The Demon in the Freezer by Richard Preston

The Demon in the Freezer
Richard Preston
2002, Headline, London
075531218X
296p.

Non-fiction about the eradication of small-pox, the anthrax attacks in America just after the World Trade Centre attacks and the future possibility of a terror attack using an engineered version of the small pox virus.

This was a scary read, and sometimes a little gross. One of the earliest scenes is of an autopsy on one of the anthrax victims - let's just say it involves a ladle! It was written in accessible language (or I thought it was accessible, but then I work in a lab). It was very hard to put down.

The Running Man by Richard Bachman

The Running Man
Richard Bachman
1982, 2007, Kindle Edition, Amazon
0451197968
340p.

Set in the future where the gap between the poor and the wealthy is large, one of the only ways for the poor to make money is to participate in humiliating and often dangerous games which are broadcast on "free-vee". Ben Richards is selected to be in the most dangerous game of all, "Running Man", where he is a fugitive trying to escape killers for up to one month. No one has ever survived.

An excellent book by King - not horror so much but definitely gory! The characters are so well developed, the reader can't help but to be drawn into their lives.

The Carbon Diaries 2015 by Saci Lloyd

The Carbon Diaries 2015
Saci Lloyd
2008, Hodder, London
9780340970157
379p.

Global warming due to human behaviour has caused catastrophic changes to the Earth. In order to rectify the situation, the UK government introduces 'carbon points' which limit citizens' use of transport, electricity and general consumption.

If you can get past the whining self-indulgent teenage protagonist, this turns into a good story. It is a little preachy and a bit simple at times, but it is written for children. I enjoyed the book.

Link to journal entry at bookcrossing

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

Brave New World
Aldous Huxley
1932, 2008, Amazon Kindle
0582060168
256p.

A dystopian view of the future where people are genetically engineered and socially conditioned from before birth to fit in to the role which society has ordained for them. Everyone is happy and there is no violence. There's also no art, no truth and no freedom as we define it.

I read this expecting it to be a true dystopia, however, the concerning thing I found was that the society depicted in the novel is very much like the society I find myself in. People are encouraged to not think, to be promiscuous, childhood sexual behaviour is encouraged, entertainment does not tell of truth and beauty but simply tells a story for the sake of itself. Extroverts are thought of as normal and introverts as perverted and weird. If you are feeling unhappy, you must take drugs to fix it, to make the feeling go away. Consumerism is the basis of society (Henry T Ford is God); if something is broken, we replace, we do not mend (the more stitches, the less riches).

So all in all, I found this to be one of the most disturbing dytopias I have ever read.

Dinosaur Wars: Earthfall by Thomas Hopp

Dinosaur Wars: Earthfall
Thomas Hopp
2011, Kindle Edition, Amazon
ASIN: B004IWQXKW
unnumbered

A probe finds an abandoned base on the moon which was not put there by humans. It was put there by ... dinosaurs! And now the dinosaurs are reawoken and want their planet back.

This was just awesome. I mean, space dinosaurs from the moon? What's not to love? And for a Kindle Freebie, you can't go wrong.

Damned by Chuck Palahniuk

Damned
Chuck Palahniuk
2011, Amazon Kindle e-book
unnumbered

Madison is the overweight and spoilt 13 year old daughter of a movie star and producer, the only thing is, she's dead ... and in hell.

This was another awesome book by Palahniuk! He's so good, and so, so bad. I loved the character development in this, Madison is a fantastic character. They all are fantastic characters, the dialogue is witty and situation hilarious. I think this is my first 10 star review of the year!

Growing up Amish by Ira Wagler

Growing up Amish
Ira Wagler
2011, Tyndale, Kindle Edition
1414339364
unnumbered

Ira is born into the Amish church but does not feel at home in that culture. When he is a teenager he leaves one night under the cover of darkness to make his way in the 'world'. Over the next few years he returns and releaves.

This was thoroughly uninspiring. It wasn't a bad book, but it didn't give a real in depth insight into Amish culture, it's more about the author's life which is fair enough seeing as it's a biography. lol. Also, at the end, it turns into a Christian book which was mildly disappointing, I don't like being unexpectedly evangelised to.