After enjoying reading about flesh-eating zombies in The Fear by Charlie Higson (see Book Review: The Fear by Charlie Higson), while in my local supermarket I saw Zombie Apocalypse! by Stephen Jones. With the stereotypical title “Zombie Apocalypse!” and front cover (depicting London is ruins in the background and zombies with bloody mouths in the forefront) I nearly put it back on the shelf. But then I read the back and it revealed the story would be told through the medium of eyewitness narratives through text messages, official reports, blogs, letters, diaries, etc. It looked interesting so I picked it up.
The opening chapter was long and dull but I read on hoping it would get better. The general storyline is that the New Festival of Britain is taking place in South London. In order to create a festival site they choose to dig up the graves at All Hallows Church. In one of the crypts fleas from the bubonic plague are released causing the reanimation virus. The storyline feels a bit disjointed and that’s because various authors wrote different chapters. It appears Steve Jones was just the person that put the chapters together.
As the story continues we are introduced to groups of characters, some of which are killed off or become zombies. The problem with this book was that the characters constantly change meaning you can’t make a connection with any of them. The characters changing is part of the story as the reanimation virus spreads from London to Mexico and various other places around the world. Apart from the odd good chapter I found this book boring in all honesty. Indeed at times I had to force myself to read on.
Towards the end of the book they find a treatment for the reanimation virus however the future of humanity remains unsure with a letter from the Zombiefied Queen of Great Britain.
I was utterly disappointed with the book. Remembering to my gut feeling in response to the cover I shouldn’t have picked it up. Next time I will make sure that I follow my gut feeling.
My copy of The Time of My Life by Cecelia Ahern arrived from Amazon this weekend. A lovely thick hardback (containing a total of 391 pages) with a cover purple with swirls of gold and blue. Embossed on the front a envelope and letter presenting The Time of my Life by Cecelia Ahern. As I opened it a purple cord popped out waiting to be used as a bookmark adding to the quality feel of the book. So I opened it up and began reading.
We are introduced to Lucy a nearly-thirty year old who has given up on life and lies. Her life consists of going to a job that she hates (writing manuals for electrical appliances in foreign languages); living in a poky little apartment that is her little bubble away from the world (and really, really needs a clean) with her cat Mr. Pan (her rental agreement means she’s not allowed cats); trying to keep Sebastian (her falling-apart car) going and keeping up with her friends and family’s lives. Until one day she gets a letter from Life and she has no choice but to meet it face-to-face.
Before Lucy get’s to meet her life she tells us about Blake. Blake was her seemingly perfect ex-partner, a good cook, loves travel and adventure and who everyone liked. But nearly three years ago he had the it’s not you, it’s me chat with her and subsequently left. Blake, at the time convinced Lucy that it would be easier for her to say that she’d left him rather than he’d left her to their mutual friends. Since then Blake’s life seemingly has improved he’s on the tele doing a travel and adventure series while she has ignored her life for so long that it wants to meet her.
Lucy’s missed several appointments with Life so telephones to make a suitable time for an appointment thinking of every excuse she can to get out of it – one of which that she has a family party to attend. The Life Agency agrees to see Lucy at their office a week after the family party. At the family party we are introduced to mum, father (a judge with very conservative views who thinks Lucy’s a screw-up), Riley and Philip her “successful” brothers (according to her opinionated father). Lucy’s mum announces that her and her husband are renewing their wedding vows and Lucy announces that she has an appointment with Life, but it seems the family already know. It comes out that her family have been worried about her for sometime so signed the papers allowing the Life Agency to intervene. Her father even signed them despite him believing it was all “mubo-jumbo.”
So Lucy goes off to meet her life. What does her life look like? First off it’s a man; an unkempt man with bad breathe, clammy hands in a crinkled suit, looking generally worse for wear. Lucy is shocked to discover that this man seems to know everything about her and I mean absolutely everything. They talk about her life with Lucy not liking Life making her aware of how much of a rut she’s in. What I love about this character Life is the element of magic he adds to the story. He seems to be able to influence people to collide into Lucy’s life. His appearance drastically alters depending on how well or not she is doing at moving forward with her life. If she does well his bad breathe goes, clammy hands disappear and he appears smarter. At one point Lucy see’s him with a red blotchy rash when she’s going way off track. Lucy gives Life a name Cosmo Brown for when she’s introducing him to friends, family, etc.
Lucy get’s sent another envelope with another appointment in to meet life but ignores it. But the letters keep coming, to her home, to her work and even to her family. Then we are introduced to Lucy’s friends who were once Blake and Lucy’s friends. It becomes apparent that they don’t understand why she broke Blake’s heart (more like the other-way round) and that they believe she must have cheated on him. Meanwhile she continues to watch Blake on the tele, almost obsessed with him. Lucy also calls the Magic Carpet Cleaning Company for her apartment more out of necessity (rather than caring if the carpets clean) recommended by the receptionist at the life Agency and gets the wrong number. A guy called Don answers and they start flirtatiously texting adding a love interest to Lucy’s life.
Lucy eventually makes another appointment with her life but at the last minute has to cancel as her neighbour asks her to look after her child so she can visit her mother whose ill in hospital. Only her child is imaginary. There are photos of her child, so he must have died and the neighbours dealt with it by slipping into an imaginary world. Lucy calls life at a local Starbucks where they are due to meet. Life doesn’t trust her and he goes round to check. They talk and Lucy agrees to give this Life thing a try. Then life moves in and tells her that he has to follow her everywhere to get an understanding of her life. Lucy assumes that Life is just going to observe but he feels a need to intervene and tell people when she’s telling lies. What follows is a number of very humorous chapters before her and Life strike a deal: every time she tells a lie he will tell a truth.
The Magic Carpet Cleaning Company come to do her carpets and she eventually discovers that the mysterious wrong-number-Don she’s been texting is the carpet cleaner. They spend a fantastic night together and she feels no need to lie to him. Plus he’s really interested in chatting to Life indicating that he’s interested in her life. But after the night has passed Lucy has mixed feelings about it and thinks about Blake. Don invites her out for coffee, drinks and dinner or lunch but she declines.
Lucy visits her family with Life supposedly coming to meet the family. But Lucy and Life get into an argument beforehand and she’s suddenly unsure if he’s going to turn up. After half an hour Don turns up to clean a carpet booked by the housekeeper. Lucy convinces Don to pretend to be Life but it results in Lucy’s father speaking his mind about her life, Don defending her and being asked to leave. Life turns up but he’s too late it’s all happened. Then Lucy learns from her friends that Blake has finished filming and has set up an outdoor adventure centre in Wexford.
Lucy begins to realise with Life’s help that she isn’t living merely existing with no hopes and dreams. So she finds one: she’s going to Wexford to get back with Blake. One problem the time she intends to do it Life has arranged to see Don. Life explains that she needs to choose between Blake and Don, she might not see it as a choice but Don does. Lucy gets fired from her job for telling the truth about an earlier incident whilst trying to save the job of one of her colleagues. It gives Lucy (and a reluctant Life) the perfect opportunity to go and see Blake sooner. When Lucy finally gets time alone with Blake he feels that nothings changed. But Lucy realises that something has: her. Lucy has an epiphany and realises that she her life went down-hill when she started telling lies to hide herself from the world including all those she loves. Lucy talks to Blake about wanting to tell the truth about their split-up to their friends but Blake doesn’t want to be seen as the bad guy. Lucy tries to explain that it’s not about him it’s about her and her life but unsurprisingly he doesn’t get it.
Lucy arrives back home from Wexford to find her mum in tears at her door. Lucy’s mum tells her that the wedding vows renewal is off and Lucy is struck by her mums unusual display of emotion and honesty (not what the Silchester’s do – what will people think?). They discuss things in both of their lives and a closer bond develops between them. Later in the epilogue we find out that the wedding vows renewal did take place.
A day before Lucy’s thirtieth starts baking again like she used to. Life turns up and she tells him she has a plan. She plans to have a truth party for her friends and the closer members of her family (namely mum and Riley). Lucy keeps a chair free hoping Don will turn up but he doesn’t. Lucy decides to start with her first lie – the one about the break-up of her and Blake. But then Blake arrives through the door and tries to rivet his forma friends with discussion of a recipe book he’s working on that goes on for sometime. After sometime an assertive friend in the group asks Blake to shut up and allow Lucy to talk. Lucy reveals the truth behind all her lies and as her friends learn the truth they turn on Blake. One of the group of friends speak saying that he speaks for them all – that he can’t believe she felt she couldn’t tell them and that it wouldn’t have changed their opinion of her. Afterwards Lucy is walked home by Life.
It’s a sad moment as Life says that Lucy no longer needs him. Life promises to visit from time to time and you can understand Lucy’s feeling of loosing a best friend. Finally Lucy get’s it together with Don after persuading him that he isn’t her second choice – with a good dollop of humour as well. The epilogue is set on the day of Lucy’s mum and father making their wedding renewal vows. Lucy discovers that she isn’t the only one to clash with her father, that they are always going to have a strained relationship and it’s more about him than her. Lucy watches with Don, Melanie (her best friend) as her mum and father renew their wedding vows. Lucy smiles as she realises Life is there keeping an eye on her and smiling, pleased with her.
In this review I have tried to stick to the main plot line. There are quite a number of events in chapters all containing mix of humour, seriousness and the perfect amount of description that I have missed out that acted as links between events in the storyline. You come to understand Lucy like a friend you’ve known for years and all the other characters has enough depth for them to feel real. The exception to this is Life which deliberately has a level of mysteriousness as the weaver of the magic in the book.
This beautifully written up-beat book is one of the best I have ever read. It is hilarious, yet serious getting the balance perfectly right. The theme of the book is about giving up on life: even if you give up on life, it doesn’t give up on you. It encourages you to take care of your life and give it the love and attention you give to your loved ones.
The theme resonated with me because recently I feel like I’ve given up on life. I have been incredibly sad after the death of my younger brother Alex (see My Darling Baby Brother & Grief) and feel like I’ve given up. Like Lucy I am most content when I’m in my rut. Indeed I avoid people when I can, especially those who are closest to me and know me well. As for my rut, my home, the hallway has become like a dumping ground heaps of the most random stuff; my bed unmade most of the time; and I can’t remember the last time see my desk it’s piled with stuff that’s got a visible layer of dusk covering it. I guess on some level I lie like Lucy does – making up excuses to avoid situations, but the biggest lie I tell is when people I ask how I am I say I’m fine.
Of course like everyone my mood changes day-to-day. I have days were my zest for life returns, like landing my new job (see Exciting News & Things To Look Forward Too) and I like to think that my Life is helping me along with getting it back on track.
You can buy The Time of My Life by Cecelia Ahern on Amazon and I certainly highly recommend it. It’s Cecelia Ahern’s best work to date. I am already thinking of who to borrow the book too in order for them to enjoy, laugh and use to reflect on their own life.
The opening chapter describes The Collector and his search for new “toys” which we quickly discover means kids. This really sets the tone of the book. It it is different from The Enemy & The Dead, rather than just focusing on the children this book gives an insight in to the mothers and fathers, grown-ups, strangers – the diseased adults as well.
I got a little worried when after the opening chapter a page states: The action in this book begins five days before the incidents described at the end of The Dead. Having read The Dead when it first came out over a year ago, I was worried that I’d have to go back and re-read it before I could enjoy and understand The Fear. My worries were soon put at rest as I started to read. Charlie (Higson – the author) gives enough information about the characters and the events that have happened to them so that even if you hadn’t read any of the previous books in the series you could pick it up and have an enjoyable read. If you have read the previous books you’ll see the links to The Enemy & The Dead and it is these links that help you remember what has happened the previous two books as well as contribute to the over-arching story.
The story starts in The Tower of London with Dognut, Courtney, Marco, Felix, Al, Fin, Jessica and Olivia deciding to go in search of the others they lost at Lambeth Bridge a year ago. They all have their own individual motivations. Dognut wants to find Brooke (a mouthy girl who he fancies); Courtney (one of Brooke’s best friends) is going to show she can be strong and brave to Dognut who she fancies and can’t decide if she wants to find Brooke or not; Marco & Felix are going for adventure, Al is looking for his little sister Maria, Fin to look for some of his friends from Rowhurst (a private school from one of the previous books); Jessica because she’s just split up from her boyfriend and wants to be away from him and finally Olivia who wants to find her brother Paul. They travel up the Thames by row boat, to avoid the diseased adults and stop when they see a group of children in Westminster at the Houses of Parliament.
Their boat unfortunately sinks and they are met by the leader of this group Nicola, elected by the other children as Prime Minister. They ask about the people they are searching for but they don’t know anything. Nicola is also oddly suspicious of them. They ask about David and Nicola tells them that David has taken up residence at Buckingham Palace, but that he can’t be trusted. Dognut and the group know they must travel by foot and that it will be dangerous. Nicola gives then a good meal and water. At the gates to The Houses of Parliament once the gates are open a group of kids barge in. They claim to be looters and begin to pick on a kid called Bozo whose on the gate. Dognut doesn’t like seeing Bozo getting bullied and after a few exchanges the looters are fended off by Dognut and his group. It turns out these looters are from St. James Park and are led by a psycho child John.
Dognut and his group set off and at first all is fine. Until they see a large group of disease ridden adults. They get cornered in a dead end of a side street. They know there are too many to fight but as they’re out of options that’s what they do. Then another group of children save them and send the adults off running. This other group describe themselves as “hunters” and stated they are mercenaries that for payment from the settlements of kids they clear the streets of the adults killing as many as possible. Their leader Ryan. Dognut states that his group are on their way to Buckingham Palace and Ryan explains that he doesn’t like David (the self appointed King) as he never paid them for some work they did for him. They urge Dognut to be careful and offer to get his group to Buckingham Palace safely – free of charge.
Dognut and his gang arrive at Buckingham Palace and are introduced to David and his right hand man Jester. David claims that he doesn’t know where Brooke is. To make things worse David tells the group that Brooke abandoned them and didn’t share the loot on the back of the Tesco lorry in The Dead. Dognut’s group ask about their friends and family are looking for and David reveals that Maria (Al’s little sister) is there. Maria tells the group that Brooke and some of the others have made Natural History Museum their home. Dognut finds away over Buckingham Palace walls and all but Al (who chooses to stay with his little sister Maria) escape and head to the Natural History Museum.
While all this going on their’s a kid whose an observer and his name is Shadowman. Shadowman is a great addition to the story being generally a loner and gives Charlie (Higson – the author) a different method of telling the over-arching story whilst telling Shadowman’s story as well.
As Dognut and his group make their way to the Natural History Museum, David decides he needs kids that can fight and sends Jester on his way to find some. David makes an agreement with Nicola (from Parliament) that if he can rid St. James Park of the looters that they will join forces and rule together. David not just thinking about their part of London, or the whole of London but all of England. David’s dastardly plan is for Jester to find kids that can fight to clear St. James’ Park of the rough, looter kids living there. Whatever the group of kids there had always been the rule: Kids don’t harm kids. The ememy are the grown-ups.
This twist gets you thinking, who are worse? The different groups of children plotting against one another (who have their minds intact) or the adults (who are acting with twisted minds because of illness). This is exactly what Charlie Higson (the author) wants you to ask yourself. Indeed it could be said that the theme of the book is about human nature and our nature to be selfish, greedy, power-seeking, even if that means the death and destruction of other human beings.
On the way to the Natural History Museum unfortunately Olivia gets killed by The Collector (the group do later go back and kill The Collector in what could be seen as a revenge attack). Dognut and his group arrive at the Natural History Museum and they finally find Brooke and the geeks. Brooke’s changed a lot in a year, less mouthy (reporting that she had grown-up), short brown hair (her bottle blonde having grown out as the year passed) and wearing old fashioned clothing from the Museum. The kids catch up and Dognut tells Paul (Olivia’s brother) what happened. Paul is distraught about learning of the death of his sister. Brooke reveals why she left David behind instead of sharing the loot from the Tesco lorry – because David shot a kid on Lambeth Bridge when the kid refused to move.
In the Chapters that follow Greg makes an appearance (the clever diseased adult from the The Dead) as The Fear begins to link The Enemy and The Dead together. Jester meets the Waitrose and Morrisons crew led by Blue and Maxie and it was at this point that I started to realise how clever of a writer Charlie Higson is.
Dognut and his group decide to head back to The Tower of London with Brooke going with them. But on the way the group are attacked by grown-up’s and are forced to seek refuge in a tube station, but this is exactly where other diseased adults like to live as it’s dark. They are quickly overwhelmed but then are saved by Blue and Maxie’s gangs. Out of Dognut’s group only Brooke survives, and she is taken to Buckingham Palace to the infirmary. Luckily David and Jester doesn’t recognise her. Blue and Maxie are quick to join her in the infirmary after clashes with the rough looting kids from St. James’ Park. David intends to keep them both in the infirmary so that he can take control of their groups.
While all this is going on Shadowman has observed that the diseased grown-up’s seem to be getting leaders – the more clever ones of the group. He realises that the more intelligent leaders can use tools (such as knifes and sticks) and that there is quickly becoming an army of diseased adults following these leaders.
Back at the infirmary at Buckingham Palace Brooke tells Blue and Maxie the truth about David. Meanwhile Paul (Olivia’s brother) still bereaved goes to David and Jester slightly mad talking about how he can’t trust anyone at the museum. David and Jester convinces Paul that they had caused Olivia’s death and Paul agrees to go back to the Museum and release the diseased adults from the basement to set them loose on the kids. Paul tries to strangle one of the guards but fails. While the kid guarding the locked door comes round Paul pulls down his polar neck and reveals a bite from an adult – which is how the disease is spread. Paul opens the door and let’s the grown-ups loose to get the kids in the museum.
The book ends there and I can’t believe I have to wait over a year for the next part of the story. I received the book from Amazon on a Saturday afternoon and had finished it within twenty-four hours. It truly is an addictive page turner, especially if your into diseased adults and kids making an attempt at surviving the blood thirsty adults.
Bengal Cats by Dan Rice is an absolutely essential book for any bengal cat owner, as far as I’m concerned. With a good balance between beautiful photographic illustrations and information. Dan’s writing style is engaging and easy-to-read yet still conveys his obvious passion for bengal cats.
The book covers everything you could want to know about having a bengal cat(s), split in to sections: an introduction to the breed (covering history of the bengal and hydridization), understanding your cat, owning a bengal, getting ready for your bengal kitten, shopping for your purebreed bengal, bringing your kitten home, nutrition, grooming, showing your bengal, breeding advice, health care, etc.
It basically gives you all the information you’ll ever need to raise a happy, healthy, fun loving bengal cat. Dan even includes a section on training your bengal cat(s) to use a toilet like humans. The drawing of this bengal cat on the toilet made me laugh until my stomach hurt! Needless to say to me a cat is a cat, let them use a cat litter tray – as nature intended.
There are some absolutely stunning photos of bengals in the book and it’s quite a quick read at 93 pages (which includes pages with photos on).
With bengal cats in mind, I thought I’d use this opportunity to post some recent photos of Dylan and Russell (my bengal kittens):
(Dylan & Russell playing with their new tent and blanket. They love that tent!)
(One of them – not sure which saying ‘Hello’ in the tent. Think it’s Dylan.)
(Awe brotherly love. Dylan sniffing Russell’s face, they love doing it to me. I think it’s the cat equivalent of a human kiss.)
(Dylan having a clean. You can tell he’s vain, he just has to be on all the photos.)
(Click on any of the photos for full size image.)
Oh…back to the review. You can buy Bengal Cats by Dan Rice on Amazon. I was unable to find any criticisms of this well written and beautifully illustrated book and would highly recommend if you’ve got bengal cats or are planning on getting some.
Working towards becoming the mad cat man,
Antony
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Sunday 4 September 2011
About
Antony Simpson - Author, Blogger, Nurse & Witch.
Author of eight books.
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