The Caveman by Jorn Lier Horst

The Caveman
Jorn Lier Horst
2017, Affirm Press
9781925475708
352p.

A neighbour of Detective William Wisting dies and remains undiscovered for four months. Wisting's daughter, a journalist, wishes to write a story on how this could happen in modern society and begins to investigate his life. Meanwhile a body is found in a Christmas tree lot which appears to be connected with a 1980s serial killer.

This is the first book I've read in this Scandinavian murder series, even though it's book four. I bought it at the airport and that's probably the best way to describe it. It's an airport book - extremely easily readable, fun and quick. The chapters are really short, even rivalling James Patterson (ok, maybe not that short). There were a couple of errors in the text, not sure if it's an error by the author or by the translator. Still, a fun quick read and definitely recommended.

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Hagseed by Margaret Atwood

Hagseed
Margaret Atwood
2017, Kindle ebook

Former theatre director Felix starts a theatre program in a prison with the plan to take revenge on those who are responsible for his downfall. This is a retelling of Shakespeare's The Tempest.

I was unfamiliar with The Tempest but didn't find that that mattered, and I actually didn't realise it would be a retelling until I started reading. A great tale of revenge and pettiness that keeps the reader (well, kept me) guessing as to what is true or what is imagined.

Zone One by Colson Whitehead

Zone One
Colson Whitehead
2011, Kindle ebook

A zombie plague novel set in post-apocalyptic New York city. Mark Spitz was an ordinary man before the outbreak, and after the outbreak he is still an ordinary man, but the bar of what's ordinary has shifted. His job is to eradicate the remaining zombies in order to make the island inhabitable by the living.

An enjoyable zombie outing, with lots of words I had to use the kindle's dictionary feature on! I thought it was a very realistic take on post-zombie-apocalyptic madness, and a delve into human nature.

The Heart Goes Last by Margaret Atwood

The Heart Goes Last
Margaret Atwood
2016, Kindle ebook
978-1101912362
unnumbered

Dystopian (what else) novel by Margaret Atwood which takes place in a future of economic downturn. High unemployment, home loss, roving gangs and violence prompt the protagonists Stan and Charmaine to turn for help to a company that promises security. Built around a prison, the community supplies jobs and homes for all its inhabitants. But what's the catch?

Another great dystopian read from Atwood. This is an interesting take on the financial crisis and where it could lead to in a capitalistic society. The characters are 3 dimensional - and by that I mean quite detestable. As always, there's a smattering of feminist politics included for good measure.

The Shining by Stephen King

The Shining
Stephen King
1977, Kindle ebook
Unnumbered

Jack Torrance takes on the job of caretaker at The Overlook Hotel for the winter season with his wife and son Danny, who has telepathic powers. After the snow cuts them off from all access, Jack begins to behave oddly and violently.

More terrifying work from King. Jack was a surprisingly sympathetic characte. It was hard to put this book down. I would like to see the movie now.

Obligatory still on mobile disclaimer.

The Four Legendary Kingdoms by Mathew Reilly

The Four Legendary Kingdoms
Matthew Reilly
2016, kindle ebook
Unnumbered

Jack West Jr. again has to save the world. Oh wait no, this time he has to save the universe. Something something Hercules something Sikorsky.

Enjoyable as always. Reilly writes really fun books.

Still without compute so reviews will be shorter than normal/littered with spelling errors.

Mutiny on the Bounty by William Bligh

Mutiny on the Bounty
William Bligh
2006 (1790), White Star, Italy
8854401234
332p.

This book contains William Bligh's logbook of the narrative of the Mutiny and subsequent happenings to the crew members thrown off the ship, proceedings of the court martial of the crew who stayed behind on the ship and were captured, an answer to allegations by Captian Bligh written by the mutiny's ringleader's brother, an answer to that answer from Captain Bligh, and a narrative of what happened to the mutineers who escaped to Pitcairn Island.

So parts of this we're quite exciting , such as the logbooks of Bligh detailing the adventure of the open seopen sea, angry natives, and low provisions as they sailed in a small inadequate craft for TIMor. Timor. I also enjoyed reading of what happened to the mutineers when they reached Pitcairn Island. Island. The minutes from the trial and the back and forth between Nicholas Christian and Eillial Bligh were rather dull though.

The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi

The  Windup Girl
Paolo Bacigalupi
2009, Orbit, London
97803500539
505p.

Set in the future where genetic engineering of food and animals has gone wrong, The Windup Girl tells the story of Emiko. Emiko is a windup, a genetically engineered human bred with the trait of subservience and designed to be a sexual slave. She is discovered by Anderson, a food company representative, who becomes enthralled by her and tries to help free her from her masters. This is all told within a story of political and military happenings, against the back drop of an environmentally ravaged South east Asia.

The settings in this novel were fantastically conceived - I really could feel like I was in South east Asia. It is a rather slow, meandering read, which allows the reader to become engrossed in the characters, their interactions, and the political intrigue.

Relative Dementias by Mark Michalowski

Relative Dementias
Mark Michalowski
2002, BBC Worldwide Ltd, London
0563538449
277p.

This is a Doctor Who novel featuring the Seventh Doctor and Ace. They receive a distress call in the shape of a postcard from an old UNIT member whose mother is receiving treatment for Alzheimer's in a mysterious clinic. Their investigation gets them into a spot of mischief, as per normal.

Haven't been reading a lot lately, but I've been able to read this at quite a steady pace. It was an interesting storyline, and shows a bit of the dark side of the Seventh Doctor. The time travel confusion was particularly interesting.

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My Family and Other Animals by Gerald Durrell

My Family and Other Animals
Gerald Durrell
1956, 1977, Penguin, London
0140282599
301p.

Gerald and his family moved to a Greek Island from England when he was a young boy. He spends time exploring, discovering animals, insects and birds, and generally avoiding an education.

This is an enjoyable read, written in a modern style - I was surprised when I read the publication date. It sounds like a great place to be a child, and Gerald was a very inquisitive one!

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Wonder Boys by Michael Chabon

Wonder Boys
Michael Chabon
1995, 1996, Fourth Estate, London
1857024052
368p.

Author and university lecturer, Grady Tripp, is a womaniser and pot-head. He impregnates his Chancellor, neglects to finish the novel owed to his publisher, steals Marilyn Monroe's jacket, kills his parents-in-law's snake, and a host of other misadventures.

Tripp is such a prick. But a readable prick. He's the asshole you just can't hate because he's also an adorable doofus. I enjoy Chabon's writing style, it is engrossing and humorous.

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The Giver by Lois Lowry

The Giver
Lois Lowry
1993, 2008, HarperCollins, London
9780007263516
224p.

Dystopian novel about a young boy coming of age in a community where life choices are prescribed, and no one feels bad pain or strong emotions. He is selected to be the 'Receiver', a role that promises much pain but is necessary for the community to continue.

This was a great book for children, or a novella for adults. It took me a while to decide whether or not it was dystopian or not, which I guess is one of the things that makes a good dystopian novel! If I had not been reading this on camp where I had no artificial light source, I would have read it in one sitting as it's a compelling read.

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Wool by Hugh Howey

Wool
Hugh Howey
2013, Random House, London
9780099580485
537p.

A dystopian, post-apocalyptic tale of a society that lives entirely in an underground silo. The outside is contaminated by some type of toxins and is said to be uninhabitable, but criminals are sent outside to 'clean' grime from view screens. A few inhabitants begin to question this, and other aspects of the society.

This was a relatively quick read and quite enjoyable. Which I found surprising because I really don't like the person who gave me the book! haha! The pace was a bit uneven at times, parts could have used a bit more editing. I also feel that some parts were perhaps not logically thought through as they made no sense if you start really thinking about it. Again, something that could have been solved by another edit pass. But overall, great story, interesting characters, and relatively unique premise.

Hyperion by Dan Simmons

Hyperion
Dan Simmons
1989, Headline, London
0747234825
502p.

This novel tells the stories of seven pilgrims who are on a journey to a planet called Hyperion with a mission to prevent an interstellar war. Hyperion is reminiscent of The Canterbury Tales in its style.

Apart from geeking out that this is basically The Canterbury Tales set in space and in the future, I did really enjoy the individual tales and the intricate universe that Simmons has weaved. I particularly enjoyed The Priests Tale - a story of an indigenous and deeply religious tribe on a remote planet and the priest who went to study them, The Poets Tale - a story of a lost muse, and of course The Scholars Tale - a story of a young woman who is met with a rather unfortunate temporal mishap.

I ws impressed with how delicately the individual tales were drawn together to form one narrative. This is an engrossing book and, although it is much longer than I usually like, I did not want it to end. In fact, I really rather want to keep reading.

The Year of the Flood by Margaret Atwood

The Year of the Flood
Margaret Atwood
2009, Hachette Digital, London
9780748113378
unnumbered ebook

This is book two in the MaddAdam series which began with Oryx and Crake. I was excited to see this in the bookstore as I hadn't realised there were other books! So I went home and bought the Kindle edition - haha.

The Year of the Flood follows a similar timeline to Oryx and Crake but focuses on the stories of two women, Toby and Ren. They are a part of the religious cult The Gardeners who talk of a 'waterless flood' that will wipe out humanity (the viral apocalypse of the first book). There are connections to Oryx and Crake throughout this story.

I liked learning more about the society, especially this time from a female perspective. And I am looking forward to reading the third book, MaddAdam.  In this book, there was less of a focus on the scientific side of things, and more of a societal - specifically, religious - slant. It's a very optimistic view of an apocalyptic situation.

The Dark Half by Stephen King

The Dark Half
Stephen King
1989, 1990, Hodder & Stoughton, London
045052468X
468p.

A writer is forced to admit his use of a pen name to write violent and profitable novels. He takes the opportunity to publicly 'kill off' his pseudonym in order to fully pursue his own, less popular but less violent, writings. But the pseudonym does not stay dead.

This book starts off as wryly amusing, and then very quickly turns violent and horrible. A couple of passages made me feel almost physically ill, and the last section had to be read all at once as it was terrifyingly suspenseful. The other great passage is the opening scene in which an eyeball is excised from the brain of an 11 year old boy - King can paint with words.

The Casual Vacancy by JK Rowling

The Casual Vacancy
JK Rowling
2012, Little Brown and Company, New York
9780316228589
503p.

Adult novel by Harry Potter author JK Rowling, The Casual Vacancy is set around a small town in the UK and its politics. When a councilman dies while in term, many local people are very intent on seeing that their favourite candidate gets into power. This book looks at not just local small town politics, but small town gossip and social issues to do with the working and middle classes.

This was an engrossing read. There was only one character I liked throughout the book, and the cast of  characters is quite considerable. I also learned a plethora of new English words! I recommend reading this with a dictionary close at hand, unless, of course, you're an English major.

It's certainly not a happy kind of book. Time have reviewed it as "... funny, very upsetting ..." and I think that is an apt description.

Insomnia by Stephen King

Insomnia
Stephen King
1994, Signet, New York
0451184963
663p.

Sixty-something year old Ralph begins to suffer from insomnia shortly after the death of his wife. And then he starts seeing coloured auras around people, and stumbles onto a whole other world beyond normal vision.

Stephen King is always a good read, and this is no exception. It's a great premise, and quite suspenseful. I read this in my first week in Iceland, it's so nice to have time to read again. If I was at home, working, a 600-page book would take months to read.

Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood

Oryx and Crake
Margaret Atwood
2003, 2013, Virago, London
9781844080281
433p.

Set in a post apocalypse world, we follow Snowman - a lone human - as he interacts with the Crackers, human-like, but not quite human, and journeys to the places of his past, the places of the pre apocalypse.

Margaret Atwood never fails to disappoint. I enjoyed the soft flow of this story, and the genetic science behind the premise.

1Q84 by Haruki Murakami

1Q84
Haruki Murakami
2011, Vintage, New York
9780307476463
1157p.

My review of this book is as follows: Haruki Murakami. That is all.