Never End by Åke Edwardson

I am sure you have heard this, in one form or another: This is the next Harry Potter, the next Hunger Games... In this case, I was told this book was "the next Stieg Larsson". While I can't say I fall for this gimmick any more, I still find myself disappointed at the end. I think it is because, even though I really try not to compare the books, I just can't help it. 

Five years ago, a young woman was raped and murdered. The case was never solved.  Now, it looks like it is starting again. 

Now, this book was not bad. But it was nothing special either, in my opinion. I did like how unpredictable it was; and although at the time, I felt a lot of the personal information regarding the investigating officers was unnecessary, I did appreciate how it made me root for them. But having said that, I can't say that I actually cared for them, particularly Chief Inspector Winter, the main protagonist. (Oh, you want a confusing surname? Try that one when paging through photos of different seasons.)

I liked that Edwardson did not waste time with unnecessary information during interviews with suspects etc. Some of the dialogue did get a bit confusing to follow though, as it didn't state who was saying each line. Fine for a short dialogue, but it can get a bit confusing when it is over a page long. The writing did keep the pace moving, and as I said, it wasn't bogged down with copious amounts of information. I think the book was well planned.

I gave this 3 stars on Goodreads because I felt it was OK. I liked it, but if it is anything to go on, I have already flogged this book at the second hand book shop for others I am more interested in reading (and hopefully keeping).

Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo

The school year is at an end, and I am in need of a desperate break from anything that requires a lot of deep thought. So I picked up the second book in the Grisha trilogy. I had actually bought book one and two at the same time. My favourite book shop has specials all the time on selected books, where it is ZAR49 for one book, or ZAR99 for three (Books usually go for something between ZAR300 to 400 each.). The second book was basically free then, which was why I picked it up. Generally, I will buy the first in a series and decide what I think before buying the next. After I had read Shadow and Storm (a.k.a book 1), I was disappointed. There were a few comments on Booktube saying that the series improved, so I decided to give the second book a chance - since I had it anyway.

As this is a sequel, I am not going to give a synopsis. If you've read the first, then you have an idea as to where this is going. If you haven't, well, personally, I would give it a skip. But, my opinion on that is not the popular one, so don't take my word on it.

My first disappointment (besides book 1), was the blurb. "The Hunger Games meets Potter, meets Twilight meets Lord of the Rings meets Game of Thrones; basically epic magical fantasy but completely for grown-ups." - Stylist Magazine. No. Just no. Nowhere friggin near! Not in someone's wildest imagination and not even with the loosest interpretations. No. No. No! (OK, maybe there were similarities with Twilight - but you really DON'T want me to go into that.) The only thing I learnt from that blurb is that I will never trust another blurb by Stylist Magazine. Apparently they don't read there.

Although the plot has a lot of potential, I think the story would have benefitted more by NOT being written in the first person. What could have been a thrilling fantasy series, ended up reading like a whining account about the protagonists feelings. There was far too much detail about love interests, her insecurities and well, other stuff that I seem to have forgotten because it wasn't necessary to the plot; and very little about anything else. In fact, I want to say that this should not have been a trilogy, but one book.

I found most of the characters flat. The book tells the reader that Alina has changed, but I couldn't see it. I also found Mal to be incredibly weak. Sure, I could understand that he was upset, but let's all be honest here, there are far more productive ways on dealing with life's knocks than fight club and a bottle. Oops. Was that a spoiler? Sorry. I tried to keep it vague.

There has to be something I enjoyed though, and there was. I liked Nikolai. He had witty responses and a good sense of humour. Having said that though, it takes more than a quirky character to make me like a book.

I don't know if I will be continuing the series. While I am a bit curious to know what happens at the end, I would be quite happy to have someone just give a quick summary in the comments below. I really do not want to buy the third book.

I gave this 2 stars on Goodreads.

This is the 78th book I have read for the 2015 TBR Pile Reading challenge.

Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman

I enjoy Neil Gaiman. I am never sure if I love his writing as much as I think I do, or whether I just enjoy him. I have spent countless hours watching him on Youtube. He could read the telephone directory to me, and I would be completely happy. So I picked up Neverwhere, one of the few books of his I haven't read yet.

Richard Mayhew stumbles upon Door who inadvertently leads him to the world under London. He is thrown into a life-threatening quest to do something. With two killers on their tail, will they find what they are after or will it be the end?

“Metaphors failed him, then. He had gone beyond the world of metaphor and simile into the place of things that are, and it was changing him.”

― Neil Gaiman, Neverwhere

First off, I have to say that I love Neil Giaman's sense of humour. There were places where I had to stop and chuckle about his choice of phrasing or his descriptions. They do have a negative effect though, in that I became aware of Neil Gaiman the writer, and was taken out of the story. But perhaps, had I read this without knowing who had written it, it would not have done that. On the other hand though, there is nothing wrong with having a good chuckle and appreciating a quiant way of describing something.

“To say that Richard Mayhew was not very good at heights would be perfectly accurate, but would fail to give the full picture; it would be like describing the planet Jupiter as bigger than a duck.”

― Neil Gaiman, Neverwhere

The characters were well rounded. I liked how Richard grew and changed throughout the book, going from a timid people-pleaser to some one who was much more aware of himself and knew his boundaries - knew his capabilities too. I also enjoyed the cast that he travelled with. I liked how one did not know for sure who was on the good side. As to the antagonists, Croup and Vandemar, they were creepy and scary and topped my grim bad guy list. They were not guys I would like to meet in a dark alleyway - or a well lit park in the middle of summer either.

The world Gaiman created was brilliant. I enjoyed how it tied in with the London we all know. It was clever and inspired.

I think some folks might have an issue with the pacing of this novel. It is not a speedy rush from one scene to the next, but a pleasant meandering through the underground world - if one can consider sewers to be pleasant.

I gave this 4 stars on Goodreads.

This is the 77th book I have read for the 2015 TBR Pile Reading challenge.

The Ice Queen by Nele Neuhaus

Crime novels are my guilty pleasure. Actually, bugger 'guilty'. I shamelessly enjoy them. I have read the majority of the popular crime novel writers, and I have got to the point where I know their plotting style so well that there are no surprises. So, I have been reading translated crime novels this year. The first two I read by Nele Neuhaus were highly entertaining and really kept me going. So I decided to pick up this one - the third in the series.

A 92-year old man is found shot in his house, execution style. He was a renowned Jewish figure, involved in post-war reconciliation  efforts. But his autopsy reveals a secret. Who would have known? And how many more people will need to die before Bodenstein and Kirchhoff solve the murder?

Before I go any further with the review, let me just put this out there. This book was translated in 2015, but the German book was written in 2009 - which means, although this one is marketed as the 3rd in the series, it is actually closer to the first. I say 'closer to', because it is clear from the narrative that there is more story preceding this one, so I am guessing that there is at least one more book before this one. Why am I telling you this? As far as the crime thriller side of this story goes, it is irrelevant. There is enough information to put everything together, you can learn about the characters. Nothing is unpleasantly or jarringly shocking. Having said that. reading them in reverse order does strange things with one's memory. If you are a stickler for wanting to read in chronological order, read this one first. Or... skip this one. While the plot is great, the translation was less so.

I really enjoyed the plot of The Ice Queen. Having said that though, I felt that this one was probably not translated as well as the others I had read in this series. There were places where the use of the pronoun was ambiguous and at least one place where the wrong expression was used. While I was completely immersed in Snow White Must Die and Big Bad Wolf, I did not find that the case with this one. I can't say the plot was at fault, although it did slow down in the middle (a common occurrence for crime novels, as the clues and red herrings need to be found and examined).

Although this is a 4 star plot, the writing knocked it down a notch as it made immersing myself in the story difficult. Therefore, I only gave it 3 stars on Goodreads.

November Wrap Up

Well, the beginning of December means it is the end of Nano for another year, it is almost the end of the academic year (southern hemisphere, folks), that the holidays are going to arrive soon, and that I will have time to READ! But since this is the November wrap up, and not a December prediction post, let me get on with the wrapping.

First off. Nano! I wrote 81,012 words. Not my usual number, but I think the days of writing over 100k are gone - at least while I am a teacher.

I was really happy to reach the 50k mark on the 15th, as it gave me the chance to balance work and nano a bit better.

My other major accomplishment for November is that I finished my Goodreads reading challenge. I put 100 books down as my goal, and I finished that on the 29th. I am going to see how many I can read in December. Ten would be nice, but, if I don't read that many, I am still going to be very happy with my total for the year.

Now onto the books I read.

Actually,  should put this one down as my next major accomplishment for the month - Stephen King's The Stand, coming in at a ginormous 1440 pages. While this wasn't a bad read, I must admit that the most impressive thing about it is the page count. I think this book would have been better for being shorter - and I am not saying that because I am a lazy reader. I think too much was happening, and that the 'how are we going to make it' part was extended beyond what was necessary. Still, it was interesting. But 1440 pages takes a heck of a commitment, and I am not sure if all of them were worth it. This was a 3 star read.

Next up was Career of Evil by Robert Galbraith (a.k.a JK Rowling, just in case you have missed everyone talking about that). This one was only a 3 star book in my opinion. I did not think the ending was clever and, although I enjoyed learning more about these characters, I can't say that, with the exception with one thing, that the backstory the reader learnt actually added any value to these characters. While it pains me to say this, I am finding the characters annoying because they are not showing any development.

Following on with my ever-so-slightly disappointing reading month, my next 3 star book was Reality Boy by AS King. While I thought it was written well, I just didn't enjoy this. I found the romance far too serious for their age, I found Gerard a weak and volatile character and felt that his flaws were blamed on other circumstances, and that he was not being held responsible for his own actions. I did enjoy the look at reality TV stars though, as it was something I had been thinking about for some time.

My first awesome book for the month was Sister by Rosamund Lupton. I really enjoyed this crime thriller. It was extremely well written, and I felt the explorations into grief more convincing and believable than the usual tough guy approach in these situations. I thought the multiple timeline worked really well in this. Yip! This one is a book I would recommend.

I have very mixed feelings about the next book I read. The Narrow Road to the Deep North by Richard Flanagan was brutal and cruel and didn't pull any punches. If you like war stories and you like literary fiction, then maybe this one is for you. I learnt a lot from this book, and I appreciated the language - that is, if you can say that you appreciate reading something that makes you sick to your toes. Perhaps I should say I appreciated the power in the language and acknowledged that it definitely evoked a response in me. Oh. I didn't enjoy the romance. I thought it was really over done. Clearly I must be weird for thinking, "Get over it, Dude!" I gave this 3 stars, although... it is written well.

The last book for the month was also a hit with me. Claire Fuller's Our Endless Numbered Days ended what was mostly a mediocre month with a bang. Although the pacing of this book is not comparable to many of the more popular trends at the moment, the subtle questions (and the rather blunt ones) had me turning pages to see what had happened. I had my suspicions. Sometimes I don't like being proved right. I have always enjoyed books that centre around survival too, so this one had that going in its favour as well.

Well, here is to hoping that December has more 4 or 5 star books. Although there was no book that I did not enjoy (with the exception, perhaps, of Reality Boy), very little blew me away. Maybe that was a good thing. The last thing one wants to read while writing at Nano speed (by default, that means it is not written well, it is just being written) is a masterpiece. (Actually, The Stand is probably a good model for how to approach Nano. Write everything, go on winding detours, bring in new characters just because... Ok, That sounded mean. It is not my intention. Just an observation.)

Our Endless Numbered Days by Claire Fuller

I picked this one up because I like the sound of it from one of Jen Campbell's reviews on Booktube. The review alone had me asking questions and wondering what happened.

When Peggy is 8-years-old, her father takes her to a hut in the middle of nowhere and tells her that the rest of the world has come to an end, that it is just the two of them left. Nine years later, Peggy returns home. What happened?

I finished this at 2 in the morning and I spent the rest of the following day thinking about it.

The writing was effortless to read, and I really enjoyed how the switch in the timeline only added to my need to know what had happened. There are some really dark undertones to this story, (sorry, but I can't say what, as it will be a spoiler), but be warned. If you want a happy-go-lucky story, then this is not going to be the one for you.

I really enjoyed the characters - or to be more exact, I enjoyed how the characters were depicted. Punzel/Peggy was a surprisingly strong young girl, and I thoroughly enjoyed reading about her and seeing the world through her eyes. Her father though, hmmm, I really enjoyed how the reader could see the cracks forming. I always like having to read between the lines.

Oh, and I loved the theme of the piano. I always love books that have piano playing in them.

This is definitely a book I will reread one day. I think this is one of those books that a reread will reveal so much more than the first read could. There really is a lot to take in.

I gave this one 4 stars on Goodreads, but it might go up in time when I reread it.

The Narrow Road to the Deep North by Richard Flanagan

The Narrow Road to the Deep North won the Man Booker Prize last year (2014). I decided to pick this one up because I had heard so many readers comment positively on it. I have also changed one of the criteria in my reading challenge from a Pulitzer Prize winning novel, to a Man Booker Prize winning novel because I have read far too many US writers this year, and although I have Pulitzer Prize winning books on my TBR pile, I want to give some other countries a chance for the rest of the year.

A synopsis. Shew. This is not going to be easy. Here are a few phrases. Make do with them what you will. A forbidden love. World War 2. Prisoners of war. The railway from Burma to Hong Kong. An impossible task.

This is going to be another near impossible book to review. I can't say that I enjoyed reading it. In fact, I can't remember being more horrified and grossed out in a long time over a book. But the fact that I feel that way, does suggest that the writing in this was extraordinary.

In my education, WW2 has always been about Europe. I wouldn't even be able to give a definitive answer as to what my country did in the war - and my grandfather fought in it. So, books that deal with aspects of the war that did not take place in Europe are fascinating. This one looked at the Australian POWs who were forced to build the train line between Burma and Hong Kong.

The writing is so graphic and so vivid that there is no place for the reader to hide. This book does not have euphemisms, fade-to-blacks, or any other censoring tactic. It is harsh, real and disturbing. But saying that, it is also interesting.

The only part of the book I didn't really care for was all the romance before hand. I know that it has to do with the title of the book, but consider me jaded. I don't believe in one true love and soul mates and all that other stuff that books claim exist.

I gave this 3 stars on Goodreads.

This is the 76th book I have read for the 2015 TBR Pile Reading challenge.