Book Review: Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman

Oh, the world should ended when I was eight. I would have welcomed it (sad, but true).  Or before I was born.

'Armageddon only happens once, you know. They don't let you go around again until you get it right.'


According to The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch - the world's only totally guide  to the future, written in 1655, before she exploded - the world will end on a Saturday. Next Saturday, in fact. Just after tea...

People have been predicting the end of the world almost from its very beginning, so it's only natural to be sceptical when a new date is set for Judgement Day. This time though, the armies of the Good and Evil really do appear to be massing. The four Bikers of the Apocalypse are hitting the road. But both the angels and demons - well, one fast-living demon and a somewhat fussy angel - would quite like the Rapture not to happen.


And someone seems to have misplaced the Antichrist . . .

This the first Terry Patachatt novel I've read, but I've danced around with Gaiman before. I had been interested to read this book for a while and  the adaption with David Tennant pushed me to read it. I thought the TV adaption was being released sooner than is. It not coming out till 2019 so plenty of time to read this novel before then.

There's a lot characters in this book and jumbles between them all. The Angel and the Demon both being bad at what they meant to do always works.

The plot works well for the story, not sure why 11 year old Antichrist is what you would be waiting for. Wouldn't wait till puberty was finished? Humour I guess.

Is it weird when I finished this book, I immediately thought the ones stars would be a hoot, and they were. "Pretentious" and saying to get rid of characters that are necessary for the plot to work.

Overall, I give this book 4/5 stars for singe corners. This book is relevant and for being almost 30 years (we're all getting so old) it hard to date it really (except it's cds and ipods that turn into the best of Queen now). Well, I'm off to throw some books in a bath or something. 

Old People continue to Suck.

We are almost half way through the year and it probably has to be the collective worst. The UK is officially out of the EU (in two years). If Donald Trump thinks its a good idea, then you know your country has made a critical mistake.

Scotland's votes once again don't matter, because England over rules. We voted to stay and they voted to leave. Its all rather unsatisfactory.

Scotland will have to leave. Both Referendums have been filled with major lies and old people fucking young people over. Of course, they were young people who voted No and Leave, but those people are giant fucking hypocrites. How can you say its good to leave EU but Scotland and England should stay in the same union despite having variously different politic views, such as whether or not to leave the EU. The fact that EU Referendum even happened was a fuck you to Scotland. One of the No campaign's biggest thing was the guarantee of the EU. Scotland gains very little from being in the UK, especially a UK that isn't in the EU.


My dad is sick of Referendums, but that's England's fault. David Cameron seemed to be adamant to see the UK to be in shambles and for him having to resign in shame. He almost lost Scotland, and then he agree (his government which he is the face of anyway) to a second referendum that went against one of the promises/arguments for Scotland to remain with the UK.

I don't want to leave the EU and I want the votes of Scotland to matter. They didn't this time and I have never voted in a general election where they did matter. Nor have my parents. Scotland basically voted in an entire party (One Tory voted in by old Farmers a.k.a old white rich people who fuck everyone else over (I know this from the roads I've seem them destroy).

I've been joking about the apocalypse but who knows with the current politics? It just very easy to visualise Dystopias. This whole Brexit has ruined being British for me. Even if anyone has the sense to ignore the vote result, considering how close it was and the amount of Leaver votes now saying they regret what they've done. A referendum is technically a suggest to the government. A government that neither side saw coming.

Whatever happens moving forward, my British identity is currently dead. Being on the same island bounds us all, but forcing out other people, I've had enough of you. Being angry at old people is the real millennials trend. For those who think they Won back their country. You've ready killed it. Any doubts I had about whether Scotland and England could still be comparable is dead. Great Britain is dead. The UK is dead. Long live the Recession.

Book Review: The Storm by Virginia Bergin

I missed the butterflies.

My name is Ruby Morris. I don't go when it rains.
Once you've survived an apocalypse, the old rules don't seem to matter so much.


Like today I drove a Ferrari that wasn't mine, but no one cared (there's no one left to care). 


If I want to eat only Nutella, then I can (there;s nothing else to eat).

And if I want to go to wild parties in mansions, I will (this only happened once).

Of course, there are bad things too. Like everyone you cared about being gone, having no one to trust and, worst of all, not being able to stop thinking about THAT KISS with Darius Spratt...

But I've survived this long and I'm not going to die now.


I think enjoyment of this novel does depend on reading the first one. If you haven't read the first book, why not check out my review of it instead of possibly spoiling yourself with this review.

The story starts back up months later and a disillusion Ruby. She still the same Ruby and does dumb stuff, but she makes a better effort not to do dumb stuff.

We get some answers in this book, and a satisfying ending to the series. The science continues to be a bit effy. I think this novel might be more horrifying than the last book. Though, I did feel like emotions didn't hit as strong as I felt they should have. Things that happen didn't impact much and felt more like getting rid of a character out of the way.

The character development was nice to see, Ruby has grown up a bit in this series and you see in this book. The relationships were good and some were interesting to see.

Overall, I gave this book four out of five stars for eating things out of a well. We get answers and the series leaves off with a satisfying ending.

Book Review: Zom-B: Circus by Darren Shan

This book is tiny looking in comparison to the way the other books are put together.

Could you survive a plague of zombies?
What would you sacrifice to stay alive?
Who would you try to save?
For one human, judgement day is coming . . .

 This is book 7.5 in the Zom-B series, though in terms of spoilers it would only spoil the first book (and a slight spoiler for it in this review), you should be probably read the second book as well before this one at least. (My reviews here: Zom-B and Undergound). Though, you should just read the series in order.

This book follows B's old Maths teacher, which is odd for book in Children's/teenager's/YA book series to have a Protagonist in her late 20s. All should follow this example, it won't get weird not at all. 

I liked the parallels between Cat Ward and B's escape from the school. Cat is unlikable character, not just because of her questionable action, just her thought process more than anything. You can find other characters to like.

Going by this cover that you will guess what other character we see in this book. That's right, Count Dracula. I was very surprised. You won't be surprised to know that is a lie. Though, as Dracula is now in public domain, anyone can have him appear in their book. There was some cool, gruesome imagery.

Overall, I gave this book 5 out of 5 stars for talk of soldiers. This was a cool intermission in the series and it was cool to hear the voice of the living during this apocalypse. It re-raised some question to ponder between books.

Book Review: The Rain by Virginia Bergin

Because films just don't include the important detail of bathroom habits during the apocalypse.

One minute sixteen-year-old Ruby Morris is having her first proper snog with Caspar McCloud in a hot tub, and the next she’s being bundled inside the house, dripping wet, cold and in her underwear. Not cool. As she and Caspar shiver in the kitchen, it starts to rain. They turn on the radio to hear panicked voices – ‘It’s in the rain . . . it’s in the rain . . . ' That was two weeks ago, and now Ruby is totally alone. People weren’t prepared for the rain, got caught out in it, didn’t realize that you couldn’t drink water from the taps either. Even a drip of rain would infect your blood, and eat you from the inside out. Ruby knows she has to get to London to find her dad, but she just doesn’t know where to start . . . After rescuing all the neighbourhood dogs, Ruby sets off on a journey that will take her the length of the country – surviving in the only way she knows how.

The thing is about this book is that unusual in that the main character in no way or form should survive the apocalypse. Ruby has survive mostly from luck. She is not at all practical, she wastes drinkable water a lot. I guess it would be highly unlikely if she didn't have practical people around her. It interesting to have apocalypse from that point of view.

I feel like they run out of liquid too soon. I mean they run out of any form of water the next day after the run came. I guess it could just be greatly unfortunate that grocery day was tomorrow when it suck. I also don't think the science is quite all there. Certain things don't make sense, like why does it only effect the humans so explosively and there nothing at all to indicate that the water is infected at all. There's probably a science thing that could at least test it, but we don't really meet anyone with that skill set. This the start of series so hopefully we get those answers. Also who cut off all the phone lines.

Overall, I gave this book 4 out of 5 stars for murderous neighbours. This book had it funny moments with featured reference to that if this was Hollywood movie and of course mostly it was just tragic as everyone dies in the world and there no water to be had. The story could have ended where the book does but I am glad there is going to be a sequel and plan to read it.

I got this off Netgalley for Review. It is being published by Macmillan Children's Books on 17th July (tomorrow).

Book Review: The girl with all the gifts by M.R. Carey

This shares similarities with The last of Us.

NOT EVERY GIFT IS A BLESSING

Every morning, Melanie waits in her cell to be collected for class.

When they come for her, Sergeant Parks keeps his gun pointing at her while two of his people strap her into the wheelchair. She thinks they don't like her. She jokes that she won't bite. But they don't laugh.

Melanie is a very special girl.


This is a zombie book, but has a unique spin. Mixing education with the living dead.

There are 5 characters that are the main focus. There are idiots in their own special ways. I suppose it would be a true zombie if someone didn't get themselves almost killed with their own stupidity. I didn't get attached to any of them, whixh is fine with this sort of book but I guess it does take away from the suspense when you don't care who lives and dies.

The science is of course questionable once you think about it, but then does have something that is known to take over other animals. The ending was okay. We left with questions about things that don't matter in the end.

 The book is written in third-person, switching focus between the characters. I like the writing style.

Overall, I gave this book 4 out of 5 stars for humping zombies.I enjoyed this book and would recommend if you like zombies book set well into the the Apocalypse.

 I got this off NetGalley for Review. It published by Orbit and is out now in paperback.

Book Review: Robot Uprisings by Daniel H. Wilson and John Joseph Adams

I'm currently not in talking terms with most of my technology.

Someday soon, our technology is going to rise up and we humans are going to be sliced into bloody chunks by robots that in our hubris we decided to build with chainsaws for hands. That's a fact as cold and hard as metal.

It is self-evident that our self-driving cars are going to drive us off bridges. Not long from now, our robo-vacuums will pretend to be broken and our love androids will refuse to put out until the house is cleaned . . . and we'll know that the inevitable robot uprising has finally arrived.

Well, maybe. But even if we are not 100% confident that this horrific future is going to happen, it's fair to say that we won't be surprised when the robots come for us. Because for nearly a century audiences have been entertained by the notion of a robot uprising.

In this collection, seventeen of the biggest names in sci-fi have explored their own visions of the classic robot uprising tale. The robots in these pages aren't safe, by any means. They are crouched in abandoned houses, eyes ablaze and chainsaws dripping with oil. But they are going to do more than slice us up. They are going to push us to consider our world of technology from new perspectives, on entirely new scales of time and space.

Even though this book is called the Robot Uprising, most of them don't involve what you would call Robots. More just AI in everything. I got to say I don't think it will be technology that will be the end of humanity especially since most tech seems have the lifespan of a well-cared for rabbit. Just don't let them build themselves and we're be fine. Oh, wait...it might already be too late. Okay, lets get into the actual stories.

Complex God by Scott Sigler: This was a strong one to open with. There is Harry Potter references so that makes it the best story ever. The tone was nice as well. Deep and questing humanity and all that jazz. And. 4/5 stars for frogs.

Cycles by Charles Yu: I quite like this one. It more interesting to be told the story from the point of view of the robot because motive is something I never really got about "Robot Uprisings".4/5 stars for Procrastinating Robots.

Lullaby by Anna North: Sing to the robots, save the house. This one is interesting as it actually set after a war with robots have already taken place. A young hacker moves into her grandfather old house which she hears is meant to be  haunted. It is *evil laugh*.  4.5/5 stars for incompetent  authority figures.

Eighty Miles an hour all the way to paradise by Genevieve Valentine: I liked the ending, it’s sort of sad. Also in this world, Britain would probably fine going off the ending. I'm disappointed that appears not to be a real song. 4/5 stars for death cars.

Exeutable by Hugh Howey: You should have better things to do in the robot apocalypse than have a pointless trial. Especially, since the person on trial could be valuable in his knowledge of Robots. 3/5 stars for idiots.

The Omnibot Incident by Ernest Cline: Really cute story about possible killer Robot set in the 80s. No, it not a fanfiction of Johnny-5. It should be. 5/5 stats for knife play.

Epoch by Cory Doctorow: This was sort interesting as it was about survival and think it made the good point as to why we would care about AIs. Why would we want Artificial Intelligence be a thing? 5/5 stars for non-sexy phone calls.

Human Intelligence by Jeff Abbott: Oh, the trickery. I could also get behind this apocalyptic scene with how believable it is to me. 5/5 stars for man's last hope.
 

The Golden Hour by Julianna Baggott: I like this one, kinda unique as it about a robot making human baby and loving it. Robots are still our overlords but questioned the relationships and emotion.4/5 stars for stolen DNA.

Sleepover by Alastair Reynolds: DUMB, DUMB, DUMB. There are so many things I did not like about this story. The concept, the structure, the suppose explanation. Basically, most of the human race has been put to sleep except for a group of caretakers. They wake up this guy to be a caretaker and explain absolutely nothing to him. They say there is a war, that’s it and he left to figure what going on himself.  The character were annoying as no one explains themselves. 1/5 stars for being Dumb, Dumb, Dumb.  Okay, I’m being a bit mean, but really don’t like this one.

Seasoning by Alan Dean Foster: It could be argued that humans could behind what’s going on in this story. I guess still sort of interesting and involves one of those unavoidable things of life: Food. 3/5 stars for making me want a pretzel.

Nanonauts! In Battle with tiny Death-Subs! By Ian McDonald: Lesson, boys should wear concealer too. Also protected your drinking glasses in bars and don’t brag to strangers about your job. 3/5 stars for being Nanotastic.

Of Dying Heros and Deathless Deeds by Robin Wasserman: Wasserman is the only writer in this anthology that I’ve read before (though I own others’ books and not hers). I generally like her writing style. This one was so sad and I had tears in my eyes at the end. 5/5 stars for alot of talking.

The Robot and the Baby by John McCarthy: This weird, kinda funny story, basically robot that sort of goes against it programming whilst keeping with it. 4/5 stars for spider legs.

We are All Misfit Toys in the Aftermath of the Velveteen War By Seanan McGuire: I liked this story but I think there was some issues with it. As not to spoiler it, let just say everything is on the internet. 4/5 stars for a updated horror cliché.

Spider the Artist by Nnedi Okorafor: Killer Robots and music. This was the only story not set in the west, definitely make it stand out more. It's set in African country (I can't remember which one). It has this nice soft tone, that almost musical so goes very well with the story. 4/5 stars for spurting oil.

Small Things by Daniel H. Wilson: This is the longest story in the anthology. It even had chapters. Because of it's length I did spend most of the time wondering when it would start getting interesting. Follows a shamed nano expert who tricked by the government (petty sure it's US but don't think it said it them), into going to a nano infested island with a mad scientist making them do weird things to living things. There is some horrific imagery in this story. 4/5 stars for

Overall, I gave this book 4 out of 5 stars for junked cities. I enjoyed reading this and there are some interesting, well-written stories in it so definitely recommend to robot and sci-fi lovers.

I got this book off Netgalley for Review. It's published by Simon & Schuster and has been out since April.