Literary Brooding

Snake Bite – Christie Thompson Allen and Unwin 2013, 319 pages. First of all just pick this book up and read it. Do not read the blurb at the back, do not get bothered about what genre it fits into, just read it. Why? Thompson has captured a slice of Australia life that is unique and beautifully but brutally revealed on the page. This is a warts and all story, that is fresh and vivid. Jessica (Jez) is 17, closing in on 18 and has finished school for the year. She is stuck in the Canberra suburb of Kambah and life truly does suck. Her mother is an alcoholic, it is a stinking hot summer and there is nothing to do but take drugs, drink and screw. In this chaos of boredom Jez tries to find some meaning to her life. Should she stay in Kambah or move to Melbourne, should she hook up with Lukey or remain friends. Then there is how to deal with being eternally embarrassed by having a fat mother. It is not an easy world that Jez has to navigate. There are characters such as C...

Curse of the Wolf Girl - Martin Millar 2010, Piatkus, 534 pages I have read Millar’s other works and I loved ‘The Good Fairies of New York’ and the first in the wolf girl series ‘Lonely Werewolf Girl’. Both of those works are dazzling and some of the best urban fantasy reading I have ever done. The follow up to ‘Lonely Werewolf Girl’ is somewhat of a disappointment. Picking up from the first novel we see Kalix the teenage werewolf trying to make a normal life, she is attending school and trying to get along with everyone. A series of events bring back into conflict with the clan and with the guild who hunt werewolves. That is about as basic as I can make the story because it is anything but that. The world Millar has created is dense, believable and a wonderfully created. The characters lift off the page and are flawed to perfection. The dialogue is sharp, witty and you are continually engaged in the story. Why was I disappointed with the story? For me, there just see...

James Patterson -  Maximum Ride  'The Angel Experiment' I was looking for a series to get into and I thought I would give Patterson’s young adult series, ‘Maximum Ride’ a go. I had read a few reactions on Goodreads to the first book and they were quite polarising as a real love it or hate it and not much in between. That is what appealed to me and that I had read ‘adult’ Patterson novels and they were enjoyable. It meant I was prepared for the ultra-short chapters that are a hallmark of Patterson but what I was not prepared for was a half-baked idea. So the gist of the story is that Max and her friends (Fang, Iggy, Gasman, Nudge and Angel - who become known as the Flock) having been hiding for two years after they escaped from ‘the school or institute’ where they were the science experiments.  They escaped and have been living a somewhat idyllic life when the ‘Erasers’ (wolf like security guards from the institute) raid the Flock’s hideout and manage to succeed in c...

Bit of catch up time as there is a few reviews I have not got around to posting. So here we go The Last Olympian by Rick Riordan (audiobook) Percy is fighting for the survival of everything and everyone in the penultimate finale in the series (or is it?). I have listened to all five books and it has been an interesting experience. The stories are well crafted and well thought out. You can read (or listen) to each story as a standalone and not feel that you missed anything. For fans of the series the ending is somewhat satisfying and that is what counts. I would like to go on about the book but to be honest at the end of it, I was like ‘yep it’s over, isn’t that nice.’ That is pretty sad that after five books I just felt meh about the whole thing. I think for me the whole problem was that Percy became too perfect, the earlier books he had vulnerabilities, made mistakes and in this book his invulnerability made him too wooden for me. I was more interested in the characters ...

The Secret Keeper - Kate Morton I had read one Kate Morton novel previously and I enjoyed the read. This book was in some ways a disappointment. I was all of a quarter through the book and the light bulb went on and I knew exactly where this was going. I am not going to spoil for anyone but for me it was way too obvious. I like Morton's writing style, it is a bit like comfort food as you can wallow yourself in this rather guilty pleasure. The characters are well realised but I just did not find this group as endearing. Laurel was okay and really was just the curious person about the past. I think I felt the present plot line not as engaging as the plot line in the past. I did not really care about Molly's daughters I wanted more of Molly's story. I enjoyed the book, it was good read but it just did not grab me like her previous effort. For more on Kate Morton check out her website .

I have been listening to the books for over a month and the stories are highly engaging. Riordan is clever in throwing in humour at just the rights places, nothing like a flying plastic blue hairbrush to save the day. The world is beautifully created and the characters are developing with each book. Here you can see the threads of the story are beginning to come together and that you know where things are heading. More adventure and more danger is on the way. I have whinged with everyone of thes ...more The Battle of the Labyrinth by Percy Jackson Audio book read by Jesse Bernstein I have been listening to the books for over a month and the stories are highly engaging. Riordan is clever in throwing in humour at just the rights places, nothing like a flying plastic blue hairbrush to save the day. The world is beautifully created and the characters are developing with each book. Here you can see the threads of the story are beginning to come together and that you know where thin...

Sabriel - Garth Nix Allen & Unwin (2003) Sabriel has lived outside of the old Kingdom attending school and when her father goes missing she is drawn back into a world she is just not prepared for. What really lifts this book is Nix's imagination for he has created a stellar and some stellar characters. You really feel drawn into this world with magic being kept at bay by a wall, the threat of death coming over the wall and one young woman who has to risk everything. Sabriel as a character is a lovely mix of headstrong and weak. There are times when she truly doubts herself and her abilities, just like we all do. Yet she finds within herself and from those around her the strength to forge forward. Mogget is a wonderful creation, you are never sure whether to trust him or not and Touchstone, well you have to suspect his story has not been fully revealed. There is wonderful darkness about this novel with magic being used to meddle with death and it is a really clever twist. Do...