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Acanthea Grimscythe (300 KP) rated The Moor in Books
Jan 31, 2019
The Moor is Sam Haysom’s debut novel and though it seems to have pretty high ratings, I found it to fall short of my expectations. The book encompasses the story of a handful of thirteen-year-old boys on a hiking trip through the moors. During this trip, things go wrong and… well, that’s where it tries to be two stories at once: a ghost story and a creature feature.
The ghost story side of this book is fantastic. It’s written in a way that captures the reader’s imagination and honestly, I could picture the details quite well. What I didn’t like was the creature feature side of the book. The monster that makes up this horror tale should be terrifying, but instead I found it to be one dimensional–in fact, every single time the creature shows up, it’s described the same way which really put me off.
I felt no emotions or connections to the boys in the book, and this greatly diminished the emotional/fright factor of the novel for me. I really wanted to taste the fear that these teenaged boys were going through.
I’d like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
The ghost story side of this book is fantastic. It’s written in a way that captures the reader’s imagination and honestly, I could picture the details quite well. What I didn’t like was the creature feature side of the book. The monster that makes up this horror tale should be terrifying, but instead I found it to be one dimensional–in fact, every single time the creature shows up, it’s described the same way which really put me off.
I felt no emotions or connections to the boys in the book, and this greatly diminished the emotional/fright factor of the novel for me. I really wanted to taste the fear that these teenaged boys were going through.
I’d like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Deborah (162 KP) rated Highland Surrender in Books
Dec 21, 2018
In the reign on James V (son of Margaret Tudor, the sister of Henry VIII, and father of Mary Queen of Scots) Fiona and Myles, representatives of two feuding clans, are told by the King that they must marry and form an alliance.....
Sadly, Fiona, the heroine, appears as a right Little Madam for most of the first part of the book. Even after feeling betrayed by her brothers, she is unable to reasonably question anything beyond the clan indoctrination and acts simply like a spoilt child. It's quite hard to see why Myles falls for her at all.
That said, overall this isn't a bad book. I think a bit more on the history side would have made this a more solid and exciting novel, as the ending was really rather good, but it seemed that it couldn't decide if it wanted to be an historical novel, with a romance element (think Elizabeth Chadwick) or something more akin to a bodice ripper (and nothing wrong with that!). You started off feeling there was a bigger plot at play, but this seemed to get a bit lost in the middle, before a quite exciting ending after all.
Not sure it's worth a second read, but I'd consider this author again in the future.
Sadly, Fiona, the heroine, appears as a right Little Madam for most of the first part of the book. Even after feeling betrayed by her brothers, she is unable to reasonably question anything beyond the clan indoctrination and acts simply like a spoilt child. It's quite hard to see why Myles falls for her at all.
That said, overall this isn't a bad book. I think a bit more on the history side would have made this a more solid and exciting novel, as the ending was really rather good, but it seemed that it couldn't decide if it wanted to be an historical novel, with a romance element (think Elizabeth Chadwick) or something more akin to a bodice ripper (and nothing wrong with that!). You started off feeling there was a bigger plot at play, but this seemed to get a bit lost in the middle, before a quite exciting ending after all.
Not sure it's worth a second read, but I'd consider this author again in the future.
Sam (228 KP) rated Green Valley in Books
Oct 19, 2019
Characters (3 more)
Descriptive Scenery
Thrilling Plot
Captivating Storyline
Sometimes has confusing dialogue (1 more)
Weird Chapter Setup
A Chilling Spectacle
This novel is truly something to behold, tackling the hard subject of technology, this novel takes place in a future where only a select group of people have agreed to live within a 24/7 virtual reality while the rest of the world has expunged all invasive technology, right down to the motion sensors that open doors at the supermarket.
It is within this universe that the novels chooses to display both the pros and cons of technological advancement as well as warns against advancing too far to the point where humanity becomes lost.
Although the chapters are set up weird, split from chapters into sections that seem unnecessarily placed, this seems to be a technical problem rather than a problem with the actual story. The story itself is both well organized and well written, building beautiful images of this world as well as developing characters as the story advances. Personally, I feel the ending seemed a bit rushed however qhether this was due to the actual writing or the fact that I couldn't put the book down is yet to be decided.
It is within this universe that the novels chooses to display both the pros and cons of technological advancement as well as warns against advancing too far to the point where humanity becomes lost.
Although the chapters are set up weird, split from chapters into sections that seem unnecessarily placed, this seems to be a technical problem rather than a problem with the actual story. The story itself is both well organized and well written, building beautiful images of this world as well as developing characters as the story advances. Personally, I feel the ending seemed a bit rushed however qhether this was due to the actual writing or the fact that I couldn't put the book down is yet to be decided.
Awix (3310 KP) rated The War of the Worlds in TV
Dec 2, 2019
Grisly non-adaptation of the immortal H.G. Wells story retains the same basic premise and the very occasional moment, but essentially scoops out the innards of the actual novel and replaces them with indescribably turgid attempts to (I would guess) update the story and make it relevant to the modern world.
Part of a grim tradition where BBC attempts to adapt SF, fantasy and horror classics operate to different standards than when they are tackling Austen or Dickens. If the team who perpetrated War of the Worlds got their hands on Pride and Prejudice, it would end up being a lesbian romance between the Bennets' maid and one of the minor daughters, performed on ice, with a frame story concerning the Boer war. It's not just that it does the book badly, it genuinely doesn't seem interested in it at all. Someone gets a leaden, clumsy speech articulating the subtext of the novel (how to adapt a great book for the hard-of-thinking) but as to what this version of the story is supposed to be about or why we should care at all... It takes real skill and determination to screw up a classic piece of literature quite this badly.
Part of a grim tradition where BBC attempts to adapt SF, fantasy and horror classics operate to different standards than when they are tackling Austen or Dickens. If the team who perpetrated War of the Worlds got their hands on Pride and Prejudice, it would end up being a lesbian romance between the Bennets' maid and one of the minor daughters, performed on ice, with a frame story concerning the Boer war. It's not just that it does the book badly, it genuinely doesn't seem interested in it at all. Someone gets a leaden, clumsy speech articulating the subtext of the novel (how to adapt a great book for the hard-of-thinking) but as to what this version of the story is supposed to be about or why we should care at all... It takes real skill and determination to screw up a classic piece of literature quite this badly.
David McK (3734 KP) rated The Three Musketeers in Books
Jan 18, 2020
Let me start by saying that this is (was) one of the few novels I had abandoned, finding it very hard going and plodding.
And, truth be told, I still haven't actually read it.
You might be wondering, then, why I'm reviewing it?
Because, thanks to a well-known Amazon-owned subsidiary, I've now listened to it!
The subject of a fair-few movies over the years (most noticeably the 1970s Michael York duo The Three/Four Musketeers), I have to admit to being somewhat surprised at just how closely that Michael York fronted film actually sticks to the source material, with the first half of the novel (The Queens Diamonds) virtually transposed straight to the screen. And, as a result, I found this portion not really all that engaging, perhaps due to (over)familiarity.
However, things picked up once we got past the halfway point, and into more unfamiliar territory, before (roughly) the final third of the novel, which obviously served as the inspiration for The Four Musketeers (where d'Artagnan actually becomes one such).
Full of swashbuckling romance and acts of derring do, this - like many other classics - is one of those novels that you read simply so that you can say you've read it!
And, truth be told, I still haven't actually read it.
You might be wondering, then, why I'm reviewing it?
Because, thanks to a well-known Amazon-owned subsidiary, I've now listened to it!
The subject of a fair-few movies over the years (most noticeably the 1970s Michael York duo The Three/Four Musketeers), I have to admit to being somewhat surprised at just how closely that Michael York fronted film actually sticks to the source material, with the first half of the novel (The Queens Diamonds) virtually transposed straight to the screen. And, as a result, I found this portion not really all that engaging, perhaps due to (over)familiarity.
However, things picked up once we got past the halfway point, and into more unfamiliar territory, before (roughly) the final third of the novel, which obviously served as the inspiration for The Four Musketeers (where d'Artagnan actually becomes one such).
Full of swashbuckling romance and acts of derring do, this - like many other classics - is one of those novels that you read simply so that you can say you've read it!
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