Simon
“If from infancy you treat children as gods they are liable in adulthood to act as devils.”
In this dystopian world no babies are born, and humanity is plodding towards extension. After a period of anarchy society becomes docile, attending lectures on history, baking flans, gardening, pushing cats around in prams, watching porn and generally just wandering around. But there is a dark side. Secret police, forced suicide, medieval prison islands and a bunch of last borns called Omegas who strut around and are generally unpleasant. All of this overseen by The Warden.
And then, a baby is born, and everything becomes a bit of malarkey involving a group called the 5 fishes and some bad pot holes. Yes pot holes not plot holes.
This was pretty good. Supremely written, quite dark, a bit boring in places. The thing with the cats kind of freaked me out. Overall, a good addition to the dystopian shelf.
“Nobody can love the stars and hurt people. They just can't.”
2 young girls, 800 years apart, set off on the same journey but under very different circumstances. For one of them it is a voyage of discovery, of maps and adventure. The other fleeing Syria, a country that is about to tear itself apart. The thing linking the two stories....... HOME.
I really enjoyed this. I would definitely recommend taking a few minutes every time the story switches between timelines, just to savour what you have just read. I think the only negative is that sometimes the grave nature of some of the situations, especially in the present day story, got a little bit lost in the magical prose, however, I guess that this is really seen through the eyes of children and they don't see misery and suffering the same way we do now we are older, more cynical and more miserable.
"God's Death!! Are you telling me he has been walking around with a lady's kerchief stuffed up his arse?"
Simply glorious. I can't get enough of Shardlake. What's not to like? Murder, scandal, betrayal, pottage, and of course the historical swearing.
Bit weird, bit rambley, but frighteningly accurate, especially when you consider it was written 72 years ago.
I think the most important part of this book is the afterword. It helps you understand how the book came about. Sure, I understand the themes and I get what the book is about. It's about censorship, the dumbing down of society into compliant plebs etc etc. via the removal of ideas and thinking which is mainly books and education. But understanding the genesis of the book help me understand why it was such a strange book to read.
The book came about via a few short stories, a heap load of ideas and a couple of personal incidents, one of which involved the police which were all thrown together over a period of time to form this novella. This kind of explains why some of it is page turningly brilliant and some of it is like being being inside a cheese induced coma.
Very good, but very pleased it wasn't 1oo pages longer.
Audrey flees a scandal in London to take up a job as a folklorist on the Isle of Skye with the mysterious Mrs Buchanan. Her job, to collect stories, songs & legends from the local crofters before they are forgotten and lost forever. What she discovers, however, is something much more sinister, something very very real.
I flew through this in 2 and half days and it's quite possibly my favourite book of the year so far. Wonderfully creepy & atmospheric, the prose is exquisite and ending just about perfect. Warmed my cockles it did, warmed my cockles.
“My tabernacle is spoiled, and all my cords are broken.... There is none to stretch forth my tent anymore and to set up my curtains.”
Creepy, atmospheric, psychological, ripperish thriller about a series of gruesome murders in Victorian London, and an old couple who take in a strange Lodger to help ease their financial woes. This isn’t a whodunnit, it’s pretty obvious who the guilty man is, I mean the title gives it away, and everything is laid out for you at the start of the book. What really is works is the way the author moves the story on towards its conclusion, as Mrs Bunting (one of the landlords) suddenly realises with horror what is happening right under her nose.
There are some issues with this edition. There are some spelling mistakes, and I found some of the dialogue really difficult to follow, but let's just marvel at the fact that this was written in 1911 and was probably way way ahead of its time.
A story about unconventional love, music, drugs and cooking. I really liked the way the story makes you love a character one minute and dislike them the next. Pretty much everyone in this book is broken in some way, and searching for some kind of peace and contentment. I didn't like the ending. Usually I might complain when when a book neatly ties everything up, sometimes not knowing is better, but in this case I was so emotionally involved I wanted to know if Johnathan got sick, what happened to Clare & Rebecca and did they get the dishwasher fixed????
Probably doesn't give same punch as it did when it was first published, but definitely worth your time.
Neither loved it or hated it. Very well written, but just a bit mid-range depressed pigeon staring at a semi deflated dirty paddling pool. Probably didn't help that my house has been invaded by a hyperactive builder called Andy who's entire medical history and love of heavy metal music is now engrained in my brain for all eternity. Although I will say, he does lay good felt.
There's a few of Stephen King's earlier books that I've never read so I'm going back and filling in some of the gaps. This was released in 1979 and is probably more eye-openingly unsettling now that it was back then.
Johnny can see the a persons future just by touching them, and when he shakes the hand of an up coming politician he sees a horrifying glance into the future. The big dilemma here is what do, and will what you do make a difference.
Probably up there with his best books, even at 460 pages (mass market edition) it felt like a quick read. I didn't give it 5 and that purely down to the fact that I already knew the story and outcome before hand.
Was that women’s cancer cured by prayer? Is that young man with asthma a killer or a victim? Was The Hound of the Baskervilles originally going to be set in border between England and Wales? Will an Arthur Conan Doyle appreciation society be able to contact the spirit of the author and find out? Is that women working in the struggling hotel really a teenage killer now grown up? Will Gomer be able to get his tractor through the snow? Who or what is killing the sheep? And for the love of God will you just marry Lol and get it over with!!!!
These are the kerfuffle's that Merrily Watkins (local vicar and chain smoking exorcist) must solve to bring peace and tranquillity back to the county of Herefordshire. This was pretty good, dragged in the middle a little and the ending was a little bit Scooby Doo, but I just love the characters so much any failings just seem to flutter away.
Seven beautifully written bitter sweet stories about queer lives, all loosely linked by place or person. I normally struggle with short stories but not with any of these. Simply magical.
A bunch of unlikeable characters moping about a posh hotel that used to be an asylum back in the day, there's a blizzard, an avalanche and some deaths which add some tension but not much. Starts off quite well but took me 79 years to finish the last 50 pages. Tells you everything you need to know.
I seem to read a lot of stuff that is just plain bonkers and this is right up there with the best of the bonkers.
Not a ghost story, more of a whodunnit/espionage thingy. There is a supernatural element but it's just so strange, the ghosts are literally just hanging around, checking things out, having a wander and peering over people's shoulders. I laughed a few times but I am not sure I was supposed to. I did, however, love the character Kate Cartwright, I hope she gets her own story one day, a secret agent who can see dead people is just what the world needs right now.
Sherlock Holmes meets BBCs Ghosts meets You Rang M'lord (with guns) A generous 3.
“Whatever it is you are looking for, and however long the journey, finding it is just the beginning”
Such an enjoyable book. And the red feather, which fell out out of page 50 while I was reading in the bath, nice touch. As good as anything I've read by Koontz or King.
Grim Michael Crichtonish thriller about a virus that may or may not be the end of civilisation. This book is 70% science and geopolitics and 30% human story. I enjoyed the human element but found the other stuff, for the most part, incredibly tedious but frighteningly close to reality, especially the stuff about Putin. This is not for you if you are feeling a bit shit about the state of the world, it certainly won't make you feel any better. Utterly bleak. Now off to watch some videos of dogs chasing carrier bags.
Moody folky mystery horror(ish) story set in the Scottish highlands with witchy bits and some ghosts. First 200 pages are nice and atmospheric then the pace explodes and the book becomes something very different, unfortunately the last bit feels really rushed, like the author just wanted it to be over. Probably not for everyone but if you like folk horror you will appreciate what's going on. 4 might be over generous but its spooky month and it's more good than bad. Will definitely read more from this author.
In this dark tale, the Devil's work is shown.Yet ‘tis men who reap what they have sown. For Hopkins, with his fervent quest. Finds in his heart, no peace or rest. A tale of woe, a tale of pain, In Manningtree, the witches slain.
Simply glorious.
Probably my favourite book of 2021 so far. A whodunnit with a sprinkling of the BBC comedy Ghosts. Utterly bonkers and brilliantly original. If there isn't a sequel I will be very cross. EMBRACE THE WEIRD !!!!
Starts off really well, really compelling and utterly filthy. However, halfway though the novelty of the 2nd person narrative and Victorian smut wares off and it becomes tiresome and tedious. I nearly DNF'd a couple of times but there is just enough to keep you going. Overall, it's just too long and a little bit too pleased with itself.
I will never look at my grans dinner service in quite the same way ever again.
Very creepy, very weird but also very moving. It's not as good as The Corset, which is one of my favourite books of 2020, but it's still very good and will be devouring all of Laura Purcell's future books.
A quite remarkable story, two stories in-fact, of survival and redemption. Set in the ghetto of Warsaw and the gulags of Siberia. The ending got me in the feels and that always gets the 5th star.
And this is love, I realise. This broken-bodied stumble forward, one carrying the other in spite of exhaustion, pain and the glare of the outside world.
I love it when something completely takes you by surprise and this book certainly did. This is a wonderful story of suspicion and secrets . Set in the harsh and unforgiving landscape of 17th century Iceland. Rosa and Jon marry out of necessity but it is an unhappy pairing. Rosa wants more freedom than Jon seemingly wants to give her and Jon, well, he has his own secrets and what exactly did happened to his previous wife and what the hell does he keep locked away in the Attic?
The more the story unfolds the more brutal and shocking the back story becomes and I was totally unprepared for the ending, totally unprepared.
I think I enjoyed this more than Shadow Of The Wind, probably because of its darker edge. I love a bit of ambiguity but I did feel there was so much going on, particularly at the end, that I felt I missed something and so much was left un-answered. I mean who or what was AC? Is David now a vampire or other creature? Where did the child at the end come from? Saying all that, reading this book was a pleasure, heavy on atmosphere and fluffy of word. Will definitely read the next one where I expect all the questions left in this book to be answered... but I bet they won't be.