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BOOK REVIEWS |
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| Marley & me by John Grogan |
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| This is the true life story of a Labrador Retriever named Marley and his human family. Heartwarming, honest and at times so funny I nearly split my sides laughing. I felt I could especially connect with the story as this dog Marley could have been our own Golden Retriever Sammy's twin brother! The similarities between these two are seemingly endless. Towards the end, the book becomes quite sad, but never depressing. Marley's story, brilliantly delivered by his master and friend John Grogan, will make you laugh and it will make you cry. But most importantly it will make you think about the things that really matter. Painfully honest but very lovingly written, this wonderful book is a must read for every dog owner. And for every dog lover. And for everyone else, as well. 10/10 |
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| Shattered Icon by Bill Napier |
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| This is such an exciting book. I picked it up because it said on the cover it was similar to The Da Vinci Code (by Dan Brown), which I loved. I must say, Shattered Icon is indeed, at least partly, similar to the Code, but it has so much more. While TDVC stays firmly in the present, Shattered Icon delves into the 16th century time and again, where it explains the famous Roanoke expedition as seen and experienced by the 15 year old scottish farmer's son James Ogilvie. This novel really does have it all. Suspense, educational elements, mysteries, ruthless killers, tiny fragments of love and romance (any more would have been cheesey) and a satisfying ending. A real pageturner. Very impressive! 10/10 |
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| Blood Work / The Poet / A D. More Than Night / The Narrows / Lost Light by Michael Connelly |
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| Connelly writes murder mysteries - classic whodunnits - which he tells from the investigator's point of view. He has created two characters - Detective Harry Bosch and Ex-FBI agent Terry McCaleb, who appear in most of his novels - usually individually, but sometimes side-by-side, like in A Darkness More Than Night. Another of Michael's creations is the reporter Jack McEvoy. In a city like Los Angeles, there's seemingly never a shortage of weird murder cases! Connelly convincingly portraits his characters as human beings who sometimes make mistakes and are also vulnerable at times, and so his novels are always full of suspense and exciting twists. Overall 8/10 |
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| Any Jack Reacher novel by Lee Child |
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| I read Killing Floor sometime last year and thought it was brilliant. It had a very gripping plot and had me turn the pages so fast my fingers started burning - well, almost! Child's main character, Jack Reacher, is an ex-army cop with no family, no strings and no intentions to settle down anywhere. He more or less leads the life of a drifter, never staying anywhere more than a couple of days. Born in 1960, he's 6ft 5 of pure muscles and a strong sense for justice. He's a modern day hero, except he doesn't give a damn what people think about him. He knows what's right and if it takes fists or guns or whatever to settle something, then so be it. In Echo Burning he collects a cheque payment from some rich guy who's badly screwed a poor family. They stand on an upper floor balcony and he warns the guy, "This cheque better doesn't bounce... or you will, too. Off the patio." Lee Child has written eleven Reacher novels so far. Overall 8.5/10 |
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| Any book by Richard Laymon |
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| He has his very own writing style - well, most of the better authors do but Laymon's is really unique. No one writes like him. His novels are always gory, there's always a lot of violence, people are being stalked, women are getting raped. It's always the same situation - people are being victimized in the worst ways imaginable, because some seemingly tough guy/guys think it's funny and they get away with it. They might, for a while, but eventually someone will stand up to them and fight back. Laymon is very creative and comes up with the most far-fetched and unbelievable theories, but the way he describes things, they usually start to sound at least possible quite quickly. Laymon also injects a large portion of (black) humour into his stories. The message is clear - Trust no one. Everyone out there could be a potential killer/rapist/psychopath trying to get you. I've read 30 Laymon novels and I must say, I'm much more careful now. I certainly make sure all the doors and windows are locked tight at night! It's hard to pick a favourite here but I tremendeously enjoyed The Travelling Vampire Show, Funland, Quake, The Lair and Fiends. Overall 9/10 |
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| Most books by James Herbert |
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I discovered J.H. by accident when I was at my local library looking for a nice new novel that I didn't already know. I found '48' in the horror section. It probably didn't take me longer than two or three days to read it, I was that fascinated by the story. I've since read nine more novels by Mr. Herbert but '48' remains among my favourite three - so far. From what I gather, most of his scenarios take place in or around London. That alone, I feel, is already a bonus in itself as I live in Greater London myself. I feel I can relate to Mr. H's way of thinking much more than any, say, American writer - he is an Englishman ad knows what English people are like. He knows how they talk, how they act, what's important to them. But that's just the bonus. His stories are - yes, there is a lot of violence in them but that should be expected of a horror novel... His stories are just extremely suspenseful and so creative, but most importantly they are believable. While not terribly likely, these scenarios could - just possibly - take place... who knows? That's what I so like about James Herbert. That's what I love about Richard Laymon. It could happen, you know? And what then...? Then there's chaos! Doomsday scenarios, destruction, mass murder, insanity reigning... and you - desperate to find a way out of all this.
The books I enjoyed most - so far - are 'Domain' (the last book in the Rats trilogy), 'The Fog', '48' and 'The Dark'. A mild disappointment was the novel 'Haunted'. 'Moon' was good but had a slightly silly ending. I also wasn't keen on how 'Others' ended - don't get me wrong, the ending was smart but I just wished it would have ended in a different way. 'The Rats' (Herbert's first novel written in '73) was an okay book - the story was fine if a little short but his writing style was still a bit awkward.. 'The Lair' was much better. I'm currently reading 'The Spear'. There are many more J.H. books for me to check out - and I can't wait! Doomsday scenario books: Overall 9/10 Others: Overall 7/10 |
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| Atlantis by David Gibbins |
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Another book which compares itself to Brown's The Da Vinci Code for whatever reason (there isn't a whole lot these two novels have in common, believe me).
This book is not a pageturner at all. If you're an archaeology/history professor with an IQ of 160+ you might find it easy to read, for the rest of us it is a painfully slow and laborous reading experience.
The story itself is very promising and exciting... and the main characters are interesting and likeable. Sounds great, doesn't it?
So far, so good.
The book starts off very well but not far into the story, the author - a university professor who teaches archaeology in real life - gets carried away with the subject - he keeps rambling on about technical terms and insider information all throughout the book (if you've studied underwater archaeology yourself you'll know what he's talking about, otherwise you'll untimately be left a little confused).
The three main characters (Jack, Katya and Costas) are all nice and likeable but also seem shallow most of the time, and the way the "bad guy" dies in the end is utterly ridiculous. There are many scenes and situations in this novel which are quite unbelievable indeed. Sure, it is fiction, but the reader should at least have the illusion that a situation might be possible.
A shame, really - this book could have been so great... I'm a little disappointed. On the other hand, this is David Gibbins' first novel... let's hope that, like Dan Brown and so many others, he will improve with time. 6/10 |
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click here for a complete list of books and novels I've read (since May 2007) |
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