Tag: Books

The OC by D.P. Lyle, Book Review

~ Veselin ~ Leave a comment

A solid story about a stalker who is unusually creepy and perhaps more dangerous than the million others like him. A beautiful journalist receives threats and unwanted advances, like flowers and chocolates, combined with threats. The detective trio Jake, Nicole, and Pancake are trying to help because they see the danger past the weird acts of attention. However, they have trouble figuring out who he is. This type of people normally physically chase their victims, while in our case, the perpetrator hides in the shadows.

I guessed who the villain was maybe five pages before the official reveal, so I’m not sure whether to feel proud of myself or not.

The book has a certain neon glow and the intentional smell of cheap things, like an exploitation movies from the past. It doesn’t feel too heavy, despite the constant threat of the stalker. I’d say it’s fine and an acceptable read. Not award-winning rocket science but not annoying either. Jake, Nicole, and Pancake are simple and well-intended characters.

I’m not sure why only parts 1, 2, and 5 of the series have been translated into Bulgarian while 3 and 4 were skipped. A strange choice by the publisher. It’s even stranger to translate a book that had the modest 199 ratings and 37 reviews on Goodreads, mine included. Won’t be the least popular book I read this year but it will be very close to the bottom.

4/5, straight to the overflow shelf.

November in Books

~ Veselin ~ Leave a comment

I managed to finish 7 books this month.

Best

  1. The Shadowed Sun by N.K. Jemisin – the duology is over, and so are all the books by Nora Jemisin, translated in Bulgarian. I liked it, although the memories about it are already fading.
  2. For We Are Many by Dennis E. Taylor – the self-replicating Bobs have reached a hostile alien form, they named “Others”. The Others show no mercy.
  3. Charity 1 by Wolfgang Hohlbein – speaking of mercy, the aliens in Charity show no mercy either. The destruction of humanity is almost complete, yet there’s Charity. Where does that lead us I couldn’t find because I stopped after book 3.
  4. The Housemaid’s Secret (The Housemaid, #2). It’s all about the plot twists and I will need some time to recover from them.

The other 3 books I read were fine, although not particularly great.

The Shadowed Sun by N.K. Jemisin, Book Review

~ Veselin ~ Leave a comment

A revolt is brewing. The occupation of Kisua has turned into something closer to enslavement, and the cultural rift between Gujaareh and Kisua makes the coexistence expensive. The soldiers from Kusia abuse their powers a bit too much and the locals use every opportunity to disobey.

In the middle of it all is our new hero Hanani, an apprentice healer, and Wanahomen, the heir fighting to reclaim what was unfairly taken (according to him). As they find allies and fragile trust, a quiet front opens. A dream-plague slips through the dark and kills innocent people’s souls in their dreams. Hanani is good but this plague kills far more talented healers. Can she stop it while also organizing a war?

If this were a Joe Abercrombie tale, there would be a bloody final battle where the disinterested and the clever slip through the cracks while the idealists and the fools die. But here the clash is inward. The battlefield is the hearts, minds, and dreams.

5/5. A long book, somewhat unusual, and also a bit romantic. I liked it very much but can’t really say why. Had some unpleasant scenes of cruel violence and abuse, but was otherwise good.

Book Clutter

~ Veselin ~ 10 Comments

I’m starting to think the ideal number of books to own is almost zero. I feel like one should only keep books that are either signed, gifts, not yet read, or for some reason frequently re-read. Everything else serves very little to no purpose and only forms clutter. The individual books are pretty big units of kipple that reduces the living space of book worms like me.

I keep an overflow shelf where books are prepared for donation but I seem to have been slow with getting rid of old books and very quick with buying new ones.