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alexampersand's reviews
422 reviews
Dracula Daily: Reading Bram Stoker's Dracula in Real Time with Commentary by the Internet by Bram Stoker
4.5
Whew! This was a really unique and fun way to read a book - one day at a time, according to the dates everything happens in the book.
I guess there are two facets to reviewing this book: the actual original story of Dracula, and the format of Dracula Daily.
Let's start with Dracula itself - I read it as a child, and had basically no recollection of anything, and it was really fascinating to see essentially the start of the vampire myth.
Some parts of the book dragged a little, and got a little too heavy in description (but it was the 1800s, what can you do!) but other parts were genuinely really exciting and creepy. The scenes with Lucy in the graveyard especially were great.
I found the ending to be slightly... anticlimactic. After some really good attack and research/planning scenes, Dracula ends up becoming sort of a MacGuffin towards the end.
But overall, great stuff.
Format wise? Mostly it worked well for me. Occasionally it highlighted parts that I'm not sure made complete sense (Van Helsing being in England on a Monday, travelling back to Amsterdam on a Tuesday and writing to say he's coming back, then appearing back in England on a Wednesday? Exactly how fast is this transport and mail service?)
Also some of the long stretches of just having one paragraph made it a little hard to keep up - in contrast to some of the October days that were so long I ended up splitting them and then trying to play catch up.
Most of the commentary was also very funny and added a lot (including feeling like there was a real community spirit whilst reading the book) - a handful of them felt slightly misplaced, as reading them where they were referred to something that would happen on the next page or two. But generally, a really fun addition, to the extent I missed it when there were stretches of pages (especially in the longer October entries) without any.
I don't know enough about the original books chronology to be able to accurately compare the differences, but I think with a small amount of stumbles this was a good way to read it!
I guess there are two facets to reviewing this book: the actual original story of Dracula, and the format of Dracula Daily.
Let's start with Dracula itself - I read it as a child, and had basically no recollection of anything, and it was really fascinating to see essentially the start of the vampire myth.
Some parts of the book dragged a little, and got a little too heavy in description (but it was the 1800s, what can you do!) but other parts were genuinely really exciting and creepy. The scenes with Lucy in the graveyard especially were great.
I found the ending to be slightly... anticlimactic. After some really good attack and research/planning scenes, Dracula ends up becoming sort of a MacGuffin towards the end.
But overall, great stuff.
Format wise? Mostly it worked well for me. Occasionally it highlighted parts that I'm not sure made complete sense (Van Helsing being in England on a Monday, travelling back to Amsterdam on a Tuesday and writing to say he's coming back, then appearing back in England on a Wednesday? Exactly how fast is this transport and mail service?)
Also some of the long stretches of just having one paragraph made it a little hard to keep up - in contrast to some of the October days that were so long I ended up splitting them and then trying to play catch up.
Most of the commentary was also very funny and added a lot (including feeling like there was a real community spirit whilst reading the book) - a handful of them felt slightly misplaced, as reading them where they were referred to something that would happen on the next page or two. But generally, a really fun addition, to the extent I missed it when there were stretches of pages (especially in the longer October entries) without any.
I don't know enough about the original books chronology to be able to accurately compare the differences, but I think with a small amount of stumbles this was a good way to read it!
Attack of the Jack-O'-Lanterns by R.L. Stine
3.5
This was pretty fun, very apt for spooky Halloween season. The ending twist didn't really land for me, though.
Bored Gay Werewolf by Tony Santorella
4.0
The characters and the world building here are great, and I really can't wait for the sequel to come, and hopefully a whole series about this little group of paranormal hunters.
The plot itself for this one felt a little thin to me. I'm not sure I fully buy that Brian would be quite so taken in by the hyper-masculine, obvious pyramid scheme - and the fact that there are some time jumps makes it that much harder to see how he might have been "won over."
Without getting too spoilery, initially the presence of the gun felt a little bit... Chekhovian, but by the end it actually helped to tie everything together nicely and felt very satisfying.
I'd also add that the gayness is mostly superfluous and not particularly relevant, which is absolutely fine and I love a normalised queer character! But it does maybe make me question a little bit why the title is "Bored Gay Werewolf" other than to let people know HEY THIS BOOK IS GAY, which is sort of... the opposite of normalising?
But again, I can't reiterate enough how much I enjoyed Brian as a character (by the end, once he did some work), and his relationships with Nik and Darby (and yes, eventually Abe), and so this series could turn out to be one of my favourites if the plot has a little more work.
(Also, the scene with the Pomeranian during the hookup is frankly one of the funniest things I've read in a long time and is gonna stay with me, I fear.)
The plot itself for this one felt a little thin to me. I'm not sure I fully buy that Brian would be quite so taken in by the hyper-masculine, obvious pyramid scheme - and the fact that there are some time jumps makes it that much harder to see how he might have been "won over."
Without getting too spoilery, initially the presence of the gun felt a little bit... Chekhovian, but by the end it actually helped to tie everything together nicely and felt very satisfying.
I'd also add that the gayness is mostly superfluous and not particularly relevant, which is absolutely fine and I love a normalised queer character! But it does maybe make me question a little bit why the title is "Bored Gay Werewolf" other than to let people know HEY THIS BOOK IS GAY, which is sort of... the opposite of normalising?
But again, I can't reiterate enough how much I enjoyed Brian as a character (by the end, once he did some work), and his relationships with Nik and Darby (and yes, eventually Abe), and so this series could turn out to be one of my favourites if the plot has a little more work.
(Also, the scene with the Pomeranian during the hookup is frankly one of the funniest things I've read in a long time and is gonna stay with me, I fear.)
Hollywood Noir by Jeffrey J. Mariotte
4.0
Found myself shocked at how much I LOVED the opening of this book. Genuinely intriguing and different mystery from the usual Buffy/Angel books - a pretty solid detective story, but without a recently reanimated corpse at the centre.
Unfortunately, it just didn't stick the landing at all; the explanation for the return to life is basically handwaved away, and it culminates in much more if a generic, average demon battle at the finale.
Oh well, at least it started strong for the first 200 pages or so.
Unfortunately, it just didn't stick the landing at all; the explanation for the return to life is basically handwaved away, and it culminates in much more if a generic, average demon battle at the finale.
Oh well, at least it started strong for the first 200 pages or so.
The Stranger Times by C.K. McDonnell
4.5
Really enjoyed this book - particularly the good cast of characters that all felt really fleshed out.
The plot itself was intriguing, and I liked how it was slowly revealed over time, although occasionally all the myriad side characters being introduced made it a tiny bit confusing.
Not sure how I felt about some of the non-white characters' speech being written phonetically at times, but at least they seemed to be written as decent layered characters. There were also a couple of times where the attempts at humour didn't really work for me - the cover reviews boasted about being Pratchett-esque, and some of the descriptions and asides of that nature felt a little too forced for me.
Looking forward to getting into the next books and seeing where this little ragtag bunch ends up next.
The plot itself was intriguing, and I liked how it was slowly revealed over time, although occasionally all the myriad side characters being introduced made it a tiny bit confusing.
Not sure how I felt about some of the non-white characters' speech being written phonetically at times, but at least they seemed to be written as decent layered characters. There were also a couple of times where the attempts at humour didn't really work for me - the cover reviews boasted about being Pratchett-esque, and some of the descriptions and asides of that nature felt a little too forced for me.
Looking forward to getting into the next books and seeing where this little ragtag bunch ends up next.
Legend of the Lost Legend by R.L. Stine
3.0
Didn't really love this one. A pretty silly concept that seemed a little like a less interesting version of A Shocker On Shock Street. Also the ending twist was kinda dumb.
Once a Monster: A Reimagining of the Legend of the Minotaur by Robert Dinsdale
4.5
I really loved this book for maybe the firs 350 pages. I loved how it weaved together Victorian London with Greek mythology, and I really enjoyed getting wrapped up in the story of Nell and Minos together. I found that the book had a lot of really good things to say about he dichotomy of man and monster, the idea of rising above your station and how you treat those around you, and also about becoming what other people tell you that you are.
Unfortunately it got a little bit murky for me towards the end. The sudden location shift for the latter third felt a little jarring, as did the sudden introduction of a new character who then is pretty unceremoniously written away with no real resolution. The final confrontation in the sewer went on for a lot longer than I wanted it to, and the ultimate resolution fel a little bit too conveniently tied up for me, personally.
But saying that, as a whole I really enjoyed it!
Unfortunately it got a little bit murky for me towards the end. The sudden location shift for the latter third felt a little jarring, as did the sudden introduction of a new character who then is pretty unceremoniously written away with no real resolution. The final confrontation in the sewer went on for a lot longer than I wanted it to, and the ultimate resolution fel a little bit too conveniently tied up for me, personally.
But saying that, as a whole I really enjoyed it!
The Willow Files: Volume 2 by Yvonne Navarro
4.0
Another 4 star novelisation - is it 4 stars for the actual writing, or just 4 stars because I love the episodes they're adapting? Who knows! But I had a fun time reading it!
Paper Girls, Vol. 2 by Brian K. Vaughan
4.5
Loved it. I really like the ominous over-arcing story, but that it also works well as one volume and has some lovely human connections between both friends and older/younger selves.
The Taking of Annie Thorne by C.J. Tudor
4.0
I enjoyed this for the most part, but when reaching the final conclusion it did feel a bit like... well, we have Pet Sematary at home already. The difference is that book presents its facts at face value, which means the repercussions and human decisions can be examined. Whereas with this book, most of it is leading up just to the revelation of what happened. So maybe I'd enjoy it more without that comparison.
Saying that, I did find the story quite intriguing and I do love a flashback. The character of Joe was an absolute tool though, I hated him. And by the end it felt like all the loose ends being tied up sort of seemed more like extraneous details that perhaps weren't overly necessary to the book as a whole.
Saying that, I did find the story quite intriguing and I do love a flashback. The character of Joe was an absolute tool though, I hated him. And by the end it felt like all the loose ends being tied up sort of seemed more like extraneous details that perhaps weren't overly necessary to the book as a whole.