I can't believe this doesn't already exist - probably it does but I couldn't find it. Anyway review books you've just read here - not your favourite books. Also please don't post that you've just finished a book if you have no kind of review to offer.
Lunar Park by Bret Easton Ellis
In case you didn't know, I'm a huge fan of Ellis and pretty much all of his books but especially American Psycho so when I saw this in the airport in Sydney I had to buy it. I really like his writing style and so I definitely enjoyed the book on a superficial level. I guess the fact that it's a fictional autobiography made me take it a little more seriously than his other books. Definitely he continued the strong theme of his relationship with his father which is really something that is fairly strong in all his books. In fact I'd say that father - son relationships was the whole story of the book. I guess because I never new my real father and only lived with my step father for 6 or 7 years and obviously have no children of my own - I really found it quite hard to relate to the message of the book. I thought it had some great metaphores about his relationship and was generally well written but because I'm completely the wrong audience, I didn't enjoy it as much as I could. Also being the fan of his work that I am, one of the significant plot "twists" that carried through the book was so blatently obvious to me that it really detracted from the book. In many ways it's a lot different to his other work and I think had a very different feel. I get the impression he really was writing about himself and some kind of signifcant moment but from a warped and fictionalised point of view.
Anyway I think this book is definitely worth a read, I guess it's much less nihilistic than his other work - in fact at times it felt like he was apologising for that and trying to repair his moral impressions. I don't know - it should make you think anyway, especially if you've read his other work.
Book Review Topic
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BainbridgeShred
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Another of Jeremy's threads that I'll choose to keep alive.
I read "The Man Who Died" by D.H. Lawrence not too long ago, and the basic plot of the book is that Christ hasn't died on the cross, and the book begins with his awakening in his tomb. Christ seeks refuge with a peasant on his property, and stays there until his wounds have healed well enough for him to leave. It is here that most of the symbolism (Which Lawrence is known for) of the book is encountered in the form of an escaped rooster (The book was originally published as "The Escaped Cock" in Paris).
What's mainly so striking about this book is how fictionalized it is (As I suppose is to be expected in a book focusing on Christ's post-crucifixtion journey's). Mainly noticeable is Christ's newfound humanity, explained away as that he was able to live such a life, now that his sacrificial life has come to an end. A sexual, and even something of a nihlistic, side comes out in Christ, as he wanders the country, seeking the meaning of human existence. Book has a good conclusion too, with Jesus ending up in a temple on the shores of Lebanon.
Lawrence is one of my favorite writers of all time, and definetly is one of the most influential writers of the 20th century. As a big fan of any type of literature, and also as a devout Christian, this book was a real experience for me. This shouldn't scare away others though, as this book can be appreciated easily enough simply for it's deep symbolism and crazy eploration of philosphy.
I read "The Man Who Died" by D.H. Lawrence not too long ago, and the basic plot of the book is that Christ hasn't died on the cross, and the book begins with his awakening in his tomb. Christ seeks refuge with a peasant on his property, and stays there until his wounds have healed well enough for him to leave. It is here that most of the symbolism (Which Lawrence is known for) of the book is encountered in the form of an escaped rooster (The book was originally published as "The Escaped Cock" in Paris).
What's mainly so striking about this book is how fictionalized it is (As I suppose is to be expected in a book focusing on Christ's post-crucifixtion journey's). Mainly noticeable is Christ's newfound humanity, explained away as that he was able to live such a life, now that his sacrificial life has come to an end. A sexual, and even something of a nihlistic, side comes out in Christ, as he wanders the country, seeking the meaning of human existence. Book has a good conclusion too, with Jesus ending up in a temple on the shores of Lebanon.
Lawrence is one of my favorite writers of all time, and definetly is one of the most influential writers of the 20th century. As a big fan of any type of literature, and also as a devout Christian, this book was a real experience for me. This shouldn't scare away others though, as this book can be appreciated easily enough simply for it's deep symbolism and crazy eploration of philosphy.
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tuomoruutufan
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"Haunted" By: Chuck Palahnuik
THis book got tons and tons and tons of hype due to his constand book touring and public reading of the star story "guts". Do a search for it on the internet and read it its really funny and very gross. The story was making men sick in mid show.
So when the book finally came out my first impression was bad, I was expecting interesting, disguisting, thought provoking, funny as fuck short stories. Yes these stories were in the book and all of them are worth reading and half of them are instant classics that you will want to re read many times. The problem is the filler. The reason these short stories exist is because theirs an inbetween stories of wannabe artists/actors attending a workship. The concept is you lose every distraction the world throws at you and you get to create your masterpiece. IMO that story sucked its some of chucks worst writing, You dont care about the charectors you get confused about whos who and you just get aggravitated and turned off by the whole thing. It was so bad i began skipping this filler story and just fell in love with short stories.
I enjoyed this book and recomend it to anybody looking for some interesting disgustingly funny, ( with one that is scary), short stories by a fantastic writer. but be warned about the filler crap story but dont let it ruin the experience skip and enjoy those AWESOME short stories.
P.S. rumor was that this would be a true story book, Chuck has admited many many of these stories come from true accounts but alot of it is exagerated/fabricated to make it more interesting (and doing a truestory is an ultimate pain in the ass).
He has qouted that the story guts IS 90 Percent completely true events 2 men with bad curiosity luck and one man who will be and has never been the same since the acounts recalled in the story (you will know which one im refering to i promise)
If you never read chuck i would save this one for later, guys read choke girls read invisible mosters, EVerybody read Survivor, of course fight club is fantastic and diary/lullaby are enjoyable but his weakest efforts.
THis book got tons and tons and tons of hype due to his constand book touring and public reading of the star story "guts". Do a search for it on the internet and read it its really funny and very gross. The story was making men sick in mid show.
So when the book finally came out my first impression was bad, I was expecting interesting, disguisting, thought provoking, funny as fuck short stories. Yes these stories were in the book and all of them are worth reading and half of them are instant classics that you will want to re read many times. The problem is the filler. The reason these short stories exist is because theirs an inbetween stories of wannabe artists/actors attending a workship. The concept is you lose every distraction the world throws at you and you get to create your masterpiece. IMO that story sucked its some of chucks worst writing, You dont care about the charectors you get confused about whos who and you just get aggravitated and turned off by the whole thing. It was so bad i began skipping this filler story and just fell in love with short stories.
I enjoyed this book and recomend it to anybody looking for some interesting disgustingly funny, ( with one that is scary), short stories by a fantastic writer. but be warned about the filler crap story but dont let it ruin the experience skip and enjoy those AWESOME short stories.
P.S. rumor was that this would be a true story book, Chuck has admited many many of these stories come from true accounts but alot of it is exagerated/fabricated to make it more interesting (and doing a truestory is an ultimate pain in the ass).
He has qouted that the story guts IS 90 Percent completely true events 2 men with bad curiosity luck and one man who will be and has never been the same since the acounts recalled in the story (you will know which one im refering to i promise)
If you never read chuck i would save this one for later, guys read choke girls read invisible mosters, EVerybody read Survivor, of course fight club is fantastic and diary/lullaby are enjoyable but his weakest efforts.
~Shawn Patrick Boyle~
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shredzilla
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Frankenstein: Book One Prodigal Son
Frankenstein: Book One, Prodigal Son -Dean Koontz
Dean Koontz has always been my favorite author. I really don't read much fiction besides his stuff. He's the king of the suspense genre for sure. A lot of his books are such page-turners you'll find yourself reading long into the night. Many of his books have been on the New York Times Bestseller list, and he's reputable amongst top editors and book reviewers across the US.
For the most part, all of Dean Koontz' books are about one or all of three things: Mysterious phenomenon, Serial Killers, or Conspiracy. He does a great job of drawing life-like characters, vivid and realistic settings, and is a superb storyteller who will make you feel like you're right there every step of the way. Most of the characters he writes about are fictional, and unique in some way, however recently he has adopted the Frankenstein legend, and decided to re-tell the story in his own exciting, and in a lot of ways more plausible version.
The story begins in New Orleans, with two detectives assigned to a serial murder case. Detective Carson O'Connor is a cool, cynical, witty detective who is every bit as tough as she looks. Her partner Michael Maddison would back her up all the way to Hell itself-and that just may be where this case ends up.
The surgeon, is what they have nicknamed him. He kills his victims, and removes their body parts. Upon visiting the 5th body, they discover that the latest victim has been killed by a copycat killer, removing internal organs intstead of limbs and outside body parts. O'Connor and Maddison have no clue of what to make of this new phenomenon until they are visited by a huge beast of a man named Decaulian. A man who claims to be over 200 years old. He says he is the first creation of a man named Victor Frankenstein.
Without giving away too much of the plot, I can only say that Koontz rocks, and has delivered an amazing work recapturing the Frankenstein legend. There are two books so far in the 3 book series. Prodigal Son really sets the atmosphere nicely, and is quite the page-turner that brings in multiple antagonists and protagonists that weave in and out of each other's lives.
Other awesome Dean Koontz Books:
Intensity
Dragontears
Shadowfires
Hideaway
False Memory
Seize the Night
Dean Koontz has always been my favorite author. I really don't read much fiction besides his stuff. He's the king of the suspense genre for sure. A lot of his books are such page-turners you'll find yourself reading long into the night. Many of his books have been on the New York Times Bestseller list, and he's reputable amongst top editors and book reviewers across the US.
For the most part, all of Dean Koontz' books are about one or all of three things: Mysterious phenomenon, Serial Killers, or Conspiracy. He does a great job of drawing life-like characters, vivid and realistic settings, and is a superb storyteller who will make you feel like you're right there every step of the way. Most of the characters he writes about are fictional, and unique in some way, however recently he has adopted the Frankenstein legend, and decided to re-tell the story in his own exciting, and in a lot of ways more plausible version.
The story begins in New Orleans, with two detectives assigned to a serial murder case. Detective Carson O'Connor is a cool, cynical, witty detective who is every bit as tough as she looks. Her partner Michael Maddison would back her up all the way to Hell itself-and that just may be where this case ends up.
The surgeon, is what they have nicknamed him. He kills his victims, and removes their body parts. Upon visiting the 5th body, they discover that the latest victim has been killed by a copycat killer, removing internal organs intstead of limbs and outside body parts. O'Connor and Maddison have no clue of what to make of this new phenomenon until they are visited by a huge beast of a man named Decaulian. A man who claims to be over 200 years old. He says he is the first creation of a man named Victor Frankenstein.
Without giving away too much of the plot, I can only say that Koontz rocks, and has delivered an amazing work recapturing the Frankenstein legend. There are two books so far in the 3 book series. Prodigal Son really sets the atmosphere nicely, and is quite the page-turner that brings in multiple antagonists and protagonists that weave in and out of each other's lives.
Other awesome Dean Koontz Books:
Intensity
Dragontears
Shadowfires
Hideaway
False Memory
Seize the Night
J. Chris "Thread-killer" Miller
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BainbridgeShred
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tuomoruutufan
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BainbridgeShred wrote:Chuck Palahnuik is a hack. His only relitively good book was "Fight Club".
Dean Koontz is a hack too.
I should have never re-upped this thread.
"We use criticism as a fake participation"
Chuck Palahnuik
"Its easier to hate everybody elses creations than create anything of your own"
Chuck Palahnuik
Chuck is spelling it out for ya, If you think he sucks create something better yourself.
Last edited by tuomoruutufan on 13 Dec 2005 15:17, edited 1 time in total.
~Shawn Patrick Boyle~
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shredzilla
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BainbridgeShred
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dragonhack
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in the last week and 2 day's i've read the following:
"on bullshit" Harry G. Frankfurt
"the dragon and the tiger" The birth of Bruce Lee's Jeet Kune Do
"the electric kool-aid acid test" Hunter S. Thompson.(almost completed)
on bullshit was a very nice essay on bullshit and it's integral function in society, a short descriptive knowledgeable read, well worth taking the 5 minutes to read it!!
the dragon and the tiger is only the first volume of the saga that is bruce lees life. it documents the trips to the us and who he meets on his way up to starting the school.i'm now anxiously awaiting the second installment.
the electric kool-aid acid test is an amazing book so far that descriptively tells the many stories of ken keysey and his group of merry pranksters, a great read for those of you interested in anything from psychedellics, the 60's drug scene, the hells angles, and general chaos and debauchery! highly suggested to take a look!
"on bullshit" Harry G. Frankfurt
"the dragon and the tiger" The birth of Bruce Lee's Jeet Kune Do
"the electric kool-aid acid test" Hunter S. Thompson.(almost completed)
on bullshit was a very nice essay on bullshit and it's integral function in society, a short descriptive knowledgeable read, well worth taking the 5 minutes to read it!!
the dragon and the tiger is only the first volume of the saga that is bruce lees life. it documents the trips to the us and who he meets on his way up to starting the school.i'm now anxiously awaiting the second installment.
the electric kool-aid acid test is an amazing book so far that descriptively tells the many stories of ken keysey and his group of merry pranksters, a great read for those of you interested in anything from psychedellics, the 60's drug scene, the hells angles, and general chaos and debauchery! highly suggested to take a look!