The Redbreast. - Jo Nesbo

Synopsis: Harry Hole, drunkard, loner and brilliant detective is reassigned to surveillance after a high profile mistake. He's bored by his new job until a report of a rare and unusual gun being fired sparks his interest because of its possible links to Neo Nazi activity. Then a former soldier is found with his throat cut. Next Harry's former partner is murdered. Why had she been trying to reach Harry on the night her head was smashed in? The investigation leads Harry to suspect that the crimes have their roots in the battlefields of Eastern Front during WWII. In a quest that takes him to South Africa and Vienna, Harry finds himself perpetually one step behind the killer. He will be both winner and loser by the novel's nail-biting conclusion. The Redbreast. He's your judge, jury and executioner... And he must be stopped.

Review

Okay, so I have just finished up the last hundred pages or so of The Redbreast and I have to firstly say that for me the conclusion delivered perfectly. I didn't settle into this novel with a blistering pace, even abandoning it for a while to read something fresh. However, once I allowed myself to settle in, the novel got progressively better.

I enjoyed the way Nesbo weaves the different characters' stories into one spectacular story-line which leaves you flipping the pages in anticipation throughout. Those more observant reader will pick up the clever twists and turns, but nevertheless the author delivers them fantastically.

In essence this novel is one of revenge, tragedy, love and heartbreak, as you begin to feel what the different characters are going through. An old man who wants nothing more than to deliver the revenge he feels is necessary; a policeman struggling with the death of a comrade; the strikingly beautiful women he loves but who is also loved by another, a man in a position of high-standing, determined to have her for his own.

The many plots and sub-plots of this novel make for an entertaining read and I think I'll be looking for more of Nesbo's work soon.

4/5.

Midnight Sun

Okay, this is the most recent of my work; there's still something I'm not quite feeling about it, but again needed to get some thoughts down.

Midnight Sun

There will often be moments in life,

When you care far more than it appears;

When you're surely too scared to confess,

And to face up to your sudden fears.

You suffered in painful silence,
You considered, pondered too long;
Then all of a sudden it became too late,
To right the things you did wrong.

You believed that time was on your side,
That those difficult decisions could wait;
Although at heart you knew what was right,
You faltered; acted far too late.

Stop, pause, think back, reflect upon,
Those ridiculous mistakes you so often made;
That fantastic future you always wished for,
Had begun to steadily shimmer and fade.

Never hold back again, don't watch from afar,
Fight for that glimmer of hope; that ever-shining star.
Or then yet be left unhappy; consumed, alone, so cold,
I guess you'll truly never forget, those words remain untold.

That persistent, agonising reminder,
Of what you know you should have done,
The frustration etched deep within your heart,
As you gaze wearily up at the pale, midnight sun.

© Ben Johnson 2011.

Duma Key - Stephen King

Synopsis: When Edgar Freemantle moves to Duma Key to escape his past, he doesn't expect to find much there. But Duma Key and its mysteries have been waiting for him. The shells beneath his house are whispering to him, and something in the view from his window urges him to discover a talent he never knew he had. Edgar Freemantle begins to paint. Even though he has lost an arm. And the hand he uses is the one he lost..

Review

Well, where on earth do I start with this one? Towards the final stretch of this novel, I read over two hundred pages in one sitting, and that alone is surely a tribute to how much I enjoyed it.

It is a lengthy read but in some ways you can't even tell; the pages seem to turn themselves as you read on. I was gripped with humour, tension, mystery and in some cases I even paused for a second to think. Now, I'll be the first to admit that any book that has the power to make a reader pause at the end of a sentence and reflect, is surely a book worth reading.

Duma Key is a novel which in essence questions reality itself: it seems to hint that in essence there is no structure to life, only randomness. Throwing aside the idea of fate, of destiny, we are instead led to believe that life and death are purely the product of unrelated and spontaneous events.

This book is both terrifying and beautiful; a book about friendship and about life. I would recommend this novel to anyone who wants to become involved with a journey; a journey which stretches long into the night and the darkness, struggling to find the light.

5/5.

Timeless Values

A recent experiment, differing from what I normally attempt. Something isn't quite right with this.

Timeless Values

Melancholy voices,

A moonlit serenade

Haunted shadows,

The phoenix flies

Whispers conflict
Darkness replenished

Words glitter the page,
Beautiful shimmering gold

Contrasting colours,
Sweet serendipity

Lights dance brightly,
Wind whistles tunelessly

Thoughts distraught,
Destined forever more

© Ben Johnson 2011.

A Clockwork Orange - Anthony Burgess

Synopsis: In this nightmare vision of a not-too-distant future, fifteen-year-old Alex and his three friends rob, rape, torture and murder - for fun. Alex is jailed for his vicious crimes and the State undertakes to reform him - but how and at what cost?

Review

Well, here it is, the third finished novel of the year, and by far the strangest book I've ever had the - shall we say - pleasure of reading.

Although the book deals with some serious issues such as rape, violence and crime - enough to put some people off - I feel that this is a piece of literature that everyone should read. My reasons for this are simple: the novel is thought-provoking, intriguing, and throughout I felt connected with the main protagonist, Alex; perhaps a strange thing to say about a fifteen year delinquent who enjoys gang-crime and extreme violent acts, but who also enjoys classical music. Particularly Beethoven's Ninth.

Some people who will read this novel, will have no sympathy for a child who shows no remorse and causes so much hurt and violence to perfectly innocent people as he turns them into his victims, but as the novel progressed I'm sure that I wasn't the only one who began to sympathise with the troubles that the government force upon him after he is finally arrested and put in jail for his actions.

Now, I feel it necessary to mention the language used within this novel, as it can be challenging at first to understand. I've even know people cast this book away on the principle that they can not get used to the language used; Burgess uses an experimental teenage-slang language at many points during the book. However, I feel that with a little bit of perseverance you can soon begin to decipher what means what, and it doesn't distract from the plot at all.

Now, in conclusion I imagine that opinion about this novel is divided right down the middle; some will say he got what he deserved, others will disagree. I do know one thing for sure: this novel is one that everyone should read at some point in their lives.

5/5.

Resignation

This one was written last October after I hadn't written in a long time and I was a little rusty. Just wanted to get some thoughts down that were going through my head.

Resignation

I no longer know what I’m feeling,

I no longer know my crime,

I lie here facing the ceiling,

Turning my thoughts into rhyme.

They say that love is complicated,
Of that I am now quite sure,
Yet still some things should be debated,
Like does this pain, have a cure?

I sometimes wonder if things will ever change,
Will things change between me and you?
I confess to you that I scream and rage,
When I think that we’re finally through.

Yet when I’m with you time stops there, dead still,
Your touch is electric, a shock, sharp, surprising thrill,
I know now this is an addiction, such as a drug or a pill,
The pain shatters right through me, like a hammer, a drill.

You may note the change of tempo now; I thought it suited well,
The hurt, the confusion, the everlasting hell,
I consider what could be, I think, I dwell,
It seems I found you through fate, I stumbled, and I fell.

I could write verses all day to explain how I feel,
But through these words I’ve said what is real.
When I see you I stammer, I shake and I stutter,
Incoherent thoughts I think, few words I utter.

Now just know that I love you, this much is true,
Though I know you won’t believe me, that just isn’t you,
We share so much in common; this is such damnation,
There’s elation but frustration, I still feel the deflation.

Can you explain this feeling, explain the causation?
Of my pain, my stress, my distraught resignation.

© Ben Johnson 2010.

Moab Is My Washpot - Stephen Fry

Synopsis: Moab is My Washpot is in turns funny, shocking, tender, delicious, sad, lyrical, bruisingly frank and addictively readable. Stephen Fry's bestselling memoir tells how, sent to a boarding school 200 miles from home at the age of seven, he survived beatings, misery, love, ecstasy, carnal violation, expulsion, imprisonment, criminal conviction, probation and catastrophe to emerge, at eighteen, ready to try and face the world in which he had always felt a stranger. When he was fifteen, he wrote this in a letter to himself, not to be read until he was twenty-five: 'Well I tell you now that everything I feel now, everything I am now is truer and better than anything I shall ever be. Ever. This is me now, the real me. Every day that I grow away from the me that is writing this now is a betrayal and a defeat'. Whether the real Stephen Fry is the man now living, or the extraordinary adolescent now dead, only you will be able to decide.

Review

When deciding whether to review this book I thought to myself that I should pull myself away and not bother; it was my firm belief that it doesn't matter what I try and say about Stephen's wonderful autobiography, I will do it a complete injustice. Nevertheless, I have loved and lived every word of this book over the past few days, so I thought it only fair to attempt to get down in words, why everyone should read this book.

This book is a journey; a journey in which we feel what he felt, live what he lived; a journey filled with despair, remorse, sadness, deceit and love. The book itself is both intriguing and humorous, often at the same time, as we are catapulted through Stephen's accounts of the tales of his childhood in boarding school, his first homosexual experiences, his pranks and jokes, his adolescent angst and early experiences with depression.

It is extremely well written, as one would expect from Mr Fry, and is delightful, charming, brutally candid, and a pleasure to read. We're presented with his feelings of regret, despair, and self-loathing, and although I can far from condone his actions as a delinquent youth, neither can he; he acknowledges this most genuinely, and from it you can see how and why he has become what he is today.

Throughout the book Fry quite honestly rambles away, often going off into side-anecdotes, and although this can be irritating for some readers, I found it nothing short of endearing, bringing a certain charm to his style of writing; the way in which he meanders through tales of his childhood, often coming back to his original point several pages on, gives us a sense of how his life has been an emotional roller-coaster from which he has clung on to the very end, to make himself the person which he wants to be.

I myself have no flaws with the book, and yet I feel obliged to point out perhaps why some may. In Stephen's brutal honesty, he doesn't hold back. At all. Because of this, at times his language can be, colourful, shall we say. In this way I don't think the book should be read by young readers, unless of course the parent deems it acceptable. If you can see past this then you will find his language to be witty and engaging; overall a refreshingly forthright and touching memoir.

5/5.

Beloved

I'll start with a poem that I wrote last Valentine's Day for someone very close to me. Like all my poetry I don't consider it anything special; but perhaps it's the thought that counts.

Beloved

Days of happiness,
Lost unto the winter winds,
They can be reclaimed.

Never before have I struggled with the words I should say,
Yet your dashing, dazzling eyes make me stutter and sway.
My feelings for you are so devotedly beyond compare,
As I run my hands through your soft, serene hair.

Delightful days; when I’m with you it’s time well spent,
My senses often overwhelmed by your stunning scent.
Though when you‘re not here, a piece of me brutally breaks,
It splits, shatters and separates the love from my mistakes.

You feel so confused, cluttered and you’re wondering why,
I stumble, I stammer, dither and doubt; I have no reply.
You’re persistent, patient, wordlessly waiting for me,
To decide decisively, where I truly want to be.

I’m befuddled, bewildered, perturbed and perplexed;
I sit here and write, contemplating what to do next.
I picture your face frequently, your beauty divine,
I wish to myself, that you can forever be mine.

I remember those delicious, delicate kisses we shared,
In them meagre moments, I was entranced, ensnared.
A realisation, deep down in the depths of my heart,
That we should be together; for eternity, never apart.

On the 14th of February; a day of romance, affection and love,
Cupid will laugh and sing, shooting arrows from the clouds above.
The angels will play on harmonious harps; a sweet song for you,
Marvellous melodies, whispering my potent love thereto.

An everlasting love that shall never fade nor wither,
As I repeatedly reminisce, I uncontrollably shake and quiver.
And on that day, as our hearts beat quicker in time; will you be mine,

My Valentine.

© Ben Johnson 2010.

Killing Floor - Lee Child

Synopsis: Margrave is a no-account little town in Georgia. Jack Reacher jumps off a bus and walks fourteen miles in the rain, just passing through. An arbitrary decision, a tribute to a guitar player who died there decades before. But Margrave has just had its first homicide in thirty years. And Reacher is the only stranger in town. So the murder is pinned on him. As nasty secrets leak out and the body count mounts, only one thing is for sure: They picked the wrong guy to take the fall. Killing Floor introduces Jack Reacher, the tough ex-military cop of no fixed abode. Trained to think fast and act faster, with an eye for the women, he is truly every thinking reader’s perfect action hero.

Review

Okay, so here it is, my first read of the year; Killing Floor by Lee Child. Now, I hadn't heard of this author before, because normally this isn't my type of genre to read. However, whilst browsing the Amazon Kindle Store, I saw his name crop up. After being intrigued by the synopsis and some good spoiler-free reviews, I thought I'd give it a shot. I can safely say I'm glad to know that I've started off with a series which stretches on for another fourteen books; plenty to get my teeth into with this one, it seems.

The novel itself was fantastic; intriguing and mysterious throughout, it had me hooked all the way from the first page to the last. Now, I'm not normally used to his style of writing, but the short and snappy sentences gave the novel that fast-moving, free-flowing feel, which sweeps a reader off their feet and doesn't put them down until it reaches its conclusion. I hardly noticed that it's 528 pages long.

I found the characters to be believable and interesting, especially that of the main protagonist Jack Reacher, who at first the reader learns nothing about. As the novel unravels you start to feel yourself warming to Reacher and certain other characters, which gave me the feeling that I was with them all the way. Reacher must have his wits about him in his battle to discover the truth, before everything goes up in flames.

4/5.