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.

Missing reviews

There are some missing reviews here, not sure why they didn't post.

Strange England, a Dr. Who novel and Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe.

The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt

The Goldfinch
Donna Tartt
2013, Amazon Kindle e-book
no isbn
unnumbered

A young boy and his mother are inside a New York art museum when a bomb goes off.  In the ensuing chaos the boys accidentally steals a painting called 'The Goldfinch'.  His fear of getting into trouble precludes him from going to the authorities, and this fear remains as he grows up.

 It is not often that I read a book I know nothing about (from a plot point of view), but this is one of them.  I really enjoy discovering everything as I'm reading.  As a fan of the author's other work (namely Secret History), I thought I'd give this novel a go.  Tartt is really good at getting 'voice' right.  There are a few voices in this book as the narrator Theodore grows up and changes, and she nailed all of them.  I felt let down by the overly-philosophical ending, I thought the author had done a good enough job of getting her point across through narrative without having to resort to holding the reader's hand at the end.  

Nothing to Fear by Karen Rose

Nothing to Fear
Karen Rose
2005, Headline, London
9780755373550
593p.

A deaf boy and his interpreter are kidnapped from a holiday house by a woman who is seeking revenge.

The story has a solid premise but is let down by one-dimensional characters and just plain terrible sex scenes.  I did finish it though (and it's a long book), so it wasn't unreadable.

Link to journal at bookcrossing

0.4 by Mike Lancaster

0.4
Mike Lancaster
2011, Egmont, London
9781405253048
273p.

Young adult novel set in a future where there are many digital advancements but not a lot of knowledge of history.  History seems to have been lost in one, possibly cataclysmic, event.  This book is the transcript of some old recorded tapes which purport to explain what happened.

I sat down and read this in a couple of sittings, it it written really well.  I loved the story - post-apocalyptic is one of my favourite genres and this story had a dark yet understated foreboding which was maintained throughout the whole book.  I liked the characters, the setting, the premise, the style.  It's just very well crafted.

Link to journal at bookcrossing

Make Death Love Me by Ruth Rendell

Make Death Love Me
Ruth Rendell
1979, 1982, Arrow Books, London
0099223309
216p.

Bank manager, Alan Groombridge, dreams of stealing money from his small branch in order to have a year of freedom away from his tedious life.  But then, his branch is robbed for real and he is caught up in a scary and dangerous situation.

I've never read Rendell before, I quite enjoyed this little novel.  A lot of crime books don't put the effort into developing characters, but Rendell does a great job.  I felt empathy for poor Groombridge and his desire to leave his 'normal' life.