Book Review: The Maze Runner by James Dashner

The Maze Runner

Written by: James Dashner

Published: 2009

Synopsis: When Thomas wakes up in the lift, the only thing he can remember is his name. He’s surrounded by strangers—boys whose memories are also gone.

Nice to meet ya, shank. Welcome to the Glade.

Outside the towering stone walls that surround the Glade is a limitless, ever-changing maze. It’s the only way out—and no one’s ever made it through alive.

Everything is going to change.

Then a girl arrives. The first girl ever. And the message she delivers is terrifying.

Remember. Survive. Run.
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“If you ain’t scared… you ain’t human.”

Writing reviews for Young Adult dystopia is hard guys. They're so formulaic that even if they're amazing it's hard to make the review sound like something other than paint-by-numbers. The Maze Runner is yet another in the long line of Young Adult dystopian novels. I wish I could say that it broke the mold and was a completely unique inclusion to the genre, but it's not. That isn't to say that it's not an entirely enjoyable read or that it doesn't do some things differently but there might be big chunks of this review that echo earlier YA reviews I've written.

One of the things I've really enjoyed about this little YA renaissance is the prominence of female characters in the narratives. Are they necessarily three dimensional characters? Eh, that's hard to say. But at least they're there. The Maze Runner is an almost entirely male orientated novel. The protagonist is Thomas, who wakes up in a metal elevator at the start of the novel with no memories except that his name is Thomas. The elevator leads him up into the glade, a large patch of land that's surrounded by immense walls that form a maze. Thomas is thrown head first into a semi-structured society of teenaged boys, not quite Lord of the Flies but there's a feeling that that kind of insanity lingers not too far in their past. After his first day the male-dominated narrative is jarred with the arrival of another newbie which is not only unheard of in the strictly organised Glade but especially so because this newbie is a female. Theresa marks a different direction for the Gladers, not only because her gender represents a shift in dynamics but she literally shows up with a note saying that everything is going to change.

I actually think that the single female in a male dominated environment could have made for a very interesting novel. And it's all there bubbling below the surface, it just doesn't quite make it up. Why does the arrival of a female make such a huge impact? Why haven't there been females before? Is she at risk with all of these testosterone fueled teenage boys? Does she inspire rage or confusion or jealousy? None of this is really addressed, instead she's just an instrument of change. Her gender is ultimately immaterial - apart from the relationship that is (of course) sparked with Thomas. In a way that's kind of fantastic. Hell yeah her being a lady doesn't matter. Except in this environment of course it matters. Some of these boys have been stuck in a maze terrified of being torn apart by monsters for 2 years. Even if they didn't look at her sexually or romantically, her gender would inspire all kinds of other emotions and complications. She could be a reminder of the mothers and sisters they no longer remember, or a painful acknowledgement of a side of their life that's completely shut off from them. And what about from her perspective? This was perhaps my biggest issue with the novel. Sure finding a way out of the maze and the hints at being viewed by some Big Brother force are reminiscent of other YA series, but ultimately the general narrative is a fresh take on a well-mined genre. If this aspect of the novel was better addressed I think I would probably recommend this book more heartily.

What I quite enjoyed was the unfolding mystery of the maze and the action sequences as the book progressed.  It was a little slow to start but once the wheels started to churn it was far more engrossing. Perhaps not engrossing enough to keep me reading on in the series, but engrossing enough that I'm interested in seeing the film this weekend. One thing I'm not looking forward to though is the clunky made-up language used to replace actual swear words. If I actually have to watch an actual person say "you are the shuckiest shuck faced shuck in the world" or "I've been shucked and gone to heaven" with their actual faces I will vomit in the middle of the cinema.

Book Review: The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith (hehehe)

The Cuckoo's Calling 

Written by: Robert Galbraith

Published: 2013

Synopsis: After losing his leg to a land mine in Afghanistan, Cormoran Strike is barely scraping by as a private investigator. Strike is down to one client, and creditors are calling. He has also just broken up with his longtime girlfriend and is living in his office.

Then John Bristow walks through his door with an amazing story: his sister, the legendary supermodel Lula Landry, known to her friends as the Cuckoo, famously fell to her death a few months earlier. The police ruled it a suicide, but John refuses to believe that. The case plunges Strike into the world of multimillionaire beauties, rock-star boyfriends, and desperate designers, and it introduces him to every variety of pleasure, enticement, seduction, and delusion known to man.
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“How easy it was to capitalize on a person’s own bent for self-destruction; how simple to nudge them into non-being, then to stand back and shrug and agree that it had been the inevitable result of a chaotic, catastrophic life.”

When The Casual Vacancy came out I baulked at reading it because JK Rowling IS my childhood. At the end of the day I'm a pessimist. My immediate reaction was worry "what if it had sucked so bad that I couldn't look at Harry Potter again?"  It was absolutely not fair on her (and by all accounts it sounds like it was a good book) but I wasn't ready to say goodbye to the Boy Who Lived and move on to Rowling's adult fiction. And then JKR solved that problem for me. By releasing The Cuckoo's Calling under a pseudonym (even one that was eventually revealed) I was able to disconnect JKR the wizarding writer with JKR the crime writer enough to not spend the entire time wondering when Harry* would run in and save the day.

It might have taken me a few years to be able to accept JKR as someone other than the woman who wrote Harry Potter but I'm now more than happy to embrace this version of JKR. The Cuckoo's Calling is good. I don't read a lot of crime fiction any more, but it's always been my mum's favourite genre so over my life I've read my fair share of Ruth Rendell, P.D James and Minette Walters. The Cuckoo's Calling measured up to these writers and Cormoran Strike could easily become a new favourite detective of mine.

So as the synopsis describes, Cormoran Strike is a struggling private eye who is basically offered an easy way to pay his rent and keep his debtors of his ass. John Bristow wants Strike to investigate the suicide of his sister, a model with a recent diagnosis of bipolar and history of bad choices. From the start it seems like a pretty obvious suicide (spoiler alert: it's not a suicide) but Strike takes the job seriously - even if he's just doing it for the large cash advance. The investigation is very much at the forefront of this book but it's also something of an origin story. As Strike delves into the case, parallels with his own life and upbringing become apparent and add a more personal angle to the investigation. It's actually very smartly entwined, never diverging from the case in hand but setting up story points for future books**.

Cormoran is a fairly run of the mill detective, he's grouchy, threatening and has pretty dark moods but the back-story helps differentiate him from the hundreds of others that came before him. I couldn't help but imagine him as a younger Mad Eye Moody (Strike also only has the one leg) which probably coloured my enjoyment of his grouchiness and detective strategies (CONSTANT VIGILANCE) but that's hardly a bad thing. It also meant I imagined him looking a little like David Tennant thanks to Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire*** and that DEFINITELY isn't a bad thing. The personal touches aren't all good though, I found the B story about his (now) ex-fiancée baffling.  I don't think JKR is great at writing romantic relationships  (*cough* Harry and Ginny *cough cough*) but this one was just so shoe-horned in - at no point did I understand why Cormoran would be intoxicated by this absolute cow of a woman. She keeps describing Charlotte as beautiful but also showing her to be a vindictive and compulsive liar who plays with Cormoran's affections. I had no idea if I was supposed to understand why they spent 15 years on and off together or if I was supposed to think, as I did, that it sounded like a rubbish relationship. I just hope it isn't something that drags on in future books, I have no desire for soap opera level relationship drama in my mystery fiction thank you very much.

While Charlotte was a monster Robin, the secretary/sidekick, was pretty fantastic. She signs on as a temp at the start of the book who has a pretty awkward meeting with Strike (it involves nearly dying and having her boob grabbed) but is instantly attracted to the private detective life. As she finds ways to stay on longer than her temp position necessitates she becomes almost a protective sister to Strike while he's at his most vulnerable (essentially homeless after Charlotte kicked him out) and plays an important role in helping solve the crime. The relationship between the two is set up so nicely I can only hope it continues to develop as such and doesn't turn into a relationship somewhere down the line. It's not often that you get to read about a man and woman who accept and respect each without wanting to smoosh their bodies together. My fingers are crossed that JKR manages to balance it as well as Elementary balances the relationship between Sherlock and Joan, or as JKR herself balanced the friendship between Harry and Hermione (pre-JKR stomping on all our hearts obv).

The book is a fairly formulaic but fun detective story which really excels in the areas JKR has always excelled in - character and world building. True this is just regular old London and not fancy-hidden-magic London but she really brings the place to life. Since I haven't been to London perhaps it's not at all realistically depicted but she brings a London, full of colourful people and cafes and fancy clubs, to life within the pages. There is also a brilliant monologue at the end when Strike "catches" the bad guy which screams of Harry's confrontation against Voldemort in Deathly Hollows, she obviously loves having smart protagonists proudly tell the villain how stupid they are and the multitude of ways they screwed up and gotten themselves caught. It's extremely satisfying to read and if I hadn't already know JKR was the author it probably would have set off flashing lights and sirens in my head immediately. I tried really hard not to compare everything in this book to Harry Potter, but when you know that series as well as I (and most of you) do it's impossible to completely separate them. This is a brilliant adult mystery novel but there's no escaping the past. HP provided JKR with a brilliant place to hone her skills and develop her voice so there'll always be a touch of magic in her writing.

*Thanks to some genius idea of Hermione's obviously.

**I assume there will be future books since it's listed as Comoran Strike #1 on GoodReads.

***I don't really know why I imagined him looking like Crouch Jr, maybe because that was the only younger man associated with that character or maybe I just look for any opportunity to imagine David Tennant in roles.

Book Review: The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde

The Eyre Affair

Written by: Jasper Fforde

Published in: 2001

Synopsis: There is another 1985, where London's criminal gangs have moved into the lucrative literary market, and Thursday Next is on the trail of the new crime wave's Mr Big.

Acheron Hades has been kidnapping characters from works of fiction and holding them to ransom. Jane Eyre is gone. Missing.

Thursday sets out to find a way into the book to repair the damage. But solving crimes against literature isn't easy when you also have to find time to halt the Crimean War, persuade the man you love to marry you, and figure out who really wrote Shakespeare's plays.

Challenges: Action/Adventure for Book'd Out's Eclectic Reader Challenge
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I picked up this book before heading off on my beach holiday because it seemed like the ideal beach read - light, fun, and a little bit clever. It was everything I had hoped it'd be and I had a great time reading Thursday Next's adventure as I sat on the beach after a swim. Sorry, have I completely angered all of you suffering through dreary winters at the moment? It wasn't my intention, I SWEAR!

So if you're like me and have either never heard of this book or avoided it then here's what you need to know. Thursday Next works as a LiteraTec in the Special Ops - she's tasked with hunting down the guys and gals who have taken to stealing, forging or destroying literature - a crime that seems to be more rampant than any other. She has a pet dodo (cloning is big), an upsetting ex, a time travelling dad on the run, a love of Jane Eyre and a hatred for England's role in the 130 year Crimean War.  After a disastrous stake-out on an old college lecturer turned villain (Acheron Hades) ends with most of her team dead and she's visited by herself in a hospital, Thursday decides to return to her home town of Swindon.

It's back in Swindon that everything ramps up to 11. Far from being the quiet home she remembers, Thursday finds herself squared off against Hades again, only this time he's managed to steal a manuscript of Jane Eyre and he's threatening to erase the lead characters if his demands aren't met. With her LiteraTec team mates (who are used to much quieter existences), Thursday struggles to keep up with Hades and maybe even get a step ahead. Of course, that isn't easy when Hades is...well, you never really know what he is. He's able to detect when people use his name, he can walk past video cameras without being seen and bullets don't hurt him...so he might be Voldemort, or he might be anything really. Though this world is very different to our own, the exact parameters are never actually set. We know there are vampires and werewolves (they're very briefly mentioned) but does magic? Is that what Hades is? Magic? Or is he a god? A demon? A very good criminal? You never really know, and it never really bugged me, except when it did. I mean, in Harry Potter you know why Voldemort is invincible - he's an evil ass wizard who played with some black magic, but Hades is only ever explained as a man who really, really enjoys being bad and can also do a bunch of crazy magical things for some reason.

And that right there is my one real annoyance with the novel. Fforde paints himself out of any corner he finds himself in with a neat little flourish of "this is an alternate England and things are different" while not really saying why certain things happen in particular ways. It doesn't quite go deus ex machina but there are several moments of father ex machina and even Rochester ex machina. It's a fun book and I was more invested in keeping an eye out for the literary hints and clues (and there are hundreds!), but it's a weakness of the author and it may harm the potential of the rest of the books in the series (assuming that doesn't get better with practice). The only other annoyance is the romance plot, it's mental how bad it is. I outwardly groaned in the final few chapters of the book and it was almost, almost, bad enough for me to dismiss the book completely. I mean, after setting Thursday up as this independent and strong female (kinda) who has been haunted by a past relationship for over ten years I was hoping Thursday might learn something and use that to her benefit, rather than just predicably do what was set out from page one. But I have issues with relationships in any book that's supposed to be about a strong female character, especially when that book skates pretty close to failing the bechdel test (and in my opinion does fail).

But complaints aside, this was a fun book. I enjoyed picking up on the literary hints (mostly in the names) and the inclusion of weird little sub-plots about door-to-door Baconians, art terrorists and French revisionists who are playing with time and history. The Jane Eyre side of the story I can't really comment on since I haven't read Jane Eyre, but I liked way Fforde created the world inside the book which is very aware that it's a world that only exists in a book. It's a brilliant concept, it just isn't always executed as well as it should have been - but it performed more than well enough for me to be interested in seeing where the rest of the series heads - even if it means dealing with the whole relationship debacle again.

Review: Curbchek - Reload by Zach Fortier

Curbchek-Reload 
Written by Zach Fortier

Published: 2012

Synopsis: Curbchek-Reload is a darker account of the streets as they were worked by Zach Fortier, a dangerously deranged cop. Welcome back to the inner city and the twisted mentality of Zach Fortier. Patrolling the streets, broken and mentally damaged from years of urban violence, Zach fights a loosing battle to maintain a hold on reality. Join him in the passenger seat of a police cruiser for more of the darker and meaner side of life: The inner city. In Curbchek-Reload you get a front row seat to an attempted murder of a cop, suicide attempts, rapes, and DARK cop humor. Curbchek-Reload - Fasten your bullet proof vest and buckle your seatbelt, it is gonna be a wild ride!
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Curbchek Reload's tagline is "Curbchek's darker, meaner cousin" and hoo-boy is that on the money! Following the already dark and gritty 2011 release of Curbchek (my review here), Curbchek Reload ramps everything up a level, the cops, the criminals, the anger and frustration...everything that made the first book interesting, albeit disturbing and heartbreaking, is back but with a vengeance.

Once again Fortier embraces a loose chronological formation, with each chapter encompassing a self-contained story that illuminates the difficulties that come with maintaining law and order, Fortier's own fallibility, and some insight into the general ills of today's society. Curbchek was pretty bleak, but much of the book centred around Fortier and his own personal demons. Curbchek Reload, however, is much more about the bureaucracy and bullshit that stops police from being able to do their job, and how frustrating this is for the men and women on the front line. Like many of the books I've been reading lately this isn't a particularly happy book, but it provided a valuable insight into a world that, in all honesty, I'm unlikely to ever see first hand.

Because the two books have such similarities in terms of style I'm going to direct you to my earlier review (the link's above) for more on that, and focus specifically on several of the chapters that occur in Fortier's latest book. Each chapter, ranging in length from 2 pages to 12, examine the many elements of life as a cop. Some focus on the lighter side of things, such as pranks between cops or between Fortier and some employees at the hospital, some look at some of the menial and annoying aspects of being a cop, like the ride-a-long, and some are much darker examinations of the criminal underbelly of the city. Here are a few of the chapters that I found the most interesting, disturbing, funny or eye-opening. First though, a warning, a couple of these stories are not pleasant at all.

Chapter 8: Warned but Ignored
In this chapter Fortier was called to the house of a man who wanted to report himself as a threat. The man, though he looked innocent enough, admitted to wanting to hurt the children on his street. However, because he hadn't actually done anything the best Fortier could do was have him committed to a psych ward as "suicidal". Although Fortier explained the issue to the attendants at the psych ward, the man was released the next day when he was deemed to be an attention seeker and went on to abduct and viciously rape a girl that lived on his street. It's a heartbreaking story, and it made my blood boil to think about the poor girl who suffered such a horrendous attack from a man who knew he was going to do it. It's one of the clear issues with police (and areas of government also) where the focus is on fixing or solving, rather than preventing such atrocities. But what could they do? If someone hasn't done anything yet you clearly can't lock them away, so what's the solution?

Chapter 15: Dreaming About Lassie and the Land Shark
This was one of my favourites, the first in a string of stories about Fortier's adventure into the K9 unit. Other than knowing that training is hard work and that police dogs are awesome, I know very little about police dogs so this was informative and a nice reprieve from the devastation of much of the book! This chapter details Zach's long desire to be part of the K9 unit, as well as discussing the dog he was finally paired up with, Emo, and the difficulty Zach came across with Emo. It's a revealing look at Zach himself (the behaviour of the dogs often mirror their trainer) but it's light, funny and leads into a series of chapters that are absolutely fantastic.

Chapter 31: Sending Out Positive Energy Makes All the Difference
Two world collide in this chapter. Two well-meaning but naive young adults decide to live as their parents lived in the 1960s. Free love, no possessions, relying on the kindness of strangers and the empty railway cars for their new existence. Unfortunately times they are a-changing. and late one night the pair were attacked as they made their way back to their temporary railway car home. Choosing flight over fight, the boy ran off and left the girl to be raped, beaten and cut by a vagrant who took advantage of their idealistic and trusting personalities. The world-wearied cop knows that we're living in a different world to our parents, he's seen the anger and disgust and heartbreak that take over the streets after dark. The university-aged couple, however, were full of youthful exuberance and positivity and are full of the romantic notions of living like a Jack Kerouac character. It's sad to think that these two (amongst the 100s, 1000s, or 1000000s across the world) have had their dreams crash around them and will never trust as openly or as freely ever again.

Zach Fortier's books might be a touch dark, but I find them completely illuminating and intoxicating reads. Be mindful of the content and language, but be sure to search out a copy of this book for yourself.

Review: Brightwing by Sullivan Lee

 Brightwing
By Sullivan Lee

Published: 2010

Synopsis (via Goodreads): Edgar and Mallory Battle are on the run after a spectacularly violent escape. Now, with a trail of bodies behind them, they need a hostage against the inevitable standoff with the police. Their first doesn't last long, thanks to sociopathic Mallory. Edgar has been hiding his brother's crimes since they were kids. Now he's torn between family loyalty and self-preservation.They carjack Lucy Brightwing, a criminal fresh from her own heist, with a fortune of uncut gems hidden in her vehicle. She could escape - but she won't abandon her millions. She could kill the Battle brothers, but she has to be careful. For one thing, if the law investigates, they'll find her ill-gotten loot. For another, her own life is sacred. She's the last member of a Florida paleoindian tribe thought to be extinct - the Tequesta. With her share of the money she plans to buy, bribe and blackmail her way into her own ancestral tribal lands in the heart of the Everglades: a Tequesta nation. Lucy leads the brothers into her beloved swamp, determined to kill them. But when she falls for Edgar she must decide whether to risk her heritage and the future of her tribe to save the doomed brothers.


Before I begin I just want to state out in the open that I received this book from the author and in return I am providing her with an honest review. Hee hee, I've been waiting for an age and a half to be given the opportunity to say that! Brightwing marks my very first author requested review and my very first self-published book and luckily for me I was offered a pretty good book to kick start both off with!

As the synopsis describes this book is part love story, part crime story, part Native American history lesson and part moral minefield. That's a lot of parts I know, but this book has just the right mix and makes it work. Before I get started discussing the characters and the story I just want to explain a particular source of pleasure I came across with this book. When the author sent me the request email she told me a bit about her history. The name Sullivan Lee that this book is published under is actually a psyuedenym. Her actual name is Laura Sullivan and typically she writes children and YA novels published by MacMillan/Holt. Now I don't know about you but I get a bit of a perverse pleasure knowing that I'm reading the antithesis of what authors normally publish. When you know that this is an author whose writing is usually used to soothe children and calm them before bed it just makes it oh-so-much better when the novel begins "it was a shame about the hooker," and is followed a couple of pages later with the line "Two minutes later, before he could quite discover the ambivalent joys of erotic asphyxiation, he was choked unconscious, then encouraged to remain that way somewhat longer by a precise blow to the head". It's just so devilishly good!

Ok, so on to the actual content of the book! There is a lot that happens in this book but the real focus is on the Battle brothers, Edgar and Mallory and Lucy Brightwing, the girl who was in the wrong place at the wrong time but is more than capable to take care of herself. For me the real interest was watching the characters unravel and struggle and learn new things about themselves thanks to the new and unusual surroundings and people they were thrust amongst.

 The Battle brothers are incredible different and incredibly (stupidly!) loyal to one another. Edgar is perhaps like a few people you know, well except for the professional crook aspect, but Mallory...well Mallory is a whole different kettle of fish. Basically he's batshit crazy.  He's obviously not quite right and there is this strange separation between what he does and what he thinks. Because it's so obvious that he isn't ok mentally there is this innocence about him even though he's a gun-wielding rapist and murderer who acts first and thinks never. He's dangerous but not because he has a gun and isn't afraid to use it. He's dangerous because he doesn't recognise life. He sees himself and his brother in the world everyone else is a thing to be used, abused or disposed of. Edgar on the other hand is the older brother who promised his mother he'd look out for his crazy brother. Unfortunately that means his life is anything but easy and he finds himself holding a gun to someone's head more often than he'd probably like.

Interestingly we're introduced to the brothers at the start of the book not so much through their physical appearance or dialogue but through descriptions of their outlook or reactions to their crimes. Not only did this tell you a lot about how well they work together (or perhaps work not so well together) but it gives a really interesting take into what makes the character who they are and also paves the way for the tension that is looming so very ominously from the start of the book. I found it really effective and a breath of fresh air.

Parallel to these brothers is the character of Lucy Brightwing. When we meet her she's just robbed a jewellery store of millions of dollars worth of uncut jewels and has done it with such ease and panache that she makes catwoman look bad. Immediately we're introduced to this intelligent, crafty, smoking hot Native American who is unlikely to take shit from anyone. As you read on though you learn more about her and see these different facets to her character. She's this incredibly natural and almost mystical woman in terms of her connection to her land, animals and history. She's self-sufficient and can look after herself better than Bear Gryls (and without drinking her own urine) but she's also got this vulnerability about her because she's the last of her tribe and she loves her heritage so, so much and is willing to do anything to maintain it.

When the Battle brothers and Lucy come crashing into each other's lives there is this interesting tension set up between them, and not just because Lucy is there hostage and Mallory is insane. On one side you have these two brothers who are inseparable but Edgar is constantly considering how he can deal with Mallory and release himself from his family ties. On the other side you have Lucy, last member of her tribe and desperate for a family. Even as imperfect as the Battle brothers are it's hard not to see Lucy longing for the relationship these two men have and I suppose that's part of the reason she takes care of them and puts herself at risk so often at the start of this book. 

The story itself builds rather slowly, developing the relationship between these characters, putting them out of their comfort zones and seeing what they'll do. There are constant threats to all of their lives but it isn't until the final 70 or so pages that the action really starts to push home. After some initial tension things began to look like they were calming down and that this weird triangle of people hidden in the Floridian forest might actually manage to make things work. Then suddenly, with the slightest hint of foreshadowing their fragile semblance of normal life is dashed against the wall and all three are struggling to make it to the end of the book alive.

My only complaint would be of the ending. After struggling against the current for so long it comes together almost to neatly. However there is a sequel in the works and there is a suggestion of some added tension in the final pages that I think could redeem the ending for me once I read on in book two. Ultimately though it was an enjoyable and interesting read and a welcome break from my current rather intensive fantasy reading schedule!

My rating: 3.5/5