On the Beach by Nevil Shute

On the Beach
Nevil Shute
1957, 1974, Pan Books, London
0330105701
267p.

Nuclear war takes out the whole of the Northern Hemisphere, leaving the fallout to slowly creep down the Southern Hemisphere and kill the remaining people.  This is set in Australia and tells of the last few months of a few individuals.

Emotive, moving story.  Simply heartbreaking.  These characters are written so well ... these people are my uncle, my father, my sisters, and my friends.  I know all these people.  This book is so eerily accurate - I read a fair bit of post-apocalyptic stuff, and this has got to be by far the most accurate as to what would actually happen, how people would actually behave.  And it made me cry.  Quite a bit.

"This is the way the world ends/Not with a bang but with a whimper." - TS Eliot

Link to journal at bookcrossing

Nothing Lasts Forever by Roderick Thorpe

Nothing Lasts Forever
Roderick Thorpe
2011, Amazon Kindle ebook
no isbn
240p.

The novel the movie Die Hard is based on.  A group of terrorists take over a building on Christmas ... you know what, you've seen Die Hard, and if you haven't, get off my blog and go see Die Hard.

That said, it does vary a little from the movie in that the main character is the father not the husband, and the terrorists' motivations are different.  Also, different people die, but I won't give it away.  Needless to say, being a huge huge fan of the movie I was shocked when it happened!

This is a very 'boy's own' book.  Lots of action scenes and macho emotional stuff.  Yes, macho emotional is a thing.  I just made it a thing.  The characters are well rounded; because the main character in the book is not the main character from the movie, I thought I may have trouble accepting him, but he is written really well.

Overall, I found this novel to be a little underwhelming - it's ok, but lacks the humour of the movie.  I guess it's just a different style.

Deadpool, Vol 1: Secret Invasion by Daniel Way and Paco Medina

Deadpool, Vol. 1: Secret Invasion

Daniel Way and Paco Medina

2009, Marvel

0785132732

136p.

Marvel superhero Deadpool battles an invading army of aliens and goes on a mercenary mission to a zombie infested castle in this collection of five stories.

This was my first introduction to Deadpool and I really like him.  He's a bit of a crazy asshole, but he sure gets the job done!  This is a good first read as there's a lot of backstory contained within.  

The Snow People by Marie Herbert

The Snow People
Marie Herbert
1973, 1974, Book Club Associates, London
unknown isbn
253p.

The author, her husband, and their baby spend over a year living with Greenland Eskimos to document their lives through film.  This book is her account of what they experienced during their time there.

Now I want to go to Greenland!  The conditions are so harsh (although, this book was written in the 1970s so perhaps things have changed a little), but quite enticing.  The story was a little rambly, and could have done with some editing to make the narrative flow more smoothly (I'm talking end-paragraphs here, just basic stuff).  However, the adventures they had were amazing - the fact that they took their baby along even more so.  

Link to journal at bookcrossing

Chocolate Cake with Hitler by Emma Craigie

Chocolate Cake with Hitler
Emma Craigie
2010, Short Books, Pine Street
9781906021894
189p.

Fictional account of Helga Goebbels' final days in the bunker with Nazi leader Adolf Hitler.  The basis of the story is factual, but this is a work of faction.

This was a very interesting book, but I felt it was let down by the writing style.  I know it is written from the point of view of a twelve year old, but I thought the voice used was too young ... twelve year olds are much more mature than the author portrays, especially, I imagine, those brought up in war time.  Nevertheless, it is a heart breaking tale, and a quick, easy read.


Link to journal at bookcrossing

Virulent: The Release by Shelbi Wescott

Virulent: The Release
Shelbi Wescott
2013, kindle ebook, Amazon
352p.

Lucy and her family are due to go on holidays when a terrifying virus tears through her community. She becomes separated from them and must find her way back home while the world falls down around her.

This was an ok epidemic novel for teenagers.  I personally found the writing to be a little immature for me.  I prefer epidemic stories to be more about the virus, but this one was based around human survival. And it's part one of a trilogy.

Dark Highways by Megat Ishak

Dark Highways
Megat Ishak
2013, Fixi Novo, Malaysia
9789670374406
265p.

A collection of short stories set in Malaysia - I picked this up at a Borders on my recent trip to KL.  The main themes of these stories are horror, magic, violence, and betrayal.

I quite enjoyed reading these stories as an insight to Malay culture.  My favourite stories were 'Mr. Bolero', about two professional killers and set in the near future; and 'Cloud Sparkle', which is a horror story about killer clouds!

Overall I found the theme of betrayal, specifically female lover betrayal, to become a little tiresome but it's just a part of the collection.