Thursday, December 7, 2006
My Black Books Series 2 DVD came from Amazon this week. I know, I know, it’s the holiday season and I should b buying things for other people, not for myself. But when I want something, I want it NOW, and HMV did not receive their order, so my new friend Amazon.ca was kind enough to send one along within just a few days.
If you want to laugh, watch this show.
British people are really fucking funny.
I am an avid F. Paul Wilson fan, particularly the Repairman Jack books, but somehow I missed the release of this book - which combines 2 of my favourite things - vampires and the apocalypse (alas in this particular world there is no Repairman Jack to save the day). As a vampire book it’s kind of boring, though I keep finding reviews comparing it to “I am Legend”, which I also found boring, considering all the hype. Wilson’s attempt to get back to the bare bones of vampires by leaving out the extravagances and eccentricities of the vampires of Rice (who I do not read) and Hamilton (who I do) et al, is too bare. The vampires are definitely the bad guys here, there’s no pining over the cute ones cause even the cute ones are pure cold evil. Unfortunately these stripped down vampires are just dull, and Wilson didn’t make them frightening enough, as far am I’m concerned you know from page one how it’s inevitably going to end (though I am put up against yet another book without a true proper ending, there could possibly be more vampire novels in Wilson’s future). Either give me pure cold evil with blood and guts strewn about, or give me the hot French vampires who dress nice and know how to treat a lady - this book is neither.
Tuesday, December 5, 2006
Apparently there is no book that can satisfy me right now.
I had high hopes for this one (mainly cause Stephen King said it was good), and I even bought it in hardcover (with a coupon) for lack of anything else to read.
First off, there aren’t actually any ruins to be seen. Or read. Whatever.
I am always in for a rehash of the old, “group of friends gets lost/stranded in the forest/jungle and choas/murder ensues”, Richard Laymon used the same plot time and time again, and usually keeps my attention held and sometimes even my heart racing. However, Scott Smith fails miserably at his attempt to rehash an old plot. His female characters are completely annoying bitches who whine and fight and jack off their boyfriends in the face of danger. I mean, it’s so totally realistic to assume that in a group of 6 people (2 couples and two male foreign strangers), the two girls are of course the most useless morons and not in any way helpful or intelligent. God forbid that one of the women might actually come up with an original thought or solution to the problem.
If anything, this book seems like it was written as a bad B-movie screenplay that might star Tori Spelling and Paris Hilton as the 2 twits. At least if it was a movie I could accept the ending, which is not a true ending at all - but I HATE books that do not explain anything and that have no resolution (I can accept this in a short story, but not in a novel).
Read Smith’s other book, A Simple Plan instead (which also created a fantastic movie).
Wednesday, November 22, 2006
Originally published outside of North America as “The Glory Bus”, which is a far better and more original name and apparently had a better cover as well. Laymon does cannibals, this time in a rather dull and lame fashion.
Sorry Richard (dare I speak ill of the dead), not your best.
Wednesday, November 8, 2006
For a few years I fell off the Koontz bandwagon. I am now again a passenger.
Koontz has stopped the over-the-top, totally dated, supernatural “horror” stuff and grown up.
As with its precursor, Odd Thomas, Forever Odd has a strong voice written in the first person. Odd is a likeable, strange and witty person and following him on his adventures is a pleasure. Though this second book lacked strength of plot, I will not hesitate to pick up the 3rd book, Brother Odd, (once it’s in paperback that is).
Now, if he would just get back and write a 3rd in the previous series (Christopher Snow, dude who is allergic to sun/light) he started a view years ago....
Tuesday, November 7, 2006
Because we don’t waste enough time watching TV, we recently signed up at Zip.ca to receive rental DVD’s by mail. Just think: You can have the joy of watching The Facts of Life Seasons One and Two, without the painful stupidity of paying to own it.
For some reason the powers that be have not built any video stores within a convenient distance from my new house, and said powers are also causing Shaw Video On Demand to constantly be unavailable whenever I feel like I might want to watch a movie. As a result, I looked into joining a DVD by mail service and chose Zip.ca. They have over 50,000 titles available and my first 2 DVD’s arrived the day after I signed up. Granted, the first 2 DVD’s available on our list were The Muppet Show Season One and some Dr. Who movie, both choices made by my husband.
Time will tell if the fast service continues, and I am sure that sometimes we’ll be disappointed in which DVD shows up, but for now we have found yet another way to waste time and avoid painting the house.
For some reason the powers that be have not built any video stores within a convenient distance from my new house, and said powers are also causing Shaw Video On Demand to constantly be unavailable whenever I feel like I might want to watch a movie. As a result, I looked into joining a DVD by mail service and chose Zip.ca. They have over 50,000 titles available and my first 2 DVD’s arrived the day after I signed up. Granted, the first 2 DVD’s available on our list were The Muppet Show Season One and some Dr. Who movie, both choices made by my husband.
Time will tell if the fast service continues, and I am sure that sometimes we’ll be disappointed in which DVD shows up, but for now we have found yet another way to waste time and avoid painting the house.
Monday, November 6, 2006
Lisey’s Story is a little more out there than I usually like to go. I prefer horror, thrillers, or straight up fiction to fantasy/otherworldly books. That being said, King reaches new depths in his latest novel, particularly in the non-fantasy scenes, which are centred on family: sisters, abusive childhoods, and marriage. The book is in many ways an homage to his wife Tabitha, and their long-lasting marriage, and it makes the reader aspire to have that same sort of all-enduring love.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)