Home » Posts tagged "thriller fiction" (Page 4)

Book Review: Synchronicity by Michaelbrent Collings

cover art for Synchronicity by Michaelbrent Collings

Synchronicity by Michaelbrent Collings

Written Insomnia Press, 2021

ISBN: 38744369R00197

Availability: paperback, Kindle edition Amazon.com )

 

Synchronicity, the newest thriller from Michaelbrent Collings, succeeds in most areas, while missing in a few.  His trademark skill of writing action sequences and maintaining a fast pace is on full display, but the story does skimp a little on fleshing out the plot for the reader.  It’s a decent read, just not quite to the level of excellence of his most recent novels.

 

“Book” Malcolm is a small-time pickpocket and thief who drifts through life, taking what he can.  One day, unknown people try to kill him on a subway platform.  With their light-speed method of fighting, abnormal healing powers, and the ability to shift consciousness from one body to another, they resemble the characters in The Matrix.  Then, Book is on the run, pursued by some and aided by others, as he struggles to answer the question: “why me?”  Later, Book becomes aware of his own powers, and tries to stop the villains from using the consciousness-shifting device to achieve world domination.

 

Collings has always been good at making a story move quickly and providing plenty of action along the way, and Synchronicity continues the trend.  As always, it starts off fast; the destruction on the subway platform happens in the first few pages, and the pace never lets up until the end of the story.  The numerous action sequences (and there are a LOT) are well detailed and thought out, and show the author’s usual flair for bone-crushing intensity, as well as violent gunfights.  In terms of a straight thrill ride of a story, Synchronicity hits the target dead-on.

 

However, it takes more than just breakneck speed to engross some readers start to finish, and that’s where Synchronicity falls a bit short.  It’s almost too fast, and doesn’t allow the plot enough time to breathe, in terms of explanation.  It’s written so the reader never knows more than Book himself throughout the story, and that’s good for character development, but frustrating for the reader.  There is little backstory or dialogue between other characters to give readers some explanation prior to the big reveal at the end.  This makes it harder to get interested in the characters, since you don’t know much about why they are acting like they are.  It’s a shame, because the reason behind the consciousness-jumping technology is quite clever, but it doesn’t get much page time.  More breaks from the hyper-speed of the narrative to detail the plot would have gone a long way.  It’s a good action book, just a little more one-dimensional than Collings’s usual writing.

 

Synchronicity will probably keep his legions of fans entertained, but first-timers might want to start with Scavenger Hunt or the Stranger series instead, to get a better perspective on his writing.

 

Reviewed by Murray Samuelson

Booklist: Final Girls

      cover art for My Heart Is A Chainsaw by Stephen Graham Jones  Wow, final girls have really had a great summer! July saw the release of The Final Girl Support Group by Grady Hendrix (reviewed here), and with the very end of August, I see Stephen Graham Jones’ newest book, My Heart Is A Chainsaw, is being released. The final Girls Support Group by Grady HendrixI have not had the opportunity to read that yet, but I highly recommend The Final Girls Support Group (on a side note, my daughter was delighted that the characters were getting therapy).

The final girl is the survivor who takes down the monster in slasher movies. When fiction touches on her, it’s usually in a meta sort of way. Here are a couple of titles to try out if you are in the mood for a tale about final girls.

 

 

 

 

Final Girls by Riley Sager follows Quincy Carpenter. the lone survivor of a massacre at a cabin in the woods ten years earlier. Quincy, along with two other girls, Lisa and Sam, who survived slasher-style massacres, were labeled “Final Girls” by the media.cover art for Final Girls by Riley Sager  She has done her best to move on, finding a boyfriend and starting a baking blog, but things start to fall apart when Lisa apparently dies from suicide, leaving a message on Quincy’s voicemail. Then Sam, who has been off the grid for years, appears at Quincy’s door and Quincy’s carefully constructed life starts to fall apart. The twist in this story was not what I expected it to be. Sager does a great job of deconstructing the final girl trope and this was a very difficult book to put down.

 

 

 

 

cover art for Final Girls by Mira Grant  Final Girls by Mira Grant introduces Esther Hoffman, a journalist determined to debunk proprietary virtual reality technology that situates participants in horror movie scenarios to force them to face their worst fears. The scientist in charge, Dr. Jennifer Webb, challenges Esther to try it out with her. Events out of their control result in the two of them being trapped in the virtual reality scenario together, with disturbing results.

 

 

 

 

Final Girl by David Hutchison

Final Girl Pocket Manga vol. 1 by David Hutchison drops four girls in a seemingly abandoned, isolated town, where they are stalked by its residents, and must escape their nightmare situation. Only one of them can be the final girl, though… Readers voted for their choice of final girl, and a bloody, full color climax reveals the survivor.

 

 

 

 

 

cover art for The Last Final Girl by Stephen Graham Jones  The Last Final Girl  is also by Stephen Graham Jones. Taking a . chance with an experimental format, he has written it in a screenplay format, following the structure of a slasher movie. His love of the genre is clear, with many references to existing movies and “in-jokes”. The structure and the dependence of the audience’s understanding of the text on comprehension mean this will appeal to a very niche audience, but that audience will love it. Graham has also written an amazing final girl in his last novel, The Only Good Indians. 

 

 

 

 

The Mary Shelley Club by Goldy Moldavsky starts us out with a final girl– Rachel Chavez, who was attacked in her home and survived. Rachel is a scholarship student at a fancy private school who starts out with no friends, cover art for The Mary Shelley Club by Goldy Moldavskyuntil she discovers a secret club of horror lovers, The Mary Shelley Society, who create “fear tests”, horror scenarios that they try out on friends, classmates, and family. There’s no way this could end badly, right?

Book Review: 56 Days by Catherine Ryan Howard

cover art for 56 Days by Catherine Ryan Howard

56 DAYS by Catherine Ryan Howard.

Blackstone Publishing, 2021

ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1982694654

Available: Hardcover, hardcover large print, CD Bookshop.org )

 

We knew it was coming. Just as 2020 had to finally hang up its tainted spurs and 2021 decided it needed some negative attention, a novel about COVID-19 was inevitable.

 

The only mystery was whether it would be any good, or just capitalizing on the modern plague.

 

Set in Dublin, Oliver and Ciara meet 56 days ago, just as the virus hits Ireland. 35 days ago, the lockdown begins. Yet, instead of doing what most fledgling couples would, Ciara moves in with Oliver. I highly recommend NOT doing this in real life. Relationships are tough enough; the virus can cause isolation to drive the most “normal” person to near homicidal tendencies.

 

Oliver is not who he seems to be, and with the pandemic, prolonged time together shaves away the masks we wear, leaving behind the true faces underneath. What did Oliver and Ciara learn about each other? What drove one to kill the other?

 

Catherine Ryan Howard takes a chance with allowing 56 Days to build at a slow, steady burn. If readers hang on, they will be rewarded in a blistering second half that delivers on what is promised.  She has produced a quality suspense novel here that will undoubtedly win her new fans with this story that refuses to play by the rules. That’s a very good thing.

 

The format is interesting, beginning with the discovery of the body and then jumping between the lovers and the pair of officers, Kurt and Lee, who struggle to piece together this timely mystery.

 

The reader is immediately thrust into a story that is narrative heavy, describing the scene where a dead body is found.

 

Is it Oliver or Ciara?

 

It’s an intriguing puzzle that will keep readers buzzing.

 

Recommended for any suspense/mystery readers who are ready for the first big COVID hit.

 

Reviewed by David Simms