Bridgey's 75 Challenge 2012

Aw well, another year, another challenge...........

This is last years effort for 2011 :)

http://www.librarything.com/topic/107657

Will list the books on the top and give a quick review on the bottom...

reserved 1 - 25

1 - Song of Susannah - Stephen King ****
2 - A Devil is Waiting - Jack Higgins ***
3 - In The Dark - Richard Laymon *****
4 - Bloody Passage - Jack Higgins *****
5 - The Redemption: From the Author of The Exorcist - William Peter Blatty ***
6 - Passage by Night - Jack Higgins ****
7 - The Maneaters of Tsavo - Lt. Colonel J. H. Patterson ***
8 - The Dark Tower - Stephen King ****
9 - The Passage - Justin Cronin ***
10 - Night Judgement at Sinos - Jack Higgins ****
11 - Shallow Graves in Siberia - Michael Krupa ****
12 - The Savage Day - Jack Higgins *****
13 - Misery - Stephen King ****
14 - Body Rides - Richard Laymon ****
15 - The Ruins - Scott Smith *
16 - Beware - Richard Laymon ***
17 - Casino Royale - Ian Fleming ***
18 - Live and Let Die - Ian Fleming ****
19 - On the Beach - Nevil Shute *****
20 - Moonraker - Ian Fleming *****
21 - Out are the Lights - Richard Laymon ***

reserved 26 - 50

reserved 51 - 75

Welcome back!

Glad to see you joining us for 2012, Lee!

Will try my best to get there again.... :) Have to post a link to yours for me

I do not have a thread just yet, but once I do, I will post the link.

Happy New Year!

Yeh, happy new year to you all! :)

Song of Susannah - Stephen King ****

The sixth book in the Dark Tower series follows the ka-tet's adventures after the battle with the wolves. Sussanah, possessed by the personality Mia, has stolen black thirteen and gone through the doorway to New York in order to have her 'chap'.

Roland and Eddie team up, leaving Jake, Oy and Callahan together. Both parties must travel to different New Yorks to secure the lot and also help Susannah.

This book is written with two separate story lines following either side of the Ka-tets adventures. An interesting concept is King writing himself into the storyline, although he doesn't portray himself in a particularly attractive light, I'm not sure if I liked it.

The book ended on a major cliff hanger and I can't wait to get stuck into the next instalment.

A Devil is Waiting - Jack Higgins ***

The usual gang are back in the 19th Sean Dillon 'Thriller'. Expect much of the same as the previous novels. This time we are still battling Al Qaeda.

There is a new character brought in the form of Sarah Gideon.... she has the customary Jewish roots (Hannah Bernstein anyone?) and Higgins introduces the will they, won't they plot when her and Holley get close.

I have read nearly all of Higgins works and have to say he is easily my favourite author, but even I found this latest offering a tired rehash of characters and plots he has used several times before. I wish he would now kill off or retire the whole cast (Ferguson must be pushing 100 by now....)

All in all, I did enjoy the book, but that is mostly because of the respect I have for JH as a brilliant author. Hope his next one is a lot better.... fingers crossed.

In The Dark - Richard Laymon *****

Jane is a librarian, one night as she prepares to close up she finds and envelope with a $50 bill and a note with a clue. She follows up on the clue and finds $100 dollars with a further offer of doubling her money each time she completes a task. The note is signed MOG (Master of Games). Each task gets more and more scary to complete, expect graveyards, late nights and death. :)

I have read a few Laymon novels and this one doesn't fail to live up to his legacy to shock. I think most of his books are male orientated with their fair share of jiggling boobs and bums. I just love them. I've not read the Beast house trilogy yet, but this book would seem an ideal place to start for fans new to his work.

The Redemption - William Peter Blatty ***

Having read and enjoyed the Exorcist and Legion, I thought I would give this a try....

The Redemption (published elsewhere as Dimiter) is a spy thriller with very little in relation to the topics of Blattys other works. Set during the cold war period the novel starts in Albania with a spy named Paul Dimiter being tortured by the authorities.

A year later and a whole series of events are being investigated by a Policeman called Peter Meral, is there a link between these and Dimiter? And if there is, can he find it?

I found this book at times very slow, and the plot occasionaly incoherent. It has been praised as Blatty's best work, but I don't think it can hold a light to his earlier offerings. Or maybe I just expected something different.

Passage by Night - Jack Higgins ****

Harry Manning charters his boat to tourists in the Bahamas, barely scraping a living. However his girlfriend is killed by Cuban terrorists in an aeroplane explosion. Revenge is on his mind and he sets out to make those responsible pay.

Set during the cuban missile crisis the plot interweaves with real day events, and as usual with Higgins he has manged to create an air of mystery with a few suprises thrown in for good measure.

The Maneaters of Tsavo - Lt. Colonel J. H. Patterson ***

After watching the film 'The Ghost and the Darkness' I decided to purchase the true story account of the man who actually managed to kill the maneaters.

The book started off quite well and goes into quite some detail regarding the area and methods used in order to trap the Lions. Anyone reading the book should also be aware of the times the book was written in. Expect non pc descriptions of natives and reports of the hunting of wild animals.

The reason I only awarded the book 3 stars was that only half the book actually dealt with the Lions, the rest just detailed Patterson's time in africa leading up to World War 1. A few nice stories if you care about it - I don't.

The Dark Tower - Stephen King ****

After many thousands of pages Roland finally arrives at the lifes objective, the foot of the Dark Tower. Unlike many of King's books I really enjoyed this ending and felt the story was complete.

Many of the familiar characters are present in this 'will they or won't survive' conclusion. I don't want to give too much away but King's dual ending (he gives the reader the choice of whether to stop or not) really was a stroke of brilliance.

A fitting conclusion to a magnificent series. :)

The Passage - Justin Cronin ***

I have read many many good reviews of this book, but I just couldn't get stuck into the story. I found the plot slow moving and the reading of it a real struggle.

I am probably in the minority but just didn't enjoy it. A shame really as the concept of the novel was a good one.

I'm not going to go into the storyline and I am sure many other reviewers will do this for me.

Night Judgement at Sinos - Jack Higgins ****

Jack Savage is a salvage diver in the greek islands, however one day his boat explodes in suspicious circumstances.

On the island of Sinos a political prisoner is being held captive, and despite being a character that cares little for politics Savage soon finds himself forced into taking sides and developing a rescue plan.

Plenty of action as you would normally expext from Higgins, with men who are men and the bullets fly!!!

The Savage Day - Jack Higgins *****

Simon Vaughn's first outing. The story follows much the same as many other Jack Higgins, and anyone famiar with the Sean Dillon series will have read most of it before.

However that doesn't mean that it's not an excellent book. Vaughn has been captured and is sat in a Greek jail looking at a 15 year sentence. Unexpectedly help comes in the form og the British Government who offer release in return for a favour. Unfortunatley for Vaughn the 'favour' means the infiltration of the IRA in order to deliver 'The Small Man' and help stop further bloodshed.

Things in ireland are not as they seem with splinter groups forming and differing ideals causing internal conflicts and rivalry.

Accompanied by the small man's neice (Norah) and her body guard (Binnie) Vaughn must remain undiscovered until mission is complete. A problem arises in the guise of Frank Barry, a ruthless man who will stop at nothing. He is after a shipment of gold hidden years previously by the Small Man. He see's Vaughn as tool to be able to get to the treasure, always turning up when least wanted.

Higgins has created a well rounded novel full of action and thought provoking scenarios. He manages to compare the loyal IRA fighters who believe in a cause with others who are in it for personal gain.

I have read this is Higgin's favourite novel - and I can see why.

Misery - Stephen King ****

I saw the film a number of years ago starring the excellent Cathy Bates, so thought I would give the book a try. As usual with King I really enjoyed the book a whole lot more.

Paul Sheldon has written about a character called Misery, she has made him a bestseller and a fortune. However he has decided to kill off his creation.....

After a car crash he is found by his number one fan, Annie Wilkes, she is not happy with the situation and will do anything to keep Paul writing Misery's tales....

Plenty of psychological and horror action in this King offering. I loved it.

Body Rides - Richard Laymon ****

Imagine being given a ring that will allow to to enter someone elses body, feel what they feel, experience their thoughts and see the most hidden of secrets. Now imagine this ring in the hands of a randy lad just out of his teens.....

Anyone who is familiar with Laymons work will know what to expect, with lots of references to sex, boobs and girls undressing....

Neil rescues a woman being raped at the roadside and seemingly leaves her killer for dead. As a reward she gives him her most treasured item, a ring that will allow to go for 'body rides'. However the killer isn't dead and now wants to exact revenge on Neil for spoiling his fun. Can he use to ring to his advantage whilst having a little fun on the way?

A wonderful book that at times was gruesome, at times laugh aloud. I love Richard Laymon but can see why he may not be everyones cup of tea. Not a bad place to be introduced to his work.

The Ruins - Scott Smith *

I bought this book after reading the cover and seeing that it was highly recommended by Stephen King.... later I found out it was the authors earlier book that was being described. This book hold a special joint place with 'The girl who loved Tom Gordan'. Both are the worst books that I have actually finished.

Ok, so the plot.... 2 American couples on vacation in Mexico team with a German who wants to find his missing brother. A greek who speaks no English also join them...... They travel to an archeological dig but miss the turning and end up in a Mayan viallage. Receiving no hospitality they then leave and find the right path. The Myans arrive and due to the language barrier are not able to prevent the group from entering onto a hill.... The Mayans will not let them cross back over the clearing and force them to remain at arrowpoint.

On the hill there appears to be vines which turn out to people killers....

Expect plants that have acid for sap, can imitate voices and sounds and move around.

I struggled to get through this book... it was very poorly written and just did not grip my attention in any sort of way. All the characters were two dimensional and alike, and really just plain annoying.

The authors first book seems to have gotten many good reviews, but this offering has stopped me reading anymore of works. Pity he didn't take the idea and give it to Stephen King........

Beware - Richard Laymon ***

My 6th book by Laymon so I know what to expect in terms of violence and graphic sex. I just didn'y enjoy this as much as his other works, at times it just seemed very rushed and without any of the twists I usually enjoy.

Lacey Allen is a reporter but she is being terrorised (raped etc) by an invisible man, Can she escape? And how is the cult governed by Laveda connected?

Worth a look but by far not Laymon's best.

Casino Royale - Ian Fleming ***

After many years of watching th Bond films on TV I decided to buy the books and see where it all started from.

Casin Royale is Ian Fleming's first Bond novel.

Bond's Target is a man named Le Chiffre, and his mission is to bankrupt him at the game of baccaret. However the funds belong to SMERSH and Le Chiffre is attemting to save him own neck.

Bond is accompanied by a female assistant called Vesper, and Felix Leiter (the CIA).

I just found the book quite dull, not knowing the game of baccatet there were a number of chapters that seemed to pass me by. Also there was very little action, the last 30+ pages just whittered on about how his love was growing for Vesper (I just kept wanting him to kill someone). Bond is also quite different to any of the screen adaptations with his scar down 1 cheek and 60 a day smoking habit.

I enjoyed the book but was disapointed to find no gadgets or hardly any of Bond's quirky ways we have all come to know and love.

I hope the other novels improve (especially as I have bought a box set!!)

Live and Let Die - Ian Fleming ****

Bonds second outing under the pen of Ian Fleming finds him in both the USA and Jamaica.

Pitted against the notorious Mr Big (who has found a stash of pirate treasure and smuggling it into the USA to aid SMERSH). Through Voodoo and the threat of the zombie Baron Semedie he controls enough black muscle to track Bonds every move.

After the disapointment of Casino Royale, it was pleasing to see a much tougher, slicker Bond emerge. A Bond that won't fail to get your pulse racing as he plans his next onslaught against the plentyful bad guys.

If you have seen the film, then you will be suprised to find that very little of the screenplay will be found in the novel. We still get to meet the gorgeous Solitaire though, and another Bond steadfast we encounter is his friend Felix Leiter, but whether we will meet him again remains to be seen. If we do then he definately won't be running around......

An enjoyable read and one that has left me wanting more.

On the Beach - Nevil Shute

The world is in turmoil following a nuclear war in the Northern Hemisphere, the air is polluted with radioactive fallout killing anyone it touches within a matter of days. As the earth's air currents slowly force the radiation South, the novel concentrates on how southern Australia reacts to their impending death, focusing mainly on 5 individuals. The book details Shute’s impression of how he feels society would react when faced with its final destruction.

Shute imagines a world of stiff upper lipped inhabitants, where people go about their daily business until the very end. Goods are still paid for, jobs are still kept, and crime is at a minimum. Personally I would foresee a very different set of circumstances, but I am not writing the book, so I will go along with the author.

The main characters are at heart all good, wholesome people. Some have accepted their death and plan to enjoy what time they have left, others need a little help via a brandy bottle. But all show an implacable respect of duty, both to any career or morals they have chose to live with.

At first I found the attitudes of the protagonists hard to accept and at times a touch wooden, but then you have to place yourself in the context of when the book was written. Times were very different back then and the world really was in fear of a nuclear war.

Other reviewers have given the book a low mark due to scientific inaccuracies, but I find this ridiculous. Would you only give Lord of the Rings one star because there are no Hobbits at the bottom of your garden?

Anyway, this has to be one if the most thought provoking pieces of literature that I have ever read. It still lingers with me a number of days later, and I often find myself thinking what would I do? How would I react to seeing my family die in front of me?

Do I agree with all the author portrays? Not at all.
Am I glad I read this book? Definitely
Would I recommend it? In an instant.

Moonraker - Ian Fleming *****

Bond's third outing under the pen of Fleming and I have to say each book gets better.

Anyone familiar with the film will not find a lot in common here, there is no space battle or metal toothed baddy Jaws. However we do find the evil genius Hugo Drax and his Moonraker rocket a plan to devastate.

It all starts off with M asking Bond to investigate Drax and his inexplicable winning streak at cards. Bond immediately falls foul of Drax good side and receives a deadly warning.
At the moonraker plant a rocket has been developed to safeguard the UK’s future, Drax is the man behind the project and become a national heroes. However when a strange murders committed Bond is assigned in the dead mans place. Can he foil the plot with the help of the beautiful Gala Brand?

A well written novel that allows the reader to see a different side to Bond than at the cinema. This is a gritty world where not even the great James Bond always gets the girl.

Out are the Lights - Richard Laymon ***

Not the best Richard Laymon I have read, to be honest if this was the first book of his I picked up it would possibly be the last.

The plot is relatively simple, a horror film producer lures unsuspecting teens into dangerous situations that results in their death. The onslaught is filmed and released in another state.

as with a number of Laymons offerings there are 2 plots that merge together at the end, expect plenty of sex and splattering gore, just not a particularly great read.

Try Island or Beast house as an introduction.