Noll's 2016 Books and Cross-Stitch

[Nollaig]

#48 Sleeping Giants - Sylvain Neuvel

 

Genre: Sci-Fi/Interview

Synopsis:  A girl named Rose is riding her new bike near her home in Deadwood, South Dakota, when she falls through the earth. She wakes up at the bottom of a square hole, its walls glowing with intricate carvings. But the firemen who come to save her peer down upon something even stranger: a little girl in the palm of a giant metal hand. Seventeen years later, the mystery of the bizarre artifact remains unsolved—its origins, architects, and purpose unknown. Rose Franklin is now a highly trained physicist leading a top secret team to crack the hand’s code. And along with her colleagues, she is being interviewed by a nameless interrogator whose power and purview are as enigmatic as the provenance of the relic. What’s clear is that Rose and her compatriots are on the edge of unraveling history’s most perplexing discovery. But once the pieces of the puzzle are in place, will the result prove to be an instrument of lasting peace or a weapon of mass destruction?

*** 

Review: Hmmm. Some things I really liked about this, and others I didn't like so much, averaging out to an okay reading experience. I'd been waiting for this to come out ever since noticing it on Goodreads, because the premise sounded really interesting, and I was curious to see how the author might make this book stand out from others. Honestly, it doesn't stand out much at all. Maybe the overall combination of elements - one part World War Z, one part War of the Worlds, one part Any Japanese Anime With Mechs, is a unique combination, but overall it felt like the plot for a mediocre anime series.

There were definitely aspects of the novel I liked - despite the interview format, something which has kept me from reading World War Z for years, it was pretty easy to tear through, so the writing was obviously somewhat engaging. As well as that, there is one element of the plot which, while brought about in a very forced way, is also both grim and awesome. Maybe not so awesome for the character involved, but it was probably the most interesting aspect of the book for me.

Beyond that.... I had no interest in the global politics. I felt the explanation for the title characters was really poor and uninteresting. And the interview format, which contained virtually no other documentation beyond interviews, did nothing but frustate me by hindering my experience of the events in the book by feeding them to me second hand instead of letting me experience them for myself.

The more I think about the book, the more I feel my enjoyment stemmed from how easy it was to read, as opposed to there being anything of any great substance here. I am however intrigued enough by the ending to read the second installment when it arrives.

Rating: ★★✰✰✰ (It was okay)

[Nollaig]

#49 The Girl With All The Gifts - M. R. Carey

Genre: Zombie/Post-Apocalyptic

Synopsis:  Melanie is a very special girl. Dr. Caldwell calls her "our little genius." Every morning, Melanie waits in her cell to be collected for class. When they come for her, Sergeant Parks keeps his gun pointing at her while two of his people strap her into the wheelchair. She thinks they don't like her. She jokes that she won't bite, but they don't laugh. Melanie loves school. She loves learning about spelling and sums and the world outside the classroom and the children's cells. She tells her favorite teacher all the things she'll do when she grows up. Melanie doesn't know why this makes Miss Justineau look sad.

*** 

Review: Okay. Let me get the bad stuff out of the way first, coz y'all know this review ends with praise. There isn't too much bad stuff here - I felt the book was a little bit of a slow burner - it became pretty obvious to me pretty quickly what was going on, and I felt it took a bit too long for Melanie to catch on. Even when she began to catch on, she came to at least two conclusions before she came to the big, glaring, neon obvious one. That, combined with the slight caricature of Dr. Caldwell, meant that I spent maybe the first third of the book not entirely sure how I felt about it. To anyone who has a similar initial response - stick with it.

It took me FOREVER to actually get around to reading this book, and yet somehow I managed to avoid knowing even the basic premise, let alone the Super McTwisty Fries ending, and I am so glad I did. Aside from Caldwell, I liked pretty much all the characters. I didn't expect to like Melanie based on my early apprasial of her, but once she started tuning in a bit she became really sweet and not a little bit badass. Miss Justineau is a whole load of badass - she's probably my favourite character, because there are a few times in this book when she says or does things you always WANT characters to do, but they never do. Miss Justineau does. She's open-minded, brave, strong-willed, intelligent and driven. Great character. All of the other characters play their (slightly cliched) parts very well, with their interactions and reactions written credibly and engagingly - except maybe Caldwell.

I've categorized this novel as zombie/post-apoc, which I'm guessing most people know it is. I didn't know that for THE LONGEST TIME, I thought it was gonna be like a light-hearted comedic love story. What rock have I been living under?! Anyway, y'all know this is an overwritten, overused and often underutilized genre - it's been rehashed so many times that its rare for authors to even attempt anything new, let alone succeed. Carey, however, does both. The actual source of the contagion- is awesome. The mutations and growth of the contagion - are awesome. The outcome of the world being driven into the ground by this contagion, and everything about the ending of this book? Fantastic. Absolutely. Frigging. Loved it. I forgive any and all flaws this book has, for that beautiful ending. So unexpected. Weirdly uplifting. Wonderfully different. This book was an absolute treat.

Rating: ★★★★★ (it was amazing)

[Nollaig]

Sorry, I laughed at the thought of a book mysteriously vanishing into the ether!

 

How frustrating though. Hope it appears!

 

I've been catching up on your log and as usual enjoyed your reviews. We often have different tastes but I always enjoy reading your thoughts on things. 

 

Thank you so much, it always gives me warm fuzzies when people like my reviews

[Michelle]

 

#49 The Girl With All The Gifts - M. R. Carey

 

Review: Okay. Let me get the bad stuff out of the way first, coz y'all know this review ends with praise.  (it was amazing)

 

I love the way the bad stuff builds up nicely to 'amazing'!

[Nollaig]

I love the way the bad stuff builds up nicely to 'amazing'!

 

Yeah. I base my ratings on how I come away from the book feeling. If I tear through it totally engrossed, but come away feeling underwhelmed, it gets 2 or 3 stars. If it's a slow starter but I come away loving it, it gets 4 or 5 stars.

[Anna Begins]

I'm so glad you liked The Girl With All the Gifts! I've been waiting to find out your feelings . I loved the end!

[Athena]

Great reviews!

 

Yeah. I base my ratings on how I come away from the book feeling. If I tear through it totally engrossed, but come away feeling underwhelmed, it gets 2 or 3 stars. If it's a slow starter but I come away loving it, it gets 4 or 5 stars.

That's an interesting way of doing it. When I still rated books, I used to rate them based on my enjoyment I had while reading the book, and the enjoyment just after (thinking back of it).

[Nollaig]

I'm so glad you liked The Girl With All the Gifts! I've been waiting to find out your feelings . I loved the end!

 

Fantastic end, can't believe anyone didn't like it! And weirdly, I didn't see it coming, though as soon as I clicked it I felt I should have seen it way sooner!

 

Great reviews!

 

 

That's an interesting way of doing it. When I still rated books, I used to rate them based on my enjoyment I had while reading the book, and the enjoyment just after (thinking back of it).

 

 

Well, I guess the only way I can explain it is this - if a book is a bit unsure at the start, or confusing through the middle, but it *all comes together* in the end to make something that feels complete and satisfying, then it will get a high rating. If I tear through a book which I'm enjoying at the time, hoping for a good ending that finishes it off nicely, and I don't get that, then to me it undermines everything I just read, because the author failed to wrap it all up into something satisfying and well-concluded. Does that make sense? Sometimes a book which was good throughout with a bad ending will get three, rather than two stars because i enjoyed it to an extent, and similarly a book which had a few flaws but blew me away in the end might get five, rather than four, stars for impacting me so greatly. 

 

Also there are obviously books which are great the whole way through and bad the whole way through too.

[Athena]

Well, I guess the only way I can explain it is this - if a book is a bit unsure at the start, or confusing through the middle, but it *all comes together* in the end to make something that feels complete and satisfying, then it will get a high rating. If I tear through a book which I'm enjoying at the time, hoping for a good ending that finishes it off nicely, and I don't get that, then to me it undermines everything I just read, because the author failed to wrap it all up into something satisfying and well-concluded. Does that make sense? Sometimes a book which was good throughout with a bad ending will get three, rather than two stars because i enjoyed it to an extent, and similarly a book which had a few flaws but blew me away in the end might get five, rather than four, stars for impacting me so greatly. 

 

Also there are obviously books which are great the whole way through and bad the whole way through too.

That does make sense, thanks for elaborating for me .

[Anna Begins]

I felt the same way about the end! Duh!

[pontalba]

Great reviews, all of 'em!   I especially look forward to reading The Thing Itself......I've already downloaded it to my iPad/kindle.

[Nollaig]

That does make sense, thanks for elaborating for me .

 

No problem!

 

I felt the same way about the end! Duh!

 

I love Miss Justineau. Any idea if it's gonna be made into a film? Would make a great film. Although realistically they probably wouldn't keep that ending, so what would be the point.

 

Great reviews, all of 'em!   I especially look forward to reading The Thing Itself......I've already downloaded it to my iPad/kindle.

 

Ooooooooooooooh! I really, really hope you enjoy it. It takes a little bit of dedication, and like I said, the ending could maybe have been a little more satisfying, but I loved it. 

[Anna Begins]

I liked her too I don't know, maybe they could leave the ending and fry viewers minds lol. It would make a good movie though. I don't have much hope for Burial Rites (Hannah Kent) it was slated for 2012 or something ridiculous. Jennifer Lawrence was set to play Agnes!

 

Hmm... can't do a spoiler on my Fire. I don't think it's one to say I absolutely hate that my government kills people.

[Nollaig]

It's definitely not a spoiler because I have no idea what you're talking about

[Nollaig]

#50 The Forest of Hands and Teeth - Carrie Ryan

Genre: Zombie/Young Adult

Synopsis: In Mary's world there are simple truths. The Sisterhood always knows best. The Guardians will protect and serve. The Unconsecrated will never relent. And you must always mind the fence that surrounds the village; the fence that protects the village from the Forest of Hands and Teeth. But, slowly, Mary’s truths are failing her. She’s learning things she never wanted to know about the Sisterhood and its secrets, and the Guardians and their power, and about the Unconsecrated and their relentlessness. When the fence is breached and her world is thrown into chaos, she must choose between her village and her future—between the one she loves and the one who loves her. And she must face the truth about the Forest of Hands and Teeth. Could there be life outside a world surrounded by so much death?

*** 

Review: This was a really fun young adult zombie read. That sentence is about as exciting as this book gets, but it's no bad thing either. I'm used to reading more adult zombie books, so this one perhaps seemed a little simplistic to me (or not even simplistic - just simply written), but I still really enjoyed it. With a book like this with a large mystery at its heart, particularly one that bears a resemblance to a certain movie (people living in a Village in the forest...), an author needs two things to be successful: 1. to make the journey compelling. Make us WANT to find out whats going on. 2. Don't overcomplicate it, or try to make it mindblowing. It's all been done before, and your best bet is writing something that is a new spin on classic features with an overall satisifying feel. I think that's pretty much what Carrie Ryan has accomplished here.

I loved the settings in this book, and I loved the quite slow pace. While the main character got on my nerves a little bit - as is frequently a problem in YA novels, she's a little too focused on love, she was a fairly decent character. Weirdly, I felt like there was little or no intent behind her actions, most of the time she seemed to think 'I probably shouldn't do this' and then she did it anyway. But whatever, she was tolerable. The mystery behind the village, the forest, the zombies (sorry, "Unconsecrated") held my attention and I tore through the book in two evenings.

Naturally, as is the case with YA stories, this is a trilogy, so you don't really get any answers at the end of the book, just more questions. Fortunately, I enjoyed this one enough to be happy to read another one, and perhaps two. I just hope that Carrie has a satisfying explanation for everything at the end!

Rating: ★★★★✰ ( loved it)

[Nollaig]

#51 Sister - Rosamund Lupton

Genre: Fiction/Mystery

Synopsis: Nothing can break the bond between sisters ...When Beatrice gets a frantic call in the middle of Sunday lunch to say that her younger sister, Tess, is missing, she boards the first flight home to London. But as she learns about the circumstances surrounding her sister's disappearance, she is stunned to discover how little she actually knows of her sister's life - and unprepared for the terrifying truths she must now face.The police, Beatrice's fiance and even their mother accept they have lost Tess but Beatrice refuses to give up on her. So she embarks on a dangerous journey to discover the truth, no matter the cost.

*** 

Review:  Oh god, this book. It took me days to get through this book. I've read another of Lupton's books recently - The Quality of Silence, which, apart from the ending, I largely really liked. I decided to try another of her books based on the writing, and the writing in Sister was similarly great, for the most part. But this book and I did not get off on the right foot at all - it is told from the first-person perspective of one of the sisters, directed to the other, and recollects the present event of recollecting past events to pair of police officers, to another police officer. Confused? Me too. I kept losing track of whether stuff was happening in the past or present, and as such most of my early reading experience was focused on trying to keep track of when things were happening, rather than immersing myself in what should have been all of the feels.

Eventually I got the hang of what was going on - and to be fair to the book, my mojo was massively disrupted by having a social life over the weekend, so I really wasn't giving this book enough attention -and I became fairly interested in finding out what had happened to Bee's sister. But it was so tiring to listen to her endlessly suspect everyone, endlessly follow a fixed schedule (Tuesday I will... it was Tuesday, so I went... Arranged for Thursday... it was Thursday, so I went). Nothing seemed to happen organically. This impeded my desire to find out what happened, but now I was only like 100 pages from the end and the writing is very beautiful in places, so I kept going.

And suddenly! .....Redemeption for this dull slog of a read? Really? Is the author really going to do this?! This would be amazing! What an awesome.... oh, no. No. She really didn't. She set up the absolute perfect ending, with a superbly executed twist that I should have seen coming, but didn't. But no. She then undid all the impact of the twist with the final ending, and had the book not been on my tablet, I might have flung it across the room in a temper.

So much potential, so little satisfaction. I should probably give it three, but I'm giving it 2 for taking away that brilliant ending. After two books with underwhelming endings, I think I might be done with Lupton. Sorry Lupton! Just not for me.

Rating: ★★✰✰✰ (it was okay)

[pontalba]

I searched back aways,  and found I'd read Sisters back in August of 2011.......no review, but a 5/5 rating.   I think it's one I'd not mind rereading.  Even if only to recall the ending bit you're talking about!

 

Lupton's newest one, Quality of Silence is sitting on a stack on the ottoman out in the Sun Room.....I started it, but somehow didn't feel compelled to continue.  Something about the actual plot put me off.  For the time being at any rate. 

[chesilbeach]

I've gone off YA a bit at the moment, but I've heard about The Forest of Hands and Teeth before - I think Weave might have read it a while back? - maybe when I get my YA mojo back I'll give it a go, as your review sounds great, but I'm also a bit over trilogies too at the moment (I think I'm going through a grumpy old lady phase ), so I may never actually get around to it!

[Nollaig]

I searched back aways,  and found I'd read Sisters back in August of 2011.......no review, but a 5/5 rating.   I think it's one I'd not mind rereading.  Even if only to recall the ending bit you're talking about!

 

Lupton's newest one, Quality of Silence is sitting on a stack on the ottoman out in the Sun Room.....I started it, but somehow didn't feel compelled to continue.  Something about the actual plot put me off.  For the time being at any rate. 

 

What I would say about the ending of Sister is I like really dark/bleak books. It set itself up to be bleaker than it was.

 

I've gone off YA a bit at the moment, but I've heard about The Forest of Hands and Teeth before - I think Weave might have read it a while back? - maybe when I get my YA mojo back I'll give it a go, as your review sounds great, but I'm also a bit over trilogies too at the moment (I think I'm going through a grumpy old lady phase ), so I may never actually get around to it!

 

Yeah she did. It was a good book, thoroughly enjoyable at the time - but not something I'd ever read again, if that makes sense. I haven't moved onto the second in the trilogy yet. I'm generally not a fan of trilogies these days either.

[chaliepud]

Yeah she did. It was a good book, thoroughly enjoyable at the time - but not something I'd ever read again, if that makes sense. I haven't moved onto the second in the trilogy yet. I'm generally not a fan of trilogies these days either.

It didn't impress me greatly, I thought it was rather slow and stale and not at all original. I gave it 3 stars but seeing as I am generally over generous in my reviews it isn't particularly flattering!

[Anna Begins]

I'm done with trilogies for awhile too.

[Anna Begins]

Ugh! I can't do a spoiler on my Fire!!

[Athena]

Ugh! I can't do a spoiler on my Fire!!

x

Not even typing [ spoiler ] [ / spoiler] without spaces? Or is it hard to type the [, /, and ] ? A shame .

[Nollaig]

It didn't impress me greatly, I thought it was rather slow and stale and not at all original. I gave it 3 stars but seeing as I am generally over generous in my reviews it isn't particularly flattering!

 

I liked that it was a bit slow. It wasn't very memorable, but I did enjoy it.

 

I'm so behind on reviews again, ugh. I read too fast for my review mojo.

[Nollaig]

#52 The Demonologist - Andrew Pyper

Genre: Religious Horror

Synopsis: A stolen child. An ancient evil. A father’s descent. And the literary masterpiece that holds the key to his daughter’s salvation. Professor David Ullman is among the world’s leading authorities on demonic literature, with special expertise in Milton’s Paradise Lost. Not that David is a believer—he sees what he teaches as a branch of the imagination and nothing more. So when the mysterious Thin Woman arrives at his office and invites him to travel to Venice and witness a “phenomenon,” he turns her down. That evening, David’s wife announces she is leaving him. With his life suddenly in shambles, he impulsively whisks his beloved twelve-year-old daughter, Tess, off to Venice after all. But what happens in Venice will change everything. In a terrifying quest guided by symbols and riddles from the pages of Paradise Lost, David must track the demon that has captured his daughter and discover its name. If he fails, he will lose Tess forever.

*** 

Review: Ugh, this book. Why did I feel compelled to keep reading it? This isn't going to be a long review, because I've already spent enough time on this book.

I love the concept - demons and biblical evil and all that stuff is right up my street. There's even something not entirely unrelated to one of my favourite shows, Supernatural, about a guy driving around America following clues about unusual occurences while on the hunt for a family member. The giant paragraph of a synopsis on Goodreads sums up the entire first section of the book, and I am glad I only skimmed it, or I'd have totally spoiled the only good part of the book! The rest... was pointless. And not as all scary or disturbing.

As I said, it got off to a pretty decent start - it roped me in, it set up a Big Evil with a big evil plan, and while the writing isn't amazing, it's also not the worst I've ever read. But it just turned into the main character pointlessly meandering around the country for no real reason (read as, an incredibly flimsy reason discovered near the end), while building up to an extremely anti-climatic finish which was underwhelming and unsatisfying.

Honestly cannot recommend it. Giving it two stars simply because it kept me reading to the end. And in fairness, there were a couple of tense/action-packed moments that could have been part of an enjoyable bigger picture if there.... had been one.

Rating: ★★✰✰✰ (It was okay)