CONFESSIONS OF A BOOK REVIEWER: PART 1

NEV MURRAY

Come join us at Ginger Nuts of Horror, he said. It will be fun, he said. I would love to, I said. This is a dream for me, I said. Just give me some reviews, he said. Delighted, I said. Just write me a bio and an “article” to introduce yourself, he said.

Eh……,I said.

Never written an “article”, I thought. Too late to run away, (?) I thought. Just waffle, I thought. Everyone will buy it. I hope you do……

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So here it is. The “article”. I thought I would give it a catchy title with “Part 1” at the end just in case I get invited to write anything else. Saves having to think of a new title each time. See, I’m the stereotypical “reviewer” – I have a writer inside of me that would love to write a novel or even a short story but don’t think it would come out worth reading. That’s why I read the proper stuff and ramble about what I thought. I leave the writing to the experts.

Anyway, my name is Nev. It’s really Neville but that has the word “evil” in it so I shorten it so people don’t get scared. I was born in 1968 in Belfast, Northern Ireland. 2 months later the troubles started in earnest. Not sure if my birth was the cause or not. It was a harrowing time growing up. Things just weren’t like they were in other places in the world. It soon came to be “normal” to me and everyone else who lived there. You just accepted it. I led a nondescript sort of life up until 9 years ago when I met my wife Jo. A Geordie lass who, yes you guessed it, doesn’t own a coat. I now live in the North East of England with Jo and our son Alex who is ginger and thought I was taking the mick when I told him the name of the website. So that’s you up to date with my life.

Apart from my wonderful family, the thing I have most faith in is The Blessed Trinity – books, motorbikes and metal. My ideal afternoon would be riding my bike while listening to a musical audiobook about Spinal Tap. Covers all 3 elements. When I can’t do that, books and metal are the kings. You will always find me (much to my wife’s disgust) glued to my Kindle with the headphones in, mesmerized by the words and tapping the foot to something new and heavy.

Books were my first love. I remember using mine and my sister’s library card when I was eight so I could get as many books as possible to read. From an early age I didn’t like kids’ books. I was always sneaking some thriller or other into my pile and maybe a mystery or two. When I was about ten I picked up a book I had never seen before called The Rats by some man called James Herbert. I had to read it in private ‘cause I was scared my parents would take it off me if they found me reading it. It scared the absolute crap out of me. The scene near the beginning when the rats start to appear near the school was particularly disturbing for me. My imagination ran wild the next day when I was in school, looking out the window, imagining it happening outside. That’s when I realised the wonder of books and what they could do to your mind. If it was a good one it stuck with you for days or years and took you away to wondrous places in times of boredom. Mr Herbert never knew it but I grew up with him in my life. I own everything he has written and it was a sad sad day when he passed recently.

Nowadays with the invention of the Kindle the world is a reader’s oyster. I was one of the old school “I’ll never buy a Kindle. I like to feel a real book in my hands” people. Now I relish the thought of being able to carry hundreds of books around with me at any one time. I spend most of my time reading horror from the vast quantities of Indie authors out there plying their trade on Amazon. Love it or hate it Amazon provides a plethora of material for the avid reader. If it wasn’t for Amazon I wouldn’t have sampled some of my favourite authors of today like Kealan Patrick Burke, James Newman, Iain Rob Wright and Glen Krisch. I also wouldn’t have discovered some of the old masters like Ronald Kelly, Robert McCammon and Graham Masterton. Yeah, I know I should have read a lot of these years ago, but the beauty of it is you have already probably read them – I still have the pleasure ahead of me. Catch up is wonderful.

Anyway, my job here appears to be to keep doing what I’m doing and read a mountain of horror and dark fiction then tell you about it. I will be relaxed yet enthusiastic in my reviews whilst always being honest and never ever including spoilers. I hope I can inspire you to go out and buy some of them and hopefully find the same enjoyment of imagination as I do.

Remember – A good book makes you want to live in the story. A great book gives you no choice.

To be continued………(hopefully)