This month I have been consistently reminded that:
1) My memory is sh*t
2) People with limited memories (i.e. Goldfish: Hey! A castle!... Hey! A castle!...) shouldn't wait a year before reading the next book in a series
3) GOLDFISH PEOPLE SHOULD NEVER START A SERIES THAT HASN'T BEEN COMPLETED/ PUBLISHED FOR CONSUMPTION BY THE GENERAL MASSES. [Apparently goldfish should tattoo this on their book-buying-hands-of-betrayal.]
If you're new to this blog, I'm continuing on with a year-long reading challenge where we read books at least 1 year or older on our To-Be-Read [TBR] lists. Hosted by the lovely Bekka at Pretty Deadly Reviews.
August 9 & 11, 2016
Author: Jeyn Roberts
Publisher: Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers
Published: November 2011
Genre(s): YA (mature), apocalypse, horror, zombies
Synopsis (via goodreads.com):
Since the beginning of mankind, civilizations have fallen: the Romans, the Greeks, the Aztecs…and now us. Huge earthquakes rock the world. Cities are destroyed. But something even more awful is happening: An ancient evil has been unleashed, and it’s turning everyday people into hunters, killers, and crazies.
This is the world Aries, Clementine, Michael, and Mason are living in—or rather, trying to survive. Each is fleeing unspeakable horror, from murderous chaos to brutal natural disasters, and each is traveling the same road in a world gone mad. Amid the throes of the apocalypse and clinging to love and meaning wherever it can be found, these four teens are on a journey into the heart of darkness—and to find each other and a place of safety.
-------------------------------AND THEN...---------------------------------------
Author: Jeyn Roberts
Publisher: Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers
Published: August 2012
Genre(s): YA (mature), horror, apocalypse
Synopsis (via goodreads.com):
Aries, Clementine, Mason and Michael have survived the first wave of the apocalypse that wiped out most of the world’s population, and turned many of the rest into murderous Baggers. Now, they’re hiding out in an abandoned house in Vancouver with a ragtag group of surviving teens, and trying to figure out their next move.
Aries is trying to lead, but it’s hard to be a leader when there are no easy answers, and every move feels wrong. Clementine is desperate to find her brother Heath, but it’s impossible to know where he’d be, even if he is still alive. Michael is still haunted by the memories of his actions during his harrowing struggle to survive. And Mason is struggling with something far worse: the fear that he may be a danger to his friends.
As the Baggers begin to create a new world order, Aries, Clementine, Mason and Michael will have to trust and rely on each other in order to survive.
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As I have mentioned, my memory is the pits. I blame wi-fi and old-age! I used to watch movies in the theatre, would see an actor, and my mind wouldn't rest until I remembered where I had seen them previously. Now the answer is literally in the palm of our hand. Plus I was born in 1978 which is almost FORTY YEARS AGO and I've probably lost a few brain-cells since then. All legally of course.Which brings me to Dark Inside. I was reading Rage Within almost exactly one year after I had read DI and while Roberts does a pretty descent job of referring back to certain traumatic circumstances for the main characters, I was having trouble connecting with their plight(s). So I went back and re-read DI and was quite pleased! I had forgotten the theory of humanity as a plague, and revisiting how the initial events affected each character (including Nothing) was just what I needed! I went back to Rage and felt much more in-step with the people and their individual motivations. I believe I even shed a tear or two!
I love the premise that certain civilizations have been wiped out in the past with no record of how or why they disappeared, and the current cataclysmic events somewhat explain their annihilation. Rage doesn't completely explain the forces behind the genocide of the entire human race, but some more sentient agents of destruction have explained that the earth needed help correcting itself after the world-wide destruction of the environment.
Also in Rage we get to see our heroes on a more relatable level; understandable mistakes are made with deadly consequences. In more than one scenario I found myself wondering what I would do in a similar situation! It's a great follow-up to DI and ends with you wanting more!
(Also, I just remembered that #3 hadn't been WRITTEN yet, so I put Rage on the back-burner. Roberts took 4 years to publish, and apparently self-published Fury Rising (Dark Inside #3). Don't know what happened there, but by most accounts it's a pretty epic finale!! Also whispers of a movie, but imdb.com is vague about production, so I'm not holding my breath. But it would make a great mini-series!!)
Et voila! I hereby to vow to read Fury Rising within the next few months so as to not have to re-read Rage.
Thanks for reading!
~ Spinning Goldfish Jenny
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August 7, 2016
Author: Stephen King
Publisher: Plume
Published: June 1982
Genre(s): horror, western, fantasy, not-exactly-sure?
Synopsis (via goodreads.com):
In the first book of this brilliant series, Stephen King introduces readers to one of his most enigmatic heroes, Roland of Gilead, The Last Gunslinger.
He is a haunting figure, a loner on a spellbinding journey into good and evil. In his desolate world, which frighteningly mirrors our own, Roland pursues The Man in Black, encounters an alluring woman named Alice, and begins a friendship with the Kid from Earth called Jake. Both grippingly realistic and eerily dreamlike, The Gunslinger leaves readers eagerly awaiting the next chapter.
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I'm a little gob-smacked
(just a little). All my life I've had an idea of who Stephen King was,
and what kind of books he wrote. I think this gory, western +
50-other-genres is wonderful and amazing. I loved the afterword. I love
that there's a revised version that is as controversial as George Lucas
changing the fact that "Han shot first!" (To borrow that metaphor from
Kemper, another reviewer...) My friend loves that the original is rough
and imperfect (to paraphrase) but I also love that 30 years after the
fact King is able to improve (in his omnipotent opinion) on, and
complete, his epic Tolkein-esque quest of The Gunslinger.
So many layers, people. So many years. So much to ponder! KINGdom, I have arrived!!!!
So many layers, people. So many years. So much to ponder! KINGdom, I have arrived!!!!
[Going to end it here! If you want a complete list of my August reads, click here!]
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