The characters in this lengthy romance lead full and interesting lives. They’re an ethnically diverse group with a couple of the lead protagonists being West Indian. The narrative is set largely in New York and Canada and there are cultural references to these two countries that mean little to a UK reader who’s never visited …
Continue reading Letting Go, by Maria Thompson Corley, Reviewed.
This is a different type of thriller. Dealing with the murky lives of Mossad Agents, it follows the early career of Thomas Glaze, a young man totally deluded about his appeal to women, his ability in the field, and his tolerance for drugs and alcohol. Unsurprisingly, with such a catalogue of denial, he fails miserably …
Continue reading The Sweet Oil of Vitriol: A Tom Glaze Hit, by Daniel Eagleton, Reviewed.
Georgie Pattison sings again in this continuation of the amateur sleuth’s adventures. This is a heroine with all the self-doubt, anxieties and fears of any normal woman, but with the courage and sheer bloody-mindedness to find the truth. Justice matters to this lady and she’s willing to take personal risks to find it. Once again, …
Continue reading Laid in Earth, by April Taylor, Reviewed.
Subtitled, ‘23 tales of Wolds and rails’, this book of shorts contains a veritable trainload of charming stories. There are histories, romances, memoirs, ghosts, crime, and even some science fiction and fantasy displayed in this box of delights. Although each story has a different author, there’s unity of approach and style that makes the volume …
Continue reading Dreaming of Steam, An Anthology from Fantastic Books Publishing, Reviewed.
Poetry can be sublime, complex, evocative, tantalising, inspiring, provoking, sensual, thoughtful, engaging and many other things. AM Roselli’s poems manage to fit all these qualities. I first encountered AM’s remarkable poetry and artwork via her website, anntogether.com, to which I was directed by another friend online. I was engaged at once. This is a woman …
Continue reading love of the monster, by AM Roselli, Reviewed.
A very human story of one man’s relentless search for a way of life that will suit his view of what a man’s life should be. Culture, religion, philosophy and morality all impact on the story, which has a Muslim protagonist, Omar, living in India, where his beliefs are in the minority. There are lessons …
Continue reading The Polygamist, by William Irvine, Reviewed.
This surprising book exudes the author’s enduring sense of wonder and delight at the natural world. Such qualities, when demonstrated by a leading academic, who is also a well-loved and respected TV presenter, can motivate and inspire. I hope many non-scientists read this book. Not an ‘easy’ read, it demands attention and concentration. But it …
Continue reading Forces of Nature, by Professor Brian Cox, Reviewed.
What a tremendous book this is. Subtitled, ‘A Brief History of Tomorrow’, this follow-up to ‘Sapiens’ confirms the author’s mastery of deep research combined with an intelligence that permits him to see the world as a whole. I selected this book to read now as I’m at the initial editing stage of a science fiction …
Continue reading Homo Deus, by Yuval Noah Harari, Reviewed.
This writing manual is about making stories; the creative process and the practical work involved in getting the story from mind to page. As a fairly ancient and experienced writer, I’ve come across quite a few books about writing, so it’s difficult for an author to present something new for me. In this volume, Hank …
Continue reading Creating Stories, by Hank Quense, Reviewed.
This is satirical, dystopian science fiction taking a brutal swipe at the media, politicians, conspiracy theorists, security experts and the military. All of it richly deserved. The writing is good, characterisation is thorough, creating archetypes rather than indulging in stereotypes as is so often the case with books of this type. The humour is hard, …
Continue reading NSA, by Benny Neylon, Reviewed.
Are you a lover of words? Do you write? Is language use an issue of interest? If so, you’ll find Kathy Steinemann’s ‘The Writer’s Lexicon’ a veritable cornucopia of expressive words. A thesaurus provides alternatives for the idea of a word. A dictionary gives definitions and, sometimes, origins for those construction blocks we use daily …
Continue reading The Writer’s Lexicon, by Kathy Steinemann, Reviewed.
The second in a projected trilogy, this deeply complex fantasy follows on from Chopin’s Ghost, taking the reader through the next twisting, convoluted maze that constitutes the story. If you haven’t read the first book, I advise you do so. However, the author includes enough detail from that first novel to allow readers new to …
Continue reading The House on Sagamore Road, by Cary Grossman, Reviewed.
Listed as Teen/YA romance and mystery, this is a book in a genre I wouldn’t normally read. However, I was approached by the author for a review, read the blurb, and decided to give it a chance. I’d actually classify it as fantasy romance, but that’s a personal judgment based on how I view the …
Continue reading Can’t Buy Forever, by Susan Laffoon, Reviewed.
Humour with vampires: those who love the genre will really get their teeth into this. (Sorry, unforgivable bloody pun! – And again!) This is a well-constructed short that manages to pack in the conventions of the vampire world. I love the idea of the psychologist treating vampires for their problems. This story is told from …
Continue reading Until Death Do Us Part, by Lynda Hilburn, Reviewed.
Mike Dickenson’s ‘IQ84’ is a timely satire on American values and culture. Written in the style of a humorous pulp thriller, it captures the banality, self-obsession, materialism and superficiality that characterise the USA for so many of us who live in the rest of the world. The recent populist backlash against the establishment that has …
Continue reading IQ84, by Mike Dickenson, Reviewed.
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Antidote to the Novel
Stuart Aken 