Book 30 The Phone Goes Dead by Anthony Horowitz

I always said that as part of this '52 books in 52 weeks' challenge I wanted to read a good variety of genres and thought it was about time I read another Horowitz book. This is the usual twisty scary story that I would expect and I wasn't surprised or shocked by these two neat little stories. This book, obviously, isn't aimed at a 40 year old bloke like me and is aimed more at the children and young teenage readers. But it was fun and quirky, if not totally original. I would probably recommend Anthony Horowitz to any young person who likes to read something a bit different.

The first story is about a boy who has a mobile phone that receives messages from the dead and the second tale is about a creepy old bath that you wouldn't want in your own bathroom.

I can't critique this because I am an old git but it is good fun. And it makes me think again that I wouldn't mind trying my hand at writing this genre.

Book 29 Walking the Tree by Kaaron Warren

Lillah lives on the island of Botanica and the island is the tree and life revolves around the tree. Now she has come of age and it is her turn to walk around the tree. She sets off on a journey to explore and to learn all that the island has to teach her but at the last minute is talked into taking a small boy with her. But if anybody even suspects that he is carrying a deadly disease then both of their lives could be in danger. Being ill on Botanica is a punishable offence.Punishable by death.

Imagine if somebody wrote a new version of Enid Blyton's Magic Faraway Tree for Adults
and you probably will come up with something like this. It is a highly imaginative and often erotic affair, it's like a wonderful new world in a book. It takes you for an amazing adventure around the island, meeting lots of strange and scary people.

If you like your stories to be imaginative and a form of escape then you would probably love this book. Kaaron Warren creates an impressive and believeable new world full of secrets. In Botanica women have the power ! They are free to travel around the island to their hearts content and can more or less sleep with as many men as they like while the men are stuck in one place doing all the work ! The book also is a tale about different cultures actually living separate but mostly peaceful lives without the threat of war.

I loved the whole idea and this is my kind of book. Perhaps the plot was a bit thin ( some may say non existant) but I enjoyed travelling around this strange and quirky land. A land that is alien but yet strangely familiar.



8/10

Book 28 The Girl on the Landing by Paul Torday

Elizabeth is married to Michael and their marriage is as dull as dishwater but convenient. There is an old saying that ' Strangers are just friends you haven't met yet.' But in Elizabeth's case her boring husband one day becomes a stranger after he sees a picture of a strange girl on a landing. He starts to act like a new man and life with him becomes much more fulfilling and fun.Unfortunately she also learns that he is not only a new man but a complete and utter stranger with a terrible secret.

A terrible secret that could put her entire life in jeopardy.

This is a really good book that kept my interest all the way if you want to read something a little bit different and a little bit quirky. Paul Torday crafts an interesting story that both intrigues and gives an insight into the horrors of living with a mental ilness. And it doesn't disappoint. It is actually one of those rare books that actually has a good beginning, middle and ending. It is never boring even though there are no car chases or big bangs. Just when you think you know what is going on you realise that you are just guessing. Enjoyed. I must read his other books.

9/10

Book 27 - Bloodstained Kings by Tim Willocks

Bloodstained Kings by Tim Willocks is one of those books that I started years ago but never finished for some reason and so I thought it was high time I finished it ! Right from the beginning you are aware that there is something different about it. It's a little bit more arty than other books.There's a little bit more meat on the bones.

It's quite a convoluted plot that I couldn't possibly sum up in a paragraph and one of the greatest things about it is that the story is revealed slowly and the characters are revealed slowly too. You start off wondering what on earth is going on and most things, eventually, are revealed.

Basically Cicero Grimes wakes in the middle of his dirty and squalid front room ( he is in the middle of some kind of a breakdown or psychotic episode)when a man knocks on his door to deliver a letter. This letter informs him that his nemesis Clarence Jefferson has died and left him two suitcases in his will. Suitcases that contain information that could ( it seems) incriminate half of the population of
America. Lenna Parrilaud is a multimillionairess who has inprisoned her husband ( presumed dead) in a self built stone house. Their paths cross as they race against time to find the suitcases, but then her husband escapes his prison, add to this a daughter that was stolen from her at birth and who was also was presumed dead.

This book is arty and at times poetic and I love Tim Willock's style of writing. He has a way of getting inside the character's heads and he tells a good story. ( Probably because he is a Doctor who specialises in addiction !)There are plenty of twists and layers and it also has its fair share of violence.

My only problem with Bloodstained Kings is the ending. For such a different and strong book I found the ending was a little bit convoluted and well it just felt like everything was wrapped up too quickly and conveniently. I loved this book but towards the end it kind of just ( lost the plot ?) and became another action movie book and with a better ending I would have rated it higher.


8/10

Book 26 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck.

I borrowed this book from my son who is using it as part of his High School English.

This is pretty much different from anything I have read before and I don't know what to make of it to be honest. It is a well known classic and I can see why it us used so often in schools because it is a short novel and there are plenty of pickings for literary study. There aren't too many characters and the story isn't too confusing and it introduces metaphors and foreshadowing and you could probably study and discuss the moral repercussions of the book for the next half a century.

However I have to say that although I found the book sentimental and charming and although it wasn't boring, it didn't exactly rock my world either ! It wasn't the worst book I have ever read and it wasn't one of the best.

It focuses on two migrant workers during the great 30's depression who travel side by side to find work in the USA. One of them is a small, intelligent man and the other is a huge beast of a man with a heart of gold but the mental capacity of a child. Lenny, the big man often gets his friend in trouble because he doesn't know his own strength.

Maybe this is the kind of book which gets better after a few reads and it is a small inoffensive novel but it isn't the most exciting thing I have ever read. I think part of the reason is because it was written like a play and also because it was mostly written in the third person.I like books where you really feel like you are ' in the book' but with this I felt like I was watching it on a stage somewhere. If that makes any sense.

7/10

Book 25 Dead Like You Peter James

This book took me to Brighton and Hove on the South East coast of England. In the book there are a number of vicious sexual attacks on women and it is Detective Superintendent Roy Grace's job to stop them before any more can be committed.

12 years ago similar attacks and one suspected murder were carried about by a man dubbed 'The Shoe Man.' A man who attacks his victims and steals their very expensive shoes. Roy Grace soons discovers that there is a link between these two series of attacks and investigates the terrible possibility that 'The Shoe Man' has returned.

But has he returned to continue his devastating crimes or is this the work of a Copycat ? And can he stop him before there is another murder ?

This is a very good book, packed full of twists and is well worth the read. I am not normally into Police Crime thrillers but this one was dark and intriguing and kept my interest all the way through. I liked the fact that it was made up of tiny little chapters and although it is a big book at 549 pages, it is so easy to read, the pages just seemed to fly by !

This is one book in a series featuring Superintendent Roy Grace and as usual I haven't read any of the previous books ! Although unlike other books, in this case it doesn't seem to matter. It was a stand alone book that didn't require any knowledge of the previous ones in the series.

My hat goes off the Peter James, a decent book and I look forward to reading more from him.


8/10

Book 24 The All-Inclusive Christ - Witness Lee

This is one of several books sent to me kindly by RHEMA Literature Distribution. The All Inclusive Christ is based on messages given by Witness Lee in the latter part of the sixties. This isn't a 'Happy Clappy' book and was pretty indepth, more so than I expected. At times it was interesting and at times it was hard going. It focuses on Christ and how we as Christians can have a deeper, closer relationship with him. It does focus a lot on the symbology of the bible, particularly of the old testament and even for a person like myself who has an interest in the symbology of the bible it was quite hard going at times.

However it has been very helpful and I now feel as if I have a more fundamental knowledge of Jesus than I had before. It focuses very much on Jesus as 'the land' and how Jesus is exceptionally bigger than we can imagine and how we can have a stronger relationship with HIM by dwelling in his land. A land that is Christ.

I don't think its the easiest Christian book I have ever read and it wasn't always encouraging, the fact that it felt like I was reading a text book at times didn't help. But overall I found it helpful and I feel I have gained a fuller understanding of God. I was a little bit doubtful of some of the stuff that was said by Witness Lee but the majority of it was good. Probably not the best book for new Christians.


6.5/10