Bridgey's 2017 Reading

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Bridgey's 2017 Reading

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1Bridgey
Déc 30, 2016, 11:29 am

Another year and my 7th on Librarything. :)

http://www.librarything.com/topic/107657 (2011)
http://www.librarything.com/topic/129358 (2012)
http://www.librarything.com/topic/148974 (2013)
http://www.librarything.com/topic/162991 (2014)
http://www.librarything.com/topic/185024 (2015)
https://www.librarything.com/topic/210670 (2016

As before I will keep a running book total at the top and add review posts as and when I find the time.

I have been struggling to find the time to read lately, but going to try and get 50 in this year. Fingers crossed and all that..... Feel free to leave me a message and a link to your own 2017 list

Cheers

Lee

2Bridgey
Modifié : Déc 27, 2017, 7:35 am

1 - It Shouldn't Happen to a Vet - James Herriot *****
2 - The Whistler - John Grisham ***
3 - Doctor at Sea - Richard Gordon ***
4 - Autumn: Purification - David Moody *****
5 - Pietr the Latvian - Georges Simenon ***
6 - The Road to Reckoning - Robert Lautner *****
7 - Killer Mine - Hammond Innes ****
8 - Hombre - Elmore Leonard *****
9 - Hard Times - Charles Dickens ***
10 - Wilt - Tom Sharpe ***
11 - The Hellbound Heart - Clive Barker ***
12 - The Midnight Bell - Jack Higgins **
13 - Frost at Christmas - R D Wingfield *****
14 - Autumn: Disintegration - David Moody *****
15 - The ABC murders - Agatha Christie ****
16 - The Drop - Dennis Leharne *****
17 - The Green Mile - Stephen King *****
18 - The Day of The Jackal - Frederick Forsythe ***
19 - Autumn: Aftermath - David Moody *****
20 - Deep Country: Five Years in the Welsh Hills - Neil Ansell ***
21 - What Happened to the Corbetts - Nevil Shute ****
22 - Last Stand at Saber River - Elmore Leonard *****
23 - The Last Frontier - Alistair MacLean **
24 - Caldey Island: The Story of a Holy Island - Chris Howells ****
25 - The African Queen - C S Forester **
26 - IT - Stephen King ****
27 - Hater - David Moody *****
28 - Tarzan of the Apes - Edgar Rice Burrows ****
29 - Strangers - David Moody ****
30 - 20,000 Leagues under the sea - Jules Verne ****
31 - Mall - Eric Brogostan ****
32 - The Rats - James Herbert ***

3OscarWilde87
Jan 1, 2017, 6:11 am

Just stopping by to say hi. I'll be happily reading along with your thread again this year.

4The_Hibernator
Jan 1, 2017, 9:08 pm

5Bridgey
Jan 3, 2017, 5:51 pm

Thanks Oscar, put a link to yours so I can * it :)

6Bridgey
Jan 3, 2017, 5:51 pm

>4 The_Hibernator: Happy new year to you as well :)

7valkyrdeath
Jan 3, 2017, 6:32 pm

Just stopping by to star your thread so I can follow along with your reading again. Good luck with hitting your 50 books target!

8NanaCC
Jan 3, 2017, 9:13 pm

Just placing a star....

10Bridgey
Jan 11, 2017, 12:41 pm

Thanks Oscar :)

11Bridgey
Jan 24, 2017, 12:48 pm

It Shouldn't Happen to a Vet - James Herriot *****

I read the first in this series (If Only They Could Talk) over two years ago and then bought the box set, for whatever reason I never picked up the next book and coming across them the other day decided it was about time I did. James Herriot is a bit of a change in author and genre for me. I very rarely read comedy novels (although I did love the Reggie Perrin books by David Nobbs) and yet I really enjoyed this and its predecessor. Based on his real life career as a country vet in Yorkshire the book is a series of tales detailing his personal life at the time and the way in which vets practiced in the first half of the 20th Century. Published in 1972 it is still as fresh today as it was then and I can see why it has remained in print all these years as well as spawning a TV series and films.

Herriot is one of those writers that just emanates warmth and takes you on the journey with him; I honestly feel that after reading one of his chapters I could put on a nice warm coat on and go for a wander across the mountains. One minute he can be telling you an amusing tale of a pet pig sending him gifts, and the next a heartbreaking story of an elderly dog passing away or a riotous night in the local pub. You can tell that he really cares about his job and the people around him and he leaves you with no misguided apprehensions about how difficult life was really like in those days, where a family may break even based on the health of a single animal. Written as a memoir it is best to read the series in the order they were written as many of his life events are carried through each book, (they are just as much about his own personal life as the animals he cares for).

The only thing that put a dampener on this book was that I read another article about the author and it seems that not all the book was autobiographical. I liked the thought of him treading through the snow to tend to an injured cow, or being reprimanded by a farmer that feels they know best. The thought that this somehow may not have happened does take the shine off a little, but I suppose the majority of the book must have been based on real life experiences, no matter how loosely.

If you are looking for a nice relaxing read of a bygone era, written with a dose of humour then give the Herriot books a try. There is even a museum dedicated to him in Thirsk, North Yorkshire that I would like to visit one day. An easy 5 stars and I won’t be leaving it so long until I read the next instalment.

12valkyrdeath
Jan 26, 2017, 5:36 pm

>11 Bridgey: I've never read any of the Herriot books. I really should get to it at some point. I might store them away for when I need something fun to read. I find it's often interesting trying things outside the usual preferred genres, you never know what you'll end up liking.

13Bridgey
Jan 30, 2017, 9:06 am

They are great for some light reading, can be quite funny as well. I remember watching the series on tv when I was a child and they seem quite true to the books.

14Bridgey
Mar 10, 2017, 11:07 am

The Whistler - John Grisham ***

John Grisham is an author that I have never really been interested in before, crime thrillers with all the legal wrangling just don’t appeal to me all that much. I received The Whistler as a gift so thought I would give it a try and see what I would make of it.

This is the tale of Lacy Stolz, an investigator for Florida’s Board on Judicial Conduct. This basically means that where there is suspicion of foul play with a Judges involvement she is sent to investigate before deciding whether or not there is a case to prosecute. An anonymous tip off leads her to delve into the past and present of a high profile female judge. It is obvious from the outset that this could be a case that comes with more than the usual dangers, but she decides that the risks outweigh the potential result. What ensues is a cat and mouse game that proves to have disastrous consequences. We encounter bribery, miscarriages of justice, murder and double crossing, which all sound very exciting and the bones of what has the potential to be a great, edge of the seat read, yet it all seemed a little bit... well... meh.

This was a bit of a mixed bag for me. I was interested by the inside look at the Indian reservations and learnt a lot more about how they currently feature in today’s society, including the potential for organised crime. The plot was enough to get me hooked and I rattled through the book at a fair pace, but I always expected something major to happen or some sort of explosive scene, unfortunately this just didn’t seem to happen. The ending when it came was an anticlimax and I felt almost cheated, I just wanted so much more to have happened. As I said, this is my first novel by Grisham so maybe my expectations were wrong, but from all the rave reviews the majority of his books receive, surely there has to be more?

I enjoyed the book, but it definitely wasn’t enough to make me read another by the author. A fair 3 stars.

15Bridgey
Mar 13, 2017, 8:03 am

Doctor at Sea - Richard Gordon ***

Although not usually a massive fan of the comedy novel , there have been a few exceptions over the years. I recently started reading David Nobbs and James Herriot and was advised to give Richard Gordon a try. These books seem to come from the same sort of time period and also spawned a run of successful films based on the books. Doctor at Sea was the first one I came across so decided to give it a try, it was only when I read other reviews that I found out that maybe this wasn’t the best one to start with. Apparently even though this is the second in the series it doesn’t really fit in with the other books and is more of an autobiographical stand alone novel.
We follow the author as he completes a 3 month stint as ships surgeon aboard a Steamboat Company vessel. The majority of the book is made of anecdotes regarding the various characters he encounters and their medical problems whilst trying to keep his sanity whilst most of those around him are losing theirs. For me the book just wasn’t all that funny, I found the main character a bit too full of himself and at times just annoying. In books like this I think the narrator needs to have a certain warmth so we care about what is happening to him, I just didn’t feel any of that and therefore didn’t really want to read on. It is a shame because there were a number of side characters that I really did enjoy reading about, and these made me want to finish the book. I suppose I was hoping for more of a ‘Carry on’ type of read with a lot of laugh out loud jokes and predicaments, instead I got a book that was possibly trying to be a bit more intelligent that it needed to be.

A bit of a disappointment, obviously I have to take into account the age of the book and that it hasn’t really dated all that well. I don’t think I will be reading any other books in the Doctor series, but I can see why some people may enjoy them. 3 stars (barely).

16Bridgey
Mar 14, 2017, 12:26 pm

Autumn: Purification - David Moody *****

The third instalment in the zombie series by David Moody is a direct continuation of the novel before. It opens with the survivors deep inside the bunker, but things are not going as planned. The sheer number of the undead gathering at the surface is starting to block off the vents responsible for the supply of fresh air, essential for them to live. A plan is hatched to leave the bunker and clear away some of the rotting remains.... what could go wrong?
No longer just living vs. zombie, there is also a deep mistrust growing amongst the inhabitants, the army cannot survive outside of their protection suits when on the surface and resentment becomes apparent. When circumstances take a turn for the worse it is left once again to survival of the fittest and some hard choices need to be made. Eventually a potential chance at safety is offered from an external group of survivors and they must all work together to ensure that they make the most of what could be a final attempt at staying alive.

I really enjoyed this latest chapter in the series (apparently it was going to be a trilogy), the way that Moody has developed the characters and the storyline is just brilliant. Too many of these sorts of books get stuck in a rut but he has avoided that pitfall by not just sticking with the same themes and also not being afraid to bump off the odd character that we know and love. Although the storyline can be second guessed there were still enough surprises that managed to sneak up on me.

As with the other novels, don’t expect it to be all that brilliantly written, the speech at times can be a little wooden and the author does get quite repetitive with his choice of adjectives. We all know that it is never going to win the Nobel Prize, but if you go into the book with an open mind, you will find a fast paced and engaging tale that drags you along with it and you will not be disappointed. I have to give this an easy 5 stars if only just for the enormous entertainment value. Can’t wait to start the next.

17Bridgey
Mar 15, 2017, 10:25 am

Pietr the Latvian - Georges Simenon ***

I have always enjoyed the odd detective story, from Holmes and Poirot to the noir brilliance of Phillip Marlowe, but somehow I never really came across Maigret. It was only after watching the TV series with Rowan Atkinson that I did a little research and thought it was worth giving the books a try. A quick look on the internet and I found that Penguin had started rereleasing the novels once again, albeit with a new translation. The first book is well under 200 pages long so I felt it was worth a punt.

The storyline is fairly simple; Maigret receives notification that an international conman name Pietr the Latvian could be moving into his area. He goes to the train station to try and locate the felon and just as he spots someone resembling his description is called to a cabin where a body has been found. Unfortunately for Maigret the body also matches the depiction .... he must now try and track down the identity of both men. What follows is pretty much a tale of stakeouts and early forensic investigations as we tag along with Maigret from the height of opulence in expensive hotels to seedy back street dwellings. There are a few twists in the plot towards the end, but to be honest I kind of guessed them before they were apparent.

I just couldn’t seem to get into this story. I know that Simenon likes to keep his writing sparse and direct, but quite often I lost my way and found that I had to reread a chapter or two to find out what was going on. The plot seemed to flit back and forth and at times was just disjointed. The characters were ok, but I still didn’t really care what happened next to them, which was a shame because I really wanted to enjoy this series and hoped I had found a new author to follow. The other reviews seem to vary, from people who have been a long time fan and loved the book, to others who just didn’t really manage to get into the plot like myself. This is one of those strange books, where I am unsure whether it is the original author that I couldn’t get along with or the translation. There seems to be a large number of reviewers that are commenting on the latest edition and marking them down because of this. Either way, I didn’t enjoy any aspect of the book enough to read another edition and find out.

18Bridgey
Mar 16, 2017, 12:00 pm

The Road to Reckoning - Robert Lautner *****

Strangely enough I picked up this book in a pound shop, you don’t normally see many books worth reading there, but I looked at the blurb and it sounded my type of novel so I gave it a try. There have been a lot of other reviews that go into detail regarding the books similarity to True Grit, but I suppose I am lucky that I have never read it, and can only just about remember seeing the John Wayne film years and years ago, and so I began reading and enjoying with an open mind.

The story is as much a tale of a young boy’s rite of passage as it is a hard hitting western, there has to be something here for nearly every reader. The story is narrated by Thomas Walker, now an old man and looking back on his childhood. His father is a spectacle salesman who has ambitions to make a fortune in the Wild West, he chances upon a new Colt pistol and agrees to travel the country selling to stores and offering repeat orders. With Thomas’ mother no longer alive he takes his son with him. Just when things are starting to look up he falls foul of a band of outlaws who rob and kill him, Thomas is spared but is now lost in unknown territory. He stumbles upon ex ranger Henry Stands, a rough and ready character that reluctantly gets roped into being a sort of chaperone. The two make their way across a landscape that has thieves and swindlers at nearly every turn. This definitely isn’t a romanticised look at the olden days, and a few of the miscreants they meet on the way wouldn’t look out of place in a Stephen King novel.

The way in which Lautner writes reminds me very much of Cormac Mcarthy, he manages to describe the surroundings brilliantly without using any words as extra padding and the pages just melt away. I loved this book, and it is quite difficult to believe that this is only the author’s first novel, and I believe he has just released a second which I will definitely be picking up. I think this could become one of my favourite books and I am pretty sure I will revisit it one day. Easily the best new hardback I have ever paid a £1 for, and very recommendable.

19Bridgey
Mar 17, 2017, 8:17 am

Killer Mine - Hammond Innes ****

I love Hammond Innes, he is an author that seems to have been forgotten a bit over the past decade or so which is a real shame. Anyone who enjoys a good action story coupled with adventure should give them a try. Innes typically has fairly ordinary men that find themselves cast into circumstances beyond their control, often in a wilderness situation. Killer mine is no different, but this time it isn’t set in the bleakness of Alaska or a snow bound mountain, but along the rugged coastline of Cornwall.

We follow Jim Pryce, a native of Cornwall who has deserted from the army and making his way back home via a very unscrupulous cargo ship. Beaten and left for dead he manages to survive and makes his way to a contact for help. Unfortunately for Jim it seems that all thieves are interlinked and he is soon roped into a plot that will endanger his life whilst uncovering some dark secrets from his family past. The majority of the book centres around an old disused mine and the family that have been the owners for decades. Some see the mine as a way of broadening their illegal activities, but this would mean abandoning it from the original use of tin and potentially scuppering any future plans.

I was actually holidaying in Cornwall when I started reading this novel, and really enjoyed looking out at the landscape and seeing how well Innes managed to capture the scenery. I admire the way that he doesn’t need to have a James Bond like character at the helm of the novel, and therefore we know that if the circumstances were right we could all find ourselves in a similar predicament. The only problem I had with Killer Mine was that it relied rather too heavily on coincidence, almost to the point of making the plot a little too unbelievable. All in all a really good read and has to be up there with some of Innes greatest pieces.

20Oandthegang
Mar 17, 2017, 8:50 pm

Interesting collection of authors you're reading. I've yet to try Hammond Innes, though I think there may be a book or two of his somewhere around the house. I found Simenon a curious read. I started with Pietr The Latvian, and while I enjoyed some of the details, was slightly puzzled by the book. When the second Maigret novel was reissued I tried again. I've continued to pick up Maigret novels from time to time, sticking to the chronology of publication, and I still can't make up my mind about them.

21Bridgey
Mar 20, 2017, 1:25 pm

I try and vary the books I read :) stops me getting stuck in one genre. For such a small book Pietr the Latvian seemed to take an age to read. I really struggled, and think it took me well over 2 weeks.

22Bridgey
Mar 20, 2017, 1:25 pm

Hombre - Elmore Leonard *****

I love books like this. A relatively simple storyline, straight to the point dialect and plenty of action. The plot isn’t slowed down with daft love interests and the men are proper men who wouldn’t hesitate to put a bullet between your eyes...

John Russell was raised by the Apache but has now decided that he wants to return to civilisation and live as white man, he boards a stagecoach hoping this will be the next step in his chosen path. He becomes embroiled in a bitter fight that leaves him and the other passengers marooned in the desert. He must make a decision whether to stay and help or look out for himself. Coupled with racial tensions and the obvious prejudices of the time, every character has his or her flaws. This book really is a nailbiter until the last bullet is fired.

Would I recommend? Definitely. Leonard reminds me very much of James M Cain, the same sort of blunt writing that just reaches out and grabs your attention. It is surprising that a novel with so few pages can have such an impression. This may have been my first by the author, but I can guarantee it won’t be my last.

23Bridgey
Modifié : Mar 24, 2017, 9:51 am

Hard Times - Charles Dickens ***

Dickens has always been one of those authors that I have to force myself to pick up, but usually once I make a committed effort I really do enjoy his books. I know it is going to be hard work, but usually the reward when I finish the novel justifies the means. Over the years I have read half a dozen or so of his works, and pretty much found them to my liking. Hard Times is one of his lesser known novels and one that I was totally unfamiliar with so I had no idea what to expect.

So what is it about? Set in the fictional area of Coketown (allegedly based on Preston) we follow the lives of the inhabitants. The poor working and their tribulations, and the rich who have strong ideals on how the rest of society should act. All are trapped within the industrial revolution, but obviously some fare from it better than others. As usual with Dickens we see things from both sides of the spectrum. The wealthy side being Mr Gradgrind and Mr Bounder, a pair of gentlemen that only deal with facts and not emotions and believed these virtues should be instilled on the rest of society. The impoverished side encompasses Stephen Blackpool, a hard working man that has fallen upon hard times and cannot see a way out unless he is treated as an equal with those more fortunate. Throw into the mix a few dodgy dealings by Tom Gradgrind (Mr Gradgrind’s eldest son) and you have the outline of the book. Although even after sitting down and reading the damn thing I still struggled to describe it.

What did I like? I suppose the descriptions of the town and working conditions were pretty spot on and gave a vivid impression of the times. I also liked some of the characters, Dickens always has a way of making them stand out with their own personalities so that you can almost feel what they are thinking.

What didn’t I like? Most if it if I am truthfully honest. The story dragged on and on and on, I never really felt as if it was going anywhere in particular. Some of the parts were almost forgotten about (such as the married life of Mr Bounderby & Louisa) and the reader is just left wondering especially as these events were such an integral part of the early plotlines. I can read most things and battle through, but the literary device of writing peoples speech in dialect is one of my peeves, it makes it even worse in Hard Times as one of the characters, Mr Sleary, also speaks with a lisp. I found myself having to reread whole chapters just to try and decipher what was being said, whilst other people’s speech reflects a sort of dodgy Northern accent, some people may find it adds to the authenticity I just find it bloody annoying. In reality I think this book was written as a way of Dickens getting something off his chest. It could almost be described as one long rant from beginning to end, and there is nothing wrong with that, but at least make it interesting. At times it really did just bore me to tears and I was tempted to just Google the ending and save myself some time, but I did stick it out even though the 300 pages seemed more like a few thousand. Not one of his books I will ever revisit or recommend.

A fair 3 stars, I couldn’t give it more for obvious reasons, and to be fair I don’t think Dickens could ever deserve less, even if the book wasn’t to my own personal taste.

24Bridgey
Mar 24, 2017, 11:15 am

Wilt - Tom Sharpe ***

I remember years ago my parents both reading Wilt and enjoying it, and then there came the film with Mel Smith and Griff Rhys Jones which I can vaguely remember watching (even though I probably shouldn’t have). I had heard of Tom Sharpe but never picked any of his books up. I was aware that Wilt was part of a series so thought I would start at the beginning...

Henry Wilt is a polytechnic tutor who has been stuck in the same job and at the same level for a number of years. At home he has domineering wife, Eva, who befriends an American couple and becomes drawn into their hippyish way of life. After an incident involving a blow-up doll at a party, Eva goes off on a boat trip with her new friends, leaving Wilt at home with only the doll for company. Normally a quiet sort of chap he now begins to imagine how his life would be without her, and using the doll as a makeshift Eva on which to practice his plans, one night he disposes of the sex toy in a sort of trial run. Unfortunately for him things don’t go as smoothly as he would have liked, and soon he attracts the attention of the local constabulary.

This has to be one of those books where I need to hold my hands up in the air and say the reason I didn’t like it that much was probably me. I have heard and read so many positive things about Wilt that there can’t really be any other explanation. I just didn’t find it all that funny. Yes, it was well written and yes, it had an inventive and original plot, but did it do the job I bought it for and make me laugh? Nope. Not even a stifled giggle. Ah well, better luck next time.

25Bridgey
Mar 24, 2017, 12:29 pm

The Hellbound Heart - Clive Barker ***

I don’t know if many people realise that the 80’s film Hellraiser was based on a short novella by Clive Barker?

The Hellbound Heart is quick read. The basic plotline is that Frank has come into possession of a box. This box has a number of secret switches and slides that when pressed in the correct sequence allow it to be opened. This then acts as a sort of portal that allows mystical beings of Hell called the Cenobites to enter into our world. Their mission is to deliver extremes of torture to the person that has summoned them, some intentionally, some on accident. For Frank this means endlessly having all his flesh torn off by hooks for an eternity, not what he had planned.... he was just looking for the ultimate pleasue. He opens the box in a bedroom of his deceased grandparents house, the property which has been left to both him and his brother Rory. Throw into the mix that Frank was having an affair with his brother’s wife Julia and things get a little more complicated. After Frank has been missing several weeks, Rory and Julia move into the property, but there is always something odd about that one bedroom. An accident sees a bit of blood spilled and this appears to be enough to drag Frank back from the bowels of hell, however he is stripped of flesh. The only way that he can become human again is by Julia luring victims to the house so he can repair himself using their bodies and blood.

The book was ok. At around 128 pages it wasn’t as good as I had anticipated but it was still worth a read. For those that are a lover of horror they may find something here to keep them occupied. Although I always enjoy a scary book, this wasn’t the suspenseful type and relied on the shock and gore factor to keep the reader satisfied. I wish that the ideas behind the Cenobites and their world had been explored more rather than just the fleeting glimpses. All in all, not a bad novella, it hasn’t made me want to pick up any more of Barker’s works, but hasn’t put me off him either.

26Oandthegang
Mar 27, 2017, 12:51 am

>24 Bridgey: I don't think I've read any Tom Sharp but I wonder if his writing might be very much of a certain period. I think of him along with Malcolm Bradbury and, to a lesser extent, David Lodge as being very much part of a sort of seventies feeling, albeit they strayed outside that decade.

27Bridgey
Avr 1, 2017, 8:13 pm

I think you may be right. I just thought that after enjoying the Reggie Perrin books, they may be similar.

28Bridgey
Modifié : Mai 18, 2017, 11:04 am

The Midnight Bell - Jack Higgins **

It is hard to believe that this is the 22nd book featuring the IRA man turned good Sean Dillon. For fans of Higgins it is pretty much amazing that at the age of 87 he is still releasing new material for his sake I hope it continues for a long time, it is obviously something that is still a passion and his output hasn’t really decreased with age all that much. I have been a Higgins fan for the best part of 20 years and read practically all of his 84 books and consider him my favourite author of all time... and yet these recent novels are just failing to live up to any kind of expectation.

I suppose that there will be two camps of people that read a new Higgins release, those that are fairly new to his work and those that have followed him closely over the years. I envy those that are discovering him for the first time, and possibly books like the Midnight Bell will seem fresh and energetic, but to me it is just a rehash of all his other books. He could almost have placed the other 21 books into a blender, whirred for ten minutes and poured out a new story. We have the same old Al Qaeda bad guy that seems as threatening as Mary Poppins, the inept bad guys that fail at everything they do and the implausible plots that just fall into place with far too much ease and coincidence. The dialogue is extremely poor, with every speech written with the prefix ‘said’ or ‘demanded’ often when they aren’t really demanding anything at all. There are no surprises and anyone with half a brain can second guess what is going to appear on the next page, or even twenty pages along. Even the relatively new characters, such as Dylan’s cousin are an amalgamation of previously seen people, at best they are totally unbelievable and worst just annoying. I found myself reading pages of dialogue and thinking that no one in their situation speaks like that that especially when they have just been nearly killed or about to enter a dangerous situation.

The plot follows the usual bunch of Dylan, Ferguson (who must be over a hundred by now...), Roper and Sarah as they pit their wits against the new ‘Master’, a man high up in the Al Qaeda organisation. Once again a tale from the past with IRA connections rears its ugly head and both the present day and old acquaintances join forces on opposing sides. It is a race to avoid the traps set in place by the master and neutralise the threat before they get eliminated.

I really wish that Higgins would put an end to the Dylan series, at this far into the series it is already around 8 books too long. The plots are formulaic, the characters tired and wooden with the Higgins magic all but disappeared. If you are looking for an introduction to him, try his 70’s output such as the Eagle Has Landed or A Prayer for the Dying, leave this alone, unless like me you are a completist and will but almost anything he releases.

The blurb states:

‘‘The bell tolls at midnight as death requires it. But will it finally toll for Sean Dillon & company.”

I can only answer honestly and say that I wish it would.....

29Oandthegang
Mai 22, 2017, 9:02 pm

Oh dear, you don't seem to be having much luck with your books. Hope your next one hits the spot.

30Bridgey
Juil 5, 2017, 9:47 am

Frost at Christmas - R D Wingfield *****

Like most people who grew up in the 90’s I remember watching David Jason transform himself from the loveable rogue Delboy into a middle aged grumpy old detective, and like many millions of those people I loved the character and followed him over the next decade or so. There were 42 episodes made , although surprisingly only 6 novels were written. The premier TV episode was fittingly based upon the first published novel ‘Frost at Christmas’ and remained fairly true to the storyline.

We follow Frost, a very different sort of detective than you would normally find in these types of books. He is slovenly, crude, sexist and sloppy in both his professional and private life, he doesn’t really care what people think of him and he appears to be loved and loathed by his superiors and colleagues with almost equal measure. Frost is the man to put on the case when you have no one else available and when the leading investigator is taken ill during a major operation searching for an abducted child the file is begrudgingly placed in his lap. Seemingly bumbling along (almost like a British Columbo) he pieces together various bits of evidence and follows his nose, I suppose you could say he is an old fashioned type of copper that acts more on instinct than facts.

I loved this book, at times it was funny at others very sad, but always with a true to life feel that made you a part of his world. I quite like the flawed hero that isn’t some sort of superman but has as many good points as bad in his character. I have read that Wingfield planned to kill off Frost at the end of the first book and it was to have been published as a stand alone novel. I think the whole world should be grateful that he had a change of heart. I can’t wait to pick up the next one.

31Bridgey
Juil 5, 2017, 10:46 am

Autumn: Disintegration - David Moody *****

The fourth book in the brilliant Autumn series. These aren’t my normal type of reading material but I have been hooked since picking up the first instalment a few months ago. I won’t go into the history of how the world is in the middle of an apocalypse, but sufficed to say that the last scraps of the human race are still struggling to survive whilst surrounded by thousands of the undead.

Disintegration is set two months after the initial disaster and strange things are starting to happen to the bodies, no longer just stumbling along they seem to have developed a sort of low intelligence and almost a pack mentality. The survivors this time happen upon a large hotel where the surviving occupants have created a number of diversions to keep the dead distracted and away from their living space. However the two groups of survivors have managed to live by adopting very different strategies and cracks soon begin to emerge in the community with some wanting to leave for new supplies and happy to ‘kill’ the zombies, while the others want to maintain the silence and live sparsely.... can a compromise be reached or will their existence be placed under threat?

Although linked to the previous books, Disintegration could be read as a standalone novel but I think that to fully enjoy the storyline the background information needs to be read first. As with the books predecessors, if you go into the novel with an open mind, you will find a fast paced and engaging tale that drags you along with it and you will not be disappointed. Moody really does write with an energy that is infectious and the pages melt away.

32Bridgey
Juil 5, 2017, 11:20 am

The ABC murders - Agatha Christie ****

I am partial to a bit of whodunit now and again, and whenever I fancy indulging myself the obvious choice is Agatha Christie, the queen of the murder mystery. I have seen many of her books televised over the years and therefore I remember (or at least think I can) the endings and the perpetrator. ABC murders wasn’t one that I can ever recall seeing, so it was nice starting one of her more well known books without the ending being compromised.

Unlike her usual storyline of a single murder and the unravelling of clues, this time the killer is actively taunting Poirot and giving him details of where the next killing is to take place. Seemingly unrelated, each murder is only linked by letters of the alphabet. Poirot must use all of ingenuity to solve an apparently motiveless crime before the body count stacks up too high. Narrated by Captain Hastings we are not privy to the internal working of Poirot’s little grey cells and find ourselves trying work out his next step from the evidence given. The usual crew of jilted lovers and jealous family members are present and each murder has it’s suspects, but is there anything that links them all together?

I enjoyed the book but something that really bugs me is when characters speak in a foreign language. There are more than a few times where Poirot shouts out an exclamation in French and I am sat there wondering if it adds to the story or not, I am sure it doesn’t bother most people and adds to the authenticity of the character, it just isn’t for me.

A simple plot with incredibly complex undertones, anyone who is a fan of the genre or Christie will enjoy this.

33VivienneR
Juil 6, 2017, 3:10 am

>30 Bridgey: I always enjoyed "A Touch of Frost" with David Jason but haven't tried Wingfield's books. You've just given me another title for the wishlist!

34Bridgey
Juil 12, 2017, 4:54 am

Glad to have been of use. :) I really enjoyed it, and it isn't my usual type

35Bridgey
Modifié : Juil 12, 2017, 4:57 am

>29 Oandthegang: Thanks Oandthegang... I'm a bit behind this year... need to catch up

36Bridgey
Déc 27, 2017, 9:20 am

The Drop - Dennis Leharne *****

This is only the second book I have read by Leharne, the other being Shutter Island a few years back. Shutter Island was a good read but also a kind of forgettable book and I never really bothered actively seeking out the author. I came across the Drop in a second hand book store and liked the sound of the blurb and thought it was worth a read. It seemed fairly short at just over 200 pages so I decided to give it a punt.

The story is set in a downtown Boston bar where Bob Saginowski is tending, working for his employer and cousin Marv. Things seem to go well, and Bob lives day to day without too much hassle. One day however when he is walking home, he finds an abandoned puppy and persuades a friend to look after it. Soon after a robbery takes place at the bar that causes the police to look into not just the current situation, but also deeds buried in the past. Throw in the local gangsters and you have an intricate tale of violence and deception, when the puppies original psychopathic owner also comes looking, Bob’s world is turned upside down.

A really worthwhile read, at times dark but always gripping.

37Bridgey
Déc 27, 2017, 11:17 am

The Green Mile - Stephen King *****

Most people have seen the brilliant Tom Hanks film, but I wonder how many realised it was based on a Stephen King novel. Originally released as a series of 6 small volumes it is now readily available as a standalone novel.

This is one of those King books that deviates away from his usual blood and guts themes (although there is still enough to make you squirm at times), pretty much in the same genre as ‘The Body’ & ‘Shawshank Redemption’ the Green Mile is a more homely tale than we are used to from the pen of horror master King. Personally I prefer these types of novels from him and as usual the characterisation is second to none. The basic plot is that we follow a state penitentiary, in particular the death row wing (known as The Green Mile). John Coffey is imprisoned there and awaits death by the electric chair, he strikes up varying relationships with the guards and soon they become aware of his strange and supernatural power, what good can that power be used for? And is it enough to save its possessor.

It was hard to believe that it was over 500 pages long, as I literally flew through it. This is easily in my top 3 King novels and probably in my top 20 overall. When he wants to, King can write some really moving prose I can guarantee this book will have you reflecting on so many different emotions, it will make you go from happy to sad in only a few lines. The Green Mile is a good place to start for those that may be a bit wary about the content or may have been aware of his occasion dodgy endings.

38dchaikin
Déc 27, 2017, 9:46 pm

I’m just noticing I missed too much of your thread this year. Enjoyed skimming through. Interesting about The Green Mile. It’s on my movies-i-missed-but-still-really-should-see-sometime list (a list I just made up, but still exists), but I didn’t know if was a King novel.

39OscarWilde87
Déc 28, 2017, 5:32 am

>37 Bridgey: I will have to get around to reading this novel finally! I have seen the movie and I've been telling myself to read the novel for years now. Your review just pushed the novel up on my TBR. Thanks!

40Bridgey
Déc 28, 2017, 9:36 am

I've really struggled this year to keep the reviews up to date. I think the Green Mile has to be one of his stand out books :) Both of you post a link if you are doing this next year

41Bridgey
Déc 28, 2017, 10:00 am

The Day of The Jackal - Frederick Forsythe ***

This is my first book by Forsythe, he has always been one of those readers I meant to pick up, the blurbs always sound as if I will love the contents of the book, so what better place to introduce myself than by reading perhaps his most famous novel, The Day of the Jackal’.

I have always loved spy thriller books and read many different authors from Fleming & Deighton, through to Higgins and Innes and started reading with high hopes. I can’t put my finger on the reason but I just didn’t enjoy this book anywhere near as much as I thought I would. The storyline is a solid one, an unknown Englishman man is hired to kill the president and the powers that be must identify and stop him before he manages to complete the deed. The race is on to see who will reach their target first and what the eventual fallout will be.

It is a well written novel with characters that come to life and it is easy to visualise the settings. Forsythe hasn’t fallen into the usual trap of making his leading man totally infallible and for that reason I think you end up rooting for the killer more than you possibly should. But I found the plot extremely slow and at times far too detailed, I kept wanting something to happen that would make me race along to the next page, but it rarely did. At just over 400 pages it shouldn’t really have been a slog but I struggled over 2 weeks to reach the eventual ending. Maybe I went into the book with the wrong expectations, and looking at the hundreds of positive reviews I know I am in the minority. Perhaps I will pick it up again the future and see what I missed.... you never know

42Bridgey
Déc 28, 2017, 11:33 am

Autumn: Aftermath - David Moody *****

Very rarely do I find a series of books that I start reading and order the next one as soon as I finish the current, and it’s even rarer for me to sit and read books about the walking dead.... so I guess Moody is doing something right.

Aftermath is a fitting tribute to the previous four Autumn novels, where the basic plot is that the human race, apart from a small number, dropped dead. However these dead didn’t remain down for long and soon resurrected as a sort of zombie. These ‘undead’ at first wandered aimlessly but with each passing day they became more self aware and through their sheer numbers pose a threat to the living. The bands of survivors gravitate towards ‘safe’ areas and start to make small groups. The series details how these groups and the decisions they make determine their continued existence.
Over the course of the journey we met many characters; some of these lived whilst others died horribly. Of the ones that survived I always kind of wondered what happened to them, did their lives work out for the better or was the happy ever after they sought just a pipe dream? Here we find out how they have battled for survival, and how at the end of it all the biggest threat to their existence isn’t necessarily the hoards of rotting corpses but the friction between different personalities when forced to live in each other’s pockets. Locked away in Cheetham castle, a stronghold for centuries, the survivors must make a decision that will alter the course of every life, do they stay put and ration their meagre supplies or do they make a break for it? And what impact will allowing any newcomers have to their already fractured social structure? With various contenders for the role of leader and with as many different outlooks things are going to get a little rocky....

As with all of its predecessors, Autumn Aftermath isn’t one of those books that you turn to hoping for a classic piece of literature. You pick it up to be transported into another world where your worst nightmares can come to life. The writing is sharp and to the point (although sometimes the characters can seem a little wooden), there is very little buffering of the text and at just shy of 400 pages it seems a much shorter book that it actually is. For pure escapism you can’t go wrong with a bit of Moody, an easy 5 five stars for the entertainment value alone.

**** There has also been a sixth book in the series released called The Human Condition, although not a true sequel it is linked to many of the events of the other 5 books.

43Bridgey
Déc 28, 2017, 12:33 pm

Deep Country: Five Years in the Welsh Hills - Neil Ansell ***

I came across this in a small book store, I have never heard of the author but as I live in South Wales I thought it may be worth a read. I usually love reading the odd nature book and thought it may have been something similar to a James Herriot novel, especially as it was nonfiction.

Neil Ansell decides to throw away the shackles of life and spend five years as almost a hermit in a small cottage on a hillside in Mid Wales. This basically means living without many of the amenities we take for granted on a daily basis, and although there is a village only a few miles away he is left mostly alone with only nature for company. To most this seems an idyllic lifestyle, and something I wish I was able to and/or brave enough to try for myself, but it is obviously with its own ups and downs. Neil isn’t afraid to make this sound exactly as it is and doesn’t sugar coat the experience. The book is written in almost chronological order with a dozen or so pages dedicated to each passing season, we learn how the landscape changes and how nature must also adapt to survive.

My main issue, and the reason I struggled to enjoy most of the book, is that it really should have been titled something else.... something similar to:

‘5 Years in a Cottage and the Birds Surrounding it’.

Which would be a brilliant read if you were someone that has a fascination for birds...? I unfortunately don’t. And if I had realised that a vast proportion of the book would be dedicated to our feathered friends I would never have taken it to the checkout. I mean, I like birds... and the occasional mention doesn’t do any harm, but this was literally pages and pages describing their lifecycles and habits. I really wanted more focus on how he survived, the aspects of foraging for food, his rationing, his baking, his growing his own produce, dealing with the loneliness etc. I expected Ray Mears and got Bill Oddie...

Don’t get me wrong, the book is extremely well written and at times almost poetic in its descriptions and I can see why it has received the acclaim it has, just maybe it should have been placed in the ornithology section....

44dchaikin
Déc 29, 2017, 10:36 am

Interesting last three

>40 Bridgey: I’ll definitely be here next year. I can’t post a link because my thread for next year isn’t up yet, but it will be easy to spot by my username.

45Bridgey
Jan 8, 2018, 9:24 am

What Happened to the Corbetts - Nevil Shute ****

Shute has to be one of my favourite authors and I have loved his works ever since stumbling across a copy of ‘On the Beach’ a few years back. I believe he wrote around 23 novels so I have been rationing myself and reading 2 – 3 a year. He seems to be fairly overlooked today which is a real shame, it is true that the books may seem a little dated but they still carry many messages and character traits that are equally as relevant today.

Written in 1938 the book is how Shute imagines the country will look after the outbreak of war and the struggles that will be faced. In order to detail this he introduces us to the Corbett family, as usual with the characters in a Shute book they tend to be middle class professionals and here we have no exceptions. Peter is a young solicitor whose wife stays at home with the children, one morning he wakes to discover that an air raid has taken place over Southampton, caught unaware he and his young family must first make sense of the attack and the damages caused, and then prepare for any further assaults. The bombings keep coming and soon the after effects are felt when fresh water and food stores run low. Eventually their lives become further endangered, and not just from the physical bombardments, but an outbreak of cholera forces Peter to take drastic action. A keen sailor he has a small private boat that he uses for holidaying around the British coast, using his knowledge he decides the safest way to safety is upon the open sea. But just what hardships will this decision throw in his way? Full of the horrors of war and the harsh reality of how a civilian’s life is turned upside down in an effort to protect those he loves.

Shute is one of those authors that has the ability to draw me into a bygone world, one where the men are men and still have manners, just like you imagined your grandparents lived (although they more than likely didn’t). Even the bad guys in his books tend to have decency about them. There is never any sex or swearing just for the shock factor and you get the feeling that he really wanted you to care about his characters and what becomes of them. The other aspect of this book is how much of it was to become a reality and although he looked at the worst possible scenarios, there really was the possibility that events could have turned out the way described. There is even evidence to support that the publishing of this book spurred both government and councils to revaluate the measures already implemented for the outbreak of war.

Although it doesn’t stand up as well to some of his later works, this is still a brilliant read. If it were written by anyone else I would give 5 stars, but when compared to Shute classics such as A Town Like Alice, it can only really be given a 4.

46Bridgey
Jan 8, 2018, 10:55 am

Last Stand at Saber River - Elmore Leonard *****

I am fairly new to Leonard and this is only my second book by him, the first being the brilliant Hombre, and I have to say that I was not disappointed. His books are full of action with prose that is short and sharp. Almost in a similar style to the noir genre of the 50’s/60’s detective novels, the pages fly by and at just shy of 200 pages can be read in a sitting or two.

Last Stand is set at the end of the American civil war and Paul Cable (a confederate soldier) has returned home to find a Yankee private army has moved into him home. At first he tries reasoning, when that fails he tries force. How long can he protect both his family and his land from the enemies that surround him? Set during a turbulent period of American history, Elmore really captures the mood and uncertainty of the time.

This is really my type of book for when I fancy a quick read without getting too bogged down in details and lengthy passages. These days I will probably be shot down in flames, but I would describe it as a proper mans book with no romance and plenty of action. I will definitely be reading more of his in the future,

47Bridgey
Jan 9, 2018, 7:54 am

The Last Frontier - Alistair MacLean **

Years ago Alistair Maclean was one of my favourite authors. His early works were really detailed and full of twists, turns and suspense. I then started reading some of his later books and felt they really struggled to live up to his reputation, so when I came across the last Frontier I was a little sceptical but decided to give it a try anyway, particularly as it was written in 1959 and his fourth novel.

I don’t know why but I just really couldn’t get to grips with this book. I found it, well, boring if I am honest. Other reviewers seem to rate it highly but each page felt like a kilogram weight as I forced myself to turn it to get the next. The action was tedious, the plot repetitive and I just wanted something big to happen to break the monotony.

The plot is relatively straightforward; we follow Michael Reynolds as he goes undercover in Russian occupied Hungary to bring back a scientist from behind the iron curtain. Things obviously don’t go to plan and a cat and mouse chase ensues.

I suppose that the book just wasn’t for me. If I had to sum up my feelings it would be that I wrote this review a few weeks after finishing the book and had to Google the plot to jog my memory... that’s how little it stayed with me.

48Bridgey
Jan 9, 2018, 10:43 am

Caldey Island: The Story of a Holy Island - Chris Howells ****

On a recent visit to Tenby I nipped across to Caldey Island, a quick shifty around the gift store and I spied this book, I wanted to read up on the island life so picked it up. The island is a really stunning and peaceful place and if you are ever in that neck of the woods I would really recommend that you visit. Caldey is fairly free to roam around the grounds, but perhaps disappointingly you don’t get to meet any of the monks or visit many of the places where they live and work. This book almost acts as the missing link and contains information on the resident monks, their activities, a little of the islands history and numerous photographs. All in all it tells a little about a lot. My biggest moan is that I really would have preferred more detail, at just under 200 pages there were too many of that were just photographs, sometimes not of anything in particular. For the price of £15.00 I really wanted a lot more background to the Island itself and maybe a few stories from its distant past.

The book is a really nice memento from a daytrip, but if you are looking for something more substantial you will need to look further afield.

49valkyrdeath
Jan 9, 2018, 6:16 pm

>47 Bridgey: It's a shame how much MacLean's books deteriorated. His early stuff was so good, but last year I read one of his books from the 80s and it was one of the worst things I've ever read. It seems to have just been a general downward slope for him.

50Bridgey
Jan 10, 2018, 11:48 am

>49 valkyrdeath: I think the alcohol took over. Pity really.

51Bridgey
Jan 10, 2018, 12:35 pm

The African Queen - C S Forester **

I remember seeing the film years ago, but I had no idea it was based upon a book, and even less of an idea that it was the same author as the Hornblower series. Written in 1935 and set during the First World War, it tells the story of Rose Sayer (a missionary’s sister) and Charlie Allnutt a cockney mechanic and also captain of his own small vessel called the African Queen. The two unlikely characters find themselves thrown together when Rose’s brother dies and Allnuts crew desert him after rumours of conscription services in the war. The German occupation of the surrounding lands is fortified by a gunboat Königin Luise, and any British attack would probably be badly hampered or fail with this obstacle in their path. Rose decides to try and do her bit for the war effort and convinces Charlie to turn his boat into a kind of makeshift torpedo and ram the gunboat. The two personalities couldn’t be more different, but they will need to work together if they are to stand any kind of chance....

This, for me, is one of the few books where I actually preferred the film. I don’t think it has aged all that well and was a very slow burner. There just wasn’t enough to hold my attention. The other thing that really grated on me was the way that Allnut’s speech was written in dialect, I know he is a cockney... this was made apparent very early on, do I really need to try and decipher everything he says? That has to be my pet hate in books, some people say it adds to the realism, and for me it just disrupts the flow. I got sick of reading: ‘ere, ‘ow, ‘is, an’, ‘asn’t..... just add the bloody extra letters and be done with it. And don’t get me started on altering whole words, substituting ‘awye’ for ‘away’ and ‘agine’ for ‘again’. The odd word may not bother me too much, but sometime it was nearly every word in a sentence.

Anyway... as I said, a lot of people seem to have read and enjoyed the book. I just wasn’t one of them.

52Bridgey
Jan 18, 2018, 11:59 am

IT - Stephen King ****

There can’t be many people these days that are not familiar with Pennywise the clown and his terrorizing of a small group of children in Maine. Some will know it through the old TV series, some through the fairly recent film release and many will have read the book as they worked their way through King’s catalogue. I can’t think of many other modern horror novels that have achieved the same widespread recognition as IT, even managing to make a whole generation shit scared of clowns.

Firstly this novel isn’t a light read, and at over 1300 pages it certainly needs an investment of your time. The plot at its simplest is this… roughly every 27 years the town has a number of unexplained child murders, these are then largely forgotten about until the next spree begins. A group of seven children aged 11 all have various experiences with a savage clown, and when they eventually build up the courage to tell each other they find a bond that will always keep them together. Will they be able to confront their fears or will they be picked off one by one? And what will their futures hold?

I enjoyed the book, although for my money the ending wasn’t as strong as I had hoped, but this is something that I find with a lot of King’s longer novels (Under the Dome anyone?). There is no doubt that this is one of the best horror books written, but I couldn’t help feeling as if a good editor could have shaved off a few hundred pages and not taken anything away from the story. As usual with King he really draws you into his fictional world and he manages to ‘hook’ the reader almost unlike any other author.

I enjoyed the book, but was left wanting something a little more for my slog, maybe not the easiest place to start if you are new to the author (and there are a few scenes that may really upset some people, but that is a trademark of King) but you could also do a lot worse. I think this is possibly his second longest novel… only surpassed by The Stand.

53.Monkey.
Jan 18, 2018, 2:05 pm

Are these books from last year you hadn't posted yet? The 2018 group has been up for a bit now :)

54Bridgey
Jan 19, 2018, 6:30 am

yeh... still catching up from last year.... :) just struggled to find the time

I have made a new one for 2018

55.Monkey.
Jan 19, 2018, 10:40 am

Gotcha. I tend to wind up giving up on catching up and just go for the present, lol.

56OscarWilde87
Jan 20, 2018, 2:04 pm

>52 Bridgey: Great review!

57Bridgey
Fév 5, 2018, 5:42 am

Hater - David Moody *****

Prior to Hater, I had only been acquainted with Moody through his brilliant ‘Autumn’ series. This is where the world has been infected with a disease that kills most of the population, only for them to return to life as zombies after a few days. Hater is in many ways a similar novel, but this time the plot has far more realism.

Hater follows Danny McCoyne, a guy stuck in a seemingly mundane life, he tolerates his job and his family life leaves a lot to be desired. One day he witnesses an extreme act of violence against an elderly lady whilst on his way to work. Although initially shaken up he puts it to the back of his mind and life carries on as normal, but soon this seemingly rare incident is duplicated all over the country. Over The next few days the incidents dramatically increase causing a widespread panic, especially as no one knows who is going to turn into a murdering psychopath next and people are attacked by both strangers and family members alike. The killings are totally unrelated with nothing that will link any attack to another, the public are scared and society begins to break down. The people that flip are named ‘Haters’ by the media, and soon this is what they become known as across the country with a divide separating those identified as changed and those perceived as normal. Will Danny be able to save his family or will the disease strike those he loves most?

I really enjoyed Hater, as usual with Moody this is one of those books that you jump into for a bit of easy escapism that isn’t too taxing. The thing I most enjoy though is that he creates tales that happen to the normal people in society, the average Joe and that adds a sense of realism that can be missing from so many other authors. Even with the fairly outlandish plot, you still believe that you could wake up in the world of the Haters and suddenly your life is turned upside down. There are also a number of themes that bubble just below the surface, such as how does society deal with those it deems are different to the status quo, and when both factions decide they have to largest right to survive, does history have an opportunity to repeat itself from our darkest days?

I kind of guessed some of the twists but it didn’t spoil the novel, the pages whizzed by and I really enjoyed Hater. This is apparently the first part of a trilogy, which kind of explains the fairly odd/abrupt ending. I will definitely be seeking the others out.

58Bridgey
Fév 5, 2018, 10:56 am

Tarzan of the Apes - Edgar Rice Burrows ****

I always knew Tarzan was based on a book, but I didn’t realize just how many were written, I always assumed it was just a one off publication and the films sort of took over. There were 24 original novels which spawned numerous other books after the death of the author.

I think nearly everyone knows the story of the boy who is raised by jungle apes following the death of his family, how he rises to become their leader, falls in love with Jane and returns to civilization. But I wonder how many people have actually read the source material? Firstly I think most people may be shocked at the level of violence in the books, things aren’t all nice and the fight scenes are fairly graphic, especially when you consider this was written in 1912. Burroughs certainly wasn’t afraid to hold back and you really get a sense of adventure that can be missing from other books of this type.

Of course, with the book being this old you have to view it from the times in which it was written and the outdated view of the world may cause an amount of offense in these times of often misplaced political correctness. If you are able to overlook these themes, swallow the numerous coincidences and unbelievable parts (in particular Tarzan teaching himself to write….) and what you will be left with is a book that is very readable and contains enough content to make probably 3 or 4 full length films. Expect everything that makes a jungle adventure special and different: wild animals, rough terrain, cannibals and desolation. It is easy to see how Tarzan captured the imagination of the times and has remained an iconic figure ever since and is still in print over a century later.

I really did enjoy reading the book, but not enough that I think I will actively seek out the next in the series. If it falls into my lap then I may well have a look, but that’s about it. Well worth a read, just to see when the Legend of Greystoke originated.

59Bridgey
Fév 7, 2018, 10:51 am

Strangers - David Moody ****

David Moody is fast becoming my turn to author for when I need some escapism; the language is fairly simple, the characters interesting and the plots are just intricate enough without being too taxing. Just the thing to settle down with at night, forget the day that has gone and get lost in a world of killing…..

I am fairly new to Moody, and became introduced to him through his Autumn series, and more recently through his Hater trilogy. I fancied reading one of his stand alone novels so decided to give Strangers a whirl.

As usual with his books, Strangers is set in the UK and the main characters are just ordinary working class people. At the centre of the novel is Scott Griffiths, a man who has recently moved to the fictional town of Thussock with his partner and two stepdaughters in the hope of starting a new life. However his family is far from impressed with the prospect of moving from a vibrant town atmosphere to the gray and dismal northern life and hold Scott and his past responsible. Soon after they settle sown, a series of sexually motivated and gruesome murders start to occur. Being an outsider, the local suspicions immediately fall on Scott, and he doesn’t help himself with his abrupt manner and attitude to those around him. He is the type of person that never feels as if he is in the wrong and the world is out to get him, he doesn’t care if he fits into his community and cares even less if his family suffer as a result. Soon the body count rises, the attacks are seemingly unconnected… is Scott responsible or merely a scapegoat for a neighbourhood with unanswered questions?

Firstly I really enjoyed this book, and the twists and turns it took were quite unexpected. The only downside for me was that the basic storyline wasn’t really all that different to his other books, maybe if I had read this first then it would have had a much bigger impact. Moody has left the ending open for a sequel which I hope he gets around to writing and I would like to find out more about certain things. If you are new to the author then this wouldn’t be a bad place to start. It has all of his trademark themes and although it probably isn’t for the squeamish it definitely will let you decide whether Moody is an author you want to pursue of not.

60Bridgey
Fév 8, 2018, 11:15 am

20,000 Leagues under the sea - Jules Verne ****

Every now and then I get the urge to pick up a book that has become considered a classic, but all too often I find them far too stuffy and boring for my taste and grudgingly drag myself from cover to cover without any real enjoyment. Gulliver’s Travels bored me to tears, Robinson Crusoe cured my insomnia and Jane Eyre made me hide the razor blades… so I decided to try something a little more up to date and that had the potential for a decent adventure. 20,000 leagues seemed an obvious choice.

There can’t be many people in the western world that aren’t familiar with the Jules Verne masterpiece that follows the Nautilus as it make its journey beneath the waves. Professor Aronnax and his assistant Conseil, accompanied by master harpooner Ned Land find themselves prisoners aboard the Nautilus, the mastermind of Captain Nemo, a man who has shunned living on land and now utilizes his enormous submarine and the oceans to sustain his crew. As they traverse the globe it becomes more and more apparent that Nemo is a tortured genius who is intent on vengeance for the death of his family and the small band of prisoners must decide whether to resign their lives to the wonders of the Nautilus or make a break for freedom. With danger from both Nemo’s unpredictability and the wonders of the deep it soon becomes a race against time.

Many authors are called visionaries, and sometimes I think history has been a little too kind, but not in the case of Verne. The ideas he comes up with for underwater travel and the use of electricity still seem amazing now, and I can only imagine the response in 1870, and even though submarines were around then, none would have been able to undertake the voyage described. He takes the reader through the seven seas, from warm tropical waters, under Atlantic ice shelves to even mythical cities that have been lost to the waves. Obviously well researched the plant and animal life is described in immense detail and at times does come across a little bit like a school textbook, but I suppose you have to understand that the undersea world was really unknown to the majority of people at that time and this would most likely be their first introduction to it, so the more detail the better.

My biggest issue came not with the novel itself, but rather selecting which one I should read. Obviously the original text was written in French and since then there have been several translations, with each differing in the language used to previous. I had never really thought about this before, and just assumed a translation would be the same regardless of who wrote it, after all a sentence in French should in theory have only one way of being translated into English. This is not the case, and although the story remains unaltered the prose is dependent upon whoever undertakes the translating and what slant they use. My other problem was finding a text that was unabridged, my version was around 300 pages long with fairly small print, but there are others that run over 500 pages. I couldn’t find anywhere on my copy that advised whether it was complete or not, but I feel it was probably abridged and therefore I lost some of the experience.

All in all though, I really enjoyed the book, far more than I thought I would. I didn’t realize there was also a sequel written called ‘The Mysterious Island’. I will definitely be looking that up in the near future.

61.Monkey.
Fév 8, 2018, 11:36 am

>60 Bridgey: What you lost in the experience is why you gave it as high a rating as you did, LOL. Presumably (at least the bulk of) what you are missing is the endless droning on and on of lists of sea life.
Island is really not much a sequel, more, it is vaguely related. But I found it a much better read than 20k, so don't forgo reading it on that account. ;)

As for translations, goodness no, of course not. There are some instances where things can be translated almost word for word (though generally sentence structure will need some rearranging) but much of the time it is turns of phrase, cultural things in play that need to be taken into account, words that simply have no direct translation, etc & so forth, and it is therefore impossible for two people to translate the same piece of text in precisely the same way. Which is why there are so many translations. ;)

62Bridgey
Modifié : Fév 12, 2018, 11:18 am

Mall - Eric Brogosian ****

I have never heard of the author before, but I came across this book in a second hand store, read the blurb, thought it sounded interesting and decided to give it a whirl. At just over 250 pages it was worth a try and I’m glad I did.

The novel opens with a gory scene that is pretty much carried throughout the storyline. This isn’t one of those books for people that do not like violence. There are 5 main characters, each have their own story that acts as a piece of a jigsaw that sort of combine to make an overall statement. We have Mal, the kind of guy that would find shooting up schools fun, a typical loner that hates anyone and everything. Donna is a housewife looking for some sexual adventure and lives in a sort of daydream fantasizing about her next extra marital lay. Jeff is a young hippylike character that is almost continually on an acid trip whilst imagining he is going to be the next great American writer. And lastly we have Danny and Adelle, he is a sexually frustrated yuppie, while she is a sadist. Mal decides to exact revenge upon his local shopping mall and accompanied with a small arsenal shoots up the place, all hell breaks loose and the people surrounding it act in different ways. The other characters, although not directly linked to Mal, are in the vicinity and dealing with their own issues. The chapters alternate between each characters story and is quite a clever way of building the picture of the incident as a whole.

Definitely a motley bunch of characters, but they all bounce off each other and create a really fast moving and interesting plot. There was the odd storyline I thought a little ridiculous but I get the feeling that that is what this book was all about, just the author and the reader rolling along together, wondering what will happen next. A high paced, straight to the point novel, I will be looking to read more by Brogosian. I’m not sure if this has been made into a film, but if not, I really hope someone has bought the film rights.

63Bridgey
Fév 12, 2018, 11:14 am

>61 .Monkey.: Sounds like I didn't miss a lot then :)

I looked at mysterious island and it seems a humungous novel.

Just have never really thought of translations before, and I suppose it is the age of the novel that means there are no many. I think the only book I have read that has been translated from French is Papillon (my favorite book of all time), it's made me think about it a lot more.

64.Monkey.
Fév 12, 2018, 12:20 pm

Yeah it's a decent size, about 550p. It's a fun action adventure thing, good stuff. :)

65Bridgey
Fév 15, 2018, 11:03 am

The Rats - James Herbert ***

I have always been a fan of the horror novel with Stephen King being amongst my favorite authors, so I often find Herbert in the same section and he has been recommended a few times by friends. Rats is the second book that I have read by the author, the first being Haunted. I wasn’t all that impressed but decided a few years later to give Rats a try, especially as it seems to be his most highly rated book.

The plot is fairly straight forward, a large group of mutant (super sized) Rats have invaded London, they soon develop a taste for humans and attack upon sight. The government tries to control the epidemic and stop widespread panic, but it seems as if all the efforts are in vain as the body count stacks up. Unfortunately it seems that anyone not killed in the immediate attack will succumb to blood poisoning and death is only a matter of hours away. The main character is Harris, an art teacher who becomes involved in the investigation and subsequently must try to find a way to stop the onslaught.

I don’t know if we have become desensitized these days, but I just didn’t find the book all that gruesome. There were no real frights and I found most of the dialogue fairly laughable. The book is nearly 4 decades old and maybe at the time of release it was revolutionary, but for me, what is really apparent is that it hasn’t really aged all that well. There are hundreds of raving reviews, many of which go along the lines of ‘I couldn’t put it down’… but I struggled to pick it up to be fair. If I had to pick a word that best sums up my feelings on Rats, it would have to be ‘childish’ – although I’m not sure what I really expected when reading a book about giant mutant killer rodents…

I guess maybe Herbert just isn’t an author I will ever really enjoy. Possibly I will try another book of his one day, but it won’t be in the near future.

66Bridgey
Fév 15, 2018, 11:11 am

Ah well, another year closes. I fell wayyyyy behind this year with both reading and reviews. I hope 2018 will be kinder... here is a link to next years list if anyone out there is interested:

http://www.librarything.com/topic/280183

:)

67janemarieprice
Fév 15, 2018, 8:51 pm

>66 Bridgey: I've dropped off the map the past few years so I admire that you persevered and finished up your reviews!