Randomness
Mr. Mercedes - Stephen King
I was down on King for a long time, but he's one of those authors I'll probably always end up reading out of a compulsion I have to be completist. His last couple efforts, 11/22/63 and Doctor Sleep were enjoyable enough that I didn't regret them or feel like quiting them. Sleep had a lot of cliches in it but they were King cliches set in a verse that was around before they really became of a cliche. Kind of like how Buffy speak can be grating in a non!Buffy world.
Wish I could say the same for Mr. Mercedes. I had hopes for it because King's non-supernatural books tend to be decent, but not this time. It's not full of King cliches, but generic ones. Generic ex-cop, generic villain with generic unbelievable romances springing up. The computer stuff is jarringly thin--not even bothering to fake it. Truly, I think it might be worse than some of his often crapped on 90's work. Yes, even Dreamcatcher. Ass weasals > geek killer.
The Strain - Del Toro/Hogan
The first book, I thought was a decent primer. Even I am a little tired of the angsty vampire stuff that is the norm now and a good Vampires Are Evil book seemed on the way. And it is, except... fucking angels. Why does every series seem to include this crap now? The first act with the airplane and the eclipse and the somewhat scientific explanation for the vampirism seemed like such a great foundation. Then, WHAM. No, the worms/virus are from a dismembered angel who somehow gets redeemed/saved at the end for fuck knows what reason. It's a TV show now, which is what prompted me to re-read the first and finish the series, but unless they alter a lot...I'm not interested. Oddly enough the most interesting character to me was the angsty sort of vampire who kills his kind.
The Maze Runner - James Dashner
Another book-turned-movie spawned by the success of the Hunger Games (I'm guessing). It was rec'd to me awhile ago, but I didn't get around to reading it until I saw a movie poster. Truth is, I didn't even finish it. I think I'm getting too old, but I'm really tired of the always hope/find another way message. I'm not against it--I've not gone full-Nihilist yet--but it's gotten to the point where the opposing viewpoint is just accepted as wrong when sometimes it isn't. That's where the meat of the story is. When there actually *isn't* another way. Like I said, I didn't read past the bit in the WICKED lab where the kids make an escape, so perhaps they took the less-beaten path, but with all the standard tropes in place (Thomas is the poster-child, seriously) I'd be surprised. Plus the shuck, clunk stuff was just sad.
I was down on King for a long time, but he's one of those authors I'll probably always end up reading out of a compulsion I have to be completist. His last couple efforts, 11/22/63 and Doctor Sleep were enjoyable enough that I didn't regret them or feel like quiting them. Sleep had a lot of cliches in it but they were King cliches set in a verse that was around before they really became of a cliche. Kind of like how Buffy speak can be grating in a non!Buffy world.
Wish I could say the same for Mr. Mercedes. I had hopes for it because King's non-supernatural books tend to be decent, but not this time. It's not full of King cliches, but generic ones. Generic ex-cop, generic villain with generic unbelievable romances springing up. The computer stuff is jarringly thin--not even bothering to fake it. Truly, I think it might be worse than some of his often crapped on 90's work. Yes, even Dreamcatcher. Ass weasals > geek killer.
The Strain - Del Toro/Hogan
The first book, I thought was a decent primer. Even I am a little tired of the angsty vampire stuff that is the norm now and a good Vampires Are Evil book seemed on the way. And it is, except... fucking angels. Why does every series seem to include this crap now? The first act with the airplane and the eclipse and the somewhat scientific explanation for the vampirism seemed like such a great foundation. Then, WHAM. No, the worms/virus are from a dismembered angel who somehow gets redeemed/saved at the end for fuck knows what reason. It's a TV show now, which is what prompted me to re-read the first and finish the series, but unless they alter a lot...I'm not interested. Oddly enough the most interesting character to me was the angsty sort of vampire who kills his kind.
The Maze Runner - James Dashner
Another book-turned-movie spawned by the success of the Hunger Games (I'm guessing). It was rec'd to me awhile ago, but I didn't get around to reading it until I saw a movie poster. Truth is, I didn't even finish it. I think I'm getting too old, but I'm really tired of the always hope/find another way message. I'm not against it--I've not gone full-Nihilist yet--but it's gotten to the point where the opposing viewpoint is just accepted as wrong when sometimes it isn't. That's where the meat of the story is. When there actually *isn't* another way. Like I said, I didn't read past the bit in the WICKED lab where the kids make an escape, so perhaps they took the less-beaten path, but with all the standard tropes in place (Thomas is the poster-child, seriously) I'd be surprised. Plus the shuck, clunk stuff was just sad.