Enigmatic – DaneCobain.com

Title: Ronnie

Author: Ronnie O’Sullivan

Type: Non-Fiction

Page Count/Review Word Count: 298

Rating: 7/10

Ronnie O’Sullivan – Ronnie

What we have here is the official autobiography of Ronnie O’Sullivan, and whilst I doubt that he actually wrote any of it, it is a fascinating insight into his early life. What it doesn’t really do, though, is to leave you feeling like you understand him. By the time that you get to the end of the book, you’ll still see O’Sullivan as the same old enigmatic snooker player.

The book is a little out of date by now, too – a year is a long time for Ronnie O’Sullivan, and he’s arguably one of the most notorious snooker players to have ever lived. His talent seems to go up and down like a yo-yo, as does his frenetic personal life.

But if you’re expecting some sort of expose then you’ll be mistaken, too – there’s not so much celebrity gossip in here, but the passages on young Ronnie’s childhood and his descent into the murky snooker clubs of Essex are definitely worth a read, if you’re a snooker fan.

Ronnie O’Sullivan

And that kind of brings me to the crux of this review – if you’re not a snooker fan then you’re probably not going to enjoy the read much. It’s the same with any celebrity autobiography – it’s only really worth reading if you’re a fan of the celebrity. But if you are a Ronnie fan, and if you like to read the occasional memoir, then you could do a lot worse than this.

Because when it comes to the text, it’s certainly professionally written, as well as well-edited – I didn’t spot a single mistake, and I keep a look out for them. Plus, the book includes some pictures – always a plus with an autobiography!

Ronnie O’Sullivan

Click here to buy Ronnie.

Thomas Harris – Hannibal Rising | Review

Title: Hannibal Rising

Author: Thomas Harris

Type: Fiction

Page Count/Review Word Count: 416

Rating: 9/10

Thomas Harris – Hannibal Rising

I really enjoyed Hannibal Rising, more so than any other book in the series. Thomas Harris was always a master storyteller, but here I feel he’s at his finest, and you can tell that he’s done his research, too. The novel acts as a prequel, and it tells the story of the young Hannibal Lecter and his struggles during the Second World War in Eastern Europe, when he was little more than a boy.

And many ways, that’s what makes this work stand out from Harris’ other work – in many ways, it’s almost a different genre to the other books in the series, touching on historical and military thrillers, as well as its traditional blood and gore. Add that to the fact that it’s also his most recent, at least at the time of writing, and that he hasn’t written another book for the last eight years, and you can see why this is a little bit special.

Not all of the critics agreed, but what do I care? I rate my books on how much I enjoy them, and I loved this – I’d go so far as to say that if you haven’t read any of the Hannibal books, you should start here. After all, you’ll get to see his character develop, and it’s arguably the best Thomas Harris novel in my opinion, and so what have you got to lose?

Thomas Harris

The supporting characters are also fantastic, and Lady Murasaki and Mischa Lecter in particular stand out, in part because of the similar, enigmatic quality they share, and partly because they play a huge role in the development of the cannibalistic killer. That said, just because he isn’t fully developed, it doesn’t mean that he isn’t capable of violence – in fact, there’s plenty of death throughout the novel, as well as the hideous, twisted genius that Lecter shows in the ways in which he kills people.

In fact, when I first read this novel, I worried about Harris’ mental health – you know the feeling you get when you’re reading a book and it’s so vivid and thought out that it seems like no-one other than a homicidal maniac would come up with it? I always used to think that if there was any writer who turned out to actually be a murderer, to be basing his novels on his own terrible crimes, it would be Harris.