This blog is not dead! Despite my extended absence, I assure you that I am still thinking about this blog and intend to pick it back up once my reading gets back into full swing. Between school and the culmination of a lengthy battle with depression, that cloudy black beast that saps all motivation to read or do any other enjoyable thing right out of a person's mind, books have fallen by the wayside for me in the past year for the most part. However, only a few months remain until I walk out of university with a bachelor's degree in hand, and treatment for my depression is going well, so hopefully I will soon be able to get back into the habit of reading multiple books in a month, or at least more than five or six a year.
In the meantime, I invite you to look over what is already here and see if it is to your liking, and I hope you will come back once KP Talks Books gets revived.
Sunday, 30 October 2016
Tuesday, 22 September 2015
Review of Blood Harvest by S.J. Bolton
Title: Blood Harvest
Author: S.J. Bolton
ISBN: 978-0312-600-518
Original Publication: 2010
My rating: 4/5 on a Goodreads scale, but really more of a 4.5
This is the book that really turned me on to S.J. Bolton. As an avid reader of horror, thrillers, and things of the generally creepy variety, it takes a lot for a book to really, deeply freak me out. Blood Harvest did. Blood Harvest made me feel viscerally uncomfortable being alone in the basement even when the lights were on. Blood Harvest was the first book that actually managed to make me physically jump a little when something especially scary happened.
One thing I loved about it was that you were never sure if the lurking threat to the boys, Tom and Joe, and their sister, Millie, was supernatural or not (until the end, of course). Personally, I never had any idea of what the "thing" was and what its true nature was. That made it even scarier than a ghost or a vampire. Ghosts and vampires aren't real, and you can tell yourself that while you're reading through an especially creepy part of a story. Ghosts and vampires are great to read about in fiction, but there's no such thing, right?
(Right?)
The thing about Bolton's threatening presence was that I didn't know what it was, so I couldn't tell myself, even on a subconscious level, that nothing like that really existed. Maybe it was supernatural, but maybe it was a very real human threat. Human threats exist in the real world; that's what makes them even scarier than vampires and werewolves. The semi-supernatural presence lurking around the boys' house was worse than human; it was unnameable. Fear of the unknown combined with fear of things that appear bent on frightening and hurting people. Excellent creep factor.
Another good thing about Blood Harvest is that it is, as one reviewer called it on Goodreads, a slow burn. This isn't a grab-you-by-the-hand-and-whip-you-through-the-plot kind of story. This is a big-cast-iron-pot-full-of-ickiness-and-creep-simmering-on-the-stove kind of story, giving you lots of time to build up suspicions about different characters, about the nature of the aforementioned lurking dark presence, about what's going to happen next, and just about everything else. This makes it feel very realistic. I like stories in which there isn't one big ghastly spree of murders or deaths. Blood-and-gore frenzies are nice sometimes, but I find it much scarier, much more disturbing on a deep level, to read about something that happens slowly but surely, the way a series of unfortunate events might unfold in one's own town.
Speaking of towns, I loved the setting of Heptonclough. I'm a sucker for Englishness, moors, old churches, old rituals, Halloween, small towns, and graveyards, so this kind of pushed all the right buttons.
One thing I didn't love was the romantic subplot. I can see the usefulness of it at some points in the story, but I can also see ways in which the story could have come to the same ending without the romance. I suppose it adds a layer of interest for those who really need some romantic intrigue in their stories, but it left me feeling unsatisfied and not really sure why Bolton put it there in the first place.
Overall, though, an excellent, excellent read. I would highly recommend it as a Halloween read, not only because Halloween is featured in the story, but just because it is one of the most deliciously creepy stories I have read in a long time.
Author: S.J. Bolton
ISBN: 978-0312-600-518
Original Publication: 2010
My rating: 4/5 on a Goodreads scale, but really more of a 4.5
One thing I loved about it was that you were never sure if the lurking threat to the boys, Tom and Joe, and their sister, Millie, was supernatural or not (until the end, of course). Personally, I never had any idea of what the "thing" was and what its true nature was. That made it even scarier than a ghost or a vampire. Ghosts and vampires aren't real, and you can tell yourself that while you're reading through an especially creepy part of a story. Ghosts and vampires are great to read about in fiction, but there's no such thing, right?
(Right?)
The thing about Bolton's threatening presence was that I didn't know what it was, so I couldn't tell myself, even on a subconscious level, that nothing like that really existed. Maybe it was supernatural, but maybe it was a very real human threat. Human threats exist in the real world; that's what makes them even scarier than vampires and werewolves. The semi-supernatural presence lurking around the boys' house was worse than human; it was unnameable. Fear of the unknown combined with fear of things that appear bent on frightening and hurting people. Excellent creep factor.
Another good thing about Blood Harvest is that it is, as one reviewer called it on Goodreads, a slow burn. This isn't a grab-you-by-the-hand-and-whip-you-through-the-plot kind of story. This is a big-cast-iron-pot-full-of-ickiness-and-creep-simmering-on-the-stove kind of story, giving you lots of time to build up suspicions about different characters, about the nature of the aforementioned lurking dark presence, about what's going to happen next, and just about everything else. This makes it feel very realistic. I like stories in which there isn't one big ghastly spree of murders or deaths. Blood-and-gore frenzies are nice sometimes, but I find it much scarier, much more disturbing on a deep level, to read about something that happens slowly but surely, the way a series of unfortunate events might unfold in one's own town.
Speaking of towns, I loved the setting of Heptonclough. I'm a sucker for Englishness, moors, old churches, old rituals, Halloween, small towns, and graveyards, so this kind of pushed all the right buttons.
One thing I didn't love was the romantic subplot. I can see the usefulness of it at some points in the story, but I can also see ways in which the story could have come to the same ending without the romance. I suppose it adds a layer of interest for those who really need some romantic intrigue in their stories, but it left me feeling unsatisfied and not really sure why Bolton put it there in the first place.
Overall, though, an excellent, excellent read. I would highly recommend it as a Halloween read, not only because Halloween is featured in the story, but just because it is one of the most deliciously creepy stories I have read in a long time.
Saturday, 28 February 2015
Review of The House Next Door by Anne Rivers Siddons
Title: The House Next Door
Author: Anne Rivers Siddons
ISBN: 0-06-100873-7
Original Publication: 1978
I have to give this one a 3 out of 5. I did like it. I don't really know what I was expecting from it. It was recommended to me by Goodreads' automatic recommendation system, and it wasn't bad, but it didn't grab me the way that some other books have recently. Maybe I'm just biased, still coming down from the Airframe high, but I didn't feel especially invested in the characters of The House Next Door, and while I finished the book with interest, I just didn't especially care what happened to anyone in it.
If there were two things for which I would give Siddons a glowing review, they would be her talent for describing settings in an exquisite level of detail and the way she manages to maintain a constant level of creepiness without turning the story into a "horror story," per se. For lack of a better way to describe it, the atmosphere of The House Next Door feels tense and sort of slimy at the same time. The house in question just seems to ooze some nameless malevolent force all over the place, and people end up walking around on eggshells, trying not to bring any of the ooze in their own direction. It has a level of realness that I've enjoyed in books like Stephen King's Salem's Lot. You can imagine the things that happen in The House Next Door happening on your street. Maybe, at one time or another, your street really has been plagued with a series of horrible "coincidences." If you've ever thought that there might be something more to it than the roll of Fate's dice, you'll probably like this book.
Author: Anne Rivers Siddons
ISBN: 0-06-100873-7
Original Publication: 1978
If there were two things for which I would give Siddons a glowing review, they would be her talent for describing settings in an exquisite level of detail and the way she manages to maintain a constant level of creepiness without turning the story into a "horror story," per se. For lack of a better way to describe it, the atmosphere of The House Next Door feels tense and sort of slimy at the same time. The house in question just seems to ooze some nameless malevolent force all over the place, and people end up walking around on eggshells, trying not to bring any of the ooze in their own direction. It has a level of realness that I've enjoyed in books like Stephen King's Salem's Lot. You can imagine the things that happen in The House Next Door happening on your street. Maybe, at one time or another, your street really has been plagued with a series of horrible "coincidences." If you've ever thought that there might be something more to it than the roll of Fate's dice, you'll probably like this book.
Tuesday, 24 February 2015
Review of Airframe by Michael Crichton
Title: Airframe
Author: Michael Crichton
ISBN: 978-0-345-52677-9
Original Publication: 1996
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Wow! This book really hooked me and would not let go. I had to finish it ASAP because I couldn't stand not knowing how the mystery got wrapped up.
Pros:
- Action, action, action. With so many subplots weaving through the story, every move the main character, Casey, makes could be damning to the company or even threatening to her own life.
- Intrigue, mystery! What happened to the plane? Why? Is it a problem with the plane? Is it the pilot? Is it a cover-up? Scandal! Thrills! Excitement! Controversy! Exclamation points!!!
- Characters you hate getting their comeuppance
- If you like the TV show Mayday, like I do, you'll find the airplane talk interesting, even if it might be a bit outdated by now. You might even recognize some of the cases that are referenced, as they've been addressed on Mayday.
Cons:
- The characters are stereotypical. Crazy paranoid techy guy with the soundproof room and the secure phone line. Big bad executive fellow full of hot air. Young, bossy reporter with an ego so inflated she should be floating away. Crichton didn't go for deep character development here; he went for a thrilling story with characters who mostly served to move the story along.
- At one point, Crichton makes it pretty obvious what really happened, and then the story goes on for at least another hundred pages. Those hundred pages are good, but it makes the "big reveal" a little less thrilling when Crichton pretty much forced you to see it earlier on. It's still exciting to see how he brings everything to that moment, though.
- Sometimes the technical jargon is a bit much. Most of it is explained, but sometimes Crichton seems to include bigger portions of technical documents than are really necessary. I get that he's trying to conceal the reason the plane faltered, but he could have done that with fewer lines of zeroes and ones for the reader to skim past.
- Might make you afraid to fly if you're a sensitive sort (still safer than driving, folks!).
All in all, I thought Airframe was a real thrill. It's a satisfying mystery with lots of action, and the inclusion of the investigation procedure makes it all the more interesting for people who like that kind of thing. Recommended to people who want a genuine mystery/thriller and aren't looking for too much deep character development.
Author: Michael Crichton
ISBN: 978-0-345-52677-9
Original Publication: 1996
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Wow! This book really hooked me and would not let go. I had to finish it ASAP because I couldn't stand not knowing how the mystery got wrapped up.
Pros:
- Action, action, action. With so many subplots weaving through the story, every move the main character, Casey, makes could be damning to the company or even threatening to her own life.
- Intrigue, mystery! What happened to the plane? Why? Is it a problem with the plane? Is it the pilot? Is it a cover-up? Scandal! Thrills! Excitement! Controversy! Exclamation points!!!
- Characters you hate getting their comeuppance
- If you like the TV show Mayday, like I do, you'll find the airplane talk interesting, even if it might be a bit outdated by now. You might even recognize some of the cases that are referenced, as they've been addressed on Mayday.
Cons:
- The characters are stereotypical. Crazy paranoid techy guy with the soundproof room and the secure phone line. Big bad executive fellow full of hot air. Young, bossy reporter with an ego so inflated she should be floating away. Crichton didn't go for deep character development here; he went for a thrilling story with characters who mostly served to move the story along.
- At one point, Crichton makes it pretty obvious what really happened, and then the story goes on for at least another hundred pages. Those hundred pages are good, but it makes the "big reveal" a little less thrilling when Crichton pretty much forced you to see it earlier on. It's still exciting to see how he brings everything to that moment, though.
- Sometimes the technical jargon is a bit much. Most of it is explained, but sometimes Crichton seems to include bigger portions of technical documents than are really necessary. I get that he's trying to conceal the reason the plane faltered, but he could have done that with fewer lines of zeroes and ones for the reader to skim past.
- Might make you afraid to fly if you're a sensitive sort (still safer than driving, folks!).
All in all, I thought Airframe was a real thrill. It's a satisfying mystery with lots of action, and the inclusion of the investigation procedure makes it all the more interesting for people who like that kind of thing. Recommended to people who want a genuine mystery/thriller and aren't looking for too much deep character development.
Sunday, 15 February 2015
The Final Fun Stats for My 2014 75 Books Challenge
I didn't quite make it to 75, but it was certainly more than I'd ever read in a year, so I can't call it a complete failure. Just for fun, I've generated some stats about my 75 Books Challenge 2014 shelf on LibraryThing, and thought I might share them. The Stats/Memes page on LibraryThing is one of my favourites.
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| Woohoo! I almost made it to the top of a double-decker bus, and put Napoleon to shame. |
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