‘The Chrysalids’ by John Wyndam – Review (Book)

Written in 1955, The Chrysalids is a story set in a post apocalyptic world where it appears a nuclear war several thousand years ago has seen whatever people survived living a more rural life.

Because such a long time has passed the people now believe the nuclear event was God punishing the ‘Old People.’ Exposure to radiation has meant that occasionally animals or people are born with ‘defects’ and seen as ‘blasphemies’ from the devil.

Anything with a defect is killed as a sacrifice or (for people) cast out of the land and into an area the locals call the ‘Fringes’ and left to fend for themselves against the other desperate people out there.

David Strorm is only ten years old and has been bought up with a strict religious upbringing because his father is one of the town’s respected senior members. It is always refreshing to read a book written from the perspective of a child when it’s done right, and Wyndam does it right.

After befriending a girl that has a small physical defect (six toes on each foot), David begins to question the rigidity of the environment he has been raised in. Coupled with vivid dreams of technologically advanced cities and the discovery that he may also have a ‘blasphemy’, it’s enough to put him on a path that clashes with his upbringing.

It brought to mind the recent stories of Megan Phelps, who left the infamous Westboro Church movement. When all you’ve known growing up is the hatred fed to you why would you question it? You can find more info on that HERE.

The Chrysalids is an interesting book that deals with some interesting aspects of society and religion. The characters are well written and Wyndam does a good job of fleshing out the world into a believable place. It stumbles here and there with some pacing issues, the ending in particular felt a little rushed but this is a book well worth checking out.

Rating: 8/10

‘The Affair’ by Lee Child – Review (Book)

As long term readers of this blog might know, I am a huge fan of Lee Child’s ‘Jack Reacher’ novels. With ‘The Affair’ being the 16th in the series, I often wonder whether Child will eventually run out of steam.

Thankfully he shows no signs of doing so based on this tale of corruption, small town gossip and murder.

Set 6 months before ‘Killing Floor’, the first Reacher novel, this book serves as a prequel and finds Reacher still serving in the military police.

A woman is found murdered in a back alley with her throat cut. No-one seems to have any idea who it was but local suspicion points to the local military base.

One of Reacher’s colleagues is sent to the base, Fort Kelham, to investigate in an official capacity and Reacher is instructed to follow close behind – posing as a civilian while poking around undercover.

Child’s easy to read style is as good as ever. He gives you just enough description without bogging things down and the book is well paced.

There is sometimes a concern with prequels that they might end up falling short because they are bound by what’s to follow and whatever background may have already been revealed in the other novels.

That definitely isn’t the case with ‘The Affair’, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and for fans of the series it is great to see more of Reacher’s past. Even if you haven’t read any of the previous books this is certainly one I’d recommend.

Rating:9/10

Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World – Review (Film)

I’m a fan of Edgar Wright’s work – Shaun Of The Dead, Hot Fuzz and Spaced are all great in my opinion. So I was looking forward to his interpretation of the Scott Pilgrim comic books.

Sometimes the spirit of a written work can be lost in translation to a different media and while I haven’t read the books, from what I’ve seen of them this film does a good job of capturing the feel of Scott Pilgrim’s world.

Pilgrim is a slacker who plays in a band. After meeting a girl, Ramona Flowers, he decides he has to win her over and sets about trying to make her his girlfriend – despite the fact he already has one.

To date Ramona he has to defeat her 7 evil exes, which sets up some great game-inspired fight scenes. I enjoyed the stylised way Wright handled the film, although I’m not sure everyone will like that direction.

Certainly I suspect it’ll be a love-or-hate movie. Personally I really enjoyed it and thought it was well worth a watch.

Michael Cera and Mary Elizabeth Winstead are great in the lead roles and Kieran Culkin is excellent as Wallace Wells, Scott’s roommate. The whole movie is pretty well cast, even the actors in smaller roles bring a lot to the table and it’s always nice to see Jason Schwartzman on the big screen.

Overall this is a difficult movie to recommend to a broad audience. If you’re into games I would say you’ll enjoy this, there are a host of little in-jokes/homages that you will have fun spotting. However it might be a little bit too far down the rabbit hole for your average viewer. Having said that, it’s certainly a watchable film – you just need to suspend reality for a while

Rating: 8/10

‘The Hare With Amber Eyes’ by Edmund De Waal – Review (Book)

As much as I love a good story it’s sometimes nice to lose yourself in someone else’s memoirs. Often that someone is a celebrity or somebody you admire. In the case of ‘The Hare With Amber Eyes’ the main focus of the book is a collection of small Japanese ceramic figurines called netsuke.

Beginning in the late 1800′s with the author’s distant relatives, the book charts the course of the netsuke collection (all 250 of them) as they pass through generation to generation.

While it may not sound particularly riveting in practice the journey of the figurines is an impressive one, taking in multiple eras and surviving two World Wars.

Added to that is the struggle of De Waal as he looks to unlock his family history – although fortunately for him his ancestors were not only wealthy but also well documented as figures in the social scenes of the time.

‘The Hare With Amber Eyes’ is a thoroughly interesting book but does drag a little in places – it becomes bogged down in intricate detail here and there, which slows things up.

I’m not even sure who I would recommend this to? I doubt there is a huge market for netsuke among people I know or the people who read this blog (please let me know if that’s incorrect!). Obviously an interest in ceramics/pottery (which I don’t personally have) may make it more intriguing but I think if you like a mixture of memoir and story then maybe this is the book for you.

Rating: 7/10

‘An Idiot Abroad’ by Karl Pilkington – Review (Book)

‘An Idiot Abroad’ is the book that accompanies the excellent TV series of the same name that saw Karl Pilkington, a not very well travelled Englishman, being sent abroad to visit some of the wonders of the world.

As I have mentioned before (indeed it won ’Best Factual’ in my TV Awards in 2010) the series was great fun and it definitely did show you a different side to the wonders of the world.

Told from Karl’s perspective the book gives you some further insight into just what was going through his mind while all this madness was going on around him. Whether it’s the Pyramids or the Taj Mahal, you can guarantee it won’t be a straight forward affair – especially as it’s Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant that are planning the trips for him.

So if you’ve seen Karl in action on TV already, do you need to check out this book?

Unfortunately, almost all of the best bits of the book will be stuff you’ve already seen which obviously dampens the impact and to some extent the enjoyment of them.

I wouldn’t recommend reading ‘An Idiot Abroad’ if you’ve seen the show however for those of you with no plans to view it, this is a good, solid read that is worth checking out.

Rating: 7/10

GregHorrorShow: The Books Of 2011

We move on now to books and I made it through a fair few titles this year – one of which was the biggest book I’ve ever read… More on that later

As usual these aren’t in order but I’d recommend all of them:

• ‘Worth Dying For’ – Lee Child
• ’61 Hours’ – Lee Child
• ‘Dragon Age: Stolen Throne’ – David Gaider
• ‘Atlas Shrugged’ – Ayn Rand
• ‘Killzone Ascendency’ – Sam Bradbury
• ‘The Fall’ – Chuck Hogan & Guillermo Del Toro
• ‘Shadow’s Edge’ – Brent Weeks
• ‘The Girl Who Played With Fire’ – Stieg Larsson
• ‘An Idiot Abroad’ – Karl Pilkington
• ‘All Your Base Are Belong To Us’ – Harold Goldberg

The two Jack Reacher novels by Lee Child really moved things up a notch after a couple of good, but not great entries, in the series. ’61 Hours’ was the first part and a real return to form but I felt ‘Worth Dying For’ was superior and one of the best book in the series.

I’m not a massive fan of fantasy style books but I certainly enjoyed the novel based on the Dragon Age game universe by David Gaider, along with the excellent ‘Shadow’s Edge’ by Brent Weeks. Both drew on different areas of the fantasy genre but I thought they were excellent and Brent Weeks does a great job of setting up the reader for the final book in the trilogy.

In terms of factual books I didn’t make it through many but the stand out ones for me were Karl Pilkington’s ‘An Idiot Abroad’ and ‘All Your Base Are Belong To Us’ by Harold Goldberg. The former catalogues Karl’s trips to far flung destinations and the crazy set ups that Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant organize for him. The impact was slightly dulled by having seen the accompanying TV series but it’s worth a read. ‘All Your Base Are Belong To Us’ relays the history of videogames but in a well written, almost anecdotal style. If you’re interested in games there is a lot of great info and interviews on subjects from EA in the 1990′s up to GTA in the 2000′s.

The biggest book I’ve ever read was also among the greatest – ‘Atlas Shrugged’ by Ayn Rand clocked in at well over 1000 pages but I could not stop reading it. Dagny Taggart and all the other characters felt real and alive which is down to Rand’s strong narrative. While I don’t neccessasarily agree with Objectivism in it’s purist form I certainly believe the world could learn a thing or two from this work. I recommend this whole heartedly, it’s the only book I’ve ever read that gave me goosebumps.

After making my way through Ayn Rand‘s masterpiece I felt like reading something a little less classical so plumped for ‘Killzone Ascendency’ by Sam Bradbury, which retells the story of Killzone 3 but fleshes out some parts in terms of what the characters were thinking and a few parts of back story. If you like the game you could do worse than pick this one up.

The second part of the Strain trilogy, ‘The Fall’ by Chuck Hogan & Guillermo Del Toro, arrived midway through the year and once I started it I couldn’t put it down. The story of a vampiric virus is written in such a frantic style that you find yourself reading and reading until you have to stop.

A book that had a slower start was Stieg Larsson’s ‘The Girl Who Played With Fire’, the second title in the Millenium triolgy. Like the first book, things took a while to get going but once the rollercoaster started I didn’t want it to end. While the final few chapters of the book were a little disappointing in terms of some of the choices made, I can’t wait to read the final part soon!

So there we go, a busy year for books – let me know what you’ve all been reading in the comments.

‘The Bad Place’ by Dean Koontz – Review (Book)

‘The Bad Place’ is one of Koontz’s more supernatural novels and tells the story of Frank Pollard.

Frank wakes up in an alley knowing nothing but his name and feeling an overwhelming urge that he’s being chased and needs to get away.

He hires a private detective husband and wife team to help him after suffering more blackouts and having no idea what is happening to him… Or indeed who he is.

As the story unravels and Frank’s past is revealed everyone finds themselves dragged into a dangerous game of cat and mouse – where the stakes are life or death.

Koontz is a master of the genre but I’ve found I do prefer his more recent books that are grounded in reality. ‘The Bad Place’ is a decent read though.

The storytelling is good and Koontz does a nice job of capturing the chemistry of a husband and wife team. The characters were likable but unfortunately I just didn’t connect fully with this novel compared to some of his other ones.

Rating: 6/10

‘Dragon Age: The Stolen Throne’ by David Gaider – Review (Book)

Having played through and enjoyed Dragon Age: Origins on the PS3, I was intrigued to find that the universe of the game had been expanded with this novel.

Serving as a prequel to the game, Stolen Throne is set thirty years prior to where you started your story in game.

The book tells the story of Maric who, following the death of his mother Queen Moira, finds himself as the King of Ferelden. The only problems being that Ferelden is currently occupied by it’s neighbour Orlais and the fact that no-one knows that Maric is still alive.

As he flees the scene of his mother’s betrayal and death he meets up with a band of rebels, who take him in without realising the consequences. Will he disappear into the shadows? Or is he willing to stand up and reclaim the title of King?

The Stolen Throne is a decent read and while it can be easy to get bogged down in the detail, Gaider provides a vivid picture of events and on the whole brings the characters to life.

I wouldn’t say this was a pick up and dive into book and it certainly helps to have played the game first – not necessarily for the story but it helps in terms of the places the book is set.

I would’ve liked to have seen a little bit more of a crossover with the game if I’m being honest but as it stands The Stolen Throne is a solid, tie-in novel.

Rating: 6/10

‘The Fall’ by Chuck Hogan and Guillermo Del Toro – Review (Book)

The Fall is the second part of the Strain trilogy and picks up almost immediately where The Strain left off.

Eph Goodweather, the former head of the Centre for Disease Control, now heads up a small band of survivors that made it through the initial virus. They face an even tougher battle as the vampiric attackers have taken over, causing panic and killing thousands along the way.

Chuck Hogan and Guillermo Del Toro do a great job of showing the struggle that the survivors face and the fact that the majority of people don’t believe the problem is anything worse than youths rioting (which is the government line).

The Fall continues the strong writing of the first book and in many ways surpasses it. Whilst it is gruesome in places, the story it tells is most definitely one worth checking out.

Now I’m left hanging on for the final part of the trilogy, which is expected next year.

Rating: 9/10

‘The Girl Who Played With Fire’ by Steig Larsson – Review (Book)

Having read and enjoying the first novel in the Millennium Trilogy, ‘The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo,’ I was excited to see how the story developed.

The first novel had a very slow start, with a detailed back story and the second book follows a similar formula – although there is certainly more action in the opening chapters.

The story picks up after the last book, with the Wennerström affair closed and Millennium Magazine enjoying the boost the story has given them.

Mikael Blomkvist is approached by a young journalist and his girlfriend who, between them, have dirt to dish on Sweden’s rampant sex trafficking trade.

Blomkvist and Erika Berger (editor in chief of Millennium) decide to publish a book on their findings and run a magazine edition around it.

Meanwhile Lisbeth Salander is globetrotting around various far flung countries, all the while working through mathematical problems for fun.

It isn’t long before Salander is back in Sweden and when a shocking event takes place involving the journalist and his girlfriend things really do kick off.

Once again Larsson excels in storytelling and characterisation. The ground work he lays in the opening of the book that comes to fruition further down the line is similar to the last novel but I found ‘The Girl Who Played With Fire’ to have a little more punch.

Perhaps that is also, in part, down to the fact I’m a lot more familiar and have more invested in the characters.

Although these books are hard hitting, taking on some dark, disturbing issues head on, I would recommend anyone to read them. While both can be tough to begin with (moreso the first in my opinion) you won’t regret investing in them.

This book improves on what was a fantastic story – I wasn’t sure if the series could get better but in the end I couldn’t put this down and by the end I was totally enveloped. I can’t wait to read the final instalment.

Rating: 10/10