Neil Gaiman
1996
ISBN 0-563-38746-7
Richard Mayhew is a Scottish office worker living out his life in London. He is engaged, has friends at work, and is dragged around art galleries on weekends by his fiance. He is a sap, but a sap happy enough with his life.
Until he stumbles over a bleeding girl lying in the street. Disobeying his girlfriend, he picks her up and takes her home, and finds his whole life changing in unpleasant ways. First, his desk at work is replaced by a plant, his girlfriend doesn't recognise, and his flat is let to new tenants while he stands naked and invisible in the bathroom.
Richard does the only thing he can think of: he follows Door into London Below, a strange world of the forgotten people of London. He joins her in her quest to avenge her murdered family, meeting some odd people, some odder places and finally, the oddest thing of all, his own mind, talking back to him and forcing him to grow up.
I really enjoyed this book. The range of characters mixed into the twisting plot isn't overwhelming, and Richard's evolution from sap to hero is touched with a dry humour that I really liked. The ending was an opening, so hopefully there will be more books, and is already a BBC series that I will have to investigate.
One of the best of the year.
Date Finished: 17/11/07
Year Total: 39
Saturday, November 17, 2007
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Desperation
Stephen King
1996
ISBN 0-340-65428-7
Random people, pulled together by a psychotic cop and promised living hell before death, caught in a desert town under a dust storm, fenced in by strangely obedient coyotes and buzzards.
This book started off like a TV movie that I had to sit through once, so the first dozen pages were passed wondering if it was that movie (and feeling pretty pessimistic about the rest of the story), but it veered off in a whole new direction pretty quick. Once I realised that there were no evil gangs of truckers, and that King's story was far more interesting, I started taking more notice.
This is classic King: the story takes place over one night, yet fills over a thousand pages with the history of people and places. An urban legend turns out to be horribly true, and the small band of arrested travellers realise that they are the only ones who can bring a halt to the insanity around them. The climax is built at a breakneck speed, and you don't really know what's going on until it's happening, so it's hard to put down (must know what happens next!).
I like the amount of detail that King injects into story, as I think it brings a richness to the tale that a lot of other horror writers lack, so the size of this book didn't faze me, although it did become a personal challenge to get it finished as quickly as possible. I'm not sure I'll feel compelled to re-read this story, but the first attempt was pretty enjoyable.
Date Finished: 14/11/07
Year Total: 38
1996
ISBN 0-340-65428-7
Random people, pulled together by a psychotic cop and promised living hell before death, caught in a desert town under a dust storm, fenced in by strangely obedient coyotes and buzzards.
This book started off like a TV movie that I had to sit through once, so the first dozen pages were passed wondering if it was that movie (and feeling pretty pessimistic about the rest of the story), but it veered off in a whole new direction pretty quick. Once I realised that there were no evil gangs of truckers, and that King's story was far more interesting, I started taking more notice.
This is classic King: the story takes place over one night, yet fills over a thousand pages with the history of people and places. An urban legend turns out to be horribly true, and the small band of arrested travellers realise that they are the only ones who can bring a halt to the insanity around them. The climax is built at a breakneck speed, and you don't really know what's going on until it's happening, so it's hard to put down (must know what happens next!).
I like the amount of detail that King injects into story, as I think it brings a richness to the tale that a lot of other horror writers lack, so the size of this book didn't faze me, although it did become a personal challenge to get it finished as quickly as possible. I'm not sure I'll feel compelled to re-read this story, but the first attempt was pretty enjoyable.
Date Finished: 14/11/07
Year Total: 38
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Mankind: Have A Nice Day
Mick Foley
1999
ISBN 0-06-103101-1
Mankind, in his leather mask and bearing weapons, is one of the biggest fan favourites in the WWE, as well as being one of my favourites. He has a sense of humour alongside his willingness to sacrifice his own body for the entertainment of others, and the back of this book has a partial list of all the injuries he has sustained in his career.
I was interested in this book for two reasons: one, that I'm a fan of Foley, whether he's Cactus Jack, Mankind or Dude Love, and two, I'm as interested in the behind-the-scenes as I am in the show itself. I want to know how it works, and was looking forward to discovering how scripted things actually are.
This book was a surprise, and a good one. Foley is a great writer, injecting a real thread of humour through a story of frustration, determination and celebration. He touched on events that I remember, which seemed to make it more personal, and the photos scattered throughout helped to paint a blood red portrait of an amazing career.
What struck me most was not the self-sacrifice, or the determination to drive thousands of miles to learn how to tackle another wrestler, but a photo plonked into the story with a footnote buried at the end - a bloodied Mick Foley lying on the floor, a towel around his face. Doctors are busy stitching his face up, while his young daughter cheers him up by offering him lollies. That photo made me realise that this is not an extension of the make believe world of feuds and fights, but a real story, about a real guy with real, attainable dreams.
Date Finished: 09/11/07
Year Total: 37
1999
ISBN 0-06-103101-1
Mankind, in his leather mask and bearing weapons, is one of the biggest fan favourites in the WWE, as well as being one of my favourites. He has a sense of humour alongside his willingness to sacrifice his own body for the entertainment of others, and the back of this book has a partial list of all the injuries he has sustained in his career.
I was interested in this book for two reasons: one, that I'm a fan of Foley, whether he's Cactus Jack, Mankind or Dude Love, and two, I'm as interested in the behind-the-scenes as I am in the show itself. I want to know how it works, and was looking forward to discovering how scripted things actually are.
This book was a surprise, and a good one. Foley is a great writer, injecting a real thread of humour through a story of frustration, determination and celebration. He touched on events that I remember, which seemed to make it more personal, and the photos scattered throughout helped to paint a blood red portrait of an amazing career.
What struck me most was not the self-sacrifice, or the determination to drive thousands of miles to learn how to tackle another wrestler, but a photo plonked into the story with a footnote buried at the end - a bloodied Mick Foley lying on the floor, a towel around his face. Doctors are busy stitching his face up, while his young daughter cheers him up by offering him lollies. That photo made me realise that this is not an extension of the make believe world of feuds and fights, but a real story, about a real guy with real, attainable dreams.
Date Finished: 09/11/07
Year Total: 37
Saturday, November 10, 2007
Wicked: The Life & Times of the Wicked Witch of the West
Gregory Maguire
1995
ISBN 0 06 098710 3
Everyone knows the story of the Wizard of Oz, and the part of the Wicked Witch of the West. While this book recounts that part, it also traces the Witch through her life, painting a picture of a political activist and guilt-ridden lover.
Elphaba, the Witch, seems a strange choice of hero, but as the Wizard reshapes Oz, ordering pogroms and condemning intelligent Animals to the lives of ordinary animals, it becomes clear where the real evil lies. As Elphaba moves away from her schoolfriends and into the shadowy world of terrorism, some of her reasoning becomes harder to follow, but once the political intentions of the wizard - and of Elphaba's sister, the Witch of the East - become clear, the original story of her crusade against Dorothy, and her eventual death, become tragic instead of the traditional good-winning-against-evil.
This was an enjoyable book. Like a behind-the-scenes sneak peek, it will make you rethink the original story.
Date Finished: 31/10/07
Year Total: 36
1995
ISBN 0 06 098710 3
Everyone knows the story of the Wizard of Oz, and the part of the Wicked Witch of the West. While this book recounts that part, it also traces the Witch through her life, painting a picture of a political activist and guilt-ridden lover.
Elphaba, the Witch, seems a strange choice of hero, but as the Wizard reshapes Oz, ordering pogroms and condemning intelligent Animals to the lives of ordinary animals, it becomes clear where the real evil lies. As Elphaba moves away from her schoolfriends and into the shadowy world of terrorism, some of her reasoning becomes harder to follow, but once the political intentions of the wizard - and of Elphaba's sister, the Witch of the East - become clear, the original story of her crusade against Dorothy, and her eventual death, become tragic instead of the traditional good-winning-against-evil.
This was an enjoyable book. Like a behind-the-scenes sneak peek, it will make you rethink the original story.
Date Finished: 31/10/07
Year Total: 36
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