Jeff
I loved the book; the story, the plot, the characters, and the writing.
I did NOT like the ending!
I'm probably old-fashioned, but I like to see the “bad guy” get their just punishment. I didn't see that and it was very disappointing because if there was ever a “bad guy” who deserved it, it was this one.
Book Review-The Girl On The Train
I give “The Girl On The Train” a high rating because it engages you in a classic “whodunit” with skill. I found it hard to put the book down on that basis. I desperately wanted to finish this book, but only to find out who the murderer turned out to be.
However, I found the story and characters to be a disappoinment.
The story is confusing at first (and even at some points later in the book) as it is structured in a sort of flip/flop narrative going backward in time with the characters and their accounts of events. Even with the chapters clearly labeled as to character's point of view and time in which the event(s) occurred, I found myself constantly resetting my mind and sometimes having to flip back to a previous chapter in order to coordinate my view of the timeline. I thought there might be a reason revealed for that type of structure later in the story or at least by the conclusion, but there never was one that I could see.
The characters are a problem because EVERYONE is a suspect. There's never, other than the 1 year-old baby, anyone who is ruled out until you're three quarters of the way through the story. Part of the reason for this is that every one in this story, again, other than the 1 year-old baby, is a pathological liar. One character just lies for the hell of it, even if there's no “reason” to, but all of them lie and cheat. All of these people are broken or badly cracked and have few, if any, redeeming qualities.
I get that people are like that; all of us probably are at some points in our lives, but to have every character be like that through an entire months-long event and story is just damn depressing. There's no character who has much in the way of redeeming qualities, not even the protagonist. The one small bit of inspirational behavior only takes place in the last 8 pages of the story. All I could think throughout the story was, “I hope to Hell I never have everyone in my life be like this.”
To end on a positive note, I will say that the author seemed to nail the alcoholic behavior of the protagonist right on the head. Growing up with an alcoholic father until the age of 13 and having been in a relationship with an alcoholic woman for about 2 years, I felt like I was reliving some of those less than pleasant memories because Ms. Hawkins was spot on in writing that character.
Since “The Girl On The Train” has now held the number one spot on the U.S. bestsellers list for the eleventh consecutive week, my feelings are obviously not those of the general public, so if you've been wanting to read this book, don't let my review put you off. As I wrote at the beginning, it IS a classic “whodunit” and if you can see it differently than I did you may find it to be an enjoyable read.
After reading and reviewing “What Every Author Should Know”, I leapt at the chance to receive an Advance Reading Copy (ARC) of Deb Vanasse's latest book for writers, “Write Your Best Book.”
Vanasse begins by dissecting the “exceptional book” which includes high concept, transcendence, and how we're all wired for story (or narrative) from infancy to adulthood, as well as how each writer needs to be aware of their audience, their genre, and why we write.
She then covers where ideas come from, rabbit trails and strategic meandering when we daydream, and the seemingly eternal question of whether to outline or not.
With the above foundation, Vanasse has prepared us to cover the ingredients of writing our next book, such as a great beginning, character, conflict, plot and plot pacing, back story and endings. She also discusses the beauty of language, voice, metaphor, dialogue and fine tuning the effect of revision.
Finally, the book examines the habits of effective writers, rituals, scheduling, avoiding time sucks and the importance of always writing.
One of my favorite features of the book is the “Try This” suggestion at the end of each section, helping you put the offered advice into action in your own writing.
Like “What Every Author Should Know”, Vanasse lays out the foundational basics that every writer either needs to know or has experienced. This isn't some “pie in the sky” book that offers platitudes and not much more. This is the nuts and bolts of producing the best book you can.
If you truly want to make your own next book into the best it can be, Deb Vanasse's latest work will give you all the guidance you need to Write Your Best Book.
I've been reading Matthew Mather's work since his first book, “CyberStorm”, followed by “The Atopia Chronicles” and “The Dystopia Chronicles”, and it is easy to see with “DarkNet” that his impressive skills as a writer continue to improve with each succeeding book.
Jake O'Connell, a New York stock broker, finds himself in a life or death struggle to discover the secret of, and overcome, the BlueBridge corporation as his life crumbles around him and his closest friends are murdered and his young daughter is kidnapped. He must travel to his past to find the tools to answer the questions of how he can defeat a foe that uses Artificial Intelligence, the Internet and human assassins to achieve its goals. With a group of hackers from across the globe, Jake risks everything, including his daughter's life, on his plan to stop the world domination that BlueBridge is intent on accomplishing.
“DarkNet” is real page-turner that readers will find difficult to put down. It is action-packed from the first page to the last with characters that you care about. Mather is adept at taking everyday people and putting them in a setting is both outlandish yet believable. His settings involving computers and the Internet are cutting-edge in their presentations; after all, we've seen these scenarios hinted at on the nightly newscasts and web broadcasts. These are all events that COULD occur any moment, if they haven't already.
I highly recommend “DarkNet” to readers who enjoy intelligent, action-filled thrillers that explore our very near future.
I received a Kindle format Advance Reading Copy for an honest review.
This is the first “How to” book for authors and those who want to be that I've read (and I've read a lot of them) that covers ALL of the bases involved in writing and publishing your book, from the nuts and bolts to the mindset of an author.
First, Ms. Vanasse offers her years of experience as both a writer and publisher to inquisitive writers and authors by exploring the three ways an author can be published; traditional, independent and a hybrid of each. Each step in each way is laid out with both the pros and cons of each path enumerated so that an author or aspiring author can make an informed decision.
In the second section promotion and marketing are discussed and while most writers want to concentrate on the creative side of the work, example after example is shown to make the point that the business side must be addressed as well, especially if you're an unknown author that wants to have your book purchased and talked about. Everything from promotion by traditional publishers (less and less of that these days for new writers) to self-promotion in all its various incarnations (E-Newsletters, Social Media, Crowdfunding, etc.) are all presented for consideration. Not every way will work for everyone, but some ways will work for everyone.
The book finishes up with a section on mistakes authors can avoid and a final discussion of how to live the life of a writer or author. Humility and flexibility are two of the best ways to live that life.
This is a book I will be referring back to again and again and I highly recommend it to anyone who has an interest in publishing their own book.
Full disclosure: I was provided a copy of this ebook for review. The review is mine and is not influenced in any way by the provider.
Mastering the Craft of Compelling Storytelling by Ray Rhamey is easily in my top 5 list of books on the craft of writing. Ray lays out the fundamentals in such an easy to understand manner that you can't help but learn something, but he also provides so many nuggets of wisdom and helpful tips that you are sure to find something new that you missed previously in each new reading.
My favorite sections were the Point of View (POV) chapter and the dialogue chapter, which are easily worth the price of the book by themselves. But every part of this book is full of so many lessons of experience and learning that both newbie and journeyman writers will find multiple pieces of this puzzle we call writing to help them complete the full picture.
Mastering the Craft of Compelling Storytelling is a must-have book in the library of everyone who wants to study the craft of writing.
Out of the dozens of books I have read this year, this was one of my least favorites.
About halfway through I realized I was only continuing to read it because I just knew, after all the depressing scene of the first half, that there HAD to be a positive, satisfying point to the story by the time it reached its conclusion.
There wasn't.
This was a difficult story for me to understand. No, that's not correct; it was difficult for me to understand the point of the story. The major focus, at least of the latter portion of the book, seemed to be how Eileen, and to some extent her son Connell, dealt with Ed's Alzheimer diagnosis and inevitable slide into the horror of that neurological nightmare. But by the end it felt more like “We made it through that” than “We overcame that and emerged better than we were” though there was a tiny bit of that with Connell.
They were unlikable characters in a depressing and monotonous story.
Mr. Thomas has a way with words and is able to evoke nuanced feelings with a high degree of skill and talent. I would still look forward to reading his next work because of that skill and talent. I only hope that either he or I have reached a different point by then so that I will be able to enjoy the story he tells as opposed to just admiring his ability.
This is an excellent sequel to Mather's first book in the series, The Atopian Chronicles.
The Dystopian Chronicles begins where The Atopian Chronicles left off, and we're reunited with the characters we met in that first book as the story progresses. It's a rollercoaster ride of action and digital dissonance as the characters move back and forth from virtual to physical planes of existence and the secret behind Jimmy and his rise to power is finally revealed.
I will admit to being occasionally lost, or at least slightly confused, as the story moved through conundrums of occurrences, but that is no reflection on author Mather, just on this reader. Mr. Mather superbly brings everything to a logical and satisfying conclusion, wrapping up all the various threads into one neat, nice piece of work.
This, along with its predecessor, is an excellent read that will keep you engaged. I highly recommend The Dystopian Chronicles and look forward to the next book in the series.
I received a free ARC of this book for reviewing purposes.
I've never read Blake's already-established protagonist Jet before, so this “prequel” of how the character came to be seemed like a great starting point, and it was.
If you enjoy action thrillers then you'll love this book. The plot was typical, yet very well done; the characters are believable, if over the top, but in this type of story they should be and the pace keeps you interested.
I'll definitely be reading the rest of the Jet stories in the future.
My daughter, knowing what a comic book history fan I am, gave me this book yesterday for my birthday and once I started reading it, I couldn't put it down!
Lots of fun, behind the scenes stories in here about comic book writers, artists, publishers and editors. Many, if not most, of them are British or European talents so there were some I was not familiar with, but these stories made a nice introduction to those I did not previously know.
This had been on my Amazon Wish List for a long time, so I'm doubly grateful to my daughter for choosing this for my gift. Thanks Princess!
Deconverted: A Journey from Religion to Reason is a well-written semi-autobiography by Seth Andrews told with passion and pathos of his life-changing move from theism to atheism.
While not the same in details, my own life mirrors in general the same steps that Seth passed through in shaking off the uselessness of faith and religion in order to embrace reasoning, science and reality. The slowly dawning acknowledgment that a so-called infallible book was instead full of inconsistencies and that there was no sky-daddy to worship and serve; the friction of family still in the clutches of Christianity and the pain my breaking free of those clutches caused; the inexorable movement from ingrained teaching that there IS a god, to the position that there MAY NOT be a god to the realism that there is NO god; the feeling that a weight has been lifted when you stop basing your life on fairy tales and myths. All of these, I believe, are common to most who come to the realization that religious faith is a fallacy.
I have yet to meet anyone who moved from theism to agnosticism to atheism who did not go through a multitude of sometimes agonizing thoughts and emotions, because it is not a case of simply flipping a switch but, as Andrews says in the title, is a journey.
Some of the best parts of this book are at the end where Andrews gives resource after resource for fellow atheists. It's important for atheists, who are in the minority in the USA and the rest of the world, to know that they are NOT alone in their travels from the darkness of religion to the light of reasoning. I don't mean to sound like the moderator at some kind of support meeting, but it is important for atheists to know that they are NOT alone in what they have gone through and the feelings they have experienced.
Finally, I want to thank my friends and fellow Goodreads members, Richard and Heather, for gifting me this book on my birthday. It is one I have intended to read for several months and I am grateful that their generosity allowed me to read and enjoy this work.