Of Jaws, rats, London Below and self-discovery

This week was good; read a couple of good books - both from Waterstone's who are at the moment doing a sale of books which have won some random awards before. So I bought them, cos, they should be good right?

Was NOT disappointed!

First off, a book I'd been wanting to get for some time, after watching the movie Stardust, and briefly reading American Gods by the same author, Neil Gaiman.

Alternate realities, especially one based on London, where such weirdness as Rat-speakers, the Great Beast of London, and the Floating Market exist; whats not to like? When characters go to locations named for London Tube stops/boroughs but end up experiencing a totally different reality of them, when the main hero is about as clueless as I'd expect myself to be in his situation, when there is that delicious threat of seemingly unstoppable villains, I dunno, I guess I'm just a sucker for this kind of stuff.

Note: you can read American Gods for free at this website!

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This next one, was something I was a bit dubious about getting, partly because its written in the first-person perspective, and I don't really like books that do that. When I read books like that, I feel I', getting told what to feel, what to do, what to experience, instead of engaging with it from my own point of view. But anyway, that didn't mess up this reading any...this book is (as the youth in my church would say, 'BOSS!)


The lovechild of Jaws, Matrix, the Bourne Identity and Alice in Wonderland (as it's widely quoted), it basically revolves around a guy, one Eric Sanderson, waking up in a house he doesn't recognise, to find he doesn't remember anything, not even his name. Going downstairs, he finds a letter propped up where he can see it, the first line reads 'First things first, stay calm.' How not to like? I finished the bulk of this book on a lazy Saturday afternoon with a bowl of crisps, pork crackling and a bottle of Foster's Twist, which is probably the best reading experience I've had for a long. long while.

When a book throws out concepts and illustrates them, when a book gives the reader just enough information to make the feeling of frustration just beyond bearable, and at the end, leaves enough room for conjecture, enough time for the plot to sink in and make sense, and all along, forcing interaction; emotional as well as figuring out puzzles and the like, its impossible not to like.It even has a pretty cool website to follow. Steven Hall, if you're writing more of this, I'm hooked.