and I was starting to feel like a corpse under my goose-down comforter, my mind made a sudden revelation. Slipping out of bed and trying not to make a sound, I crept out of the bedroom and down the stairs into the study. Switching on the Tiffany desk lamp as I entered the room, its brightness momentarily blinded me but the urgency of the situation seemed more important than waiting for my eyes to adjust. In half blindness I began rummaging around the papers that littered the desk, trying to find one of his letters. When I managed to place my hand on one, I started scrawling a telegram to send to the address printed on the envelope. I had to get out of here and back to safety... to the one person who would understand. ( Read More? )

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