Book Review:

The Basement - Stephen Leather

This was actually labelled on Amazon as, The Basement: Serial killer thriller with a breathtaking twist. This kind of thing annoys me for two reasons:

1)    If you have written a book with a good twist why would you want to draw attention to the fact and have the reader second guessing the plot?

2)    I fall for it every time.

You see I like a good twist. Not many books blow me away with a twist at the end. Only Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane and one of the James Patterson Alex Cross books have ever really succeeded in fooling me.

The Basement was my first foray into Stephen Leather. An author I had heard of but never tried. This was a novella (coming in around 160 pages) that had been getting good reviews on Amazon.

The story focuses on two POV. The first is of an arrogant failed writer and prime suspect Marvin Waller. The second told mostly in second person of the “killer.” The two work well together. The writer has an extremely high IQ and is intensely annoying but at the same time great to read. Throughout the book he shares numerous ideas of storylines he is thinking off. Most are actually quite good and it is this that has made me want to read more from Mr Leather.

The story that follows is an intriguing tale of one-upmanship. As Marvin goes out of his way to annoy the two detectives investigating the latest girl that has gone missing. Marvin is amusing but you really feel for the detectives too as he constantly delays their enquiries with semantics.

Some reviewers has complained about the second POV – that of the serial killer. All of the killer’s scenes take place in the Basement as the killer watches and messes with the girl. Said reviewers say these scenes are too graphic. I don’t agree. They are not anything that has appeared in countless other thrillers I have read and the description always stops before the killer goes too far.

The twist when it happens, totally fooled me. I liked it even if it didn’t necessarily make sense. I would have to re-read the book to say for sure though.

One thing I didn’t like (and this is unrelated to the story) is that on Amazon Stephen Leather felt compelled to respond to the 1 star reviews. Initially, he is really childish and for every one star review he posts a 5 star review in the comment section. This almost turned me off him, but having delved deeper into the reviews, when the first 1 star reviews appeared, he does try to respond to the criticism in a constructive way and explain what he was trying to do. I guess he just got frustrated and let his guard down. Still I think it harmed his reputation rather then enhanced it.

Overall then, I enjoyed this story a lot and have already downloaded the first in his main series.

My Rating: 8.4

Some changes:

For those logging in today, you may have noticed some changes to the blog. Lately, I have taken a little more care in reviewing the books I have read, spending more time to describe what I liked and disliked about the work as opposed to just giving my initial thoughts.

As a result, I have decided to review each book as I read them rather than clump them all together at the end of the month. This not only stops me having to struggle to remember what I have read but also makes the blog more interesting as it will be worth viewing it every couple of days rather than once a month.

I have also set up a review index of the books I have reviewed so far. Again the standard of the books I reviewed recently are far superiour to my earlier half hearted efforts. So if you click on a link for George R R Martins - A Clash of Kings and think the review is crap, it is because it is. I have only included the early rubbish reviews if they are part of a series I will be reading. Also, all of the books in the index so far are linked to the blog post I reviewed them. So the link to Wilbur Smith's - A Seventh Scroll will take you to the September reviews and you will have to scroll down 7 reviews before you reach it. At present I can't see anyway to change this (that won't involve starting the blog from scratch), so please forgive me and enjoy.

September reviews:

I have been on a roll of good books recently. Before this month 4 out of the previous 5 books I rated 8.9 or more. Will the trend continue?

The Burning Soul – John Connolly.

I rate Mr Connolly highly, very highly in fact. Still it is not until I have one of his new books in my hands that I realise why I rate him so much. Charlie Parker is an excellent character. The typical anti hero but with a darker side.

With “The burning soul,” Parker finds himself taking on an investigation of a guy he doesn’t particularly like due to a subject matter that is close to his heart. The thing I like most about Connolly’s writing is unlike your typical series where the main character always solves the problems and they can become a tad formulaic, Parker doesn’t necessarily solve everything himself. He influences the story but does not have to be the hero in every aspect of the tale.

The focus of the story is on a missing girl and how a small town of Pastor Bay deals with the investigation. Parker’s own investigation is loosely tied to the girl’s disappearance but it is not clear throughout how directly the two are linked. Connolly skilfully weaves a plot of twists and turns that leaves you guessing. Is Parker’s client all he makes out to be? Is he a victim of his past? The great thing about this book is that you just don’t know until the end.

The residents of Pastor Bay are brilliantly drawn. All have their own motives and history. Add in Connolly’s wonderful descriptions, Parker’s usual wit, a touch of the supernatural, Angel, Louis and the Fulcis brothers then you know full well you are in for a treat. My rating 9.3

Sharpe’s Fortress – Bernard Cornwell.

 

I was advised to read book 3 in the Sharpe’s series quickly after the second as it carries on and concludes Sharpe’s business in India. I was pleased it did. Whilst it followed on it wasn’t necessarily to read it so quickly afterwards. What it was however, was a big step up from book 2. I liked Sharpe’s Triumph but did not think it was up to the standard of the first book in the series. I’m pleased to say Sharpe’s Fortress is the best of the three.

In this book, Sharpe struggles with his new post as an Ensign. Despite wanting to be an Officer all his life, he finds it difficult to not be involved in the action and discovers that most of his fellow officers reject him on the grounds that he is not made from proper stock.

The difference between this book and the Sharpe’s Triumph is the Sharpe is far more involved in this book. In Sharpe’s Triumph, although the book focused on him, a lot of the story and the significant events passed him by and he was almost a bystander. With Sharpe’s Fortress he is fully immersed in the action. His character comes to the front and boy is he dam one likeable guy.

I assume anyone reading this review would have read the previous books in the series but if not be warned of spoilers.

Hakeswill once again returns. Sharpe did not learn his lesson the first time by leaving a tiger to finish him off and now it appears leaving him to an elephant didn’t work either. Not that I mind, he is a good character to have around. It says so in the scriptures.

Wellesley is also present and once again is intriguing. Here he is uncomfortable with the fact that Sharpe saved his life. He recognises that he should be thankful to him but is not sure how he feels towards Sharpe. It makes for an interesting dynamic between the two.

The actual story focuses on how to penetrate the unconquerable fortress of Gawilgur. However, again unlike the previous book there is more to the story. The battle of the fortress only appears towards the end of the novel, whilst the rest centres around developing Sharpe’s character. I hope this is the route that Cornwell takes with the rest of the series as it certainly works in my book. My rating 9.3

MEG: Origins – Steve Alten

Is the first of two short stories I read this month offered free on the Kindle. I am a big fan of the MEG series. Ever since I watched Jaws, I wanted to read a book with a similar subject matter that was half decent. The MEG series is certainly that. It is sort of Jaws meets a James Rollin novel, which is always a good thing in my book.

This book is a prequel to the series and expands on a backstory briefly mentioned in the first MEG book. It is a bit of treat for the fans of the series as it explains an incident that has been referred to Jonas’s past. However, it also serves as a nice taster for new fans.

Steve Alten has also enlisted his artist friend Erik Hollander to draw a nice picture at the start of each chapter. This is an excellent addition to the story and one I hope is adopted by all books in the future.

Basically if you like the series, it is definitely worth checking out. My rating: 8.2

Freaks – Tess Gerritsen

This short story couldn’t have been more than 20 odd pages long. It is a nice, almost tongue in check tale that involves Gerritsen’s two main characters Jane Rizzoli and Maura Isles.

The story centres around a dead girl and the boy found next to her who believes he is a vampire. There is not too much that can be said other than it brought a smile to my face. My Rating: 6.5

Kill Alex Cross – James Patterson

As a long time reader of the Alex Cross series it is fair to say it has had its ups and downs. I have long thought it has been crying out for a change in dynamic in the set up of Alex’s life. Not his love life as that has been done before, but maybe his family life.

In Kill Alex Cross, James Patterson finally does that to a degree and it is by far the most refreshing thing in the novel. That is not to say that this is a bad entry into the series. Far from it, it is actually one of the stronger ones recently.

The premise of the President’s children going missing and Alex being kept out of the loop is also a welcome set up. We have got so use to Alex being the all powerful “go to” guy that is nice to experience his frustration at suddenly being left out in the cold. This is what the series needed – character development. Inevitably Alex still becomes the “go to” guy but at least for a while things change.

The majority of the book sees Alex reacting to the terrible events that are occurring in Washington rather than having any influence on them. This is again nice to see. Alex is suddenly degraded in the reader’s eye and we realise he is not such a big fish.

Unfortunately, all of the other characters are as stale as ever. The villains being so one dimensional a plank of wood could have taken their place. The thing I have noticed with James Patterson’s books is that with the exception of Gary Soneji, every one of his villain’s could be lifted out of one book and placed in the next and the reader would not notice.

Having said that, I really enjoyed this entry. Dare I say it, but it seems as if Mr Patterson is slowly listening to his fans and there are signs of improvement in his work. My rating: 8

Something wicked this way comes – Ray Bradbury

I have been waiting to read this book for a while. Ray Bradbury is an author that both Stephen King and George R R Martin rate highly and when your favourite authors rate someone and say they were inspired by them, you have to check them out in my experience.

This book also has the added bonus of being about a Carnivale. A subject I am really into having started the HBO series recently. So with high expectations did this book live up to the praise? Overall yes, but not entirely.

I found the prose in first quarter of the book (it is only short at 220 pages) quite clunky if I’m honest. It was intriguing but at the same time awkward. It is not until the Carnivale turns up that the book really takes off.

There are so many cool things in this book and some genuinely horrifying. The two boys who are the centre of attention really struggle between their curiosity and all out terror. Will is the more reluctant and cautious of the two and is probably the one who the reader can identify the most with. His complex relationship with his father is nicely handled, especially the dynamic between Will’s enthusiasm and his father’s regret over lost youth.

And then there is Mr Dark, a magnificent villain if ever there was one. He epitomises everything a villain should be. Sinister, yet charming. He makes people do things that they don’t know what they are doing. A splendid character and one I wish I could read more about.

The end comes a little to early for my liking but is satisfying. All in all a pleasing read. My Rating: 8.7

The Seventh Scroll – Wilbur Smith.

I read River God (the first in the series) way back in 2007. Read it and loved it. At the time I had never read anything like it, especially dealing with ancient Egypt, which was surprising considering how much I like that period in history.

I went out and bought the next in the series immediately but have only now read it. Why the break? I guess I was put off by the fact that the Seventh Scroll takes place in modern day and so I couldn’t get my head around the fact it was meant to be a sequel.

I shouldn’t have worried. Yes, it takes place in modern day but in a clever way. The plot of the story involves the  young woman Royan and the struggling millionaire Nicholas. Royan has been working on 10 scrolls they have discovered written by Taita (the protagonist from River God) and through a series of events set off to find the hidden tomb of Tanus described in the mysterious Seventh Scroll.

At its heart, the Seventh Scroll is essentially an action adventure story. Indiana Jones fans may feel at home with the story. Where it sets itself apart from other action stories like those written by James Rollins and Matthew Reilly is that it takes its time. The action occurs but intermittingly. It is always well described and as seems to be the norm for action books, often unrealistic (hey surfing on a burst river, how are you doing?)

The characters are well drawn and fleshed out where they need to be. Nicholas is a mixture of loveable rogue and trying to be the nice guy. Royan is the classic grieving widow who really has now been set free to discover herself again. Whilst these character traits are nothing new, Wilbur Smith injects just enough of a twist in their actions to set them apart from what we’ve seen before. The villains are rather stereotypical and motivated by greed but I think it suits this genre. The dialogue is a bit old school. Expect lots of, “sorry old chap,” “Gosh you rascal’s” in there. I was waiting for the, “Tally-ho” to crop up!

The real forte of the novel belongs in the descriptions of the various locations. Having never been to any of the locations I can’t say for sure that Wilbur Smith has captured the atmosphere of the places he depicts, but he must certainly come close. His description of the tomb when it is uncovered certainly gives a sense of awe the reader expects.

If there is a downside, it is a personal preference. I loath it when a book or show breaks the fourth wall. Stephen King did it in the Dark Tower and I hated it. The only show that has done it successfully has been the TV series Supernatural (who are also the only series that handles time travel well but I digress). Wilbur Smith does it in this book and although it is understated and did not overly bother me, I would have preferred the book without it.

The Seventh Scroll then, is an excellent book, thoroughly enjoyable and an engaging read. It leaves me scratching my head as to why I haven’t checked our more of Smith’s books. It certainly won’t be another 4 years before I read the next in the series. My rating: 9.2

 Next month I will be trying only new authors. Should be interesting.

August reviews

Skeleton Crew – Stephen King:

Having read Just after sunset recently, I was eager to read some of Stephen King’s earlier short story compilations. With the birth of a new born baby, it was the perfect book to just pick and put down again.

Skeleton Crew consists of a variety of stories that encompass mainly horror tales with the odd sci-fi story thrown in for good measure. The stories also vary wildly in length, from 1 or 2 pages to one novella (the mist).

It is said novella that is the stand out story in the book for me. I had seen the film before reading this collection and so knew all about the Mist and how the end had been tweaked (brilliantly I might add) in the film. Normally, this would mean I would find reading the story a chore. Not so with the Mist. This is one of the best books that Stephen King has written. It is a terrific study of the human psyche under pressure. Atmosphere just oozes of the pages and although I prefer Frank Darabont’s conclusion to the tale, Kings works very effectively just the same.

There are other stand outs in Skeleton Crew. The sci-fi story, “the Jaunt” is a superb piece of work, as a man tries to placate his family before the teleport for the first time by telling them out teleportation was invented.  The other 10 out of 10 story is “the Raft.” 4 friends decided to drunkenly swim out to a raft where they discover a rather unpleasant entity.

Special mention to other very good stories goes to: “Survivor Type,” “Gramma” and “Word processor of the Gods.”

Most of the other stories fall into the “good” category and there are only a few (mostly the flash fiction pieces) that fail to evoke any sort of emotion.

Overall, Skeleton Crew is a very good collection of stories with a few standouts, that really are top notch writing. My Rating: 7.8

Sharpe’s Triumph – Bernard Cornwell

 

I touched upon how this period in history does not really interest me when I reviewed the first book in the Sharpe series, “Sharpe’s Tiger.” Being a big fan of Bernard Cornwell though, I was pleasantly surprised. I was reliably informed that Sharpe’s Triumph was not as good as the other books in the series and so perhaps it was because I had slightly lower expectations that I was again pleasantly surprised by the book. Whilst it is not a patch on the Warlord Chronicles, Sharpe’s Triumph is a quick fun read. The plot is not overly complex but it is the characters that make the story. Sharpe is just one of those characters you instantly love and want to be. Other favourites from the first book are also back such as the reprehensible Hakeswill and the highly moralistic  McCandless. If there is one downside to this book (and this is just a personal dislike of mine) is that there a lot of battle scenes. Cornwell writes these well, but I think his strength lies in his characters and I found myself yearning for the quieter scenes in between the action.

I am looking forward to the next Sharpe though. My rating: 8

Now you see me – S J Bolton

 

Now you see me is S J Bolton’s 4^th book. All have been standalone and all have been bloody good. In my opinion they have all improved on the last. This is the first time that Bolton takes on police procedurals in the traditional, “there is a killer out there and I’m the cop to stop it sense.”  I hope it is the start of a series.

The novel focuses on a copycat killer of Jack the Ripper. A subject that although I always thought was cool, have never been bothered to explore. Bolton’s painstaking research means now I don’t have to (although I most certainly will following this book). She weaves a complex tale whilst expertly weaving in the history behind the Ripper at the same time. Both the story and the history are fascinating and this is one of the few books where I genuinely had no idea where it was going or who the killer was. I suppose the clues were there, but I was so rapped up in enjoying the story that I did not concern myself with piecing it all together - a sign of a good book in my opinion.

The main character is Lacey Flint, an enigma if ever I saw one. I spent half the time trying to figure out whose side she was actually on. No easy feat to pull off considering we are inside her head for the majority of the novel. Nevertheless, all the characters are colourfully realised and just when you think you have them figured out, they go ahead and surprise you.

However, it is the history tied in with the setting that is the books forte. Bolton’s books have all been rich in their settings, atmospheric as well as descriptive. “Now you see me”, is no exception.  I live just outside London and had no idea about the underground tunnels. Another thing I have since looked up!

As you may gather, I rather liked this book. More please S J Bolton. My rating: 9.2

Best Served Cold – Joe Abercrombie

A few years ago Joe Abercrombie burst on to the fantasy scene with Scott Lynch and a host of other authors. Joe was largely lauded as the best of these new wave authors and after devouring the First Law trilogy, I found it hard to disagree with all the praise that was being heaped on him.

If I am honest, I didn’t rate him as highly as George R R Martin, Bernard Cornwell, Stephen King or Robert McCammon but then they are my four favourite authors. With Best Served Cold, Joe Abercrombie has taken a large step to breaking into this upper echelon on my persona list.

Best Served Cold is dark, gritty and in places pretty funny. Joe has a general theme running through his standalone books. His next book (after Heroes that is) is rumoured to have a strong western influence (as in cowboys not dress code). Best Served Cold is specifically about vengeance.

There are both new and some familiar characters from the First Law Trilogy on display here and although the theme lends itself to some graphic and uncomfortable situations, no matter how abhorrent the actions of the lead characters are, you can’t help but route for them.

All of the characters go through some sort of transformation as the book unfolds. The best of these is Murcatto, who on a moral scale, some argue is the only likable figure in the tale. Although Murcatto is obsessed with revenge and dammed if anyone gets in her way, she unwittingly learns the most about her self. Shivers, on the other hand, probably learns the least. His journey is a fascinating portrayal of how one is a victim of circumstances and reacts to the everyday struggle to trying to be a better man.

The supporting cast are all well realised. My favourites of these are Cosca the loveable, mad rogue and Friendly, whose need for order is also quite amusing.

By the very nature of the plot, Abercrombie could have easily fallen into the trap of becoming a tad repetitive. Instead, he skilfully avoids this by bringing a different feel to each act of revenge. At times the book was reminiscent of Scott Lynch in the planning and deception that the characters carried out.

As always, the action sequences are extremely well handled as is the dialogue. In fact I am struggling to come up with a minor complaint about the book. At a push I would say that there is a scene between Morveer and Day that did not quite work for me in that it felt a bit amateurish but that is being picky. To refer to its exact location will spoil the book too much, but you will probably know what scene I mean.

I normally have a good break before going back to authors, but with Abercrombie on this kind of form, I may just pick up Heroes sooner rather than later. My rating: 9.4

Star Wars - The deleted scenes

I haven't done much writing recently, but I am slowly getting to the stage where I will be picking up where I left off at the start of book 2. In the meantime, now that more eldest boy has discovered Star Wars or "Dun Dun" as he calls it (the start of the Imperial March music), I have been inspired to write a silly sketch about a scene from Star Wars that no one ever got to see:

Empire Strikes Back:

Setting: Lando has just betrayed our rebels by leading them to a dining room where Vader awaits. After effortlessly disarming Han, Vader says, “we would be honoured if you would join us.”

Han, Leia, Lando and Chewbacca enter the room and the doors close. Begin deleted scene:

DV: Tea anyone?

LE: Do you think we would drink tea provided you?

HS: Actually I am quite thirsty. Have you got blue milk?

DV: Blue milk?

HS: It is all the rage on Tatooine.

DV: Tatooine….I sense something, something I haven’t sensed since….

LE: Since?

DV: No matter. (Turns to a Stormtrooper) Get Solo some of the blue milk, in fact blue milks all round and a bowl of water for the dog.

CB: Grrrrrrr werr wen wer.

HS: He is a Wookie not a dog.

DV: (shrugs) 5 Blue milks it is.

HS: Can I have mine with ice please?

DV: It is milk. It is kept in the fridge.

HS: Oh, I would still like some ice.

DV: (Turns to the Stormtrooper) and some ice please (he shrugs in apology and  nods to HS in a “what can you do” kind of way.)

HS: I saw that.

DV: Hmm the force is strong with you.

LE: No it isn’t. It was just really obvious what you did.

DV: I decide who the force is strong with, not you.

HS: I just want a little ice.

DV: So you like ice do you? Interesting. I will bear that in mind.

HS: What does that mean?

LC: Hi, I know there are rumours that I have only been brought into this film because of equality, but I haven’t had a line in quite some time. Even the dog has had a line.

HS: He’s not a dog.

CB: Wrrr wen wer

HS: Not now Chewy. God you are so embarrassing.

CB: (More furiously), Wrrrrrrrrrr

DV: What does he want?

HS: (Sighs) He wants to know if you have a bone to go with the milk.

LC: Told you he was a dog.

July reviews:

The month that thousands have waited for came at last. Was it worth it? Well I will get on to that. But first before I get on with the reviews I would just like to say that sometimes there are some unusual coincidences when reading.  How many times do you read or hear about something for the first time and then literally everything you read subsequently contains reference to your newly discovered knowledge. You then wonder why you have never heard of it beforehand. I don’t think I could have made that sentence anymore incoherent but let me demonstrate.

About a fortnight ago, someone started a thread on the Palace forums I go to entitled, “photos that shook the world.” Numerous photos were posted, most of which were harrowing to say the least. A couple of them really stayed with me.

One that made me sick to the stomach was a young emancipated child crying and huddled in a desert whilst a vulture lingered behind and the other was the picture of hundreds of dead bodies littering the ground. The caption of the photo read “mass suicide at Jonestown.” I had no idea what this referred to and spent the next hour or so researching the shocking events that took place before my time. I will not go into details here but basically as astonishing as the events were, there was something in a mad religious fanatic convincing his followers to commit suicide and murder their children that resonated with the author in me. I thought it would make a compelling story. Which finally brings me onto the aforementioned coincidence as the next book I picked up following this article was…

Tess Gerritsen – The killing place

By a series of circumstances, Maura Isles finds herself stranded in a seemingly empty community. It appears that the residents of the said community have all upped and left. As Maura uncovers more of the mystery surrounding her location, Jane Rizzoli desperately tries to find her friend.

This is a departure from Tess’s usual style and as much as I enjoy her Rizzoli and Isles books, I must say it was refreshing. Tess explores her characters in new environments and the fact that there is no clear killer on the loose makes for an interesting change.

Maura takes the lead role in this book whilst Jane is left to stumble around after her. Maura’s character is developed nicely. Her unsatisfactory relationship is challenged and her yearning for motherhood is touched upon nicely here.

The book is not without its flaws. Some characters introduced early in the book leave the story mid way through. This is frustrating as the reader has already invested a lot of time in them. The fact that they depart from the story is not the issue, it is more that Maura does not seem to react to this.

The conclusion is also a little bit of a let down for me personally. It is satisfying in regard to the story but having recently read an article on Jonestown, I was hoping for a story that reflected those events.

My rating: 8.6

On stranger tides – Tim Powers.

This is the book that the Pirates of the Caribbean film franchise drew inspiration from for its 4^th outing. I wanted to read the book before seeing the film and as a result of my tardiness will now have to wait for the film to come out on DVD.

I love pirates, I wish there were more novels surrounding pirates, (anyone that wishes to point me in the right direction please feel free).  However, the few I have read, all seem to leave me feeling the same.

It is very rare I finish a book and can’t decide whether I enjoyed it or not. “On stranger tides” joins this list. Like other pirate novels I have read, there were moments where I really enjoyed the experience and other moments where I was reading but not really taking the story in.

For example, the whole Fountain of Youth episode stood out as a really good piece of writing, Tim Powers really portrayed a great sense of atmosphere and claustrophobia. The sense of voodoo magic poured through the swamp like settings and the character’s distress at their real or imaginary visions was quite disconcerting.  However, if you asked me what the purpose of the whole scene was and what the characters achieved, I would struggle to tell you.

There are also some good characters. The pirate captain Phil Davies, the evil Leo Friend and the loyal Skank spring to mind. However it is difficult to route for the main character Jack Shandy who spends long periods feeling for himself and drowning his sorrows.

I think the biggest problem with the novel is the lack of direction. I like my plots to be clear, I don’t mind complicated but I like to know the motivations of the protagonists and their overall objectives. With “on stranger tides,” the main character “Shandy “seems to stumble from one scene to another with no real purpose. There is some vague mention of an uncle he wishes to confront and then later he wants to rescue a girl who at the beginning of the novel he did not care for.

The timeline is never consistent. A chapter might end and the next may start up immediately after the event or some months after. I found myself not discovering which until I had read a good few paragraphs of the chapter first. This is probably summed up in the loosely entitled epilogue, which is really just the final chapter of the book taking place seconds after the ending of the previous chapter and in no way representative of an epilogue whatsoever.

It sounds as if I really didn’t enjoy the book, but I don’t think that is a fair reflection. I just felt the story was more of a mesh of cool scenes loosely tied together than a clever tale. The only constant being Shandy’s half hearted pursuit of a girl he did not want to encourage in the beginning. Overall, I enjoyed it then… I think.

My rating: 7.1

A Dance with Dragons – George R R Martin.

The book that thousands have been waiting years and years for, finally came out on July 12^th. Early spoiler free reviews ramped up anticipation levels and talked of scenes reminiscent of a Storm of Swords. With such high expectations the initial feeling about A Dance with Dragons was one of disappointment and frustration. Did I feel this way? In short no…

I am in the minority of people that really enjoyed the book. I can see what people are disgruntled about, there are after all loads of plot threads unresolved. Whilst this is the middle of the series and one might expect this, there is at least one event that several POV characters were all involved in where a suitable climax was needed.

Like many other readers I also expected Dany to be in a certain place by the end of the book and to have interacted with certain characters and so was disappointed when she was not.

However, both those points are solely down to my expectations. When the dust has settled and I actually reflect on the book and remembered how much I enjoyed it throughout, I realise how great Dance actually is.

The writing is superb, contrary to the popular opinion, a lot actually happens. George takes us on a journey with his characters, throwing in the usual twists and subtle hints. Characters we previously despised we begin to sympathise with, characters we loved we learn are not as competent as we thought.

The three characters we yearned for (Jon, Tyrion and Dany) all appear in abundance. These three characters are generally the most popular, the ones we can most identify with. Yet Martin cruelly exposes there weaknesses and demonstrates that when in a position of power there are fallible. Very intriguing stuff.

 Yet it is the other characters that steal the show. Theon’s chapters are the best thing in the book; Davos and Asha are also very strong. Whilst Bran’s had me feverish with excitement and Barristen beaming with respect.

There are a few minor quibbles. Tyrion could have lost a chapter or two as could have Dany. Jaime appears in one brief chapter that really should have been saved for the next book. I think GRRM bowed to public demand to include this chapter just so we knew the fate of a certain character from Feast of Crows.

One of the things I love about the series is that no matter how much I pay attention when reading, I always miss something. With Dance it was no exception. After going on the forums, I literally kicked myself at some of the things I did not pick up on. Still it is part of the fun of reading and so the endless wait and speculating begins again.

Star Wars has always been my favourite world by a country mile. With A Dance with Dragons, the song of ice and fire saga is definitely catching it, if not over taking it.

My rating: 9.2

Bone - Complete collection – Jeff Smith.

It has been years since I have read a comic. This huge collection has been sitting on my shelf for at least 7 years. I have always been aware of its popularity but for some reason have never got round to reading the series. Maybe because I was worried that I would find it over rated (Sandman, V is for Vengeance and Watchmen I am looking at you – all good but I don’t see how they are amazing).

With Bone, I needn’t have worried. The story tells the story of three cousins who find themselves lost in a world unfamiliar to them. What starts off as a small intimate story, progresses into an epic war with multiple characters and spans over 1,300 pages!

Jeff Smith manages to tell his tale in a humorous, yet heart warming way. The three main bone characters are all excellently portrayed, with Phoney being far and away my favourite. The supporting cast is also great. Nan and Lockjaw being particularly strong.

However, the collection is not flawless. There are times when the story does feel a little repetitive, for example when our heroes encounter the rat creatures yet again.  However, overall this is one comic collection that does live up to the hype.

My rating: 8.8

Sleep? What is that?

Just a quick post to apologise for the delay of my monthly review column. I may not post regularly but one thing I have managed to do in recent months is keep to posting the reviews of the books I have read each month. July's reviews will probably not appear until Tuesday next week I'm afraid but I have a very good reason for that:

On the 20th July at 4:10 in the morning this little fella came along:



Jamie Lucas Donovan has entered the world and where as we thought it would be easier trying to cope this time round we couldn't have been more wrong. As one son eventually goes down to sleep the other awakes. Still I'm sure you will agree he is gorgeous and I am ecstatic to be a Dad again. My wife was heroic in giving birth, I honestly don't know how women do it.

Will post soon.