Sunday, 15 August 2010
Game Control - Lionel Shriver
Saturday, 14 August 2010
Dust to Dust - Ken McClure
Dust to Dust is the eighth Steven Dunbar thriller by Ken McClure. A research biologist turns violent and becomes seriously ill after entering an excavation at Dryburgh Abbey to examine some preserved bodies identified as having died of the Black Death. Our hero, Steven Dunbar, is called in to investigate. An ex-special forces medic, Steven has to attempt to answer the question of whether this has been caused by bubonic plague or a deadly new virus. His investigations identify individuals and organisations all with their own secrets to protect. In aiming to uncover the truth Steven is forced to truly fight for his life.
A thriller is meant to have you desperately continuing reading and Dust to Dust delivers. The plot is taut and exciting, revealing just enough as Steven picks up the pieces of this puzzle. The writing is skilled. The main characters are solid and distinctive enough to avoid being stereotypes. McClure’s talent is always noted as taking medical possibilities and making them into strong factual fiction. In Dust to Dust he does this successfully yet again.
Saturday, 7 August 2010
Perfume - Patrick Suskind
Perfume - Patrick Suskind
Smells are important. Smell can evoke long forgotten memories, make you hungry, make you retch. Grenouille is born in stinking eighteenth century Paris. He has a talent for identifying and dissecting every odour around him but does not emanate any smell himself. This original tale follows Grenouille as he learns the trade of a perfumer and then travels to the olfactory mecca of Grasse. His obsession leads to deadly consequences.
A fascinating and absorbing novel.
Sunday, 6 June 2010
One Day David Nicholls
One Day – David Nicholls
One Day by David Nicholls is a wonderful story full of chance, circumstance and communication. Emma and Dexter meet in 1998 as they graduate from Edinburgh University. The story covers the following 20 years, the events and changes in their lives. At times they are tightly intertwined, at other times only lightly touching.
The novel is full of ‘what if’ scenarios and how even the seemingly small decisions we make influence every aspect of our lives. It demonstrates in an incredible human way how people change as they mature and also how they remain the same. Emma and Dexter are very real characters with self doubt, flaws and total truth.
One Day is also a love story. This is a love which shifts and transforms over time but is strong and resolute throughout.
Very rarely do you discover a story you never want to end. I was engrossed with One Day from the beginning and could not put it aside. The writing is so skilful and the characters so well developed as to be perfect this novel definitely gets a 5 star rating.
One Day by David Nicholls is a wonderful story full of chance, circumstance and communication. Emma and Dexter meet in 1998 as they graduate from Edinburgh University. The story covers the following 20 years, the events and changes in their lives. At times they are tightly intertwined, at other times only lightly touching.
The novel is full of ‘what if’ scenarios and how even the seemingly small decisions we make influence every aspect of our lives. It demonstrates in an incredible human way how people change as they mature and also how they remain the same. Emma and Dexter are very real characters with self doubt, flaws and total truth.
One Day is also a love story. This is a love which shifts and transforms over time but is strong and resolute throughout.
Very rarely do you discover a story you never want to end. I was engrossed with One Day from the beginning and could not put it aside. The writing is so skilful and the characters so well developed as to be perfect this novel definitely gets a 5 star rating.
The Host Stephenie Meyer
The Host - Stephenie Meyer
Stephenie Meyer is the woman responsible for the resurgence of interest in Vampires and Werewolves and consolidating Robert Pattison’s place as a romantic teen icon. In The Host she offers a book for adults. Unfortunately this novel is not quite grown up enough. There is not the distance between this book and the Twilight series to offer satisfaction beyond the teen/young adult audience.
The Host is not bad it just doesn’t deliver on good writing or full exploration of the theme. This is a science fiction tale of a soul (Wanderer) who has been implanted into a host body, a young woman (Melanie). There is so much potential in the premise of the addition of an alien soul into a human which is not explored.
Melanie was travelling with her boyfriend and brother when she was taken by a Seeker and her body used as a host for Wanderer’s soul. Somehow Melanie fights against this invasion and we are given a soul having to cope with her host responding to her thoughts and actions. They decide it is better for survival to work together. They end up searching and finding both boyfriend and brother within a group of humans in hiding who are free of souls. Confusion and angst ensue as Wanderer joins the humans. Melanie and Melanie’s body react to being close to her boyfriend. Wanderer has her own feelings to contend with. These are all strong emotions the soul has never experienced before. At the same time the humans distrust her. How do we resolve all this? Stephenie resolves in a way which suits the teen genre but does not work as well as adult fiction.
The exploration of Wanderer’s character is very straightforward. Souls apparently are straightforward. They use ‘No Pain’ as their analgesic and ‘Heal’ to ... well ... heal. Although Wanderer is torn, as she develops an understanding of the humans, she never really fully appreciates how she is perceived. Tentative relationships are made however these are categorised as ‘friend’ and even a fledgling romance never extends further than a kiss.
There is so much promise in the concept of an alien soul taking over a physical body. The questions it raises are fascinating. Consciousness. Morals. Responsibility for one’s actions. On top of this there is a whole fantasy world of alien souls to create. Stephenie does not take this further than a few stories Wanderer tells of planets of ‘See-Weeds’ and ‘Claw-Bears’ and the capsules the souls use to transport themselves to colonise a new planet.
The pace of the first half of the hefty 600+ pages is incredibly slow. The story does pick up once Wanderer reaches the group of humans living in the caves. At times the style of writing annoyed me. Too many sentences had words in italics as if we were too stupid to understand the emphasis ourselves and needed to be told. Angry dialogue is followed by ‘he said angrily’ just to reiterate the point.
Overall Twilight fans will enjoy The Host but their parents may need to accept there’s not enough substance for them. Fantastic opportunity unfortunately not realised in full.
Stephenie Meyer is the woman responsible for the resurgence of interest in Vampires and Werewolves and consolidating Robert Pattison’s place as a romantic teen icon. In The Host she offers a book for adults. Unfortunately this novel is not quite grown up enough. There is not the distance between this book and the Twilight series to offer satisfaction beyond the teen/young adult audience.
The Host is not bad it just doesn’t deliver on good writing or full exploration of the theme. This is a science fiction tale of a soul (Wanderer) who has been implanted into a host body, a young woman (Melanie). There is so much potential in the premise of the addition of an alien soul into a human which is not explored.
Melanie was travelling with her boyfriend and brother when she was taken by a Seeker and her body used as a host for Wanderer’s soul. Somehow Melanie fights against this invasion and we are given a soul having to cope with her host responding to her thoughts and actions. They decide it is better for survival to work together. They end up searching and finding both boyfriend and brother within a group of humans in hiding who are free of souls. Confusion and angst ensue as Wanderer joins the humans. Melanie and Melanie’s body react to being close to her boyfriend. Wanderer has her own feelings to contend with. These are all strong emotions the soul has never experienced before. At the same time the humans distrust her. How do we resolve all this? Stephenie resolves in a way which suits the teen genre but does not work as well as adult fiction.
The exploration of Wanderer’s character is very straightforward. Souls apparently are straightforward. They use ‘No Pain’ as their analgesic and ‘Heal’ to ... well ... heal. Although Wanderer is torn, as she develops an understanding of the humans, she never really fully appreciates how she is perceived. Tentative relationships are made however these are categorised as ‘friend’ and even a fledgling romance never extends further than a kiss.
There is so much promise in the concept of an alien soul taking over a physical body. The questions it raises are fascinating. Consciousness. Morals. Responsibility for one’s actions. On top of this there is a whole fantasy world of alien souls to create. Stephenie does not take this further than a few stories Wanderer tells of planets of ‘See-Weeds’ and ‘Claw-Bears’ and the capsules the souls use to transport themselves to colonise a new planet.
The pace of the first half of the hefty 600+ pages is incredibly slow. The story does pick up once Wanderer reaches the group of humans living in the caves. At times the style of writing annoyed me. Too many sentences had words in italics as if we were too stupid to understand the emphasis ourselves and needed to be told. Angry dialogue is followed by ‘he said angrily’ just to reiterate the point.
Overall Twilight fans will enjoy The Host but their parents may need to accept there’s not enough substance for them. Fantastic opportunity unfortunately not realised in full.
Sunday, 30 May 2010
Sex and the City 2
Sex and the City 2
At cinemas from Friday 28th May
Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte and Miranda are as fabulous as ever but somehow the emotional heart of the original tv series is missing in this sequel. Both New York and the Sex and the City logo may glitter in the title sequence but unfortunately the sparkle and shine quickly fade.
The opening scene with an 80’s flashback then Big doing up Carrie’s (trouser) zip is all promising. However we are soon whisked to the gayest of gay weddings which even Anthony, wedding planner and one of the grooms, denies all responsibility for and describes as ‘it’s like the snow queen’s exploded!” I don’t believe that Liza Minnelli singing and dancing to Beyonce’s “All the Single Ladies” was mean to be hilarious but sadly this was the only time I laughed. Throughout the whole film there’s a feeling of sadness. Samantha is knocking back the vitamins and hormones in an attempt to hold back the menopause. Charlotte is facing the realities of motherhood and does not trust her devoted husband with an oirish, bra-less nanny. Miranda, the once bolshie and tough lawyer, cannot get her misogynist boss to listen to her so quits work. Meanwhile Carrie is throwing a strop because Big wants to relax on the couch and watch tv some evenings rather than dress up and go out on the town. He suggests they spend two days a week apart and Carrie attempts to justify it as making up their own rules of marriage.
Cue a trip to an exotic location where they can all bring out the Vuitton luggage and work out their individual issues. Samantha immediately has her pills and creams confiscated despite her protests that they are natural drugs. Charlotte frets and constantly tries to call home. Miranda tries to find her sense of ‘fun’ by arranging camel rides in the desert and karaoke in the hotel’s nightclub. In the souk Carrie bumps into Adian and a bad review of her latest book prompts her to seek a confidence boost by unadvisedly meeting him for dinner. Flirting turns into a kiss which turns into an emotional crisis and results in a difficult call to Big.
A Danish hunk revives Samantha’s libido in a way the hummous and yams have been unable to achieve and she gets arrested for having sex on the beach. “It was only kissing!” she explains as Miranda smartly steps in as her attorney. Although Samantha is released their luxury freebies stop and they must leave Abu Dhabi. At a time of economic downturn and debt it is ironic to see the women unable to cover their own hotel bill (ok it is $22,000 a night but this is VIP Abu Dhabi) but still cannot pack all their designer clothes in one hour.
There is a sense of farce as they race to retrieve Carrie’s passport from the souk and catch the plane home. There’s a repeat of the designer bag snatch from SATC1 as Samantha’s beloved Burkin is grabbed and bursts showering condoms in the street. “Yes! Condoms! For having sex!” she screams to the outraged crowd. The women manage to reach the plane in time through the donation of full muslim dress from some secret Arabic fashionistas who wear Alexander McQueen under the hijab.
As in all fairytales there’s a happy ending. Miranda finds a job at a new law firm where they listen to her. Charlotte’s nanny turns out to be a “hot” lesbian and no threat to her marriage. Samantha meets up with her Danish hunk in the Hamptons and finally does fuck him on the bonnet of his SUV. And Carrie and Big? As her “punishment” for kissing Adian Carrie receives an enormous black diamond ring and gets to watch tv on the couch in designer frocks. Wouldn’t we all love a man in our life like that?
At cinemas from Friday 28th May
Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte and Miranda are as fabulous as ever but somehow the emotional heart of the original tv series is missing in this sequel. Both New York and the Sex and the City logo may glitter in the title sequence but unfortunately the sparkle and shine quickly fade.
The opening scene with an 80’s flashback then Big doing up Carrie’s (trouser) zip is all promising. However we are soon whisked to the gayest of gay weddings which even Anthony, wedding planner and one of the grooms, denies all responsibility for and describes as ‘it’s like the snow queen’s exploded!” I don’t believe that Liza Minnelli singing and dancing to Beyonce’s “All the Single Ladies” was mean to be hilarious but sadly this was the only time I laughed. Throughout the whole film there’s a feeling of sadness. Samantha is knocking back the vitamins and hormones in an attempt to hold back the menopause. Charlotte is facing the realities of motherhood and does not trust her devoted husband with an oirish, bra-less nanny. Miranda, the once bolshie and tough lawyer, cannot get her misogynist boss to listen to her so quits work. Meanwhile Carrie is throwing a strop because Big wants to relax on the couch and watch tv some evenings rather than dress up and go out on the town. He suggests they spend two days a week apart and Carrie attempts to justify it as making up their own rules of marriage.
Cue a trip to an exotic location where they can all bring out the Vuitton luggage and work out their individual issues. Samantha immediately has her pills and creams confiscated despite her protests that they are natural drugs. Charlotte frets and constantly tries to call home. Miranda tries to find her sense of ‘fun’ by arranging camel rides in the desert and karaoke in the hotel’s nightclub. In the souk Carrie bumps into Adian and a bad review of her latest book prompts her to seek a confidence boost by unadvisedly meeting him for dinner. Flirting turns into a kiss which turns into an emotional crisis and results in a difficult call to Big.
A Danish hunk revives Samantha’s libido in a way the hummous and yams have been unable to achieve and she gets arrested for having sex on the beach. “It was only kissing!” she explains as Miranda smartly steps in as her attorney. Although Samantha is released their luxury freebies stop and they must leave Abu Dhabi. At a time of economic downturn and debt it is ironic to see the women unable to cover their own hotel bill (ok it is $22,000 a night but this is VIP Abu Dhabi) but still cannot pack all their designer clothes in one hour.
There is a sense of farce as they race to retrieve Carrie’s passport from the souk and catch the plane home. There’s a repeat of the designer bag snatch from SATC1 as Samantha’s beloved Burkin is grabbed and bursts showering condoms in the street. “Yes! Condoms! For having sex!” she screams to the outraged crowd. The women manage to reach the plane in time through the donation of full muslim dress from some secret Arabic fashionistas who wear Alexander McQueen under the hijab.
As in all fairytales there’s a happy ending. Miranda finds a job at a new law firm where they listen to her. Charlotte’s nanny turns out to be a “hot” lesbian and no threat to her marriage. Samantha meets up with her Danish hunk in the Hamptons and finally does fuck him on the bonnet of his SUV. And Carrie and Big? As her “punishment” for kissing Adian Carrie receives an enormous black diamond ring and gets to watch tv on the couch in designer frocks. Wouldn’t we all love a man in our life like that?
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