Review - Kokoro by Keith Yatsuhashi

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This was much better than the first book in the series, but it still had some problems.

The story takes place on another world similar to Earth, called Higo and centres around two almighty weapons called mah-zhins (think huge iron-man type thing). One member of the royal family has been able to wake up one of the mah-zhins and has used it for a while to dominate the world. Another is doing his best to wake the other mah-zhin up to even the score, so there’s a bit of an arms race going on.

In my review for the first book, Kojiri, I mentioned that it felt a bit like power rangers, this one felt more like transformers for me with all the flying robot type things. It takes a lot of inspiration from Manga and as such, it’s a bit mad in places.

These books are loosely based on Japanese mythology, which I thought was really cool, although I’d have liked to see an explanation of this in an author’s note.

The books main theme, I thought, was about belonging and family. The story behind the royal family who take centre stage in this book is very intriguing and nicely done.

Notable issues

To me, this book had a one star beginning and a four star ending. There is a good section at the start of this book that I would have simply chopped out and just started on the world of Higo. The beginning doesn’t really add a lot to the story and the necessary elements could have been dropped in throughout the book.

As in the previous book, the author doesn’t spend much time explaining the world, how it works and what its rules are. As a result, it feels like the writer moves the rules around to suit the story at parts.

It has a very bad case of Dean Koontz character syndrome. This is where the world is created, then the plot is thought out and drafted and then the characters are created so that they are convenient to the plot. This creates very unrealistic reactions from characters at points.

Final thought

If clearer exposition was added and more in-depth characters included it could have been something truly epic. It’s got all the ‘cool stuff’ you could ever want, it just needed more to back up the ‘cool stuff’.

Still, it was much better than first book and if you like Japanese myths and / or Manga, then this series might be for you.

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Review - Kojiki by Keith Yatsuhashi

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

What more can you ask for with a book with magic god-like figures, each with a super cool guardian in the shape of a dragon, or thunderbird? How about tell me why I should care? There is very little that is relatable in this book. We only have one 'human' in this book. The rest are all gods or dragons, or whatever.

There is not enough time spent building the world and its rules for the reader to understand. You're just thrown into the action and I still had questions about the rules of the world at the end.

One thing that irked me, was that the Kami (god like person) aren't allowed to kill a guardian because of the 'rules'. This leads to cool scenes were a dragon, or something appears where the Kami's only choice is to run.

Very clearly inspired by Anime, this just felt like an episode of Power Rangers with very little to relate to.

Also, it's jampacked full with YA cliches.
“But you are different. More different than you realize. Different doesn’t have to be bad, Keiko. Sometimes it just means ‘special’ or ‘unique’."
“But why me? I’m nobody."
As much as she wanted Yui’s friendship, she didn’t like the thought of her father sharing so much with another woman, certainly not one so young and beautiful.

There's also a part where one of the Kami stops during a war to have a freekin' bath!!
“Seirin, we can’t afford the delay–” “Nonsense. The stench of war clings to each of you, and Yui’s clothes and skin are stained with dragon blood. A hot bath is exactly what you need to recenter yourselves.” In truth, Seirin chafed at the delay too, but they needed the rest –all of them. Too many had died already; she wouldn’t lose any more to fatigue.

There were also a lot of mistakes, missing words and just downright confusing parts:
A moment earlier he’d glimpsed a small change in a section ninety degrees above his castle’s courtyard, a trace of smooth surface in the otherwise rippling fabric. 90 degrees above?

More water covered the surface, for one thing, and even if the liquid looked duller than he remembered, incredibly, most felt more flammable. Water is not flammable.

These two confusing sentences appear of the same page...

If she couldn’t summon her power, she was as good as dead. No...if her power isn't summoned, she will die. Not 'as good as'.

Final thought

I apologise, this review was a bit more ranty than I prefer, but I couldn't help it. There were good things about this book. The last 100 pages of this book were fairly decent and I liked the whole 'who is the real enemy' thing. It felt like a good commentary on today's world. For me, it just needed more human elements for me to care about what happens in this story.

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Review - To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

What can I say about this amazing book that hasn’t already been said? I think The Guardian said it best – “To Kill a Mockingbird will never stop being a good book, and it will never stop inspiring good people.”

The story is told from the point of view of Scout (Jean-Louise Finch), a six year old girl, through various events that happen in the town of Maycomb and in particular, the court case of Tom Robinson as her father Atticus Finch acts as Tom’s defence lawyer. Tom, a black man who has been accused of raping a young white woman, has to endure multiple racial attacks. Atticus, widely described as the “most enduring fictional image of racial heroism”, describes the events to Scout so that she sees that all people should be treated equally.

Themes

The book mainly deals with the themes of racial equality and rape but there are themes of morality, class and gender also. To Kill a Mockingbird had been deemed so important that in 2006, British librarians ranked the book ahead of the Bible as one "every adult should read before they die".

Above pointing the finger at racial and class issues, it’s a gripping story with great characters. What impacted me most when reading this was just how applicable all of the issues still are today, even though the book was published 57 years ago. We have indeed made good progress, but we still have a long way to go in my view.

Characters

Scout is such an awesome character, probably one of my favourites. Having the story told through Scout’s innocent point of view was a perfect choice, it creates a unique atmosphere.

Atticus is nothing short of a hero. Not in today’s comic book / action-hero standard, but as a moral pillar of the family who is setting a great example for his family to follow. He sticks up for what he believes in. This probably sums him up perfectly - "It was times like these when I thought my father, who hated guns and had never been to any wars, was the bravest man who ever lived."

Writing

The writing was a joy to read. You really get to know and care for the characters. This story is really subtle in places and it’s not a fast-paced thrill ride. Had Lee’s writing been sub-par it could have become boring very quickly. Instead, Lee draws you in through her fantastic writing, which is both charming and astonishing in places.

"They're certainly entitled to think that, and they're entitled to full respect for their opinions... but before I can live with other folks I've got to live with myself. The one thing that doesn't abide by majority rule is a person's conscience."

"I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand. It's when you know you're licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what. You rarely win, but sometimes you do."

"So it took an eight-year-old child to bring 'em to their senses.... That proves something - that a gang of wild animals can be stopped, simply because they're still human. Hmp, maybe we need a police force of children."

"I think there's just one kind of folks. Folks."

“You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view … until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.”

”Shoot all the blue jays you want, if you can hit 'em, but remember it's a sin to kill a mockingbird."

If we followed our feelings all the time, we’d be like cats chasing their tails.

Final thought

I wholeheartedly agree that this is one of the most important books ever written, beautifully created. Don’t be put off by all the themes and the millions of critical, in-depth analysis’s. Underneath all of that, it’s simply a great read. Highly recommended, and the audiobook version with Sissy Spacek is wonderful.

I’ll leave you with yet another quote from The Guardian “Let it not be forgotten that a true piece of literature, like To Kill a Mockingbird, is meaningful in every period and that today, Atticus Finch's message should be heard in the midst of all the global conflicts that we hear of on the news every night.”

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Review - Best Served Cold by Joe Abercrombie

Best Served Cold by Joe Abercrombie
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Vengeance first, questions later.

A terrific, action packed romp with a vengeance.

This book is all about revenge. It follows Monza as she is betrayed very badly and then plots her course to get revenge on all those present at the time of the betrayal.

Set in the same world as the great First Law trilogy, the back drop is the region of Styria.

Springtime in Styria. And that means war. Springtime in Styria. And that means revenge.

It deals with revenge, what it means and what it feels like when you actually achieve it through a range of very human and likeable characters.

Characters

What makes Abercrombie stand out in today’s jam packed fantasy scene, is his ability to write fantastic characters. He creates such vivid, human and intriguing people in his books, he is second to none in this regard, in my opinion.

There are some familiar faces from the Blade Itself world and some new characters as well. My two favourites had to be Friendly, a math obsessed ex-con and Cosca, well known turncoat and flamboyant mercenary. The two form a bit of an unlikely bromance as well.

More important than simply creating great characters in his works, Abercrombie also has a nack for building on their individual stories throughout, making sure the characters change and learn things (or not sometimes). Each character has their own arc well though through and executed brilliantly.

Writing

Abercrombie’s writing is crisp and moves the story along nicely. There were times where I felt he went into too much detail but this doesn’t happen all that often. The action scenes really stood out for me in this. They were fantastic, suspenseful in places and had me on the edge on my seat (well, couch for the most part).

The witty banter, particularly from Cosca was hilarious.

Here’s some of my favourite bits. All in all the writing is very witty, human and jam packed full of quotable sayings:

‘One cannot grow without pain. One cannot improve without it. Suffering drives us to achieve great things.’

‘The dead can forgive. The dead can be forgiven. The rest of us have better things to do.’

‘People talk a lot when they’ve nothing to say.’

‘That’s the one. I’m an optimist.’ ‘How’s it working out for you?’ ‘Not great, but I keep hoping.’ ‘That’s optimists. You bastards never learn.’

‘You are a gentleman, sir,’ muttered Cosca. ‘I am a murderer.’ ‘I see no reason why a man cannot be both . . .’

He dipped in his wooden spoon and took a taste, and it was good. He rated it forty-one out of fifty.

death so close she could feel it tickling at her neck.

‘My name is Nicomo Cosca, famed soldier of fortune and I am here for dinner.’

To the starving man, bread is beautiful. To the homeless man, a roof is beautiful. To the drunkard, wine is beautiful. Only those who want for nothing else need find beauty in a lump of rock.

Words may hold more power than swords, as Juvens said, but I have discovered to my cost that there are times when there is no substitute for pointy metal.’

You make yourself too hard, you make yourself brittle too. Crack once, crack all to pieces.

Blades can kill men, but only words can move them.

Final thought

Anyone with an aversion to swearing, vulgarities and lots of gore should look elsewhere. For those who don’t mind a gruesome, gritty tale, you should read this. It was enjoyable being back in the same world as the First Law trilogy, one of the best series in all of fantasy. Best Served Cold wasn’t as good as First Law, but it was still a hugely enjoyable tale.

It also had some of the most awkward, funniest sex scenes I’ve ever read, they were hilarious!

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Review - Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman

Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

What a fantastic retelling of Norse Myths. It features such characters as Odin, Thor and Loki along with a host of other lesser known gods and characters.

Gaiman does his best to stick to the source material and not stray too far from the myths themselves, writing it in his own language which really brings the stories to life. By doing this, Gaiman has written the perfect place to start if you want to learn more about Norse Mythology in my view.

What really added to my enjoyment was that I had read the Poetic Edda before this, so I had an inclination as to which myths would get the Gaiman treatment.

It’s basically a collection of short stories, with a large Ragnarok story at the end. Amongst my favourites were:
• How Thor receives Mjollnir (Treasures of the Gods)
• When Thor has to dress up as a bride to get Mjollnir back (Freya’s unusual wedding)
• The story of the cauldron the Gods want so they can get drunk a lot (Hymir and Thor’s fishing expedition)
• The mead of Poetry (Mead of poets)

My favourite though, was Thor’s journey to the land of the giants. It’s one of the longer tales in the book where Thor and his companions are put through their paces in a number of physical contests.

Gaiman stays true to how the characters are described within the ancient myths. The characters are different to what people have come to expect from Marvel films. Thor is a bit of a dumb meat head. Odin is treacherous and ultimately clever. Loki is even more conniving than the film/comic book version.

Gaiman starts the book by saying that Norse myths are his favourites, and this shows with the level of care he gives the source material whilst adding his own spin to the tales. Norsemen also play a large part in American Gods.

I listened to this on audiobook and Gaiman’s narration is great. Something really special happens when writers narrate their own works. The passion comes across when they read their own works. I’d recommend any of Gaiman’s audiobooks.

Final thought

Gaiman has definitely drank from Odin’s Gift (from the nice end!) and this is a must-read for anyone interested in Norse / Viking history. I already want to reread this, it was that good and it’s short enough to be read in a couple of days.

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Why...listening to audiobooks isn't cheating

Audiobooks have made a huge difference to the publishing industry. You only need to look at the emphasis publishers have put on creating a memorable audio productions recently to see this. Never mind the fact that users downloaded 2 billion hours’ worth of audiobooks from audible in 2016 alone. That would take me 228,310 years to read!

And I use the word ‘read’ on purpose since a lot of readers consider audiobooks to be cheating. About 30% of the books I read are audiobooks and I recall them in the same way that I remember other books that I’ve read on paper, so I’m very much on the audiobook bandwagon. Note – this is not a sponsored article.

According to research included within a Science of Us article, as far as your brain is concerned, audiobooks are not cheating. It argues that from a cognitive psychology perspective, there is no real difference between listening to a book and reading it. It’s all about how the brain makes sense of language.

Researchers have studied the question of comprehension for decades, and “what you find is very high correlations of reading comprehension and listening comprehension.”

Of course, the experience of listening to a book rather than reading it is different, and I appreciate that audiobooks aren’t for everyone. The narrator is key. Listening to Stephen Fry read Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams is an amazing experience, and no doubt led to me enjoying the audiobook more than if I had read a physical copy.

When listening to an audiobook, your brain will naturally drift off, get distracted or even bored. They are great for listening to a book when doing the housework but I frequently find myself rewinding parts that I’ve missed. Fastcodesign published an interesting article which looks at how readers absorb information, and how likely they are to be distracted according to what format they are using. The graph below shows the results of the research featured within the article.

As you can see the results clearly show that audiobooks are tougher to take in, especially when there’s a lot going on around you so they’re not for everyone. To me, audiobooks allow me to absorb more books than I would be able to otherwise and some of my favourite books of all time are audiobooks. As long as you ensure that you’re paying attention to what’s being said and you’re not rushing through it just to say you’ve finished it, audiobooks are equal to other formats.

If you would like to check out some audiobooks but don’t know where to start, here are some of my recommendations:
1. Always try before you buy – You should be able to preview a book before purchasing. Which means you can avoid getting stuck with a good book, with a terrible narrator.
2. Don’t buy outright – I subscribe to audible for £14 per month which gives me two credits to use. If I run out of books for a month I’ll buy another three credits for £17. So that’s around £6 per book, about the same as you’d pay for a new book these days. The books listed on audible are frequently listed for around £25. Stick to membership credits and you’ll save a lot of money.
3. Trial – If you sign up you can do a trial and try out one audiobook for free.
4. Daily deals – A lot of my audiobook library consists of daily deals that they run where a book can cost as little as £1.99.
5. Try and pick something simple – I always check out a story to see if it’s told from multiple povs, or if it jumps from one time period to the other. If it’s a hugely complicated book, then I won’t attempt to listen to it.

Here are some of my favourites:
• Locke and Key by Joe Hill narrated by a huge cast
• Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams, narrated by Stephen Fry
• Jim Butcher’s entire Harry Dresden series, narrated by James Marsters
• Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman – Gaiman narrates this himself
• Blood Song by Anthony Ryan narrated by Steven Brand
• Trainspotting by Irvine Welsh narrated by Tam Dean Burn
• Heroes Dies by Matthew Stover narrated by Stefan Rudnicki
• Redshirts by John Scalzi narrated by Wil Wheaton
• Ex-Heroes by Peter Clines narrated by a large cast
• Daft Wee Stories by Limmy (narrated by Limmy himself)

A final plea to audiobook producers everywhere - Stop making your narrators whisper, it makes it impossible to hear!

Happy listening.

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Review - Paranoia by Joseph Finder

Paranoia by Joseph Finder
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A fantastic read by the master of suspense.

The story follows a coasting through life, Adam Cassidy who pulls a stunt at his work and expects to get fired for it. Instead, he gets pulled into a world of corporate espionage and is forced to become a puppet.

In all of Finder’s books that I’ve read, he always puts his characters in situations where they very nearly (or actually) get caught. The way he does this creates suspense like no one else I’ve read.

One of my favourite scenes was when Adam spends a lot of time on a PowerPoint presentation, adding all sorts of animations and impressive slides, only to get shouted at and ‘get to the point’. Anyone working in a corporate atmosphere will have chuckled as much as I did.

I also enjoyed the fact that the story ends on a question mark.

Format

I read this on audiobook. The narrator, Scott Brick, is an audiobook veteran. The story is linear and simple enough to be an ideal audiobook.

Themes

To me, this book was about family, how people deal with loss and, of course, corporate greed. It had more feelings than I thought. There was a particular scene that nearly had me in tears:

’You think you’ve got it all figured out, right? Until god sends you a little telegram saying ‘oh, forgot to mention none of that means a thing. And everyone you love on this earth, they’re really just on loan, you see. And you’d better love them while you can.’’

Notable issues

Very minor point but I’ve no idea why this book is called Paranoia. To me it should’ve been called ‘Espionage’ or something like that.

Final thought

Finder is the master of suspense. There is no one that creates an ‘edge of your seat’ reading experience quite like Finder. The other books of his that I’ve read have been the same and I’ll be reading more of his works very soon. A great page-turner, well written.

And that ending! Honestly, I did not see it coming.

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Review - A Scanner Darkly by Philip K. Dick

A Scanner Darkly by Philip K. Dick
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

God, how dark it is here, and totally silent. Nothing but me lives in this vacuum…

Philip K. Dick’s darkly atmospheric novel about drug culture and how drugs affect society is a well written, impactful story. It’s a very realistic view of how drugs affect the mind and relationships.

The story follows the character of Bob and his friends, who are both using and selling a mind-bending drug called Substance D. We also follow Fred, a cop who works for a form of drug bust squad. The hook is that Bob and Fred are the same person. Substance D alters the mind so much that Bob/Fred’s personality fractures and that’s the main narrative that we follow.

Dick was a drug user himself. Because of this, he is able to paint a hauntingly realistic picture of the life of a drug user and the constant haze they live in.

Written in 1977, it still holds up today and points must go to Dick for one of the best titles for a book, ever.

Great opening

The opening sequence had me hooked. It’s a perfect example of how to draw in an audience. It starts by showing how drugs have pretty much demolished Jerry’s mind, a great introduction to the events to come.

Writing

Dick’s writing creates such a dark atmosphere. For me, it’s the best thing about this book. It sucks you in and you can imagine what it’s like in the situation the characters find themselves in. Dick also writes the tragic elements of the story very well.

Here are some of my favourite examples of what the writing is like in this book:

Happiness, he thought, is knowing you got some pills.

What did any man, doing any kind of work, know about his actual motives?

To see that warm living person burn out from the inside, burn from the heart outward. Until it clicked and clacked like an insect, repeating one sentence again and again. A recording. A closed loop of tape.

I resemble that worm which crawls through dust, lives in the dust, easts dust until a passerby’s foot crushes it.

Notable issues

The writing does ramble on in places. To me, I would have chopped some chunks out of this book to make it even shorter. His use of German irritated me whilst reading it also as Dick doesn’t always translate it into English. I know it doesn’t make a huge impact to the story and in fact it’s there to some something about the psyche of our main character but it irritated me all the same.

Final thought

A great book with a dark, ominous atmosphere which rolls off the page and into your head. The story is fascinating and echoes parts of the real world so closely that it’s scary! Highly recommended.

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Review - Ruin by John Gwynne

Ruin by John Gwynne
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I think I just read the best fantasy book I’ve ever read.

This series has it all, great characters, immersive world, action scenes to die for (literally sometimes) and some amazing twists and turns in terms of plot.

You know a series does well when you want to go back and reread the rest of the series. It feels a bit like, dare I say, A Song of Ice and Fire in that regard. There are also many “Nooooooooooo!!!!!” moments just like George R.R. Martin’s masterpiece.

Characters

There are a large amount of characters to follow and sometimes I did get a bit confused. What really helped me was the list of characters at the start of this book, all of which had a mini-recap of where they are in the story. Super helpful and something I wish every epic fantasy series did.

My favourite character has to be Veradis. I love how Gwynne has created a cast of ‘good’ and ‘bad’ characters but they don’t know which side they find themselves on. We have ‘bad’ guys who think they are the good guys and vice versa. The motivations for both sides come across as relatable as a result.

I loved how the Giants aren’t just scary big monsters out to kill anything they stumble across. There are many clans and characters, all with their own motivations and back story. It makes them more relatable and has to be the best use of giants I’ve seen in fantasy.

Great human and giant characters not enough for you? How about huge wolves, honourable horses and draigs? Also, an angel and demon war for ownership of the seven starstone treasures (one of them is the spear on the front cover)?

Writing

I managed to fly through this book quicker than a book this size would normally take. It took me three days (with one day off in between). Gwynne’s writing is the reason why. It’s sharp, concise and keeps it simple enough. Gwynne doesn’t waste a sentence. As a result, soooo much happens in this book.

Gwynne creates depth of character and imagery. Here are just some of my favourite examples:

His voice sounded like gravel sliding over stone

’They call Corban the Seven Disgraces, or something like that…’

The lake was a forest of masts and black sails, a Vin Thalun fleet settled on it like crows upon a field of corpses.

The wise man lives a long life, the fool dies a thousand deaths

I have grown up, learned many lessons. The main lesson I learned is that I think I have many more lessons yet to come.

The chapters get shorter and shorter closer to the end which creates a real sense of pace.

Final thought

I’ve no idea why this isn’t up there with the best-selling fantasy books of recent times. It clearly missed the hype train although it deserves all the hype in the world, ever. The one thing I’ve seen said about the series which might have detracted a little is that this is ‘old-fashioned fantasy’. It’s not. I can’t say anything else without spoiling it. Simply put, if you’re a fantasy fan, you must read this series. I cannot recommend it highly enough and Wrath will be getting devoured post-haste!

Just don’t ask me about that ending, I’m not ready to talk about it yet…

TRUTH AND COURAGE!

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Review - Ex-Patriots by Peter Clines

Ex-Patriots by Peter Clines
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A comic book-esque slobberknocker!

The story picks up two years on from the events of the previous book, as the US army arrives at the superheroes base, the Mount. The story centres on the mysterious Project Krypton, which I can’t really talk about in any way for fear of spoiling the story.

The previous book, Ex-Heroes was a little too zombie-riffic in my view. This book still features zombies, but does so in a much better and original way.

To me, this is the closest you can get to a great novel about comic book characters.

The audiobook production for this series is phenomenal and one of my favourites.

Final thought

These books are great fun and great if you’re looking for something light after reading something heavy or serious. Will I give any of the next books in the series five stars? I’m doubtful, but I will enjoy them.

You know what did get five stars, though? Cline’s 14 and The Fold, both of which are absolutely fantastic!

I still don’t know if it’s worth living in a world with no more donuts.

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Review - Grief is the Thing with Feathers by Max Porter

Grief Is the Thing with Feathers by Max Porter
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A terrific read, bursting full with feelings

A Grief is the Thing with Feathers is the moving story of a widowed father and his sons after they lose their mother. It deals mostly with the huge amounts of grief that would follow such a situation but also has room for plenty of comic relief as well.

The family is visited by Crow, who takes on the role of caretaker and stays with them until the family are ready to ‘move on’, although the book does make the point of saying that ‘moving on’ doesn’t really happen in such a scenario.

Very much influenced by Ted Hughes book, Crow, the book is fairly short at 118 pages and falls somewhere between poetry and novelette. Ted Hughes is referenced throughout. As such I wish I had read that first before reading this. It’s one of the more unique books I’ve ever read.

Writing

The writing is unique and takes on different forms throughout. Here are some of my favourite parts:

You don’t know your origin tales, your biological truth (accident), your deaths (mosquito bites, mostly), your lives (denial, cheerfully).

I lie about how you died, I whispered to Mum. I would do the same, she whispered back.

Eugh, said Crow, you sound like a fridge magnet.

The terrible years of my life were stained crow.

The pain that is thrust upon us let no man slow or speed or fix.

A howling sorry which is yes which is thank you which is onwards.

Final thought

This was a great wee book jam packed with feelings and character, definitely worth checking out even if you’re not into poetry.

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Review - The House by Simon Lelic

The House by Simon Lelic
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

But that was a mistake. Because someone has just been murdered. Right outside their back door

Utterly riveting, cunningly written and bursting full of character.

The book follows Jack and Syd as they buy their first house, which is a strange deal and include all of the previous owners stuff. The story follows Jack and Syd as something terrible happens and a body is found just outside their house.

Above all, this story was about family. It made me realise that I'm extremely lucky with the caring family I have and made me think that not everyone is quite so lucky. It tells of Syd’s story of her abusive parent and the scars that her childhood has left on her as an adult.

Characters

Both Jack and Syd are written with such depth that you can't help but care for them. There are so many parts where I actually laughed out loud, especially during that electric banana incident.

Lelic does a fantastic job of drawing you into the characters and above all, they seem like pretty normal people, with realistic flaws.

Plot device

The format was unique. The book is basically a diary written by Jack and Syd, who take it in turns to recall the events that have played out. These make up the different chapters. This allows the story to be told in a very human voice, it felt like Syd and Jack were sitting on the couch opposite me telling me their story.

It also allowed for Lelic to write in a very different voice for both characters, which added a lot to the story.

Writing

The device used to tell the story makes the writing style very unique. I really enjoyed it. I think Lelic done a marvellous job painting a very real couple, going through extraordinary events, Here are some of my favourite lines from the book.

the paintwork about as attractive as a skin complaint. Great way to create an image of the house.

She stops me gazing at my feet so much; I stop her floating off into the sky. Great way to introduce the characters. Basically everything you need to know about both of them in one sentence.

If this really were a Stephen King novel there’d be cats turning into zombies by chapter three. Great nod to the King himself.

…what I’m not sure he’s ever understood – is how desperate I was to feel something other than what I felt. For a way out. Any way out. When you’re caught inside a dungeon, even the faintest flicker in the dark is like a promise of daylight. And if it turns out not to be, if it turns out instead to be a burning staircase . . . Well, you take your chances anyway. This…just…wow. This is Syd talking about turning to drugs after her childhood.

like just because you know your boyfriend takes a shit every morning, doesn’t mean you want to see him on the toilet. Oh my God. Where did that come from?? I think this illustrates my point about the writing device best.

It’s like that bit in Friends, where Joey is so terrified of The Shining he keeps the book in the freezer? No explanation needed.

She’s like a butterfly caught in some malformed web and though I keep hoping she’ll find the strength to break free, whenever I check on her she appears more ensnared than she did before.

Final thought

Highly recommended and up there with one of the best from the genre I’ve ever read. I'll certainly be looking into more of Lelic’s work.


Read more of my blogs at http://constantreaderpauloneill.blogspot.co.uk


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Review - Distant Echo by Val McDermid

The Distant Echo by Val McDermid
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This was my first Val McDermid book and it certainly won't be my last!

McDermid delivers a fantastic crime / mystery story set in my homeland of Fife, Scotland and she does a great job for presenting the different areas of Fife exactly how they are like in real life.

The story begins when four lads drunkenly stumble upon our victim, Rosie, after a night out who has been left for dead. The book then tells the tale of the murder investigation as the public pin the murder on the four lads. The story then picks up again years later when the case is reopened as a cold case.

Characters

This book is very much about the effects of false blame and how a close group of friends manage to survive during this. Our main characters are all very lovable and real. McDermid does a great job shows the progression from young lads to fully grown men. You can't help but feel for them all throughout their struggles.

Structure

I love how McDermid weaves the story from the past into the present day. You get the full story instead of mere flashbacks.

Writing

The writing was crisp, sharp and concise. You can't ask for much more. All I want when reading thrillers/crime/mysteries is writing that moves the story along quickly using simple language. McDermid certainly achieves this. I enjoyed the odd Scots attitude or saying. It was very well done.

Final thought

To me, this book was a look at how police procedure can hinder where it should help. It told the story from the police and from the other characters point of view. I think this adds a lot more flavour than just having it be about the cops, it made it feel very real.

Overall, a very strong book and I'll be reading more McDermid very shortly.

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Review - Luna Wolf Moon by Ian McDonald

Wolf Moon by Ian McDonald
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Seize your enemy’s fallen weapon and turn it against them.

I received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

What a fantastic read. The first book, Luna New Moon, was great and this is even better.

As I mentioned in my review for New Moon, this series has been dubbed ‘Game of Domes’ and it feels every bit as epic as George R.R. Martin’s masterpiece.

We follow the fallout from the epic events that concluded New Moon. I can’t much about the plot without spoiling the previous book but McDonald puts on a masterclass in writing and character building.

At its core, this book is about honour, ambition and family.

Characters

What McDonald does best is create very real characters. Whether it’s Lucasinho and his cakes, Lucas and his music or Robson and his climbing, McDonald makes you like each character and their flaws. I’d even go as far to say that McDonald is up there with the likes of King and Abercrombie at building full, real characters.

Writing

In my review of New Moon, I had to knock off a star purely because of the amount of mistakes that were made throughout the book. Such mistakes don’t make an appearance here and as a result, the book is nearly flawless.

McDonald puts on a masterclass with his language. What really stuck out for me were his descriptions. All too often I see writers recycling clichés when trying to paint a picture. The writing is also unique and had me on the edge of my seat or laughing out loud. Here are some of my favourites:

A leather purse of a man at the heart of a pulsing tangle of pipes and lines.

The pod lands soft and solid on its wheels.

…he sleeps because waiting is a dull sick ache, like a tinnitus of the soul.

When words are not enough, stuff suffices.

…an embrace as great as the sky.

…the tendrils of blue Curacao dispersing into the gin like guilt.

The tension that McDonald is able to build from start to finish keeps you on the edge of your seat. The pace doesn’t let up through the whole book, it’s quite an accomplishment.

Final thought

Does anyone know if there will be a third book in this series? It feels like there will be with that ending but I can’t find details anywhere! I thoroughly recommend this series. It might be a good place to start for those who are interested in Sci-Fi but are too intimated by the more hardcore Sci-Fi books out there.

We are such self-absorbed creatures. We think ourselves the measure of everything. Time will take away everything we are, everything we have, everything we will ever build.


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