I decided to treat myself to re-reading one of the best Sci-fi books I had ever read. Many years had passed. So much so that I had only a vague recollection that the book was excellent. A thought process interceded, "The Odyssey" was released as a film and so I thought to renew my aquaintance with Homers epic poem. I then thought of "Illium" Dan Simmons scifi take on the Trojan war which in turn led me to remember how good "Hyperion" was. I viewed the novel with both trepidation and exceitment; I was much younger when I first read the novel, was I now jaded and would not enjoy it? Was it not all that I remembered it to be? My worries were foolish, the novel and it's sequel (The Fall of Hyperion) were all that I had remembered. One of the greatest works of speculative fiction ever produced. Even one of my sci-fi heroes Iain M Banks, who wrote the most imaginitive of tales called Mr Simmons "Hyperion" "Truly Astonishing" and Stephen King said, "I am in awe of Dan Simmons". Hyperion and it's sequel are masterpieces of speculative fiction.
Like, Mr King, I found the character of Holly Gibney odd and Intriguing. I had already enjoyed her inclusion in "Mr Mercedes", "The Outsider" and "Finders Keepers" so I was already looking forward to her having her own novel (don't wory I know shes not real) and "Holly" suddenly becomes the lead character. Imagine reading "Rebus" or "Morse" or Sherlock" turned on it's head. No big tough male character with a huge intellect or bruising fists to find the culprit but a slight, self-concious girl that is simply determind to do her job. The fact Mr King, as always adds his own slant to the tale does not hurt at all.
Holly Gibney, one of Stephen King’s most compelling and ingeniously resourceful characters, returns in this thrilling novel to solve the gruesome truth behind multiple disappearances in a midwestern town.
“Sometimes the universe throws you a rope.” —BILL HODGES
Stephen King’s Holly marks the triumphant return of beloved King character Holly Gibney. Readers have witnessed Holly’s gradual transformation from a shy (but also brave and ethical) recluse in Mr. Mercedes to Bill Hodges’s partner in Finders Keepers to a full-fledged, smart, and occasionally tough private detective in The Outsider. In King’s new novel, Holly is on her own, and up…
Nikolai Tolstoy (from the Russian royal dynasty) a british MP, produced this book many years ago. A book I had always wished to read but that had sat at the bottom of my "TBR"bundle for many years. I suppose I was putting it off as it was going to be horrible for someone from the relatively modern age to understand. Having read months of wonderful fiction my conciense was pricking me and it was time to read something far more important. So I embarked on this book. It is not an easy read, but I would recommend it as you begin to realise how little Stalin cares for life and his people, even his own children. This book is horrible and shocking and , worse still, true.
The dead girl was not always dead, once she lived and played like other girls, like her sister, until one day the river took her. Near the river lies the Wandering Tree, beneath its branches children play, animals' hide, and insects gather. An old tree harbor's many secrets and life is only one of them. A broken man lives near the Wandering Tree, a man who has lost a wife and later a daughter. The river gives life to the tree and all surrounding it, the broken man, the dead girl, and the creatures, human, animal, and elemental, who rely upon its bounty. Not all is right with the river, the Wandering Tree and the lands surrounding it. An insidious cancer grows, takes root, and spreads, infecting all those who live around and in the river. The dead girl, the broken man, the sad Moonchild and all the creatures who live by the river must find the root of this blight and destroy it before it consumes them. Imagine a faerie tale by a master storyteller, romance, suspense, horror, and fantasy crafted perfectly. I cannot get enough of this. Robert Anderson author of Elizabeth Truth, wonder and an overriding innocence that glamours, dark, beautiful, and mysterious, I was enchanted. Carrie Lewis author of Infidelity Wondrous. The Scotsman. Spellbinding. The Glasgow Herald. Bittersweet; a must read. The Metro
