Books From The Backlog-The Race

Books from the Backlog is a fun way to feature some of those neglected books sitting on your bookshelf.  You might be surprised by some of the unread books hiding in your stacks. Go to Carole's blog and add your blog post link in to join in the fun! Hosted by Carole at https://carolesrandomlife.blogspot.co.uk/

This seems like a fun feature and I have been planning to take part since Carole launched this so at last, here we go! I have a TON of unread books to choose from in various genres and I'm looking forward to sharing some of them with everybody. 

The Race was an event, the place and the moment when the hopes and dreams of thousands of people, trainers, owners, jockeys, grooms, betters, spectators came together once a year at the climactic moment when the field of three year olds burst from the confines of the starting gate to run the longest, hardest most famous mile and a quarter in the history of racing: The Kentucky Derby.

The lengths all those involved are driven to-kidnapping, blackmail, even murder-are all resolved at that final moment of triumph when the winner passes the post.This is the glory that makes it all worthwhile.

When I was 15, I read this from my school library and I loved it. I kept checking it out and re-reading it over and over, then forgot about it as the years went by. I then started looking for it many years later but couldn't find it anywhere. Then the miracle happened and a friend on bookcrossing found a copy and sent it to me-it was so exciting to see it again after all these years! I added it to TBR joyfully in February 2013 but never got round to reading it again. I really do want to read it soon to see if I still enjoy it after all these years!

Book Review: Relic by Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child

Just days before a massive exhibition opens at the popular New York Museum of Natural History, visitors are being savagely murdered in the museum's dark hallways and secret rooms. Autopsies indicate that the killer cannot be human...

But the museum's directors plan to go ahead with a big bash to celebrate the new exhibition, in spite of the murders. Museum researcher Margo Green must find out who-or what-is doing the killing. But can she do it in time to stop the massacre?

My Review: 
The Whittlesey expedition to the Amazon in 1987 turned into a disaster, with several going missing in the jungle, a plane crash killing the rest of the people and a trail of death following the contents of the crates headed back to the Natural History Museum in New York. Those in charge ignore the signs that something arrived with the crates and now that the items are being displayed in a soon to be opened exhibit, death is stalking the corridors of the museum again, killing stray visitors and security guards. With the Museum managers refusing to postpone opening night, a team of scientists, police and FBI are trying to locate this killer before it can feast on the special guests.

Firstly, I feel the need to warn other readers NOT to expect an all out horror from this book as I did. I bought it because of my enjoyment of the film which was certainly a horror film so I jumped to the conclusion that this was horror, which is why I was disappointed. Actually this is a well written science mystery/thriller but the main focus is on finding out what happened to the expedition, what is stalking the dark halls at night and why it is going after humans. Yes it does have some tense scenes where the monster is prowling but until the opening night, there are only a few deaths. The rest of the book focuses on solving the mystery. I actually thought that it was a decent read, just a little slow for my personal tastes. If the reader goes into this book knowing what to expect, they might enjoy the book.

The main focus of the book is on Margo, research assistant to the brilliant but contraversial wheelchair bound Chairman of Evolutionary Biology Dr Frock. I liked both characters because their whole plot was about solving the mystery so that people stop dying. Dr Frock is also excited that he might be able to prove his theory that every so often when a particular animal is dominant on earth, a super predator comes along to wipe them out. Now that super predator is lurking in the dark museum, Dr Frock and Margo have to use every resource they have to try and work out what is happening and why, while the Museum managers do everything they can to cover up what has been going on and stop the media getting hold of the real story.

I liked that we also go back into the details of the ill fated expedition. Whittlesey is supposed to be looking for evidence of the existance of a secret tribe called the Kothoga who were said to have control of a legendary monster called Mbwun who murdered all of their enemies. It is rumoured that the tribe lost control of the entity and that the expedition relics being taken to New York have lured the beast to follow. I liked the gradual reveal of what really happened when Whittlesey goes rogue and starts to search out the actual tribe itself. The scientists come to the conclusion that some kind of creatue is doing the killing but can't seem to convince anyone of their theory so it is a race against time for them to find proof before the opening night offers up a buffet to the monster. The scientists are aided by a journalist who has been hired to write an official fluffy book and he is more than happy to delve into what could really be happening with the hushed up murders.

The other main players in the book are the law enforcement team, led by cop D'Agosta. He soon has to share the investigation with eccentric southern FBI agent Pendergast who has been investigating similar murders in New Orleans. I liked that Pendergast was unconventional and that he developed a good working relationship with the police instead of just the steriotype idiot FBI upsetting the cops. We do get another agent briefly filling that role but he was only in near the end and didn't change my enjoyment of the characters. Both men are working on the assumption that the killer is human and has constructed a weapon to resemble the image on the Mbwun idol on display and it is not until the grand finale that they realise they have an actual monster roaming around. 

It is certainly a slow burn book so don't expect a huge amount of action. It does focus on the scientific mystery though only a couple of paragraphs made my eyes glaze over! Mostly I could follow the science stuff and I can't say it was dull, just slow. However from opening night, things do liven up, the tension goes through the roof and we follow quite a few people locked in the building with the monster. There are the Museum managers hiding in a room waiting for rescue, the computer and security team trying to find a way to get the malfunctioning system running again, Frock and Margo working on their evidence, D'Agosta trying to get a group of guests to safety, and Pendergast trying to hunt the beast in the tunnels. The last segment is actually quite enjoyable and much more what I was looking for. 

My original scoring when I read this book was 2.5 which is a bit mean perhaps as I did finish the book and I liked some aspe cts of it. The characters were well written and I did care about them, the expedition sub plot was very interesting, I liked the Mbwun mythology and the details on the exhibit, and the finale was satisfying. I've decided it is only fair to raise my rating to 3 stars as it is a decent enough science thriller with the odd bits of action. The death scenes have a graphic description of the state of the bodies which some readers may not like but you can easily skip those parts as they are short. If you like a bit of science and mythology and a light touch of horror tension, then this could be the book for you.

Read October 2019
3 stars.

Autumn Reading List

Welcome to my Autumn Reading List! I had great success with the Summer version so I hope that this list motivates me through towards the end of the year. The idea is to pick a big pile of books that I want to read as priority, scattered over various genres.  This time I'm focusing a lot on horror and SF as I have two big challenges for that coming up in October and November. I'm also trying to get a pile of series finished before the year ends, finishing up a few challenges and fitting in a few other genres for fun.

From September 1st to December 31st, I'll try to read as many of them as I can. I'm choosing 100 books for the three month reading period of autumn and for December to round off my reading year so I can start a new Winter Reading List in January! Anyone who wants to join in with this is welcome!

October 31st update...I was disappointed by the Spooky Booky Total this month and NONE made it past 3 stars. The Callahan apocalypse books were good but the rest were a letdown really. I did much better withall but the Alan Clark diaries being good reads.Only the Eli Constant zombie book was good in that category but I did get three more for the Alphabet Author Challenge. Two months to go and more effort required!

Spooky Booky Month!
1) John Skipp-Fright Night (read)
2) Paul Tremblay-The Cabin at the end of the World (DNF)
3) Peter Tremayne-The Morgow Rises (DNF)
4) Belinda Bauer-Snap (DNF)
5) Tim Lebbon-The Hunt (read) 
6) Jonah Buck-Carrion Scourge (DNF) 
7) Gin Phillips-Fierce (read)
8) Preston & Child-Relic (read)
9) Ezekiel Boone-The Hatching (DNF) 
10) Robert Boren-Horror Road (DNF)
11) Anthony Renfro-Nightlight Tales 2 (read)

Apocalypse Angst!
1) Mike Kraus-Final Dawn (DNF)
2) Mike Kraus-No Sanctuary (DNF)
3) Jack Hunt-Darkest Hour (DNF)
4) Jack Hunt-As We Fall (DNF)
5) Jack Hunt-Blackout (DNF)
6) John J Vance-Death (DNF)
7) JR Tate-Breakdown (read)
8) KW Callahan-Downfall (re-read) 
9) KW Callahan-Quest (read)
10) Jack Hunt-Phobia (read) 

Non Fiction
1) Chris Bonington-I Chose To Climb (read)
2) Chris Bonington-The Next Horizon (read)
3) Lyle Blackburn-The Beast Of Boggy Creek (read)
4) Alex MacCormick-Shark Attacks (read)
5) Alan Clark-Diaries 1972-1982 (read)
6) Jeffrey Archer-Hell (read) 
7) Jeffrey Archer-Purgatory (read) 

Zombies!
1) Eli Constant-Awakening (read)
2) Samie Sands-Lockdown (DNF)
3) Madeleine Roux-Sadie Walker Is Stranded (DNF) 
4) Keith RA DeCandido-Resident Evil Extinction (read)

Author Alphabet Challenge
U) Shaun Underhill-Survive (read)
Y) Michael Yowell-Sliggers (read)
Z) Joseph Zuko-Jim's First Day (read)

Tackling The TBR

In 2019 I'm making a big effort to reduce my TBR by buying less, getting stuff read and getting rid of the things that I just don't want to read from my bookshelves and my ereaders Maurice and Myrnin! I'll be doing this regular post to show my progress-what came into the house, what I read and DNFed and what was taken off the TBR.

The TBR total shown is the total number of books I own but have not read yet-wishlist books are NOT in my TBR! Re-reads have already been taken off the TBR when I first read them so don't count in reducing the pile but is just here as a note to help for end of year stats! The re-read total is the running total so far for the year, not what I've read each week.

BOOKS IN

-Books in refers to bought, downloaded or gifted THIS WEEK. 

-Books added are books I bought a while back but haven't yet added to my Goodreads TBR so they aren't newly bought, just newly added. Both of these categories together are my 'in' total. 

BOOKS OUT

-Books read and DNFed are obvious. 

-Deleted from the TBR are books I lost interest in reading, or sequels to DNFed books I no longer want to read and have been removed without starting to read them. These three categories added together are my books 'out'.

I'm posting my progress on the 7th, 14th, 21st and final day of the month and noting what is coming in and out of my house. Anyone else is welcome to join in. No rules, set up your posts how you want and when you want just reduce the pile!

********************

Oct 1st-7th 

TBR Start Total: 973

BOOKS IN:

New Books In: 3

Old Books Added: 0 

BOOKS OUT:

Books Read: 4

Books DNF: 0

Others Deleted From TBR: 10

Rereads this year: 2

New Total: 962
********************

Oct 8th-14th

TBR Start Total: 962

BOOKS IN:

New Books In: 3

Old Books Added:

BOOKS OUT:

Books Read: 1

Books DNF:

Others Deleted From TBR: 6

Rereads this year: 3

New Total: 958

Better late than never! The second book I read this week was a re-read which doesn't count to my total but is added to the re-read count instead.

********************

Oct 15th-21st

TBR Start Total: 958

BOOKS IN:

New Books Added: 3

Old Books Added:

BOOKS OUT:

Books Read: 3

Books DNF:

Others Deleted From TBR: 8

Rereads this year: 3

New Total: 950

YAHOO! Target number two met today! Now my next aim is 900 so lets see how close I get to that by the end of the year! Hopefully my reading will pick up a bit and I'll get there.
******************** 
Oct 22nd-31st
TBR Start Total: 950

BOOKS IN:
New Books In: 5
Old Books Added:

BOOKS OUT:
Books Read: 4
Books DNF: 3
Others Deleted From TBR: 14

Rereads this year: 3

New Total: 934

This was a REALLY successful week! My DNFs led to deleting a few sequels I had grabbed in various offers, and I got a few four star reads too, which was nice!  

Top Ten Tuesday-My Favourite Monsters

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.  http://www.thatartsyreadergirl.com/top-ten-tuesday/

NB: I don't follow or leave comments on blogs run by Google Plus, or DISQUS as I refuse to join something just to leave comments, and I won't allow them to follow new people, update my profile or post tweets 'on my behalf'. I won't comment on any blog that makes me sign in using another account. 

This week is a Halloween freebie so I'm going to share my very favourite book monsters! I know I've done similar lists before but it is Halloween after all! What are your favourite monsters to read about?

1) Sharks
Ever since my first scare watching Jaws as a young kid I have been fascinated by sharks, a bit like Hooper! If I see a horror book with a shark, I'm all over it! I love megalodon plots, stuck on island or boats plots, land sharks, mutated sharks, evil games with sharks...love them!

2) Sasquatch/Bigfoot/Yeti/Skunk Ape
Watching the Legend of Boggy Creek as a kid and hearing the Fouke Monster is real fascinated me about all things Sasquatch. I love the very idea of them lurking in the woods and preying on campers and hikers! I like the remote snow Yeti version too!

3) Amazon Monsters
There is just something about the desolate, remote, danger lurking setting of the Amazon that I adore. Giant snakes and spiders, cannibal monkeys, crocodiles and sharks in the river, swamp monsters...I love reading this kind of book.

4) Dinosaurs
Whether it is dinosaur planets, clones in theme parks, Lost World discovered in deep forests and valleys, dinosaur game shows, dinosaur islands, I'll read 'em! There is just something cool about dinosaurs hunting humans in books!

5) Sea Monsters
I read lots of books about giant squids, krakens, crabs, eel things, weird fish from the ocean depths, sawfish etc. There is something about the sea as a setting where anything could lurk in the dark depths that just appeals to me.

6) Humans
It can be cannibal tribes living in the woods, a demented madman stalking campers, redneck torture families, snuff movie makers...there is just something monsterous about humans turned very evil by their deeds.

7) Lab Mutations
You have to love those mutated monster stories where something breaks free and devours people in the nearby town! I'm not fussy on whether it is cats, spiders, insects, genetic creations, I just enjoy the carnage!

8) Things that lurk in the dark
I'm a big fan of nasty things of any kind lurking in dark places like caves, caverns, mines, dig sites, dark forests, stalking through castles/buildings, something evil in the basement ready to pounce...yes I love monsters in the dark!

9) Zombies
I just can't get enough of zombies! I love the slow shamblers, herds moving together, scary fast ones. I love road trips, survival communities, zombie hunters, civilian and military survivors. My one pet peeve is smart zombies that can drive, talk, plan and fire weapons.

10) Ice Killers
Snow beasts, people trapped by blizzards in cabins/hotels, monsters dug up from ice, things stalking Antarctic or Arctic research bases, Siberian monsters, mountain Yetis...there is something about desolate places and freezing cold temperatures that I enjoy reading about.

Can You Read A Series In A Month Challenge

This challenge is hosted here: https://www.becausereading.com/can-you-read-a-series-in-a-month-challenge-sign-up-today-seriesinamonth/

RULES:
-Pick one series to read and announce it on your sign up post
-Read every book in the series (you don't need to do novellas & short stories)
-You must read a minimum of three books, only one can be a re-read
-Your series can still be ongoing as long as there are three published books to read 
-Each of the three books must be a minimum of 250 pages
-Read them between 12am your time November 1st-11.59 November 30th
-They must be marked as started and finished on Goodreads during the month

I'll be trying to read six books by DD Barant. The Bloodhound Files series has been on my TBR for many years, despite me reading and loving book one back in June 2011. I'll re-read book one and hopefully read the other five.

Book Review: Phobia by Jack Hunt

After a mysterious outbreak of a highly lethal virus ravages the globe and hundreds succumb to the contagious illness, the U.S government instigates a cordon sanitaire in major cities to contain it from spreading rapidly around the nation. For reclusive germophobe, Frank Talbot, dealing with his crippling fear of contamination and germs has always been a challenge, but now he may have no choice.

At the onset of the epidemic, his ex-wife, Kate, an epidemiologist for the CDC, warns Frank and their daughter, Ella to prepare for the worst. The only hope of survival is retreating to their cottage on one of the isolated islands in the St. Lawrence River. Easy for Frank, he's already there but when his daughter suffers a major setback, Frank is forced out of his comfort zone. As riots ensue and electrical fences are breached, the H9N3 Agora Virus is unleashed and becomes unstoppable. Transportation systems cease, grocery stores are looted, hospitals become infectious morgues, and chaos erupts. Now his greatest fear is about to become his reality. Frank must embark on a dangerous journey into the heart of an infected country, to rescue his daughter before society collapses.

My Review:
Frank is a reclusive germophobe with OCD, living in terror of germs and disease. If he had his way, he'd live all year round at his summer cabin on a small private island near the Canadian-US border where he can stay away from people and live in peace. I liked having a hero who had these issues dominating his life and he was a sympathetic character. His ex-wife Kate, who now works at the CDC, divorced him when he got too hard to handle and his daughter Ella, an aspiring police officer in New York has grown up embarrassed by her father on many occasions. Frank is in therapy trying to get better so he can win Kate back when his world is turned upside down by her worried phone call, telling him that a deadly pandemic has hit the US and it is fatal to anyone who catches it.

Frank's therapist Sal is the closest thing to a friend that he has, and is certain that he can help Frank overcome his compulsions but news of the pandemic from Kate has Sal almost as worried as Frank. He helps Frank get supplies to the island and finds himself asking if he can bring his own wife and kids to the island to ride out the storm and see what happens. Frank agrees but is more concerned about persuading Ella to leave New York and stay with him, after all of his previous prophecies of doom failed to happen. Ella doesn't believe him and by the time she realises that he and Kate were right, the campus is being locked down because the pandemic has reached the area. Frank now has to face the very real prospect of having to go to the city and overcome his fears to save his daughter.

I have a slight issue with the work of this author. I find that his ideas are excellent and he can write interesting and different characters. For example, following someone with OCD during a deadly pandemic is fascinating. I enjoyed seeing Frank's struggles with his condition battling with his desire to save his daughter. I also liked Sal, the therapist and voice of reason who is trying to help Frank get better. Sal is a good, normal guy and I liked the way he switched his thinking from panic at the potential pandemic to the rational thought that it was going to be ok. It made him a realistic character and I liked him. Frank's ex wife Kate was also a good character, dealing with her boyfriend becoming infected through his work and torn between doing her duty or going to be with her daughter.

But the big problem I find with the author is that he always has to put in main or supporting characters that I just don't like, and every time it happens, it tends to put me off reading any further than the first book in a series. In this case, I hated Sal's wife Gloria. I get that she thinks Sal spends too much time with Frank (though he does get paid for it) and that she thinks Frank is weird and paranoid. To blame Frank for Sal not seeing enough of his kids is dumb when he only visits Frank for an hour or two each week! She bitches about Frank non stop even though he has invited them to stay with him during the crisis. She moans about Frank putting them into quarantine for two days to ensure they aren't infected. Then she says Frank is making up the pandemic story and demands to speak to Kate at the CDC for confirmation. Instead of spinelessly agreeing as he did, Frank should have said no and told her to leave if she wasn't happy being there. What a whiny bitch.

Ella also drove me crazy. I understand that she doesn't want to believe another of her father's crazy theories but her attitude to her mother is really annoying. She doesn't like her mother being in a new relationship so refuses to talk to her and ignores the texts that Kate sends about the pandemic out of spite. She KNOWS that her mother is the calm and rational parent and would not make up a pandemic or feed that story to Frank for no reason but still she decides to ignore all warnings to get out the city and go to her dad. Your mother works at the CDC so for goodness sake LISTEN when she tells you to go! But Ella of course knows best and finds herself stuck in New York when the pandemic hits and gets all whiny about her circumstances. Funny how she is happy to quote to the soldiers who mummy is when it suits her! 

Ella's entire storyline bugged me. She is supposed to be an adult at 19 but her behaviour to her parents is really childish. She steals gloves and masks when she leaves the hospital, which seems smart, but when they go back to the locked down campus where people are falling sick, she leaves them in the truck. Useful. She had no need to even leave the truck! When she finally gets to talk to her mother who is trying to get her off the campus, she deliberatly refuses to tell her she loves her before hanging up like a petty little child. Such gratitude. And now because of her stupidity, her dad and Sal are facing a dangerous journey to the city to rescue her. Mind you, some of their decisions on the road are pretty dumb too. Sitting outside the bank in a small town with your guns on full display IS going to attract the attention of the local police! 

I really liked Sal and Frank and I hope they both make it through the crisis but I just wasn't that interested in Ella's chapters. I found some of the situations frustrating to read about and I guess I wasn't fully invested in all aspects of it. It is a decent apocalypse story but I think it's time for me to admit that the writing of the author and his characters are just not suiting me personally and look elsewhere for my reads.

Read October 2019
2.5 stars.

Around The Blogs With Chuckles

We all enjoy snooping and lurking on other people's blogs right? Why not share those entertaining things you found with other readers and bloggers too! Welcome to Around the Blogs with Chuckles, where I take time out to show you some of my favourite blog posts from the previous seven days and link you up so you can check them out. 

This week!

 

1) Book Review-Tinfoil Butterfly by Rachel Eve Moulton 

Barb's review.

http://bookertsfarm.blogspot.com/2019/10/save-yourself.html 

2) Boosting Your Immune System

What you should be eating.

https://www.theorganicprepper.com/boosting-your-immune-system-6-things-you-need-to-be-eating/ 

3) Get More Vitamin D in winter

Boost your body's health!

https://readynutrition.com/resources/how-to-get-more-vitamin-d-in-the-winter_23102019/ 

4) The Inequities of EBooks

Sam looks at the down side.

http://weliveandbreathebooks.blogspot.com/2019/10/discussion-inequities-of-ebooks.html 

5) Book Review-Survive The Chaos by Grace Hamilton

Carole goes apocalypse.

https://carolesrandomlife.blogspot.com/2019/10/audiobook-review-survive-chaos-by-grace.html 

6) Read A Series In A Month

Nicci is ready for the challenge but are YOU joining in?

https://www.sunnybuzzybooks.co.uk/2019/10/read-series-in-month-challenge-november.html 

7) Book Review-Escaping The Asylum by Siggy Galaen

Stephanie Jane's review.

http://litflits.blogspot.com/2019/10/escaping-asylum-by-siggy-galaen.html 

8) Book Review-The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E Harrow

Another review from Carole.

https://carolesrandomlife.blogspot.com/2019/10/review-ten-thousand-doors-of-january-by.html 

Chuckles Mini Reviews Catchup

I review everything I read, on my blog and on Goodreads. Most reviews are of a decent length but sometimes you don't have much to say about the book because of its length or you DNFed it or various other reasons. In cases like that it makes sense to write a few mini reviews in one post and clear them out your way! So lets catch up with some reviews from September and October!

1) Alan Clark-Diaries 1972-1982
INTO POLITICS begins in 1973 with Clark's selection as Tory candidate for Nancy Astor's old seat in Plymouth (rival candidates included future Conservative luminaries Michael Howard and Norman Fowler). Alan Clark describes his election to the Commons in the 1974 general election; his years as a backbencher coincide with Edward Heath as PM, his downfall and the arrival of Margaret Thatcher. This volume ends with the inside story of the Falklands War. In his private life Alan and his wife Jane and their two young sons take over Saltwood Castle, previously the home of his father Kenneth (Civilisation) Clark. His enthusiasms for the estate, skiing, fast cars and girls are never far away.  

People have raved about him being the greatest diary writer ever so I was expecting something really great from the diaries. I knew that there would be things about his personal life in them as it says that the diaries are published as they were and not heavily edited to take out anything embarrassing and contraversial. But I did expect him to talk more about the major political events that were going on. I found myself greatly disappointed. I know that we talk about ourselves in diaries but Alan takes this to a whole new level of self obsession. He goes on about all the women he is sleeping with, how upset his wife gets about it but it doesn't stop him, his fancy home and chalet in Switzerland, his cars, his gambling addiction, his debts, his kids, women he meets and tries to pull, and moaning on about every fatal illness he is sure he is suffering from (he is a confessed hypochondriac). In one year's entries he thinks he has latent salmonella, terminal blood poisoning, oncoming paralysis, malignant conditions-being his doctor was certainly a challenge. 

What bugged me most was that there was so little detail on his political career-we get him complaining about his career going nowhere, which is because he has a habit of insulting people and saying dumb shit including some shocking pro-Nazi stuff that offends people. His string of women also upsets people, gbearing in mind the different views on behaviour in this time period. He praises Hitler, agrees that the way forward is a genetic need for racial purity and supports Nazi ideals, which makes him vile in my book. His mentions about politics tends to be when he is talking about himself-ie his speaking out for the Falklands War is about how many TV appearances he notches up and how it can boost his career but nothing about the main events of the war or the soldiers who died. He was also going on about collusion between Britain and Argentina to allow the invasion which really annoyed me. He leaves out things like the leadership contest that sacks Ted Heath, details on General Election campaigns and most of the big political topics. These are personal diaries that hardly mention politics so I found them very dull to read and not what I expected them to be. I don't recommend them.

Read October 2019
1 star.  

2) Ezekiel Boone-The Hatching
Deep in the jungle of Peru, where so much remains unknown, a black, skittering mass devours an American tourist whole. Thousands of miles away, an FBI agent investigates a fatal plane crash in Minneapolis and makes a gruesome discovery. Unusual seismic patterns register in a Kanpur, India earthquake lab, confounding the scientists there. During the same week, the Chinese government “accidentally” drops a nuclear bomb in an isolated region of its own country. As these incidents begin to sweep the globe, a mysterious package from South America arrives at a Washington, D.C. laboratory. Something wants out.

The world is on the brink of an apocalyptic disaster. An ancient species, long dormant, is now very much awake.

I think most of my blogger friends loved this one so I went into it with pretty high hopes but I was really disappointed with it. Bookstooge wrote a review that put me on alert about the book so I decided to make it priority to get it out of the way and I'm glad I did. Firstly I didn't like any of the characters. None of them. I particularly disliked foul mouthed Mike who can't seem to get through a simple sentence without a multitude of swearing and he was a pretty poor cop too. He is mad at his ex wife and gets out of his car at the stakeout wearing badge and vest to talk to her on the phone in private, blowing the stakeout and getting his partner shot. Total Muppet. Melanie is a complete bitch who only seems to think about sex with her grad student. The President is banging her chief-of-staff behind the back of the husband she married to boost her career and seems bored by the job, the tour guide wants to cheat on his girlfriend because she might be cheating on him. These people are all complete morons who are running around like horny teenagers and I WANT the spiders to eat them all.

Oh yes the spiders! In amongst all the sex shennanigans we do get the odd appearance of the spiders. They eat the tour group and bring down a plane with the survivor on it. They seem to be a bit of an afterthought to the relationship and fertility issues that the characters were having and I got bored with that and the swearing. The author seemed to prefer the swearing than trying to write clever dialogue. I just got so bored with it.

Read October 2019
DNF 1 star.

3) Robert Boren-Horror Road
Written by the author of Bug Out!, this series starts where the Bug Out! series left off, at an isolated RV Park in Kansas. There is an evil presense at the RV Park. It has awakened due to the presence of powerful psychics Jake and Frankie, and now it threatens them with possession. Related paranormal activity begins at two other locations, resulting in gruesome deaths.

Jake and Frankie can see what is happening as the evil presence reveals itself to them. Can they stop it? Ghosts become more active as the spirit's plans take shape.

Jake and Frankie know that they must join forces with another group of psychics to battle the pure evil which is tormenting them, but they are over a thousand miles away. A powerful medium has awakened, ready to do battle, but so have new minions of the ancient evil. It's a race against time and space.

This literally starts where the original Bug Out series ends with the survivors going their own ways. It is assumed that you read that series first before starting this book and that you know the history of this RV park, the murders that took place, Frankie's psychic past and who the other characters are from the war. If you haven't read Bug Out you won't know any of this and the author doesn't really elaborate in detail so you might get a bit lost with the story and the layout of the RV park that is described. That is not a critical comment to the author as I did read Bug Out, I'm just pointing it out to other readers. Jake and Frankie have stayed at the park but with everyone gone they both become aware of an ancient spirit, the one that inspired the previous massacres and wants to encourage another one. Jake and Frankie discover that her old psychic friend and her new group are experiencing similar issues connected to a dead murderer and as the spirits get more aggressive they need to join forces to fight it. 
 
Firstly there is nothing at all wrong with this book. The author knows how to tell a story and how to make you care about the characters and it was great to see Jake and Frankie again. The issue I really had with it is the slow burn nature of the plot and the repetitive nature of the spirit. When we are with Frankie, she gets temporarily gets taken over, passes out, wakes up, wants sex and has amnesia. Rinse and Repeat. She and Jake seem to wander from the trailer to the barn to the kitchen to the clubhouse somewhat aimlessly, switching the TV on and off as they go but not really doing anything but talk about the latest incident which the reader has already witnessed when it happened. Their plot was a bit dull. Sandy and Herb go with their friends to an event/seance concerning a dead murderer. Despite getting annoyed with the skeptic on the panel I did find the whole murder background more interesting. I didn't care much for the teenagers in the wood side plot. Like I said it just didn't turn out to be my thing as I'm not a huge fan of ghosts and spirits and only tried it as it was a spin off from Bug Out. Those interested in the psychic side of ghosts will enjoy this much more.

Read October 2019
DNF 2 stars.

Chuckles The Bear: Winter Hibernation Guide

It is that time of year again when it is getting cold outside and I want to just curl up in front of the TV and roaring fire with a mug of hot chocolate, or snuggle under the duvet with a cuddily toy monkey and a good book. I am Chuckles 'Bah, Humbug' Bear and I'll show you all how to be a hibernating beast like I am!

The truth is, I enjoy winter as long as I don't have to go out in the freezing cold! I hate crowded shops, Christmas music, trying to find a parking space, falling on my face on black ice (my paws have no grip and I have no sense of balance) and that terrible wet bear smell when your fur gets wet or damp. Yuck! I ensure that in the months before winter I stock up on everything I need to last our family through to about February/March next year. That means we only need to nip to the local shops for things like bread and milk and can avoid the shopping chaos!

SEPTEMBER 
Week One-My dad was in for a handful of items in the supermarket so I picked up the cheap bottles of no frills salt-eight of them. This will be used for clearing the garden path in case of winter snowfall. I already have four left over from last winter so I'm ready to go in case the forecast of harsh winter weather is correct. Pity I don't have a House Elf to actually do the shovelling when the snow comes!

Week Two-Along with my normal shopping this week, I picked up the extra stock cubes that I'll need for my batches of winter soup. I grabbed six packets of chicken, four beef, four ham and two vegetable. This is added to my stock that I haven't used this year. I tend to make soup every three days for myself and my dad. I also picked up packet sauces with a use by date well past next year. This stocks me up on all my casserole sauces, bread sauce, cheese sauce, fish sauces, curry sauces that I'll need for all the meals I'll be making over the winter. I also bought a few extra bags of toilet rolls. A bear must have butt comfort y'know!

Week Three-Amazon ordering time! I got in a supply of AA, AAA and D batteries which we use in our clocks, MP3 players, and the lanterns I have set aside in case of unexpected power cuts so we have light. I also bought a couple of boxes of latex gloves, face masks and mob hats ready for any kind of flu outbreak or pandemic. Us bears are sensitive to germs and after getting a mild form of Aussie Flu earlier this year I'm taking no chances! I also bought a few bags of charcoal.

Week Four-Dug out my two camping stoves from storage and checked them. One is run on gas (the cannisters are well stored as bears can be pretty flammable) and the other burns wood, alcohol and charcoal. We have a tree right beside our property and a public park five minutes walk away plus a pile of wood in the garden. I bought charcoal last week too. This means we have two sources to make hot meals even in the case of a prolonged power cut.

OCTOBER 
Week One-Aldi. I did my big shopping list of tins-tinned fruit, vegetables, pasta, fish, meat, soup, custard. This tops up the cupboard tin supplies I already have. I don't like vegetables but I do blend them into liquid form to use in the soups. I also bought tins of chicken and beef curry, minced beef and onion and chicken in white sauce (all great tasting on toast for a filling dinner!) I also topped up on jars-curry and pasta sauces, tuna pasta bake sauces and other stir in sauces, coffee, tea, hot chocolate and chicken bovril to ensure a variety of hot drinks for the discerning bear. Six full bags of messages for £70 is pretty good to fill a cupboard shelf or three! My cupboard is nearly full again!

Week Two-Checking the cleaning supplies. I have a second cupboard where I store cleaning products and I'm months ahead on soap powder and fabric softener, washing up liquid, air fresheners, furniture polish, shampoo, shower gel, cleaning products, dusters, cloths, scouring pads etc. I checked my tin inventory and I'm happy that I have everything. I also checked the bedroom cupboard to ensure my spare sleeping bags, furry blankets and warm weather clothes are easy to grab if required. I repaired a few rips in the sleeping bag in case it is needed and cleared space to store the water. I checked the first aid kits are full-one in the car, one in the kitchen, one in the bathroom and one in the living room. I also ordered extra bulbs for all the lamps we use, a few bags of candles and vitamin C crystals to boost the immune system. Got my flu jag at the doctor this week too.

Week Three-Aldi. This visit was about a stock of bottled water which you need the strength of a bear to bloody lift, a few more items of meat and fish to freeze for winter and collecting a couple of turkey and stuffing rolled joints for the festive period. This fills the freezer section nicely. Poundland was next. They have a great medical section so I bought a bit more paracetamol, ibuprofen, antiseptic cream, boxes of fabric plasters etc. I also got a few tubs of salted caramel muffins and double choc muffins to use later this winter. A bear has a sweet fang and the beast must be sated!

Week Four-ASDA. This week we'll be stocking up on my favourite cough bottle Covonia to ensure we have a few extra bottles as soon as a cough gets started. Us bears can't be too careful with our throats as it restricts our roaring ability. I'll also be starting to stock my dad's Diet Pepsi and my Barr's Limeade so we have plenty in the house. We also intend to recycle the tap water that we've been storing in the hall for a few months so that the supply is nice and fresh. The discarded water will be reused in the garden. I'll be doing a check to see if there is anything we've missed for food and drink. We will try to get the last of the painting done for this year but it depends on the weather.

NOVEMBER
Week One-Supermarket. Diet Pepsi and Limeade to be bought and Pot Noodles for my dad. Maybe more bottled water just in case we need it and maybe a few boxes of our favourite chocolates for winter treats! I love Roses, Dairy Box and Thorntons! I love Lindor but it is really pricey. Get in 4 bottles of Buck's Fizz (a family tradition!) a chocolate and maybe a cheese advent calander for me for fun, and my Terry's Chocolate Oranges! Visit the dump to get rid of the last of the rubbish for the year ie empty paint cans and bleach bottles. Go to the local shops to stock up on their noodles and those packet pasta things you just add hot water to.

Week Two-Charity Shop. Need to get rid of quite a few bags of unwanted books that I'm finished with. This will probably take more than one visit as I'm having a mass clearout this winter. This lets me get space back for phase two of the clearout which I'll be doing over December and January. I'm determined to get space back to get stuff off the floor. My dad and I plan to clear the hall and get it looking less like an atomic bomb went off.

Week Three-Order any remaining stuff I need from Amazon-the last of my book buying until mid January, and any other odd things I need for the house. The cleaning will focus on the mess my dad loves to leave in the living room so I have it nice and tidy for winter. 

Week Four-Last Amazon packages will be arriving before the Black Friday chaos. I'll use one more supermarket trip to stock up the fridge and ensure it is full and ready to use. Any bits and pieces can be grabbed here like cheese, margerine and other stuff with shorter dates on them. The kitchen will get a deep clean just to make sure everything is nice and tidy and we're not living in a germfest hell hole. I'll be looking at videos of the Black Friday chaos online. Honestly it looks like the Running of the Bulls in Spain!   

DECEMBER 
Week One-Our repeat prescriptions will go in to the local pharmasist and be filled this week, which means we won't need anything else until next year. Start using up all the supplies in the fridge before their dates are up.  Relax as the Christmas shoppers go mad at each other and get stressed out while we relax in our bear cave and watch films and TV!

Week Two-Continue with using stuff from fridge and freezer for meals. Continue to smugly sit indoors and watch TV in front of the fire as everyone else rushes around like nutters to buy in a few days of food! Doing nothing except the necessary housework needing done.

Week Three-Ensure we have two big jugs of milk which will get us ahead of the dumb panic buy of milk that seems to go on despite the local shops being open on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day morning and Boxing Day! Seriously why would you wait until Christmas Eve to start buying in your Christmas food???

Week Four-Around the 27th or 28th we'll buy more milk to last until New Year is over with. Maybe bread but we shouldn't need anything other than that. This bear hates New Year and sees no point to it so I'll be in my bed before midnight and hopefully will sleep through the stupid fireworks! 

TOP BEAR TIPS
1-have at least one source of light that can safely be carried room to room in event of a power cut ie battery torches, oil lanterns, candles inside a glass cage etc
2-have at least one source of non gas/electrical cooking in case of power cut ie camping stove with bottled gas, wood burning stove etc
3-stock up on your cold remedies NOW so you don't need to go hoofing out in crap weather when you feel terrible
4-stock up on food and bottled water to do you through winter just in case you get a spell of bad weather or family illness to deal with
5-instead of electrical blankets, put a sleeping bag on top of your bottom bed sheet. Lying on top of a sleeping bag with a warm duvet on top keeps you cozy and if you go to the loo in the night, the sleeping bag retains your body heat so no cold bed to get back into! 
6-stock up on batteries and other essentials

Have a Beary good festive season!

Chuckles Friday Reading Roundup

Welcome to my Friday Reading Roundup! This feature will show exactly what I've been reading and DNFing through the week. 

READ
2 stars, 2.5 stars and 2.5 stars. Disappointing!
 

Chuckles Weekend Roundup

Welcome to my feature Chuckles Weekend Roundup where I will be looking at what books I've received, anything interesting I've done or bought or watched and other random stuff. I'll be taking a look back at what happened in my blogging world too, sort of like The Sunday Post that some of you do! 

Please note that I'll be visiting your STS/SP as normal, but I don't follow or leave comments on blogs run by Google Plus, or DISQUS as I refuse to join something just to leave comments, and I won't allow DISQUS to follow new people, update my profile or post tweets 'on my behalf'. I am the only one who does that on my social media! I won't comment on any blog that makes me sign in using another account. Sometimes, I have problems leaving messages on blogs hosted by Wordpress-they try to block me because I deleted my account with them but I will persevere as it only happens the odd time!

****************

 Another week gone and the clocks are about to change this weekend. There is that winter bite to the air as I get my last supermarket shopping trips done with! The freezer is full of meat, fish and meals, my cupboards are nearly full and ready to go and I just stocked up on bottled water and essential winter medical stuff so I don't need to traipse out when I'm already feeling ill! Soon I will do my bear thing and go pretty much into hibernation until the festive season and sales are finished and sanity returns to shopping centres! I might do a post about Chuckles the Bear and what I'm getting up to!

This week I did get back into reading. Spooky Booky month has fallen a bit flat as I haven't been targeting the horror books that were on my initial list. Instead I'm going for the books I think I'm less likely to want to keep and those with questionable reviews or that are in less favoured genres. It's pretty much an attempt to clear the decks of books to give me space on my shelves. The more I can read, DNF and delete, the lower the TBR number by the end of the year. And that makes me happy!

DOWNLOADS

 

 

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/46048617-surface-prey

 

PAPERBACKS/HARDBACKS

 

 

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4050931-conflict-of-loyalty

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/48214398-bug-out-atlantic-2 

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/46761619-the-bernard-ingham-diaries

Chuckles Blogging World

I'm working on a few things on the computer at the moment. I'm putting together a list of everything on my ereaders Maurice and Myrnin, noting the number of pages and comments from reviews about love triangles, pacing, poor characters and so on, to help me when I'm deciding what to read next. It's taking quite a while as I'm going through a lot of reviews for each book to get a good sense of what people liked or hated about it. I have deleted a few from my Goodreads list as I've went along if there are too many things I don't like the sound of. This task will continue next week too.

 

Book Reviews 

 

Gin Phillips-Fierce

http://chucklesbookcave.blogspot.com/2019/10/book-review-fierce-by-gin-phillips.html 

 

Retro Rescued Reviews-Resident Evil Genesis

http://chucklesbookcave.blogspot.com/2019/10/retro-rescued-reviews-2-resident-evil.html 

Regular Posts

 

Chuckles Friday Reading Roundup

http://chucklesbookcave.blogspot.com/2019/10/chuckles-friday-reading-roundup_18.html 

Around The Blogs With Chuckles

http://chucklesbookcave.blogspot.com/2019/10/around-blogs-with-chuckles_19.html

 

Top Ten Tuesday

http://chucklesbookcave.blogspot.com/2019/10/top-ten-tuesday-book-titles.html 

 

Books From The Backlog

http://chucklesbookcave.blogspot.com/2019/10/books-from-backlog-gilt.html 

 

Discussion Posts

 

Chuckles Chuntering

http://chucklesbookcave.blogspot.com/2019/10/chuckles-chuntering_13.html 

Book Challenges

 

Tackling The TBR

http://chucklesbookcave.blogspot.com/2019/10/tackling-tbr_49.html 

 

Films & TV 

In the afternoons this week, my dad and I watched Sasuke 28 and season 5 of American Ninja Warrior. At night I watched and enjoyed Spartan Ultimate Team Challenge seasons one and two and season one of The Titan Games. 

 

 Book Tags/Blog Awards

 

Halloween Creatures Book Tag

http://chucklesbookcave.blogspot.com/2019/10/halloween-creatures-book-tag.html 

Currently Reading/Up Next

It's hard to choose in advance when you're mood reading! I'm finishing up with Relic which was more mystery than horror which was a bit disappointing. These might be the next planned reads.

 

 

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