Book Review - Something's Alive on the Titanic

Something's Alive on the Titanic by Robert Serling

What is it about:
From the coverblurb - A band of brave men and women dare to venture where, years earlier, another salvage mission was mysteriously wiped out. ... What they find inside the legendary sunken tomb is the awesome, terrifying fact that they are not alone.

What did I think of it:
A very decent horror/thriller story where the writer actually did his research about Titanic, without it turning into a history lesson. The characters are well written and vary from likeable to despicable and their actions fit their personality.

Why should you read it:
This a great book for lovers of horror/thriller stories as well for people with an interest in Titanic.

Book review: Goblin Quest

Today I'm reviewing:
'Goblin Quest' by Jim C. Hines

What is it about:
Jig is the runtiest, most pathetic goblin in the whole mountain. Just his bad luck that he's the one who runs into a party of heroes who think he can guide them to the treasure buried deep in the mountain.

What did I think of it:
This story is both funny and compelling. Jig might be a pathetic excuse for a goblin, but he's a hero in my book and I rooted for him throughout the story. Being a fantasy role player, this story was also very recognisable for me. Hines gives a funny and accurate view on the traditional fantasy (roleplay) party of heroes and gives a new view on the monsters that those heroes have to face.

Why should you read it:
If you ever played fantasy roleplay you must read this book! You'll love it. For those who never roleplayed in their life: I still advice you to go read it. It's a great and funny story even without catching the roleplay references.

Other Goblin books by Jim C. Hines:
Goblin Hero (book 2)
Goblin War (book 3)

Double Book Review

I felt like rambling about book today, so I decided on doing two book reviews!

First off:
'Zombie Raccoons & Killer Bunnies'
Edited by Martin H. Greenberg and Kerrie Hughes

What is it about:
It's a book with 15 stories about 'creatures - some alive, some not - who may be prowling right outside your door...'

What did I think of it:
Again a book that I just had to get if only because of the cover and title. The good thing about anthologies in my opinion is that there is always bound to be a couple of stories that you will like and it gives you a chance to test drive some new writers so to speak. This book is no exception to this rule: All in all there were 10 stories that I liked if not loved and just 5 that couldn't grab my attention. I will certainly check out other works of some of the authors.

My favourite stories from this book:
'Death Mask' by Jody Lynn Nye - A tale about why you should treat raccoons with respect
'Bone Whispers' by Tim Waggoner - A very sad, but also beautiful story featuring a giant groundhog
'Ninja Rats on Harleys' by Elizabeth A. Vaughan - The title of this story says it all!!

Why should you read this book:
If you (like me) are always on the lookout for new writers and love stories about animals that are a bit different if not flat out scary, this is your book!


On to book number two:
'Bloody Good' by Georgia Evans

What is it about:
German agents have infiltrated the English countryside during WWII - nazis who can fly, read minds and live forever. They're not just fascists: They're vampires. and it's up to Dr. Alice Doyle to save the day.

What did I think of it:
The idea of this book is cool: who can resist reading a story about nazi vampires!? I couldn't anyway. But it turns out an idea is not enough. The story is too easy in my opinion, there's hardly any real struggle. Now don't get me wrong: I like a happy ending as much as the next pig, but I want the characters to sweat at least a little along the way to that happy ending. And there were way too little nazi vampires in this book too! There's two more books in this series, so maybe there will be more of them in one of the other two, but the chance that I will pick up either one of them isn't very big.

Why should you read this book:
If you want a relaxing read without having to worry about anything, this might be your book.

Movie review - Autumn (the beginning of the end)

What is the movie about:
A mysterious virus kills off most people on earth and only a few people survive. While they are trying to figure out what to do next the corpses suddely rise again.

What did I think of it:
You'd think that with a basic plotline like the one sketched above you couldn't go wrong. Well, it turns out you can! The lead characters keep contradicting themselves with their actions, which makes it hard to feel for them and when even the zombies contradict themselves you know it's bad! Add some annoying camerawork and weird scene switches in the name of art to that and it gets even worse. And I don't need a story when it comes to a zombie movie, but only if I get some serious zombie mayhem in return, but even that was too much to ask.
All in all I didn't like this movie at all!

Why should you see it:
Well.........
You shouldn't actually.

Movie Review - Surveillance

What is the movie about:
Two FBI agents have to question three witnesses who may lead them to a serial killer, but all three witnesses have a different story to tell.

What did I think of it:
I loved this movie! It's directed by Jennifer Lynch, the daughter of David Lynch and I can tell you she sure paid attention to how her father does things! There's action, atmosphere, cool characters and a pace to the story that is just right in my opnion. It doesn't have a clear cut storyline, but it isn't totally out there like some of David Lynch's movies so it doesn't leave you flabbergasted in the end like Mullholland drive for example.

Why should you see it:
If you're a fan of David Lynch, you will also love this movie. I should warn you that it's not a movie for the faint of heart though, it's quite disturbing at times.

Queen Victoria, Demon Hunter

Today's review is about the book 'Queen Victoria, Demon Hunter' by A.E. Moorat.

What is it about:
When a young Victoria becomes queen of the United Kingdom she soon discovers there are creatures she didn't even knew excisted who are bend on causing chaos and destruction. Can she cope with hunting these demons, ruling a country and still manage to spend time with the man she loves?

What did I think of it:
Who can resist a book with the tagline 'She loved her country. She hated zombies'.
This book might have been the worst written book ever and I still would have loved it just for this.
As it is I really loved the story. It is well written, funny and captivating. Add zombie mayhem to this and you got me hooked! The only thing I could critisize about this book is that there's a lot of jumping back and forth in time in the first part of the story which can be a bit confusing if you're not paying attention. All in all I put this book on my 'must read it again sometime real soon' list.

Why should you read it:
Zombie Mayhem!!!
Need I say more!

The Hippopotamus

Todays review is about 'The Hippopotamus' written by Stephen Fry, who you may know from things like the Blackadder series, 'Stephen Fry in America' or such movies as 'Wilde' or 'Gosford Park' to name just a few of the many series and movies he starred in.

What is the book about:
It's about Ted Wallace, an old, sour, cantankerous, nasty drama critic who on request of his god-daughter pays a visit to the country mansion of an old friend where miracles seem to be happening and his god-daugther thinks Ted, with his scepticism, is just the right man to discover if what's happening there is the real deal or not.

What do I think about this book:
To be honest, I had problems getting into this story. It's not because it's not well written, because Fry writes excellent. It's not because the story isn't good, because it's a great story. No, it's because Ted Wallace is the nastiest, most awful lead character I've ever come across in books. He is small minded, sexist and unpleasant and I had a hard time at first to see beyond his behaviour to the story behind his rather large ego (hence the hippopotamus). Once I got used to Ted the story was very good, it's got lots of things I love in a story: well written characters, a very good plot and topics that make you think about things not only in the story but outside of it.

Why should you read it:
If you want to like the lead character in a book, don't read this book as I can tell you it's very, very hard to like someone who acts and thinks like Ted. If you however like to read a story that challenges you to think and is also really well written you should try to read 'The Hippopotamus' some time.