Trey Stone's Blog, page 42

Book Review: Costa Brava by David Kennedy

Probable spoilers ahead.

Short plot: Alex Scott is asked to come to his friend’s family’s vacation home in Spain after the death of Manolo, the janitor. What first seemed like an accidental death proves to be more mysterious than expected.

Longer plot: Alexander Scott is a journalist based in London. In his youth, he enjoyed spending his holidays in Spain, with Charlie’s family at Can Daurat. Now, ten years after Charlie’s untimely death, Alex has been sent for by Charlie’s father, Bill. Manolo, one of the help who works at the estate to look after it when the family is gone, has died. Fallen to his death from the cliffs above the house. Bill asks Alex to look after the place in Manolo’s stead, and help sort out some stuff, and hire some new help. Alex, not having been back to Spain for years, happily agrees, thinking he can spend the time writing articles and catching up with his old Spanish friends.

As soon as he arrives, things start getting weird. Why would Manolo, a man in his eighties, be up on top of the cliffs-on the other side of the fence? And why are there video surveillance clips missing from the start of the recently installed security cameras? And how come someone is so interested in buy the house?

Alex is definitely weirded out by a lot of things to begin with, but there’s still not very much to go on. He spends some time familiarizing himself with the area, testing Bill’s boat, meeting his friends and partying. But then he’s attacked on his way home, going in to the house. The police won’t believe him, a person showing up on the doorstep is still very adamant about wanting to buy the house, and Alex’ friend Santiago won’t pick up the phone.

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Review: First of all – this is a bloody great book! Hats off to David Kennedy for writing such a brilliant first novel (talented bastard!). This is definitely topping the list of my recent reads, I loved everything about it – it’s well written, great characters, sooooo much mystery and intrigue, and it’s just exciting. The pace was great – In one sense the book is very slow, because Alex’ suspicions rise slowly, and he’s doing all these things (meeting his friends etc. etc.), so many of his questions/suspicions are raised more than once. But at the same time this book is such a page turner – I was constantly asking questions, sometimes out loud! “Who’s this guy who want’s to buy the house? What’s his deal? Where the f**k is Santiago!””

The ending was really great as well, when stuff starts falling into place, Alex meets some other character with similar suspicions as him, they decide to investigate further – and until then, it’s kind of been a quite mellow, mysterious-private-eye-don’t-get-into-trouble kind of investigation, and then suddenly it kicks off. And boy does it kick off, one tumble after another, on and on it goes. I’m happy to say I didn’t see the ending coming – always a pleasure to be lead astray.

The only thing I didn’t like about this book, is specifically a thing about Alex, that I just couldn’t wrap my head around. And this thing, this really, really ruined the whole experience for me (Warning: Insert big pile of Sarcasm here, in case you didn’t pick up on it). The thing is – Alex Scott is a very clever person, a cultural man, a journalist, a person who seemed to be very knowledgable – but for some reason he doesn’t know what an anagram is. Not buying it Alex!

Anywho, I’m rambling now – if you’re looking for a pretty dope read, an exciting Spanish mystery filled with action, romance… well all the things I’ve already talked about above…

Go read Costa Brava by David Kennedy!

Book Review: The Renegade Spy by Mark O’Neill

This time it’s a crime thriller, about a dangerous assassin. As usual – minor spoilers follow below.

Short plot: Decker tries to catch The Scorpion

Longer plot: We’re first introduced to The Scorpion. He’s planning another assasination, sitting in a hotel window with his sniper rifle, waiting for his target to leave a club. The Scorpion never fails, and he doesn’t this night either. When the hit is done, he plans a meeting with another contact, about his next contract.

We’re then introduced to Decker, the unruly Captain, who’s unorthodox methods – though they never fail to put the bad guys behind bars – also gets her in trouble with the Chief.

We then learn who The Scorpion’s new target is going to be, as he meets with his new client. But there’s a mole amongst this client’s bodyguards, and the police is warned. The Scorpion, taking huge pride in his success rate, and the following through of a contract, decides to carry on, even though the police now knows who’s about to be killed.

Obviously, Decker is put on the case to protect the target, and it becomes a race against time and a battle of wits, to see who gets out on top – Decker or The Scorpion.

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Review:

This book reminded me a lot about the Bruce Willis film, The Jackal. I really liked it, the book I mean (and I loved the film as well).

It’s a shorter story, and I think I read it all in one evening. I’m usually a big fan of shorter books, because there’s less tendency to drag (though I do love to bring a massive hardback on vacation). I felt maybe this book was a bit too short however, it could have done with just a bit more back and forth between Decker and The Scorpion, and I thought it was over far too quickly. But I’m only saying that because I wanted more, I wanted to know more about Decker, The Scorpion, their stories, how  they came to be like they were. So I was very happy to see there’s a continuing story about Decker.

The book was easy to read and kept me turning pages. There a few editing/formatting errors, but they were easily overlooked. If I had to put my finger on more specific issue, I’d say the story could do with a bit more show and a bit less tell. This kind of swings round to what I said above, that I wanted to know more about Decker and The Scorpion, because I felt like I was fed a lot of info on them both in a very static way. It could be due to it being a shorter book, there’s not much room for all that backstory.

Regardless – if you’re looking for a 2-3 hour crime read, a kind of German version of The Jackal (1997) – look no further than The Renegade Spy by Mark O’Neill

Book Review: Onikymn Crystal by R.R. Morris

So it’s time for another review! In the past I’ve used to have a little spoiler warning, but I’ve started to slowly phase them out. The reason is that it’s getting increasingly hard to write anything substantial about a book without writing what it’s about. Of course I never intend to spoil anything major, but I have to say something. Personally I don’t mind spoilers, but I respect that you might, so I try to keep within resonable limits.

Anyway!

Onikymn Crystal – this certainly was an adventure and a half. The short story is that Kyle Larson tries to find his way back to his wife who disappears after their honeymoon to Mexico, when she encounters a strange crystal.

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But the long version is sooo much longer and it includes aliens, timetravel, demons, witches, ancient mysteries and more.

18 years after Kyle’s wife Grace disappears, he and his daugther Helen goes back to Mexico. This time, it’s Kyle who disappears. He ends up on another planet, where he encounters the aliens who created the crystals (yes, plural). They created them ages ago, to travel to Earth, and they tell Kyle that his wife is already back on Earth, however, she’s there approximately 20 years before they were even born.

They make Larson a deal, if he can go back to Earth, to intercept another person who’s looking for the last remaining crystal, they’ll send him back to Grace. They give him detailed instruction about who to contact for help, where to be to intercept the antagonist, and how to find and deal with the crystal and set everything right. But first he has to encounter his own self at the point when he and his daugther are on their way to Mexico, to stop that event from happening again.

Therefore, Kyle is sent back to Earth 13 years before he and his daugther leaves for Mexico. He uses this time to study geology, workout, and essentially prepare. He manages to stop himself and his daugther from going to Mexico, and sets out to find his would-be partner – meet Dutch O’Hara – Ex-Navy Seal, Archaeologist, Geologist, and Paleontologist. They start their quest to intercept our antagonist and set everything right, and begin an incredible adventure together.

The story is really great. It’s a proper, hefty adventure, taking us across the world and back, and like I mentioned above, it includes so many amazing things, and it’s like a Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Historical Mystery/Thriller mashed into one big thing. I’d say it’s definitely going to keep you turning pages. There’s also a cheeky bit of romance for those of you who like that.

Did I have any issues with it? Not really, there were a few minor errors that’d you expect to find in every book, and there were a couple of characters that I was surprised by the end weren’t explained in more detail. I only knew them by name, and I sort of figured out/understood who or what they were, but I was expecting a little more depth.

And then, with any kind of adventure this size, there’s a feeling of things being a bit too convenient? I’m not sure if that’s the right way to put it, but there were some timetravelling rules for example that just happened to make everything fit into place, if you know what I mean. But then again, the story wouldn’t work if it didn’t.

The ending was good, though I was hoping it would twist in another direction (got me there!), but I tend to always want that in most of what I read.

Anyhow – if you’re looking for a grand adventure – intrigue, mystery, supernatural forces and action – go read Onikym Crystal by R.R. Morris!

Book Review: ZA by Molly Looby

Plot: Zane Carlisle, his girlfriend, mother, and friends, experience a Zombie Armageddon (ZA).

Longer version: Zane, his girlfriend Callie, her friend Gemma, and Callie’s brother Jay, go on a zombie walk an evening. They put on makeup and costumes, and make their way into town. (Gotta say, very clever way to start a Zombie apocalypse story).

They enjoy their night out for a little bit, until stuff starts taking a weird direction. There’s people running, people screaming. Eventually, in the midst of the confusion, Zane and the gang are attacked. By a zombie.

They run. They call Callie and Jay’s dad, Michael, who when he comes to pick them up, runs over a person. Not knowing it’s a zombie or what’s going on at all, Michael naturally wants to stop, take care of the person, but Zane and the gang convinces him to get them out of there.

The group heads back to Callie and Jay’s family home, to tune in to the news. There’s been an outbreak, the Juvenile Virus. Nearly everyone’s infected, and if you have it and die, your body is reanimated. Zane and the gang find it best to board up the house, and hunker down. For some reason Zane’s mum, Jen, is also there.

Things are fine for a long while. I like the way zombies act in this story, because they aren’t overly super-aggressive. They feel more organic, and old-school, mindlessly wandering, not being able to round-house kick your front door in.

But then Callie becomes sick. Too sick. I won’t reveal too much, but clearly Callie isn’t going to be as much of a protagonist as I first thought.

Eventually they start to run out of food, and they decide to move out. They pack their valuables, fill up the car, and set out. They meet another group of people, people who appear to be a bit dodgy, but they all bunker up in a large farmhouse together. Same procedure. But how long will it last? How long can they keep moving from place to place, trying to find fresh resources?

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I really liked this book. It’s weird. I often really like zombie/apocalypse stories, though I usually hate zombie films and series (looking at you Walking Dead). It’s not a genre I’d say I’m particularly interested in, yet when I read them, I love them.

Like I mentioned earlier, I liked the zombies in this story, because they’re not the focal point. It’s in a sense very little about trying to find about what has happened to the world and why there’s an outbreak. It’s all about the group, the interaction, the survival. The zombies are in most cases easy to kill, which is the way it should be. When people die it’s usually an accident, people get overrun, that sort of deal. One weird thing about them though is that Zane and his buddies decide to call the zombies “Infected”, and then they laugh at another group of survivors who just call them “zombies”. (As if that’s the most illogical thing to do).

Absolutely loved the Last of Us reference. I like it when authors put in small hints pointing at what I presume to be an inspiration for the story, and I like it even more when I get them.

There’s some good deaths, that really puts the whole survival thing into perspective. Nothing’s worse than when all the protagonists are invulnerable and make it to the end. People die and should die. If anything, perhaps more characters should have died.

I felt maybe the ending was a bit of a let down. It wasn’t really, but I could easily have wanted more stuff to happen, or for stuff to happen differently. I’m not sure if there are supposed to be books following this one, which in that case, makes more sense. But it wasn’t as if the ending broke the story or anything. Just a note.

I’d absolutely recommend this to anyone who likes zombie/apocalypse stuff, because even I, who doesn’t really like it, loved it. There’s just something about having a group of people being left alone in the world that’s super exciting to read. Great book, great read.

 

Check out Molly Looby and ZA!

 

It’s Like Music

Writing with words is a lot like writing music. Anyone who’s ever written anything musical will understand what I mean, and the rest of you… well too bad.

When you write music, (for anyone who’s confused, I’m not talking about lyrics, I’m talking about writing/creating/making harmonies, melodies, rhythm etc.) – when you write music, it (usually) comes to you very naturally, and unconsciously.

You get an idea, a melody, a thing, a chord progression – something you want to focus the music around. And then you build the rest on that. The thing, the first initial idea, doesn’t change (at least not for me). And if you’re unable to make a song work, you just scrap the whole idea. And then later you’ll pick up that first little idea, that melody that you loved so much, and you’ll try to build upon it again. And it will work.

I realize I am generalizing quite a lot, but it’s true.

And the point is, I’ve realized I write words the same way.

There will be one little thing, the first little concept or idea, that I just have to stick with. I can change the world, the characters, the plot, the setting everything else, but not that one little thing. Because that’s the thing that made me want to write this particular story, and this is the thing that’s going to be at the centre of everything.

To clarify, ‘the thing’ could be a plot twist, a cliff hanger, a certain character, anything at all really. The only thing that’s central to them all is that they’re usually, (in my cases), the first idea that sparks the rest of the story.

“Why are you telling me this?” You ask with a bored sigh. What’s the point of this lecture on how I write words/music?

The point, I’ve realized, is that when you know this, you can let go of all the other things. You can relax.

When I manage to identify the one and only melody that is essential to my song writing, I can scrap all the chords, rhythms and harmonies and build the song over, and over again. The same goes for writing (with words) – when you know what sparked the initial idea, you can hold on to that, and play around with everything else. Does this story need to be set in the future? No not really. Are the dinosaurs essential? Probably not. Did I have to make all my characters blind? No. All I need is for them to be on a purple boat, in an ocean that’s on fire. Everything else is liquid.

Make sense? Of course it does.

Because writing stories is much like learning to play an instrument. It’s going to take a while. You’re going to make mistakes, hitting the wrong notes, having to take it slow and take time to learn. No one’s going to judge you for that, and no one is expecting more of you. No one points and laughs at a 7-year-old who’s just picked up his first guitar. (And if you do, really?).

Point is, there’s no such thing as talent. Personally, I don’t believe in it, and I find the concept to be highly detrimental to anyone’s efforts to learn a skill. It’s so easy to either use it as an excuse to quit, because ‘I’m not talented enough’, or it becomes a demotivator because ‘everyone else is more talented’. Yes, some people are going to learn things quicker than others, and some people are going to have a different foundation for learning something.

But everyone can learn. Be it playing an instrument or writing. You just need to stick with it, and find ‘the thing’.

Book Review: Deputy: Once Upon A Time In Mississippi by Merle Temple

Plot: We follow Michael Parker – deupty intern at the Tupelo Sheriff’s Department through his life on the job.

Okay –  where to start… In the beginning I was annoyed at this book for not having a plot. I was waiting for stuff to happen, for the real plot to being – I wanted the book to kick off. Stuff definitely did happen – there’s an awesome bar fight, there’s a murder, a funeral, but I felt like these were all side plots – and that we were waiting for something else. But it never came. Michael just went about his life and job, and we were always on to something else.

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Same with the villains – I thought it was very clear in the beginning who the bad guy was going to be. He did some stuff, he was really nasty, he was laid out so well, perfectly described in all his horror. But then without any warning we’re on to some other guy. Some other criminal doing other crimes. ‘Is this the main baddie then?’ I asked myself. I didn’t mind it, and I certainly don’t demand that a book only has one villian, not at all, it was just that with the first guy it seemed he would be important. And then later we’re on to a third person! The really, really bad one. A truly evil and horrible guy who’s… but then we’re back to number one.

And Michael doesn’t really engage them much. He’s hardly investigating them, and I can’t remember a single time their paths crossed (until maybe later in the book).

But after a while I got used to it. I obviously never intend to go into a book with any sort of presumption of how it’s going to be – but it’s clear that I still do unconsciously. But when I finally got used to it, to the way the plot and story of this book evolved, and the way all the different characters lives intermingled and how it all turned out in the end – I really did appreciate it. The book was also beautifully written, with lots of description and scene-setting, painting a lively and vivid world. Yet not so much that it annoyed me (and if you’ve read some of my other reviews, you know how much it annoys me some times).

I was a bit annoyed however at an overuse of time-settings (is that a word/thing?), especially at the beginning of the book. We were always reminded of what year it was either by current events or songs playing on the radio. And there was a very weird scene with Elvis, which didn’t really seem to lead anywhere, nor have a point. Also – sometimes, this book was so Southern it hurt.

I should also mention, that I’m not particularly fascinated with mobster stuff – it’s not something I seek out, though I’m not saying I hate it – yet I really liked this.

So if you want a Southern, dirty, raw, honest crime novel about how Michael Parker survived his internship as a deputy at Tupelo Sheriff’s Department – I recommend this.

Check out Merle Temple and his book here!

Book Review: When Hope Calls by David Lui

Plot: A man who works at a help line gets a call from a girl who’s kidnapped.

Longer version: Allegedely a true story, this is the story of Morris who works at a help line in Thailand, and one day he gets a call from a girl who says she’s kidnapped. Morris and his colleagues Jeremy and Margaret tries their best to find her.

To this, they try to keep her on the line, to make her describe things she’s seen that can give them a clue where she is. They get lots of locals involved, as well as the police. After a while they try to listen more to what the kidnappers are saying than the girl, and they ask her to keep the call going as long as they can. The last time they speak to her they fuck it up by making too much noise and the kidnappers notice.

They obviously never find her, and she becomes one of the ones they’ve lost but always will remember.

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I liked the book. It’s short and sweet, and definitely worth a read – but it didn’t really leave me emotionally drained or fulfilled or with any type of feelings towards it what so ever, it’s too short for that.

The kicker is that it’s supposed to be a true story. I’m not saying it isn’t, but whether it is or not, I felt it didn’t really matter. (But I do always question books and films that claim to be true stories).

It’s not less or more sad for me if I know it’s real, because none of this shocked me. If anyone in 2018 didn’t know human trafficking existed you must have been living under a rock at the bottom of an ocean.

It’s a good read, and I’d recommend it, but I’m not promising that it’s going to leave you wanting more.

When Hope Calls

Book Review: The Conspiracy of Silence by Augustine Sam

Plot in short: Woman is murdered. Man accused. Turns out woman didn’t exist at all.

The longer version:  Susan Whitaker, wife of the Californian Governor, is found dead in a car in a park. Celebrity Benjamin Carlton is accused for the murder and put on trial. Rita, his girlfriend sets out to defend her pressumed innoncent boyfriend, and on the way unravels a variety of secrets and conspiracies –  including that Susan Whitaker doesn’t exist and a mysterious diary – which gets the FBI, the mob, and an unkown serial killer involved.

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First of all  – I didn’t personally like this book. I have to be honest and say that – though the plot that’s there isn’t bad. But it was such a slog to get through. The story is so riddled with overdone description, metaphors and filler scenes that it was physically tiring to read. I’m a firm believer in the less-is-more approach (when it comes to just about everything), and I feel like I wouldn’t be lying when I say that Augustine Sam probably has never even heard of the concept. I kept having to go back to reread parts of dialogue, because when I’d gotten to the next half, I’d read a long detailed scene description and forgotten what characters were talking about.

Also, I kept being annoyed at characters pouting constantly, as well as the ‘loud silence’ that interupted every other moment between two people.

But I liked the story (I think), and I want to like it at least. There’s action, investigation and a lot of court scenes, which I abosolutely love. One thing about the main plot that annoyed be however, was this mysterious diary. Rita finds this early on in the book, and is told by Carlton that it’s dangerous and that she shouldn’t look at it/read it or even think about it. Later it becomes evident that both the FBI, the mob, and the serial killer wants to get a hold of it, and that anyone who even know the name of it (ALTAMA), is marked for death.

Yet we never learn why! I realized by the end of the book I had no idea what the mob’s agenda was. What did they want? Why did they want to kill everyone? Same with the serial killer, I got that the diary was important, but why? I kind of hope that it’s just me being stupid (and it probably is), because I wish there was more to that part of the book. And I never understood why the FBI kept asking Rita to hand over the book (she keeps refusing), instead of just arresting her, going into her house and take the book. She keeps saying no, and they’re just fine with that. Constantly.

 

I got to admit, I don’t like writing these reviews. I don’t like pointing out what I think are flaws or say how much I disliked something, because it’s not nice and it reminds me of how old and grumpy I’m becoming. So I encourage anyone who’s looking for a good court case crime/thriller conspiracy story to go read this. Go prove me wrong. Tell me how stupid I am for not getting it.

 

Go check out Augustine Sam and his book here!

 

 

So Difficult!

Soooo. Finally another post. (Sorry to anyone who thought it might be a review, one should be coming soon. But then again, is anyone even reading this?)

Well, I’m sorry for the absence regardless – if nothing else for my own sake. I wish I’d been a bit more active, with reading, writing and blogging lately. But I’ve been finding it really hard, all the way since Christmas and the holidays, to get back to writing. I don’t know why, because I kow what I need to do, I know where I’m at and what I want to write. Yet everytime I sit down, to do the work, I write a couple of hundred words, and somehow waste hooours doing nothing. It’s strange. (Strange not because I’m not used to procrastinating, but I’m not used to it being this difficult to get motivated).

I try to make use of the time by quickly doing something else, like reading, going to the gym, playng music or writing music. But writing just won’t.. happen? I really don’t understand, because in one sense, I don’t feel unmotivated or like I don’t want to do it. It just doesn’t… work. It’s a strange, and new dilemma for me. I soppose I’ll just keep on trying, but at the same time, I’ve never been one who neither likes nor is able to force myself into doing anything artistic, usually it happens when it happens and I can sit for hours once I get going.

But recently I’ve tried changing my approach to writing, before Christmas I would try to get in many small sessions, by writing a little everyday, whereas now, because I felt it wasn’t working as well as it should, I tried setting off time for longer sessions, with longer intervals inbetween. So maybe I just need to get into a new rhythm, to get this new system in to place.

Or maybe I actually have to force myself, and go back to my old system (‘cause this new one isn’t working, yet anyway). So we’ll see. Whenever I do get round to working more, I’ll hopefully finish my first draft of my second book, which I kind of techinally already have, so that should be motivating enough.

But maybe it’s knowing that I have to go back and fix parts of my first book that is putting me off. Though I don’t feel bad about that. I’m looking forward to dit actually. It’s been nearly a year since I published my book, and though it’s been a positive experience in general, I’ve learned a lot (read: realized there are things I’ve done wrong), so I’m looking forward to fixing it.

 

Ah well – I suppose by writing this I’m just putting off doing actual writing, so I should og back to that. Keep on keeping on I suppose. Looking forward to a new year of reading and writing new books.

And please – if you have any tips and tricks, let me know!! I’ll get a review up soon!

Book Review: The Dial by R.W. Warwick

This is a collection of short stories, and it has the subtitle “A Collection of Science Fiction Short Stories”. It’s the first collection of short stories I’ve reviewed on here, and I was very happy when I got to it, as it gave me a good break from all the other novels I’ve been reading lately.

There are 10 different stories in this book, all of varying in length and plot. Some are 20+ pages, and some are just a couple. They aren’t arranged in any particular way (I think?), thought I wouldn’t mind if the stories became longer and longer as you went through. But then again, I kind of appreciated the random lengths as I went a long.

First of all: I loved this. It reads as the literary version of Black Mirror. (And if there already is a literary version of that, you know what I mean – I’m comparing it to the TV show). I’d say all the different stories are thrillery or thrilleresque. Some are scarier or darker than others, whereas some just have a little dark twist at the end.

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The stories are:

Pemberton’s Dial

Whatever Happened to Pangaea?

Resurgam

Unending

Let the Cold Winds Blow

Junction Point

Reality, as always

It Were Aliens

Beyond Scope

The Far Side of Eternity

 

Now, I’m not going to rate them all, or say much individually about each one of them. But I liked them all – my least favourite was the first, and my favourite was the last – which was a great development in my case.

I’d definitely recommend this to any Sci-Fi lover. The book in total is not long, all the stories are great, they’ll keep you entertained and interested, and none of them carry on for too long that they make you bored. However, that’s the only downside with this collection – there were many stories I’d love to see more of, particularly Whatever Happened to Pangaea? as well as a few others. Maybe some of the stories will be further built upon in the future? One can hope – and I’ll definitely keep an eye out to see if they do.

Make sure you check out R.W. Warwick and his book here!