Date Read: April 2009
In this medical suspense novel, a doctor moves to Tranquility, Maine, to shelter her adolescent son from the city and the lingering memory of his father's death. When a boy under her care commits an appalling act of violence, she investigates the controversial drug she prescribed.
My Thoughts: This started off really well - a typical quaint setting for a crime-horror and some fairly normal characters. The viral thriller built up and up with some suspenseful scenes of violence and the main character struggling to work out the cause...
And then - cue the Stephen King style sci-fi ending! Absolutely bizarre and so completely out of place that I put the book down at the end and felt very disappointed. I won't be reading anything else by Tess Gerritsen, it's just not my cup of tea.
I RATED IT 3/10
Date Read: January 2009
“It is a truth universally acknowledged that a zombie in possession of brains must be in want of more brains.”
So begins Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, an expanded edition of the beloved Jane Austen novel featuring all-new scenes of bone-crunching zombie mayhem. As our story opens, a mysterious plague has fallen upon the quiet English village of Meryton—and the dead are returning to life!
My Thoughts: This book, after reading the first few pages, seemed to me to be a little flat. The idea of zombies appeared as merely a side-story, an afterthought. I have never read the original Pride and Prejudice, but you could put the words 'And Zombies' at the end of any book title and I'd pick it up.
My first impressions, in hindsight, took a huge smack in the face as I became drawn into the plot, the tongue-in-cheek humour and occasional innuendo that laced the story. Along with the odd bit of violence and diversion from reality, the characters are well written and very likeable. Elizabeth appears as a ninjaesque heroine alongside her zombieslaying sisters. This novel really did not put a foot wrong and merged the idea of a classic tale with a twist almost seamlessly. PPZ has everything you're going to need - comedy, action, romance and ZOMBIES!!!!
P.S: Although I am not one to be drawn into tale of romance usually, I definitely want my own Mr Darcy.
Recommendation: If you are willing to read something that needs a little more concentration and attention than some other books, love zombies, or haven't read Pride and Prejudice yet - you might be pleasently surprised.
I RATED THIS 10/10
Date Read: August 2008
Top-secret operative Nick Stone has just aborted a sanctioned assassination attempt at the Houses of Parliament -- and now he's in a world of trouble. His bosses have handed him an ultimatum: fly to Panama and finish the contract -- or Kelly, the young orphan in his guardianship, will die.
My Thoughts: Number 4 in the Nick Stone series was nowhere near as good as the first. Admittedly, I seem to have skipped numbers 2 and 3, but I think it will take quite a lot of willpower to pick them up to be honest.
Although it was alright and kept the pages turning well enough, I found the plotline to be a bit tedious in places and some of the characters felt a bit flat. Nick Stone, however, was just as brilliant as ever and he was the only reason I kept at the book until the ending. Quite disappointing - maybe I will leave this series for a good while.
I RATED THIS 6/10
Date Read: January 2008
Two soldiers: one a celebrated military hero and the other a broken veteran living in the gutters of London. Their paths last crossed nearly twenty years ago. Now, amidst a hostage crisis in the Middle East, their lives are about to collide again. And the Strike Back is about to begin.
My Thoughts: If you haven't watched the drama series based around this book then please do not start now! Read the book first!!! Those who have watched Strike Back on TV but not read the book tell me that the TV series is amazing - but having read the book a good year ago I would have to strongly disagree.
The series in no way matches the drama and suspense that Chris Ryan presents so well between the pages, and leaves a good many details out that I was so impressed by when racing along the plot. I passed this book on to my father-in-law and he loved it as well.
John Porter is a lot more well-rounded and vivid in the book than on the screen, and the other characters are all vibrant and brutal. The twists in the novel's plot are more shocking and will leave you feeling satisfied, whereas the T.V series falls a bit flat at the end.
Having been in the S.A.S for ten years, Chris Ryan is a worthy match for Andy McNab with regards to writing - and his books are generally a little easier to read as well.
I RATED IT 9/10
Date Read: January 2006
"If you don't take this note to the police... I will kill a lovely blond schoolteacher.... If you do... I will instead kill an elderly woman active in charity work. You have six hours to decide. The choice is yours."
The typewritten note under his windshield seems like just a sick joke. But in less than twenty-four hours, Billy Wiles, an ordinary, hardworking guy, is about to see his life take on the speed of a nightmare.
My Thoughts: I wasn't convinced at first by this novel. It is the first Koontz book that I have read and I believed there to be a few starting flaws. Billy seems to jump to conclusions too quickly in the beginning, and to possibly assume more than would be plausible given the initial situations. Some of his actions seem a little inhuman too at first.
Having said that, once you are immersed in the intensity of the drama, Billy's character and history are slowly revealed, perhaps accounting for some of the early thoughts he has that seem odd. This book quickly gripped me and had me reading hungrily for more. The brutal and bloody twists and turns leave you on the edge of your seat, and the ending is not a disappointing one either.
Recommendation: Anybody who can brush over a slight amount of awkwardness and likes their books to be fast, furious and horrifying will not be disappointed.
I RATED IT 7/10
Date Read: January 2004
Sent to investigate a series of grisly murders in Raccoon City, S.T.A.R.S. Bravo Team scrambles into action. On the way to the scene, Bravo's helicopter crashes. Although everyone survives, what they discover next is gruesome: an overturned military transport truck riddled with corpses -- and that's only the beginning of their nightmare. Bravo Team is about to discover the evil that is growing all around them, and rookie member Rebecca Chambers is beginning to wonder what she's gotten herself into.
My Thoughts: It goes without saying that anyone who loves the Resident Evil games will get more out of this than those who don't. The book is easy-read and puts all of the cheesy charm from the game onto paper, laced with puzzles that Rebecca and Billy seem to solve all too easily. They know exactly what to do straight away, hardly any questions asked. If (like me) you find yourself going round in circles trying to complete some of the games, you will wonder where they managed to draw all of this magic intuition from.
The characters in RE are so well known, and on paper they just seemed to fall flat. The scenery is also not well described (although if you've played the games, this won't be much of a problem).One thing that brought me round a little towards this book is that the action is constant, and you are never bored with it.Not too bad, but could have been so much better!
I RATED IT 4/10
Date Read: Unknown
Katie O'Dwyer flees the constraints of her rural Irish upbringing for the excitement of London. Here she meets and falls in love with William Melville: the imposing head of the Melville fashion dynasty. Elusive, charismatic; married. Their affair is brief but passionate. Katie conceives a child. Fifteen years later she succumbs to cancer; and her beautiful daughter Caitlin finds that she must go to live in England, with the father she has never met. Her half-sisters - cold, high-achieving Elizabeth, and spoilt princess Amber - react to her with hostility; while their elegant mother is too high on valium to notice what goes on. Reeling from her mother's death, unable to fit into this alien world, Caitlin is sent away to boarding school. It is here that something happens which is so awful, so brutalizing, it will change Caitlin forever . . .
My Thoughts: Now, as a bookseller, I occasionally like to step outside of my comfort zone when it comes to reading. Mainly so that I can make knowledgable recommendations to customers that don't share the same reading tastes as myself. This definitely is a book that is not my style. It was an enjoyable read - did remind me a little of a Soap Opera and would be perfect for lounging about on holiday with. It touched on a few disturbing issues, but wasn't graphic in any way and so wasn't offensive at all.
If the idea of a tame Virginia Andrews novel with a Sweet Valley High twist appeals to you, then by all means, give it a go. Money, sex, fashion and family - all tangled up into one fairly decent read. Not too bad as far as chick-lit is concerned.
I RATED IT 5/10
Date Read: Unknown
Seconds before the Earth is demolished to make way for a galactic freeway, Arthur Dent is plucked off the planet by his friend Ford Prefect, a researcher for the revised edition of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy who, for the last fifteen years, has been posing as an out-of-work actor.
Together this dynamic pair begin a journey through space aided by quotes from The Hitchhiker's Guide ("A towel is about the most massively useful thing an interstellar hitchhiker can have") and a galaxy-full of fellow travelers: Zaphod Beeblebrox--the two-headed, three-armed ex-hippie and totally out-to-lunch president of the galaxy; Trillian, Zaphod's girlfriend (formally Tricia McMillan), whom Arthur tried to pick up at a cocktail party once upon a time zone; Marvin, a paranoid, brilliant, and chronically depressed robot; Veet Voojagig, a former graduate student who is obsessed with the disappearance of all the ballpoint pens he bought over the years.
My Thoughts: Well, what can you say about the master of sci-fi comedy? His books are hilarious. I was grinning right from the outset at the absurdity of the situations that the characters find themselves in, the banter back and forth and the general madness that you find yourself plonked right at the centre of.
It's the characters that truly make this series so well-loved - a set of books that will always put a smile on my face.
I RATED IT 10/10
Date Read: Unknown
A nightmarish vision of a very twisted food chain—you’ll never look at meat in the same way again.
Abyrne is a decaying town, trapped by an advancing wilderness. Its people depend on meat for survival, meat supplied by the processing plant on the edge of town. Meat is sanctified and precious in Abyrne, eaten with devout solemnity by everyone. A feud smolders between the town's religious and secular powers—whoever controls the food supply controls everything, and conflict is imminent.
But a handful of people suspect Abyrne is evil, rotten to its religious heart, and they are prepared to sacrifice everything for the truth. What goes on in the meat processing plant? Where does meat really come from? The townsfolk are hungry. The townsfolk must be fed.
My Thoughts: This is one truly shocking read that leads you into a dystopian nightmare. The writing style reflects the horrific atmosphere perfectly - and the ending isn't disappointing either.
A clever way of making your brain tick-over in so many different ways. Raises many questions revolving around ethics and morals - and the practice of religion.
You will need a bit of a strong stomach to plough through this one, but it's worth it if you can. A warning though - I couldn't eat meat for a fortnight after putting this down.
I RATED IT 9/10
Date Read: Unknown
Summoning up more than 20 years of Japan's most dramatic history, the geisha's story uncovers a hidden world of eroticism and enchantment, exploitation and degradation. It moves from a small fishing village in 1929 to the glamorous and decadent Kyoto of the 30s and on to postwar New York.
My Thoughts: I remember my stepdad handing me this book when I was around about 13, and I became engrossed in it straight away. Arthur Golden paints such a vibrant and vivid background, and then fills it with all kinds of colourful (and very real) people in a completely different world to our own.
With a bucketful of romance and a twist of jealousy laced into the plot - This book will always resonate with me on the deepest of levels: and I believe I was at the perfect age and time of my life to read it. A very wise decision to pass it on to me at that point.
I RATED IT 10/10
Date Read: Unknown
The Zombie War came unthinkably close to eradicating humanity. Max Brooks, driven by the urgency of preserving the acid-etched first-hand experiences of the survivors from those apocalyptic years, traveled across the United States of America and throughout the world, from decimated cities that once teemed with upwards of thirty million souls to the most remote and inhospitable areas of the planet. He recorded the testimony of men, women, and sometimes children who came face-to-face with the living, or at least the undead, hell of that dreadful time. World War Z is the result. Never before have we had access to a document that so powerfully conveys the depth of fear and horror, and also the ineradicable spirit of resistance, that gripped human society through the plague years.
My Thoughts: I love Max Brooks' ability to slip effortlessly into the minds of different characters in different situations with different narrative styles. An addictive and easy-to-read thriller that definitely deserves it's place on the big screen. Let's just hope that this is one of those rare occasions in which the film does the book justice.
I RATED THIS 10/10
Date Read: Unknown
Remote Control is the fictional story of an SAS agent named Nick Stone, who is on the case of two Irish terrorists. He follows them across the Atlantic to Washington, D.C., but is suddenly ordered back home on the next available flight. His old mate Kevin Brown, now with the Drug Enforcement Agency, lives near the airport, so Nick decides to drop in...
My Thoughts: Meet Nick Stone - cool, calm and collected with plenty of finesse and a level head in every situation. Stone really is a 'too good to be true' kind of character. And I love him!
I read this book a long time ago on a plane but I know that it was one of my favourites. The techniques that McNab outlines evidently come from experience and the action never lies dormant for long. I can remember this one being a little more complicated to read than the likes of Chris Ryan and Lee Child but it is very much character-focused (just how I like them) and Nick Stone was one of my all time favourites. Be aware - there is one particularly shocking scene in this book - I'm not easily disturbed, but it made my skin crawl...
I RATED IT 9/10
Date Read: Unknown
When Bruno returns home from school one day, he discovers that his belongings are being packed in crates. His father has received a promotion and the family must move from their home to a new house far far away, where there is no one to play with and nothing to do. A tall fence running alongside stretches as far as the eye can see and cuts him off from the strange people he can see in the distance.
But Bruno longs to be an explorer and decides that there must be more to this desolate new place than meets the eye.
My Thoughts: Only the speed at which the pages were turning was satisfying enough to keep me reading this book. It was pretty slow right up until the last few pages - I did not like Bruno as a character, he seemed unbelievably naive, not knowing anything at all about the world that surrounded him. Very difficult to believe that he was 8 or 9.
Overall - a tragic read, touching on a subject that should have been more effectively written, but did not nearly meet the expectations that I had of it.
I RATED IT 2/10
Date Read: Unknown
Jeff Talley, the police chief in a small Southern California town, still has nightmares about the young hostage who died when he made the wrong call in his previous job as a negotiator for an LAPD SWAT team. Now, three smalltime punks go on the run after a grocery store robbery and killing in Talley's town.
Soon his deputies have surrounded the house where the inept robbers have taken Walter Smith and his two children hostage, and Talley's back in his worst dream again: until the county sheriff's full-fledged SWAT team arrives and takes over, he has to negotiate for their lives.
My Thoughts: This book must have been a particularly good one, because even though I read through it years ago it really has resonated with me and I will always put it up there amongst my favourite thrillers. I can remember it being really tightly written, with some fantastic characters and plot twists.
Mars is a brilliant character, very colourful and stands out vividly to me; Jeff is a pretty good anti-hero with a troubled past. I couldn't stop reading it, it became impulsive - and the ending is a good one as well.
One tip - the film of this book is atrocious and doesn't even begin to mirror the tightness of the plot. Don't bother watching it (unless you've read the book already and want to see the perfect example of how badly books can be interpreted onto film).
I RATED IT 9/10
Date Read: April 2009
