Mitchell

I've been meaning to get to the Night Shift collection, so I decided to start with the audiobook, which features five of the short stories in it. John Clover is an excellent narrator and is spot on in his character voices.

Graveyard Shift: 4/5
Perhaps the most eerie story in the mini collection, although I'd recommend reading this one rather than listening. Even though Clover is excellent, I feel like your own voice will seriously disturb you with this one.

The Man Who Loved Flowers: 5/5
King pulling off a great twist ending. It's simple yet really sets the grim mood of the story that'll stick with you. Twists don't always have to be so extravagant.

The Last Rung on the Ladder: 4/5
This story showcases how King makes great character relationships.

Night Surf: 4/5
Didn't even know there was anything directly related to The Stand. Even though this story felt a little incomplete, just discovering what brought one of my favorite books into light makes this story a little special.

Jerusalem's Lot: 3.5/5
Surprisingly, this was my least favorite story of the lot (pun intended). It's probably because I'm not a huge fan of epistolary formatted stories, but I do love seeing a familiar setting.

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Audio read by: John Glover

I started this book on a whim. After finishing Twilight Eyes I haven't been able to determine which Koontz book to read next, so I started this novella hoping to get back into the groove. The Neighbour was a pleasant surprise that brought Horror Koontz into light. Besides Phantoms, I haven't been able to find anything that could live up to that same horror in the Koontz catalog, until now.

With his newer and innovative mini series of novellas, Nameless, and now this book, it's easy to tell that Koontz can write some excellent short stories.

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Koontz Ranking:

1 - Lightning
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
2 - Phantoms
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
3 - Watchers
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
4 - The Neighbour
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
5 - Nameless series
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
6 - Odd Thomas
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
7 - Twilight Eyes
⭐️⭐️

I really enjoyed Last Light right from the start. Kickass lead heroines like Makani are refreshing and really builds up a promising development between characters.

Again, we have another successful Koontz novella, and it seems each have their own thrilling elements and, in some cases, like Last Light, have interesting magic systems that we'd find in your usual Koontz stories. Each novella of his I've read doesn't seem to short to tell these characters stories.

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Koontz Ranking:

1 - Lightning
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
2 - Phantoms
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
3 - Watchers
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
4 - Last Light
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
5 - The Neighbour
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
6 - Nameless series
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
7 - Odd Thomas
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
8 - Twilight Eyes
⭐️⭐️

This one took me a little bit longer to finish than my usual Koontz book. It started with a great premise, but I wasn't able to really appreciate the characters. I usually enjoy seeing female characters shine, but unfortunately, I couldn't stand Rya.

I didn't particularly enjoy Twilight Eyes. The only thing I found satisfying was the setting.

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Koontz Ranking:

1 - Lightning
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
2 - Phantoms
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
3 - Watchers
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
4 - Last Light
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
5 - Devoted
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
6 - The Neighbour
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
7 - Nameless series
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
8 - Odd Thomas
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
9 - Midnight
⭐️⭐️

My newest favorite from Abercrombie so far. He is always able to tell such a grim tale with his horrific and gritty characters, and it's in these player's down-spiraling arcs that makes me wish worship that guy even more. You know you're reading Abercrombie when you can easily root for the evil villains.

Red Country accounts everything we've seen in the First Law and concludes one final time in a westernized theme. Hell yeah!

On another note: I've been listening to this series on Audible and I'm glad I have, because Steven Pacey is an absolute gem of a narrator.

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Audio read by: Steven Pacey

Mark Lawerence is a master of character emotion, and in a story that shares a deep connection to him, it makes this story wonderful and satisfying.

My first ‘Wild Cards' story is about a severely disabled girl who contracts a virus giving her special abilities that gives her view of the outside life around her. I absolutely love stories that come from the heart, and in this case a beautiful portrayal to Mark's daughter.

The Visitor is currently free to buy on Amazon.

Much appreciation to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for giving me a chance to read this early.

After finding out about Bong Joon-ho's announcement for his next film, a sci-fi thriller starring Robert Pattinson, an adaption of Mickey7, I immediately sought out the source material. There are some unfortunate issues with the pacing, but the story was original and understandably easy to adapt to the screen.

My only gripe with the flow of the book were the chapters dedicated to various flashback, including a few info dumps ones. There were many times where I was itching to zero in on certain characters/situations and the following chapter broke away from the tension to reveal a second hand in the story. Bits and pieces that felt unnecessary to me. By the end of the book, I've found myself detached from the experience.

What I actually thought was interesting outside of these chapters was the author's prose. He did a great job showing rather than telling through the POV's internal dialog. Worldbuilding in a sci-fi relies on storytelling with this technique.

Overall, with its rough edges, Mickey7 makes a unique impact on the sci-fi genre.

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Audio read by: John Pirhalla and Katharine Chin

The Skyward series conclusion is bittersweet. Sweet because it closes to such a wonderful finish and bitter because I'll never be able to finish it for the first time again. Outside of the sequel series, this series comes to a close.

I'll never be able to explain what this series means to me in precise terms, other than a part of my life has bridged together because of this story. Me and my wife have become closer reading this together. My daughter came from this. And each year she grows, I see her more clearly as the girl we imagined. A heroine of her own story.

Claim the stars, Spensa.

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Audio read by: Suzy Jackson

”Temeraire did not wake until the sun was slipping below the horizon; Laurence was nodding over his book. Temeraire nudged his cheek with a blunt nose to rouse him, and announced, “I am hungry again.” “

As someone with a newborn child, a novel about a talking newborn dragon is perhaps the perfect story at this moment. The hunger cues, curiosity and exciting moments I have seen in my beautiful daughter I related with in Laurence, besides the talking bit.
Also the wings.

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Audio read by: Simon Vance

Perfection is a near impossible term that is often used in our imperfect world filled with wonderment and excellent pizza. The best thing about imperfection is the rugged edges and irregularity that show character and genuineness. Nothing is perfect, and that's amazing. Almost as amazing as Lonesome Dove, because that shit is absolute perfection.

This book hits all the right notes and the right times in the right manner. It's impossible to give more light to a book that is already foolproof. Augustus and Call are an unbreakable duo that would do anything to laze around or commit to a unforgivable task; an absolute dream team, especially when Robert Duvall and Tommy Lee Jones play these two on screen amazingly. Although the story mainly focuses on these two, the viewpoint is in 3rd person omniscient and switches from character to character at any point in a chapter, which can make or break any book's character development. In this case, Lonesome Dove highlights each passing person as if they're just as important as everyone else. Stubborn, ugly, kind, courageous or evil, each character is displayed in the best possible way. The book's technique on ‘show don't tell' is beyond masterful because of this viewpoint.

Lonesome Dove is a book that isn't distinguished as a western, or historical fiction, but an excellent story. This book is easily recommendable even to people who haven't read a western before, because it has elements that anyone could enjoy, hell there are even characters that you can find in your usual fantasy novel. The book reminded me a lot of The Stand in its own unique way that it builds character's ups and downfalls.

I've thought it over for a while now, and I can't quite decide if Lonesome Dove is my all time favorite novel. I have a lot of favorites that I love in different ways, but there isn't a doubt that this is by far one of the greatest stories ever told. Top three if anything.

UPDATE (2022):

Found out re-reading my favorite books through the audiobook format is the best way to re-experience these stories. Both Lies of Locke Lamora, and now Warbreaker has gave me new perspective on these books. This book is still an absolute gem.
__(INITIAL THOUGHTS:)One of the greatest books I'll ever read, if not the best.A story that won't receive the type of recognition of something such as, Game of Thrones or Harry Potter, but deserves the same spark.The reason I always love Sanderson's books is for the simple reason is that he prioritizes character arcs over everything else. And he successfully does it in every book. In Warbreaker there is such a beauty to the relationship between each character.__

Audio read by: Alyssa Bresnahan

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1st Read: eBook (2019)Re-read: Audio (2022)

2024 Update:

After finishing Ship of Magic, I had to get back into the aquatic setting again, so I decided on one of my favorites. Tress of the Emerald Sea is such a wonderful book; an unforgettable tale. It's also the quickest I reread a book and perhaps the easiest Sanderson story to recommend.

There is beauty within the characters with such a fantastic plot and I can't wait to return back to them soon.

__Original Review (2023):Holy hell, that was wonderful.__

Audio read by: Michael Kramer

1st Read: ebook (2023)Re-read: Audiobook (2024)