This week saw me starting my Read What You Own challenge, where I’ll aim to get through 100 books I already own before I buy anything new. It’ll be the fourth year that I’ve done this challenge, and its always been something that I’ve found easier and more enjoyable than it sounds (excluding my poor decision earlier this year to do a second 100 books immediately after finishing the first!).
We increasingly live in a world that encourages excessive consumption, or at least excessive purchasing. Modern capitalism relies on it, but I don’t think that Jeff Bezos really cares what we do with all the things we buy from him. Books are definitely the place where I allow myself the most excess, so taking a while to pause on acquisition and be thankful for what I already have always feels like a positive thing to do.
Cheerio!
Books I’ve Read This Week
The Sin of the Fathers by Tony Hernandez
I read a lot of independently published horror, and much of it is very good. It’s been some time though since I’ve read an indie novel that was quite as enjoyable and well polished as this one.
It follows a group of young latino men, initially in the 1980s, whose lives are shaken up by a crime they’re involved in. The book then shifts to the 1990s, and examines the ripples of that crime on their families.
There’s a strong supernatural element, with an otherworldly villain that I absolutely loved, but it’s the believable depiction of time and place that really makes this book work. Books set in the recent past can feel cloyingly nostalgic, but this one just felt honest. The characters have a solidity, their struggles are tangible and their motivations credible, even when the reader knows they’re misguided.
Add to that an enjoyable plot-line that gradually ramps up the mystery, tension and terror and you have a very enjoyable book. At times it’s reminiscent of the great crime writer Donald Goines, or books like ‘The Only Good Indians’ or ‘Ghost Story’, but it still manages to be very much its own thing. Recommended.
‘The Sins of the Fathers’ will be published next year and has a Kickstarter campaign launching soon.
The Sentinel by Jeffrey Konvitz
Silly, but grotesquely entertaining entry in the late 60s/early 70s religious horror boom. It feels a little like Rosemary’s Baby at times, with a young woman facing weird events (and neighbours) in a NY brownstone. Like Rosemary’s Baby the Hollywood adaptation was helmed by a European bad boy director. The fact that Rosemary got Roman Polanski and The Sentinel got Michael Winner tells you all you need to know about the relative quality of the source material.
The Executioner 25: Colorado Kill-zone by Don Pendleton
Book 25 in the Executioner series is an above average entry. Think Die Hard in a ski resort and you have a sense of the plot, with Mack Bolan going up against an army that includes both mercenaries and the Mafia. It’s taut, violent and really enjoyable, with a storyline that delivers in terms of the scale of the conspiracy Bolan is up against. Great stuff.
Rebel Moon Part One – A Child of Fire by V Castro
Reading this took me back to my teens when I read an absolute tonne of movie novelisations. What’s interesting about ‘Rebel Moon’ is that it’s a novelisation of a new movie. There’s been a wave recently of book versions of classic (and not so classic) 80s horror movies, but adaptations of newer films are pretty rare.
What we get here then is something that feels very like the novelisations of the 70s, 80s and 90s. A decently crafted but not overwhelmingly good prose version of the film screenplay. V Castro (whose work is always decent value for money) does a good job. The challenge she has is that the movie wasn’t that great in the first place and the strengths it had were mostly its bombastic visuals. Without those the story is a silly, derivative futuristic fantasy adventure. It’s a fun diversion, but nothing more than that.
Doctor Who: Space Babies by Alison Rumfitt
This was just what I needed this week to restore my faith in humanity a little. A silly yet meaningful, hopeful, joyous SF adventure by trans author with a queer black lead, a feisty young woman sidekick and pro choice storyline.
The fact that’s it’s based on an episode of a TV show jointly made by the BBC and Disney, two of the largest, most respected entertainment organisations in the world, is a sign that compassion and inclusivity still have a chance.
Alison Rumfitt does a great job of bringing the episode to life on the page. It’s funny, fun and perfectly paced and she captures Ruby and the Doctor perfectly. In fact in some ways I preferred it to the TV episode – the babies are less weird and annoying in prose form.
CriminOlly 
Your posts are amazing! I wish I could read for a living! Thank you for your time and exceptional writing!
Thank you, I wish I could too!