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Book Review: The Stand by Stephen King

By Amazon, Books & Authors, Reviews2 Comments
stephen-king-the-stand-book-cover The Stand was originally published in 1979. I’m reviewing an extended version with approximately four hundred additional pages. The original was cut by four hundred pages to save on printing costs.

Stephen King decided to release this extended version as Readers have asked for it.

The Stand starts with an infected Solider escaping a chemical lab in a military base. He’s infected with Project Blue, a pathogen which has a 99.4% kill rate and that spreads alarmingly quick through the US and rest of the world.

King starts to introduce characters as the world disaster plot begins. With just a few sentences, King gives each character a believable backstory and makes them feel completely real.

We watch each of these characters deal with the loss of their loved ones, seek out other survivors, attempt to make connections with them and adapt to this new world.

It’s then that the dreams start. A dream about a Dark Man that strikes fear into the heart. A dream about a kind old woman named Mother Abagail.

The different characters have now mostly come together and formed groups. They start their journeys towards the Dark Man or away from him – travelling in the direction of Mother Abagail.

Mother Abagail’s group set up Free Zone in Boulder, Colorado. It’s a democratic community, that grows day by day.

The Dark Man (known as Randall Flagg)’s group set up in Las Vegas. His community is a dictatorship, with severe punishments for minor rule violations. It grows day by day, but not as quickly the Free Zone. The Dark Man is intent on waging war on the Free Zone.

The first two thirds of The Stand are beyond brilliant. The plot is fast-paced and the characters are captivating. But the last third of The Stand felt like King didn’t know where the plot was going. The ending did satisfy somewhat, but had a tinge of disappointment as only two of the numerous main characters had a good conclusion.

The Stand is a large book, totalling 1,325 pages. I read it in about three weeks – which isn’t bad considering my other commitments. There were many times when I simply couldn’t stop reading The Stand.

There were two minor aesthetic annoyances with my copy of The Stand. Firstly, the cover has started peeling. Anyone who knows me, knows I look after my books. So I can only put this down to the cheap production. Secondly, the black and white illustrations randomly dotted throughout book were pointless and of a poor quality.

The Stand is an enjoyable read. It’s a great book that will entertain the reader. It will absorb the reader into an apocalyptic world where good and evil are engaged in their a final battle. The Stand is available to buy on Amazon and at all good bookshops.

Review soon,

Antony

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Friday 9 September 2016

Book Review: Under The Dome by Stephen King

By Amazon, Books & Authors, ReviewsNo Comments
under-the-dome-stephen-king-book-cover Stephen King is a Writer that I’ve always admired. But to be honest, he’s wrote that many books, I’ve always been unsure where to start.

That was until I watched the TV series Under The Dome, based on King’s two-book story with the same name. The copy of Under The Dome that I’m reviewing is one where the two books have been combined into one and therefore has the full story from start to finish.

My Review
Under The Dome is the masterpiece novel Stephen King. It literally took over my life for a good few weeks. At every available opportunity, I’ve found myself picking it up and reading more.

Under The Dome starts when an invisible dome descends on the sock-shaped town of Chester’s Mill, Maine in the USA. The dome is almost impenetrable, only letting through small amounts of air and water.

When the dome comes down it slices off the hand of a woman gardening. It slices a small aeroplane in half. A few cars crash into the dome, which explode on impact. The gardener, aeroplane pilot and trainee, and car drivers all die.

But for the people of Chester’s Mill this is just the start of their problems and things are going to get a hell of a lot worse.

Under The Dome has a full town cast of characters. Here are some of the characters, in alphabetical order:

  • Andrea Grinnell – local politician (Third Selectman) and addicted to prescription painkillers.
  • Andy Sanders – Local politician (First Selectman) and Pharmacist. Owner of the only drug store, which would have closed years ago, if it wasn’t for the help of Jim Rennie.
  • Colonel James Cox – In charge of the military outside of the dome.
  • Dale Barbara (Barbie) – A Iraq army veteran.
  • Duke Perkins – local Police Chief. That is until he meets his demise and is replaced by Peter Randolph.
  • Jim Rennie (Big Jim) – Local politician (Second Selectman) and a used car salesman. He also has a secret illegal business of making, selling and shipping methamphetamine.
  • Joseph McClatchey (Scarecrow Joe) – a very clever teenager. He is often with his two friends (Norrie Calvert & Benny Drake) throughout the book.
  • Julia Shumway – Owner, writer and editor of Democrat Chester’s Mill local newspaper. Has a Corgi dog named Horace.
  • Junior Rennie – Jim’s son. Revealed to have a brain tumour that nobody knows about that influences his thinking and behaviour.
  • Ollie Dinsmore – The boy who looses everyone and everything, but manages to survive.
  • Piper Libby – A Reverend who doesn’t believe in God and lives with her dog whom she loves dearly.
  • Rommie Burpee – Owner of Burpee’s Department Store.
  • Rusty (Physicians Assistant) & Linda (Police Officer) Everett – Rusty’s character is brilliant. He sees the truth because he questions everything and follows his gut feeling. But with a wife and two children he is constantly torn between doing the right thing and protecting his family.
  • Samantha (Sammy) Bushey – A girl with a difficult life, one that’s going to get more difficult with the dome in place and will lead to tragic consequences.
  • Thurston Marshall & Carolyn Sturges – Out-of-towners.

I know that I have probably missed out someone’s favourite character. If I have and you want to let others know about your favourite character, leave a comment below, giving the character’s name and a brief description.

So what actually happens in the just over a week that the dome is in place? The answer plenty including: manipulation, lies, abuse of power, crimes – looting, rape (this scene was particularly disturbing and traumatic to read, but none the less extremely well written) and murder, false allegations, the attempted cover-up of meth labs and propane use/storage, the threat of diminishing resources – people don’t know how long the dome will be in place for and how people respond to this threat, a major explosion and fire fuelled by the propane and an abundance of death.

The TV series was mediocre. I am pleased to say that the book far exceeds the TV series, being extraordinary. In this letter King explains that in the TV series the concept of the dome is the same, but the Writers have re-imagined the plot and some aspects of the characters. He states that he sees the TV series as playing out in an alternate reality.

The Under The Dome concept is brilliant. The description is superb. The characters are have been well developed and are interesting. The pacing is terrifically fast meaning that the book grips you from the first page to the very last (it’s a total of 877 pages long). Overall Under The Dome is exceptionally well written, with not a single word wasted. Well done King.

I would go as far as saying that in writing Under The Dome King has reached his pinnacle, but I don’t feel I can say this as I haven’t read any other of his works, yet.

The Story Behind The Story
Stephen King had the idea for Under The Dome over twenty-five years ago. But every time he tried to write it, he didn’t feel that he could do the story justice. Then he was involved in a car crash, where he nearly died. For a while after the accident he thought that he might never write again. When King did start writing again, albeit more slowly than before the accident, he decided to start and complete Under The Dome as he didn’t want to die with an unfinished manuscript in his desk draw.

Review soon,

Antony

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Friday 22 April 2016

Book Review: Life And Other Near-Death Experiences by Camille Pagan

By Amazon, Books & Authors, ReviewsNo Comments
life-and-other-near-death-experiences-book-cover-camille-pagan Imagine that you go to the doctors and are told that you have a rare form of cancer, one that’s terminal. Then imagine going home to seek the solace of your husband, only for him to drop his own bombshell – that he’s been seeing a therapist and thinks that he might be gay. This is exactly what happens to Elizabeth (better known as Libby) Miller in Life And Other Near-Death Experiences by Camille Pagan.

Tom, Libby’s husband drops the I might be gay bombshell before she has chance to tell him about her cancer. So naturally her first reaction is to stab him with a fork. Libby encourages him to leave for his own safety and he obliges.

Then Libby makes some radical decisions: she quits her job working as a PA to nightmare boss Jackie, she puts the apartment up for sale and she speaks to Paul, her twin brother to get some advice about how much money she would need to live on for a year. Next she tells Tom of her intention to divorce him, knowing that she’ll probably not live long enough to go through the snail-paced legal process.

Libby knows cancer intimately. She watched it slowly take her mother from her, her brother and her father. Making her motherless at ten years old. So Libby decides not to tell anyone about her diagnosis.

After hearing about Tom and the divorce Libby’s father calls her. Libby talks about an idea she has to go to Mexico. Her father discourages her because that’s where Tom and she went on their honeymoon. Her father shares a memory he has of her mother and he going to Puerto Rico. He tells Libby that her mother loved it there. Libby decides to go there instead.

Libby has her first near-death experience getting to Puerto Rico on a small plane piloted by the sexy Shiloh. On the Island, Libby discovers what it is to live, fall in love and experience every moment fully.

Libby’s character is funny, feisty and fantastic. Pagan writes the story from Libby’s perspective and in doing so creates a character that oozes depth and realism. It’s not just Libby’s character that has depth and realism, so does love interest Shiloh, twin brother Paul (whom happens to be gay and is married to a man with two children) and all other characters.

Life And Other Near-Death Experiences is fast paced, has a fascinating plot, has beautiful description and is packed with dark humour. Pagan should be commended on this superb and captivating novel.

You can buy Life And Other Near-Death Experiences by Camille Pagan on Amazon and I highly recommend that you do. You’ll love this thoroughly entertaining read.

Review soon,

Antony

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Sunday 10 January 2016

Book Review: The Wolf in His Arms (Runes Trilogy Book 2) by Adrian Lilly

By Amazon, Books & Authors, ReviewsNo Comments
wolf-in-his-arms-cover-adrian-lilly The Wolf in His Arms is the second book in the Runes Trilogy. The first book is The Wolf at His Door, which I reviewed here.

Alec & Jared the gay, werewolf lovers are back. With Lucy, Alec’s sister, they set out to reveal the truth about what happened to them by decoding documents they found in a underground lab and to find their pack. But they are not the only ones looking for their pack. The Wolfs are hunting members their pack and offering them a choice: join them or they’ll kill them and their family.

Along the way, Alec & Jared are at it like rabbits while Lucy is coming to terms with her new inner wolf. They track-down other members of their pack including:

Maxwell another gay werewolf and his best friend Haley, and Nadia and her mother Helena.

Alec, Jared & Lucy discover the Wolfs have much bigger ambitions, than just recruiting their pack. The Wolfs are bent on world domination and already have a plan set into action. Alec, Jared & Lucy decide they must stop them. They learn about the elusive Tutelars, protectors of humans. Will the Tutelars recognise that Alec, Lucy and Co are trying to help or just seem them as another pack of werewolfs?

The story builds to a fantastic ending as the Wolfs set their plan into full motion, sending human society into panic and disarray. Can Alex, Jared and Co stop them or is it too late? This is where the book ends and it leaves the reader wanting more.

The Wolf in His Arms is written in third person with a good show and tell balance. It keeps the reader hooked throughout with it’s fast-paced, ever-twisting storyline. The Wolf in His Arms is a brilliant, superb and reasonably told story.

At times, a lack of editing did let The Wolf in His Arms down. It was repetitive on occasion, overly used description of weather – which wasn’t always consistent and used dialogue tags that distracted from the dialogue.

I recommend reading The Wolf at His Door before The Wolf in His Arms. The Wolf in His Arms gives an adequate backstory, but doesn’t give the reader the same emotional connection as The Wolf at His Door does. I can’t wait to read the final book in the trilogy.

The Wolf in His Arms is available in ebook format only and its short chapters mean that it is perfect to read on bus, train or tube to work. The Wolf in His Arms is available to buy on Amazon.

Review soon,

Antony



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Monday 17 March 2014
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