Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman
1990
978-0-57508-0-485
The Antichrist has been born - the end times are coming. Or they would be, if anyone knew where the baby ended up. Two beings, one on each side, are desperate to find out, but not because they want to be there when Armageddon begins...
I read this years ago, and have remembered it as a great read. It's not - it's brilliant. Witty, entertaining and raising a couple of points that everyone should have thought of themselves, this is now one of my all-time favourites. Both authors or living legends, with legions of fans, and the combination (even if they admit it was before they were cool) is irresistible.
Date Finished: 12/06/08
Year Total: 22
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Claudia: Daughter of Rome
Antoinette May
2006
0-7528-8660-2
The niece of Aggripina, (mother of Caligula) Claudia is no stranger to intrigue and politics, but as her story takes her from the arms of her family to her husband and her own family, she learns what true sorrow and pain is.
Gifted with the sight, she is tormented by her dreams, and devotes herself to her passions. Her story weaves in and out of accepted history; friends with Mary Magdalene and wife of Pontius Pilate, this is the story of an historical side note, richly fleshed out into an entertaining and absorbing read.
Date Finished: 10/06/08
Year Total: 21
2006
0-7528-8660-2
The niece of Aggripina, (mother of Caligula) Claudia is no stranger to intrigue and politics, but as her story takes her from the arms of her family to her husband and her own family, she learns what true sorrow and pain is.
Gifted with the sight, she is tormented by her dreams, and devotes herself to her passions. Her story weaves in and out of accepted history; friends with Mary Magdalene and wife of Pontius Pilate, this is the story of an historical side note, richly fleshed out into an entertaining and absorbing read.
Date Finished: 10/06/08
Year Total: 21
The Moth Diaries
Rachel Klein
2002
0-571-22463-6
The diary of a 16yo girl at boarding school, with foreword and afterword by the diarist as an adult. Starting at the beginning, with the impatience of waiting for Lucy, her best friend and roommate, and detailing the way teenage life ebbs and flows and begins to spiral out of control.
As Lucy seemingly deserts the unnamed writer in favour of Ernessa, things start to deteriorate, and the writer's obsession with Ernessa grows.
This was a disturbing read, as things get more dangerous and the inevitable ending, I found it a relief to finish.
Date Finished: 04/06/08
Year Total: 20
2002
0-571-22463-6
The diary of a 16yo girl at boarding school, with foreword and afterword by the diarist as an adult. Starting at the beginning, with the impatience of waiting for Lucy, her best friend and roommate, and detailing the way teenage life ebbs and flows and begins to spiral out of control.
As Lucy seemingly deserts the unnamed writer in favour of Ernessa, things start to deteriorate, and the writer's obsession with Ernessa grows.
This was a disturbing read, as things get more dangerous and the inevitable ending, I found it a relief to finish.
Date Finished: 04/06/08
Year Total: 20
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Something Rotten
Jasper Fforde
2004
0-340-83558-3
Thursday Next is back from the world of fiction, and ready to fight once more for the return of her husband, both for her own sake and for that of her son, Friday.
This book is every bit as delicious and ridiculous as the other three that precede it, and just as addictive. Several things unwind through this story and are neatly wrapped up, and you are left with the feeling that although Thursday's part in Fforde's world may no longer be the starring role, we won't be left with nothing.
Definitely one of my favourite authors, but with one downfall - if I start to rave half as much as I want to about this story, I will be giving too much away. Take my word for it though: this is a book to entertain.
Date Finished: 28/05/08
Year Total: 19
2004
0-340-83558-3
Thursday Next is back from the world of fiction, and ready to fight once more for the return of her husband, both for her own sake and for that of her son, Friday.
This book is every bit as delicious and ridiculous as the other three that precede it, and just as addictive. Several things unwind through this story and are neatly wrapped up, and you are left with the feeling that although Thursday's part in Fforde's world may no longer be the starring role, we won't be left with nothing.
Definitely one of my favourite authors, but with one downfall - if I start to rave half as much as I want to about this story, I will be giving too much away. Take my word for it though: this is a book to entertain.
Date Finished: 28/05/08
Year Total: 19
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Thirteen
Sebastian Beaumont
2006
1-905802-03
Stephen is a night-shift taxi driver. As he realises the state of exhaustion he is courting, he discovers that things that he has taken for granted are not what he thought - in one case, not part of the real world.
Although he is warned off, he is drawn increasingly to the world of Thirteen, growing more and more obsessed with the mysterious people who flit in and out of his life.
This started off promising, but as he got further and further in and felt that he was discovering a lot about himself, I felt that I wasn't getting anywhere. It seemed to get more confusing, and the ending felt like no ending whatsoever.
Disappointing.
Date Finished: 20-05-08
Year Finished: 18
2006
1-905802-03
Stephen is a night-shift taxi driver. As he realises the state of exhaustion he is courting, he discovers that things that he has taken for granted are not what he thought - in one case, not part of the real world.
Although he is warned off, he is drawn increasingly to the world of Thirteen, growing more and more obsessed with the mysterious people who flit in and out of his life.
This started off promising, but as he got further and further in and felt that he was discovering a lot about himself, I felt that I wasn't getting anywhere. It seemed to get more confusing, and the ending felt like no ending whatsoever.
Disappointing.
Date Finished: 20-05-08
Year Finished: 18
Eddy Deco's Last Caper
Gahan Wilson
1987
0-07-0707-28-6
An illustrated mystery, this book is a fun, light and ridiculous way to spend a Sunday morning.
Date Finished: 10-05-08
Year Total: 17
1987
0-07-0707-28-6
An illustrated mystery, this book is a fun, light and ridiculous way to spend a Sunday morning.
Date Finished: 10-05-08
Year Total: 17
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
The Glass Books of the Dream Eaters
G.W. Dahlquist
2006
0-670-91652-8
Written in a heavy, formal style and comprising over 700 pages, this book is immense, which is all the more surprising when you get to the end and realise that the entire story takes place within a matter of three days.
Miss Temple, suddenly and inexplicably dumped by her fiance, follows him, determined to find out why. She finds herself gatecrashing a terrible secret gathering, and endangers herself in the process. Cardinal Chang, scoundral for hire, finds himself at the same party, only to discover that the man he was hired to kill was already dead, and himself emboiled in the same dangerous conspiracy. And Dr Svenson, a foreigner trying to protect the idiotic prince he serves, lands in the middle of it as well. The three of them band together, fighting for their lives against a cabal armed with impossible powers.
Incredibly detailed, I found this story unique in that every moment is told from each point of view, presenting a horrifyingly vivid epic. I'm really pleased I stuck with this beyond the initial thought of such a big book written in such formal prose – the reward is infinitely worth it.
Date finished: 07/05/08
Year Total: 16
2006
0-670-91652-8
Written in a heavy, formal style and comprising over 700 pages, this book is immense, which is all the more surprising when you get to the end and realise that the entire story takes place within a matter of three days.
Miss Temple, suddenly and inexplicably dumped by her fiance, follows him, determined to find out why. She finds herself gatecrashing a terrible secret gathering, and endangers herself in the process. Cardinal Chang, scoundral for hire, finds himself at the same party, only to discover that the man he was hired to kill was already dead, and himself emboiled in the same dangerous conspiracy. And Dr Svenson, a foreigner trying to protect the idiotic prince he serves, lands in the middle of it as well. The three of them band together, fighting for their lives against a cabal armed with impossible powers.
Incredibly detailed, I found this story unique in that every moment is told from each point of view, presenting a horrifyingly vivid epic. I'm really pleased I stuck with this beyond the initial thought of such a big book written in such formal prose – the reward is infinitely worth it.
Date finished: 07/05/08
Year Total: 16
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