1 to 14 of 14
Review Date: 10/11/2005
Not a bad read...and while I'm Pagan myself, I just don't think this was as grand as all they hype about it. A great thriller/mystery and a thoroughly entertaining read!
Review Date: 10/2/2005
Strictly formuala - girl has "special" ability, goes home, "strange" happenings, avoidance of love interest that's "destined" to be and a pretty twisted plot. This was a VERY quick read, I wish the author would have developed the characters a bit more and I was totally confused by teh cover art as it does not match the location in the book at all. I spent about 2 hours reading this and it was about as good as watching a "B" movie on cable.
Review Date: 10/2/2005
This book may not be for everyone, it's got Satanists, child rape, murder, Satanic sacrifice, and enough plot twists to keep me guessing "who done it" until nearly the end of the book!
Review Date: 4/28/2006
Helpful Score: 1
You know, Ive had this book for a LONG time, yeabad me. I really wanted to read this, but something else always seemed to be coming up that NEEDED to be read, and so it kept getting put off. I also really wanted to like and be moved by this book, but something about it just wasnt very compelling. I agree with much of what the White says, but I think because as she says herself, she as a fascination with the H.S. Slut (as a person and as a cultural image) but no direct experience with it, this reads more like an uninvolved and very shallow examination of this phenomenon. At the end, I felt like she has said the same exact thing over and over and never really made any serious examination of the subject beyond shallow voyeurism on her part. Its not badly written, I dont think shes reached inaccurate conclusionsbut at the same time I felt like she didnt really take this vary far, that she really only gives a surface picture of the subject and never really gets down to the meat of it, never really gets herself dirty with it or makes any personal connection with it beyond a mild fascination with the subject and I thing that really shines through more than anything else about the book.
Review Date: 10/2/2005
This is the authors first book. The writing is a little rough, edititing not so great...but overall I enjoyed the story line and it was a quick read.
Review Date: 10/2/2005
This is the second book in the "shadows" trilogy and is much better than the first. I was actually surprised by the ending, and I'm not usually in this type of book! A fun way to spend a lazy weekned morning or a few evenings!
Review Date: 10/17/2005
I think of all the books I've read by Hooper, I enjoyed this one the most, I like the characters...even the all too stereotypical, really over the top non-believing cop and the carnival psychic. Kept me guessing until the very end!
Review Date: 2/8/2008
Helpful Score: 3
I received The 13th Reality as an advance readers copy from the publisher through Library Thing on the 6th of February and finished it up this morning. I am happy to report that I got a real kick out of reading this book and am looking forward to the next book in the series. The premise is that 13 year old Atticus Higgenbottom (who prefers to be called Tick), our brainy co-protagonist (who enjoys chess, science, math and receives some typical for this genre, teasing and bullying at school as a result) begins receiving strange letters from all over the world with clues in them and which challenge him to undertake an adventure that the author of the mysterious missives insists is both deathly dangerous and threatens to destroy reality itself. In all, Atticus will receive 12 clues, riddles which he must solve by a certain date in order to successfully engage in this challenging and dangerous mission. I found the premise intriguing and while it's certainly not new or innovative, it's a sure crowd pleaser in the 10-14 age range of readers. I particularly enjoyed that Atticus enjoys a strong and loving relationship with his whole family and is able to confide in his father when things get worrisomeâ¦it's a bit of a deviation from the standard abused/abandoned/orphaned child(ren) that generally populate this type of story (and a refreshing deviation at that). I like that he is able to ultimately undertake this journey with parental consent and does receive some minor assistance and support from them during the course of the story events.
Overall, The 13th Reality is engaging, fun, and managed to keep me interested to the very end. I give it 4 starsâ¦I almost gave it three, but since I am actually looking forward to the next book in the series, I've bumped it up one starâ¦any book that you really would like to read the rest of the series upon completion is a success in my opinion. I think it would be best received by the 10-14 age rangeâ¦I had my daughter read the description on the back and she indicated a definite interest in reading it as well. I must also be quite honest, it was snatched (with great glee) off my desk when I announced I was done with it by my 10 year old daughter, I suspect that it will be a great hit! It's two down in her reading pile at her reading rate it will take her 7 to 10 days to read once she gets to it. I shall endeavor to update this review with her final verdict once she has read itâ¦it is after all, children's fiction!
Overall, The 13th Reality is engaging, fun, and managed to keep me interested to the very end. I give it 4 starsâ¦I almost gave it three, but since I am actually looking forward to the next book in the series, I've bumped it up one starâ¦any book that you really would like to read the rest of the series upon completion is a success in my opinion. I think it would be best received by the 10-14 age rangeâ¦I had my daughter read the description on the back and she indicated a definite interest in reading it as well. I must also be quite honest, it was snatched (with great glee) off my desk when I announced I was done with it by my 10 year old daughter, I suspect that it will be a great hit! It's two down in her reading pile at her reading rate it will take her 7 to 10 days to read once she gets to it. I shall endeavor to update this review with her final verdict once she has read itâ¦it is after all, children's fiction!
Review Date: 12/14/2005
Helpful Score: 4
I'd give this book a B-. It's a fine horror read and I do love a haunted/evil house book. Nightmare House put me in the mind of Five Mile House by Karen Novak with a bit of Amityville Horror (for the inspired madness the house seems to embody) thrown in and stirred well.
I felt much more connected to the characters (particulary the main charater) in Nightmare House, but as with Five Mile House, I would have liked to see the supporting characters better developed, MUCH better developed. I enjoyed the couple of hours I spent with Nightmare House, but felt it was rather a shell of a story, not fully fleshed out yet.
Also, I personally thought the grandfathers tale would have been FAR more interesting. In the end, there is a great deal left to the readers imagination as far as what "really" happened and I feel this would make a fine read for a book club group because there Nightmare House allows for a lot of speculation about the human condition, faith, and madness in the human mind.
I was surprised to find that at a short 340 pages, only 218 of them were the story Nightmare House, the remaining hundred or so pages were a "bonus" copy of Clegg's novella Purity. Purity was quite Lovecraftian in it's own way (though I suppose that was rather the point) and is also one of those stories that makes one stop and think about nature of faith, personal beliefs and human nature. It was an interesting, if short read.
Overall, time well spent.
I felt much more connected to the characters (particulary the main charater) in Nightmare House, but as with Five Mile House, I would have liked to see the supporting characters better developed, MUCH better developed. I enjoyed the couple of hours I spent with Nightmare House, but felt it was rather a shell of a story, not fully fleshed out yet.
Also, I personally thought the grandfathers tale would have been FAR more interesting. In the end, there is a great deal left to the readers imagination as far as what "really" happened and I feel this would make a fine read for a book club group because there Nightmare House allows for a lot of speculation about the human condition, faith, and madness in the human mind.
I was surprised to find that at a short 340 pages, only 218 of them were the story Nightmare House, the remaining hundred or so pages were a "bonus" copy of Clegg's novella Purity. Purity was quite Lovecraftian in it's own way (though I suppose that was rather the point) and is also one of those stories that makes one stop and think about nature of faith, personal beliefs and human nature. It was an interesting, if short read.
Overall, time well spent.
Review Date: 10/2/2005
The last book in a trilogy, this is by far the best of the three. Kay Hooper appears to be a "formula" writeer based on the six books of her's that I've read and I've more or less enjoyed them all. I liken this to the reading equivalent of a made for TV movie. Entertaining, suspensful and a great way to spend a few hours!
Review Date: 10/2/2005
I had high hopes for this book, and the idea for the story was interesting enough...but I had a really hard time getting into it. It wasn't a bad read, just difficult to stay with for about the first quarter of the book.
Review Date: 10/2/2005
Helpful Score: 1
Totally predicatble...this is one of the last Robin Cook books I bought and I've had it on my shelf for a while. It wasn't a bad story, quite the contrary, his story ideas are quite intriging...but it got to teh point where I could predit the book with alarming accuracy...when the IDEA for the story is the best part of a book, it's time to move on to different authors. I'm not disapointed I spent a couple of hours reading it, but I'd rather be surprised by a book than know 1/4 of the way into it how it's going to end!
Review Date: 10/2/2005
Of all the Kay Hooper books I've read, this was the least interesting and the most predictable. I didn't really like the "heroine" and many of the characters in this book felt "flat" to me. It was a quick read and not a bad way to spend a few hours, but not Hooper's best work.
Review Date: 6/6/2007
Helpful Score: 5
The main character in this book is David Valentine, an orphan taken in by the local priest and we are shown his general development from childhood, through his training, and into young adulthood, with the parts about his training and young adulthood being more detailed than his childhood. In the Way of the Wolf, Valentine is chosen by a "good" Kurian, a Lifeweaver, to become a Wolf, an elite warrior with the finely honed senses and strength of a wolf. The purpose of the Wolves is to help destroy the minions of the Kurians (Reapers) and protect the safety of the Free Territory.
What we get in the Way of the Wolf (the first book in the Vampire Earth Series) is a post-apocalyptic world complete with characters that ring true (even if they are a little flat and one dimensional)...here you see the best and worst of human nature close up and while the world this new world is a violent and unpredictable, we still find flashes of happiness, humor and love as humanity survives and adapts to life in the Kurian Order. Additionally because Knight places the story not too far into the future, we still have characters that remember life before the Kurian order, so the author cleverly gives himself access to literature, television and other popular culture references that might not otherwise be available and I think this helps keep the story from being too bleak and depressing and keeping it accessible/familiar to the reader.
The way of the Wolf was in the Science Fiction section...but I think it has broader appeal than that and could be considered a mix of horror, sci-fi, mysticism, and dystopian society. I wasn't sure what to expect going into this...and while I'm a true horror fan and was a bit disappointed that this isn't more about the "vampires" I wasn't disappointed in the overall feel of the book. It's dark, depressing (sometimes oppressively so) and just plain disgusting in places...but it also has an authentic feel to it that is very appealing despite the bleakness of it all. The story is told in a kind of slice-of-life fashion that at give the book a bit of a disjoined feel...but which serves, I think to give a real rounded look at life under the Kurian order from the "free territory" to those living with the reality of day to day life living directly under the influence of the Kurians and their minions. Since this is a "debut" novel, I can only assume Knight's style and storyline will only get better, so I am definitely looking forward to reading the next book in this series, as I'm quite anxious to see what becomes of Valentine! I give it a B+, it's a good, entertaining read...but it's not without problems.
What we get in the Way of the Wolf (the first book in the Vampire Earth Series) is a post-apocalyptic world complete with characters that ring true (even if they are a little flat and one dimensional)...here you see the best and worst of human nature close up and while the world this new world is a violent and unpredictable, we still find flashes of happiness, humor and love as humanity survives and adapts to life in the Kurian Order. Additionally because Knight places the story not too far into the future, we still have characters that remember life before the Kurian order, so the author cleverly gives himself access to literature, television and other popular culture references that might not otherwise be available and I think this helps keep the story from being too bleak and depressing and keeping it accessible/familiar to the reader.
The way of the Wolf was in the Science Fiction section...but I think it has broader appeal than that and could be considered a mix of horror, sci-fi, mysticism, and dystopian society. I wasn't sure what to expect going into this...and while I'm a true horror fan and was a bit disappointed that this isn't more about the "vampires" I wasn't disappointed in the overall feel of the book. It's dark, depressing (sometimes oppressively so) and just plain disgusting in places...but it also has an authentic feel to it that is very appealing despite the bleakness of it all. The story is told in a kind of slice-of-life fashion that at give the book a bit of a disjoined feel...but which serves, I think to give a real rounded look at life under the Kurian order from the "free territory" to those living with the reality of day to day life living directly under the influence of the Kurians and their minions. Since this is a "debut" novel, I can only assume Knight's style and storyline will only get better, so I am definitely looking forward to reading the next book in this series, as I'm quite anxious to see what becomes of Valentine! I give it a B+, it's a good, entertaining read...but it's not without problems.
1 to 14 of 14
