The A-Z Blog Challenge, Letter M

Letter M of My Favourite Books by title

Three Authors - Three Genres 
Sci-fi, High Fantasy & Horror - something for everyone

The first one is The Martian, by Andy Weir, an American author Here's the blurb:

I’m stranded on Mars.

I have no way to communicate with Earth.

I’m in a Habitat designed to last 31 days.

If the Oxygenator breaks down, I’ll suffocate. If the Water Reclaimer breaks down, I’ll die of thirst. If the Hab breaches, I’ll just kind of explode. If none of those things happen, I’ll eventually run out of food and starve to death.

So yeah. I’m screwed.

I'd heard about this book from several friends who raved about it, then I joined my local book club and it was the next book they were reading so I was keen to see what it was about, and I wasn't disappointed. I was blown away not only by the captivating, on-the-edge-of-your-seat story, but the technical detail in this book about how someone can survive on Mars.

The main character, who is stranded on Mars, writes in the first person in a sort of journal entries, and in third person we find out what they are going to do about it on earth. Despite the technical detail, (Maths is not my strong point), it didn't detract from the story at all. It seemed to make it all more possible.

Later when I saw the film with Matt Damon, I felt that he really brought the character to life and they did a brilliant job of it. Anyone who loves sci-fi will love this book. It's really not to be missed.

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The second is Mort, by Terry Pratchett, British author, the fourth in the Discworld Series. Here's the blurb:

Death comes to us all. When he came to Mort, he offered him a job.

After being assured that being dead was not compulsory, Mort accepted. However, he soon found that romantic longings did not mix easily with the responsibilities of being Death's apprentice...

This was the first Discworld novel I read of Terry Pratchett's - I can't remember if it is the first ever book I read by him, (I think that might be The Carpet People, which I discussed back in Letter C), but it's one that left a lasting impression and actually got me reading the rest.

I adore Death being a character and having a personality, adopting a daughter and getting an apprentice. I also read it to my 13 year old son recently and still loved everything about it. Pratchett has such a way of mixing humour, life, and extreme fantasy, and weaving something quite incredible. Despite his passing I still have several books of his to read, including Discworld novels, and I will savour them. 

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 The third is by Me!! - Sorry I couldn't resist adding my own in here!

Like the phases of the moon, Mostly Dark waxes and wanes with thirty tales of darkness and light. An intriguing maelstrom of broken minds and broken hearts, from revenge to desire, from new found love to soulmates, herein lies a tale for everyone. Prepare your senses for an emotional and sometimes terrifying ride.  

I like to write dark fiction, real life horror really. Not so much blood and gore, but psychological, get in your head, leave you to think about it, kind of dark horror.

I can also write lighter stuff, but there tends to be less of that. 

So that is why I titled this Mostly Dark, because the majority of the thirty short pieces are Dark, but in the middle you get a handful of love and hope tales. 

So get ready for a ride if you choose to read it.