So I read a total of 22 books this month, I didn’t review all of them so some won’t appear on my review list. I am very proud of my reading speed this month partly due to my college being shut but a win is a win.
Blade Runner by Phillip K. Dick - By 2021, the World War has killed millions, driving entire species into extinction and sending mankind off-planet. Those who remain covet any living creature, and for people who can't afford one, companies build incredibly realistic simulacra: horses, birds, cats, sheep. They've even built humans. Immigrants to Mars receive androids so sophisticated they are indistinguishable from true men or women. Fearful of the havoc these artificial humans can wreak, the government bans them from Earth. Driven into hiding, unauthorized androids live among human beings, undetected. Rick Deckard, an officially sanctioned bounty hunter, is commissioned to find rogue androids and "retire" them. But when cornered, androids fight back-with lethal force.
2. Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov - Lolita, light of my life, fire of my loins. My sin, my soul. Lo-lee-ta: the tip of my tongue taking a trip of three steps down the palate to tap, at three, on the teeth. Lo. Lee. Ta. Savagely funny and hauntingly sad, Lolita is Nabokov's most famous and controversial novel. It is the story of tortured college professor Humbert Humbert and his dangerous obsession with honey-skinned schoolgirl Dolores Haze. Determined to possess his "Lolita", Humbert embarks on a disastrous journey across an American landscape littered with fast-food diners, gas stations and lonely motels. Brilliantly evocative and bitingly satirical in its depiction of postwar America, Lolita still has the power to shock and beguile
3. Sting by Cindy R. Wilson - They call me the Scorpion because they don't know who I really am. All they know is that someone is stealing from people with excess to help people with nothing survive another day. But then a trusted friend reveals who I am--"just" Tessa, "just" a girl--and sends me straight into the arms of the law. All those people I helped...couldn't help me when I needed it. In prison, I find an unlikely ally in Pike, who would have been my enemy on the outside. He represents everything I'm against. Luxury. Excess. The world immediately falling for his gorgeous smile. How he ended up in the dirty cell next to mine is a mystery, but he wants out as much as I do. Together, we have a real chance at escape. With the sting of betrayal still fresh, Pike and I will seek revenge on those who wronged us. But uncovering all their secrets might turn deadly...
4. Victory Lap by Various - In any objective field of science, if a theory fails the predictive requirement, then that theory is discarded. But in climate research not everything is at is appears. Exposed is the greenhouse gas chimera--mythical sky dragon. The world has witnessed a frenzy of unverifiable claims that human emissions of a trace gas--carbon dioxide--are causing unprecedented global warming. Despite the relentless rise of levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2), global temperatures refuse to show any statistically meaningful rise. The Sky Dragon Slayers: Victory Lap reveals in forensic detail how the evidence relied upon by policymakers and environmentalists to swell alarm is mostly untrustworthy and bungled secret science manufactured by a clique of well-funded government researchers. Long-held assumptions are depicted as fact, while unknowns and uncertainties, which should have been declared, are unethically cloaked in a veneer of confident predictions of impending doom and gloom. Herein, unpicking this dilemma is a stellar team of authors and researchers--the Slayers of sky dragons. Among them are some of the world's foremost scientists. They include Dr. Tim Ball, the internationally renowned climatologist; Dr. Pierre R. Latour, a world-leading expert on carbon dioxide recently honored with a lifetime achievement award in science and Dr. George V. Chilingar, among the world's most decorated applied scientists who served the United Nations with distinction as science adviser. The most astonishing conclusion reached, after thorough examination of all the evidence, is that carbon dioxide more likely cools, not warms our planet. It is the polar opposite of what consensus claims have told us. The biggest climate threat we face isn't warming, but a new ice age!
5. Revenge of the Witch by Joseph Delaney - For years, Old Gregory has been the Spook for the county, ridding the local villages of evil. Now his time is coming to an end. But who will take over for him? Twenty-nine apprentices have tried--some floundered, some fled, some failed to stay alive. Only Thomas Ward is left. He's the last hope, the last apprentice.
6. Curse of the Bane by Joseph Delaney - Now it's the dark's turn to be afraid. The Spook and his apprentice, Thomas Ward, deal with the dark. Together they rid the county of witches, ghosts, and boggarts. But now there's some unfinished business to attend to in Priestown. Deep in the catacombs of the cathedral lurks a creature the Spook has never been able to defeat; a force so evil that the whole county is in danger of being corrupted by its powers. The Bane! As Thomas and the Spook prepare for the battle of their lives, it becomes clear that the Bane isn't their only enemy. The Quisitor has arrived, searching for those who meddle with the dark so he can imprison them--or worse. Can Thomas defeat the Bane on his own? Is his friend Alice guilty of witchcraft? And will the Spook be able to escape the Quisitor's clutches?
7. Night of the Soulstealer by Joseph Delaney - 'It's going to be a long, hard, cruel winter and there couldn't be a worse place to spend it.' As the nights draw in the Spook decides to travel to his winter house. His apprentice, Tom, hates the desolate place. There are feral witches in the cellar, menacing creatures stirring on the nearby moors and a sinister stranger threatening Tom's master. What does the mysterious stranger want? Is the Spook's past catching up with him? And what dangers will Tom face if his master's secrets are revealed?
8. The Spook’s Battle by Joseph Delaney - In Pendle the witches are rising and the three most powerful witch clans are rumoured to be uniting in order to conjure an unimaginable evil. Together they will be capable of raising the dark made flesh - the Devil himself. Tom and the Spook need to set off for Pendle to avert the unthinkable. But before they go, the Spook tells Tom to journey home and collect the trunks Mam left behind for him. But what dark family secrets are contained in the trunks? And will they place Tom's family in even greater danger or provide the help Tom and his master will need in Pendle?
9. The Tale of Genji by Murasaki Shikibu - Murasaki Shikibu, born into the middle ranks of the aristocracy during the Heian period (794-1185 CE), wrote The Tale of Genji, widely considered the world's first novel, during the early years of the 11th century. Expansive, compelling, and sophisticated in its representation of ethical concerns and aesthetic ideals, Murasaki's tale came to occupy a central place in Japan's remarkable history of artistic achievement and is now recognized as a masterpiece of world literature.
10. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins - In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by 12 outlying districts. The Capitol keeps the districts in line by forcing them all to send one boy and one girl between the ages of 12 and 18 to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV. Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen regards it as a death sentence when she steps forward to take her sister's place in the Games. But Katniss has been close to death before - and survival, for her, is second nature. Still, if she is to win, she will have to start making choices that weigh survival against humanity and life against love.
11. Illuminae by Jay Kristoff & Amie Kaufman - The year is 2575, and two megacorporations are at war over a planet that's little more than an ice-covered speck. Too bad nobody thought to warn the people living on it. With enemy fire raining down on them, Ezra and Kady have to make their escape on the evacuating fleet. But their troubles are just beginning. A deadly plague has broken out on one of the spaceships and is mutating, with terrifying results. Their ship's protection is seriously flawed. No one will say what is going on. As Kady hacks in to a tangled web of data to find the truth, it's clear only one person can help her: Ezra. And the only problem with that is they split up before all this trouble started, and she isn't supposed to be talking to him.
12. The 10 Worst Serial Killers by Victor McQueen - A gripping analysis of the world's ten worst serial killers. They have been selected not simply because of their high 'body counts': these killers are the ones who have most terrified the communities on which they preyed, and in some cases changed the history of the nations in which they operated. This collection focuses solely on the true stories behind the very worst real-life serial killers from across the globe.
13. The Black God’s Drums by P. Djèlí Clark - In an alternate New Orleans caught in the tangle of the American Civil War, the wall-scaling girl named Creeper yearns to escape the streets for the air--in particular, by earning a spot on-board the airship Midnight Robber. Creeper plans to earn Captain Ann-Marie’s trust with information she discovers about a Haitian scientist and a mysterious weapon he calls The Black God’s Drums. But Creeper also has a secret herself: Oya, the African orisha of the wind and storms, speaks inside her head, and may have her own ulterior motivations. Soon, Creeper, Oya, and the crew of the Midnight Robber are pulled into a perilous mission aimed to stop the Black God’s Drums from being unleashed and wiping out the entirety of New Orleans.
14. Username: Evie by Joe Sugg - Like anyone who feels as though they just don't fit in, Evie dreams of a place of safety. When times are tough, all she wants is a chance to escape from reality and be herself. Despite his failing health, Evie's father comes close to creating such a virtual idyll. Passing away before it's finished, he leaves her the key in the form of an app, and Evie finds herself transported to a world where the population is influenced by her personality. Everyone shines in her presence until her devious cousin, Mallory, discovers the app...and the power to cause trouble in paradise.
15. Username: Regenerated by Joe Sugg - Evie is safe at home, but her heart remains in e.scape, the virtual world her father created for her. She's desperate to return, but the app that transports her has corrupted in the great reboot. When besotted geek, Lionel, offers to help, he doesn't just restore the gateway as she had planned. He opens up a series of revelations that calls into question everything Evie treasures in life. With a momentous discovery to be unearthed in the virtual realm, and an e.scape fugitive on the loose in reality, can our sidelined schoolgirl save not one world but two?
16. Username: Uprising by Joe Sugg - Evie longs to put her e.scape adventures behind her. She's battle-scarred and determined to move on, but an outcast from her digital paradise is set on revenge. Knox roams the streets and pledges to punish the girl who dismissed his kind from the real world. Soon, his plans go beyond personal, and Knox plots an uprising that could bring life as we know it to an end. Faced with an uprising on a global scale, as well as issues on the friendship and romance frontline, Evie must stage a fight back that calls her own existence into question.
17. Callgirl: Confessions of a Double Life by Jeannette Angell – The true life confessions of a call girl.
18. Seaplanes Don’t Fly At Night by Jeff and Clare Curtis - It was a small decision that changed their lives forever.Successful young couple Jeff and Clare Curtis are enjoying a romantic babymoon in the Maldives when Clare goes into premature labour, nine weeks early. The nearest hospital is a storm-ridden boat ride away, as it soon becomes clear that the lives of mother and child are in jeopardy. Can they get medical help in time?With the storm continuing to rage, the events that follow stretch Clare and Jeff’s mental, emotional and physical limits to breaking point. Working as a team, they call on their own resources, the assistance of strangers and even divine intervention – whatever it takes to save the life of their unborn child.Clare and Jeff have written this book to thank the many people who did what they could to help save the life of their premature baby. In a world where segregation and violence are often seen as commonplace, the world they discovered was one of kindness and support. Join them on their personal journey back into the depths of their worst fears, as they retell their quest to save the life of their child and bring him home alive
19. The Spook’s Mistake by Joseph Delaney - The Spook has sent his apprentice, Tom, to be trained by another Spook whose methods are harsh and tough. But faced with a powerful water witch, Bill makes a fatal error, leaving Tom to face his enemies alone. Can the Spook get there in time to save his apprentice? Or will his own mistakes give final victory to the dark?
20. Inkmistress by Audrey Coulthrust - Asra is a demigod with a dangerous gift: the ability to dictate the future by writing with her blood. To keep her power secret, she leads a quiet life as a healer on a remote mountain, content to help the people in her care and spend time with Ina, the mortal girl she loves. But Asra's peaceful life is upended when bandits threaten Ina's village and the king does nothing to help. Desperate to protect her people, Ina begs Asra for assistance in finding her manifest--the animal she'll be able to change into as her rite of passage to adulthood. Asra uses her blood magic to help Ina, but her spell goes horribly wrong and the bandits destroy the village, killing Ina's family. Unaware that Asra is at fault, Ina swears revenge on the king and takes a savage dragon as her manifest. To stop her, Asra must embark on a journey across the kingdom, becoming a player in lethal games of power among assassins, gods, and even the king himself. Most frightening of all, she discovers the dark secrets of her own mysterious history--and the terrible, powerful legacy she carries in her blood.
21. Ted Bundy’s Murderous Mysteries by Kevin Sullivan - Ted Bundy's Murderous Mysteries is a deep-dive into the archival record of the America's most notorious serial killer. It's a veritable goldmine of information on Bundy, his victims, and this very voluminous case. Written by the foremost authority on Ted Bundy, this latest examination of this brutal serial killer contains new, revealing, and never-before-published interviews with those close to Bundy, close to his victims, and a potential victim who barely escaped his clutches. Ted Bundy's Murderous Mysteries brings to light for the first time many heretofore passed-over facts about Bundy and reveals previously hidden aspects of the lives of some of his victims.
22. City of Ghosts by J. H. Moncrieff - On the day the villagers were forced to flee Hensu, not everyone got out alive. Jackson Stone is touring the abandoned Chinese city when he slips away from the group to spend the night, determined to publish an account of his ghostly experiences there. Then he meets Yuèhai, a strange, soft-spoken woman who can tell him the city’s secrets—secrets the Chinese government would kill to keep hidden. As Jackson uncovers the truth about Yuèhai and the ghost city, he’s drawn into a web of conspiracy, betrayal, and murder. He must risk everything to save himself and bring honor back to Yuèhai and her family.
Commenti