A Game of Thrones
Over the past month my life seems to have been filled with George R.R. Martin’s A Game of Thrones. It all started when I was in a bookshop in the … Read More
Category: Books
Book reviews.
Kindle review
I love books. I read about a book a week – that’s not a boast, it is a sad lament on how boring my job can be. They are marvelous … Read More
Our Kind of Traitor by John Le Carre
When Perry Makepiece and Gail Perkins go on a tennis holiday to Antigua, they meet a Russian gangster type called Dima and his family. Dima wants to make a deal with … Read More
The Millennium Trilogy by Steig Larsson
I have already written about the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and how exciting and page turning it is. I intended to write separate reviews for the Girl who Played … Read More
Tricks of the Mind by Derren Brown
Tricks of the Mind by Derren Brown teaches you, the Padawan, some awesome tricks. It also has quite a broad scope and touched on lots of things I am genuinely fascinated by. When it comes to mind powers I am now at least 10% more superior than most of you. It astounds me that I am still broke.
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo book review
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.
The City and The City by China Mieville
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
Pirate Latitudes by Michael Crichton
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
The Road by Cormac McCarthy
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
Unseen Academicals by Terry Pratchett
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
The Space Merchants by Frederik Pohl & Cyril M. Kornbluth
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
And Another Thing… by Eoin Colfer
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
The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown
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
A Scanner Darkly by Philip K Dick
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
Azincourt by Bernard Cornwell is historical fiction done right
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
Halting State by Charles Stross is fun for gamers
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.
Ringworld by Larry Niven is an essential scifi classic
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.
Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman is a lot of fun
When Richard Mayhew rescues what seems to be a wounded homeless girl, he suddenly finds himself sucked into an alternate underground London.
Fathers and Sons by Ivan Turgenev: brilliant and short
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.
Welcome to Hell by Colin Martin – Thai prison woes
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.