Never the Bride

 Never The Bride by Paul Magrs
First published by Gardners Books in 2007


Ghosts, Vampires, Aliens, life sucking minions and reanimated corpses. Sounds fun, right? Well actually it is.

Never the Bride is the first volume of Paul Magrs Brenda and Effie series and let me just say I had no idea of the ride I was in for when I first opened this book.

Brenda is the middle aged owner of a small bed and breakfast. In many ways she seems unremarkable. Appearances can be deceiving. Brenda, as it turns out, is actually the literal intended bride of Frankenstein’s monster. She is the reanimated dead tissue of several corpses and she has been on the run since her ‘birth’.

You may think that’s as weird as it gets. I almost wish I could tell you, you’re right but this story is just getting started.

Think of a paranormal occurrence. Chances are Magrs thought of it first. This book is wacky to say the least. Thankfully it has been written with humour in mind because I honestly think if someone tried to pull of something like this straight they would have a disaster on their hands.

Never the Bride threw me a little at first but once I’d come to terms with the world I’d unintentionally stepped in to, I had a lot of fun.
The premise of this story is so out there that you really never quite know what to expect next and I really enjoyed that element.

I’m excited to see where the series goes from here because it was one hell of a start.

A Game of Thrones

A Game of Thrones by George R.R Martin

First published by Bantam Specktra in 1996

Epic fantasy series are not really something that I’ve had too much experience with. Obviously with the exception of some Tolkien here and there. After hearing so much praise for George R.R Martin and his Song of Ice and Fire series, coupled with personal recommendations from readers whose opinions I respect, I knew I couldn’t put it off any longer. 

I began reading A Game of Thrones with some trepidation due to the immense scope of this world that I was being dragged into along with the many characters and their somewhat obscure names. Happily, it only took about 100 pages to really come to terms with both the world and its inhabitants. After that initial slope it was a perfectly engrossing read.

Within its 800 plus pages I grew to love and hate many a character. I grew to care very deeply as to the fate of individuals and to the politics of the land in general. 

There is something very believable about Martin’s writing and the detail and effort that went into the very ambitious hierarchy of life he was created. 

I book as large as this can be a little daunting from a readers perspective but the way in which Martin constructs said monster of a novel made it a joy rather than a chore. The chapters are small, making for a surprisingly fast read and the novel itself is told from the perspective of 8 different characters. The constant shifting of perspective made for a fast paced narrative that seldom grew stale. 

I was constantly thinking about the different characters and not receiving a large chunk at a time from any of them made the anticipation enjoyable but not irritatingly. 

I, personally, adore having a little window in to the mind of a character and the fact that such a large and towering story such as this wasn’t trapped within the one mind set was an act of genius as far as I’m concerned. It’s the humanity of a story that appeals to my sensibilities and that’s definitely what we got here.

Anyone who has yet to give this saga a go, I more than recommend trying it. Although, a warning, it will take over your life just a little bit. Not always a bad thing though, if you ask me.

The Phantom of the Opera

The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux
First published in 1909 by Pierre Lafitte and Cie.

 

I’m going to begin by saying, I have not read enough gothic literature and that is a shame because it can be fantastic! Gaston Leroux’, The Phantom of the Opera is not really a novel I’d ever thought about reading until I stumbled across it in the Kindle store. It’s part of the public domain free downloads and having nothing to lose I didn’t hesitate in acquiring it. It sat there untouched on my kindle for about 2 weeks before I had a sudden and overwhelming urge to begin reading it. So read it I did and I haven’t regretted it for a second. 

I adore the overall tone of this novel. It’s dark and sometimes uncomfortable. It leaves you guessing for the majority of the story without being too ambiguous.

The story revolves around opera singer, Christine Daaé and her relationship with the ‘ghost’ that resides in opera house she performs in. I don’t really want to give much away for anyone who is unfamiliar with the story. I think it’s definitely something that’s best discovered for yourself. 

For anyone unaware this book was originally written in French and often times it can be difficult to find a good translation of a foreign language novel and since this was part of the public domain content I wasn’t too sure how this was going to go but I was more than pleasantly surprised. The writing was lovely. Easy to read and perfectly in keeping with the tone. Anyone with a kindle go and check this out right now. Honestly it’s well worth your time.

The Ersatz Elevator

A Series of Unfortunate Events #6 The Ersatz Elevator by Lemony Snicket

First published in 2001 by HarperCollins

The Ersatz Elevator is the sixth volume in A Series of Unfortunate Events and the novel that brings the Baudelauries back to their home city for however short a time. The Ersatz Elevator is also, unfortunately, the novel that introduces us to Esme Squalor, a detestable sort of character obsessed with being trendy and knowing what’s ‘In’ and ‘out’ at any given moment. Regrettably for the Baudelaires, Orphans happen to be ‘In’ throughout the course of this volume, leading them to their newest ‘home’ with Esme and her unwitting husband, Jerome.

The children, as usual, face a multitude of challenges throughout this book including figuring out how to scale down an elevator shaft and rescue their friends the Quagmires from Count Olafs clutches. 

Not much more is given away re: the mystery of VFD that first appeared in the previous volume, The Austere Academy but tension is certainly beginning to mount as the stakes get ever higher.

It’s no secret that I adore this series and reading these again is simply a joy. Violet, Klaus and Sunny are possibly my favourite of all fiction children and this volume does nothing but enhance that love. My memory is actually getting a little foggy when it comes to what happens next so I am looking forward to refreshing it.

The Seeing Stone

The Spiderwick Chronicles volume #2 - The Seeing Stone by Holly Black and Tony Diterlizzi

First published in 2003 by Simon & Schuster

The Seeing Stone is the second volume in the Spiderwick Chronicles. Reading this book again really made me wish this series had of been around when I was a pre-teen since I’m convinced I would have loved the somewhat darker more sinister aspect that this book introduces.

Several more mystical entities, both friendly and sinister make themselves known in this book. The Grace children find themselves fighting for their lives in the woods surrounding their house but none of them seem to have the presence of mind to seek out help. A fact that I find entirely annoying as a adult. I understand that these are written for small children for whom it is very much ‘us’ against the world but honestly, it does get a little frustrating.

Still an enjoyable but oh so brief read. Not dissimilar to this review. At least in the brief sense anyway.