I'm Baaack...

Well, after a two week holiday up in the mountains with hardly any access to internet, I'm finally back home (just in time for the 14th July weekend fireworks!)

Holidays were good, though the weather could have been better. Still, I was able to get some reading done and wrote a few reviews which I'll be getting up in the next few days. Hope to be able to get back to a more regular update schedule in the next few weeks.

So... How have you been?

:)

Paradigm by Ceri A Lowe

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Goodreads

Following a major climatic catastrophe, the surviving citizens of London have taken to the underground, living in a reinvented society where people are regularly put in cryogenic sleep until needed. Births are carefully controlled and life is constrained by the needs of the greater good. Carter Warren is born into the world after the end, called on to fulfill his destiny as a contender for the role of Controller General. However in the years he has spent in deep freeze, things have changed and the world he left may no longer be the world he left behind...

Paradigm is a new entry into the extremely popular post-apocalyptic young adult scene, the latest in a long line of books that trace their DNA back through Divergent to the Hunger Games. Set in a world where climat change has forced the human race underground, it tells a dual story of two young people - one, a young girl called Alice Davenport, struggles to survive in the world left behind in the immediate aftermath of the Storms, while the other, a young man named Carter, lives almost a hundred years later in a London that has adapted to the post-Storms world. As we follow both stories concurrently, each begins to inform the other, creating a patchwork of two tales that combine to give us a complete view of what is going on while leaving a lot of questions unanswered. Unfortunately, only one of these threads really worked for me - the Alice storyline - leaving the pathwork lopsided and at times difficult to read.

While Alice's story is a great exploration of a post-apocalyptic world in the immediate aftermath (think Stephen King's The Stand just after the virus hits), Carter's storyline is a rehash of what has been seen a thousand times before in recent years with this subgenre. While I enjoyed Hunger Games and Divergent, to name the two most well known entries in the post-apocalyptic YA field, Paradigm may have been a step too far for me. While Alice's story was interesting, it did not provide any majorly original or insightful additions to this genre, while Carter's seemed to be a paint by numbers exploration of a tyranical uber-state.

The book left me frustrated by the end, which is more of a commentary on the plot than the writing - Ceri Lowe knows how to write a gripping story but in this case the skill of the writer was unsufficient to get over the obstacles created by the basic story. Although I didn't skim read, the book did not keep my attention in any major way: I found myself putting it aside without any real intention to pick it up again, so it took me quite a while to finish it.

Paradigm is the start of a series but I very much doubt I will pick up the sequel. While Alice's storyline was an interesting one that maintained my attention through much of its course, the Carter storyline lost me completely. Still, the writing was good and it is clear that Ceri Lowe has skills. I gave Paradigm 2,5 motionless Arks out of 5.

Update

Well, as you may have noticed, updates here have been few and far between in the last few weeks. That is due to a number of factors, mainly to do with my son's health - I have a three-year old who is handicapped and so has regular doctor's appointments: source of major stress for me and my wife.

So it is becoming harder to keep this updated, especially with full-blown reviews. So in the next few weeks I'm going to try something new - Bullet Point Reviews. As the name indicates, these will be shorter reviews done in the form of bullet points, easier and quicker to write. I may sometimes write the occasional full review if a book really captures my attention, but that will also depend on time. Hopefully that will allow me to get back on track with posting here.

Of course, any comments from anyone actually reading these will be most appreciated and a definite moral boost to increase my motivation! :)

Shield and Crocus by Michael R Underwood

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Built among the bones of a fallen giant, the city of Audec-Hal is home to five tyrants who dominate the various districts. Held under the tyrants thumb and afflicted with "Spark-storms", the people have only one hope - a small group of heroes who will do anything to reclaim their city from the criminals who control it. Led by First Sentinel, the Shields are the only resistance against the clutches of evil. But when they hear about a summit to cement the tyrants rule, the Shields realise that time is running out to take back their city once and for all...

I had such high hopes for Shield and Crocus. Set firmly in the same type of weird city as Ambergris or New Crobuzon, it seemed to have everything I like in fantasy - highly imaginative worldbuilding, an interesting magic system, heroes going up against seemingly insurmountable odds. While the worldbuilding was definitely a highlight - the idea of a city built in and around the bones of a felled Titan who fell from the sky is amazing and works really well - the book itself ended up being a disappointment. I had a lot of trouble connecting with the characters, a problem made worse by the fact that the writer constantly shifts the way he refers to them, sometimes using their 'real' names and sometimes their 'superhero' names. Because of that, what should have been thrilling often comes across as banal, and there was nothing in the characters or in the plot that truly caught my attention. This was extremely frustrating, since the world was so unique that I really wanted to see a unique story to go with it.

Shield and Crocus fits into a current trend in the SFF genre - what could be called superheropunk. We have a fantasy world but the main characters are basically the secondary equivalent of the X-men. As such, each person has an individual power, and yet the characters themselves kind of blurred together for me as I was reading. I found myself skimming through the pages as the story progressed - the writing didn't really grab me at all.

All in all, Shield and Crocus was a huge let-down. This has been done before, and better. If it hadn't been for the great world that has been created, I'm pretty sure this one would have been laid aside. As it is, I give Shield and Crocus 3 giant titan skulls out of 5, with one point given only for the worldbuilding.

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Books On My Kindle For The Beach

From the Broke and Bookish

Top Ten Books On My Kindle For The Beach

 

Any time on the beach or by a pool this summer will be during the first two weeks of July and the mid week of August. Here are ten of the books I'm hoping to read over those three weeks:
 

Mr Mercedes by Stephen King

 

I love me some King and this looks to be a nice move away from his supernatural books and more towards a standard thriller. Of course, with King, it is always difficult to be sure.

 

Cibola Burn by James S A Corey

 

The writing team of James S A Corey have consistently hit these space opera books out of the park and I'm hoping Cibola Burns will be a worthy addition.

 

Shattered by Kevin Hearne

 

Kevin Hearne and Atticus are very close to knocking Jim Butcher and Harry Dresden off the pedestal of best Urban Fantasy series EVER and Shattered may be the one to do it.

 

The Silkworm by Robert Galbraith

 

Robert Galbraith's 'secret' identity is obviously no longer secret at all. The Cuckoo's Calling was a fantastic faux-noir thriller and I look forward to seeing what Rowling does with the sequel.

 

Son of the Morning by Mark Alder

 

A historical fantasy set during the Hundred Years War setting Edward the Third against angels and demons? I am sooooo there!

 

Lovers at the Chameleon Club by Francine Prose

 

I have only ever read Francine Prose's nonfiction book about reading like a writer, which I enjoyed. Look forward to seeing what she does with fiction.

 

Unwrapped Sky by Rjurik Davidson

 

This one goes on the list for the cover alone - a minotaur?! Definitely up my street.

 

Console Wars by Blake J Harris

 

I was a pre-teen to a teen during the heyday of the Nintendo/Sega wars so look forward to seeing what Blake Harris does with this one.

 

Jack of Spies by David Downing

 

This historical thriller set just before the First World War caught my eye a while back so it is a definite one on my Kindle on the beach.

 

Bird Box by Josh Malerman

 

A horror novel about something that cannot be seen but drives you insane if you do? Chilling! Just what you need on a hot day by the pool! :)

What books are you taking to the beach? Paper or Kindle?

The Truth About the Harry Quebert Affair by Joel Dicker

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Goodreads

 

When struggling writer Marcus Goldman goes to see his friend and mentor Harry Quebert to find inspiration and a cure for his writer's block, he stumbles upon a disturbing revelation - years before, Harry had been involved with a teenage girl who has since disappeared. When the girl, Nola, is discovered buried in Harry's back garden, Harry is the obvious suspect. In order to clear his friend's name, Marcus does the only thing he knows how - he writes a book. As his investigation into Harry's relationship with Nola and the events of 30th August 1975 leads him to darker and darker truths, Marcus begins to question everything he thinks he knows about his friend...

 

Every so often in any reader's life, a book comes along that reminds you why you love to read. I have had a handful of such books in the past, great novels (in my eyes anyway), like An Instance of the Fingerpost by Iain Pears or The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon. The Truth about the Harry Quebert Affair is one of those books. Combining everything I love to find in a book, it is a fantastic, beautifully written mystery that is also so much more than that at the same time.

 

Told almost entirely by Marcus Goldman, a self-centered, shallow, unbelievably successful writer faced with every writer's dread - writer's block - The Truth About... details the chaos that unfolds once the body of a fifteen year old girl is found in the back garden of famous writer Harry Quebert. Harry is Marcus' friend and mentor, so Marcus decides to carry out his own investigation in order to clear Harry's name. Drafted into writing a book about the experience, Marcus soon realises that no one can be trusted and that every time he thinks he is getting a handle on what actually happened to Nola Kellergan, the truth is something completely different.

 

Although the centrepiece of The Truth About... is the gradual unveiling of what happened in 1975 and the truth behind the Harry Quebert affair, Joel Dicker's novel is just as much about writing, boxing and life. Each chapter (which are numbered backwards by the way for a reason that quickly becomes clear) begins with a piece of advice Harry has given Marcus over the years. While this advice is ostensibly about writing, they can be applied just as easily to life and it is thanks to this advice that Marcus gradually grows, changes and matures as the book progresses. Although he never really loses the slightly arrogant edge that any writer needs to be able to stand up and ask the world to read a bunch of words they have strung together, Marcus does grow into a more rounded human being and it is just as much this change as the truth about Nola that carries the novel forward.

 

The writing is great and it is difficult to remember that this is a translation out of French. Whoever the translator is, he did a phenomenal job, only once dropping the ball on the use of the French Untel (in English, So-and-so), but which I doubt anyone who is not bilingual would actually pick up on. Is the writing perfect? No. The dialogue can be a bit clunky at times and the shifts from present to past are sometimes a little confusing. But the book was such a joy for me that I passed over all those little imperfections, simply enjoying the ride.

 

A "coup-de-coeur" as we say in France, The Truth About the Harry Quebert Affair will be one of those books I will remember for a long time. A great mystery, an exploration of writing and life, the book touches all the buttons I need to make me fall head over heels in love with a novel. I cannot wait to see what Joel Dicker writes next and I doubt I will wait for a translation of whatever it is. This one will be in my top ten if not my number one at the end of the year, I am sure. I gave The Truth About... 5 seagull-full novels out of 5.

The Red Hot Fix by T.E. Woods

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Goodreads

After the deadly events of The Fixer, Morton Grant and Lydia are trying to rebuild the shattered pieces of their lives. Lydia has spent a year in rehab, attempting to regain her confidence and to put the truth about her connection to the Fixer behind her, while Mort is embroiled in an investigation into a prostitute serial killer who only kills the men who pay her to sleep with them. As they both try to regain badly damaged confidence and find a way of moving on with their lives, the truth about what they both did threatens everything they have built...
 
The Fixer was a surprising hit for me earlier this year - a thriller that I picked up on a whim but which worked really well and pushed all my mystery/thriller buttons: an intriguing mystery, a couple of damaged heroes, a twisty-turny plot. When I saw that the sequel was coming out later this year I added it to my To Read List, and when it became available on Netgalley I requested it immediately. Once it was approved I jumped it towards the top of the ever-growing pile of books to read, looking forward to returning once again to the world of the Fixer.

Due to everything that happened in the previous novel, it was inevitable that The Red Hot Fix would be a very different animal. The mystery of the Fixer - while still relevant - is no longer an issue for the main two characters, so Woods introduces a new mystery killer in "Trixie", a prostitute killing her "johns" who is the latest criminal to go up against Detective Mort Grant. While Grant investigates the Trixie murders with his son, Lydia is trying to find a way back into her life now that she has given up her Fixer persona. As the book progresses, though, she begins to realise that giving up her old life may not be as easy as she thought, especially when she is faced with a clear injustice.

The way Woods dealt with Lydia's storyline was very well done. We see her struggle to decide what to do when she meets a little girl whose father is abusing her and planning to sell her through his sick website, afraid of going back to her Fixer ways, but even more terrified of not doing anything. The way the story is wrapped up was excellent, showing that Lydia may be able to use her skills and the mindset she developped as the Fixer, but in a new way that might keep her out of the sort of trouble she found in the first book.

I much preferred this storyline - despite the disgust factor created by the girl's father and his plans - than Mort's cat-and-mouse game with Trixie. The surprise factor was missing, it was pretty easy to figure out who Trixie actually was and the situation was wrapped up very quickly. It felt like the storyline then went into a holding pattern while Lydia's story caught up, which took some of the tension away from the final scenes.

The Red Hot Fix was a good continuation of the Fixer series, bringing back a lot of what worked in the first novel and progressing both characters storylines in interesting ways. One plotline was more interesting and worked better than the other, but overall they both complimented each other nicely and set up an interesting finale. I will certainly pick up the next book in the series - I'm looking forward to see how Lydia puts her new skills to use in different situations. I gave The Red Hot Fix 4 tied-up johns out of 5.