Categories
The Survivors
Title: Stephen King: A Complete Exploration of His Work, Life, and Influences
Author: Bev Vincent
Genre: non-fiction, biography
Thank you, NetGalley, for this book.
Holy smokes, what an awesome book. I’m a huge King fan. I own all his books in hardback and have read all but 10 of them. I pre-order them when they come out and have read Eyes of the Dragon to my kid. I’m starting him early, of course. I love the Kingcast podcast. The Stand is one of my all-time favorite books. I’ve reviewed Billy Summers, Later, The Colorado Kid, Different Seasons, The Dark Half, The Regulators, The Talisman, Joyland, If It Bleeds, and The Shining And as popular as he is, he’s severely underrated by the critical world. He might not be as “literary” as some, but he’s a master storyteller, no question. This book is not only an overview of his work, but it also offers some insight into who he is as a person. It’s a must read for any fan.
Even though I own this digitally, this book will be one that I own a physical copy of. It’s full of photos, handwritten pages of manuscripts, letters, and various other media. I loved the discussion of each book, but what I really found interesting were the side notes about King’s philanthropy, his love of the Red Sox, his near-fatal accident, and the like. The sidebars provided a lot of information I was unaware of. This book is really a beautiful work, I’m excited to see it in person.
Categories
The Redeemer
Categories
Four Past Midnight
Categories
The Paradox Hotel
Title: The Paradox Hotel
Author: Rob Hart
Genre: science fiction
Thank you, NetGalley, for this book.
I was so pumped to read this book. It sounded like something I would love. Time travel- check. Thriller- double check. Dinosaurs- I’m all in. But man alive, this book was not nearly as good as I hoped. The main character was so obnoxious and mean for no reason and was wholly unlikeable. I appreciate a good snarky character, but she was over-the-top awful. The plot was interesting, but the pacing was way off. The last 10% was full of great action, but it had so many characters and boring plot that didn’t need to exist that by the time I was close to the end, I was begging for anything to happen.
From Goodreads:
January Cole’s job just got a whole lot harder. Not that running security at the Paradox was ever really easy. Nothing’s simple at a hotel where the ultra-wealthy tourists arrive costumed for a dozen different time periods, all eagerly waiting to catch their “flights” to the past.
Or where proximity to the timeport makes the clocks run backward on occasion—and, rumor has it, allows ghosts to stroll the halls. None of that compares to the corpse in room 526. The one that seems to be both there and not there. The one that somehow only January can see.
On top of that, some very important new guests have just checked in. Because the U.S. government is about to privatize time-travel technology—and the world’s most powerful people are on hand to stake their claims.
January is sure the timing isn’t a coincidence. Neither are those “accidents” that start stalking their bidders. There’s a reason January can glimpse what others can’t. A reason why she’s the only one who can catch a killer who’s operating invisibly and in plain sight, all at once.
But her ability is also destroying her grip on reality—and as her past, present, and future collide, she finds herself confronting not just the hotel’s dark secrets but her own.
The premise is ridiculous, but in a fun way, but it didn’t hold up for me. The privatization plot point was absolutely pointless. If this book had just been about January and the reason why she can see things others can’t and her trying to solve the time travel issues the hotel is facing, that would have been a much better book. But there are so many extraneous characters that distract from the best part of the book. January is needlessly mean. She’s not clever with her sarcasm. She’s just so unlikeable. This book had so much potential but was a big disappointment.
Categories
The Guise of Another
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The Golden Compass
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The Christmas Pig
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The Innocent Man
Categories
The Ferryman
Title: The Ferryman
Author: Justin Cronin
Genre: dystopia, science fiction
Thank you, NetGalley, for this book.
I LOVE Cronin’s Passage trilogy. It’s one I want to revisit every few years. I’m such a fan that I’ll read anything he publishes. When NetGalley offered this one to me, I jumped on it immediately. Not only do I love the author, but it’s also dystopian, which is my favorite genre. And I can easily say this is one of the best books I’ve read this year. I was hooked and never saw all the twists this book takes.
From Goodreads: Founded by the mysterious genius known as the Designer, the archipelago of Prospera lies hidden from the horrors of a deteriorating outside world. In this island paradise, Prospera’s lucky citizens enjoy long, fulfilling lives until the monitors embedded in their forearms, meant to measure their physical health and psychological well-being, fall below 10 percent. Then they retire themselves, embarking on a ferry ride to the island known as the Nursery, where their failing bodies are renewed, their memories are wiped clean, and they are readied to restart life afresh.
Proctor Bennett, of the Department of Social Contracts, has a satisfying career as a ferryman, gently shepherding people through the retirement process–and, when necessary, enforcing it. But all is not well with Proctor. For one thing, he’s been dreaming–which is supposed to be impossible in Prospera. For another, his monitor percentage has begun to drop alarmingly fast. And then comes the day he is summoned to retire his own father, who gives him a disturbing and cryptic message before being wrestled onto the ferry.
Meanwhile, something is stirring. The Support Staff, ordinary men and women who provide the labor to keep Prospera running, have begun to question their place in the social order. Unrest is building, and there are rumors spreading of a resistance group–known as “Arrivalists”–who may be fomenting revolution.
Soon Proctor finds himself questioning everything he once believed, entangled with a much bigger cause than he realized–and on a desperate mission to uncover the truth.
This book just kept me guessing as to what was going to happen next. When I was convinced I knew where the book was headed, I realized I was only halfway done. The plot pulls the reader in so many different directions that you are also solving the mystery of just what is going on along with the characters. I’ve read more dystopian books than any other genre, and this one is definitely one of the more unique ones. It’s a mix of 1984, The Giver, and The Truman Show (along with others that I won’t disclose because of spoilers). I loved that the story is told in both first and third-person narrators. Proctor is first person, but the other characters are third, which leaves them in a bit of a mystery. I never expected a shift like this to work, but it was great, and I had no trouble following it. The worst thing about this book is that it’s not out until May, so I can’t make all my friends read it now. I absolutely loved this one.
Pleasant Nights 