LONDON, 2012: It arrives and with that the world is changed into an unending graveyard littered with the bones, wreckage, and memories of a dead past, gone forever.
LONDON, 2032: Twenty years later, out of the ashes, a new world begins to rise, a place ruled by both loyalty and fear, and where the quest to be the first to regain lost knowledge is an ongoing battle for power. A place where laws are made and enforced by roving gangs—the Bloomsbury Boys, the Gardners, the Red Lady’s Gang—who rule the streets and will do anything to protect their own. THE FOUR: Zane, Titus, Erin, Eve. Living in this new world, they discover that they have abilities never before seen. And little do they know that as they search post-apocalyptic London for Titus’ kidnapped sister that they’ll uncover the secret of It, and bring about a reckoning with the forces that almost destroyed all of humanity. Happy Tuesday and welcome to my Trailer and Teaser Talk, not only am I a massive fan of books but I'm also a huge fan of movies. Each week I'll post a trailer of a movie that I'm dying to watch. First up its 'Guardians of the Galaxy', I love comics, especially Marvel and when I heard they were going to make this movie I was thrilled, after watching this trailer the movie has now cemented its position as number one in my 2014 top movies to watch. Every Monday I'll be sharing with you the books I've come across that really make me want to read. If you've read them, then tell me what you think, should I read or should I avoid? First up is a series I've yet to read by one of my favorite authors Jonathan Maberry. Dead of Night and Fall of Night. Fall of Night will be published later this year. Who says romance is dead? 'R' is a zombie. He has no name, no memories, and no pulse, but he has dreams. He is a little different from his fellow Dead. Amongst the ruins of an abandoned city, R meets a girl. Her name is Julie and she is the opposite of everything he knows - warm and bright and very much alive, she is a blast of colour in a dreary grey landscape. For reasons he can't understand, R chooses to save Julie instead of eating her, and a tense yet strangely tender relationship begins. This has never happened before. It breaks the rules and defies logic, but R is no longer content with life in the grave. He wants to breathe again, he wants to live, and Julie wants to help him. But their grim, rotting world won't be changed without a fight... ***** When my husband asked me to do a guest review for his site, the light bulb above my head instantly flicked on with a resounding Wuthering Heights. Then just as quickly, the filament went, the electricity failed and the bulb fell to the floor; smashing into tiny broken pieces on the ground. Come on Amy, Wuthering Heights? The site is called Book Bloke for heaven’s sake. Although anyone can enjoy Emily Bronte’s absolute classic; my post-apocalyptic, fantasy and zombie loving Book Bloke, without a doubt, would not. Luckily, it didn’t take me long to think of another book to review - Isaac Marion’s Warm Bodies- was the perfect book for me to guest review. In Warm Bodies, the story follows R, a zombie. All R knows is that he is dead. He has no idea who he was before or how he got where he is now but what is evident throughout the novel is that R is desperate to live some form of life. Even in his catatonic zombie form, R takes a wife and kids, clinging to the ideal of societal norms well past his stage of decomposition. It isn’t until R meets the furiously strong willed Julie and after devouring her poor boyfriends brain, that R really begins to grasp real life again. I won’t spoil the book by revealing much more than that because this book is a must read. The reader never gets to know R’s backstory, to be honest it’s not important who he was only who he becomes throughout the story and how he gets there. He is unquestionably the most interesting zombie in the world of literary fiction. Even in his undead state, R still has that certain something that sets him apart from the rest. ‘A hunting party forms around us as we shuffle towards town. It’s not hard to find recruits for these expeditions, even if no one is hungry. Focused thought is a rare occurrence here and we all follow it when it manifests. Otherwise we’d just be standing around and groaning all day.’ It’s little gems like this in R’s internal monologue that indicate to the reader from the very beginning that R is not just some unintelligent being meandering around the airport. R is aware, even if he is not aware that he is aware and that makes his character so deliciously complex that I, for one, was gripped. Marion has reworked the classic tale of Romeo and Juliet in such a fresh and modern way that I defy you not to love this story. Not only has he managed this but he has given readers an alternative ending to the tale which would not have worked for the original but elevates Warm Bodies, so at no point do you feel like this tale is not his own. Man or woman, it has all you could ask for action, love, humour and most importantly, a plethora of great messages. The most prevalent for me were firstly, love is powerful. Anyone that has felt the draw of real love can connect with this theme. Secondly, don’t judge a book by its cover, Julie doesn’t and it pretty much saves the world. Third and most importantly, that no matter how dark a place you find yourself in, with a little optimism, hope and heart, life can begin again. Under the streets of London there's a place most people could never even dream of. A city of monsters and saints, murderers and angels, knights in armour and pale girls in black velvet. This is the city of the people who have fallen between the cracks. Richard Mayhew, a young businessman, is going to find out more than enough about this other London. A single act of kindness catapults him out of his workday existence and into a world that is at once eerily familiar and utterly bizarre. And a strange destiny awaits him down here, beneath his native city: Neverwhere. ***** This is the first novel I have read by Neil Gaiman, I’m so glad I did because I enjoyed the way he describes everyday items, characters and occurrences with such flair he enables his readers to visualise the world and characters he creates. This story centres on Richard Mayhew, a character described as a kind guy, leading a very ordinary life albeit under the thumb of his fiancée, Jessica. It is this kindness that creates his encounter with a girl called Door, in danger and badly hurt on a sidewalk, hunted by Mister Croup and Mister Vandemar. Door is from London Below …there’s London Above - that's where you (Richard) lived - and then there's London Below - the Underside - inhabited by the people who fell through the cracks in the world. For some reason this encounter means Richard also become one of those people, a part of London Below and unnoticed by London Above. Richard must then seek out Door and the answers to how he can reintegrate into ordinary reality. He reunites with Door at the Floating Market, held at Harrods; he witnesses a bizarre showdown between bodyguards fighting to become Doors personal aid. The character Hunter, legendary, attractive yet dangerous is chosen as her personal bodyguard assisting Door and the Marques De Carabas in their quest to find the Angel Islington and the answers to the deaths of Doors family. Richard, with no other option follows. Along the journey we experience the extraordinary, bizarre and at times horrifying characters and settings of London below. Characters such as Mister Croup and Mister Vandemar are brilliant, dangerous, and awfully evil and provide moments of pure revulsion. Door, an enjoyable character yet one who has experienced great loss and the Marques De Carabas a character who will have you questioning his loyalties, which side does he belong to? There are also the Rat speakers, the real Old Bailey and the beast of London, all of the characters Gaiman has created are describe and defined so well in his own whimsical and unique way you can’t help but be intrigued by them. Neverwhere is a superb read, one that is hard to put down. A story of one man’s journey, transformation and search for courage. A story involving a girl and her quest to find the killer of her family, a story which is magical and dreamlike, full of humour, sadness and thoroughly enjoyable. |
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