#r z

[its-all-down-hill]

[northernplunder]

Title: This Brilliant Darkness Author: Red Tash Page Count: 316 Synopsis: When an ancient, troubled entity identifies quirky Christine Grace as his latest threat, all hell breaks loose in the urban forest of Indiana University’s Dunn Woods. Will Christine piece together his destructive plan in time to save herself? And what exactly is going on with this peculiar star, Stella Mirabilis? This fast-paced story moves quickly from character to character, through the headspace of not just Christine and the monster Greachin, but also to Tom, her devoted boyfriend, and Richard, an aging physicist interested in the time-traveling star overhead, and others. Along the way, singing street people, cosplaying environmental activists, and heaven-sent beings come to populate the unique cityscape of Bloomington, IN, where encountering the bizarre is an everyday experience. Book one of a series. Not intended for children.

My review: I read this book a little while ago and it took me a while to complete as it was the first ebook I read and I kept forgetting I even owned a kindle. I won my ecopy of this book from a competition I entered on someone’s blog and the author even spoke to me afterwards and I promised her I’d review it too, so here it is, a few months late but better than never. I would also like to apologise before hand that I’m not the best with word and/or writing but I’ll try my hardest to get across my love for this book. I really really enjoyed reading this book and I loved all the characters, it was great because they all got developed well so even though there was a good amount of characters you could still easily tell one from the other. It was also really interesting seeing how they’re lives became engulfed in one and others and overall the mystery of everything that is going on - now this is why the book is difficult to review because I really don’t want to give anything away because there is so much happening at once that whilst you’re reading it you’re constantly asking yourself questions about what on earth is going on, did I mention there’s a dinosaur or two and electronics talking back to the main character? Seriously it’s crazy and a lot happens in such a short book. My all time favourite part was the ending, which I know sounds super bad but it ends on such a cliff-hanger you just DESPERATELY need the sequel in your hands instantly. Rating: 4/5 Recommend: YES! Sorry for not being better at putting my thoughts into words. 

[northernplunder]

Title: The Stand Author: Stephen King Page Count: 1344 Summary: When a man escapes from a biological testing facility, he sets in motion a deadly domino effect, spreading a mutated strain of the flu that will wipe out 99 percent of humanity within a few weeks. The survivors who remain are scared, bewildered, and in need of a leader. Two emerge—Mother Abagail, the benevolent 108-year-old woman who urges them to build a community in Boulder, Colorado; and Randall Flagg, the nefarious "Dark Man," who delights in chaos and violence.

My Review: I completed this book on August 18th whilst in Rome, which meant I couldn't give it a proper review until I got home. The reason I started reading this book is because my Dad is a very big Stephen King fan, in the sense that he owns every single book. I initially borrowed my Dad’s copy but didn’t really get in to but I had enjoyed the few chapters I did read, eventually I returned it to him and went and bought my own copy - which just so happened to be the “extended” version. Earlier this year I sat down and started reading and automatically fell in love and had no idea why or what held me back first time round. I love the way King gives you the chance to get to know all the characters fully, and by the second part of book you’re waiting anxiously to meet you favourite characters again and again (as he alternates which characters are in which chapters sometimes you find yourself waiting a while). It’s also really great how a character at the beginning you find yourself annoyed at and not wanting to read about them any more but by the end your their right beside him as he struggles with survival and wanting nothing for him but to live, or how another character can initially seem interesting and full of hope, yet how fate changes all this and you can see even though he had a chance to possibly become a good character, he actually had no choice to do this as he needed to survive. Yes I have a soft spot for Lloyd Henreid. To conclude I highly recommend that everyone should read this book at least once in their life, even if you have never read anything by King before and you’re unsure whether you’ll enjoy his writing style, it’s fairly easy to get into and has an interesting and gripping story line that will keep you hooked until the very last page.

Recommend: Yes

Rating: 5/5