⭐⭐⭐⭐ I had a really good time with Whistle. Linwood Barclay has always been great at writing fast-paced thrillers that are difficult to put down, and while this one leans much more into horror than some of his previous work, it still has that same page-turning quality. I found myself saying I'd read just one … Continue reading Creepy, Compelling and Hard to Put Down
⭐⭐⭐⭐ I really enjoyed Artemis. It isn't quite on the same level as The Martian for me, but it's still a fun, fast-paced read that kept me turning the pages. Andy Weir has a real talent for making science feel interesting without it becoming overwhelming, and the setting of a city on the Moon is … Continue reading A Fun Trip to the Moon
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ There’s always something a little strange for me when I pick up a Tiffany Aching book. I never dive into them with the same immediate excitement I get from some of the other Discworld novels, and every single time it takes me a while to properly settle into the story. Wintersmith … Continue reading A Wintery Return to Tiffany Aching
⭐⭐⭐⭐ Another of this year’s re-reads for me, and revisiting Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir felt oddly well-timed considering the film adaptation has recently come out. I haven’t actually seen the movie yet, but it definitely pushed the book back to the front of my mind. Sometimes a re-read can flatten the excitement a … Continue reading Science, Survival and Another Trip Across the Stars: Revisiting Project Hail Mary
⭐⭐⭐⭐ This is my second read-through of Meg by Steve Alten, the first being about ten years ago. Back then, I gave it a full five stars without hesitation. It was fast, exciting, and exactly the kind of over-the-top creature feature I loved. Coming back to it now, with a bit more reading experience under … Continue reading A Big, Dumb, Bloody Good Time (With a Few Cracks Showing)
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I’ve really been enjoying watching the Tiffany Aching books grow along with the character herself. A Hat Full of Sky feels a bit bigger and stranger than The Wee Free Men, but also more personal. It’s less about the adventure you go on and more about the kind of person you decide to be … Continue reading Learning to Be Yourself the Hard Way
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ T. Kingfisher’s What Moves the Dead quietly unsettles you rather than going for big shocks, and that’s exactly where it shines. A retelling of Poe’s The Fall of the House of Usher, it keeps the bones of the original story but dresses them in something far stranger, funnier, and biologically grotesque. The atmosphere is … Continue reading A Creepy, Clever Reimagining That Gets Under Your Skin
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Stephen King’s Insomnia surprised me in the best way. I went in expecting a fairly straightforward horror story, but it turned into something much stranger and more ambitious. Ralph’s sleeplessness starts off feeling uncomfortably real—King captures that foggy, irritable, slightly surreal feeling of being overtired so well that I could practically feel my own … Continue reading A Restless, Haunting Journey Through Derry
⭐⭐⭐⭐ I never thought I would say it, but it was a real pleasure to read a story from the perspective of someone so utterly unhinged. Victorian Psycho by Virginia Feito is not your usual historical novel – it’s a dark, twisted character study wrapped up in lace, corsets, and all the suffocating etiquette of … Continue reading A Fascinating Descent into Madness
⭐⭐⭐⭐ I just finished Wake Up and Open Your Eyes by Clay McLeod Chapman, and I’ve got to say—it’s one hell of a ride. I’m giving it a solid 4 out of 5 stars, mostly because while I really enjoyed it, it definitely pushed me further into the extreme horror territory than I usually like … Continue reading A Brutal Glimpse of the End
Gareth Ellis - Author 