Book reviews.
SAS Rogue Heroes became something of an obsession for me in the run-up to Christmas. We recorded the show as they aired and then binged the lot in a couple of days just after the final one aired. It was a glorious period. I had also bought two copies of the book it is based…
I finished watching the new Reacher TV series on Amazon last week and really enjoyed it. It stuck close to the first book, which is nice in this day and age. I am currently reading book five of the Wheel of Time and the first series of that differs a lot from the source material…
I like Richard Osman from a multitude of things on TV and radio. He seems naturally funny and smart. Both qualities are things I reckon make a good author. I don’t tend to read many thrillers or mysteries, and every time I do, I wonder why I don’t read more. I think it’s the middle…
A Litter of Bones is the first in the DCI Logan series by JD Kirk. I knew of JD Kirk from his parallel existence as a humorous sci-fi writer. So I was curious about his style would transfer to gritty Scottish detective thriller. Impressively, it transferred incredibly well. There is still humour – usually from…
I spent last year writing non fiction – this year, that is going to change. Writing fiction is deeply satisfying and after a day of it, there’s a sense of a day well spent. I do a lot of ghostwriting and if I spend the day writing about bitcoin or leadership techniques then see it…
I never really saw the point of audiobooks before as I adore books and the act of reading. Why listen to someone else’s voice when my own mental voices are so great? Then the pandemic happened. I know that sounds dramatic, and I have been fortunate to have been largely left unscathed. I was, however,…
I fancied reading a classic Bond, and Moonraker was particularly appealing as I had heard it differed from the film. That turned out to be an understatement. I was prepared for some minor changes but it is in fact utterly, completely different. The similarities are that Bond, M, Moneypenny and Drax are in it. Oh,…
Haunted Thailand now has a new book cover! You probably guessed that from the headline and above picture. It was a necessary purchase as the old one made me cringe every time I looked at it. I consider myself a creative person, I write and draw, but creative or graphic design is sadly not one…
I finally got round to getting a new book cover done for my ‘Australia, Morocco, Thailand’ travel stories collection. The previous ones I did myself and I am not ashamed to say, were bloody awful. There is a very talented lady on Fiverr who does them and it’s amazing what she can do with some…
If you are interested in ghosts, spirits and folklore, then I have something to recommend. Yes, it is time for a bit of self-promotion for my Haunted Thailand ebook. I haven’t done this in months and months. I am also thinking of getting a better cover for it. Because the current cover is awful. Enjoy…
I just finished Relic by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child about an hour ago. I hate the cliche of describing something as a ‘page-turner’ but sometimes it really does apply. First, a synopsis: Some anthropologist and explorer types are in the Amazon rainforest in the middle of nowhere. They find a relic in a hut…
The Amazon Print On Demand service always seemed pretty cool and something I wanted to try out on The Uneven Passage of Time. It is my most reviewed book so I thought it would be more likely that someone might buy it. (Please take a look, I spent spent $30 on the design and am…
Hard Landing is the first book in the Spider Shepherd series by British author Stephen Leather. I don’t really many thrillers but when I am in the mood for one, I want excitement, action, and really tough people beating the shit out of other really tough people. Hard Landing delivers and was way more enjoyable…
I have had a really bad series of book covers for quite a while now. In fact, the cover for my oldest collection of short stories – The Uneven Passage of Time – was something I designed on the original iPad. The first one (I still actually have it)! I thought it looked ok for…
I got this James Bond book on my birthday, started it yesterday and finished it today. Forever and a Day by Anthony Horowitz is the perfect beach holiday read and I happen to be on a beach in Thailand right now. Because my life is exotic and exciting and just like Bond’s minus all the…
If you are interested in the haunted shenanigans, the occult, ghost, demons, spirits or folklore, then you are in for a treat. A cheap treat too because I am nice like that. A tiny bit of background. Many moons ago, I used to live writing freelance articles for a number of magazines in Bangkok. The…
Many moons ago I wrote an article for a Bangkok Magazine called Haunted Thailand. Actually, it was called Ghosts in Thailand or something but my editor changed it and frankly, it is a lot better. It was a print magazine but I copied it to this site. You can read the article here. I had…
I had been meaning to read a James Rollins book for a while and so I thought I might as well start with Sandstorm as it is the first book of his highly rated Sigma Force series. Synopsis The story starts with an explosion in the Arabian wing of the British Museum. This kicks off…
I started writing a whining complaint about the increasing move to the subscription model. This was mostly inspired by a diary app I had been using that one day decided to switch from being an app I would happily pay up to £10 for, one off, to one where I would potentially pay hundreds thanks…
Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch is a superb book that I highly recommend. It is the first of a series of novels that concern magic, occult, and weird-as-bollocks occurrences that happen in secret alongside our more tedious muggl- I mean, mundane lives. Which I will admit sounds like a lot of other things out…