The Box
Short and sweet. This is how a short story should be written, with an ending that is perfection. The contents of the box really drive the story forward to it's sudden, depressing end. It begs the question; do you want to see what's in the box?
The Girl Next Door
As controversial, terrifying and sickening as some of the subject matter of this book is, I'd have to say it's up there among my favorites. Jack Ketchum is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors...top three. I'm ashamed to admit that I've taken this long to start reading his work. Off Season and Offspring were my first two by him (read back to back) and I thought they were brilliant. I took some time away from the author, but now I'm thinking of doing a lot more Ketchum reading.Not a book for everyone, but an amazing read nonetheless.
The Girl with All the Gifts
Now THIS is a great take on a zombie novel. Probably my favorite in the genre. The ending...just wow. I've FINALLY read a book that ends exactly how I would end it if I'd written it myself. Kudos, Carey. Amazing piece of work.
The Haunted
Didn't live up to the Bentley Little hype I've read. Wondering if I should try another...
Haunted
This week I learned that if you want to know what your large intestine would feel like on the outside of your body, simply fill a lamb skin condom with peanut butter and enjoy. Also; there's no chlamydia on Venus.
Whisper
Decent story, but sadly what I come away with most is: I. Hate. Melody. Almost as much as Steve and Melody's ridiculous dialogue.If Melody started one more sentence with her whiny "Steeeeeve", I was going to break something.
Rushed
Mr. Harmon used the word "utterly" so much, I wanted to punch something. Could be a cool drinking game, I suppose. Every time you hear the word "utterly", you take a shot. You'd get wasted in a hurry and likely have alcohol poisoning if you read the book in one sitting.The main character, Eric, was annoying to say the least. He hates cell phones. We get it. No need to repeat it up until the very last page of the book.
I can't help but think parts of the story are copy/paste victims, because nearly every time Eric gets a call from his wife it's "Eric figured he should call his wife, but he hates cell phones and he knew it wouldn't be long before she called him. SURE ENOUGH, his phone rings!"
Sigh.
The story was a cool idea, but I couldn't bring myself to read the second novel.
The Goldfinch
Great book from page one. Started off quite fast, then slowed to a nice, steady pace for the remainder. Theo, Hobie and Boris will be characters I'll never forget. If you can tolerate the longer ones, The Goldfinch is well worth your time.
Castaways
While the book was ok, of the total word count I would venture to guess that a mere 20% were words other than "fuck", "shit", "asshole" and the like. It got really old and I couldn't wait for the book to end...Read Ketchum's Off Season and Offspring if you want cannibalistic crazies.
Infected
Finally, some brutal violence. I really liked Perry, but couldn't stand Margaret. Without giving anything away...if I knew the cause of the infection before I started the book, I wouldn't have read it at all. BUT - Sigler did well with it, and I actually enjoyed the outcome.
The Good Girl
I loved Gone Girl, but it was the second half of the book that made me *really* like it. The Good Girl was recommended to me because I read Gone Girl. The books are similar in a way, but unlike Gone Girl, The Good Girl was pretty fast paced from the start rather than being slow in the first half and picking up speed in the second. Well worth the read.
