The Birthing House - Christopher Ransom

Conrad Harrison found the last
home he would ever know by
driving the wrong way out of Chicago
with a ghost in his car.

Rated 3.6/10 (readable)

The scariest novel since Stephen King's The Shining, The Birthing House grips from the first line to the terrifying final twist.

My Thoughts: A very strange read, but car crash writing that I could not put down. The characters are typical larger than life beings, not well written at all; and it basically comes down to the usual ghostly tale - man is all on his own in a brand new home - man sees strange goings on - man manages to completely ignore them and get on with life inside the haunted house. It's choc full of cliches -> pretty useless dogs, a young helpless girl and lots of sex for the sake of sex.

The subject matter of the hauntings is highly disturbing and confusing, and the main character also begins to get more and more deranged. You can never quite tell if it's the house that's haunted or his psychological state, but you can tell that he is not normal right from the very beginning, and there are a few passages that have you wondering about his sanity from the word go.

There are also some parts of this book that don't tie up, or seem to be a little pointless. Some of the characters are irrational - particularly the main character's wife Jo, who didn't feel real at all; and quite a few scenes come across as disjointed, unfinished or out of place. I'm still not sure as to what the Birthing House was actually meant to be back in the day, but I'm settling on a cult of some kind. There are so many questions left unanswered, (why didn't the dog get pregnant?!?! being one of them) and when I reflected on the book after finishing, I realised that there were so many loose ends that I couldn't remember them all!

All in all however, this is a very addictive read. A book that you just can't help but plough your way through despite all of the errors and insensitivity. Although the bare bones of the book are nothing out of the ordinary, it's the (patchy) padding round the outside that make it readable. If you're looking for something completely bizarre and you have a very open mind - this one might be for you! 

Those of a nervous disposition, new parents and pregnant ladies - keep your hands off!

Theme: 3/5
Plot: 2/5
Characters: 1/5
Setting: 2/5
Style: 1/5

Overall: 3.6/10

Ready Player One - Ernest Cline

"Everyone my age remembers
where they were and what they
were doing when they first heard
about the contest."

Rated 9.6/10 (amazing!!!)

Imagine the world at stake. An epic struggle between good and evil. The greatest quest in history. The fate of humanity resting in your hands. Are you ready?

My Thoughts: I fell into this book from the first chapter. It satisfied every desire that I have when it comes to reading. It had the fabulous (not so perfect) characters. It had the dystopian world filled with suppression and struggle. And it had geekery - lots and lots of 80s themed, futuristic sci-fi geekery. 

In a declining world of poverty, over-crowding and hunger - people are bound to escape into a virtual world. It is easy enough to see this happening. With technology advancing at the speed that it has, Ready Player One's themes could be relevant to us all. 

It is very clear that this book has been meticulously researched. I think that if I played out every 80s game that appears in the book, every movie that Ernest makes reference to, they would all be exactly as they are described on the pages. 

A very clever read that would suit teenagers, sci-fi fans, self-confessed geeks and children of the 80s.  

Theme: 5/5
An original theme that spans across multiple levels. 

Plot: 5/5
Everything is here - action, drama, romance... There are plenty of twists and turns along the way.

Characters: 5/5
Nobody is perfect. And not everybody is as they seem either...

Setting: 5/5
A virtual universe filled with countless numbers of custom made zones, sectors, planets and worlds.

Style: 4/5
Ernest has written in a style that is accessible to a lot of people - but I think that the style would most suit teenagers and young adults as it seems a little young at times.

 Overall: 9.6/10