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Hadley (567 KP) rated The Graveyard Book in Books
Sep 30, 2019
A different look at ghosts (1 more)
Flow of writing is great
Questions left unanswered (1 more)
There won't be a sequel
Neil Gaiman knows how to turn an innocent childhood into a terror-filled one. 'The Graveyard Book' revolves around a young boy named Nobody Owens. What makes him different from everyone else is that he lives in a graveyard where he's being raised by the ghostly residents. Nobody, or Bod (as his friends call him), ended up here after his family was brutally murdered, which actually doesn't seem to bother him too much throughout the story. Right from the beginning, readers get to follow the murderer as he makes his way through Bod's house, killing all the members of the family except for Bod, who fortunately manages to get away.
Yet, when Bod showed up at the graveyard, not all the residents wanted to keep the boy, but when a woman in grey appears, she settles the argument by telling them to keep him - - - bringing in the woman in grey seemed as though it only happened to introduce the character, which, unfortunately she is only seen one other time throughout the entire novel; this character really wasn't necessary. When Bod is kept, he is given the "Freedom of the Graveyard," which gives him the ability to see and talk to ghosts, as well as other things. This makes for a very intriguing adventure for us readers.
This book is almost flawless with the concept being very original. I honestly have nothing bad to say about the story. Gaiman doesn't use the usual horror tropes, instead he describes horrific events through the eyes of Bod, as he becomes more familiar with the world outside of the graveyard. Gaiman explains all of Bod's natural needs effortlessly within a graveyard, such as Bod learning to read and spell by using the letters on headstones. This book will surely change the way you look at graveyards for the rest of your life, if you hadn't already seen them in this way. 'The Graveyard Book' is a different type of ghost story, where the reader isn't afraid of the spirits, but rather of the living.
Later on in 'the Graveyard Book,' we meet a character named Scarlett. She is one of the only friends that Bod makes who is alive. For the majority of the book, Scarlett believes that Bod is just her imaginary friend, as her mother brings her to the graveyard every day to play (by this time, it is a claimed nature reserve) . But later on, when Scarlett returns as a teenager, she realizes that Bod is actually a real person. My only complaint about Scarlett's character is that the reader gets to see her dream walk- - - something we have been told only ghosts, supernatural creatures and Bod can do- - - yet, this is never explained why she is able to do this. It leaves one to wonder if Scarlett is a supernatural being or just a human with a particular ability?
" One grave in every graveyard belongs to the ghouls. Wander any graveyard long enough and you will find it- - - waterstained and bulging, with cracked or broken stone, scraggly grass or rank weeds about it, and a feeling, when you reach it, of abandonment. It may be colder than the other gravestones, too, and the name on the stone is all too often impossible to read. If there is a statue on the grave it will be headless or so scabbed with fungus and lichens as to look like a fungus itself. If one grave in a graveyard looks like a target for petty vandals, that is the ghoul-gate. If the grave makes you want to be somewhere else, that is the ghoul-gate. " The ghoul-gate has it's own entire scene in the book, but I wish the ghouls had been in the story quite a bit more. Overall, Gaiman wrote a very pleasing book that looks at ghosts in a different light. He brings up real life fears and fictional ones as well. Unfortunately, the book was written in 2008, and it doesn't seem that Gaiman is working on a sequel, so some questions may never be answered for the readers.
I really liked this book, and I think readers who enjoy paranormal aspects will love this story, too. As far as a ghost story goes, this one I highly recommend, but if you are looking for scares, I suggest you look elsewhere.
Yet, when Bod showed up at the graveyard, not all the residents wanted to keep the boy, but when a woman in grey appears, she settles the argument by telling them to keep him - - - bringing in the woman in grey seemed as though it only happened to introduce the character, which, unfortunately she is only seen one other time throughout the entire novel; this character really wasn't necessary. When Bod is kept, he is given the "Freedom of the Graveyard," which gives him the ability to see and talk to ghosts, as well as other things. This makes for a very intriguing adventure for us readers.
This book is almost flawless with the concept being very original. I honestly have nothing bad to say about the story. Gaiman doesn't use the usual horror tropes, instead he describes horrific events through the eyes of Bod, as he becomes more familiar with the world outside of the graveyard. Gaiman explains all of Bod's natural needs effortlessly within a graveyard, such as Bod learning to read and spell by using the letters on headstones. This book will surely change the way you look at graveyards for the rest of your life, if you hadn't already seen them in this way. 'The Graveyard Book' is a different type of ghost story, where the reader isn't afraid of the spirits, but rather of the living.
Later on in 'the Graveyard Book,' we meet a character named Scarlett. She is one of the only friends that Bod makes who is alive. For the majority of the book, Scarlett believes that Bod is just her imaginary friend, as her mother brings her to the graveyard every day to play (by this time, it is a claimed nature reserve) . But later on, when Scarlett returns as a teenager, she realizes that Bod is actually a real person. My only complaint about Scarlett's character is that the reader gets to see her dream walk- - - something we have been told only ghosts, supernatural creatures and Bod can do- - - yet, this is never explained why she is able to do this. It leaves one to wonder if Scarlett is a supernatural being or just a human with a particular ability?
" One grave in every graveyard belongs to the ghouls. Wander any graveyard long enough and you will find it- - - waterstained and bulging, with cracked or broken stone, scraggly grass or rank weeds about it, and a feeling, when you reach it, of abandonment. It may be colder than the other gravestones, too, and the name on the stone is all too often impossible to read. If there is a statue on the grave it will be headless or so scabbed with fungus and lichens as to look like a fungus itself. If one grave in a graveyard looks like a target for petty vandals, that is the ghoul-gate. If the grave makes you want to be somewhere else, that is the ghoul-gate. " The ghoul-gate has it's own entire scene in the book, but I wish the ghouls had been in the story quite a bit more. Overall, Gaiman wrote a very pleasing book that looks at ghosts in a different light. He brings up real life fears and fictional ones as well. Unfortunately, the book was written in 2008, and it doesn't seem that Gaiman is working on a sequel, so some questions may never be answered for the readers.
I really liked this book, and I think readers who enjoy paranormal aspects will love this story, too. As far as a ghost story goes, this one I highly recommend, but if you are looking for scares, I suggest you look elsewhere.
Whatchareadin (174 KP) rated The Broken Girls in Books
Apr 9, 2019
Barrons, Vermont -- 1950
A young girl who is a student at Idlewild Hall goes missing. Idlewild is a school for wayward girls. The authorities believe she has just run away with some boy, but her friends and roommates know this is the farthest thing from the truth.
Barrons, Vermont -- 1994
Deb Sheridan another young woman is found dead in the field at Idlewild Hall, which has now been closed for many years. Her killer is her boyfriend at the time, Tim Christopher. Why would he leave her at this place?
Barrons, Vermont -- 2014
Someone has bought Idlewild Hall and plans to renovate it. But why? The place is nothing but a money pit. Fiona Sheridan is determined to find out who is buying the property and their motivation behind it. Will she be able to deal with all the secrets this place holds? When a body is found during the renovations, Fiona's attempts go into overdrive? Will she be able to find out who is behind this before she too becomes a subject of Idlewild?
Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley for the opportunity to read and review this book.
Going through this book, I was a little skeptical about what was going to happen. I'm not a big fan of books with ghosts, but this one wasn't too bad. I gave the book a rating of 3.5 stars. While the book was interesting, I found myself going for other things to do besides reading this book. The story flowed naturally even switching from the past to modern day.
Mary Hand is a ghost that haunts the grounds of Idlewild. She will show you things that you may not want to see. But is a ghost behind all the strange things that happen at Idlewild Hall or is there another culprit. We know for sure that Deb Sheridan was killed by her boyfriend, but what about the body found during the renovations? In 1950 the school was full of wayward girls. Girls who in those days, parents could not be bothered by and mental health was a taboo issue. So they sent their daughters away to school. Four girls in room 3C became very close friends. Sonia, Katie, CeCe and Roberta. The book tells their story from 1950 leading up to the disappearance of one of them and Fiona's perspective from 2014, trying to find out the history of Idlewild Hall and the new owners.
Overall, for me the book was good, not great. This is the first book I have read by Simone St. James. If her other books deal with ghosts and spirits, I'm not sure if I will read them or not, but I may give them a chance.
If you like ghosts though, I think you should give this book a try, YOU may enjoy it.
A young girl who is a student at Idlewild Hall goes missing. Idlewild is a school for wayward girls. The authorities believe she has just run away with some boy, but her friends and roommates know this is the farthest thing from the truth.
Barrons, Vermont -- 1994
Deb Sheridan another young woman is found dead in the field at Idlewild Hall, which has now been closed for many years. Her killer is her boyfriend at the time, Tim Christopher. Why would he leave her at this place?
Barrons, Vermont -- 2014
Someone has bought Idlewild Hall and plans to renovate it. But why? The place is nothing but a money pit. Fiona Sheridan is determined to find out who is buying the property and their motivation behind it. Will she be able to deal with all the secrets this place holds? When a body is found during the renovations, Fiona's attempts go into overdrive? Will she be able to find out who is behind this before she too becomes a subject of Idlewild?
Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley for the opportunity to read and review this book.
Going through this book, I was a little skeptical about what was going to happen. I'm not a big fan of books with ghosts, but this one wasn't too bad. I gave the book a rating of 3.5 stars. While the book was interesting, I found myself going for other things to do besides reading this book. The story flowed naturally even switching from the past to modern day.
Mary Hand is a ghost that haunts the grounds of Idlewild. She will show you things that you may not want to see. But is a ghost behind all the strange things that happen at Idlewild Hall or is there another culprit. We know for sure that Deb Sheridan was killed by her boyfriend, but what about the body found during the renovations? In 1950 the school was full of wayward girls. Girls who in those days, parents could not be bothered by and mental health was a taboo issue. So they sent their daughters away to school. Four girls in room 3C became very close friends. Sonia, Katie, CeCe and Roberta. The book tells their story from 1950 leading up to the disappearance of one of them and Fiona's perspective from 2014, trying to find out the history of Idlewild Hall and the new owners.
Overall, for me the book was good, not great. This is the first book I have read by Simone St. James. If her other books deal with ghosts and spirits, I'm not sure if I will read them or not, but I may give them a chance.
If you like ghosts though, I think you should give this book a try, YOU may enjoy it.
Daniel Boyd (1066 KP) rated Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Wildlands in Video Games
Jul 18, 2017
Big dumb fun!
This game made little to no splash when it was released due to being released in such a dense period, but to me, games are about having fun and Ghost Recon: Wildlands is by far the most fun that I’ve had with a game released this year. An open world full of bad guys to kill, an armory of varied weapons to kill them with and loads of different vehicles and methods of attack. This is also the best game in a while for going through and clearing out each section of a map and completing a tick list of kills and liberated areas as you go. There is an extremely high level of satisfaction felt when tagging enemies and taking them out one by one and then when you inevitably get spotted, you get to feel like Rambo mowing down waves of enemies and causing vast amounts of chaos. These moments often lead to awesome accidental set pieces involving multiple enemies, vehicles and explosions. The dialogue and the story is total garbage, but that’s not why we are here. Treat this game like you would one of the Fast & Furious movies and you will have a blast. Lastly, I’m apparently not the only one to think this, as this is the best selling game of 2017 so far at the time of this writing.
graveyardgremlin (7194 KP) rated Every House is Haunted in Books
Feb 15, 2019
Standouts:
Cabin D - Intriguing beginning gave way to fascinating ending.
The Nanny - This just made for a neat ghost story.
The Cat - I could use a cat like this, but I don't know if I'd survive.
Charlotte's Frequency - Creepy and weird. Me likey. After reading, I wondered who'd win in a Cat vs. Charlotte battle. <spoiler>I vote for draw, or else they team up and annihilate humanity. That's probably more likely.</spoiler>
The Tattletail - Kinda cute, actually.
Inheritor - I kinda saw where this was headed but it still made for a darned good yarn.
The Candle - Appropriately creepy and a good book ender although I'm not exactly sure what the heck happened.
Ho-hum
Autumnology - I get it, but I think I'd get it more when I'm an old geezer. Physically, not just in mind.
The Dark and the Young - This was just too long and explained things too much but with little point.
Woods - I liked the thought behind this but the ending just didn't do anything for me.
Relaxed Best - In a different anthology, I might have liked this better as I like noir, but I just didn't care for where it went.
Twillingate - Meh.
All the rest of the tales fell somewhere in between awesome and meh, but even in the Ho-hum category, I didn't actually hate any of the stories.
3.5 stars
Cabin D - Intriguing beginning gave way to fascinating ending.
The Nanny - This just made for a neat ghost story.
The Cat - I could use a cat like this, but I don't know if I'd survive.
Charlotte's Frequency - Creepy and weird. Me likey. After reading, I wondered who'd win in a Cat vs. Charlotte battle. <spoiler>I vote for draw, or else they team up and annihilate humanity. That's probably more likely.</spoiler>
The Tattletail - Kinda cute, actually.
Inheritor - I kinda saw where this was headed but it still made for a darned good yarn.
The Candle - Appropriately creepy and a good book ender although I'm not exactly sure what the heck happened.
Ho-hum
Autumnology - I get it, but I think I'd get it more when I'm an old geezer. Physically, not just in mind.
The Dark and the Young - This was just too long and explained things too much but with little point.
Woods - I liked the thought behind this but the ending just didn't do anything for me.
Relaxed Best - In a different anthology, I might have liked this better as I like noir, but I just didn't care for where it went.
Twillingate - Meh.
All the rest of the tales fell somewhere in between awesome and meh, but even in the Ho-hum category, I didn't actually hate any of the stories.
3.5 stars
Acanthea Grimscythe (300 KP) rated Looking for Dei in Books
Jun 10, 2018 (Updated Jan 18, 2019)
I hate being the first person to give a book a low rating, but after months of trying, I was unable to finish Looking for Dei. Largely, it's simply not my style. The voice is a little too passive, the story a little too predictable. Then again, my tastes are a bit bloodier and darker than this fantasy novel, and this is yet another pure YA read--like Ghost Slayer, but fantasy rather than paranormal.
I don't feel an attachment to any of the characters, and for me that's a big problem. There's no connection, no wondering what will happen to them and that could be in part because of all the exposition. They simply bore me, for lack of a better word. I don't mean to come off harsh, but I've really been struggling to read this.
Plotwise, its much of the same. Too much of what is going on can be guessed at. The evil characters have no mystery to them. The good characters are always fortunate in what happens to them. It's simply too fantastic in that regard for me.
I'd like to thank the author for providing me with an ARC of his book for the purpose of review. I regret being unable to finish this book, but after three months of trying and putting it down, I simply cannot force-feed it to myself.
I don't feel an attachment to any of the characters, and for me that's a big problem. There's no connection, no wondering what will happen to them and that could be in part because of all the exposition. They simply bore me, for lack of a better word. I don't mean to come off harsh, but I've really been struggling to read this.
Plotwise, its much of the same. Too much of what is going on can be guessed at. The evil characters have no mystery to them. The good characters are always fortunate in what happens to them. It's simply too fantastic in that regard for me.
I'd like to thank the author for providing me with an ARC of his book for the purpose of review. I regret being unable to finish this book, but after three months of trying and putting it down, I simply cannot force-feed it to myself.
Lou Grande (148 KP) rated Upgrade (2018) in Movies
Jun 15, 2018
The best William Gibson movie not written by William Gibson
My boyfriend and I saw this the other day, and I can't believe how poorly it's doing at the box office! This was a great movie. The feel of it was very cyberpunky, but not so in-your-face as the very awful Ghost in the Shell adaptation. Leigh Whannell directed and produced, so it has some of the same Saw graphic violence, which I think sits well with the cyberpunk genre. The entire concept is based around human and machine adaptation, and where the line should be drawn--or rather, the dangers of letting it go too far.
The atmosphere is really well developed: we see the poor parts of the city being grungy and dangerous, while the upper crust benefits from the best technology. Almost all humans have been modified in some way, except for our protagonist. In the beginning, anyway. Anyone who has watched the trailers knows that he becomes paralyzed, and then his spinal cord is "reattached" using Stem, a "widget" that allows his brain to communicate with his limbs. It also makes him a ninja.
But that's not really the core of the story. At its heart, Upgrade is a mystery wrapped in a cautionary tale. I'll take this over Johnny Mnemonic any day.
The atmosphere is really well developed: we see the poor parts of the city being grungy and dangerous, while the upper crust benefits from the best technology. Almost all humans have been modified in some way, except for our protagonist. In the beginning, anyway. Anyone who has watched the trailers knows that he becomes paralyzed, and then his spinal cord is "reattached" using Stem, a "widget" that allows his brain to communicate with his limbs. It also makes him a ninja.
But that's not really the core of the story. At its heart, Upgrade is a mystery wrapped in a cautionary tale. I'll take this over Johnny Mnemonic any day.
Dark Shadows - Haunting Memories
Marcy Robin, Adam Usden, Lara Parker and Kay Stonham
Book
Four new tales of horror, romance and intrigue read by cast members from the original television...
ClareR (6144 KP) rated Haverscroft in Books
Sep 6, 2020
This has been described as a ghost/ horror story, but I think it was more of a suspense. Coupled with an unreliable main character, the reader is never sure that what is happening IS actually happening.
Kate Keeling moves to Haverscroft with her twins and her husband, in the hope that she can rescue her marriage from mistakes that have been made. Kate also seems to be recovering from a breakdown - and this, I think, is a major piece of information in unlocking what is happening to her.
Timelines seem to be a bit fluid, whether this was intended or not, it did make it confusing. This may have been a device to portray Kate’s mental health, but to be honest, I’m not sure.
There is something definitely not quite right about the house: noises, things moving, lightbulbs breaking, figures moving out of the corner of your eye that aren’t there when you look. More interesting is how Kate and her husbands (Matt) marriage deteriorates over the course of the book, and the reason why (which I won’t go in to, because spoilers!).
There are what appears to be a lot of editing issues: words missed out or misspelt, and wonky timelines (but I’m really not sure whether this was intended), but I still enjoyed reading it.
Many thanks to The Pigeonhole for serialising this book.
Kate Keeling moves to Haverscroft with her twins and her husband, in the hope that she can rescue her marriage from mistakes that have been made. Kate also seems to be recovering from a breakdown - and this, I think, is a major piece of information in unlocking what is happening to her.
Timelines seem to be a bit fluid, whether this was intended or not, it did make it confusing. This may have been a device to portray Kate’s mental health, but to be honest, I’m not sure.
There is something definitely not quite right about the house: noises, things moving, lightbulbs breaking, figures moving out of the corner of your eye that aren’t there when you look. More interesting is how Kate and her husbands (Matt) marriage deteriorates over the course of the book, and the reason why (which I won’t go in to, because spoilers!).
There are what appears to be a lot of editing issues: words missed out or misspelt, and wonky timelines (but I’m really not sure whether this was intended), but I still enjoyed reading it.
Many thanks to The Pigeonhole for serialising this book.
Lock Every Door
8.0
Rate It
Book
No visitors. No nights spent away from the apartment. No disturbing the other residents, all of whom...