Difference between revisions of "Book Reviews From The Bookbag"
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| + | |summary=Meet Mary Watson - a distant second to John Watson, who of course was a distant second to Sherlock Holmes. Fed up with staying at home while her new husband spends too much time at 221b Baker Street, or away with Holmes sleuthing, she gets to dabble her own feet in the underworld waters when a certain Professor Moriarty comes calling. | ||
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Revision as of 17:01, 10 January 2011
Hello from The Bookbag, a book review site, featuring books from all the many walks of literary life - fiction, biography, crime, cookery and anything else that takes our fancy. At Bookbag Towers the bookbag sits at the side of the desk. It's the bag we take to the library and the bookshop. Sometimes it holds the latest releases, but at other times there'll be old favourites, books for the children, books for the home. They're sometimes our own books or books from the local library. They're often books sent to us by publishers and we promise to tell you exactly what we think about them. You might not want to read through a full review, so we'll give you a quick review which summarises what we felt about the book and tells you whether or not we think you should buy or borrow it. There are also lots of author interviews, and all sorts of top tens - all of which you can find on our features page. If you're stuck for something to read, check out the recommendations page.
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The Sign of Fear by Molly Carr
Meet Mary Watson - a distant second to John Watson, who of course was a distant second to Sherlock Holmes. Fed up with staying at home while her new husband spends too much time at 221b Baker Street, or away with Holmes sleuthing, she gets to dabble her own feet in the underworld waters when a certain Professor Moriarty comes calling. Full review...
A Storm In The Blood by Jon Stephen Fink
A Storm In The Blood is based on a true story involving the police force and the government of the day trying to suppress racial tensions in early 20th century London. It has resonance for our modern times as we grapple with similar situations and problems. Full review...
Low Red Moon by Ivy Devlin
Avery's parents have been murdered, they’ve been literally torn apart, and Avery saw the whole thing. But her minds blocked it out, all she remembers is seeing something inhumanly fast, flashes of silver, and blood, lots of blood. Whatever killed her parents is still out there, and is trying to kill her. Full review...
Sleights of Mind by Stephen Macknik and Susana Martinez-Conde
I have a passing interest in both magic and neuroscience. Not only am I quite the hit with the ladies, but I was also very keen to read Sleights of Mind: What the Neuroscience of Magic Reveals About Our Brains. Husband and wife team Stephen Macknik and Susana Martinez-Conde work at the Barrow Neurological Institute in Arizona, and as a way of promoting their field of visual neuroscience, developed the Illusion of the Year contest. From this, they slipped into the world of magic, investigating, discussing and researching the neuroscience of magic with James Randi, Mac King, Teller (of Penn and...) and Johnny Thompson. Full review...
The Traitor's Smile (Pimpernelles) by Patricia Elliott
Usual spoiler warning for Pimpernelles book one, The Pale Assassin: at the end of that book, heroine Eugenie and love interest Julien had escaped the French Revolution but been forced to leave behind Eugenie's brother Armand to face the wrath of the government over the failed attempt to rescue the King. Eugenie is being followed by Guy Deschamps, who she still trusts, despite Julien's duel with him at the end of the first book, not knowing that he's working for the Pale Assassin himself Raoul Goullet. Full review...
The Neon Court by Kate Griffin
Matthew Swift, the Midnight Mayor ostensibly in charge of things magical about and within London, is in trouble. He wakes from a summons in a burning tower block, with an associate he'd rather not be with. In their escape a person dies. Only this death is set to cause out-and-out war between two legendary magical clans, the Neon Court and the Tribe. How can Swift be diplomatic enough for both sides? How can he resolve the matter without some form of guilt? And how can he find the time, when something has peppered London with cryptic 'Bad Wolf'-style graffiti, word is out the person he woke with is a fabled Chosen One everyone will slaughter for, Swift is beset with everyone he wants to meet being blinded by his enemies, and something has forced London into perpetual night? Full review...
The Cookbook Collector by Allegra Goodman
The Cookbook Collector is all about emotions. Concentrating on two, young, American women who are vastly different in many areas of their lives and also on their outlook on life, Goodman digs deeper to find out what makes them tick - what makes them get up in the morning. Full review...
Witchfinder: Gallows at Twilight by William Hussey
After turning from horror comic geek to a cloned Witchfinder and saviour of humanity in the space of a few short weeks, Jake Harker's magic is understandably depleted. Try as he might, the blue light fails to ingite in his hand. But Jake has no time for recuperation or for coming to terms with the loss of his mother. His father is dying, hexed by the evil witch Marcus Crowden. And the Demon Father is at large, summoning a universal coven that will threaten everything Jake has already fought to save. Full review...
The Heir of Night by Helen Lowe
If Night falls, all fall, so says the old legend. Oldest, first and greatest of all the Derai Houses on the Wall, the house of Night is proud of its role as holders of the Keep of the Winds, primary defence on the Shield Wall of Night – a range of mountains that separates the lands of the original inhabitants of the planet the Derai know as Haarth from the regions of the Dark Swarm that threaten Derai and Haarth-folk alike. Full review...
Diaries Volume 1 by Christopher Isherwood
In January 1939 Christopher Isherwood left England for America in the company of poet WH Auden. This hefty volume covers his diaries from that date until August 1960, when he celebrated his fifty-sixth birthday. A 49-page introduction setting out the background leads us into the entries, which are divided into three sections – The Emigration, to the end of 1944; The Post-war Years, to 1956; and The Late Fifties. After these we have a chronology and glossary, or to put it more accurately a section of brief biographies of the main characters mentioned, these two sections comprising over a hundred pages altogether. Full review...
The Vernham Chronicles by John Saunders
Set amidst the rolling British countryside around Vernbury Vale is the little village of Vernham. Anyone who lives in a village will recognise it immediately, with its cobbled streets and Tudor buildings. There was some damage during the war (which might, or might not have been down to a lighthouse folly constructed by a local landowner on his lake) but the gaps have been filled with some beautiful, er, mock Tudor buildings. Almost unique and nearly beautiful as the village is, it's not the star of The Vernham Chronicles. The stars are the people who live in Vernham. Full review...
Rot & Ruin by Jonathan Maberry
It's been fourteen years since First Night and the zombie apocalypse. Those humans who survived the disease that created the undead live in pocket communities, fenced off from the horrors of the outside world. Resources are scarce and all citizens must find a job as soon as they turn fifteen, else their rations are cut in half. Benny Imura has just turned fifteen and so he needs work badly. He tries out as a locksmith, a fence technician, a portraitist and a carpet coat salesman. Nothing works out and so Benny has no option but the last resort - an apprenticeship in the family business of zombie hunting, under the tutelage of his older brother Tom. Full review...
The de Lacy Inheritance by Elizabeth Ashworth
Set in England in 1192, the novel is full of details of life in this period, and resists the temptation to get overtly bogged down in excessive political detail, which makes this a very accessible read to those (like myself) who are not too knowledgeable about this particular historical period. Returning from the Crusades, Richard is forced to leave his family and atone for the sins which he believes has lead to him being afflicted with leprosy. Undertaking a quest to his grandmother's nearby cousin (who is childless, so grandmother wants Richard to present her case for inheriting his lands), Richard finds refuge here. This point struck me as odd - almost jarring in it's unlikelihood. Not only does Richard find help/support/refuge here (whilst remaining unknown to all except the cousin and his wife), but he's virtually welcomed with open arms. Would an itinerant leper be treated in this way? It did add a note of discord to the narrative - as if the quest for inheritance was more important that his trials as a leper. Full review...
Primeval: Extinction Event by Dan Abnett
There are rifts in time and space that allow for prehistoric animals to enter our modern world, and it's up to Professor Nick Cutter and his team to track them down and send them back. It's a manageable job, until two animals best described as "demon pigs" hit Oxford Street in London. Cutter feels his days might be easier if he had anyone to share his hush-hush scientific secrets with. Little does he know he's about to be forced to do that, and face something much worse, when his Russian counterparts come demanding help. Full review...
Beautiful Creatures by Lulu Taylor
Everyone has heard of the Beaufort twins Octavia and Flora, but few have ever seen them, and on the night of their twenty-first birthday party the girls are finally launched into society amongst a crowd anxious to see the two girls who are about to inherit a vast fortune. Octavia and Flora have been kept out of the public eye for their entire young lives by their aunt Frances after their father died and their mother seemingly abandoned them. Now that the girls have come of age Frances has no choice but to hand over the girls' vast inheritance from their father and take a step back from running their lives. Full review...
Sleeper Agent by Sean Gibbons
Zach has been in contact with aliens for some time. They've been beefing up his mental and physical abilities so that he can fulfill his destiny as the saviour of civilisation in the inevitable Vrotogore invasion. His friends don't know this, though, and so his girlfriend Cass has become his ex. She's fed up with his frequent and unexplained absences, and has taken up with Jeremy, a particularly unpleasant character with some quite revolting habits and an exceedingly aggressive manner. Then there's Hooper - a geeky genius inventor who likes a drink more than is strictly good for him. Full review...
Even the Dogs by Jon McGregor
I loved Jon McGregor's previous two novels, 'If Nobody Speaks of Remarkable Things' and 'So Many Ways to Begin'. They're both lyrical, poetically observed works so I was really looking forward to reading his latest book. It is, unfortunately, quite a different sort of story... Full review...
Talk to the Tail: Adventures in Cat Ownership and Beyond by Tom Cox
Are you a cat person weaned on Dewey the library cat, or Marilyn Edwards' rural tales or Doreen Tovey's precious Siamese stories? Do you enjoy cosy, slightly twee reminiscences of much loved felines? If so, look away now… 'Talk to the Tail' is that rare bird: a cat eulogy written by a man. As such it features rather more incidents involving fights, bottom washing, urine stained rugs and feline sexual exploits than your average book about cats. O.K. I'm exaggerating slightly, but reader be warned; the mad cat man is a different beast to the mad cat woman. It's less furry babies and more furry nightmares. Full review...
Not Quite White by Simon Thirsk
The story alternates between the two main characters: Welsh Gwalia (that's a she, by the way) and English Jon Bull (and you get an idea of the fun Thirsk has with his names and also characters) as the two meet up for the first time. Lots of Welsh names such as Gwenfer and Gwenlais and also lots of (mainly) unpronounceable place names including the glorious - wait for it - Llanchwaraetegdanygelyn. Thirsk has also scattered Welsh vocabulary all over the place: but many of the words are easily understood (Anti for Auntie and Yncl for Uncle etc) so you don't really have to keep referring to the comprehensive Appendix, unless you want to. Full review...
Death and the Maiden by Frank Tallis
Just to clear the confusion out of the way, this book has nothing to do with the novel of the same name by Gladys Mitchell. Both take their name from an early Schubert piece, in which Death entices the Maiden to leave the world of men. The maiden resists. It was a common enough theme at the time: the death of beauty. Full review...
Waking Up In Toytown by John Burnside
After years of alcoholism and borderline insanity, John Burnside decides to become normal. This involves moving to Surrey, working in an office and settling into a numbing daily routine he hopes will prevent him drifting back towards bad habits. These memoirs chronicle the failure of his bid for normality and subsequent disillusionment with the project. It's a solipsistic account but the writing is powerful and it draws you in. Full review...
Ghost of a Chance by Rhiannon Lassiter
Eva Chance is used to being ignored by her family, apart from her frail grandfather, who she adores. So she's barely even surprised when they don't set a place for her at a dinner party. But when nearly everyone is ignoring her she grows increasingly concerned – and that's when she realises she's dead. Can she solve the mystery of her murder before either malevolent ghosts or human criminals can do any more damage to her family, aided only by Kyra, who bullied her when she was alive, Kyra's brother Kyle, and a ghost called Maggie she may or may not be able to trust? Full review...
Equations of Life by Simon Morden
It's a book that is certainly not short of action. We are not told what the Armageddon event was, although aspects of it are hinted at. Perhaps that will become explained later in the series. What we do know is that it has wiped out Japan, and one of the first victims of the event in London appears to have been the Congestion Charge as it is now a heaving metropolis with gridlock traffic (although this and the masses of people seem to mysteriously evaporate as the story unfolds). Full review...
South Riding by Winifred Holtby
The central character is a single woman in her middle years who relishes the chance to return to her roots in the tight-knit South Riding community. She's ambitious and well-travelled and has tasted life and work in bustling, cosmopolitan London. So it would appear that her pull back home is very strong indeed. But, you have to ask yourself the question, who would choose to give up this stimulating life down south and return up north? One Sarah Burton, schoolteacher with promotion in her mind, that's who. Everything depends on Sarah actually getting this job. And straight away, Holtby gives us the low-down on the collective mentality of local government. Yes, narrow-minded, parochial, dull - it's all of those things and more. But not everyone is a political 'sheep'. There's one or two who can see the bigger picture and can look beyond personal gain. Full review...
Just William by Richmal Crompton
Whether it's a trip to the cinema, babysitting a youngster, being a page boy at a wedding, or running away from home to take a job below stairs, the 11-year old William Brown can always be relied on to create chaos and havoc wherever he goes. This short story collection (the first of 38 books) is a wonderful introduction to a classic character. Full review...
The Snow Queen by Hans Christian Andersen, Naomi Lewis and Christian Birmingham
Kay and Gerda are dear, dear friends. However, Kay gets splinters from the Devil's shattered magic mirror in his eye and heart, changing his personality for the worse. Shortly after, he is whisked away by the Snow Queen. Everyone assumes Kay must have fallen in the river and drowned, but Gerda is sure her friend is still alive, and embarks on a magical quest to bring him home again. Full review...
The Blasphemer by Nigel Farndale
Daniel Kennedy is a soon-to-be professor of zoology and a militant atheist. With a beautiful and successful dentist for a partner, and an intelligent, precocious nine-year-old daughter, his life is what you might call gilded. Novels as they are, though, things soon begin to fall apart. On their way to a holiday in the Galapagos Islands, Daniel and Nancy's plane crashes into the sea. Daniel swims for miles to get help and, just as all seems lost and he's on the point of drowning, a mysterious figure appears and guides him to the shore and rescue. Full review...
Out of Shadows by Jason Wallace
Robert Jacklin arrives at his new boarding school as a very reluctant pupil. He's a reluctant African, too - his family has just moved to Zimbabwe after his father has been given a diplomatic placing there. More than anything else, Robert wants to return to England. Full review...
The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod: Eighth Grade Bites by Heather Brewer
High school is hard enough for most kids, but for half vampire Vlad, it really bites. First there's his blood cravings – how exactly do you sneak a pint of O neg into your lunchbox? Then there's his enlarged fangs, his ever developing powers that Vlad doesn't know the extent of and the fact that his crush seems to have a thing for his best mate. Full review...
Dark Fire by C J Sansom
1540 was the hottest summer of the sixteenth century but Matthew Shardlake was doing his best to hold his legal practice together, which was made more difficult by the fact that he believed himself to be out of favour with Thomas Cromwell. He tried to keep a low profile but when he defended the accused in a most unpopular case – that of a girl accused of brutally murdering her cousin – he found that the king's chief minister had a new assignment for him. Unless he could solve Cromwell's problem his client was likely to die a slow and nasty death. Full review...
The Story of Britain by Patrick Dillon and P J Lynch
Author Patrick Dillon has put together a clear, well-written and beautifully concise story of Britain, summing up the history of Britain and Ireland in a little over 320 pages. Significant events, ranging from the Norman Conquest to the South Sea Bubble, and groups of people ranging from highwaymen to the Romantic poets, are each dealt with in between 1 and 3 pages written in Dillon's chatty, easy to read style. There are also maps, including those of the D-Day landings and the Civil War battles, a timeline for each major period (Middle Ages, Tudors, Stuarts, Georgians, Victorians and Twentieth Century) and some gorgeous illustrations by former Kate Greenaway winner PJ Lynch. Full review...
