Category: Uncategorized

Gone by Michael Grant My rating: 4 of 5 stars I read this with my daughter, and we both loved it. Gone is a cross between Lord of the Flies and Akira – super powers affecting children in a world without adults, yet far smarter and better written that the recent splurge of YA dystopian…

The Ballad of a Small Player by Lawrence Osborne My rating: 4 of 5 stars From the opening sentence, it’s clear Lawrence Osborne knows what he’s doing, that you’re in the hands of an assured writer. The writing is beautifully sparse, navigating the reader through the casinos of Macau, dipping into China’s culture. The only…

Talking About Detective Fiction by P.D. James My rating: 4 of 5 stars Not quite the book I was expecting – this is a history of the genre rather than a how-to guide. Still, an interesting read, though I did skim some of repetitive sections towards the end. View all my reviews

Raven Black by Ann Cleeves My rating: 4 of 5 stars I hadn’t heard of Ann Cleeves, before my father-in-law gave me this book after attending Harrogat’s crime writing festival. First impressions weren’t good; the writing is simple and surprisingly clumsy at times. But, the story is a good one, and that helps smooth over…

Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk My rating: 5 of 5 stars I read this after seeing the film, so the twist element was hugely ruined. But, still a great read: fast, succinct, excellently written… View all my reviews

The Goal: A Process of Ongoing Improvement by Eliyahu M. Goldratt My rating: 4 of 5 stars This is an interesting attempt to fictionalise a business book; interesting, though I’m not sure entirely successful. The storyline anchors the advice into the real world, showing how processes should be constantly reviewed and how the naysayers can…

The Stepford Wives by Ira Levin My rating: 4 of 5 stars Good writing, the build up was well crafted, but, even 40 years later with the huge advance in technology, the plausibility is distracting. View all my reviews

Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel My rating: 5 of 5 stars Note: I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in place of an honest review. Straight off, without faffing around, I’ll confess that I loved this book. When I first heard about it, I thought, “ah, the world needs another trilogy…

The Story Of Lucy Gault by William Trevor My rating: 4 of 5 stars ‘The Story of Lucy Gault’ was shortlisted for the Man Booker prize way back in 2002, and like anything shortlisted for a prestigious award, you know the quality will be there: the writing was crisp, the characters unique and a well…

Full Dark, No Stars by Stephen King My rating: 4 of 5 stars This novella collection was a mixed bag. All were written with Stephen King’s usual relaxed and readable style, but a few felt lazy, as though he rushed them down without exploring and developing the what-if’s like he normally does. Fair Extension is…