The Rendition Experience

Finally! I got to read book three of David Gemmell's Troy. I read the other two way way before I started this blog so tough... No review! This novel was incomplete at the time of D. Gemmell’s death and was completed by his wife (I couldn’t really tell much difference in writing style from the other two). It is a great shame to know that there will be no more.

This is the conclusion to the trilogy of David Gemmell's interpretation of Homer's Iliad. Just out of curiosity, Iliad is now on my “to read” list. Although due to the genre I imagine it is written with a lot of epic-ness (I made this word up). The third book is the story of the siege of Troy.

With the assumption of Iliad being all for epic-ness, I think David Gemmell's interpretation is at his usual style of humanizing the characters.
We see the heroes' fears, doubts and flaws. He shows us how there are no bad sides and how war turns the best of men into animals and despite all the horrors committed by the characters, you still empathize with them. In fact, Helikaon (central character), as the torturer, the burner, the ruthless, is portrayed as a caring father and husband (and in my own little imagination, a pretty hot one too).

The war scenes are full of gory scenes with amazing attention to detail that kept me glued to the book until the early hours in the morning (4.30 am to be precise... I had to stop as my other half lovingly decided the light needed switching off as it was annoying...). I knew the story inside out and yet I could not put it down sneakily glancing at the book whenever I could just catch a glimpse of the next few lines.

I loved the Trojans and their allies and their enemies and their enemies’ allies because they were all just men fighting for a cause. Even Agamemnon the Mikene King shows all the weaknesses and insecurities that make him to want to destroy the golden city of Troy.

When I first picked up the first volume of Troy, I had my doubts that the Troy trilogy would live up to the likes of “Legend”. I wasn’t ready for the fact that it would exceed my expectations by a mile and the melancholy that would come to me at reading Fall of Kings knowing it would be the last of David Gemmell’s genius.

Despite his death, he will live forever, like Odysseus the storyteller, as long as his stories survive.

V.

This was a story of woe, pain and unimaginable suffering. I could never imagine what it would be like leaving my country to end up in a brothel being forced to do things I dont even want to describe. It's an awful truth that the author hones in on in this book. It isnt the central focus but the dark, honest undertones remain throughout the story, and at one point later on in the book I found I could not sleep as I could not shake the image that Tess Gerritsen so vividly portrays.

The central characters are ones I have met before in the Surgeon. Jane Rizzoli the hard core, kick ass female detective, I didn't warm to her so much in the Surgeon but in this one she still has that kick ass quality about her without seeming sometimes a little too defensive about being a woman, it's refreshing and a very good character to relate to and follow loyally throughout the whole story. The quiet cop Thomas not a central role in this story but it is a welcome cameo from the surgeon as the readers can see how his life has progressed since that tale and how close him and Jane have become. There are newer characters the Medical Examiner who is a strong female lead character, but who never really opens up in this tale, hopefully she'll appear in others. And the doting, dutiful FBI agent Gabriel, I grew fond of his character you really can feel for his plight and his frustration as the story unfolds. Also Tess Gerritsen manages to convey the darkest fears of any husband and parent so effectively you feel as though it is your loved ones at risk your fears.

I liked this book, despite the darkness it had a sense of justice about it something I could relate to but that would keep me thinking for weeks afterward, just what does go on behind closed doors, and the abuse that plagues our society and young girls bought and sold as though they were material items, and how people calling out for help to be heard can be thought of as terrorists. It's thought provoking, dark, gory and will make you cringe, but again I recommend this one a thoroughly gripping read beginning to end.

Book Master strikes again. This time I got introduced to an author known for collaborating with James Paterson occasionally. I liked James Patterson so I thought I'd give Mr. Gross a try (his name always makes me giggle as I think of Calvin and Hobbes.... childish, I know).

This book is a classic thriller. There is money, sex, occasional violence, crime solving and cheesy love scenes. They could have put that on the cover and that would have made me want to read it straight away.

The basic plotline is about a guy who dies in a train explosion on his way to work. After his family mourned his death, things appear that hint at the fact that he may not be dead at all and the disappearance of a substantial amount of money may have something to do with it.

At the same time, a couple of murders appear that the police files as unsolved. These tie up to the plot in the end.

Mr. Gross cleverly reveals small parts of the puzzle, which at first feel like we emptied the box onto the table, but slowly connect as we read along.

The characters are believable as we see them err and doubt themselves as the events occur and that makes me connect to them .

The book didn’t offer me anything new but it was a very enjoyable read and an interesting story.

I had never heard of this author before if I am to be honest. A friend from work lets call her the book master :) let me borrow her copy as she thought I would like it.

The Surgeon is a thriller novel, all about a serial killer who stalks and preys on women who live alone. It focuses in on the deepest darkest fears I imagine most women have had at some point in their lives. For myself it's the sort of fears that are always present in the back of my mind, when reading this book it felt like the situations had been plucked out the darkest recesses of my mind and laid bare for all to see. It's a revealing book and gives a disturbing insight into the mind of a serial killer without ever really getting too close. During the time I was reading it I was moving to my own place for the first time, so these fears were much more prominent but even so I could not put this book down!

The main characters are well constructed and thoughtfully written. The women are strong, independent yet very different from each other. They represent different aspects that I feel most women have, strength and yet a vulnerability most women don't like to put on display. The story focuses mostly on these specific crimes against certain women, focusing mainly on one central character, however this does not mean the male characters are forgotten about. The central male character was my favourite character by the end of the book as; even as a woman I could relate to him and empathise with him throughout the story.

In all it's a superbly written book one I would definitely recommend but since reading it I no longer sleep with the windows unlocked that's for certain :). Tess Gerritsen has gone deep into my psyche and has torn apart the safe world which I thought I lived in, it really makes you think about the people you see everyday at work and in social situations, do you really know what they are thinking even as they shake your hand? The possibilities are endless and terrifying.

This one is a keeper!

The first book I shall write about was one given to me by lovely C. on my birthday.
It was my debut in Ben Elton and I'm not sure I was ready for what I read.

The book is set in a future where global warming has done its thing and everyone lives very crowded lives in whatever land there is leftover.
It is meant to be a dark comedy, but when I started reading it I felt like it was a horror story where my worst fears come true.

Due to the catastrophe of the floods, many things were lost. Fiction stories, science, logic, all things I treasure... As if that wasn't enough, everyone lives in a Big Brother like world. There are cameras everywhere from the toilet at home to the coffee room at work. The title comes from the system that rules this world. A world where everyone has to be like the Big Brother residents of our current shows... That is the faith and the faith is law. You don't question it, you just follow it... well, blindly.
I don't want to go into too many spoilers, so just imagine everyone being as fake, loud, and intrusive as in the Big Brother shows (Yes intrusive, no matter how much you try to ignore it, you always end up watching a glimpse of it somewhere which makes you cringe) and if you're not like that then you become an outcast in society and will probably be lynched by a mob because you hurt someone's feelings.

It is all less scary once the main character starts rebelling against this system, starts keeping secrets and thinking for himself. I found myself rooting for this guy to be able read the books I take for granted.

I found this book to be a spark of introspection and, despite being fiction, I can see it as a potential future hopefully in a parallel universe rather than my own. Since reading it, I have been valuing my privacy and the fact that I am no one in the world but still own my identity. It seems ironic but I reached the conclusion that sharing myself in the World Wide Web is a not always a good thing yet I am sharing my view in a blog. However, this new project is a product of introspection from reading "Blind Faith". My own personal blog which I kept for over 4 years is now on hold until further introspection...

We like books.
We want to write about books.
The end.

V. and C.