New Fighting Fantasy book arrived today! They still write them after all these years. Assassins of Allansia. Looking forward to getting stuck into it.
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I finished The Outsider. It started very well, and a character from the Bill Hodges books came as a surprise (not a spoiler, I live under a rock, the book is billed as part 1 in a new trilogy) but the plot device of
a supernatural being with supernatural abilities being the solution to a complex crime set-up
is rather unsatisfactory.
Then after watching Silence of the Lambs a few weeks back I bought the Thomas Harris books on Kindle. I've read the SOTL novel before but never Red Dragon (nor seen any of the films based on it). It's a real page turner. Breakneck pace. Very well structured. Only slight neg is I can only visualise Will Graham as the actor who played him in Hannibal
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Currently listening to Midnight In Chernobyl: The Untold Story of the World's Greatest Nuclear Disaster by Adam Higginbotham.
After watching the excellent Chernobyl series, I wanted to clarify which bits were real and which were embellished for television.
Turns out some of the stuff they clarified at the end and a few bits were inaccurate like no nude miners or the helicopter crash happened, but much later.
I was worried at the start, when it was just a long list of Russian names for all the people involved, but it soon picks up.
It's very in-depth, looking at the rise of Chernobyl as a town and nuclear energy in general.
We're still building up to the disaster, but it's still interesting. I think the characterisation of some of the key individuals is going to be subjective, but it helps understand who was involved and why they acted as they did.
It's full of interesting facts too!
- Men are more radiactive than women because we have more muscle mass.
- Brazil nuts are the most naturally radioactive food.
- Thomas Edison's assistant had his hand x-rayed so many times he got radiation and had to have his hand, then whole arm amputated before dying of radiation poisoning - becoming the first person to die of man-made radiation.
- The UK had its own nuclear disaster in 1957 - The Windscale fire
- Russia covered up the biggest nuclear disaster before Chernobyl - The Kyshtym disaster in 1957
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After flirting with Thomas Harris and Peter Straub I've gone back to what I know and love: Stephen King. Reading The Shining again. After watching the film again I just got a big hankering to linger in The Overlook and winter is a great time to read it.
I've always loved the film but only got round to reading the book a couple of years back ... yet I'd place the book at an equal level as the film. As I said in an older post they compliment each other, and offer two very different ways (content, not medium) to enjoy a cracking story.
Only slight criticism of the book is it telegraphs something early on in a rather obvious way. But that's nothing in the grand scheme. It's a brilliant book ... not as epic as IT or The Stand but just as essential.
A couple of years ago I picked up a nice physical edition which has the 40odd page prologue re-inserted that was cut from the original novel called Before The Play. This offers a history of The Overlook ... all the strange deaths and debauched behaviour over the years. Sets it up a treat.
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Originally posted by Atticus View PostAfter flirting with Thomas Harris and Peter Straub I've gone back to what I know and love: Stephen King. Reading The Shining again. After watching the film again I just got a big hankering to linger in The Overlook and winter is a great time to read it.
I've always loved the film but only got round to reading the book a couple of years back ... yet I'd place the book at an equal level as the film. As I said in an older post they compliment each other, and offer two very different ways (content, not medium) to enjoy a cracking story.
Only slight criticism of the book is it telegraphs something early on in a rather obvious way. But that's nothing in the grand scheme. It's a brilliant book ... not as epic as IT or The Stand but just as essential.
A couple of years ago I picked up a nice physical edition which has the 40odd page prologue re-inserted that was cut from the original novel called Before The Play. This offers a history of The Overlook ... all the strange deaths and debauched behaviour over the years. Sets it up a treat.
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Originally posted by wakka View PostThat edition of The Shining sounds interesting Atticus - do you have a link?
OOP now but possibly available elsewhere.
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Land of Stories by Chris Colfer.
Full of unsubtle, sledgehammer exposition, clumsy writing and absurd coincidences. Yet, for kids, a pacy and enjoyable tale that nicely subverts some of the fairy tale tropes.
Love the bit where the twins are going to get eaten by the witch who lures Hansel and Gretel, only to be granted a final wish. The lad wishes that the witch is a vegetarian. Problem solved.
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Sherlock Holmes & The Christmas Demon - Pinny got me this for Xmas, and I was very unsure at first. I've never been of fan of fiction which tries to do Holmes or Phillip Marlowe etc. They always fall short of the mark, however this was nearly spot on, the best none original Sherlock story that I've ever read. Really enjoyed it.
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Noughts and Crosses by Malorie Blackman.
Rather eye-opening YA fiction set in an alternate reality where race relations are reversed. It really made me think about the struggle faced by people throughout history. Anyone who bemoans the existence of Black History Day and other such educational events needs to read this. It will help you to understand why such things are vital, and even then, you can’t possibly understand things properly. It’ll be shown as a tv series soon/
The Curious Incident... by Mark Haddon.
Equal parts illuminating and dull. I enjoyed the experience of getting into the mindset of Christopher, but some sections seemed to be indulgent. I found myself pleased it was over. Comparatively, Noughts and Crosses I hungered for more. I don’t know. I feel bad saying it. But I found parts rather annoying.
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Recently re-read The Shining and Trainspotting. Both brilliant. Trainspotting is as much about being young as it is the bad drugs. That's what connects for me with both the book and the film ... the time in your life when you lived just for the moment.
Now I've just started The Institute by Stephen King.
And with all the extra time spent in the house I've been reading a bunch of Judge Dredd Complete Case Files. Gotta love that unique 2000AD attitude.
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