Lies of Silence by Brian Moore

Lies of Silence by Brian Moore

  

When Michael Dillon is ordered by the IRA to park his car in the car park of a Belfast hotel, he is faced with a moral choice which leaves him absolutely nowhere to turn. He knows that he is planting a bomb that would kill and maim dozens of people. But he also knows that if he doesn't, his wife will be killed.

It isn't a particularly a long read and I'm exceedingly glad that it isn't for it is far from breathtaking...

Micheal the central character is not a likeable or admirable character; he cheated on his wife with a woman half his age, he only married his wife as he found her exceedingly attractive and loved the envious stares that were directed at him by other men. 

He is for the most part quite cowardly, although he does ponder the idea of speaking up against the IRA. After all he happens to have a vital piece of evidence that could lock up one of their members.

The book puts the IRA in a bad light. It implies that they don't care whether they use protestants or Catholics to get what they want - in this case bombing a hotel. Also, violence is shown by the group and they portray a certain fierceness which many local people are sacred of - Catholics and Protestants alike. This is a book of fiction, but I do not know whether things of such nature happened. I do know that there was violence in Northern Ireland and there is still some violence there, but I do not know much of the goings on of the place. This is justified for in the 80's, my parents were offered to stay at someone's house in Northern Ireland, they refused the offer in fear of trouble - bombs going off etc.




 My Cat Catch Book Rating Scale above- It was okay(2/5 cats)

 Cat Cat Rating Scale- http://minstrelcrazy.blogspot.ie/p/reviews.html

I didn't enjoy this book. I did not like Michael as a character. I felt his courageous decision was made far too late and he suffered immensely for his mistake. I think the book could of been far better convicted, if Maria was the main character - she is a strong willed, rebellious, independent character and she is what every women should want to be.

I didn't have any particular problem with the story - it was fine, but as I have somewhat stated already- it could of been such a compelling story, if only Maria was made the main character.



 

  


 

 

 

 

The Bed by Travis Mcbee

The Bed by Travis Mcbee

  

Steve isn't much for antiques. In fact, he hates them. So when he finds himself in an old antique shop taking shelter from the rain, he isn't pleased. But he finds something in there. He finds a beautiful old bed that he falls in love with and must have. But the bed is not normal, and Steve learns the hard way that sometimes you fall into things that you simply can't get up from.

This is a short story - I don't usually read short stories, but I gave this one a chance and I'm glad in doing so.

I appreciated the third person narration throughout this short story - I liked the opportunity in being able to see behind the scenes so to speak - to be the presence behind everyone's eyes instead of just Steve's eyes.

The whole theme of a furnishing or just a non living thing to have certain powers is a very fascinating theme.

It made me look at my bed in a new light - I nearly was tempted to check my bed's head board to see if I could see any peculiar markings carved into it...luckily I found known. When I was a kid, a similar outcome happened after I watched the first Toy Story animation ; I started treating my toys with much better care and made sure they were securely in their toy box or just in another room than I happened to be sleeping in...

It is short as short stories tend to be, for this reason I'm not going to give away too much and in hope that someone will be incised to read The Bed by Travis Mcbee. 

 

My Cat Catch Book Rating Scale above- It was absolutely amazing(5/5 cats)

Cat Cat Rating Scale- http://minstrelcrazy.blogspot.ie/p/reviews.html

 I tend not to read short stories often and this is my first rating of one, so I mightn't have enough experience to rate it fairly, but I feel that short stories are largely based on enjoyment and I enjoyed reading it very much.

     

 

 

 

You Against Me by Jenny Downham

You Against Me by Jenny Downham

If someone hurts your sister and you're any kind of man, you seek revenge, right?

If your brother's accused of a terrible crime but says he didn't do it, you defend him, don't you?

When Mikey's sister claims a boy assaulted her, his world begins to fall apart.

When Ellie's brother is charged with the offense, her world begins to unravel.

When Mikey and Ellie meet, two worlds collide.

I guilty relished in reading a book which has easy-read-big print. It was nice to read something, that wasn't hard to understand and once a paragraph was read the meaning was clear.

I read this book continuously until 7:30 am, by then I was somewhat fatigued so I slept for about seven hours.Once I awoke, I kept reading until I had every single word read and absorbed for my demanding mind to process...

The book is based around the theme of rape, but also love, which blossoms from the terrible situation - that is rape. Ellie Parker's brother Tom is accused of sexually assaulting Mikey McKenzie's sister. Throughout three quarters of the book the reader's mind is battling with the details of what actually happened that night? Did Tom sexually assault the girl with the short orange mini skirt, that wore purple lipstick or is she lying? These two questions make the book so addictive...

The love aspect to the story is sad, but sweet - there are a lot of obstacles for the the young couple of  Ellie and Mickey to deal with. It is truly challenging  for them; they try to be loyal to their families, but it's hard when both of them are potentially in love with someone from the opposing team, or in this case - a member of the family on the other side of the spectrum in court.


My Cat Catch Book Rating Scale above- It was absolutely amazing(5/5 cats)

Cat Cat Rating Scale- http://minstrelcrazy.blogspot.ie/p/reviews.html

I like the realistic characters that occupy this book - the kind that live life day to day, without big explosive circumstances punching them in the gut everyday. They are believable - I felt like I could personally know these people, that they could inhabit my community without raising an eyebrow.

Out of everything that this book obtains, there is only one small thing which I found partially bothersome: The repetition of the noun bloke. Almost every male that is described in You Against Me is described by the noun bloke. This can be a problem, if the reader decides to read large quantities of the book at one time. At some point that particular noun dwindles away and is not seen again for the remainder of the book. It is a minor detail, for it is only a noun and it does go away, so no cat will be taken off my rating for this book.

Conclusion: A genuine, book-addictive book.

Dexter By Design by Jeff Lindsay

Dexter By Design by Jeff Lindsay

 

After his surprisingly glorious honeymoon in Paris, life is almost normal for Dexter Morgan. Married life seems to agree with him: he’s devoted to his bride, his stomach is full, and his homicidal hobbies are nicely under control. 

But old habits die hard--and Dexter’s work as a blood spatter analyst never fails to offer new temptations that appeal to his offbeat sense of justice...and his Dark Passenger still waits to hunt with him in the moonlight.

The discovery of a corpse (artfully displayed as a sunbather relaxing on a Miami beach chair) naturally piques Dexter’s curiosity and Miami’s finest realize they've got a terrifying new serial killer on the loose. And Dexter, of course, is back in business.

It took me slightly longer than it should have done to read this book. Why? Roughly half of the first part of the book is uneventful, with the exception of two interesting occurrences, that take up about four pages out of about one hundred and forty pages... I think a book should be addictive and hook the reader from the start; Dexter by Design does not accomplish this, but I read on nonetheless, as I have a simple expectation for Jeff Lindsay to deliver and he did.

It is a long wait, but there are a few unexpected twists - twists that bring Dexter farther afield than he would normally feel comfortable going...People trust Dexter - some of these unsuspecting people even have the same morals and perspective in life as Dexter himself has!

Dexter continues to mentor Astor and Cody - his wife Rita's children. They become impatient and want to learn more in relation to Dexter's specialty... Dexter does teach them some basic rules, but is often preoccupied with a new Dexter-threatening monster - which happens to be terrorizing Miami.

My Cat Catch Book Rating Scale above- I really liked it (4/5 cats)

Cat Cat Rating Scale- http://minstrelcrazy.blogspot.ie/p/reviews.html

I should of mentioned this before, but at least I've finally got around to it now. Jeff Lindsay has taken full advantage of the many adjectives and nouns which coordinate with Dexter's name: Delightful Dexter, Daring Dexter, the list continues...Even the titles of the books are done this way: Darkly Dreaming Dexter, Dearly Devoted Dexter, Dexter in the Dark , Dexter by Design etc. I appreciate the various titles Dexter has, for they connect the reader to the story, not to mention that each Dexter-title is exciting, descriptive and well suited to every situation Dexter finds himself in. I adore this technique which Jeff Lindsay has successfully repeated throughout the series.

 The half-a-book-worth-of-boring is why I have taken a cat off my rating for this book. Generally a reader expects a slow beginning/ introduction - maybe a chapter or two - but following the introductory chapters a worthwhile story should unfold.

On a positive note; Lindsay delivered a big satisfying twist, that saved another cat or two from being knocked off my rating. The half-a-book-worth-of-boring is almost forgotten, but not to the extent of the book being classified as absolutely amazing.

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe 

by C.S. Lewis

Open a door and enter a new world.
NARNIA ... the land beyond the wardrobe door, a secret place frozen in eternal winter ... a magical country waiting to be set fee.
Lucy is the first to find the secret of the wardrobe in the Professor's mysterious old house. At first, her brothers and sisters don't believe her when she tells of her visit to the land of Narnia. But soon Edmund, then Peter and Susan step through the wardrobe themselves. In Narnia they find a country buried under the evil enchantment of the White Witch. When they meet the Great Lion, Aslan, they realize they've been called to a  great adventure and bravely join the battle to free Narnia from the Witch's sinister spell.

 Why didn't I read this book years ago? I should of done! I should have read it ten times by now, but unfortunately I  have failed to read it during my childhood.

The hype around the 'Chronicles of Narnia' did put my expectations among the clouds for this series and this book did that expectation justice for 'The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe' is now among my favorites.

It has one of the great story recipes: Magic, talking animals, magical creatures, evil beings, magnificent beings, battles and nutty professors. It has a variety of themes which makes it exciting and somewhat unpredictable. It has moments of cruelty, but great moments that overshadow the evilness. There are moments of courage, moments of pure goodness and fun.



My Cat Catch Book Rating Scale above- It was absolutely amazing(5/5 cats)

Cat Cat Rating Scale- http://minstrelcrazy.blogspot.ie/p/reviews.html

I think C.S. Lewis was exceedingly talented at creating great characters - both good and bad. I adore the good character of Aslan and I hate the bad characters, such as the White Witch and the White Witch's dwarf minion. It is hugely important for a story to have characters that one feels empathy and adoration for, but also characters which one hates with passion; if this is accomplished the reader really cares what the outcome of the story is and how the characters react to the obstacles thrown at them. C.S. Lewis has whole heatedly achieved this, which resulted in me having a hungry stomach whilst desperately trying to finish this book because quite frankly, it is a stupendous story.

It is a fast paced book, it twists through a winding path of exceptional adventures that any reader should be happy to find themselves on. It is exciting and is like a hoover, as it will suck you in until you have bags under your eyes and drool coming from your mouth - book addiction can be so destructive...

The Terrible Thing That Happened to Barnaby Brocket by John Boyne

The Terrible Thing That Happened to Barnaby Brocket by John Boyne

There's nothing unusual about the Brockets. BORING, RESPECTABLE and PROUD of it, they turn up their noses at anyone STRANGE or different. But from the moment BARNABY BROCKET comes into the world, he defies the laws of gravity - AND FLOATS. Desperate to please his Parents, Baranby does his best to Keep both feet on the Ground - BUT HE JUST CAN'T DO IT!

ONE Fateful day, the BROCkets decide enough is ENOUGH. They never asked for a weird, abnorMAL FLOATING CHILD. BARNABY HAS TO GO...

Betrayed, Frightened and ALONE, Barnaby floats into the PATH of a very special Hot-air BALLoon - and so begins a magical journey around the WORld.

The beginning of this slightly reminded me of the start of Harry Potter and the Camber of Secrets just regarding a normal family who hated anything out of the ordinary.

I adore stories that are made for children, because of the fast pace which the writers have to use, if they want to keep their young readers entertained, the simplicity used - no deep symbolism thank you very much and just the very fun themes that are regularly used. This book is no exception. John Boyne mushed all of the above things together - which I appreciate about children's fiction and as a result I found it very much worth reading.

The book is quite fast paced which is appropriately needed for the target audience. It achieves a fast pace because of all the wonderful things that happen in this book; Barnaby Brocket goes on an awful lot of exciting adventures, meets and helps people along the way and makes great friends.

A simple easy read- without beginning belittling. Sentences throughout the book generally state their point quite clearly and effectively. I liked the simplicity, I liked it so much because it is nice to only have to read a paragraph once to understand it and it is completely lovely, when a author decides I'm not going to beat around the bush, no I'm just going to simply tell the story as it should be told.

I liked the simple theme that the author used; the theme of not fitting in -being regarded as "different" and sometimes branded as a "freak", but finally embracing your differences in the end and loving yourself for them. It is a good message for children, that standing out from a crowd- isn't always a bad thing.

My Cat Catch Book Rating Scale above- I really liked it (4/5 cats)

Cat Cat Rating Scale- http://minstrelcrazy.blogspot.ie/p/reviews.html

Unfortunately , two problems arose: a) At some points I found myself skimming over pages and not paying much attention to the story but that could be due to tiredness or just down to my easily distracted self...b) Often, when a small disaster is going to happen or other occurrences, there are often subtle hints a page to a page and a half before it happens. The problem with these hints, is that they are far too obvious, luckily it isn't just one big twist that is ruined but some of the smaller ones...

Dexter in the Dark by Jeff Lindsay

Dexter in the Dark by Jeff Lindsay

Dexter Morgan, Miami PD blood-spatter analyst, is accustomed to seeing evil deeds - he occasionally enjoys committing them himself. Guided by his Dark Passenger - the voice that helps stalk his prey - he lives outwardly normal life according to one simple rule: he kills only very bad people.

But everything changes when Dexter attends a gruesome double homicide. Dex realizes he's  dealing with someone a lot more sinister than he is, and it sends the Dark Passenger into hiding. And if the Dark Passenger is scared, it has to be serious...

This book is undoubtedly the most unpredictable so far. It has nearly no similarities to the TV series at this point.

Dexter gradually becomes a father figure/mentor for Astor and Cody - his girlfriend Rita's two children. Meanwhile, he has to help Rita organize their wedding. Not to mention,the Dark Passenger slowly goes into hiding following a gruesome crime scene, resulting in Dexter losing his predatory instincts and actually feeling fear and anxiety. He becomes distressed daily and constantly misses and wishes for the return of his lifelong buddy- the accurate and reliable Dark Passenger...

The book is rather erratic because a) In relation to already having watched "Dexter" the TV series, it is basically a completely different story and b) Once "The Watcher" starts stalking Dexter, it is somewhat confusing and it is hard to determine who "The Watcher" is.

My Cat Catch Book Rating Scale above- It was absolutely amazing(5/5 cats)

Cat Cat Rating Scale- http://minstrelcrazy.blogspot.ie/p/reviews.html

I thoroughly was entertained by this book. Lindsay has drawn outside the box of reality for this book and as a result I adore the wild tale, which Dexter undergoes throughout this book.

Dexter frantically tries to gather information about the Dark Passenger once it eludes him. I considerably appreciated the zooming in on the Dark Passenger. The routes of the Dark Passenger are frightfully interesting. The zooming in on the Dark Passenger's origins is where Lindsay has slightly drawn outside the box of reality, but all for the better I assure you!

I preferred this to the other books, unquestionably because the plot has almost no similarities to the TV series. 'Darkly Dreaming Dexter' is a close second as it clearly portrays Dexter's twisted, insightful and logical mind.