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The River by Peter Heller

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Title: The River

Author: Peter Heller

Publisher: Knopf 2019

Genre: Thriller

Pages: 272

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Library Love; Popsugar - About a Hobby

Wynn and Jack have been best friends since freshman orientation, bonded by their shared love of mountains, books, and fishing. Wynn is a gentle giant, a Vermont kid never happier than when his feet are in the water. Jack is more rugged, raised on a ranch in Colorado where sleeping under the stars and cooking on a fire came as naturally to him as breathing. When they decide to canoe the Maskwa River in northern Canada, they anticipate long days of leisurely paddling and picking blueberries, and nights of stargazing and reading paperback Westerns. But a wildfire making its way across the forest adds unexpected urgency to the journey. When they hear a man and woman arguing on the fog-shrouded riverbank and decide to warn them about the fire, their search for the pair turns up nothing and no one. But: The next day a man appears on the river, paddling alone. Is this the man they heard? And, if he is, where is the woman? From this charged beginning, master storyteller Peter Heller unspools a headlong, heart-pounding story of desperate wilderness survival.

Thrillers aren’t usually my go-to genre, but this one was recommended by Anne Bogel. Of course I had to try it out. And I’m really glad I did. I loved getting to know Jack and Wynn as they traveled down river toward the bay and potential peril. There are a lot of tense moments in this book that held me on the edge of my seat. There were some turns that I did not see coming. The ending wasn’t happily ever after, but I like that in a book. Overall a great read that I sped through in just a day. Couldn’t put it down!

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Next up on the TBR pile:

drop of corruption.jpg seoulmates.jpg jujutsu 20.jpg jujutsu21.jpg jujutsu22.jpg jujutsu23.jpg jujutsu24.jpg black butler.jpg jujutsu25.jpg jujutsu26.jpg jujutsu27.jpg mayor of maxwell.jpg antidote.jpg
tags: Peter Heller, I Love Libraries, Popsugar, 4 stars, thriller
categories: Book Reviews
Wednesday 07.10.19
Posted by Tobe Buffenbarger
 

The Wife Between Us by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen

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Title: The Wife Between Us

Author: Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press 2018

Genre: Fiction

Pages: 352

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Library Love; Popsugar - Two Female Authors

When you read this book, you will make many assumptions.
You will assume you are reading about a jealous ex-wife.
You will assume she is obsessed with her replacement – a beautiful, younger woman who is about to marry the man they both love. 
You will assume you know the anatomy of this tangled love triangle.
Assume nothing. 

Twisted and deliciously chilling, Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen's The Wife Between Us exposes the secret complexities of an enviable marriage - and the dangerous truths we ignore in the name of love.

Read between the lies.

One of the book club selections for January. This one definitely kept my attention in terms of wanting to find out what happened. I sped through to the ending. Immediately I was interested in Vanessa’s story as well as Nellie’s story. I had sympathetic thoughts towards each women through the first half of the book.. And the twist happened and I was slightly disappointed, but stuck with it. I still wanted to see how the story played out. And then the coincidences and twists kept coming and I started to lose interest. I don’t mind a twist, but there were just too many in this book. And the whole reveal from Emma and her origin family just made me want to put the book down. No thank you. Too much.

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Popsguar 2019.jpg

Next up on the TBR pile:

drop of corruption.jpg seoulmates.jpg jujutsu 20.jpg jujutsu21.jpg jujutsu22.jpg jujutsu23.jpg jujutsu24.jpg black butler.jpg jujutsu25.jpg jujutsu26.jpg jujutsu27.jpg mayor of maxwell.jpg antidote.jpg
tags: thriller, Popsugar, I Love Libraries, Greer Hendricks, Sarah Pekkanen, 3 stars
categories: Book Reviews
Saturday 01.19.19
Posted by Tobe Buffenbarger
 

The Anomaly by Michael Rutger

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Title: The Anomaly

Author: Michael Rutger

Publisher: Grand Central 2018

Genre: Thriller

Pages: 352

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Mount TBR; Share-a-Tea; Seasonal Series - Cool Drink

If Indiana Jones lived in the X-Files era, he might bear at least a passing resemblance to Nolan Moore -- a rogue archaeologist hosting a documentary series derisively dismissed by the "real" experts, but beloved of conspiracy theorists.

Nolan sets out to retrace the steps of an explorer from 1909 who claimed to have discovered a mysterious cavern high up in the ancient rock of the Grand Canyon. And, for once, he may have actually found what he seeks. Then the trip takes a nasty turn, and the cave begins turning against them in mysterious ways.

Nolan's story becomes one of survival against seemingly impossible odds. The only way out is to answer a series of intriguing questions: What is this strange cave? How has it remained hidden for so long? And what secret does it conceal that made its last visitors attempt to seal it forever?

My June selection from Book of the Month. I picked it to get away from the dysfunctional family and Gone Girl-esque books that are the usual offerings. This one sounded like a fun spooky thriller with strains of Indiana Jones and Ghosthunters. Thankfully the book delivered all that I hoped for and was a very fun and enjoyable read. The first three chapters were a bit slow, but once the expedition hit the canyon, everything sped up dramatically. I immediately fell for the motley crew of characters and their approach to the mystery of Kincaid's Cave. By the time the halfway mark arrived, I was speeding through the pages on edge just waiting to find out what was going to happen next. Very creepy I must say. And I love the slightly ambiguous ending. Could there be a sequel in the works?

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Next up on the TBR pile:

drop of corruption.jpg seoulmates.jpg jujutsu 20.jpg jujutsu21.jpg jujutsu22.jpg jujutsu23.jpg jujutsu24.jpg black butler.jpg jujutsu25.jpg jujutsu26.jpg jujutsu27.jpg mayor of maxwell.jpg antidote.jpg
tags: Michael Rutger, 5 stars, thriller, mount tbr, Share-a-Tea, Seasonal Series Readathon
categories: Book Reviews
Friday 06.29.18
Posted by Tobe Buffenbarger
 

8.4 by Peter Hernon

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Title: 8.4

Author: Peter Hernon

Publisher: Jove Books 1999

Genre: Thriller

Pages: 460

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Mount TBR; New to Me

A massive earthquake in America's heartland causes massive destruction and a launches an equally epic struggle to save the survivors. 

Random book from my shelves. Along with my scary reads for October's FrightFall Readathon, I threw this one in as a thriller. Unfortunately it just wasn't great. The style is very much in the same vein as Michael Crichton. Lots of science passages and action with only a bit of characterization. The plot jumped around a bit between all the characters. The characters themselves weren't that well developed. The romance was silly and forced. The action sequences were the only parts that kept me reading. I made it through the book, but wouldn't recommend it to anyone...

tags: mount tbr, New to Me, Peter Hernon, 3 stars, thriller, FrightFall Readathon
categories: Book Reviews
Friday 10.06.17
Posted by Tobe Buffenbarger
 

NMJ #3: Sharknado 2

Title: Sharknado 2: The Second One

Year Released/Rating: 2014

Starring: Ian Ziering, Tara Reid, Vivica A. Fox

Directed By: Anthony C. Ferrante

Written By: Thunder Levin

Genre: Horror Thriller

Star Rating:  4/5 stars

Where I Got It: Netlfix

Trivia:

  • The characters played by Mark McGrath and Kari Wuhrer are named Martin and Ellen Brody. Those are the same names as Roy Schieder and Lorraine Gray's characters in "Jaws". Their son is named Vaughan, which was the name of Murray Hamilton's character as the Mayor in "Jaws".
  • Wil Wheaton's appearance in the film had originally been a joke in The Big Bang Theory: The Gorilla Dissolution (2014) where he gets the opportunity to audition for it after getting fired from another bad horror film.
  • The flight in the beginning of the movie is flight 209, the same flight number as the doomed flight in Airplane!.

Summary: A freak weather system turns its deadly fury on New York City, unleashing a Sharknado on the population and its most cherished, iconic sites - and only Fin and April can save the Big Apple.

Review: 

I actually enjoyed the sequel more than the original.  Setting this one in New York made for some campy fun.  The scenes with the Statue of Liberty's head were spectacularly amazing!  And the subway scene with the two workers, some sharks, and an alligator was priceless.  I just could have done without all the family love crap.  Let's just go kill some sharks!

Best Bits: 

  • April Wexler: Fin, why aren't you having more fun with this?  Fin Shepard: Come on, April. Two of my friends were killed. I almost destroyed Los Angeles. And, oh, yeah... I got eaten by shark. How much fun do you think that was?
  • Martin Brody: [to Vaughn after Fin jumps to safety from the taxi] You know what you just did, don't you?  Fin Shepard: Don't say it.  Martin Brody: He jumped the shark.
tags: 4 stars, horror, New Movie Month, thriller
categories: Movies
Saturday 01.03.15
Posted by Tobe Buffenbarger
 

Acceptance by Jeff Vandermeer

Title: Acceptance (Southern Reach #3)

Author: Jeff Vandermeer

Publisher: FSG 2014

Genre: Thriller

Pages: 340

Rating:  4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Fall Reading Challenge; Read Your Freebies; Seriously Series; 52 Books - W46

It is winter in Area X, the mysterious wilderness that has defied explanation for thirty years, rebuffing expedition after expedition, refusing to reveal its secrets. As Area X expands, the agency tasked with investigating and overseeing it--the Southern Reach--has collapsed on itself in confusion. Now one last, desperate team crosses the border, determined to reach a remote island that may hold the answers they've been seeking. If they fail, the outer world is in peril.

Meanwhile, Acceptance tunnels ever deeper into the circumstances surrounding the creation of Area X--what initiated this unnatural upheaval? Among the many who have tried, who has gotten close to understanding Area X--and who may have been corrupted by it?

A fitting and satisfactory end to a very strange science fiction trilogy.  I'm still working through all the information presented in this last volume.  We get answers, but those answers aren't always so clear.  I like the ambiguity in the hows and whys of Area X.  I liked getting into the brain of Ghost Bird and the Director a bit more.  But my favorite part was learning more about Saul.  I found the sections about the lighthouse keeper to be my favorites.  Very well written character and great back story.  I wanted to know more and more about him.  Sadly I knew it was all going to end.  I'll just have to fill in the gaps with my own imagination. Overall, a great unconventional trilogy.

Southern Reach:

  • 1. Annihilation
  • 2. Authority
  • 3. Acceptance
tags: 4 stars, 52 books in 52 weeks, fall into reading, Jeff Vandermeer, mystery, Read Your Freebies, science fiction, Seriously Series, thriller
categories: Book Reviews
Sunday 11.09.14
Posted by Tobe Buffenbarger
 

Authority by Jeff Vandermeer

Title: Authority (Southern Reach #2)

Author: Jeff Vandermeer

Publisher: FSG 2014

Genre: Thriller

Pages: 340

Rating:  4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Fall Reading Challenge; 52 Books - W45; Read Your Freebies; Seriously Series

After thirty years, the only human engagement with Area X—a seemingly malevolent landscape surrounded by an invisible border and mysteriously wiped clean of all signs of civilization—has been a series of expeditions overseen by a government agency so secret it has almost been forgotten: the Southern Reach. Following the tumultuous twelfth expedition chronicled in Annihilation, the agency is in complete disarray.

John Rodrigues (aka "Control") is the Southern Reach's newly appointed head. Working with a distrustful but desperate team, a series of frustrating interrogations, a cache of hidden notes, and hours of profoundly troubling video footage, Control begins to penetrate the secrets of Area X. But with each discovery he must confront disturbing truths about himself and the agency he's pledged to serve.

I felt like this volume started off slow.  Maybe it's the curse of second books in trilogies. but it took me awhile to really get into this book.  I did not like Control and was left with a confusing sense of why. That is until little tidbits about Area X started revealing themselves.  Then, I dove into the book and didn't come back up until I was done. The twists and turns in this one are even more sinister than the first book.  You think that everyone is okay because you're not in Area X. Wrong! Nothing is safe, even on this side of the border. I was thankful for some answered questions, but those answers were very disturbing.  I'm interested to see how Vandermeer ends this trilogy.

Southern Reach:

  • 1. Annihilation
  • 2. Authority
  • 3. Acceptance
tags: 4 stars, 52 books in 52 weeks, fall into reading, Jeff Vandermeer, Read Your Freebies, Seriously Series, thriller
categories: Book Reviews
Thursday 11.06.14
Posted by Tobe Buffenbarger
 

Annihilation by Jeff Vandermeer

Title: Annihilation (Southern Reach #1)

Author: Jeff Vandermeer

Publisher: FSG 2014

Genre: Thriller

Pages: 209

Rating:  4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Fall Reading Challenge; New Author; Read Your Freebies; Seriously Series

Area X has been cut off from the rest of the continent for decades. Nature has reclaimed the last vestiges of human civilization. The first expedition returned with reports of a pristine, Edenic landscape; the second expedition ended in mass suicide, the third expedition in a hail of gunfire as its members turned on one another. The members of the eleventh expedition returned as shadows of their former selves, and within weeks, all had died of cancer. In Annihilation, the first volume of Jeff VanderMeer's Southern Reach trilogy, we join the twelfth expedition. The group is made up of four women: an anthropologist; a surveyor; a psychologist, the de facto leader; and our narrator, a biologist. Their mission is to map the terrain, record all observations of their surroundings and of one anotioner, and, above all, avoid being contaminated by Area X itself. They arrive expecting the unexpected, and Area X delivers—they discover a massive topographic anomaly and life forms that surpass understanding—but it’s the surprises that came across the border with them and the secrets the expedition members are keeping from one another that change everything.

This one was downright scary!  And I have to say that it takes a lot to unnerve me while reading a book.  This one did it.  The summary sounded liked a fun little science fiction book to help pull me out of the reading slump.  In reality, I got an intense psychological thriller and loved every page of it.  The narrator is deliciously unreliable.  I kept changing my mind about her: good intentions? manipulative? making it all up? I loved the first person narrative as a structure. We get to see the events through the biologist's eyes for better or worse.  While the whole book was very scary and suspenseful, I almost had to put it down during the biologist's final descent into the tower. Holy crap that was scary! But also amazingly good! I ended up knocking off a star because I was left with more questions than answers by the end. I will be reading the rest of the series, but felt like we could have had a bit more reveals in the first book.

Southern Reach:

  • 1. Annihilation
  • 2. Authority
  • 3. Acceptance
tags: 4 stars, fall into reading, Jeff Vandermeer, New Author, Read Your Freebies, Seriously Series, thriller
categories: Book Reviews
Thursday 11.06.14
Posted by Tobe Buffenbarger
 

Casino Royale by Ian Fleming

Title: Casino Royale

Author: Ian Fleming

Publisher: Jonathan Cape 1953

Genre: Thriller

Pages: 213

Rating: 3/5 stars    Movie: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: 1001 Books; New Author; 52 Books - W32;  Books to Movies

In the novel that introduced James Bond to the world, Ian Fleming’s agent 007 is dispatched to a French casino in Royale-les-Eaux. His mission? Bankrupt a ruthless Russian agent who’s been on a bad luck streak at the baccarat table.

One of SMERSH’s most deadly operatives, the man known only as “Le Chiffre,” has been a prime target of the British Secret Service for years. If Bond can wipe out his bankroll, Le Chiffre will likely be “retired” by his paymasters in Moscow. But what if the cards won’t cooperate? After a brutal night at the gaming tables, Bond soon finds himself dodging would-be assassins, fighting off brutal torturers, and going all-in to save the life of his beautiful female counterpart, Vesper Lynd.

J warned me that the since this was the first book in the series, it started off a bit slow.  That was an understatement.  I almost put the book down because of the first three chapters.  They were clunky and downright boring.  I understand that the author has to set up the world, but this was not done well at all.  But I stuck with it.  The book did get better.  The baccarat scene was amazing.  The torture seen was almost unreadable, but in a good way.  Those two chapters were definitely the high points.  The ending was a bit of a let down, but I see how it sets up Bond for the rest of the series.  I ended up knocking off a star for the clunky writing and pace.  I knocked off another star for my own personal tastes.  The multiple comments about how women need to be scene and not heard, kept in the kitchen, etc, really got to me.  I know this was written in 1953, but I'd still not prefer to read it.  Overall an interesting read, but definitely not going to be a favorite and I probably won't continue the series.

Movie:

I really really enjoyed this movie.  Of course, the movie makers made changes from the book.  They added the entire first sequence and multiple more action beats while keeping the main storyline and the tone of the book.  Plus, I adore Daniel Craig as Bond.  He has the grit and the hard nature.  Overall, an awesome adaptation.  I dare say better than the book.

tags: 1001 Books, 3 stars, 5 stars, 52 books in 52 weeks, Books to Movies, Ian Fleming, New Author, thriller
categories: Book Reviews, Movies
Thursday 08.07.14
Posted by Tobe Buffenbarger
 

Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn

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Title: Sharp Objects

Author: Gillian Flynn

Publisher: Broadway Books 2006

Genre: Psychological Thriller

Pages: 272

Rating: 2/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Women Authors; Ebook;

Fresh from a brief stay at a psych hospital, reporter Camille Preaker faces a troubling assignment: she must return to her tiny hometown to cover the murders of two preteen girls. For years, Camille has hardly spoken to her neurotic, hypochondriac mother or to the half-sister she barely knows: a beautiful thirteen-year-old with an eerie grip on the town. Now, installed in her old bedroom in her family's Victorian mansion, Camille finds herself identifying with the young victims—a bit too strongly. Dogged by her own demons, she must unravel the psychological puzzle of her own past if she wants to get the story—and survive this homecoming.

Sharp Objects was this month's book club selection.  I found Flynn's other book Gone Girl to be very interesting.  I had heard from many bloggers that this one was also good.  So, we gave it a try.  And I have to say that I was a bit disappointed.  I won't give away the twists and turns, but I will say that I saw most of them coming.  The story was a bit contrived and predictable.  As to the characters, I hated every single one of them. They all seemed fake or caricatures of real people.  At a certain point, I would have loved for everyone to just say what they were thinking.  Instead, characters dance around each other in a very frustrating way.  Even the horrors didn't seem real because of how characters reacted to them.  I just was not impressed at all.  It seems that I am all but done with Flynn's work.  I think I'll move on to something else...

tags: 2 stars, book club, ebook, Gillian Flynn, thriller, women authors
categories: Book Reviews
Sunday 02.09.14
Posted by Tobe Buffenbarger
 

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

Title: Gone Girl

Author: Gillian Flynn

Publisher: Crown Publishers 2012

Genre: Thriller

Pages: 419

Rating:  5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: T4MC - F Author; Sub-genre - Horror, Psychological; Women Authors; TBR Pile; Blogger Recommendation

How I Got It: Borrowed from a friend (for informal book club selection)

On a warm summer morning in North Carthage, Missouri, it is Nick and Amy Dunne’s fifth wedding anniversary. Presents are being wrapped and reservations are being made when Nick’s clever and beautiful wife disappears from their rented McMansion on the Mississippi River. Husband-of-the-Year Nick isn’t doing himself any favors with cringe-worthy daydreams about the slope and shape of his wife’s head, but passages from Amy's diary reveal the alpha-girl perfectionist could have put anyone dangerously on edge. Under mounting pressure from the police and the media—as well as Amy’s fiercely doting parents—the town golden boy parades an endless series of lies, deceits, and inappropriate behavior. Nick is oddly evasive, and he’s definitely bitter—but is he really a killer?

There are no supernatural elements to this story, but I feel like it should be reclassified as a horror.  There is something truly wrong with the characters inhabiting the book.  But I must admit that it made for an engaging read.  I love how the reader gets one story for the first half of the book and then everything gets turned upside down for the second half.  It kept me guessing as to the outcome.  The characters are engaging and likable (at least for awhile).  They seem real, until they aren't.  Flynn's style is flawless.  The contrasting chapters from Nick and from Amy each have their own voice.  It really feels as if those two characters are sharing their story with us.  I loved the seamless transitions.  The other book club members have read this and really want to discuss it, but I hadn't read it yet.  So this is our informal book club selection for February.  I can't wait to see what they each thought of it. Great read!

Awesome playlist from Book Riot!

tags: 5 stars, Gillian Flynn, thriller, Wicked Valentine's
categories: Book Reviews
Saturday 02.09.13
Posted by Tobe Buffenbarger
Comments: 1
 

2013 Sub-Genre Reading Challenge

From Book Dragon's Lair:

 Requirements:

  • read three books from each genre
  • each book must be a different sub-genre (sub-genres can be found here at Writer's Digest)
  • each book counts only once for this challenge
  • books may overlap with other challenges
  • any format allowed (print, ebook, audio)
  • reviews are not necessary but a list of books read is.
  • a blog is not necessary, just comment that you want to join in
  • *addition* if you do have a blog, write up a post and link up

Now for the genres. . .

ROMANCE

  • Chick-Lit: often humorous romantic adventures geared toward single working women in their twenties and thirties.
  • Christian: romances in which both hero and heroine are devout Christians, typically focused on a chaste courtship, and mentioning sex only after marriage.
  • Contemporary: a romance using modern characters and true-to-life settings.
  • Erotica: also called “romantica,” a romance in which the bedroom doors have been flung open and sexual scenes are described in candid language.
  • Glitz/Glamor: focused on the jet-set elite and celebrity-like characters.
  • Historical: a romance taking place in a recognizable historical period.
  • Multicultural: a romance centered on non-Caucasian characters, largely African-American or Hispanic.
  • Paranormal: involving some sort of supernatural element, ranging widely to include science fiction/fantasy aspects such as time travel, monsters or psychic abilities.
  • Romantic Comedy: a romance focused on humor, ranging from screwball antics to witty interplay.
  • Romantic Suspense: a novel in which an admirable heroine is pitted against some evil force (but in which the romantic aspect still maintains priority).
  • Sensual: based on the sensual tension between hero and heroine, including sizzling sex scenes.
  • Spicy: a romance in which married characters work to resolve their problems.
  • Sweet: a romance centered on a virgin heroine, with a storyline containing little or no sex.
  • Young Adult: written with the teenage audience in mind, with a suitably lower level of sexual content.

HORROR

  • Child in Peril: involving the abduction and/or persecution of a child.
  • Comic Horror: horror stories that either spoof horror conventions or that mix the gore with dark humor.
  • Creepy Kids: horror tale in which children are often under the influence of dark forces and begin to turn against the adults.
  • Dark Fantasy: a horror story with supernatural and fantasy elements.
  • Dark Mystery/Noir: inspired by hardboiled detective tales, set in an urban underworld of crime and moral ambiguity.
  • Erotic Vampire: a horror tale making the newly trendy link between sexuality and vampires, but with more emphasis on graphic description and violence.
  • Fabulist: derived from “fable,” an ancient tradition in which objects, animals or forces of nature are anthropomorphized in order to deliver a moral lesson.
  • Gothic: a traditional form depicting the encroachment of the Middle Ages upon the 18th century Enlightenment, filled with images of decay and ruin, and episodes of imprisonment and persecution.
  • Hauntings: a classic form centering on possession by ghosts, demons or poltergeists, particularly of some sort of structure.
  • Historical: horror tales set in a specific and recognizable period of history.
  • Magical Realism: a genre inspired by Latin-American authors, in which extraordinary forces or creatures pop into otherwise normal, real-life settings.
  • Psychological: a story based on the disturbed human psyche, often exploring insane, altered realities and featuring a human monster with horrific, but not supernatural, aspects.
  • Quiet Horror: subtly written horror that uses atmosphere and mood, rather than graphic description, to create fear and suspense.
  • Religious: horror that makes use of religious icons and mythology, especially the angels and demons derived from Dante’s Inferno and Milton’s Paradise Lost.
  • Science-Fiction Horror: SF with a darker, more violent twist, often revolving around alien invasions, mad scientists, or experiments gone wrong.
  • Splatter: a fairly new, extreme style of horror that cuts right to the gore.
  • Supernatural Menace: a horror tale in which the rules of normal existence don’t apply, often featuring ghosts, demons, vampires and werewolves.
  • Technology: stories featuring technology that has run amok, venturing increasingly into the expanding domain of computers, cyberspace, and genetic engineering.
  • Weird Tales: inspired by the magazine of the same name, a more traditional form featuring strange and uncanny events (Twilight Zone).
  • Young Adult: horror aimed at a teen market, often with heroes the same age, or slightly older than, the reader.
  • Zombie: tales featuring dead people who return to commit mayhem on the living.

THRILLER/SUSPENSE

  • Action: a story that often features a race against the clock, lots of violence, and an obvious antagonist.
  • Comic: a thriller played for laughs, whether through a spoof of the genre or wisecracking interplay between the protagonists.
  • Conspiracy: a thriller in which the hero battles a large, powerful group whose true extent only he recognizes.
  • Crime: a story focused on the commission of a crime, often from the point of view of the criminals.
  • Disaster: a story in which Mother Nature herself is the antagonist, in the form of a hurricane, earthquake or some other natural menace.
  • Eco-Thriller: a story in which the hero battles some ecological calamity Ð and often has to also fight the people responsible for creating that calamity.
  • Erotic: a thriller in which sex plays a major role.
  • Espionage: the classic international spy novel, which is enjoying a resurgence with one important change: where spies used to battle enemy spies, they now battle terrorists.
  • Forensic: a thriller featuring the work of forensic experts, whose involvement often puts their own lives at risk.
  • Historical: a thriller taking place in a specific and recognizable historic period.
  • Horror: a story—generally featuring some monstrous villain Ð in which fear and violence play a major part, complete with graphic descriptions.
  • Legal: a thriller in which a lawyer confronts enemies outside as well as inside the courtroom, generally putting his own life at risk.
  • Medical: a thriller featuring medical personnel, whether battling a legitimate medical threat such as a world-wide virus, or the illegal or immoral use of medical technology.
  • Military: a thriller featuring a military protagonist, often working behind enemy lines or as part of a specialized force.
  • Police Procedural: a crime thriller that follows the police as they work their way through a case.
  • Political Intrigue: a thriller in which the hero must ensure the stability of the government that employs him.
  • Psychological: a suspenseful thriller in which the conflict between the characters is mental and emotional rather than physical—until an often violent resolution.
  • Romantic: a thriller in which the protagonists are romantically involved.
  • Supernatural: a thriller in which the hero, the antagonist, or both have supernatural powers.
  • Technological: a thriller in which technology Ð usually run amok Ð is central to the plot.

Science Fiction/Fantasy

  • Alternate History: speculative fiction that changes the accepted account of actual historical events, often featuring a profound “what if?” premise.
  • Arthurian Fantasy: reworkings of the legend of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table.
  • Bangsian Fantasy: stories speculating on the afterlives of famous people.
  • Biopunk: a blend of film noir, Japanese anime and post-modern elements used to describe an underground, nihilistic biotech society.
  • Children’s Fantasy: a kinder, gentler style of fantasy aimed at very young readers.
  • Comic: fantasy or science fiction that spoofs the conventions of the genre, or the conventions of society.
  • Cyberpunk: stories featuring tough outsiders in a high-tech near-future where computers have produced major changes in society.
  • Dark Fantasy: tales that focus on the nightmarish underbelly of magic, venturing into the violence of horror novels.
  • Dystopian: stories that portray a bleak future world.
  • Erotic: SF or fantasy tales that focus on sexuality.
  • Game-Related Fantasy: tales with plots and characters similar to high fantasy, but based on a specific role-playing game like Dungeons and Dragons.
  • Hard Science Fiction: tales in which real present-day science is logically extrapolated to the future.
  • Heroic Fantasy: stories of war and its heroes, the fantasy equivalent of military science fiction.
  • High/Epic Fantasy: tales with an emphasis on the fate of an entire race or nation, often featuring a young “nobody” hero battling an ultimate evil.
  • Historical: speculative fiction taking place in a recognizable historical period.
  • Mundane SF: a movement that spurns fanciful conceits like warp drives, wormholes and faster-than-light travel for stories based on scientific knowledge as it actually exists.
  • Military SF: war stories that extrapolate existing military technology and tactics into the future.
  • Mystery SF: a cross-genre blend that can be either an SF tale with a central mystery or a classic whodunit with SF elements.
  • Mythic Fiction: stories inspired, or modeled on, classic myths, legends and fairy tales.
  • New Age: a category of speculative fiction that deals with occult subjects such as astrology, psychic phenomena, spiritual healing, UFOs and mysticism.
  • Post-Apocalyptic: stories of life on Earth after an apocalypse, focusing on the struggle to survive.
  • Romance: speculative fiction in which romance plays a key part.
  • Religious: centering on theological ideas, and heroes who are ruled by their religious beliefs.
  • Science Fantasy: a blend in which fantasy is supported by scientific or pseudo-scientific explanations.
  • Social SF: tales that focus on how characters react to their environments Ð including social satire.
  • Soft SF: tales based on the more subjective, “softer” sciences: psychology, sociology, anthropology, etc.
  • Space Opera: a traditional good guys/bad guys faceoff with lots of action and larger-than-life characters.
  • Spy-Fi: tales of espionage with SF elements, especially the use of high-tech gadgetry.
  • Steampunk: a specific type of alternate history in which characters in Victorian England have access to 20th century technology.
  • Superheroes: stories featuring characters endowed with superhuman strengths or abilities.
  • Sword and Sorcery: a classic genre often set in the medieval period, and more concerned with immediate physical threats than high or heroic fantasy.
  • Thriller SF: an SF story that takes on the classic world-at-risk, cliffhanger elements of a thriller.
  • Time-Travel: stories based on the concept of moving forward or backward in time, often delving into the existence of parallel worlds.
  • Urban Fantasy: a fantasy tale in which magical powers and characters appear in an otherwise normal modern context, similar to Latin American magical realism.
  • Vampire: variations on the classic vampire legend, recently taking on many sexual and romantic variations.
  • Wuxia: fantasy tales set within the martial arts traditions and philosophies of China.
  • Young Adult: speculative fiction aimed at a teenage audience, often featuring a hero the same age or slightly older than the reader.

Mystery/Crime

  • Amateur Detective: a mystery solved by an amateur, who generally has some profession or affiliation that provides ready access to information about the crime.
  • Child in Peril: a mystery involving the abduction or persecution of a child.
  • Classic Whodunit: a crime that is solved by a detective, from the detective’s point of view, with all clues available to the reader.
  • Comic (Bumbling Detective): a mystery played for laughs, often featuring a detective who is grossly unskilled (but often solves the crime anyway, owing to tremendous good luck).
  • Cozy: a mystery that takes place in a small town—sometimes in a single home—where all the suspects are present and familiar with one another, except the detective, who is usually an eccentric outsider.
  • Courtroom Drama: a mystery that takes place through the justice system—often the efforts of a defense attorney to prove the innocence of his client by finding the real culprit.
  • Dark Thriller: a mystery that ventures into the fear factor and graphic violence of the horror genre.
  • Espionage: the international spy novel—here based less on action than on solving the “puzzle”—is today less focused on the traditional enemy spies than on terrorists.
  • Forensic: a mystery solved through the forensics lab, featuring much detail and scientific procedure.
  • Heists and Capers: an “antihero” genre which focuses on the planning and execution of a crime, told from the criminal’s perspective.
  • Historical: a mystery that takes place in a specific, recognizable period of history, with much emphasis on the details of the setting.
  • Inverted: a story in which the reader knows “whodunit,” but the suspense arises from watching the detective figure it out.
  • Locked Room: a mystery in which the crime is apparently committed under impossible circumstances (but eventually elicits a rational explanation).
  • Medical: generally involving a medical threat (e.g., a viral epidemic), or the illegitimate use of medical technology.
  • Police Procedural: a crime solved from the perspective of the police, following detailed, real-life procedures.
  • Private Detective: Focused on the independent snoop-for-hire, these have evolved from tough-guy “hard-boiled” detectives to the more professional operators of today.
  • Psychological Suspense: mysteries focused on the intricacies of the crime and what motivated the perpetrator to commit them.
  • Romantic: a mystery in which the crime-solvers fall in love.
  • Technothriller: a spinoff from the traditional thriller mystery, with an emphasis on high technology.
  • Thriller: a suspense mystery with a wider—often international—scope and more action.
  • Woman in Jeopardy: focuses on a woman put into peril by a crime, and her struggles to overcome or outwit the perpetrator.
  • Young Adult: a story aimed at a teenage audience, with a hero detective generally the same age or slightly older than the reader, pursuing criminals who are generally less violent—but often just as scary—as those in adult mysteries.

My TBR List:

Romance

  1. Contemporary -- P.S. I Love You by Cecelia Ahern
  2. Historical -- The Hostage by Susan Wiggs
  3. Chick Lit -- Love the One You're With by Emily Giffin

Horror

  1. Religious -- Year Zero by Jeff Long
  2. TBD
  3. TBD

Thriller/Suspense

  1. Historical -- A Foreign Affair by Caro Peacock
  2. Action -- Heat Stroke by Rachel Caine
  3. TBD

Scifi/Fantasy

  1. Vampire -- The Passage by Justin Cronin
  2. Dystopian -- Crossed by Ally Condie
  3. Epic Fantasy -- A Game of Thrones by George Martin

Mystery/Crime

  1. Historical -- Silent in the Grave by Deanna Raybourn
  2. TBD
  3. TBD
tags: crime, fantasy, horror, mystery, romance, science fiction, sub genres, suspense, thriller
categories: Reading Challenges
Tuesday 01.01.13
Posted by Tobe Buffenbarger
 

The Prestige by Christopher Priest

Title: The Prestige

Author: Christopher Priest

Publisher: A Tor Book 1995

Genre: Thriller?

Pages: 360

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Support Your Local Library; Page to Screen

Two 19th century stage illusionists, the aristocratic Rupert Angier and the working-class Alfred Borden, engage in a bitter and deadly feud; the effects are still being felt by their respective families a hundred years later. Working in the gaslight-and-velvet world of Victorian music halls, they prowl edgily in the background of each other's shadowy life, driven to the extremes by a deadly combination of obsessive secrecy and insatiable curiosity. At the heart of the row is an amazing illusion they both perform during their stage acts. The secret of the magic is simple, and the reader is in on it almost from the start, but to the antagonists the real mystery lies deeper. Both have something more to hide than the mere workings of a trick.

This book took much longer to read than I thought it would, but it was definitely worth it.  One of my favorites for this year!!! (You know how I hate movie tie-in covers for books,  but it was the only version the library had.  If I bought it, I would definitely have searched for a different version.)

Book

The book was set in two separate time periods.  We meet Andrew who by the intervention of a mysterious stranger begins to learn about the history of his birth family.  The book then switches to Alfred Borden's (Andrew's great grandfather) diary.  We glimpse his life and struggles with the world of magic.  In his diary we meet Rupert Angier (The Great Danton) with whom Borden had a long standing feud.  Then the story switches back into the present and we learn more about Angier's great granddaughter, Kate.  Kate and Andrew discuss the feud, what happened when Andrew (or Nicholas?) was just a toddler, and then we are again transported into the past.  We are privy to Rupert Angier's diary of his life.  We learn of his view of the feud and about his strive to create The New Transported Man.  I won't give away any of the mystery, but I will say that there are a couple.  And the promise of mystery and explanation drives the book.  I read the last 150 pages in one sitting because I just had to know.  Very intriguining mystery!  And the ending did not disappoint.

Movie

I confess that I saw the movie before reading the book, but that is of little importance in this case.  They are very different entities.  The movie director, Christopher Nolan, made sure to keep the main story between the two magicians, but left out the present day appearance of Andrew and Kate.  He also changed the catalyst to the magicians' rivalry.  However, the spirit was there.

And the actors!!!  I absolutely love Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale.  They show such complex emotions that they make the film.  Michael Caine was amazing as Angier's ingeniur.  And David Bowie as Nikola Tesla was perfect casting.  My only casting issue, Scarlett Johansson as Olivia.  I understand that her part in the book is limited, but she just seemed so flat on film that I didn't see her appeal to either of the men.

This was definitely a great film.  Reminded me how much I love Christopher Nolan.  And it was a great adaptation of the novel, even with the changes.

tags: 5 stars, Christopher Priest, thriller
categories: Book Reviews, Movies
Monday 06.20.11
Posted by Tobe Buffenbarger
Comments: 2
 
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