Got the Tilt for Christmas so will read that soon
Reminds me, I also read King’s Fairy Tale recently.
What to say…
Criticisms first.
It’s a paint by numbers book with extraordinary colours.
He references himself in the real world. Specifically Cujo. That’s just weird, man. I know you’re a part of the culture, but to…read a King reference in a new King book…don’t do that.
His nods to the reader are becoming very close to breaking the fourth wall. Don’t do that, either.
Praise.
It’s a good book.
It’s good lore.
This guy knows how to write a book. Sometimes that’s too obvious and takes away from things, but you can’t deny the basic fact.
He knows how to close a chapter.
He knows how to keep you reading.
He knows how to avoid I Don’t Care What Happens To These People.
It’s waaaaay better than it should be at this point in his career.
You won’t be disappointed.
You won’t be super impressed.
I can’t even remember what the book was, but it was #1 on the bestsellers, and I tentatively asked…’I don’t mean to offend anyone, but is Dean Koontz…just…bad?’
It is not in our bookshelves, whatever it was.
I know I read Hermit. Can’t recall if i read Prisoner.
Hermit was good.
Finally finished Green Light by Benjamin Stevenson about a true crime podcaster who gets a convicted murderer released, but then a copycat murder is committed. Has he released a guilty man? It’s very “busy”, maybe a tad too busy for me. There’s a second, The Other Side of Midnight, and then Everyone in my Family has Killed Someone. His descriptions of bulimia made me wonder if he’s bulimic himself.
But now…it’s the sequel to Sarah Barrie’s Unforgiven with Lexi Winter, advertised as “once a vigilante, now a cop”.
I’d recommend both those unread Benjamin Stevenson books to you.
There’s another due out late this year called Everyone On This Train Is A Suspect which I imagine is in a similar vein to the very funny Everyone In My Family etc.
Two Brothers, Ben Elton. 2012.
I used to pick up the latest of Elton’s books at the airport, either on departure or more often arrival. His work was light and l would l often churn through one in a day or so. He quickly became a favourite along with Tom Robbins. Along the way, l missed a couple and then found this #13 in a local bookstall. This is 10 years old, so he has probably written a couple more since then.
This is an altogether more serious work than anything else of his l have read. Being that this is the story of a Jewish family in Berlin from 1920 - 1956, this is not the place to look for a quick laugh. The plot is very involved, perhaps a little more than it needs to be, some are signposted, some are not, but the history of the time is skillfully woven into the narrative. The language also lapses in a few places into the sort of things that Germans of that era would not say, but that is a minor quibble. Now l have to backtrack to find the books of his that l have missed.
Finished Retribution by Sarah Barrie. Lexi Winter from Unforgiven has joined the police force but isn’t one for following the rules. Bodies…lots of bodies…and a massive crime family. Not particularly realistic in my book, more along the lines of Jack Reacher.
Now onto Dave Warner’s River of Salt. Blake is a Philly hitman in the early 70s who legs it to the NSW North Coast where he buys a bar. Bad guys are demanding protection money. I don’t fancy their chances of reaching OAP age. Not far in.
Yes
Just read Between Two Fires by Christopher Buehlman. Enjoyed it a lot. Medieval horror set in France during the Plague.
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Finished River of Salt and enjoyed it immensely.
Now onto Benjamin Stevenson’s Either Side of Midnight, sequel to Green Light, where Jack Quick is hired to prove that a TV anchor who shot himself on camera was actually murdered. I must say I’m getting a bit tired of him talking about his bulimia and his brother who’s in a permanent vegetative state.
But, but …
Don’t you understand? It’s the personal problems of the hero that are the interesting part! The murder mystery is just a vehicle for the personal life.
The first half or so of Weike ■■■■’s 2017 debut novel, “Chemistry”, made me laugh like no other book in years. It follows the travails of a Chinese American woman simultaneously experiencing academic, family and relationship crises, which doesn’t sound very funny but had me in stitches. Her Mother in particular is a maternal psycho for the ages. Weike’s bio suggests she lived much of the plot prior to writing…perhaps. Loses a bit of the droll edge as it nears the finish line but I’ll certainly seek out her new novel “Joan Is Okay”.
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Wow, someone should inform the swear filter that “Waang”(minus an A) is a very common Chinese name.
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And barely used as a slang word in this country.
I can appreciate it if they’re an alcoholic like Matt Scudder or Dave Robicheaux because it tells you a fair bit on how the Anonymous programs work. Not particularly interested if they’re any other sort of addict.
Waang with two a’s is the great crow.
Gave up on Either Side of Midnight halfway through. Just couldn’t get past Stevenson’s self-indulgence.
Next one was Seven Sisters by Katherine Kovacevic.
Woman runs a grief clinic for sisters of women who’ve been murdered by abusive partners. Very reminiscent of Strangers on a Train, which they attribute.
Well worth a read. Set in Sydney.
And today finished Headland by John Byrnes. Detective Craig is sent to Gloster on the NSW north coast which is about to be flooded and evacuated. He has a misogynistic Sergeant above him with two female officers everyone assumes wrongly are gay. Takes a while to get rolling, but the town is evacuated and the 3 younger police officers are stranded, but left behind is a murderer. Craig is hooked on prescription drugs. Maybe too much was happening but it ended up a fairly satisfying read.
The Long Game by Simon Rowell
Set on the Mornington Peninsula, Det Sgt Zoe Mayer is just back on deck 4 months after foiling a terrorist attack on the Grand Final, when a guy is stabbed in Portsea in what seems like an open-and-shut case. A former investigative journalist, now true-crime podcaster, tells her there are 2 similar cases on the peninsula.
Has its moment of pretty obvious writing, but it’s a pretty well put together novel. His second book, Wild Card, was released in January. This one opens on the Murray at Echuca.
Oh, meant to post i had finished the koontz book i was reading and probably won’t go back to him. He’s a bit of a pulp writer (not that there is anything wrong with that), but i need a bit more depth to events and characters than he writes
For those that like fantasy, give Mark Lawrence a try. His Broken Empire Trilogy (Prince of Thorns [1], King of Thorns [2] and Emperor of Thorns [3]) is very good as is Book of the Ancestors trilogy (Red Sister [1], Grey Sister [2] Bound [2.5] and Holy Sister [3]) . Currently re-reading the Book of the Ancestors. Well crafted, with a decent writing style and a vivid imagination.
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