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The Review Zone

Books for Adults

A warning: there aren't any bad reviews on this page. Because of time constraints in my life (So many books, so little time) I make it a strict policy to not finish any books that I'm not enjoying, so therefore I don't review "bad" books. You'll also notice logos from a variety of booksellers. I don't endorse any of them, but I do make a percentage if you choose to order from them (Canadians may prefer Indigo because they're in Canuck dollars--just click on the logo below). So order the books through the internet if you want. Or check them out at your local store. Or visit your local library, it's a cool place to go.

Neverwhere

Neil Gaiman
Avon

What is it about the Brits? They seem to have a real talent for making up imaginary worlds. Is it the fog? The rain? The rich history? The tea? Whatever it is, Neil Gaiman has come out with a brand new book about a brand new underground world. You may or may not know that Gaiman is the author of The Sandman, a comic book series about the lord of dreams that won much critical acclaim worldwide. His jump to prose fiction landed him a multi-million dollar contract and whole slew of fans waiting in anticipation for him to unleash his imagination in this new format. So does he succeed? Well, yes and no. First, throw out the Sandman comparisons. This is nothing like Sandman. If anything, Gaiman is drawing from such classic fantasy literature as The Narnia Chronicles, except he's giving it a definite adult twist. His protagonist, Richard Mayhew, is a rather nerdy brit who helps a bleeding street urchin. But it turns out that she's from another world, an underworld beneath London, a world of darkness and darklings and people vying for power. It's a well imagined place and Gaiman gives us two of the evilest characters to grace the stage in a long time: Mr. Vandemar and Mr. Croup. And he gives us an action packed story to match. The only drawback is that at times it reads like a fantasy for young adults, but some of the brutal violence and language is much more adult. It's like Gaiman wasn't quite sure what kind of novel he wanted this one to be. On the whole, though, it's a compelling read. I'm sure his next one will be better.

Order online from Amazon.com or Indigo.ca

Bag of Bones

Stephen King
Scribner Books

It's old news by now, but Bag of Bones has been touted as King's return to his horror roots. The hype is rather odd, assuming it comes from his publisher, since it suggests that King hasn't been writing quite up to par the last couple of years or so. Not true, say his die hard fans. Too true, says I. Misery was the last King book that was truly riveting. So it was with some trepidation that I opened Bag of Bones. Like many other fans I wanted to read the "old" King. You know the guy who scared the bejeezuz out of me with The Shining and Salem's Lot. Did I get what I want? Well ... it was pretty damn close. King creates a very well paced story, rich in detail and crammed with all the clever characterization that we've come to expect from him. Mike Noonan is struggling to solve his writer's block and rid himself of the grief he feels over his wife's death. He returns to the summer home that they both visited yearly and discovers that there are invisible forces on the loose in the small lakeside town. And that a millionaire name Max Devore seems to be at the centre of all the misery. I won't give away much more than that, but I will say this book had it's claws into me from the beginning and kept a tight grip for the first 250 pages. Unfortunately it's over 500 pages long. Sadly, King slips into what I call the Rose Madder syndrome, where he explains far too much of the plot using a dream world. It took me out of the book and I had to read quite a few pages before he pulled me back into it again. King is in dire need of an editor to slap his hands whenever he uses the same metaphor again and again. Or to tell him when the book starts to wander. The ending is strong, thankfully (King sometimes has a knack for bad endings -- It -- comes to mind). And this book did restore some of my faith in King. I'll cross my fingers that the next one is the real thing.

Order online from Amazon.com or Indigo.ca

Blood Sucking Fiends: A Love Story

Christopher Moore
Avon Press

There's nothing like a good 'ol vampire novel to get the blood pumping. Or the laughter, for that matter. Christopher Moore's Bloodsucking Fiends is a funny -- sometimes gross, sometimes frightening -- novel about a red haired female vampire and her lover Tommy, a grocery clerk. It's a clever, hip book that tears apart and re-invents the vampire myth. And yes, there are flashing fangs, bodies turning to smoke, and -- horror of horrors -- turkey bowling (in fact finding out what nighttime grocery clerks get up to in those grocery stores is perhaps the most frightening part of Fiends). Moore handles it all with a deft touch, keeping the reader guessing about what will happen next and how the story will end (and I guarantee, it's not the cliche stake-through-the-heart ending). At times the novel does get a little too sophomoric and the characters a little too hung up on their personal problems, but these are small criticisms. This is a definite fun romp for anyone who's curled up with Dracula or Anne Rice's Interview with the Vampire.

Order online from Amazon.com or Indigo.ca