Erin Britton
Erin Britton is a full-time PhD student and a part-time bookseller. Luckily, these two occupations have proved mutually beneficial – Erin has amassed an impressive library of Romani history books and could engage in a lengthy and detailed conversation on the matter should any customers ever actually ask her. While Erin’s first love is cult fiction, she also enjoys science fiction, graphic novels, children’s fantasy and adventure, and Tudor history books.
The Prisoner of Brenda, by Bateman
Reviewed on October 24, 2012
The Bookseller With No Name rides again [but never above 29 miles per hour] in The Prisoner of Brenda and it’s just as well there’s murder afoot since the book business is well and truly in the doldrums. As the Mystery Man himself comments, “The book business is in chassis and our footfall is down [...]
Vanished Kingdoms: The History of Half-Forgotten Europe, by Norman Davies
Reviewed on October 16, 2012
If history is written by the victors then, as Norman Davies notes in his introduction to Vanished Kingdoms, it’s perhaps no surprise that historians [and publishers] are preoccupied with “tales of great powers, of great achievements, of great men and women, of victories, heroes and wars – especially the wars which ‘we’ are supposed to [...]
Building Stories, by Chris Ware
Reviewed on October 4, 2012
Chris Ware’s Building Stories is truly a thing of beauty. Packaged in an exquisitely illustrated box, Building Stories consists of fourteen different books and booklets which can be read in any order. Some of the included volumes are hardbacks, some are broadsheets, some are narrow zigzags of story and one folds out like a board [...]
Telegraph Avenue, by Michael Chabon
Reviewed on October 3, 2012
Brokeland Records is one of those mythical, eccentric second-hand record stores where Nick Hornby and other devoted music aficionados shop. Located on a rundown section of Telegraph Avenue in Oakland, Brokeland is owned by Archy Stallings and Nat Jaffe, long-time friends and band mates, and has a handful of loyal customers who visit regularly to [...]
Comics Sketchbooks, by Steven Heller
Reviewed on September 23, 2012
Steven Heller’s Comics Sketchbooks opens up the private notebooks and doodle sheets of eighty-two of the world’s more innovative and successful artists and allows fans to take a fascinating peek inside. Each sketchbook provides a detailed, almost intimate, snapshot of its owner’s style, thought processes and working method. Despite all of the pages that Steven [...]
The Pirates! in an Adventure with the Romantics, by Gideon Defoe
Reviewed on September 12, 2012
Not many pirate adventures begin in a bank manager’s office and that’s a surprise really since, as any self-respecting Pirate Captain knows, life is full of expenses. Spare bits of rope, press-ganging, new hats, – none of them come cheap. Fortunately, Gideon Defoe has sussed out this particular piratical problem and so The Pirates! in [...]
A second look at Reamde, by Neal Stephenson
Reviewed on September 11, 2012
Wishing to avoid the Draft, in 1972 Richard Forthrast ran away to Canada and found work as a guide. A chance encounter with a bear brought this particular fugitive career to an end and so Richard turned to marijuana smuggling to make a quick buck. Richard turned out to be a particularly skilled marijuana smuggler [...]
The Daylight Gate, by Jeanette Winterson
Reviewed on September 8, 2012
On an unseasonably warm evening in 1612 pedlar John Law takes a short cut home through an area of Pendle Forest known as Boggart’s Hole. Pendle has a sinister reputation and, a superstitious man of his time, Law wants to make it safely out of the forest before dusk, before the Daylight Gate. Unfortunately for [...]
Merivel: A Man of His Time, by Rose Tremain
Reviewed on September 7, 2012
Robert Merivel is in danger of succumbing to the Melancholy. Having risen, fallen and risen again during the gaudy years of the Restoration, Merivel’s heyday as physician and courtier to Charles II seems long ago. After having regained possession of Bidnold Manor Merivel sought to enjoy a quiet [though certainly not monk-like] life away from [...]
A second look at Toby’s Room, by Pat Barker
Reviewed on September 2, 2012
Desperate to break away from the shackles of her repressive [and, indeed, repressed] family and establish herself as a thoroughly modern young lady, Elinor Brooke moved to London and enrolled at the Slade School of Art. Gleeful to be living on her own and finally able to see progress in her art, Elinor is nevertheless [...]
Ask a Policeman, by Members of the Detection Club
Reviewed on September 1, 2012
Self-satisfied and unashamedly self-serving, Lord Comstock was a newspaper tycoon with enemies pretty much everywhere. He had no scruples when it came to the material published in his newspapers and was always on the look-out for the next person or institution to attack [some things never change, eh?]. There was no great surprise therefore that [...]
Absalom: Ghosts of London, by Gordon Rennie & Tiernen Trevallion
Reviewed on August 30, 2012
It’s 1578 and there’s a demon chained up in the Tower of London. It’s just the kind of surprising development that could lead to rioting on the effluent-sodden Tudor streets and cause all manner of upset to the life and reign of Elizabeth I. Clearly the whole thing has to be hushed up but silencing [...]
Devoured, by D.E. Meredith
Reviewed on August 29, 2012
In 1856 the least fashionable and thus least socially acceptable area of medicine in which to practice was forensics. Being a surgeon rather than a decent, respectable doctor was considered bad enough but pursuing a living that involves dissecting folk was just beyond the pale. In addition to the social stigma, those few brave men [...]
Sombrero Fallout, by Richard Brautigan
Reviewed on August 25, 2012
A sombrero falls out of the sky. The sombrero is not from Mexico but it does have an owner, although that owner is far away. The sombrero falls from nowhere, for no apparent reason. The sombrero is cold and its arrival will have a tremendous impact on the three men who saw it land and [...]
The Underwater Welder, by Jeff Lemire
Reviewed on August 23, 2012
Jack Joseph and his pregnant wife Susie have moved to Tigg’s Bay, Jack’s home town. Jack says that they moved back so that he could find work but Susie isn’t so sure. A stranger in a strange small town, Susie is less than a month away from her due date and wants Jack to spend [...]
The Falcons of Fire and Ice, by Karen Maitland
Reviewed on August 14, 2012
The Falcons of Fire and Ice begins in Iceland in 1514 as Johann makes a mistake that is going to have far graver ramifications than he can even imagine. Johann’s wife Elisabet is pregnant and, desperate for money to support his growing family, he agrees to supply a rich foreigner with some white falcon chicks. [...]
For Honour and Fame: Chivalry in England 1066 – 1500, by Nigel Saul
Reviewed on July 19, 2012
Popularly, to think of chivalry is to think of King Arthur and Camelot, tales of selfless bravery and courtly love crafted by Thomas Malory and Chretien de Troyes and put into verse by Tennyson. These tales, often mixing the possible with the downright magical, concern men [and occasional women] who were the forerunners of today’s [...]
The Magic of Reality, by Richard Dawkins
Reviewed on July 17, 2012
Richard Dawkins’ The Magic of Reality begins with a question: if reality is everything that exists, then how do we know what exists? In many cases this question of existence can be answered easy by recourse to our five senses. Our ability to see, smell, touch, taste and hear provides us with effective means of [...]
Kick-Ass 2, by Mark Millar and John Romita Jr.
Reviewed on July 16, 2012
Kick-Ass began with a simple idea: why couldn’t a pretty tragically average comic book fan transform himself into a real life superhero? To Dave Lizewski’s mind there was no reason at all and so, armed with a pair of batons and unencumbered by training of any kind, he took to the streets. Of course, we [...]
The Prisoner of Heaven, by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
Reviewed on July 13, 2012
The Prisoner of Heaven is actually the third book in Carlos Ruiz Zafon’s Cemetery of Forgotten Books cycle but, fortunately since I haven’t read the previous two books, a note at the beginning confirms that each individual instalment in the series can be read in any order. The lack of knowledge of Ruiz Zafon’s previous [...]
The Curse of the 30 Pieces of Silver, by Jean Van Hamme, Rene Sterne & Chantal De Spiegeleer
Reviewed on July 12, 2012
The Curse of the 30 Pieces of Silver, the thirteenth book featuring Edgar P. Jacobs’ popular adventurers Blake and Mortimer to be translated into English, begins with a minor earthquake off the coast of the Mani Peninsula. While the earthquake itself could only manage to reach 4.2 on the Richter scale, it has a far [...]
Whispers Underground, by Ben Aaronovitch
Reviewed on July 9, 2012
Whispers Underground marks the third outing for Peter Grant and the Detective Constable/Apprentice Wizard is once again up to his neck in it – literally in the sense that he spends a lot of time in the sewers and, metaphorically, because life as a crime fighter is never straightforward. DC Grant’s Christmas season begins with [...]
Comic Book History of Comics, by Ryan Dunlavey & Fred Van Lente
Reviewed on July 3, 2012
As Tom Spurgeon comments in his Introduction to the Comic History of Comics, the study of comics is often dominated by discussion of superheroes and of the Gold, Silver and Bronze Ages that dominated that genre. But this is of course a very narrow view-point from which to examine comics and so fails to consider [...]
Eagle Strike: The Graphic Novel, by Anthony Horowitz, Antony Johnston, Kanako Damerum & Yuzuru Takasaki
Reviewed on June 29, 2012
Eagle Strike is the graphic novel adaptation of the fourth book in Anthony Horowitz’s incredibly popular Alex Rider series. Antony Johnston’s script has this version of Eagle Strike beginning with a flashback to some danger and intrigue in the Amazon fifteen years ago before flashing forward in time to the present day and the south [...]
Thomas Becket, by John Guy
Reviewed on June 16, 2012
Thomas Becket is John Guy’s thrilling, revisionist biography of one the most controversial yet revered figures in British history – “the man who sought to reform a nation, dared to defy his king, and laid down his life to defend his sacred honour.” The basics of Becket’s life story are quite well-known. Born in 1120 [...]
This is Not the End of the Book, by Umberto Eco & Jean-Claude Carriere
Reviewed on May 20, 2012
This is Not the End of the Book is the transcription of an extended conversation, facilitated by Jean-Philippe de Tonnac, between big-brained bibliophiles Umberto Eco and Jean-Claude Carriere. Given its title, it is understandable perhaps to presume that this book offers a detailed regurgitation of the many ‘print books vs e-books’ arguments that are currently [...]
The Evolution of Bruno Littlemore, by Benjamin Hale
Reviewed on April 21, 2012
Bruno Littlemore considers himself to be something of a renaissance man and so it should be no surprise that he hopes his memoirs will “enlighten, enchant, forewarn, instruct and perchance even entertain.” Fortunately, while certainly rather smugly pleased with himself, Bruno does have a profoundly interesting story to tell. Bruno was born in Chicago and [...]
This is Life, by Dan Rhodes
Reviewed on April 20, 2012
After a couple of years living in the city, art student Aurélie Renard considers herself to be thoroughly, perhaps even smugly, Parisian and so wants her latest art project to be befitting the grandeur in which she feels herself to be living. She hits [ha!] upon the idea of selecting a random point in the [...]
Physics of the Future, by Michio Kaku
Reviewed on April 5, 2012
In his Introduction to Physics of the Future, Michio Kaku states that there were two experiences during his childhood that have defined his life and shaped his career. The first was hearing about the death of Albert Einstein and the fact that the world’s greatest scientist had died before being able to complete his most [...]
Hope: A Tragedy, by Shalom Auslander
Reviewed on April 4, 2012
According to his psychiatrist, Solomon Kugel suffers from an excess of optimism. Apparently Kugel is so desperate for things to turn out for the best that he can’t stop worrying about the worst. This peculiar abundance of hope has resulted in Kugel losing nearly all joy in life with the result that his only remaining [...]
Ready Player One, by Ernest Cline
Reviewed on March 29, 2012
Real life in the year 2044 is not much fun at all. The oil supply has dried up, the environment is screwed up and the only things which seem to be plentiful are famine, disease and poverty. The Earth has pretty much gone to hell in a handbasket. Fortunately for the remaining population, billionaire computer [...]
Suddenly, a Knock on the Door, by Etgar Keret
Reviewed on March 26, 2012
Suddenly, a Knock at the Door, Etgar Keret’s first new collection in ten years, offers a masterful selection of short stories. Like those in his previous collections, the stories in Suddenly… are delightful little tales of the drama and absurdity of everyday life. These are extraordinary stories of seemingly average folks and the strange and [...]
The Time Traveller’s Guide to Elizabethan England, by Ian Mortimer
Reviewed on March 23, 2012
The reign of Elizabeth I [1558 – 1603] is popularly perceived as being a Golden Age for England and it was undeniably a time of greatness: the defeat of the Spanish Armada; Francis Drake successfully circumnavigating the globe; amazing writers [Frances Bacon], poets [Edmund Spenser, Philip Sidney] and playwrights [William Shakespeare, Christopher Marlow]; extraordinary architecture [...]
Reprobates: The Cavaliers of the English Civil War, by John Stubbs
Reviewed on March 13, 2012
To think of the English Civil War is to think of dandified, gentlemanly cavaliers fighting the cause of the King against the puritanical roundheads and their zeal for social revolution. From this popular image, history has tended to favour the roundheads. For all their perceived priggish distrust of pageantry, dance, colourful dress and fun in [...]
The Death of King Arthur, by Simon Armitage
Reviewed on January 19, 2012
Following his acclaimed translation of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Simon Armitage’s new book – The Death of King Arthur – marks a welcome return to the world of the Round Table. While the poetic Sir Gawain has always been a popular classic of Arthurian lore, The Death of King Arthur is Armitage’s translation [...]
Pure, by Andrew Miller
Reviewed on January 18, 2012
Young and still somewhat idealistic, provincial engineer Jean-Baptiste Baratte has come to the Palace of Versailles seeking a prestigious commission that he hopes will make his fortune. His only previous work since completing his education was the construction of a bridge over the corner of a lake on the estate of the Comte de S- [...]
The Quantum Universe, by Brian Cox & Jeff Forshaw
Reviewed on December 21, 2011
Consider: “quantum mechanics is one of the three great pillars supporting our understanding of the natural world, the others being Einstein’s theories of Special and General Relativity.” If Einstein’s theories deal with the nature of space and time and the force of gravity, then quantum theory deals with everything else. Bearing all this in mind, [...]
The Adventures of Hergé, by Jose-Louis Bocquet, Jean-Luc Fromental & Stanislas Barthélémy
Reviewed on November 24, 2011
The Adventures of Hergé is a delightful biographical comic about Georges Prosper Remi, better known as Hergé, the creator of Tintin. According to Jose-Louis Bocquet and Jean-Luc Fromental, Hergé first discovered his love of drawing in 1914 when his mother gave him some crayons in order to keep him quiet and out of trouble. This [...]
Fear and Loathing at Rolling Stone, edited by Jann S. Wenner
Reviewed on November 23, 2011
On October 1st 1970 Rolling Stone published Hunter S. Thompson’s ‘The Battle of Aspen’, a raging account of Joe Edwards’ run for Mayor of Aspen, Colorado under the Freak Power banner. It was his participation in Edwards’ mayoral campaign that would inspire Thompson’s own run a year later for Sherriff of Pitkin County and it [...]
Sandcastle, by Pierre Oscar Levy & Frederik Peeters
Reviewed on November 16, 2011
Sandcastle is a dark and deeply peculiar science fiction murder mystery written by award-winning documentary film-maker Pierre Oscar Levy and illustrated by Frederik Peeters [Blue Pills, Lupus]. It’s very early on a perfect summer’s day when a disparate bunch of people begin to arrive at a seemingly idyllic, secluded cove in order to enjoy some [...]
Asterix Omnibus 3, by Rene Goscinny & Albert Uderzo
Reviewed on November 13, 2011
Asterix Omnibus 3 collects together books seven, eight and nine [Asterix and the Big Fight, Asterix in Britain and Asterix and the Normans] of Rene Goscinny and Albert Uderzo’s Gaulishly good comic series. In Asterix and the Big Fight Roman Centurion Nebulus Nimbus, tired of being constantly humiliated by his inability to conquer the one [...]
The Walking Dead: Book Seven, by Robert Kirkman & Charlie Adlard
Reviewed on November 4, 2011
A continuing story of survival horror indeed; The Walking Dead: Book Seven collects issues 73 to 84 [also available as trade paperbacks #13 and #14] of Robert Kirkman’s excellent post-zombiepocalypse comic series. The first half of The Walking Dead: Book Seven contains the ‘Too Far Gone’ storyline and follows Sheriff Rick and his group as [...]
Footprints #2, by Joey Esposito & Jonathan Moore
Reviewed on November 1, 2011
Footprints is a four-part comic by Joey Esposito [comics editor at IGN, Roscoe and Alice Find God] with art by Jonathan Moore [FUBAR] tracking Bigfoot and his posse of cryptozoological deviants as they attempt to solve a complex noir conspiracy. Originally self-published, Footprints has now been picked up by 215 Ink. In Footprints #2, ominously [...]
Nine Inches, by Bateman
Reviewed on October 6, 2011
After being left on the subs bench for six years while Bateman worked on the Mystery Man series and copious other projects, Dan Starkey is once again called up to the big leagues in Nine Inches. During the intervening period, Starkey had spent much of the time living the high life that came with his [...]
The Death-Ray, by Daniel Clowes
Reviewed on October 3, 2011
If gamma radiation turns you into the Hulk and radioactive spider bites turns you into Spider-Man, to say nothing of the hijinks that created Bouncing Boy, then perhaps it is feasible that smoking turns you into the Death-Ray. Well, not YOU per se, but that’s certainly what happened to troubled teenager Andy. In keeping with [...]
The Lady of the Rivers, by Philippa Gregory
Reviewed on September 26, 2011
Philippa Gregory’s Cousins’ War series continues with The Lady of the Rivers, the sweeping story of Jacquetta of Luxembourg. Jacquetta, rumoured to be descended from Melusina the mythical spirit of fresh waters in sacred springs and rivers, is a little known figure whose life story seemingly involves almost as much folklore as history and, given [...]
Ghost Story, by Jim Butcher
Reviewed on September 1, 2011
Life as Chicago’s first [and only] professional wizard was difficult enough but in Ghost Story Harry Dresden quickly learns that his afterlife is going to be no picnic either. Following the dramatic conclusion of Jim Butcher’s previous novel, Changes, where, after finally triumphing over the Red Court and saving his daughter’s life, Harry was shot [...]
Red Rackham’s Treasure, by Hergé
Reviewed on August 27, 2011
Red Rackham’s Treasure is the thrilling conclusion to Hergé’s tale of intrigue, treachery and pirate booty that began with The Secret of the Unicorn. Tintin and Captain Haddock had deciphered the three coded parchments that reveal the location of the Unicorn, a 17th century ship that was captained by Haddock’s ancestor, Sir Francis Haddock. The [...]
The Secret of the Unicorn, by Hergé
Reviewed on August 23, 2011
When Tintin spots an old model ship at a Brussels market, he believes that it will make the perfect birthday gift for his friend Captain Haddock. It quickly becomes apparent though that Tintin is not the only one interested in the ship and he has to avoid the aggressive bargaining of two other would-be purchasers [...]
The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes: The Star of India, by Carole Bugge
Reviewed on August 22, 2011
October, 1894. Nothing of interest is stalking the streets of London and Sherlock Holmes is plagued by ennui so Doctor Watson, having noticed his friend ominously eyeballing his cocaine stash, suggests an evening jaunt to a concert at the Royal Albert Hall. Unfortunately for Watson, his enjoyment of the Saint-Saens third violin concerto is hampered [...]
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The Bookgeeks Interview
Mark Oldfield
Mark Oldfield has worked in criminological research for over 20 years. He has a PhD in Criminology from the University of Kent and has carried out research in the areas of risk assessment and prediction and as well as evaluative research on policing, prisons and probation. He has also taught in various Universities on research, crime and criminal justice.
