Simon
These Charlie Parker books just get better and better. This is pretty much a direct sequel to The Killing Kind and concludes the Faulkner story (or does it??), ties up some of the loose ends and we find out more about Louis and Angel. Once again toes are beautifully dipped in the dark pools of the supernatural. Can't wait to read the next one.
3.5 rounded up for sheer originality. First up, my copy has a sticker on the front that says “A unique gothic story”. This is not gothic, don't be taken in by the cover, its so far from what I understand to be a gothic story. It's a modern mystery, modern house, modern family etc etc. I did struggle with it in some part. I think the short chapters (most of which are just a page and a half) don't help the flow of the book and I found it really hard to connect. Some of the story is really tense (the end bit) some of it is really boring (the middle bit). Overall just a bit meh, but good meh, like when you go into a shop and there's cheap meh and expensive posh meh. Treat yourself to some posh meh!!! bla bla bla.
This was ok. I think, for me anyway, when you're reading a novel about the end of the world it's nice to have some kind of emotional connection with at least one of the characters, some one to root for. And there lies the problem with this book, I didn't like any of them, with the exception of Colin the monkey and that relationship didn't end well. There are some neat touches but some of the stuff that happens is bey0nd convenient, it's goof fun though and I bet the author and fun writing it. If you want to read one of Adrian J Walker's end of the word books read The Last Dog On Earth because that one is brilliant, it's got a dog that swears in it.
You get to a point in this book where you know what's coming and when you get there, those last two pages are pretty damn perfect. You read those last pages so quickly you can almost hear the pounding of the feet on the stairs, the raised voices and see the look of horror on the faces when they enter the room. Another brilliant, deeply disturbing folk horror tale From Andrew Michael Hurley.
Another cracker from Neil Spring, based loosely on true events that happened on the Welsh coast in the late 70s against the backdrop of the cold war when the UK was perhaps at its most paranoid. There's lots going on, UFO's, strange beings in silver suits, strange men in black suits, cults, devil worship, animal mutilation, mass psychosis, there's even an appearance from Thatcher. It's mad as a box of frogs and I loved it.
A Victorian retelling of Philip K Dick's Total Recall (sort of)
I think overall I enjoyed more of this book than not. The idea itself is terrifying. Imagine someone abusing you over and over and the abuser then takes those memories away from you so they can abuse you again, over and over again and you never remember. Horrific!!
I do wonder if putting part 2 first would have helped the story flow a little better. In part 1 Emmet goes off to be an apprentice “binder” because he has the gift, there is no mention of this at all in part 2 (set before part 1) which seems a little odd, very odd. Also a book devoid of any likeable characters. pretty much everyone is horrible.
The incredible story of Lale Sokolov, The Tattooist of Auschwitz. Unfortunately I don't think the author does it justice. I just feels like a superficial skimming of the story with hardly any emotion, any sense of the terror and the hardships they must have suffered. Like I said, the story is incredible and it needs to be known but I think it could have been told better.
WTF!!!!
Nina keeps Maggie chained up in the attic. Nina is Maggie's daughter but what devastating event could have made her chain up her mother and keep her prisoner in the attic? well, you will find out via a series of major WTF moments. There are SO MANY WTF moments in this book, probably more than in any book I've ever read, in fact it should be called the big book of WTF moments. At times you really have to suspend your belief at what's happening, it's completely mental but I rolled with it and I did enjoy it. If completely bonkers off the wall twisty moment books are your thing then this is for you but if you like your thrillers a little bit more grounded then it's probably not.
The front of my book says “A brilliant, harrowing, powerful novel” this however only applies to the last 200 pages of this 500 page book which are indeed brilliant, harrowing and powerful. The first 300 pages unfortunately fall short and are a beige mix of romance, war, politics and some random philosophy. I'm glad I finished it but those first 300 pages.... very hard work.
3.5 rounded up because it's Christmas. The opening 50-60 pages are glorious nightmarish look at Romania after the fall of Nicolae Ceausescu. Then comes the sciencey bits, attention to detail is A+ but it does go on a bit and for me it does spoil the pace of the book. Then the book morphs into some kind of 80s thriller and a love letter to the Dacia motorcar. BUT you have to give credit to Dan Simmons for doing something different with the Vampire story.
3.5 rounded up.
Camp, overly dramatic and utterly bonkers. Some of the dialogue is right out of a “Famous Five” book and I will admit that overall it's completely ridiculous. Some people will hate it, lots will pull it apart and point out it's flaws (it has many) BUT it's was just great fun and that's why I rounded up.
Good. Everything is good. Writing is good, pacing is good, story is good, characters also good. Good, not very good, just good. Strange thing though, Simon Serrailler is hardly in the book at all, also not sure what “Various Haunts of Men” has to do with anything that happened in the book. Like I said, good, just good.
I love the poetic darkness to these novels with the toes wiggling in the pool of the supernatural. This is really good but it does feel somewhat rushed and lacks the depth of the first two novels, however, the blurb at the back of the book does say that this and the next book for part of one narrative so on to that one soon. Also. Ewwwwwwwwwwww Spiders.
Salvation is a rusty tower in the middle of the sea with endless cans of chicken curry, a dirty mattress and an oil lamp and a home made theatre which is a cardboard box with bits of coloured paper. This book was on the Booker longlist for 2019 and I'm not sure why, think my dystopia meter is at maximum.
A bit like The Road? Maybe in that's it's set in a post apocalyptic world and the writing style is a bit like Cormac McCarthy but not as good. For me it's more like Station Eleven, deals with a yearning for something different, something simpler, something better without ever forgetting. . BUT please do forget everything because.. First rule of dystopian fiction club is... YOU DO NOT KILL THE DOG EVER EVER EVER!!!!
You know that time when you are walking down the high street, in a bit of rush, maybe trying to catch a bus or meet a friend and you are running a bit late and maybe are a little impatient. You try and speed up but always there is someone in the way, someone walking slowly and when you try and move to the right there is someone there stopping to look at their phone, and you try and move to the left and someone else is there with a three baby pram and a tonne of carrier bags. Well this is the literary equivalent of that journey. Finally reaching your destination is mildly satisfying but the journey itself is frustrating and full of irritations.
I don't think I had the magical experience that most people seemed to have with this book. There is a quote on the front that says “such a beautiful book” that must relate to the last 10 pages which I admit are quite uplifting. The rest of it is an utterly terrifying tale of being stuck in limbo between life and death. Actually reads a little bit like a non fiction book. Strange.
