Book Reviews
The English Civil Wars, by Blair Worden
By: Simon Parker on March 12, 2010
Terrific primer of who did what, when and to whom for an inexplicably underrepresented period of British history.
You would think the period 1640-1660 would be a perma fixture on school curriculums and still pulse through the collective cultural consciousness. After all it has everything. A despotic King, rising tensions played out via impassioned parliamentary speeches, [...]
Adrian Mole: The Prostrate Years, by Sue Townsend
By: Simon Appleby on March 11, 2010
I wonder if it would perhaps be possible to divide people in to people who were older than Adrian Mole when they first read his secret diary, and those who were younger. The reason for this speculation is that I can’t help feeling it makes a profound difference to how you read and relate to [...]
Sons of Thunder (Raven 2), by Giles Kristian
By: Simon Appleby on March 10, 2010
Former popstar turned novelist Giles Kristian really hit the spot with his debut, Raven: Blood Eye, and now the Norseman with the mysterious past is back for another outing – with added guts and gore. In his first book, Kristian out-Cornwelled the master of this kind of writing, but the challenge for any pretender to [...]
The Osiris Ritual, by George Mann
By: Jennie Blake on March 9, 2010
George Mann’s The Osiris Ritual is the second book in the Newbury and Hobbes series. We return once again to Victoria’s England, well Victoria’s England with a steampunk twist and a distinct possibility of zombie invasion. Mann’s 1901 England is filled with steam powered cars, robot servants, and a distinct sense of more being possible [...]
Angels’ Blood, by Nalini Singh
By: Ceri Padley on March 8, 2010
Fresh from a tidal wave of recently released vampire romance novels following successes like Twilight and The Vampire Diaries, it’s now been whispered that angels are soon to be the next big thing. Nailini Singh’s Angels’ Blood couldn’t be more perfectly timed for lovers of supernatural romance.
Elena Deveraux is one of the best vampire hunters [...]
The Eerie Silence, by Paul Davies
By: Ben Parker on March 5, 2010
Are we alone in the universe? This question, which forms the subtitle for Paul Davies’ new book, must rank as one of the most scientifically and philosophically interesting that we can ask. What makes it perhaps even more interesting is that unlike questions such as ‘why are we here?’ it presents us with only two [...]
Country Driving: A Chinese Road Trip, by Peter Hessler
By: Simon Appleby on March 4, 2010
We are increasingly being informed that China is a country we can no longer afford to ignore – as an economic powerhouse, as a nuclear power, as a polluter – yet it is very easy to be distracted by the sheer scale of China, to the point where it becomes difficult to relate to the [...]
Enchanted Glass, by Diana Wynne Jones
By: Erin Britton on March 3, 2010
Probably best known for her Chrestomanci series and for the novel Howl’s Moving Castle (which was adapted into an excellent film by Japan’s Studio Ghibli), Diana Wynne Jones is truly a titan amongst British fantasy authors, having published more than forty books and influenced hugely successful fellow authors such as JK Rowling and Philip Pullman. [...]
Shadowrise, by Tad Williams
By: Simon Appleby on March 2, 2010
I owe Tad Williams a lot, as the fantasy author who I turned to when I wanted to see what the world beyond Tolkien looked like, and his latest book is quintessential Williams: a complex, multi-stranded narrative, a seriously big book, oh, and the third time he has failed to finish a trilogy inside the [...]
Dark Secrets, by Elizabeth Chandler
By: Jennie Blake on March 1, 2010
Elizabeth Chandler’s Dark Secrets is an omnibus of two of her Wisteria novels, young adult novels full of suspense and a healthy dollop of the supernatural. The two novels, Legacy of Lies and Don’t Tell, both take place in the sleepy (well, in appearance) town of Wisteria, Maryland. Wisteria is a small town, and the [...]
Vampirates 5: Empire of Night, by Justin Somper
By: Jennie Blake on February 26, 2010
WARNING: this book begins with a significant development! Do not read further if you are worried about being spoiled! Short review: The book is fun and worth a read.
Now, with that out of the way, Vampirates: Empire of Night is the fifth book in the carnival ride that is Justin Somper’s Vampirates series. This book [...]
Empire of the Moghul: Raiders from the North, by Alex Rutherford
By: Simon Appleby on February 25, 2010
With Conn Iggulden having demonstrated the appetite of the British reading public for thrilling to the exploits of ancient conquerors, first with his Rome series and latterly with his Ghengis Khan books, Alex Rutherford is well positioned to take advantage: this enjoyable tale is the first in a series of novels about the Moghul Empire, [...]
If The Dead Rise Not, by Philip Kerr
By: Simon Parker on February 24, 2010
The sixth but to my mind the least successful of Philip Kerr’s fantastic Bernie Gunther series.
As has been the way since Bernie Gunther’s return in A Quiet Flame, the action in If The Dead Rise Not is split between Berlin in the 30s and Latin America in the 50s. Gunther is still a hugely engaging [...]
The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms, by N.K. Jemisin
By: Simon Appleby on February 23, 2010
Mortals mixing with their gods is not exactly a new idea in fantasy writing, but with her debut novel, the first instalment of the obligatory trilogy, N.K Jemesin shows an ability to make the idea work extremely well – there are genuine echoes of ancient Greek and Norse mythology, with gods and mortals rubbing shoulders, [...]
Fool, by Christopher Moore
By: Erin Britton on February 22, 2010
Even if the mere thought of a new offering from Christopher Moore, author of such hilariously satirical novels as Bloodsucking Fiends and Island of the Sequined Love Nun, isn’t enough to set readers’ imaginations whirling, the brilliant blurb on the back of Fool is sure to do the trick:
This is a bawdy tale. Herein you [...]
Isolarion: A Different Oxford Journey, by James Attlee
By: Sam Collett on February 19, 2010
This is the book that I wanted to write.
Like those books that tackle one subject thoroughly, and thereby pull in all of history – the potato, the pencil, Cod – Attlee has described the street in which he lives – a down at heel main artery into the cloistered city centre of Oxford – Cowley [...]
Jasmyn, by Alex Bell
By: Jennie Blake on February 18, 2010
Alex Bell’s Jasmyn is one of those novels with a backstory as compelling as the action it chronicles. It begins with Jasmyn, despairing in her grief over the sudden death of her husband. She abandons herself to her sadness and barely manages to interact with anyone at the funeral. Jasmyn’s grief may not be the [...]
The Boy Next Door, by Irene Sabatini
By: Simon Appleby on February 17, 2010
Amidst the stories of political violence, rampant inflation, AIDS, poverty and general chaos that make up the sum total of what we in the UK hear about Zimbabwe (especially since most British reporters are banned from entering the country), it’s not difficult to overlook the fact that it’s a place where, even now, millions of [...]
The Missing by Jane Casey
By: Paul Engles on February 16, 2010
The Missing is Jane Casey’s first novel, a thriller set in a Surrey commuter town, narrated by an English teacher at a girl’s private school. Sarah Finch is a thwarted soul hiding a tragic secret. Her brother disappeared from their front garden when she was eight years old and never returned, no body was found. [...]
The Affair of the Necklace, by Edgar P. Jacobs
By: Erin Britton on February 15, 2010
Edgar P. Jacobs was a friend and collaborator of the famous Belgian writer and artist Herge and the adventures of Blake and Mortimer were in fact serialised in the first issue of Tintin magazine in 1946. Although surprising at the time, that first story, The Secret of the Swordfish, proved more popular than the Tintin [...]
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