Six Degrees of Separation (Mar): from Prophet Song to The Passage by Justin Cronin

The meme is hosted by Books are My Favourite Best and is described thus: On the first Saturday of every month, a book is chosen as a starting point and linked to six other books to form a chain. Readers and bloggers are invited to join in by creating their own ‘chain’ leading from the selected book. Each person’s chain will look completely different. It doesn’t matter what the connection is or where it takes you – just take us on the journey with you.

This month we begin with Prophet Song by Paul Lynch, the 2003 Booker Prize Winner. I read this last year and really enjoyed it, although I am not sure that 'enjoy' is the correct word for a book so dark. Prophet Song is a dystopian novel set in Ireland, as it endures a violent slide into a totalitarian state and a civil war. Now, I think the world fears that it may offer a glimpse of a possible American future, but I like to think positively. 

It does immediately bring to mind The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood, another dystopian novel about a totalitarian state. Atwood famously wrote this book using only the dark abuses that exist in our current world, combining them into one dystopian world full of horror and harm.

Trying but failing to keep move onto a lighter subject, I immediately thought of The Invisible Man by HG Wells. Elisabeth Moss being the obvious link here, having appeared in the tv adaptation of The Handmaid's Tale and the 2020 movie The Invisible Man. I am actually a big fan of old school science fiction, and I am partial to a bit of HG Wells, although The War of the Worlds is my personal favourite.

Now my mind is stuck on some of my favourite old school science fiction novels. The first is Nemesis by Isaac Asimov. I know that Asimov is probably more famous for some of his other novels, and I am very partial to the Space Ranger series, but Nemesis has just been one of those substantial science fiction novels with space travel, future civilisations and strong female characters that I can revisit over and over again. 

Then of course there is The Chrysalids by John Wyndham. This is my absolutely favourite Wyndam novel - a masterpiece set in a post-apocalyptic world following a nuclear disaster where society has become deeply religious and anyone born with any slight difference is consider impure and immediately outcast. If you haven't read this - I highly recommend it. You can read my full review here, where I gave it full marks and declared it one of my new favourite books of all time. 

This takes us to my final book of this month's entry - which is The Passage by Justin Cronin. The Passage is an exhilarating and tense post-apocalyptic story that spans the decades before and after a virus has been released by the US Military and destroyed the world as we know it - you can read my full review here. I absolutely loved this book when it came out, it was everything you could want from popular fiction; fast-paced, action-packed, enthralling and with skilled writing as well. The Passage is the first in a series, and unfortunately for me it was one of those series that just dropped the ball as it progressed. I would highly recommend reading The Passage but give the later books a miss. 

Six Degrees of Separation (Feb): from Dangerous Liaisons to Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier

I haven't participated in #6degrees previously, but as someone who suffers from FOMO, I couldn't help but want to join in. 

The meme is hosted by Books are My Favourite Best and is described thus: On the first Saturday of every month, a book is chosen as a starting point and linked to six other books to form a chain. Readers and bloggers are invited to join in by creating their own ‘chain’ leading from the selected book. Each person’s chain will look completely different. It doesn’t matter what the connection is or where it takes you – just take us on the journey with you.

February's #6degrees begins with Dangerous Liaisons by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos. Now I'm not going to lie, I haven't read this. Perhaps I should add it to my TBR list for 2025, but we'll see. My research does tell me that it's an epistolary style novel written in 1782, depicting all the depravity of the French nobility just prior to the French Revolution. 

This takes me directly to another epistolary style novel Frankenstein or the Modern Prometheus by Mary Shelley, which I have reviewed here. I absolutely loved this book. The beauty of Frankenstein is just how human Frankenstein's monster really is. He is a man who desires love and companionship. In his early years of being he seeks friendship and family. He wants people's approval and notice in order that he can become the man that he feels that he is. He is then deeply wounded by the sudden and cruel realisation that he is fated to a life of nameless isolation, where he will only ever be met with abhorrence and rejection. His grief and despair at this realisation force him to seek the assistance of the man that he himself despises, his creator, Viktor Frankenstein. It's also a true classic, having played a significant role in the development of the horror genre, as well as having an important place in romantic and gothic literature, and to a lesser extent science fiction as well. 

Speaking of monsters, another epistolary style novel but this time with the greatest vampire of all time: Dracula by Bram Stoker, which I have reviewed here. Creepy creepy creepy. But in a good way of course. I loved this book and there were times as I was reading that I nearly wanted to put it down because it was creeping me out so much. I do admit though that I loved the first half of the book at Count Dracula's castle so much more than the second half. 

So, while we are on a vampire theme, how can I go past Twilight by Stephanie Meyer, which I have reviewed here. Controversial I know. So many people disliked these books but when I first read them, I absolutely loved them and consumed them as fast as I could. It isn't until more recently that I reflect more poorly on them for the disconcerting depiction of a relationship that in real life would easily be considered one of domestic violence by way of coercive control. Although initially I loved it, now I worry about what lessons a younger generation takes from it about what a romantic relationship should be. 

What should a romantic relationship be like? Well, while I think it's easier to identify what it "should not" be like, what it "should" be like is much harder to pin down - what works will be different for everyone. But how can you go past Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. The slow build to true love - now that's romantic. Elizabeth and Darcy coming to know each other over time, and in the process coming to know themselves. Sigh. 

This takes me to my final choice, Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier. How did I get here? Not because of the common thread of romance, but because if someone asked me what my favourite book was and made me choose just one, I would be choosing between Pride and Prejudice and Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier. And I think that Rebecca would just win out. I have tried to review Rebecca in the past, but I just can't do it justice. From the very time I read that opening line "Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again" I was hooked. The characters, the prose, the plot - it just gets me every time. 

January 2025: What I Read

I started 2025 off on a bit of an audiobook roll. I'm not usually one for audiobooks, but I was having trouble sleeping and there was just something so relaxing about spending the evening in bed listening to an audiobook. 

And I wasn't just on an audiobook roll - it was an Agatha Christie audiobook roll. I've always been a die-hard Christie fan, ever since I was in high school. I will always remember that The Mysterious Affair at Styles was my first introduction to Christie and I've never looked back. I've read all of her books now, and many of them I have read many times over. What's wonderful is that I have discovered on Spotify Premium that I can listen to any number of Christie audiobooks which, circling back to where this post began, was how I started my 2025. 

Of course, I had to start with The Mysterious Affair at Styles and then I moved onto Death in the Clouds. These were both narrated by High Fraser, the actor who played Hastings in the David Suchet Poirot adaptations. The Murder of Roger Ackroyd was narrated by David Suchet himself.

Here we go with my first piece of controversy for the year - but I prefer the narration of Hugh Fraser to David Suchet. There is something so mild but compelling about the way he narrates. Perhaps I've watched the television series too much, but his voice just feels to comforting. 

For my first read of the year, I started with Orbital by Samantha Harvey. There is just something about books that are nominated for the prize that I seem to be attracted to. It's so unusual for me not to enjoy the winner or even anything on the short list or long list. This isn't an exception - I did enjoy it..... but.

First - what is Orbital about? In Orbital, Samantha Harvey recounts a single day aboard the International Space Station, exploring the perspectives of six astronauts as orbit Earth and their thoughts drift between the vastness of space and the fragile beauty of the planet below. I think ultimately, this is a story of what it means to be human and the juxtaposition of our small lives with the vastness of earth and space. 

What I found challenging was the lack of plot. I don't mean this as a criticism. The story isn't meant to have plot. It's a beautifully written reflection on what it is to be human, but perhaps my personal taste makes me lean toward more plot driven fiction. The language and the imagery invoked though was beautiful and I do recommend the book. 

Last for January 2025 was The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley. I had been seeing this book everywhere - there must have been an absolutely huge marketing push. And it worked - when I saw what the book was about it seemed exactly up my alley. It's blend of historical fiction, spy thriller, and speculative fiction - with some romance tossed in for good measure. It is the story of an unnamed civil servant who employed to "acclimatise" a time-traveling Victorian explorer to modern life. In the background is the sinister government program that they all understand so little about but clearly is not quite what it's meant to be. 

I did enjoy this book, but like many others who have reviewed it before, it didn't quite live up to its potential. The book was probably trying to be too many things at once and the pace was a little confused - with a slow build followed by a very quick and slightly confusing reveal toward the end. I wish that it had lent more into its spy thriller persona.

Having said that, I still couldn't put it down and when I learnt how it was written, all was forgiven. This is the author's debut novel and written during the covid pandemic and send to her friends in short pieces in order to keep them entertained through what we all know was a challenging time. This, to me, makes explains the odd pace and repetitiveness that crept in. Still - I would recommend this if you are after a fun and quirky read.