Archive for Book Reviews
Book Review– Silent Thunder
Silent Thunder by Iris Johansen
My rating: 1 of 5 stars
Silent Thunder is one of the worst written books I’ve read in a long time, and greatly disappointing. The dialogue is trite and flat (“Son of a bitch. Bradworth was staring after him. “Bastard.”), the characters are unidimensional (the Russians are the bad guys), the story murky and at best cliche.
After 135 pages, I gave it up.
Here is the description from Goodreads:
Marine architect Hannah Bryson has landed the assignment of a lifetime. The U.S. maritime museum has just acquired the former pride of the Soviet fleet, the legendary nuclear attack sub Silent Thunder, for public exhibition. It’s Hannah’s job to inspect every inch of the decommissioned vessel and make sure it’s safe for the thousands of expected visitors. Enlisting the aid of her brother, Connor, they delve into its long and lethal history.
Then, on a routine check, Connor discovers a cryptic message behind one of the ship’s panels. Before he can figure out what it means, there’s a deadly assault on Silent Thunder. Now, although the U.S. government warns her against it, Hannah will stop at nothing to unravel the truth about Silent Thunder. Even if it means coming face to face with the ruthless mastermind behind the plot—and joining forces with a mysterious and seductive mercenary who is willing to kill to make sure the secrets about Silent Thunder stay silent. . . .
Book Review– The Resurrectionist
The Resurrectionist by Jack O’Connell
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
The Resurrectionist is the story of Sweeny, a father who desperately wants to find a way to re-awaken his comatose son, Danny. To that end, he arrives at the “Peck,” a private clinic renown for its care of patients in a coma.
Interwoven into Sweeny’s journey is the comic book story of Limbo, the journey of a troupe of “freaks” in search of a place in the world.
This book is strangely fascinating in a Kafkaesque way, and although I found it plodding at times, I was prodded into finishing it. The emotions are intense, but, except for Sweeny’s, the characters’ affects are flat and puzzling. The reasons for their behaviours are most of the time a mystery and there are many loose ends left at the end of the book.
Although overall I found the book well written, the story is so alien and bizarre, the characters so strange, and the ending so unsatisfying that I would not read another of O’Connell’s books.
Note: The mention of comic book characters may make you think that this is a young adult novel. It is not. There are passages of explicit sex that gives this book an adult rating.
Here is the book blurb from Goodreads:
The Resurrectionist is a wild ride into a territory where nothing is as it appears. Part classic noir thriller, part fabulist fable, it is the story of Sweeney and his comatose son, Danny. Hoping for a miracle, Sweeney has brought Danny to the fortresslike Peck Clinic, whose doctors claim to have “resurrected” patients who were similarly lost in the void. but the real cure for his son’s condition may lie in Limbo, a comic book world beloved by Danny before he slipped into a coma.
Nigella Express: Good Food Fast
Nigella Express by Nigella Lawson
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
I don’t often review cookbooks. In fact, I almost never review them, but I felt this one deserved a mention. I first became interested in Nigella Lawson’s type of cooking through her TV program, Nigella Bites. She has a way of going through a recipe in a few, simple, sensual steps that is very attractive. Her recipes are usually full of flavour and are quick to prepare. »» Nigella Express: Good Food Fast
The Gargoyle, by Andrew Davidson
The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This was one of the most astonishing and riveting books I’ve read in a long time. Davidson’s research is extensive, his characters, past, present, and imaginary are fascinating, and the story is powerful. The parallels with Dante’s Inferno makes the love story between the two main characters as much a tragedy as a romance. He manages to have the reader feel pain for the narrator of the story, a totally unlovable character at the start.
It’s a story of discovery of the true self and of the purity –and intransigence– of love.
The story, as described on Goodreads:
The narrator of The Gargoyle is a very contemporary cynic, physically beautiful and sexually adept, who dwells in the moral vacuum that is modern life. As the book opens, he is driving along a dark road when he is distracted by what seems to be a flight of arrows. He crashes into a ravine and suffers horrible burns over much of his body. As he recovers in a burn ward, undergoing the tortures of the damned, he awaits the day when he can leave the hospital and commit carefully planned suicide—for he is now a monster in appearance as well as in soul. »» The Gargoyle, by Andrew Davidson
The Family Man, by Elinor Lipman
The Family Man by Elinor Lipman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
An utterly delightful, witty, funny book about the flexible nature of family and family values.
