Kathy Reichs

The Bone Collector

Peter Germany Books, Movies, Reading , , , , , , ,

I’ve seen the movie adaptation of Jeffery Deaver’s The Bone Collector at least a dozen times. It is probably in my top twenty favourite movies and it wasn’t until about six years ago that I found out it was based on a book. I learnt this after talking about books I was reading to someone I used to know through work. He recommended and leant me Deaver’s book The Empty Chair and I leant him Deja Dead by Kathy Reichs. I remember him saying that Deaver was very thorough in his research for his novels and as I read The Empty Chair it did feel like he had a in-depth knowledge of what he was writing about.

I enjoyed The Empty Chair and knew I’d have to get a hold of the other books in the series, but as time passed I just never got around to it. What with the everyday life stuff and trying to write and read other books I simply forgot about them until the other day. I was looking around Audible to see what I fancied spending my credits on and The Bone Collector jumped up from the deepest parts of my consciousness and instantly I knew it was the novel I wanted to download next. It was worth it.

The Bone Collector tells the story of a quadriplegic forensic criminalist (Lincoln Rhyme) who wants to die, and has been shutting the world off from him since the accident that made him a quadriplegic. Just as he’s found someone to help him die though the New York police come to him asking for assistance in solving a murder/kidnapping and after initial refusing their request he gives in and gets back to work. He requests the police officer who was first on the scene of the first murder to assist him, and from there the story unfolds.

There was obviously differences between the book and the movie but for the most part I could understand the reasons why the filmmakers made the changes, but I watched the film after I’d finished listening to the audiobook and found that I still enjoyed the movie. I understand that adaptations will almost never be 100% true to the source but as long as it has the same tone and outcome then I find that normally works well for me and The Bone Collector did.

I did look on Audible for the next book in the series but it, and the third one, are only available as abridged audiobooks and I’ve no interest in an audiobook if it’s abridged. So I popped onto Amazon and ordered the next two; The Coffin Dancer and The Empty Chair. I know I’ve read The Empty Chair before, but in the time since I’ve read it I’ve grown a lot as a reader so I’m keen to read it again. Despite a number of books on my To-Read list I think I’ll be fast tracking them and getting at least the 2nd book in the series read early on next year.

Exploring Genres

Peter Germany Books, Horror, Insperation, Sci-Fi, Writing , , , , , , , , , ,

I’ve heard a lot of writers saying that its good to read and try writing in genres which are not your own. Now, I’m not to sure I’m ready to try writing in genres outside of what I do. I tend to write science-fiction and horror, I think if you read the end of Project Phoenix you may add thriller into that.
I’m not going to try writing anything different to what I am but I would like to expand what I am reading. The majority of books I have read have been written by Tom Clancy, Dan Abnett and Kathy Reichs. Three very different genres and three very different authors. The Dan Abnett books have been his Gaunt’s Ghosts books in the Warhammer 40k universe. In addition to Gaunt’s Ghosts Abnett has written other work in the Warhammer universes as well as Doctor Who and Torchwood and a tonne of other works including comics, audio and screen plays. Yes I NEED to read more by this juggernaut of a writer.

I’d like to take a huge jump and try some genres that I don’t know much off though. Steam Punk is one of them. There’s a couple of authors whose blogs I love who write Steam Punk, one of which I’ve brought some of his non Steam Punk works so I know I like his writing so I think that will be a good place to start.
Fantasy is something I think I should like reading, but I don’t think that I will be able to get through it, especially epic fantasy. I’m quite happy to watch fantasy (love A Game Of Thrones) but when I’ve tried to read it I just get slower the further I get into the story, it should be the other way around.
Romance and Erotica does not appeal so I don’t think I’ll venture into those realms. I’d like to read a little more war novels. Every time I see my grandad (a voracious reader) he gives me at least three books. More often then not they are by someone like Andy McNab or Chris Ryan which I think will be of interest to me. I’d like to read some comics too, just to see if I can find a passion for them.
I definitely need to read more horror and science-fiction which is what I am focussing on at the moment.

What would you like to read more of?

My ‘To Read’ Pile

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I have almost finished reading H.G. Wells novel War Of The Worlds, so I’m half thinking about the next book that I will read.  Now here is where I have hit a little bit of a road block because I have twenty six books waiting to be read! (Must stop buying books) No I dont mean that, I think that I just need to learn how to read quicker.

Although I love Science Fiction I think that I’m going to read something which is not sci-fi.  Of the last six books that I’ve read five of those have been sci-fi and I think I’ve OD’d on Sci-Fi so I’ll probably read one of the Kathy Reichs books that I havent read yet or Dan Browns Lost Symbol.  Although I do have Scott Sigler’s The All-Pro…………but that’s Sci-Fi, And I have Phillip K. Dick’s Do Androids Dream Of Electronic Sheep? Again that’s Sci-Fi.  Okay maybe I’m not Over Dossed on Science Fiction but I do think that I’ll read a non sci-fi novel next as it’ll give me a different world to delve into.  I know that sci-fi is probably the genre that has the most possibilities of discovering new worlds but I think that being remineded of how our world is may give birth to some new ideas.  Although I write mainly sci-fi much of what I write is set in todays world so seeing how other people write it opens up my mind a little.

Something I thought that I always needed out of a novel is a good, strong story line.  If its not igniting my imagination then it’ll take me a longer time to read a book, but my short story series that I am putting together is turning out to be much more character driven.  I’ve written seven or so of these stories and they are told from the first person in a sort of monologue.  So maybe not having a strong plot, but strong characters will have the same effect on me and make me want to turn the pages faster.  Which, at the end of the day is something that every writer wants.  Last year I had my fantastic proof reader say that something that I wrote ‘choked her up’ (Brought out emotions), which is also something that every writer wants.

Back to the ‘To Read’ pile.  I am a spontaneous book buyer, there is nothing that I like more then to go into a bookstore, normally Waterstones and browse through the sci-fi section, and when I do this I always buy a book, but also when I go to my local Sainsburys I often buy a book or two there.  This is where I tend to get my Kathy Reichs books from, but because there are often 2 for £10 type deals I’ll often walk off with one by an authour that I wouldnt normally buy but I’ve not had one which I’ve regretted buying.  That is the one thing that cannot be done with online purchasing.  I am a little old fashioned in this sense,  I do like feeling the book in my hands, the weight of it and being able to read not only read the write up or the first few pages but any random little segment of it that I want.

I’ve written this over a few days as I’ve had a few things to sort out but I’m steering towards reading Scott Sigler’s The All-pro, then Dan Brown’s Lost Symbol.