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patchworkbunny's Reviews (2.12k)
Hadley's running late for a flight she doesn't want to be on. Her father is getting remarried and her mother has convinced her to be there. She misses the flight and is booked onto the next one. Sat one seat away from a boy who gallantly helped her with her suitcase.
Air travel is a funny old thing and you do develop odd friendships with the people next to you, if only for a few hours. The chances are you will never see them again but for the duration of your flight it's you and them. I know people that have jokingly had aeroplane romances, although I have never been lucky enough to be seated next to Hot Single Bloke, sigh. So the premise of SPoLaFS was an attractive one, a love story set aboard a transatlantic flight.
It's rather a short book and not a lot of it is actually spent on the plane. Hadley kind of spends a lot of the flight asleep! The story is interrupted by flashbacks dealing with the break up of her family and this is really the central to the book. She's grown apart from her father, blames him for ruining everything yet slowly learns that relationships and love aren't always logical. A young adult protagonist in these situations often annoys me, she is selfish and bitter in her thoughts but then she is probably a realistic portrayal of a teen response. I was hoping for a sweet and clever tale about the transience of acquaintances and therefore was a little disappointed.
I do wonder when the last time the author took a transatlantic flight or if she just flies with bad airlines. They only had a choice of one film on board, a cartoon aimed at children and Oliver felt he had to leave money behind for the alcohol he stole, implying that it wouldn't have been free. There wasn't even that endless cycle of being fed. I am sure a lot of the target audience will never have flown long-haul, so it really won't matter but if it were a little bit truer to life I would have said this was a perfect book to sell at airports.
Air travel is a funny old thing and you do develop odd friendships with the people next to you, if only for a few hours. The chances are you will never see them again but for the duration of your flight it's you and them. I know people that have jokingly had aeroplane romances, although I have never been lucky enough to be seated next to Hot Single Bloke, sigh. So the premise of SPoLaFS was an attractive one, a love story set aboard a transatlantic flight.
It's rather a short book and not a lot of it is actually spent on the plane. Hadley kind of spends a lot of the flight asleep! The story is interrupted by flashbacks dealing with the break up of her family and this is really the central to the book. She's grown apart from her father, blames him for ruining everything yet slowly learns that relationships and love aren't always logical. A young adult protagonist in these situations often annoys me, she is selfish and bitter in her thoughts but then she is probably a realistic portrayal of a teen response. I was hoping for a sweet and clever tale about the transience of acquaintances and therefore was a little disappointed.
I do wonder when the last time the author took a transatlantic flight or if she just flies with bad airlines. They only had a choice of one film on board, a cartoon aimed at children and Oliver felt he had to leave money behind for the alcohol he stole, implying that it wouldn't have been free. There wasn't even that endless cycle of being fed. I am sure a lot of the target audience will never have flown long-haul, so it really won't matter but if it were a little bit truer to life I would have said this was a perfect book to sell at airports.
"We need someone like you, Miss Next – a human with drive, a propensity towards violence and the ability to take command – yet someone governed by what is right."
The fate of the world rests on the outcome of a croquet match between Reading and Swindon. Thursday Next is back in the real world with her two-year-old son, Friday, and Hamlet in tow and somehow she's at the centre of possible Armageddon. The government is on the cusp of declaring war with Denmark and being seen collaborating with a Dane could be hard to explain. Not only that but she needs to get her old job back and that means agreeing to be the SO-14 Danish Book Seizure Liaison Officer.
Whilst full of laugh out loud moments, I missed the setting of BookWorld and probably didn't enjoy this one as much as The Well of Lost Plots. Two years have passed between books which is a little confusing at first and made me wonder if I'd picked up the right one. Everything comes together in the end but at times I felt it was a bit disjointed, maybe a bit too much going on in addition to the humour we know and love. However every part is relevant and well thought out.
So with no more Miss Havisham, you may be feeling a gap in your life. Hamlet is a completely different character but he makes an excellent companion for Thursday. I'm especially fond of the moment he bonds with Alan, the son of Thursday's dodo, Pickwick. He's intrigued by how he is portrayed in the real world, the Will Speaks and the many film adaptations. He's a bit like a mentally unstable puppy that is prone to talking a lot.
I do love this series in general, there's nothing else quite like it.
The fate of the world rests on the outcome of a croquet match between Reading and Swindon. Thursday Next is back in the real world with her two-year-old son, Friday, and Hamlet in tow and somehow she's at the centre of possible Armageddon. The government is on the cusp of declaring war with Denmark and being seen collaborating with a Dane could be hard to explain. Not only that but she needs to get her old job back and that means agreeing to be the SO-14 Danish Book Seizure Liaison Officer.
Whilst full of laugh out loud moments, I missed the setting of BookWorld and probably didn't enjoy this one as much as The Well of Lost Plots. Two years have passed between books which is a little confusing at first and made me wonder if I'd picked up the right one. Everything comes together in the end but at times I felt it was a bit disjointed, maybe a bit too much going on in addition to the humour we know and love. However every part is relevant and well thought out.
So with no more Miss Havisham, you may be feeling a gap in your life. Hamlet is a completely different character but he makes an excellent companion for Thursday. I'm especially fond of the moment he bonds with Alan, the son of Thursday's dodo, Pickwick. He's intrigued by how he is portrayed in the real world, the Will Speaks and the many film adaptations. He's a bit like a mentally unstable puppy that is prone to talking a lot.
I do love this series in general, there's nothing else quite like it.
It starts off with a simple case, a man followed across the Atlantic by a criminal, intent on revenge, and a theft. They do not appear to be related except that consequences would say they are, so Sherlock Holmes starts an investigation with the help of his Baker Street Irregulars. When one of the street boys runs into trouble, Holmes feels he is to blame and is drawn into a shady world of conspiracy. No one speaks of The House of Silk and it is therefore surely at the centre of this mystery.
Horowitz has done an excellent job writing in the style of Conan Doyle, although designed to bring Holmes to a new generation it certainly feels like it fits with the original books. Narrated, of course, by Dr Watson, the premise is that he is writing this story after the death of Holmes and puts it into trust to be opened 100 years later. His reasoning? The subject was just too scandalous for its time. The frame narrative is a hallmark of the Holmes canon but one modern day readers might find a little old-fashioned. Where events are not within Watson's first hand experience, other characters talk at length to describe them. Let's face it, it isn't very realistic, not many people talk in speeches, especially without interruption. However, fans of the original stories will have nothing to complain about and this is just an observation in regards to the claim that it's updating Holmes for a modern readership.
It's a good twisting plot and I didn't feel that I knew what was coming despite Watson's warning that it was taboo. I am not a rival for Holmes' intellect obviously!
Horowitz has done an excellent job writing in the style of Conan Doyle, although designed to bring Holmes to a new generation it certainly feels like it fits with the original books. Narrated, of course, by Dr Watson, the premise is that he is writing this story after the death of Holmes and puts it into trust to be opened 100 years later. His reasoning? The subject was just too scandalous for its time. The frame narrative is a hallmark of the Holmes canon but one modern day readers might find a little old-fashioned. Where events are not within Watson's first hand experience, other characters talk at length to describe them. Let's face it, it isn't very realistic, not many people talk in speeches, especially without interruption. However, fans of the original stories will have nothing to complain about and this is just an observation in regards to the claim that it's updating Holmes for a modern readership.
It's a good twisting plot and I didn't feel that I knew what was coming despite Watson's warning that it was taboo. I am not a rival for Holmes' intellect obviously!
Following an anthrax attack that kills hundreds of thousands, Finn starts to feel a bit strange. He hopes he isn't falling ill but become more concerned when he starts blurting out sentences at random. What's even stranger is that he's saying things that sound like his Grandpa, who died the same day as his wife, two years' earlier. Is this a side-effect of the anthrax? Is he going crazy? Or could it just possibly be his Grandpa communicating from beyond the grave? And if so, does that mean he can find his wife?
Hitchers and I got off on the wrong foot. In this world of ebooks, it's even more important to make an impact with the first chapter, as many people will just download a free sample before deciding whether to part with their hard earned cash. In this instance, I would have walked away. Finn's wife is introduced, a confrontational woman, yet she falls to pieces in the face of a storm and some long grass that she thinks might contain snakes. She is abruptly killed off and to be fair, this isn't something I was disappointed with. Whilst not a fully formed character, I didn't like her much. The main problem was they were paddling down river in a metal canoe when the storm started. Thinking metal containers are pretty safe things to be in around lightning, I asked around for other opinions and the general consensus is that the canoe would have acted as a Faraday cage. Yet still, she died from a lightning strike that hit ground on the opposite side of the river.
So maybe that put me in a mood to enjoy the book less. Whilst the idea was good, I found it all a bit bland. Two years later, Finn goes on a date and reveals he isn't over the death of his wife however as a first person narrator, the grief should have been felt through his words. The only reason I knew he was grieving was because the reader is told outright. Finn has other friends die and he just seems to get on with it.
It's a quick read although some scenes are a bit too rushed and are left unconnected to the following plot. If someone tries to kill you, wouldn't it stay with you a few days? The anthrax attack also appeared to be over in record time, with only a lack of Snickers bars in the shops to show for it. Other times Finn would just come to a conclusion that happened to be right but without much leading up to it. Altogether it read like a first draft instead of a novel in the final stages of publication.
McIntosh's vision of the afterlife shows potential but I think it is forsaken for the conflict between Finn and his Grandpa. Grandpa feels a little too much like a caricature of a cantankerous old drunk and there is no leeway for any kind of compassion towards him. It's all very black and white.
Will McIntosh is not a new writer however his critical acclaim has mostly been for shorter works of fiction. Hitchers sort of has a feeling of small episodes strung together into a novel. There are some parts that gave me pause for thought and I would certainly be tempted to read some of his short stories.
Hitchers and I got off on the wrong foot. In this world of ebooks, it's even more important to make an impact with the first chapter, as many people will just download a free sample before deciding whether to part with their hard earned cash. In this instance, I would have walked away. Finn's wife is introduced, a confrontational woman, yet she falls to pieces in the face of a storm and some long grass that she thinks might contain snakes. She is abruptly killed off and to be fair, this isn't something I was disappointed with. Whilst not a fully formed character, I didn't like her much. The main problem was they were paddling down river in a metal canoe when the storm started. Thinking metal containers are pretty safe things to be in around lightning, I asked around for other opinions and the general consensus is that the canoe would have acted as a Faraday cage. Yet still, she died from a lightning strike that hit ground on the opposite side of the river.
So maybe that put me in a mood to enjoy the book less. Whilst the idea was good, I found it all a bit bland. Two years later, Finn goes on a date and reveals he isn't over the death of his wife however as a first person narrator, the grief should have been felt through his words. The only reason I knew he was grieving was because the reader is told outright. Finn has other friends die and he just seems to get on with it.
It's a quick read although some scenes are a bit too rushed and are left unconnected to the following plot. If someone tries to kill you, wouldn't it stay with you a few days? The anthrax attack also appeared to be over in record time, with only a lack of Snickers bars in the shops to show for it. Other times Finn would just come to a conclusion that happened to be right but without much leading up to it. Altogether it read like a first draft instead of a novel in the final stages of publication.
McIntosh's vision of the afterlife shows potential but I think it is forsaken for the conflict between Finn and his Grandpa. Grandpa feels a little too much like a caricature of a cantankerous old drunk and there is no leeway for any kind of compassion towards him. It's all very black and white.
Will McIntosh is not a new writer however his critical acclaim has mostly been for shorter works of fiction. Hitchers sort of has a feeling of small episodes strung together into a novel. There are some parts that gave me pause for thought and I would certainly be tempted to read some of his short stories.
Miss Alexia Tarabotti is a spinster at the age of 26. She does not mind this, she considers her younger sisters silly and is glad that her mother isn't trying to set her up at every opportunity. This is Victorian London, but not as we know it. Queen Victoria has her own department of supernatural investigators, BUR, made up of werewolves and vampires. Alexia is neither, she is soulless and has the ability to counteract the supernatural abilities of others. Not that her family know this. When a starving vampire interrupts her tea and cakes (completely ruining the treacle tart), she accidentally kills him and has to answer to Lord Maccon, alpha of the Westminster pack.
Soulless is charming and funny. It manages to poke fun at Victorian customs and urban fantasy without going over the top. There is a fantastic moment when Maccon is told to treat Alexia like s "modern British woman" which of course is completely the opposite of what would be considered modern today. He seems almost as confused by proper etiquette in polite society as we would be if transported back in time. And there's plenty of cake.
Of course Alexia isn't your average, swooning Victorian lady but she does feel the pressure to at least try to fit in. She's rather bookish and likes to keep abreast of scientific advancements. She has even read about certain carnal acts in her late father's library. It's rather amusing when she gets to try some of them out.
Soulless is the first book in the Parasol Protectorate series and I will certainly be reading more.
Soulless is charming and funny. It manages to poke fun at Victorian customs and urban fantasy without going over the top. There is a fantastic moment when Maccon is told to treat Alexia like s "modern British woman" which of course is completely the opposite of what would be considered modern today. He seems almost as confused by proper etiquette in polite society as we would be if transported back in time. And there's plenty of cake.
Of course Alexia isn't your average, swooning Victorian lady but she does feel the pressure to at least try to fit in. She's rather bookish and likes to keep abreast of scientific advancements. She has even read about certain carnal acts in her late father's library. It's rather amusing when she gets to try some of them out.
Soulless is the first book in the Parasol Protectorate series and I will certainly be reading more.
I have been making random comments about dead bodies recently. That is because I've been reading Mary Roach's Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers. One woman's search to find out all the things that could possible happen to your mortal remains after you've vacated them. It's a fascinating mixture of history, scientific research and anecdotal stories.
Not one for the faint of heart although if you are a fan of TV shows such as Bones and CSI, I don't think you have much to worry about. I would advise not to read on an aeroplane, or at least skip chapter 5 if it's the only reading material you have. I don't know if I should be worried that I knew quite a lot of the information already, especially the European history and more than I should really know about decomposition. This it what television does to a person!
The section I found most difficult to read was around decapitation and head transplants. The information on beheading was something I knew about but had done my best to forget. The idea of being aware your head has been cut off is just too much for me and I found some of the experiments described in this section stepped over the mark of enjoyable reading.
Sometimes she comes across as trying to be funny and not quite getting there. There are plenty of things that are amusing in themselves, the thought of scientists catapulting guinea pigs across the lab for instance (though not so funny for the poor creatures). I should add that if you are sensitive about research on animals, this is probably a book to avoid. The tone didn't seem entirely consistent throughout and it dragged a little at times, notably on the “religious research” chapter. Maybe it was just a lack of interest on my part. I don't think it's as funny a book as people make out, more morbidly fascinating.
I think it's important to bear in mind that whilst classified as a popular science book, it is written by a reporter. There are some good sciencey bits (technical term) but when left to her own devices, Mary sometimes gets things wrong. For instance she describes bile as an “acidy substance” when it is indeed alkaline, something most of us learned in biology as it helps neutralise stomach acid. If you're reading this for the science, mistakes like this will make you question the authenticity of some of the statements made.
An excessive use of footnotes also spoiled the flow a bit. I feel they should mostly be used for reference points or definitions and a few excellent writers manage to use them for comic effect but here they seemed to be paragraphs that could easily have gone in the main text. Instead they stop you reading halfway through a sentence.
Overall great content and some really fascinating stuff but let down by a few niggles.
Not one for the faint of heart although if you are a fan of TV shows such as Bones and CSI, I don't think you have much to worry about. I would advise not to read on an aeroplane, or at least skip chapter 5 if it's the only reading material you have. I don't know if I should be worried that I knew quite a lot of the information already, especially the European history and more than I should really know about decomposition. This it what television does to a person!
The section I found most difficult to read was around decapitation and head transplants. The information on beheading was something I knew about but had done my best to forget. The idea of being aware your head has been cut off is just too much for me and I found some of the experiments described in this section stepped over the mark of enjoyable reading.
Sometimes she comes across as trying to be funny and not quite getting there. There are plenty of things that are amusing in themselves, the thought of scientists catapulting guinea pigs across the lab for instance (though not so funny for the poor creatures). I should add that if you are sensitive about research on animals, this is probably a book to avoid. The tone didn't seem entirely consistent throughout and it dragged a little at times, notably on the “religious research” chapter. Maybe it was just a lack of interest on my part. I don't think it's as funny a book as people make out, more morbidly fascinating.
I think it's important to bear in mind that whilst classified as a popular science book, it is written by a reporter. There are some good sciencey bits (technical term) but when left to her own devices, Mary sometimes gets things wrong. For instance she describes bile as an “acidy substance” when it is indeed alkaline, something most of us learned in biology as it helps neutralise stomach acid. If you're reading this for the science, mistakes like this will make you question the authenticity of some of the statements made.
An excessive use of footnotes also spoiled the flow a bit. I feel they should mostly be used for reference points or definitions and a few excellent writers manage to use them for comic effect but here they seemed to be paragraphs that could easily have gone in the main text. Instead they stop you reading halfway through a sentence.
Overall great content and some really fascinating stuff but let down by a few niggles.
Henry (previously known as Hades) has released Persephone from their marriage and he has been left alone to rule the Underworld. However it's too much for him to handle by himself and he is given 100 years to find a replacement wife. Each girl must undergo a series of tests to ascertain her suitability for the role but each time they die before they get to the end. Kate is his last chance. Her mother is dying and she would do anything to have more time to say goodbye.
A lot of people have described this as a retelling of the Persephone myth but it is only inspired by it. In the original myth, Hades fell in love with Persephone and abducted her. Her mother, Demeter was distraught and put all her effort into searching for her, neglecting her duties to tend to crops on earth. Plants stopped growing and people began to starve. Eventually Helios told her what had happened and she went to retrieve her daughter from the Underworld. Hades, fearing he would lose his love forever, tricked Persephone into eating some pomegranate seeds and under the rules of the Fates, those who eat in the Underworld must remain there. Having only eaten a few seeds, a deal was struck that she would spend half the year in the Underworld and half the year on earth. This myth was used to explain away the seasons. Whilst in modern references, she spends winter in the Underworld, originally it would have been summer when droughts hit ancient Greece.
I've always thought Hades got a raw deal in mythology, he sounds misunderstood and lonely so I loved the character of Henry. Like I said before, the myths are only a basis for this story so don't expect them to be the same characters. However, the Greek gods liked nothing more than hiding their identities and playing games with mortal, so it's not an unbelievable story from that point of view. If you're a bit of a mythology geek like me you will also enjoy playing Guess the God (answers, conveniently, at the end of the book). There's enough subtle references to feel like you're being clever but it's also an enjoyable story with a girl meets boy angle too. Just don't take it too seriously.
A lot of people have described this as a retelling of the Persephone myth but it is only inspired by it. In the original myth, Hades fell in love with Persephone and abducted her. Her mother, Demeter was distraught and put all her effort into searching for her, neglecting her duties to tend to crops on earth. Plants stopped growing and people began to starve. Eventually Helios told her what had happened and she went to retrieve her daughter from the Underworld. Hades, fearing he would lose his love forever, tricked Persephone into eating some pomegranate seeds and under the rules of the Fates, those who eat in the Underworld must remain there. Having only eaten a few seeds, a deal was struck that she would spend half the year in the Underworld and half the year on earth. This myth was used to explain away the seasons. Whilst in modern references, she spends winter in the Underworld, originally it would have been summer when droughts hit ancient Greece.
I've always thought Hades got a raw deal in mythology, he sounds misunderstood and lonely so I loved the character of Henry. Like I said before, the myths are only a basis for this story so don't expect them to be the same characters. However, the Greek gods liked nothing more than hiding their identities and playing games with mortal, so it's not an unbelievable story from that point of view. If you're a bit of a mythology geek like me you will also enjoy playing Guess the God (answers, conveniently, at the end of the book). There's enough subtle references to feel like you're being clever but it's also an enjoyable story with a girl meets boy angle too. Just don't take it too seriously.
OK girlie read. A little predictable but helped get me out of my Reading slump!