what a disappointment!

i was so looking forward to reading the fire by Katherine Neville, sequel to the eight (written 20-odd years ago)... i was anticipating getting lost (in an absorbing way) between the medieval and the contemporary worlds - well, i got lost alright, but unfortunately it was in a confused sort of way trying to work out what was going on, who was who and where the hell they fit in with the story (let alone where the hell some of the characters came from to start with!!)...

the mythology of alchemy and the tying of this into the numerology surrounding the game of chess itself is an interesting concept, the historical 'landscaping' was well done, and the weaving of numerous well-known historical figures as integral 'players' spanning the centuries should have made it unputdownable - but the story just never came together - unlike the eight, the suspense was definitely not gripping, nor did it have the eroticism of the eight, and the ending bordered on a mills & boon 'boy meets girl and everyone lives happily ever after' scenario... i persevered to the end in the belief that it just had to get better - i needn't have bothered... i have to say that this is one of those sequels that should never have been written!!

if you've never read the eight, i highly recommend it - it was always a 'stand alone' book so i really don't know what possessed her to write a sequel after all this time - it does help though if you understand the strategic nature of chess...

after being totally disappointed with my reading choice, and having the flat to ourselves (me and the gang) for the weekend, i decided to watch an episode of a 2008 television series i'd never heard of before that sounded interesting from the blurb...


being human... it's about a vampire, a werewolf and a ghost who share a house... what a trio... I became hooked after the first episode (i couldn't help myself - i watched 6 hour long episodes over 2 nights) - it's dramatic, funny, sad, dark (and at times an indictment on human society) - we get to know these three characters and feel for their situations - we learn how they became the way they did - their 'trials and tribulations' while still trying to function as 'ordinary' people in their extraordinary circumstances... paranormal in the vein of kat richardson's greywalker series of books (which i love) - dare i say the thinking person's paranormal!!?

i'm addicted - unfortunately series 2 isn't available through our suppliers yet!!!!

and now i'm just going to concentrate on the recommended reading list of the slv's summer read programme... (there are some pretty good prizes up for grabs - to go into the draw you just need to name one of the books you've read from the list, and add your own reading recommendation!!!)

and the first reservation to come in for me was cooee by vivienne kelly... described as "a dark and elegant literary mystery" by scribe publications, i can only hope that it is a better read than my last one!!!!

ooooh - there's still no housing on the horizon for me brother, but he's away for the rest of this week so i'm going to enjoy the peace, quiet and space - and hope me old girl copes with the 39 degrees forecast for tomorrow!!!!