You are currently browsing the archives
for June, 2008.
Wednesday January 03rd 2007, 11:02 pm
Filed under: Books, Posted By: HarleyHarley
I was born in Aberdeen, Scotland and lived there till I was 17, then I moved to Finland and have been staying here ever since. I study, work and take care of a Finnish Hound puppy, two budgies, a tortoise and a boyfriend. I like Carnivore, Type O Negative, The Pixies, Rasputina and a zillion other bands. I also play bass in a band ;P
MSN:
URL: http://www.harleyquine.com
The Best Man to Die is one of Ruth Rendell’s Chief Inspector Wexford stories. Charlie Hatton is killed on the eve of his best friends wedding. Inspector Wexford finds his body the next day down at the river, his head bashed in with a rock. Then Wexford has to unravel the mystery and figure out who wanted Charlie dead and why.
I got this book out from the library because I wanted some light Christmas reading, that’s exactly what I got. This book was very different from The Crocodile Bird - Ruth Rendell and had more of an Agatha Christie kind of feel to it. The plot wove a very complex web which was difficult to follow at times. Unlike Agatha Cristie though there was only one ‘hint’ as to who the murderer could be, which deadened the imagination and intrigue of the story. I think that for an afternoon’s entertainment this is a relatively good choice, otherwise it’s just a waste of time.
Rating: 
Wednesday January 03rd 2007, 11:02 pm
Filed under: Books, Posted By: HarleyHarley
I was born in Aberdeen, Scotland and lived there till I was 17, then I moved to Finland and have been staying here ever since. I study, work and take care of a Finnish Hound puppy, two budgies, a tortoise and a boyfriend. I like Carnivore, Type O Negative, The Pixies, Rasputina and a zillion other bands. I also play bass in a band ;P
MSN:
URL: http://www.harleyquine.com
Vanity Dies Hard is one of Rendell’s more psychological crime/thrillers. Alice Whittaker’s friend Nesta mysteriously vanished after Alice’s marriage and this story tells of Alice’s attempts at tracking her friend down.
I thought that there was only one interesting aspect in this story, the way that Alice’s mind spiraled downwards towards madness. I feel that there’s something wrong with this story, but I can’t quite put my finger on it. Some of it is very predictable (Alice’s illness) but some of it is so far fetched that is just seems silly. I wasn’t satisfied by the ending, it seemed pointless and the imagery was lacking. I couldn’t recommend this book to anyone, if you’re a Rendell fan then of course you should read it but apart from that I can see no reason why anyone would want to.
Rating:
Wednesday January 03rd 2007, 11:00 pm
Filed under: Books, Posted By: HarleyHarley
I was born in Aberdeen, Scotland and lived there till I was 17, then I moved to Finland and have been staying here ever since. I study, work and take care of a Finnish Hound puppy, two budgies, a tortoise and a boyfriend. I like Carnivore, Type O Negative, The Pixies, Rasputina and a zillion other bands. I also play bass in a band ;P
MSN:
URL: http://www.harleyquine.com
This book is a golden-oldie. As you can probably guess from the title, the plot is about a journey to the centre of Earth. Professor Von Hardwigg finds a cryptic bit of parchment with runes on it that tells him how to get into the centre of the Earth from Iceland. Dragging his unwilling nephew Harry along with him, he decides to try out the instructions.
The book is an interesting read, at some points the plot is a bit slow but the centre of the Earth more than makes up for it. I think it’s fair to say that this book doesn’t have that much action in it, but it does give food for the imagination. If you’re interested in sci-fi/fantasy then this book provides a good foundation for further reading. If you can, rent a copy of the movie version too and you’ll see James Mason playing an interesting Professor Hardwigg, not to mention more action and a woman!?
Rating:
Monday January 01st 2007, 10:01 pm
Filed under: Books, Posted By: HarleyHarley
I was born in Aberdeen, Scotland and lived there till I was 17, then I moved to Finland and have been staying here ever since. I study, work and take care of a Finnish Hound puppy, two budgies, a tortoise and a boyfriend. I like Carnivore, Type O Negative, The Pixies, Rasputina and a zillion other bands. I also play bass in a band ;P
MSN:
URL: http://www.harleyquine.com
This book was interesting from a psychological point of view. The story tells of a young girl who is being forced to leave home because her mother is about to be arrested on suspicion of murder. The girl has hardly ever been out in society before. Her mother has home schooled her and brought her up in seclusion from the rest of the world. No TV, no radio.. no friends.
One thing I didn’t like about this book is that the main character is so passive in everything. Maybe Rendell was trying to make a point about how the character can’t relate to other people and that she hasn’t been conditioned to be shocked by things like blood and murder. The book left me feeling cold. The ending was quite predictable. It just came across as a bad soap opera episode. Aside from that though this was an interesting read, it maybe didn’t go into as much depth as I’d of liked but I was entertained while reading it.
Rating:
Monday January 01st 2007, 9:47 pm
Filed under: Books, Posted By: HarleyHarley
I was born in Aberdeen, Scotland and lived there till I was 17, then I moved to Finland and have been staying here ever since. I study, work and take care of a Finnish Hound puppy, two budgies, a tortoise and a boyfriend. I like Carnivore, Type O Negative, The Pixies, Rasputina and a zillion other bands. I also play bass in a band ;P
MSN:
URL: http://www.harleyquine.com
The Hogfather is a very typical Discworld novel. It’s funny, original and addictive. Once you start you won’t be able to put it down. The plot is about Death taking over the role of the Hogfather (Santa) and causing a lot of confusion which is sure to put a smile on your face. Death’s grand-daughter Susan gets dragged into the whole thing, toothfairies are kidnapped, the god of hangovers makes an appearance and the ramblings of the wizards all contribute to making this a great read.
Rating:
