Dear Readers, August was a great month I read five books some good and some not. I read all the books on my TBR for the Month. I read 1 horror,  and 2 mysteries. I read one book from a book series Goosebumps book 42 Egg Monsters from Mars. I read three 4 star books, one 3 star books and one 2 star book.

Four Star Reviews:

Fairy Tale by Stephen King is a modern-day fairy tale that dips into horror and fantasy at some points. Stephen King has always created his own kind of Fairy Tale lore in his novels and this one, he takes it head on. King explores the dark origins of fairy tales like the Grimm Brothers’ original Fairy Tales. King doesn’t just stick with fairy tales and incorporates the dark writing of H.P. Lovecraft, as well. The pace of the novel is a little uneven. The novel starts too slow it’s King so it is still somewhat interesting, but the novel could have cut 30 -40 pages and been fine. The novel starts speeding away until the middle when the main character goes to another land and slows down again, The 200-page rising action to the finale was perfect pace and hard to put down. Each chapter has an illustration of the events that happen in that chapter that helps the reader envision the characters and scenes. I will say this is the slowest start to a Stephen King novel, but it still slowly drew me into this world and I knew every bit of the main character and the choices he made. The story captures the boy and his dog’s narrative perfectly, as an animal lover it was hard not to smile at the bond between Charlie and Radar. I think this is one of his best novels in the last couple of years.

Horse by Geraldine Brooks is a historical fiction about horses, art, science, love, and racism. The novel is beautifully written with each word used as a brush stroke to paint the canvas of the mind. The story had me right at the start, where a series of events links the past to the present through a horse using art and science. The story is told in three timelines 1850s, 1950s, and 2019. The novel does an incredible job of linking the past to the present. The 1850s timeline is where the majority of the book takes place and is the most interesting period. Jarret and his love for the horse is infectious. Jarret is a slave and the horse Lexington the fastest racehorse of his time. They both just want to break free one on the race track and one in life. Their bond and understanding of one another is the heart of the book. The pacing of the book is great as the scientist and the art researcher learn more about the past we see what they are speculating about. The book is broken down into slice-of-life and research. The longest chapter is maybe 15 pages which makes the book easy to consume. The ending wasn’t as satisfying as I wanted. The third act has a shocking scene that I feel went too far and did not need to be in this novel to still make its point about racism in America.

Superman ’78 Volume 1 by Robert Venditti is a good old-fashioned nostalgic trip back to Richard Donner’s Superman universe. Richard Donner directed Superman: The Movie in 1978 and started shooting the Sequel Superman II, before he was fired. I feel like this comic happens after the first Superman movie. The graphic novel nails the dialogue, the costuming, the characters, and the cheesiness of the original Superman. Gene Hackman’s charisma as Lex Luthor is captured so well. Christopher Reeve’s hopefulness and delightfulness are felt throughout the page. Lois Lane is more of a side character but she shines when on the panels. The other side characters Perry White, Jimmy Olsen, Jor-El, and Lara all reminded me of their screen characters. The art was good and had me feeling nostalgic, it nailed the costumes of Superman and minor characters. The faces of the characters weren’t always the best but each character had one drawing that captured the character and the actor who played him or her. The plot wasn’t mind-blowing but it felt like a continuing story for this version of Superman. The story had me smiling and enjoying myself. The book moves rapidly and could have been longer. The climax could have been better but Brainiac the villain felt a little weak and could have had his motivation explained more throughout the story.

Three Star Reviews:

I Have Some Questions for You by Rebecca Makkai is a whodunit mystery about victimhood and the American justice system. The novel is a slow burn not relying on big twists but having different viewpoints as we get older. I did not guess who did it in the end, the novel does a good job of drawing the process out and giving you reasons to believe and doubt a myriad of suspects. The writing is good and different from other mysteries, as the main character Bodie has her own bias and is determining her feelings about victimhood and the predator/prey relationship, as she is drawn with empathy to the victimhood of her ex-roommate compared to her shading the victim when it comes to the ex-husband. The story is a slow burn with slow being the main word. I feel the novel works in too many subplots some that affect the main story and some that barely connect. This novel could have dropped 60 pages of subplots and be darn near perfect. This is an interesting story when you reach the end you are satisfied because you know who did it but you’re left unfulfilled because it kind of doesn’t matter anymore and it has been 24 years.

Two Star Reviews:

Egg Monsters from Mars by R. L. Stine is book 42 in the original Goosebumps series order. This book is not good and stinks like rotten eggs. The Egg Monsters are a little interesting but barely anything happens with them. There’s an attempt to communicate that was the most interesting but it is dropped very shortly. The book’s little scares are about the fear of the unknown and being trapped and examined. There is one great opening scene during an egg hunt in which kids realize the eggs aren’t boiled and have a messy egg fight. The one thing I will give the story is it is a focused storyline about eggs. The novel at the end leans into the weird but could have from the start. The final twist is okay it was pretty obvious but went with the story.