Category: Review

  • Review: 11.22.63

    11.22.63 by Stephen King My rating: 5 of 5 stars View all my reviews

  • Review: Look Who’s Back

    Look Who’s Back by Timur Vermes My rating: 5 of 5 stars Note: I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in place of an honest review. It’s easy to take offence at the concept of ‘Look Who’s Back’ (Hitler miraculously regenerates in modern-day Berlin) but read it first before making a judgement.…

  • Review: Narcopolis

    Narcopolis by Jeet Thayil My rating: 4 of 5 stars Narcopolis is a rambling story consumed within a narcotic haze that flits between characters and times, drifting decades at a time. It’s hard to explain what the story is about. Imagine trying to recall a dream: some parts will be clear, others foggy and unclear,…

  • Review: Page After Page: Discover the Confidence & Passion You Need to Start Writing & Keep Writing

    Page After Page: Discover the Confidence & Passion You Need to Start Writing & Keep Writing by Heather Sellers My rating: 3 of 5 stars ‘Page after page’ is one of those books that probably sits better with American readers, no offence to my friends on the other side of the Atlantic. Us Brits are…

  • Review: The Lie

    The Lie by Helen Dunmore My rating: 5 of 5 stars Note: I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in place of an honest review. This is a simple story, interspersing three periods of a man’s life: as a child, fighting in the Great War and finally upon his return. This is the…

  • Review: Burning Bright

    Burning Bright by Helen Dunmore My rating: 4 of 5 stars ‘Burning Bright’ was an interesting read – this one book could be used in a classroom to teach how to write fiction, and how not to. Some of the writing was excellent, quick paced and descriptive, then the next chapter would try too hard…

  • Review: The 38 Most Common Fiction Writing Mistakes

    The 38 Most Common Fiction Writing Mistakes by Jack M. Bickham My rating: 3 of 5 stars Some solid advice, but I found it was too heavily wrapped in fabricated anecdotes and a know-it-all writing style. I skimmed the majority of the last third, it was getting too hard to read. In my opinion, I…

  • Review: Lazarus Is Dead

    Lazarus Is Dead by Richard Beard My rating: 5 of 5 stars I had the pleasure of meeting Richard Beard at a recent writer’s conference. He came across as intelligent and passionate about good writing, so I was curious to see whether his own writings hit the mark. And for me, the answer is a…

  • Review: The Ocean at the End of the Lane

    The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman My rating: 4 of 5 stars This book surprised me. It’s marketed as a novel, an adult fairy tale, yet it reads more like a young-adult short story – all well and good apart from the adult novel price tag. That complaint aside, it’s…

  • Review: Murder on the Orient Express

    Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie My rating: 4 of 5 stars This was a fun whodunnit, slightly spoiled by the fact that my mother-in-law gave me this for Christmas last year, only for us to flop down on the sofa with our turkey-filled stomachs to watch the television adaption in the afternoon.…