wendleness's reviews
324 reviews

I think the author is trying too hard. That’s what i came away from this with. The quote on the front of the book says: “…here is a new writer working out what he can do and realising he can do anything.” I would say it’s more a writer who thinks he can do anything, and this is his attempt to show off.

Everything seems steeped in meaning. Everything is significant, and important, and meaningful. And that just made reading such a chore. There are hints at things and no explanation, which is just a huge tease. Each story seems more like a glimpse into a more full, rounded story that would be more interesting and satisfying, but instead it gets cut short and left hanging.

A longer review can be read at my book blog: Marvel at Words.

The mystery of whether Carter murdered the president or not was the one plot line i was least interested in, and with good reason, as it turned out my instant suspicions on it were correct; for me it wasn’t a mystery at all. Far more interesting was Carter’s life, his illusions and his scrapes with the Secret Services and an old rival.

I had heard that the second half of the book was disappointing, after what the first half had set in motion. I did not find this at all (thankfully). If anything, the second half was better than the first, filled with unrelenting suspense, danger and entertainment.

The only thing that was a let down for me, was the last 20 pages. They were just superfluous. I found every word boring and pointless. If i ever re-read this book, i’ll know to stop reading a few chapters early.

My longer review with spoilers can be read at: http://marvelatwords.wordpress.com/2013/05/12/carter-beats-the-devil/

From very early on in this book until all the way to the end, i was describing it in three ways: Entertaining, funny and easy to read. And that’s ‘easy to read’ in an ‘always wanting to read more’ way. The sections were short enough for me to constantly be thinking, “Just one more…”

I loved to hate Billy, i felt only so sorry for him. His character is portrayed very well, the writing style has him LEAPING of the page v. well in my O. A lot of the time, with lines such as: “I hate dirtiness and things like squashed chips.” I found myself reminded of Holden Caulfield, from The Catcher in the Rye. Not because of what Billy was saying, but in how he was saying it, and his thought process.

In the end, what i love most about this book is the fact that it was so hard to put down. It was easy to read, and easy to get lost in. I wouldn’t want to live in Billy’s world, but it was nice to visit.

My longer review with spoilers can be read at: http://marvelatwords.wordpress.com/2013/04/13/billy-christ/

((School kids + growing up) x murder) ^ so many Scottish colloquialisms there was a glossary.

This book has such a simple premise, and that's just the kind of Brookmyre set-up that i love. It allows the flow and the details to really stand out and i get much more easily lost in the book. The only thing i struggled with was keeping track of all the characters

(I mistook Martin and Colin for the same character for far too long; regardless of, you know, their names)

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Brookmyre also starts this book with a chapter that is entirely dialogue. He's done a few chapters like this before and i really love it. Though it's quite a shock to get the the second chapter and discover the book is written in present tense, which is something Brookmyre has not done before. Once i got into a session of reading, i didn't notice the present tense at all, but every time i picked the book up to start reading some more, i'd have the same 'Woah, that's weird' reaction for a minute.

The book swaps between school days, going from primary all the way through until the end of secondary, and 'present day'. It's a swap that flows easily, with names and nicknames evolving and keeping the divide easy to spot.

Brookmyre books usually leave me thinking in a Scottish accent for a day or two, but this one was packed SO full of Scottish slang, i don't know how long it will last. Just today i've used the phrase 'fucking yes', and the word 'greet' out loud.

I stated myself that the premise of the book is a simple one, and that i liked that, which i do. But i also think i was expecting a little more from the ending. I don't know whether to blame myself for having that expectation, or Brookmyre for having previously given me that expectation. But whatever, it's still five stars.

All Fun and Games Until Somebody Loses an Eye = (A Granny ^ kick arse) + Eclectic group of criminal mastermind do-gooders for hire.

If I forced myself to choose a favourite Brookmyre book, this may be the one I would choose. If I forced myself. Maybe.

The start of this book actually made me pretty damn angry. One character for what a complete tit he was, in every single way imaginable, and the other—his wife and main character of the story—for letting her life get taken away from her. For putting up with so much shite. For not standing up for herself. For so, so many things.

Enter Bett. Oh, I didn't like him at first either, but by the end, in fact, quite a way before the end, I thought he was rather adorable. And I wanted—still want—more books on him and his team getting into all sorts of adventures.

The good and the bad about Brookmyre. So good at creating characters I can feel strongly about, one way or the other, and creating people and groups I want to read more about. So bad at making more stories happen. I guess he can't write stories forever about everyone, but I bloody well wish he could.

Not the End of the World = ((Religious fundamentalists ^ self-righteous indignation) + B-movie convention) x chaos

The first Brookmyre without Parlabane, set in America with only one Scottish character… this book starts off not looking so promising. It is Brookmyre though, so give him the benefit of the doubt.

A slow and steady, but mysterious and intriguing start, I had to wonder where the hell this book was going. I made a few guesses, and of course was completely wrong, but if I'd have been right it would have been no fun.

I have a lot of hate and anger for aspects of this book, but that is hate and anger I was supposed to feel. As well as eliciting those emotions from me, Brookmyre also manages to squeeze a bit of pity out of me for the same character. Damn you, Brookmyre, you can't just let me hate a man in peace? You have to give him a back story and make me see how his insanity makes sense to him. You have to create well-written and well-rounded, believable characters.

I think this book is a marked improvement in the subtleties of Brookmyre's writing. It was while reading this book that I realised I would happily read anything Brookmyre wrote, because he would write it so well, and so interestingly. I decided he should write non-fiction books, hell, write text books for school children. He would make dull subjects interesting in the way he presented the facts. And so, when I subsequently learnt he had had to cut 20,000 words from this book because he had waffled on a little too much about the Minoans, I was not surprised, but disappointed, because I would have read them.

This book starts off with a letter/dedication from the author, who talks about enjoying books in which “the incidents defy the probabilities, and march just inside the boarders of the possible.” And that is a perfectly fine description of the book he wrote.

This book starts off with a letter/dedication from the author, who talks about enjoying books in which “the incidents defy the probabilities, and march just inside the boarders of the possible.” And that is a perfectly fine description of the book he wrote.

I’m not opposed to a good chase plot, but i do prefer them to actually include a bit of plot; if Hannay was actually working towards something or finding out information. Instead he was simply killing time until closer to the date of the predicted assassination, which seems entirely boring and pointless.

The writing was good, and the beginning and the end was some pretty wonderful stuff. The idea of the ‘chase’ section of the book works, it’s just a shame it had nothing driving it and ended up rather repetitive.

My longer review can be read at: http://marvelatwords.wordpress.com/2013/08/29/the-thirty-nine-steps/

Two reviews for the price of one.

Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters, i loved. I loved it for all the same reasons i loved Catcher in the Rye. The narrative voice is real, and flawed, and distracted by insignificant details. But really, the tiny deaf mute in a top hat, and his fleeting, unspoken but intense friendship with the narrator made the entire story for me. "An instant later, a silk hat materialised in the air beside me, considerably down and to the left, and my special, only technically unassigned cohort grinned up at me - for a moment, I rather thought he was going to slip his hand into mine."

Seymour: an Introduction, was much more hard work. The narrator himself warns: "I'm here to advise that no only will my asides run rampant from this point on (I'm not sure, in fact, that there won't be a foot note or two) but I fully intend from time to time, to jump up personally on the reader's back when I see something off the beaten plot line that looks exciting or interesting and worth steering towards. Speed, here, God save my American hide, means nothing whatever to me." Before offering the reader a convenient get-out-while-you-still-can moment. And part of me wishes i'd taken that opportunity. This story had no story. His spends about 15 pages describing Seymour's face. His asides are not exciting or interesting. And the whole story has no plot. The title is decidedly succinct and accurate, however.

This book sounded intriguing. A policeman infiltrating a group of anarchists, lines being blurred. Unfortunately what i imagined from the summary and what i got were… very different.

There are seven main characters in the book, comprising of the members of the “Central Anarchist Council”, but really, i could keep track of no more than three. They were all so bland and lacking of any character. I had no feelings for them at all, save perhaps boredom. And poor characters will always make a poor book, as far as i am concerned.

Despite all the outrageous action and bonkers plots, it was only during the last chase and the final scenes that i actually stopped and thought, “What the hell is going on?” And i still don’t know what the book is about, really. What points Chesterton is trying to make.

From reading others’ reviews, i get the impression that perhaps i am missing something and wasn’t reading “deep” enough. (And apparently not being familiar with biblical references has put me at a disadvantage–a disadvantage i have no regrets about, however.)

A longer review can be read at my book blog: Marvel At Words.

While the story itself is not as in depth as the original book (obviously), the art does such a good job of bringing the character and the action and the settings to life. There is no colour, it is only black and white. This is a shame in some respects, because i would have loved some colour in a few particular panels (mostly the violent ones, i will confess–what’s a blood splatter without a little red?). On the other hand, the black and white provides such a noir, mystery and classy feel to the images.

The plot and action move swiftly and the story never gets dull. It was great to see the fight scenes play out, rather than having to image them as they play out slowly among detailed descriptions, as they so often do in prose. And in a few cases, particularly plots twists, it was much nicer to have visual cues as to the nature of what was playing out, and that slight anticipation evoked with an image before the narrative progresses.

A longer review can be read at my book blog: Marvel At Words.