This post has the title of the one job I most need to do and have been successfully avoiding for the past five days. I got back from my holidays last week and have managed to avoid to fully unpack my suitcase ever since. The most important stuff is out of it... the laundry (which is still awaiting a spin in the washing machine), the licorice (more than half way through that now) and the biscuits (devoured by myself and the colleagues at work). There are just some random things that have a home to go back to... oh and there is my bag of toiletries that still needs to be put away. But hey.... it will all get sorted out in the end. It better as I have about 10 people coming over for lasagna at the end of the week!!
On the good news front - my lower back and sacroiliac joint are a lot better. I do not know what muscles the physio leaned on last Friday but it seems to have helped a lot. It was a bit achy during the day and it seems that the longer I sit the worse it gets but overall in day to day life it is soooooo much better. Now on to the business at hand...
### SPOILER ALERT ###
Hogfather - Terry Pratchett
This is only the second TP I have read but I think I may venture into some more of his adventures. He has a great style of writing which is snappy and pacey. His characters takes things literally sometimes and this leads to some very funny dialogue and some double takes in reading.
This one is actually very fitting for the time of the year as it is all about the Hogfather who has a striking resemblance in appearance and actions to Father Christmas. Whilst writing this I actually realise I am getting this wrong. This book is about the absence of the Hogfather. It seems that some hilariously deranged group of entities has given an assignment to some vague groups of assassins to kill the Hogfather. The assassins have sent their best man for the job to go and complete the mission: Mr Teatime - his tombstone is likely to include the words "total nut job" and "demented lemming". Mr T has gathered a group of tough guys to implement his plan which involves getting to the tooth fairy.. who turns out to have set up a lovely and profitable franchise for collecting teeth. At the start of the story we also meet Susan who is Death's granddaughter and who is destined for greater things than she imagines, much to her chagrin. Susan is a very plucky governess who felt she needed a change from being rich and posh and has decided that children are where her talents lie. She is good with kids and very good at keeping the bad monsters under the bed at bay. I would not want to get on the wrong side of this girl while she is holding a poker... nor would any self respecting ghoul.
The story is really several story lines woven into one. It all starts with the request for the Hogfather to be terminated. He ends up not exactly getting killed but more.... forgotten. This motivates Death to take up to cause for mankind and start pretending to be the Hogfather because belief must not die. It seems that there is a certain amount of belief in the universe and as the belief in one (The Hogfather) diminishes it allows for all sorts of other Gods and fairies to turn up and vie for the Hogfather's crown. Throughout the book we have all sorts of weird fairies and gods turning up (the Oh God of Hangovers is great!!). The University plays a part in all this as well. There is the bathroom under development and a very clever Dean (despite all appearances). Our reluctant heroine in this book is Susan who ends up trying to save the world and mankind's belief in the Hogfather so the sun will come up tomorrow. It really is a wonderful mixture of stories and at times it is hard to try and figure out who are the important characters and which the not so important ones. You almost have to focus on things this way as there are so many in the book that it hurts your head trying to keep track of them all. Fortunately the stories all interweave in the end and it comes together in a heady mix of human happiness.
Death is one of the funniest characters in this book. I love him. I love how he tries to be human, how he takes thing literally, how he does no seem to get the joke and yet... he does save the world.
Susan is great too. She is a independent woman who is making her own way in the world. She is trying to break away from her past but finds that this is not always possible.. nor, perhaps, should you want to. She may not show it but I feel she loves being Death's Granddaughter. She feels some of the power that that brings with it and she understands that it is part of who she is.. for better or for worse.
There is a lot going on in the book that you have to try and keep track of and perhaps not all the characters are as well developed as they could be but is is a good read and the end is suitably festive.
Title: Hogfather
Author: Terry Pratchett
445 pages
Corgi Books
ISBN nr 0-552-14542-4
Books to be read: 101.. .as indicated in previous post.
Only 13 more days until the year is done and I am managing to stay away from the cheap books.
Monday, 17 December 2012
Thursday, 6 December 2012
Final purchases
The other week my last purchase arrived. Umberto Eco... it is going down as my first second hand purchase from Amazon and as it has now arrived in my house it is going to have to be added to the list of books to be read. That list is actually in balance as I finished one as well.
Bought one: 102
Read one: 101
I vaguely remember the days when I worried about getting over 60.... that seems like a distant dream now. Will I ever get below 90?
I have told myself that Eco is the last book I will buy this year but as it is only early December that might be a bit of an ambitious task to set myself. I will have to wait and see how I go. Bookshops are dangerously omnipresent, relapses are not unknown to me and the evenings are long and dark.
Work and my sacroiliac joint have kept me busy and in pain respectively so I have not had much chance to update this blog over the last week or so. But.... physio is going well and work is...well, work and still busy but I should have some more time soon to let you know what I thought about The Hogfather... I will say this for it, I really love Death in this one!
Bought one: 102
Read one: 101
I vaguely remember the days when I worried about getting over 60.... that seems like a distant dream now. Will I ever get below 90?
I have told myself that Eco is the last book I will buy this year but as it is only early December that might be a bit of an ambitious task to set myself. I will have to wait and see how I go. Bookshops are dangerously omnipresent, relapses are not unknown to me and the evenings are long and dark.
Work and my sacroiliac joint have kept me busy and in pain respectively so I have not had much chance to update this blog over the last week or so. But.... physio is going well and work is...well, work and still busy but I should have some more time soon to let you know what I thought about The Hogfather... I will say this for it, I really love Death in this one!
Sunday, 25 November 2012
All out
Today I have a very valid excuse for not finishing a book and doing a review. I have spent a good few hours today building my wonderful, brand-spanking, 5 shelved, dirt cheap new bookshelves. It took a bit of doing and my hip muscles are paying for it now but... it looks absolutely fabulous. the original smaller bookshelves are now in the spare room with some of my read books on there. I still have about 5 boxes of books to house but I have only so much room in this place. I would love to have an entire wall of bookshelves but I think the sofa might stage a silent protest if I decide to do that and I need to keep that sofa on side for now.
I must say that I find it both comforting and ever so slightly daunting to have all my books to be read out in the open and no longer hidden behind one another or stacked two high on top of one another. I now have one complete shelf dedicated to Ghost Stories/Legend/Myths and the rest is mixed up on the various shelves. I thought briefly about alphabetising or categorising the books in some way or other but I figured that in the grand scheme of things it was really not that important how they were ordered and I did have better things to do. Although I did put a few of the Stephen King ones together... and cluster some of the Dean Koontz ones... but apart from that...all random!
Two new arrivals to report this week so the total is now up to 101 to be read. I am still awaiting the arrival of another one. Also my previous book donor at work said he might have another clear out so I might be getting some more strays to house.
I am off to get on with my book, have another coffee and rest my weary limbs.
Off to the gym tomorrow to see what exercise I can/should do... change in life routine approaching!
I must say that I find it both comforting and ever so slightly daunting to have all my books to be read out in the open and no longer hidden behind one another or stacked two high on top of one another. I now have one complete shelf dedicated to Ghost Stories/Legend/Myths and the rest is mixed up on the various shelves. I thought briefly about alphabetising or categorising the books in some way or other but I figured that in the grand scheme of things it was really not that important how they were ordered and I did have better things to do. Although I did put a few of the Stephen King ones together... and cluster some of the Dean Koontz ones... but apart from that...all random!
Two new arrivals to report this week so the total is now up to 101 to be read. I am still awaiting the arrival of another one. Also my previous book donor at work said he might have another clear out so I might be getting some more strays to house.
I am off to get on with my book, have another coffee and rest my weary limbs.
Off to the gym tomorrow to see what exercise I can/should do... change in life routine approaching!
Tuesday, 20 November 2012
Reviews mania over
Another day brings me to the final book to review.
After this, it is back to the reading for me.... thank heavens for that.
#### SPOILER ALERT ####
The Small Hand - Susan Hill
This one was a bit of a mixed bag for me.
It is a ghost story by a modern writer so as love them that got me interested in this one. It was a really quick read as it only took me about a day to read it. The disappointment for me is that it is only 204 pages and it actually could have done with a good culling of about one hundred of them. The underlying story is good but it is let down by all the excess padding in the story.
If the story had just focused on the story of Adam Snow and his strange encounter at the deserted house then we would have been okay. Unfortunately Adam has to go book hunting for his clients and go off to a monastery, visit his brother.. oh no wait.. his brother actually tie into the story so we can leave those bits in. That should be about 3 pages saved. Adam comes across the house whilst he is driving around finding his way home form visiting one of his wealthy clients. The only reason the client is in there is to be a vehicle to get Adam in the area and then later on the client's wife takes an interest in what happened to Adam and finds out its and pieces about the history of the house for Adam. Guess he was too busy dealing books to do that himself? The only reason Adam goes off to the convent is to show us that the thing is haunting him not the location of the house... and this is important why? the whole thing about Adam buying the Shakespeare folio serves no purpose to me at all. So the thing haunts him away from the house so he finds that he is not safe from it anywhere, so he is more scared... okay there are other ways to get to that point that do not required introducing a whole new aspect to the story line. If you are a good writer you should be able to find a way to get your point across without doing this. It just feels that a lot of the action in the story line is unnecessary and that takes away from the punch of the story.... and that is a shame as the premise is good.
The ending is good and the way it ties in with Adam's brother has been nicely done but apart from that a it of a let down.
I have ordered another one by Susan Hill so it will be interesting to see what that is like.
Title: The Small Hand
Author: Susan Hill
204 pages
Profile Books
ISBN nr 978-1-84668-240-7
An official recount has been carried out on the books status and I can confirm that I now have 99 books still waiting to be read... hurrah I was right at the last count.
After this, it is back to the reading for me.... thank heavens for that.
#### SPOILER ALERT ####
The Small Hand - Susan Hill
This one was a bit of a mixed bag for me.
It is a ghost story by a modern writer so as love them that got me interested in this one. It was a really quick read as it only took me about a day to read it. The disappointment for me is that it is only 204 pages and it actually could have done with a good culling of about one hundred of them. The underlying story is good but it is let down by all the excess padding in the story.
If the story had just focused on the story of Adam Snow and his strange encounter at the deserted house then we would have been okay. Unfortunately Adam has to go book hunting for his clients and go off to a monastery, visit his brother.. oh no wait.. his brother actually tie into the story so we can leave those bits in. That should be about 3 pages saved. Adam comes across the house whilst he is driving around finding his way home form visiting one of his wealthy clients. The only reason the client is in there is to be a vehicle to get Adam in the area and then later on the client's wife takes an interest in what happened to Adam and finds out its and pieces about the history of the house for Adam. Guess he was too busy dealing books to do that himself? The only reason Adam goes off to the convent is to show us that the thing is haunting him not the location of the house... and this is important why? the whole thing about Adam buying the Shakespeare folio serves no purpose to me at all. So the thing haunts him away from the house so he finds that he is not safe from it anywhere, so he is more scared... okay there are other ways to get to that point that do not required introducing a whole new aspect to the story line. If you are a good writer you should be able to find a way to get your point across without doing this. It just feels that a lot of the action in the story line is unnecessary and that takes away from the punch of the story.... and that is a shame as the premise is good.
The ending is good and the way it ties in with Adam's brother has been nicely done but apart from that a it of a let down.
I have ordered another one by Susan Hill so it will be interesting to see what that is like.
Title: The Small Hand
Author: Susan Hill
204 pages
Profile Books
ISBN nr 978-1-84668-240-7
An official recount has been carried out on the books status and I can confirm that I now have 99 books still waiting to be read... hurrah I was right at the last count.
Monday, 19 November 2012
The Final Furlong - part 2
As I am on a roll and The Dark Charisma of Hitler on BBC2 can be followed very well by just listening to the commentary, here goes another one.
#### SPOILER ALERT ####
Captain Scott's Last Expedition - Robert Falcon Scott
As I typed the above spoiler alert I kind of thought that perhaps I do not really need one for this book. I think most people will know how this one ended. This is the strange thing as you start to read it. You read about all the preparations and then the trip to the pole and you know that some of them never made it back.
It is one of the most impressive books I have ever read. It is moving, dramatic, beautiful, emotional and funny. In Scott's writing you get the enthusiasm at the start and the despair at the end. It is heartbreaking to read the final few days of his journal. How they had to cope and at one point knew that there was no way out for them. They knew they were about to die and that there was no escape. At one point they thought that perhaps they would take an overdose to end it sooner rather than later but true to their powerful characters they decided to face their end as they had live their lives... openly, head on and as true British Gentleman.
I do not really know how to review this journal. There is so much in it that is awe inspiring and inspirational. As you read it you feel that you are travelling with Scott, you see it all through his eyes and it becomes personal and very close to you. It is really an epic story of how man struggles to survive in the most trying of circumstances. the fact that in this case some men have failed is not a defeat but still a triumph.
It was very interesting to read the part at the start of the journals that tells you all about how the ship was prepared and what they did to get the huts and depots up and running. All this gives you an idea of how meticulous Scott and his team were. They had planned this thing in detail. They had done the maths on the food and all the supplies required per stage of the trip. I do not think there was one thing that Scott did not worry about himself. It is great to read about how life in the camp takes shape and how they set up their routine. The detail that goes into getting their accommodation up and running is amazing. Then there is the epic effort of the depot laying. So much was riding on this and Scott needed to get it right not just for himself but also for the others that went part of the way to the Pole.
Some of the most fun stuff is to do with the animals they take on the trip. There are ponies and dogs and each have their own purpose to serve. The ponies seemed and odd choice to me but in the end you learn that they are not only valuable for transporting supplies but end up being additional rations as well. But they would need to last and that was by no means an easy feat! The dogs seem a wild bunch of animals but they help the expedition carry supplies to and from their huts and depots.
In the end it is also a tragic story. Scott, Bowers Wilson, Evans and Oates all reach the pole only to find that Amundsen has beaten them to it. They must have been crushed by that although Scott seems to be putting up a good front in this diary pages. Then they face the trek back. As they make their way back they are all falling apart. They are being battered by the weather, lack of food and fuel and fatigue. The final three members of the South Pole party, Scott, Wilson and Bowers die only about 13 miles from the depot. They run out of fuel and food and all of them have an injury of some kind or another. They cold go no further and faced death in the direst of circumstances. I cannot even begin to imagine what it must have been like to watch others around you die knowing that you were possibly going to be next.
.
There is no getting away for the discussion that some of the diary entries have been cleaned up and edited in earlier versions of the journal. In the newer versions of the diary some entries have shown Scott as being a bit petty about some team members performances and their abilities. He is quite critical of some of the expedition members as he feels they lack the character to go on this expedition. Well.... the way I see it is that if you were putting together team to go to the extremes of where mankind can possibly hope to survive, where the difference between life and death is balanced on a a knife edge then perhaps you have the right to be picky? I also think that you could live with the odd critical remark about a team member or a slight or two about a colleagues abilities. He was not going on a teddy bear picnic he was going to the South Pole!
All I can really say is READ IT!!!It is epic and beautiful and emotional... prepare to shed a few tears when it comes to Oates and the last few days of the final 3.
Title: Journals - Captain Scott's Last Expedition
Author: RF Scott
515 pages
Oxford World's Classics
ISBN nr 978-0-19-953680
Only one more review to go but is is time for bed now. Tomorrow's will be short and sweet I promise.
#### SPOILER ALERT ####
Captain Scott's Last Expedition - Robert Falcon Scott
As I typed the above spoiler alert I kind of thought that perhaps I do not really need one for this book. I think most people will know how this one ended. This is the strange thing as you start to read it. You read about all the preparations and then the trip to the pole and you know that some of them never made it back.
It is one of the most impressive books I have ever read. It is moving, dramatic, beautiful, emotional and funny. In Scott's writing you get the enthusiasm at the start and the despair at the end. It is heartbreaking to read the final few days of his journal. How they had to cope and at one point knew that there was no way out for them. They knew they were about to die and that there was no escape. At one point they thought that perhaps they would take an overdose to end it sooner rather than later but true to their powerful characters they decided to face their end as they had live their lives... openly, head on and as true British Gentleman.
I do not really know how to review this journal. There is so much in it that is awe inspiring and inspirational. As you read it you feel that you are travelling with Scott, you see it all through his eyes and it becomes personal and very close to you. It is really an epic story of how man struggles to survive in the most trying of circumstances. the fact that in this case some men have failed is not a defeat but still a triumph.
It was very interesting to read the part at the start of the journals that tells you all about how the ship was prepared and what they did to get the huts and depots up and running. All this gives you an idea of how meticulous Scott and his team were. They had planned this thing in detail. They had done the maths on the food and all the supplies required per stage of the trip. I do not think there was one thing that Scott did not worry about himself. It is great to read about how life in the camp takes shape and how they set up their routine. The detail that goes into getting their accommodation up and running is amazing. Then there is the epic effort of the depot laying. So much was riding on this and Scott needed to get it right not just for himself but also for the others that went part of the way to the Pole.
Some of the most fun stuff is to do with the animals they take on the trip. There are ponies and dogs and each have their own purpose to serve. The ponies seemed and odd choice to me but in the end you learn that they are not only valuable for transporting supplies but end up being additional rations as well. But they would need to last and that was by no means an easy feat! The dogs seem a wild bunch of animals but they help the expedition carry supplies to and from their huts and depots.
In the end it is also a tragic story. Scott, Bowers Wilson, Evans and Oates all reach the pole only to find that Amundsen has beaten them to it. They must have been crushed by that although Scott seems to be putting up a good front in this diary pages. Then they face the trek back. As they make their way back they are all falling apart. They are being battered by the weather, lack of food and fuel and fatigue. The final three members of the South Pole party, Scott, Wilson and Bowers die only about 13 miles from the depot. They run out of fuel and food and all of them have an injury of some kind or another. They cold go no further and faced death in the direst of circumstances. I cannot even begin to imagine what it must have been like to watch others around you die knowing that you were possibly going to be next.
.
There is no getting away for the discussion that some of the diary entries have been cleaned up and edited in earlier versions of the journal. In the newer versions of the diary some entries have shown Scott as being a bit petty about some team members performances and their abilities. He is quite critical of some of the expedition members as he feels they lack the character to go on this expedition. Well.... the way I see it is that if you were putting together team to go to the extremes of where mankind can possibly hope to survive, where the difference between life and death is balanced on a a knife edge then perhaps you have the right to be picky? I also think that you could live with the odd critical remark about a team member or a slight or two about a colleagues abilities. He was not going on a teddy bear picnic he was going to the South Pole!
All I can really say is READ IT!!!It is epic and beautiful and emotional... prepare to shed a few tears when it comes to Oates and the last few days of the final 3.
Title: Journals - Captain Scott's Last Expedition
Author: RF Scott
515 pages
Oxford World's Classics
ISBN nr 978-0-19-953680
Only one more review to go but is is time for bed now. Tomorrow's will be short and sweet I promise.
The final furlong
After having done a marathon session yesterday I have now been relegated to sitting with my legs stretched out on the sofa instead of in the normal seating position. reason being that my RH gluteus maximus is absolutely killing me when sitting on a regular chair, walking and reaching up. the way I am sitting/lounging now seems to be the only seating position that does not make me flinch every 2 seconds. I will have to get up a few times whilst writing this review as the muscle seems to get tense and achy. I think I may have to take up a subscription to Square One as I seem to be heading there on a regular basis lately. At least my fingers are still functioning well...
#### SPOILER ALERT ####
Firestarter - Stephen King
I was aware of a movie made from this novel back in the day but I never sat down and watched it. I did remember the title so when I came across it a few months ago I decided to pick it up to see what it was like.
Well... it is a cracking read.
As I by now have come to expect of King it kicks into action from the start and it does not really let up until the last page and even then it leaves you wanting more. The story starts with a father (Andy) and daughter (Charlie) on the run from some shady guys in New York. You are not surw why but you feel sympathy for them from the start. You learn quite quickly that Andy has got some special abilities and you automatically think they must be after him. But... turns out they are actually after Charlie and what she can do. In the first half of the book you find out bit by bit how Andy got his power, how he met Charlie's mum and how they ended up on the run. It is safe to say that Charlie's powers are far more destructive than her dad's. They also take less out of her. Andy seems to be at the end of his powers whereas Charlie is still coming into her own.
The whole book is a tale of two people on the run from a shady government organisation. They go on the run, they almost get found, they get found, they manage to escape they find a safe haven, they get re-captured, they live in captivity, they escape. Sounds kind of repetitive but with all the characters you meet it is a great ride to be on with Andy and Charlie.
Andy used to be a suburbia kind of guy. He had the wife, the kid, the job and the house with a mortgage. Because of some misunderstanding from some trigger happy government employee his life is turned upside down and he is now forced to live from hand to mouth and drift from one job into another. He is still trying to help people where he can but there is not a lot of stability he can give Charlie.
Charlie is a lovely, innocent little girl who knows she is special and does not really want to use her powers but has to at times. The great thing about her is to see her struggle about using her power. At one point she never wants to use them again but she is placed into a situation where she has to. It both scares her to feel it's power and part of her actually likes the havoc she can wreak. Charlie is a lovely character and deserves to be the focus of the story. She is only a little girl trying to make sense of what she feels and can do. She is the innocent child that deserves protection but is only seen by some as a tool to use. She is well written and you see her grow up a little in the book and I think she will grow up to be a fine young woman.
As far as learning curves go Andy finds out that just as you thought that you might as well give up a little solitary contemplation in the dark goes a long way. Charlie finds out the hard way not to trust the first kind soul that she meets. Sometimes when it looks evil it is actually evil.
Some of the things in the book are the standard good versus evil stuff. Andy and Charlie are good, kind, upstanding people. They tend to meet good upstanding people who help them on their travels.They just want to be left alone to get on with their lives.
They are pursued by the bad guys who belong to a shady organisation called The Shop. They seem to have more eyes and ears across the USA than the CIA or FBI combined. They are always watching and relentless in their pursuit of Andy and Charlie. They have the obligatory clever leader (elderly, shrewd, looks like a kind grandad) and they employ the obligatory strong and mysterious bad guy (madman native American with a wish to see death in people's eyes). Fortunately, for once it ends bad for all the bad guys. Their headquarters is blown to bits and their organisation is exposed with all it's faults.... although they are not completely obliterated. It does not end well for Andy but you kind of expected that. And as for Charlie... well... I think she will do just fine.
As I said earlier, it is a great read it has a great pace and the story and it's characters are engaging and likable. Even the bad ass bad guy has some redeeming features in him. The ending gave me a real chuckle and I will not spoil it for you but if you ever need to know where to go with a big news story check page 509!
Title: Firestarter
Author: Stephen King
510 pages
Futura
ISBN nr 0-7088-2101-4
#### SPOILER ALERT ####
Firestarter - Stephen King
I was aware of a movie made from this novel back in the day but I never sat down and watched it. I did remember the title so when I came across it a few months ago I decided to pick it up to see what it was like.
Well... it is a cracking read.
As I by now have come to expect of King it kicks into action from the start and it does not really let up until the last page and even then it leaves you wanting more. The story starts with a father (Andy) and daughter (Charlie) on the run from some shady guys in New York. You are not surw why but you feel sympathy for them from the start. You learn quite quickly that Andy has got some special abilities and you automatically think they must be after him. But... turns out they are actually after Charlie and what she can do. In the first half of the book you find out bit by bit how Andy got his power, how he met Charlie's mum and how they ended up on the run. It is safe to say that Charlie's powers are far more destructive than her dad's. They also take less out of her. Andy seems to be at the end of his powers whereas Charlie is still coming into her own.
The whole book is a tale of two people on the run from a shady government organisation. They go on the run, they almost get found, they get found, they manage to escape they find a safe haven, they get re-captured, they live in captivity, they escape. Sounds kind of repetitive but with all the characters you meet it is a great ride to be on with Andy and Charlie.
Andy used to be a suburbia kind of guy. He had the wife, the kid, the job and the house with a mortgage. Because of some misunderstanding from some trigger happy government employee his life is turned upside down and he is now forced to live from hand to mouth and drift from one job into another. He is still trying to help people where he can but there is not a lot of stability he can give Charlie.
Charlie is a lovely, innocent little girl who knows she is special and does not really want to use her powers but has to at times. The great thing about her is to see her struggle about using her power. At one point she never wants to use them again but she is placed into a situation where she has to. It both scares her to feel it's power and part of her actually likes the havoc she can wreak. Charlie is a lovely character and deserves to be the focus of the story. She is only a little girl trying to make sense of what she feels and can do. She is the innocent child that deserves protection but is only seen by some as a tool to use. She is well written and you see her grow up a little in the book and I think she will grow up to be a fine young woman.
As far as learning curves go Andy finds out that just as you thought that you might as well give up a little solitary contemplation in the dark goes a long way. Charlie finds out the hard way not to trust the first kind soul that she meets. Sometimes when it looks evil it is actually evil.
Some of the things in the book are the standard good versus evil stuff. Andy and Charlie are good, kind, upstanding people. They tend to meet good upstanding people who help them on their travels.They just want to be left alone to get on with their lives.
They are pursued by the bad guys who belong to a shady organisation called The Shop. They seem to have more eyes and ears across the USA than the CIA or FBI combined. They are always watching and relentless in their pursuit of Andy and Charlie. They have the obligatory clever leader (elderly, shrewd, looks like a kind grandad) and they employ the obligatory strong and mysterious bad guy (madman native American with a wish to see death in people's eyes). Fortunately, for once it ends bad for all the bad guys. Their headquarters is blown to bits and their organisation is exposed with all it's faults.... although they are not completely obliterated. It does not end well for Andy but you kind of expected that. And as for Charlie... well... I think she will do just fine.
As I said earlier, it is a great read it has a great pace and the story and it's characters are engaging and likable. Even the bad ass bad guy has some redeeming features in him. The ending gave me a real chuckle and I will not spoil it for you but if you ever need to know where to go with a big news story check page 509!
Title: Firestarter
Author: Stephen King
510 pages
Futura
ISBN nr 0-7088-2101-4
Sunday, 18 November 2012
Careful what you wish for...
Sometimes in reading you get a pleasant surprise when you least expect it, sometimes you get the opposite.
#### SPOILER ALERT ###
Three Gothic Novels - Edited by E.F. Bleiler
One of the reasons I bought this book was because it contained one I had heard of and had always wanted to read: The Castle of Otranto. The other two in it I had never heard of so I took a bit of a gamble buying it and reading it.
The Castle of Otranto - Horace Walpole
Maybe I was just too excited by the prospect, maybe I just did not get it but I was a bit confused and disappointed by it. What I got from it was this: we have Manfred the lord of Otranto, he has a castle and a wife, son and daughter. His son is due to be married but dies (killed by some huge, mysterious helmet?) and then Manfred figures why waste a perfectly good bride and decides to marry the girl himself. She, in true damsel style finds this idea appalling and decides to run off to the neighbouring monastery. She meets the mandatory handsome stranger and is rescued from the bad guys. Meanwhile, mum is having kittens about her son and her faith. The daughter is doing a bit of detective work and finds out most of what dad is planning and tries to prevent this as she does not want her mother to be hurt or disgraced. Meanwhile in the monastery things are not what they seems and once the head meets the mysterious handsome stranger it turns out he is his son and potentially the rightful heir to Otranto. Not only that but in the meantime a party of mysterious knights has arrived as well and one of them turns out to be bride to be's father who was missing in action... somewhere... In the end Manfred gives up his title and him and his wife enter the convent... oh and the daughter gets killed but the bride gets a happy ending with the mysterious handsome stranger.
Vathek - William Beckford
If the first one in the volume was not what I expected then this one was even more of the same.
I think this one is trying to say pride comes before a fall and that there are things that us humans should not try to understand and just leave to the gods. However, it might also be about making sure you wrap up warm when you travel, do not get on unsafe swings and that just because you think you are dead you may not be.... I am not sure yet?
Vathek is a caliph with an overbearing mum and a hunger for power and knowledge. He is also indulged a bit too much by aforementioned mum and seeks knowledge he is not ready to understand or comprehend.He is cruel to his subjects he is brutal and ruthless. He is tested by the gods and fails. His entire life and world are destroyed and he is left with nothing. He is cast in to what I think is Hell and they are welcome to him!
The Vampyre - John Polidori
This one was the pleasant surprise in the volume.
It is a little tale of a man who befriends someone who turns out to be his downfall.
It starts out okay. Our hero, Aubrey meets a man Lord Ruthven and decides to go travelling with him. this is despite his misgivings about the man - apparently he is distant and cold and nobody is sure of his character. But Aubrey takes a chance on him being a suitable travel companion but hey... sometimes you just have to right? Things come to a head when the lord takes an interest in a young lady. Our hero has heard in the meantime that there are all sorts of rumours about the Lord's character floating around.. none of it good. he decides to warn the lady involved and then breaks of his arrangements with Lord Ruthven. Aubrey then goes on to Greece and falls in love with a local Greek girl Ianthe. Interestingly there are tales told about a man, a living vampyre and he seems to have an uncanny resemblance to Lord Ruthven. However, Aubrey ignores this. Then Ianthe is killed and Aubrey breaks down. Enter Lord Ruthven who takes care of his former travel companion. The men kiss and make up and travel on together. Then Ruthven's luck seems to turn and he gets killed... only to turn up in England a long time later! Aubrey has by this time sussed it out but is bound by a promise to the Vampyre not to tell who he is. Like a gentleman he keeps his word but it costs him his sister's life.
I liked this one. it is a bit convoluted in places - the circumstances are made to fit the story in a bit of a clumsy and obvious way but it is a good little vampire tale.
Title: Three Gothic Novels
Authors: Various, edited by E.F. Bleiler
283 pages
Dover Publications Inc
No ISBN nr - published in 1966
#### SPOILER ALERT ###
Three Gothic Novels - Edited by E.F. Bleiler
One of the reasons I bought this book was because it contained one I had heard of and had always wanted to read: The Castle of Otranto. The other two in it I had never heard of so I took a bit of a gamble buying it and reading it.
The Castle of Otranto - Horace Walpole
Maybe I was just too excited by the prospect, maybe I just did not get it but I was a bit confused and disappointed by it. What I got from it was this: we have Manfred the lord of Otranto, he has a castle and a wife, son and daughter. His son is due to be married but dies (killed by some huge, mysterious helmet?) and then Manfred figures why waste a perfectly good bride and decides to marry the girl himself. She, in true damsel style finds this idea appalling and decides to run off to the neighbouring monastery. She meets the mandatory handsome stranger and is rescued from the bad guys. Meanwhile, mum is having kittens about her son and her faith. The daughter is doing a bit of detective work and finds out most of what dad is planning and tries to prevent this as she does not want her mother to be hurt or disgraced. Meanwhile in the monastery things are not what they seems and once the head meets the mysterious handsome stranger it turns out he is his son and potentially the rightful heir to Otranto. Not only that but in the meantime a party of mysterious knights has arrived as well and one of them turns out to be bride to be's father who was missing in action... somewhere... In the end Manfred gives up his title and him and his wife enter the convent... oh and the daughter gets killed but the bride gets a happy ending with the mysterious handsome stranger.
Vathek - William Beckford
If the first one in the volume was not what I expected then this one was even more of the same.
I think this one is trying to say pride comes before a fall and that there are things that us humans should not try to understand and just leave to the gods. However, it might also be about making sure you wrap up warm when you travel, do not get on unsafe swings and that just because you think you are dead you may not be.... I am not sure yet?
Vathek is a caliph with an overbearing mum and a hunger for power and knowledge. He is also indulged a bit too much by aforementioned mum and seeks knowledge he is not ready to understand or comprehend.He is cruel to his subjects he is brutal and ruthless. He is tested by the gods and fails. His entire life and world are destroyed and he is left with nothing. He is cast in to what I think is Hell and they are welcome to him!
The Vampyre - John Polidori
This one was the pleasant surprise in the volume.
It is a little tale of a man who befriends someone who turns out to be his downfall.
It starts out okay. Our hero, Aubrey meets a man Lord Ruthven and decides to go travelling with him. this is despite his misgivings about the man - apparently he is distant and cold and nobody is sure of his character. But Aubrey takes a chance on him being a suitable travel companion but hey... sometimes you just have to right? Things come to a head when the lord takes an interest in a young lady. Our hero has heard in the meantime that there are all sorts of rumours about the Lord's character floating around.. none of it good. he decides to warn the lady involved and then breaks of his arrangements with Lord Ruthven. Aubrey then goes on to Greece and falls in love with a local Greek girl Ianthe. Interestingly there are tales told about a man, a living vampyre and he seems to have an uncanny resemblance to Lord Ruthven. However, Aubrey ignores this. Then Ianthe is killed and Aubrey breaks down. Enter Lord Ruthven who takes care of his former travel companion. The men kiss and make up and travel on together. Then Ruthven's luck seems to turn and he gets killed... only to turn up in England a long time later! Aubrey has by this time sussed it out but is bound by a promise to the Vampyre not to tell who he is. Like a gentleman he keeps his word but it costs him his sister's life.
I liked this one. it is a bit convoluted in places - the circumstances are made to fit the story in a bit of a clumsy and obvious way but it is a good little vampire tale.
Title: Three Gothic Novels
Authors: Various, edited by E.F. Bleiler
283 pages
Dover Publications Inc
No ISBN nr - published in 1966
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