If These Books Could Talk

One for the die-hard fans only. Some stand out pieces, but really a bit of a bugger's muddle.
Full review here http://ifthesebookscouldtalk.com/2015/02/17/trigger-warning/

A fabulous start to a highly imaginative, eerie, and humorous new fantasy saga.
As a huge American History buff, I jumped at the chance to be part of this tour for ‘The Witching Elm’ by C.N.Crawford. Set between the town of Boston and it’s ‘mirror’ Maremount, this opening book of new fantasy series ‘Momento Mori’, and it’s a doozy!

First off, there’s absolutely no way of telling that this is written by two authors. I’m dubious of co-written novels as I’ve fallen foul of them in the past; it’s often obvious that there are two different voices and the narrative fails to gel properly. Thankfully, in ‘The Witching Elm’, that’s not the case, and it’s clear that Christine (C) and Nick (N) write beautifully as one.

Full review here:http://ifthesebookscouldtalk.com/2015/02/05/the-witching-elm/

3.5* A typical Manga book. Way out there stories mix with heartwarming tales, all told in typical Manga art style.
Not one I'd re-read but still worth picking up if you're a fan.

Neil Double is a professional conference attender -he’ll do it, so you don’t have to. He’ll attend the seminars, press the flesh, collect the leaflets and other various tat and junk; he’ll even attend the parties and have the meaningless, alcohol-fuelled sex for you. It’s all part of the service his company provides. But it’s at his latest conference, for people who organise conferences (a ‘meta’ conference if you will) that his work is discovered, and the big-wigs don’t like it one little bit. Thus begins Neil’s spiral into chaos, confusion, and disbelief as he realises that the life he considered as safe and reliable due to it’s conformity and monotony was far more complex than he ever imagined.

If you like your novels to be witty, satirical, with fully-realised action scenes and a side-order of mind-bending sci-fi then I urge you to grab this.

Follow the link for full review as well as an interview with the author

http://ifthesebookscouldtalk.com/2015/01/30/the-way-inn/

3.5 stars.

An excellent first half, that's let down by a second half that's too achingly similar to other novels and not original enough in it's execution to stand out as anything other than an imitation. Foley’s great ability with characterisation and atmosphere is lost in an overly long and predictable yarn that seems to run out of steam two-thirds of the way through


Full review here: http://ifthesebookscouldtalk.com/2015/02/09/the-book-of-lost-and-found/

Tedious sentence structure and a meandering plot made this a nightmare to get through. So I stopped trying.

DNF

Enjoyed greatly by 9 year old daughter. A strong main character who's relatable, especially in her relationships. A fantastic plot that kept her glued to the ereader, in fact she found it very hard to put down.
A good sign is that she's asked me to buy a physical copy to read again and again.

I really tried to love this, but just couldn't connect with it in any way. The art is scruffy and the narrative is all over the place. It may work better in it's episodic form online, but as a graphic novel it's just a bit of a mess.

Short, succinct and honest, Oswalt's second memoir is a no holds barred account of the four years he spent totally addicted to cinema, as well as his progression through the ranks of stand-up comedy.
Full review here http://ifthesebookscouldtalk.com/2015/01/02/review-silver-screen-fiend/

This is sort of a DNF combined with 'May pick it up another day'.

It's not awful, but it's completely bi-polar. As a straight-up historical recount it would be fine, as a fictional recount it would be fine, but this combination of the two just comes off as muddled.

While in the middle of some strong characterisation we're suddenly treated to what feels like a wiki entry.
It's a real shame because there's a story to tell here, and I'm not certain if this is the fault of the author or the editor, but this was not the book to do it.

If you need me I'll be in the corner rocking slowly.

Nope. They're both boring me to tears and after so long with nothing happening at all, I can't devote precious reading time to it. It's annoying as the idea is a good one, but having read newer YA with far more evolved and in-depth main characters, the whiny self-involved behaviour of the two main protagonists just grates.

Superb relationship based drama.
Full review to follow

4.5*
Mesmerising, intricate, complicated, and very, very clever.

(I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.)

Imagine this. You sit down with a book you’ve been sent – it’s a title for the Young Adult market from an author you’ve not yet experienced, and from the blurb you’re getting a David Mitchell/Cloud Atlas-ish vibe already. With notebook on lap, and pen in hand you settle down for another literary adventure, with the suspicion at the back of your mind that it’s not going to be as simple a journey as you thought. Several hours later, you find yourself sifting through your trusty notes to try and confirm what just happened. Ladies and Gentlemen – that is your brain after experiencing the outstanding ‘The Ghosts Of Heaven‘ by Marcus Sedgwick.

To begin with, you have to make a decision: to read the four individual stories in the conventional order that they are printed in the book, or throw caution to the wind and read them willy-nilly. The choice is completely yours and you are actively encouraged to do so, although we are told that Sedgwick recommends reading it from beginning to end and to be honest, I do too. This is a novel that’s overflowing with re-read potential, but for a first read through, I’d go from ‘Quarter (as they are referred to) 1 to 4 without deviation.

...

Do not be perturbed by ‘The Ghosts Of Heaven‘ shortlisting for the Costa Book Awards Best Children’s book. Much like ‘The Book Thief‘ this is a novel that will be sold to adults in such quantities that it’s categorisation will soon be blurred, but I do genuinely question it’s placement as a YA novel.

If you like your literature to be clever and thought-provoking while still providing thrills then do yourself a favour and grab a copy. Then pass it on. And then be prepared to rave about it to whoever’s read it.

See my full review here at If These Books Could Talk

A simple tale of one man's obsession with a dog. Refreshing structure to the black and white art, that allows you to focus on the story and the character arc within.

A disappointing addition to the Earth One series. A reboot of the titans wasn't really necessary, and the re-imagining of their origin stories is messy, especially Cyclops.
The art is nothing to write home about either.