 |
Fourth Realm 1: The Traveller - John Twelve Hawks
by jacketpotato
This is a story set in the modern society we all live in but are oblivious to. In our society, we take for granted the world of technology and surveillance, but in true classic big brother style, who watches the watchers and to compound this, what is the true value of this data, is there any privacy?
The Traveller was ... recommended to me by a friend who found the concept of the story interestingly scary.
The three main groups in this novel are; the Travellers, people with the ability to travel to another realm, Tabula, a group of people seeking out the Travellers and Harlequins, those who defend the Travellers from the Tabula.
The story continues about how the Tabula are on the hunt for a pair of Travellers by using their might. The Tabula have access to all the information anywhere, ever in the data collected from computers, phones, CCTV and so on. The Harlequins, namely Maya, then attempts to protect the Travellers, the Corrigan brothers from the bad guys whose motives are not yet entirely clear...
The premise of this story is great; it definitely had me wanting to find out the true story lying underneath what could easily be happening in world we live in.
Now the bad. The book is poorly written with characters one can never really believe in. There are attempts by the author to string multiple scenes concurrently by giving snippets, but rather than building tension, it creates a discordant feel which makes it difficult to read for prolonged periods of time.
So it is a shame that this potentially great storyline is encapsulated by a poorly written book.
Read the complete review |
 |
Let the Right One in - John Ajvide Lindqvist
by SWSt
Swedish vampire film Let the Right One In (I refuse to use the name of the pointless Hollywood remake) was an unexpected hit. A touching tale of friendship, loneliness and vampires, it showed that not all vampire films had to feature either violent blood-letting or teen-romance pap. Yet good as it was, the book on which it is based turns ... out to be even better.
Oskar is a young boy living in a grim suburb of Sweden in the 1980s. Bullied at school, missing his father and lonely, he becomes curious about a young girl, Eli, that lives in the same block of flats. Eli is also deeply lonely (if for very different reasons - she is a 200 year old, trapped in a child's body) but together the two form an unlikely friendship and change each other in unexpected ways.
Let the Right One In is a vampire book for people who don't like vampires. Yes, one of the main characters is a vampire, but vampire lore is not the focus of the book. Instead, it is a touching examination of how two very lonely children come to depend upon each other to understand who they really are. Of course there are elements of vampire lore (excellently) worked into the main plot: the plotting is consistent with accepted vampire folklore but Lindqvist adds a few elements of his own. So whilst vampire lore features, the film is really a coming of age tale about friendship, loneliness and mutual need.
The characters (already strong in the film) are even better in the book - more fleshed out and realistic feeling. There is more time to delve into their psyche, sympathise with their emotional state and understand what makes them tick. This in turn helps to make the central relationship between Eli and Oskar even more touching. We understand the fear, loneliness and longing that each suffers and appreciate that they have found a kindred spirit. Their symbiotic relationship is far, far more touching than anything the dreadful "Twiglet" (sic) series could ever dream up.
If you are going to criticise the book, you could accuse it of introducing a few too many sub-plots. These are all interesting and perfectly valid side-stories, but sometimes they get a little bit lost and you never quite feel they are all adequately resolved. This is perhaps the one area where the film is stronger: most of these subplots were excised from the celluloid version and it was a tauter, leaner tale for it.
In fairness, some of these sub-plots were probably also removed from the film for fear of upsetting audiences, since they touch on particularly distasteful areas like child abuse and paedophilia. Some of these passages are uncomfortable to read with things sometimes described in quite explicit detail, although in fairness to the author they are a crucial part of the plot and not just stuck in there for prurient or sensationalist reasons.
Lindqvist appears to have a knack for writing in a stunningly evocative way. Without resorting clumsy explanations or scene setting, he perfectly captures both a sense of time and place. The book is set in set in the 80s and that period just feels right for the story he is telling. Beyond a few obvious cultural references (the Rubik's Cube), there's little specific detail that pins it to that period, but somehow you just know. At the same time, there is a timeless quality to the book: this story could be set in pretty much any period and it would still work, because its central themes are completely independent of period.
The same is true of the place. I've never been to Sweden, but this feels like an accurate portrayal of life in 1980s Sweden. Again, the actual setting isn't important, it's more the feeling that it gives. The atmosphere is haunting and evocative; the setting gritty and realistic; the storyline convincing and touching. Lindqvist uses language effectively to capture feelings and describe emotions, exploring the central themes in a mature way, without becoming over-descriptive. Even though Let The Right One In is over 500 pages long, it doesn't feel like a large book. You become so engrossed in the storyline that you will read it in the blink of an eye.
An appreciate nod should also go to the translator who does an excellent job of transcribing the story into English. Beyond the occasional clumsy use of "one" as a formal pronoun ("one might even imagine that..."), the translation flows smoothly and if you didn't' know otherwise, you would never suspect that Swedish was the book's original language.
It's rare that I pay any attention to the review quotes that appear on the back of books, but one that describes Lindqvist as "the new Stephen King" sticks in my mind. Lindqvist's writing is very reminiscent of early King, particularly around the time of The Mist or Salem's Lot. His novel features that same tension, mystery and low-grade horror that just occasionally spills out into outright violence.
Let the Right One In is available for around £5 (paperback or Kindle edition), although if you're lucky, you can find a second hand copy cheaper. For once, though, forget the price: this is a book that's well worth its £5 price tag and one you will want to read again and again.
Basic Information
-----------------------
Let the Right One in
John Ajvide Lindqvist
Quercus, Film tie in edition, 2009
ISBN: 978-1847248480
© Copyright SWSt 2013
Read the complete review |
|
|
The Fault in Our Stars - John Green
by zoeleanne
John Green is an amazing author, all of his books appeal to a certain demographic of people- young adults. Young adulthood is that stage in life where your unsure of who you are and mister John Green does everything he can in order to make you think, reconsider and argue everything you think about the world. In this book you meet a young ... girl with cancer- a boy with one leg- you're whisked off to the city of sin or as it's also known Amsterdam- you learn to understand loss, and how life goes on even when it stops for other people. John Green not only uses the most beautiful words, inspires many, but John Green makes you feel a whirlwind of emotions- happiness, sadness, anger, shock and even hopefulness- within a space of a few minutes. John Green is a truly talented writer and I would recommend every young person- actually every person- young or old- to read this book.
Read the complete review |
