Some of the books I read this month I didn’t actually review wither because I DNF’d them early on or in the case of The Tale of Genji, the review would have been too long and complex to read but I might write a simplified version in the future.
Blade Runner by Phillip K. Dick ***** - I learned that Blade Runner was based off a book a lot later than I’d like to admit but I loved the movie and I even enjoyed the sequel that came out recently so I thought I’d give the book a go. The opening of Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep was interesting, we are introduced to Rick Deckard who makes his living by retiring andys or replicants. If you haven’t seen the movie then this requires some context, Earth has been decimated by war forcing many to evacuate to colony planets but many like Rick and his wife, Iran have chosen to stay behind. Rick needs to be on Earth for his job which is linked to the police force. From the outset we learn there is technology to alter one’s mood which Rick and Iran use often, however, their marriage isn’t a happy one as Iran doesn’t like Rick’s job despite the fact it pays very well, $1000 per replicant he retires. Rick also has a dream of retiring enough replicants to buy himself an animal. We learn on Earth real animals are rare and expensive due to the devastation on Earth and the larger the animal you owe, the bigger the status symbol it is. Rick used to own a sheep, but it died from tetanus, so he had an electric sheep made in the same image so people wouldn’t find out as it is seen as a bit shameful. I am eager to see how the story progress as the movie packs a lot in and the book is under 200 pages.
2. Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov ***** - The first time I read Lolita it took me a while to get through it so I didn’t take in the story as much as I wanted to as I was at times overwhelmed by my emotions. Going back into it a second time I am aware of what happens and can focus on the smaller details a lot better. The forward which is fictional gives away hints to the ending of the novel which is already pulling at my heart strings before we’ve even began. Learning about Humbert’s childhood and his first foray into romance which was horribly interrupted makes his actions later on that much more understandable and we also learn of his heart condition and temper which also play a large role later on in the novel, specifically the climax of the novel.
3. Sting by Cindy R. Wilson **** - I didn’t know anything about Sting going into it but the synopsis gave me Robin Hood vibes and I though this might be a retelling of sorts. I couldn’t wait to get into Sting and the opening chapter was interesting and I was right about the Robin Hood vibes. We are introduced to Tessa also known as the Scorpion, who lives in the Dark District, this world seems to be divided between the Light and Dark districts with one being wealthy and the other extremely poor. Tessa group numbers only six included River, Cass and Elle. Elle is the odd one out as her family is from the Light District but she feeds information to the Tessa, however, there is some tension between her and Tessa as it seems they are both interested in River but he only has eyes for Tessa.
4. Victory Lap by Various ***** - The new The Sky Dragon Slayers Victory Lap is the follow up to Slaying the Sky Dragon (2011) which I previously reviewed (see here), the foreword written by Dr. Tim Ball, I have also reviewed some of Dr Ball’s books. The first thing I need to point out is this new volume structured differently. Whereas the first book was a collection of essays from various authors complied together The Sky Dragon Slayers Victory Lap has one continuous narrative running throughout.
5. Revenge of the Witch by Joseph Delaney ***** - I remember reading this series years ago when I was in comprehensive school and absolutely loving it and this is the year I plan to re-read some of my favourite childhood including the Spook’s Apprentice Series, Skullduggery Pleasant, Cirque Du Freak and Locke & Co. to name a few. The opening to Revenge of the Witch was as fun as I remember, we are introduced to Tom who is the seventh son of a seventh son this makes him very special, he is even more special because he shares his mother’s gift as they can both sense and see things that others can’t. In this world there are all sorts of paranormal beings that are controlled by the Spooks and Tom has just become a Spook’s apprentice starting the very next day. Tom is not even 13 but he needs to work as soon there won’t be any room for him in the family home and he needs to provide for himself but he is scared about what being a Spook’s apprentice means for him since they live very lonely lives.
6. Curse of the Bane by Joseph Delaney **** - After the end of Revenge of the Witch I was excited to jump into Curse of the Bane as soon as I could. This book opens with Tom binding his first boggart of the most dangerous ranking since the Spook has been taken ill with a fever that is sweeping across the land. This binding was breathtakingly action packed and with real stakes since Tom knows what happened to the last apprentice Billy, he is also aware the priest the boggart is feeding off is the Spook’s brother but he does his job well and binds the boggart although we aren’t sure if the priest will survive having his leg amputated. A few days later the Spook’s brother dies of his injuries and he decides they will go to Priestown to attend the funeral but he also has some unfinished business there in the form of a creature known as the Bane, that he needs to deal with once and for all.
7. Night of the Soulstealer by Joseph Delaney ***** - After loving Revenge of the Witch and liking Curse of the Bane, I couldn’t wait to jump into Night of the Soulstealer. As always we are following Tom who has been Mr. Gregory’s apprentice for over six months now, as he and Mr. Gregory are planning to leave for his winter home in Anglezarke and Alice won’t be going with them as Mr. Gregory wants to leave her with a family who owe him some favours. However, one night a failed former apprentice; Morgan appears with a letter for Mr. Gregory and tells Tom that he will be seeing more of in Anglezarke and Tom instantly has a bad feeling about this man. On their way to Anglezarke, Tom calls in to visit his family and collect the last of Mr. Gregory’s money, his father’s health isn’t getting much better and Tom like his mother can smell the scent of death on him but there is still hope. His mother also tells him to be careful on the moors as there are dangerous things there including Golgoth, also called the Lord of Winter, although we don’t know what it is or how powerful it is.
8. The Spook’s Battle by Joseph Delaney ***** - So as I mentioned in my previous review; Night of the Soulstealer, I am switching to the UK titles and covers as they are easier for me to use than the US ones. If you would like to review the previous 3 reviews, search for The Last Apprentice. The Spook’s Battle is the fourth book in the Wardstone Chronicles and I can’t wait for these series to get going in earnest now because we have been introduced to all our main characters, we’ve seen their relationships develop especially between Alice and Tom, and also between Tom and Mr. Gregory who we know is going to be leaving the series soon as his health and age are causing his strength to fail. This is also the first book in the series where I will be listening to the audiobook as well as reading along with the physical copy. The opening of the Spook’s Battle was interesting, we see Tom and Alice training in preparation for their trip to Pendle. This trip is going to be their most dangerous yet as Pendle is a place where witches live and there are 3 main clans there, who previously cursed the Spook. Tom has now been with Mr. Gregory a year and he is know learning all about witches but Mr. Gregory tells him to be wary as there are some abilities or types of witches that he might not have encountered before, so they will have to learn as they go. Mr. Gregory is expecting a visitor so he is sending Alice and Tom back to his family farm to collect the trunks his mother left him.
9. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins ***** - So this is a classic from my childhood, I remember reading the books to death when I first got them and I have watched the movies numerous times. This year I am planning to re-read a lot of my favourite childhood series and this has to be on the list. I honestly forgot how dark the opening couple of chapters are but they really set the tone for the series, so we are introduced to Katniss Everdeen, her sister Primrose “Prim”, her mother and her best friend Gale. We learn early on the Katniss’ father died in a mine explosion in District 12, their home and after that her mother withdrew into herself leaving her to feed herself and her sister or risk being sent to a community home and along with Gale, who also has many siblings to feed they form a fast friendship. We learn that because of an uprising that led to the destruction of District 13, every year one boy and one girl from each district between the ages of 12 and 18 must be offered as tribute to compete in a battle royale known as the Hunger Games. This year at 16 Katniss has her name in the running 36 times while Gale at 18 has his name in there 42 times, this is because of the handouts they take from the government in order to survive, so the odds aren’t in their favour while Prim only has her name in there once. However, Prim’s name is drawn at the Reaping and Katniss volunteers to take her place, the male tribute chosen is Peeta Mellark, the baker’s son who helped Katniss when she was in her darkest time but she doubts he remembers it. While the opening chapter were slightly different from the movie I will go more in depth in my Book vs Movie post.
10. Illuminae by Jay Kristoff & Amie Kaufman ***** - It has been a while since I read this series and been as 2020 is the year I want to re-read all my favourite series and finish the ones I haven’t yet, I thought I’d add the Illuminae Files to the list. While there is an overarching story over the trilogy each book follows separate characters although they do crop up in the other books too. The main characters we are following in Illuminae are Kady and Ezra, who broke up shortly before their home; Kerenza 4 was attacked by the BeiTech corporation. I honestly forgot how much this book punches up in the gut in the opening 50 or so pages, learning about the initial invasion from Kady and Ezra who saw it happen was brilliant and it really throws you into the deep end. However, the Lincoln, the BeiTech forces head ship is now hunting down the small group consisting of the Alexander, a battle ship, science vessel Hypatia and the freighter Copernicus and they are realistically over 6 months away from any support or rescue so their chances of survival are slim.
11. The 10 Worst Serial Killers by Victor McQueen ***** - As this is a non-fiction book and each chapter related to a different killer, this review is going to be structured in section, each relating to one of the killers. Now, I love anything relating to serial killers as they fascinate me and I have been watching a lot of great Netflix shows like Making a Murderer which I recommend you want. These killers come from all over the world and even I am unfamiliar with some of the names.
12. The Black God’s Drums by P. Djèlí Clark **** - This isn’t something that would normally be on my radar but it was the group book for the Witchathon, so I had to pick it up. I didn’t know much about this book but from the synopsis I gather that it is set in an alternate New Orleans during the American Civil War, with a sci-fi spin as it involve sea pirate. It follows a young girl named Creeper who dreams about getting aboard the airship Midnight Robber. While it didn’t sound like my cup of tea it sounded interesting enough. The opening of The Black God’s Drums was interesting, Creeper is a thief who dreams of getting onto one of the airships away from New Orleans and due to the circumstances of her birth she hears Oya’s voice in her head. Oya is the African orisha of the wind and storms and she communicates with Creeper in a variety of ways including visions but Creeper can’t really make sense of them. One day she gets a vision which causes her to lose a mark but then she overhears a conversation between a group of men involve a Haitian scientists and a weapon called the Black God’s Drums, Creeper knows this information is worth money as she knows when and where he is going to arrive and tries to figure out who it is best to sell the information to.
13. Username: Evie by Joe Sugg ***** - I didn’t know much about Username: Evie but I have seen the series around and wanted to pick it up since I am in an awesome reading mood right now. We are introduced to our protagonist Evie who much like some of us just wants to fit in, but she doesn’t have much luck since her cousin Mallory is awful to her as she is one of the popular girls while Evie is a certified nerd, much like myself. Evie’s mother died when she was younger and her died seems to have a terminal illness although we don’t know what it is, her father is a software designer and has been working on something relentlessly but Evie doesn’t what it is. We follow Evie in her day to day life, at home and at school, where the only place she can escape from Mallory without resorting to comfort eating is hiding in the fridge of all places but it works for her.
14. Username: Regenerated by Joe Sugg *** - The opening to Username: Regenerated really ramped up the stakes after the events of the first book, it turns out Evie’s father developed Escape when she was just a baby and her mother was the guinea pig for testing it but the software gate collapsed trapping her mother within the world. Knowing that Evie and Mallory have entered the world and got out makes me think that Evie might be able to find her mother in the world and bring her home even if her father has now passed away.
15. Username: Uprising by Joe Sugg ***** - Username: Uprising is the final book in the Username graphic novel series and I was really excited to see the conclusion of this series. I really loved the first book but wasn’t that keen on the second, so this one will decide the overall rating I give the series. The opening of Username: Uprising was brilliant we learn after the events of the second book Knox, one of lost boys of Escape has managed to stay in the real world and is causing chaos with the plan to take over the world using his coded brothers and by creating a portal between the virtual world and the real one which spells disaster before we even start.
16. Callgirl: Confessions of a Double Life by Jeannette Angell ***** - Now, I had a lot of reservations before cracking open Callgirl because a lot of similar fiction books and memoirs I have read on this subject are vague and so self-centred that I can’t stand to finish them but the introduction and opening chapter of this book really hooked me. We learn that Jeannette is a teacher and was cheated on by her boyfriend who also took all of her money when he left leaving her broke with debts pilling up that she has no way of paying. Like most of us in that situation she is completely panicking thinking of anything and everything that could get her through until her payday at the end of the semester in two months’ time. She initially consider work in sex chat but finds the whole things dull and boring, plus for only $8 she is sure there is something out there that will give her the money she needs when she stumbles upon ads for escorts.
17. Seaplanes Don’t Fly At Night by Jeff and Clare Curtis **** - All I knew about Seaplanes before I went into it was it follows the successful young couple Jeff and Clare Curtis who are enjoying a romantic holiday in the Maldives while Clare is pregnant and she goes into premature labour, so this really caught my eye and I was excited to get into it. The opening to Seaplanes Don’t Fly at Night was dramatic and really got my heart racing as we are introduced to Jeff and Clare as Clare goes into labour nine weeks early on a small island in the Maldives. Something is clearly wrong as Clare is bleeding but the baby is also in breach as well as being premature so the small medical team on the island can’t accommodate the birth. Jeff and Clare along with Mauroof, the courteous butler, and Arjun, the island’s resident nurse, have to travel to a neighbouring island in an extreme storm to have the baby delivered safely but this is only the beginning.
18. The Spook’s Mistake by Joseph Delaney ***** - After the explosive events of the Spook’s Battle I couldn’t wait to jump into the 5th installment in the series. The Spook’s Battle was the first book in the series where we see how important the Spooks are and the dangers they are up against. The Fiend, the Devil itself has been set upon the County which they need to deal with, there is a war raging in the south and Tom has the threat of facing Grimalkin again in the future, I believe it’s in book nine as that is called I am Grimalkin and I can’t wait to see it. The opening of The Spook’s Mistake isn’t happy at all as Mr. Gregory and Alice are trying to keep Tom bound to the house in order to protect him and the war raging in the south isn’t helping their survival. After a trip to the village for provisions Tom is basically kidnapped by soldiers who are forcing boys into the Army and he knows he has to escape or his days as a Spook’s apprentice will be over.
19. Inkmistress by Audrey Coulthrust *** - I didn’t know much about Inkmistress before getting into it other than it was the prequel to Of Fire and Stars. The opening of Inkmistress introduces us to Asra who is a demi-god, her father is the Wind God and she has the ability to dictate the future by writing with her blood so she remains hidden in the mountains working as a healer in order to hide her ability from the world. The only true happiness she has in her life is Ina, a mortal give who she is in love with but when winter fades and Ina returns she tells Asra that her parents want her to get married in order to form an alliance with another village to protect them from the bandit which are moving in their directions. However, Ina technically can’t marry until she finds her manifest, which is like the daemons from His Dark Materials, and people get their manifest by forming a magical bond with an animal so she asks Asra for help in getting her manifest as the time she should have spent training she spent with Asra.
20. Ted Bundy’s Murderous Mysteries by Kevin Sullivan DNF - I have been getting into a lot of true crime and non-fiction books about serial killers lately like Mindhunter so I was quite excited to find a book dedicated to Ted Bundy as I find he is a serial killer that confuses so many people. Each chapter of this book is dedicated to one of Bundy’s victims and the first is Lynda Ann Healy, on January 31st, 1974, Ted Bundy made the decision to enter a home at 5517 12th Street NE in Seattle for the purposes of abduction and murder. He was targeting a young woman who had seen earlier that night in a bar, and after finding her door unlocked he left planning to return later on that night. This first chapter is primarily made up of the witness statements from Joanne Testa, Monica Sutherland, Ginger Heath, and Karen Skaviem, all students at the University of Washington and all friends with Lynda. This chapter ends with a hypothetical situation on how Bundy’s abducted and killed Lynda, but so far I was impressed with the information being put in the book as it was just taken from actual documents or other works and there isn’t anything new being added at this point. I think I will give it a few more chapters before making my mind up on whether or not I am going to finish this book.
21. City of Ghosts by J. H. Moncrieff **** - I requested City of Ghosts because it won the 2018 Kindle Award for Best Horror/Suspense, so I had to read it. As many of you will know I am a huge horror fan so I was expecting a lot from this book and it definitely delivered but it wasn’t the best horror/suspense novel I have read that still belong to Red Dragon by Thomas Harris.
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