sdmftn's reviews
179 reviews

A riveting ride through the lives of several different people in the midst of a terrible tragedy. When Rachel's normal dreamlike ride on the train each day changes when she sees a new person in the picture, it sets off events that will change her world forever. Things are never as they seem when lies and deception are in the mix........

A tale of loss, change and ultimately redemption. I read this because of an extremely high recommendation by a close, true friend who said this book changed her life. After reading, I can understand why. Hearing about the Afghanistan that existed prior to the lifelong wartime in that area I have always known, was eye-opening and the hardships faced by those who both live, and have escaped from, the area made me think long and hard about the blessings I have by living in the United States my entire life. Traveling through the story, I was able to identify with the writer's feeling of entitlement and the ultimate redemption he is forced to make many years later. A relatable story for anyone who has ever wronged another. I truly enjoyed this book.

This started a bit slowly for my tastes and I was kinda thinking it was going to be a slog through the author's list of favorite bands with name dropping and title bombs while we heard this sad tale of how Kris and her whole career devolved into a bitter, cynical depression. About 1/4 of the way through though, we go on an absolute ride that would terrify any good paranoid schizophrenic. One of the things that really stood out to me and was the MOST memorable scene in the entire book was a scene in a cave. I could literally FEEL the claustrophobia closing in on me. Very good expression in this scene to get the reader literally having a tightness in their chest. Not quite what I was expecting or hoping for but overall it was fun.

An introspective into the lives of some of the famous characters of the Wild West. Entertaining from the beginning, and rather in-depth. Me of the highlights for me however, listening to the audiobook, was the narration by Tom Wopat and his accents used when speaking in the voices of the character. I think he should have used that accent on The Dukes of Hazzard. All in all, an entertaining read that didn’t make you feel like you were in a standard history class as you learned about these people and times.

A magnificent tome for any Douglas Adams fan

If you are even the slightest bit of a fan of Hitchhiker or Dirk Gently or just of Douglas Adams, this book is for you. Neil Gaiman does an outstanding job of delving behind the scenes of Hitchhiker and unfolding the origins of the work and the many iterations after. Also, in many cases, Gaiman channels Adams himself and carries forth with the same wit that made Adams’ books so popular. One might even think he could continue the series and do them justice. I thoroughly enjoyed this one.

To me, Mr. King is at his best when he is writing his short stories and this collection is one of the best. The Dune stands out to me as one of the most memorable with its vicious twist at the end. A Death was also a memorable one. Morality got me thinking about how far would we compromise our own selves when tempted. Blockade Billy was probably my favorite story of the entire bunch. Out of the 20 or so stories, only 2 or 3 didn't really hold my attention but 90% success rate is a winner in my book. Highly recommended if you are a King fan.

Talk about struggles....

I will start by saying I REALLY wanted to like this book and had extremely high hopes but it honestly became a fight to finish. Even after fighting my own battles with addiction, I couldn’t find any redeeming value in the characters in this story, nor any hope or inspiration or even familiarity with them. It seemed like one big nightmare ride that just became more jumbled. True, at times, the addict’s life does seem that way but the stream of consciousness thought patterns expressed often leaned too far to the preachy side. I wish I could have enjoyed this book and I wish I could recommend it, but it just didn’t work for this reader.

More of a cat and mouse story between a retired detective and a "perk", this was a bit of a different story from Mr. King than much of his other work I've read but I was pleasantly surprised. He still knows how to tell a story and immerse one in the world you are reading about. You can almost see and feel things as you go along and bears the mark of an outstanding author. I'm already looking forward to the other 2 stories in this trilogy.

After being spoiled by the first book in the series, Mr. Mercedes, I had such high hopes for this one but was a bit disappointed by it. Not that it was bad, just wasn’t what I was expecting and it didn’t seem like typical Stephen King fare. One of the strongest things about all the books in this series is the fact they are narrated by Will Patton. That alone improves any story and this was no exception. A good read but tempered only by my own expectations which let me down a little, however not enough to prevent me from reading the final book in the trilogy.

A solid ending to the trilogy that finally treaded back into the known realm of Stephen King with more of the familiar psychological terror he regularly unfolds. This would be a fine stand alone book but without the deeper knowledge of the 2 previous books, the depth of connection to the characters and their inner torment with one another would not quite carry the same weight. With this one, the Hodges trilogy is all tied up rather neatly and the only question left is.........which King book to read next.