The Old Devils by Kingsley Amis

‘Gwen, really there’s nothing to talk about. Nothing  happened’

Imagine if you will an author who could recreate the everyday in such detail that reading his book seems at once overly familiar and a little strange. The characters of this novel like to drink…. a lot and when they’re not drinking (and even when they are) they are telling tall (or occasionally true) tales to and about each other.

There is something so vanilla and lifelike about this prose that it is akin to the shaggy dog tales my mother recounts, where my eyes glaze over and I look off into the sunset imagining I’m poolside in a resort, sipping on a frozen cocktail somewhere. That being said, it takes a rare talent to render the mundane with such proximity and by that measure, I’ve given this book a rather decent score. Others have been far more generous in their praise and this book was a Booker Prize winner.

I was not massively entertained, nor was I particularly bored by this entry in the 1001 books you must read list. This reminds me of the kinds of scandals that groups of friends endure after years in each other’s company. I’m writing this review quite a few days after having completed reading the novel and my memory of it is sparse – not a great sign I imagine.

4 out of 5 drunken Welshmen can fill more than 300 pages with their antics.

Blood Noir by Laurell K Hamilton

“If you could ask the dark­ness any­thing, would you ask?”

Well another bite of the Anita Blake cherry and this time it takes the form of a visit to on-again-off-again friend with benefits, Jason’s home town.

Jason’s cranky pants dad is on death’s door but there is way more drama instore in a town where everyone looks suspiciously alike.

Anita seems to have completely left her day job behind – go resurrect some more zombies lady! Now she seems to have developed some were-tiger abilities, and those tigers are a jealous lot.

Bad press, vampire politics and more hanky panky with Jason. That about sums this one up.

3 out of 5 paranormal marshalls go on benders when on holidays.

Collected Stories by Peter Carey

“In nights of Valium and wine he remembers times when he held her in his arms and pressed his body full of dreams.”

Woah, short story fans are in for a treat with this one. Such an eclectic bunch of tales, so well realised, aren’t I fortunate to have a friend with the good taste to lend me this impressive book?

The subject matters are so varied that it almost seems impossible that the breadth of storytelling could develop from one brain alone. It took me a while to get into the book as a whole. The first few stories didn’t fire up as much as some of the subsequent ones. Ancient Greeks, War Criminals, Alien Birds, Unicorns, there is so much going on here and yet there does seem to be an innate sense of cohesion which is hard to define.

Some of my favourites included, The Fat Man in History, which had a Roald Dahl –esque sense of black humour to it, The Chance,  which plays with ugliness and Exotic Pleasures, about stroking a rare bird and that’s not a euphemism.

In summary, this is an astounding collection of short tales that transport you to strange places and lifestyles to entertain, delight and make the reader question and after all, isn’t that what all great fiction should do?

5 out of 5 vampire girlfriends will leave you drained.

Imperial Bedrooms by Bret Easton Ellis

"I open the mini­bar. I don’t even look at what bot­tle I take out."

This sequel to Less than Zero  written some twenty five years later, really didn't too much for me. It does serve as the first book I've finished for 2014, so there is that to recommend it. Lots of paranoia, unpleasantly violent sex and general obnoxious behaviour. The good thing about it is - well it is short.

I absolutely loved American Psycho  so this was a complete disappointment to me. This vacillates between murky and just plain meh. The laxative laced treats that lead to a shitty sex scene was probably the low point for this reader.

1 out of 5 readers should run for the Hollywood Hills.

The Harlequin by Laurell K Hamilton

"He ac­tu­ally blushed under the per­ma­nent tan of his skin."

It seems quite disappointing to finish a year of reading with this novel. Not only did I fail to reach my target of 250 novels ( although 212 was not too shabby), but I had to contend with one of the most pedestrian outings of Anita Blake to date.

An endless stream of characters - well at least Edward is back, some crazy church plot thing - to be honest, I  might have dozed off a bit with this one.

Let us hope 2014 provides some more really great reads.

At this juncture, it is perhaps more interesting to look back on the year that was in wonder. I have had the pleasure of some absolutely fantastic reads this year - and more than a few duds.

Top reads this year included:

• The Patrick Melrose novels
• Dust
• Mister Pip
• Cain
• American Psycho
• The Son and 
• The Terminal Experiment.

Oh yes, back to the review, well I was a little underwhelmed.

2 out of 5 supernatural creatures are bound to bump uglies with Anita Blake.

Danse Macabre by Laurell K Hamilton

"Is there anything your bloodline does that doesn't involve getting naked?"

I thought the quote above particularly apt. In this, my 2nd last book for the year and the 14th Anita Blake novel, we find our heroine in a bit of a quandary. Is she pregnant? If she is, which one of her slew of supernatural lovers is the baby daddy?

Not much of her day job is covered as the "ardeur" becomes more and more problematic. Anita needs someone new to feed on, enter a raft of new characters and whammo, it looks like she's taking on yet another set of powers.

3 out of 5 vampire hunters forget to use protection.

A Night At The Movies or, You Must Remember This by Robert Coover

"She smiles again, a smile that seems to melt his knees."

Written in the parlance of old school movies, these short stories seemed an intriguing premise. That having been said, I'm not sure I needed to hear about the details of Rick and Ilsa's sex life, I'd like them to remain more like the characters in the movie.

The book is undoubtedly well written and interesting but I found my attention wavered. As is often the case with short story collections, there were definite stand outs and others that didn't quite hit the mark.

4 out of 5 movies aren't quite so sordid in parts.