faithless by karin slaughter. i really liked this one. lena continues to struggle, but maybe starts to turn a corner towards the end, and the types of crimes committed are a refreshing break from the ones mostly inflicted in the first four grant county novels. sara and jeffrey, the unluckiest, most dead-body-findin' couple out there, find a dead body. the circumstances are, of course, totally fucked-up, and the clues lead to a religious cult. along the way, abortion and female autonomy get heavily explored. there are just a lot of insights that slaughter shares throughout that speak to her thoughtfulness and keen sensibilities. i'm gonna be sad when i'm out of grant county novels, but from what i understand, they will crossover with her will trent series.
Aliens: Bug Hunt - ed. by Johnathan Maberry. A genuinely mostly good anthology, where all stories take place in the Alien universe, and mostly involve the Colonial Marines, including several with which we're all familiar. Of the 18 tales, I would say at least 12-13 were really enjoyable, with only a couple of real clunkers. Among the contributing writers are horror/sci-fi/thriller authors Maberry, Scott Sigler, Ray Garton, Christopher Golden, Brian Keene, James A. Moore and Tim Lebbon. I would highly recommend this to any Alien fan.
Friend Request - Laura Marshall. Sort of a "I Know What You Did Last Summer" in the digital age. A woman gets a FB friend request from a girl she and her friends bullied in high school and who died 25 years earlier. An enjoyable thriller and debut novel from the author.
Blizzard is slowly churning out all of Warcraft's lore into these big heavy volumes full of pictures and tons and tons of juicy lore. I'm just a major Warcraft nerd and revisiting all of this brings me back to my young teen years. Loving every bit of it.
the little stranger by sarah waters. this was a straight rec from mayday, and ho-lee shit was this a good read. a gorgeously gothic ghost story about a crumbling mansion in rural england, the little stranger is insanely engaging. the ghostie bits are delightfully subtle and effectively creepy, and waters strikes the perfect balance between "i-know-smoething's-going-on-here-but-maybe-i-AM-crazy-?" what really makes the lushly written novel a delight, though, are the beautifully, fully realized characters and their relationships. writing about the seemingly nefarious intentions of the mansion is infinitely more affecting when we have a rooting interest in the people involved, and i found myself eagerly turning pages in anticipation of where various relationships were heading. waters takes time to build the world we're in--post wwII england--and then starts to perfectly jab us with unsettling moments, moments that are tinged with sadness and decay. i can't say enough about this novel. with clear inspirations from edgar allen poe and shirley jackson, waters crafts one of the most satisfying ghost stories i've read. really fucking great book.
@nance I wouldn't steer you wrong.
I'm really disappointed that Sarah Waters doesn't really write horror/supernatural novels, she's really more of a period piece author. Which sucks, 'cause I'd love to read more like TLS.
i'm gonna read her first novel shortly. i like her style of writing, and i'm a sucker for a good british period piece, especially when engaging characters are at hand. but i agree, i would like to see her write more supernatural/gothic horror stuff. i really, really enjoyed it.
Worth Dying For - Lee Child. Another fun-filled actioner where Jack Reacher takes down a ton of baddies he just happens to stumble across. This was one of my favorite novels thus far in the series.
damn you, karin slaughter! i just finished beyond reach, and, of course, it's awesome, as our heroes, dr. sara linton and chief of police jeffrey tolliver take on an insidious group of skinhead meth dealers with deep ties in the community. once again, slaughter makes us love these characters, and she is always moving them forward. this is the first novel since blindsighted where slaughter makes no mention of lena's trauma; this is significant and glaringly intentional, as lena's struggles--and oh, does she struggle here--are always tied back to that. here, i think, slaughter wisely allows lena to move forward from her victimization in blindsighted, and allows her more autonomy over her problems: oh, this is all on you, lena. harsh but true. and as is generally the case, slaughter snatches a gut-punch of an ending from the jaws of happiness. damn you again, karin slaughter! i reread the last page over and over for ten minutes before sitting there, in depressed resignation. so close, so close...
Bird Box - Josh Malerman. A real keeps-you-on-the-edge-of-your-seat horror/thriller quite unlike the vast majority of post-apocalyptic books out there these days. In parts it reminded me of Cormac McCarthy's The Road and the film 28 Weeks Later. I highly recommend this one.
@Mayday tell me about it...I just got a shipment in from Thrift books...had about 7 books roll up on my door step!? for like $25...pretty sweet deal. I have my share to get caught up on!
Almost done with this one. Pretty solid read. Enjoying is thus far.
Authority - Jeff Vandermeer Part two of the "Southern Reach Trilogy", Authority picks up the story a few years after the end of Annihilation. In many ways it was even better than the previous book, explaining more of the background of Area X while at the same time trying to figure out what has been going on there. The only real weakness of the book is it becomes repetitive and drawn out in the latter third, but it does set up the concluding chapter nicely.
Acceptance - Jeff VanderMeer. The conclusion to the Southern Reach trilogy. Definitely something to be pondered as it left as many questions as it did answers. Very intriguing, different, abstract Sci-Fi in this series, especially in the concluding book. As much as I'd like to see more movies, unless even bigger changes are made than were in the Annihilation adaption, I just don't see this book especially being adaptable to the screen. Definitely worth a read though.
One Bloody Thing After Another - Joey Comeau. A 'different' kind of book about a disparate group of people who all have supernatural things going on in their lives and whose stories intersect at some point. Comeau does a great job of telling the story without bogging it down with intricate details of everything going on. The book page numbers went up to 165, but really the story only took up maybe 60-70 pages. I would definitely give his other books a shot.
dare me by megan abbott. it would be easy to say this novel is heather-esque, but once you get past the obvious surface similarities--high school is a popularity sharktank--dare me heads down its' own tense and insightful path. addy and beth are the top cheerleaders for the eagles squad, and their game is about to elevated by the militant collette french, who plans to take the cheer squad to the next level. of course blood is spilled. the book is narrated by addy, in first person present tense, which makes for an alarmingly disconcerting read; as it progresses, one can't help feel addy's increasingly fevered state of mind. abbott is a really smart and engaging writer, and dare me is just loaded with ideas to ponder. there's also a really nice hard-boiled noir happening here. can't wait to read more of her.
@Mayday is it written in present tense? i typically have a hard time getting into present tense narration (see kathe koja), but abbott manages it just right. i am excited to read more by her.
Comments
Aliens: Bug Hunt - ed. by Johnathan Maberry. A genuinely mostly good anthology, where all stories take place in the Alien universe, and mostly involve the Colonial Marines, including several with which we're all familiar. Of the 18 tales, I would say at least 12-13 were really enjoyable, with only a couple of real clunkers. Among the contributing writers are horror/sci-fi/thriller authors Maberry, Scott Sigler, Ray Garton, Christopher Golden, Brian Keene, James A. Moore and Tim Lebbon. I would highly recommend this to any Alien fan.
Jury. Executioner. Judge.
Friend Request - Laura Marshall. Sort of a "I Know What You Did Last Summer" in the digital age. A woman gets a FB friend request from a girl she and her friends bullied in high school and who died 25 years earlier. An enjoyable thriller and debut novel from the author.
Jury. Executioner. Judge.
World of Warcraft Chronicle volume 2.
Blizzard is slowly churning out all of Warcraft's lore into these big heavy volumes full of pictures and tons and tons of juicy lore. I'm just a major Warcraft nerd and revisiting all of this brings me back to my young teen years. Loving every bit of it.
I'm really disappointed that Sarah Waters doesn't really write horror/supernatural novels, she's really more of a period piece author. Which sucks, 'cause I'd love to read more like TLS.
Jury. Executioner. Judge.
Worth Dying For - Lee Child. Another fun-filled actioner where Jack Reacher takes down a ton of baddies he just happens to stumble across. This was one of my favorite novels thus far in the series.
Jury. Executioner. Judge.
Bird Box - Josh Malerman. A real keeps-you-on-the-edge-of-your-seat horror/thriller quite unlike the vast majority of post-apocalyptic books out there these days. In parts it reminded me of Cormac McCarthy's The Road and the film 28 Weeks Later. I highly recommend this one.
Jury. Executioner. Judge.
I am bout to get going on this one! As soon as it comes in from overseas :-(
Jury. Executioner. Judge.
Almost done with this one. Pretty solid read. Enjoying is thus far.
Authority - Jeff Vandermeer Part two of the "Southern Reach Trilogy", Authority picks up the story a few years after the end of Annihilation. In many ways it was even better than the previous book, explaining more of the background of Area X while at the same time trying to figure out what has been going on there. The only real weakness of the book is it becomes repetitive and drawn out in the latter third, but it does set up the concluding chapter nicely.
Jury. Executioner. Judge.
Acceptance - Jeff VanderMeer. The conclusion to the Southern Reach trilogy. Definitely something to be pondered as it left as many questions as it did answers. Very intriguing, different, abstract Sci-Fi in this series, especially in the concluding book. As much as I'd like to see more movies, unless even bigger changes are made than were in the Annihilation adaption, I just don't see this book especially being adaptable to the screen. Definitely worth a read though.
Jury. Executioner. Judge.
One Bloody Thing After Another - Joey Comeau. A 'different' kind of book about a disparate group of people who all have supernatural things going on in their lives and whose stories intersect at some point. Comeau does a great job of telling the story without bogging it down with intricate details of everything going on. The book page numbers went up to 165, but really the story only took up maybe 60-70 pages. I would definitely give his other books a shot.
Jury. Executioner. Judge.
Jury. Executioner. Judge.