Title: From a Buick 8
Author: Stephen King
Publisher: Scribner (September 24th, 2002)
Pages: 356
ISBN: 0743228472
Genre: Horror
The Pennsylvania State Police of Troop D in rural Pennsylvania have kept a secret from the rest of the world since 1979. Troopers Ennis Rafferty and Curtis Wilcox respond to a call from a gas station not far from their barracks about an abandoned Buick Roadmaster. After arriving on the scene both troopers realize something isn’t right about this car. Curtis knew old cars and he knew something was wrong with this car. Something was strange about the car and the driver. He came into the gas station and disappeared, or so the clerk says. The driver is nowhere to be found and after a search of the surrounding area the troopers call for the Buick to be towed back to the barracks.
After inspecting the car back at the barracks the troopers found out they were right. This car was wrong and just a few hours after it arrived at the barracks Trooper Ennis Rafferty vanished. At that point the entire troop knew the Buick was not only wrong but dangerous. So dangerous that it would be best if the public never even knew about it. From that day on the old Buick sat in shed B just behind the barracks of Troop D.
In the fall of 2001 Trooper Wilcox was killed in a gruesome auto accident during a routine traffic stop. It wasn’t long after the accident when his 18 year old son, Ned began to show up at the barracks. He volunteered to do odd jobs around the barracks and after a few months he was hired on as summer help. It was at that time when Ned discovers the old Buick out in shed B. This stirs up the story of the Buick from the Troopers and it also stirs up the old Buick.
This is Stephen King’s second novel featuring a supernatural car (Christine). He got the idea for the book while traveling through Western Pennsylvania. He stopped at a gas station and almost slipped and into a stream of water. He thought about how long it would have been before he would have been discovered and this led to the plot of the book. There is currently a movie adaptation of the book in development due in 2011.
The book is well written with vivid details and well developed characters. There is strong language throughout the book and the pacing is erratic. The book does not have a great amount of violence but there are some very graphic gruesome details. I really struggled to get through this book. This is the first book I have read in this genre and for me the first three quarters of the book were very slow. However, the ending was pretty good including some twists. Overall, I thought this book was just ok.
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Annotation #2
Title: The DaVinci Code
Author: Dan Brown
Publisher: Doubleday, New York (January 1st, 2003)
Pages: 454
ISBN: 0385504209
Genre: Adventure/Thriller
Robert Langdon, a professor of symbology at Harvard University is awakened in the middle of the night in his Paris hotel room. Jacques Saunieve, curator of the Louvre has been murdered and police detective Jerome Collet wants Robert Langdon to interpret the scene but he is not told and is not yet aware he is a suspect in the murder. Langdon discovers Jacuques Saunieve’s body is surrounded by strange clues and meets Jacque’s granddaughter Sophie, a cryptologist with the French Judicial Police.
The murder scene sets off a chain of events that has Robert and Sophie follow the trail of clues hidden in the works of Leonardo DaVinci. They must solve a series of ciphers and riddles to find the secret location of the Holy Grail. This takes them on a grueling two day adventure through Paris and France and ultimately England. Not only do they have to solve ciphers and riddles but also stay ahead of the French police as well as the Priory of Sion, a one thousand year old secret society and a conservative Catholic organization Opus Dei. Both groups do not want the Grail found. The Priory of Sion will stop at no cost to ensure it isn’t found and Opus Dei may be close to destroying the Grail.
I had heard both good and bad things about the book. I thought the movie was just ok and I wanted to read the book. I thought the book was very good. It was fast paced and had many twists and turns. I wish I would have read the book before watching the movie! I really enjoyed the book and thought it was much better than the movie. I guess it would impossible to pack this book into a two and a half hour movie but I guess this isn’t supposed to be a comparison of the book and movie.
The mood was dark and menacing. The pace was very fast. The story took place over a period of a couple of days. There were many twists and turns and the story moved from Paris to London. Both are places I would love to visit which made the story a little more exciting. The plot is complicated and the author does a good job of providing background information. The trail of clues and puzzles to decipher with danger around every corner to uncover an ancient secret made for a very exciting story.
A lot of people told me they didn’t like this book and it was not well written but I really enjoyed it. Maybe in a few years after I have read more books I will look back and have a different opinion of the book and the writing. However, as of right now I consider this a good read. I would recommed this to anyone I thought there was no danger of starting a holy war with.
Author: Dan Brown
Publisher: Doubleday, New York (January 1st, 2003)
Pages: 454
ISBN: 0385504209
Genre: Adventure/Thriller
Robert Langdon, a professor of symbology at Harvard University is awakened in the middle of the night in his Paris hotel room. Jacques Saunieve, curator of the Louvre has been murdered and police detective Jerome Collet wants Robert Langdon to interpret the scene but he is not told and is not yet aware he is a suspect in the murder. Langdon discovers Jacuques Saunieve’s body is surrounded by strange clues and meets Jacque’s granddaughter Sophie, a cryptologist with the French Judicial Police.
The murder scene sets off a chain of events that has Robert and Sophie follow the trail of clues hidden in the works of Leonardo DaVinci. They must solve a series of ciphers and riddles to find the secret location of the Holy Grail. This takes them on a grueling two day adventure through Paris and France and ultimately England. Not only do they have to solve ciphers and riddles but also stay ahead of the French police as well as the Priory of Sion, a one thousand year old secret society and a conservative Catholic organization Opus Dei. Both groups do not want the Grail found. The Priory of Sion will stop at no cost to ensure it isn’t found and Opus Dei may be close to destroying the Grail.
I had heard both good and bad things about the book. I thought the movie was just ok and I wanted to read the book. I thought the book was very good. It was fast paced and had many twists and turns. I wish I would have read the book before watching the movie! I really enjoyed the book and thought it was much better than the movie. I guess it would impossible to pack this book into a two and a half hour movie but I guess this isn’t supposed to be a comparison of the book and movie.
The mood was dark and menacing. The pace was very fast. The story took place over a period of a couple of days. There were many twists and turns and the story moved from Paris to London. Both are places I would love to visit which made the story a little more exciting. The plot is complicated and the author does a good job of providing background information. The trail of clues and puzzles to decipher with danger around every corner to uncover an ancient secret made for a very exciting story.
A lot of people told me they didn’t like this book and it was not well written but I really enjoyed it. Maybe in a few years after I have read more books I will look back and have a different opinion of the book and the writing. However, as of right now I consider this a good read. I would recommed this to anyone I thought there was no danger of starting a holy war with.
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