Review: Whitstable

Publisher: Spectral Press

Price: £ 2.04 ebook

A person who actually existed has lost his wife, he goes for a walk and comes across a young lad who is having some problems with a 'vampire'. 

I will admit that in the beginning this book rather pissed me off. It was too wallowy in self pity for my liking! However, once Carl is discovered it takes a dramatic turn and it all goes from weird, to terrifyingly realistic.

I do wonder how much this is based on fact as it is Peter Cushing who is the main figure. I do wonder if these were, to an extent real events and if Carl and his life were something PC got involved in. However, part of me doesn't want to know if this is real as it'll ruin it for me if it wasn't. 

The story of one man coping with his grief, which is making him a tad mad and is also making him a bit obsessive. However, he just wants someone to care about and something to help him over come his grief.

I'm not 100% sure how I feel about this novella or how it made me feel. I wanted to keep reading it as I was drawn in by how real it was and how well, almost normal to an extent. Maybe it would mean more to people if someone close had been lost. Well written and executed though.

Happy Reading

Book Geek

:-)

Review: The City's Son

Publisher: Jo Fletcher Books

Price: £ 7.99

London has an underworld that we knew nothing about and all I can say is, IT HAD BETTER BE REAL!

Fantasy or SciFi? I have no idea to be honest but I don't care as its a bloody weird and got me bloody hooked from the start. TP's mind must be bonkers as I have never really thought such a world and creatures could be created from the urbanisation of London. BRAVO!!!!

Beth was a bit of annoying character and totally fucked me off but I got over that as the other characters were immense, especially Victor. WAHHH he was a total dude. I also grew to love Fil. He was a bit tooooooo weird at the start but by the end I was completely in love with him and would gladly have him as my toyboy!

This is a crazy and weird and wonderful story of love and friendship and hard times and lies and manipulation. It is weird and wonderful as I said but that is a point I feel I need to drive home. Such a unique book, I don't know if there is one like it around...but if there is throw it at me. I cannot wait to read the next one, which is currently sitting on my shelf.

HUZZAH and happy reading

Book Geek

:-D

Harry Potter Challenge: The Goblet of Fire

Oh for god's sake! Why are we back to the shite that appeared in books 1 and 2? Book three was dark and twisty and intriguing and felt like a bit more of a grown up read...as I said, felt like to was written by someone else completely. Now we are back to this childish and annoying writing style with a childish and annoying plot that is full of childish and annoying characters.

The fallings out and the love triangles are just ridiculous. The books have back tracked. They have ceased to mature with the characters like three did and I am really disappointed!!!! The whole thing is now very repetitive and I am getting a tad fed up. Bring back the darkness, bring back the terror, bring back the maturity and the far more appealing and engaging style that was there before. Yes, the last 50 pages are a bit dark but for me it was too little, too late and too far fetched, even for HP!!!

The only thing I really enjoyed about this one was Winky. She was great, even Sirius didn't really do anything for me and I bloody loved him before!!!!

I am thoroughly disappointed and I am in no way enthused to read on as I was after finishing The Prisoner of Azkaban. SO FRUSTRATING!!

But I will plough on as it is my challenge...but I will have a break to read something good....well I hope the next reads are good!

Big Booos all round!

Book Geek

Review: The Executioner's Heart

Publisher: Titan Books

Price: £ 7.99

We are in Victorian London, we've got a crazy murderer on the loose and there is some steampunk thrown in!

I've not read any SP before but I think I like it. Subtle twists on an eccentric Victorian detective style novel. It was always a surprise when the machines cropped up but they didn't seem out of place and I enjoyed that thoroughly. There was also a hint of the Sherlock Holmes about this book. A slightly mental and drug addled lead with his more sensible and grounded sidekick.

The story was fun but gruesome, action packed yet light. A totally new type of book for me but one that I did indeed enjoy. N&H had a good dynamic and a past was successfully built for them. I don't know if they have featured in other books in the past, but I did in no way feel as if their relationship or back story was lacking. They had a bond, a connection and a history that was wholly convincing and cemented. 

I think I will defo look out for more SP novels in the hope that they are like this one. I think the subtlety of the SP elements helped my introduction to the genre and I do indeed get on with a cracking detective novel. I do think I'm going to have to try to stay away from murder for a while as it is impacting my dreams in a big way.

Detective novel with a twist that is fun indeed.

Happy Reading

Book Geek

:-)

Review: The Stranger You Know

Price: £ 8.54 ebook

Publisher: Ebury Publishing imprint of Random House

Women are being murdered and it's sodding scary!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The book is written through the eyes of MK, female and young, the same as the victims, so of course, that led this book to scare the shit out of me even more. First person MK makes it believable an personal and terrifying to me!!! Why do I read books like this when I am home alone?????

I kept turning pages, with a compulsion. I had no idea what was going to happen, then I thought I was convinced I knew, then I was wrong but was convinced again but then I was wrong again!!! Very well done on that Ms C as when I can see a conclusion coming I am always bitterly disappointed. 

There are some cracking characters. Some are creepy, some are just dudes, some are babes. Even the small time non-descript characters that crop up enhance the book and couldn't be done without. 

I didn't feel like I was lacking any understanding of the book by not having read any previous MK novels. This works as a stand alone novel. I'm sure I would have had great understanding of character relationships, but they worked for me in this individual book and that's that!

I would defo read another MK book. I'm not a 1st person fan as you may know but I liked MK. She was strong and fighty but human and endearing and nice too. I also enjoyed the complex plot that sometimes lacks in a thriller. Cracking and terrifying read that crime/thriller fans should pick up!

Happy Reading

Book Geek

:-)

P.S. don't read home alone if you are female and in your 20s!!!

Review: Finches of Mars

Publisher: The Friday Project

Price: £ 14.99 (hardback)

We are on mars in a colony of earth people. It's a weird set up and we are struggling to reproduce. On earth, things are all going rather tits up.

There is defo something of the Brave New World to this book and that's fine by me as BNW is one of my favourite books. FoM is wonderfully intelligent yet not out of grasp. Politics, love, religion and evolution are all debated and all are examined but not in the convoluted, pretentious way that was possible and I have to say somewhat expected.

The story is shocking and interesting and startling and defo fits wonderfully in to the genre of sci-fi. There was something of the old school about it, it wasn't too techno or action filled. It was what good old sci-fi novels used to be like and for that I am truly happy. There is a wonderful mix of characters and some glorious personalities are in play, even if they aren't all that clear at first.

A book that I am sure will surprise and delight sci-fi fans. It wasn't what I expected and it will indeed stick with me for a while. 

Happy Reading

Book Geek

:-D

P.S. a short one I know but it's a pretty short read!!!

Review: Pale Kings

Price: £ 9.99

Publisher: Self

This is the second book in Mr G's series! Farden is back and things have gone somewhat to shit and guess who has to sort it out??? We pick up a few months after the last book......

I LOVE THESE BOOKS!! The story is action packed, twisty, turny and so so intriguing and compelling and gripping. The characters are also amazing. Farden is a total babe and there is another mage that crops up who is almost as babelicious (but I won't say who). The evil characters are evil personified, the good are gloriously good. Elessi is still a tit and I can't stand her still, but I've never been a fan of wet, weak and pathetic female characters, but then again, who is?

I still love Mr G's style of writing and the way he develops characters and plot lines. Smooth, involving and very intelligent. Glorious fantasy all round that gives you everything from vamps, to mages to dragons to wizards to Gods!!!

I really do recommend this series (and I'm only on book 2) to everyone who loves fantasy and I think people who aren't big fantasy fans should maybe give it a go as there as so may aspects of it and layers to love. A really enthralling series that has gripped me, just like Robin Hobb did when I discovered the Farseer Trilogy at the tender age of 17 (bloody hell that was 10 years ago now!!!!).

Please read these they are stonking! BRING ON THE NEXT ONE!

HAppy reading

Book Geek

:-D

Review: The Last Werewolf

Price: £ 7.99

Publisher: Canongate Books

Jake is a werewolf and he's been one for a very long time and he's gone through a lot of shit. Now he seems to be the last one and things are all going a bit tits.

This book was lent to me by one of Boy Geek's flat mates. He thought I would enjoy it, he was wrong. I usually love books about the supernatural, the fantasy the weird and wonderful but this book was bloody awful! Let me explain....

At the beginning it's rather unclear who is who and it took me a while to gather that Jake was the were and Harley was the familiar. ARRRRGH!!!! It just wasn't written well. Following on, the story was hugely predictable and therefore it was rather boring. I could tell who would do what and why as we went along the whole entire way. Also, the story tries to do too much. GD seems to try to weave too many elements and characters in to what could have been a very moving and interesting tale. I think it was the mere volume of very predictable character and story lines that lead the story to be so rather shit. The keep it simple principle would have benefitted this book more.

Also, some aspects of the story were unnecessarily gratuitous and some aspects were unnecessarily vulgar and I'm not a squeamish or shy or reserved person in the slightest! So yeah, not a very good book, I will never get my time back! 

ARSE

Book Geek

:-s