GregHorrorShow’s Non Gaming 2022 Round Up

Well, 2022 was a hell of a year for content – books, TV, film… there was so much to experience! My gaming round up will follow separately but for now here’s a look back at last year, with some recommendations for stuff to check out 🙂

Music-wise there were lots of new, and returning, artists that I spent a lot of time listening to in 2022.

There’s a playlist embedded below but there was great new music from Hope Tala and Blackpink. Albums by The Warning and Carly Rae Jepsen got plenty of spins. And I really enjoyed the Halsey and Taylor Swift albums. However, I think my favourite of 2022 was the S.G. Goodman album – a lovely slice of Americana Folk.

I was also listening to plenty of older stuff and shout out to Cyberpunk: Edgerunners and Russian Doll Season 2 for having stellar soundtracks!

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In terms of TV it was another year of high quality shows and interesting programmes. Sometimes it was hard to know where to watch, with so many new services – I’m not subscribed to all of them at this stage, I don’t think it’s necessary at this point.

There were some shows I started but never finished, though I’m sure I’ll go back to most of them. Jamie Dornan vehicle The Tourist was good fun, a dark dramedy about a man with amnesia who uncovers his murky past. Peacemaker was a superhero show with a twist, in that John Cena’s character was not what you’d traditionally call a hero. It also had a great rock soundtrack. I enjoyed what I saw of Arcane, despite not having played the game it’s based on, League Of Legends.

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She Hulk has been great fun and something different, though it can feel a bit CGI heavy at times. Stranger Things continues to be enjoyable, even into season 4 and I started Carole & Tuesday, the animated story of two strangers who meet and form a band. I’ve only seen one episode of both Dragon Age: Absolution and The Old Man, starting Jeff Bridges, but look forward to seeing more soon.

In terms of shows I finished, I really enjoyed Hawkeye, DC’s Legends Of Tomorrow and the latest season of The Rookie. Reacher was an impressive version of the books I loved, the music in the show was also pretty great. Hopefully season 2 can remain at that high level. I thought Korean zombie show All Of Us Are Dead was brilliant, great characters and a good twist on the usual Zombie formula.

Netflix’s Wednesday was a really nicely done detective story, with the eldest Addams child in the starring role. Looking forward to see what they do with it next. Ms. Marvel was a super fun, female fronted superhero show – again the music choices were superb and the story was left on a cliffhanger for a future season. I ended up playing Cyberpunk 2077 (the game) alongside watching the Cyberpunk: Edgerunners anime. Super violent and generally disturbing (like the game), this was a brilliant watch and helped immerse you further into the world of the game.

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But my absolute favourite shows this year were both second seasons – Russian Doll and Only Murders in the Building. Sometimes returning shows can struggle to recreate that magic of the first season. These two shows took different approaches – Only Murders… continued with another murder that incriminated the main cast. Was it as good as the first season? No, but it kept me guessing right until the end and was still one of the best things on TV. The performances from Steve Martin, Martin Short and Selena Gomez were all brilliant. Russian Doll decided to take an alternative route by being completely different from the first season but set within the same world and with the same characters. It was weird, funny and hard to stop watching. Also best TV soundtrack of the year, hands down!

Film-wise, as usual, there were a lot of family friendly movies on my list for 2022. I loved Encanto, Turning Red and Minions: Rise Of Gru. Sonic The Hedgehog 2 and The Adam Project, starring Ryan Reynolds, were also fun. I actually enjoyed the film version of Uncharted, with Tom Holland and Mark Walhberg, a lot more than I thought I would. Hopefully we get a sequel!

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Being The Ricardos was an interesting look at the story of Lucille Ball and her husband Desi Arnaz. Two of the more impactful films I saw were the documentary My Mind and Me with Selena Gomez and The Swimmers, which is based on the true story of two refugee sisters, one of which goes on to swim for the refugee team at the Olympics

I also thought Enola Holmes 2 was a blast and that Dan Trachtenberg did a really good job with Prey – a story set in the Predator universe. That was one of the better films I saw in 2022. Getting into the Christmas spirit, I saw Violent Night on the big screen which was a brilliantly over the top mix of Die Hard and a grown up Home Alone! David Harbour was great as a grumpy Santa who gets caught up in a Christmas heist.

But my favourite film of the year was definitely Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery. A real treat at the cinema (it was only on for a week!) with the way it was shot and such captivating performances. Obviously if you weren’t a fan of the first film there won’t be much here for you but I thought it was amazing. Daniel Craig’s Benoit Blanc rides a roller coaster of twists and surprises as the mystery unravels – I didn’t see the twists coming, the film was a lot of fun (and is available now on Netflix).

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For books, I have to admit it took me a while to get through a few of these this year. In terms of factual titles I really enjoyed Two Beats Ahead by Panay & Handrix, a book about the creative process of writing music, and Press Reset by Jason Schreier, a fascinating look behind the scenes in the chaotic and unstable world of making computer games. I also really liked Kae Tempest’s book on creativity ‘On Connection‘.

I thoroughly loved the entire Paper Girls series of graphic novels so it was bitter sweet to finish off the final volume in 2022. I also finished the current run of Bitter Root, which was great and another volume of the Critical Role: Vox Machina comics.

I was a bit disappointed in both Rabbits by Terry Miles and The Three Body Problem by Cixin Liu, though by the end of the latter I think I’d be at least willing to give the next in the series a try. Rabbits, while at times an entertaining read, just didn’t really engage me.

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I got stuck into a few modern classics as well, The Mask Of Dimitros by Eric Ambler was great – as to be expected from Ambler, a brilliant writer. Seize The Day by Saul Bellow was a touch depressing, the story of a failed actor in dire financial straits. Muriel Spark’s ‘The Driver Seat‘ sees Lise setting out on the holiday of a lifetime but almost immediately you can feel the pressure building to something terrible. ‘Territory Of Light‘ by Yuko Tsushima was the sad tale of a young, divorced woman bringing up her two year old daughter alone in Tokyo. Well written and I found it interesting to see a story from this point of view.

My favourite book of this year though was V.E Schwab’s ‘The Invisible Life Of Addie La Rue‘. I literally couldn’t put it down and it’s a book that filled me with equal parts happiness and despair. The story of a girl who makes a deal with a devil and ends up not aging but being forgotten by everyone who sees her. Just absolutely brilliant.

So there you go, another year done and lots to look forward to for 2023!

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GregHorrorShow’s Non Gaming 2020 Round Up

I’m kicking off my round up of the year that was 2020 with a look at all things non-gaming, the gaming round up will land early in the new year!

I was lucky enough to use some of my extra time at home from not commuting to plough through lots of books, mainly over the summer months. In terms of fiction I particularly enjoyed Before The Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi, a wonderful time travel story, Call For The Dead by John le Carre, an old school mystery thriller and Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto, a touching tale of loss and grief. The second Black Prism book, The Blinding Knife by Brent Weeks was also a novel I enjoyed – coming in at over 700 pages meant it was a hefty read though!

On the graphic novel front I really liked the 4th instalment of Lumberjanes by Noelle Stevenson, The Last Of Us: American Dreams by Druckmann/Hicks and Vox Machina: Origins by Mercer/Colville. However my absolute highlight was Paper Girls (Vol. 2 & 3), which might be one of my favourite graphic novel series ever. The story continues as the four paper girls meet future selves and travel through time – I imagine it won’t be long until this gets made into a TV show.

I read a lot of factual books as well in 2020. Spotify Teardown was an interesting, if dry, look at what makes the streaming giant tick and I really liked Ed Catmull’s Creativity Inc, a look inside how Pixar works and the best ways to work in a creative environment. Rockonomics by Alan Krueger was a brilliant look at the music industry and everything in it while my favourite book this year, EMI: Selling The Pig by Eamonn Forde, focuses solely on the troubled times of the legendary record label EMI before it was acquired a few years back. Fascinating stuff for music buffs.

As usual I have a playlist of some of my favourite tracks from the year, embedded below:

In terms of big artists it was hard to avoid Dua Lipa or Billie Eilish during 2020, with both delivering a great run of singles. Blackpink continued their dominance of the pop scene with tracks that included duets with Lady Gaga and Selena Gomez. Taylor Swift dropped two excellent albums within months of each other to remind everyone why she is one of the biggest, and best, pop stars in the world.

It was brilliant to see Haim back with another superb album and very early in the year The Big Moon released a fantastic album after some really great singles last year. Celeste was everywhere and for good reason, she is an amazing artist with a wonderful voice and we also saw a new album from Disclosure that had a host of bangers on, along with some brilliant vocal guests.

I discovered some awesome new artists in 2020 – Baby Rose, Gracey, Bree Runway and Tiana Blake all had a big impact and Chelsea Cutler‘s debut album was a huge highlight during a tough year. However my album of the year goes to Kelly Lee Owens for ‘Inner Song.’ What an amazing collection of songs, On, Melt!, Re-Wild – I could probably just list them all as high points. It sounds familiar but fresh, a most enjoyable listen!

I didn’t see a huge amount of new films this year, as we spent a lot of time as a family rewatching old classics (Bill & Ted, Sister Act, The Goonies etc.), but I loved The Go-Go’s and Motown Records documentaries. Both were brilliant looks at legendary performers and the Motown one was packed with stories about famous songs and artists. A great watch. One film that really had an impact was the excellent Rocks, the story of a young girl and her brother surviving in London after their mother leaves them alone. Trolls 2, Onward, Jumanji 2 and Spies In Disguise were all fun kids films and for the festive season we found some new holiday classics in the shape of Christmas Chronicles 2, Noelle and Jingle Jangle. My film of the year though was one that I actually didn’t have high expectations for – Enola Holmes came highly recommended via Netflix and ended up being a really smart, well written film that all the family enjoyed.

There was so much new TV arriving during the year that I feel bad about the amount of programmes I started but didn’t get through the season – I really liked The Comey Rule, The Mandolorian, The Pale Horse, The Queen’s Gambit and Devs but never made it all the way through. I’m sure I’ll return to them at some stage. We enjoyed Glitch Techs and Fast & Furious: Spy Racers with the kids but it was the Netflix trinity of She Ra, Carmen Sandiego and Kipo & The Age Of Wonderbeasts that really got the majority of family view time. All three of those are excellent, which work on various levels for both the adults and the kids.

DC’s Legends Of Tomorrow and Umbrella Academy provided some much needed superhero escapism, while The Inbetween and Evil brought the scares. Evil has been great so far and while The Inbetween isn’t up to that standard it does have my favourite scenery chewer Paul Blackthorne (Laurel!) so it’s not all bad. I really enjoyed Small Axe: Mangrove, an important show and a difficult watch but much needed during these times.

Blood and Treasure was continent hopping nonsense but good fun and Stumptown showed us the life of a struggling P.I, unfortunately the show was renewed but then cancelled due to the pandemic. I enjoyed Miss Scarlet & The Duke, a sort of historical Murder She Wrote with a new crime each week. The Rookie was back again and delivered some tense thrills and lots of warm hearted fun. Looking forward to seeing where they take things in the next season.

My favourite show of the year though, was Blindspot. Something I could sit and watch with a smile on my face and just enjoy. Is it a ridiculous premise? Even more so as time has gone on but the writing is fun and it’s fast paced with enough action and laughs to sustain every episode. And that’s exactly what I needed during this year. (Also can we get some sort of a Patterson/Rich DotCom spin off please?!)

So there we go, a weird and wild year in the rear view – hopefully better times ahead in 2021.

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GregHorrorShow’s Non Gaming 2019 Round Up

2019 was a big year for music, with the continued explosion of streaming and further disruption to how we discover and consume music. As time goes on I think curation, especially from friends, will have a strong focus – without guidance there is simply too much music being released to process. My favourite gigs from the year were Sophie and The Giants (Camden Assembly) and Carly Rae Jepsen (XOYO), both delivering fantastic sets and the chance to see a huge pop artist like Carly Rae Jepsen in a smaller venue was pretty awesome.

I have a playlist of the year’s music, which I’ll embed below, but in amongst that I’d love to highlight a few favourites – Michael Kiwanuka delivered, for me, the album of the year along with excellent LP’s for Lewis Capaldi and Sam Fender. Fieh got their debut album out the door, most definitely worth a spin. Billie Eilish was everywhere but for good reason and The Big Moon continue to develop into a really strong band – looking forward to their album shortly. If you need pop then look no further than the immense trio of Halsey, Julia Michaels and Sigrid. Julia Michaels is one of the most underrated pop stars of the last few years, in my opinion. On a slightly more indie focus I’d also recommend checking out Palace and Liz Lawrence’s latest efforts – beautiful. And a quick shout out to the game Forgotton Anne, whose soundtrack was absolutely stunning.

 

Highlights from the year’s films for me were Zombieland 2 (more of the same but still enjoyable), Eternal Beauty (a tough watch but very rewarding) and The Aeronauts (a well made and interesting story of exploration and adventure). However my favourites were Frozen II, somehow just as good if not better than the first, and Knives Out, a stunning murder mystery that is excellently written and delivered with aplomb.

Books-wise I read a few great titles this year – 84 Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff, Heartburn by Nora Ephron and The Psychology Of Time Travel by Kate Mascarenhas were all really enjoyable. On the graphic novel front Lumberjanes by Noelle Stevenson was cool but the stand out for me was Paper Girls (Vol 1) by Brian K. Vaughan. Brilliant and I look forward to reading the next volume that I got for Christmas 😊 I’m still making my way through the lengthy tome that is Yeah Yeah Yeah by Bob Stanley but it is a fantastic look back at the history of pop music. My book of the year though is Journey Into Fear by Eric Ambler, a thriller set on a boat as the protagonist attempts to stay alive for the duration of the voyage. I found it really gripping and would heartily recommend.

On the TV front it was a good year for returning shows – Barry, The Good Place and Stranger Things all came back with enjoyable seasons. Matt Berry is always a joy and Year Of The Rabbit, his Victorian cop show was great fun. Temple was intense but mostly thrilling and I really enjoyed Giri/Haji. For some light relief I found The Rookie to be a good slice of easy watching fun. Nathan Fillion continues his run as the good hearted, but out of his depth, leading man. Initially both Carmen Sandiego and She-Ra were intended to be shows to watch with the kids but I found myself enjoying them just as much, if not more! The animation on both are excellent and there are some interesting character arcs developing in both. Watchmen is brutal but brilliant, a different take on the universe which lays to rest concerns that the show couldn’t be made for TV. By, mainly, steering away directly from the comic the creators delivered a dark look at vigilante justice. My show of the year though came early in 2019 with Netflix’s Russian Doll. What a concept, what a story, what a soundtrack. The acting all round was great and Natasha Lyonne was amazing in the title role. It also didn’t outstay it’s welcome, a most refreshing change of pace from some of the bloated shows hitting our streaming services.

So there you go, a little look at the stuff I’ve been enjoying over the last twelve months. Gaming round up to follow!

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The Everything Else of 2018

I’ve decided to mix things up a little bit with my end of year round ups, for a start I’m moving away from the ‘award’ format itself but also I’ll be splitting things in a more simple way. One round-up for games and another for ‘Everything Else’.

So without further ado, let’s get into The Everything Else of 2018!

Musically it’s been a phenomenal year – full of big beats, guitars and wonderful pop. My Spotify round-up playlist is embedded below but some highlights were: Jade Bird, who continues her rise as one of the UK’s most under-rated female singer/songwriters, Billie Eilish, who delivers material well beyond what you’d expect from a 16-year-old, Sigrid, who is currently one of the best pop stars out there, Greta Van Fleet, who are on a mission to bring fun guitar music back, Robyn, who returns with another stunning single, Bobby Sessions, who brings a sense of levity and some political musings to proceedings and Carly Rae Jepsen, back again with a huge slice of pop goodness in ‘Party For One’.

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I managed to do quite a bit of reading last year, a mix of fiction, fact and some great graphic novels. Of course the Overwatch graphic novel series continued with some really fun moments that help to flesh out the back story of the world and characters. The first volume of Lumberjanes was super fun, a nice collection of characters, it’s all about a group of girls at a summer scout camp. Everything is not as it seems though as strange creatures and otherworldly events transpire.

My favourite graphic novel this year though was Reborn from Mark Millar. Telling the story of Bonnie Black, an elderly lady who passes away on a stroke ward and suddenly finds herself in a new, younger body in a weird place called Adystria. Not only is this world some sort of limbo, it looks like she is the chosen one – here to save the world. It’s a standard fantasy set up but the art is lovely and its a clever idea. Word in the Summer was that Netflix have optioned Reborn as a TV series/film, should be an interesting watch!

In terms of factual books, I thoroughly enjoyed Blood, Sweat and Pixels by Jason Schreier – a fascinating look behind the scenes on some of the industries biggest and most interesting titles. If you’re into games, this is definitely worth your time. But it’s hard to look past the epic tome that is Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari. It’s a big read but this look at how the world has been shaped by Humans is in equal measure spellbinding and horrifying.

Once I got past the heavy cockney accents in Gaie Sebold’s Shanghai Sparrow I found it be a really great read and look forward to exploring more titles in the series soon. I managed a double-header of Lee Child books in 2018; Night School and The Midnight Line, both of which I thought were good. It’s nice to see Child has diversified slightly from his well-worn (if enjoyable) formula to mix things up a bit. Another double was parts 2 (Authority) and 3 (Acceptance) in Jeff VanderMeer’s fantastically creepy trilogy that had started with Annihilation. I loved these and would recommend to anyone looking for something a little bit different. Probably my favourite books of the year, despite their unsettling nature.

I also stepped up my reading of some classics: Old Man and The Sea – Ernest Hemingway, The Trial – Franz Kafka, Chess – Stefan Zweig, Ethan Frome – Edith Wharton and Chronicle of a Death Foretold – Gabriel García Márquez. These were all great (they are classics for a reason!) but for me Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton was my favourite. I also really liked Chess and The Trial but the ending of Kafka’s story was just too much of a let down for me personally.

On the TV front it was another great year. I enjoyed Erased, a Japanese show about time travel but wasn’t sure about A Discovery of Witches, which I just struggled to get into. There were plenty of shows that continued to be a good watch – Jessica Jones, iZombie, Legends Of Tomorrow and Blindspot all veered between the sublime and the ridiculous but kept me entertained. While I enjoyed Legion it definitely felt like a hard watch at times, the confusion from the first season continued but this season was even darker than the last. I caught up on seasons 3 through 5 of Marvel’s Agents Of Shield which, while still enjoyable, has got weaker as time goes on. The flip to space lost me but (as usual!) it is the time travel stuff that keeps me on board.

My favourites from the year though were The Chilling Adventures Of Sabrina, The Bodyguard, Glow, The Good Place, Howard’s End and Dark. Sabrina had the right amount of camp and scares for me, The Bodyguard was intense and full of twists, Glow was depressing and hilarious in equal measure, The Good Place continued to be a highlight, Howard’s End was a completely unexpected delight and Dark was a German language sci-fi show that crossed genres in different and strange ways.

Film-wise I saw lots of interesting things this year. I loved the book so was really excited for the film version of Annihilation. While it was definitely a visual spectacle I really felt that perhaps Netflix might’ve been better to do the whole trilogy as a TV series. The Aftermath was a brilliant film, with great performances from Keira Knightly and Alexander Skarsgard. I thought Lean On Pete, the story of a young kid who gets into horse training but can’t let his horse go, was heartwarming. The London set musical Been So Long was a vivid, vibrant look at life in the capital. Meanwhile, Blue Iguana was a crime thriller with a more grounded trip to London.

I was also fortunate enough to see a couple of films that will be out in 2019 but were screened at festivals in 2018. Driven, the true story of DeLorean creator John DeLorean and Wild Rose, the fictional story of a country singer from Glasgow who dreams of visiting Nashville. I thought both of these were great but I did work on them music-wise so take that as you will 🙂

I loved Bohemian Rhapsody, it was a really uplifting look at one of the world’s biggest bands. Just before Christmas I saw The Grinch, which I thought was a fun festive film and The Christmas Chronicles, in which Kurt Russell delivered the Santa I never knew I needed! I really loved this and suspect it will become an annual viewing experience in my house. My absolute favourites of this year though were The Incredibles 2 and Wreck It Ralph 2, both of which I thought had some great writing, music and (of course) visuals.

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So there you have it – 2018 in a (large) nutshell. As always feel free to comment or reach out on socials to let me know what your highlights have been from this year and what I missed but should check out.

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GregHorrorShow: The Books Of 2016

I started 2016 with a goal of reading more books than 2015’s thirteen titles but unfortunately an early year back injury meant I wasn’t able to carry a book with me on my commute to work each day and seriously impacted my reading time. I did still read some great titles though and here’s a recap of books I’d recommend.

I can always rely on Lee Child‘s ‘Jack Reacher’ series for a great page-turning read and with his latest novel ‘Make Me‘ I genuinely felt he changed up the formula for the better. As a writer you have to be careful not to alienate your existing fan base but Child straddles the line superbly here. As a bonus, the accompanying ‘behind the scenes’ look at Child’s writing method for the book – ‘Reacher Said Nothing‘ was fascinating to a Reacher nerd like me.

In the non-fiction stakes I found Naomi Klein‘s climate change missive;’This Changes Everything‘ to be an interesting yet thoroughly depressing book, especially now that it seems both the UK and US have people shaping the environmental discussion that don’t seem to have a clue about what is actually going on in, and around, our fragile planet. I’m a big believer in the methodology of Shawn Acher (if you haven’t seen it check out his amazing TED talk here) and his book ‘The Happiness Advantage‘ gives a great insight into the world of positivity and how creating a more positive environment for yourself can really make a difference to your day to day life.

 

 

I’ve never really been one for poetry but after hearing this On Being interview with Mary Oliver I took the plunge and ordered one of her books. ‘Selected Poems‘, as the title suggests, is a collection of her work spanning many years. I loved her work on life and nature, it was a pleasure to grab this from the shelf, make a coffee and lose myself for half an hour here and there throughout the year.

Kenneth Calhoun’s ‘Black Moon’ was an interesting take on the post apocalyptic/zombie style genre, with the inability to sleep causing most of the human race to turn into slobbering masses of meat. I really liked the first character we met and was a little disappointed when it turned out we wouldn’t be staying with him throughout. Nevertheless, I liked this one and it’s well worth a read.

Isaac Asimov is world-renowned for a good reason. This year I finally got around to reading ‘Foundation‘ and really enjoyed it. It’s tale of political unrest set far into the future was great fun to get to grips with. Another book I started that I’m approaching the end of is Brent Weeks ‘The Black Prism’. I was a big fan of Weeks’ previous series (The Night Angel Trilogy) and although the characters here don’t quite hit the same heights, it’s an interesting world and the use of colour as magic is certainly something different. This isn’t one for a light read though, clocking in at over 700 pages!

 

 

So there you go, hopefully you might pick some of those up at some stage if you think they are of interest. I think my favourite book this year was Lee Child’s ‘Make Me’, mainly because it was such a thrill, as a long time fan, to see Child switch things up and make Reacher unpredictable again. On a more peaceful note the Mary Oliver collection was also a highlight.

 

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GregHorrorShow – The Books of 2015

I’m opening this piece with a confession – I have read a lot less books in 2015 than in previous years but there have still been some standout stories that I loved and a fair bit of non-fiction that caught my eye. So the list is a little shorter but there’s plenty to recommend!

I’ve mentioned Hugh Howey before and after thoroughly enjoying his Wool trilogy I was a little hesitant as to whether his new book ‘Sand’ could deliver. I’ll be honest, for the opening few chapters I wasn’t entirely sold but as things developed the story gripped me and I had a great time reading this one.

A friend suggested reading an old sci-fi classic, Joe Haldeman’s ‘The Forever War’ which I also really enjoyed. Telling the story of William Mandella as he fights in the ongoing war between Man and a race called the Taurans. As time passes differently in space, the four years Mandella spends fighting is the equivalent of several centuries back on Earth. Seeing how he deals with that, as well as several other war related issues, was pretty interesting.

Another older book that I’d never read previously but have now caught up on was Stephen King’s ‘Misery’, which I thought was amazing. It was tough to read at times as Paul Sheldon lived through a nightmare scenario, some of the things that happen during the course of the story are horrific but it was a great read and I couldn’t put it down.

On the non-fiction front the highlight of the year for me has been Jonathan Green’s ‘You Are The Hero’, which tells the behind the scenes story of the rise of the Fighting Fantasy gamebooks in the 1980’s. Crammed with interviews with writers and artists, alongside awesome artwork, this is definitely recommended for fans of the book series. I also found the anonymous tell-all football book ‘I Am The Secret Footballer’ very interesting. Written by a professional player, it gives a glimpse into the murky world of football and the cash that runs through it all.

Oliver Sacks is a well-respected writer for a good reason – he is excellent at shaping real life stories and bringing a deft touch to sensitive subjects. ‘Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain’ is a glorious but poignant look at people affected by music in debilitating ways. It really is fascinating and well worth checking out. Another non-fiction title I really enjoyed this year was ‘Console Wars’ by Blake Harris, which tells the story of Sega’s rise with the Genesis/Mega Drive in the early 90’s. As a big Sega fan back in the day it was amazing to get a look into the process of how the console came to be such a success and the internal struggles that the company faced. If you were a gamer at the time this is well worth a read.

Speaking of games I was fortunate enough to be gifted ‘Dragon Age: The Masked Empire’ for my birthday which I thought was fantastic – it also did a great job of fleshing out one of the main story missions in the Dragon Age: Inquisition game. It was fun to see the characters from the book in game form and be able to interact with them in the course of the game’s story as well. Keeping on the game theme I also enjoyed ‘Armada’ by Ernest Cline, not quite as much as his previous novel, ‘Ready Player One’, but then my expectations were much, much higher this time. Armada tells the story of a game obsessed school kid who gets recruited by the real life government to fight an alien invasion. It has Cline’s trademark geek style all over it and it was a fun read.

Robin Sloan’s ‘Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore’ is a bit of a mouthful of a title but was a book I had a good time with. Clay Jannon takes a job in a small bookstore and discovers a secret that sends him on a wild adventure around the globe. It’s a great book for a bit of escapism. Another novel that should’ve been perfect for escapism was Andy Weir’s ‘The Martian’. However, while I did enjoy the book, I just didn’t think it warranted the praise it got from all quarters. In fact, in a rare turn of events, I actually preferred the film to the book!

Lee Child always almost delivers with his Jack Reacher novels and ‘Personal’ was another good instalment in the series. While the plots do at times become a little formulaic, I felt moving Reacher to different European locations was a smart move that helped freshen things up. Probably my favourite novel of the year was ‘The First Fifteen Lives Of Harry August’ by Claire North, which I felt took the concepts of last year’s ‘Life After Life’ to another level. A gripping story, another that I couldn’t put down, as Harry August comes to terms with living over and over… and everything that entails.

Here’s the full list:

Joe Haldeman – The Forever War
Lee Child – Personal
Oliver Sacks – Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain
Robin Sloan – Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore
Patrick Weekes – Dragon Age: The Masked Empire
Hugh Howey – Sand
Blake Harris – Console Wars
Stephen King – Misery
Claire North – The First Fifteen Lives Of Harry August
Anonymous – I Am The Secret Footballer
Ernest Cline – Armada
Jonathan Green – You Are The Hero
Andy Weir – The Martian

What have you guys been reading this year – any recommendations?

GregHorrorShow: The Books Of 2014

Wow, I can’t believe it’s already almost the end of 2014 – having said that, looking at the long list of books I’ve made it through this year at least makes me feel like I’ve experienced a lot of great stories.

I’ll get straight to business – if you like sci-fi and you haven’t read the Wool trilogy (Wool/Shift/Dust) by Hugh Howey then you are in for a absolute treat! These books were the best I read this year with a gripping story and wonderfully written characters.

I caught up with an old title by another of my favourite writers, Aimee Bender, with ‘An Invisible Sign Of My Own‘. Telling the story of Mona Gray, a young woman who finds solace in mathematics before taking up teaching, it continues Bender’s surreal slant to stories and I really enjoyed it. I also read ‘Gone Girl‘ which, despite being pretty depressing and containing no likeable characters, I just couldn’t put down. It’s well written and strings the reader along throughout. Great fun.

I loved David Glen Gold‘s ‘Carter Beats The Devil‘ so I was keen to check out ‘Sunnyside‘, his fictionalised account of the Charlie Chaplin based mass hysteria in the US during the early 1900’s. ‘Never Go Back‘ continued Lee Child‘s return to form, if you like Jack Reacher you’ll love this story. I can’t wait to check out the next installment in the Reacher series.

I’d been meaning to check out ‘The Quantum Thief‘ by Hannu Rajaniemi for a while and it didn’t disappoint, with a story that was at times both confusing and inspired. Ranjaniemi has created a fascinating look at an alternate universe with some ideas that may even find themselves into our world at some stage. I found myself a little disappointed with ‘Metro 2033‘ by Dmitry Glukhovsky. Actually let me re-phrase that as it was more of a post-apocalyptic burnout than genuine disappointment. It was a fairly enjoyable read but I couldn’t help feeling like I’d experienced most of it before, whether that was in other books or TV or films etc.

‘Running With The Firm‘ by James Bannon wouldn’t normally be my cup of tea but being so firmly rooted in the world of Millwall and set at the time I just started attended matches, it managed to pull me in. The first ‘Game Of Thrones‘ novel by George R Martin really sucked me in and I was amazed I could retain so many character, place and family names all at once! I’ll definitely read more of the books in the series.

I read a few older titles as well this year, many of which I enjoyed. ‘Breakfast At Tiffany’s‘ by Truman Capote wasn’t really what I was expecting at all. It was better than I thought it would be, with some interesting themes. I found ‘Fatherland‘ by Robert Harris thoroughly gripping – I’ve seen the idea that the Nazis won the second world war done many times but this was a really well fleshed out and believable world, with great characters. A classic novel that I just couldn’t get into was ‘100 Years Of Solitude‘ by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. I didn’t enjoy it at all, which is a shame as it’s so highly regarded by so many people.

‘Hyperion‘ by Dan Simmons was also a bit of a strange one – I really enjoyed the story but had no idea there was more than one book in the series. So I was getting into the final third of the book wondering how they would tie it all together, only to discover they weren’t going to and that the next set of events would occur in a later novel! Naomi Klein‘s hard hitting look at corporate culture in ‘No Logo‘ is a must read for everyone in the 21st century. Despite being over 10 years old it’s still as relevant today as it was then. Another book I enjoyed was ‘The Prime Of Miss Jean Brodie‘ by Muriel Spark which I wasn’t sure if I’d like but the characters are so well written it wasn’t hard to get sucked in by them.

‘You‘ by Austin Grossman was an interesting look at game development and the toll it takes on people’s health and relationships. Kate Atkinson‘s ‘Life After Life‘ has a great premise and I’m a sucker for anything time travel/alternate universe related so it was no surprise I enjoyed it. ‘The Girl With All The Gifts‘ by M.R Carey managed to turn me around as I was initially disappointed because I felt I’d heard this story before. But it soon shifted gear and delivered a great story that had me hooked until the very last page.

So there you go, here’s the full list of titles for 2014:

An Invisible Sign Of My Own – Aimee Bender
Sunnyside – David Glen Gold
Wool – Hugh Howey
Killshot – Elmore Leonard
No Logo – Naomi Klein
The Quantum Thief – Hannu Rajaniemi
Fatherland – Robert Harris
Prime Of Miss Jean Brodie – Muriel Spark
Hyperion – Dan Simmons
Never Go Back – Lee Child
Game Of Thrones (1) – George R Martin
100 Yrs Of Solitude – Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Shift – Hugh Howey
Metro 2033 – Dmitry Glukhovsky
Running With The Firm – James Bannon
Gone Girl – Gillian Flynn
Don’t Point That Thing At Me – Kyril Bonfiglioli
Breakfast At Tiffany’s – Truman Capote
Dust – Hugh Howey
You – Austin Grossman
The Girl With All The Gifts – M.R Carey
Life After Life – Kate Atkinson

What have you guys been reading this year? Any recommendations?

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GregHorrorShow: The Books Of 2013

I’ve managed to read quite a lot of books this year, across both new works and some that are considered classics.

Unfortunately there were a few titles that I just couldn’t get into. The New York Trilogy by Paul Auster was one such book, as was Catch 22 by Joseph Heller. Neither really did anything for me, which I feel is a shame as they are obviously well respected works.

From current writing I was disappointed with Hitman: Damnation by Raymond Benson. I’ve read some really interesting books based on game worlds in recent years and this one turned out to be a bit of a bust. Not terrible, just pretty average.

Here are the books I’d recommend checking out from those I read during 2013 (in no order):

• The Affair – Lee Child
• The Chrysalids – John Wyndam
• To Kill A Mockingbird – Harper Lee
• The Way It Is – George Pelecanos
• Rainbow Six – Tom Clancy
• Hallucinating Focault – Patricia Dunker
• Catcher In The Rye – JD Salinger
• Consider Pheblas – Iain Banks
• Fahrenheit 451 – Ray Bradbury
• Dead Space: Catalyst – BK Evenson
• Like Water For Chocolate – Laura Esquivel
  
• The Fall – Guillermo Del Toro/Chuck Hogan
  
• The Wanted Man – Lee Child

Lee Child delivered as always and I found John Wyndam’s The Chrysalids to be a haunting book that had a real impact.

BK Evenson delivered a very good game-based novel with Dead Space: Catalyst and The Fall by Chuck Hogan/Guillermo Del Toro was a great way to round out the Strain trilogy.

However my two favourite books this year (I can’t pick between them!) were To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee and Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. Both superbly written and with gripping plots.

What have you guys been reading this year? I’m always on the lookout for new books so feel free to shout out in the comments below if you have any recommendations (old or new!)

‘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

GregHorrorShow: The Books Of 2012

So the awards season kicks into gear for 2012 and first up it’s books.

I’ve read some really great books this year. I admit my reading time did take a bit of a battering when my Vita arrived in February… for about a month I didn’t read on the commute to and from work, as I was too engrossed in my new shiny handheld toy 🙂

So as usual in no particular order, here are the books I’ve read in 2012 that I’d recommend checking out:

• ‘The Hare With Amber Eyes’ – Edmund De Waal
• ‘Beyond The Shadows’ – Brent Weeks
• ‘I Am Ozzy’ – Ozzy Osbourne
• ‘The Girl Who Kicked The Hornets’ Nest’ – Stieg Larsson
• ‘Battle Royale’ – Koushun Takami
• ‘Sense And Sensibility And Sea Monsters’ – Ben H Winters
• ‘Deus Ex: The Icarus Effect’ – James Swallow
• ‘The Odyssey’ – Homer
• ‘Neuromancer’ – William Gibson
• ‘Ready Player One’ – Ernest Cline
• ‘Listen To This’ – Alex Ross
• ‘The Particular Sadness Of Lemon Cake’ – Aimee Bender

I kicked off 2012 with ‘The Hare With Amber Eyes’, Edmund De Waal‘s interesting look at the history of a collection of Netsuke that has been in his family for hundreds of years. While I did feel the book dragged a little in the middle I thought overall it was an entertaining read.

I rounded out the Night Angel trilogy with Brent Weeks‘ ‘Beyond The Shadows‘ which was thoroughly excellent and while on the subject of closing trilogies I also wrapped up the Millenium trilogy by Stieg Larsson with ‘The Girl Who Kicked The Hornets’ Nest‘. Dark and gritty doesn’t really cover it but it truly is one of the best set of books I’ve ever read. Seriously, if you haven’t read them check them out!

‘I Am Ozzy‘ is Ozzy Osbourne’s hazy attempt to piece together what has happened in his life 😆 and was interesting from various viewpoints. Of course the band history and music side were entertaining but it also gives you a good insight into how much the music scene changed people’s lives in the UK in the 60’s.

Koushun Takami‘s ‘Battle Royale‘ took up a big chunk of my time, it’s a long book but well worth the effort. I haven’t seen the film so I went in cold and absolutely loved it. An intricate and clever story with plenty of mistrust and betrayal, it’s the tale of a class of school mates essentially dumped on a secluded island and told to fight to the death.

After enjoying ‘Pride And Prejudice And Zombies‘ a while back, I was intrigued to check out ‘Sense And Sensibility And Sea Monsters‘ by Ben H Winter and (of course) Jane Austen. Unfortunately it didn’t quite hit the heights of the zombie romp but it was enjoyable and gave me a (somewhat distorted) idea of the plot of the ‘real’ Sense And Sensibility. I actually saw Deus Ex: The Icarus Effect in a second hand book shop for the princely sum of £2.00. I couldn’t resist at that price and I’m glad I picked it up. Expanding the universe of the game from last year it really showcases the strong point of the fiction, with lots of augmentations and cyborg parts.

I always like to try and read one ‘classic’ a year and I was most impressed with ‘The Odyssey‘, Homer‘s tale of Odysseus’ journey to try and get back to his family. Of course reading something this old does take a bit of patience but I would say it is definitely worth reading. You can see bits of lots of other stories that have ‘borrowed’ from this classic work over the years. Another older novel I read was ‘Neuromancer‘ by William Gibson, which is set in a cyberpunk universe and tells the story of a ‘crippled’ hacker who ends up fighting for his life to turn the tables on the corporation that has set him up.

As a big gamer ‘Ready Player One‘ by Ernest Cline was right up my alley. The quote on the front of the book sums it up best ‘Willy Wonka meets The Matrix’. A challenge is set for gamers everywhere – the person that solves the puzzles will inherit a global powerhouse of a computer company – with all the cash benefits that would bring. Well written and really engaging, if you’re into games (especially retro games) then check it out. Alex Ross walks you through some of the different figures in music through the ages in ‘Listen To This‘. From Mozart to Radiohead, there is good reason to delve into this and find out some more about music and it’s makers.

But my favourite book this year has to be ‘The Particular Sadness Of Lemon Cake‘ by Aimee Bender. This beautifully written story is about a girl who suddenly discovers that her food no longer tastes of food – she can instead taste the feelings of the person who made it. Tragic and heart-breaking in places, warm and funny in others, this was a book I read in one day. I literally couldn’t put it down. So good and very much recommended.

So there you go – what have you guys been reading? Anything you’d recommend checking out?