Review: HELL'S BELLS

Hell's Bells (UK title)
The Infernals (US title)
by John Connolly
Read by Tim Gerard Reynolds
Book 2 of Samuel Johnson series
Genre: middle grade urban fantasy
Format: paperback & audiobook

About Hell's Bells:

Samuel Johnson - with a little help from his dachshund Boswell and a very unlucky demon named Nurd - has sent the demons back to Hell. But the diabolical Mrs Abernathy is not one to take defeat lying down. When she reopens the portal and sucks Samuel and Boswell down into the underworld, she brings an ice-cream van full of dwarfs as well. And two policemen. Can this eccentric gang defeat the forces of Evil? And is there life after Hell for Nurd?

Source: Info in the About Hell's Bells was taken from GoodReads at http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11274410-hell-s-bells on 06/12/2012.

Review:

As with Book 1, this book is also told in a starical tone. Now, I am not much of a fan of satarical books or shows, so this took a lot of getting used to, even though this is already Book 2 in the series. However, I remind myself that this is a middlegrade book therefore requires more patience of the readers than usual, i.e., to suspend disbelief. And because of the satarical style, the story telling quality rating is less than the usual high score that I would usually give to this author. However Tim Gerard Reynolds compensated a lot for that and he made listening to a satarical narration enjoyable! Which I believe is evidence of this narrator's professionalism and talent in making me enjoy a satire! At the end of it, this book wasn't so bad, satire and all. But it's not John Connolly's best work either.

Empirical Evaluation:
Story telling quality = 3.5
Character development = 4.5
Story itself = 4.5
Ending = 4
World building = 4.5
Cover art = 3.5
Pace = N/A (8 hrs and 58 mins listening time)
Plot = 4
Narrator = 5

Overall Rating: 3.5 out of 5 cherries

Review: THE GATES

The Gates by John Connolly
Read by Jonathan Cake
Book 1 of Samuel Johnson series
Genre: middle grade urban fantasy
Format: hardback & audiobook

About The Gates:

Young Samuel Johnson and his dachshund, Boswell, are trying to show initiative by trick-or-treating a full three days before Halloween which is how they come to witness strange goings-on at 666 Crowley Road. The Abernathys don't mean any harm by their flirtation with the underworld, but when they unknowingly call forth Satan himself, they create a gap in the universe. A gap in which a pair of enormous gates is visible. The gates to Hell. And there are some pretty terrifying beings just itching to get out...

Can one small boy defeat evil? Can he harness the power of science, faith, and love to save the world as we know it?

Bursting with imagination, The Gates is about the pull between good and evil, physics and fantasy. It is about a quirky and eccentric boy who is impossible not to love, and the unlikely cast of characters who give him the strength to stand up to a demonic power.

John Connolly manages to re-create the magical and scary world of childhood that we've all left behind but so love to visit. And for those of you who thought you knew everything you could about particle physics and the universe, think again. This novel makes anything seem possible.

Source: Info in the About The Gates was taken from GoodReads at http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6411440-the-gates on 21/10/2012.

Narrative Evaluation:

As a middlegrade book, it demands that the reader suspend disbelief a great deal more than normal adult fantasy books. And the story telling style is obviously of middlegrade tone. I can cope with all that because the author also gave it a satarical flavour with humour which makes the book enjoyable to read and listen to even to a non-middlegrader like me.

I usually listen to this book while I am driving to work or driving home from work. At the same time I was also reading Cold Days by Jim Butcher at bedtime. Both books have "gates" theme in their story as the central conflict in the plot. At first I thought I've been reading too many urban fantasies that I now got things all mixed up in my head (which I probably read too much urban fantasy anyway)... but when I stopped and thought about it, it wasn't just me reading too much urban fantasy, but it actually read like both Jim Butcher and John Connolly were copying each other's idea, but, giving each book a distinctly different flavour, each in their own way. I don't mind them not having too terribly original an idea, it's the way the story was told that tips the balance towards me buying the books. However my opinion is not without bias as I am a die-hard fan of both Butcher and Connolly. It is therefore unsurprising that middlegrade tone or not, I would continue following this series until the series gets intolerably middlegrade-toned or until the series ends.

Empirical Evaluation:
Story telling quality = 4.5
Character development = 4
Story itself = 3.5
Ending = 4
World building = 3.5
Cover art = 3
Pace = (7 hrs and 27 mins listening time)
Plot = 4
Narrator = 5

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 cherries

Review: THE KNIFE OF NEVER LETTING GO

The Knife Of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness
Book 1 of the Chaos Walking series
Read by Humphrey Bower
Genre: middlegrade/YA fantasy
Format: paperback & audiobook

About The Knife Of Never Letting Go:

Prentisstown isn't like other towns. Everyone can hear everyone else's thoughts in an overwhelming, never-ending stream of Noise. Just a month away from the birthday that will make him a man, Todd and his dog, Manchee -- whose thoughts Todd can hear too, whether he wants to or not -- stumble upon an area of complete silence. They find that in a town where privacy is impossible, something terrible has been hidden -- a secret so awful that Todd and Manchee must run for their lives.

But how do you escape when your pursuers can hear your every thought?

Source: Info in the About The Knife Of Never Letting Go was taken from GoodReads at http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2118745.The_Knife_of_Never_Letting_Go on 08/04/2013.

Review:

I've heard about Patrick Ness but I've never really picked up his work because the premise didn't attract my interest. In fact it made me, a fantasy geek, shy away from it. Until the World Book Night organization gave me a copy. And this book got read.

I kind of find the story telling quality annoying. It has a middlegrade tone but the book is suppose to be YA since the main protagonist seems to be in the "13 years old" age range. OK so the protagonist is just a kid. 13 years old? Not sure since their month seems to be 13 months long instead of 12. Anyway, so a bit of stupidity could be expected as part of him being an adolescent kid and all. But it seems that Todd is not only stupid but his sense of self-preservation is a lot more stunted than everybody else's. A scary bad guy comes at you and you just stand there and let him take your knife away and let him beat the shit out of you. What kind of person just stands there? Todd obviously. For a YA and/or middlegrade book, The Knife Of Never Letting Go takes on dark adult themes like murder and letting a loved one die to save your own skin. Add this with the stupid protagonist. And I was a royally annoyed reader! This may be a good marketing technique. Probably ratchets the suspense up or whatever. But it only annoys me to hell and back. I had to stop reading before I spontaneously combust from annoyance! It was stop-start like that all through out the book. You can safely say that this book wasn't a quick read. But it wasn't all bad. The author knows how to tug on the emotional heartstrings of the readers and I think this is the most redeeming quality of this book. Plus the narration was clear and distinct. The world building is not intricate but beautiful none the less. However the thing which clinches this book as a goner for me is the cliffhanger ending. That's it! No more Patrick Ness books for me!

Empirical Evaluation:
Story telling quality = 2
Character development = 3
Story itself = 3
Ending = 3.5
World building = 3.5
Cover art = 2
Pace = 1 (paperback) / (audiobook: 12hrs and 32mins listening time)
Plot = 3
Narration = 3.5

Overall Rating: 2.5 out of 5 cherries


Books In The Chaos Walking Series:


Thank you to the World Book Night organization for the free paperback copy of The Knife Of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness which in turn shall be passed on to someone else.

FTC Disclosure:
The paperback copy was received for free from the World Book Night organization. The audiobook format was purchased with private funds. No money received for this review.

Review: CLICK CLACK THE RATTLEBAG

Click Clack The Rattlebag by Neil Gaiman
Read by Neil Gaiman
Genre: middlegrade short story freebie for charity
Format: audiobook

About Click Clack The Rattlebag:

"Click-Clack the Rattlebag" is your Halloween treat from Neil Gaiman and Audible, FREE through October 31. It's not available anywhere else, and for a limited time, each download from Audible benefits educational charities at BookTrust.org.

A few words from Neil: "Why tell ghost stories? Why read them or listen to them? Why take such pleasure in tales that have no purpose but, comfortably, to scare?

"I don't know. Not really. It goes way back. We have ghost stories from ancient Egypt, after all, ghost stories in the Bible, classical ghost stories from Rome (along with werewolves, cases of demonic possession, and of course, over and over, witches). We have been telling each other tales of otherness, of life beyond the grave, for a long time; stories that prickle the flesh and make the shadows deeper and, most important, remind us that we live, and that there is something special, something unique and remarkable, about the state of being alive. Happy Halloween!"

"'What kind of story would you like me to tell you?' 'Well,' he said, thoughtfully, 'I don't think it should be too scary, because then when I go up to bed, I will just be thinking about monsters the whole time. But if it isn't just a little bit scary, then I won't be interested. And you make up scary stories, don't you?'"

So begins this subtle, witty, deceptive little tale from master storyteller Neil Gaiman. Lock the doors, turn off the lights, and enjoy!

©2012 Neil Gaiman (P)2012 Audible, Inc.

Source: Info in the About Click Clack The Rattlebag was taken from http://www.audible.co.uk/pd?asin=B009VHO11W on 02/11/2012.

My Thoughts:

First I would like to thank Tales Of Whimsy for giving me the heads-up about this freebie short story for charity! Next I would also like to thank Neil Gaiman for giving away his talent for free for a good cause! And for that alone I would have listened and downloaded this audiobook. And for a freebie it wasn't bad at all! However the biggest merit of this book is the fact that it is for charity! The next bestest thing about it is Neil Gaiman's narration. Heck! If he ever wants to moonlight as a narrator I think he would be raking in the money. He's good! And so I enjoyed listening to this little audiobook and would recommend to everybody to download it too!

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 cherries

Review: SKULDUGGERY PLEASANT

Skulduggery Pleasant by Derek Landy
Read by Rupert Degas
Book 1 of Skulduggery Pleasant series
Genre: middlegrade urban fantasy
Format: paperback, audiobook

About Skulduggery Pleasant:

Meet Skulduggery Pleasant. Sure, he may lose his head now and again (in fact, he won his current skull in a poker match), but he is much more than he appears to be—which is good, considering that he is, basically, a skeleton. Skulduggery may be long dead, but he is also a mage who dodged the grave so that he could save the world from an ancient evil. But to defeat it, he'll need the help of a new partner: a not so innocent twelve-year-old girl named Stephanie. That's right, they're the heroes.

Stephanie and Skulduggery are quickly caught up in a battle to stop evil forces from acquiring her recently deceased uncle's most prized possession—the Sceptre of the Ancients. The Ancients were the good guys, an extinct race of uber-magicians from the early days of the earth, and the scepter is their most dangerous weapon, one capable of killing anyone and destroying anything. Back in the day, they used it to banish the bad guys, the evil Faceless Ones. Unfortunately, in the way of bad guys everywhere, the Faceless Ones are staging a comeback and no one besides our two heroes believes in the Faceless Ones, or even that the Sceptre is real.

So Stephanie and Skulduggery set off to find the Sceptre, fend off the minions of the bad guys, beat down vampires and the undead, prove the existence of the Ancients and the Faceless Ones, all while trading snappy, snippy banter worthy of the best screwball comedies.

Source: Info in the About Skulduggery Pleasant was taken from GoodReads at http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/284440.Skulduggery_Pleasant on 18/08/12.


Review:

I like the way Rupert Degas screeched Beryl's lines! I liked the way he reads and his interpretation of the story. He sounds very professional and it made the listening experience very good indeed! I would listen again to another audiobook by him. But I think the Morticia Addams music though was just a tad overdone.

The heroine is impulsive and running headlong into danger with no thought about how to fight the bad guys nor how to defend herself. Passionate, yes! Stupid, that too!! And then as if that is not enough, when the good guys are fighting the bad guys our heroine just sits there and watch and wait for the bad guys to slit her throat instead of doing her bit of the fighting. Not somebody I like to identify with. Or it might be that the fight scenes needed a bit of sprucing up to make it realistic... like an input from a combat expert or something...

Another thing that didn't endear this book to me is that for a middlegrade book it is a bit too gross and too graphic... And for the impressionable middle grade age group I would like to impart the good values of friendship and family, not the value that it is okey to sacrifice a life or your friends for some shit noble cause. That is for mature adults. I have more books of this series in my TBR shelves, but I don't think I would be bumping them up the reading queue soon.

At the end of it, it wasn't that bad. But it wasn't that great either. But quite promising for a first book in a series.

Empirical Evaluation:
Story telling quality = 2.5
Character development = 2.5
Story itself = 2
Ending = 3
World building = 3
Cover art = 4
Pace = (7 hrs and 9 mins audiobook)
Plot = 2
Narrator = 5

Overall Rating: 3 out of 5 cherries

Thank you to Audiobook Sync for the free copy of Skulduggery Pleasant by Derek Landy downloaded on 18/08/12.

FTC Disclaimer:
The audiobook edition of this book was downloaded for free from Audiobook Sync on 18/08/2012. The paperback edition was bought with private money. No monetary compensation received for this review.