Tag: books and reading

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books and reading

The Murder Complex

I’m a big supporter of my local library. I live near a bigger city, so we have multiple branches to get books. And they are so nice that they will order a new book if you request it. I am also a fan of ebooks and my Amazon wish list. I add books on there constantly and check it daily. I finally discovered the “sort by lowest price” feature so now I can easily find books on my list that have been deeply discounted. So, when a book on my wish list drops to .99 or 1.99, I usually snatch it up. This is how I obtained The Murder Complex. But the second book in the series is full price (usually) and my library didn’t own it, and I’m just too cheap to pay full price for books, so I requested the library order the second book. And they did!! They already owned the first, so it made sense for them to buy the second one. Big thanks to my library support!

I’ve owned The Murder Complex for a year or so, but just never wanted to read it until I had access to the second. I feel like I have exhausted the YA dystopian genre. Most of it is fair. A few series stand above the rest, The Hunger Games, The Legend series, the Book of Ivy series come to mind. There’s also a great series that I got for free from Amazon called The Starborn Uprising series that I thought was really good. But most are just mediocre. Sadly, this one falls into that category. I’m so used to reading a trilogy, that when a series is just two books, it feels a bit lacking. Book of Ivy, aside, because that’s a very fleshed out couple of books. This one, however, felt rushed. I never bought into a character’s motivation. None of them, really. It all felt very disjointed. Oh I hate you, no wait, I want to kiss you even though I barely know you, oh wait you’re going to kill me, wait I still might want to kiss you. Huh?

The book was also really predictable. I knew certain characters were either not dead or involved in a double agent situation. Ultimately, I gave this book 3 stars because I did want to keep reading, but I just wasn’t overly impressed with it. I felt like it was needlessly bloody and murderous (and have zero issues with meaningful violence in a YA books). The overall plot was just too farfetched.

Maybe I just have high expectations for this genre, or maybe I’ve just read so much of it that it takes a lot to impress me. But I am going to read the second book and see if it fares any better.

 

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books and reading

The Twelve

As promised, here is the second book in The Passage trilogy review. And, even though I gave this one 5 stars, this one felt a bit weaker than the first. Still amazing and absolutely worth reading, but I were forced to pick a favorite between the two, I would have to go with The Passage.

The Twelve introduces us to a whole new group of characters, who are extremely important to our core group, but no one you necessarily want to get attached to, if you catch my drift. The ending of this one is wonderful and heartbreaking. Our group is torn apart and reunited, simultaneously. Some are lost, new ones join, so it will be interesting to see what happens with these relationships in City of Mirrors. The lives these people lead are so compelling. Even though they are just people, they do amazing things for humanity, at great risk to themselves. This is what I enjoyed most about the book. I’m not a risk taker by nature, but when the weight of the entire world is on one’s shoulders, one might look at danger differently.

Because of Netgalley, I have an advance copy of City of Mirrors and will be starting immediately. I look forward to sharing my thoughts with you in a few days.

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books and reading

The Passage

I rarely reread books. Partly because there are just so many books on my “to read” list that I just don’t have time for rereading. I’m too antsy to get to the new ones. Also, because if I loved a book the first time around, I am really nervous to read it again because it might not be as good the second time. There are books that fit into your life exactly in the perfect time and place. Reading Les Miserables was an experience that I could never recreate. The only time I’ve read it, I was teaching and would share the story with my students. Although, I fully believe Les Mis would hold up to a second reading, something would be missing from my joy: my students. So, I’ve never reread it. But there are books that I miss. I want to visit them again. My memories of them have started to fade. So this year, I vowed to reread some of my favorites.

I originally read The Passage when it came out, years and years ago. And then I read The Twelve (review coming soon) when it was published. And I have never revisited either one. But since City of Mirrors is FINALLY coming out this month, and it had been so damn long since I read the first two, I am gladly refreshing my memory of this series.

I loved The Passage. Not your typical vampire story, but really more of a character study. And unlike any story I’ve read, the vampires are humanized, well, as much as death row inmates can be. And you get inside their brains to really understand what life is like for them. The story also follows several formats. It’s not just a narrative, but also emails, journals, documents, etc, which helps break up the 800+ pages. As lengthy as this book is, the story flies. It’s told in a bit of a random order, jumping ahead 100 years in the middle, which was quite surprising when I originally read it, but all is wrapped up fairly well by the end. The Passage isn’t just another “vampire book.” It is unique and one not to pass up.

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books and reading

Wolves of the Calla

There is just no denying what a master storyteller Stephen King is. I admit he has his misses, and he doesn’t always have the best endings. But overall, he truly is one of the most gifted writers of our time. And the Dark Tower, along with The Stand, are easily his masterpieces. I have yet to be disappointed with a book in this series.

This story is a bit of a side track mixed with some important plot events. The side story involves Roland and his ka-tet helping a town protect their children. Their cause is noble, but one they don’t enter lightly. The town must prove they are willing to do things Roland’s way, and it doesn’t take long for them to realize how valuable the ka-tet is to their cause.

The main plot of traveling to the Dark Tower is woven seamlessly within the town’s struggle. We get to revisit the world we know, where Jake, Eddie, and Susannah come from. The most interesting plot is Susannah and “the chap” which I will not elaborate on. However, the story leads directly into the next book, and I believe, Stephen King himself makes an appearance in this next book. I can’t wait.

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books and reading

Shriek and Finch

The first book in this series, City of Saints and Madmen, I reviewed here. City of Saints and Madmen. Hey look at that! I hope the link works. I’ve never done that before. Instead of writing two reviews over two less than stellar books, I thought I would combine them and maybe try to pull some good out of each.

Let me say that these books are not my thing, but still really well written and overall worth looking in to. City is a story collection, of sorts. Very funny, very creative, but I just couldn’t get into it. The second book, Shriek, isn’t a sequel of the first because, well, how do you have a sequel to a story collection? Shriek tells the story of Duncan Shriek, as told by his sister, Janice. Duncan (I won’t explain how) also helps narrate the story. There were some great parts in this book, but overall, I just wasn’t interested in what happened. I gave this one 2 stars.

Finch was definitely better. And you do need to read Shriek to fully understand Finch. The trilogy isn’t one of chronological succession, but rather spin offs and still conjoined in their madness. And I mean madness in a good way. Let’s start with the Gray Caps. These are mushroom-like people who live in Ambergris. Stories about them are woven through all three books, but they are prominently featured in Finch. About another person, Finch, who is a detective trying to solve a murder, goes through an evolution of mind, body, and soul in the process of solving it. I thought this book was much more gripping. I wanted to know what happened to Finch, who was murdered, and ultimately how everything was wrapped up. 3 stars for this one.

The author, Jeff VanderMeer, is still Aok in my book. I plan to reread the Southern Reach trilogy this year. And I NEVER reread books this quickly, but I really need to dig into them and see what Easter eggs I can found. I definitely see how Ambergris and Area X came from the same mind. I just think Area X is more polished of the two regions. And soon to be a movie starring Natalie Portman. Highly recommend Southern Reach and will review when I revisit them.

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books and reading

Rise by Katherine L. Evans

So, a friend of mine told me a couple weeks ago, “Hey, I have a friend who is an author, and I gave her your name to be a beta reader for her newest book.” And I wholeheartedly agreed having absolutely no idea what kind of book I had just volunteered to read. It could have been a western, a fantasy or worse yet, a sappy romance book. Those types of books have a place in the world, just not in my world. But when I got the word document and started the book, I was immediately hooked.

The overarching theme, as well as the title, is to rise. Rise above. Rise above anything and everyone who drags you down. Not in the “I’m better than everyone” way, but more of the “I can persevere through the worst” way. Isn’t this how we should all lead our lives? And, thankfully, the main character realizes this as well.

This book isn’t an easy read. There are parts that will punch you in the gut. And you will get choked up numerous times (there are only four books that have made me tear up. This was one of them), and you will love every bit of this book. Emma is a journalist running from a terrible childhood. Running away, running to, it doesn’t really matter. Escape is all she craves. She has people who love her, but it isn’t enough. Like many young adults, she needs to find herself and give back to the world. So, she heads to Syria to do some investigative reporting. Let me repeat. Syria. This isn’t going to be pretty. And, like always, you will get zero spoilers from me, so I will just say that the best thing I loved about this book was that it was REAL.

Since this book is still in the prepublishing beta stages, I beg you to keep a lookout for this when it is on the shelves. And I will keep you posted. This one is absolutely worth reading. The main character is flawed and broken and authentic and beautifully written. I’m so thankful I was asked to read this.

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books and reading

Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell

A friend has been hounding me to read this book for years. So, when the BBC series came out last year, I agreed to read the book before watching the series. I’ve been trying to pace myself with long books, but it’s becoming abundantly clear that 2016 will be the “year of the epic novel.” I have so many 500+ page books on my list that I’m starting to fall behind. And it doesn’t help with a book is so stinking boring.

Ultimately, I gave this one 3 stars. But the first 60% was just so awful. I felt like it was two books put together and the first one was pretty useless. Strange and Norrell are frenemy magicians in the early 1800s in England. This book tries to do a lot of things, and only a few of them are successful. I have no problem with books that juggle multiple characters and plotlines, but they must all be interesting, and I found Strange and Norrell to be pretty awful people. The minor characters were more interesting, but I have a hard time enjoying a book when the main characters are just assholes. Neither one has very little redeeming value.

I’m a little confused why this book was so popular. Maybe people reading it were just so impressed with the time period, setting, writing, etc. 1800s England definitely isn’t my thing to begin with. Everyone is too snobby and stuffy. The Stephen Black plotline was, by far, the best one, and I was sad his story ended, but pleased with the resolution. But overall, I think 3 stars is generous.

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books and reading

I Am Pilgrim

I really dislike the Mad Max movies. Which is odd, considering dystopia is my thing. I can read any book about the genre, and most movies, as well. But the Mad Max movies are not my thing. So, when I heard about this book, written by the screenwriter of Mad Max 2 and 3, I was out. No interest. Then I read the plot and reviews. And maybe, just maybe I would check it out. Then a friend raved about it. And harped on me about it. And I caved. 600 pages later, here I am on the other side. I survived.

I love a good thriller. I will read most types, but this one about espionage, catching the Muslim extremist in a post 9/11 world, covert operations, etc just didn’t appeal to me. But the more I read, the more sucked in I got. And I was so impressed with this story. Because something that is mentioned on page 100, that was just a hint, just a tidbit, turned out to be huge later in the book. And that happened a number of times. This is an expertly constructed book.

You never really know the character, in part because his identity shifts so much due to the covert business, but you see who he is deep down. He’s not a heartless man. He isn’t ruthless or cruel. He simply wants to protect people. And unfortunately, he knows you sometimes have to kill people to protect the many. Even when he does, he still takes no joy in what he has done, making him human. And this is the main reason I enjoyed this book. There are so many small events that link together within the novel. Hayes does a great job of tying up all the loose ends as well. Very impressive first stab (pun intended) at a novel from this screenwriter.

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All the Missing Girls

Yet another Netgalley book! So, I’ve read one great one and one bummer one. However, this one I selected completely on the premise alone. It’s a murder mystery, but it has a unique feature. It’s told in reverse. Which really seems odd, given the whole mystery aspect, but this novel really does work.

The fact that it’s told in reverse is laid out for you up front, so there’s no confusion as to what is happening. And, as a speed reader, I found myself having to go a lot slower with this book to really grasp all the details.  Reading a book in reverse chronological order is like looking at a picture and then being told the story behind it. Normally you make the memory and look at the picture later, then the memory comes flooding back. And I was skeptical about whether or not this novel (and unknown, to me, author) could pull it off. And while the book had some confusing moments and not everything is perfectly resolved (but rather implied), as a whole, it was really great.

The murder mystery genre is really hit or miss for me. Some novels are so predictable and formulaic that you see the murderer coming a mile away. And not to give anything away, but the resolution wasn’t wholly surprising to me, but the storytelling was really what made the book readable and interesting. Reading it in chronological order would have been nowhere near as intriguing.

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books and reading

Dark Matter

When I saw this book was available on Netgalley, I immediately requested it, simply based on the author. I read the Wayward Pines series last year and loved it. I don’t know much about the author, but based on the trilogy, I knew I wanted to read more. He does a great job of balancing suspense and science and wow, can he write an ending.

This book grabbed me from chapter one. There’s no slow burn in this book. From the beginning, you are sucked in. And there is absolutely no way to predict where the book is going, which is refreshing. The author has clearly done his research in physics and does an outstanding job relating this information in an understandable way. I expected there to be some difficult parts given how insane (in a good way) the premise is, and there were a few where I had to slow down and reread a bit, but nothing that I wasn’t able to handle.

And just when I thought I knew what was going to happen, the rug was yanked out from under me. I was pleasantly surprised by how many plausible twists and turns the book provided. I never felt like what was happening wasn’t possible, even though it really isn’t….probably. I’m no physicist, so there’s always a chance. In any case, I highly recommend this book, especially if you liked the Wayward Pines trilogy. This seems to be a stand alone book, but I could be wrong. I will be adding Blake Crouch to my list of “must read” authors.