Robison Wells- Variant. Reviewed

I was given an ARC of Robison Wells Variant a few years back, and had to write a review about it. I re-read it recently so this review may be be different from my first one. Read more after the jump.

Fahrenheit 451- Ray Bradbury reviewed

Having used Fahrenheit 451 for my Bachelor’s thesis on Dystopian fiction, I spent a lot of time analyzing the book. It’s one of my favorite books- probably my favorite of Ray Bradbury’s, beating out even the magical Dandelion wine. Summary and review after the jump.

The Dinner- Herman Koch reviewed

My cousin recommended The Dinner a while back, so I was looking around for it for a while. However, Dutch books are pretty expensive compared to their English counterparts –which I find crazy since I live in the Netherlands yet they keep their own books pricier over other language books-, and I was determined to read the novel in its original Dutch version. Luckily, as I was scouring through boxes of books on the market one day I came across a copy for 2 Euros, and I immediately picked it up. That was already a few months back. I finally got round to reading it. Review and summary after the jump.

Boyfriends with Girlfriends by Alez Sanchez- reviewed

So while reading up on LGBT writers, Alex Sanchez came up a few times. While Rainbow Boys  is one of his more popular novels,  I chose to begin with Boyfriends with Girlfriends.  Review and summary after the jump.

Rosemary's Baby- Ira Levin Reviewed

In honor of last week’s semi- entertaining miniseries loosely based on the novel, I thought I’d revisit one of my favorite horror books. I remember reading Ira Levin’s Rosemary’s Baby for the first time when I was 14 years old. Kind of a young age for a book riddled with adult themes and scary sequences, but I was hooked on Levin and his works and would soon afterwards learn about his other wonderful novels.  Summary and review after the jump

Light by Michael Grant-reviewed

It’s probably been just short of a year since I started with the Gone series. Michael Grant’s 6 volume young adult series practically had me from the start. Luckily all of the books had already been published by the time I started so I didn’t have to wait for new installments to come out ( I still have Harry Potter waiting trauma). I finally got the Light, the final installment last month, and started reading as soon as I could. Synopsis and review after the jump

The Man Who Was Thursday- Reviewed

So, sometimes I judge books by their cover- only in the positive sense though- I may see a cover I really like and buy the book regardless of it’s content. I really like the recent Penguin English Library editions that came out a couple of years ago. I don’t have many, but I do have this edition of G.K. Chesterton’s The Man Who was Thursday. I finally got round to reading it. Synopsis and review after the jump.

The Maze Runner- Reviewed

I just happened upon James Dashner’s The Maze Runner. I’d had no  intention of starting with a new YA series, but I came across it in an Amsterdam bookstore for 5 euros so I just picked it up. Synopsis and review after the jump.

BZRK review

I brought this book with me in February to Indonesia, but my friend who’d forgotten to bring any reading material seized it and made use of it himself. I started reading it after having gotten back. I wasn’t really sure I’d enjoy it though. Summary and review after the jump

A Hologram for the King- review

While I have wanted to read a Dave Eggers novel for a while, I never really took the initiative to buy his works. Many friends had recommended The Circle, which I planning on getting soon, but in spite of that, I never got any of his books. I finally came across A Hologram for the King while at a book fair. Two things immediately popped out at me; the title- which made me think it was some sci-fi story, and the cover itself (see picture) which I found gorgeous. Summary and review after the jump.

Vile Bodies- reviewed

This one’s been on my shelves for a while now. I promised myself, After reading Evelyn Waugh’s Put out more flags, and A Handful of Dust (review of the former here)- and enjoying them, I thought that I would jump on to this one, but it’s only now that I actually took the time to read it. While it took me a while to get into it I eventually finished it, so here’s a synopsis and my review.

Will Grayson, Will Grayson reviewed

I was at the airport in Jakarta, killing time before my flight back to the Netherlands, when I entered a bookshop and found John Green and David Levithan’s Will Grayson, Will Grayson. The book I had brought on the trip had been seized by my friend, who had forgotten to bring reading material. Thus I bought Will Grayson, Will Grayson so I would have something to read as well.  I laughed in that terminal at some points and shook my head in anger at others. But enough about my crippling sanity, back to the book.

Mysterious Skin- reviewed

I remember seeing the film adaptation of Scott Heim’s Mysterious Skin a few years after it’s release. It wasn’t that bad though I didn’t really know what to make of it, besides the fact that both lead characters were seriously fucked up- in their own special way- . It was only later that I realized the film was adapted from a book and while perusing a bookstore that was closing its doors I came across and immediately picked it up. While my last review of Boy Meets Boy tackled young love for teenagers both gay and straight, this novel is a complete 180, dealing with much darker and more depressing themes.

Boy Meets Boy- Reviewed

I haven’t read as much LBGT literature as I would have liked, but I’ve recently been trying to mend that- the last three books I read fall into this category.  I’ve known about David Levithan for a while, but it wasn’t until someone recommended Boy Meets Boy, that I finally picked up one of his books

Dream a little Dream... a review of Doctor Sleep by Stephen King

Sorry It's been a while. I was out of the country for a wedding and it took a while to get back in the habit of things. But i digress.

I was probably one of the people who immediately fan-girled when news came out of a sequel to The Shining. I was late to the shining reading game, having read it just a little over 2 years ago. However, that meant the story was still fresh in my mind. My brother-in-law got me Doctor Sleep and I couldn’t be happier, over the next week every chance I got I caught up with Danny- not so little anymore though sometimes just as naïve- Torrance. Summary and review after the jump (spoilers if you have yet to read The Shining)

Shine on- A review of Stephen King's The shining

I remember seeing Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining  for the first time when I was probably around 13. It was my first foray into the Overlook Hotel and I was hooked, it would take more than a decade for me to finally pick up Stephen King’s Novel that inspired the film, and while I was expecting the usual cut corners, I wasn’t prepared for how different the narratives would be. Summary and review after the jump

How to survive a plague-you’re doing it wrong; a review of Michael Grant’s Plague

I read this a while back but I hadn’t found the time to review it yet, so hopefully it’s still fresh enough in my mind that I know what I’m talking about. Feel free to correct me if I screw up the order of certain plot points or other factors.

So the community- if that’s what you can call it- has pretty much forgotten about the events which took place in the last book (check out my review of Lies here). Grant is smart enough however to implement new catastrophes so that there isn’t a sudden void. Sure, I noticed that most of the first few books centered on the small kids and how it was practically only Mary Terrafino who took the initiative to care for them. Now with Mary gone, it’s suddenly like she took the problem away with her. The town has bigger fish- or lack of fish rather- to fry. The escape of the Britney/Drake monster is inevitable- that’s what happens when you leave a drunk to guard someone- and a mysterious sickness is killing people with extreme speed. Moody Lana is of little use, as her powers have no effect on the illness. To top it off, another kind of virus is infecting people with critters, which basically eat their hosts from the inside until it’s time for them to surface and cause even more havoc. All good stuff.

The major allegory I came across book is the idea of sex- or more precisely the consequences of having sex when you’re not ready, either physically or emotionally. Sam and Astrid are being torn apart by their sexual urges and the neglect/ suppression of them. Meanwhile, two kinds of plagues are killing the few people that are left in town- one in the form of a killer flu and the other in the form of lttle things nestling themselves inside the body- now if that’s not a PSA for the repercussions of (unprotected) sex I don’t know what is. There’s one more major plotline that is hinted at throughout the and is revealed to be true at the end, which ties into this whole sex theme, but I won’t go into that and spoil that one . The novel does focus on other things like Sam and a select few leaving town to go search for water, since their supply is dangerously low. This also gives insight into how the town functions when Sam is not present, and basically sets up the story for the next book. 

I haven’t started on the next book yet, I’m hoping to do that soon. If you’re into the series, hit me up with what you thought of it.

you can get Plague and all the other books in the Gone series here

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