Category Archives: Book Reviews

Review: Klester Cavalcanti – The Name of Death

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The Name of Death
Klester Cavalcanti

Julio Santana committed his first kill at the age of 17 at the behest of his uncle. Despite his initial anxiety about the kill, he later went on to kill over 490 people. His strict code of ethics meant that despite this, he only killed for money and never out of a personal rage.

If only Julio had been taught about money management from  young age, and then perhaps he would have gotten as rich as he desired. I’m not familiar with the currency conversion, and of course the price of living is cheaper in Brazil, but I feel like he still could have done more. When he stated that he had left school at the age of 14, I understood that education was part of the problem. It is a systematic problem that led to Julio being able to lead a profitable life as a killer.

This novel was translated from Portuguese and it shows in parts. Some of the language is very formal and jostles the reader out from the story. I felt like I never really got inside Julio’s head. but then again, I wanted to understand more of the psyche behind the killer.

I wonder whether I should tag this under ‘Real Life Crime’. But Julio has never been charged with a crime, and this perhaps reflects the extent of Brazilian corruption more than anything else. I didn’t really follow the Brazilian Olympics, but I didn’t hear great things about the country then.

If you’ve ever wanted to know more about a real life killer-for-hire, rather than a movie blockbuster version, this will be the book for you. Get it for someone for Christmas who you know enjoys a look into the darker side of human nature.

Allen & Unwin | 24th April 2018 | AU$29.99 | paperback

Review: Fleur Ferris – Wreck

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Wreck
Fleur Ferris

It’s impossible to write only positive news articles. But Tamara is determined to do so, believing that life needs more good news in it. However when she finds a piece of evidence that could be her breakthrough piece, she finds herself being hunted down for what she knows.

Aw, Tamara, you’re so naive! Tamara is so ‘lucky’ that her parents aren’t there! Otherwise none of the story would have happened, or they would have all been killed in a home invasion. She’s plucky and a little bit stupid, and willing to stand up even at great expense to herself. Amazing, really. A protagonist that you can’t exactly empathise with, but can understand.

This novel moves very, very quickly in the last couple of chapters. Almost too quickly. I wonder for example why Zel hasn’t approached Carrington before. I think that Ferris captures the aftermath of an accident like this one beautifully, with a range of reactions from the parties involved.

This novel reminded me of The Successor where there is also a  scavenger hunt where you can’t trust anyone and everything is a danger. I have to wonder where the original note went… Tamara doesn’t have it, and the bad guys keep hunting her, so maybe they didn’t find it on her colleagues either.

I really enjoyed Ferris’ first novel, Black, and I was so excited to see this one come my way. I was not disappointed. I reread Wreck in order to write this review and enjoyed it almost as much the second time around. 4 stars from me.

Penguin Random House | 3rd July 2017 | AU$19.99 | paperback

Review: Richard Yaxley – The Happiness Quest

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The Happiness Quest
Richard Yaxley

Tillie is sad. Tilly doesn’t know why she’s sad. Tilly’s mum takes her to the doctor, who suggests exercise and healthy food. Tilly’s mum takes her to laughter group. Tilly’s best girl friend doesn’t understand her, but her friend Snake does. How will Tilly get happier?

I literally slogged through this novel. I feared reading it from the beginning, because I read Joyous and Moonbeam by this author and didn’t really enjoy it. Imagine my surprise… that I didn’t enjoy this novel either. It takes until the middle of this novel that Tilly starts getting closer to thinking about The Happiness Quest.

That ending. I think it’s cool and all that researching what makes other people happy could help you, but at the same time – clinical depression doesn’t tend to lift like that in my experience. The treatment Tilly received from both her doctor and her mother was pretty typical. I’d hate to think of someone reading this novel and blaming themselves or putting down medication as a treatment. Sometimes it is just the chemicals in your brain!

I think there are important things to be gained out of reading this novel, and it made me want to make notes about its teachings. But at the same time it was such a struggle for me to read it because the style was terrible. I’m sure it suits some people, but just not me. If this novel makes one young person with depression speak up or tell someone the way they feel, then the novel has served its purpose. 2 stars from me.

Scholastic | 1st August 2018 | AU$18.99 | paperback

Review: Victoria Schade – Life on the Leash

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Life on the Leash
Victoria Schade

Cora is a successful dog trainer who thrives on organisation. Her rescue pit bull counts as the man of her life, and she’s content writing a blog about best-practice training techniques. However a run in with an incredibly sexy client who she just can’t seem to say no to, as well as a dog-in-need with a cute guy in tow means that Cora is starting to rethink her priorities.

This is a lighthearted romance with a spot of dog-loving thrown in! Cora’s a likable enough character who creates laughter with her descriptions of dogs-gone-wrong. There are sad parts to the novel too, but nothing particularly cry worthy. If you’re looking for a beach-side read, this novel could be it. This novel is decidedly chaste, so don’t go looking for sex scenes.

From the blurb, I expected that this novel would be all about how Cora copes with being a dog trainer on TV, but it’s not that at all. Most of the novel is taken up by her escapades with her clients and her friendship with the irrepressible Maggie. When I tried to explain the plot to my fiancee I found myself struggling for relevant details of the plot – because normally I wouldn’t go for a romance that doesn’t have a unique protagonist (eg. The Kiss Quotient).

Go into this novel expecting a light read that will take you around 2-3 hours. You might even get some dog training tricks out of it – the author is a well known dog health expert, so you can trust what is written here. I’m giving this 3 stars.

Allen & Unwin | 1st December 2018 | AU$29.99 | paperback

Review: Jonathan Cranston – The Travelling Vet

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The Travelling Vet
Jonathan Cranston

Jonathan Cranston writes an interesting non-fiction book composed of short anecdotes from his years of veterinary practice both in Britain and in more exotic locations. Each chapter concludes with a fact sheet on the animal discussed in the chapter. I found out some very interesting facts; such as that a group of Leopards is a Leap and a group of Rhinos is a Crash!

Despite the somewhat gory descriptions of Rhino poaching, this book is definitely suitable for younger readers interested in animals. I’m going to try it for a 9.5 year old girl who is passionate about reading and David Attenborough films. It’s a great primer about both the glory and the boredom of being a vet in practice.

This is a very attractive hardback book that I felt proud to be carrying around with me (is it strange to say that?). My old James Herriot novels weren’t a matched set and were properly beaten up by the time I had read and reread them (I once upon a time wanted to be a vet). It begs the questions though: why are all vets with popular mainstream novels from Britain? Why don’t we have any Australian vets with great stories? I mean, I’m sure we do, but it hasn’t come to my attention yet.

I used this as light reading that I could dip in and out of before bed, and while travelling in the car. It’s not in my pile for rereading, but I think it has earned a place on my shelf as a modern veterinary book.

Allen & Unwin | 28th November 2018 | AU$35.00 | hardback

Review: Veronica Roth – Insurgent

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Insurgent
Veronica Roth

Tris has broken free from Dauntless and come into her own as a Divergent. She has her trusty Tobias by her side – but is there anyone else she can trust? Even as she protects others with her selflessness, Tris doesn’t know what to do next.

Tris seems to lack a survival instinct, as well as an ability to actually communicate with people! So much drama could have been avoided by ‘using her words’. The same goes for the rest of the characters – talking is a good thing, people! This frustrated me at times because it meant that the perspective was very limited from Tris and I thought there was so much more about this world that I could have enjoyed if I had been given a chance.

This is a plot driven novel, you won’t really find much character development here. Also, there is very little information for the reader to come to their own conclusions about traitors or not. I also didn’t feel very attached to the characters that died, and I think I wouldn’t have blinked too much if Tris herself was killed.

The ending of this novel is a real surprise, but given other novels I have read, not that surprising after all. Every author seems to want to jump into dystopian fiction (with all honesty, Roth was one of the first, given that Divergent was made into a movie released in 2014). The Red Queen by Isobelle Carmody comes to mind or 2094 for other similar novels if you want a more fantasy or adult slanted novel to read.

This was an engaging novel, but in my opinion it just didn’t have the same pizzaz as the first novel, Divergent. I remember finishing that novel and saying to myself – I have to get Insurgent right now! The feeling is not the same here, but as I have Allegiant sitting next to me, I’ll probably read it next. Stay tuned for my opinion on the whole trilogy.

Review: Brandon Sanderson – The Rithmatist

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The Rithmatist
Brandon Sanderson

Joel attends Armedius Academy, a prestigious preparation school for both rich children and the elusive and exclusive Rithmatists. Rithmatists can draw Chalkings and defend the lines against the wild Chalkings in Nebrask – a life that Joel wants for himself. When Rithmatist children begin disappearing, Joel is eager to solve the case and learn more about Rithmatics in the process.

Similarly to Elantris, Sanderson takes an otherwise unremarkable and normal character and devotes a whole novel to them that a reader will love. It’s not that Joel is the underdog – he’s not even one of the metaphorical dogs to begin with! Melody is certainly an underdog, but she’s proud to admit it.

Something that doesn’t ring true for me in this novel is the ages of Joel and Melody. For being 16 year olds, both are very childish and their interactions ring false. I find it difficult to believe that even a single-minded teenage boy like Joel wouldn’t notice how pretty Melody apparently is.

Only Sanderson could bring to life a novel that talks about Chalkings – who knew that reading about drawing stick figures on a floor could be so interesting? Certainly, the opening scenes of The Rithmatist are designed to pull out Joel’s passion and invest the reader in the novel.

Keeping in mind that I have only listened to the talking book and never read the novel, the pacing of the novel was quite slow. This was particularly apparent the second time around I still have a hankering to see the Rithmatic diagrams at the beginning of each chapter, and I’m certain that my desire to reread this novel will not wain.

Sanderson, if you (or your many worthy minions) are reading this review, pretty please write the next novel in the series? That cliffhanger was unfair and unjust and I have so many questions left. I fear that the sequel may be like Kathleen Duey’s novels – a sequel that is promised, but may never occur. It’s like waiting for The Red Queen from Isobel Carmody again!

Review: Shankari Chandran – The Barrier

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The Barrier
Shankari Chandran

Spy-come-virologist Noah Williams is on the hunt for a rogue scientist who wants to eliminate humanity by allowing Ebola to reemerge from its vaccinated hiding place. But as Noah comes to understand this once-proud scientist he wonders whether he’s chasing the right ghost – or whether the issue is closer to home.

Noah’s perspective is interspersed with his mentor’s and a potential love interest. This gives the reader a bit of variety, and also makes them feel Noah’s growing sense of horror as he realises what he and others have done in the name of safety. I wanted to be horrified when Noah tortured people, but I just wasn’t. I felt as numb as he did.

I loved how the author poked holes in the anti-vaccinators who don’t want their children to be immune to Ebola. The parallels with people these days who don’t vaccinate their kids against mumps or polio are clear. There are always going to be those people who want the right to kill their own children – but it shouldn’t be at the expense of others. *Deep breaths Rose, deep breaths.* I have little time for people who are so ignorant as to let deadly diseases come back because they don’t trust safe vaccinations or ‘believe’ in them.

I found it very interesting that the author chose religion as the cause of the world’s near-ending. Ebola just happened to be helpful in destroying the world and allowing religion to be removed. No mention of Australia in this one! I wonder if we survived the outbreak because people simply forgot about our existence again…

I agree with the author that viral/biological warfare will be the next World War and that it probably is only a matter of time before something goes wrong. This theme is one that is being extensively explored at the moment by novels including NK3 and Killer T. Others see the potential of science to heal such as Sapient and The Ego Cluster. Nevertheless, it’s inevitable, and unavoidable that eventually something like this will happen.

I’m highly recommending this novel for scientists and non-scientists alike. The level of biochemical detail isn’t too daunting, and hopefully some people will take away a positive message from it. 4 stars.

Pan Macmillan | 30th May 2018 | AU$29.99 | paperback

Review: Jack Jordan – Before Her Eyes

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Before Her Eyes
Jack Jordan

Naomi Hannah has been blind since birth, abandoned in a bus shelter and brought up in a loving family. She’s always felt alone, but at least safe in her little town. When she stumbles across a body in an alley, and the murderer caresses her, it starts a chain of reactions that steadily get more sinister. Who is leaving her alive at each crime scene, and why?

This novel put the creepy factor up high right from the beginning and it only got worse (or better?)! This is a true psychological thriller that caused me to shiver and make sure I had a good grip on myself (and my stomach). Some of the passages when Naomi were alone almost took my breath away.

Oh, the ending was perfect! I read the novel at a frantic pace for about two hours straight, holding out for an ending that would be satisfying and amazing. And it was everything I could have hoped for. Even possibly more than I could have hoped for. Go read it for yourself already!

This could have simply been a thriller and I would have enjoyed it, but having a disabled, black woman as the protagonist warmed this novel up from another run of the mill (but very good) crime novel to a great one with a diverse range of characters. Her unique perspective put me literally into her shoes. However, I could have had more insight into Lisa as the eventual explanation of her character didn’t exactly ring true for me.

Having finished the novel I can say that it was a totally engrossing read. Since I’ve read it, and I know the thrilling ending now I don’t think I’d reread it. But I think that if you’re a psychological thriller lover you are going to really enjoy this novel. 4 stars from me.

Allen & Unwin | 12th September 2018 | AU$29.99 | paperback

Review: Geek Ink

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Geek Ink

The World’s Smartest Tattoos for Rebels, Nerds, Scientists and Intellectuals! People don’t think of tattoo artists as ‘true’ artists, but it takes significant technique to do this level of detail on a living target.

It’s very difficult to review a book that is filled with images – you just need to see them for yourself. For example, there is an Escher tattoo and some visual puzzles that if the artist had gotten a tiny bit wrong, it would have been wreaked. There’s a kitten and a dinosaur, and you better believe every hair on that kitten is visible.

Some reviewers complain that not all of the tattoos are geeky, especially the plant and animal ones. Clearly, they have never met a scientist passionate about their work! I used to work with mosquitoes, and I can tell you that some of the people in my lab would KILL to get an ultra-realistic mozzie of this quality.

Speaking of killing, you’d probably have to kill someone if you wanted to get a tattoo by the 25 featured artists in the first half of the book. Some tattoos are weird and wonderful, some are just weird! This book reminds an aspiring tattoo owner to careful pick your artist before committing to an indelible ink.

I have a single tattoo of my own, and I’ve always wanted one or two more. I’m in the position where I’d like to have my old tattoo transformed into a dragon! This book had a couple of dragon designs, and I was particularly impressed by the watercolour designs. Most people see tattoos as black line art, but there is so much more out there to be drooled over!

One of the girls I went to high school with wanted to be a tattoo artist – she was a fantastic artist as it was. I’m not sure she ever got there, but Jaz, if you’re reading this, go get it sorted! Or maybe she can look through this first and read the fascinating stories of the artists that are featured – how they got into tattooing and their favourite works and techniques.

This could be a coffee table book, a Christmas present or just something to choose a tattoo from and pass it on. I promise that you won’t believe your eyes when you look at the talent in this book.

Allen & Unwin | 21st February 2018 | AU$32.99 | hardback