This was in the kindle book containing three Richard Bachman (Stephen King’s early pen name) novels and this was my least favourite of the three (the others being The Long Walk and The Running Man).
It follows Barton Dawes, who takes on a personal crusade to stop the development of a new road through his housing development. He refuses to sell his house to the developers or take the compensation and offer of a new house elsewhere (without telling his wife) and things really go downhill from there. His obsession against the new road takes over his life and spirals out of control with tragic consequences.
I was quite compelling reading (like rubbernecking the scene of a car crash) but, like I said, not my favourite.
This was an enjoyable instalment of the Crow Investigations series (after me being a bit unsure about one or two of them recently). Feisty female family leader, Lydia, is trying to hold things together within her clan and between the four magical families of London, while coping with her own supernatural abilities begin much reduced. Meanwhile, a Jack The Ripper copycat killer is terrorising London, and Simon makes a new ghostly friend. Lydia continues to juggle being the head of a ‘crime’ family with having an honest police officer boyfriend and trying to resist the charms of her Fox family ex.
First published in 1978, this early work by Stephen King (published under his pen name Richard Backman) pre-dates both The Hunger Games and Squid Games although it has been compared to both.
Set in a dystopian future where people live in poverty and fear with a ‘big brother’ type of controlling government, every year 100 young men/boys (two from each US state) are picked to compete in the long walk. The boys volunteer because they are brainwashed into believing that it is exciting and patriotic, but in actuality it is gruelling, degrading and ultimately almost completely deadly. (Many reviewers see the novel as a reaction to the Vietnam War.)
The boys must walk at at least a minimum pace of four miles per hour, day and night without stopping for anything – not for eating, resting, toileting, being ill or anything. If they slow down they are given warnings, if they get three warnings they are shot dead.
The walk continues until only one boy remains alive and then he, the winner, is given whatever he wishes for (so long as it’s not against the law).
I found the book really compelling – the banter between the boys beginning with bravado and toilet humour, and becoming more deep and serious as they are picked off and the realisation of imminent death hits them is mesmerising and I was very emotionally invested by the end.
I went to see the movie adaptation which I also very much enjoyed (even thought they changed a few things from the book). My hubby who saw the film with me thought it was ‘alright’ but not great, so maybe having read the book first added to the impact?
Famous people often get books published just because they’re famous even though their books are rubbish. I’m happy to say that (in my opinion at least) this is not the case here. I have very much enjoyed listening the the audiobook of this novel read by the author as well as Sally Phillips. Bob Mortimer’s dead pan delivery is the perfect addition to his witty and ironic prose. This is a cosy mystery with likeable characters with whimsy charm, from the lacking-self-confidence Gary, to his irascible but heart of gold neighbour, Grace, and the feisty but damaged love interest, Emily. Throw in some very bad villains and some talking (at least in Gary’s imagination) furry or feathered creatures and the whole experience was as satisfying as a big meat pie with gravy and mashed potatoes and a slice of Battenburg and cup of builder’s tea to follow.
This was my book group read for July, and I have copied and pasted the review which I already posted on my book group reads page of this website:
The book group read Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier a few years ago, and loved it, and this one, while still enjoyed was perhaps not so well liked as that. Set in Murano, the artisan glass blower’s island in the island group including Venice, the story centres on one family of glass blowers, particularly the daughter of the family beginning in 1486 and continuing until the present day. The magical realism twist was that the members of this family and their closest friends and contacts barely aged so hundreds of years passed in ‘the real world’ while they continued to carry on the traditional practises. This highlighted the timelessness of their work, as well as allowing them to experience and react to lots of interesting historical events from the plague, visits from Casanova, world wars and modern-day covid and the internet. Personally, I got quite bored in the middle, and I know one other member of the group gave up on it, but I made myself finish it, and did actually quite enjoy the ending. Not my favourite Chevalier though.
Holes by Louis Sachar is one of my favourite books, so I was very excited to learn that the author had written a fantasy novel for adults.
The main character tells the story, beginning in the present day, but looking back to his youth in the 15th century working as magician to the king in a European castle, so we know that he is either a time traveller or an immortal.
The historical story is fun enough, if well trodden – the princess is betrothed to a powerful ally but instead falls in love with a poor servant boy – the magician is charged with making potions for them to forget each other and for the princess to actually fall in love with the prince who turns out to be a proper bad ‘un so the magician tries instead to help the star crossed young lovers, and accidentally makes himself immortal in the process.
It was fine – I didn’t hate it, but I was not blown away which was quite disappointing.
The young man who wrote this book was a neurosurgeon who tragically died aged just 36 of lung cancer. (Like my dear friend and book group buddy, Arlene who recently passed away of lung cancer despite never having been a smoker or lived around smokers.) The first half of the book follows his early life and career path, torn between studying literature and medicine, with plans to practice medicine before turning to writing later in life. His illness curtailed these plans and in the second part he wrote about his own journey with illness and moving towards death until the book is finally finished by his bereaved wife after he ultimately succumbed.
He believed in doctors doing the right thing for each individual patient, which sometimes involves stepping back and not intervening just because they can, which I applaud.
It is certainly an interesting, moving and thoughtful book.
This book has an interesting premise – a dystopian future has a two class society and they discover how to jump between parallel dimensions. In order to survive the jump, your counterpart in the new world must not exist (ie to already be dead). Since the people from the poor lower class are much more likely to have died in other similar worlds, they are the most useful to train as jumpers.
I have read other books with similar set ups – The Long Earth series by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter, and the wonderful Pandominion books by M.R. Carey, both of which I loved, this one, somehow never really grabbed me. It was alright, but I don’t think I’ll bother reading any more in the series.
After being a bit bored by the long Stephen King book I had just listened to, this was such a welcome change! I’m not usually a fan of short stories, but I am a huge fan of C.K. McDonnell’s Stranger Times books and I LOVED this collection. My personal favourites were ‘The Raven’ in which Eddy Poe accidentally/on purpose kills a robin (called Neville Moore!!) and talking birds plague him to seek recompense, and the one about the Troll (can’t remember what it was called). As always Brendan McDonald’s narration was great. I heartily recommend this book.
I’m a big fan of Stephen King, and it pains me to say it, but I didn’t love this one! It is quite long and at times confusing and at times a bit gross with endless talking about farts (even thought they were, I guess, relevant to the plot).
Four men who were fast childhood friends meet up regularly in a hunters cabin in the woods (big horror set-up trope!). They all have complicated things going on in their lives as well as complicated reminiscences from their shared childhood, particularly concerning ‘Dudders’ the child with learning difficulties who they befriended after saving him from bullies one day.
They take in a man they found wandering confusedly in the woods, who’s health deteriorates (including lots of farting) and to cut a (very) long story short, it turns out that aliens are invading who have various life cycle/symbiotic forms that implant eggs/larvae in some people, and use mind control on some people and the government is kind of in on it (or at least they know and are trying to manipulate things to their benefit).
Our friends have to try to save themselves/the world and maybe only now forgotten Dudders can help them.
Sarah Wray Writer 