The Red Men | Matthew de Abaitua | Review

Monday, 30 October 2017

The Red Men | Matthew de Abaitua | Review

*Image and book provided via NetGalley for an honest review.

Summary:

In the near future the company, Monad, has revolutionized AI to the point where some people believe it came from the future. Nelson just wants to be a good family man and provide for his family and help his friend get a job to do the same. Unfortunately he gets caught up in a war, not just between the rival companies Monad and Dyad, but also between the AIs called Red Men and their real life counterparts. 

Review:

This was an interesting book. It felt like it was modeled after a 70's drug-trip dystopian movie. It goes back and forth between Nelson's perspective and his friend Raymond's with a couple other minor characters as well. I greatly appreciated Nelson's everyman perspective. He is genuinely a good person who wants to do the right thing, but wants to put his family's well being above all. I kinda wish we could've gotten to see the world from the perspective of a Dr. Easy robot. We got a monologue from the main AI, but I the things that the Dr. robots have to go through would have been really interesting. 

It took longer to read than I expected, and I felt frustrated with that at a few points, bored at others, but the ending was really worth it. I finished the book feeling like I had spent my time well. There were a few time jumps that I had a little trouble following, but overall the story was well paced with the occasional needed humor, there was just a lot of story. And this is the edition that had some stuff removed!

If you like corporate dystopia books or drug-trip books, you'll really enjoy The Red Men. I greatly appreciated the philosophical/ethical discourse about those who conquer, those who fight and those who remain quiet. I kinda wish this wasn't such a book for our times, but it's got some good messages for the world today. 

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Riot Days | Maria Alyokhina | Guest Review

Sunday, 29 October 2017

Riot Days | Maria Alyokhina | Guest Review

Activist and Pussy Riot member Maria Alyokhina writes a vivid and passionate account of her arrest, trial and imprisonment in a penal colony in the Russian Urals.

In 2012, in response to electoral fraud and the inevitable re-election of Putin, the band Pussy Riot staged a performance in Moscow’s Christ the Saviour Cathedral. Maria and two fellow band members were later charged with “hooliganism motivated by religious hatred”. In reality, they had been trying to claim religion back from the claws of government.

Personal elements are kept to a minimum throughout Riot Days. In fact, the writing moves at such a pace that you don’t have time to get to know many of those around the activist. Peppered with references to a troupe of Russian protesters and dissidents who have inspired her, this is not a story of the individual, but a reminder to constantly fight for our freedom and history. Once injustice is normalised, atrocities no longer shocking, our lives are no longer our own. As Maria says to a guard asking her to end one of her many hunger strikes, “I protest wherever I can, wherever I need to. That’s my nature. I need to protest.”

From the absurdities of her trial, in which Maria and her fellow band member are placed in cages, to the horrifying conditions in prison, where sanitary towels are stuffed into gaps in the windows in an attempt to block out the bitter cold, this is a harrowing picture of human rights abuses in Russia. Towards the end of Maria’s book, she recounts a conversation with one of the friendlier guards in the colony. Irina Vasilievna, who has worked there for 40 years, exposes the reality that, “Nothing has changed. Look around you. Does it look like anything ever changes in this country?”

This lies at the heart of Riot Days, an urgent warning against the stasis not just gripping Russia, but waiting to creep in if we are not vigilant enough to stop it. This an important read at a time when Western headlines on Brexit and Trump are eclipsing stories around regimes giving less and less in the way of democracy.

This post was written by guest blogger Lucy.

Review copy from NetGalley, cover image from goodreads.com.

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Features | Who's the Scariest Villain of Them All?

Friday, 27 October 2017

Features | Who's the Scariest Villain of Them All?

It is a time honoured tradition from children's books, through middle grade, and right up to YA, to give readers a villain so scary it causes actual nightmares. With Halloween fast approaching I thought it was time to pit a few of my personal favourite villains against each other and figure out, once and for all, who is the scariest villain terrorising us all through the written word.

Who is going to be the triumphant antagonist? Well, that's up to you. Read my run down of five terrifying contenders and then cast your vote using the handy little poll at the bottom of this post. Let's figure out which villain is really the stuff of nightmares.

1. Lord Voldemort - J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter series

A man so terrifying people quite literally dare not speak his name, a man so evil he would kill a one year old baby to achieve his ends, a man so determined to bend the wizarding world to his own will that he cheated death and willingly got about looking like an evil snake for years. Lord Voldemort is a strong first contender.

2. The Witches - Roald Dahl's The Witches

With wigs and gloves to help them hide in plain sight, Roald Dahl's witches have been scaring generations of children since 1983. The Grand High Witch's dastardly plan to turn all the children in the world into mice and her fellow witches being more than willing to go along with this plan mean that these witches have definitely earned their place in this competition.

3. Count Olaf - Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events

Speaking of disguises and of attacking orphans, Count Olaf might just have the previous two contenders beat. An expert at evading detection from the unobservant adults in the Baudelaire's lives, Count Olaf will use any method he can to hound those poor children from home to home in pursuit of their fortune and that kind of concentrated dedication is enough to strike fear into anyone.

4. The Wights - Ransom Riggs's Peculiar Children series

Another villain brought about by the desire for immortality, the Wights' slightly less evolved brethren, the Hollowgast, might seem like the scarier of the two, but a Wight is merely a Hollowgast who has consumed the souls of enough Peculiar people, and no one else in this competition makes a habit of eating children's souls. So that's something to consider.

5. Jadis the White Witch - C. S. Lewis's The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe

And the final contender for scariest villain of all, Jadis the White Witch. She plummeted Narnia into one hundred years of winter without Christmas and in my book that alone is enough to earn her the title of the most evil witch around. There is also the small fact that she bribed Edmund to deliver his sibling to her so that she could continue her reign unchallenged, but you know, winter really does get old fast.

So cast your votes below and let's settle this! Which of our contenders strikes the most fear into your heart? Who is the scariest villain of them all?

Who's the scariest villain?

Lord Voldemort

Roald Dahl's Witches

Count Olaf

The Wights

Jadis the White Witch

Survey Maker

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Happy 5th Birthday Blogger’s Bookshelf (+ giveaway)

Thursday, 26 October 2017

Happy 5th Birthday Blogger’s Bookshelf (+ giveaway)

Five years ago, back in 2012, our little community book blog launched out into the Internet.

For us, those five years have gone in a flash. Not only have we accumulated nearly 900 posts, there are over 800 of you lovely lot following us on BlogLovin and over 750 of you on Twitter! We’ve covered almost everything under the sun from the hottest Young Adult novels to some fantastic classics, bone-chilling horror to heartwarming romance to the most far-flung fantasy.

Whilst we’ve evolved and changed in many ways, incorporating features, interviewing authors, and covering bookish events, we’ve also tried to ensure we keep true to line on our About Us page.

“Blogger's Bookshelf was born out of a collective love of literature.” 

We are first and foremost book lovers here at Blogger’s Bookshelf and we hope to share five more years (and beyond) of that love of books. To celebrate this landmark age we have a special giveaway to say thank you for reading and supporting us for five years...with a fun little challenge twist! Check out the rules below.

Rules: 

• Find our FIVE Birthday presents hidden in some of our old review posts on the blog.
• To give you a helping hand we'll be posting the five clues plus a quote from the book on Twitter from tomorrow 27th October to the 31st October and a quick clue round-up at the end of the week, so keep a weather eye out if you're stuck!
• Once you've found them all, pop the book titles into the Rafflecopter below to be entered into our 5th Birthday Bundle Prize Draw, including:
• A signed copy of The Loneliest Girl in the Universe by Lauren James
• A mystery book from our upcoming Team BB Book Club (more exciting news about this to come!)
• A £5 Amazon Book Voucher
• & much more...

a Rafflecopter giveaway

You have until midnight on the Friday 10th November to enter, winners will be announced on Saturday 11th November.

We want to thank you again for supporting us for the last five years. Here's to many more years to come!

Best wishes,

Team Blogger's Bookshelf

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The Rivals of Dracula | Nick Rennison | Review

Tuesday, 24 October 2017

The Rivals of Dracula | Nick Rennison | Review

With Halloween just around the corner, I’ve noticed a definite spooky turn in my reading habits. I’ve been revelling in unsettling and creepy reads. Amongst my recent reads was The Rivals of Dracula, a collection of short stories edited and introduced by Nick Rennison. I love Dracula and even did a lot of academic writing about it, back in the day. However, my research really highlighted how much Dracula has overshadowed other vampire literature of the time so when I saw this collection, I immediately bought it. Unfortunately, it then fell towards the back of my TBR for a long time. I finally got around to reading it on a recent holiday and am happy to be able to share it with you guys!

As I mentioned, this collection shares short stories about vampires from the Late Victorian and Edwardian eras. Some of the authors are somewhat well known, while others were completely new to me. What they all had in common was that were incredibly interesting and utterly creepy.

Because the collection is centred around a very specific theme, I did find that I couldn’t read too many at once or else I didn’t appreciate them. However, when I took the time to enjoy them at a slightly slower pace, I realised just how brilliantly varied the stories are. There is very little uniformity to the vampires in this collection, which was fascinating.

Though I loved the collection as a whole, I did have some stand out favourites. I loved Let Loose by Mary Cholmondeley, which features an utterly creepy creature which is accidentally set free. I don’t want to say too much more, but it was chilling to read. Other favourites include Ken’s Mystery by Julian Hawthorne (a wonderfully unnerving tale set in part in Ireland), The Mask by Richard Marsh (truly haunting story about deceit and deception) and Medusa by Phil Robinson (a creepy story about a woman who seems to feed on her victims).

If you loved Dracula and want some more vampire stories in your life, you should check out The Rivals of Dracula - just try not to read it just before bed!

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The Vegan Cookbook: 100 Plant-Based Recipes to Inspire and Invigorate | Adele McConnell | Review

Sunday, 22 October 2017

The Vegan Cookbook: 100 Plant-Based Recipes to Inspire and Invigorate | Adele McConnell | Review

*Review copy c/o Netgalley, cover image via goodreads.com

The Vegan Cookbook is a new release from Adele McConnell who is used to seeing people all over the world recreate her recipes thanks to her successful blog Vegie Head.

Through sharing her recipes McConnell wants to show readers that plant-based eating doesn’t have to be bland or boring, highlighting the huge variety of foods to be enjoyed. As well as sharing recipes she talks about her own personal journey, reasons for following a plant-based diet and the benefits. Suggestions are included for those who may be looking to make the switch themselves, including tips such as taking a step-by-step approach to ease into the new lifestyle and advice on store cupboard staples.

One of my favourite things about the book was how clearly allergens are labelled for each recipe using a simple colour-coded key, making it quick and easy to find recipes to suit different types of vegan diet. The layout of the recipes is easy to follow and colourful photographs showcase many of the finished dishes well, although unfortunately not every recipe is pictured.

Whilst a lot of the savoury recipes look delicious, I have to confess I’m most keen to try out the Raw Chocolate Torte with Salted Pecan Sauce – what's not to love?

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