Showing posts with label thriller. Show all posts

John Dies at the End by David Wong

Posted on April 27, 2012 by Steven

I read it, but I don't know if I liked it. Heck, I'm not sure that over the course of the book if I ever really figured out what was going on. Nevertheless, I would still recommend it for those guys who can handle rough language and weird situations.

John Dies In the End is the story of David Wong, a young man who happens to gotten involved with mysterious dark forces seeking to take over our world. First, it seems like a simple case of a few hauntings and vision he sees after ingesting some weird soy sauce-type stuff. But then it gets weird. Lovecraftian weird. His dog explodes, but comes trotting up merrily afterwards. A trip to a self-improvement guru in Vegas ends up with him and his buddies dressed as the band "Elton John" and a vortex sucking in a bunch of people who turn out to never have existed.

Possible dimensional travel, demons and a monster called "Korrok" all mix together and leave a confusing trail of oddities. I can't say it all makes sense, but it's an entertaining enough read, with the author bring a fair amount of irreverence, much like his work on Cracked.com, which I've referenced a couple of times before, and of which David Wong is the senior editor.

A sequel is due out in October called This Book is Full of Spiders: Seriously Dude, Don't Touch It.

It will eventually be released as a film that will likely become a cult hit.

Acceleration by Graham McNamee

Posted on February 14, 2012 by mel

It's summer and Duncan is spending all his time at his new job at the subway's lost and found, collecting lost items and returning them to their owners who pick them up. It's not the most exciting job to be sitting around in a windowless concrete hole, so Duncan spends his time inspecting the lost items and hoping that owners won't pick them up so he can keep them.

All is humdrum until he discovers a small leather booklet -- some kind of journal or collection of personal notes. In it are notes on experiments, not the kind of experiments done in schools or laboratories, but disturbing experiment done on animals, such as the time is takes to drown mice in different liquids like windex and gasoline. Taped into the note book are newspaper clippings about gory animal killings and buildings being burned down. As Duncan reads on, he realizes this notebook belongs to someone who is twisted and dangerous. Further into the book he finds detailed descriptions of several women: what they look like, when they get on and off the subway, where they sit. It appears that the owner of this booklet is stalking these people and Duncan may be the only one who knows it. He finally decides he has to find a way to warn them -- and then a man shows up at the lost and found to claim the notebook.

This is an older title, but I'd thought I'd include it as a post anyway, since it's hard to find a good mystery these days that follows the more traditional "whodunnit" formula and isn't infiltrated with paranormal creatures or romance (there's only a hint of it in this book). It definitely stands the test of time (especially since there's no brand or celebrity name dropping). I like the build up of suspense as Duncan reads more and more of the notebook and I think his tracking of the potential victims and fear of the killer is portrayed pretty realistically. I'd love to find a couple more mysteries like this one, with the same excitement and tension.

Death Sentence by Alexander Gordon Smith

Posted on November 23, 2011 by mel

On the topic of sequels, I have been eagerly anticipating the third book to the series Escape from Furnace. The series has turned out to be one of my favourite thrillers, where the bad guys are super evil and there's enough suspense to keep me biting my nails the whole way (see my post for a review of the first book in the series). For some reason, I thought the this was a trilogy -- only to discover that the fourth and fifth books are still on their way. I was a bit nervous starting this third book -- since a series that is dragged on too long can really kill the plot. I mean, for how long can a bunch of convicts run away from monsters and prison guards before all the chase scenes become the same? You keep thinking Alex and his friends are going to escape... only to find out at the end of the book they're trapped AGAIN. Having a bit of an attachment to this series, I seriously hope Smith comes up with some interesting plot twists to keep the story alive.

(Warning: this next section contains spoilers!) Death Sentence immediately jumps into the action and picks up the story right where book two, Solitary, left off. And yes, Alex is still stuck in Furnace Penitentiary, this time captured by the evil Warden and at risk of being transformed into one of the monster black suit guards.With Alex now in close contact with the Warden, we begin to learn the real purpose behind the prison. Furnace is really just a supply of subjects for experiments that strive to create a race of humans that have no weaknesses -- creatures that have superhuman strength, do not fear or feel remorse and are only motivated by anger and hatred. Everyone who undergoes the experiments (and survives) pretty much have their memories wiped out and believe that they were created by the Warden. The ideas here aren't entirely unique -- but this doesn't mean the series won't turn out to be good.

I haven't quite finished the book yet -- but so far so good. The action has made it pretty difficult to put the book down and while this third book has revealed the most answers so far, there are still enough loose ends in the plot to keep me wondering what is going to happen next.

Variant by Robison Wells

Posted on August 1, 2011 by Virginia

If you can attend a school where there are no adults, where your fellow students are the teachers, the admin staff, the cafeteria workers, and some days you get to play paintball all day, and some days you study random topics like land surveying, and on top of all that, there is no such thing as tests or grades, would you jump at the chance?
Sounds good, doesn't it? After being moved from one foster family to another, Benson Fisher thought he's finally got himself out of that depressing neverending cycle when his scholarship application for Maxwell Academy got accepted. In less than an hour at his new school though, Benson would give anything to be back in a foster home, because Maxwell Academy was only desirable if you could overlook a few things: there were cameras everywhere watching your every move, there were a ton of rules to follow, students who broke the rules and were sent to detention never came back. Stuff like that...
Oh, and once you were in, you could never leave the school again.
Benson was outraged at this prison-like treatment, and he couldn't figure out why the rest of the students didn't seem to be in any hurry to escape. Rather, after some arguing and fighting, the kids have reached a truce and organized themselves into three big gangs to govern themselves. Fine, they might be content to go to class and decorate for school dance and do all the "normal" high school stuff, but Benson was going to get away.

Books that have hit it big always has a slur of wannabes following in its footsteps, and they don't always measure up, but I think Variant is a worthy readalike suggestion for readers of Maze Runner. It was an intriguing read from beginning to end, especially the dynamics among the kids. It's scary when you realize that whoever that put these kids and lock them up in the school may not be the kids' biggest enemy. The kids themselves are going to be. Then when Benson discovered the secret of one of his classmates, time's running out and everything got scarier and scarier (you'll never think about woodland creatures like deer and bunny rabbits the same again). And the cliffhanger ending... man, when's the next book coming out?
So pretty much nothing to complain about, except the cover! There's got to be something more exciting than that.
To be published in October 2011. Thank you to HarperCollins for providing an advanced e-galley at netGalley.

The Compound and The Gardener by S. A. Bodeen

Posted on July 18, 2011 by Virginia

Bodeen's books are natural and lend themselves so easily to booktalks. If you work in a school or library, you're probably constantly looking out for books with that great premise or hook to lure potential readers in. In the summer at our library, we get more kids / teens / parents asking for recommendations, and for the guys, my first go to book is The Maze Runner, but when that's out, and it often is (yay!), The Compound and The Gardener are fine choices too.

It's been six years since Eli and his family took refuge in the compound. Luckily his dad had the foresight to build an underground shelter before the nuclear attack. Eli lived with his parents and his two sisters, and he missed his twin brother Eddy and his grandma, who didn’t make it on time. Eli could still hear the sound of the compound door closing on them.

Being cooped up six years in one place will drive anyone crazy, even if your billionaire dad has created an almost exact replica of your old mansion. Lately things had gone for the worse. They discovered that their food supplies had been contaminated and it didn't look like it’s going to last them another nine years before they could safely go back outside. It’s odd that his father would make such an amateur mistake. His father, who'd thought of everything…

One day Eli was messing around with Eddy's laptop, which he only discovered recently when he finally had the courage to enter his brother's room. He was sitting outside his father's office wanting to ask him about his Math homework, and suddenly Eli got an internet connection. Could there be survivors like him outside? Eli quickly signed into chat to see if anyone is online, and then he saw it: Eddy's name on chat. Shaking, he started to type, "Eddy?" and almost immediately, he got a response in caps: "WHO ARE YOU? HOW DID YOU GET MY BROTHER'S LOGIN?" "IS THIS SOME SICK JOKE?" Before he could ask any more, he heard his father's voice: “What are you doing out here, Eli?”

Mason's mom seemed to have an irrational anger towardsTrodyn, one of the world's leading company in global warming research, and had forbidden him to apply for a summer internship there, but what did Mason find in her drawer one day? An old Trodyn employee batch! She's worked there before? Why didn't she say so? That was the last straw. Mason had had enough with all the family secrets. He's old enough now and deserved answers, like where was his father all these years, so he marched right up to the nursing home where his mom worked to confront her.

His mom didn't take care of old people like he had always imagined, but young teens just like him, except that they suffered major brain injuries in various accidents and basically just sat there, neither talk nor move, and stared out all day. While he's waiting for his mom to come back to explain this all, Mason took out a DVD of the only video he had of his dad and put it in the player to calm himself down. You couldn't even see his face, just his hands holding a copy of the Runaway Bunny, but it was enough to relax Mason.

"If you become a mountain climber," said the little bunny,
"I'll be a crocus in a hidden garden."...

"Where am I?" Mason turned and saw one of patients staring wide awake at him.

"If you become a crocus in a hidden garden," said his mother,
"I will be a gardener. And I will find you."

Mason stopped the DVD and walked over, but that was it. The girl had gone back to being totally unresponsive. Maybe he had dreamt it all, so he restarted the DVD, but when it got to the same line about the crocus, again the girl spoke, "Where am I?" As soon as the next line was uttered though, she was gone again.

Why did his father's reading wake her up?

Both of these books are thrilling pageturners. The crazy and scary premises in both of the books will draw readers in right away, and then along the way, you'll be sitting on the edge of your seat waiting to see what's going to happen next. The books are about the difficult choices you've to make in life, and it's frightening to see what people believe to be good intention and what they would do because of it. Can't wait for the author to write another novel...

» Visit the author's website and blog

Michael Vey: The Prisoner of Cell 25 by Richard Paul Evans

Posted on July 10, 2011 by Virginia

I have to admit I'm often suspicious of a YA novel written by a bestselling adult author. It seems to be the "in" thing to do these days and the result is sometimes mediocre at best. And taking a quick look at Richard Paul Evans' bibliography leaves me to wonder how he's going to pull off a subject matter quite different from what's in his adult books, but I was pleasantly surprised and thoroughly enjoyed this first book in the series.

Much like Percy Jackson, trouble seems to follow Michael Vey. He's not on his principal's "good" list, and he's a magnet for bullies. Michael tries to stay calm and keep a low profile, because if he doesn't, bad things happen. Well, not to him, but to others, because Michael zaps people with electricity from his hand every time he loses his cool. It's a power his mom has wanted to keep secret, and Michael certainly tries his best to do so, but when he fights back one day against the school bullies, he catches the eye of a couple people. One being Taylor the hot cheerleader, who has more things in common with Michael than he ever would have imagined, but then there is the man who wears sunglasses at night. Just in case the interest is not mutual, he decides to kidnap Michael's mother to get his full attention.

The plot moves along and the mystery unfolds nicely, as Michael discovers the origin of his power and why all these people are after him and Taylor. The guys are very likeable in this book, especially Michael's powerless but loyal best friend Ostin, and the villain is just plenty crazy and scary. Great resourceful kids but not too invincible, and the ending wraps up the action in this book but also provides a good set up for the next one, without being an annoying cliffhanger type. Riordan fans will enjoy this one, and I think it can work for the upper elementary school crowd too.

» Visit the official website

Thank you to Simon and Schuster for providing an eGalley for this novel.

Alfred Kropp series by Rick Yancey

Posted on June 27, 2011 by Virginia

I remember the only time I went to see a movie where the crowd clapped and cheered was at Independence Day, when Will Smith punched the alien. There is just something so charming about the good old action heroes, especially ones like Will Smith, when they're heroic AND funny, and Alfred Kropp is just like that. He's definitely a likeable guy you'll root for.
Alfred's parents were dead, and he now lived with his uncle. It sucked to lose your parents for sure, but it sucked even more when everyone else kept reminding you about it. Alfred's school counselor was one of those people who just wouldn't let it go: "Do you hate school, Alfred?" "Do you hate your family from dying?" "Do you hate them for leaving you all alone in this world?" Man, Alfred didn't know he was supposed to hate and resent so many things.
Then his security guard uncle asked Alfred to help steal something from his boss' office. If they succeeded, this guy was going to give them one billion dollars! Imagine that, Alfred! But Alfred wasn't so sure. This all sounded pretty fishy to him, but what could he do? He couldn't say no to his uncle, and he didn't want to anger him and be sent to a foster home. Seriously! He didn't mean to be an accomplice. He didn't mean to steal Excalibur, the legendary sword of King Arthur. And he definitely didn't mean to give the sword to the bad guys.
An action-packed novel with lots of comic relief. Personality-wise, I like Alfred more than the others from the crop of characters in similar teen novels'. Rick Yancey is also the author of The Monstrumologist series (so disappointed to see they've changed the look when the second book came out. Why? The first one was so much creepier!). Check out his website.

Lockdown by Alexander Gordon Smith

Posted on May 6, 2011 by mel

Alex never thought that a couple break-and-enters could land him in so much trouble. It’s on one of these break-ins that mysterious men in black suits suddenly appear, kill his friend and frame him for murder. He’s sent to the Furnace - a top security prison built miles underground for juvenile delinquents. The Furnace is no ordinary prison -- skinless dogs try to eat you alive, terrifying creatures with masks sewn on their faces come and take you away at night. No one has ever made it out of the prison alive, but Alex is determined to escape.
Lots of action, lots of scary bad guys and no teen angst or issues! This one had me on the edge of my seat the whole time and I had to read the sequel right away. The third on is coming out later this year and I can't wait...

The Midnight Palace by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

Posted on April 30, 2011 by Virginia

Published originally in 1994 in Spain, this is the story of twin siblings Ben and Sheree, separated at birth by their grandmother, Aryami Bose, to protect them from a mysterious stranger, who has already taken the lives of their parents. Ben was left in the care of Thomas Carter, the head of St. Patrick's Orphanage in Calcutta, where he forms a close allegiance with six other children and forms a secret club called "The Chowbar Society". Meanwhile, Sheree is always on the move with her grandma, hiding out in small villages, not knowing what friendship is. The only companion she has is her father's writings, which she reads and rereads to try to get to know him.

Sixteen years later, Aryami Bose came back to her hometown to pay Thomas Carter a visit in the middle of the night. She knows the stranger is coming back for the twins, he has promised that at their birth, and she must warn Carter. As they discuss the matter at hand behind closed doors, Sheree patiently waits at the entrance of the orphanage. These two visitors at midnight do not go unnoticed though, and among the curious onlookers was Ben, who decides to walk up to Sheree to offer her lemonade.

It was almost impossible to put this book down. It's very well-written and the scenes plays out in your mind so naturally and effortlessly. The story is intense and terrifying, as Ben and Sheree try to evade the evil man with flames. But because of the unwavering friendship of the Chowbar Society, it's so much more than just the story of the twins. Readers will relish peeling open the different layers of the story. My only complaint is that when you get to the very last bit, I didn't quite like who the murderer turns out to be. It doesn't quite work for me, but nonetheless, it's a darn good story.

It's interesting to read other reviews of this book. Many say it's good but it's not "their kind of book". It's marketed as YA so they're expecting something else. Maybe that's why I liked it so much, 'cause it's not a "typical" teen book. I can see it as an upper elementary read though.

Boys Do Read

John Dies at the End by David Wong

Acceleration by Graham McNamee

Death Sentence by Alexander Gordon Smith

Variant by Robison Wells

The Compound and The Gardener by S. A. Bodeen

Michael Vey: The Prisoner of Cell 25 by Richard Paul Evans

Alfred Kropp series by Rick Yancey

Lockdown by Alexander Gordon Smith

The Midnight Palace by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

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