Book reviews: Life After God by Douglas Coupland, Hugh Laurie, Stephen Fry, Quentin Tarantino and many more
More comments/reviews about books I've read, March 1999 part #2
These are comments on books that I read long time ago.
Red Dwarf
science fiction/humourous
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This book at Amazon (UK) Red Dwarf
This book at Amazon (Deutschland) Red Dwarf
This book at Amazon (Canada) Red Dwarf
This book at Amazon (USA) Red Dwarf
The book that evolved from the tv-series. This is the first one and very funny indeed. It's written by Rob Grant and Doug Naylor, who among other things have been writing for Spitting Image and have been shoe-shop assistants. If you like the tv-series you'll love the book.
| Reviews of books written in a similar style: My review of Douglas Adams's The Hitch-Hikers Guide to the Galaxy My review of Phil Janes's The Galaxy Game My review of Terry Jones's Douglas Adam's Starship Titanic |
The Man who turned into Himself
thriller/science fiction
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I read this book without reading the backside of it, I knew the basic setting:
A man takes place in a carcrash and when he wakes up at the scence his wife is calling him a different name, and denies that they have a son. No-one around knows him by his real name and people he used to know treats him like a stranger.
It is more fun to read it with just this plot, I got the book cause I liked the first episodes of a tv-series that is quite similar (can't recall the name of the series, but the main actor looked a bit like Sam Neill).
You really want to get to know what has happend and why everything is so strange, it is a pity that at the end things get a bit to far out, but it is surely a nice thriller to read if you like this kind of stuff.
A man takes place in a carcrash and when he wakes up at the scence his wife is calling him a different name, and denies that they have a son. No-one around knows him by his real name and people he used to know treats him like a stranger.
It is more fun to read it with just this plot, I got the book cause I liked the first episodes of a tv-series that is quite similar (can't recall the name of the series, but the main actor looked a bit like Sam Neill).
You really want to get to know what has happend and why everything is so strange, it is a pity that at the end things get a bit to far out, but it is surely a nice thriller to read if you like this kind of stuff.
| Reviews of books written in a similar style: My review of Kim Stanley Robinson's The Memory of Whiteness My review of Jon Courtenay Grimwood's reMix |
The Gun Seller
crime/humourous
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Hugh Laurie's debut as an author.
I liked this one, it feels a bit like the book has got two parts; in the beginning the book is more humourous, and the second part it gets more focused on the thriller/crime things.
It has got an excellent start for a book, that really wants you to get to read on.
I liked this one, it feels a bit like the book has got two parts; in the beginning the book is more humourous, and the second part it gets more focused on the thriller/crime things.
It has got an excellent start for a book, that really wants you to get to read on.
The Hippopotamus
humourous/weird
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When Hugh Laurie is around, there is usually a Stephen Fry somewhere in the neighbourhood.
This is the only novel I've read by Stephen Fry. I like his writing, but am not that found of the story. It's just a bit too much sex in it, otherwise he would surely be able to write an excellent book.
I shall try to read any other of his books, if anyone has got a tip for one that is more "normal", please drop me a mail.
This is the only novel I've read by Stephen Fry. I like his writing, but am not that found of the story. It's just a bit too much sex in it, otherwise he would surely be able to write an excellent book.
I shall try to read any other of his books, if anyone has got a tip for one that is more "normal", please drop me a mail.
Sheep
horror
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This is the debut novel by Simon Maginn and it is great.
A family moves into the country to overcome the death of their daughter. They will surely get other things to think about. This is a great horror novel and one surely wants to move on through all the book. The disease scrapie plays a central role, but don't let the sheeps scare you away from the book, it isn't silly, it is a real good book.
A family moves into the country to overcome the death of their daughter. They will surely get other things to think about. This is a great horror novel and one surely wants to move on through all the book. The disease scrapie plays a central role, but don't let the sheeps scare you away from the book, it isn't silly, it is a real good book.
MicroSerfs
fiction/cyberculture
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This is a great novel! If you work with computers/computing and havn't read this book you surely would. It is excellently researched, and I only spotted a few errors. It is about how life is working in the valley, and the fear of the big Bill. Follow a few software engineers and they everyday life as they decides to start their own software company.
| Read my other reviews of Douglas Coupland's books: My review of Miss Wyoming My review of Life After God Reviews of books written in a similar style: |
Life After God
fiction
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I loved MicroSerfs, and therefore got this one to try some of Coupland's other works. It is about anxieties that everyone feels, and is sometimes quite depressing to read. It is built up a bit like a diary, with different events that takes place in a persons life.
I shall try to read something more by Coupland since I heard that this book is different from his other stuff. I found it a bit to depressing to be really amusing to read.
I shall try to read something more by Coupland since I heard that this book is different from his other stuff. I found it a bit to depressing to be really amusing to read.
| Read my other reviews of Douglas Coupland 's books: My review of Miss Wyoming My review of MicroSerfs |
Quentin Tarantino - The man and his movies
biography
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Since I love most of Tarantino's movies I enjoyed this book. It describes stories about him, and how the movies eveolved. The book is from 1995, so it isn't up-to-date now, but if you would like to find out how his career started and how his life was before, you should really read this book.
| Reviews of books written in a similar style: My review of Howard Stern's Private Parts |
Hemingway's Chair
fiction
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This is a novel by Michael Palin (from Monty Python).
This is a story about a small postoffice in the countryside that is about to get closed for good. Martin Sproale is a mild assistant postmaster, that tries to fight for their right to continue with their postoffice. One gets to follow this character and his obsession by Ernest Hemingway, he knows everything about him and tries to get everything that has got something to do with him.
The book is really nice, although I didn't quite like the end.
This is a story about a small postoffice in the countryside that is about to get closed for good. Martin Sproale is a mild assistant postmaster, that tries to fight for their right to continue with their postoffice. One gets to follow this character and his obsession by Ernest Hemingway, he knows everything about him and tries to get everything that has got something to do with him.
The book is really nice, although I didn't quite like the end.
| Reviews of books written in a similar style: My review of Terry Jones's Douglas Adams' Starship Titanic |
More Than Human
fantasy/science fiction
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This is a story about some weird persons that really don't fit into the human world. They move out to the woods very they find out that with their different talents, they together form a quite strong being.
I liked this book, it's hard to classify which genre it belongs to, but sf or something similar is close enough. I believe Sturgeon recieved some award for this novel.
I liked this book, it's hard to classify which genre it belongs to, but sf or something similar is close enough. I believe Sturgeon recieved some award for this novel.
| More information: Science fiction; the golden age |
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