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| Latest Full Reviews... |
 The
Cursed Man by Keith Rommel
Average Rating [9/10]
(2 Reviews)
Paul has sent in a review for The
Cursed Man by Keith Rommel. Alister Kunkle believes death
is in love with him. A simple smile from friend or stranger
is all it takes to encourage death to kill. With his family
deceased and a path of destruction behind him, Alister sits
inside a mental institution, sworn to silence and separated
from the rest of the world, haunted by his inability to escape
death’s preferential treatment. But when a beautiful psychologist
arrives at the institution and starts offering him care, Alister
braces himself for more killings. When none follow, he tries
to figure out whether he truly is insane or if death has finally
come to him in the form of a woman... more»»
Paul
Lappen 31st December 2011
[9/10] |
 Sanctus
by Simon Toyne
Average Rating [9/10]
(2 Reviews)
David Hagen has sent in a review for Sanctus
by Simon Toyne. The certainties of the modern world are about
to be blown apart by a three thousand year-old conspiracy
nurtured by blood and lies... A man throws himself to his
death from the oldest inhabited place on the face of the earth,
a mountainous citadel in the historic Turkish city of Ruin.
This is no ordinary suicide but a symbolic act. And thanks
to the media, it is witnessed by the entire world. But few
understand it. For charity worker Kathryn Mann and a handful
of others in the know, it is what they have been waiting for.
The cowled and secretive fanatics that live in the Citadel
suspect it could mean the end of everything they have built
- and they will kill, torture and break every law to stop
that... more»»
David Hagen 31st
December 2011 [9/10] |
The Lost Fleet: Dauntless by Jack Campbell
Average Rating [8/10]
(1 Review)
Paul has sent in a review for The
Lost Fleet: Dauntless by Jack Campbell. The Alliance has
been fighting the Syndics for a century, and losing badly.
Now its fleet is crippled and stranded in enemy territory.
Their only hope is a man who has emerged from a century-long
hibernation to find he has been heroically idealized beyond
belief. Captain John 'Black Jack' Geary's legendary exploits
are known to every schoolchild. Revered for his heroic 'last
stand' in the early days of the war, he was presumed dead.
But a century later, Geary miraculously returns from survival
hibernation and reluctantly takes command of the Alliance
fleet as it faces annihilation by the Syndics... more»»
Paul
Lappen 30th November 2011
[8/10] |
The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne
Average Rating [8/10]
(2 Reviews)
Molly has sent in a review for The
Boy in the Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne. Nine-year-old
Bruno knows nothing of the Final Solution and the Holocaust.
He is oblivious to the appalling cruelties being inflicted
on the people of Europe by his country. All he knows is that
he has been moved from a comfortable home in Berlin to a house
in a desolate area where there is nothing to do and no one
to play with. Until he meets Shmuel, a boy who lives a strange
parallel existence on the other side of the adjoining wire
fence and who, like the other people there, wears a uniform
of striped pyjamas. Bruno’s friendship with Shmuel will take
him from innocence to revelation... more»»
Molly
Martin 30th November 2011
[8/10] |
Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer
Average Rating [9/10] (1
Review)
Chloe Lizotte has sent in a review for Into
the Wild by Jon Krakauer. Immediately after graduating
from college in 1991, McCandless had roamed through the West
and Southwest on a vision quest like those made by his heroes
Jack London and John Muir. In the Mojave Desert he abandoned
his car, stripped it of its license plates, and burned all
of his cash. He would give himself a new name, Alexander Supertramp,
and , unencumbered by money and belongings, he would be free
to wallow in the raw, unfiltered experiences that nature presented.
Craving a blank spot on the map, McCandless simply threw the
maps away. Leaving behind his desperate parents and sister,
he vanished into the wild. Four months later, his decomposed
body was found by a moose hunter. How McCandless came to die
is the unforgettable story of Into
the Wild.... more»»
Chloe Lizotte
30th November 2011 [9/10] |
The Great American Bus Ride by Irma Kurtz
Average Rating [7/10]
(1 Review)
Ben Macnair has sent in a review for The
Great American Bus Ride by Irma Kurtz. After more than
thirty years as an expatriate, Irma Kurtz gave in to her growing
curiosity about her American roots and set off on a grand
adventure to explore 'the most baffling of all places' - by
Greyhound bus. Taking only the barest necessities for travel,
she entered the vast network of America's bus routes and a
seething, fleeting world of brief encounters and changing
landscapes. During the great loops of her journey back and
forth across the continent, Kurtz was as fascinated by the
people thrown up at random on each bus as by the places flashing
by outside the window. She creates a vivid and highly entertaining
portrait of America reflected in the hundreds of characters
she observes fromthe close quarters of the bus... more»»
Ben Macnair
30th November 2011
[7/10] |
Nights of Rain and Stars by Maeve Binchy
Average Rating [8/10] (1
Review)
Hidayah Ismawi has sent in a review for Nights
of Rain and Stars by Maeve Binchy. In a Greek taverna,
high over the small village of Aghia Anna, four people meet
for the first time: Fiona, an Irish nurse, Thomas, a Californian
academic; Elsa, a German television presenter; and David a
shy English boy. Along with Andreas, the old man who runs
the taverna, they become close to each other after witnessing
a tragedy when a pleasure steamer catches fire in the harbour.
Nights of Rain and Stars is the story of one summer when Fiona,
Thomas, Elsa and David all have to face the particular life
crisis which first made them leave their homes and end up
in Greece. With the help of Vonni, a middle-aged Irish woman
who lives in the village and is now a near-native, they each
find a solution - although not necessarily the one they anticipated...
more»»
Hidayah Ismawi
30th November 2011 [8/10]
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Quirky Kids Zoo by Pat Brannon
Average Rating [9/10]
(1 Review)
Deb Hockenberry has sent in a review for Quirky
Kids Zoo by Pat Brannon. Have you ever been to a zoo where
the elephants and ants play leap frog together and the zebras
cook burgers and fries? What about goldfish playing guitars
and goats washing the visitors' cars? I'm assuming you've
never seen tigers jump rope or a polar bear wear pink tennis
shoes? Of course you haven't because there is only one zoo
where animals behave this way-the Quirky Kids' Zoo. Did I
mention the gopher races and the giraffes playing hopscotch?
Guess not. Well, some things you'll just have to see for yourself.
So, grab Mom and Dad and jump in the car and head over to
the Quirky Kids' Zoo for an adventure you won't soon forget...
more»»
Deb Hockenberry
30th November 2011
[9/10] |
Young Flesh Required: Growing Up With the Sex Pistols
by Alan G. Parker and Mick O'Shea
Average Rating [9/10]
(1 Review)
Dan Swinhoe has sent in a review for Young
Flesh Required: Growing Up With the Sex Pistols by Alan
G. Parker and Mick O'Shea. Think you know the story of the
Sex Pistols? Think again... Alan G. Parker and Mick
O Shea have spent much of their adult lives following the
Sex Pistols and their names are almost synonymous
with them. Both have previously written bestselling books
on the subject and Alan has also directed the critically acclaimed
film Who Killed Nancy. Young
Flesh Required: Growing Up With the Sex Pistols brings
together extensive research, exclusive interviews and personal
reflections to tell the stories behind the newspaper headlines
and get to the heart of the band. The Sex Pistols
were the young flesh that Malcolm McLaren required to satisfy
his artistic and financial ambitions. Here is their real story...
more»»
Dan Swinhoe
30th November 2011
[9/10] |
ZombieStop Parade by Richard Buzzell
Average Rating [8/10]
(1 Review)
Molly has sent in a review for
ZombieStop Parade by Richard Buzzell. This story has nothing
to do with zombies. It's about a young man who places himself
in conflict with his society. He conducts an online campaign
of ridicule against the cash-grab mentality and connects with
a nascent alienation developing on college campuses, but also
creates enemies in the media. Under pressure to betray his
pal, his best friend is torn between his misgivings and his
loyalty. In the wake of the financial fiasco some of our citizens
have come into conflict with the prevailing economic culture.
This book attempts to capture the passion, the turmoil, and
the strife of that conflict... more»»
Molly
Martin 30th November 2011
[8/10] |
 Yesterday's
Flight by Martyn Ellington
Average Rating [8/10]
(1 Review)
Nigel has reviewed Yesterday's
Flight by Martyn Ellington. When a Dinosaur fossil is
unearthed in the Badlands of America the last thing Susan
Lavey expected to see as the cause of death was the tail section
of an airliner. Now together with Bruce Ackland, a chief air
crash investigator, they must find out why and how this could
have happened and what became of the passengers on board.
William Relford was flying to yet another meeting, but this
time it was to hand in his notice; he had worked in sales
for as long as he liked to remember and now was the time for
a change. But destiny has a way of changing things in ways
we can't imagine, and now it was about to bring them all together
in a race for the truth and for one of them: their very survival...
more»»
Nigel
31st October 2011 [8/10]
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Pock's World by Dave Duncan
Average Rating [9/10]
(1 Review)
Paul has sent in a review for Pock's
World by Dave Duncan. Pock's World, long settled by humankind,
is accused of being infected by humanoid aliens. It has been
quarantined and may have to be sterilized. Five people are
chosen to go there and examine the evidence: saintly but ruthless
Father Andre; Ratty Turnsole, a muckraking reporter ripe for
romance; ambitious politician Athena Fimble; manipulative
bureaucrat Millie Backet; and shady billionaire Linn Lazuline.
Some of them carry grudges - all have their own agendas. Pock's
World surprises them all. Nothing is what they expect. Quickly
entangled in love, politics, religion, and deceit, they discover
that the clock is already ticking and the fate of humanity
itself is at stake... more»»
Paul
Lappen 31st Ocotber 2011
[9/10] |
Strong Enough to Die by Jon Land
Average Rating [7/10] (1
Review)
Hidayah Ismawi has sent in a review for Strong
Enough to Die by Jon Land. Caitlin Strong is a fifth-generation
Texas Ranger, proud to wear the badge of her father and grandfather-until
a deadly shoot-out causes her to question her calling. Five
years later Caitlin is still trying to purge herself of guilt
born of the actions that ended her Ranger career. But a shattering
discovery will reopen old wounds and Caitlin/s renewed investigation
into the truth behind the bloody desert fire fight uncovers
a terrifying plot that reaches into every home and threatens
the very core of the country. Her only hope for success and
survival - is to team up with Cort Wesley Masters, an outlaw
who has every reason to want her dead. But he also holds the
key to the truth she desperately seeks in the anguished brain
of an amnesiac torture victim... more»»
Hidayah Ismawi
31st October 2011 [7/10]
|
 Disciple
of a Dark God by Edmund Glasby
Average Rating [8/10]
(1 Review)
Nigel has reviewed Disciple
of a Dark God by Edmund Glasby. Assassin, cultist, zealot;
his sole aim in life is to serve the evil god who enabled
him to exact his revenge. Satiated by this act, but forever
bitter and cynical, Everus does whatever is required by the
cult, and more importantly by Xethorn, who contacts him directly.
As far as Everus is aware, he has already killed those responsible
for his downfall and asks only to repay his deity. To this
end, and with assistance from a grave-robbing thief with his
own agenda, he seeks the wards which will allow Xethorn to
gain supremacy over the world. Arrogant, charismatic and cold-hearted,
Everus begins to realise that even his cynical view of people
is not dark enough, as he eventually discovers the true extent
to which he has been manipulated... more»»
Nigel
30th September 2011 [8/10]
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The White Queen by Philippa Gregory
Average Rating [7/10] (1
Review)
Hidayah Ismawi has sent in a review for The
White Queen by Philippa Gregory. Internationally bestselling
author Philippa Gregory brings the tumult and intrigue of
The Wars of the Roses to vivid life through the women of the
House of Lancaster and the House of York, beginning with the
story of Elizabeth Woodville, the White Queen. A woman who
won the love of a king and ascended to royalty by virtue of
her beauty, Elizabeth fought tenaciously for the success of
her family - her daughter who would one day unite the warring
dynasties, and her two sons whose eventual fate has confounded
historians for centuries: the Princes in the Tower... more»»
Hidayah Ismawi
30th September 2011 [7/10]
|
Hector and the Secrets of Love by Francois Lelord
Average Rating [7/10]
(1 Review)
Ben Macnair has sent in a review for Hector
and the Secrets of Love by Francois Lelord. What is the
secret formula for love? Hector, our intrepid psychiatrist,
sets off on a new globe-trotting mission and this time he
is looking for Love. One of the world s largest pharmaceutical
companies has employed him to track down their brilliant scientist,
Professor Cormorant, who has disappeared abroad with the secret
of a modern-day love potion. Leaving behind his troubled relationship
with girlfriend Clara, Hector s adventure takes him to the
Far East and into the arms of beautiful Vayla, forcing our
hero to think deeply about what love really is/means... more»»
Ben Macnair
30th September 2011
[7/10] |
Chasing the Dime by Michael Connelly
Average Rating [8/10]
(2 Reviews)
Jessica has sent in a review for Chasing
the Dime by Michael Connelly. A searing thriller about
a simple wrong number that opens a line into terror... Henry
Pierce has a whole new life - new apartment, new telephone,
new phone line. But the first time he checks his messages,
he discovers that someone had the number before him. The messages
on his line are for a woman named Lilly, and she is in some
kind of serious trouble. Pierce is inexorably drawn into Lilly's
world, and it's unlike any world he's ever known. It is a
nighttime world of escort services, websites, sex, and secret
identities. Pierce tumbles through a hole, abandoning his
orderly life in a frantic race to save the life of a woman
he has never met... more»»
Jessica
30th September 2011 [8/10]
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The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Average Rating [9/10] (1
Review)
Chloe Lizotte has sent in a review for The
Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. The
Great Gatsby is a consummate summary of the "roaring
twenties", and a devastating expose of the "Jazz
Age". Through the narration of Nick Carraway, the reader
is taken into the superficially glittering world of the mansions
which lined the Long Island shore in the 1920s, to encounter
Nick's cousin Daisy, her brash but wealthy husband Tom Buchanan,
Jay Gatsby and the mystery that surrounds him... more»»
Chloe Lizotte
30th September 2011 [9/10] |
 The
Ascent of Isaac Steward by Mike French
Average Rating [8/10]
(1 Review)
Chrissi has reviewed The
Ascent of Isaac Steward by Mike French, the remarkable
and extraordinary debut novel from the senior editor of the
prestigious literary magazine, The View From Here.
Written with a literary, lyrical voice, the book follows Isaac
Steward in an emotional and original tale as he struggles
to deal with the resurfacing of a suppressed memory of a car
crash a year ago which killed his wife, Rebekah, his son,
Esau, and left his other son, Jacob, in a coma. Isaac becomes
increasingly dysfunctional and delusional as the story unfolds
in a hypnotic and startling way bringing into play childhood
memories of a Punch and Judy show and the revelation from
his half-brother, Ishmael, that in order to be reunited with
Rebekah he must be brought to a tree from his father's wood
called The Dandelion Tree... more»»
Chrissi
31st August 2011 [8/10]
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The Ashes of Worlds by Kevin J. Anderson
Average Rating [9/10]
(1 Review)
Paul has sent in a review for The
Ashes of Worlds by Kevin J. Anderson. Galactic empires
clash, elemental beings devastate whole planetary systems,
and the factions of humanity are pitted against each other.
The allied factions of humanity, along with the waning Ildiran
Empire, the powerful water elementals and sentient trees,
have defeated the near-invincible race of the hydrogues, driving
them back into the depths of gas-giant planets. But before
peace can heal the wounds between the races, two ancient enemies
return: the capricious fiery elementals, the faeros, who mean
to burn all those who fought alongside their enemies; and
the lost hive race of the Klikiss, who intend to reclaim the
worlds they inhabited 10,000 years earlier, worlds that are
now home to many human colonies... more»»
Paul
Lappen 31st August 2011
[9/10] |
The Radleys by Matt Haig
Average Rating [8/10]
(1 Review)
Ben Macnair has sent in a review for The
Radleys by Matt Haig. Meet the Radleys: Peter, Helen and
their teenage kids Clara and Rowan. An everyday family who
live in a pretty English village and juggle dysfunctional
lives. So far, so normal. Except, as Peter and Helen know
(but the kids have yet to find out), the Radleys happen to
be a family of abstaining vampires. When one night Clara finds
herself driven to commit a bloodthirsty act of violence, her
parents need to explain a few things: why is their skin is
so sensitive to light, why do they all find garlic so repulsive,
and why has Clara's recent decision to go vegan had quite
such an effect on her behaviour... more»»
Ben Macnair
31st August 2011
[8/10] |
| Archives |
If you've come down this far you may
be interested in our Archives,
the place where all the old reviews go. 
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| Column Ends |
|
The not so Brobdingnagian Update
Rants!
McGan's Meditations
One for Budding Authors...
Non-Fiction Books Part 2 - Popular Science
