Review: The Survivors

The Survivors by Jane Harper
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Maybe it's me.

Maybe I'm just not feeling crime novels like I used to.
Maybe I've been too spoiled lately with unique stories.
Maybe too much reading has left me jaded.

Whatever the reason, I found this frustrating and slow and ultimately disappointing.

Setup: A whole bunch of secrets in a small Tasmanian coastal town, and Kieran digging through the past while we all try to work out who's responsible for the recent death of a girl.

The Good Bits

The Setting
I can't argue about Jane Harper's ability to set the scene. She does it well, and anyone who has ever visited an Australian coastal town will recognise it here. She has a way of transporting you to the locations she writes about, and it's definitely the best part of her writing.

The Tangle of Information
There is a lot of information to absorb - some of it relevant to solving the mystery, some of it just to throw you off. It's all jumbled together so there is the fun element of trying to untangle everything and come to your own conclusions.

The Cast of Characters
Look, I didn't really like any of them, but they were an interesting bunch and different enough that it kept the story interesting. Plus having so many of them meant there were lots of guesses as to who was behind all the drama.

The Frustrating Bits

The Pace
The first half of this novel really dragged, because it put so much time into talking about the lives of so many characters and setting out the misdirects for the mystery to come. So there are a lot of info dumps and not really a lot of action. The second half picks up a bit, and finally it does get to be an addictive read but, for me, the lack of interest at the start meant I wasn't as invested in the conclusion as I could have been.

The Allusions to the Past
This was hands down the most frustrating part for me. It works so hard to be mysterious that it ends up just seeming obnoxious. It drops all these hints about a mystery we clearly know nothing about, then there's a quick info-dump to scratch the itch, followed almost immediately with another hint about something else. The formula was so repetitive that I found myself not wanting to pick the book back up because it was so frustrating.

The Pushed Agenda
For a book told from a male's POV, this sure wants to make a point about how hard it is to be a woman. It reminds us that women can't walk in the dark without feeling safe and that beautiful women will always be harassed and blamed for being beautiful. As a woman I totally get these issues, but it just felt so out of place the way it was discussed in this story. She worked too hard to make a point of it, and it grated for me because it never felt organic. Especially when she spent so much time talking about how attractive the females in this book were. Overall, it was pretty jarring and made me feel awkward.

Final Thoughts
It wasn't terrible, and it definitely had me hooked towards the end, but on finishing the story I was left scratching my head a little, wondering what the heck just happened. It's one of those endings that kind of leaves you disappointed, thinking maybe you missed something. It just kind of - I think the technical term I want to go with here is 'fizzled'.

I never really liked any of the characters, and it all felt complicated for the sake of complication. There were so many secrets that didn't need to be secrets. Because of this, it also feels like there was a lot that was never properly explained.

Certainly not her best work, and a little disappointing when I enjoyed her last one so much. But, as mentioned, maybe I've just become a little jaded with the crime novel formula.

It's intriguing and full of secrets, and it takes some twisty turns for you to explore. If you don't overthink it you're bound to enjoy it well enough, but those looking to be blown away might be a little disappointed.

With thanks to Macmillan for my uncorrected proof ARC

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Review: The Magnolia Sword: A Ballad of Mulan

The Magnolia Sword: A Ballad of Mulan by Sherry Thomas
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Loved the martial arts, liked the characters, not a fan of the war strategy.

Also super weird reading a rather modern, first person account of something that allegedly was taking place back in 484 AD.

But I liked it nonetheless.

One of the best things about this book, in my opinion, is Mulan's fear. She's a trained warrior, which is excellent, and she is loyal to her family, so she doesn't think twice about enlisting to save the rest of her family. Her intentions are honourable. But she wants to come home to them, so if that means hiding out on the sidelines then that's what she'll do. When she does finally see battle, there's no fancy fighting - there's just Mulan dealing with the first serious fight she's ever been involved in and her reaction is raw and real. She's terrified - as anyone would be.

It's lacking the fun of the Disney version, and there's a lot more emphasis on China politics at the time. There's no Mushu or lucky cricket sadly, and there's a serious tone to the whole thing that did unfortunately drag it down for me. But the characters to serve to lighten the mood a little - particularly Kedan, who I was quick to take a liking to.

The martial arts scenes were clearly written by an author who did her research. This was probably my favourite part of the book, reading the intricate details and the strategy of each fighter. I loved it all. Plus I really enjoyed the chemistry between Mulan and Kai when they're fighting - both with and against each other.

I have mixed feelings about it being a YA novel, because the tone seemed wrong to me - it was light on details and the language was modern, so it failed to properly immerse me in the setting of ancient China. But, at the same time, I wasn't particularly keen on all those details anyway so I'm kind of glad it skimmed over it all.

In the end, it was an easy read with some memorable moments, but nothing particularly special. I found it a little bland, but it was a decent re-telling of the legend.

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Review: The Nightingale and the Rose

The Nightingale and the Rose by Oscar Wilde
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

UM?!

WHY DID I READ THIS.

Humans are STUPID.

So beautiful and elegant. I wasn't sure about it at first but, man, did I end up getting invested in this lil nightingale. Such a sweet soul.

What a heart-wrenching story.

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Review: Spite

Spite by Katy Bauer
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

Another nothing book.

Plot: Narrator is jealous of successful people, decides she needs to become successful. Ropes in friend to make a film. Complains the whole time.

It's written like a diary, so the writing is choppy and short and mercifully jumps through the 'action' pretty quick. I say 'action' because most of it is just the narrator getting drunk and stoned and complaining. It's really dull and I skimmed most of it to be honest.

It just had nothing really driving it. I think it's supposed to be sassy and hilarious and we're supposed to laugh at how the narrator is such a ridiculously terrible human being, but it fell flat for me. I found her unbearable and as such it made it really painful to read her diary. She just does not care about anyone or anything but herself. How her husband continues to love her is the biggest mystery of this book.

Honestly, I just didn't care.

There are relationship dramas but the whole filmmaking process is the backbone of the story, meaning this story holds together like soggy cardboard. There are some interesting parts but on the whole it's essentially a pointless story.

It was so dull I can't even be bothered writing more about it.

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Review: Devil's Creek

Devil's Creek by Todd Keisling
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Okay I went into this really excited but unfortunately it kind of ... fizzled.

Mostly, the story just seemed a good excuse to:
1. Trash talk religion
2. Make people do weird kinky things

The story follows Jack, who is returning to his hometown after his Grandmother's death. Back when he was a kid, he was part of a cult led by Jacob Masters, who fathered six children specifically so he could later sacrifice them. Jack was one of those kids, so now he has to face his past, particularly since it seems, after 30 years, Jacob may longer be satisfied with staying dead.

So it begins with exactly what went down with the demise of the cult and Jacob's death. Jacob is a religious nut who realised God is not above but actually beneath, and he demands blood, suffering and general depravity. To start, I kind of found it hard to believe that this religious nut hears a 'god' from below and doesn't even think about the possibility it's the devil? How did the dude with the horns and pitchfork not even turn up beyond the title? That surprised me a lot. I found it a little unbelievable that this pastor who was so devoted to God suddenly had his switch flipped by a voice from below. Then again, what do I know about religion? *shrugs*

Soon enough it jumps to present day, 30 years later, where the 'Stauford Six' are just trying to live ordinary lives. Jack is the only one who ever moved away - he went off to become a highly successful artist, thanks to the disturbing artwork inspired by his nightmares. Way to capitalise, buddy. Anyhoo, now he's back in town and we're following as he reunites with a few of his siblings and suddenly discovers that his loving grandma was into some weird stuff before she died.

It was all a little too detailed for me. We get to know half the town in greater detail than was really necessary, and it slowed everything down so much. I got King vibes from the storytelling, but it never drew me in like King's work does. Instead we get to know all of these people that just end up meaning very little to the story. Plus all the backstory with the idol got kinda dull after a while.

The violence is graphic yet sporadic, so you can get this really terrifying, gruesome scene, then the next is an info dump of history that's mostly boring. Also, it's so sexualised. I'll spoiler-tag the details, but safe to say some kinky stuff goes down. (view spoiler)[Firstly there's the kids being raped and violated, Susan and Ozzie and their kinky relationship (I lost count of how many times this story wanted to talk about Susan's Naked Body), the talk of BJs and fucking and incest, and then of course the ending with everyone getting naked and the fucking mass orgy. It was all a little too gratuitous for my tastes. (hide spoiler)] It also starts really strong and creepy but then it ends up being more of the same so it gets a bit repetitive, to be honest. It's like it wants to get creative but just misses the mark.

I enjoyed the lore and the building of the story behind this evil, but all the rituals made it a little too confusing for me and at the end of it I'm still not entirely sure I understand it. I feel like so much detail went into it when it was actually more simple? It got a little bit wild and I think a lot of it was kind of wasted.

I think the takeaway message is that people can do crazy stuff when they think they're doing God's will. It definitely takes a nice solid swipe at the devout, but in doing so it divides the town into 'evil religious nuts' or 'outcasts with no faith'. I think I really needed that middle ground to become properly invested.

I never really felt a lot for the characters, and I think that's because we jumped between so many of them. The substance was certainly there but I just didn't stay with them long enough to really get too invested.

Finally, the whole thing just took so long to play out that, by the end, I was just bored. It started strong but then put so much effort into creating substance and fleshing out details; normally this is something I would appreciate but it just felt pointless and wasted on this story. I think the amount of violence and depravity in this story called for less effort in the storytelling. Alternatively, I would have appreciated fewer, more effective incidents of violence. Basically, the balance was off.

Overall it was an enteraining story that I think just took itself too seriously. I didn't hate it, but I think there's a fair bit of room for improvement.

With thanks to Netgalley for a copy.

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Review: The Silmarillion

The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I think of all the worlds I've visited in books, that created by Tolkien will always be my favourite.

The detail is so rich and its history so compelling that it so easily comes alive for me. If you want to know more about Middle Earth, the info is there. You just have to find the book that tells it. If you're looking for more beyond The Lord of the Rings, this is that book.

Now, I'm not going to lie - the first 150-or-so pages are a bit of a slog. This could be retitled "A Condensed History of Middle Earth" and it begins with the world's very creation. It's basically the Bible of Tolkien's world. Don't look for any mention of familiar names too soon. (This is also very likely the reason I gave up about a third of the way in when I first read it, back when I was 17 or so.)

First, there's The Big Guy, Illuvatar, who brings into being the Ainur, who essentially end up being the gods of this world (The Valar). Then there's the creation of the physical world, and the people destined to inhabit it. It's all described in rather complex detail, so this is not light reading, my friends.

From the very beginning, one of the Ainur has evil intentions, and Melkor (aka Morgoth) swiftly becomes the Big Bad who lurks throughout this entire history, darkening all that the others create. His presence sows the seed of good vs evil, and suddenly this fancy new world is marred into something tragically more recognisable and honestly far more interesting.

So the first half of the book is all about who creates what, who descends from who, what the land looks like, and who ends up in which lands. We know the elves are quick to inhabit, so then we must learn all of the elves of importance, and how they come to scatter throughout the lands of Middle Earth.

It gets incredibly confusing, not least because of the multitude of characters but additionally because each character tends to come with several names, and reference to them is not consistent.

Thankfully, there's an index and a few family trees at the back to assist, though it's not really until great deeds are done that the characters become somewhat familiar.

But, man, when those deeds begin, things start to get really interesting.

The underlying story is about the creation of three jewels, the silmaril, and the quest to reclaim them, yet this actually composes very little of the stories within these pages. It's more about the various fates of all those affected by the existence of the jewels, and the endless feud with Morgoth. The fates are many and varied, and I ended up sticking post-it notes throughout my book to remind myself of some of the most epic occurences within these pages:

We have people chained to mountains, limbs hacked off, people crushed by boulders and thrown from cliffs, destroyed by monstrous creatures, betrayal, murder, incest, lies, greed, arrogance, jealousy, veangeance ... there were actually so many moments in this book where I felt the need to cover my gaping mouth in horror.

I FREAKING LOVED IT.

Eventually I found my favourites among the stories, and characters I got to know and love - Turgon, Maedhros, Thingol and Melian, Hurin, Beren and Luthien and Huan the hound ... and so many others whose parts I loved but then forgot in favour of the next great hero to arise. That's another thing - you hear about the deeds of one, then they disappear from the story for a time, only to reappear later when you've all but forgotten them. It was confusing but it was also kind of fun to have friends coming back into the story.

There are also a lot of echoes of other myths and legends, and of deeds made familiar through The Lord of the Rings. There's definitely a sense that life is circular, and history often repeats.

I loved the complexity of it, but it doesn't make for easy reading. You really have to concentrate on every word of every sentence, so this is only for those fully committed to learning the lore of Tolkien's world. It's told more than shown so it can feel a little tedious at times, but if you stick with it you'll be rewarded by fantastic stories rich in detail. Consider the fact that within 366 pages we have centuries of history and lore - Tolkien actually does pretty well to keep it entertaining.

Truth is, I still managed to feel so much for some of these characters. I loved Thingol so his fate really affected me, and I was bemused to learn that the true hero of the story of Beren and Luthien was actually a dog. I loved that damn dog so much. The story of Turin Turambar horrified me so many times, and Maehdros was one I felt loyalty to without really remembering why. I loved the friendships and loathed the actions of those lacking honour and generally ended up being fully invested in everything. There are also little gems of information that will spark the memory of things read about elsewhere, or embellish a little. For example, one fun fact I learnt is that dwarves apparently went into battle wearing these terrifying masks. Oh if only those masks had appeared in Peter Jackson's imaginings.

Then of course as time draws closer to the Third Age, learning about Aragorn's ancestors was a real treat. Although working out that he was kiiiiinda related to Elrond made things a bit weird, if you follow me.

GUH.

This just ended up being so rewarding to read and I'm really glad for that. It's definitely reignited my love for this world, which never dies but does sleep from time to time as I immerse myself in other worlds.

This is probably only for the hardcore Tolkien junkies, but if you make the effort it will be well rewarded. I know I was.

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Review: The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari

The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari by Robin S. Sharma
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Once again I am disappointed by a book because I misunderstood what I was getting into.

I honestly thought this was a biographical account of a dude who really did sell all his posessions and wander off to discover the meaning of life. But that's just the ruse the author uses to tell you what he believes are the secrets of life.

It's basically a beginner's insight into spiritual development in a form similar to both The Courage to be Disliked and The Alchemist, in that it uses a fictional discussion between two characters to deliver all its wisdom.

Unfortunately, there wasn't anything new enough here to make up for my disappointment at being jipped on the motivational biography I thought this was.

The setup is this: Julian is a hotshot lawyer who has a heart attack one day in court. This serves as his wakeup call so he sells everything he owns then goes off to India to live among sages who will teach him the meaning of life. Then he comes back and passes on all this wisdom to his hotshot lawyer protege, and this book is essentially that conversation between the two.

Firstly, it's a bit of a stretch that this protege is so open to changing every single aspect of his life so dramatically, and the sporadic attempts at humour just make this more ridiculous. The setup is a poor one, because it's so unrealistic, which doesn't exactly inspire confidence in the methods. It all ends up feeling rather far-fetched instead of practical - and this from a person who completely supports the seven points that are made.

It's almost like the author was too lazy to provide actual facts, figures and examples, so just put all is own thoughts into these two fictional creations. I guess the point is to make it more accessible but it made it seem phony and conceited to me. I guess the delivery just really rubbed me the wrong way.

But aside from that, the concepts it provides are actually quite useful, and it's all stuff I've read repeatedly in books on personal development. It just simplifies it all, which is what I mean about being 'Spirituality for Beginners'. I'm not denying the information, but it just barely scratches the surface. Ironically, it's like the 'quick-fix' version of personal development.

So overall I hated the delivery and it was a little too basic for me, but I do support the information it conveys and think this is a great entry point for anyone who may be looking to begin a little self development.

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