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| Latest Book Reviews... |
First Contact by Patrick Woodrow
Average Rating [7/10]
(1 Review)
Chrissi has reviewed First
Contact by Patrick Woodrow. In the heart of the jungle
lies a powerful secret. They hoped for the trip of a lifetime.
Now they are minutes from death. Mark and Melanie Bridges
are lost in the world's most hostile forest. Their guides
are dead. They have no shelter, no water, no hope. Then, as
the shadows lengthen, they stumble on the wreck of a crashed
helicopter. The pilot and passenger are bones, their doomed
mission to this remote and dangerous land, uncertain. But
the skeletons have left behind both good and bad: vital supplies
to keep the pair alive. And a mystery that threatens to kill
them... more»»
Chrissi
31st January 2010 [7/10] |
The
Kult by Shaun Jeffrey
Average Rating [9/10]
(1 Review)
Nigel has reviewed The
Kult by Shaun Jeffrey. People are predictable. That's
what makes them easy to kill. Acting out of misguided loyalty
to his friends, police officer Prosper Snow is goaded into
helping them perform a copycat killing, but when the real
killer comes after him, it's not only his life on the line,
but his family's too. Now if he goes to his colleagues for
help, he risks being arrested for murder. If he doesn't, he
risks being killed... more»»
Nigel
31st January 2010
[9/10]
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The Boat by Nam Le
Average Rating [7/10]
(1 Review)
Jessica has sent in a review for The
Boat by Nam Le. A dazzling, emotionally riveting debut
collection: the seven stories in Nam Le’s The
Boat take us across the globe as he enters the hearts
and minds of characters from all over the world. Whether Nam
Le is conjuring the story of 14-year-old Juan, a hit man in
Colombia; or an aging painter mourning the death of his much-younger
lover; or a young refugee fleeing Vietnam, crammed in the
ship's hold with 200 others, the result is unexpectedly moving
and powerful. This is an extraordinary work of fiction that
takes us to the heart of what it means to be human... more»»
Jessica
31st January 2010 [7/10]
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Southcrop Forest by Lorne Rothman
Average Rating [9/10]
(1 Review)
Paul has sent in a review for Southcrop
Forest by Lorne Rothman. The trees of Southcrop have made
a striking discovery - one that could change the world for
all their kind. But they are trapped in a forest fragment
and face destruction from human sprawl. They cannot spread
their new-found gift across the land. Then Auja, a young oak,
finds little Fur amongst her branches. Fur is a legendary
creature not seen for a thousand years, a single intelligent
being emerged from a colony of caterpillars. Fur is small
and meek and slow, but can travel through the forest and talk
with trees. Auja persuades the reluctant Fur to help. Fur
embarks on a desperate quest to find the source of all tree
power... more»»
Paul
Lappen 31st January 2010
[9/10] |
Second Chance by Jane Green
Average Rating [9/10]
(1 Review)
Sarah has sent in a review for Second
Chance by Jane Green. Step inside the home of Holly Mac
and meet her successful, distinguished husband Marcus, notice
how beautiful her home is and how gorgeous her children Daisy
and Oliver are. You might say that they are the perfect family,
but you would be very wrong... Holly is desperately lonely.
She has spent her entire marriage trying to be the perfect
wife but she is missing the one thing she really wants - a
husband she can talk to, a soul mate to share everything with,
someone like her first love and best friend Tom. Then a terrible
tragedy finds Holly reunited with some old friends, and she
soon realises that they too are each beset by their own problems...
more»»
Sarah
31st January 2010 [9/10] |
The Wanderers by Richard Price
Average Rating [7/10]
(1 Review)
John Alwyine-Mosely has sent in a review for The
Wanderers by Richard Price, the story of a teenage gang
in the Bronx of the early 1960s. The Wanderers are just trying
to stay alive - and maybe have a little sex. But it's not
going to be easy. They're facing murderous parents, unimpressed
girls, an all-Chinese gang and a pack of mute Irish maniacs,
apathetic teachers, and a ten-year-old cold-blooded killer.
Against these odds, will the Wanderers get what they're after...
more»»
John Alwyine-Mosely
31st January 2010 [7/10] |
The Rachel Papers by Martin Amis
Average Rating [8/10]
(1 Review)
Ben Macnair has sent in a review for The
Rachel Papers by Martin Amis. In his uproarious first
novel Martin Amis, author of the bestselling London Fields,
gave us one of the most noxiously believable - and curiously
touching - adolescents ever to sniffle and lust his way through
the pages of contemporary fiction. Charles Highway, a precociously
intelligent and highly sexed teenager, is determined to sleep
with an older woman before he turns twenty. Rachel fits the
bill perfectly and Charles plans his seduction meticulously,
sets the scene with infinite care - but it doesn't come off
quite as Charles expects... more»»
Ben Macnair
31st January 2010 [8/10] |
The Raven Queen by Pauline Francis
Average Rating [7/10]
(1 Review)
Jessica has sent in a review for The
Raven Queen by Pauline Francis. This is a powerful historical
novel that brings to life an unforgettable story of love,
hope and royal duty, from a hugely talented new author. The
life of Lady Jane Grey, the Nine Day Queen, is all too often
remembered as just a line in a history book, but this stunning
debut novel reveals the full fascinating and tragic story
- a tale of treachery, power struggles, and religious turmoil
in the Tudor court. Intricately woven and passionately written,
The
Raven Queen is also a sensitive story of love against
all odds that will enchant readers... more»»
Jessica
31st January 2010 [7/10]
|
How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff
Average Rating [5/10]
(2 Reviews)
Sarah has sent in a review for How
I Live Now by Meg Rosoff. Daisy is sent from New York
to England to spend a summer with cousins she has never met.
They are Isaac, Edmond, Osbert and Piper. And two dogs and
a goat. She's never met anyone quite like them before - and,
as a dreamy English summer progresses, Daisy finds herself
caught in a timeless bubble. It seems like the perfect summer.
But their lives are about to explode. Falling in love is just
the start of it. War breaks out - a war none of them understands,
or really cares about, until it lands on their doorstep...
more»»
Sarah
31st January 2010 [3/10] |
Generation
A by Douglas Coupland
Average Rating [8/10]
(1 Review)
Nigel has reviewed Generation
A by Douglas Coupland. In the near future bees are extinct
- until five unconnected individuals, in different parts of
the world, are stung. Immediately snatched up by ominous figures
in hazmat suits, interrogated separately in neutral Idea-like
chambers, and then released as 15-minute-celebrities into
a world driven almost entirely by the internet, these five
unforgettable people endure a barrage of unusual and highly
21st-century circumstances. A charismatic scientist with dubious
motives eventually brings the quintet together, and their
shared experience unites them in a way they could never have
imagined... more»»
Nigel
31st December 2009
[8/10]
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The History of Us by Philip Leslie
Average Rating [8/10]
(1 Review)
Pamela has sent in a review for The
History of Us by Philip Leslie. A beautiful exploration
of love and obsession, based on the stories of a group of
friends growing up in Norfolk and told in reflection focused
on the incredibly close but conversely fractious relationship
of the two central characters. Told in three parts, The
History of Us, explores the relationships between the
two and a close friend, bonded by love, but also by a single
tragic moment in their shared lives. As the book unfolds,
we hear many whispers, which shift our understanding of that
tragic day, and ultimately, of course, our perceptions of
the characters... more»»
Pamela
31st December 2009 [8/10] |
A Death in the Family by Caroline Dunford
Average Rating [8/10]
(1 Review)
Amanda McDonald has sent in a review for A
Death in the Family by Caroline Dunford. In December 1909
the Reverend Joshia Martins expires in a dish of mutton and
onions leaving his family on the brink of destitution. Joshia's
daughter, Euphemia, takes it upon herself to provide for her
mother and little brother by entering service. She is young,
fit, intelligent, a little naive and assumes the life of a
maid won't be too demanding. However, on her first day at
the unhappy home of Sir Stapleford she discovers a murdered
body... more»»
Amanda McDonald
31st December 2009 [8/10] |
The Act You've Known For All These Years by Clinton
Heylin
Average Rating [6/10]
(1 Review)
Jessica has sent in a review for The
Act You've Known For All These Years by Clinton Heylin.
On June 1st 2007, it was forty years to the day since the
release of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
by The Beatles, an LP which changed the face of popular culture.
Weaving the activities of the Beatles in with those of their
contemporaries and rivals - notably the Beach Boys, Bob Dylan
and Syd Barrett's Pink Floyd - Clinton Heylin reveals the
inspirations and explodes the myths behind this talismanic,
iconic album - and 'the summer of love' itself... more»»
Jessica
31st December 2009 [6/10]
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The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown
Average Rating [7/10]
(3 Reviews)
Arnab has sent in a review for The
Lost Symbol by Dan Brown, the eagerly anticipated follow-up
to The
Da Vinci Code featuring Dan Brown's unforgettable protagonist,
Robert Langdon. This book's narrative takes place in a 12-hour
period, and from the first page, Dan Brown's readers will
feel the thrill of discovery as they follow Robert Langdon
through a masterful and unexpected new landscape. The
Lost Symbol is a brilliant and compelling thriller. Dan
Brown's prodigious talent for storytelling, infused with history,
codes and intrigue, is on full display in this new book...
more»»
Arnab
31st December 2009 [8/10] |
1983 Part One: I Want To Break Free by Garry Kay
Average Rating [9/10]
(1 Review)
Patrick Space has sent in a review for 1983
Part One: I Want To Break Free by Garry Kay. Andrew Leopard
starts college in 1983 near London full of hope but weighed
down by his father’s low expectations. Brothers Tom and Brian
Hill befriend him. They have confidence to spare despite having
not seen their parents since a fatal crash seven years ago.
Andrew desperately wants to meet girls, Brian desperately
wants to sleep with girls and Tom can’t make up his mind which
girl to stick with... more»»
Patrick Space
31st December 2009 [9/10] |
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