Book reviews (part 6)

I've enjoyed quite a few books and short stories over the past couple of months, so here's another batch of reviews.

The Ants Are Coming by Bruce Bullock

The Ants Are Coming by Bruce Bullock - 4.8 / 5.0

The Ants Are Coming is an excellently written account of an African village where the villagers are forced to evacuate their homes due to the approach of millions of red siafu ants.  I loved this short story and I suspect that anyone with an interest in or appreciation of Africa will also thoroughly enjoy it.

The story is told in a very matter-of-fact way and this style works well as the author expertly describes the horror of nature and the response of the villagers to the oncoming threat of the siafu ants.

Pretty Little Things by Jilliane Hoffman

Pretty Little Things by Jilliane Hoffman - 4.0 / 5.0

Pretty Little Things makes pretty grim reading at times and I probably wouldn't have read it if I'd realised just how grisly certain scenes from the book were going to be. However, despite the unsettling subject matter it's a well written novel with a cleverly constructed plot.

It took me a few chapters to get totally drawn into the story but in the closing stages the author really cranks up the tension as the events spiral towards the dramatic conclusion.

Eenie Meenie by Willow Rose

Eenie, Meenie by Willow Rose - 4.2 / 5.0

Eenie, Meenie is a short story/novella set in a young offenders' prison where punishments are being committed by an unknown perpetrator under the cover of night against the inmates. Each punishment bears a direct relevance to the crimes committed (such as a thief having his fingers cut off) and as the story progresses the inmates become more and more scared that they're going to be next.

Eenie, Meenie is quite disturbing in parts and I wouldn't recommend it for anyone of a squeamish disposition, but for fans of mystery/horror this is an interesting story which has got me curious to read more books by Willow Rose.

Great Lies To Tell Small Kids by Andy Riley - 4.6 / 5.0

Great Lies To Tell Small Kids by Andy Riley

I wasn't sure what to expect from this illustrated book, but I have to admit that it had me chuckling away to myself. Some of the jokes don't really have the full effect without the illustrations but to give you a brief taste of what to expect, one lie which you can imagine sneaky adults actually using on young kids in real life is, "That road sign means 'be very quiet in the car'."

Great Lies To Tell Small Kids is very much my sense of humour and you can tell within a couple of pages whether the comedy will appeal to you, so if you own the Kindle app it's definitely worth downloading the free sample. An excellent choice if you want a quick laugh.

Please note, Charles Fudgemuffin does not condone or encourage telling lies to small kids (or indeed anyone) and would therefore advise that this book should be read purely for entertainment purposes, and not for instructional purposes.

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The above book reviews are the opinions of Charles Fudgemuffin. Charles is the author of 'Dead Men Tell No Tales' which is available for kindle from Amazon.

More book reviews by Charles Fudgemuffin:
Book reviews (part 10)
Book reviews (part 11)

Please note, all promotional images used on this blog remain the copyright of the respective publishers and are used in accordance with 'Fair Use' legislation for review purposes.