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criminolly's reviews
2420 reviews
The Bone Key: The Necromantic Mysteries of Kyle Murchison Booth by Sarah Monette
4.0
Reading a solid collection of short stories from an author I haven't read before is always a joy. This one was really fun - well written, inventive and creepy. All follow the adventures of Kyle Murchison Booth, a young man who works in a museum. He's an expert in mysterious books and (naturally) gets involved in investigating supernatural goings on. There's a range of creepy things for him to go up against in a series of elegantly told tales that recall the classic style of Lovecraft. It was the quality of the writing that impressed me most about this collection, it has a beguiling richness that makes you want more.
Shōgun by James Clavell
4.0
There is an awful lot that Shogun does right. It's got some great characters, a wonderful sense of time and place, thrilling action set pieces and some enjoyable turns to the plot. Its length is, I guess, part of the point of it. It's a book you sink into ad become absorbed by.
But at over 1100 pages it's just too long. That same sense of immersion could have been achieved with 100 pages less, or 200, or even 3 or 400. For everything I loved about it I did find myself hating it at times because it just took so much time to get through.
Still, it's definitely an achievement to be proud of, for author James Clavell as well as any readers who conquer it, the kind of influential popular fiction that I always admire.
It’s just so fucking long
But at over 1100 pages it's just too long. That same sense of immersion could have been achieved with 100 pages less, or 200, or even 3 or 400. For everything I loved about it I did find myself hating it at times because it just took so much time to get through.
Still, it's definitely an achievement to be proud of, for author James Clavell as well as any readers who conquer it, the kind of influential popular fiction that I always admire.
It’s just so fucking long
Witchcraft for Wayward Girls by Grady Hendrix
dark
emotional
inspiring
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Did this book need to be nearly 500 pages long? No, it did not.
Is it a bit messy at times? Yes, it is, and the horror/supernatural elements don’t always feel perfectly integrated with the rest of the book.
BUT DAMN IS IT AN EMOTIONAL RIDE. Despite its flaws I really kind of loved it. And it made me cry, FFS.
Full review on the channel nearer release date.
Is it a bit messy at times? Yes, it is, and the horror/supernatural elements don’t always feel perfectly integrated with the rest of the book.
BUT DAMN IS IT AN EMOTIONAL RIDE. Despite its flaws I really kind of loved it. And it made me cry, FFS.
Full review on the channel nearer release date.
Agatha Raisin and the Vicious Vet by M.C. Beaton
3.0
Book 2 in the Agatha Raisin series is just as much cosy fun as the first. This time around Agatha is investigating the death of a dishy vet. It’s silly and a bit dated at times but still diverting and entertaining reading.
What we talk about when we talk about crime by Jennifer Fleetwood
informative
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
A very engagingly written short book on the way crime is discussed in modern society. It examines a number of high profile cases, mostly ones from the UK, that illustrates various aspects of this. Myra Hindley, Prince Andrew and Shamima Begum may seem like strange bedfellows, but there is somethign to learn from each of their brushes with the legal system.
The central argument is that personal testimony is hugely important in helping us understand crime, but that it always needs to be considered carefully. Jennifer Fleetwood lays this out clearly and effectively, with a very accessible writing style that persuades rather than bludgeons the reader. The book often feels like a conversation with a smart and informed friend, rather than an academic text. Recommended.
The central argument is that personal testimony is hugely important in helping us understand crime, but that it always needs to be considered carefully. Jennifer Fleetwood lays this out clearly and effectively, with a very accessible writing style that persuades rather than bludgeons the reader. The book often feels like a conversation with a smart and informed friend, rather than an academic text. Recommended.
In the Blink of an Eye by Jo Callaghan
2.5
In the Blink of an Eye has a lot going for it. A topical concept (AI - in this case an old school detective partnered with an AI as part of a pilot scheme), decent characters and an easy reading prose style.
It definitely kept me turning the pages. It’s amusing and moving at times, as well as being suspenseful. Unfortunately it fails on 2 of the things that really matter. It’s not a terribly good mystery novel, with a load of huge coincidences and solution no one could deduce. And it doesn’t have anything interesting to say about AI either.
Full review on the channel soon.
It definitely kept me turning the pages. It’s amusing and moving at times, as well as being suspenseful. Unfortunately it fails on 2 of the things that really matter. It’s not a terribly good mystery novel, with a load of huge coincidences and solution no one could deduce. And it doesn’t have anything interesting to say about AI either.
Full review on the channel soon.
Associate Professor Akira Takatsuki's Conjecture, Vol. 1 (Light Novel): Folklore Studies by Mikage Sawamura
dark
mysterious
2.5
The concept is decent (a university professor and a student who can detect when people are lying) investigate urban legends and local folklore, but I found this light novel failed to really engage me. There are really 3 separate stories here. The first introduces the characters. The second (my favourite) is a standard “case”. The third explores the professor’s identity a bit more and takes things in what I thought was an unnecessary direction. Some of the ideas are enjoyably creepy and the two main characters are fun, but overall this was a miss for me.
Small g: A Summer Idyll by Patricia Highsmith
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
2.5
My least favourite Highsmith so far. I just really failed to connect with the characters and story. So much so that I really have nothing to say about. I didn't aggressively dislike it, it just really left no impression at all on me.
The Flesh Eaters by L.A. Morse
dark
medium-paced
3.5
An interesting, historical horror novel based on the maybe true legend of Sawney Bean, a 16th century Scotsman who led a cannabalistic clan of 45 comprised of his children and inbred grandchildren. The clan live in a huge cave and prey on nearby travellers who they kill and then butcher for food.
If that premise makes you think that the book is going to be rough going, you'd not be wrong. It's excessively grim at times, like 'The Girl Next Door' level grim. It never lingers too long on its unpleasant goings on, but it doesn't flinch from them either. There's a matter of factness to the prose style that somehow diminishes the horror. It's only when you stop and reflect back on what you've just read that you start to feel a bit nauseous.
It makes for compelling, gruesome reading, but the absence of a central character to root for means there isn't a huge amount of tension. It's more a rinse and repeat of scenes of the clan hunting their human victims, with the plot (such as it is) concerning the growth and evolution of the family.
Definitely interesting reading if you're a fan of dark and disturbing books, but not a classic.
If that premise makes you think that the book is going to be rough going, you'd not be wrong. It's excessively grim at times, like 'The Girl Next Door' level grim. It never lingers too long on its unpleasant goings on, but it doesn't flinch from them either. There's a matter of factness to the prose style that somehow diminishes the horror. It's only when you stop and reflect back on what you've just read that you start to feel a bit nauseous.
It makes for compelling, gruesome reading, but the absence of a central character to root for means there isn't a huge amount of tension. It's more a rinse and repeat of scenes of the clan hunting their human victims, with the plot (such as it is) concerning the growth and evolution of the family.
Definitely interesting reading if you're a fan of dark and disturbing books, but not a classic.
The Adventures of Jules de Grandin by Seabury Quinn
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
4.0
An enjoyable collection of very pulpy stories featuring the occult detective Jules de Grandin, who is kind of like a ghostbusting Poirot. They're often silly, sometimes salacious, and definitely have the feel of stories from another decade that were bashed out quickly to make a buck. None of that makes them less fun though, and the sheer variety of foes de Gradin and narrator/sidekick Trowbridge go up against means each story is fresh.