Mad Mike's writing blog, book of the year 2018

Welcome friends, bookbloggers, avid readers alike, to my annual book of the year post. This isn't about books written or published this year, this is about the books I have read this year, and with dozens to choose from, it's no easy task.

I won't bore you with a big long list of all my reads from 2018, for that you can check out my historic posts or look at Amazon/Goodreads for my reviews, so without further ado:-

In at number five is, No Country for Old Men, Cormac McCarthy. Blog post 29/04/18
With its no nonsense approach to mass murder, a psychopathic hitman and the author's beautiful use of the Texan dialect, this action packed book is both fast and furious whilst quiet and threatening at the same time, and in spite of the sheriffs best efforts, you never stop believing that the hitman will win through in the end.

My number four is, The Twelve, by Justin Cronin. Blog post 25/06/18

Following on from The Passage was never going to be easy, but here, Justin Cronin takes things down a peg or two, goes back to where a dozen death row prisoners became the virals that go on to decimate the world. The world after the virus has moved on too, and the resulting climax, the build up to the gathering of The Twelve, where Amy makes her move, is soooooo good, the book just had to be in my top five.

In bronze position then: Ready Player One, by Ernest Cline. Blog post 24/11/18
In this futuristic look back at the past, Cline takes us to a dystopian world on the brink of destruction. The oil has gone, the crops have failed and the world is hungry and poor, so people choose to live as avatars in the alternate reality of, Oasis, a computer generated world that some never leave. With its heavy nod to the 80's, murder, global corporate corruption and a clear, 'root for the underdog' thread running throughout, Ready Player One is one of the most unique books I have ready this year.

So, this year’s runner up: All Hell let Loose, by Max Hastings. Blog post 20/08/18

To humanise the death of so many under such depraved circumstances and make it actually readable, is a testament to the true genius of this author, and his mix of first hand civilian accounts along with the well documented military events of the Second World War, gives the reader a true sense of the horrors that befell the world during those six long years. A classic must-read five star book.

And my winner, my favourite book of 2018: IT, by Stephen King.
'A coming of age, thriller, horror, murder mystery, sci-fi, history book, all rolled into one,' was what I said at the time, and I stick by that statement. There aren't enough superlatives in the English language to truly express my feelings for this absolute classic and to put that into context, I have read all 1166 pages of IT three times now and dare say I will read it again someday, for it is without compare. As I said in my 15/10/18 blog post: Put simply, one of the greatest books I have ever read.

No Country for Old Men, book review. (Cormac McCarthy)

Have you ever been punched in the face by a book?

It's a simple question, and up until now I can't honestly say that I have.

I've been wooed by books, romanced, charmed and frightened by them, I've even been brought to tears, be them happy or sad, but never in my many years and hundreds of books, have I ever been punched in the face, (although Fight Club was like a good slap), but I have now.

The simplicity of the writing that annoyed me so in, The Road, is here, as is the non-existent grammar, but with a relentless madman on the loose, (Chigurh), several trucks full of dead Mexicans, a missing case of money, and a Sheriff who's not as stupid as you might think, the action and sheer pace of this book make you forgive it those annoyances.

When Llewelyn Moss discovers a drug deal gone wrong, and figures out where the money might be at, his life expectancy takes a turn for the worse.

The relentless pursuit of Llewelyn and the money across the barren Texas landscape, through towns, hotels and even across the border to Mexico, is punishing, sad and thrilling in equal measure. The innocent suffer, as do some of the criminals, but the stand out character has to be, Anton Chigurh. Never have I come across such an empty shell of a man, someone so devoid of emotion; he's just so convincing it sends shivers down your spine.

You may all have seen the film, it's a very good representation of the book, so maybe y'all know what to expect if you read this, but for me, there's nothin' like discoverin characters for yourself.

The deep, deep, sadness that this book left me with, might not be y'all cup o’ tea, nor might the violence, but it's not a long book, so I say give it a go, especially if y'all like a good punch in the face!

So the non-existent grammar didn't bother me as much, the southern Texas drawl was beyond convincing, probably the most convincing dialect I have yet read, (I'm not brave enough to read Trainspotting yet), but due in part to the books brevity, and what I thought was a rather pointless conversation between Sheriff Bell and the old man at the end, I'm gonna have ta knock a half star off.

So, four and half stars for, No Country for Old Men then.

Bloody fantastic!

The Road, book review. (Cormac McCarthy)

Okay, so this is an interesting book, it's interesting because it breaks the rule; it's also frustrating for that very same reason.

The book is about a man and a young boy making their way south, along, The Road. There isn't much to see and very little to do, other than hide from any would-be criminals and scavenge for food and water.

The book paints a very bleak future of a world that has been ravaged by . . .? Well, we don't know, it's just ravaged, and our two main characters, er! lets just call them, the man and the boy, because that's what they're called in the book, have their entire life in a shopping cart.
As they move ever closer to the sea, they have to hide, fight, run, lose all their possessions, get them back again and more.

The sense of isolation here, of hopelessness, is akin to John Wyndham's, The Day of the Triffids, and really punches through. The suspense: when they see or hear other humans, enter what they hope are unoccupied buildings, descend into cellars, where the man finds fresh clean drinking water, all have you biting your nails in anticipation, but, and this is where I feel the book lets itself down, it's all a bit too bland.

The world is grey, covered in ash, the sun never penetrates and the nights are cold, very cold, (it's because of the cold that the man and boy are heading south), but it's bland to the point of annoyance.

Back to my opening statement: this book breaks too many rules, well, it does in my opinion.

Books are supposed to have a beginning middle and an end, this one only has an end; the whole thing feels like the last few hundred pages of a much longer manuscript.

Not naming the characters, okay, fine, but without that, they lose some of their humanity, their identity, and you sort of stop routing for them, and my biggest gripe? No speech marks! Why? Why, why, why, do authors and/or publishers think this is okay? It's not clever, it's just bloody annoying.

So, in summary, it's a book about a world we don't know, with people we don't know, or get to know, travelling south to a place we don't know, with no speech marks.

For the sense of isolation and the tension created when the man goes into the cellar and confronts a would be attacker, and the fact that it is short and doesn't take long to read, I’ll give this one three stars.