Yep, it's another Stephen King novel. This time it's his very first (published) one which was released in 1974 and made into a film two years later.
The book focuses on an outcast school girl called Carrie who possesses telekinetic powers. She also possesses a hugely religious mother and is a scapegoat for the school bullies. However, after accepting an invitation to the school prom from one of the most popular boys in the year, things start to look up. Until the bloody finale, of course.
I'd seen the film loads of times before reading the book so I kind of knew what to expect but I also knew the book would be different. However, I didn't expect it to be this different.
The book is written in the style of a collection of newspaper cuttings, interviews, biographical book sections and telephone recordings which is a style I've not experienced/read before.
Most of the film content leading up to the prom is almost the same as the book, once the prom has started, however, the book is much different with a lot more death, destruction and horror. As Carrie strolls through the streets in the book, there is more action than just the flipping of a car. The deaths of certain characters are also very different to the film version.
This was a book which would have been a lot more shocking if I didn't know what was coming but still had a creepy factor to it
Carrie was another one of those books which I found hard to put down and was finished in three or four days (it could have been less but I'm a busy man these days) and was worth the £2 I paid for it in a charity shop (although I recently found that I actually happen to already own the book).
If there's anyone out there wanting to read some Stephen King I'd say start with Carrie as it's fairly short at 270-odd pages and nowhere near as intimidating as It.
Total rating 4/5
Sunday 17 July 2011
Thursday 7 July 2011
The Executor by Jesse Kellerman
Another excellent book picked up in Poundland (I'm noticing a pattern here - all of the best books I've read recently have come from Poundland. Interesting.) written by the best selling author of The Brutal Art.
The book tells of a man who has recently been kicked out by his girlfriend and, when looking for a job so he can move off of his friend's couch, he answers a newspaper ad looking for a "Conversationalist".
He gets the job and as they become good friends he is offered a place in the huge house free of charge. Everything seems to be going perfectly well until the son of the woman appears on the scene.
The book is fast-paced, well-written and almost impossible to put down which is something I haven't felt to a book for a long time. It has some strange bits throughout and others where you want the character to stop worrying but other than that it's a book which kept me awake until the early hours because I didn't want to wait to find out what happened in the next chapter.
It's filled with twists and turns with a surprise middle and ending which you won't have anticipated at all. It has its jaw-dropping moments and, in my opinion, not a slow page throughout.
Due to the writer having gained a degree at Harvard and lived in the areas which the story is based, it is much more realistic than had it been written by someone who has never been to America. Along with this he also points out how distracting the Internet can be and doesn't exaggerate at all, writing it how it is. so to speak.
If you're into crime or thriller then this is a book you'll want to pick up when you next see it in Poundland. Failing that, it'll probably be in one of those expensive bookshop places.
One more annoying thing in this book was the lack of question marks. When a question was asked, it was finished with a full stop. Although I could understand that it was a question, this little thing got under my skin a bit.
Overall rating: 4/5 (Would be 5 if he hadn't been so worrisome at times.
PS: I've figured why I'm finding all these decent books which were written not so long ago (this was published in 2010): Imperfections. A slight stain in some pages, a creased cover etc.
The book tells of a man who has recently been kicked out by his girlfriend and, when looking for a job so he can move off of his friend's couch, he answers a newspaper ad looking for a "Conversationalist".
He gets the job and as they become good friends he is offered a place in the huge house free of charge. Everything seems to be going perfectly well until the son of the woman appears on the scene.
The book is fast-paced, well-written and almost impossible to put down which is something I haven't felt to a book for a long time. It has some strange bits throughout and others where you want the character to stop worrying but other than that it's a book which kept me awake until the early hours because I didn't want to wait to find out what happened in the next chapter.
It's filled with twists and turns with a surprise middle and ending which you won't have anticipated at all. It has its jaw-dropping moments and, in my opinion, not a slow page throughout.
Due to the writer having gained a degree at Harvard and lived in the areas which the story is based, it is much more realistic than had it been written by someone who has never been to America. Along with this he also points out how distracting the Internet can be and doesn't exaggerate at all, writing it how it is. so to speak.
If you're into crime or thriller then this is a book you'll want to pick up when you next see it in Poundland. Failing that, it'll probably be in one of those expensive bookshop places.
One more annoying thing in this book was the lack of question marks. When a question was asked, it was finished with a full stop. Although I could understand that it was a question, this little thing got under my skin a bit.
Overall rating: 4/5 (Would be 5 if he hadn't been so worrisome at times.
PS: I've figured why I'm finding all these decent books which were written not so long ago (this was published in 2010): Imperfections. A slight stain in some pages, a creased cover etc.
Monday 4 July 2011
The Green Mile by Stephen King
So, I said I need to start reading books again and reading I have done. This time it was Stephen King's 1996 drama/fantasy/thriller the Green Mile, and what a book it was.
WARNING: Spoilers follow
The story tells of a giant who is convicted for killing two children who, the guards soon find out, has some sort of God-like healing power. Throughout the book the man displays this healing power which causes some characters to have second thoughts about who committed the crime which John Coffey the giant is on death row for.
The book is written from the memory of Paul Edgecombe (played by Tom Hanks in the film of the same name) from the old peoples' home in which he now lives/d. It tells the story of Paul in the death row block in 1932 but is written by him in the year of publication: 1996.
Reading through the story you/the reader feel/s sort of emotional towards the characters as King manages to write with description and in a way that makes them seem real, like the story really happened. Sort of in a biographical way, if you will.
This is definitely one of Stephen King's better books out of the seemingly hundreds he's written and the few I've read and definitely one people who are into fantasy and thriller mixed should pick up. It's a thick book at almost 500 pages but not that hard a read. A good one for a first-time reader of Stephen King.
I don't know if I'll be reading this again any time soon (I have a HUGE pile to read yet, including more Stephen King) but I might pick it up in a year or so as I tend to do with Simon Kernick books. We'll see but in the meantime I'll give this book a rare 5 out of 5 and a BIG recommendation to anyone who reads.
Coming next: I have no idea, need to select something out of 1000+ books.
WARNING: Spoilers follow
The story tells of a giant who is convicted for killing two children who, the guards soon find out, has some sort of God-like healing power. Throughout the book the man displays this healing power which causes some characters to have second thoughts about who committed the crime which John Coffey the giant is on death row for.
The book is written from the memory of Paul Edgecombe (played by Tom Hanks in the film of the same name) from the old peoples' home in which he now lives/d. It tells the story of Paul in the death row block in 1932 but is written by him in the year of publication: 1996.
Reading through the story you/the reader feel/s sort of emotional towards the characters as King manages to write with description and in a way that makes them seem real, like the story really happened. Sort of in a biographical way, if you will.
This is definitely one of Stephen King's better books out of the seemingly hundreds he's written and the few I've read and definitely one people who are into fantasy and thriller mixed should pick up. It's a thick book at almost 500 pages but not that hard a read. A good one for a first-time reader of Stephen King.
I don't know if I'll be reading this again any time soon (I have a HUGE pile to read yet, including more Stephen King) but I might pick it up in a year or so as I tend to do with Simon Kernick books. We'll see but in the meantime I'll give this book a rare 5 out of 5 and a BIG recommendation to anyone who reads.
Coming next: I have no idea, need to select something out of 1000+ books.
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