In 1984, two masters of horror collaborated to bring us this novel. In it, young Jack Sawyer goes on a magical quest to save his dying mother by obtaining the powerful Talisman. An evil sorcerer also desires the Talisman and attempts to thwart him at every turn. Jack’s path crosses America from the Atlantic to the Pacific and traverses not only our mundane world (He visits a fictional boarding school here in Springfield!), but also crosses into a parallel fantasy realm called the Territories. Not all of the monsters in this book have fangs and claws; some are very much human, and it is often difficult to determine which world is the most dangerous. Jack’s journey is harrowing and heroic by turns as he gains and loses (sometimes quite heartbreakingly) allies and enemies along his path.
King fans will see shades of the Dark Tower series in this novel. And, though it certainly has many horrific elements, it should also appeal to fantasy readers, as Jack’s journey is indeed a hero’s quest.
King and Straub teamed up again in 2001 to write a sequel, Black House, which features Jack as an adult, tracking a serial killer and battling evil once again.
Kate is a twenty-six-year-old reporter working for the local neighborhood newspaper in Brixton, London. After writing mostly about lost pets and trying (unsuccessfully) to keep her anxiety and panic attacks at bay, she is assigned to write about the closing of the lido, or local swimming pool. At the lido, she meets Rosemary, an eighty-seven-year-old widow who swims at the pool every day, and has for most of her life. Kate asks Rosemary for an interview, to which the older woman agrees only if Kate goes for a swim in the pool. Together, the women begin not only a friendship, but a campaign to save the lido.
This novel is a touching tribute to relationships and community. Through flashbacks, we see Rosemary fall in love with and lose her husband George, the presence of the lido all the while in the background. As Kate spends more time with Rosemary, she is able to find confidence and strength, create new friendships, and reach out to family she hasn’t spoken to in a while. Between the two of them, they bring a community together with a common purpose, in an effort to save one of the last true community centers in the neighborhood.
For fans of heartwarming, character-driven fiction, and authors like Fannie Flagg and Sophie Kinsella.
It all begins with a family on vacation in Ireland. On their way back home to New York, the husband grows sick. By the next day, he's in the hospital, dying. The sickness spreads quickly-- worldwide. Governments collapse, mayhem reigns supreme. Only instead of a zombie apocalypse, people start seeing things out of fairy tales: people flying, unicorns in the street, monsters in the subways.
As with any tool, magic can be used for good or evil, and a war is brewing between the two while people try to survive in the ruins of the world. Lana and Max, two witches, leave NYC on a quest to find Max's brother and safety. Arlys and Fred, two journalists running from what's left of the government, leave the city to find a tech genius named Chuck. Rachel and Jonah flee the NYC hospital where they work, bringing along a new mother of three to find a safe haven down south. In a world where it's harder than ever to trust anyone, these characters head towards an unknown purpose that will shape the lives of survivors everywhere.
If you're looking for a dramatic, fast-paced fantasy series, this isn't it. With fairies, magic, and elves, it is certainly fantasy, but those elements trickle into the story slowly. The style of the writing is less "high fantasy" than it is "urban fantasy" or "magical realism." Fans of Nora Robert's realistic fiction will still find a lot to like here.
Year One is the first in the Chronicles of the One trilogy. The sequel, Of Blood and Bone, was released last year, and the conclusion, The Rise of Magicks, is scheduled for later this year. Now that the 'new world' is set up in the series, it will be interesting to see how the story manifests in the sequels.
There have always been stories of children disappearing into other worlds-- fairylands, wonderlands, netherworlds, and more. But what happens when those children come back? What happens when their families no longer know what to do with them, when all they want is to jump back down those rabbit holes?
If they're lucky, they end up at Eleanor West's Home for Wayward Children, where they can be among others who understand. Nancy, who visited the land of the dead and learned the ways of stillness, is one such lucky girl, but it doesn't feel so lucky when right after she arrives, other students start turning up murdered and dismembered. As the new girl, from an underworld no less, it's not the best first impression.
This is an insanely creative, surprisingly short novel (or novella, technically) with an impressively diverse cast of characters. The worldbuilding is unlike anything I've ever read before. While the "fantasy boarding school" setup might appeal to teens, the gruesome deaths of the children officially makes this an adult read. There are currently four books in the "Wayward Children" series, with more on the way, and a TV show is in the works.
Blood Sisters is an edge-of-your-seat psychological thriller that leaves you asking, "What really
happened? But no, really, what happened…"
Alison has a secret. One so dark she lets it keep her from fully enjoying life. What is that secret? We don't know. She takes a job in a prison to get by financially-- and because she feels she deserves to be there-- but then she finds herself in trouble, with threatening notes claiming they know her deep, dark secret. Then there are chapters from another character's point of view: Kitty. Kitty was involved in some sort of incident-- an accident?-- that left her brain damaged. She lives in a facility, unable to speak proper words (they come out in jumbled mumbles) and can't remember life before the facility. But wait! Memories start to creep back from time to time...
Finally we find out some of what happened on that day-- the day Alison decided she couldn't allow herself to be happy and Kitty forgot about life before brain damage. Or do we? This is the exciting part about this novel: the stages of finding out what exactly transpired that fateful day before school, when three girls in uniform stood in the road-- ending with one girl dead, one brain damaged, and one blaming herself.
This novel was hard to put down because I simply had to know what happened. The ending is satisfying, with missed details and new
revelations leading to all of the answers. If you like a good thriller/mystery,
this should be your next book to read.
Our story begins with Dr. Barry Laverty sitting on a train headed to Ballybucklebo, an Irish village populated with an interesting and quirky cast of characters. It is in this town that he will begin his medical career, working with Dr. Fingal O’Reilly as a general practitioner. Having the story set in the 1960s affords the reader a relatability with its references to the Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and other very recognizable people and events. Each interaction with a new patient propels the story along, bringing the reader on a journey through this quaint town and its inhabitants.
Listening to the audio book, with its Irish narrator, really brought the story and the characters to life and makes for an enjoyable listen. Fortunately, this is just the first of Patrick Taylor’s Irish Country series, so there are many more experiences to be had with the two doctors in Ballybucklebo.
Korede is the responsible sister, everything her sister Ayoola is not. Korede is practical, methodical, sensible, practical, and plain, while Ayoola is flighty and charming to everyone she meets. She also has the unfortunate habit of killing off her boyfriends, leaving Korede to help conceal her crimes and literally clean up the mess.
When Ayoola sets her sights on a handsome doctor at the hospital where Korede works (perhaps it's also not a coincidence that Korede has had a secret crush on him for years) Korede must reckon with what her sister has become, and just how far she is willing to go to protect her.
This book is full of dark humor and packs a punch, despite only having 220 pages in it. You'll want to keep turning the pages of this addictively unique thriller, and it will stay with you long after you've turned the last page.
