“The stock reaction…is to faint” There are times – only occasionally mind you – when one needs to be charitable. There is much the world owes H.P. Lovecraft. His name is legendary among those who adore stories of the bizarre and deranged. You must either be living under a rock or have no interest in… Read More Book Review: Necronomicon by H.P. Lovecraft
Having taken, quite literally, decades to get around to read my copy of I Claudius, I took a mere handful of days to read this sequel. That’s how much I was impressed (or more accurately, turned) by Robert Graves’ first book. This book takes up where the first left off – with Claudius now emperor… Read More Book Review: Claudius the God by Robert Graves
My rating: 5 of 5 stars This is a beautifully written novel by the erudite Nicholas Graham. Set in Biblical times, this is absolutely not a book that staunchly evangelical Christians are going to enjoy but everyone else will. There is much that you will recognise from the Gospel stories and, of course, many of… Read More Book review: The Judas Case by Nicholas Graham
My rating: 5 of 5 stars I will confess a considerable bias in writing this review. Let me tell you a story… Once upon a time there was a young(ish) man who took his family off to a strange and bizarre land, where they settled – for a few months – in the home of… Read More Book Review: Dealing with Dragons by Patricia C. Wrede
My rating: 4 of 5 stars So, I need to make apparent the bleeding obvious disclosure, right from the beginning, that I am white, male, of the professional class, very firmly heterosexual and (regrettably) pushing too close to 50. All of which, more or less, disqualify me as a (stereo)typical reviewer for Evaristo’s astonishing novel.… Read More Book Review: Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo
Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman My rating: 5 of 5 stars I’ll begin with a confession: I listened to this book rather than ‘read’ it. I often do, seeing no distinction between reading a book and having one read to you – if it is done well. Usually, seeing no such important distinction, I don’t… Read More Book Review: Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman
A Mother Like Mine by Kate Hewitt My rating: 3 of 5 stars I think I’m reaching the conclusion that so-called ‘women’s fiction’ is not really for me. This is a shame as I don’t like to think of any kind of fiction being somehow ‘beyond me’. Yet I’ve read several of Kate Hewitt’s novels… Read More Book Review: A Mother Like Mine by Kate Hewitt
The Compleat Discworld Atlas by Terry Pratchett My rating: 5 of 5 stars If the overtly colonial ‘King Solomon’s Mines’ was my secret porn (as I wrote recently), then Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series is my opium – and one I’m open and honest about. The series of books was unique for a number of reasons,… Read More Book Review: The Compleat Discworld Atlas by Terry Pratchett
King Solomon’s Mines by H. Rider Haggard My rating: 4 of 5 stars Every man has his dirty secret and I guess for me it is this: H. Rider Haggard’s stories are my secret porn. When I read his books I can’t help but feel the same as I do when staying at my favourite… Read More King Solomon’s Mines by H. Rider Haggard
The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood My rating: 4 of 5 stars There’s no doubt about it, Margaret Atwood spins a good yarn. ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ is an interesting, well-written dystopian story of a near future where strict and extremist Christian religion has taken over the entire political and social order of America and subdued… Read More Book Review: The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
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