Mini Book Reviews: Era of Ignition

Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz

Published in October 2016 by HarperCollins Publishers

Genre: Mystery

Format: paperback, 496 pages, own
Rating: 2.5 stars

Such an interesting premise here. Two mysteries in one. Author Alan Conway has written his last Detective Pund novel and his editor Susan reads the manuscript but that very weekend Conway dies from an apparent suicide. So now it's up to Susan to figure out where his missing final chapters are for his book....who killed Magnus Pyle??? And who killed Alan Conway?

The concept was intriguing but the overall story was lackluster. It was too long as well, nearly 500 pages. Many parts were a slog to get through. I also was troubled by Horowitz' on the nose meta-commentary in regards to the mystery genre. Is he really saying it's all dribble? I felt like Horowitz was Conway and that's not a good thing. Plus the Pund novels were supposed to be crap and yet we read 200 pages of that crap book...yikes. I don't know. I read the whole thing and I enjoyed the premise but everything else was off.

NOS4R2 by Joe Hill

Published in April 2013 by William Morrow

Genre: Horror

Format: Audiobook, 19 hours, 41 minutes, library

Rating: 2 stars

I didn't realize Joe Hill had thrown this story into the world of his father, Mr. King. I literally rolled my eyes when I found out. Lots of people love Stephen King's stories. I enjoy some of them but I don't enjoy reading them very often. They are too long, way, way, way too long for me. But I loved Hill's "Heart-shaped Box" and so I was hoping for something along those lines with this one. Nope.

The audiobook was narrated by Kate Mulgrew and she's amazing. She allowed me to get through most of the book without wanting to destroy my copy! I actually couldn't finish the audio. I ended up getting a hard copy from the library and skimming the rest of the book and the ending.

It's an interesting plot about a man Charlie Manx who can suck the life out of children and live forever using a Rolls Royce...but man it was hard to feel truly scared by Manx. Him and his buddy are Chucky from Child's Play comical. Not my cup of tea. The protagonist Vic McQueen is a tough-girl trope. She had no real character. It was meh and I don't think I'll be reading more from Mr. Hill, unfortunately.

Era of Ignition: Coming of Age in a Time of Rage and Revolution by Amber Tamblyn

Published in March 2019 by Crown Archetype

Genre: Memoir, Feminism

Format: Audiobook, 6 hours and 14 minutes, own

Rating: 4 stars

I really enjoyed Amber Tamblyns thoughts and anecdotes on how she got to her own era of ignition. She has some real insights and ideas about our world today and where it's going. I listened to it and enjoyed her voice. But since I listened to it, it was hard to save or pick out any specific quotes or thoughts. But I thought her story about her abortion was moving and I loved her thoughts on her relationship with David Cross. Her ideas and hopes for her daughter Marlowe were also beautiful and thought-provoking. She's an inspiration. Loved it.

And now I'm off to watch her movie Paint it Black on Netflix!