Adding to the list.....

  The next films to find a place on my 1001 Movies To See Before You Die list are, as follows: (5) HARRY POTTER AND THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN, (6) THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX and (7) THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE having just watched them all in the space of 1 week in time for the release of THE DEATHLY HALLOWS PART 2 (the final ever Harry Potter) which is coming out in just a few months!

Why include these particular films in the series and not those I have missed out? Well, the reason is because, quite simply, I feel these are the better of the later films and the ones I have enjoyed the most. And this list is, first and foremost, a personal choice and I am not going to include movies that don't, for whatever reason, quite make the grade!

For me personally, DEATHLY HALLOWS PART 1 just feels like an overlong prelude to the inevitable final battle and though I enjoyed it, I preferred the other films that made the list better; GOBLET OF FIRE just feels like it is reverting back a little to the earlier films with its emphasis on the Tri-Wizards Competition and it is only the last act that really redeems the film for me; and CHAMBER OF SECRETS just feels a little to similar in style to the first film and so slightly loses its own identity! Again, these are just personal observations and I would welcome quite gladly anybody else's thoughts or opinions!

Meanwhile, a new addition at (25) to my 1001 Books And Authors list is THE ROSARY GIRLS BY RICHARD MONTANARI. This is an awesome start to an ongoing Detective/ Police Procedural series that shows plenty of echoes of the better of Michael Slade's Special X books mixed with shades of Ed McBain's 87th Precinct novels! This first book deals with a killer of Catholic schoolgirls and is a very strong first novel in the series which is why it goes on the list!

With that in mind, for me number (26) then has to be THE CHEMISTRY OF DEATH BY SIMON BECKETT; another cracking debut Crime thriller all about a Forensic Scientist who chooses to go back to being a General Practitioner in a small Norfolk village after a personal tragedy that leaves him bereft of his wife and child. Unfortunately, he finds his past catching up with him when he discovers a dead body in the woods and realises a killer is living amongst the locals and only his expertise can help catch them! This is the first of three novels but of them, it is also the best! The Scientific Forensic knowledge is thoroughly detailed and often quite grisly but it makes for a very compelling read!

More 1001 movies.....

Film number (3) in my 1001 movies to watch before you die is HARRY POTTER AND THE PHILOSOPHERS STONE which I watched again last night for the first time in ages, in preparation for the final movie out later this year! 

Harry Potter discovers that he is a wizard when he is invited to attend Hogwarts School Of Magic but soon realises his fate is tied in with a much bigger destiny when he learns that his parents were killed by an evil necromancer named Voldemort. PHILOSOPHERS STONE sets the scene for the rest of the series and follows Harry in his first year at Hogwarts and is, quite simply, a beautifully shot children's movie. Some of the set pieces, including a life-size chess board that comes to life and a three-headed dog, are simply sublime and the film is full of action and adventure the whole way through! Big stars such as Robbie Coltrane, Richard Harris and Alan Rickman all have cameo appearancesand everything about the film is just wonderful. I enjoyed watching this again last night much more than I thought I would and can't wait to re-watch the next film in the series, CHAMBER OF SECRETS, so that I can carry on with the story!

Number (4) on my list just has to be ICE AGE, another cracking children's movie ~ this one animated and based around an unlikely group of friends who join together to try and beat the oncoming ice age and help return a small human child to his neanderthal family. The film introduces to us a truly wonderful set of characters from Sid the Sloth through to Manny the Mammoth and Diego the Sabre Tooth Tiger. But of course the star of the film just has to be Scrat!! A kind of prehistoric squirrel-type-creature, Scrat is obsessed with burying his acorn and keeping it safe but when his first attempts end in disaster, he ends up spending the rest of the movie chasing it around trying to get it back! These comedic scenes wonderfully interact amongst the main storyline to create a seamlessly brilliant movie that is just hilarious to watch no matter how many times you have seen it!

This has just got to be one of the best animated features ever made and always cracks me up every time I see it! Two sequels so far have followed and, I am reliably informed, a fourth film is coming out next year!

Personally, I cannot wait.......

1001 movies to see before you die.....

Okay, so watched CLOVERFIELD again tonight for like the third or fourth time and decided it was high time I started something I have had in the back of my head for a while now.....okay, okay I know I am a bit behind with my 1001 Books And Authors To Read Before You Die list but this should be much simpler as many of the movies on my list I won't need to re-watch to know if they should really be there and we should get through this list a hell of a lot quicker!

Number (1) has to be of course CLOVERFIELD; a modern monster movie for today's generation!

Shot in a Blair Witch shaky camera style, the movie follows a group of friends attending a party for their pal, Rob, who is going to work in Japan. The first twenty minutes or so (of this 75 min movie) are fairly slow, setting up the characters as one of the friends, Hug, films testimonials from some of the guests and attempts to document the party. Then there is a massive tremor and all the lights go out!

Heading to the roof, the guests witness several kinds of explosions going on in the Manhattan area where they are situated. When shrapnel and debris starts hitting the roof, the guests panic and all descend to street level...where all manner of Hell is busting loose!! Suddenly something huge comes bouncing through the streets causing widespread devastation everywhere it hits.....and it is not until several seconds later, as the camera pans round, that you realise that this is the head of the Statue Of Liberty! What follows is a tense and action-packed sequence of events as Rob and his friends attempt to get across the city to Midtown where his girlfriend, Beth, is trapped! It is a nightmare journey and, with Hug filming, we get to go with the friends every step of the way.....

I love everything about this film; the authentic camera work, the action, the way you never really get to see the monster in proper close-up! It is a proper modern-day classic piece of cinema and though there are those who absolutely hate it, I think it is one of my two favourite horror movies of all-time!!

So, what is number (2) ? Well it simply has to be {REC}; a Spanish film about a television journalist and her camera man who are following a Fire Engine around for a late-night documentary. Called out to an Apartment building where an old lady has been trapped, the pair first get an inkling something is wrong when the old lady attacks the Firemen and a local Police Officer when they go to her aid. Pretty soon, the whole building has been sealed off and no one is allowed in or out. Quickly it becomes apparent that there has been an outbreak of some kind of deadly infection.....and it is starting to spread!! The reporter and her camera man are trapped....and so are the rest of the inhabitants! Their only chance of survival ~ trying to find somewhere to hide!!!

Rec is another short movie filmed in the shaky camera style of Blair Witch. though it is slightly less than Cloverfield because, here, the camera man is supposed to be a professional. Much of it is shot in the dark and it has subtitles but don't let that put you off as this is a nasty, nasty, NASTY film that left my heart racing the first time I watched it! It wasn't so much that I was scared as it was the Adrenaline rushing through me when I watched this but one thing is certain, it is a long time since a film did that to me!!! Like Cloverfield again, it is a relentless roller-coaster ride and definitely one of the greatest horrors of all time! I cannot praise {REC} enough!

There is a sequel, that goes into more detail about the infection and, although still good, does not quite match up to the terror of the original because you have more of an idea what is going on second time around. There is also two other films due ({REC} GENESIS and {REC} APOCALIPSIS) due to be released that will tie off the story. I look forward to them with baited breath because {REC} remains one of the scariest movies I have ever seen!

How not to drive.....

A couple of quirky news stories have caught my eye the last couple of days, both concerning cars and examples of bizarre driving behaviour. First today I saw this on the Orange home page:-

• 15 June 2011, 12:34

Woman drove car down staircase

A Chinese woman drove her car down a shopping mall staircase after following signs to the car park.

Xiang Zhen said she saw a parking sign with a direction arrow in the mall in Liuzhou, southern China's Guangxi Province.

But when she followed it, she found herself stuck halfway down a staircase that was clearly not designed for cars.

"I saw a sign overhead saying 'car park' so I drove under it, but the road instantly plummeted and became so bumpy," said Xiang.

Local trader, Xie Xiangrong, who has a stand under the stairs, said: "I heard a loud noise, and when I looked up, a car was driving down towards me.

"I ran for my life down the stairs with several other shoppers."

Xiang left her car on the stairs and called a local breakdown company to winch her car back onto solid ground.

The mall has admitted the sign should not have been there and is in talks with Xiang over compensation.

Then, yesterday, I saw this:-

• 14 June 2011, 11:56

Car packed inside van - sideways

Police in Germany were stunned when they pulled over a white van - and found a car packed on its side in the back.

Two men from Kazakhstan had decided to save on a trailer cost after snapping up the silver Mazda 626 to ship back home.

When the car didn't fit in the van the proper way up - the two men called a few pals and loaded it in on its side - putting a mattress underneath to stop the doors getting scratched.

The trip back home for Konstanty Krol, 38, and Cezar Chmielewski, 28, came to an end when police stopped the heavily laden vehicle after seeing it lurching from side to side in Bargthheide, Germany.

Konstanty told the German Herald newspaper: "I don't know why we were stopped - we had taken great care to get the car into the van. It was safe - we hadn't noticed any problems.

"It is a long way back to Kazakhstan with petrol prices as they are it would have been too expensive to drive the Mazda back. We didn't have a trailer, but it fitted perfectly into Cezar's white van."

A police spokesman said the van and the car were confiscated and the men ordered to return with a proper transporter for the car before they would be allowed to continue the journey.

The spokesman added: "It was bizarre. I have no idea how they got the car into the van as it would have been very heavy. Amazingly the car didn't have a scratch on it - even though it had been rocking from side to side in the van.

"Nevertheless we cannot allow dangerous loads on our motorway. It was a danger to other road users as well as themselves. The van could have toppled over at any time."

And who says the news can't be fun?

And now, time to die.....

There was a lot of talk and controversy this week surrounding the documentary, hosted by Terry Pratchett, about a man with Motor Neurone disease who had chosen to travel to Switzerland and uphold his right to take his own life. The documentary came under the spotlight because it filmed right up until and during the moment of his passing. I didn't watch, and that was a personal choice, but I understand it was very moving, emotional and thought-provoking. 

Though I personally have no interest in watching someone die, and find the thought quite distasteful whatever the reason for its broadcast, I can fully appreciate why the programme makers made the decision they did to show the death in full. It is important that we, as human beings, are given the right to choose the manner of our own passing should we be in a situation from which we are never going to return though whether or not I would make a similar choice, I am not sure. (I think I would rather go out kicking and screaming!) I also think it is important that people be educated and see exactly what goes on in such clinics as, with similar schemes forbidden in this country, it is important that people be aware of all the facts before making an informed decision. Assisted Suicide seems to be a dirty phrase in this country but I think we all have to remember it is our life and we probably should be given the right to end it when we choose.

Though it is a different matter entirely, I had an uncle who killed himself by breathing in exhaust fumes a few years ago now. He did it because of financial worries and depression but my thoughts have always been that, despite the damage and hurt it did to the rest of Mum's family, it was his decision and you have to respect the fact that it was his life to do with as he pleased to a certain degree. The question there is as to whether or not he was in his own mind when he made the decision and that is something no one will ever know. But essentially, why does anyone else have the right to say that, if we have considered all the options, we shouldn't be allowed to take our own life?

It is a difficult and troubled subject and maybe the death of two relatives in recent years (I lost another Uncle this year to complications of Pneumonia and Emphysema) was still too raw for me to be able to digest the programme objectively. Either way, I can fully understand why the decision was made as to why to show the programme and why Terry Pratchett, diagnosed with Alzheimers in the last few years, would want to help make the show.

I just didn't want to watch it. 

If only we, in this country, were given the right to make other choices so easily.......

God created Man, Man creates Monsters.....

It has been an interesting time for Science this week...with developments that will shock and terrify those who think that we, as Humanity, are playing Dice with God, and awe and inspire those of us who  believe that knowledge and modern technological advances are the way forward for the betterment of our race!

 

Things kicked off at the beginning of this week with the announcement that Scientists in China are currently working on cows that will be able to produce drinkable human breast milk or its nearest Scientific equivalent within the next couple of years! Below is a direct quote taken from the Sky News pages: THIS IS NOT A HOAX!

 

"Chinese GM Cows Make Human Breast milk

3:49pm UK, Monday June 06, 2011

Holly Williams, Beijing correspondent

Chinese scientists have genetically modified dairy cows to produce human breast milk, and hope to be selling it in supermarkets within three years.

The milk produced by the transgenic cows is identical to the human variety and has the same immune-boosting and antibacterial qualities as breast milk, scientists at China's Agricultural University in Beijing say.

The transgenic herd of 300 was bred by inserting human genes into cloned cow embryos which were then implanted into surrogate cows.

The technology was similar to that used to produce Dolly the sheep.

The milk is still undergoing safety tests but with government permission it will be sold to consumers as a more nutritious dairy drink than cow's milk.

Workers at the university's dairy farm have already tasted the milk, and say it is sweeter and stronger than the usual bovine variety.

There are 1.5 billion people in the world who don't get enough to eat. It's our duty to develop science and technology, not to hold it back. We need to feed people first, before we consider ideals and convictions.

Professor Li Ning, director of the research project

"It's good," said worker Jiang Yao. "It's better for you because it's genetically modified."

The scientists have also produced animals that are resistant to mad cow disease, as well as beef cattle that are genetically modified to produce more nutritious meat.

The director of the research project, Professor Li Ning, says Western concerns about the ethics of genetic modification are misplaced.

"There are 1.5 billion people in the world who don't get enough to eat," he said. "It's our duty to develop science and technology, not to hold it back.

"We need to feed people first, before we consider ideals and convictions."

In contrast to Europe, China has eagerly embraced genetically modified food.

GM cooking oil, papayas, tomatoes and potatoes are already widely available.

Insect-resistant rice and corn modified to help pigs absorb more nutrients were both recently approved by the government."

In other news an American Baseball Player, who had been injured in his long-standing career as a Pitcher for The Yankees, has been given a second-chance at continuing his dream. Apparently in a ground-breaking treatment, part of his fat was removed from his torso, spun through a Centrifuge to seperate the Stem Cells and injected back into his arm and shoulder so that damage sustained could begin to repair itself. Again, this is not made up but real authentic news.....again, I quote (this time from http://investorstemcell.com/forum/stemcell-news/1942.htm):

"Stem cells treatment on baseball player

Colon owes resurgence to stem-cell treatment - CBSSports.com

By Evan Brunell

Somehow, Bartolo Colon has made himself relevant after missing a full season of baseball and injecting his fastball with life, with an average speed of 91.7 mph arresting a decline that started with the White Sox in 2009.

Despite being knocked around in his last start, Colon now has an impressive 3.86 ERA that is actually higher than it should be, as his 2.79 xFIP indicates. He's made four starts and three relief appearances and has bailed New York out of the Phil Hughes-sized hole the youngster left as he battles his own mysterious velocity problems.

Stem cells may be to thank. As Peter Griffin once said on Family Guy, "why are they not funding this!?"

Colon left baseball in '09 with pain in his right shoulder thanks to a rotator cuff tear among other issues and accepted an invitation in March 2010 from Drs. Sergio Guzman and Lionel Liriano to undergo a stem-cell transplant and later a "booster shot," as DiarioLibre.com writes.

"We did not want to do a trial on a young 23-24 year old because the effectiveness could be questioned due to his age," Guzman said, after their original goal of Pedro Martinez did not come to fruition. "We did it with a veteran and we hope that Felix Sanchez and other Dominican athletes that have suffered injuries will also submit to this treatment so that they can prove what can be done with stem cells."

Both bone marrow and fatty tissue (and there certainly was plenty of the latter for Colon) were taken out of his hip, put through a process, then inserted in the shoulder. He was then injected with a plasma shot, which other big-leaguers have undergone for treatment. Each procedure took no longer than 40 minutes with minimal recovery time, and doctors contend that this process is more economical than Tommy John surgery, which is more expensive and requires a long rehab period.

"We have not invented anything, nor have we done anything new. This is being done the world over", Guzman added. "We received some training overseas to handle this type of things. Harvard University donated the centrifuges. This is no invention. What we do is take a little bit of bone marrow and we put it into an affected area."

Prior to the procedure, the doctors received approval from MLB owners, lawyers and doctors before moving forward. While it's unlikely this surgery will supplant Tommy John surgery, it could be another medical advancement that could keep pitchers on the mound longer. Jake Peavy, pitching Wednesday night in his 2011 debut, is another pitcher who has undergone fairly new surgery.

The article, which was very fawning and pro-Dominican Republic to the point where you had to tune out the obvious bias (example: "... credit that goes to a team of surgeons made in Santiago de los Caballeros with the most advanced knowledge of present day medicine" -- we'll shortly learn that there's plenty of credit to go to a US doctor), made no mention of Dr. Joseph Purina of Florida who says he was part of the team that treated Colon.

“This is not hocus-pocus,” Purita told the New York Times. “This is the future of sports medicine, in particular. Here it is that I got a guy back playing baseball and throwing pitches at 95 miles an hour.”

Liriano says in the article that Purina was the one to provide the information and specialty to make the procedure possible, although Liriano had a major influence in selecting Colon and bringing the whole team of doctors together.

The Yankees were not aware of the procedure until just before the Times story ran, and notified baseball which is looking into it. Purina has previously used human growth hormone, banned by basbeall, in similar treatments but says he did not do so in Colon's case.*“I just won’t give it to [professional athletes],” Purita said. “I don’t need the stigma and that kind of reputation.”

Colon brushed off inquiries, saying "I don't know, I don't know," when asked about the procedure. Not much conclusion can be drawn from this as Colon speaks limited English.

Colon's agent, Mitch Frankel, for his part, believes the treatment helped Colon's resurgence, but wasn't the major part of it.

“The doctor feels that it definitely gave him a jump start to his improvement, although for me, personally, I don’t think Bartolo was focused on baseball mentally or physically for the last few years,” Frankel said. “I believe the problem was that and not his pitching. And I think once he made that determination, you can see the success.”

Up next could be a scientific study, because even with Colon's success, there isn't much information that can be extropolated from the procedure to date."

 

So you see, sometimes the truth REALLY is stranger than fiction! There are those who will be disturbed by stories like this in the Press. Personally I take all this as an encouragement that Science is not just about developing new and better ways to destroy each other but in moving forwards to better the Human Race as a whole. 

They say that from little acorns, big Oak trees will grow.....who knows what other scientific advancements might develop in the next few years based on research and experiments being conducted right now? Remember both these stories when next you think perhaps that we are living in an age where Science and Technology have started to stand still. And remember, just because Scientists might play at being God, it doesn't make them Gods! What they do today, in the future could benefit us all.....

Sparky out! xxxx

Parenthood....

Sometimes we don't always appreciate our parents. This week, I had cause once again to appreciate mine.

Tuesday night is my weekly shopping night. Wednesdays are the start of my two and a half days off and I cannot be doing with going with Emilie so I go late after work, around half past ten.

This week as I got out the car, my alarm was bleeping to tell me something was amiss. I figured it was just the indicator, which doesn't always click off when I turn into a parking space, so flicked that up, shut the door and flashed the central locking. Unfortunately, for whatever reason, I did not hear the alarm still bleeping and so went off to do my shopping; unaware I had left my lights on!

When I returned, you can guess what had happened! Yes....flat battery! I do have jumper cables but, at that time of night, there was very few people about. And I knew if I phoned my Breakdown people, (not the AA but a cheaper company), they could take ages to come out as I would probably be classed as a low priority!

Luckily, my parents live only about ten miles or so from the Supermarket I use on my way home so I decided to give them a call to see if they would mind just popping out to bail me out. I DID point out that they were under no obligation but still they agreed and came to my rescue! We had a few problems in the dim light of the parking lot because on the battery of a Corsa, you don't get a red and black wire but a brown and red but fortunately there was an AA van parked just up the ways and he shined his headlights on my car so we could better see what was what. Oh....and my jumper cables were too short because Dad's battery is at the front of the engine and mine is at the back so we had to use Dad's cables to start me up!What's more ~ I tried to offer them a fiver for coming out so late and helping me but they wouldn't even hear of it!

Anyway, the long and short of this post is that we don't always appreciate our parents and can be guilty occasionally of taking them for granted! I just wanted to say sometime in the next few days, take a moment and think about all the ways your parents might have bailed you out or given you assistance in a time of need and take time out to show you appreciate them! They won't be around forever and you will miss their guiding hand when they are gone so make sure you treasure them while they are still here!

And if you are a parent, like me, think about that the next time your little one drives you mad, gets you exasperated or makes you want to scream! Just think ~ there were plenty of moments when you too were like that growing up and your parents are still always there for you now!

Maybe if we were all a bit more appreciative of each other, there would be less hate in this world!

And that's Sparky's thought for the day!

Ciao xxxxx 

Home truths.....

This week, I have mostly been discovering that I am no longer as young as I once thought I was!

To quote Samuel.L.Jackson, "Example...."

On Monday, on Radio One, it was announced that this week was Dubstep week. This basically entailed all the Radio One D.Js' promoting Dubstep and playing examples of the genre whilst also guiding listeners to the Radio One Website where you could play around with some bangin' tunes and sound effects yourself and lay down your own Dubstep track with some pretty funky beats. Monday night also saw Dubstep artist Nero playing alongside the British Philharmonic Orchestra for a one-off performance on Zane Lowe's show. Remembering how Portishead once did something similar with the New York Philharmonic, (as did Metallica I do believe > Actually I have been informed it was the San Francisco Philharmonic with Metallica!< ), I thought I'd check it out. Needless to say I was not overly impressed!

I think I must just not be cool enough for school to listen to Dubstep! The Philharmonic Orchestra was awesome but the bits with Nero really just didn't seem to fit! With Portishead it worked and, from what I have heard of the sessions with Metallica, this also was pretty awesome and amazing. With Nero....not so much! I really don't think I get the whole Dubstep Genre....it just sounds like a more grimey version of Drum And Bass of which I am not paticularly a fan but have heard a few decent examples. (I'm thinking here of a Drum And Bass version of Careless whisper I own on a Ministry of Sound album!)

It makes me sound old I know but Dubstep mostly just sounds like a noise to me! One of the worst tracks around at the minute, and apparently one of the most recent examples of Dubstep, is The Bass Cannon which, to me, just sounds like mental torture! I have to change stations whenever this comes on ~ it is just atrocious!!!!

The other reason why I think I am getting old is because on Tuesday night, traditionally the night before me having two and a half days off from work, I decided, as per usual, to play Xbox. Not a problem except that I was close to completing the main storyline on Fable 2 and was determined to finish it so that I can Download the extra content for next week on my two weeks off from work. Hmmm....well, anyway, I finished playing at 3:45 am Wednesday morning!

Wednesday I was fine but Thursday, I felt like I had a hangover! I went to bed fairly early on Wednesday night and got a good nights sleep, more than I normaly get on average, and yet still all day I felt exhausted with the fringes of a headache just bordering on the edges of my frontal lobes! I really must start to learn that I am no spring chicken any more and cannot keep behaving like I am still in my twenties! My main problem ~ I am still a really big kid!! The thing is.....I'm not sure I'm ever gonna learn........

Silly Sparky......xxxxxxx

He's Back (The Man Behind the Blog...)

Yeah Yeah....I know it's been awhile but y'all know how it is ~ life just keeps getting in the way! Bet y'all thought I had abandoned this right? No such fracking luck!! Just consider my temporary absence these last couple of months to be like my sabbatical or like my year out or something...cos now, Sparky is back innit!

Have been meaning to get back on here if only to update my 1001 favourite books and authors list which, at this rate is going to take me until I'm 1001 to finish! The problem is that I only want the best of the best going on my list and sometimes this means re-reading stuff to make sure I am certain in my own mind that they are justified a place! A tad anal perhaps? Maybe....but, case in point: until I re-read them, I was convinced I would be adding Richard Laymon's Darkness, Tell Us and Resurrection Dreams on my list. Unfortunately, after refreshing my experiences of these books, although they are both good and two of the best examples of his work, they just lacked a certain something; that spark that makes a book truly memorable above and beyond unforgettable and resonates somewhere deep inside. Non-Bibliophiles won't get this but all my friends from RISI or Babbling Books may have a stronger inkling of what I am talking about. There are certain books that just stay with you no matter how much you read them and these are the books that make the list. Others which are still great but just don't leave enough of an emotional impact on me just don't cut it I'm afraid and though I suspect that at least one of Laymon's books might feature in the future, right now the two in question, which I still thoroughly enjoy, just don't quite make the grade!

Number 23 on my list, and another book that I re-read recently and that is rather topical considering the recent movie adaptation, is Kazuo Ishiguro's Never Let Me Go. It is unlikely that any of you who already have knowledge much either of the book or the movie will not already know the big Spoiler that is pretty much central to the plot but for those who DO remain unclear, suffice to say I will not spoil it here! Basically the story focuses around the lives of a close knit group of friends attending a "Special" school for certain children and follows their, sometimes sad, sometimes tragic, journey into adulthood and their inevitable fate which they have been born to fulfill. Some have criticised this book for being a little bleak but I enjoyed it and almost view it as a prequel or precursor to Michael Marshall Smith's Spares ~ which may give away the big Spoiler to some of you who may be familiar with HIS work.

Number 24 is Stephen King's final Dark Tower novel. I was not sure if this would be included as some have classed it as a little unsatisfying. Me, I enjoyed it more second time around and think it easily as strong as Wizard And Glass (Book 4)! It brings most of the plot to a tidy close and features an emotional end to the journeys of many of the central characters. As to the unsatisfying ending? Well I'm not going to be giving anything away but King does provide you with a choice. Once the main story ends, you are given the chance to leave things there with no real end to Roland's quest and no answers as to what lies at the top of The Tower. Or you can continue and read the final chapter which explains everything and brings (some kind) of closure to the series. It is this closure that many fans find unsatisfying but, in King's defence, it must have been hard to bring such an epic Opus to a close and there is a strong argument for King actually finishing this large body of work, that stretches way beyond these seven volumes and into the majority of all King's other novels, rather than leaving it to be finished after his death as has happened, for example, with Robert Jordan's Wheel Of Time fantasy series. I like this book and think it is a strong ending with many happy resolutions for those who have come this far with the oft-selfish and obsessive Roland and I personally like the way that certain aspects are brought full-circle. (you will understand if you read it!) The only thing I didn't like ~ PARTIAL SPOILER ALERT ~ was the death of Flagg which felt a bit sudden and over too quick for such a long-running character who has appeared in so many forms and guises over the years. But then, if you have read The Stand then you will know that what happens is not necessarily the end.....

That's all for now folks but more soon, I promise, in a couple of days with more books I have been selecting for my list! Trust me ~ we're not done yet!

Ciao peoples!

Sparky xxx