This was a weird little book. An interesting idea and one that would install terror into any parent. But it was a twist on the typical horror genre. This wasn’t a gorfest, it was more psychological. The sort of horror that would make you stop and think at some point in the future, with a chill running down your spine.

Sometimes a book makes me laugh. Sometimes a book makes me cry. Never before has a book done these things to me with the intesity that Frank McCourt’s classic did. And certainly never have I laughed out loud and then been close to tears within one sentence. For anyone who hasn’t read this you will not be disappointed, but if you are disappointed, I couldn’t ‘give a fiddler’s fart’.

This is book five in the seven book series. From the first book I was engrosed in the concept and the ideas that it contained. Young Arthur, by chance (?), becomes the rightful heir to the House, and over seven days he faces the trustees whom he must overcome, collect the keys and free the seven parts of the will of the architect – who has simply gone away.

This is all well and good and so far the books have each had clever ideas that have kept interest as the series moves forward. My only criticism is that by now, Arthur’s confidence and power has grown so much that there is little that seems to pose a problem to him.

Hopefully this will be a lull before the storm as he gets ready to face Superior Saturday in the next instalment.

This was / is absolutely fantastic. I have wanted to read it for ages and now I have finally done it. The narrative weaves through decades like a snake in the grass. A simple love story but gloriously told. I often highlight the odd phrase or sentence in a really good book, however, the God of Small Things contains as many highlights as an Evangelical’s Bible.

The only negative is that I know I could never write something this wonderful.

Given that this is now 30 years old I thought it was time to read it. For some reason I missed out some of King’s early novels and also some of his later ones. Time to fill in the gaps.

I have had this book sitting on my shelf for years, about fifteen in fact. Since it has been sitting there, the story has been made into a film and has done the rounds. I haven’t seen the film but I know Kathy Bates played the main character and I know hoe she spoke in Misery (another King novel where she played a part).

Dolores Claiborne is the story of a woman who tells the story of her life, or the juicy parts of it, during a police interview. The novel is written in the style of that interview narration. As such it doesn’t have any chapter breaks and pours forth in one long flow.

Knowing how Kathy Bates spoke in Misery and knowing that she plays Dolores in the film, I read the whole book with that voice in my head. It could have been worse, the part could have been played by Brigitte Nielson.

But I enjoyed the book, not classic King but good King, worth reading and with some nice touches and turns.

I like Stephen King, I like the way he writes and I like the stories he weaves. I also like Cell a lot. (although the UK paperback cover was dreadful). However, I can’t help feeling that I was somehow shortchanged by reading this. You see, the basic story had too many similarities to his great (and possibly my favourite) novel The Stand.

That isn’t to say this wasn’t good, or even really good. I read it quickly and that is always a good sign.

Anyhow, it is still worth reading and it comes highly recommended… as does The Stand

The cover blurb described this as a real pager-turner. I don’t quite agree with that but I would say that it is a good book. The ending was a little weird though, or not the ending but the conclusion to the story, it didn’t quite hang together for me. I also thought that the length of the siege was very long, especially when the end of it was brought about so swiftly.

So it was a good book, but could have been helped by having the plot sophistication of a ‘Clancy’ or ‘Forsyth’.

Read this because I picked it up cheaply and it was ‘apparently’ very good (Pulitzer prize winner). This isn’t the normal type of book I would read, sci fi or fantasy horror, but it was beautifully written and def earns its label as a modern classic. If you want your reading range broadened, this is a worthy addition to any list.

Well this is it, finally I have read all the Star Trek novels that I had lying about the house. I am a hoarder and had collected quite a few – as you can see by my list – however I also couldn’t just throw them out, therefore I had to read them all. However, I have now managed to read all that I had and so, at last, I can now read some of the other books I have lying around. At least these are considered classics in the modern sense.

Oh and as for the book, it was quite good, a lot more enjoyable than I thought and I can recommend it to any ST fan, if not those who like their literature of a little deeper nature (the discussion on euthanasia was brief, if all encompassing)