R. L. Stine – Slappy’s Nightmare

Slappy's Nightmare

TYPE: Horror, Fiction, Children

RATING: 8/10

REVIEW:

The Goosebumps series never fails to take me back to the times when were still kids and afraid of monsters and the like. This one is no different and as always, the best part I like about the books is the way it never has an end at the end. It leaves so much scope for more imagination and that is the fun part of it.

DESCRIPTION:

Slappy stared down in amazement at the dummy stretched out in the crate. There was no mistaking it. The dummy was his identical twin.

“Where’d you get that piece of junk?” he demanded sarcastically. But his eyes darted nervously from side to side.

Jimmy O’ James carefully picked up the new dummy and a yellowed stack of papers. “I found him in a magic store. And these instructions tell how to bring this other dummy to life – and how to put you to sleep forever!”

James Herbert – The Ghosts of Sleath

The Ghosts of Sleath

TYPE: Horror, Mystery, Thriller

RATING: 8/10

REVIEW:

This was one horror book which I did like. It did give me the creeps at times. The story has been well woven and prefaced with enough intrigue to make things interesting.

Sure, the beginning looks a little drawn out and I was beginning to get bored myself, but as I proceeded to read through, the preface seemed a much needed requirement. It did seem to establish a certain type of aura around the village and gives you a feel for what the place might be with all its wooden houses and rickety doors.

P. G. Wodehouse – Aunts Aren’t Gentlemen

Aunts Aren't Gentlemen

TYPE: Humour

RATING: 9/10

REVIEW:

As with all of the other Wodehouse books, this one didn’t fail to keep me laughing and at the edge of all the suspense. Bertram Wooster will remain his ever favorite character with Jeeves following in a close second.

The adventures of Bertie take him to Maiden Eggesford this time, ‘for a breath of fresh air’ as the doctor put it. This time, he has Aunt Dahlia for company, who recommended Maiden Eggesford in the first place. However, things take a turn when he finds that he also has company from Major Plank, a person he had tried to sell one of his Uncle Tom’s collectibles and had narrowly escaped by the ever-genius presence of Jeeves.

Joseph Conrad – Amy Foster

Amy Foster

TYPE: Can’t Say

RATING: 4/10

REVIEW:

I have no idea why the book is named Amy Foster, when the book carries a description not of her, but of another person who became her husband in the later part of the story. I suppose, I’ll never get the gist of these philosophical stories, if there was any involved in this one.

The story begins with someone visiting an old doctor in the countryside and he relates to him the sad story of Amy Foster. The story has a social castaway, a ship-wrecked man who was taken up by the Swaffers and offered food, clothing and a roof over his head. The stranger soon learns to read, write and speak in the common dialect and then falls in love with Amy Foster and decided to marry him.

She does marry him, and she bears his child but then after that I lose the idea of the story because she starts hating him for talking to the child in his own tongue and keeps thinking that he wants to harm the child and then finally abandons him. That about sums up the story which doesn’t look like much to me.

James Herbert – ‘48

'48

TYPE: War, Thriller, Mystery

RATING: 8/10

REVIEW:

Most of the times, I am not that fond of war novels (or even war games for that matter), but this one felt a bit different. The start did feel a bit too stretched out and even though I have completed the book, the beginning does give me the same feeling.

Maybe it’s because I read the novel too late, but the storyline keeps reminding me of a movie which does seem to be on similar terms, ‘I Am Legend.’ The stories do not eactly coincide, but maybe the movie did borrow a lot of stuff from the book, like being the lone survivor, having a dog, blowing up cars on the street, and having ready to use cars among other stuff.