Simon
Finding this hard to review. It's beautifully written but the main character I found so horrible, so selfish it was difficult to feel any sympathy for him whatsoever. I read this 20 years ago and gave it four stars and I don't remember feeling that way towards any character. Maybe I am older and wiser or maybe just more bitter.
Too many disasters spoil the broth.
Probably the only book I have ever read where I'm saying “it really needed to be 200 pages longer”.
There's this place between the living and the dead and if you drag someone or a cat from that place between the living and the dead to the land of the living you must be careful because nasty things might come through, and if you drag a lady through it might be not one lady but three ladies rolled into one. But its ok because the hand you lost in an accident has magical powers and you might be saved by the ghost of traffic cop with a ginger goatee. Most of all trust no one.
This book is absolutely bonkers, I really like the writing but its not as good as The Plague Stones or Helkas Children.
3/5 rounded up. There's a lot going on in this book.. A LOT!! Lots of people are gushing about these Charlie Parker books and I definitely have one foot in the land of gush but my other foot is dangling in mid air looking for somewhere to land (like a game of twister). I hope I find that place to put my other foot in the next book.
Dark and disturbing with a vein of comedy running right through it. Has one the best unhappy endings of any book I've ever read.
Survive - Abuse - Repeat.
The only book to ever give me cheddar cheese induced nightmares.
And it goes on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on. And in the end you still don't find out what happened to the kids!!!!!!!!!
All you need to get on in life is an apple and a chain smoking sweary exorcist from Herefordshire. This is book is the epitome of a slow burner. If books with “twits that you will never see coming” are your thing, then this is probably not for you. If you like books with depth and brilliant characters then give it a go.
If you are expecting a fast paced twisty crime thriller then move away. This is a book of great depth and beauty, a book about feelings and how a single act, a single word can twist those feelings and send them to the darkest of places. Fans of literary horror wold probably enjoy this more than those who love crime and thrillers.
Normally a huge fan, this is a big disappointment . Alll over the place and difficult to follow. My least favourite book by Aycliffe.
Another book on the 100 LGBT novels you must read before you're dead list. Set in the 80s, It's a story about a family the gay son, struggling with his insecurities and neediness, the dad coming to terms with his own sexuality and the mother trying to hold it all together while dealing with her own adulterous past. The good bits are really good. The dull bits are REALLY dull. The supporting cast. Jerene, Dan, Elliot are much more interesting than the main cast but overall it balances itself out and is generally rather (for want of a better word) PLEASENT.
some good bits, some bad bits, some really disturbing bits, some really cringe worthy bits. not as good as any of her other books
I discovered this author completely by accident when I participated in a very short but very detailed conversation about the demonic properties of cold pop tarts, then following a recommendation by a beard (the beard?) I decided to buy this book and I am so glad I took the plunge. This is as good as any horror book I've read. There's two things going on here, on one hand you got the very real human horror of abuse and then there is the paranormal element (a nod to The Dark Half?) It all works and its written brilliantly. The ending was just about as perfect as you can get. Just one thing, there does seem be a recurring thing about wrap around walkways, what was the significance or was I looking at something that wasn't there?
The theme of this book is dark, uncomfortable and often upsetting, unfortunately some of the dialogue between the characters is toe curlingly awful, especially in the first half of the book. 2 stars, just ok.
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.
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.
Ballard's first novel written in 1962. A solar storm has decimated the earth's atmosphere, the polar caps have melted and temperatures have risen to over 100 degrees. Ballard's vision of this nightmarish world is amazing but it is rather tedious and feels rather dated and very very bonkers.
“There were times when true justice meant not lying, but just keeping calmly and steadily silent”
Deeply disturbing and upsetting story of neglect and abuse. Brilliantly written and put together by the author.
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.
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.