Books 2009 / IV.
Title: The Field Of Blood by Denise Mina [London 2005]
Series: Paddy Meehan 01/05.
Length: 524 pages.
Summary: The Field of Blood is the first in the Paddy Meehan series. The five books in the series fit together into a biog of Paddy as she moves through the newspaper industry during the turbulent eighties and nineties, carving a place for herself.
The Field of Blood is named after the field that Judas Iscariot bought with the thirty pieces of silver he won by betraying Jesus. Paddy's whole career and ambitions are a betrayal of her family and everyone she loves and her independence is built on that betrayal and the dilemma all woman feel, whether to be true to themselves or those people they love.
[Source].
Review in 5 words or less: Complex heroine. Captivating. Smart.
Personal Rating: 4/5.
Review: Now this was a book I really adored. I've been whining a lot about longing for realistic heroines and finally here I get one: Paddy Meehan isn't a genius nor overly pretty. But she does have her heart in the right place.
Anyway, what I liked about the book was the way it seems to lay its characters bare on a psychological level without being judgmental. Very ,very interesting to read, though you need to be in the mood for it.
Links: official website.
Title: Night Chills by Dean Koontz [USA 1976]
Series: ---.
Length: 317 pages.
Summary: When a strange disease escapes from a scientific lab as a result of a deadly conspiracy, the citizens of Black River are overcome by its unusual symptom, a night chill that causes them to perform unspeakable acts.
[Source].
Review in 5 words or less: Suspenseful. Interesting premise.
Personal Rating: 3.5/5.
Review: Interesting concept written in Koontz' usual fascinating manner where a seemingly everyday scenario turns creepy within a few pages, leaving me wondering just how he managed to do this transition because it was so fluid and natural.
Very suspenseful.
Links: official website, @ wikipedia
Title: The Mask by Dean Koontz [USA 1980]
Series: ---.
Length: 285 pages.
Summary: A beautiful young girl appears out of nowhere. A teenager with no past, no family--no memories. Carol and Paul were drawn to her. She was the child they'd never had. Most mothers would die for such a darling little angel. And that's what frightened Carol most of all...
[Source].
Review in 5 words or less: Interesting plot and set-up. Rushed ending. Surprising plot-twists.
Personal Rating: 3/5.
Review: While the premise is fascinating, I feel like there could have been more to the book. The set-up and build-up of suspense was great but I feel like the ending was a bit rushed. The conclusion was clever but too easy for lack of a better expression.
Links: official website, @ wikipedia
Title: The Clocks by Agatha Christie [London 1963]
Series: Hercule Poirot 29/34.
Length: 158 pages.
Summary: At her new job, Sheila Webb finds a corpse surrounded by five clocks, each set to a different time. Fortunately, Hercule Poirot has nothing but time to piece together one of his most puzzling cases.
[Source].
Review in 5 words or less: Clever. Fun.
Personal Rating: 4/5.
Review: I pure and simply enjoy Christie's style of writing: she gives the reader the key to unlock the crimes she presents and it's up to the reader to use it. Needless to say that so far I was wandering off so much in my mind that poor Mssr. Poirot would go insane with my denseness when it comes to solving his cases.
A very enjoyable read in the legacy of Doyle's 'Sherlock Holmes' stories.
Links: official website, @ wikipedia.
Title: The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon by Stephen King [New York 1999]
Series: ---.
Length: 300 pages.
Summary: On a six-mile hike on the Maine-New Hampshire branch of the Appalachian Trail, nine-year-old Trisha McFarland quickly tires of the constant bickering between her older brother, Pete, and her recently divorced mother. But when she wanders off by herself, and then tries to catch up by attempting a shortcut, she becomes lost in a wilderness maze full of peril and terror.
As night falls, Trisha has only her ingenuity as a defense against the elements, and only her courage and faith to withstand her mounting fears. For solace she tunes her Walkman to broadcasts of Boston Red Sox baseball games and follows the gritty performances of her hero, relief pitcher Tom Gordon. And when her radio's reception begins to fade, Trisha imagines that Tom Gordon is with her -- protecting her from an all-too-real enemy who has left a trail of slaughtered animals and mangled trees in the dense, dark woods....
[Source].
Review in 5 words or less: Gripping. Gritty. Realistic. Clever.
Personal Rating: 4.5/5.
Review: This must be one of King's best books in my opinion. This time around he doesn't attempt to scare the reader with monsters, ghosts or whatnot but rather takes the story into Trisha's brain. The terrors could be real - or they could only be in her head. Somehow, to my mind, that twist makes this one of King's scariest stories - because it's the most realistic one (I've read so far).
Brilliant book.
Links: official website, @ wikipedia
Title: The Preservationist by David Maine [New York 2004]
Series: ---.
Length: 318 pages.
Summary: Using just a few chapters from Genesis as his base, Maine fleshes out the story of Noah and his ark, making it both realistic--with touches of wry humor--and wondrous. Maine's Noe is an old man, implacable in believing in Yahweh's righteousness even while he is plagued by dreadful dreams. His story is told in the third person, in chapters alternating with first-person accounts by his family members--the unnamed wife and three sons and daughters-in-law: obedient Sem and wife Bera, irreverent Cham and wife Ilya, and exuberant Japheth and wife Mirn-- resulting in multiple views that add richness to the tale.
[Source].
Review in 5 words or less: Witty. Surprising. Original. Thought-Provoking.
Personal Rating: 3.5/5.
Review: Now I can honestly say that I've never read a book quite like this. Re-telling Noah's story? With a sense of humor mixed with realism? That was fascinating. It went from moments that had me laughing out loud to other scenes that left me quiet and thoughtful. Definitely a very unique book.
Title: The Shining by Stephen King [New York 1977]
Series: ---.
Length: 494 pages.
Summary: This tale of a troubled man hired to care for a remote mountain resort over the winter, his loyal wife, and their uniquely gifted son slowly but steadily unfolds as secrets from the Overlook Hotel's past are revealed, and the hotel itself attempts to claim the very souls of the Torrence family.
[Source].
Review in 5 words or less: Classic. Scary. Creative. Addicting.
Personal Rating: 4.5/5.
Review: Goodness. That book was brilliant. I wanted to try and go for an angle saying it starts out rather simple but that wouldn't be the truth. I feel this is such a multi-layered, original book that introduced such complex characters and then even goes as far to show us how they act under extreme pressure - it's mind-boggling. I realize only now in retrospect just how complex all characters are - and yes, I count the hotel as a character - and I can't believe King managed to keep them as complex and still have the story make sense and be a frighteningly good read, too!
Links: official website, @ wikipedia
Title: Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert
Series: ---.
Length: 293 pages.
Summary: His heroine, Emma Bovary, a bored provincial housewife, abandons her husband to pursue the libertine Rodolphe in a desperate love affair.
[Source].
Review in 5 words or less: Charming. Clever. Brutally honest about human faults. Elegantly written.
Personal Rating: 4/5.
Review: I got hooked on Flaubert after reading his Dictionnaire des idées recues // Album de la Marquise // Catalogue des idées chic and after enjoying his dry wit so very much, I decided to give Madame Bovary a try.
I wasn't disappointed. The story isn't that old - it's a structure that I bet is steadily repeating itself all over the world - but what gripped me here were two things:
a) the characterization of pretty much everyone. Almost brutally honest, I'd say and that was highly enjoyable to read.
b) The way how despite everything being told from Emma's point of view, he still somehow managed to keep the reader detached in some way. I know, usually this might not be such a good thing but in my opinion it gave this book and this story a very special flavor.
c) The fact that there's hardly anyone who is really 'evil'. It's definitely a 'shades of grey' book in my opinion with flawed protagonists and I adore flawed protagonists.
Links: @ wikipedia.
Title: Angels And Demons by Dan Brown [USA 2000]
Series: Robert Langdon 01/??
Length: 701 pages.
Summary: Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon is shocked to find proof that the legendary secret society, the Illuminati--dedicated since the time of Galileo to promoting the interests of science and condemning the blind faith of Catholicism--is alive, well, and murderously active. Brilliant physicist Leonardo Vetra has been murdered, his eyes plucked out, and the society's ancient symbol branded upon his chest. His final discovery, antimatter, the most powerful and dangerous energy source known to man, has disappeared--only to be hidden somewhere beneath Vatican City on the eve of the election of a new pope. Langdon and Vittoria, Vetra's daughter and colleague, embark on a frantic hunt through the streets, churches, and catacombs of Rome, following a 400-year-old trail to the lair of the Illuminati, to prevent the incineration of civilization.
[Source].
Review in 5 words or less: Complex plot. Well thought-out main character. Surprising. Fast-paced.
Personal Rating: 4/5.
Review: I first read this around 2006 I believe and - with the current hype around the film - decided to fresh up my memory before I go and see the film.
Well, I'm still fascinated with the book and it's fast pacing. It's a compelling story with plot-twists and turns I hardly ever expected, a bit of an Indiana Jones feeling, some clichés but overall: pure and simply fun.
I liked it a lot better than The DaVinci Code and the mental image of Ewan McGregor as the Camerlengo was pretty nice, too (great casting choice, by the way).
Finally, as I'm into a book explaining the backgrounds of Angels and Demons I need to add that there's a lot that's apparently not accurate in the book - but honestly, who cares? From an entertainment point of view this is gold. There are other books to set the background straight (and in fact, it's one of those books I'm going to review next).
Links: official website, @ wikipedia
Title: Secrets of Angels and Demons by Dan Burstein [New York 2004]
Series: ---.
Length: 581 pages.
Summary: Explore the Vatican's darkest secrets. Enter the closed chambers of the papal selection process. Probe the little-known historical mysteries of Rome and the symbolism of Bernini's architecture and sculpture. Join the debate between religion and science that has been raging since the Church tried to silence Galileo. Discover the truth about the Illuminati. ...all powerful themes in this unauthorized guide to the prequel to the bestselling novel of our era, The Da Vinci Code.
[Source].
Review in 5 words or less: Informative. Fascinating. At times confusing.
Personal Rating: 4/5.
Review: Doubtlessly a fascinating book. I have to admit that I had more fun reading this than Angels and Demons perhaps for the simple fact that - at least in this case - fact is more interesting than fiction.
I liked the fact that Burstein presents different opinions on the topics leaving it up to the reader to make up his own opinion. The book becomes downright philosophical at times (and I really loved that) without pushing the reader into supporting a certain point of view.
One thing that was a bit difficult at times was that there were parts where it got a bit confusing, i.e. in the first chapter where we were introduced to a multitude of popes and the times they lived in and try as I might, at some point all their names blurred and I constantly had to go back and remind myself who is who in order to understand the text. Same with the mathematics and physics. At some point it got blurry.