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Title: The Method

Author: Duncan Ralston

Type: Fiction

Page Count/Review Word Count: 308

Rating 4/5

This might finally be the book that’s made me like thrillers. It’s reminiscent of all of the big players like Gone Girl and Girl on the Train, but it also has an indie flair that sets it apart and actually made it worth reading for me. The only thing that really came close is We Are Lucifer by Amy McLean, but I think this one edges it out and it’s the only real thriller that I can think of that I’d recommend.

The premise here is that a married couple goes off to a secluded lodge for an unconventional form of therapy called The Method. I don’t want to give away too much about what that actually involves because that’s kind of the point of the novel, but I will say that the two main characters didn’t check what they were signing and so it means that they’re in for a rough ride.

I also liked that there were plenty of twists and turns, which are pretty much a must for a novel like this, but that they didn’t follow the most obvious paths and so the book kept on surprising me. In fact, it’s one of the few thrillers that I’ve read that could probably hold up to a re-read, purely because there was something a little more to the backstory than there are in most thriller novels of the type.

All in all, there’s a lot to like about this book and very little not to like. If thrillers are your genre then you’d be crazy to miss out on this one, while if you like to support indies then this one is easily in the top 10%. Go ahead and grab yourself a copy.

Click here to buy The Method.

Stephen King – Different Seasons | Review

Title: Different Seasons

Author: Stephen King

Type: Fiction

Page Count/Review Word Count:560

Rating: 4*/5

Stephen King – Different Seasons

Different Seasons is an interesting book because it’s one of King’s earlier releases and so it retains a lot of that early King flair that so characterises his early work. It also stands out because it’s not one novel but rather a collection of four different novellas, some of which I enjoyed more than others.

The first one is Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption, and you might already be familiar with it because of the movie. I actually prefer the movie and thought that the story was only so so, with little in the way of an actual plot. It follows the story of a man who’s been jailed for murder but who claims he’s innocent. With nothing but time on his hands, he starts a project to take his mind off the incarceration.

The next one up was probably my favourite, a story called Apt Pupil which is about the unusual relationship between a young boy and an elderly Nazi. The boy basically blackmails the Nazi into reliving his days as an officer at a German concentration camp and the story follows the effect that has on his mind and personality. It asks you as the reader a lot of questions, and while it’s always kind of bleak to read about Nazis, I found this nevertheless enjoyable.

Stephen King

Next is The Body, which has been adapted into a film called Stand By Me. It’s kind of a coming-of-age story about a group of kids who set out to find a missing kid from a nearby neighbourhood and what happens to them along the way. Each of the kids has a crappy home life including abusive family members and as they set out on this journey, they struggle to wrap their heads around the situation that they find themselves in.

The final story in this collection is The Breathing Method, which was probably my second favourite. This is a story within a story, effectively taking the form of an oral tale that’s told inside the walls of an unusual take on the classic gentleman’s club. The tale is about a woman who’s determined to give birth at all costs, and it gets pretty graphic down the line as she nears her due date. It’s not one for the squeamish, nor for those who are pregnant, but it is a great story nonetheless.

Overall then, there’s a lot to be said about this collection, and while I didn’t think all of the stories were famtastic, Apt Pupil and The Breathing Method alone make this worth reading, and you’ll probably want to read the other two because they’re high profile ones thanks to the film versions. That said, you’d better clear a gap in your schedule if you’re hoping to read it from cover to cover without switching to another book, because it comes in at 560 pages of pretty small print.

Still, I’m glad that I read it, and while it wasn’t a five-star read for me, it did still live up to King’s impressive reputation and makes a nice little addition to my collection of King books. I think I’ll take a little break before I embark on another one, though. It eats up a lot of time. You know how it is.