'Salem's Lot

I had begun to worry on day two (of seven) of my holiday that I had nearly run out of books to read.  Luckily I had chosen to pack Stephen King's cross between Dracula and Moby Dick.  I had been reading a reference book on the evolution of horror and while I hadn't enjoyed my previous encounters with King's writing, I wanted a chance to read a vampire novel that didn't have a place within the genre boom that has occurred in the last five years.


Set (like many of King's novels) in Maine; Ben Mears is returning to Jerusalem's Lot, the small town in which he grew up in, to face his childhood fears.  His arrival happens to coincide with that of a mysterious stranger, who with his often absent partner, has purchased the eerie Marsten House which looms over the town.  Not long after do the strange occurrences that have made King the master of the horror genre.

'Salem's Lot  is packed to the brim with detail, and I got frustrated at the beginning trying to figure out who was who as a few of the names are very similar.  I didn't feel scared when I was reading it but while residing in a small town's hotel room which had open slats for windows, and then to top it off while on the beach having a stake wash up right next to me, I couldn't help but feel unnerved.  There was a need within myself to constantly discuss the ending, up until the point where I was raving like the father in Poltergeist when he discovers that only the tombstones have been moved and not the bodies.  The continuing discussion cemented my like for it, and I look forward to re-reading, which is a rare event.  For me it had everything: mystery, history, romance, murder. A perfect holiday read.

White Cat

White Cat is set in an alternative reality, where magicians, or 'workers' as they are known in this instance, are common place and known to the public.  The lead character, Cassel, is the only non worker in his somewhat dysfunctional family but he has a secret: he killed his best friend when he was 14.

I had high hopes for Holly Black's White Cat.  Unfortunately these hopes faded away within a chapter and there are a few contributing factors for my utter dislike of this book.
  Firstly, before reaching White Cat, I had read three amazingly crafted stories back to back, and I suppose my luck had to run out at some point.
  Secondly, I think the text itself has been categorized wrongly.  I don't believe this to be an adult novel.  I know Young Adult and Children's books can be read by adults; but you'll find that the author either has a style that can transcend those classifications or has a great story to tell.  Black may have added a few adult themes to her story but the writing style itself is what I would identify as a core problem.  Childlike with plenty of needless repetition, whole paragraphs that had appeared only a page before, seemed to be there to tot up the word count.
  Another fatal flaw was the story.  It was so transparent I had figured out the entire plot within fifty pages, I kept waiting for the rug to be pulled out from under my feet but it never came.  There was never any urgency and I never felt anything for the characters.  Mostly I felt I wasted my time, and a slot on my 3-for-2, but was very glad I didn't buy the sequel.

Dancing With Darkness: Life, Death and Hope in Afghanistan

I had been going through a travel book phase, and this one had a beautiful cover as well as an interesting subject matter.  The book begins with the unsettling aftermath of one of the 7/7 attacks in London.  After her unsettling experience, Magsie Hamilton-Little is compelled to travel to Afghanistan to gain first hand knowledge of customs and culture in order to break the wall that both terrorism and the war has built around western cultures perception of the country.
   Some of the events stretched my belief in Hamilton-Little's reliability to the limit.  When describing them to my boyfriend he declared almost instantly that it was a bunch of hooey.  However, does it matter if it is fact or fiction?  The blurbs on the back are a little too enthusiastic, as I wouldn't say her writting style is effortless or poetic, but it proved an interesting and thought provoking read nonetheless.

Suggested Reading for the Next few months...

I've been away for 3 weeks and I'm a little bit behind on polishing my posts.  I've got about seven drafts of reviews that are about to be published and then I've got this lovely stack to read!