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David McK (3562 KP) rated Northlight in Books

Jan 30, 2019

I think I read one of these Adam Hall (Elleston Trevor's pen name) Quiller books years ago and wasn't really that impressed, but things (and tastes) change. When this one was recommended to me as being 'better than Ian Fleming' I thought I would give it a second chance. Unfortunately, I now remember why - generally speaking - I don't really read spy novels.

Written and set during the mid 80s, this is the time of the Cold War, when the Iron Curtain was still up and when the Iron lady (Margaret Thatcher) was still in power. In this, Quiller has to go undercover into Soviet Russia to investigate the sinking of a US submarine. Told in first person as Quiller remembering the mission, I found this hard to get into, slow moving and - unfortunately - not really that exciting.

Doubt I'll read any more anytime soon.

Kudos

David McK (3562 KP) rated Shieldwall in Books

Jan 30, 2019

This was actually one of those novels that came up under the 'frequently bought with...' sections in Amazon, although at the time I did not purchase it there. Rather, I picked it up a short while later in my local Bargain Books, for something like £2. I was hoping to enjoy it, as I (generally) do like this type of fiction and as some of the critics quotations on the back of the book were good, but I have to say: I think that they (and, in particular, Kate Saunders from The Times who calls it 'exciting, gripping and imaginative') must have been reading a different novel from me - I found this, truth be told, to actually be a bit of a chore to read.

Doubt I'll be picking up the sequels (this is, apparently, the first in a planned trilogy), even for £2!

Kudos

Sarah (7800 KP) rated Small Gods in Books

Nov 6, 2019

Small Gods

Terry Pratchett | 1992 | Fiction & Poetry, Humor & Comedy, Philosophy, Psychology & Social Sciences

8.9

(10 Ratings)

Book Rating

Your usual good Discworld story

I love the Discworld novels however if I’m being honest, I prefer the non-standalone series such as the City Guard, Death or the Moist Von Lipwig. Small Gods is one of the few standalone stories in the Discworld catalogue and whilst a Discworld novel is always good, this isn’t one of my favourites.

Brutha is a likeable main character but not lovable. Not because he’s a little bit dim but just because there’s not much to him. Om as the tortoise is rather funny, and the rest of the characters in this are good but not particularly memorable. The story itself is obviously a tongue in cheek take on religion and is funny in parts, although sadly considering when it was written maybe isn’t quite as relevant as it could be today. Overall it’s just a well written entertaining Discworld story.

Kudos

Phil Leader (619 KP) rated The Long Kill in Books

Nov 20, 2019

The Long Kill

Reginald Hill, Patrick Ruell (pseudonym) | 1988 | Fiction & Poetry, Thriller

7.0

(2 Ratings)

Book Rating

As a big fan of Reginald Hill I was interested in reading this, one of the books he published under a pseudonym at the same time as he was experiencing success with his other novels.

The set up is intriguing and the main character interesting but the plot doesn't quite seem to gel; I don't know exactly what wasn't right but it didn't have the Hill magic. Everything seems to be fairly conventional, if not a bit cliched and some of the plot points came across as contrived or plain unlikely. The writing too wasn't up to par, almost as if Hill had lost enthusiasm for the project before it was completed. Perhaps that was why he published it under a different name.

That said, it's workman like enough to pass as a casual read. It's just not in the same league as Hill's other work.

Kudos

Sarah (7800 KP) rated The Regulators in Books

Aug 7, 2019

The Regulators

Stephen King, Richard Bachman | 1996 | Horror, Science Fiction/Fantasy

7.3

(15 Ratings)

Book Rating

Good but bonkers

I haven't yet read Desperation, so fortunately could judge this solely on it's own merits and it's definitely one of King's better books.

It reads a lot like his other epic novels like The Stand, Needful Things etc but in a much smaller size, and it's all the better for it. The plot is interesting and your typical King story, although being based around kid's tv shows makes it a little bit bonkers. It also means that some of the book can feel a little childish at times and some times it can get a bit irritating. But that said, as always with King it's well written with some interesting and developed characters, with lots of horror and gore and just about the right length of book to fit the story. This would make a hell of a good tv show.