An unusual book, in that the longest ‘chapter’ containing prose is the introduction by the author. However, this amusing preface says all that’s needed to introduce readers to the lists of absurd, improbable, insane and downright insulting names that parents have saddled their offspring with and some companies have labelled themselves as. The phrase ‘A …
Continue reading Yes, I Named My Daughter Gaylord Focker, by Joseph Joel, Reviewed.
As a writer and a reader, I love words. They’re the ingredients that form marvellous works and the means for the storyteller to create wonderful tales. This collection, presented as a series of quizzes interspersed with all manner of facts relating to words, is readily accessible. It’s also a brilliant resource for writers. It provides …
Continue reading A Miscellany for Word Lovers, by Robin Hosie & Vic Mayhew, Reviewed.
I ‘won’ a copy of this book in a giveaway entered online. When the paperback arrived, I was delighted, as I was about to go on holiday and expected it to make good poolside reading. This is an anthology of singularly dark, complex and richly written tales. Most are based on the elements of fairy …
Continue reading The Bloody Chamber, by Angela Carter, Reviewed.
There are stories from much of the world here, though the bulk concern East Asia, Australia and South America. The author uses simple everyday language to convey his adventures in often exotic locations. The style is easy and peppered with humour, humanity and the occasional caution. This is travel on a budget, so we’re treated …
Continue reading Around the World in 80 Tales, by Dave Tomlinson, Reviewed.
Fantasy merges with scholarship under the masterful guidance of real, original imagination. This book will be pigeonholed as fantasy, paranormal, science fiction, romance, crime, historical and erotic. It is all and none of these: it is something much bigger and better. Playing with time, power, culture and wealth, this novel is at heart a love …
Continue reading Chopin’s Ghost, by Cary Marc Grossman, Reviewed.
I hate to do this, but I must give an honest opinion. I got to chapter 8, 25% of this book, but wasn’t engaged at all. Much of the dialogue held no interest, and there was too much American cultural reference to make me want to read on. I really didn’t care about any of …
Continue reading Take the Body and Run, by Jada Ryker, Reviewed.
This is science fiction, but it is also so much more. Time travel with a difference; it’s plausible. The protagonists are wonderful characters, flaws and all. And I love the depiction of the arch-villain who represents everything I hold to be bad in the world. A great story, full of adventure, action and event, but …
Continue reading A Sickness in Time, by M. F. Thomas and Nicholas Thurkettle, Reviewed.
Unusual, intriguing, compulsive; a story with a very different structure. This isn’t an easy read but it is engaging and tells a tale. A form of fantasy, but set in contemporary times in a place we recognise as the USA. Is it crime? Well, sort of. But not in any form I’ve encountered before. Something …
Continue reading The Pink Beetle, by Caspar Vega, Reviewed.
Fantasy for YA readers, this tale of magical creatures failed to grab my attention, though I imagine those interested in the lore of elves, satyrs, centaurs, et al, will find enough here. I found the writing style a little stilted and was unable to engage with the characters, so didn’t read past the first quarter …
Continue reading The Birth of Death, by Joseph Macolino, Reviewed.
This book has a couple of informative subtitles: ‘Unlock the do in don’t…’ and ‘How using the right words will change your life’ I could add, ‘How using the right words will change the lives of those around you’, too. So, what’s it about? Essentially, it’s a manual for using the right language to make …
Continue reading Don’t, by Bob Selden, Reviewed.
Fantasy with a difference, this novel, set in a world of witchcraft, is remarkable for its language and surprising use of logic. The story is told through the first person point of view of an aspirant witch caught up in a civil war among her sisters. There is the usual fantasy ingredient, essential to my …
Continue reading The War of the First Day, by Thomas Fleet, Reviewed.
A literary novel, seeking to reveal the internal lives of a group of friends who grew up just after WWII, Barbara Raskin’s ‘Hot Flashes’ concentrates on menopausal feminist Jewish women in the USA. As such, it lacked some appeal for me. At the time of its initial publication, it was a NYT bestseller. But time …
Continue reading Hot Flashes, by Barbara Raskin, Reviewed.
My old Kindle expired a while back. I replaced the experience with my iPad, but that entails reading from a backlit screen, which isn’t comfortable over long periods, and it’s pretty poor in bright sunshine. So, I took the plunge, removed the padlock from my wallet, and shelled out for a new eReader. Whilst I …
Continue reading My New Kindle has Arrived!
Gentle comedy, interspersed with charmingly naughty sexual encounters and academic forays characterise this novel. Before I go any further, let me stress that this is not erotica; the sex comes with a naivety that arouses smiles rather than passion in the reader. Set in Canada and Tasmania, the novel follows the adventures, trials and triumphs …
Continue reading Visiting Fellow, by Dave Williamson, Reviewed.
This book is a police procedure crime novel, with the bonus that it’s set in Canada and therefore reveals both cultural and procedural aspects that may be new to many readers. Certainly, aspects of this fascinating tale led me across entirely new ground. The three main characters are intriguing in their complexity, and the fourth, …
Continue reading Mâtowak: Woman Who Cries, by Joylene Nowell Butler, Reviewed.
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Antidote to the Novel
Stuart Aken 