ronpayne's reviews
1144 reviews

The Neverending Story by Michael Ende

adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

A combination of nostalgia for a movie I loved as a child and curiosity about its source material that I had never read led me to pick this up. A young boy steals a book from a bookshop, plays hooky from school to read it, and eventually is transported to a magical world. It's quite charming, and worth reading for people who have seen the film as it does a lot more break down its theme of learning to accept oneself. 

The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson

adventurous challenging dark mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Filling in a major gap in my Vermont reader credibility by finally getting to this. Absolutely superb characterization and representation of the interiority of a mind for the protagonist. The other characters pop off the page too, including the House, which exudes a foreboding air that Jackson uses to give a masterclass on building tension and delivering on its promise. At one point I had to stop reading and go tell people how scary it was.

Finlay Donovan Rolls the Dice by Elle Cosimano

adventurous dark emotional funny lighthearted mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

The fourth book in a series about a single mother, romance writer who gets into trouble with the mob when she is mistaken for a contract killer. This book delivers all of the madcap, macabre scenarios, and improbable perils of the first three, this time set in Atlantic City. Most of the main conflicts from the first book were tied up here, but there was another little twist at the end, so it looks like we'll get at least one more volume. 

The Angel of Indian Lake by Stephen Graham Jones

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

The third and final book in the meta narrative laced, slasher horror, Indian Lake Trilogy set in a small town in Idaho. I was completely blown away by they way Jones pulled so many disparate threads together into a cohesive, poignant and emotionally resonant ending. Definitely don't read this series if you don't like slashers, though. 

The Butcher of the Forest by Premee Mohamed

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

A woman is commanded to go into an dark, magical forest to retrieve the children of a tyrant because she is the only person who had ever come back from there before. I liked it for its genuinely scary and dangerous feeling fairytale forest, but it felt like there was something missing, or that I was missing something to allow me to fully enjoy it. I think that's very much a me thing, and that your experience may differ. 

Witchmark by C.L. Polk

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

A delightful alternate world fantasy following a psychiatrist who works with fellow veterans dealing with the traumas of war. He and a mysterious stranger fall into a mystery when a man dies in his arms claiming he was murdered, and solving it may expose him to the family and secret society he’s in hiding from. This has a charming gay romantic subplot, and the ending has huge consequences for the this world that I’m looking forward to seeing explored in the sequels. 

No Gods, No Monsters by Cadwell Turnbull

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective relaxing sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

The release of a police shooting video reveals the existence of the supernatural to the world, and the world's reaction is complex. This is an urban fantasy that makes a credible attempt at having a very realistic tone and has has a lot to say about intersectionality and allyship, using monsters as an allegory alongside real world marginalized people. Really looking forward to the second book.

Zoo City by Lauren Beukes

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Set in an alternate present in which people who commit heinous crimes have animal familiars attached to them which grant a magical ability, but which must protected, or the owner will be immediately dragged to hell. I struggled with suspending disbelief on magical conceit when it was contrasted against the gritty, realistic Johannesburg underworld it was set it, and though it was essential to the plot, I felt it distracted from an otherwise solid noir mystery.

Erasure by Percival Everett

challenging dark emotional funny informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

The novel the film American Fiction is based on. An obscure black literary fiction author, disgusted by the popularity of a novel claiming to portray the black experience, which he finds insulting, writes a parody under a pseudonym, which ends up being taken seriously, sells for a ton of money, and attains popularity and critical acclaim. What a corker this book is! A smart skewering of publishing, with metatextual commentary on race, art, and life in general.

These Fragile Graces, This Fugitive Heart by Izzy Wasserstein

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

A novella set in a post-apocalypse Kansas City in which a private security agent returns to the community she left due to the death of a former lover and discovers that they were murdered. I really liked the discussion of the practicalities of a functioning anarchist commune. The author is trans and the book does a lot with trans identity, including with a scene that I think works, but that A LOT of people are going to hate.