Category: Book Reviews

The Way Of Kings, Brandon Sanderson

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Brandon Sanderson writes high, epic fiction: huge worlds in which the very nature of the earth is as much a character as the creatures that he inhabits it with. In the Mistborn trilogy, the ashen and grey polluted earth dominated the tale; here in The Stormlight Archive, his created world is one of rock and… Continue reading The Way Of Kings, Brandon Sanderson

Here Lies Arthur, Philip Reeve

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For some reason, I cannot read this title without intuitively reading it in Latin hic iacit Arcturus. I attended a literacy conference this week where Philip Reeve was - for wont of a better phrase - the keynote speaker and I was lent this book as an introduction to his work as - to my… Continue reading Here Lies Arthur, Philip Reeve

The Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins

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Do a book club, they said! It'll be fun, they said! We'll call it Addiction to Fiction, they said! Okay, fair enough that's cool! It won't take much time, they said. Oh. Right. Of course not. So now, at 3:15 every Thursday a group of book hungry students descends on me. Seriously, it's fabulous: a… Continue reading The Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins

Black Swan Green, David Mitchell

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This is a truly exceptional book! And, before I discuss the book, a truly exceptional reading of it by a chap called Chris Nelson. Now, I don't know who Chris Nelson is. I have googled his name idly but I have no clue. I do not know his age or where he is from. But… Continue reading Black Swan Green, David Mitchell

The Wise Man’s Fear, Patrick Rothfuss

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I had enjoyed The Name Of The Wind. It was refreshing within the fantasy genre. I didn't think it quite deserved the incandescent - which seems to be my word of the week! - praise that it had received. But I liked it. Part 2 of The Kingkiller Chronicle, The Wise Man's Fear, heaps more… Continue reading The Wise Man’s Fear, Patrick Rothfuss

The Name Of The Wind, Patrick Rothfuss

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I signed up to Audible nearly a year ago now. I was interested in trying audiobooks and had been for a while : I drive. Lots. Daily. And whilst I like the Today Programme in the morning, I'm less keen on PM in the afternoon. But I'm also a skinflint and object to paying £20… Continue reading The Name Of The Wind, Patrick Rothfuss

Railsea, China Miéville

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In the words of Mieville himself, this novel is a wonderful "gallimaufryan coagulum of mixed up oddness".

The Hypnotist, Lars Kepler

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I worry about Sweden. It keeps me up at night. I wake in cold sweats. I worry about the weather there: the snow and freezing temperatures. I worry about the trolls. I worry about IKEA. And I worry about the people. And families. It must be a terrible place. Every single novel I've read from… Continue reading The Hypnotist, Lars Kepler

Whispers Under Ground, Ben Aaronovitch

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The third of the Peter Grant magical police constable books to appear on this blog. I'm beginning to feel I should write the review in the style of a police statement: Proceeding on information received via a personal contact, Police Constable Grant witnessed a person or persons unknown which he later recognised as a ghost… Continue reading Whispers Under Ground, Ben Aaronovitch

The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, Robert Louis Stevenson

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Ah, Doctor Jekyll I presume! This is one of my favourite concepts for a book and, like Dracula and Frankenstein, such a hugely evocative character and concept. It is intuitively resonant that lurking within all of us, behind the mask and veneer of social mores and decency, is a rampaging, amoral, bestial, primitive, reptilian beast.… Continue reading The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, Robert Louis Stevenson

Moon Over Soho, Ben Aaronovitch

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Jazz is cool. It's undeniable; it's super cool. As a genre of music, it lurks in the back of the iPod in a smoke filled subterranean playlist. Jazz does not wear sunglasses; jazz is born with dark tinted irises. In a politically correct world, jazz sensuously drinks and smokes itself to a hospital bed where… Continue reading Moon Over Soho, Ben Aaronovitch

Carnegie Medal Winner, A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness

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A MASSIVE congratulations to Patrick Ness for the historic achievement of winning the Carnegie two years running AND winning both the Carnegie and Kate Greenaway Prizes simultaneously. A Monster Calls is a truly exceptional book and a mighty winner! It is one of those books that EVERYONE should read! The story is moving, evocative, primal,… Continue reading Carnegie Medal Winner, A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness

The Perks Of Being A Wallflower, Stephen Chbosky

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I was lent this by a student at school - ironically as one of the main features in the book is that Charlie is lent books by his English teacher! It took a while to get around to actually opening it, until I ran out of time and had to read it before the kid… Continue reading The Perks Of Being A Wallflower, Stephen Chbosky

Tsotsi, Athol Fugard Analysis

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So these are the ideas which I have been discussing with my class. Tsotsi is set in 1956, give or take, in Sophiatown, a township on the outskirts of Johannesburg, South Africa. It was written by Fugard in the early months of 1960 after Sophiatown had been destroyed by the white community in Johannesburg and,… Continue reading Tsotsi, Athol Fugard Analysis

Sovereign, C. J. Sansom

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There are days, those dark days, when you sit down and realise that you've had the same meal for three days ... I've just sat down and realised that the last three books I've read are all historical fiction. Bring Up The Bodies by Mantel, Pure by Andrew Miller and now Sovereign by C. J.… Continue reading Sovereign, C. J. Sansom

Pure, Andrew Miller

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You know what it's like... Unless it's just me... You see a book on a shelf, perhaps at a Service Station, maybe on the M5. Something about the cover appeals; the blurb interests you; the historical context intrigues you.... And yet for some reason (let's call them children and imagine the reasons were at the… Continue reading Pure, Andrew Miller

Bring Up The Bodies, Hilary Mantel

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What a fabulous book! It is rare that I anticipate a book as eagerly as this one; rare that a sequel can live up to the expectations of the first book; rare that historical fiction can grip me quite so intently! But Mantel manages all this in Bring Up The Bodies which, in my opinion,… Continue reading Bring Up The Bodies, Hilary Mantel

Anthony and Cleopatra, William Shakespeare

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Absolutely sublime play. Re-reading it after many many years and still bowled over. A GCSE set text; an integral part of Degree level "tragedy" unit (other people got to play with dead bodies, I learned how to be miserable: thanks Cambridge!!); and a vital part of my make up! As I write, please near in… Continue reading Anthony and Cleopatra, William Shakespeare

Alloy Of Law, Brandon Sanderson

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I was torn between three and four stars on this but came to the view that having read through it in 4 days it was a four, but I do have reservations about this book. It is without doubt a great read, fun enjoyable and lighthearted. It evokes the atmosphere of the 1800s in the… Continue reading Alloy Of Law, Brandon Sanderson

Maurice Sendak RIP

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It is with genuine sadness that I learn of Maurice Sendak's death today. This man will have the status of icon, myth, legend and inspiration for all time. I feel it wouldn't be right, as a reader, not to mark his life in some way. He was the one man whose story, Where The Wild… Continue reading Maurice Sendak RIP

Avengers, Assemble

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Hmmm... Thus far, this blog has been dedicated to book reviews. Patently, Avengers is not a book. Should I start a new blog? Can one, should one include it in a "book lover"'s sanctuary? Is the investment you give a 150 minute film equivalent to a book that takes a week, a month to read?… Continue reading Avengers, Assemble

Anno Dracula, Kim Newman

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I have a confession. I love Dracula. Both the character and Stoker's novel. And I love vampires. Not the sparkly, fairy, effete version populating Meyer's asinine attempts at fiction ("Dear Dracula, do you remember that one night seventeen years ago? Well, we need to talk. Sincerely, Tinkerbell") but full blown raging bloodlust sensual sexual visceral… Continue reading Anno Dracula, Kim Newman

Midwinter Sacrifice, Mons Kallentoft

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This was my first foray into the realm of audiobooks, thanks to a new phone and Audible.com so this review will be a review both of the experience of audiobooks as well as the book itself. I've always been hesitant about audiobooks due to three factors: the price of them seems disproportionate in comparison to… Continue reading Midwinter Sacrifice, Mons Kallentoft

My Sister Lives On The Mantelpiece, Annabel Pitcher

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I have read this solely because it is on the Carnegie 2012 Shortlist which I am leading a shadowing group for at my school. Something about the title, the rather pastel chintzy cover, the subject matter simply didn't appeal. At the risk of being judgmental it struck me as a rather girly book. All I… Continue reading My Sister Lives On The Mantelpiece, Annabel Pitcher