On the first day of May, 100 teenage boys meet for a race known as “The Long Walk.” If you break the rules, you get three warnings. If you exceed your limit, what happens is absolutely terrifying…
My review
I read this book [for the second time] with my eyes wide open as to its disturbing dystopian content. I have been reading Stephen King and Richard Bachman books since I was ten years old and I am well aware of the different writing intentions and outcomes between King writing as himself and King writing as Richard Bachman.
This book is exceedingly dark in a way the the King books cannot, in my view, ever match. The reason for this is that The Long Walk depicts a dystopian future world and circumstance that are horrifyingly possible.
The Long Walk is set in the not to distant future, in a world where the overpopulation and employment issues we are currently facing have not been addressed and there are [presumably] millions of young people who are facing uncertain futures in lowly paid and boringly competitive jobs. In order to distract the public from its largely miserable existence a national walking marathon has been introduced to amuse the masses. This annual walk, which is televised and attended by millions of spectators, involves a walk to the last man standing [i.e. the death] by 100 participating teenage boys. In much the same way as the Roman gladiators who entertained the crowds during the days of the Roman Empire, participants of the Long Walk are expected to die with the main difference in this being that the participant’s entering willingly and are young enough to effectively disbelieve in the reality of death.
The book centres around one main character, Ray, and his circle of acquaintances, which develop into deep friendships, over the course of the walk. The walk starts off with all of the boys believing in their own strength and abilities and filled with enthusiasm and tracks the breakdowns of their individual physical and mental health as the walk progresses. The disillusionment of early deaths due to unexpected complaints like charley horses, falls, nose bleeds and illness, are starkly and emotionally depicted as the reality of the proximity of death seeps into each boys mind.
I am most intrigued by dark psychological horrors and this book fits squarely into that category and I found the mental journey that Ray undertakes fascinating and chilling. The ending was appropriate although a bit unexpected for me. Possibly, deep in my mind, I still believe in happy endings and it is disturbing to discover that this is not always the case. If fact, in life, it is frequently not the case and that understanding hit me a bit like a club.
An excellent book which does not rely on the tools of supernatural mythology to make its point.
Today, I am delighted to showcase Harmony Kent’s post-apocalyptic novel, Fallout.
What Amazon says
WHEN EVERYTHING FALLS APART, WHAT CAN YOU DO?
The year is 3040.
The location is Exxon 1, part of a six-planet system in settled space.
Determined to avoid the mistakes of old Earth, the surviving humans avoided democracy and opted, instead, for a non-elective totalitarian system.
The new way worked well, until now.
A crazy, despotic president releases a nano-virus on the population.
No one was ready for the fallout. It came anyway.
In this post-apocalyptic world, can you stay safe?
Praise for FALLOUT:
‘If you like dark, dangerous, and a little bit demented, this is the novel for you.’ … Staci Troilo
‘Fallout by Harmony Kent is a dark, gritty, twisted apocalyptic story guaranteed to keep you on the edge of your seat.’… Mae Clair
My review
Fallout is a dystopian novel which reflects a future world where technology has become such an integral part of society and human life that people rely on implants to advise them on every aspect of their daily life from judging human nature to security to undertaking work tasks. People work and live in zones together with others who have similar jobs, lifestyles and capabilities to their own.
When a disruption, on the form of a virus, impacts on the smooth routine of peoples lives, they find themselves struggling to pick up the pieces without the continuous flow of information from their implants. Only those who can get their wits together quickly can survive in the new lawless society. In addition, avoidance of contamination by the virus is also a necessary requirement for survival and that makes life even more complex, especially for the unwary who are conditioned by their past lifestyles.
We first meet Priya wondering around an unknown zone, having fled her own when it becomes impossible for her to continue to live in her apartment in the aftermath of the societal breakdown caused by the virus. Priya falls prey to an unscrupulous band of infected men who violently abuse her and leave her for dead. She is found by a member of the ruling political party’s military personal who is on a quest to find an antidote to the virus. Despite his reservations, Kaleb is compelled to save Priya and, by doing so, changes the course of his life and the search he is conducting. The antidote is believed to have been in the possession of a female scientist, on the wife of the second in command to the president, when her helipad exploded, purportedly killing her and losing the only vial containing the antidote at the same time.
On Exxon 1, the planet where the virus is raging out of control, nothing is as it seems as the power hungry and malevolent president seems to have plans of his own which none of his leadership are aware of.
I enjoyed Priya’s journey from a naive and ill informed woman with no survival skills into a strong woman with great empathy and excellent leadership skills. Kaleb is a dark and brooding character with a painful background and a lot of inner turmoil. His path in the book is not an easy one and is heart rending to watch unfurl.
The other supporting characters in the book are well described and interesting. The growth in the female characters makes for compelling reading as they evolve into mature women, capable over overcoming their past hurts and moving forward into leadership roles.
The fast pace does not slow for a moment and the reader is riveted by the action, subterfuge and often ill advised actions of many of the characters who have suffered at the hands of the government and administration.
I would certainly recommend this book for lovers of dystopia and science fiction with strong female role models.
My husband and I have been away in the bush viewing animals. It was wonderful and we saw so many amazing animals. I love the way elephants look out for each other and their young. Here are a few pictures:
Elephants standing back-to-backAdult elephants keeping an eye on the youngstersMom looks out for small babyOne elephant keeps an eye out while the rest swim
This behaviour of elephants looking out for each other is very apparent in this video. You can see the sentinels.
An autumnal stroll through the woods, colourful leaves crunching underfoot, the air fresh on the face, laughter and lightness portraying a happy mother and daughter scene. But something isn’t right…
A young boy who thought he knew his parents finds out that he doesn’t know them at all.
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to die and then to look down upon yourself?
These are just a few of the scenes and scenarios found in A Walk In The Woods and other short stories. There are stories to make you smile, tales to bring a tear and stories to shock as well as delight.
Following the success of The Siege and other award winning stories, penned under the name Esther Newton, Freelance writer, copyeditor and Writers Bureau tutor, Esther Chilton brings you her second short story collection. You’ll find plenty of prize-winning stories throughout, as well as some new tales to enjoy.
My review
A Walk In The Woods: and other short stories is an entertaining and intriguing collection that clearly demonstrates the extensive creative abilities of the author.
The stories cover a range of genres from those that relate the spectrum of human emotion to ghosts and the supernatural.
A walk in the Woods is a heart wrenching tale of human loss. My favourite description in the book is included in this story “She laughs, a melodious chuckle bubbling in her throat.”;
Jake sets out the anguish experienced by a boy whose mother is accused of murdering his father and who must come to terms with the reality of his father’s behaviour towards his family;
Book Lovers is a unique tale about obsessive compulsive behaviour and raises awareness that this condition may not be that unusual;
The Letter is a short peak into the sadness of dementia;
The Blue Balloon is a story of a mother’s anguish and hope’s vindication;
The Brat was one of my favourite stories in the collection. The tale of an older sibling’s journey towards discovering the joy of a new sibling;
The Strangest Parents on Earth is an entertaining science fiction story about acceptance and making the best of situations;
Dead is about abuse and retribution;
The Godfather is a story of the rescue of a boy that has been attacked and beaten with a most unusual twist;
The Battle is a story of bravery in the face of great adversity;
William is all about loss, fear, deception and forgiveness told from the perspective of a child;
Operation Flora gives the reader insights into the recognition of a serious life mistake and the path taken to rectify the error before it is too late;
A Walk in the Park is a delightful tale of love lost and found;
The Secret Diary of Marvin Martin aged 14 1/2 demonstrates how everything in life is not always as it appears from the outside;
The Lover is a fresh interpretation of the old saying “Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.”;
The Dark Place is an excellent depiction of the injustices of the past, particularly for women in a patriarchal world;
Home is about a care giver who despises her charges and must undertake her own journey to gain understanding of the inevitability of old age;
Spaceman Sam is most intriguing as this story could have had a much darker ending than it did. Mother’s need to keep an eye on their children and be disciplined about their time spent gossiping in public places;
If Only shares insights into the psychological complexities of arranged marriages for women who have lived in Western countries where people chose their own life partners; and
Gus was another favourite story of mine. It tell the tale of an elderly man who dies an accidental death and becomes a ghost. Having failed, in his opinion, to have achieved success in any area of living, Gus discovers that as a ghost he has a very special skill.
I highly recommend this excellent collection of different and well written short stories.
Everett is the first book in the Brooke Walton series. Brooke Walton brings a completely new meaning to the concept of a serial killer.
What Amazon says
From Amazon bestselling author Jenifer Ruff—a dark suspense thriller featuring a fascinating, twisted protagonist. The Brooke Walton series will make you wonder just how well you know your friends, neighbors, and classmates. Fans of James Patterson, Karin Slaughter, Hannibal Lecter, the Dexter series, and Gone Girl will be hooked. At Everett, perfection has a dark side…. Brooke is a highly-motivated coed at prestigious Everett College. She is determined to graduate number one in her class, get accepted at a top medical school, and become a surgeon. Everything is going according to plan, although she’s not sure what to do about Ethan, an attractive guy who would like to be more than friends. Her classmates and professors are captivated by her achievements and appearance, with the exception of one student. Only Jessica, a wealthy socialite, senses Brooke might not be all she appears. But Jessica has her own problems, fueled by too many prescription pills, energy drinks, and a huge case of snobbery. She’s too busy looking down her nose when she should be watching her back. What happens in a historic blizzard will settle their differences once and for all.
My review
Brooke Walton is a brilliant and focused student. She starts her first semester at Everett College after transferring from a smaller and less high profile college subsequent to a traumatic event she witnessed.
I found this story to be darkly fascinating. Brooke is a perfect student, obsessed with her studies and achieving her goals to the exclusion of anything else. She has total control over her body, pushing herself to the limit with her long-distance runs and tough yoga classes, and also total control over her mind. Nothing can distract her, not even the good-looking and wealthy Ethan who is so captivated by her good looks and independence of spirit, that he can’t appreciate the implications any of her strange and rather disturbing disclosures and traits.
Of course, such perfection must have a flaw and Brooke’s is a total lack of empathy or feeling of any kind and an ability to rationalise any situation to the outcome which suited her best. The book is written in such a way that the reader is almost convinced that Brooke is right in her thinking and you almost find yourself routing for her despite it becoming more and more obvious that what you see with Brooke is definitely not what you get.
Ethan is rather typical of a boy who has grown up in a wealthy home and attended preppy schools where he has been taught to always do the right thing and to stand up for the underdog. It is totally impossible for Ethan to begin to imagine how someone like Brooke thinks and feels. Brooke is so different from anything he has ever experienced in his sheltered life that he is completely bowled over by her. The fact that she does not respond to him in the typical way most of the girls he knows do makes her all the more attractive and interesting. Ethan is determined that Brooke is the girl for him.
Jessica is a typical spoiled society girl whose father has bought her a place at Everett college despite her demonstrating clearly on numerous occasions that she is entirely unsuited to such an academically intense environment. All Jessica can think about is what sort of impression she is making on other people and what she looks like. The pressure to maintain her flawless image results in her becoming addicted to a mix of diet pills, alcohol and antidepressants. Obviously, this makes her the complete antithesis to Brooke, who she hates on sight. Unfortunately, Brooke could never understand how completely indifferent someone like Jessica is to anyone and everything outside her own area of influence and existence and so she perceives a threat where there is none.
How will Brooke react to imagined threat posed by Jessica? How will she continue to hide her strange behaviour from Ethan? Can anyone see beyond the carefully developed image of the perfect student?
I enjoyed this book a great deal and have already bought book 2 in the series as I want to see how Brooke continues to fool everyone around her and achieve her set objectives.
Picky Eaters #1 is a short but highly entertaining read by S.J. Higbee.
What Amazon says
This tale about family life, dragon-style, is escapist fun for adults. All proceeds to go to mental health charities. Castellan the Black, now better known as Casta the Grey, has led an eventful life, but these days he’s content to live alone in his mountaintop lair, fending off occasional attacks from the food and waiting to die. At least, that’s what he tells himself. Babysitting his young grandchildren is definitely not on his to do list.
My review
I really enjoyed Picky Eaters #1, a fine tale about an aging and disillusioned dragon lord called Castellan. Castellan’s grandchildren, Sammy Jo and Billy Bob, are staying with him at his lair. An unfortunate incident results in the ‘food’ or local humans being angered and marching on his lair with evil intentions. Castellan and the two children are forced to flee and seek refuge at the home of Castellan’s daughter, the children’s mother.
There are lots of fun family dynamics when the ‘old man’ moves in and it makes for highly entertaining reading. Castellan also discovers that he has passed down a ‘time travelling’ gene to his granddaughter and the pair of them get caught up in an exciting adventure.
Will Castellan survive teaching Sammy Jo to manage her ‘gift’? Will Billy Bob survive enraging his father through an accident? You’ll have to read this novella to find out.
It is amusing and fun and will keep your nose to your kindle.
Carrie by Stephen King is today’s Halloween Book Festival selection.
What Amazon says
An unpopular teenage girl whose mother is a religious fanatic is tormented and teased to the breaking point by her more popular schoolmates and uses her hidden telekinetic powers to inflict a terrifying revenge.
My review
Carrie, by Stephen King, is one of his shortest novels. It is also the King novel that had the greatest impact on me from a philosophical point of view as King expresses viewpoints about teenagers, and how they form themselves into social groups of different status, which are true and chilling. His unerring ability to strike to the core of teenage human nature and their driving need, as a group, to hunt in packs and to be accepted by one another, as well as their intolerance of difference, is frightening to read.
Carrie has been a social outcast since her first day at primary school when she gets down on her knees, as she has been taught to do, and says prayers before lunch. From that moment, Carrie is labeled “weird” and a “religious freak” and she has no hope of ever redeeming herself, no matter how hard she tries. Carrie is the product of a single parent home and her mother is willing to abuse her daughter, mentally and physically, in order to ensure she complies with her rigid and extreme religious views. Carrie is caught between trying to please a mother she does love, despite her abusive behaviour, and attempting to be accepted by her peers at school. We discover early on in the book that Carrie isn’t an ordinary girl, but possesses some rather extraordinary powers. Her mother has had a taste of her powers in the past and is extremely frightened that they are gifts from the devil.
When Carrie becomes the victim of a school girl bullying event which involves the majority of her fellow students, one of the student’s, Sue, is so overcome by guilt, she decides to try and make amends for her bad behaviour. Sue convinces her boyfriend, Tommy, to take Carrie to the prom instead of her so that she can have a lovely evening to remember. Surprisingly, Tommy agrees and this starts of chain of events that quickly spiral out of control.
I am a great fan of Stephen King’s older works and I really enjoyed this book and the movie by the same name. I am not quite sure Carrie fits exactly into the horror book mold but it is certainly a gripping and fascinating story.
Someone is murdering members of the local witches coven. They turn to Lizzie and the hat for their unique skills that might help eliminate the killers.
A religious zealot might be a monster, but is still a human being. This task isn’t the same as staking vampires or shooting zombies. It isn’t the usual project Lizzie takes on for her night work.
This all takes place during a recovery period for Lizzie. She needs to keep her cover band together and find a new way of getting them gigs. More bands and less venues are making finances tight. The hat didn’t make things easier during her absence, by spreading rumors about why she took her sabbatical.
Someone killing others over a point of view insults Lizzie’s sensibilities. She has secrets to keep. Her employers have secrets, too. It doesn’t make for a comfortable working environment, but she agrees to do what she can.
Convincing her strong willed employers to stay indoors during all this poses another problem. Can she keep them alive long enough to finish her task?
Good Liniment is full of magic, magical creatures, and an entire underground community living amongst us.
The Hat Series consists of short novels that can be read in a single afternoon. They’re full of snarky, dark humor and can be easily read out of order.
My review
This is my favourite The Hat book so far. Lizzie is at home with her parents recovering from a mental breakdown following an unexpected death. The Hat has to perform some interesting antics to keep things going at the flat he shares with her during this absence, and also to get to Lizzie’s parents house and persuade her to come home. I enjoyed this unexpected introduction.
Lizzie is requested to meet with a coven of local witches following the murder of one of their members. Lizzie knows the dead member and is determined to help. She learns about the witches meeting place, a local pub and restaurant called Good Liniment, and gets to meet several new witches, all of whom are interesting and have their own quirks.
My favourite of the witches was the young Dash, a sixteen year old trainee witch who has recently been taken under the wing of the highly accomplished Cyrus.
This novella retains the dark humour of the other Hat books, but I found it’s subject matter to be scarier. Some of the events, and the reasons these events occur, reached deeper into the blackness of some peoples hearts, especially people who have fanatical beliefs. This aspect of the book was most relatable given the current state of the world.
My Halloween Book Festival selection for today is Soul Swallowers by D. Wallace Peach.
What Amazon says
When swallowed, some souls gift insights, wisdom, a path to understanding. Others unleash power, proficiency with a sword, and indifference to death. One soul assimilates with ease. But swallow a host of the dead and risk a descent into madness.
Estranged from his family over the murder of his wife, young Raze Anvrell wields his fists to vent his rage. Then a chance at a new life beckons, and he retreats to the foothills of the Ravenwood, the haunt of unbound ghosts. He and his mentor build a freehold, a life of physical labor and the satisfaction of realizing a dream. They raise horses and whittle by the fire until the old man dies, and Raze swallows his first soul.
When his brother reaches out, open wounds begin to scar. But the tenuous peace won’t last. While those who rule the Vales yield to the lure of their ambitions, slavers of Ezar roam the countryside, hunting for human chattel. While one man manipulates the law, another heeds the souls of violence howling in his head.
Raze too listens to his soul’s whispers, and as danger intrudes on his quiet life, he has no choice but to return to his father’s world and join the fight.
*** In this completed series, epic fantasy blends with the wisdom of old souls to create a unique coming of age story of courage and honor in the midst of evil. Slavery is pitted against freedom, anger against forgiveness, and a desire to live peacefully against the necessity to take up the sword.
It’s a story of bitter estrangement and broken hearts, of deception and unfettered ambition. For Raze Anvrell it’s a journey of violence, redemption, and his soul’s growth as he transforms from a reckless youth into a man with a rich legacy of souls.
Magic, politics, love, and madness collide in this fantasy adventure. For lovers of beauty and battle, and complex characters willing to risk everything in the fight for their souls.
My review
I was attracted to this book by its unusual title. Soul Swallowers, what could that mean? I was amazed and delighted to discover that its meaning is quite literal and one of the themes of this book is the ability of the people in the author’s beautifully constructed fantasy world to physically swallow the souls of others, friends or foes, and acquire their characteristics, skills and abilities. I enjoyed how the author explored this aspect of the book and illustrated through her characters how the swallowing of souls impacted on the swallower, changing their personality if the soul was a contradiction to their own nature and causing internal turmoil. If the soul was a good fit, the swallower would benefit hugely from this process and the two souls would eventually meld and become completely harmonious. I found this concept unique and compelling.
The author has created a world in conflict and explores the possibilities for good and evil when one culture is consumed by another. Ideas and cultural policies that work well with a conqueror in this case the Ezar, are often badly transposed and their implementation manipulated for personal gain by the representatives of the conquerors and by the leaders of the conquered, who want to retain their positions of power under the new regime. The concept of slavery depicted in the Soul Swallowers and how its initial implementation by the Ezar is twisted in the Vales to the advantage of ruthless and unruly slavers clearly demonstrates this abuse of power. The uncaring attitude of the Vale leadership highlights the distrustful and back stabbing environment that emerges in such situations. As with other brilliant works of fantasy that draw analogies with real life happenings, the influences of Tolkien’s experiences in World War 1 and their influence on his series Lord of the Rings come to mind, the author has done an excellent job of creating a world which shares interesting ideas and thoughts on problems and issue that we are currently facing with integrating cultures in our current global world.
The main character, Raze Anvrell, is the son of one of the Vale leaders who rails against his father’s wishes for him to marry the daughter of a neighbouring Vale leader and bring about an alliance of their two families. When Raze discloses that he is already married, which results in the murder of his young wife, he turns his back on his family and disappears, building himself a life on a rural farm in the Vales. The growth of Raze’s character is intriguing to experience as he goes from being a bereaved, but rather spoiled young man, to developing into a kind and compassionate man who cares for the welfare of others. Raze’s path leads him to discover that you cannot always walk away from a bad system and sometimes you have to take a stand against it.
A fascinating and well written book and one I would recommend to readers of fantasy.
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