Full Dark, No Stars (Stephen King, 2010)

Stephen King is now on his third quintet of stories yet the major difference between this and his previous efforts (Different Seasons and Four-Past Midnight) is that Full Dark, No Stars is really quite derivative. There's no out-right crackers like The Langoliers or The Breathing Method to be found here. Whilst the stories present are perfectly well written, all feel flat and disappointing. In short, it almost seems like a quick buck rushed out before his next full novel.

Such a shame considering his last two efforts, short story comp Just After Sunset and epic Under The Dome, were almost a return to form.

2.5/5

Intensity (Dean Koontz, 1995)

I've never indulged in the world of Dean Koontz before and after this I don't think I will again. Writing style is fine as well as his characters and the nastiness he delivers. Why didn't I enjoy Intensity then? I just found it thoroughly uninteresting. With the plot it has, you'd think that one would be engaged from the outset (look up the synopsis for French film Haute Tension, they're practically identical), but it never once got me going. Whilst well written, the prose is at times way too flowery when all you want to do is cut to the chase, something of a handicap for a book titled "Intensity".

Just a bit boring. Shame really. Had potential.

2/5

Without Remorse (Tom Clancy, 1993)

Upon reading two Clancy novels back to back, it becomes apparent that his books fit a pattern: he takes his sweet time setting everything up only to round everything up in a hurried fashion. Both Without Remorse and Rainbow Six are thrilling and deeply enthralling, however, Clancy is a man that seems to run out of steam. The climax appears to disinterest him.

That's not to say the journey getting there is bad. Focusing on the early days of Clancy's most interesting character, John Clark, Remorse is a revenge story at it's heart, the plot concerning Clark's (his real name being Kelly) bitter vengeance on the drug lords that brutally tortured and murdered his lover. Concurrently, he's hired by the CIA to help orchestrate the rescue of American POW's held in Hanoi during the Vietnam War. In true Clancy fashion, the plot is dense and talky whilst the action is fast, swift and brutal. He clearly has a love for technology and weaponry, both given plenty of detail during Clark's roaring rampage of revenge.

My major issue though is that, being a more mature man than the last time I attempted Clancy, it becomes apparent that his works are not quite as intelligent as I initially thought. There are elements that seem almost cheesy, childlike even with a whist of immaturity that, whilst retaining a certain boyish charm (the action beats in both this and Rainbow Six read like a set piece from a Hollywood blockbuster), somewhat scuppers the apparent intelligence it strives for.

It is fun though. I enjoyed it immensely and that's all I ask for in a book.

4/5

Rainbow Six (Tom Clancy, 1998)

This is a first: actually finishing a Tom Clancy book. In the past I have started but not completed Clear and Present Danger, The Sum of All Fears and The Cardinal of the Kremlin, and I will say that none of these are necessarily bad (all, in fact, are very well written), but undertaking politically dense techno thrillers that feature many chapters of high ranking government officials talking complex plot points was somewhat about the head of a man who, at the time, was only 20 years of age.

Rainbow Six, then, was something of a revelation. Clearly not as good a book as the others I’ve attempted (all of which I will be more than happy to revisit after this), Six is still hugely enjoyable. The plot is ridiculous (eco terrorists commit terrorist acts in order to obtain a security job at the Sydney Olympics with the plan of releasing the Ebola virus on the unsuspecting crowd) but the moments of the rainbow team doing their thing have a certain boyish charm to them. Big guns, macho men and lots of fighting, it’s like an 80’s action movie with extra technology.

I liked very much.

4/5

The Pelican Brief (John Grisham, 1992)

Much like Michael Crichton, John Grisham is a man who's style comes off as somewhat amateurish yet the stories he tells are never less than exciting. As my first foray into the world of Grisham, The Pelican Brief is a fast, action packed thrill ride that spins a complex but never confusing conspiracy mixed with chase scene aplenty.

Complaints are petty but reasonable: the prose, as stated, is a mixed bag and Grisham's language is limited and repetitive at times (I swear every other page he referred to things as "a/the little [place object/phrase here]") yet it's hard to argue with a narrative as compelling and well thought out as this.

Sometimes, you just want to read something that is simple yet requires some element of brain power. I liked it very much.

4/5

Everville(Clive Barker, 1994)

Hindsight can be a wonderful thing sometimes. Earlier this year I awarded The Great and Secret Show (TGaSS), Clive Barker's first book on The Art, a score of 4/5. This now seems somewhat unfair as, for all it meanderings and its falling quite comfortably into Barker's niche (most of his works concern an alternate world or worlds to our own), the book itself was really quite wonderful. It also left the story wide open for continuation, which is where Everville, its sequel, comes into play.

Everville does what all sequels should do: it takes the established cannon established in the original and expands. In typical Barker fashion, character that were minor in the beginning are now in the forefront and story arches that were innocuous become necessary to the narrative. The main difference between this and TGaSS however is that, having already established the world, the story flows much more smoothly. Where Quiddity featured only in the latter third of TGaSS, much of Everville is set there. The Iad have a much bigger role also and, in the book's most fascinating turn, the motivations surrounding Kissoon, TGaSS most mysterious character, are gradually explained in their entirety.

If there is anything that Everville can be faulted for, it is merely in it's placement as part two of a planned trilogy that has yet to be finished. It is obvious that Barker has intended a third part but even now, some 16 years down the line, the final part has yet to materialise, which is a shame as Everville does what all good middle child's do and creates an ever growing sense of dread. There is an end game to be played here and story arcs to finish yet, with Barker being somewhat evasive as to whether he will finish the story of The Art, fans like myself will have to wait an hope. It's a shame really as collectively, TGaSS and Everville are near masterpieces of dark fantasy.

I await the conclusion of Tesla, D'Amour and Kissoon with baited yet excited breath.

4.5/5

The God Delusion (Richard Dawkins, 2006)

Allow me to start by saying I am in no way religious. As infantile as it sounds, I just find it difficult to believe that there is one all-powerful God watching over everything. The fact that there are multiple religions also adds credence to the fact that it’s somewhat flawed. But that’s not to say that I don’t like religion as a concept. In the way that it brings people together and gives comfort to some, it really isn’t anything bad at all (expect for those who kill in the name of religion. Those people can fuck off). Call me agnostic if you will.

My problem with The God Delusion is that it attacks literally everyone that isn’t an atheist. Now, correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t that the same kind of speak that was responsible to the Crusades, 9/11 and the forming of the Woodsboro Baptist Church? Whilst Dawkins spews what is effectively a patronising lecture that everyone but he is wrong, there’s the fundamental problem in that neither he, nor any Church, can honestly know without a doubt that what they say is the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. It also completely ignores the reason for faith as it stands: that it’s FAITH. Is there anything wrong with those using religion as a comfort or as a way to better themselves? Apparently so, according to this pompous self-preaching academic.

The only thing that separates The God Delusion from the tripe that, say, Jehovah’s Witnesses pass through your door, is that it preaches a different type of alleged “fact”. But, in the bigger picture, it is no better than Protestants and Catholics screaming “my religion’s better than yours” at each other.

This book is further proof as to why I cop out and sit on the fence. A great example of someone saying: “I value your opinion, but you’re wrong.”

1/5