The Stand, by Stephen King
It is fashionable in the world of literary fiction to denigrate Stephen King. Some would suggest his vast appeal is driven by a bovine yearning on the part of adult children, a hankering after the supernatural and things that go bump in the night. There are those authors who would have us cast out popular fiction, would have us believe that unless a book is a tiresome tome, struggling under the weight of its own verbosity, it is not worth reading.
To those authors, this reviewer would hold up Stephen King’s The Stand, and ask who among their number could produce a work of such magnificence. Literary fiction purports to concern itself with style, depth and character development as opposed to narrative; The Stand covers all of the above, peering into the soul of humanity through the prism of a truly flawless plot.
In the Sea there are Crocodiles, by Fabio Geda
Enaiatollah is a ten year old Afghan village boy abandoned in the city by his mother for his own protection from the Taliban. Heeding her last words, and in deference to the sacrifice she made, he carves out an existence in the city, taking a series of jobs to keep himself off the streets, and eventually making contact with traffickers who agree to take him across the border to Pakistan. So begins a five year journey as an illegal immigrant that sees Enaiatollah walking for weeks across the mountains to Turkey, rowing across the sea to Greece, and smuggled in a lorry across the border to Italy where finally he claims political asylum. What makes this story especially astounding is that it is based on the real life of Enaiatollah Abbari.
In the sea there are crocodiles is a window into the world of the illegal immigrant. Enaiatollah is forced to endure the brutality of police, the frustrations of repatriation, the hardships of undeclared labour and the fear of detention centres – but also freedom from tyranny, good fortune, the kindness of strangers, and the invaluable support of friendship. Enaiatollah is stoic about his ordeal – he just wants a full belly and to be able to study, but his resilience and resourcefulness in the face of such adversity is self-evident.
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The Sick Rose, by Erin Kelly
The Sick Rose is Erin Kelly’s follow up to her hugely successful debut The Poison Tree. It throws together Louisa, a garden renovator on the cusp of forty, and Paul, a young man twenty years her junior, fleeing the danger and tragedy he left behind in his native Essex. Both share dark pasts which inform their every daily action, but in each other they believe they may have found an all-too elusive happiness. Throughout the course of the book, Kelly evokes the titular motif brilliantly, questioning whether one love founded in the remains of another can ever survive.
Kelly describes the physical world in abundant detail, but her writing is never laboured. Instead, the vivid descriptions breathe life into both Kelstice Lodge, the decaying Warwickshire mansion where Louisa and Paul are employed, and into Grays Reach, the bleak housing estate of Paul’s youth. The contrast is striking; Kelstice Lodge (which will inevitably renew earlier comparisons with du Maurier with its similarity to Mandereley) is filled with gothic splendour. It is an enduring monument to a more noble time. In a clash of history and modernity, Grays Reach is depicted as a monument to the horrors of mid twentieth century architecture; it appears to have been constructed solely to inspire violence and criminality. Read more
The Caspian Gates, by Harry Sidebottom
Ballista is back! The Caspian Gates is the fourth outing for Harry Sidebottom’s barbarian-turned-Roman hero, and he’s still up to his neck in trouble. Having been unwilling acclaimed as an Emperor by his troops at the end of the previous book, The Lion of the Sun, Ballista is now viewed with deep suspicion by the Emperor, and his fate is in the balance.
When the book opens Ballista is in Ephesus with his family and household, waiting to hear what is to happen to him – he expects death or banishment, and the exploration of what exile means in the Roman world is the underlying theme of the book. When a massive earthquake hits Ephesus, Ballista’s cool head allows him to keep his family safe, and he is instrumental in defeating the Goths who descend on the city in the aftermath. He then discovers his mission – to journey deep in to the Caucuses and reinforce the Caspian Gates, in the lands of a Roman client king, which guard against the depradations of the Scythians from the north.
Geraint Anderson AKA Cityboy
Before sacrificing his soul to dark forces in the Square Mile, Cityboy was a genuine left-wing hippy and political activist, complete with ponytail and hoop earrings. His dream of becoming a global traveller was cruelly dashed when his brother got him an interview at a French bank in the City, which would set him on the rocky road to destruction and despair. He recently published his second book, Just Business.
The Homecoming of Samuel Lake, by Jenny Wingfield
The Homecoming of Samuel Lake is a languorous trip to the southern parts of the U.S. Equal parts paean to the southern climate, culture, and landscape and enthralling character study, Homecoming builds a story of a family and community that resonates with honesty and serves as an astonishing debut novel for Jenny Wingfield. We begin in 1956, on the first Sunday in June, at the family farm where the Moses family is having their annual family reunion. All too soon tragedy strikes; the family is shaken to its core, and Samuel Lake, his wife Willadee, and their three children begin a summer destined to mark each of them for life.
It is Samuel’s daughter, Swan, who immediately captures the reader’s attention (and heart). Full of life, curiosity and compassion, Swan is a gorgeously captured character. She has the sort of arrow-straight insight given only to children and an awareness of those around her that leads to all sorts of adventures and nearly drags her, and her entire family, into tragedy.
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The Dragon’s Path (The Dagger and the Coin 1), by Daniel Abraham
In the prologue of The Dragon’s Path a young apostate runs away from a remote religious community in the sure knowledge that if those following catch him, he will be killed. Through sheer determination and some luck he manages to make it to the safety of a town, uncertain of what he will find there or how he’ll cope with it, while carrying his secrets very close to his heart. And that is the last we hear about the apostate until the last chapter of the book (or is it?).
The main story revolves primarily around three characters, Marcus the famous warrior now tired of the fighting, Cithrin, a young orphan raised by a bank and Geder, the only son from a minor noble house more interested in philosophy then fighting but forced by his position in to the latter.
Red Runs the Helmand, by Patrick Mercer
The third and final book of former soldier Patrick Mercer’s Anthony Morgan novels, Red Runs the Helmand is the first of Mercer’s book I have read, but fortunately no familiarity with Morgan’s previous adventures is necessary to enjoy the adventure. Set in the Afghan province of Helmand, this is clearly intended to have parallels with Britain’s current military commitments in that area, from an author who had a long career in the British Army and who is now a serving Conservative MP.
General Anthony Morgan is a sent to take command of a brigade-sized force at Helmand, which is being occupied by the British as part of what was later to become known as the Second Anglo-Afghan War. Morgan’s commanding officer is a pompous arse and he is unsure about the steadiness of all the regiments within his brigade, in a country where the tribes are hostile and religious fervour inspires many Afghans to try and evict the British. In two different regiments, one infantry and one cavalry, are Morgan’s two sons, by different mothers, between whom no love is lost. The friction between them spills over in to bad blood between their companies, a problem their father does not need considering the other challenges facing him.
Robin Hood: The English Outlaw Unmasked, by David Baldwin
John Major wrote that Robin Hood ‘permitted no harm to women, nor seized the goods of the poor, but helped them generously with what he took from Abbots’. He wrote that in 1521, so that’s probably not the John Major you were thinking of.
Very little is really known about the famous outlaw, not where he was born, not where he lived, not what he did, not when he did it and not even whether he really existed at all. The ballads present him as a pretty bloodthirsty renegade who stole from the rich and gave, once, to knight with a temporary funding problem. A loan rather than a gift really. Giving to the poor never even crossed his mind.
Not much is known about his companions or enemies, either. Little John, Much the Miller’s son and Will Scarlett are all there in the earliest stories, but Maid Marion first came on the scene long after Robin died and there were no Friars in Britain back in his time. They were lucky though, Robin’s unfortunate arch enemy the Sheriff of Nottingham doesn’t even merit a name.
Proof of Life, by Karen Campbell
Proof of Life is the fourth novel from former police officer Karen Campbell. Much praise has been heaped on the Glaswegian’s work thus far; critics have lauded her character studies and her ability to breath life into the police officer’s milieu.
As the story opens, Chief Inspector Anna Cameron (the returning protagonist of Campbell’s work) has pulled her life together. Heavily pregnant, in a successful relationship, and career on track, she has it all to lose. Unfortunate for her then, when a body is fished out of a Glasgow canal that threatens to destroy everything she has. Read more
Jack Absolute, by C.C. Humphreys
The first of C.C. Humphrey’s Jack Absolute novels to be published, but actually the second tale, chronologically speaking (The Blooding of Jack Absolute being the prequel), Jack Absolute is an enjoyable slice of Georgian military adventure that’s executed with plenty of verve. The character of Jack Absolute, a Captain in the British Army, is positioned as the American War of Independence’s answer to 007 (indeed, a glance at Amazon will reveal the publishers have subtitled the book as such) – Jack is a gambler, lover, soldier, actor and spy (the last two being particularly closely related), and always contrives to be in the thick of the action. Jack Absolute was originally a character in Sheridan’s play The Rivals, so Humphreys actually has his Jack as having inspired Sheridan’s creation of the character.
The action opens with Jack in London, accompanied by his Iriquois blood brother Ate, who as is explained in the prequel, is prone to quoting Hamlet at every opportunity but who nonetheless has Jack’s back. When a dalliance with an actress leads to a duel and a hasty exit from England, Jack and Ate are bound for North America, where the colonies are in rebellion and the British are losing the war against George Washington’s forces. Jack has a mission to unmask the spy believed to be in the midst of his master General Burgoyne’s command – but the spy is not working for the Americans, but rather for the sinister Illuminati, a Masonic movement who consider themselves as devoid of loyalty to individual countries and who are trying to abolish war and usher in some sort of world government (which is certainly as silly as many of the evil plots that 007 had to contend with, and at one point Humphreys even mischievously has Jack’s arch-enemy utter the immortal words “No, I expect you to die”).
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The Bookgeeks Interview
Simon Kernick
Simon Kernick is one of Britain’s most exciting new thriller writers. He arrived on the crime writing scene with his highly acclaimed debut novel The Business of Dying, the story of a corrupt cop moonlighting as a hitman. However, Simon’s big breakthrough came with his novel Relentless which was selected by Richard and Judy for [...]
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Five copies of John le Carré’s Smiley vs Karla Trilogy to be won
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy was one of the big film releases of 2011, and to celebrate its release on DVD we have five copies of John le Carré’s Smiley vs Karla Trilogy to be won – consisting of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, The Honourable Schoolboy and Smiley’s People.
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