Interesting biography of Stephen King by Lisa Rogak

Haunted Heart: The Life and Times of Stephen King is an unauthorized Stephen King's biography written by Lisa Rogak. If you want to know how Stephen began his career, reach for this book.

For forty years Stephen King published books that have sold in hundreds of millions of copies. I'm a big fan of his work and I've read all this novels, short stories and books (like Dance Macabre and On Writing). See my top ten best novels by Stephen King >

I also read the biography of the King of Horror written by Lisa Rogak. Even if you know facts from King's life from e.g. Wikipedia or this autobiography On Writing, you should read this book. Why? Because it is well-written, contains lots of anecdotes and comments of King's friends and family.

Rogak writes also how Stephen King fared with fame, fans and critics. Besides, there is a lot of information in it about the circumstances in which Stephen King created his stories, so you can look at his novels with a completely new perspective.

This is a official description of a book:
"One of the most prolific and popular authors in the world today, Stephen King has become part of pop culture history. His best-selling novels such as Carrie, It, Christine, and many others have captured the imaginations of millions of readers. But who is the man behind those tales of horror, grief, and the supernatural? Where do these ideas come from? And what drives him to keep writing at a breakneck pace after a thirty year career?

In this unauthorized biography, Lisa Rogak reveals the troubled background and lifelong fears that inspire one of the twentieth century's most influential authors. Despite his dark and disturbing work, Stephen King has become revered by critics and his countless fans as an all-American voice more akin to Mark Twain than H. P. Lovecraft. Haunted Heart chronicles his story, revealing the character of a man who has created some of the most memorable and frightening stories found in literature today." (from Amazon)

Stephen King still writes
This is a good book, but you have to remembered that Rogak has written it in 2008, when Stephen King published Just After Sunset - collection of short stories. Since then a lot has changed. On the market there are seven new novels by Stephen King. Latest novel - Revival - which is the seventh since 2008, has premiered on the 11th November this year. A new collection of short stories and several TV series based on his work also add up to his achievements.

It is clear that Stephen King, though sometimes he says that he plans to retire, still does not meet his threats, right? :-) Although he could live a comfortable life with what he has earned, still he creates and shares with readers the new great stories.

I read "Haunted Heart: The Life and Times of Stephen King" with curiosity and I recommend it to anyone.

Top 10 best novels by Jo Nesbo

I like Jo Nesbø's  books - each of his crime novels is well written and have interesting plot. If you don't know this Norwegian author, see which of the Jo Nesbo novels are the best.

Jo Nesbo sold over 23 million copies of his Norwegian novels. He is best know as an author of series with inspector Harry Hole. His first novel ever written was The Bat (1997), which is also the first part from Hole's series.

These best selling crime novels are very interesting for several reasons: have distinctive main character, a surprising turns in the plot, good dialogues and detailed background story. That's why I was never bored reading any of the Nesbo's books.

But you must to know that Nesbo is an example of a writer who has steadily improved his skills. This means that his later novels are better than earlier titles.

Of course, I recommend reading Jo Nesbo books in order (you can check the chronology e.g. on the official website of the author). Especially when it comes to novels with inspector Harry Hole.

But, in my opinion, best book by Jo Nesbo is The Son, which is a stand-alone novel. You should read this book first. It's great!

This is my ranking of top ten best novels by Jo Nesbo:

1. The Son (see description)
2. Police - Jo Nesbo latest book (see description)
3. Nemesis (see description)
4. Phantom (see description)
5. The Redeemer (see description)
6. The Bat - first book of Harry Hole series - (see description)
7. Cockroaches (see description)
8. The Snowman (see description)
9. The Redbreast (see description)
10. The Leopard (see description)

If you want to know the style and atmosphere of books written by Jo Nesbo you must read The Son. It is a stand-alone novel, so you do not need to know the other titles by this author. When read the rest :-)

Enjoy!

Mr Mercedes by Stephen King - book review

I love Stephen King's books. I'm always impressed by his hard work, imagination and skills to create an interesting story. Mr Mercedes, his latest novel, is another of them.

If you want to know why I'm such a big fan of the works of this author, see my ranking of best books written by Stephen King.

Is it worth to read Mr Mercedes? I'm convinced that the answer is: yes. This is the most straight-up mystery-thriller in King's bibliography and it's good.

In Mr Mercedes we have a classic battle between good and evil: on one hand, there is Brady, who plows through the crowd in a stolen Mercedes, running over many innocent people, and escapes. One year after the police still doesn't have any suspects.

On the other hand, there's Kermit William Hodges, a retired cop, who is still haunted by the unsolved crime. When he gets a crazed letter from someone who self-identifies as the “perk” and threatens an even more diabolical attack, Hodges decides to catch the killer, before he strikes again. William has no time to lose, because Brady's next mission, if it succeeds, will kill or maim thousands of people.

This is only a brief description of the book Mr Mercedes (see full description), but from the beginning we know who is the killer, so no spoilers here :-). The bigger question is whether and how Hodges will connect all the information and find Brady?

The action takes place over almost 500 pages, but we are not dealing with painstaking police work, but more of a psychological war between the murderer and the detective. The book is very well written, has interesting plot, characters and dialogues. 

That's why I think that Mr Mercedes is successful King's debut in a detective genre, but if you want to know best works of Stephen King, I encourage you to read titles from my ranking of King's novels.

If you are going on vacation, a long journey or just want to read a good crime book, go ahead and reach for the Mr Mercedes. It will most certainly catch your attention.

Top 10 best books by David Baldacci

David Baldacci has a law degree and practiced law for nine years, but he doesn't creates stricte legal or court thrillers. This novelist writes thrillers that have more action in them and hes doing it really well. So if you are looking for titles from this genre, you should definitely get one of books written by Baldacci.

This American writer has published more than 20 titles and created several series (including Camel Club and with Sean King and Michelle Maxwell), as well as many stand-alone novels.

Baldacci made his debut in 1996 with the novel Absolute Power, which immediately became the worldwide bestseller. A year later, the novel was made into a movie - Absolute Power (1997) - with Clint Eastwood (who is also a director of this movie), Ed Harris and Gene Hackman.

Now this author has millions of sold copies of his novels. Fully deserved!

I like books by David Baldacci – they are well written, dynamic, always with an interesting story and a surprising ending. It's worth to read his novels, which is why I choose the books which in my opinion are the best novels written by David Baldacci. I encourage you to read them.

This is my ranking of best novels by David Baldacci:

1. Absolute Power (see description)

2. Stone Cold (see description)

3. Wish You Well (see description)

4. The Winner (see description)

5. Divine Justice (see description)

6. Split Second (see description)

7. The Innocent (see description)

8. The Hit (see description)

9. The Target – latest David Baldacci's book (see description)

10. Total Control (see description)

I think if you are looking for a new thrillers or wondering which of the books written by Baldacci to read first - see one of the titles above. I guarantee it will be a good read :-)

Review: Jeff Abbott - Panic

If you are looking for an interesting and well-written thriller to take for a long journey or you just have a free evening, reach for the novel Panic by Jeff Abbott. It will be good choice. 

Jeff Abbott is an author of over ten mystery, crime and suspense novels. Before he decided to become full time writer, Abbott worked as a creative director at an advertising agency.

Panic, which was first released in 2005, is an excellent example of the scheme: a common man is suddenly in unexpected danger and must fight against opponents to be able to return to his normal life.

Here is a description of the book from Amazon:
„Evan Casher is a successful documentary filmmaker with a perfect life- until the day his mother is brutally murdered. Suddenly pursued by a ruthless circle of killers, Evan discovers his entire past has been a carefully constructed lie. With only one chance at survival and no one he can trust, Evan must discover the shocking truth about his family and himself...”

I other words Evan, while trying to find his father, meets FBI agents, brutal killers, spies and mysterious people from his parents' past. He wants to get his revenge on the people who murdered his mother and uncover all the secrets about his family.

What I like most about this novel? The story with a surprising finale. It is a very interesting idea. However, I think that the author could have included more detail into the plot, which would make the story more credible. But if you are looking for a good thriller for the free evening or as a gift for a thriller lover, Panic wirtten by Jeff Abbott is a title ideal for you and I encourage you to read it.