January 31, 2015

“The Moving Finger” by Agatha Christie – Lethal Shame

The Moving Finger by Agatha Christie (Book cover)
Dark secrets are seldom hidden away forever in literature; rather, they are locked in a Pandora's Box to be opened at the most convenient time.

As one might expect, the British countryside is practically made of and built upon dark secrets, or at least that's the case in Agatha Christie's The Moving Finger, which it should be noted, was actually one of her personal favorite works of her own, and in her eyes it is one of the few that truly stood the test of time.

January 28, 2015

“The Narrow Road to the Deep North” by Richard Flanagan – A Life in Grey

The Narrow Road to the Deep North by Richard Flanagan (Book cover)
The impact of a moment is never truly retained or remembered once it has passed; everything that occurred will eventually have been forgotten, and one's life won't really be of importance, in the end at least, but to the person living it.

Nothing in this world can endure and stand in the face of the endless test of time, and even the greatest atrocities can be inadvertently pushed back beneath layers of forgetfulness.

January 26, 2015

“The Laughing Monsters” by Denis Johnson – Insidious Greed

The Laughing Monsters by Denis Johnson (Book cover)
The hunt for wealth is a topic which has fascinated mankind for as long as the concept of it has been around; untold riches seem like the universal key to a better life, the door on the other side of which all our grievances are nonexistent and all our dreams come true in the blink of an eye.

Of course, even though everyone understands that there are realistic limits to what wealth can achieve, they still go in search of it, both in real life and literature, no matter how perilous the adventure, regardless of how much they must corrupt their own worlds in the process.

January 24, 2015

“Dust” by Hugh Howey – Visions of Extinction

Dust (Silo Saga - Book 3) by Hugh Howey (Book cover)
As you may have gathered from the previous review of the second book in the Silo Saga by Hugh Howey, Shift, the stage was rather well set for the last part of the series, Dust, and expectations were soaring rather high... to such an extent that many people, myself included, had a lot of trouble imagining how he could tie all the loose ends together.

Many a book in literature has suffered deeply from the author's inability to wrap things up and give a solid ending... and thankfully, that is a fate Dust has certainly avoided with unimaginable success.

January 23, 2015

“Shift” by Hugh Howey – The Fall of Bionic Man

Shift (Silo Saga - Book 2) by Hugh Howey (Book cover)
Through arts and literature Man has sought to develop himself from within, to elevate himself intellectually and spiritually... and through technological progress and science, Man sought to take complete control of the world, becoming the master of his own fate.

However, as Hugh Howey explores it in his Silo Saga, there is a certain threshold to how much humanity can discipline itself, and how much it can control what it unleashes into the world.

January 20, 2015

“The Body in the Library” by Agatha Christie – Deadly British Countryside

The Body in the Library by Agatha Christie (Book cover)
If Agatha Christie is to be believed, then the most dangerous place on Earth to live in is the British countryside. Populated by lovely retired folks and wealthy families, it seems to be a secret war zone where polite murder is part of the daily curriculum.

Fortunately, this kind of set-up has given writers such as the afore-mentioned godmother of whodunit mysteries the perfect fodder to craft one timeless novel after the next, as was the case with The Body in the Library.

January 18, 2015

“How to be Both” by Ali Smith – Structural Lawlessness

How to be Both by Ali Smith (Book cover)
As I've taken to mentioning it in virtually every single book review dealing with romantic literature, it really isn't my cup of tea, but in the interest of keeping an open mind and preserving a varied reading experience, I do give some of them a spin from time to time. How to be Both by Ali Smith is a novel which attracted my attention because I felt its different approach to the entirety of the structure could potentially make for a surprising read.

Basically, we are told two love stories, each one taking up half the book. One takes place in the fifteenth century during the Renaissance, while the other one is set in the modern day.

January 14, 2015

“The Murder at the Vicarage” by Agatha Christie – Marple's Debut

The Murder at the Vicarage by Agatha Christie (Book cover)
Though Agatha Christie has certainly gained untold levels of notoriety for her stories featuring the unforgettable Belgian detective, Hercule Poirot, it is sometimes easy to forget that somewhere down the line, she created a sort of counterpart: Miss Marple.

A lovely aged lady, Miss Marple is rather gifted when it comes to powers of deduction, and often unwittingly finds herself in the middle of quite morbid affairs which call upon her specific talents.

January 11, 2015

“Murder on Fifth Avenue” by Victoria Thompson – Membership Revoked

Murder on Fifth Avenue by Victoria Thompson (Book cover)
Victoria Thompson seems to have made a living on murder mysteries, with virtually every single one of her novels being titled “Murder on/in”, leaving little to the imagination as to the nature of these books.

Naturally, this means that she has developed an aptitude for this sort of work, and like virtually every review is going to mention, she hasn't stopped improving since the beginning. One of her more recent works is certainly a testament to that, and it sports the title of Murder on Fifth Avenue.

January 9, 2015

“Empire of Sin” by Gary Krist – The Vortex of Corruption

Empire of Sin by Gary Krist (Book cover)
The city of New Orleans is one with a rather tumultuous history, and upon a closer review it becomes apparent that the many events that took place and the people at their center are true fodder for literature.

Gary Krist most certainly saw the potential in that, and in his book Empire of Sin decided to focus on a very specific, three-decade period, the 1890s to the 1920s, arguably the most criminally-active time in the city's history.

January 4, 2015

“The Sixth Extinction” by Elizabeth Kolbert – Our Grand Legacy

The Sixth Extinction by Elizabeth Kolbert (Book cover)
As virtually every review of human history has pointed it out, before we came to the planet five mass extinctions have occurred, referring to either specific events or short periods of time during which the biodiversity on Earth was very suddenly and drastically lessened.

Perhaps the most famous mass extinction we are all familiar with is that of the dinosaurs, when a stray meteor plunged them to their deaths and leaving the rest of the smaller organisms to develop.