30 January 2010

#42. Trance State by John Case

Title:

Trance State

Author:

John Case

Genre:

Thriller

Synopsis:

A young researcher disappears after attending a tempting job interview and a troubled woman suicides in connection with a sinister plot. The sister of the dead woman goes looking for answers and finds far more of them than she is ready for.

Verdict:

Creepy, plotted well enough to move you along and shock you here and there, a little clunky in places but nice overall. A good holiday read.

Pages:

455

Read:

January 2010

#41. La Bella Figure: An Insider's Guide To The Italian Mind by Beppe Severgnini

Title:

La Bella Figura: An Insider’s Guide To The Italian Mind

Author:

Beppe Severgnini

Genre:

Non-Fiction/Travel/Humour

Synopsis:

An account of Italy told by an Italian to dispel the over-romanticism shopped about by movies and expatriate and share the truth of Italian life/society.

Verdict:

Told as a 10-day journey with each location used to make a point on culture etc. Interesting but slow going.

Pages:

269

Read:

January – March 2010

#40. The Yiddish Policeman's Union by Michael Chabon

Title:

The Yiddish Policeman’s Union

Author:

Michael Chabon

Genre:

Crime Fiction/Police Procedural/Alternate History

Synopsis:

In a remote Jewish community in an alternate history USA a down-and-out detective seeks a murderer, having to push through levels of obstruction and secrecy in an uncertain environment.

Verdict:

Beautifully crafted with wonderful turns of phrase and little hints of history and culture scattered about. I loved how Michael Chabon didn’t feel the need to append footnotes or a glossary and just let the reader work out what the different words/terms meant from context or left it up to you whether you wanted to look it up or not. This book sucked me right in. An excellent read.

Pages:

411

Read:

January 2010

#39. Sharp Shooter by Marianne Delacourt

Title:

Sharp Shooter

Author:

Marianne Delacourt

Genre:

Crime/Detective/Humour

Synopsis:

A girl who can see auras finds herself working as a P.I. in Perth and getting drawn into the less legitimate areas of society and quite a bit of danger as a result.

Verdict:

It was billed as ‘good for people who like Janet Evanovich’ but doesn’t even live up to that claim. It started off terribly with quite a blunt intro to her abilities, a cut-and-paste obligatory gay friend but by the end it was getting better, less predictable and felt like the author might manage a sequel with an actual structure/plot.

Pages:

311

Read:

January 2010

#38. It's Not My Fault They Print Them by Catherine Deveny

Title:

It’s Not My Fault They Print Them

Author:

Catherine Deveny

Genre:

Compilation

Synopsis:

A collection of Catherine Deveny’s Age columns, loosely divided by subject.

Verdict:

Sometimes the ‘like it or lump it’ is laid on a bit thick but overall good for a think and a laugh. Catherine Deveny doesn’t sugar coat her message and doesn’t treat hypocrisy with anything other than gleeful contempt.

Pages:

238

Read:

January 2010

#37. Past Reason Hated by Peter Robinson

Title:

Past Reason Hated

Author:

Peter Robinson

Genre:

Crime Fiction/Police Procedural

Synopsis:

A young woman is murdered shortly before Christmas and the police scramble to try uncover her hidden past in order to discover who could have wanted to do her harm.

Verdict:

The descriptions/characters/pacing and so on were… OK but it felt like a second best novel/author, everything felt a bit flat. There was a weird reference to Adam Dalgliesh (P.D. James’ fictional detective) as if he were a real person in the world this book takes place in which reminds the reader sharply in an annoying fashion that this is a work of fiction. Shitty treatment of GLBT characters and poor motives. Not worth reading.

Pages:

398

Read:

January 2010

#36. Life After God by Douglas Coupland

Title:

Life After God

Author:

Douglas Coupland

Genre:

Fiction

Synopsis:

A man muses on his life, memory and religion in a way that seems addressed to his daughter. Structured as little stories and segments told along a journey.

Verdict:

It seems more written to provoke thought than give answers. The life recounted through these discourses is a bit depressing but is a good vehicle for the topic.

Pages:

360

Read:

January 2010

#35. Oryx And Crake by Margaret Atwood


Title:
Oryx And Crake
Author:
Margaret Atwood
Genre:
Post-Apocalyptic/Science Fiction
Synopsis:
A man struggles to maintain his sanity and stay alive in the remains of a fallen society with strange companions, examining his memories of his life before the catastrophe and the part he played.
Verdict:
The evolution of genetic modifications and the societal implications are scarily prescient. The Crakers are a strange but interesting idea. Great read. Margaret Atwood writes a subtle but strong underlying theme into her books that carries you through.
Pages:
433
Read:
January 2010

#34. Unseen Academicals by Terry Pratchett

Title:

Unseen Academicals

Author:

Terry Pratchett

Genre:

Fantasy/Humour

Synopsis:

Football comes to Ankh Morpork along with all the attendant craziness, social commentary and so on that you expect from Terry Pratchett.

Verdict:

Excellent. I’m always worried about new Pratchett’s but he’s still on form. The slow shift in how new characters are presented – that began around ‘Going Postal’ continues with mixed results, they seem deeper and somehow a little more poignant/melancholy at times. Very touching.

Pages:

400

Read:

January 2010

#33. Girl By Sea by Penelope Green

Title:

Girl By Sea

Author:

Penelope Green

Genre:

Travel/Non-Fiction

Synopsis:

An Aussie girl who moved to Italy two books ago – ‘When In Rome’ ‘See Naples and Die’ continues to wrestle with the language, the culture and life in general as she and her Italian partner try life on the island of Procida outside of Naples.

Verdict:

Seems a bit less self-indulgent than the first two, slower paced lifestyle, all the constant talk of food makes me so damn hungry! The outsider’s assessment of a living culture and attempts to communicate in a second language are the most interesting part of Penelope Green’s books, not that fussed by her relationship stories.

Pages:

304

Read:

January 2010

#32. Monster Planet by David Wellington

Title:

Monster Planet

Author:

David Wellington

Genre:

Horror/Post-Apocalyptic/Zombies

Synopsis:

The ranks of the undead now have a hierarchy, self-aware zombies and the mummified beings from history that have also awakened. One of the oldest mummies strives to destroy the world as a zombie lich moves to thwart him in order to dominate humanity rather than from fine motives.

Verdict:

Decent continuation of the series. It doesn’t end on quite the note I’d like but it comes full circle with some of the ideas and characters it began with. Good to see an author trying something different.

Pages:

302

Read:

January 2010

#31.Monster Nation by David Wellington

Title:

Monster Nation

Author:

David Wellington

Genre:

Horror/Post-Apocalyptic/Zombies

Synopsis:

Follows the beginning of the zombie outbreak that has overrun the world in ‘Monster Island’. The possible cause of the outbreak is revealed as we watch the world go to hell in a hand basket thanks to corporate and political machinations by asshats trying to use the chaos to glean power and influence instead of addressing it efficiently.

Verdict:

Still compelling, still creepy, not a lot of room for hope seeing as you know what is coming and yet you keep hoping. You get the sense of the serialised format which doesn’t harm the story but which is a bit unfamiliar these days.

Pages:

285

Read:

January 2010

#30. Monster Island by David Wellington

Title:

Monster Island

Author:

David Wellington

Genre:

Horror/Post-Apocalyptic/Zombies

Synopsis:

A man who found himself in a third-world country when civilisation collapsed has to try find rare medical supplies in NYC with which to barter his position in a new warlord run society whilst dodging the zombies that now rule the city and most of the planet.

Verdict:

Interesting assessment of countries’ chances based on their existing and previous power structures and what will be considered important in a post-apocalyptic society. The use of mummies and the description of energy transfer are both quite original.

Note: I read this book whilst on holiday in a strange house by the beach. After having watched Jaws. Because I am an idiot.

Pages:

282

Read:

January 2010

#29. Things We Didn't See Coming by Steven Amsterdam

Title:

Things We Didn’t See Coming

Author:

Steven Amsterdam

Genre:

Post-Apocalyptic Fiction

Synopsis:

A series of short stories follow one character through a quickly morphing post-apocalyptic society.

Verdict:

Strange, a bit confusing and disjointed but decent nevertheless. It takes a few of the stories to be sure you are following the same character but once you are sure you realise how quickly things are changing around them and how drastically this changes them.

Pages:

174

Read:

January 2010