The Ocean at the End of the Lane

Neil Gaiman

Summary:

It began for our narrator forty years ago when the family lodger stole their car and committed suicide in it, stirring up ancient powers best left undisturbed. Dark creatures from beyond this world are on the loose, and it will take everything our narrator has just to stay alive: there is primal horror here, and menace unleashed – within his family and from the forces that have gathered to destroy it.

His only defence is three women, on a farm at the end of the lane. The youngest of them claims that her duckpond is an ocean. The oldest can remember the Big Bang.

In One Word: Mysterious

Plot:

I must be honest, I didn’t get everything in this story, I kept feeling like there was something I’m missing. That doesn’t mean, however, that I didn’t like it. It reads almost like the strange nightmare of a little kid: you don’t understand it, but while you’re reading it it makes sense in a weird way. I loved the way it was written, it’s easy to read and creates a dark mood that sucks you into the story, almost unwillingly.

Characters:

Definitely one of the strong points of this book is its characters. They’re strange and original and I don’t think it will be easy to forget most of them. I liked the main character (whose name the reader isn't told), but he wasn’t the best character in my opinion. I preferred the three Hempstock women, Lettie especially. They’re magical and mysterious, yet they feel comfortable and safe at the same time, which is a weird combination. I would’ve liked a little more clarity about the narrator’s parents, but his memories of them seemed almost hazy to me, which wasn’t very realistic since they play a huge part in his life.

Who should read this:

12+, mainly for some mild sexual content and scary imagery. If you’re looking for something different, short and easy to read I’d definitely suggest this. However, if you’re looking for a simple, happy or light read then this might not be the one for you.

My rating:

I really liked the overall feel of this book, the dark tone and atmosphere that Gaiman brings to life sucked me in and made really hard to put down. I didn’t really get what was happening when I started reading, mainly because I knew nothing about this story, and didn’t know what to expect. 4/5

Quote:

Lettie shrugged. “Nobody actually looks like what they really are on the inside. You don’t. I don’t. People are much more complicated than that. It’s true of everybody.

The Green Mile

Stephen King

Summary:

At Cold Mountain Penitentiary, along the lonely stretch of cells known as the Green Mile, killers such as ‘Billy the Kid’ Wharton and the possessed Eduard Delacroix await death strapped in ‘Old Sparky’. Guards as decent as Paul Edgecombe and as sadistic as Percy Wetmore watch over them.

But good or evil, innocent or guilty, none has ever seen the brutal likes of the new prisoner, John Coffey, sentenced to death for raping and murdering two young girls. Is Coffey a devil in human form? Or is he a far, far different kind of being?

Plot:

This story is definitely very interesting. King’s writing is superb and sucks you in from the first page. The story is brutal and will have you shivering with fear and horror. There are very few dull moments, but you have to remember that this book was published in six installments. This means that there are a bit of repetitiveness. However, this never really bothered me as the narrator, Paul Edgecombe, is a very old man, and this made him seem a little more realistic. There are very few light, humorous moments, and the parts that do make you smile are quickly tainted by some horrific event.

Characters:

There are too many characters that are way too complicated to go into all of them. However, it is very interesting how King portrays the different killers that are sentenced to death at Cold Mountain. They’re all completely different from each other. Delacroix is a happy, optimistic French guy, Wharton is a crazy, ruthless killer, and Coffey is childish and ignorant. The different wardens are also very interesting, but i found the prisoners fascinating.

 Who should read this:

13+, and I would definitely recommend caution. The violence is pretty extreme, and King’s writing is brutally honest and descriptive. He doesn’t leave much for the imagination. This is a very good story, there’s no doubt about that, and if you like stories that will give you chills and haunt you long after you stopped reading, you might like this one. Not for anyone who’s looking for a happy ending!

My rating:

While I realise that this is a very good book, it’s not exactly my type of story. It didn’t bore me, and I found the characters fascinating, but the violence and horror of it all isn’t my scene. So 3/5.

Quote:

“I’ll tell you something my friend: weird love’s better than no love at all...”

House

Ted Dekker & Frank Peretti

Summary:

Frank Peretti and Ted Dekker – two of the most acclaimed writers of supernatural thrillers – have joined forces for the first time to craft a story unlike any you’ve ever read. Enter House – where you’ll find yourself thrown into a killer’s deadly game in which the only way to win is to lose...and the only way out is in.

One game. Seven Players. Three Rules. Game ends at dawn.

Plot:

First of all, I’m a big fan of Ted Dekker, and while I’ve only read one of Peretti’s novels I really enjoyed that too, so naturally I was expecting a lot from these two’s combined work. The story started of kind of confusing, and honestly I didn’t have any idea where the authors were going untill the last quarter of the book. At the start the story intrigued me, but I got bored in the middle with all the scary imagery, and just wanted the actual story to move along. It was terrifying and disturbing and creepy, yes, but I would’ve liked something more from the story instead of just horrifying things happening all the time. I did, however really like the ending, but I feel like these two could’ve done something more with the story. The twists weren’t surprising enough and I kind of guessed what was going to happen before it did, which is not something I look for in either of these writers' novels.

Characters:

The characters were pretty well handled. Even though all of them are very damaged, and even unlikable at times, you still root for them (this is something Dekker seems to have an aptitude for). Some of the characters are frightening, some are really disturbing (or just disturbed) and some are just normal people in extremely unusual situations. My favourite main character is undoubtedly Jack, because he is the truest and most likable of them all.

Who should read this:

16+, this book has some really creepy elements in it, and is also quite confusing. There is very little language or sexual content, but the violence and scary parts are really intense. I definitely don’t recommend this to anyone who is sensitive to things like that. If you enjoy thrillers, but want them to be clean (relatively speaking) you should definitely check out Dekker or Peretti’s stories, but I feel like there are better ones to choose from.

My rating:

While I didn’t hate this book, it disappointed me a bit and I feel like it could’ve been so much better. But, there were some parts that I really enjoyed so 3/5.

Quote:

The light came into the darkness, and the darkness did not understand it.