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Cressida Cowell – How to Cheat a Dragon’s Curse | Review

Title: How to Cheat a Dragon’s Curse

Author: Cressida Cowell

Type: Fiction

Page Count/Review Word Count: 240

Rating: 3.5/5

Cressida Cowell – How to Cheat a Dragon’s Curse

This book was pretty cute, but then all of the How to Train Your Dragon books are and so there’s no surprise there. This was actually probably my least favourite of the three that I’ve read, but it was still enjoyable enough and I liked the fact that much of it focused on a quest to reclaim a mythical potato.

I also like the little twist towards the end, although I’m not going to spoil it for you by telling you what it was. Suffice to say that Hiccup and the gang are subjected to a test of friendship (as they usually are), and that there are all sorts of subtle parodies of our own world and the inimitable sense of humour that makes Cowell’s books a hit with kids and adults alike.

What I will say about this one is that the adventure felt a little less fleshed out, somehow shorter than some of the other books. There was too much time on the setup and not enough on the heart of the story, but that’s okay. It was still a good read, and I don’t regret picking it up. I just want to hurry up and get to the rest of the series, so I’ll have to scour the charity shops.

Cressida Cowell

Click here to buy How to Cheat a Dragon’s Curse.

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Stephen King – End of Watch | Review

Title: End of Watch

Author: Stephen King

Type: Fiction

Page Count/Review Word Count: 372

Rating: 3.75*/5

Stephen King – End of Watch

This book is the third and final book in the Bill Hodges trilogy, and it came as something of a relief. I loved Mr. Mercedes, the first book, but Finders Keepers (the second one) wasn’t up to the same standard. This one isn’t as good as Mr. Mercedes either, but it’s still pretty good, and I did like how you get to learn more about some of the characters. The whole gang is here, from notorious domestic terrorist Brady Hartsfield to Bill Hodges, Holly Gibney and Jerome Robinson.

It’s also interesting to see how Hartsfield’s ostensibly psychic powers develop and how he successfully uses suicide as a weapon. On the downside, it just didn’t feel quite right having all of these psychic powers and astral projection when the first book was basically a hardboiled crime thriller. Adding all of these other elements may be more King, but it just doesn’t seem to ring true to what the first book attempted to do. But maybe I’m only saying that because I think it kind of devalues Mr. Mercedes, which I gave 5/5 to.

There’s also the fact that I already knew how the entire trilogy was going to end from the very first book, purely because of the title of this one. When it finally happened, it felt like something of an anticlimax. The same is true with the final confrontation between Hodges and Hartsfield, which almost felt rushed after how much the reader has gone through to get there. Unless you’re a hardcore King fan who wants to read every single one of his releases, I’d suggest just reading Mr. Mercedes and then calling it quits.

I also had a few problems with King’s representations of tech, and he even says in his afterword that he’s changed some of the details to suit the story. I kept unsuspending my disbelief because stuff was happening that just isn’t possible. There was also a character who went to visit Hartsfield when I don’t think that she, as a person, would have done it. But if she didn’t, the entire book wouldn’t have happened. Bummer.