Lee Hunts

I just finished the book Sharp Objects, which is the debut novel of Gillian Flynn. Flynn is the author of the Gone Girl novel that broke out into the mainstream with the movie adaptation. Personally, I have seen neither the movie nor read that book—Sharp Objects is my first Flynn story—so my review will come from that perspective. Sharp Objects is a psychological horror novel that follows Camille Preaker, a severely disturbed woman who works as a reporter in Chicago. After a murder, followed by another abduction, in her hometown, she is sent back home to investigate for the purposes of a story. Camille is resistant from the outset—and once she does arrive, her complicated relationship with her mother, and the detached relationship with her half-sister, give light to the reasons. This is not a story about an investigation nor is it really a thriller—this is a story about the dark side of femininity and psychological trauma, and it is heavily focused on character instead of plot. Overall...

I just finished reading Pet Sematary, one of Stephen King's most widely praised novels, one which he, himself, thought he had taken it too far. This is a horror novel about a doctor who, with his wife and kids, moves to a home in Maine with a heavily trafficked highway just without their front door. The highway is notorious for killing pets, leading to the creation of the Pet Sematary, where children would bury their pets once they've turned into roadkill. But there is something deeper to this cemetery, something darker than you can imagine. What ensues is a disturbing, slow-burn story where you track the lives of this newly moved-in family. Overall, my reaction to this story is actually kind of mixed. The premise of the story is amazing, and most everything leading up to the end was great, but I thought the ending did not quite work, both coming off as low-brow and too sudden. Strides (Spoilers) Behind the Pet Sematary is an ancient Native American site called the Micmac buryi...

I just finished reading The Poppy War by R. F. Kuang. This is a grimdark fantasy novel based on Chinese history. In particular, it is based on the second Sino-Japanese war that started in the late 1930s, bled into the Second World War, and ends with two atomic bombs being dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The novel follows a character named Fang Runin, who is a war orphan, a child left parentless in the wake of conflict and given off to a family who does not love her. She decides to study for a major nationwide exam that would purportedly give her opportunities beyond the impoverished life of a slave that she is confined to. This book is a visceral and violent experience, with nothing held back in terms of the brutality of war, or the troubles of class in the people's lives. The ending most of all, captures the horrors and the bleak nature of war, and what it does to people. Overall, I really enjoyed this book, my enjoyment increasing the further into the novel I progressed. Strid...

I just finished reading The Outsider, by Stephen King. This is a novel about a gruesome child rape. The evidence points to a completely unassuming man whose record is cleaner than you could imagine. The man claims to be innocent, and eventually he manages to put forward an alibi that can't be ignored. This antinomy lies at the heart of this story, confounding the minds of the characters, particularly Ralph Anderson, the lead detective on the case. Overall, I thought this novel was meh. It was not amazing, nor was it horrible. Strides (Spoilers) The first half of the novel is much better than the second half of the novel. The story was set up in such a way that the plot of the story picked up quick, and I was able to get engaged from the outset. The reason I feel the need to bring this up is because of two interconnected reasons: (1) the story somewhat reminds me of BoneMan's Daughters. I won't go into what I think are the similarities; the overall point is that Bon...

I just finished reading Killing Floor, by Lee Child, after quite a lengthy hiatus from reading. I'm not sure if I'm back to reading consistently yet, I have so much else on my plate, but I'll still try to write up reviews of everything that I read. Overall, I enjoyed the book for what it was. Summary Killing Floor is a thriller novel featuring the famous Jack Reacher character. Reacher is a male wish-fulfillment fantasy: a muscular tank of a man, six and a half feet tall, wicked smart, and a maverick, too. That's not a critique, I'm just stating what it is. In this book, Reacher is six months out of his job in the military, traveling around the world with no rhyme or reason. He eventually comes upon an isolated and quiet town called Margrave in the state of Georgia. After being there for only a short time, he is suddenly arrested for murder, which he knows he did not do. From there, he is sucked into a massive conspiracy that expands well beyond the town of...

The following is two reviews: Crown of Sight: Review I just finished reading Crown of Sight, by the Youtuber and author David Stewart. David Stewart is a Youtube author that I have been subscribed to for some time. Of course, like every content creator I watch, I don't agree with everything he says, but I enjoy listening to what he has to say. As such, I figured that I would try reading some of his books. This started with his book, Eyes in the Walls, mainly because he started posting the audio of the book on his channel. But he still has one more chapter to that book to post before I finish that one (as of writing this), and so even as I picked this one up later on, I've finished it first. Overall, my reaction to this book is fairly negative. Let me be clear, however, I don't necessarily think this is because of David Stewart as a writer: I'll spoil you for my Eyes in the Walls review by saying that I have enjoyed that one so far. This book, however, was harde...

I have finally finished reading Stephen King's IT. I started this one before Ocean at the End of the Lane and BoneMan's Daughters, but its length extended my reading time quite a way beyond those other ones. The main reason for reading IT was to be prepared for crossovers that are to come in The Dark Tower series, as I am still working through that. My first impression is quite positive. I don't regret the time spent or lament the length. Summary (No Spoilers) IT is a book about a town, and a collection of characters in that town, who are terrorized by an evil entity that manifests as their worst nightmares before killing them. The overall structure of the book is two plotlines that are spliced into one another. One plotline takes place in 1958, when the characters were 11 years old, and the other plot line takes place in 1985, when they have begun to approach their forties. The story is presented largely from 1985, with the events of the first chunk...