Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

April - How Many?

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

    April - How Many?

    April 2019 Reads:

    Nine books completed in April.

    A Little Red Books of Requests by Josh Malerman:
    The latest in Borderlands Little book series. This entry contains three previously unpublished stories. Each story showed potential but each also failed to really satisfy me.
    3 Stars

    Revival by Stephen King:
    This was an Audible re-read. I remember enjoying but not loving this story when I originally read the hardbound version. My views did not change. This is a very enjoyable story.
    4 Stars

    The Silence by Tim Lebbon:
    This is a horror story published in 2015 but it reads like a classic tale. I am sure part of that is that it is an England novel and the language is slightly different. This is a story is about a family as they attempt to make it to safety after of an infestation of large flying creatures begin attacking any thing that makes a sound. The creatures also reproduce at a rapid pace. Society quickly collapses and to avoid attack you must not make noises.
    4 Stars

    True West
    by Sam Shepard:
    This is an audio play that primarily takes place between two brothers whose lives have gone in completely directions. They are brought together at their Moms home while she is out of town. At times I really enjoyed this story and at times it felt formulaic and like it wasn’t going anywhere. My concern that it would not have a conclusion was not warranted but it did leave my unsatisfied.
    3 Stars

    Gerald’s Game by Stephen King:
    Continuing my re-read of all Kings work on Audible I jumped into Gerald’s Game. I think this is the first one that I liked less than I remember. At times the story felt forced and I do not remember that from the original read. I believe I read this before Delores Claiborne originally and the links to that story are larger than I realized. I enjoyed it but it did drop from a 4 star read to 3 stars.
    3 Stars

    The Long Way Home by Richard Chizmar:
    A varied mix of short stories, containing traditional horror, addiction, police drama, even some unexpected sci-fi thrown. There are even a couple of very personal essays. Overall a great read. The stories include collaborations with Ed Gorman, Ray Garton, Brian Keene and the authors son Billy Chizmar. This was a very enjoyable read. I will say that it does not pack the emotional punch A Long December does, but few books do.
    4 Stars

    The Long Walk by Slawomir Rawicz:
    I cannot recall how many times I have read this book. I have a ratty old paperback. This time I decided to try the Audible edition. The Narrator does a great job and this story remains one I will always return to. This is a true tale pf a Polish soldier captured by the Soviets at the beginning of World War II and sent to a Labor camp in Siberia. He and a few others escape and walk from Siberia to India.
    5 Stars

    Bad Chili (Hap and Leonard #4) by Joe R Lansdale:
    This was the first Hap and Leonard story I went into with no idea what the story was since the TV show did not make it this far. Although these stories are all variants on a single theme, I am really enjoying them. This one was my favorite story so far. These are just fun stories!
    5 Stars

    Lifeguard by Jason Sechrest:
    This is a quick read that really packs a punch. A 13-year-old boy is relentlessly bullied by his stepfather. He finds a protector who may just save his life. The story feels very personal and has a twist that really makes the story! This was an audio book available from Jason’s Patreon page and if this is what I can expect going forward I will really enjoy this subscription. This is the first fiction I have read from Mr. Sechrest also.

    #2
    Tried reading the Malerman LITTLE BOOK tonight. Just godawful. And Borderlands’ copyediting sure isn’t getting any better... A disappointment all the way around.
    Twitter: https://twitter.com/ron_clinton

    Comment


      #3
      Originally posted by RonClinton View Post
      Tried reading the Malerman LITTLE BOOK tonight. Just godawful. And Borderlands’ copyediting sure isn’t getting any better... A disappointment all the way around.
      I was fine with the story ideas but the execution was lacking. The copy errors were a little distracting.

      Comment


        #4
        Only read two:

        THOSE WHO WISH ME DEAD by Michael Koryta. Loved it. Lots of action and really unique villains with an education in survival on a mountain thrown in. Not a deep book exploring profound themes or anything, but a great face-paced story that feels like a thrill ride.

        CELLARS by John Shirley. Loved this one too! Really an excellent book with greed, occult, and monsters rising from the underworld. Really I was expecting some clunky C.H.U.D. type story where monsters emerge from the underworld, snatch screaming people, drag them into the depths and then gore ensues. But this story had much more than that. ALSO, I found a lot of similarities between CELLARS and IT. CELLARS is not a coming-of-age story at all, and it doesn't flow the lives of children (though children and, to some extent, bullying play a large role in it) but there are things that really gave me pause. For example, the opening scene in IT plays out in a very similar way in CELLARS. I'm definitely not accusing King of plagiarism--but I could see where he may have taken inspiration. Anyway, I loved this book. Surely, I might have to seek out more Shirley.

        Comment


          #5
          Originally posted by jeffingoff View Post
          Only read two:

          THOSE WHO WISH ME DEAD by Michael Koryta. Loved it. Lots of action and really unique villains with an education in survival on a mountain thrown in. Not a deep book exploring profound themes or anything, but a great face-paced story that feels like a thrill ride.

          CELLARS by John Shirley. Loved this one too! Really an excellent book with greed, occult, and monsters rising from the underworld. Really I was expecting some clunky C.H.U.D. type story where monsters emerge from the underworld, snatch screaming people, drag them into the depths and then gore ensues. But this story had much more than that. ALSO, I found a lot of similarities between CELLARS and IT. CELLARS is not a coming-of-age story at all, and it doesn't flow the lives of children (though children and, to some extent, bullying play a large role in it) but there are things that really gave me pause. For example, the opening scene in IT plays out in a very similar way in CELLARS. I'm definitely not accusing King of plagiarism--but I could see where he may have taken inspiration. Anyway, I loved this book. Surely, I might have to seek out more Shirley.
          Sure, I could correct my post to read fast-paced, but I think I prefer face-paced!

          Comment


            #6
            Originally posted by Martin View Post
            I was fine with the story ideas but the execution was lacking. The copy errors were a little distracting.
            Will say, you guys are beginning to make me doubt my love of Malerman's work. And then I read his stuff and the doubt goes away. Though I do agree with you both that two of the stories in the Little Red Book are just scraps.

            Comment


              #7
              Originally posted by jeffingoff View Post
              Only read two:

              THOSE WHO WISH ME DEAD by Michael Koryta. Loved it. Lots of action and really unique villains with an education in survival on a mountain thrown in. Not a deep book exploring profound themes or anything, but a great face-paced story that feels like a thrill ride.

              CELLARS by John Shirley. Loved this one too! Really an excellent book with greed, occult, and monsters rising from the underworld. Really I was expecting some clunky C.H.U.D. type story where monsters emerge from the underworld, snatch screaming people, drag them into the depths and then gore ensues. But this story had much more than that. ALSO, I found a lot of similarities between CELLARS and IT. CELLARS is not a coming-of-age story at all, and it doesn't flow the lives of children (though children and, to some extent, bullying play a large role in it) but there are things that really gave me pause. For example, the opening scene in IT plays out in a very similar way in CELLARS. I'm definitely not accusing King of plagiarism--but I could see where he may have taken inspiration. Anyway, I loved this book. Surely, I might have to seek out more Shirley.
              I really enjoyed Those Who Wish Me Dead. That one comes out of the gate strong and keeps the "face-pace" throughout!

              Comment


                #8
                Originally posted by jeffingoff View Post
                Will say, you guys are beginning to make me doubt my love of Malerman's work. And then I read his stuff and the doubt goes away. Though I do agree with you both that two of the stories in the Little Red Book are just scraps.
                I have to be honest. I have several of his books in my to be read pile and am having trouble motivating myself to pick them up. I have only read Bird Box, which I thought was just ok and The Little Red Book, which left me disappointed. He is no Bentley Little. (Unrelated, I did up my rating on Pet Sematary to 4 stars on re-read.)

                Comment


                  #9
                  Originally posted by Martin View Post
                  He is no Bentley Little.
                  My first chuckle of the day.

                  At Jeff's expense, of course...which is the best kind of chuckle.

                  "It's funny because it's true..."
                  Twitter: https://twitter.com/ron_clinton

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Originally posted by RonClinton View Post
                    My first chuckle of the day.

                    At Jeff's expense, of course...which is the best kind of chuckle.

                    "It's funny because it's true..."
                    It was definitely a targeted comment.

                    Comment


                      #11
                      Originally posted by Martin View Post
                      It was definitely a targeted comment.
                      Definitely something we all agree on. Little is definitely no Malerman.

                      Reading Little is worse than watching paint dry. At least paint changes through the course of the process. Often it gets darker as it dries. The characters in a Little novel are exactly the same at the end as they were in the beginning. Also, if you huff paint your mood can change.

                      Comment


                        #12
                        Originally posted by jeffingoff View Post
                        Also, if you huff paint your mood can change.
                        Oh, Little has that going for him as well...

                        smellbook.jpg
                        Twitter: https://twitter.com/ron_clinton

                        Comment


                          #13
                          Originally posted by RonClinton View Post
                          Oh, Little has that going for him as well...

                          [ATTACH=CONFIG]21477[/ATTACH]
                          THAT's AWESOME!! hahahahahaha. To be fair, I huff all my books (as witnessed in my latest unboxing) and I probably huffed my copy of THE MAILMAN when I got it from CD.

                          Comment


                            #14
                            Originally posted by jeffingoff View Post
                            THAT's AWESOME!! hahahahahaha. To be fair, I huff all my books (as witnessed in my latest unboxing) and I probably huffed my copy of THE MAILMAN when I got it from CD.
                            Read it too quickly as "I probably huffed my MAILMAN"...

                            Comment


                              #15
                              Originally posted by bsaenz24 View Post
                              Read it too quickly as "I probably huffed my MAILMAN"...
                              How can you not when he wears Fahrenheit!

                              Comment

                              Working...
                              X