Simon
The big book of astonishing coincidences.
Think The Archers meets the last series of The Colbys (the one where Fallon gets abducted by aliens). Its's a bit mad, it's a bit sad and it's quite funny, and yes, those astonishing sets of coincidences and yes.... Trees, murder, tigers, bridge and a beautiful mysterious singer called LaLa.
Thoroughly entertaining.
I think these days we are spoilt with the way novels are presented to us, more often than not, but not always, they tell us who, when, why and what, everything laid out nicely making our journey easy, pleasant and on the whole, very satisfying. This book does none of that and it does it unapologetically. This book shoves you around, pushes your face in the muddy puddle, holds you up against the wall by the throat.......... and then puts it's arm around you and hands you a cup of hot sweet tea.
There is horror here, the worst bits of humanity. Sometimes I had to stop and put the book down. But, there is also kindness, friendship, laughter and moments of great warmth and love.
Did I enjoy this book? I did not, but that's the point. Books that make you feel something, however uncomfortable that might be, deserve a place on the top table when they are as astonishing as this book is.
The thing I love about Catriona Ward is that everything I've read is completely different. But there is a theme that runs though them all and that is strange and bizarre workings of family relationships and also human relationships with animals..
Sundial takes this theme to a whole new level, it's deeply unsettling and truly truly strange, and that's why I loved it so much. However, an important part of this book involves dogs, I love dogs, been around them all my life, and I struggled with that element. Also I didn't make the emotional connection with any of the characters like I did in Little Eve and Last House.. hence 4 not 5 stars.
So this his book is set in the same nightmarish world as his previous books “The One” and “The Passengers” (both mentioned in The Marriage Act), and is equally, if not more terrifying as those two. The mantra here is, get married, get lower taxes, interest free loans, better housing, driverless cars (as seen in “The Passengers”), better healthcare, better education, etc. The government monitors every aspect of people's lives with the mandatory installation of listening devices all over the married couples homes in order to “offer advice” when a marriage might hit a rocky patch.
WHAT COULD POSSIBLY GO WRONG!!!
This was really enjoyable, the very definition of page turner. Due to the compete and utter insanity of the first two acts, act three did fall a little flat for me and I was left feeling a little bit disappointed with the ending. That said, I really hope we visit this world again although where we go from here is anybody's guess. Needless to say, it will be completely BONKERS.
PS what our for the psychopath, there's at least one in every John Marrs book.
Book 4 of the Dublin Murder Squad series. This one follows Mick Kennedy as he investigates the murders of 2 children and their father, the mother on her way to hospital in a critical condition.
As much as this book is about a crime, it's also about coping, about keeping control and that thin line between normality and insanity, those little things that can trigger someone to completely lose that control. There were no real surprises, no twists, it's just brilliantly written.
The tragedy of life isn't that the end comes. That's the gift. Without an end, there's nothing. There's no meaning. Do you see?
What's the most terrifying thing? Growing old? Loneliness? Growing old alone? Growing old and turning into a mushroom.... alone? I love this author, so much is open to interpretation. Everything is weird and slightly off kilter, every piece of fluff means something. Just so beautiful, terrifying and emotionally devastating. Everyone will feel different after reading this and some people will hate it. Who wants to live forever? I fucking don't. Right, I'm off to listen to some Carpenters.
Grieving author tries to save single parent from evil man with the help of a lawyer and some fridge magnets.
I sort of fell out with Stephen King in the 90s, a couple of books just didn't do it for me, so I've gone back to that period and read a few that I missed. For the most part, this is peak Stephen King and the supernatural element really really works. It's probably a bit long and when you get to “that shocking moment” there are still about 100 pages left to go and it really does feel a bit drawn out. Also a couple of dream sequences which are very strange BUT overall very good indeed.
Utterly preposterous but hugely entertaining, full of horrible people doing ridiculous things and acting in ridiculous ways. I gave this 4 stars because a good time was had by all but a more realistic, less cake induced rating would have been 3. There's a sequel which I will probably read if I see it lying around in a charity shop.
Sometimes brutal, sometimes boring story of Stephen Wraysford and his life, mainly in France, before and during WW1. Not an easy read, certainly not a comfortable read. Some of the most brutally disturbing and shocking descriptions of life in the trenches during WW1 that I have ever read. Got quite emotional at the end.
The island was pretty safe, they were told, except when it was not, which made it like most places
I'm not quite sure how feel after finishing this book. First half was excellent, I was really invested in the story of Saeed and Nadia , second half left me feeling a bit cold and in the end, much to my dismay, I didn't really feel anything for Saeed & Nadia. I guess the message I am left with is the grass isn't always greener, but surely for these people some grass is better than no grass at all. Very strange,
I thought I would bring in 2024 with a grim tale about the end of the word, humanity reduced to it's basest level, a nightmare world, everything dead, no hope. 2 figures, father and son moving slowly across the desolate landscape, in search of something, in search of good guys, in search of,............... Guy Pearce.
Above average thriller complete with twist that you won't see coming. It's one of those “then and now” type of thrillers with 2 POV, enough herrings to keep you guessing and a most preposterous ending (sometimes less is more).
Have to say I was thoroughly entertained, and at the end of the day, that's what it's all about.
DO.NOT.OPEN.THE.DOOR
Creepy, atmospheric mystery that wiggles it's toes in the supernatural puddle. I loved the prose, it will appeal to fans of John Connolly. I didn't really care that much for the ending. When you find out who the killer is, and let me tell you this, Alison, it wasn't who I thought it was. There is this summery of what transpired, a history of the killer, the killer did this, they moved here, they found her this way etc etc. I didn't feel I needed to know that, it would have been better left unknown. The actual ending, I can deal with that, it was a little bit strange but what would life be without a little strangeness.
I will read more from this author, I like him very much.
Everybody's favourite science teacher wakes up in a galaxy far gar away and sets about saving humanity with the help of a singing spiderthingy
3.5 rounded up for Christmas.
First off I thought this was infinitely better than The Martian. I laughed a lot, not sure if I was supposed to, but this is a comedy right? Grace was an interesting character, at first I thought his “jovial” nature would annoy the hell out of me but as the story progresses it actually works really well. The story itself is pants on fire ridiculous but strangely compelling and the bizarre ending? Well I quite liked that too I think that sums this books up quite nicely, I quite liked it.
3.5
The 4th Merrily Watkins book. This one is about possession, not just of the soul but material possession. It's about having stuff but never having enough and wanting more and more.... Greed and how it consumes and makes people assume they are invincible. The story does feel a lot more complicated than it needed to be but it's written so well it all just sort of washes over you. Spooky, not as good as the previous two but still good.
“Lies were told with ease, because words had lost their meaning”A history of China seen through the eyes of three generations of women, starting early 1900s right through to the 80s covering the Japanese occupation, civil war, The Great Leap Forward and the truly horrific Cultural Revolution. A stunning piece of work, one of my favourite books of all time.
A world ravaged by a virus
A coash crash
A stranded cable car
A group of survivors at a remote research station
It's so very very cold.
It's all linked, but what's the link. Who? Where? or................ WHEN?
5 out of 5 for sheer entertainment and originality. Hope there's a sequel, it definitely feels like there could be one.
“If you could see the future, would you want to”
3, 3.5, 4. I am going with 4 because it's December, but it is a generous 4. To be honest this book is a little bit of a mess. The idea is great and I really liked the ending but the journey there is one strange trip. It really feels like something is missing, like something was taken out of the story, maybe to make it shorter. I don't know, it just felt like it was lacking something.
Think Alex North has set his bar quite high and this one falls a bit short of his previous two books.
Fast & The Furious meets Steel Magnolias.
that's the tagline I would use if this was being made into a movie and I was the tagline man. It's one of those books where everything is just right, the prose reminds me a little of John Connolly, you get just the right amount of detail to put you right in the middle of everything, to make the connection with the characters and feel the same emotions.
Cars and guns and heists are really not my thing, so the fact I love this book is even more extraordinary. I would give an extra star if I could for the use of the word Lackadaisical in a tense life threatening situation.
2.5 rounded up.
A work of fiction based on fact. An incredible story, truly remarkable, so remarkable that I don't know what is truth and what is fiction, and while I can believe a lot of what happened in this book did actually take place, I find it almost impossible to believe that all of it could have happened to one person (Pino) in the space of two years. I know the author does address some of this at the start of the book but still, just so much fantastical stuff....
Skiing down mountain with a heavily pregnant woman tied to his back after almost being buried alive by an avalanche was a particular highlight for me. And that's just for starters.
Despite all that, I found it strangely compelling and Pino is a likeable guy but ultimately the whole thing is let down by some pretty poor writing. A google of Pino Lella is quite revealing.
Take with a HUGE pinch of salt.
.
DNF
I'm bored, really really bored, I like a little fiction with my science, and this is probably 80% science and 20% fiction (and I'm being generous) . When the world ends in a fiery rain, here's about 4 pages dedicated to the death of 7 billion souls, and yet there are 25 pages on the complete history of hermetically sealed body condoms.
I will not insult the author by giving it a one star because I know some people love this stuff, just not for me.