Book Reviews
The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, by John le Carré
By: Mike Stafford on January 23, 2012
Late last year, I made the mistake of admitting, in public, having never read any John le Carré. It wasn’t a pleasant experience; anyone wishing to approximate it should try standing on any street in America announcing never having tried cheeseburgers. So, with the shame still burning my cheeks, I set about resolving the situation. [...]
Harald Hadrada, The Last Viking, by Michael Burr
By: John Redfearn on January 22, 2012
Harald’s small warband surrounded the convent while a couple of warriors went a short way up the road to intercept any escapees and warn of any rescuers. Then the main band went in, seeking supplies, loot, and their pleasure with the nuns, in all of which they were fully satisfied. Sure enough a horseman burst [...]
The Sookie Stackhouse Companion: A Complete Guide to the Sookie Stackhouse Series, by Charlaine Harris
By: Frances Moloney on January 21, 2012
The Sookie Stackhouse Companion is the complete guide to the Sookie Stackhouse series, aimed at fans of both the novels by Charlaine Harris and the HBO drama series. The series follows the adventures of Sookie Stackhouse, a girl from the small town of Bon Temps, Louisiana. Sookie is a homely, all American girl with one vital difference – she is also a [...]
The Sea is My Brother: The Lost Novel, by Jack Kerouac
By: Emma Dalby on January 20, 2012
Published in its entirety for the first time, The Sea is My Brother is Jack Kerouac’s first novel. Prior to its discovery in 1992 by John Sampas, the executor of the Kerouac estate, the only evidence of the novel has been in Kerouac’s personal letters. Kerouac described the novel as being about ‘man’s’ simple revolt [...]
The Unseen, by Katherine Webb
By: Elise Hattersley on January 20, 2012
Leah’s ex invites her to Belgium, where the corpse of a British soldier has been found, and into a riddle set a century in the past… Willingly, she dives into the previous century to find out who the soldier might be, and starts to unravel a web spun such a very long time ago. Cat [...]
The Death of King Arthur, by Simon Armitage
By: Erin Britton 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 [...]
Dark Eden, by Chris Beckett
By: John Redfearn on January 19, 2012
In May 1969 when Snoopy detached from Charlie Brown in moon orbit the press was full of speculation and rumour. Despite all details of the mission plan they thought Cooper and Mitchell might really go for it and pre-empt Apollo 11 to be the first to land. In Dark Eden the crew of a brand [...]
Pure, by Andrew Miller
By: Erin Britton 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- [...]
It Chooses You, by Miranda July
By: Samantha Cox on January 18, 2012
It Chooses You – which could act as a companion piece to Miranda July’s recently released second film, The Future – is about as filmic as a book can be. A collection of transcribed interviews and photographs, it’s as eclectic as a short story collection and as unobtrusive as a good documentary. The book details [...]
The Iliad, a new translation, by Stephen Mitchell
By: John Redfearn on January 17, 2012
Heresy I know, but the one image I couldn’t get out of my mind while reading this new translation of the Iliad was of a passionate and golden skinned C3P0 seated in front of a semicircle of furry little Ewoks and telling the battle of Endor. He’s simplified the story and added rhyming repetitions to [...]
The Map, by T S Learner
By: Sara Garland on January 17, 2012
Following on from the success of her début novel Sphinx, selling 100,000 copies Learner, a British born playwright, has produced The Map, a similar style tome of a novel that combines history, politics, espionage and mysticism. It is set in the 1950′s following the Second World War and on the fringes of the Cold War. [...]
Ray Bradbury’s The Martian Chronicles: The Authorized Adaptation, by Dennis Calero
By: Ian Simpson on January 16, 2012
Bradbury’s The Martian Chronicles is widely regarded as one of the greatest books in science fiction. It is a series of short stories, often called ‘future histories’, which are both self-contained and which contribute to the narrative whole. It was originally published in 1950, and had 28 parts starting in 1999 and ending in 2057. [...]
Siege, by Simon Kernick
By: Mike Stafford on January 16, 2012
Simon Kernick is the best thing to come out of Slough in… well, ever, and by a wide margin. Since making his debut in 2002 with The Business of Dying, he has established a name for himself as one of the nation’s best thriller writers, crafting books with pace, violence, and above all, a high [...]
God is Not Great, by Christopher Hitchens
By: Mike Stafford on January 15, 2012
God is Not Great has sat near the top of my to-be-read pile for some time, but unfortunately, the earliest opportunity to read it has come shortly after the author’s death. As such, a favourable review risks being consigned to the reams of heartfelt fawning that followed Hitch’s passing, and a negative one could smack [...]
The Battle of Midway, by Craig L. Symonds
By: Matt Hawkridge on January 14, 2012
There’s a chapter in Craig L. Symonds non-fiction The Battle of Midway which recounts, in gripping detail, perhaps one of the most infamous incidents in the Pacific leg of the Second World War, but which stands out as a particular tense and churning highlight in a book full of them. The incident involves the ill-fated [...]
The Weird: A Compendium of Strange and Dark Stories, edited by Ann & Jeff Vandermeer
By: Mario Guslandi on January 13, 2012
The Weird is a monster volume of 1152 pages ( each page featuring a double column!), a compendium of last century’s weird fiction, including SF, horror and fantasy as well as mainstream fiction with a distinct odd or bizarre taste. Editors Ann and Jeff VanderMeer pursue with this book their most ambitious project by providing [...]
Ian Fleming’s Commandos: The Story of 30 Assault Unit in WWII, by Nicholas Rankin
By: Simon Appleby on January 12, 2012
After the great success of Churchill’s Wizards, Nicholas Rankin returns to the same formula by finding an unusual angle for telling the story of a relatively obscure, though highly distinguished, military unit. 30 Assault Unit was an innovative formation – a specialist group of commandos whose job was to go in with frontline troops and [...]
Cold Wind, by CJ Box
By: Mike Stafford on January 11, 2012
For years, Joe Pickett has been plagued by the mother-in-law from Hell. A perennial divorcee and gold-digger, Missy has constantly denigrated his profession and his manhood, attempted to drive a wedge between Joe’s daughters, and on one occasion even asked Joe to leave his wife for what Missy perceives to be the greater good. And [...]
Blue Remembered Earth, by Alastair Reynolds
By: John Redfearn on January 10, 2012
Geoffrey and Sunday Akinya are the black sheep of the family. He lives in Africa and researches elephant psychology, she lives in an off the grid area on the moon and earns a marginal living as an artist and sculptress. The family, primarily Hector and Lucas, have written them off but would still welcome them [...]
Never Let Me Go, by Kazuo Ishiguro
By: Elise Hattersley on January 9, 2012
Hailsham is not like other boarding schools. The students and their guardians have a bit of a different relationship, and mystery shrouds not only their purpose but also the need for them to produce art which is then sent to a so-called gallery. The students are aware of their purpose – they are clones, intended [...]
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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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Latest Competition
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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