Main Character – DaneCobain.com

Ernest Hemingway – To Have and Have Not | Review

Title: To Have and Have Not

Author: Ernest Hemingway

Type: Fiction

Page Count/Review Word Count: 192

Rating: 7/10

Ernest Hemingway – To Have and Have Not

To Have and Have Not is almost a stereotypical Hemingway book, with a hard main character and a lot of boats around. My friend Neil read this shortly before I did, and when we were talking about it, he described it as “a bit boaty”. Neil was right.

I mean, if you like boats then you’ll love it, but otherwise, you might feel as though some of the detail is unnecessary. Still, it’s an interesting enough story, about a rum runner during the time of the Depression. At one point, he loses an arm, but that doesn’t stop him from being a badass. His friends are also pretty hard, but I guess he just has that sort of social circle.

Overall then, an entertaining enough read, and one that doesn’t take too long to get through, but it’s overshadowed by the greatness of some of Hemingway’s other work. I would recommend this if you’re already a Hemingway fan, but otherwise, there are better books to start with.

Ernest Hemingway

Click here to buy To Have and Have Not.

Terry Pratchett – Small Gods | Review

Title: Small Gods

Author: Terry Pratchett

Type: Fiction

Page Count/Review Word Count: 384

Rating: 7/10

Terry Pratchett – Small Gods

Small Gods was merely alright, but it was towards the better end of alright – really, as much as it’s an entertaining take on religion, I just don’t care enough about religion in the first place for it to really resonate with me. Brutha, the main character, a man who happens to be both a novice and the Chosen One, wasn’t particularly interesting, although I could certainly recognise the kind of trope that he was based on.

That said, there are a couple of seriously funny moments, scattered throughout – there just aren’t necessarily as many as you might hope for, given Pratchett’s track record. It’s also pretty interesting to get a proper look at how the Disc’s religious factors really work, as they’re often featured in other novels in the series, even if only in passing.

I also didn’t think that it dragged, which is a good thing – even though it wasn’t as good as it could’ve been, I still whizzed through it as I usually do with Discworld novels. It’s also a relatively early entry into the series, and so there are a lot of old school Pratchett fans who consider it to be one of his finest. Clearly I wouldn’t go that far, but I can also half understand why people feel that way.

Terry Pratchett

Ultimately, if you’re a serious Discworld fan then you’re probably going to want to read this at some point, and I don’t blame you – I think you should do, if you’ve read at least a dozen or so of Pratchett’s other works, or if you started with The Colour of Magic and moved on from there. Otherwise, if you’re just dipping into them at random, then save this one for later, unless you can scoop it up as a bargain.

After all, I must stress that while this review is somewhat negative in tone, it’s only because I’ve read the rest of the series and have benchmark expectations that, on this occasion, Pratchett failed to meet. It doesn’t necessarily mean that you’ll feel the same, but it’s a good idea to tread carefully. Other than that, best of luck with it – come back to let me know what you think!