The Mountains of Instead

Championing fiction as an escape from pandemics, politics and bad TV.

Anarchy in the UK (review: Nowhere by Jon Robinson)

Nowhere
Jon Robinson Penguin 2013
Alyn, Jes, Ryan and Elsa are nowhere.  Confined to a concrete block that serves as a prison to them and ninety-four others they have no idea where they actually are.  They and their fellow inmates are watched around the clock, kept in cells and subjected to endless le…

Top Ten Tuesday - Great First Lines.

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by The Broke and The Bookish. This week is a freebie week so I've gone with a top ten close to my heart. To my mind, you really cannot beat a good first line (except, possibly, with a good last line - a post on which is on its way). Those first few words can mak…

The Horror, The Horror (review: The End Games by .....)

The End Games
T. Michael Martin
Balzar and Bray 2013

Michael is deep in The Game. Travelling through a desolated America he has only the voice of The Game Master to see him and his five-year-old brother through a country that is only barely recognisable to the final Safe Zone. On this most perilous of…

Afterlife (review of Reboot by Amy Tintera)

Reboot Amy Tintera Harper Teen 2013
When Wren was twelve, she was shot in the chest three times.  For one hundred and seventy eight minutes, Wren was dead.  And then she wasn’t.  Ever since humanity was struck by a virulent illness, some people, like Wren rise from the dead, returning better or worse …

Top Ten Tuesday - Book Covers

This is my first Top Ten Tuesday!  I really enjoy reading this feature, hosted by The Broke and The Bookish and while I doubt I'll take part EVERY week (no point in actively setting myself up for a fall) I plan on taking part as often as possible.  This week, it's a topic close to my heart …

The Light It Seeks (Review: Stone Junction by Jim Dodge)

Stone Junction: An Alchemical Potboiler  Jim Dodge
Rebel, Inc. 1997

Everybody has a few books which make a deep and lasting impression on them. Books which they read at just the right time, in just the right mood to ensure a well-worn copy remains on the nearest shelf for decades to come. Books whic…

What Kind of Love am I Facing? (Review: The Secret of Ella and Micha by Jessica Sorensen)

The Secret of Ella and Micha Jessica Sorensen Sphere 2013
Ella and Micha have been friends forever, seeing each other through their difficult childhoods.  However, after a series of tragic events, Ella realises that she needs to leave her past behind and flees to college, leaving Micha behind with no …

If You Go Down To The Woods (Review: A Tale Dark and Grimm by Adam Gidwitz)

A Tale Dark And Grimm Adam Gidwitz Puffin 2011
“"You're being foolish," Gretel told herself. "Rain can't talk."

No, of course it can't. The moon can eat children, and fingers can open doors, and people's heads can be put back on. But rain? Talk? Don't be ridiculou…

Yellow Feathers in her Hair and a Dress Cut Down to There (review: Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins)

Lola and The Boy Next Door Stephanie Perkins Dutton Books 2011
Lola is living a life of high costume drama in San Francisco.  She spends her time festooned in fabulous creations of her own design, attending school, working in her local cinema and hanging out with her two dads.  Oh, and having a relati…