Danjal Jannik Tindholm

Somehow, this title keeps jumping onto the “read”-shelf, whenever I try to put in onto the “Did not finish”-shelf.

Admittedly, I'm very close to finishing it, but I haven't been reading in it for a loooooooong time, so would probably have to go back a bit to remember some of the story and that ain't gonna happen.

It started out promisingly enough with weird going-ons interspersed with interviews and articles about what happened before the unfortunate group ended up on the remote island.
But quickly I felt that it was the same over and over again. I didn't mind the gore at all, some of it actually got under my skin (no pun intended), I didn't even mind the animal cruelty, animal lover as I am, as it's just fiction. But I had a hard time getting invested in the characters and - quite frankly - telling them apart.
Also, I found myself not caring about who lived or died or if ANY of them lived (which some of the “flashforward” interviews suggest that at least one does). For a story to work you have to have someone to root for. This is the same reason I didn't like Hostel, because the main characters were all jack-asses.

It's a rare thing for me to not finish a book, but I will give the rest of this one a pass.
Maybe, someday, when I'm hard-pressed for reading material, I will finish it.

Koontz has totally lost it. He's gone over the edge.
First. Frank 3 was a borefest, okay? No way you can deny it. I wanted to like it, but could not fool myself. And I really do believe, that anyone who says that he/she liked it is fooling him/herself. But, to each his own...

My main gripe with the book (aside from being badly written, suspenseless, anticlimactic and nonsensical) is on page 219-220, when Carson is talking to Erika Four on the phone and Michael sits next to her.
Some quotes:

“All he wanted was to build a utopia.”
“Paradise on Earth. Nothing wrong with that.”
“A one-nation world without war,” Carson said.
“All of humanity united in pursuit of a glorious future.”
“The New Race wouldn't pollute like the Old Race.”
...
“No greed, less waste, a willingness to sacrifice.”
“They'd save the polar bears,” Michael said.
Carson said, “They'd save the oceans.”
“They'd save the planet.”

All this from their conversation, and it's written in a mocking way, as if wanting to build a paradise, ending wars, waste and greed, saving the polar bears, the ocean and the planet are bad things.
Is Koontz so gone now, that he thinks that only dogs and humans are allowed to live?

I know it's all fiction and that he sometimes has a wicked sense of humour, but mocking things that would actually be good...? Now, I don't really find it funny the way he did it here, mainly because I know that he always lets his own beliefs shine through in his books (which, sometimes, can be extremely annoying and preachy), so I have to wonder if he really thinks that it's not worth saving the oceans and the polar bears, and not worth stopping wars. Oh, and the only mention he has of anything gay in it, is a clone gone wrong. Thanks, Koontz.

Oh well, from what I've learned, he was a Bush supporter and now supports Michele Bachmann.

Shine On, Sweet Princess.

Since I was nine and the original Star Wars came out, I have been a big fan of Carrie Fisher. Back then it was “only” because Princess Leia was a kick-ass character. As I grew older I learned a lot about her and her life and I became even more of a fan, because she was also a kick-ass character in real life. Strong, vulnerable, smart, funny and inspirational.
That's why it hurts a bit to say that I didn't find this her best book. Not bad by any means, but I just knew 98% of it beforehand (that's the downside of being a fan, you search for every little thing about your idol, before you ever get the chanc to read their memoirs ;) ). It still has her trademark humour and snark, though, and that I could never tire of.
So, why do I give it 4 stars?
The pages from her diary. Maybe it was the timing, but her frustration, love, sadness, confusion, all resonated very deeply with me and actually brought a bit of a heartache, and a tear to my eye.
I am saddened than in less than a year we will have seen her last movie ever. And saddened that we will never see an interview with her again.
Shine on, Carrie. You will never be forgotten.

I am not afraid of flying; at worst I find it annoying, depending on who's sitting next to me. Normally I just find it boring.
That being said, there are some spine-chilling stories and movies about flying. King's own The Langoliers comes to mind. Also, the plane crash in Dean Koontz's Cold Fire is harrowing.
This collection, however, doesn't chill much.
The stories one by one:

Cargo by E. Michael Lewis: Great set-up without any payoff.

The Horror of the Heights by Arthur Conan Doyle: Could have been decent, but the telling instead of showing kinda killed it.

Nightmare at 20,000 Feet by Richard Matheson: Maybe the best-known story in the collection, if not just because it has been filmed a few times. The story isn't as intense. Nor Matheson's best work.

The Flying Machine by Ambrose Bierce: Not even half a page and doesn't really do anyhting.

Lucifer! by E.C. Tubb: This one was really good. I predicted the outcome, but liked it nonetheless.

The Fifth Category by Tom Bissell: Maybe the most boring of the lot, almost nothing but politics... I guess. I zoned out.

Two Minutes Forty-Five Seconds by Dan Simmons: Maybe I just didn't get it, but there was noting to this story at all.

Diablitos by Cody Goodfellow: Maybe the must straight up horror tale in the collection, but it was really really bad. Tried to be scary and gross and failed on all accounts.

Air Raid by John Varley: Fun idea that didn't quite reach its potential.

You Are Released by Joe Hill: Maybe the best of the bunch. It made me anxious and had well-rounded characters despite the short form.

Warbirds by David J. Schow: Talk, flashback, talk. There may or may not be a giant bird awakened by war(?!??). Bad and boring and too much war stuff.

The Flying Machine by Ray Bradbury: A fun little thing, but no biggie. Sadly, since Ray Bradbury has written some really scary stories.

Zombies on a Plane by Bev Vincent: Nothing happens! Only discussions about where it's safe to go, a guy dies, the end.

They Shall Not Grow Old by Roald Dahl: Again, a lot of war talk... sigh... Also, again, the telling not showing kills it.

Murder in the Air by Peter Tremayne: Fun idea, but stupid conclusion, and the killer is obvious from the moment he/she is on the page.

The Turbulence Expert by Stephen King: Very Twilight Zone-ish. Not scary, but an interesting story.

Falling by James Dickey: A poem based on a true story. Annoyingly written and spaced, so much so I was wondering if something went wrong in print or I was reading it wrong. Bad.

So, 3 out of 17 stories worked for me. That's not a good score.

Very good, not typical King, and yet...
I'm looking forward to the next in this proposed trilogy :)