The Martian - David Weir

I rated this book 9/10
First published February 2014

I’m stranded on Mars.

I have no way to communicate with Earth.

I’m in a Habitat designed to last 31 days.

If the Oxygenator breaks down, I’ll suffocate. If the Water Reclaimer breaks down, I’ll die of thirst. If the Hab breaches, I’ll just kind of explode. If none of those things happen, I’ll eventually run out of food and starve to death.

So yeah. I’m screwed.

A bold, tense tale of survival on Mars.

What a brilliant read! Mark Watney finds himself stranded on Mars as the rest of his team presume him dead and make their get away from the Red Planet without him. Reporting via journal/blogging entries, we follow Watney's desperate (and often witty) struggle to survive everything that the planet throws at him. Weir uses such realistic terms to describe Watney's daily trials, that it's hard not to believe that this could be a real issue in the not so distant future. 

Strong characters, laced with humour and full of suspense; this is a fast and addictive page turner to put on your reading list.

I absolutely can't wait until the film starring Matt Damon is released in October. 
The advert for it looks pretty spot on so far...

Available at Waterstones

Boy in the Tower - Polly Ho-Yen

I rated this book 10/10...

Ade loves living at the top of a tower block. From his window, he feels like he can see the whole world stretching out beneath him. His mum doesn’t really like looking outside – but it’s going outside that she hates. She’s happier sleeping all day inside their tower, where it’s safe.

But one day, other tower blocks on the estate start falling down around them and strange, menacing plants begin to appear. Now their tower isn’t safe anymore. Ade and his mum are trapped and there’s no way out . . .

A strange, scary thriller for kids that grown ups will love too.

I've been raving about this book since I finished it a couple of weeks back. It's a thrilling, scary kids book with a sci-fi edge to it; but is more about the personal experiences of Ade. Ade finds his life is shaken up by the strange occurrences that are happening in his town. Buildings are falling down and killing the people inside them, and nobody really knows why. 

But things get much worse for Ade, when he realises that his mum is going through some tough personal issues of her own and can't bring herself to even look out of their tower block window, let alone leave and escape the city through the front door. And still the buildings around them fall, and it will be their turn soon!

It's this exploration of his mum's difficulties that make 'Boy in the Tower' work on multiple levels. I know that many adults have read and enjoyed this book alongside their children, because they draw a completely different message from the text than the kids do.

'Boy in the Tower' is a fast and gripping read about a brave young boy facing some massive challenges. I'd recommend it both for (brave) 9-12 year olds and parents alike. And that ending! My heart was in my throat!

Available at Waterstones

The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August - Claire North

I rated this book 4/10

No matter what he does or the decisions he makes, when death comes, Harry always returns to where he began, a child with all the knowledge of a life he has already lived a dozen times before. Nothing ever changes.

Until now.

As Harry nears the end of his eleventh life, a little girl appears at his bedside. ‘I nearly missed you, Doctor August,’ she says. ‘I need to send a message.’

At last! After five months I have finally finished this book! I've finished so many other books in between it in that time, but I had to keep putting Harry August down.

Don't get me wrong, the concept is fascinating - but I just found myself analysing all of the flaws in North's plan every time I settled down to read it.

Surely - if a group of people lived their lives over and over throughout the course of time, and changed their actions each time they lived, ALL events throughout history and the future would be changed each time they died and were re-born. And so these people could not put bets on race winners (for example) knowing the outcome in advance, because everything has a knock on effect and everything would be changed each time round. The politicians, presidents, political leaders would never be the same people; the wars would never have the same outcome.

And what if these people had children?

And why would these people not want to use their knowledge to gain some kind of power, considering they were essentially hundreds of years old and infinitely more wise?

I was trying to figure out how all of this could work; maybe I missed something. But it completely wrecked my head.

And so I am over the moon that I have finished it - some of it was alright and some of it a bit dull. Harry himself wasn't that interesting, his antagonist being a little more so. I wouldn't go out of my way to recommend this to anyone - but if somebody asked me about it I would probably tell them that it might be worth a read.

The War of the Worlds - H. G. Wells

No one would have believed in
the last years of the nineteenth century
that this world was being watched
keenly and closely by intelligences
greater than man's and yet as mortal
as his own.

Rated 5.5/10

My Thoughts: I wasn't hugely struck on this book. It could have been the rambling style of the narrative, the fact that I am very much a fan of character driven novels, or maybe because I was reading on my iPhone; which is nowhere near as enjoyable as flicking through a hard copy.

I loved the concept, and the story has inspired so many novels and films since Wells penned his masterpiece. And for that reason I'm giving The War of the Worlds an average score. But I just couldn't get into it.

I'll probably be slated for this!!!!

The Games - Ted Kosmatka

"The boy lay motionless in
the tube as the machine moved
all around him."

Rated 8/10

This stunning first novel from Nebula Award and Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award finalist Ted Kosmatka is a riveting tale of science cut loose from ethics. Set in an amoral future where genetically engineered monstrosities fight each other to the death in an Olympic event, The Games envisions a harrowing world that may arrive sooner than you think.

My Thoughts: The Games was one of the many books that I found difficult to tear away from. I loved the theme of the title; genetic engineering, super computers, vaguely dystopian and very much appealing to the geek in me.

Although Vidonia didn't really appeal to me as a character (she seemed very much the 'token' lady, and her relationship with Silas was forced and unnecessary), most of the others were introduced with skill and I loved the way that Kosmatka gave us their little quirks and charms. Even the very minor characters (such as James Mitchell for example, who appears on just one page) were described without any kind of jarring awkwardness. Fair enough, the characters didn't 'grow' much during the course of events, but they were well rounded enough from the start to be interesting.

The one thing that let this book down was the fact that the first half of the novel was written with such style, suspense and a real building of tension that had me eager to turn pages - and then the last half of the book went obliterating that build-up completely, rip roaring to a speedy (and not entirely tied up) car-crash ending. I wanted more from it; I needed answers. It's as if Kosmatka had a really epic idea in place, but then ran out of space and had to bring it to a speedy close. I loved the scope of the plot that was set out before us, and then was disappointed to see it come to an abrupt ending.

And so, if you're looking for a neatly sculptured novel with developing characters and a steady plot line then you're in the wrong place. The Games is pure entertainment and nothing more.

The 5th Wave - Rick Yancey

There will be no awakening.

Rated 10/10

After the 1st wave, only darkness remains. After the 2nd, only the lucky escape. And after the 3rd, only the unlucky survive. After the 4th wave, only one rule applies: trust no one.

My Thoughts: This book was powerful from the very first sentence. It's a dark and gritty teen read (though it has a maturity in style that adults will enjoy too). Relentless and full of action throughout, I actually couldn't put it down. 

The characters are strong, very strong; and as they are children from the age of 5 upwards, they are battling with self-discovery alongside the inconvenience of a full on alien invasion. But not the cheesy, big-eyed, hairless, green life forms you might see in an old film or tv programme - we're talking something a lot more sinister than that. Something that could really make your skin crawl...

What struck me the hardest about this novel was Yancey's style. It's no holds barred, grown up writing; short, sharp, shocking. 

Packed full of violence, death and the urge for survival; this is a book for those not too faint at heart. If you love grit and grime then this could be for you - might be best not to read in the dark...

Republic - Steven L. Kent

'"Name?" The sergeant barked
the question without bothering
to look up from his desk.'

Rated 4/10

Private First-class Wayson Harris was raised in a Unified Authority orphanage among thousands of clones, bred to be the ultimate soldiers. But unlike the other Marines, programmed to obey first and think later, Harris has a mind of his own. When he fends off an attack from a rogue general, Harris is thrust into the middle of a galactic conflict that forces him to question his existence as a weapon of the U.A., and the cost of rebellion.

My Thoughts: This is going to be a really tough review to write, mainly because this book wound me up for quite some time before I reached the end, and not really in a good way. Please remember that this is just my own opinion, and you will need to read the book yourself to form your own views. I am going to break this review down somewhat, to help me to articulate everything that I feel I need to. There is quite a lot for me to get through!

First Impressions... The idea of this novel struck me. Give me anything to do with conformity, cloning, remnants of a dystopian society and I will be all over it, whether the book is set on planet Earth or otherwise. I had never picked up anything from military sci-fi before, and so this has opened up a whole new genre for me. I love to read military history, action and adventure stories, fantasy and science fiction; and so as long as a book has a lot of ass-kicking in it, then it will be good for me! 'Republic's' book jacket looks pretty awesome, with the identical silhouettes at the top to represent cloning and the brutal looking landscape at the bottom - I couldn't wait to get started on it!

In The Beginning... We are introduced (in first person) to Wayson Harris and instantly he is thrust amongst a group of untrained, lazy marine clones without a care in the world ... I enjoyed the first part of the book; the action, the introduction to Freeman and the way that Harris (despite not doing much at all) is given his second assignment before I had even reached page 100. And this is where things started to go downhill...

The Middle... Once I had been introduced to the main characters, I began to notice the awkward writing style. Short sentence after short sentence, the same word repeated two or three times in quick succession. The lack of metaphoric language and the occasional odd choice of words (personal annoyance, but 'specking' this and for 'speck's' sake really irritated me!).... 
The water was cold, but my body adjusted quickly. I loped forward through the shallows until the water was up to my waist, then I dived in. Lee followed me as far as the water's edge, but his willingness to continue vanished the moment he felt the water.
Just one of many examples in which I took out my biro and started to edit the book!!! Four uses of one word in three sentences?

The whole book was written in this style, where the narrator tries to hammer the story into us by reeling out the facts in short bursts and never giving us any emotion, any atmosphere or much creative use of language at all. It sounds harsh, but this is how I personally interpreted it. Half of the sentences could have been cut out and I would have gained back hours of reading time.

The characters were also lacking. With the narrative being written in first person, the reader never witnesses the 'behind the scenes' look at the other character's background, actions or thoughts. We don't see the broader picture, and for a setting as vast as the whole galaxy, this could have been a big mistake.
Some of the dialogue was pretty poor also - the characters don't 'sound' genuine; at one point, Wayson says "Ha!"... which to me is pointless!

Wayson Harris (taking into consideration that he isn't human) is not relateable at all. He doesn't seem to have much emotion. No hobbies to speak of, no family or friends, no history. I couldn't connect or find him likeable.

The only female characters mentioned at all in this book are two pieces of 'damn fine scrub' that Wayson and his comrade meet whilst on leave. I understand that this book is not targeted towards a female reader and that blokes do talk about girls in this way, however, the plot might have had more depth if the odd woman was introduced at other times too, or one or two were laced into the background cast. Preferably strong, modern ladies (as would be expected 500 years down the line) and not hysteric tanned blondes who hook up with a guy the instant their eyes meet. It is clear at this point exactly who the reader should be; these girls seem to be a ditzy blip in the plotline to highlight the fact that clones actually do have testosterone in there somewhere and that females do still exist in this future.

I believe that all of this could have been pushed aside if there had been some action throughout the plot - but in fact there was hardly any. Harris doesn't really show off his skills (yet) and any action that actually does take off is initiated by other people. We never really get close to it. This had to be the biggest disappointment, as I was expecting fire fights and fist fights throughout. Maybe this is because I have never read from this genre before and I had misguided preconceptions.

The End... The best part of this book was the end! Not simply because it took me so long to get there. Harris' action FINALLY started from page 430, and he led a pretty intense mission that actually had me quickly turning pages for a little while. This is the part of the book that I will gladly remember, and actually, I was pretty pleased that I had stuck with it at this point, as I had been close to putting it down on a few occasions! This is the kind of narrative that should have really been present from the beginning - even with the odd writing style I would have enjoyed it that much more. What a finish!

In Conclusion... A pretty good first and last 100 pages, but the middle felt like filler for the reasons outlined above. I was glad that I finished it, but unhappy that it was so time-consuming to do so. And that I felt the need to edit it when it all got a bit too much for me!

I read the first few pages of Jack Campbell's first Lost Fleet novel (as Steven Kent has been compared to) and already found it more captivating, his style is engaging (I have since added Campbell to my book(et) list).

I do have book 2 of Kent's Clone Rebellion Series on my bookshelf, and I think that I might wait a while and then give it a go. Now that the scene has been set and I know Wayson Harris a little better, the second book might be easier to read.

Watch this space!!!

Love Minus Eighty - Will McIntosh

"The words were gentle strokes,
drawing her awake."

To be published 11th June 2013
Rated 4/10

In this daring and big-hearted novel based on the Hugo-winning short story, the lovelorn navigate a world in which technology has reached the outer limits of morality and romance.

My Thoughts: Another mobile phone review...

I received Love Minus Eighty as a proof and the blurb had me hooked in an instant. "...Frozen brides wait in dating farms for billionaire suitors to pay for their reanimation..." What a chilling concept; dark and gritty dystopia - cue thoughts that this might just perhaps be on par with The Handmaid's Tale - this book sounded right up my street!

What followed led me into a fascinating future world, which unfolded with new discoveries as the story went on. I enjoyed this, it was a clever way of keeping me turning pages. A new piece of technology was revealed every few pages or so, even towards the finale. Some real imagination has gone in to setting the scene here, it was the novel's real strength.

However, I personally feel that Love Minus Eighty lacks believable characters with realistic depth to them. I couldn't connect to any of the protagonists myself as I found them to be one dimensional and a bit forced. The dialogue is off, and doesn't feel real to me. Their emotions come across as flat and we are 'told' about themselves rather than 'shown'.

The characters that I felt were well imagined were Lorelei and Nathan, and I'm wondering if this is because we don't see things from their view point at any time; we see them through the eyes of a separate narrator(s). I think McIntosh's style is best suited to 3rd person in this respect as his writing was at its best when his characters were explaining the world and the people around them.

I feel that this book would be epic if there was more depth to the narrating protagonists, if the writing style was a little sharper, and if the Bridesicle idea had been explored even further.

As it stands, this is a decent read set in a vivid future world; not to the same standard as Atwood's books, but fans of light dystopian fiction will probably really enjoy it; particularly late teens and young adults. Once I picked the book up I could not put it down!

It ends as if there is a lot more left to tell, and I think that a sequel to Love Minus Eighty would go down really well.

If you prefer your tales plot-driven rather than character-driven then even better!

Recommended to fans of Lauren DeStefano.

Intrusion - Ken Macleod

Rated 1/10

Imagine a near-future city, say London, where medical science has advanced beyond our own and a single-dose pill has been developed that, taken when pregnant, eradicates many common genetic defects from an unborn child. Hope Morrison, mother of a hyperactive four-year-old, is expecting her second child. She refuses to take The Fix, as the pill is known. This divides her family and friends and puts her and her husband in danger of imprisonment or worse. Is her decision a private matter of individual choice, or is it tantamount to willful neglect of her unborn child? A plausible and original novel with sinister echoes of 1984 and Brave New World.

My Thoughts: Where to begin! I actually got my biro pen and started editing this book at one point, it was that awful. The female characters are flat, forced and uninspiring, and they seem mostly irrational. I didn't really understand how Hope couldn't think of a reason not to take the fix, and yet was so adamant about it. People make their decisions based on a number of their own experiences in life, influences from upbringing, social standings, religion, education, the works. And so the whole foundation of the book wasn't credible as far as I could see it. She would have had some reason not to do it, no matter how small the reason might have been.

Apart from this, half of the text could have been missed out as it was just filler, the dialogue was terrible ("Man!" Said Bernard.) - there was so much rambling going on. I read 115 pages and still nothing had happened. When something exciting finally did happen it felt really out of place and unjustified.

I really like dystopian thrillers and I was looking forward to reading this one. It was money wasted unfortunately as I couldn't finish it.

Halfhead - Stuart B. MacBride

"There's blood everywhere."

Rated 9.2/10 (Awesome!)

There are worse things than the death penalty...

My Thoughts: The first sentence had me hooked and pretty much set the theme up for the whole novel in an instant. A really dark and gritty sci-fi read with plenty of shocking gore and a racing plotline. I couldn't tear my eyes from the pages.

I had the privilege of a quick exchange of Tweets with Mr MacBride as I was reading this on the train to work:



                 Me ‏@Gemininski

Reading Halfhead by @stuartmacbride and wondering why I've never picked this up before. It's ace!

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27 NovStuart MacBride ‏@StuartMacBride

@Gemininski Phew! That was a worry. Some people absolutely loathe it. Glad you're not one of them.

Expand

28 NovMe ‏@Gemininski

@StuartMacBride not at all! Though I do worry in parts that someone is looking over my shoulder at what I'm reading and backing away slowly.

And I did indeed find myself shielding the odd page from commuters who found themselves within reading distance. There are some pretty sickening scenes in there, and one particularly that I had to stop reading for a moment to take a deep breath and continue on. The strong dystopia element satisfied me, and I only wish that the book could have delved a little further into it, and into the whole concept behind the halfhead.

I love to be kept in suspense when reading. I love to be shocked. I love vivid characters that I actually care for and plenty of action... This book covered all bases. I want more!

An epic sci-fi/crime thriller that is something that little bit different. 

Theme: 5/5
Plot: 4/5
Characters: 5/5
Setting: 5/5
Style: 4/5

Overall: 9.2/10

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

Transition - Iain Banks

Date Read: October 2011

There is a world that hangs suspended between triumph & catastrophe, between the dismantling of the Wall & the fall of the Twin Towers, frozen in the shadow of suicide terrorism & global financial collapse. Such a world requires a firm hand, a guiding light. But does it need the Concern: an all-powerful organization with a malevolent presiding genius, pervasive influence & numberless invisible operatives in possession of extraordinary powers?

My Thoughts: A very tricky read to follow - specially if your head is all over the place anyway (as mine was). You really need to focus on this one, but it pays off big time. I became glued to it. told from different character's perspectives, at different times, in different worlds. Sex, drugs and humour lace the pages.

Find time for this sci-fi classic; and space on your bookshelf.

I RATED IT 7/10

Jurassic Park - Michael Crichton

Date Finished: 6th September 2011

On a remote jungle island, genetic engineers have created a dinosaur game park.

An astonishing technique for recovering and cloning dinosaur DNA has been discovered. Now one of mankind's most thrilling fantasies has come true and the first dinosaurs that the Earth has seen in the time of man emerge.

But, as always, there is a dark side to the fantasy and after a catastrophe destroys the park's defense systems, the scientists and tourists are left fighting for survival...

My Thoughts: Where do I start?!? This is the book that one of my all time favourite movies was adapted from, and so I had high expectations from the very beginning.

The very first thing that struck me was how unlikeable most of the characters are - Hammond is the most naive and frustrating character I have stumbled across in a long time. I know that he is supposed to be the shady character in the book, but to me he just seemed to be full of forced idiocy - which doesn't seem plausible for the man behind such a massive development.

The next character that I found nauseating was Lex - and I'm not surprised that she was completely transformed in light of the movie. I don't think we are told how old she is (correct me if I'm wrong) and I can not even begin to guess at her age. She appears to be a bit of a tomboy, loving baseball and such, but all the way through the book she whines, can't walk for herself, touches things she shouldn't, gets in the way, can't keep quiet. She really grated on me.

Don't get me started on Malcolm, at least 80 percent of his dialogue could have been chopped out and I would have been happy.

I didn't find myself attached to any of the characters at all, and I will let Crichton off a little on this one, because the book is very much plot-driven. Having said this, some of the detail in the novel was just completely unbelievable (and hey, I know the whole thing is supposed to be far-fetched, but I like to have some kind of explanation as to why certain things might happen).

It seems that 'anything goes' is the key to this read and that doesn't quite sit well with me, I'm so glad that it was reigned in a little for the film.

The fact that this novel was also supposed to be set on a beautiful island - masses of stunning landscape sliced through with man-made concrete buildings and wire fences escaped me a little. Crichton could definitely have elaborated on this a touch more; could have placed me right in the middle of the scenery. His descriptions of the island (in my own opinion) fell flat.

The reason I'm not marking this off as a complete failure is because the basic ideas behind the book are stunning, and it produced such an iconic movie that I watched over and over as a kid. That in itself is one hell of an acheivement.

So, well done Crichton for conjuring this one up. I won't be reading anything else by him, but I will always have a bit of a soft spot for Jurassic Park. :)

Theme: 10/10
Plot: 5/10
Characters: 1/10
Setting: 4/10
Style: 4/10

OVERALL AVERAGE:  5/10

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams

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