1970s – DaneCobain.com

Title: Roadwork

Author: Stephen King

Type: Fiction

Page Count/Review Word Count: 264

Rating: 4/5

This is one of those stories that took a while to grow on, but which once I was invested, I really enjoyed. My only real criticism that I’d have for it is that I think it might have worked better if it had been called “Demolition”, but that’s just a matter of personal taste.

I think what King does well here is that he manages to create a sort of antihero that we’re all secretly rooting for because he symbolises the fight between us as individuals and the big companies that dominate our modern lives. It’s arguably more relevant now than it was when it was first published in the 1970s.

I did read this one a little slower than the other stories in the bound up edition of The Bachman Books that I have, and I think this one and Rage are slightly weaker than The Long Walk and The Running Man, the other two. Either way, though, I’d definitely say that it’s worth checking out.

It’s also interesting because Bachman and King have two different writing styles, despite the fact that the two of them are the same person. It’s interesting how King used his alter ego to explore a different style of writing and I think that the Bachman books as a whole are definitely worth reading whether you’re a King fan or not. Roadwork isn’t the best of them, but it is still a damn good entry into King’s epic bibliography.

Click here to buy Roadwork.

Agatha Christie – Nemesis | Review

Title: Nemesis

Author: Agatha Christie

Type: Fiction

Page Count/Review Word Count: 368

Rating: 3.5*/5

Agatha Christie – Nemesis

I should preface this review by saying that my mum went to great lengths to tell me how bad this book is, and so perhaps I was a little biased going into it. But actually, it wasn’t too bad, although it was also far from her best. I also think that it helps that I read A Caribbean Mystery not too long ago and this one basically follows on from it.

What I didn’t like here was that Christie forced a bunch of her own beliefs into the narrative and the dialogue, and I’m not too sure I agreed with her. For example, she basically said that young women at the time (the 1970s ish) kept accusing men of rape after their mothers found out that they’d had sex. Come to think of it, she spent a lot of time also complaining about how times had changed and she came across as a bitter old woman. It was kind of sad.

Still, I did enjoy the actual mystery, despite the fact that I also predicted both who the killer was and where the body was buried. I also found that, at the beginning at least, the plot was happening to Miss Marple rather than because of her. She’s basically just getting letters from a dead dude and following his instructions.

Agatha Christie

I read the entire second half of this in one sitting on the train back from my mum’s house, and that probably helped me to get a little more enjoyment from it. I managed to get all the characters straight in my head, which can sometimes be a problem, and I also had a pretty good idea in my head of what the environment looked like.

All in all then, this is far from Christie’s best but I’ve always loved Miss Marple and so it was fun to investigate a case with her here, towards the end of her career. Ultimately, it’s worth reading this because it’s worth reading all of Christie’s work. But I wouldn’t go out of your way for it, and you should read A Caribbean Mystery first.