#6Degrees Of Separation-catchup edition

I'm taking part in #SixDegrees of Separation, which I first saw on the blog of Bookstooge over at https://bookstooge.wordpress.com/  Started by Annabel Smith & Emma Chapman, now hosted by https://booksaremyfavouriteandbest.com/  On the first Saturday of every month, a book is chosen as a starting point and linked to six other books to form a chain. Readers and bloggers are invited to join in by creating their own ‘chain’ leading from the selected book.

This month What I Loved by Siri Hustvedt. 

This is the story of two men who first become friends in 1970s New York, of the women in their lives, of their sons, born the same year, and of how relations between the two families become strained, first by tragedy, then by a monstrous duplicity which comes slowly and corrosively to the surface.

I have a dual focus here with this book. The first is that Siri is one of those AI type things that I fear will take over the world and doom us all, which is exactly why I don't have the buggers in my house! The second is the red dress that the girl on the cover is wearing-slinky, sexy and perfect to go kicking ass in, especially undead ass in the form of zombies so I chose...

Alice the zombie hunter from Resident Evil! Alice is the security expert who works for the evil corporation Umbrella, who are working on genetic mutations. When the T Virus escapes and infects the underground lab, everyone is killed and comes back as a zombie. Alice and her special forces team have to head into The Hive to try to find out why it is sealed and they are in for a nasty shock when they find out what the AI in The Hive has done in order to contain the virus.   

In order to escape the complete chaos and hordes of zombies, Alice and her friends will have to shut down the AI, which is in the form of a young creepy child and is called The Red Queen...

In the War of the Roses in English history, the red rose of Lancaster took on the White Rose of York. This is a good time to mention that my ancestors actually fought for York in those wars. Maybe my affinity for this time period comes from my raging blood or something! It might also explain why I love taking holidays in Lancashire and Yorkshire! Perhaps when I go to Blackpool for each holiday, I'm in some way laying claim to the land for York...

Anyhoo, the mother of exiled Henry Tudor, who becomes Henry VII, is Margaret Beaufort of Lancaster who plotted to marry her son to the daughter of dead York King Edward IV, and she is the Red Queen in this book. Blackpool is in the heart of Lancaster country so...

The MC in this book is a detective based in the town of Blackpool on the English west coast. She really wants to leave but a magical hex turns her invisible and traps her in Blackpool. I've tried work by this author before and I like the sound of reading urban fantasy set somewhere I know.

Blackpool is my favourite British holiday destinations and I try to visit most years. We won't be there this year because of the coronavirus and maybe not next year if my dad gets his knee operation. I know it's a cheap tourist trap but I love the sea, the Tower, the Pleasure Beach theme park, the cheap shopping and our regular hotel which we've been visiting for nearly twenty years!   

Blackpool has a great HMV store and it was here on holiday two years ago that I bought my Game of Thrones Blu Ray collection. I'd been wanting it for a while but was wary of the region free versions that Amazon were sealing so I waited for my holiday and bought a nice set of Region 2 box sets which has fantastic quality. Am I one of the select few who really enjoyed season eight and liked the ending?

Seven Kingdoms have been at peace under King Robert who deposed a despot, but trouble is brewing between his two closest allies. There are those in his Court who want him gone, feuds threaten the peace, The Dragon Queen is preparing an army to take his throne and an army of undead creatures marches towards the Wall, defended by a dwindling band of unwanted sons and criminals. Man I love these books and the series!

The play on words is what leads me to this political book, which looks at the downfall of Hillary Clinton's political bid to be President. The author talks about the scandals, especially the email caper which was a huge blow right before polling day. It also looks at the rise of Donald Trump from being regarded as a joke candidate to becoming the front runner.

I have always had a fascination for politics both here in the UK and also in the US, due to having a grandfather born in America. I love reading about behind the scenes of campaigns and elections so this looks quite interesting. The author is very much pro-Trump but it doesn't worry me as I like reading all points of view in these books. Reviews seem to be mixed and split a lot down party lines which isn't exactly a shock!

Jeremy and Katherine Thorn have the baby they have always longed for and name him Damien. But things around Damien always seem to go wrong with accidents and deaths. Could he be the Beast with the number 666 engraved on his head? Can he be stopped before he unleashes evil on the world?

I watched the Omen trilogy when I was young and it creeped me out something terrible. I became obsessed and worried about there being an anti-christ loose in my town. I always did have an active imagination. I have read this book which expands a bit on the search for answers and I remember liking it at the time. Might need to do a re-read so I can review it.

What I Loved to The Omen!