Review: It's Lonely at the Centre of the Earth

It's Lonely at the Centre of the Earth by Zoe Thorogood
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

This is the most emo, self-absorbed, pretentious piece of crap I've read in a while.

If you consider yourself a misunderstood emo kid, this will knock your socks off.

If you're looking for logical progression or just any kind of meaningful story in general, this is not for you, my friends.

There is basically no plot - it's just the author drawing random pictures and talking about how art is everything even though her life is a mess and trying to make sense of her misery by inflicting on the page and, as a consequence, the reader.

There's no humility to aid feelings of sympathy; in fact, she comes across as obnoxiously obsessed with her depression and how 'not like other people' she is because of it, which also makes her super relatable. What a conundrum.

I'm not big on self-pity so this really rubbed me the wrong way. I understand how debilitating mental illnesses can be but I think wallowing in it to the extent of inviting others to wallow with you is problematic.

The artwork is a messy jumble of styles; very little colour, and Goodnight Punpun-style simplistic heads on detailed bodies; full page spreads of crap and detailed panels interspersed with narration. There's no consistency to the artwork and while this does a decent job of reflecting the muddled mind, it had a rather nonsensical feel.

So many times I found myself wondering what it was trying to say. It's an unfiltered expression of emotion and while I respect the author's choice to publish it I don't think it's polished enough for general consumption. I felt no empathy reading it - rather, I wanted her to take control those times she realised she was enjoying her misery. Ultimately, it was an incredibly frustrating read.

It's an excellent visual representation of depression and self-pity because there's no logic to it and it's incredibly self-absorbed. She was awful to the people around her and seemed comfortable admitting so with no shame. Honesty is fine but it really didn't work in her favour.

Guh.

Look, I probably sound like an insensitive jerk criticising an autobiographical account of depression. I'm not completely heartless - I do feel for her and I hope she finds a way to her own light. This was distressing to read because she's really embracing her illness instead of seeking help, and that's concerning to me. The people that will really love this comic are the ones that will relate to the messiness of mental illness and this comic does nothing to encourage seeking help - instead it seems to share the message that it's okay to wallow and stay blinded by your own misery. I HATE that.

At the same time, I do believe creative expression is really helpful, so maybe people will read this and channel their own negative emotions into art.

Personally, this didn't work for me at all, but I'm glad the lonely are finding a kindred spirit in its pages.

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Review: The Diviners

The Diviners by Libba Bray
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Look.

This was okay to start with, then really interesting, then kinda slow ... and by the end of it I was just eager for it to be over! It dragged on for SO LONG!

It's a YA horror story about strange occult rituals, paranormal occurrences and sadistic murder. It's set in the 1920s and is obnoxious with this detail. And the lead protagonist, Evie, is ANNOYING AF.

I had to Google what a 'flapper' was, to be honest. That should be telling of how little I care about the 1920s.

The short version: the horror aspect was cool but the pacing was off, Evie was a frustrating protagonist and the 1920s references drove me up the wall.

Evie, Evie, Evie.

She's a drama queen, essentially. Selfish and spoiled, and very #notlikeothergirls because she wants to party and be famous. She's rebellious and inserts herself into everyone's lives because she's convinced she's the only one that can handle anything. I got frustrated with her quickly and that sense of annoyance continued throughout the entire book. She has some suggestion of character growth but the reality is, by the end of the story she hasn't really changed.

I didn't understand the point of Sam, but I did really like Memphis and Theta. In fact, their stories were more interesting to me than the main plot, I think.

I realise now that so much of this book was setting up for sequels, and I think that's why it began to drag so much. There was so much extra detail that wasn't necessary and I couldn't really see the point to it. I don't see myself reading a sequel so it was mostly wasted on me.

The murder/occult storyline was premium, but again there was too much extra running around to help it flow cohesively. I was really fascinated by it but had to wade through all the extra drama to get to the good stuff until finally I just wanted it to all be over. The finale was pretty predictable and then afterwards we're given MORE to help set up the next book. ENOUGH ALREADY.

So yep the last 200-odd pages were a frustrating drag.

Now, the setting.

Controversial, but I hated it. I thought it was brilliantly done, sure. The writing did a great job of transporting you to that time. The language, the behaviours, the outdated concepts ... it was all very on trend for the '20s. But sweet cheeses did that lingo do my head in. The discrimination was awful, too. Predictable, again, in how people would be treated. I was just really not feeling it. But again, this time period just does not interest me. So this is more a me complaint than any actual criticism of the book itself. Those with an interest in 1920s USA should actually get a kick out of it.

It wasn't a bad read at all, and I was actually quite captivated at one stage, but once that wore off the book just seemed to take forever to finish. It was all over the place. I liked it, but I won't be looking for the sequel any time soon.

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Review: The Last Dragonslayer

The Last Dragonslayer by Jasper Fforde
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Full disclosure: This is just not my kind of book. The humour is the blunt, obvious kind and I prefer more subtle. Absurd English Humour is one of my least fave genres, and Today Me would never have bought this but 2018 Me thought this was a bargain at Salvos for $3 so it's been sitting around on my shelf waiting to be read.

Anyway.

This is a middle grade read for fans of authors like Terry Pratchett, Neil Gaiman and Douglas Adams. It's an absurd tale of failing magic and the death of the last dragon. Expect the unexpected and, if you're familiar with absurd British humour, expect all the same kind of jokes you've heard before.

I just don't find it laugh-out-loud funny like some people. This book has amusing moments and I loved some of the characters (particularly the Quarkbeast) but in general it just didn't do much for me. It wasn't bad, it's just not my kind of laughs.

The story runs at a nice fast pace and doesn't get bogged down with details. The magic is creatively bland with a few moments of delight thrown in, seemingly just to keep people happy. The characters are, for the most part, fantastic. The names are typically silly, but I didn't mind that so much.

*sigh*

Look, it's a bit hard to rate because I can see that a lot of people will have great fun with this one. Particularly kids. But it just wasn't really my cup of tea. That's more my taste preferences than any fault of the book.

So I'd recommend this for young ones easily, and for older fans of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and books with a similar immature streak in which the imagination knows no bounds.

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Review: Game

Game by Anders de la Motte
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

So this was kinda terrible with a side of lost in translation.

The plot is nothing particularly new - dude finds a phone and it offers him the chance to play a game, which mostly involves real world pranks. Things are unsurprisingly not what they seem.

I've read this trope before and much better, to be honest. Firstly, HP is one of the most annoying protagonists I've read in this kind of situation. He's very much a loser - no job, living off welfare, drug problem, and thinks he's way cooler than he actually is - and there's really no reason you feel any sympathy for him. He doesn't seem to grow at all over the course of the book, and he's a jerk to the two people in this book who actually seem to care about him.

The Game itself is interesting at first but he's out after only a few events so the whole setup seems really pointless. Why go to the trouble? From the halfway point it's all about him digging into the Game and also some side story about his sister and her own trauma. But it drags on for so long and you can see where it's all going from a mile away. I got so bored with it.

The side story with the sister and the ex and that whole thing was so painfully obvious but at the same time made no sense. Like, how could that possibly have been a predicted outcome. HOW.

It's also clearly a terrible translation, with strange words and basic spelling errors.

There's just so very little action for a book that's supposed to be about a game. Normally this kinda story is fast paces but it was so dull. I was glad to be done with it.

Not even slightly interested in the sequel - I'm actually shocked they got a trilogy out of it!

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Review: Dead Connection: An Ellie Hatcher Novel

Dead Connection: An Ellie Hatcher Novel by Alafair Burke
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Another crime novel that was surprisingly good!

Maybe taking some time off from crime was a really good call, because the last two crime novels I've read have been excellent.

This story follows a serial killer that's somehow connected to online dating. Rookie Ellie is partnered up with a quirky detective to bring the killer to justice.

I actually really appreciated how many threads there were to this story. It kept me guessing and this story did a great job of pointing the finger in all kinds of directions. I had no idea how this was all going to go down.

Ellie is a great lead character - she's not perfect but she's not a pariah, either. She's just trying to get the job done. This felt like a really good sample of who she is, and I can see this being a strong foundation for further character building as the series goes on.

The writing was fantastic - you never got a breath to figure things out for yourself because there was something new happening at every turn. Every time you think you might be on the right track, something else happens to put you on another track entirely. It was an addictive read because there's no place you can comfortably put it down without needing to know what comes next.

The story was multi-layered so I really enjoyed delving into this one. Another read that lingered on my shelf longer than it should have.

Highly recommend for crime lovers!

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Blogger Growing Pains

 If you're a regular follower of my blog (do I even have those?) then you'll know that the majority of the content is just book reviews copied over from Goodreads.

This is mostly because I'm lazy - I'm nothing if not honest - but I've also found Blogger becoming increasingly pointless as a hosting site. I don't get stats, so I don't actually know if anyone is reading my blog and, if they are, what actually interests them.

I love to talk books, and promote the ones that really get to me, but I get plenty of that satisfaction through Goodreads. I wanted to build my own platform but Blogger has made it too hard to manage any point of difference.

So mostly this is a post to complain (haha) and explain why my posting is so erratic. I'd like to create my own website eventually, but until time and money allows I've got to stick with this one.

So if you are someone who reads my words, please throw a like or comment my way some time, just so I know its not all for nothing.

And if you're really not a fan, come find me on Goodreads, and we'll talk there. :)

Review: Until You're Mine

Until You're Mine by Samantha Hayes
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Okay, you got me.

It took me like, five attempts to read this book. How did I end up so hooked?!

The premise: Claudia has a baby on the way, and is relieved to have new nanny Zoe there to help her out. Only, there's something ... strange ... about Zoe. Why is she snooping around Claudia's home, and why does she stare so longingly at Claudia's pregnant belly?

This is another book I bought years ago but never got around to. I do like a good thriller but this one being so baby-centric kinda put me off. I'm not really entertained reading all about motherhood, so I wasn't quite sure how much I was going to enjoy this.

I think it shows the strength of this book, though, to admit I was extra-critical while reading and yet still found myself hooked and almost unable to stop from about the halfway mark. I was still a little uninterested in the detective's home life but the secret tension between Claudia and Zoe had me hooked. I knew everything wasn't what it seemed, but I didn't see the big hits coming at all.

This really took me by surprise. The twists were unpredictable and I was so satisfied at being completely oblivious to the truth of things. The final confrontation was fantastic, and this was one of those rare books that had an ending that lived up to the suspense of the book.

This is a truly excellent thriller. Once again, I put a book off for longer than it deserved.

Highly recommend for lovers of crime and thrillers, even if you're not into the motherhood side of things. This was a fantastic, addictive read.

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Review: The Golden Age

The Golden Age by Joan London
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

Another completely pointless, bland book. Literary fiction will never stop being a mysterious puzzle to me.

Here's a book that goes into minute detail about EVERY. SINGLE. CHARACTER'S. APPEARANCE. Learn about freckles, stretchmarks, tans, scars, shapes, sizes, sags, clothing, adornments, ETC. Wow. Sheer literary brilliance obviously. Forgive me for being the dullard that spent most of this book thinking, 'but what is the point??!'

There's also something about two kids, in a hospital for polio patients, who fall in love. Apparently. Considering how much detail went into describing how people look, there was very sparse detail of anything else, including any kind of meaningful story.

The kid, Frank, considers himself a poet (and of course at 13/14 everything he thinks, feels and believes is absolutely true and shall remain so even as he grows, because no one ever develops and grows from who they were as a child) so there are a few random lines thrown in here and there, but nothing ever really amounts from it? It's important to him, but it still doesn't seem like a particularly strong part of the story?

Also a strange not-affair with Frank's father which somehow relates to his feelings towards Australia, and his wife.

I think this book must be so steeped in metaphor that it completely forgets to tell an actual story. There's really just no reason to read it. There's a little insight into polio in the early 50s but even that is kind of limited.

Also, I'm still mad that the author inserted a throwaway line about boys reading Spider-Man comics when Spidey didn't hit the scene til a decade later. The devil is in the details, my friends.

So I guess if you like seeing all the characters vividly but having to untangle what they're actually doing, this will be a winner for you. There are some feels here about immigration, and isolation, and weird, twisted love, but it's too 'literary' for my tastes, I'm afraid.

I'd rather rot my braincells with things that are actually fun.


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