This started exceptionally well. A small town. People go missing but come back hideously mutilated. Everyone knows who the killer is, but the police aThis started exceptionally well. A small town. People go missing but come back hideously mutilated. Everyone knows who the killer is, but the police are unwilling or unable to do anything about him. Added to the sense of menace his presence brings to the town, lead up to a killing spree seems to coincide with weird happenings, both to technology and to local wildlife. This was an intriguing opening to the novel. I was disappointed therefore to find my attention wandering once a group of kids decided to fight back. This was all far more YA than adult horror. We got a sort of Five Go On A Camping Trip vibe with backpacks being bought and stocked, endless snarky chat, blossoming YA romance, kickass girlies and submissive, soy teenage boys. It was all very Twilight to be honest. The book did provide some amusement though. I did like the scene where a fifteen-year-old girl who had suffered her arm being ripped off within the previous 48 hours emerges warrior-like from the dark caves furiously brandishing a burning torch in her only hand. Uh huh. Kickass, you see. This is worth a read if you are entirely new to horror and enjoy books that focus on teenage girls thoughts and emotions and where adults are just props for teenage angst. ...more
It's not easy to pull off a credible apocalyptic novel, and Knox deserves respect for this novel. Not only does she create a unique and horrifying 'evIt's not easy to pull off a credible apocalyptic novel, and Knox deserves respect for this novel. Not only does she create a unique and horrifying 'event', she manages to make it credible despite its 'supernatural' origins. The action takes place in one small settlement near Nelson (a town on the north coast of South Island, NZ). There is a tiny cast of characters: the fourteen survivors. The story takes us through the horror that descends on them to their reactions to still being alive but trapped. I was entirely hooked until about the 80% mark, but just began to find it a bit tedious at that point, hence the four stars instead of five. I do highly recommend this book. It's pretty unique and introduces some genuinely interesting concepts. ...more
It must be my old noggin', but I could not make head nor tail of this. Dozens of characters were introduced. Time spans jump. Something has happened bIt must be my old noggin', but I could not make head nor tail of this. Dozens of characters were introduced. Time spans jump. Something has happened but it's all very vague. I actually have no doubt this is a good novel (the title alone is superb), but I didn't have the energy to invest in it. I'm not rating it as it seems a bit unfair when I feel this as my failure rather than this book....more
No one will be avoiding spoilers if they read this book, as the outcome of the Donner Party's tragic trek to California is well known. However, the weNo one will be avoiding spoilers if they read this book, as the outcome of the Donner Party's tragic trek to California is well known. However, the wealth of detail in this book shines a light on many of the aspects of this horrific trip that I didn't know. It's so detailed, in fact, that to be honest I totally lost track of who went where and when. Some people stayed here, some stayed there, some left for help, some came back, rescues were sent, some stayed, some came back... you get the picture. But in some ways you don't need to follow each name, each detail, because the whole story is so overwhelming that the chaos only adds to the horror. I was particularly fascinated by the post-trip detail the author included about some of the survivors. They didn't have all that much luck after their Donner Party experience either. Obviously, this is a must-read for anyone interested in this historical event, but I'd also highly recommend it for anyone interested in survival in the wilderness, heroism, and the sometimes brutal lives of the courageous people who founded modern-day America. ...more
It seems to be one of Harris's skills to totally immerse his readers into whatever world he's writing about. I've just finished Pompeii and genuinely It seems to be one of Harris's skills to totally immerse his readers into whatever world he's writing about. I've just finished Pompeii and genuinely felt as if I was taking part in Roman life. In Enigma, I was in wartime England. This was a fascinating spy novel, not my preferred genre, but one made very readable here by the genuine human-interest drama. If you have the least interest in the wartime code-breakers, or just 1940s life in England, then definitely give this novel a read. It's a world and a people long gone now, and I doubt we'll see their like again. ...more
This is an engaging and well written story. The ending is one of the best I've ever read in a horror fiction. Truly chilling. My main criticism is thaThis is an engaging and well written story. The ending is one of the best I've ever read in a horror fiction. Truly chilling. My main criticism is that the entire premise revolves around an event that happened when the protagonist and his friends were sixteen, many years in the past. The incident is so horrific, he tells us, that keeping it secret has been their only focus all these years. (view spoiler)[ However, when we finally discover the incident, it really was more of a tragic accident, a typical teenage mess of wrong decisions rather than evil intent. I really didn't think it was bad enough not to immediately confess let alone keep as the central feature of your entire life. (hide spoiler)] Definitely worth a read. Some genuine creep, and an ending to remember. ...more
I finished this, so two stars, but it was overly long and didn't really have enough substence in it to justify its length. Once you've worked out whatI finished this, so two stars, but it was overly long and didn't really have enough substence in it to justify its length. Once you've worked out what's actually happening with this buried baby, then it's just tiresome that nobody else within the novel can work it out too. Some investigative journalists and cops they are! Also, this is one of those novels where no one holds heterodox views on any of the acceptable narratives. I wish just once an author would allow their characters to not all sway like grass in the wind to the views and opinions and emotions they are all supposed to share. Be different! This conformity is possibly due to the fact that all these authors work in a tiny bubble in London, themselves very similar to the characters they write about: publishers, journalists, editors, copywriters, professors, etc. I suspect most woman would enjoy this novel. It's not bad, it's just ... blandly unchallenging....more
I'm not sure what a just read. This one is best gone into with no spoilers as there were a few revelations I didn't see coming, mainly because, to me,I'm not sure what a just read. This one is best gone into with no spoilers as there were a few revelations I didn't see coming, mainly because, to me, they made no sense and therefore couldn't be predicted. (view spoiler)[ Mountain women live in isolated cabin worshiping a creature that lives in a cave. The creature is described as like a huge bloated white spider, or squid thing that has no features on its boulder-like head and it spins some kind of web from its articulated limbs which pierce the palms of the women who commune with it in its cave. The mountain men have formed a new religion around these women who, generation after generation, do this communing to reveal the creature's thoughts--hence the title. You get hints that these women are impregnated by the creature and that that's how successive generations of these weirdly birth-marked women are born. But no, you'd be wrong if you suspected that. What actually happens is the creature comes out at night and 'impregnates' a pig on the farm. The sow then gives birth--sometimes to deformed monsters which are killed, but sometimes to one successful baby girl. Uh huh. How? How does something with no human DNA (the monster) and something else with no human DNA (a pig) produce a human baby? And if this monster has the ability to create a human and only needs a womb to gestate it (the pig) wouldn't it be better to use an actual woman? Is this a major plot hole in the novel? I couldn't decide. Once I discovered that these women are sisters, and daughters of this monster and can spin their own webs or filaments, I really lost the plot and skimmed through to the end. (hide spoiler)] This book is very female centric, which is fine if the women are characters you root for. The women in this were universally awful. They were bitter, nasty, mean, aggressive and as the generations went on, actually evil. Anything to protect their precious monster in the cave. Great cover. Great premise. I just didn't enjoy this and am still not sure what it was all about....more
I have just read The Reaping by the same author, which was excellent. This one promises to be just as good. If you like novels like Rebecca, then I'd I have just read The Reaping by the same author, which was excellent. This one promises to be just as good. If you like novels like Rebecca, then I'd suggest you'd love these: they very much have the same menacing vibe, the same sense that something awful is just around the corner of the idyllic setting. The author manages to convey this awful dread to us, the readers, and yet at the same time leave his characters blissfully ignorant. The setting of this one is simply gorgeous: an English country cottage in high summer in a tiny village in Berkshire. As always, I'll update when done.
I finished this one last night and when I was done I almost felt breathless. The final few chapters on this novel had me reading so quickly that I felt as if I were in the storm and the drama it was describing. This author is a brilliant storyteller. I've gone straight onto Mother's Boys, another novel by the same writer. These are the sort of books that are hard to put down. Highly recommended. ...more
The other two novels I've recently read by this author both had supernatural themes. This one, I feel, might stay in the realms of the everyday, normaThe other two novels I've recently read by this author both had supernatural themes. This one, I feel, might stay in the realms of the everyday, normal world--where genuine evil exists. The opening chapter is horrific (okay, I admit, I scanned most of it not actually 'reading' once I realised what was happening), but, boy, does it set the scene for what's to follow. Is anything scarier than evil kids? As usual, I'll update when done. Yikes, I've had to give up on this one. I've discovered there're two things I won't read: animal abuse and ... paedophile mothers. I could not believe what I was reading. I won't rate this one, because there's nothing wrong with the writing, the story is extremely well done and tense, it's just that this one goes beyond my tolerance levels. Which is weird when I consider the books I read... ...more
So far, this is the most 'progressive' novel I've ever read and not given up on. I think every single woke trope has been covered: gay (all the characSo far, this is the most 'progressive' novel I've ever read and not given up on. I think every single woke trope has been covered: gay (all the characters as far as I can see), trans, indigenous rights, anti-white, anti-Christian, decolonisation, anti-men, anti-family... I'm sure the author will not miss climate change before the end. However, and this is a big however, this is still a very interesting and enjoyable read. The concept of vampires being real, an ancient genetic human defect, and living as outcasts of society leads to some challenging exploration of what it means to be human. The whole novel is set in one isolated Alaskan town in winter (think 30 Days of Night, the best vampire movie ever, and you get the same kind of vibe here). As ever, I'll update when done. I have the feeling I'm not going to like the ending of this much. I think we'll have hand-holding and universal love (only with no Christians). I am willing to be pleasantly surprised. Finished. There seemed to be a lot going on in this small town and I lost the thread towards the end to be honest. There was a parallel thread of story being told about a vampire child being kept prisoner, and I genuinely have no idea what happened to her at the end, or how it related to anything happening in the book. Odd. Also, one major character, the vampire leader, is an eight-year-old girl. Turned as a child, she cannot grow or change at all, forever condemned to live in her eight-year-old body. But... she gives birth to a child... huh? What? Sorry? Run that past me again... Overall, I'm not entirely sure the central premise of the story works. Vampires are protected by law, given 'marginalised people' status. But, by law they can't work or integrate with humans. They have to live in colonies (reservations?) outside human reach. If a vampire kills a human and the actual vampire can't be identified, a cull of the whole colony can be authorised. This really doesn't make a lot of sense, does it? Also, vampires do kill humans in this book, but that's never their fault. Humans are scum. The lead detective (obviously a lesbian who's had a sexual relationship with black vampire lesbian) finds an anti-vampire tattoo on the shoulder of a human victim and immediately doesn't care who killed him or why. He deserved it, apparently, by not liking vampires... A very mixed bag. I enjoyed some of it, but it annoyed and frustrated me in equal measure....more
This is one of the best novels I've ever read. Post-apocalyptic stories usually concentrate on the affects of the disasters on the protagonists, but tThis is one of the best novels I've ever read. Post-apocalyptic stories usually concentrate on the affects of the disasters on the protagonists, but this one only has it as a backdrop to a very personal tragedy: the snatching away of a father's little girl. For two years The Father (as he is always referred to) searches for his lost daughter in a country that is falling apart. Britain, current population 80 million, is, in the decades leading up to 2050, flooded by another 80 million people from Africa and the Middle East fleeing the effects of global warming in their countries. England in 2050 isn't a nice place to be. This really hit home for me, as the author lives in Devon and has set this novel in the South Hams, a place I know extremely well and miss terribly. I wouldn't want to live in this version of Devon, however. The Father is being fed information on known paedophiles by a few brave whistleblowers in what remains of the police force, and one by one he visits them to extract information about the whereabouts of his daughter. They don't sit down and have friendly chats. But if you poke evil, evil might sit up and take notice. The Father has no real idea of what he's getting into. There is not one moment of respite in this book; it's a heart-pounding read. It's beautifully written throughout. If you like horror, post-apocalyptic, intense human drama and contemplation of who we are as a species and what matters most to us in the world, then given this book a go. An unreserved five stars for me. Fantastic read. ...more
Phew. I'm exhausted. This book is a little like marmite: I suspect you either love it or loathe it. Dan Brown has a rather unique writing style, whichPhew. I'm exhausted. This book is a little like marmite: I suspect you either love it or loathe it. Dan Brown has a rather unique writing style, which once you've spotted it irritates like hell--bit of incredible, shocking action, backtrack to give real explanation of what is happening. He does it over and over again. Besides that... goodness, what's with the battering the reader around the head with info on architecture, art, science, technology, religion... it's all so trite. It's like he googled a particular architect, jotted down half a dozen buildings and their descriptions and ticked off the number of chapters he could fill with it all. Same for art. Same for tech... etc. And then there's the great reveal. Which wasn't. So the book is supposed to be about this tech genius who discovers the entire meaning of life: where we come from ,where we're going. Just before he can reveal his discovery (view spoiler)[ he's gunned down. The rest of the plot is Langdon trying to get to the guy's central computer to release the information himself. By the end the whole world is watching live as the greatest mystery of our time is unfolded. Well huh. We evolved from primordial slime and we're going to become more technological... possibly part human part embedded cyber enhancements. This was not the great reveal I was hoping for to be honest. (hide spoiler)] So, marmite... it's hard to rate this book to be honest. Without being totally elitist (okay, fair cop, being totally elitist) I'd say this book might suit people who don't read a lot? Who don't know much about architecture and like a sort of "Hello Magazine" intro to Spanish churches? Never studied science or religion? Hell, I'm as thick as they come but this was seriously shallow and annoying to read. But I can picture a few people I know raving over this novel and trying to convince me to read it cus it was so brilliant and so intriguing. Ack, two stars. I did google some pictures of Gaudi's great La Sagrada Familia, so I was interested enough to do that. Give it a go. Make your own mind up. Just not for me....more
If I could give this a negative rating I would. (view spoiler)[I've read books I've disliked. I've read books I've not finished. But I can't recall a bIf I could give this a negative rating I would. (view spoiler)[I've read books I've disliked. I've read books I've not finished. But I can't recall a book that has genuinely made me want to throw my kindle across the room before. This book did. The novel starts really well. It's well written. The plot is intriguing: aunt accidentally leaves her three-year-old nephew in her car on a hot day and he dies. She's put on trial for negligent manslaughter. The scene where the father phones her and asks why Max isn't at nursery, when she suddenly remembers he's in the car, when she finds him dead, rushes to the hospital with him... etc, all really moving and well done. It's pretty tense.
Cut to the final chapter and discover the whole things was a set up between her and the husband to kill the boy mercifully because he had some awful, rare genetic disease. What? I went back and read the beginning again. The entire thing, just the two of them, no witnesses around to 'act' for. She picks the boy up, father straps him in the car, they chat normally, she drives to work distracted by a phonecall, dashes into the office, forgets the boy, get the panicked phonecall from the father, screams, almost faints... You get the picture. The entire novel is predicated on the author just lying to the readers. We are inside these characters heads, listening to their thoughts, their reactions and yet it's all utterly fake. I call total bullshit on this novel. To me, it's like buying a laptop online and finding what you've actually bought is just the picture of it. It's a scam. I've been scammed, and I'm pretty furious because I really don't want to waste the few good reading years I've got left being tricked and scammed. Wow. I'm fuming. My kindle only just survived. (hide spoiler)] ...more
One thing is abundantly clear: Alex White is a superb writer. Cold Forge, the prequel to Into Charybdis was simply excellent. After a slightly slow stOne thing is abundantly clear: Alex White is a superb writer. Cold Forge, the prequel to Into Charybdis was simply excellent. After a slightly slow start, this one was even better. In fact, I'd go as far as to say that White is too good really to be writing Alien spin-off novels. Into Charybdis is a deep, complex sci-fi story that seems to want to cram as much technical detail and world building into it as it does actual aliens. If it has a fault, it's that it's so complex, so technical and so expansive that to be honest it's a bit exhausting to read at times. I attempted to summerise the plot but then realised I didn't really understand what was going on so deleted it all. I just know I enjoyed the read. S, if you like extremely violent and gory science fiction, this is your book. Why on Earth rubbish like Prometheus was made when Cold Forge and this novel are out there in the same franchise begging to be filmed is a mystery. Recommended. ...more
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