A Review of Bentley Little's Dispatch

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Jason Hanford is an excellent writer and he often uses his ability in a deceitful manner. This deceitful way often gets Jason everything that he wants in life. All he has to do is write a simple letter. He sends letters to businesses, newspapers and anywhere else that he sees fit.

With a single letter, Jason can get free food, free passes and even a response from the government. Soon, someone takes notice of Jason's letter writing ability and offers him a job. The job offer is from someplace that Jason is not aware of and a place that he cannot even imagine.

At this point, his life is in shambles; he is divorced and without a job. With his life at a low-point, he accepts the mysterious job offer that requires him to only write letters. That is all, nothing more. The job almost seems too good to be true.

What Jason does not know is that this job will change his life in a way that he cannot even begin to fathom.

Bentley Little does an excellent job at turning something so simple as letter writing or even a store and turns it into something terrifying. Readers that are already familiar with Little's writing style know that he takes everyday mundane things and turns them into brutal nightmares.

Dispatch is not an exception, except that it is difficult to have any type of sympathy for the main character. He is a shady individual and it is hard to sympathize. However, the situation that he finds himself is horrific and bizarre, maybe even too bizarre.

Little is known for bizarre and far-fetched stories, but this one is out there. Sometimes it is laughably extreme. Dispatch is not one of the best Little books available, but it does deliver if you can get past certain bizarre points.

The first half of the book is certainly more enjoyable than the second half. The second half of the novel is where things start to fall apart. Some areas are not very coherent. The ending is not very strong, but the strange factor certainly matches the rest of the story.

Overall, Dispatch is an easy read that has some faults. It is a page-turner, but the reader will really have to accept some truly far-fetched scenarios, which is not necessarily a bad thing.

Some other recommended reads by Bentley Little are: The Association and The Store.

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Top Fantasy Books - A Fan Of Fantasy?

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What are your all time favourite top fantasy books? I bet many of you will have thought Lord Of The Rings immediately! With the recent success of Game Of Thrones on television and a second series possibly on the way as well as a movie version of The Hobbit coming our way next year it's probably fair to say that the fantasy genre is as strong as ever. For those of you who aren't fans of the genre or maybe just passive fans then hopefully we can convert you!

The fantasy genre really started way back in Victorian times with authors such as William Morris and George MacDonald. The success of fantasy books today though probably lays at the door of one man, J.R.R Tolkien, creator of some of the top fantasy books such as Lord Of The Rings, The Hobbit and The Silmarillion. It was Tolkien who was the first to really create an entire world to base his books in, his world as many already know was Middle-Earth.

It has been said that Tolkien came up with the idea of Middle-Earth when sat in his back garden looking over the hills and imagining wars between different races taking place across them. It was from this imagination that one of, if not the greatest book trilogy's of all time were created.

At the same time as Tolkien was creating Middle-Earth a good friend of his, C.S. Lewis, was also creating his own fantasy world known as Narnia, his books also went on to huge success with The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe becoming one of the top fantasy books of all time, not only that, it also has a few movie variations in the decades after, making the 1950's the true-birth of fantasy.

If we fast forward 60 years and walk into any decent book shop the fantasy genre is probably one of the largest sections, much of its success must be pointed towards it's founders but even today we have classic fantasy books coming out all the time. Fans of the television series Game Of Thrones may have since gone out and bought the book, maybe even the titles after in the A Song Of Ice And Fire series, one of the greatest fantasy series of all time. It's because of these current authors such as Martin and Hobb that the fantasy genre continues in such strong fashion and it's because of them we will never get bored of the fantasy genre.

Are you a fan of the fantasy genre? If so please visit our site at http://www.topfantasybooks.net/ for all the latest and greatest in fantasy literature and movies.

Book Review for: "A Clash of Kings"

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Book Review for: A Clash of Kings
Written by: George RR Martin
Bantam Books
ISBN: 0-553-10803-4
Avail: print & ebook
4 Stars

Martin pens a worthy follow up to his fantasy epic, "A Game of Thrones," with "A Clash of Kings." Mainly set on the land of Westros, several men fight for the crown of the seven kingdoms. Will there be a winner? In the east, Daenerys Targaryen, the mother of dragons, seeks to find a way to return to Westros.

The story opens with the main characters observing a comet in the sky. Each has their own personal interpretations of the comet - good and bad. What I liked about Martin's use of the comet was how he evoked "an impending sense" about what was going to occur and what was inevitable. This tone lingers in the reader's mind as the story enfolds.

Stannis, the previous king's rightful heir, has turned to sorcery and believes the time is right to attack Westros and secure his throne. With his backers and sorceress, he sets out to accomplish his inevitable mission.

In King's Landing, the 13-year-old king, Joffery, demonstrates cruel brutality and little concern for the subjects who follow him. It's up to his uncle, Tyrion Lannister, to defend the city and carry out justice. Tyrion has quite a challenge considering the obstacles in his path.

Tyrion's father, Tywin, fights north of King's Landing, but is unable to defeat Robb Stark's forces or secure his son, Jaime's, freedom.

Ayra Stark finds herself at Harrenhal, serving first the Lannisters, than Robb's man, Bolton, and she must rely on all her wits to stay alive. Will Syrio's lessons prove enough?

To the west, Balon Greyjoy, self-styled king of the iron islands, attacks the northern coast. His son, Theon, returns to a prodigal greetings and finds his sister holds much favor with their father. Wanting to earn prestige in his father's eyes, he attacks the Starks at Winterfell.

Bran and Rickon flee Winterfell and are presumed dead. North of Winterfell, Jon Snow and the Night's Watch explore beyond the wall in order to determine the nature of the impeding threat.

Catelyn Stark journeys to Storm's End and has an adventure before returning to Riverrun where she is determined to support her son, Robb. An explosive confrontation with Jaime Lannister towards the end of the story settles several issues for her.

In the south, Renly Barathron makes plans to attack King's Landing, but first he must deal with his brother, Stannis. In the far the far east, Daenerys leads her Khalhaser through barren land before finding hope in the city of Quarth.

Martin's story is told from several perspectives, giving the novel its epic fantasy feel. The writing is sharp and never lingers, moving from event to event at a crisp pace.

Martin's characters give the story its heart. For Daenerys, her character continues to grow in inner strength and resolve. Theon's deception is heartbreaking, while Tyrion's honest approach as the King's Hand had me rooting for him despite the darkness behind the Lannister's bright colors.

"A Clash of Kings" stirs a passion within the soul, making the reader feel as if they're a knight in Westros. The only drawback, while minor for me, were the open plot points at the end of the novel. While several ends were tied up, new ones developed. There's no feeling of satisfaction at the end just a restless anxiety that promises to continue with "A Storm of Swords." Martin, though, has me hooked, so I'll read to find out what happens next. Some, however, may find the unresolved ending frustrating.

Who will be the king of the 7 kingdoms? Joffery? Renly? Stannis? Balon Greyjoy? Robb Stark? "A Clash of Kings" promises surprises, fast-paced action, and will leave the reader anxious to read the next book in the series. Overall, "A Clash of Kings" will leave you breathless and wanting to know what happens next.

Reviewed by: S. Burkhart

Steph B is an author who likes to read many books and a variety of different genres. Steph B is an author at http://www.Writing.Com/ which is a site for Creative Writing.