0.4 by Mike Lancaster

The book cover - image from google

0.4 is the story of Kyle Straker, a 15 year old voice recorder onto tapes and transformed into a book. Nobody knows if this is a hoax or if it is real. But this is his version of the events of the early 21st Century.

I love the cover of the book. It's pretty awesome and makes you think about what weirdness could possibly be in this book. So, just by looking at it you can tell that it's a sci-fi. Futuristic in some ways and completely normal to the point of mundane in others. It has everything to do with technology. It's so sci-fi, I wasn't quite sure how to react when I finished the book. I think my thoughts were: "Well, that's odd, and also pretty cool". one thing I can say for sure is that it has some great ideas and leaves you thinking about reality.

Reality itself is a huge theme here. And I thought the book was a bit short actually, because it didn't explore reality in the way I would have liked. Sure, it was action-packed, but I wanted more background and insight.

It's an easy read, and very interesting (I read it in a few hours). But I don't think it's for everyone. Basically if you're not a fan of dystopias, weird goings-on, mysteries or classic science fiction, don't read it. If you're in it for a story that is different, interesting, and plot-driven it's for you. A good thing is that it can be read by either gender, as long as they like the premise.

Unfortunately I didn't really feel much for the characters. I understood Kyle, but wasn't really overly empathetic towards him. I think perhaps the author could have described his feelings a bit more. It was probably more aimed at a teen audience though, so I'm not really the target audience.
However, I think teens would love this, I think especially boys who like sci-fi and gadgets.

For me, this book gets 2/5 stars. While it was a good idea, and I loved the premise, I don't think it was executed quite right for me. I didn't feel much fro the characters and it was on the young side.

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There is a sequel already out, called 1.4, which tells you about the aftermath of 0.4.
0.4 /Human4 on Goodreads.com.

Numbers by Rachel Ward

Image from google

Jem has seen the numbers all her life. 'When she looks in someones eyes, she can see the date they will die'. When she goes on a trip to the London Eye with her new friend Spider, their lives change forever.

I have to say, Rachel Ward has written a stunning book. Everything in it, no matter how different to our lives or how spectacular, is so utterly believable.
All the characters are very well-rounded. Their emotional journeys are perfect. Even the smaller, less featured characters seem to be quite well developed, which is remarkable for such a small book.

One thing which is also pretty cool, is that this time I knew that Ward had definitely done her research as a writer, or at least been to Basingstoke, among other areas. If you know/have driven in Basingstoke, please, please read the part of this book that mentions it. I won't ruin it for you. So very, very funny.
The amount of detail that the book goes into it utterly brilliant.
Numbers has everything I wanted from a book; adventure, morals, explorations of society (free will, control and predestination to name a few), mortality and even romance.
I may have also teared up a tiny bit at the end. (It was quite emotional, to be fair.)

So I'm giving this book a definite 5 out of 5. Number 2: The Chaos is on it's way in the post and Numbers 3 I'm sure will be too!

Image from google

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Rachel Ward's Website.
The Guardian's Review
Review by Galleysmith

The Interpretation of Murder by Jed Rubenfeld

The Interpretation of Murder tells the story of Sigmund Freud (the famous Psychoanalyst) and his first and only trip to America. Freud said that he had experienced a traumatic event there, and his opinion of America was not the same afterwards. It is this trauma that Rubenfeld plays out. And what a dramatic one it is.

If you're interesting in an American version of a Sherlock Holmes style Murder Mystery featuring Freud and his theories then this is the book for you.

But if you're not interested in Psychology I suggest you don't read it. Even I, a student partially studying psychology and fascinated by Freud and his odd ideas, found some theoretical conversations a little hard to chew.

Book Cover.

This book covers a little bit of everything: from Relationships and Love to New York history, and then to medicine and therapies, and then to Shakespeare's Hamlet? But most of all covering the murder mystery themes of crime and detection.

I found this book to be a little slow at the beginning, and a little too fast with the whole explanation of what had happened at the end, but that is usually how murder mysteries pan out anyway. The part where usually Sherlock Holmes would remind us of small things that his clever mind had picked up. Except the protagonist is more likeable than Mr Holmes.

The story, however, was told wonderfully. I'd say it was very, very clever. Of course having read this book before, I was not surprised at the twists and turns it was making, but originally remember being slightly shocked and very much enjoyed fitting all of the pieces together in my head.

So, owing to the fact that I enjoyed it, but that I expect quite a lot of people may not, I'm giving this book 3 and a half stars.

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The wikipedia page for The Interpretation of Murder can be found HERE.