Review: Salvation

Salvation by Peter F. Hamilton
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was actually so much fun!

I don't read a lot of sci-fi (my brain can't handle the science) but I was kinda keen for some alien mischief so this one found its way into my hands. WELL.

What I expected:
-Motley crew vaguely described and big enough to allow for characters to get eaten/shredded/sucked into space etc.
-Spaceships and malfunctioning space equipment
-Hostile aliens
-Strange planets
-General carnage and mayhem involving aliens picking off humans one by one

What I got:
-Motley crew introduced slowly and individually so I got to know each
-Spaceships and wormholes and portals and SO MUCH TECHNOLOGY my brain is still reeling
-Benign aliens with possible secret dark agenda
-Planets and comets and asteroids and moons and galaxies and ... humans living on all of it because that's how we roll
-General carnage and mayhem in the form of futuristic crime-solving

I mean this was a mixed bag that I entirely did not expect yet equally enjoyed immensely. There was chaos and crime and, yes, there was a lot of science that flew way over my head and descriptions that were so imaginative I couldn't quite get a grip on the visual, but this was a fantastic romp around the galaxy. It almost qualifies for the 'short stories' shelf, as each of the characters is given their own little story at a different time in their collective past. Interspersed with their current mission to investigate an alien spacecraft. PLUS there's the kids 500+ years in the future again who clearly know more than we do, but have their own future to think about.

IT WAS HECTIC.

Honestly I had so much fun with this, and am very much looking forward to the sequel which is a mercifully short wait away and hopefully contains even more carnage, mayhem and alien mischief.

Many thanks to Macmillan for providing me with a complimentary copy.

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Challenge Review: Mythos

My #dymocks52challenge book 23/38, for week 37.

Title: Mythos: The Greek Myths Retold
Author: Stephen Fry
Published: 2/11/17
First appearance in 101: 2018 (#84)
Years in 101: 2
2019 101 ranking: #98
Rating: 3 stars

Why I chose this book:
You might have guessed from the name of my blog that I have an interest in myths and legends, so when this book popped up on the Top 101 list it was an easy add. I'm absolutely fascinated by myths and was looking forward to reading about them from the very beginning.


Thoughts:
I love the stories themselves, but the delivery missed the mark with me. I've never been a big fan of British humour and with a subject so close to my heart it seemed a little crass. But I enjoyed the myths - particularly the lesser-known ones I'd not yet encountered - so it wasn't a total drag to read.

You can read my full review on Goodreads here.


Verdict: Was it worthy?

The myths themselves, yes, but I'm sure there are better deliveries out there. I've yet to read Ovid's Metamorphoses (it's waiting eagerly on my bookshelf) but I suspect that will tell many of these stories in greater depth and with the traditional prose that one would expect for such old stories. This sassy retelling is a great introduction for the uninitiated, but doesn't quite do justice to the great legends of Greek mythology.

Review: Carrie

Carrie by Stephen King
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Stephen King is one of my favourite authors because his work has a way of making you forget you are reading a story. You become immersed in it, seeing the scenes clearly (aided by memory if you've seen a film version) and feeling what the characters go through.

Carrie's story makes me feel such pity, and a strong hatred of bullying. It seems strange that the entire novel revolves around only two notable events - the bookends of the story - as it held me captivated the entire time.

Carrie's talent is unusual enough that it could have spawned all kinds of stories, but instead this book chooses to focus on the characters and how society acts in certain situations. And I think that is what makes this book so strong - it makes you think. It is not mindless action, it is the motivations that take the main focus. And it makes you question what you would do if you were in these positions. Ultimately, this book is about the darkness of human nature, and the supernatural stuff is just a bonus chill factor.

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Challenge Review: All the Bright Places

My #dymocks52challenge book 22/38, for week 36.

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Title: All The Bright Places
Author: Jennifer Niven
Published: 6/1/15
First appearance in 101: 2016 (#72)
Years in 101: 3
2019 101 ranking: -
Rating: 2 stars

Why I chose this book:
This has made three of the last five years of 101 lists, so it nudged out some of the more recent entries, though it didn't make this year's list. This was one I wasn't sure I really wanted to read, but figured it would be easy to get through.

Thoughts:
Ah, more tragic heroes being praised by readers. I can appreciate that this was a powerful glimpse into teenage mental illness (stay away if you're triggered easily) but overall it seemed a little too contrived for me, and I wasn't particularly attached to the two leads. 

You can read my full review on Goodreads here.


Verdict: Was it worthy?
Maybe? I mean, to me it was trying too hard to be a John Green book, but this might be a valuable insight for people who have no idea what it's like to experience mental illness, either directly or through a family member/close friend. I'll give it the benefit of the doubt, because if it helps ease some of the stigma surrounding mental illness then I'm all for it.

Review: A Little Bit of Auras: An Introduction to Energy Fields

A Little Bit of Auras: An Introduction to Energy Fields by Cassandra Eason
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

How to Get the Most out of This Book

You will need:
- Coloured ribbons/thread/twine
- Coloured pencils
- Paper
- Water (preferably amethyst- or quartz-soaked for more than 8hrs)
- Quartz pendulum
- An abundance of time
- An open mind

Method:
1. Learn how to read aura colours by playing with your ribbons/thread/twine.

Congratulations! You can now identify auras! (Wow, that was quick.)

2. Take your colouring pencils and paper everywhere you go and colour in diagrams of auras for every person you encounter. (If your boss is yelling at you for colouring at work instead of working, his/her picture is likely to have a lot of red)
3. Ask people what they are feeling to determine if you saw their aura correctly.
4. Use water, pendulums and a LOT of hand gestures to control the auras of you, your pets and everyone around you.

Congratulations! You are now Master of Auras.

Honestly, it wasn't bad, but it's not exactly helpful as an introduction. It just throws you in the deep end and expects you to get out there with your colouring pencils and diagrams and learn for yourself through experimentation.

I did, however, really enjoy the breakdown of the colours and emotions etc and the difference between the personality vs mood auras.

There is a lot of hand-waving and rituals involving visualisation so this is not one suitable for sceptics, and I advise doing this in the privacy of your own home or you're gonna look a little strange feeling yourself in public.

It was informative, but probably not as practical as little budding hippie me was hoping. Super fun to make fun of with a cynical mind, but also might hit you right in the feels if you start trying to colour your own aura.

Take it with patience and a grain of salt and it might be a bit of good, clean, hippie fun.

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Challenge Review: A Little Life

My #dymocks52challenge book 21/38, for week 35.

Title: A Little Life
Author: Hanya Yanagihara
Published: 10/3/15
First appearance in 101: 2017 (#30)
Years in 101: 3
2019 101 ranking: #29
Rating: 3 stars

Why I chose this book:
This was one I bought a few years back, so this made the list when I was looking at 101s I already had on my shelf. Length is a pretty big factor in determining what I read, and this one was a daunting 720 pages. But I was intrigued by the plot outlined in the blurb.

Thoughts:

Another train wreck. Why are readers so often impressed by tragic stories? This book took enough time building attachment that when the depravity struck hard it was too far to turn back. I hated reading it, but it still left a mark. This was a book of extreme emotions, with no real grey between, so it was a bit too unrealistic for my tastes.

You can read my full review on Goodreads here.


Verdict: Was it worthy?

I can see why so many people are impressed with it, but I really don't understand why readers are so enamoured with doom and gloom. It worked hard to portray its characters, so there's literary merit in that, but the story was a little too far-fetched for my tastes. The writing itself, however, was clever and well structured. I'll concede defeat to this one.

Review: The Thousand and One Ghosts

The Thousand and One Ghosts by Alexandre Dumas
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The last story was the best story!

Also I love that it all begins with a headless corpse.

The flow isn't quite there but the stories are cool! All a little bit random and slightly spooky but told in that classic way that makes me love Dumas so much.

Basically Alexandre Dumas writes himself into this one as a fellow at a dinner party who listens to a few ghost stories, recounted after they all witness a man who murdered his wife going a bit mad because he claims her headless corpse spoke to him.

I mean if that doesn't sound like a fun way to start a story what is?

So everyone takes their turn (except Dumas himself) to tell the tale of similar spooky occurrences that happened to a friend-of-a-friend or similar. Because of the writing style, I was never really creeped out by the stories themselves, but they do cover interesting horror themes like re-animated corpses and curses and voices from the dead.

It was probably a bit too short for my liking and I do wonder if maybe its been abridged? I wanted so much more of this story and its themes. I mean the title is kind of misleading because instead of one thousand and one there's like ... five. Disappointing.

Otherwise I can say nothing bad about another book from my beloved favourite author.

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