Purity by Shaun Hutson

Shaun Hutson – Purity Review

So I finally got round to reading another Shaun Hutson book. I bought a handful of his books around a month or two ago, but due to studying and moving (and reading or not reading other books) I didn't pick this up and open it until a few days ago. 

As most people are aware, London's streets are well-known for its drug pushers, addicts and prostitutes, many of whom are suffering from various related diseases, and somebody doesn't like this. They believe that death is better than living with a body-destroying disease and so they begin a "classic" killing spree, except it's to make people better rather than worse.

I was a bit surprised with this book as, rather than Shaun Hutson's blood and guts gore like in Victims or The Skull, it's more of a mystery crime novel in the style of Simon Kernick or Peter James. The reader is constantly left guessing whodunnit or who this character really is and what they do, with some very surprising answers.

However, there are certain chapters which make one cringe as well as some dark humour, which is good if that’s your thing, bad if it’s not. It’s my thing though so I’ll consider that little addition quite good and fitting.

Without meaning to ruin the good too much, the ending is a genuine surprise, although it’s also somewhat guessable to such a novel, despite my previous claims. I’ll leave it to you to decide though.

Overall, I think Shaun has lightened his tone a bit in Purity but by doing so he’s knocked out a decent crime novel worth reading. Final rating: 3/5

The Road by Cormac McCarthy

This was a book I had to read for the 'Imagining the Novel' module at UEL in order to get an idea of different ways novels are written and such-like. Rather than write another review of it, I'm instead going to just copy and paste the synopsis I had to write as well as my final thoughts. Spoilers follow.

The Road is a dystopian novel by Cormac McCarthy in which a father and son spend a number of months walking along a derelict and almost destroyed road or area of land in America. This novel, with its post-apocalyptic setting could be compared to Richard Matheson’s 1954 novel I am Legend albeit without the zombie concept to accompany the characters.

The novel focuses on the father and son travelling along the road and trying to survive this post-apocalyptic world. As they continue to travel they are forced to snack on old and tasteless food (with the father frequently not eating in order for the son to do so and the son sometimes telling the father to eat), bathe in dirty and cold streams and encounter fellow travellers, some of who have resorted to cannibalism in order to survive. 

As the story continues, the two males, referred to as “the man” and “the boy”, encounter many problems including near-starvation, threatening characters and illness which begins with the man coughing up blood before slowly dying and leaving the boy to travel alone before encountering another man and his family who wish to help him. However, before the death of the father, they find a bunker filled with fresh food and drink which has not yet been looted by other travellers.

The death of the father, although a sad moment, especially for the boy, happens on a beach which could possibly be considered the nicest area encountered within the book. Whilst the road itself is covered in ashes and dirt, a beach is a place of romance and calmness, making the death of the father an ironic moment.

Themes within ‘The Road’ include the clear post-apocalyptic/dystopian world throughout, love and protection between family members, survival, distress and death. The book could also be considered educational in that it teaches the reader how people would or may react if the only other person they have is someone close to them, in either a dystopian or utopian world or atmosphere. 

As the book is written without chapters which are often used to separate events or subjects within a book, The Road could be considered just one event (despite the fact that many different things happen throughout the book): that of the father and son travelling in hope of surviving this post-apocalyptic world. 

The narrative arc within The Road is one which some readers may say does not have a middle section due to the book beginning and ending in the same way with little to no change throughout. The characters do, however, experience some conflict as they travel. The first, and clearest, is that of the apocalypse and the characters’ survival. The second is having to decide who is good and who is bad out of the people the father and son encounter during their travels. If they were to make the wrong decision upon who to trust they may feel regretful afterwards. And the third conflict could be mostly encountered by the father in his decision not to eat. By making this decision he soon becomes ill which results in his death, leaving the boy alone and wondering what will happen to him until he is found by the aforementioned family.

I found The Road to be very similar to I Am Legend with its dystopian imagery and the concept of a journey in order to find life and survive. The only major difference is that Legend had zombie-like creatures whereas The Road featured humans only. If dystopia is your sort of thing and you enjoyed I Am Legend and 1984 then I'd recommend this book to you.

Overall rating: 8/10

Venus as a Boy by Luke Sutherland

Venus as a Boy is a rather strangely written story in that although it’s fictional, it could easily pass as an autobiography due to how in-depth it appears to be written and how realistic certain events are.

Venus... begins with a writer being approached by a very drunk gig-goer in London claiming to be a friend of someone called Desiree who wants their story told as they believe it will have a large effect on the reader. A week after being approached to tell this story the writer receives a package in the post containing letters, photos and an audio recording which tells the full life-story of Desiree.

What follows is the moving story of the life of one man who grew up in the Scottish lands of Orkney and moved to Soho, London in order to work as a “lady of the night”. Although I wouldn’t say it was an awkward read, it did have its moments which made me feel a little “curious” (I would list one, but I read this book well over a month ago so the memories have somewhat passed). These moments, however, added to the deepness of the book.

Due to the themes of the book such as alcoholism, self-discovery and death, humour was scarce yet the story of Desiree was extremely gripping and the sort of reading material a reader will find hard to put down, especially is psychological fiction/drama is your thing.

At times the story was tricky to follow due to the lack of punctuation marking the beginning and end of a piece of dialogue meaning I had to go back a few lines to pick up who was saying what, but other than that I have no complaints to make at this time. Maybe after the next reading I’ll find something.

Being a course book I originally didn’t expect much of it or didn’t want to read it as I prefer to read by choice not obligation (yeah, I know, not the best thing for a Creative Writing student to say), but once I’d got past the first page I genuinely found it hard to put down. A moving and heavy book, Venus as a Boy was a worthy read.

Overall rating: 7/10

Target by Simon Kernick

Yes, that's right, it's another Simon Kernick book review. I may have mentioned this previously, but I've recently started a mission to be the only independent book review blog which has every SK book reviewed and my reading of Target has sent me one step closer to this.

Normally I'd manage one of SK's books in 2-3 days. However, due to a ridiculous amount of uni work before and after Christmas, I failed at this and read the book in a shocking span of almost 3 weeks. That's not to say I didn't enjoy it. I did yet happened to be flooded under with work along with a mixture of stomach bug and New Year's hangover. Yesterday, though, I finished it as I always do.

Target is the story of Rob Fallon: a man who, after spending the night with his best friend's girlfriend, is feeling rather guilty. Especially after she's abducted from her own apartment. In order to both refrain from being caught by his friend as well as make himself feel better about the abduction, he ends up on a wild goose chase, trying to find the girlfriend.

Being a crime and Simon Kernick novel, though, things will never go right and Rob Fallon ends up in a very messy doghouse. As one might expect this is well-researched, fast-paced and lively with non-stop criminal action throughout. Had I had the time, I more than likely would have managed it within 3 days max as the plot was extremely well-planned and characters all had personalities and ways which made me want to read on more. What made the book even better was the inclusion of my all-time favourite SK character, the Black Widow. Better known as Tina Boyd. And any novel with her in is bound to be a good one.

Despite being one with a lively plot and ending, I wouldn't say Target is the best of SK's novels. I found some parts to be a bit slow and dry. That's not to say I didn't enjoy it, it just means that instead of a 5/5 rating, this one will be getting a 4/5.

A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers

I finished this book around a week ago, but it's only now that I've managed to push myself to write a review for it, so firstly my apologies for that little mishap go out to anybody who frequently reads this blog and its updates.

Secondly, and I shouldn't really admit this, but I will, I didn't read all of the book. I found that about two thirds of the way through, it began getting a little blank and very slow. However, in the introduction Eggers did warn the reader of this so, yeah, you are not given permission to shoot me for this little fact.

Thirdly: Read this book! Despite being a fairly young journalist/writer, Dave Eggers has lived a very eventful life; He lost both of his parents in a 6 month gap, his mother to stomach cancer and father to alcoholism, had to spend a number of years looking after his little brother and was switching jobs constantly.

When reading AHWOSG, I found the author to be extremely honest (except where stated) and straight-up with his facts, not missing anything out. And when I say 'anything' I mean it. The reader gets to read about what Eggers ate and how, the jobs he worked or looked for and his bedroom activities amongst a lot more.

Written in around ten parts with each part having any number of chapters/sections, AHWOSG is somewhat different to your average autobiography. While the biographies of today's celebrities (which seem to pop up after they've been famous for just 10 minutes) are usually (badly) written in a plain, orderly manner, this one tells Egger's life through a series of mid-length to long anecdotes. It even includes an extremely long interview with the bosses of an American Big Brother-esque TV programme which the writer attempted to take part in as a matter of (almost) survival.

Admittedly, some early parts were a little slow, but they soon picked up. However, I can't really complain as the reader was warned about this in the introduction and even advised to skip some sections. I can't really blame Eggers for saying this though, as there were sections in which I found myself either cringing, yawning or, once, falling asleep. And I hadn't even been drinking. With this in mind, everybody has boring parts of a life, DE just decided to tell us about his.

Despite being the work on an (at the time) unprofessional, this book was one which I found to be well-written and (mostly) gripping as well as funny and even heart-warming in parts. Would I pick it up again and re-read it from the start? Probably not, but there is a big chance that I may look to finish it sometime sooner or later. Who knows?

Overall rating 3.5 out 5

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

As you may be able to tell from previous reviews, I'm not a big reader of young adult (YA) fiction. However, this first book in the Hunger Games trilogy is really something else.

I saw the film while it was in the cinemas and found myself very impressed and comparing it to the Japanese novel and film Battle Royale. The novel, however, goes beyond that. Although it does have elements of BR with the concept of a group of kids going to an island and fighting to the death, there is a lot more to go with it.

For a starter, the politics within the novel are very interesting, especially after my attending the 5 days Marxism fest. In the Hunger Games, rather than towns, people live in 12 districts with there being the rich districts, the industrial districts and the poverty-ridden districts. Along with this there is the Capitol state which holds the yearly Hunger Games. This is a capitalist state filled with rich people, huge feasts, genetically engineered creatures and spectacular events. This, I believe, is what helps to make the book attractive to adults.

For kids and/or young adults the concept of a bunch of kids fighting to the death creates an attractive story. If politics isn't your thing but fighting is, you'll love this book. If politics is your thing, you'll love this book.

Well researched and thought out it's no wonder The Hunger Games did so well. This is a novel great for escaping into but also good for getting one thinking that it's possible something like this could happen if capitalism took over. Saying that, it would help to get rid of all those bloody teenagers.

I have to admit that I'll be recommending this book (and possibly the sequels) to my little brother who never reads and maybe even my mum who wants to read that 50 Shades of Grey trash. If you wish to do the same, don't! Read this book instead.

This gets a generous 5 out of 5. Keep checking back for book 2.

Awkward Situations for Men by Danny Wallace

So after a pile of uni work had been completed and submitted I decided it was time to read something from my 'casual reads' line of books and so a book by TV and radio personality Danny Wallace was to be read.

Having read 'Yes Man' in the past, I made the correct assumption that this would be light but enjoyable.

Danny Wallace is a shy man who says things at the wrong time and accentually lets it slip that his friend (A) who shares a birthday with another friend (B) has bought a pricey present for B and that B should now buy something equally as expensive all resulting in a horrible outcome. Not something you'd expect to happen to someone who spent a year saying yes to everything, but it does and it's rarely pretty, hence Awkward.... In Awkward Situations for Men we are given a documentation of a year Mr. Wallace's life involving the previously mentioned situations along with minor celebs attending private parties, accidentally spitting on people's foreheads and arriving on time.

Being written by Danny Wallace, the book is funny, light-hearted and easy to read, perfect for that quick break in your studies. He's cheeky and cocky but not to the point of annoyance. To add to this the reader is often sat there thinking "Oh no, do NOT even THINK of going there!" yet he still does it, making the reader feel slightly better about themselves.

As the book continues, Mrs. Wallace becomes pregnant and Danny realises he has to grow up and switch beer for tonic water and normal carrots for organic carrots yet, inevitably, things go wrong and an awkward situation appears and when it does we can't help but laugh and feel slightly sorry for the poor man. Sometimes we can even connect with the situations and think to ourselves "Yep, I've done that."

I managed this book in just two sittings, something I haven't managed in a long time, and was worth the hours I lost, engrossed between the words. As a non-fiction writer, Danny Wallace is definitely one of my favourites. A well-recommended writer. If you can't get your hands on this book, have a look out for 'Yes Man'.

Overall rating: 4/5

The McAtrix Derided by Robertski Brothers

"A parody ... Or is that just what THEY want you to think?"

The McAtrix Derided is, as one would expect, a parody of the film series/franchise The Matrix. It follows a similar concept of being plugged into a machine, fighting the bad guys and a future world.

It's a simple book with scenes you'd find in a crime novel except dumbed down with the characters fighting by flapping their arms, kicking enemies down with the Can-Can and a Frurnchman [sic].

The McAtrix follows all the concepts within the Matrix but makes them funny and actually worth reading (much unlike the Matrix sequels).

Throughout the book you'll more than likely notice a lot cultural and social references with quotes like "You want to kill Bill", "Lots of Peaugeot 308s" and "I'm going to have to press you ... I really need your decision now" (I can't remember where (I've heard this quote but it, or very similar, has been on some recent trash TV). We can't forget the War of the Worlds (English version, not the Hollywood crap) destruction and references to H.G. Wells (author of WOTW).

For a parody it's well written and easy to follow, lacking any pointless plots. It also sticks pretty close to the actual Matrix film(s) with characters' names being modified only slightly except it's set in London (this meant I knew of some of the areas it spoke of - I was even on the way to one of them whilst reading it).

I don't really have any complaints on this book; it was a read which was a good escape, not too heavy and amusing. 4/5

Blood Secrets by Craig Jones

I came across this book in a charity bookshop (where else do I buy my books these days?) and simply HAD to buy it due to the publisher's request printed on the back: "Under no circumstances should you reveal the plot of this book to anyone" and a short blurb of "It starts with a murder. Then the evil REALLY begins."

Although I'm unable to reveal the plot, I can give a brief description of the book

Irene is a young and successful university student who has everything going for her when, unexpectedly, she meets kooky Frank - a slightly odd, not-too-handsome history major. What follows is a whirlwind romance-cum-marriage, a child and the suburban lifestyle until Frank starts acting strange.

Beyond that, the reader is left guessing what will happen next (and usually getting it wrong) and, when you think you've got it sussed, something new happens and you're back to guessing square one.

It's a mixture of suspense, shock, horror, gothic and psychological mind-fucks which is impossible to put down until you've read the words "The End".

This is a fantastic read which is strangely and unfortunately out of print now with an author who appears to not even exist: Having spent quite some time online trying to find even the slightest piece of info about Craig Jones, I've come to the conclusion that it must be a pseudonym or that he simply wrote a couple of books and didn't want anybody to know who he was or is (the Internet wasn't exactly mainstream in 1978 so it wasn't too hard to keep a low profile).

I can, however, safely repeat what others have said and tell you that I won't be forgetting this book any time soon, I'll be re-reading it sometime and that it's level with Victims by Shaun Hutson (reviewed previously).

This little masterpiece gets a 5/5 rating from me.

Victims by Shaun Hutson

Another gruesome novel from the psychotic writer Shaun Hutson has been read and now reviewed for your pleasure.

Victims tells of an effects man who, after having an eye transplant, is able to see who is next on the killing list of a maniacal killer, copying the methods of previous, legendary killers. As more people are killed, the fx man is forced to work with the police and is dragged into obsession.

Fast-paced, gory and filled with mystery and suspense, Victims is the perfect horror novel and, so far, the best I've read (And I've read a lot). You can't go past 5 pages without curling your toes at the in-depth descriptions of gore which is the way I like my words to be.

The book was a fast read, finished in three sessions but the content makes up for the shortness. Hutson's chapter construction is interesting also with the book having chapters of only 4 pages max along with titled ones which tell the story of a child making a discovery.

Throughout the book you'll be thinking you've solved a question but you may just be wrong.

Victims is possibly my book of the year and deserves a 5 out of 5 mark. Nice work, Shaun.

Carrie by Stephen King

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

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.

Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka

So I finally finished a book. And a pretty decent one it was too, albeit weird.

I picked up Metamorphosis from a library sometime last year along with The trial also by Kafka, but never opened it. However, now that it is one of the many books on my e-reader, I have easy and fast access to it.

So what is the book about? Well, the protagonist, Gregor, wakes up one morning to find that he's transformed into a bug. The story then tells of the next four months of how his family slowly start neglecting him and no longer want anything to do with him due to being this horrible greasy bug (which is never actually told of but the description makes it pretty obvious).

Being a very short book of only 50 pages, not a lot can be written about this book without spoiling it too much so I'll leave it there for the time being.

My opinionated thoughts on the book, however, are very positive. It may have been short and weird but I found it to be a good read.

I could have read it in a day but due to the beautiful London weather we've been having, reading has been one of the last of my worries, I've had more interest in making paper plate masks and playing football at 12 midnight, but that's an entirely different subject/story.

If you're looking for a quick read, Metamorphosis is a book I'd recommend picking up (Animal Farm is probably another but I haven't read that yet...). You could even pick it up if you're looking for a good read also. I have another Kafka book in my reader so that should be popping up in the future.

Although it was a good read I couldn't say it's one of my best reads.

Overall rating: 3/5