Published by: William Morrow

Genre: Pages: 384

Author’s Website:  http://joehillfiction.com
Author’s Twitter: http://twitter.com/joe_hill

Recommendable for people who: People who like fantasy/thriller… Good vs. Evil fiction

Synopsis: {from Joe Hills website}

At first Ig thought the horns were a hallucination, the product of a mind damaged by rage and grief. He had spent the last year in a lonely, private purgatory, following the death of his beloved, Merrin Williams, who was raped and murdered under inexplicable circumstances. A mental breakdown would have been the most natural thing in the world. But there was nothing natural about the horns, which were all too real.

Once the righteous Ig had enjoyed the life of the blessed: born into privilege, the second son of a renowned musician and younger brother of a rising late-night TV star, he had security, wealth, and a place in his community. Ig had it all, and more—he had Merrin and a love founded on shared daydreams, mutual daring, and unlikely midsummer magic.

But Merrin’s death damned all that. The only suspect in the crime, Ig was never charged or tried. And he was never cleared. In the court of public opinion in Gideon, New Hampshire, Ig is and always will be guilty because his rich and connected parents pulled strings to make the investigation go away. Nothing Ig can do, nothing he can say, matters. Everyone, it seems, including God, has abandoned him. Everyone, that is, but the devil inside. . . .

Now Ig is possessed of a terrible new power to go with his terrible new look—a macabre talent he intends to use to find the monster who killed Merrin and destroyed his life. Being good and praying for the best got him nowhere. It’s time for a little revenge. . . . It’s time the devil had his due. . . .

My thoughts:

I really liked this book.  When it comes to the whole “good vs evil” novel I am pretty much hit or miss, love it or hate it.  For me this book fell in the LOVE IT category.  You know when you read a book, and then afterwards you sit thinking about it.  That’s a good book.  There was even group discussion on this one over on Goodreads.

This book is a battle of good and evil, a love story, a story of friendship and betrayal, a murder mystery…

Im going to quote one of my posts from that discussion because it pretty much sums up my thoughts on the book.

I think what he meant was that had he not met/loved/had the love of – Merrin, the devil is the route his life would have taken. What else can become of someone who truly never KNOWS love? To not know love, to not know happiness? Happiness and self esteem allow for selflessness and the ability to "follow the right path" and "make the right choices". If you are unhappy in life, unhappy with self, you dont care about the choices or consequences….

But he did meet her and have her for a time, so rather then just be – he became more.

Then, GOD took away the one thing he cherished, and he felt like he’d "peeked behind the curtain". He no longer saw GOD as the LOVING GOD, and the opposite of the faithful is the unfaithful. Which is what he became without Merrin. The Devil (the ultimate opposite of the faithful) with a soul, a conscience, a knowledge. The Devil in the blue dress. heh.

whoa – I think I’ve had enough coffee for today.

I definitely recommend this book to people who like supernatural stories, thrillers, mysteries, and romance.

0385339410
9780385339414

Published by: Delacorte Press

Genre:  Thriller

Pages: 336

Author’s Website:
www.randomhouse.com/features/thomasharris/

Author’s Twitter:

Recommendable for people who:
Hannibal fans (of course), historical fiction lovers, thriller & crime drama fans

The Book:

HE IS ONE OF THE MOST HAUNTING CHARACTERS IN ALL OF LITERATURE.

AT LAST THE EVOLUTION OF HIS EVIL IS REVEALED.

Hannibal Lecter emerges from the nightmare of the Eastern Front, a boy in the snow, mute, with a chain around his neck.  He seems utterly alone, but he has brought his demons with him.

Hannibal’s uncle, a noted painter, finds him in a Soviet orphanage and brings him to France, where Hannibal will live with his uncle and his uncle’s beautiful and exotic wife, Lady Murasaki.

Lady Murasaki helps Hannibal to heal.  With her help he flourishes, becoming the youngest person ever admitted to medical school in France.

But Hannibal’s demons visit him and torment him.  When he is old enough, he visits them in turn.

He discovers he has gifts beyond the academic, and in that epiphany, Hannibal Lecter becomes death’s prodigy.

My Thoughts:

Hannibal Rising is not the "scare fest" I expected it to be. Not like the other Hannibal books at all really. I found I could not put it down though.  I have read a lot of other reviews on Hannibal Rising, and most of them are BAD reviews.  I’m not sure I understand the low marks.  This book wasn’t intended to be the "thriller" "horror" "gore" fests of the adult Hannibal, but a way for his "fans" to see "how" exactly he became who he became.

I have to say, I rather enjoyed the book.  I mean, I started and managed to finish it in one sitting.  That says something in itself right there, doesn’t it?  My interest in starting the book was to learn why Hannibal became "the monster". My attention to finish the book was because of the description of the times, the love for his sister, the remorse and angst, the intrigue.  And then I cried.

“The little boy Hannibal died in 1945 out there in the snow trying to save his sister. His heart died with Mischa. What is he now? There is not a word for it yet. For lack of a better word, we’ll call him a monster.”
- Hannibal Rising, p. 243

I don’t mean a small shed tear, like one would spill if they’d just READ something sad. I mean full on gails, that made me put the book away for a moment to gather myself. At that moment, my heart truly ached for the boy Hannibal, I grieved for and with him.

The evoking of emotion is a necessity for good writing. In my opinion this book is just that. GOOD WRITING.

Despite numerous bad reviews elsewhere, I still recommend this book.  Just go into it knowing you are going to be reading about a very young Hannibal.  Hannibal BEFORE the evil Hannibal you already know.  You will find you care for him, worry for him, and in the end – understand him.

0061147974
9780061147975

Published by: William Morrow

Genre: Horror

Pages: 336

Author’s Website: www.joehillfiction.com

Author’s Twitter:
http://twitter.com/Joe_Hill

Recommendable for people who:
enjoy ghost stories, short stories, fiction

The Book:
Collection of short stories by author Joe Hill.

Has won:
20TH CENTURY GHOSTS received the Bram Stoker Award, the British Fantasy Award, and the International Horror Guild Award for best collection, while the story that closes the book, “Voluntary Committal,” won the 2006 World Fantasy Award for Best Novella. Look for it this October, from William Morrow in the US, and Orion in the UK.

My Thoughts:
I’m not going to review EACH of the stories in the book, but I will talk about the ones that randomly “pop” out in my memory.

The first story in the book called “ButtonBoy” I thought was very good.  I need a story to suck me right in if there is going to be any hope of me finishing the book, and “ButtonBoy” did just that.  Without giving away too much of the story, I will say it did have a Texas Chainsaw Massacre/Hills Have Eyes kind of vibe.  I really like that.  The story within the story was actually really good too, and I could see it really being book of its own. LOL.   Though I saw the ending coming a mile a way, it still had me *fingers on – ready to turn the page before I got there*.

The next story, “20th Century Ghost“, wasn’t to me horror but more a suspense type story.  Had that been what I was in the mood for I would have really liked it.  But I was laying in the dark, snuggled up under my covers, itching to have the hair stand up on my neck and jump at every odd sound.  This story wasn’t that – for me.  I will say this one would be a fantastic read for anyone who likes ghost stories, but really isn’t into scary or gory stuff.  its actually quite beautiful, but definitely not horror.

The last story I’m going to talk specifically about today is “Pop Art“.  This story is, different. lol.  Ok, I have to say it, for a story in what is supposed to be a horror story book – it sucked.  When I got what the title meant, I got excited and really expected some evil ending.  What I got was moosh.  The story is touching and actually, it made me tear up a little.  That made me mad.  I wasn’t looking for tears, I was looking for fears.  lol…  Nothing scary about it, at all.  Even the Cujo-esque escape to me, was lame.  But if you are looking to feel all warm and fuzzy, and want to get a story with a little “deep” in between the lines raw emotion brought on by the remembrances and cruelties and emotions of what childhood with a dysfunctional family is like, then… YOU will LOVE this one.   Damn you Joe Hill.  lol.

Ok, it wasn’t the last.  I want to talk about “Abraham’s Boys”.  If you do not read any other story in the book, this one makes it worth the price of the book.  It is a vampire story and in my opinion, the BEST story in the book.  A father’s forbidden study and children’s loss of innocence.  You can actually read the story HERE, but I hope you will support this fantastic author by purchasing his book too.

Now, given my scorecard, you may think I am not liking this book.  That is actually inaccurate.  So far, I am a Hill fan.  I think he has a great grasp of language, and his stories all have an excellent flow.  They all ebb, tide, and climax at the most proper points.  My disappointment is, however, that this book is listed as horror.  Over half of the stories inside are NOT horror.  When you are a horror fan, and you pick up a horror book, you do not want to feel all “warm and fuzzy”.  Instead, you are looking to be jaunted, the hairs tingling on your arms and neck, the shadows to sway on the walls causing you to sink deep into the safety of your covers.  You want it to grip you, rendering you unable to put it down because you HAVE to know what danger lies around the turn of the page.

Today I finished

The Book:   Face of Betrayal is a fiction suspense novel about Katie Converse, a pretty "All American – Girl Next Door" seventeen year old MISSING Senate page.  This story is about how 3 friends a reporter, a lawyer, and an FBI agent come together to solve the case in time to save the girl. 

My thoughts:  I like to read murder mysteries, I had not heard of this author prior to this book and I am glad I ended up liking it.  It was paced well and it had a real James Patterson feel to it.  I enjoyed getting to know the "friends" through out the story. 

On a side note:  I also thought the dated chapter titles helped a great deal in keeping a mental time-line, so to speak, since the story goes from present tense, to Katie’s final days up until she went missing.  Jumping around usually drives me insane, but I did not mind it so much with this book.

Without saying too much, I will say that everything in the book was "plausible", which made it eerily enjoyable.

Today is day 5 reading Brisingr, by Christoper Paolini.   Still not turning cartwheels at the sheer joy and excitement of reading this one.  Alas, my update:

Arya met up with Eragon and they are headed back to the Varden. I like her.  I am hoping she and Eragon will hook up, I think.  The repeated HINTS that they will are driving me INSANE.  What great story doesn’t have the hero getting his freak on at some point?  Hook Up, I say! 

For some strange unapparent reason, there is a spiel about Eragon running into some little old man.  He seemed a bit like a Yoda reference to me.  Rambling on about finding the answer to his "question" and if he knew the "answer" then he would know the "question".  HUH?  All righty then. haha.

There is a spiel where Arya was telling Eragon about her man-thing, who is  now dead.  I was genuinely sad for her.  Good writing in that bit.  Only complaint:  where was the hookup?!  I want them to hook-up, I say! lol… 

There was a spiel with some "spirits" who seem to have the effect of a good set of shrooms, lol… I really hope that plays in somehow later on, or I am going to be pissed I wasted that 30 minutes of my life…

Nasuada takes Roran into the army, but let him know flat out she didnt REALLY trust him. Kewl, I like her.  Roran, then asks if his missions can wait, because he wants to marry Katriana.  BLUH.  Who cares?  I don’t.

Twelve elves arrive at the camp. The leader of the group, Blödhgarm has blue fur, the eyes of an eagle, and the fangs of a wolf.  Sound sexy?  Yea, me either. lol..  He apparently has a seductive smell and Nasuada starts hearing a little “chicka-chicka-bow-ow” in the background. again, NO HOOKOUP…  ‘sup with that? 

and…  that’s where I am now.

Still not overly excited, but willing to pick it up just ONE MORE TIME.  Just to see if it gets better. ha.

Until tomorrow…

Today is day 2 reading Brisingr, by Christoper Paolini.  I am only to page 120.  I keep finding myself wondering what I liked so much about book 1, Eragon, and why have not cared for the sequels at all.  This is the third book in the series, and just like book two I am just NOT into it.  120 pages in, I should be “hooked” by now.  I’m not. 

A quick run through so far:

Brisingr picks up after the Battle of the Burning Plains, with Eragon, Roran and Saphira.  The start is slow to roll, and I found myself yawning and half reading the section with Eragon teaching Roran some magic.

The book does start to build momentum when the three journey to Helgrind and they are attacked by Lethrblaka and Ra’zac. Then the momentum dies off.  They rescue Katrina, of course.  They find Sloan, and I wasn’t  happy with this part at all.  Not so much the writing, but…. well you need to read it.  No spoiler from me.   

Nasuada wanting to prove herself entered The Trial of the Long Knives against Fadawar, to maintain leadership of the Varden and the Wandering Tribes. It is a competition where both competitors cut slits on their arms from the elbow down, till one of them decides that they can’t take it. Won’t say who wins, but I’m happy at least.

And now we’re caught up to where I am now.  Page 120, and I am finally feeling a little bit of interest.  Not a lot, mind you, but enough to make me at least pick it up again.

Until tomorrow…