Bogormen

Title: Into the Drowning Deep
Author: Mira Grant
Genre: Horror
Rating: 4.5/5
# pages: 440
Date read: January 2019, March 2023

Seven years ago, the Atargatis set off on a voyage to the Mariana Trench to film a "mockumentary" bringing to life ancient sea creatures of legend. It was lost at sea with all hands. Some have called it a hoax; others have called it a maritime tragedy.

Now, a new crew has been assembled. But this time they're not out to entertain. Some seek to validate their life's work. Some seek the greatest hunt of all. Some seek the truth. But for the ambitious young scientist Victoria Stewart this is a voyage to uncover the fate of the sister she lost.

Whatever the truth may be, it will only be found below the waves.

But the secrets of the deep come with a price.


It lost it's last half-star it did take me awhile to get properly into it, but after one or two false starts, Mira Grant's magic drew me back in (the same magic that made me actually WANT to read about zombies :-O ) and I was hooked!

But of COURSE Mira Grant had to write about the kind of scary mermaids that nightmares are made of! At about 200 pages I seriously considered putting the book into the freezer for awhile. Don't think my Kindle would have taken too kindly to that though. I was glad to be reading it in the light of day - and on DRY LAND!!! It's absolutely fascinating that we know less about what happens just 1km underneath the surface of the sea, than we do thousands and thousands of km above it! And that makes this novel just that much more realistic than her zombie novels... and thus also that much more scary.

Not that I'm likely to be scared away from the sea because of this, mind you... but I'll perhaps think twice before I go diving in the Mariana Trench :-P

In the end, there were quite a few questions left unanswered, but I'm pretty sure that's to leave room for a sequel at some point. No cliff-hangers though - the main plot was nicely resolved.

Title: In an Absent Dream (Wayward Children #4)
Author: Seanan McGuire
Genre: Fantasy
Rating: 4/5
# pages: 187
Date read: January, 2019

This is the story of a very serious young girl who would rather study and dream than become a respectable housewife and live up to the expectations of the world around her. As well she should.

When she finds a doorway to a world founded on logic and reason, riddles and lies, she thinks she's found her paradise. Alas, everything costs at the goblin market, and when her time there is drawing to a close, she makes the kind of bargain that never plays out well.

For anyone...


I had a hard time deciding how to rate this, because it broke my heart a little. Most of it was definitely a 5-star read, but the heartbreak pulled it down a bit. For once I was grateful for the foreshadowing, as it meant I was prepared. Also, foreshadowing bothers me less when the narration style is "seen in hindsight".

I loved the Goblin Market and the idea of "fair trade", I loved the Archivist and Moon. It bothered me slightly that Lundy experienced so much in the Goblin Market which was only told off-page, but at the end of the day, I can see how it isn't actually relevant to the story itself... no matter how interesting I might think it would be to read ;)

Title: Portal
Author: Fred Alvrez
Genre: Sci-fi, arc
Rating: 4.5/5
# pages: 286
Date read: January, 2019

The military wants them dead. They shouldn’t be here.

Nate isn’t your average post-apocalyptic heroic archetype, since he can’t bench-press anything heavier than his Star Wars coffee mug. He gets out of bed to find a city that’s empty of anything with a pulse. Accompanied by a lone dog, Nate must overcome the fear keeping him in a chokehold to navigate this strange, and sometimes dangerous, new world.

As a plumber, Casey is used to crappy situations. Everyone in her small New Zealand country town disappearing is even crappier and not even a spanner nor plunger will help her find answers to the burning question of why. Should she trust an IT helpdesk guy and his dog when she encounters them on the road, when the man is likely mentally deranged?

Captain Brian Sanderson is counting down the days to retirement. A few more tests of the experimental portals, then he can leave this top secret branch of the military - as long as there’s no more glitches.

In a David vs Goliath battle, Nate, Casey and a dog called Kevin take on military forces in a bid to get home.


This book was right up my aisle, and I devoured it in just two days. A sort-of post-apocalyptic story set in New Zealand? What's not to like!! I was sold just by hearing the concept, and fortunately, the book completely lived up to my expectations.

One morning, strangers Casey and Nate wake up to discover that the world as they know it has changed, and that they're pretty much the only living creatures around. Even birds and insects seem to have disappeared! What has happened? And why do shimmering portals appear in some JETs (gas stations) that seem to show a glimpse of the world as they knew it?

I was hooked from the very first chapter, and had difficulties putting the book down. I'm a sucker for a good apocalyptic tale and just hoped Fred Alvrez could keep it up, and supply a satisfying resolution to the mystery that would neither seem like a cop-out, nor require too much suspension of disbelief.

Fortunately he delivered, and we're left with an absolutely brilliant sort-of post-apocalyptic, sort-of sci-fi, sort-of suspense novel that completely captured my attention. It's even a stand-alone novel, which is a nice change in these series-crazy times.

Title: Heidi at Boarding School
Author: Charles Tritten
Genre: Classic
Rating: 2/5
# pages: 152
Date read: January, 2019

Heidi was born and raised in the mountains, and when she comes to boarding school in Switzerland, it means a great upheaval in her life. But with her good mood and courage, she quickly wins over friends and learns to enjoy her life. Even better - she experiences a fantastic holiday with a schoolmate at home in her beloved mountains.


I hadn't realized that this sequel wasn't written by Johanna Spyri, and unfortunately Charles Tritten did not have the same way with words, making the story very disjointed and it jumped around in time, so the last few months took up 80% of the book, and the last 20% covered several years!

I didn't dislike it, but without the rosy glasses of childhood nostalgia, it could only just make it to "It was okay".

Title: The Martian
Author: Andy Weir
Genre: Sci-fi
Rating: 5+/5
# pages: 384, Audiobook ~11hrs
Date read: January 2015, January 2019, August 2020, March 2024

Six days ago, astronaut Mark Watney became one of the first men to walk on the surface of Mars. Now, he's sure he'll be the first man to die there.

It started with the dust storm that holed his suit and nearly killed him, and that forced his crew to leave him behind, sure he was already dead. Now he's stranded millions of miles from the nearest human being, with no way to even signal Earth that he's alive--and even if he could get word out, his food would be gone years before a rescue mission could arrive. Chances are, though, he won't have time to starve to death. The damaged machinery, unforgiving environment, or plain-old "human error" are much more likely to get him first.

But Mark isn't ready to give up yet. Drawing on his ingenuity, his engineering skills--and a relentless, dogged refusal to quit--he steadfastly confronts one seemingly insurmountable obstacle after the next. But will his resourcefulness be enough to overcome the impossible odds against him?


It doesn't happen often that I find a book that leaves me speechless. But when I do, that book automatically becomes an instant favourite.

"The Martian" had me hooked from the very beginning. I couldn't put it down, and stayed up far too late last night to finish it. I was instantly drawn to Mark's plight and was fascinated to read how he solved the various obstacles and kept himself sane under the circumstances.

I don't know how scientifically accurate it is, but there were no glaring holes big enough for me to see. Besides, it kept true to its own universe, and to me that's more important.

The plot had me at the edge of my seat, and though I could almost guess the outcome from the start, the end still brought a lump to my throat - that's how emotionally attached I got. Very, very few books bring me to tears, and even fewer bring me to happy tears. Amazing writing all around!

Title: Page Author: Tamora Pierce Genre: Fantasy Rating: 4.5/5 # pages: 231 Date read: August 2007, October 2010, October 2012, October 2015, January 2019, June 2024

As the only female page in history to last beyond the first year of formal training to become a knight, 11-year-old Keladry of Mindelan has an uphill battle to fight. In addition to proving herself worthy of being a page, Kel spends her time defending first-year pages from bullies, staying on top of homework, conquering her paralyzing fear of heights, and keeping up with Lord Wyldon's grueling physical training schedule. Kel's detractors do everything in their power to thwart her progress, from tormenting her friends to sabotaging the Midwinter Festivities to kidnapping her maid and dog on the day of final examinations. The tide of resistance begins to turn slightly during the summer between Kel's second and third years, when she leads a team of pages in defensive maneuvers against renegade bandits.


This book covers 3 years, and while it mostly handles that well, it does occasionally seem a tad rushed... 8 months passing by in a single chapter. I don't mind books covering a lot of time as long as it's done consistently, instead of covering one week in three chapters and then 8 months in one. Still, it's a minor complaint. Mostly I love this book as I find it fascinating to read of the training pages have to go through in order to become squires.

Title: Wyrd Sisters
Author: Terry Prachett
Genre: Fantasy
Rating: 4/5
# pages: Audiobook, 360 pages
Date read: July 2007, January

As the great space turtle, Atuin, carries the disc through the universe, three witches on it become involved with local politics when a mad duke assassinates the good king, whose son escapes. There are ghosts, magic, time stoppage, dwarves and great fun. Meet Granny Weatherwax, the most highly regarded non-leader a coven of non-social witches could ever have. Generally, these loners don't get involved in anything, mush less royal intrigue. but then there are those times they can't help it. As Granny Weatherwax is about to discover, though, it's a lot harder to stir up trouble in the castle than some theatrical types would have you think. Even when you've got a few unexpected spells up your sleave.


Definitely my favourite Terry Prachett book, even if it was weirdly sad to read it. While at uni I took part in a performance of Stephen Brigg's play adaption of this book, and played Granny Weatherwax. Without a doubt the best role I have ever had in my life, and the highlight of my acting 'career' - (a career that's completely over now that the uni theater society has disbanded). I loved acting and miss it a lot - even if I no longer have the time for it ;) Reading this book reminded me of the best play I've ever been a part of, and how MUCH I'd love to play that role again. The book in itself is hilarious, and wonderfully funny with lots of brilliant plays on words.