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Book Reviews

For as long as I can remember, I have read a lot. It is a way of escaping which is why I tend to concentrate on fiction and, my particular interest, Science Fiction as well as Fantasy.

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Book Review The Institute by Stephen King thumbnail Say what you like about Stephen King: Populist, Commercial, Shock-Jock, etc, but you have to admit he writes very well and writes what people want to read. “The Institute” is another very readable and… 2020-12-12
Book Review Chaos: Making a New Science by James Gleick thumbnail This book has sat for years on my shelf with my feeling nervous at taking it on. This nervousness was misplaced as Gleick has provided quite a readable book explaining the principles behind Chaos theory… 2020-11-28
Book Review James Herriot's Yorkshire by James Herriot thumbnail I have always enjoyed James Herriot's (James Alfred Wight) Yorkshire vet series of books and the original 1978-1980 television series. It was his compassion for the animals and love of Yorkshire that… 2020-11-28
Book Review The Fairy Caravan by Beatrix Potter thumbnail One of Beatrix Potter's lesser known works, “The Fairy Caravan” tells the story of a guinea pig whose friends help solve his hair problems by applying a tonic leading to excessive locks. Feeling more… 2020-11-28
Book Review Transformers: Retribution by David J. Williams, and Mark S. Williams thumbnail This is the final book in the “History of the War for Cybertron” series telling the story of the Transformers before they reach earth in the animated television series and the Michael Bay films. The… 2020-11-28
Book Review Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky thumbnail A small artificial satellite orbiting a remote planet protects an experiment involving an infection of a nano-virus accelerating the development of the species inhabiting the planet and in doing so, hopefully,… 2020-11-14
Book Review The Ikea Story by Bertil Torekull thumbnail I remember as a kid always looking forward to a trip to IKEA. It was so full of ideas and wonders and at a price even my young self could afford. From a very early age I became familiar with POANG, BILLY… 2020-11-08
Book Review Sahara by Michael Palin thumbnail A few years after the Michael Palin BBC “Sahara” travelogue television series was broadcast on the BBC I was lucky to have been able to trace at least a portion of his route when I visited Mali in 2004… 2020-11-01
Book Review The Winter of Our Discontent by John Steinbeck Ethan is a store clerk at a store his family previously owned in a small US town where he his family owned many properties. He works for an Italian immigrant who pays little attention to the store but… 2020-10-12
Book Review Isaac Asimov: The Complete Stories (Volume 2) by Isaac Asimov thumbnail In the second, and final, volume of Isaac Asimov's “The Complete Stories” 23 previously published short stories from between 1941 and 1976 are collected including his award winning 1976 “Bicentennial Man”… 2020-09-27
Book Review Full Circle by Michael Palin thumbnail Following on from Around the World in Eighty Days and “Pole to Pole”, former Monty Python once again hit the road, this time travelling around the Pacific Rim, starting… 2020-09-11
Book Review I, Robot: The Illustrated Screenplay by Harlan Ellison, and Isaac Asimov thumbnail Science Fiction author Isaac Asimov is perhaps best known for his novel “I, Robot” which, in fact, is a series of short stories which were originally published in American pulp magazines “Super Science… 2020-09-04
Book Review I. Asimov: A memoir by Isaac Asimov thumbnail Growing up it was Isaac Asimov that introduced me to Science Fiction with his highly readable “Foundation” and “Robot” novels. Asimov was an incredible prolific author who wrote not only Science Fiction,… 2020-08-28
Book Review Around the World in 80 Days by Michael Palin thumbnail In 1988 former Monty Python member Michael Palin repeated the journey undertaken by Phileas Fogg in Jules Verne's classic novel “Around the World in 80 Days” by travelling from the Reform Club in London… 2020-08-15
Book Review Kingdom of Souls by Rena Barron thumbnail Despite the best efforts of her grandmother, an Aatiri chieftain, Aarah is unable to perform magic despite her coming from a long line of witch-doctors. Her mother, Arti, is a powerful magician and Ka-Princess… 2020-08-10
Book Review The Secret Lives of the Amir Sisters by Nadiya Hussain thumbnail The Amir family live in modern England with four sisters and a son. The youngest daughter, Mae, is obsessed with social media while twins Farah is married to Mustafa (from Bangladesh), and Bubblee, attempting… 2020-08-10
Book Review Becoming Superman: My Journey From Poverty to Hollywood by J. Michael Straczynski thumbnail This autobiography of one of the most well-known names in Science Fiction and Hollywood “J. Michael Straczynski” tells his challenging family life to his incredible success as a prolific director, producer,… 2020-07-26
Book Review Uncommon Type by Tom Hanks thumbnail A collection of short stories from the famous actor, “Uncommon Type” has the general theme of typewriters which make an appearance in all of the stories. Here Hanks talks about the human condition taking… 2020-07-26
Book Review The Shock Doctrine by Naomi Klein thumbnail The main thesis of Klein in “The Shock Doctrine” is that there is a concerted effort to impose a system of shock to a country when it is in crisis in order for big corporations through the auspices of… 2020-06-20
Book Review The Twenty-Year Death: Malniveau Prison by Ariel S. Winter thumbnail In 1930s rural France a body is found lying in the gutter during a rainstorm. Despite being stabbed the clothing is undamaged but most mysterious of all is that it is the body of convict from the local… 2020-06-13