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 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 [...]
The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes: The Peerless Peer, by Philip Jose Farmer
Reviewed on August 15, 2011
The books that make up The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes seem to be divided into two distinct categories: on the one hand there are the sensible tales of deduction and derring-do which are clearly intended to be both tributes to, and extensions of, the Sherlock Holmes tales of Arthur Conan Doyle, while on the [...]
Transformers Vault, by Pablo Hidalgo
Reviewed on July 15, 2011
No more disguises! I used to think that the best geeky things in the world were the Nintendo NES, fan trailers for a live-action version of Thundercats, binary watches and books by or about William Shatner, but then I received a copy of the Transformers Vault. For the first time ever the complete story of [...]
Footprints #1, by Joey Esposito & Jonathan Moore
Reviewed on June 29, 2011
Footprints is a new 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. In Footprints #1 Bigfoot [living in a nifty apartment and going by the catchy [...]
Monsieur Pain, by Roberto Bolano
Reviewed on June 22, 2011
Some years ago, in either 1981 or 1982, Roberto Bolano wrote a novel called The Elephant Path and entered it for the Felix Urubayen prize for a short novel, awarded by the Toledo City Council. The Elephant Path won the prize and so netted Bolano three hundred thousand pesetas. Bolano enjoyed his victory so much [...]
Mr Fox, by Helen Oyeyemi
Reviewed on June 19, 2011
Mr Fox begins in 1938 as celebrated author St John Fox sits in his study, pondering bleakly on his latest work, when he receives an unexpected visit from his delightfully offbeat and wholly imaginary muse, Mary Foxe. Mary has a bone to pick with the villainously imaginative Mr Fox: “You kill women. You’re a serial [...]
Briar Rose & Spanking the Maid, by Robert Coover
Reviewed on June 17, 2011
Newly inaugurated into the Penguin Modern Classics imprint, Robert Coover’s Briar Rose & Spanking the Maid presents two novella-length twisted fairytales in the very best Angela Carter tradition. Briar Rose is Coover’s interpretation of Sleeping Beauty as a young woman is bewitched to sleep for a hundred years as she waits for the prophesised kiss [...]
The James Bond Omnibus 002, by Ian Fleming
Reviewed on June 16, 2011
The James Bond comic strip originally ran from 1958 to 1983 with Ian Fleming’s suave spy appearing in a total of 52 story arcs which were serialised in British daily newspapers. The Bond strips have been reprinted several times with Titan Books currently producing oversized omnibus collections of Bond’s most thrilling and dangerous missions. Of [...]
Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Sausages, by Tom Holt
Reviewed on June 14, 2011
Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Sausages begins with a pig’s eye view of the universe. An old saddleback sow is musing on the meaning of life, the metaphysical nature of reality and the exact location of her piglets. In the course of her life she has watched as seven broods of her little ones [...]
The Gallows Curse, by Karen Maitland
Reviewed on June 6, 2011
A novel steeped in treachery and sin? Count me in! Delightfully dark and undeniably spine-tingling, The Gallows Curse, Karen Maitland’s third historical novel, transports the reader back to 1210, a brutal time of political and religious upheaval, when a black force was sweeping across England. While all of England is suffering on the grand scale [...]
Howl: A Graphic Novel, by Allen Ginsberg & Eric Drooker
Reviewed on May 19, 2011
There are arguably three works that best exemplify Beat literature: Jack Kerouac’s On the Road, William S. Burroughs’ Naked Lunch and Alan Ginsberg’s Howl. While all three of these works share a celebration of non-conformity and free expression, they also share a controversial journey to prominence. First published in 1956, Ginsberg’s Howl is now widely [...]
Palo Alto, by James Franco
Reviewed on May 18, 2011
An examination of youth spent in a northern California town, Palo Alto, the debut short story collection of James Franco, traces the lives of a group of teenagers as they experiment with adult vices (drink, drugs and more than a little casual violence), struggle with their families and each other, and succumb to wanton self-sabotage [...]
Letters to a Young Poet, by Rainer Maria Rilke
Reviewed on April 24, 2011
In his own introduction to the Letters to a Young Poet, Franz Kappus describes how, in 1902, he was a young man struggling to reconcile his artistic ambitions with his impending military career. After learning from a favourite professor of his at the Military Academy of Vienna that Rainer Maria Rilke had once been a [...]
Victorian Undead: Sherlock Holmes vs Zombies, by Ian Edington and Davide Fabbri
Reviewed on February 27, 2011
Seriously, who isn’t fighting zombies these days? While Max Brooks may have written the current authoritative guide to the zombie fighting biz, it seems that Elizabeth Bennet, Ebenezer Scrooge and even Abraham Lincoln each had their own preferred fighting method and it now appears that even Sherlock Holmes threw his [deerstalker?] hat into the proverbial [...]
Player One, by Douglas Coupland
Reviewed on February 17, 2011
Player One is a typical Douglas Coupland novel that happened to have an atypical genesis. The Massey Lectures are an annual Canadian event during which a noted scholar gives a week-long series of lectures on a political, cultural or philosophical topic. In 2010, that scholar was Douglas Coupland. Coupland’s contribution to the lecture series was [...]
The Alchemaster’s Apprentice, by Walter Moers
Reviewed on February 12, 2011
The Alchemaster’s Apprentice is chronologically the fifth of Walter Moers’ [or should that be Optimus Yarnspinner’s?] fantastical Zamonia novels although it is only the fourth to be translated into English [there still being no publication date for an English version of Ensel und Krete]. Malaisea, the least healthy place in Zamonia, is a city dominated [...]
The Boys Vol. 7: The Innocents, by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson
Reviewed on February 9, 2011
As anyone who has read Watchmen can tell you, just because you’re a superhero it doesn’t mean that you can’t be a total arse and a serious danger to humanity. Garth Ennis’ solution to this issue is The Boys, a covert CIA black ops team of very dangerous people – Billy Butcher, Wee Hughie [yes, [...]
Selected Stories, by Alice Munro
Reviewed on January 25, 2011
Selected Stories by Alice Munro is a real treat for those who appreciate the short story genre and who like their fiction to be unashamedly true in tone. Comprised of twenty-three bittersweet tales of Canadian life, Selected Stories is a perfect example of Munro’s writing talents, allowing her to demonstrate her incisive understanding of human [...]
Lenore: Cooties, by Roman Derge
Reviewed on January 19, 2011
A long time ago, little Lenore died of pneumonia. She knows this because she asked some people about it at her funeral. Post-funeral, she wandered the earth for a hundred years as a pint-sized member of the undead, befriending various oddments as she did so. Perhaps the most important member of her cavalcade of misshapen [...]
Gonzo: A Graphic Biography of Hunter S. Thompson, by Will Bingley and Anthony Hope-Smith
Reviewed on January 16, 2011
“I want you to keep in mind that I’d just as soon not be dismissed as some drug-addled clown.” While this question of image and public perception isn’t one that troubles the majority of us, it was certainly an issue that plagued Hunter S. Thompson. By turns described as the great American iconoclast, the great [...]
A Sickness in the Family, by Denise Mina and Antonio Fuso
Reviewed on January 10, 2011
A Sickness in the Family is a creepy little tale about the complexity of familial and financial relationships centred on the disintegration of the Usher family. Parents Ted and Biddy, their grown children William, Amy and Sam, and Grandmother Martha live together in a maisonette on Glasgow’s Eton Terrace. After an inevitable tragedy befalls their [...]
The Sandman: Preludes & Nocturnes, by Neil Gaiman
Reviewed on January 4, 2011
The Sandman is a landmark comic series; right up there with The Dark Knight Returns, V for Vendetta, Watchmen and Sin City its appeal has transcended the traditional comic market and it is still one of the most loved and revered series to date. Although The Eternals and Marvel 1602 were great books, it is [...]
Heroes of Olympus: The Lost Hero, by Rick Riordan
Reviewed on December 31, 2010
Rick Riordan’s five Percy Jackson novels were all phenomenally successful tales of adventure that captivated readers through retelling and modernised reimagining of the Greek myths. Although the Percy Jackson cycle seemed to have been wrapped up nicely, fans were hoping that Riordan would eventually return to the Greeks and the world of the demigods [after [...]
Queer, by William S. Burroughs
Reviewed on December 22, 2010
At its heart, William Burroughs’ Queer is a tale about the desperation and despair of unrequited love. It begins where Junky left off, with Burroughs’ literary alter ego William Lee skulking around Mexico City in the company of American ex-pats, barflies and dilettante students. Having drastically cut back on the junk, Lee is no longer [...]
The Thin Executioner, by Darren Shan
Reviewed on December 15, 2010
The Thin Executioner is something of a departure for Darren Shan; as well as being his only standalone novel it centres on the twin themes of historical fantasy and dark mythology rather than on contemporary horror, Shan’s regular genre. Meticulously researched and set in a well-crafted, fictionalised version of the ancient Middle East, The Thin [...]
Mr Chartwell, by Rebecca Hunt
Reviewed on December 10, 2010
When he wasn’t smoking cigars, winning wars and thinking up enough witticisms to keep gift book writers in business for decades, Winston Churchill was a rather introspective character and was prone to depression. Ever one to contribute to society, Churchill referred to his depressive episodes as his “having a black dog” [although, admittedly, he may [...]
The Death of King Arthur, by Peter Ackroyd
Reviewed on December 6, 2010
In the wild old days of the world there was a king of England known as Uther Pendragon; he was a dragon in wrath as well as power. So goes the exciting, fitting beginning to The Death of King Arthur, Peter Ackroyd’s retelling of Sir Thomas Malory’s sublime Le Morte d’Arthur. Ackroyd’s version is certainly [...]
The Voronov Plot, by Yves Sente & Andre Juillard
Reviewed on November 26, 2010
International action men and noted moustache connoisseurs Captain Francis Blake and Professor Philip Mortimer are tackling nefarious intrigue once again in The Voronov Plot, the eighth of the Blake & Mortimer adventures to be translated into English although, technically, the fourteenth book chronologically. Blake and Mortimer were created by Edgar P. Jacobs and the dynamic [...]
Odd and the Frost Giants, by Neil Gaiman
Reviewed on November 23, 2010
Odd and the Frost Giants began life as one of those slim World Book Day volumes (available for £1 or free with a voucher given out at school) designed to encourage children to read and if ever there was a mythical adventure sure to fire the imaginations of reluctant young readers it is this. In [...]
Dr. Yes, by Bateman
Reviewed on November 8, 2010
The Bookseller With No Name (and still No Customers) has fuelled up the Mystery Machine and is once again ready to ride forth into the dark underbelly of Belfast and lay waste to any dangerous criminals who might be unfortunate enough to cross his path. As long as they’re not too dangerous, of course. Or [...]
War and Peace, by Leo Tolstoy
Reviewed on November 5, 2010
Tolstoy’s War and Peace is an epic novel on several levels. First and foremost, it covers a massive geographical and historical panorama that is almost unrivalled in literature. Secondly and perhaps even more impressively, its scope encompasses momentous political events that impact on the whole of society [and indeed on societies in general] as well [...]
The Amazing Screw-On Head and Other Curious Objects, by Mike Mignola
Reviewed on October 18, 2010
Mike Mignola’s The Amazing Screw-On Head and Other Curious Objects begins, as many great things have, with Abraham Lincoln. The nefarious Emperor Zombie, undead occultist and former groundskeeper at Hyde Park, is up to his evil tricks again and so Honest Abe calls upon his top secret agent – the eponymous Screw-On Head – to [...]
Angela Carter’s Book of Fairy Tales
Reviewed on October 9, 2010
There is a distinct lack of fairies in Angela Carter’s Book of Fairy Tales. There are a fair amount of talking beasts, supernatural beings and things that do not conform to the laws of physics, but no actual fairies. Ditto beautiful princesses in peril. The term ‘fairy tale’ is used loosely here to describe “the [...]
The Aurora Teagarden Mysteries: Omnibus 1, by Charlaine Harris
Reviewed on October 6, 2010
The whole vampire porn craze has pretty much passed me by. My knowledge of shiny, angsty vampire gents and omnisexual mind-melded werewolves is decidedly limited and I certainly couldn’t tell a Southern Vampire™ from a Northern Soul Snatcher [patent pending]. It’s no surprise therefore that I knew of Charlaine Harris by reputation only. Although currently [...]
The Humbling, by Philip Roth
Reviewed on October 4, 2010
Reclusive, introverted author Philip Roth is reclusive, extroverted sexagenarian actor Simon Axler in The Humbling, the latest book from the elder statesman of American literature. Axler had been the finest stage actor of his generation but, after giving disastrous performances as Macbeth and Prospero at the Kennedy Center, realised that his acting mojo had forsaken [...]
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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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