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The Word of Ward

Reviews, Blog, and the occasional Rant

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Friday, December 05, 2025

Category: Books

Book reviews.

Books

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo book review

ward 07/12/2010

I’m probably not alone in having seen The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo everywhere I go and as I rather pathetically consider myself to be both an individual and a literary type, I wasn’t all that bothered.

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Books

The City and The City by China Mieville

ward 04/08/2010

The City and The City is a unique and fascinating book. Plus it is a good one. Set in the fictional Eastern European city of Besz it follows a policeman … Read More

2 Comments on The City and The City by China Mieville
Books

Pirate Latitudes by Michael Crichton

ward 01/07/2010

Can I get through a whole review of Pirate Latitudes without resorting to spouting pirate cliches? No shivver me timbers I can’t Jim lad. There, got that out of the … Read More

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Books

The Road by Cormac McCarthy

ward 12/05/2010

A man called “Man” and a boy called “Boy” walk down a road called “The Road”. Ok those aren’t literally their names, they just don’t seem to have any. On … Read More

Comment on The Road by Cormac McCarthy
Books

Unseen Academicals by Terry Pratchett

ward 24/02/2010

I’m a huge Terry Pratchett fan and have been since I saw The Colour of Magic for sale when I was about 11 and bought it because of the cover. … Read More

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Books

The Space Merchants by Frederik Pohl & Cyril M. Kornbluth

ward 03/02/2010

This book is a gem. It was written over 50 years ago but deals with topics still relevant today. The story is about a star-class copysmith Mitch Courteney who works … Read More

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Books

And Another Thing… by Eoin Colfer

ward 31/10/2009

Let me state this first: I am a massive Hitchhiker fan. Not to the point where it becomes sad-loner going to a convention level, but damn close – I’ll probably … Read More

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Books

The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown

ward 07/10/2009

I finished this a few days ago and have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. It is just a shame that I don’t really think it is that … Read More

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Books

A Scanner Darkly by Philip K Dick

ward 30/09/2009

The story follows a group of drug users in California in the far-off year of 1994. Actually, the date doesn’t really matter, the book is barely science fiction. The futuristic … Read More

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Books

Azincourt by Bernard Cornwell

ward 05/09/2009

I love Bernard Cornwell’s books. People who know me frequently reel back in awe of my historical knowledge. At least I assume that’s what they’re reeling back from. This knowledge … Read More

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Blog Books

Halting State by Charles Stross

ward 24/08/2009

Halting State is set in the not too distant future. Scotland has devolved (in a political not Darwinian sense), gained independence, and the world is even more saturated with information technology and computer nerdiness than ever before.

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Books

Ringworld by Larry Niven

ward 21/07/2009

Ringworld is superb. I often prefer pre-1980s Sci Fi as it tends to be more idea and philosophy based. The world itself is a very cool, very huge idea and the possibilities for it are almost endless.

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Books

Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman

ward 21/07/2009

When Richard Mayhew rescues what seems to be a wounded homeless girl, he suddenly finds himself sucked into an alternate underground London.

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Blog Books

Fathers and Sons by Ivan Turgenev

ward 03/07/2009

Don’t be put off by the fact that this book is a ‘Russian classic’, Turgenev’s Fathers and Sons is truly worth a read.

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Blog Books

Welcome to Hell by Colin Martin

ward 27/04/2009

Colin Martin worked in construction, had his own small business, and was married with kids. An almost clichéd idyll that makes the subsequent fall all the more compelling.

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Blog Books

A word about JG Ballard

ward 24/04/2009

JG Ballard died of cancer aged 78 on the 19th of April 2009. It is sad to think he will never release another book. He was usually labelled a Sci Fi writer but he frequently strayed from this label to write unique, often dystopian, scenarios that sort of/kind of/might just happen.

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  • Short stories are back – here’s why that’s great for writers
  • Substack Vs Medium – It Doesn’t Need To Be Either Or…
  • The Potsdam Giants: How A Prussian King’s Obsession Led To Kidnapping, Torture, And Eugenics
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