The person who does not take pleasure in a good novel must be intolerably stupid
I've just discovered the pure joy that is Goodreads. Finally, an online place to obsessively store and record all the books that I buy and don't read and the books that I DO read! I've had a scrabbly old notebook fulfilling that job for the past four years. So I've been updating it, transferring everything in my notebook to Goodreads. I've included several reviews that I had to write for a Contemporary Literature class last year. Below are the first few. Also, if you have a goodreads account, link me to your profile page and I'll friend you! I woefully only have one friend on there so far :(. My profile page is here.
Stardust by Neil Gaiman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Stardust is a fast-paced, beautifully-written love story, set in Neil Gaiman’s magical world of Faerie. It is the tale of a young man, Tristran Thorn, who vows to retrieve a fallen star in order to win the heart of his love, the beautiful Victoria. Yet the road to true love doesn’t run smooth as the fallen star is not a lump of rock, but a living, breathing girl, who defies Tristran at every turn. The star, Yvaine, is hunted by witches determined to eat her heart (and gain everlasting beauty).
Gaiman is well known for his quirky and visceral stories, but it is with Stardust that he truly steps out of the realm of the ordinary. The world of Faerie is rich and vibrant, juxtaposed with the restrained and dull Victorian England that Tristran lives in. It bursts with fascinating colours, intoxicating descriptions, and vivid details, dragging the reader into the centre of the world and refusing to let go. Details of how the world of Faerie works, with its fantastical creatures and magic, are left vague, but Gaiman has a confidence in his writing that makes it lived in and textured, and feels as real as his descriptions of England.
In some ways, this novel is immediately comparable to the cult classic novel and film The Princess Bride and there are many similarities: sword fights, murderous princes, magic, and true love. The primary difference is that while The Princess Bride is tongue-in-cheek, the world of Stardust is deadly serious. It is a land that is wondrous and beautiful, grotesque and twisted, and definitely not for children. Faerie itself is personified by the unicorn who helps Tristran and Yvaine; it is ethereal and magical, but its grisly fate speaks about the gritty realism at its root.
The main failing, if you can call it that, of Stardust is that, while it is full of adventure and romance, there is nothing complex or overly emotional, the characters undergoing very little in terms of character development. In fact, for those who have seen the wildly popular film directed by Matthew Vaughn, the character arcs in the book are disappointing in comparison; in particular, Tristran does not undergo as dramatic a transformation. However, while the movie draws upon widely used stereotypes, such as Sienna Miller’s spoiled and flirty Victoria, the book relies instead upon more realistic and less dramatic portrayals.
Stardust is unabashedly fantastical and romantic, and the label of adult fairy tale may immediately turn people off. However, from the beginning, the flowing prose pulls you along with the characters, making this novel an incredibly accessible and enjoyable read.
View all my reviews >
Sea Swept by Nora Roberts
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Roberts’ characters are instantly likeable, individual, and have complex personalities. While the female characters are invariably intelligent, beautiful and maintain equal partnerships with men, Roberts is especially adept at writing male characters that are both strong and vulnerable. Much of the novel revolves around the interactions of the brothers. Their numerous arguments are realistic and hilarious, but it’s their strong bond as brothers that makes Sea Swept so heart-warming. Even though they are not related by blood, the Quinns feel like a family; they have their differences, but they are ultimately loyal and would do anything for each other. This is especially effective in one scene when the three adult Quinns defend Seth as his school accuses him of fighting. The shock and delight that Seth displays at his new brothers sticking up for him when all he has previously known is suffering and neglect is beautifully realised.
Roberts writes Seth extremely convincingly; he is tough, angry, snotty, vulnerable and afraid, and yet he’s still just a boy who needs people to care for him. While Seth fights the Quinns throughout the novel, they gradually enfold him in their family. The transformation of Seth from a frightened child into a confident Quinn is one of the best parts of the book.
Sea Swept is an enjoyable read, although readers expecting another typical romance novel will be disappointed as the central love story in Sea Swept is that of four brothers.
View all my reviews >
The Face by Dean Koontz
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
The Face is Hollywood’s biggest star, and as such it isn’t unusual for fans to send him gifts- and death threats- in the mail. Ethan Truman, The Face’s Chief-of-security and burned out ex-cop, is worried. The Face has been sent a series of strange riddles (the latest of which is gruesomely physical, a doll’s eye inserted into a hollowed out apple) and Ethan knows whoever is behind them isn’t the average admirer. He has his work cut out for him as Fric, The Face’s 10-year-old son, begins receiving eerie phone calls from “Moloch, the devourer of children.” He tells Fric that must find a hiding place in his father’s mansion- somewhere that no one will ever find him- because the ‘beast in yellow’ is coming.
Unlike most thrillers, the antagonist in The Face is not at all mysterious. Koontz introduces Corky Laputa, the ‘beast in yellow’ that Fric is warned about, early on in the novel and explains his motivations and actions. Fascinatingly, Corky is a lethal combination of cheerfulness, pessimism, and insanity. He is a strangely amusing character who is dedicated to causing chaos and destruction; the first time we meet Corky he is wearing a bright yellow raincoat, singing “Singin in the Rain”, and spreading poison amongst a neighbourhood’s flowerbeds.
The heart of the novel is the growing relationship between Ethan and Fric. Both are on the point of loneliness and despair; Ethan is mourning the death of his wife, while Fric has spent his entire life being ignored by his actor father (‘Ghost Dad’), and his supermodel mother (‘Nominal Mom’). Ethan and Fric’s relationship is a realistic portrayal of a man and boy who are both in pain and need love and affection, without becoming cheesy or lovey-dovey. What greatly aids this is the realistic characterisation of the main characters, especially that of Fric. He could easily have come across as annoying or spoiled, but instead he is funny, precocious, and incredibly vulnerable.
The structure and story beats of The Face are pure thriller, yet the strong psychological horror and supernatural streaks are initially surprising. Although it starts slowly, the tension is built up until it is nearly unbearable and the pace picks up in the second half, racing towards the startling conclusion. Dean Koontz is repeatedly referred to on the covers of his novels as ‘the master of our darkest dreams.’ With The Face he certainly lives up to the title.
View all my reviews >>
The Stormcaller by Tom Lloyd
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
The Stormcaller is the debut of Tom Lloyd, and first in his Twilight Reign series. It takes place in a world of Gods amongst men, fantastical creatures, epic battles, magic, prophecies, and temperamental deities.
The story begins with Isak, a white-eye (a powerful race created by the Gods to lead the people) who is born stronger, faster, and more charismatic than humans; a natural leader of men. Hated by his father, feared by his peers, and treated like a slave, Isak dreams of becoming a soldier in the army of the Lord of the Farlan. His life changes when he is chosen by the Gods to become the heir to the throne, destined to defend and protect the people with his life. The only problem is that white-eyes are born with an unnatural temper and an inner rage that Isak is finding harder to control day by day.
The modern fantasy genre is crowded with box-breaking, convention-subverting writers such as Joe Abercrombie and Scott Lynch. New and gritty areas of fantasy are being explored, steering it away from the archetypes used by JRR Tolkein, and in its place leaving broken characters who are raw, bloodied, and complex.
Tom Lloyd’s attempt to emulate their success fails miserably. The Stormcaller tries too hard and too earnestly to be dark and twisted. Instead, Lloyd has produced a work that is a strange amalgam of cookie-cutter fantasy (bitter old mentor- check; a beautiful maiden- check; swashbuckling companion- check; a prophecy- check) and interesting ideas poorly executed.
The savage nature of the white-eyes is an intriguing concept that never reaches the heights of brutality it promises. Isak is more like a whiney teenager than a powerful being with an apocalyptic inner rage, and one can’t help but wonder what an author more inventive would have done with such an idea.
The world that Lloyd has created is complex, but poorly delivered. After reading 300 pages, I still had no idea who was who, nor a good understanding of how Isak’s world works. Characters are introduced then immediately disappear, great battles are built up to fizzle out, and romances are developed just for Lloyd to change his mind half way through. Events aren’t given time to breathe, whizzing by so fast that they are meaningless, and what should be dramatic moments are instead underwhelming. It left me feeling lost and frustrated, and I threw the book across the room more than once.
View all my reviews >>
The Summoning by Kelley Armstrong
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Chloe Saunders was just a regular girl, negotiating her way through high school, and dreaming of a career as a film director. Chloe’s active mind sees everything through the lens of a potential film- until she begins seeing dead people wandering the halls of her school. Chloe is labelled as schizophrenic, and lands in Lyle House, a group home for troubled teens. It soon becomes apparent that ‘troubled teen’ is a byword for ‘supernaturally empowered’ when Chloe’s new housemates begin displaying strange abilities.
The Summoning is set in the world of Armstrong’s popular Otherworld series. Unlike Armstrong’s previous works, The Summoning is a Young Adult novel, holding back on the sexual situations and violence. Despite being a novel aimed at teens, Armstrong pulls no punches in the gruesome imagery, and on display is the same dark underbelly found in her other novels. In one striking example, Chloe is tied up and trapped in the bowels of Lyle House, forced to face her abilities, and resulting in her accidentally performing necromancy. The long dead corpses dragging themselves out of their graves and reaching for Chloe in the dark is a haunting image that isn’t soon forgotten.
Armstrong treats the extraordinary abilities of the children as a serious issue. The abilities on display are not pretty or ‘cute’, are often traumatic for the children, and always have consequences. The supernatural powers are a metaphor for mental illness, a theme that resonates throughout the novel. These elements are dealt with sympathetically and realistically, especially as Chloe questions her own sanity in the face of being given the label of schizophrenia.
The story is told from Chloe’s point of view, and the first person perspective gives the story immediacy. Chloe’s voice is clear, an interesting amalgam of innocence and wisdom. Chloe talks about films as though she is a peer of Steven Spielberg, and it is easy to forget how young she is as she analyses the world around her, framing potential shots in her mind. This, however, is Chloe’s method of comforting herself in the scary situations she finds herself in; she is still an awkward young girl, battling with a speech impediment and what she thinks is a mental illness.
The Summoning is an easy read that, while suitable for young adults, isn’t treated as a children’s novel. Armstrong has written a novel about teenagers, rather than specifically for teenagers, which means The Summoning is enjoyably dark and intriguing.
View all my reviews >>
Today I saw Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief I LOVED IT. It was occasionally cheesy (although Chris Columbus was surprisingly restrained in the cheesy stakes), occasionally funny, occasionally awesome, oh and occasionally had hot men in it playing gods. What's not to love? Oh and I now have an inappropriate crush on the guy who plays Percy. :/
Tonight I watched Up and I sobbed all the way through it. I don't know if it was just me being particularly emotional but that opening sequence of Carl and Ellie falling in love and getting married made me cry like a little baby. I really loved it, particularly because it was not a predictable film. Although I knew the general premise, I didn't have a clue how they'd resolve it. The kid was super cute, the animals were funny and I want Carl to be my best friend (let alone my Grandad).
Stardust by Neil Gaiman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Stardust is a fast-paced, beautifully-written love story, set in Neil Gaiman’s magical world of Faerie. It is the tale of a young man, Tristran Thorn, who vows to retrieve a fallen star in order to win the heart of his love, the beautiful Victoria. Yet the road to true love doesn’t run smooth as the fallen star is not a lump of rock, but a living, breathing girl, who defies Tristran at every turn. The star, Yvaine, is hunted by witches determined to eat her heart (and gain everlasting beauty).
Gaiman is well known for his quirky and visceral stories, but it is with Stardust that he truly steps out of the realm of the ordinary. The world of Faerie is rich and vibrant, juxtaposed with the restrained and dull Victorian England that Tristran lives in. It bursts with fascinating colours, intoxicating descriptions, and vivid details, dragging the reader into the centre of the world and refusing to let go. Details of how the world of Faerie works, with its fantastical creatures and magic, are left vague, but Gaiman has a confidence in his writing that makes it lived in and textured, and feels as real as his descriptions of England.
In some ways, this novel is immediately comparable to the cult classic novel and film The Princess Bride and there are many similarities: sword fights, murderous princes, magic, and true love. The primary difference is that while The Princess Bride is tongue-in-cheek, the world of Stardust is deadly serious. It is a land that is wondrous and beautiful, grotesque and twisted, and definitely not for children. Faerie itself is personified by the unicorn who helps Tristran and Yvaine; it is ethereal and magical, but its grisly fate speaks about the gritty realism at its root.
The main failing, if you can call it that, of Stardust is that, while it is full of adventure and romance, there is nothing complex or overly emotional, the characters undergoing very little in terms of character development. In fact, for those who have seen the wildly popular film directed by Matthew Vaughn, the character arcs in the book are disappointing in comparison; in particular, Tristran does not undergo as dramatic a transformation. However, while the movie draws upon widely used stereotypes, such as Sienna Miller’s spoiled and flirty Victoria, the book relies instead upon more realistic and less dramatic portrayals.
Stardust is unabashedly fantastical and romantic, and the label of adult fairy tale may immediately turn people off. However, from the beginning, the flowing prose pulls you along with the characters, making this novel an incredibly accessible and enjoyable read.
View all my reviews >
Sea Swept by Nora Roberts
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Roberts’ characters are instantly likeable, individual, and have complex personalities. While the female characters are invariably intelligent, beautiful and maintain equal partnerships with men, Roberts is especially adept at writing male characters that are both strong and vulnerable. Much of the novel revolves around the interactions of the brothers. Their numerous arguments are realistic and hilarious, but it’s their strong bond as brothers that makes Sea Swept so heart-warming. Even though they are not related by blood, the Quinns feel like a family; they have their differences, but they are ultimately loyal and would do anything for each other. This is especially effective in one scene when the three adult Quinns defend Seth as his school accuses him of fighting. The shock and delight that Seth displays at his new brothers sticking up for him when all he has previously known is suffering and neglect is beautifully realised.
Roberts writes Seth extremely convincingly; he is tough, angry, snotty, vulnerable and afraid, and yet he’s still just a boy who needs people to care for him. While Seth fights the Quinns throughout the novel, they gradually enfold him in their family. The transformation of Seth from a frightened child into a confident Quinn is one of the best parts of the book.
Sea Swept is an enjoyable read, although readers expecting another typical romance novel will be disappointed as the central love story in Sea Swept is that of four brothers.
View all my reviews >
The Face by Dean Koontz
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
The Face is Hollywood’s biggest star, and as such it isn’t unusual for fans to send him gifts- and death threats- in the mail. Ethan Truman, The Face’s Chief-of-security and burned out ex-cop, is worried. The Face has been sent a series of strange riddles (the latest of which is gruesomely physical, a doll’s eye inserted into a hollowed out apple) and Ethan knows whoever is behind them isn’t the average admirer. He has his work cut out for him as Fric, The Face’s 10-year-old son, begins receiving eerie phone calls from “Moloch, the devourer of children.” He tells Fric that must find a hiding place in his father’s mansion- somewhere that no one will ever find him- because the ‘beast in yellow’ is coming.
Unlike most thrillers, the antagonist in The Face is not at all mysterious. Koontz introduces Corky Laputa, the ‘beast in yellow’ that Fric is warned about, early on in the novel and explains his motivations and actions. Fascinatingly, Corky is a lethal combination of cheerfulness, pessimism, and insanity. He is a strangely amusing character who is dedicated to causing chaos and destruction; the first time we meet Corky he is wearing a bright yellow raincoat, singing “Singin in the Rain”, and spreading poison amongst a neighbourhood’s flowerbeds.
The heart of the novel is the growing relationship between Ethan and Fric. Both are on the point of loneliness and despair; Ethan is mourning the death of his wife, while Fric has spent his entire life being ignored by his actor father (‘Ghost Dad’), and his supermodel mother (‘Nominal Mom’). Ethan and Fric’s relationship is a realistic portrayal of a man and boy who are both in pain and need love and affection, without becoming cheesy or lovey-dovey. What greatly aids this is the realistic characterisation of the main characters, especially that of Fric. He could easily have come across as annoying or spoiled, but instead he is funny, precocious, and incredibly vulnerable.
The structure and story beats of The Face are pure thriller, yet the strong psychological horror and supernatural streaks are initially surprising. Although it starts slowly, the tension is built up until it is nearly unbearable and the pace picks up in the second half, racing towards the startling conclusion. Dean Koontz is repeatedly referred to on the covers of his novels as ‘the master of our darkest dreams.’ With The Face he certainly lives up to the title.
View all my reviews >>
The Stormcaller by Tom Lloyd
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
The Stormcaller is the debut of Tom Lloyd, and first in his Twilight Reign series. It takes place in a world of Gods amongst men, fantastical creatures, epic battles, magic, prophecies, and temperamental deities.
The story begins with Isak, a white-eye (a powerful race created by the Gods to lead the people) who is born stronger, faster, and more charismatic than humans; a natural leader of men. Hated by his father, feared by his peers, and treated like a slave, Isak dreams of becoming a soldier in the army of the Lord of the Farlan. His life changes when he is chosen by the Gods to become the heir to the throne, destined to defend and protect the people with his life. The only problem is that white-eyes are born with an unnatural temper and an inner rage that Isak is finding harder to control day by day.
The modern fantasy genre is crowded with box-breaking, convention-subverting writers such as Joe Abercrombie and Scott Lynch. New and gritty areas of fantasy are being explored, steering it away from the archetypes used by JRR Tolkein, and in its place leaving broken characters who are raw, bloodied, and complex.
Tom Lloyd’s attempt to emulate their success fails miserably. The Stormcaller tries too hard and too earnestly to be dark and twisted. Instead, Lloyd has produced a work that is a strange amalgam of cookie-cutter fantasy (bitter old mentor- check; a beautiful maiden- check; swashbuckling companion- check; a prophecy- check) and interesting ideas poorly executed.
The savage nature of the white-eyes is an intriguing concept that never reaches the heights of brutality it promises. Isak is more like a whiney teenager than a powerful being with an apocalyptic inner rage, and one can’t help but wonder what an author more inventive would have done with such an idea.
The world that Lloyd has created is complex, but poorly delivered. After reading 300 pages, I still had no idea who was who, nor a good understanding of how Isak’s world works. Characters are introduced then immediately disappear, great battles are built up to fizzle out, and romances are developed just for Lloyd to change his mind half way through. Events aren’t given time to breathe, whizzing by so fast that they are meaningless, and what should be dramatic moments are instead underwhelming. It left me feeling lost and frustrated, and I threw the book across the room more than once.
View all my reviews >>
The Summoning by Kelley Armstrong
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Chloe Saunders was just a regular girl, negotiating her way through high school, and dreaming of a career as a film director. Chloe’s active mind sees everything through the lens of a potential film- until she begins seeing dead people wandering the halls of her school. Chloe is labelled as schizophrenic, and lands in Lyle House, a group home for troubled teens. It soon becomes apparent that ‘troubled teen’ is a byword for ‘supernaturally empowered’ when Chloe’s new housemates begin displaying strange abilities.
The Summoning is set in the world of Armstrong’s popular Otherworld series. Unlike Armstrong’s previous works, The Summoning is a Young Adult novel, holding back on the sexual situations and violence. Despite being a novel aimed at teens, Armstrong pulls no punches in the gruesome imagery, and on display is the same dark underbelly found in her other novels. In one striking example, Chloe is tied up and trapped in the bowels of Lyle House, forced to face her abilities, and resulting in her accidentally performing necromancy. The long dead corpses dragging themselves out of their graves and reaching for Chloe in the dark is a haunting image that isn’t soon forgotten.
Armstrong treats the extraordinary abilities of the children as a serious issue. The abilities on display are not pretty or ‘cute’, are often traumatic for the children, and always have consequences. The supernatural powers are a metaphor for mental illness, a theme that resonates throughout the novel. These elements are dealt with sympathetically and realistically, especially as Chloe questions her own sanity in the face of being given the label of schizophrenia.
The story is told from Chloe’s point of view, and the first person perspective gives the story immediacy. Chloe’s voice is clear, an interesting amalgam of innocence and wisdom. Chloe talks about films as though she is a peer of Steven Spielberg, and it is easy to forget how young she is as she analyses the world around her, framing potential shots in her mind. This, however, is Chloe’s method of comforting herself in the scary situations she finds herself in; she is still an awkward young girl, battling with a speech impediment and what she thinks is a mental illness.
The Summoning is an easy read that, while suitable for young adults, isn’t treated as a children’s novel. Armstrong has written a novel about teenagers, rather than specifically for teenagers, which means The Summoning is enjoyably dark and intriguing.
View all my reviews >>
Today I saw Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief I LOVED IT. It was occasionally cheesy (although Chris Columbus was surprisingly restrained in the cheesy stakes), occasionally funny, occasionally awesome, oh and occasionally had hot men in it playing gods. What's not to love? Oh and I now have an inappropriate crush on the guy who plays Percy. :/
Tonight I watched Up and I sobbed all the way through it. I don't know if it was just me being particularly emotional but that opening sequence of Carl and Ellie falling in love and getting married made me cry like a little baby. I really loved it, particularly because it was not a predictable film. Although I knew the general premise, I didn't have a clue how they'd resolve it. The kid was super cute, the animals were funny and I want Carl to be my best friend (let alone my Grandad).