a riveting thriller

  Now, I read this book quite a while ago, so the rating of the book might be a bit of an exaggeration, but if it was based on my memories from now and my feelings towards the story, it is completely true. This book was really the first and only book where I really felt emotional when reading, with the relationship that was presented with Jake Epping and the girl he encounters. This book is about a man who finds a time travel portal, and with it he tries to stop the assassination of JFK, but the book is so much more than that. He falls in love with a woman from the past, and there is the whole conundrum of changing the past changes the future. Stephen King again does an excellent job of incorporating sci-fi in a way that is not so ridiculous that you lose interest in the absurd reality, but in a way that is almost so close to the truth it might as well be. It has been a while since I read this book, and I might re-read it to see if my initial reactions still stand, but for now this...

My second time reading a short story compilation book (other one was also Stephen King) and where I found the first one unique and interesting, this one is impressive and outstanding. I hold Stephen King to a high standard, and I do praise him a lot, but it’s so impressive what he’s able to do so consistently. These short stories are so concise but so effective at making you feel exactly what King is going for. Standouts being the guy who gets mistaken for someone else and kidnapped and tortured, and then released to a life where he questions and is doubtful of everything in life. There’s the whole dream scenario, the one where your wife nagging is the first sign that they’ve been taken by an alien. Just so good, feels like little punches of stories that are great. Good range also, some are like 15 pages long where others are a couple hundred pages. It’s horror, but I had the thought that it’s not ‘ahh!’ scary but more twisted. Think of dark humour, it’s not necessarily ‘ha ha!’ funny,...

  A small town suddenly has a dome slammed over it, trapping everyone inside. Such a simple concept, difficult to master. Stephen King masters it. Exceptionally written, the complexity and detail in the book reads more like a live action replay of events instead of a complete piece of fiction. King does such an amazing job of creating characters that are so complex and relatable, as well as those that are so evil and have such demented yet logical mindsets. I could go on and on about this book and the characters, Jim Rennie and his god complex and need for control, Junior and his complete psychological breakdown, the Chef getting absolutely cooked off meth. I just implore you to read this book and experience the madness and chaos for yourself, the breakdown of individuals and society that takes place over only a week. Truly is another one of King's masterpieces. Author: Stephen King

I hadn't read a Stephen King book for a while, and was for some reason hesitant to read a book about some crazy dog. It sounded dumb. Of course I was an idiot for doubting Stephen King's ability to create a captivating story. When I first starting reading it, I fell into a trance and read 3/4 of the book over 3 hours straight. The book weaves through so many different lives to set up his story that is so thrilling and horrifying, it's more than a scary dog story. That's the thing about King, that you can't explain the book just based on the synopsis. Yes, the book is about a rabid dog but its more, it is a full insight into these peoples lives and their struggles, their relationships, their inner thoughts and desires. It is also chilling for how realistic this is, I mean what can really stop any dog going rabid and becoming some killing machine, or any other animal for that matter? I can't say enough about King and his writing, it's in its own league and alw...

This was a really cool and different read. I loved the unique style this book was written in, I have never read something like that and I extremely enjoy when an author changes it up. It was a great blend of action and drama that kept me captivated throughout, and was written so poetically, with chops and breaks throughout. Bit of a shorter read but it certainly got the job done. I also love when an author drops their own philosophical tidbits, one that stuck with me was ‘advertising gives beautiful names to ugly things, pornography gives ugly names to beautiful things.’ A really creative book with likeable characters and great scene/story building. This book has so much in such little pages, took me a little to process afterwards, which is a good thing.  Author: Don Winslow

 The Stand is a story depicting a virus that kills most of the population, and the rest of the population is divided into factions that seemingly personify good and evil. This is a really long book, over 1200 pages, but for me it was well worth the read. Stephen King has a way of being able to write a story with such detail and attention to human experience that makes it seem as if it is a historic retelling rather than fiction. This is an epic book that just keeps going and going, with so many complex characters and storylines throughout it really takes a lot to read this book. King never misses though. Author: Stephen King

 It is a testament to an author's ability when the plot of a story can be easily explained, yet the final product can not be portrayed in such simple terms. An example would be Quentin Tarantino's 'Pulp Fiction' (or any Tarantino movie really). If you where to explain the plot of Pulp Fiction, it would be pretty easy to understand, the storylines are not complex. But it is hard to explain the feelings and emotions that this movie evokes when watching it. This is exactly how Misery is. The whole book is in one setting, it is a crippled and heavily sedated author who is under the care of an absolute psychotic fan of his. The whole book, nothing really happens, he stays in bed for the most part and then attempts to move around, but in the sense of things there is no real action/adventure in this book. It is an amazing novel of tension, conflict and suspense. The way that King sets this novel up is just mystifying, you are hooked the whole time by this psychotic die hard fa...

It’s super cliché, but this book is like watching a car crash. I love the modern storytelling, and I found myself relating to a lot of the feelings evoked and ideas when talking about social media and online habits, something I haven’t really seen in a book before to be honest. This book did a great job of playing with my emotions, in the sense that I do like the protagonist, is she a victim? Should I feel bad for her? We read this for my book club, and I think it’s a perfect book club book because there’s so many nuances and perspectives and opinions that can arise from this. In the humblest way it is quite Shakespearean, in the sense of such strong textual integrity. I’d like to think that if I was in her shoes/situation, I wouldn’t do what she did, but a lot of the self-talk and justification lowkey had me convinced at some points. I want to point out I love the irony of social justice warriors and ‘diverse’ people getting mad at her for being white, when they have lived in the US t...

  Mario Puzo is an excellent story teller. The book follows a made up president, Francis Kennedy, and his struggle to maintain the his power of the US within the world after a terrorist organisation assassinates the Pope and kidnaps his daughter, holding her hostage. This book is incredible because it is different from other books. It feels like stark reality, the retelling of fictional events. Puzo doesn't write what 'should' happen, he creates whatever he wants. This is a refreshing read, there is no hero with a red cape saving the day, there is countless bloodshed horrific events, with individuals capitalising off them however they can, similar to real life. The incident in New York had me transfixed, my jaw dropped and I could not stop reading. It is not fully 10/10 because the politic talk got a bit stale throughout the book. As interesting it was to see an insight into Congress and all of that, it was still pretty boring to read all that. Author: Mario Puzo

A very confronting, realistic and detailed story of this kidnapping that spans 10 years. Such a horrific idea, however it is very realistic in the sense that this may well have been a true story. It starts a little dry for me, as you know she has been kidnapped for 10 year so the flashbacks lose all suspense, but the tension increases throughout the book and this was the first read in a while where I was genuinely hooked to the storyline. The perspective of how it affected the family was also very confronting, but a great insight nonetheless.  Author: Alex Lake

A very solid read that takes you many places around the world and a diverse story. Spoilers ahead. Great things about the book, really interesting perspectives and characters like when it is following the Saracen with his upbringing and how it influenced him to want to ‘kill america’. The different crime situations where cool, the Turkey house one, the Rider of the Blue killing story. The part where the Saracen is testing the virus on the patients was so perverse but such an interesting read. My gripe with the book was that it felt a bit disjointed, and tried to have too big of a moment. In the the first half, it changed character perspective and location so abruptly that I lost track of what was going on a bit. I think if the book was clearer with the changes in story (ie introduce each chapter with “Chapter 12: Saracen, Saudi Arabia). It also tried to tie in 4 different story lines at the end, which was cool in a sense but very unrealistic and lost a bit of momentum that the book was...

It’s hard to rate a book like this where it’s literally a life story of the hardest experience that someone can face. A very raw and gruesome read, that really showed the toughness and endurance of Aron. I found the first half of the book a bit of a bore, as it reads more like an autobiography where he is flexing all of the crazy climbs that he has completed. The second half, however, was so enthralling, regardless of if pretty much all of that second half is him in the same spot with his arm stuck. I understand why there was a bunch of recounting of his life in the first half, it’s his book and story he can do what he wants, but I just didn’t enjoy it, it took me out of it a little bit. If you take out that beginning boring part of the book, it would be a 10/10 for me. This guy is just a different human being and really had the worst luck to get caught, but prevailed and had the best luck to be able to get out. Author: Aron Ralston

I had parts of the book I really related to and enjoyed a lot. The fact it was set in Sydney made it enjoyable and close to home (but I wonder if I was forcing relatability just because it’s in Sydney, for example she drinks a latte, ah so relatable, I drink lattes). The whole commentary and storyline of the sports fanatic/ambition I really related to it also and was interesting to see how it played out with tennis. I also really liked the style of jumping back and forth between present and past, and how the present tense was all indirect storytelling ie two people in hairdresser talking about the situation from the past. I think it was an interesting read but I don’t really get the point of the book. I enjoyed it as a psychoanalysis of this family dynamic and the drama that ensues, however it also tries to also be a crime fiction at the same time? Also, the whole ending of where Joy actually was was really goofy and forced, felt like a ‘and then I woke up’ ending. I say I don’t get th...

An in depth recounting of events of a school shooting, this book had its moments and did well to get me connected emotionally to the characters, I could really related and felt their pains and sorrows. Two things, 1) From my own experiences in USA, this perfectly displays how outsiders are so clearly ostracised and there seems like there is no hope to be accepted by society/norms. Being a country that lacks diversity and acceptance of others, being 'different' is a bad thing, that leads to being outcasted, bullying etc. 2) I don't think there can be any excuse for shooting up a school, murdering 10 people and hurting so many others. At times this book was trying to make me feel bad for the shooter, to try and empathise for his situation. No chance. Everyone goes through hard shit in their life, gets bullied/ostracised or whatever it is. You are seriously deranged if you resort to murdering multiple people for this. I understand the book is trying to show his situation, but ...

  This book is a very solid read and was interesting throughout. It follows Nora Kelly, an archaeologist who follows in her fathers footsteps to discover a hidden treasure deep in the canyons of Utah. The book had me on edge throughout, some parts written so well that it caused me legitimate fear. It flirts with a bit of 'sci-fi', curses and similar stuff, but it does it in a way where it seems real and even had me questioning if these things could happen in real life. The book is crafted in a way that incorporates lots of themes without dragging any of them out. A really solid book that was unexpected for me, I found it for a dollar at a thrift store. Would recommend for a quick read if you're looking for a good thriller. Authors: Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child

There were things I liked and things I didn't like in this book. The gravity and suspense of the story was very interesting as well as the location, different and unique. I also enjoyed the whole ICG espionage storyline, created a really cool dynamic in the story. The biggest flaw was that the beginning teased some cool science fiction possibility, but almost 450 pages in and it's revealed that it's not science fiction at all. Really killed some momentum and enjoyment of the book for me as I was so intrigued with the direction the story was potentially going. Also, the action was a little bit too much for me. Every 10 pages there seemed to be another impossible to survive situation that they escape. Must say though, the killer whales was the highlight of the whole book. That whole bit stood out for sure, awesome section of the book. Author: Matthew Riley