May 2023

Book Review: “If It Bleeds” by Stephen King

30th May 202330th May 2023Leave a comment

Stephen King’s “If It Bleeds” is my nineteenth read of the year.

“If It Bleeds” is a collection of four short stories—King’s most recent collection. And, to get right to the point, I loved it. Of course, with short story collections, there’s always the tendency for the stories to end up hit or miss. But there’s not a single miss in “If It Bleeds”; every piece fires on all cylinders. I’ve not read a short story collection this strong since King’s own “Full Dark, No Stars”.

“Mr Harrigan’s Phone” (now a movie?), “The Life of Chuck” and “Rat” are fantastic short stories. But the book hits its stride with the titular “If It Bleeds”. It’s clear why King chose this to be the collection’s namesake. The story follows Holly Gibney. Holly has starred in “Mr Mercedes”, “The Outsider”, “Finders Keepers”, and “End of Watch”. I have yet to read the last two novels, but I’ll get around to them soon. I aim to do so before Holly’s solo book “Holly” comes out in September.

Without spoiling too much, “If It Bleeds” follows similar lines to “Mr Mercedes” and “The Outsider”. Reading this before I read “Finders Keepers” and “End of Watch” worked fine. Although, it did spoil one thing about those two novels, with which I’m completely okay. It has King’s classic multithread approach, culminating in a thrilling finale. So I’ll summarise it with a single word: brilliant.

If you like King, you’ll like “If It Bleeds”.

And if, like me, you love the man, you’ll feel the same way I do about this short story collection.

Book Review: “The Lost World” by Michael Crichton

22nd May 2023Leave a comment

Book 18 of 2023 is Michael Crichton’s “The Lost World”.

A four-year-old dinosaur-obsessed Joshua saw a movie in ’97. That movie, of course, was the summer blockbuster, “The Lost World: Jurassic Park.” It was everything kid Josh wanted in a movie. Years later, as an adult, although I recognise the first film as superior, I still have a soft spot for the sequel.

I read Crichton’s “Jurassic Park” a while back—sometime during one of the lockdowns—and liked it. I came to the odd conclusion that I preferred the movie. Spielberg refined and focused the book’s ideas and crystallised them. I can say the same about the sequel, for the most part.

But that’s not to say I didn’t enjoy the book. I loved it. Crichton’s power lies not in writing but in worldbuilding and storytelling.

A fair few parts differ from the movie. The entire premise has a different angle, as John Hammond dies in the first book. A friend of Ian Malcolm is trying to find out where these strange animal corpses are coming from. Surprise, surprise, these turn out to be dinosaurs. Some parts of the book are better—such as Sarah Harding’s character and the dinosaur variety. Some bits are worse—such as the T. rexes’ attack on the trailer and the velociraptors in the long grass. I also preferred Ian Malcolm in the movie.

But, all in all, I had a great time with “The Lost World”. Crichton might have penned it for the movie sequel, but that’s where the book shines. The best parts are the realistic—ish—ways the plot unfolds and the big, bombastic setpieces.

Much like the book’s tagline, I can say this about my love of dinosaurs:

Something has survived.

Book Review: “Willkommen im Haus der Toten” by R. L. Stine

14th May 2023Leave a comment

R. L. Stine’s “Willkommen im Haus der Toten” is my next read of the year.

I had so much fun with “Das unheimliche Labor” that I read another “Goosebumps” book. And, much like that other “Gänsehaut” book, I had a blast. It’s great to remember how you felt reading this stuff as a kid.

“Willkommen im Haus der Toten” opens with a family moving to a new house called Dark Falls. Ooh, spooky! But things start to feel off for the children, a girl and her younger brother. Their dog runs off and disappears. Other strange children appear in the household at creepy moments. And what of those new friends they’ve made?

Fun and childish, this “Goosebumps” book is what I expected. Like the previous one, some bits were beyond my current German skills. But I always had a general feeling about what was happening, even if I struggled with the odd paragraph.

I’m off to start another “Gänsehaut” book!

Book Review: “We Should All Be Feminists” by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

11th May 2023Leave a comment

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s “We Should All Be Feminists” is book 16 of 2023.

And—yeah, okay—it might be a bit of a cheat, considering its length. But my wife bought the book, and I couldn’t resist blowing through it in an hour.

Based on a TEDx talk that Adichie gave in 2012 of the same name, “We Should All Be Feminists” is what you’d expect. It’s a look at a contentious subject, one that people are wary of due to its volatile nature. But, and Adichie makes this point, it shouldn’t be so divisive. This is one of the many parts Adichie and I agree upon.

The book makes some excellent points about feminism. Adichie’s look at the roles of men and women is refreshing and on point. And the brevity of the book works to its advantage. I agreed with much of what Adichie said, except for a few moments.

The not-so-trans-positive statement “women can have babies, men cannot” got a raised eyebrow. Not surprising for a woman who defended J. K. Rowling. Also, “loss of virginity is a process that usually involves two people of opposite genders”? Not very LGBTQ+ friendly. So, whilst Adichie makes some excellent points, she also makes some blunders. For a book about feminism, I had hoped that it would have been more progressive.

Have a read—it won’t take long—but remember, it’s not the most inclusive piece of feminist literature.

Book Review: “The Institute” by Stephen King

10th May 2023Leave a comment

I chose a book that waited a while on my shelf for my next read of 2023, Stephen King’s “The Institute”.

I’m a King fanboy; everyone who knows me knows that. So let me cut right to the chase: this book is brilliant. It is absurd that the man is still pumping out books of this calibre at this stage in his career. King has written so many classics that he could get away with phoning it in at 75. But that’s not King’s style. Instead, he has added another masterpiece to his long list of masterpieces.

The book follows two characters. The first is a shamed policeman on the search for something new. The second—and most important—is a boy, kidnapped in the middle of the night and taken to a detention centre in Maine. Where else would King set it?

It’s, of course, less horror than some of King’s other works. But it recalls his other pieces, such as “Firestarter”. If you’re a fan of his kids-with-psychic-powers books, you’ll adore “The Institute”. Hell, even if you’re not, I’d still recommend it. It’s that good.

I’ve said it before, and I’ll repeat it, King is king.