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Cori June (3033 KP) rated The Rules of the Road in Books

Oct 17, 2021  
The Rules of the Road
The Rules of the Road
C.B. Jones | 2021 | Horror
9
9.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Tension (0 more)
This is a great horror book that had a slow tension and you don't want to read on the lonely road. The cheery voice of Buck Hensley interrupts the late night drive of our narrator, and leads us down a rabbit hole of short stories containing urban legends about other people's encounters and their rules.
It's a creepy read. There are three different fonts that are used Italics, bold, and regular so it's a little confusing at the beginning until you get used to it. Definitely something new.
  
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David McK (3496 KP) rated The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes in Books

Nov 1, 2023  
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
Arthur Conan Doyle | 2011 | Fiction & Poetry
6
7.3 (8 Ratings)
Book Rating
First things first: I downloaded this as a free e-book from (I think) Project Gutenberg, and have actually been reading this for a while on an on-and-off basis - able to do so as this is really a collection of short stories rather than a novel in its own right.

It's also not hard to see why Sherlock Holmes is such a popular character: the mysteries are all entertaining, while the prose is not so dense as to be off-putting to the more casual reader.
  
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Charlotte (184 KP) rated In Darkness: The Werewolf in Books

Jun 2, 2023  
In Darkness: The Werewolf
In Darkness: The Werewolf
L. Diane Wolfe | 2023 | Contemporary, Paranormal, Romance
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Beautiful and heartwarming


This beautiful short story is both heartbreaking and heartwarming. Vicki and Nicholas, both amazing people, both struggled with self-confidence for different reasons. Their meeting is a definite meet cute and is just the start of sweet story that combines romance and surprises.

This is perfect for a chilled out afternoon. By the end I was wanting more, I'd love to delve a little deeper, see where things go from where we left off.
    I'm thrilled that this is part of the In Darkness series, more supernatural stories to enthrall and delight!
  
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Awix (3310 KP) rated War of the Worlds: Global Dispatches in Books

Feb 3, 2020  
War of the Worlds: Global Dispatches
War of the Worlds: Global Dispatches
Connie Willis, Kevin J. Anderson | 1996 | Science Fiction/Fantasy
8
8.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
Diverse collection of short stories all revisiting the Martian invasion of 1898 (as originally detailed by H.G. Wells). Most (but not all) of the stories are narrated by notables from the period, most (but not all) of these are famous writers: Henry James, Samuel Clemens, Rudyard Kipling, and so on. The collection kind of overlooks the implication that the Martians only actually invade southern England in Wells' novel, but then most adaptations do the same thing, and the stories here aren't even consistent with each other (the fate of Paris varies significantly in the Jules Verne and Pablo Picasso entries).

A bit of a mixed bag, to be honest: some of the stories just restage elements of Wells with a different backdrop, others treat the Martians as a backdrop for more introspective tales, still others indulge in literary pastiche. Unlikely juxtapositions and in-jokes abound - Rudyard Kipling meets Gandhi, Tolstoy meets Stalin, Samuel Clemens (d. 1910) makes reference to John Christopher (b. 1922). The best stories are mostly the ones which recognise the political/satirical subtext powering the Wells novel and attempt to do something similar - so Barbara Hambly's story concerns British imperialism in India, and the effect of the Martians on the situation there, while another looks at the consequences for pre-revolutionary Russia. That said, Connie Willis' Hugo-winning contribution sends the whole conceit of the novel up with a predictable mixture of tongue-in-cheek drollery and sheer absurd silliness, as the unlikely effect of a Martian encounter on the poetry of Emily Dickinson is revealed (especially considering Dickinson died twelve years before the coming of the Martians). The good stories are very good indeed, the less good ones merely a bit tedious. A worthy and worthwhile tribute to the original novel.
  
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Suswatibasu (1702 KP) rated Tenth of December in Books

Nov 21, 2017  
Tenth of December
Tenth of December
George Saunders | 2014 | Fiction & Poetry
8
7.3 (3 Ratings)
Book Rating
Dark, disturbing and satirical
This collection of short stories cannot be pigeon-holed. In this oddly disjointed, surreal collection, the underlying issues in modern American culture are loudly explored. George Saunders' breathless writing style floods over terrible realities and hard truths, leaving the reader gasping in its wake.

Tenth of December handles its running themes in a poignant, individual and certainly irreverent way. Narcissistic ideas of charity stems from trivial competition, while sheer denial is shown in the face of true poverty. Generations breed generations, passing on corrupted ideals and traumatic examples. Paedophilia, racism, poverty: nothing is safe from these chastising, powerful stories.

Saunders leaves an expunged, brutally telling view of the American dream. In his futuristic imaginings, he exaggerates the failings of Western consumerism, yet ultimately his message is clear: When one tries to have it all, they're left with nothing.