Noll's 2015 Book Blog

[Nollaig]

Alive - Scott Sigler

 

Synopsis: A young woman awakes trapped in an enclosed space. She has no idea who she is or how she got there. With only her instincts to guide her, she escapes her own confinement—and finds she’s not alone. She frees the others in the room and leads them into a corridor filled with the remains of a war long past. The farther these survivors travel, the worse are the horrors they confront. And as they slowly come to understand what this prison is, they realize that the worst and strangest possibilities they could have imagined don’t even come close to the truth.

*** 

Review: This was a surprisingly refreshing read. Being described as similar to the Maze Runner, in addition to the fact that the synopsis is going to make anyone with a vague knowledge of YA Dystopia think of Maze Runner, I will admit that I didn't have high hopes for this novel. At best, I thought it might be an interesting once off read that would give me the dystopia fix I was looking for, but which I'd probably forget again fairly quickly.

I was wrong. That doesn't mean this is the most amazing piece of fiction I've read read, but it was extremely refreshing and unusual. I loved the setup, I loved the main character, Em, (or M. Savage) from the outset - an angry, scary, changeable narrator - and I absolutely loved the pacing. I actually think the pacing may be one of the best things about this novel - there is a point where a significant chunk of the prose is just the characters making their way along an endlessly long empty corridor - and, having amply worn my patience as thin as the characters, it pulled in a new direction *just* at the right time. Similarly well-timed changes in pace occured throughout the novel, each one usually leading into a totally different, and often very original, plot point. I loved the pigs. I just want to say, I thought the whole pig thing was great.

A lot of the characters were pretty cool, and nobody could accuse this book of not featuring ethnic diversity. Even better, characters are divided up by a marking system that is never actually explained - a feature that reminds me more of the sci-fi that this novel at its heart really is, rather than dystopia. I loved the setting for the novel, and the little twist the baffling location introduced, along with yet more sci-fi elements to explain it. I did feel the rushed explanation towards the end (featuring a horrendously cringe-worthy line) was a little much, and it was a pretty sharp curve from dystopia to all-out sci-fi, but that's probably my only real complaint. All in all, a very fresh sci-fi twist on what has become the standard for YA dystopia.

It's the first in, I believe, a proposed trilogy, and while it could easily have ended perfectly where it did, I'm curious enough to pick up the second book when it comes out.

Rating: 4/5

[Nollaig]

Asking For It - Louise O'Neill

 

Synopsis: It's the beginning of the summer in a small town in Ireland. Emma O'Donovan is eighteen years old, beautiful, happy, confident. One night, there's a party. Everyone is there. All eyes are on Emma. The next morning, she wakes on the front porch of her house. She can't remember what happened, she doesn't know how she got there. She doesn't know why she's in pain. But everyone else does. Photographs taken at the party show, in explicit detail, what happened to Emma that night. But sometimes people don't want to believe what is right in front of them, especially when the truth concerns the town's heroes...

*** 

Review: After the phenomenal success of her debut novel, Only Ever Yours, expectations (including my own) were high for this second novel dealing with extremely controversial subject matter.

I will admit I was a bit unsure for the first half of the novel. The main character, Emma, is an exceptionally superficial, bitchy, unlikeable human being. So are most of her friends. I'm so grateful to never have had 'friends' like them when I was myself a teenager. It didn't help inspire empathy, I suppose, that I am not the kind of person who has ever gotten so wasted at a party that advantage could be taken of me (without a fight, anyway) - I believe people should demonstrate more responsibility for own safety than that. However, failing to do so does not put them at fault if someone else assaults them, and that is the point here. It took me until the title event to realise the genius of making Emma so unlikeable - there is absolutely no room for excuses in this novel. She is not a nice girl and the book does everything in its power to present a situation where your most judgmental, prejudiced instincts will be evoked against her - it does its damndest to elicit any hint of your own unwitting participation in the exact culture that the entire novel is about. I will admit, it really did make me take a hard look at how I view cases like this in particular.

As with her previous novel, Louise tackles this difficult topic unrelentingly and with more unbiased brutality than I've seen in some adult novels. This is classed as a YA novel, but make no mistake, it is not for younger readers. That said, it should be mandatory reading for everyone of appropriate age because, particularly from the second half onwards, it does an absolutely incredible job of illustrating the problematic, multi-faceted reality of victim blaming in rape culture. It does so from the perspective of the victim, the victim's family, the rapists and Emma's friends, and the small town community, as well as on the national stage. Not only do we see vicious social media attacks on Emma from people who believe she is at fault, we also see her elevation to an objectified state of unwanted martyrdom by people who believe she must become a symbol, an abstract concept to represent a fight against rape culture. On both sides of this, the suffering of the individual is utterly overlooked until it is lost. Thus, with the most exceptional stream-of-consciousness style of writing, we witness the irrevocable fallout of Emma's traumatic experience and the destructive reality of victim-blaming. I believed, after reading Only Ever Yours, that this topic could be placed in no better hands than Louise O'Neill's and I was right.

Rating: 4.5/5

[Nollaig]

Right, still got three more reviews to write, but I've added four (a couple of fairly short, quickly-written ones) up above.

[Michelle]

I listened to Alive not long ago and overall yes, it kept me hooked, and was pretty good (I give up on audio books soooo easily, so just the fact that I make it to the end is a good thing!). However, I guessed the 'twist' rather early on, which was a bit of a disappointment for me. 

 

As for Asking For It, as I said on twitter, my thoughts were the same. I really didn't like Emma.. and I think that's a clever way of writing. You don't have empathy for her as a person, and so it's the morality aspects which you focus on. It makes it easier to appreciate why people react the way they do (sadly, I know people who would react just the same), whilst knowing it's wrong. 

 

I also love the way Louise doesn't go for the happy, glib endings. That book battered my heart, and made me feel awful... but it's such a necessary read.

[Nollaig]

I listened to Alive not long ago and overall yes, it kept me hooked, and was pretty good (I give up on audio books soooo easily, so just the fact that I make it to the end is a good thing!). However, I guessed the 'twist' rather early on, which was a bit of a disappointment for me. 

 

As for Asking For It, as I said on twitter, my thoughts were the same. I really didn't like Emma.. and I think that's a clever way of writing. You don't have empathy for her as a person, and so it's the morality aspects which you focus on. It makes it easier to appreciate why people react the way they do (sadly, I know people who would react just the same), whilst knowing it's wrong. 

 

I also love the way Louise doesn't go for the happy, glib endings. That book battered my heart, and made me feel awful... but it's such a necessary read.

 

I was on my mobile (going for a nap hehe) by the time I saw your reply on Twitter and I find the Twitter app on my phone fiddly for replying so I favourited

 

But yes, completely agree. I think I know one or two people who might say its Emmas fault, or rather they would go down the 'asking for it' route, without saying it's actually her fault, but fortunately most people I know wouldn't. I can't imagine any mothers like that, either, dear god Emma's mother was awful. The father wasn't great, but I think he just couldn't cope as opposed to caring about reputation and stuff. Conor and Bryan were such sweeties.

 

R.e. Alive, I never would have guessed.

 

 

When they wound up back where they started, I was like HOW. HOW IS THAT PHYSICALLY POSSIBLE. I thought it was kinda genius actually

 

[bobblybear]

I've added Alive and Beyond The Great Indoors to my wishlist. The latter was already on there though...must have come from an earlier recommendation or mention on here.

 

I haven't reviewed Asking For It yet but agree with everything you said. I did struggle with the first section of the book that was developing Emma's character. Even though I knew what the purpose was, I did find the characters all so tedious and unlikeable that it wasn't an easy read. What did you think of the ending? I have mixed feelings, but there is also no 'right' ending for it either.

[frankie]

I've added Alive and Beyond The Great Indoors to my wishlist. The latter was already on there though...must have come from an earlier recommendation or mention on here.

 

Probably Kylie's or poppyshake's review, I would think

Edited September 15, 2015 by frankie

[Kylie]

Probably Kylie's or poppyshake's review, I would think

 

Probably Poppyshake, because I rarely review books (and when I do, they're nowhere near as good as hers!) But of course we only have YOU to thank, Frankie, for bringing it to our attention in the first place.

 

Lots of great reviews as usual, Noll. A belated congrats on reaching 10,000 posts again (sorry, I'm way behind on everyone's threads).

[Nollaig]

No worries Kylie!

 

Frankie I suspect it was you I got the recommendation from... I think, anyway.

 

Bobbly -

I thought the ending was pretty good but I expected more coverage of the trial so I found it a tad underwhelming. Felt pretty unresolved, but I guess that was kind of the point.

 

[Michelle]

Re ending of Asking For It..

I think that covering the court case would have been the expected route, so I actually preferred her ending. It was hard to read, and pretty depressing though.

 

 

As for Alive, I can't remember the moment I sussed out where they were, but it was quite early on.

[frankie]

Probably Poppyshake, because I rarely review books (and when I do, they're nowhere near as good as hers!) But of course we only have YOU to thank, Frankie, for bringing it to our attention in the first place.

 

Always a pleasure

 

Frankie I suspect it was you I got the recommendation from... I think, anyway.

 

Ah, that may be! I just don't remember reviewing the novel on here... But maybe I have Or maybe it was just in some other thread or discussion, that the book came up. Very happy to hear you enjoyed the novel, though! I'd also recommend the movie. 

Edited September 16, 2015 by frankie

[Nollaig]

Always a pleasure

 

 

Ah, that may be! I just don't remember reviewing the novel on here... But maybe I have Or maybe it was just in some other thread or discussion, that the book came up. Very happy to hear you enjoyed the novel, though! I'd also recommend the movie. 

 

I genuinely don't know where I found it! You definitely said something to me about it, but it might only have been 'enjoy!' I didn't know there was a movie, I will definitely check that out!!

[Nollaig]

Oooh look at me, posting a book review. How novel!

 

The Long Way To A Small, Angry Planet - Becky Chambers

 

Synopsis: Somewhere within our crowded sky, a crew of wormhole builders hops from planet to planet, on their way to the job of a lifetime. To the galaxy at large, humanity is a minor species, and one patched-up construction vessel is a mere speck on the starchart. This is an everyday sort of ship, just trying to get from here to there. But all voyages leave their mark, and even the most ordinary of people have stories worth telling. A young Martian woman, hoping the vastness of space will put some distance between herself and the life she‘s left behind. An alien pilot, navigating life without her own kind. A pacifist captain, awaiting the return of a loved one at war. 

*** 

Review: The short version is, I loved this book. It wasn't without its flaws, but I absolutely loved it. I spotted it randomly while browsing Goodreads, looking for new reading suggestions, and the name drew me in. Sci-fi is definitely not my usual kettle of fish, so I was taking a chance by reading it, but my interest was further piqued by the fact that this book is the result of a Kickstarter - started by Becky in order to fund the time she needed to finish the novel. This to me suggested the novel was a real labor of love, and having read it, I can confirm that it absolutely is.

Although it's sci-fi, it's character- and story-driven sci-fi. I say story-driven rather than plot-driven - it is the stories of the characters, their backgrounds, their experiences, their goals that really make up the heart of this novel. It's quite a long read, and over the course of the book you get to know each of the characters in their context of their personal experiences and in the context of the episodic bigger picture on board the Wayfarer, much in the way you get to know a cast of characters throughout a mini-series on television. This is both the book's greatest strength and weakness - I loved the characters, I adored the Wayfarer, Lovey, all the different species and the depth of development that went into absolutely every angle of this novel. As I said, an utter labor of love. At the same time, the pacing and the potential focus points of the novel became a little overlooked, I think, in the author's desire to share everything there is to know about her universe. I'd nearly argue it would have been better as a trilogy - more time to focus more on maybe three big areas, rather than shoving everything into one book.

I don't really want to talk too much about the content of the story, other than to say that despite the sic-fi genre it's very much a book about people, their cultures, and their attempts to etch out places for themselves in the vastly complex and wildly confusing grand scheme of life. If that sounds like the kind of thing that appeals to you, then this is worth picking up.

Rating: 4.5/5

[bobblybear]

Sounds like a good read. I've added it to the wishlist.

[Anna Begins]

ha ha the penguin and the confetti are so cute!   to you!

 

I couldn't find a way to link to your previous review of Seed, but I was able to find it and read it now that I finished it.  As for your spoiler:

 

it was so natural for that to be the way for a cult to kill themselves, as we have had a number of those in the US, I didn't even make the Jim Jones connection. Actually both Jim Jones and Congressman Leo Ryan were from an area about 30 minutes from me, so this is heavily covered in the news- still- anyway, anniversaries, documentaries, etc. Heaven's Gate is another one, of course, not on such a large scale, still just as strange, if more so...but interesting you listened to the tapes, I am sure they were terrible.

 

[Nollaig]

Sounds like a good read. I've added it to the wishlist.

 

I hope you enjoy it if/when you get round to it!

 

ha ha the penguin and the confetti are so cute!   to you!

 

I couldn't find a way to link to your previous review of Seed, but I was able to find it and read it now that I finished it.  As for your spoiler:

 

it was so natural for that to be the way for a cult to kill themselves, as we have had a number of those in the US, I didn't even make the Jim Jones connection. Actually both Jim Jones and Congressman Leo Ryan were from an area about 30 minutes from me, so this is heavily covered in the news- still- anyway, anniversaries, documentaries, etc. Heaven's Gate is another one, of course, not on such a large scale, still just as strange, if more so...but interesting you listened to the tapes, I am sure they were terrible.

 

 

 

Hmmm maybe its just me so, being from a little country with no mass cult suicides, but it was all I could think of. Must look up the Heaven's Gate one. Morbid as it all is, I find it fascinating to learn about cults like that. The tapes were horrendous, there was one woman arguing for ages that they shouldn't do it and she was talked down and convinced to join them. But at the same time, I think it's important that stuff like that is out there, because people are so influential and so easily influenced, and as you say, there have been a number of them in the States and other countries.

 

[Nollaig]

Normal - Graeme Cameron

 

Synopsis:  He lives in your community, in a nice house with a well-tended garden. He shops in your grocery store, bumping shoulders with you and apologizing with a smile. What you don't know is that he has an elaborate cage built into a secret basement under his garage. This is how it's been for a long time. It's normal... and it works. Perfectly. Then he meets the checkout girl from the 24-hour grocery. And now the plan, the hunts, the room... the others. He doesn't need any of them anymore. He needs only her. But just as he decides to go straight, the police start to close in. He might be able to cover his tracks, except for one small problem—he still has someone trapped in his garage. Discovering his humanity couldn't have come at a worse time. 

*** 

Review: This was a pretty interesting read. Unlike most thrillers I read, there was no big whodunnit twist at the end, because the whole book is narrated from the perspective of a sociopathic serial killer. As this is kind of the selling point of the novel, I was hoping for a really exciting insight into a terrifying mind. While it was definitely fun to read the novel from his perspective (the narrator is unnamed, presumably an attempt to emphasize the fact that he could be anybody), he wasn't a particularly captivating character. None of the characters were particularly compelling really.

The writing was good, and the plot was definitely enjoyable enough to keep me reading to the end. There was a little too much of chapters ending with seemingly inescapable scenarios, from which everyone, of course, escaped. But as I say, it was enjoyable to read all the same. I did love the cops, I enjoyed reading the killer's interactions with them and their determination to catch him out but being unable to do so. The women in the book (which is, most of the other characters), left a bit to be desired. I found it hard to believe they would act the way they did - not utterly freaking out at being locked in a cage, seeming to develop something resembling Stockholm syndrome, and also not not questioning the weird actions of a guy you've just recently met. Hm.

An interesting read, but a little clunky and poorly developed, particularly in the area of characterization. Still, it was a pretty easy read (although a bit graphic in places), so if you're looking for something a bit different from your usual thriller, this isn't the worst choice you could make.

Rating: 3.5/5

[Nollaig]

Cuckoo Song - Frances Hardinge

 

Synopsis: When Triss wakes up after an accident, she knows that something is very wrong. She is insatiably hungry; her sister seems scared of her and her parents whisper behind closed doors. She looks through her diary to try to remember, but the pages have been ripped out. Soon Triss discovers that what happened to her is more strange and terrible than she could ever have imagined, and that she is quite literally not herself. In a quest find the truth she must travel into the terrifying Underbelly of the city to meet a twisted architect who has dark designs on her family - before it's too late...

*** 

Review: Having read and loved Fly By Night by the same author, I quickly picked this up in the hopes of a similarly awesome reading experience. It was definitely awesome, but in a completely different way. I almost never would have guessed that both books were by the same author, except that the same knack for gorgeous detail and credibility permeates this story as did in Fly By Night.

This is a YA fantasy novel, a little darker than many young adult novels and a little more realistic than many fantasy novels. And both of these attributes are precisely what I loved about it. Hardinge has an amazing ability to take elements that are not uncommon to stories in the genres she writes, but she spins them into such wonderfully original arrangements and genuinely compelling tales that, along with her stunning prose, they become an absolute pleasure to read. Additionally, this novel features the humanization of a 'monster', the story being largely told from her perspective, which makes it a rare treat in any of the several genres it spans. This is just one of the many layers that give a real sense of depth to the novel.

As with Fly By Night, this is a long book with a lot of detail, so there are moments where it seems to drag a little, but even though there were things I usually do not like in fantasy (fairy-type-folk, primarily), I still adored the way Hardinge wrote pretty much every character in this novel. I loved the story, I loved pretty much everything about it. I did knock off one star, as I did with Fly By Night, for the aforementioned dragging, but honestly if dark YA fairy stories are your thing, this is not to be missed.

Rating: 4/5

[Nollaig]

The Rest Of Us Just Live Here - Patrick Ness

 

Synopsis: What if you aren’t the Chosen One? The one who’s supposed to fight the zombies, or the soul-eating ghosts, or whatever the heck this new thing is, with the blue lights and the death? What if you’re like Mikey? Who just wants to graduate and go to prom and maybe finally work up the courage to ask Henna out before someone goes and blows up the high school. Again. Because sometimes there are problems bigger than this week’s end of the world, and sometimes you just have to find the extraordinary in your ordinary life. Even if your best friend is worshiped by mountain lions.

***
 

Review: This is the third of Patrick Ness's books that I've read, the other two being More Than This and A Monster Calls. As with More Than This, I really liked the concept, but was underwhelmed, if not outright disappointed by the execution. With his blatant love of Buffy The Vampire Slayer seeping into the novel, its difficult not to make comparisons, particularly the the actual episode of Buffy that followed the same concept. The thing about Buffy, however, is the viewer is actually invested in and understanding of the Chosen One and the Scoobies, whereas with Ness's novel, the few tidbits we do hear about the 'Indie Kids' are too sparse and generic to do anything except sit weirdly in contrast with a book that is otherwise just drama.

 

It's kind of an eccentric book, with some hilariously funny moments, but the vast majority of it seems unaffected by the proximity of supernatural occurences and results in it feeling disjointed. The drama side could easily have held its own in a book without the contrast. I'm probably somewhat biased as I have previously failed to 'get' Ness's writing, but I'm just not sure what some people think is so exceptional about it. It was easy to read, as I say quite funny at times, and I liked some of the characters. There were a couple of moments where I saw an uncomfortable amount of myself in Mikey, and these were among the moments that are always present in Ness's books - where I really see the talent in his writing. I just wish I could see whatever else it is that I apparently miss in it.

 

Rating: 3/5

[Athena]

Yay for Noll book reviews !

[~Andrea~]

That's interesting. I had heard about the Patrick Ness book and was intrigued. Not sure whether I'll bother with it though.

[Anna Begins]

I hope you enjoy it if/when you get round to it!

 

 

 

 

 

Sorry, that didn't quote right!  It left the spoiler in

 

Heavens Gate was a cult based around the comet Hale- Bopp in 1997. They wore purple square cloths and tennis shoes. Craziest thing. Ate something mixed with applesauce. But ya, we do get a lot of nuts lol Jim Jones was awful frightening though and to know his church was just like 20 minutes from me is weird.

 

 

Normal - Graeme Cameron

 

As this is kind of the selling point of the novel, I was hoping for a really exciting insight into a terrifying mind.

Have you read any Poppy Z Brite?  Exquisite Corpse is quite the book.  Normal sounds scary!

[Nollaig]

Yay for Noll book reviews !

 

 

 

That's interesting. I had heard about the Patrick Ness book and was intrigued. Not sure whether I'll bother with it though.

 

You might enjoy it, I don't know - have you read any of his other books?

 

Sorry, that didn't quote right!  It left the spoiler in

 

Heavens Gate was a cult based around the comet Hale- Bopp in 1997. They wore purple square cloths and tennis shoes. Craziest thing. Ate something mixed with applesauce. But ya, we do get a lot of nuts lol Jim Jones was awful frightening though and to know his church was just like 20 minutes from me is weird.

 

 

Have you read any Poppy Z Brite?  Exquisite Corpse is quite the book.  Normal sounds scary!

 

I haven't, but the name is familiar. I shall look it up! Normal sounds scary, but it's not really written well enough to succeed in being scary!

[Nollaig]

In A Dark, Dark Wood - Ruth Ware

 

Synopsis: Nora hasn’t seen Clare for ten years. Not since Nora walked out of school one day and never went back. In a dark, dark wood there was a dark, dark house. Until, out of the blue, an invitation to Clare’s hen do arrives. Is this a chance for Nora to finally put her past behind her? And in the dark, dark house there was a dark, dark room But something goes wrong. Very wrong. And in the dark, dark room… Some things can’t stay secret for ever.

 

***

 

Review: Hmm. This is going to be a short review, because I don't have a lot to say on it.This was one of those strange books which, although I know it wasn't very good, I enjoyed all the same. A guilty pleasure, I suppose. The writing was not terrible, although it wasn't great at times, and I suppose that made it more readable; making it easier for me to plow through to the end and satisfy my curiosity about whodunnit.

 

The actual plot, though... and the characters.... not so much. It certainly had potential, but ultimately there is too much that makes very little sense and it all amounts to an anti-climactic reveal that really does not lend itself to the extent of the drama that occurs before it. It kept me guessing right until the end, but that's mostly because the end didn't make a whole pile of sense.

 

So why on earth did I enjoy it so much? Honestly I don't know, but it definitely held my attention. Maybe I'm just a glutton for punishment. I honestly can't recommend this novel, unless you feel like reading the equivalent of a b-movie that's so bad it's curiously enjoyable. All the same... I think that might appeal to some people the same way it appeals to me!

 

Rating: 3/5

[chaliepud]

Happy belated birthday Noll. Hope you had a lovely day!