Steve's Bookshelf 2011

[Karsa Orlong]

he is in line for a godhood somewhere maybe they will have him coming back from death to save middle America again and again ...I had another thought I can see Hollywood also getting Jason Stracham to play him complete with English accent cause rather than Reachers brutal retalliation they would rather put in some glitzy kung fu type action...I can see it now......sigh:rolleyes:

Oh gawd please, no

 

The most likely guy at the moment, I suppose, would be Sam Worthington - he seems to be flavour of the month after Terminator 4, Avatar and Clash of the Titans, although he's not large enough and a little too young to play Reacher, maybe?

[pickle]

Oh gawd please, no

 

The most likely guy at the moment, I suppose, would be Sam Worthington - he seems to be flavour of the month after Terminator 4, Avatar and Clash of the Titans, although he's not large enough and a little too young to play Reacher, maybe?

 

I had to look him up ..nice but far far to young. Am halfway through Gone Tommorow right now for someone who wants to be left alone to wander he doesn't arf stick his nose in...must be the hero in him I suppose ...what is it says on the back of the books

 

Men want to be him

women want to be with him

 

ha ha ha such a poor thing to out on the back of the book enough to put you off

Edited January 31, 2011 by pickle

[Karsa Orlong]

I had to look him up ..nice but far far to young. Am halfway through Gone Tommorow right now for someone who wants to be left alone to wander he doesn't arf stick his nose in...must be the hero in him I suppose ...what is it says on the back of the books

 

Men want to be him

women want to be with him

 

ha ha ha such a poor thing to out on the back of the book enough to put you off

Yeah, it's cringe-inducing isn't it?

 

I don't want to be him. I can say that with absolute certainty. Or, if I was, I'd at least have to carry around a laptop with an internet connection. And my iPod. And my Kindle. And I'd be so worried about breaking any of those that I'd never get in any fights

[pickle]

Yeah, it's cringe-inducing isn't it?

 

I don't want to be him. I can say that with absolute certainty. Or, if I was, I'd at least have to carry around a laptop with an internet connection. And my iPod. And my Kindle. And I'd be so worried about breaking any of those that I'd never get in any fights

 

 

Yeah me too and none of this staying in cheap places and buying crappy clothes all the time, I guess I was not cut out for the lone hero material...Almost finished Gone Tommorow its quite good avtually ok yeah there are a lot of reaches in terms of the plot and the Afghan connection but its quite enjoyable and for once you ahve a proper female baddie.

[Karsa Orlong]

Worth Dying For by Lee Child

 

Far be it from me to copy from my previous review but ...

 

Jack Reacher. He's a force of nature. He knows everything. He can predict everything. It's like he can see the future. He is omniscient.

 

But he's not indestructible anymore. Now he's a little bit destructible - just a little bit

 

The set-up for a Reacher novel is fairly standard. Reacher breezes into town, trouble ensues, Reacher gets involved (even though he really doesn't want to) and events escalate until it's Reacher against the bad guys. Here he somehow ends up in the middle of nowhere in Nebraska. There's a motel and a few farmhouses but not a whole lot else. Reacher decides to have a drink at the motel bar. There's one other person there, a guy who's already pretty drunk. The phone rings, the barman answers, a woman's asking for the doctor. Her nose is bleeding and it won't stop. The doctor, of course, is the other guy at the bar, and he refuses to go and see her. Reacher, rightly or wrongly, assumes the woman has been beaten by her husband, and decides to drive the doctor over to her place. He should really learn not to stick his nose in. As it turns out, the woman's husband is part of a family that is holding the small local community in the grip of fear.

 

So business as usual. I said in a previous post that it would be nice if, just for once, Reacher would lose a fight, take some damage, fall on his backside, and hoped that it might happen next time. Well, suffice to say, it does, which is refreshing. Unfortunately, the flip-side of that is that Child has brought Reacher's omniscience back full-force. I don't think he gets anything wrong in this book. All of his deductions are correct, he predicts every move and is always one step ahead of everyone else. It isn't annoying, as such, but it does make things a little predictable. Again, there's no beautiful woman to fall into Reacher's arms, but neither is there what I'd call a satisfying pay-off at the end.

 

It's obviously a formula that Child is going to stick to, come what may. It's a shame, because I get the feeling he could do so much more with this character, but the continuing success of the series, and the money that keeps rolling in, is making him a bit lazy.

 

I thought 61 Hours was a step in the right direction for the series and, whilst this one is by no means bad, it didn't seem to have as much in terms of urgency or character. Perhaps that's because I read it straight after 61 Hours, and it lessened the enjoyment.

 

Worth Dying For? No. It's worth a look but, if you're looking to try a Lee Child novel, you'd be better off picking up The Enemy or Die Trying.

 

7/10

[Karsa Orlong]

I confess that I gave up on Ben Macintyre's Operation Mincemeat. It's very well written and researched but I wasn't concentrating on it, reading pages while my mind was wandering and then trying to work out what I was being told. I wasn't enjoying it, but I might come back to it again at some point. I guess I prefer reading fiction to fact.

[Karsa Orlong]

The Time Machine by H.G. Wells

 

First serialised in the 1880's, then again in 1894-95, and then finally published as a novella in 1895, The Time Machine is a true classic of the science fiction genre. Every time travel story that has been produced since is indebted to it. I'm guessing most people have seen one film version or another, and so have the general idea of the story. I remember seeing the 1960 George Pal movie, starring Rod Taylor, when I was a kid and being thrilled by it, so it's odd coming to the original story so many years later. I really should have read it long before now.

 

Narrated in the first person by an unnamed gentleman who is having dinner with some friends, the story begins as The Time Traveller tells this group of his plans, and shows them a model of his Time Machine, which he proceeds to make disappear before their eyes. He tells them that he has a full-sized version of the machine near completion. When the group returns to his house a week later, The Time Traveller is nowhere to be found but, as they sit down to dinner, he appears in the doorway, dishevelled and out of sorts. When, a short while later, he sits down with them, he begins to tell his story, and our narrator transcribes the details for us. The story then switches to The Time Traveller's point of view, again in the first person, as he begins to tell of his friends of the eight days he has lived in the future since departing in The Time Machine just that afternoon.

 

Up until this point, if my memory serves, the Rod Taylor movie sticks pretty closely to the narrative, although certain scenes were thrown in for effect (such as his brief stop in a war-torn near-future where he meets a descendant of his friend Filby). Once The Time Traveller arrives in the distant future the stories diverge, to a large degree. We have our first encounters with the Eloi and the Morlocks and Wells used this setting for much social commentary on Victorian society. I found it quite surprising, though, that much of what he had to say could still be viewed as relevant today.

 

Of course, the book has dated, but the urgency of The Time Traveller's predicament, and his musings on how this future came to pass, still fascinated me. Perhaps the only real problem in the book is to be found in the penultimate chapter, where The Time Traveller, fleeing the Morlocks as he tries to reclaim his Time Machine, throws himself even further into the future - by millions of years - and sees the Earth as it nears the end of its life. This part didn't seem particularly necessary to me, but I was pleased that the final chapter was mirrored by the Taylor film. It's a good, and appropriate, ending to a pioneering piece of work.

 

They really don't write 'em like this anymore

 

9/10

[Tristan]

The Time Machine by H.G. Wells

 

First serialised in the 1880's, then again in 1894-95, and then finally published as a novella in 1895, The Time Machine is a true classic of the science fiction genre. Every time travel story that has been produced since is indebted to it. I'm guessing most people have seen one film version or another, and so have the general idea of the story. I remember seeing the 1960 George Pal movie, starring Rod Taylor, when I was a kid and being thrilled by it, so it's odd coming to the original story so many years later. I really should have read it long before now.

 

Narrated in the first person by an unnamed gentleman who is having dinner with some friends, the story begins as The Time Traveller tells this group of his plans, and shows them a model of his Time Machine, which he proceeds to make disappear before their eyes. He tells them that he has a full-sized version of the machine near completion. When the group returns to his house a week later, The Time Traveller is nowhere to be found but, as they sit down to dinner, he appears in the doorway, dishevelled and out of sorts. When, a short while later, he sits down with them, he begins to tell his story, and our narrator transcribes the details for us. The story then switches to The Time Traveller's point of view, again in the first person, as he begins to tell of his friends of the eight days he has lived in the future since departing in The Time Machine just that afternoon.

 

Up until this point, if my memory serves, the Rod Taylor movie sticks pretty closely to the narrative, although certain scenes were thrown in for effect (such as his brief stop in a war-torn near-future where he meets a descendant of his friend Filby). Once The Time Traveller arrives in the distant future the stories diverge, to a large degree. We have our first encounters with the Eloi and the Morlocks and Wells used this setting for much social commentary on Victorian society. I found it quite surprising, though, that much of what he had to say could still be viewed as relevant today.

 

Of course, the book has dated, but the urgency of The Time Traveller's predicament, and his musings on how this future came to pass, still fascinated me. Perhaps the only real problem in the book is to be found in the penultimate chapter, where The Time Traveller, fleeing the Morlocks as he tries to reclaim his Time Machine, throws himself even further into the future - by millions of years - and sees the Earth as it nears the end of its life. This part didn't seem particularly necessary to me, but I was pleased that the final chapter was mirrored by the Taylor film. It's a good, and appropriate, ending to a pioneering piece of work.

 

They really don't write 'em like this anymore

 

9/10

 

 

Penultimate sci-fi writing. I couldn't agree more. So far, I've only read this one and some of his short stories ( in the horror genre ) and I've loved them all. Some damn fine writing, even now. Doesn't feel old or archaic at all.. Will start on Island of Dr. Moreau soon. High hopes!

[Karsa Orlong]

Will start on Island of Dr. Moreau soon. High hopes!

That's next on my list, too - there's a lovely hardback edition available in the SF Masterworks series that I've got my eye on

[Tristan]

That's next on my list, too - there's a lovely hardback edition available in the SF Masterworks series that I've got my eye on

 

I have the recently published omnibus ( by Gollancz )which contains five of his major novels. Looks rather dashing on a bookshelf.

[Karsa Orlong]

I have the recently published omnibus ( by Gollancz )which contains five of his major novels. Looks rather dashing on a bookshelf.

Ooh, is it this one? Looks great

[Tristan]

Ooh, is it this one? Looks great

 

It is indeed. Recommended.

[Karsa Orlong]

It is indeed. Recommended.

Now I know what I want for my birthday

[Tristan]

Now I know what I want for my birthday

 

I got it for my birthday.

[Karsa Orlong]

Roadside Picnic by Arkady & Boris Strugatsky

 

I found this one to be a real oddity. It's not that I didn't understand it (although there were passages that left me a little bemused) but I did wonder, at the end, what the point of it all was. Perhaps something was lost in the translation?

 

The story begins some time after an alien landing on Earth. They arrived at six different Visitation Zones around the globe, didn't stay long, and left behind many artifacts and dangerous after-effects that make entering the Zones very dangerous. There are two main characters, which the story deals with in four distinct sections which take place over the course of eight years.

 

First up is Red, a Stalker - someone who has made multiple sorties into a Zone to gather artifacts and then sells them on the black market for financial gain. He's a bit of a loose cannon and has been in prison for his exploits. He is the main character. The other is Noonan, a guy who works for the authorities and has been given the job of stopping the Stalkers from taking the artifacts so that they can be used for scientific experiments instead. Their stories converge on occasions.

 

I have since found out that the book has something of a troubled history. It was written in 1971 but refused publication in the Soviet Union for eight or nine years and then, after that, was only published in censored versions up until 2000. Apparently, the Soviet censors believed the Zones to be a loosely veiled attack on communism. They changed large parts of the plot, characters and dialogue to bring it more in line with the thinking of Lenin and Marx.

 

I'm assuming that the version I read was, in fact, the original version. Even so, I found it quirky and strangely disjointed, and the motivations of the characters never seemed entirely clear, at least until the last page, which ended on a rather strange note.

 

It was readable enough, and short, so it didn't overstay its welcome.

 

6/10

[Karsa Orlong]

The Leopard by Jo Nesbo

 

At the start of The Leopard Harry Hole isn't, um, whole. He's a broken man, living far away from his native Oslo. One thing I've always liked about this character, and Nesbo's attitude towards him, is that he's a screw-up, but he's always tried to do the right thing, even if it's for the wrong reasons. The events of The Snowman have really taken everything away from him, and he's suffering as a result - at least until someone turns up with a request and a message for him, and leads him into another plot full of twists and turns that drag him across continents.

 

Nesbo has come up with some pretty horrific methods of offing the victims in this book. The main one, concerning a particularly nasty little device, is bad enough, but there was another one involving a bathtub which I found truly disturbing. There's also some nicely down-played humour and a smattering of new characters to deal with, one of whom could end up being a rival for Tom Waaler's crown. Nesbo's deft handling of set-ups, pay-offs and building of tension is as assured as always, although I didn't think there was anything here to rival the sheer terror of the last hundred pages or so of The Snowman.

 

And that, I reckon, is The Leopard's only problem - it's come hot on the heels of Nesbo's best (imo) novel to date. On the other hand, it's a lot longer than his other novels, and as a result the plot isn't quite as breathless. He also investigates the relationship between Harry and his father, Olav, which - at times - I found quite difficult to read. It's very sad, but superbly handled. Towards the end I began to wonder just how many more twists he could throw in (the answer was 'a lot'!) and marvelled at just how well the pieces all begin to slot together as the climax approaches. Some of it is a little unbelievable, but I'm willing to let him off.

 

So it's not as good as The Snowman. But then, I don't think it could be, and that by no means signifies it being anything less than brilliant.

 

9/10

[Karsa Orlong]

Decided to go with Lords of the Bow by Conn Iggulden next

[Karsa Orlong]

Lords of the Bow by Conn Iggulden

 

I really enjoyed the first book in Iggulden's series about Genghis Khan, Wolf of the Plains. It felt like a good old fashioned adventure story, using history as a loose backdrop, and it moved at a cracking pace, had a boo-hiss bad guy and a good ending. So I was quite looking forward to this follow-up. For some reason, though, I couldn't get on with it.

 

This is the story of Genghis grown up, and leading his now unified people against the Chin. The viewpoint switches between several characters, among them Genghis (of course!), a sly, manipulating shaman and a Chin general. I think, perhaps, it was this switching that lessened my enjoyment of the book. The first novel stuck largely to Genghis (then known as Temujin) and his family as they were outcast, and how they fought to stay alive and then regain what they had lost. The constant change of viewpoint in this book meant it lost impetus continually. I can see why he did it, in that he was able to leave characters at cliffhanger moments, and I absolutely love this style if it's handled well (like George RR Martin etc), but although the writing is good I found it a little dry. Sure, he's dealing with big battles and sieges here, which don't exactly lend themselves to a lightness of touch, but for large parts of it I didn't care. Maybe it was me just not being in the right mood for it, which makes me wonder if I'll come back and read the rest of the series.

 

Obviously I'm in a minority with this view, though, cos it's got 4.5 stars on Amazon, with some people saying it's his best novel to date

 

For me, though ...

 

6/10

[Karsa Orlong]

Blue Heaven by C J Box

 

Twelve year-old Annie's a bit angry when Tom, her mum's friend, walks into the kitchen first thing in the morning, acting like he owns the place. She didn't know he'd stayed over, and her mum had promised her she wouldn't do anything like that. Tom tries to smooth things over with Annie's little brother, William, by promising to take him fishing when they finish school at lunch time, but he knows he won't get around Annie so easily.

 

When lunch time comes Tom doesn't show up, so Annie takes William, grabs Tom's fishing gear, and heads off into the woods towards the creek. Big mistake. On the way they come across a picnic area and watch, horrified, from the trees as three men execute another man - and then see Annie and William watching them.

 

The kids run for their lives, with the men in hot pursuit.

 

That's the set up for C J Box's Blue Heaven. It all happens in the first few pages, and what follows is an exciting, often tense and always entertaining novel. It's set in small town Idaho, where all sorts of characters are not necessarily the good guys they appear to be. It's the sort of situation you can imagine Jack Reacher walking into, saving the kids, killing the bad guys and walking out unscathed on the other side. That doesn't happen here. Things get messy very quickly, and practically every character has hidden secrets and imperfections which quickly rise to the surface. I found the characters were really well written and fully realised, apart maybe from the main bad guy, who did come across a little two-dimensionally, but it is a minor complaint. The end of the book is top-notch thriller writing that didn't end up quite how I expected, which is good.

 

I am trying to keep this as spoiler-free as possible. I went into the novel without knowing anything more than the set-up I wrote above, and was carried along by its twists and turns. It's written very well, keeps the pages turning, and doesn't overstay its welcome. If you like thrillers I can highly recommend it, and I'll definitely be reading some more by this author.

 

8/10

[Karsa Orlong]

Reaper's Gale - the seventh Tale of The Malazan Book of the Fallen by Steven Erikson

 

Not my favourite of the series, it has to be said. It certainly has its moments, but it gets a little bogged down in places as The Bonehunters invade the Letherii Empire, dwelling a little too much on minor characters among the soldiers and switching viewpoint a little too frequently to indulge in largely irrelevant banter between them (this is a trend that continues to an alarming degree in Dust of Dreams).

 

However, when he tells the story of the major characters he gets it right, as usual. The continuing story of the Sengar clan is brilliant, well told and ultimately heartbreaking. Then there is the burgeoning relationship between Karsa Orlong and the terrifying and yet tragic Icarium.

 

As always seems to be the case, Erikson gets the pacing of the grand finale spot on, and it keeps you turning the pages right till the very end. It's just that a little judicious editing in its first half would not have gone amiss. I do feel, at this stage, that a couple of the later books - this being one - were long just for the sake of being long, whereas there was a point to it with the earlier novels in the series.

 

7/10

 

 

 

Toll The Hounds - the eighth Tale of The Malazan Book of the Fallen by Steven Erikson

 

This one, on the other hand, is something of an underrated gem, imo. Here, Erikson decided to return to the setting of the first and third books in the series, Darujhistan, and with it tied up many plot lines before proceeding with the final two books. As such, we get to meet up with many characters not seen since Memories of Ice. Karsa's there again (yay!), as are Anomander Rake, Crokus/Cutter, Murillio, and the last Bridgeburners who were given leave to depart, such as Picker.

 

I know a lot of fans didn't like the way Erikson changed his style for this book. The story is told from Kruppe's point of view, and Kruppe has a very distinctive and flowery way of talking. Personally I think it works brilliantly, and this is a wonderfully heartfelt novel about life and death. In fact, it does include one of the most memorable deaths in the series. Here, Erikson knows how to conduct the pacing and tugs on the heartstrings perfectly. The finale is breathtaking. Again, it's 1,200+ pages long, but it didn't overstay its welcome.

 

Underrated, but one of my favourites.

 

9/10

 

 

 

Dust of Dreams - the ninth Tale of The Malazan Book of the Fallen by Steven Erikson

 

I actually liked this one on first read. On re-read, though, I almost lost the will to live. It is overly long, dwells far too much on characters that matter very little to me, indulging in conversations that - I'm guessing - were supposed to be humourous but ended up just irritating. I skimmed much of it. Perhaps it was a case of reading too many Erikson books in a short space of time, but I suspect it was more to do with the fact that the first six novels were so awesome and are so etched in my memory.

 

The problem is that, as Erikson stated in the foreword, this is essentially the first half of the final novel and, as such, it's build up, build up, build up and not a lot else. There is a HUGE event at the end of the book which is told with all Erikson's usual flare for the epic, and is probably more awe-inspiring than anything else in the series so far (one word: skykeeps!), and the use of the K'Chain Che'Malle as major characters is inspired, but it all takes a little too long to come about. Again, it's long for the sake of being long, but it doesn't have as many redeeming qualities as Reaper's Gale. As such, it's easily my least favourite book in the series.

 

6/10

[Karsa Orlong]

The Crippled God - the tenth and final Tale of The Malazan Book of the Fallen by Steven Erikson

 

And now the end is near, and so I face the final curtain

 

Ten novels. Eleven thousand pages. Somewhere around three million words. When I first saw a Steven Erikson book in Waterstones and went away to look him up I really didn't know what I was letting myself in for. Now here I am, less than two years later, having read them all (and most of them twice), and it's finally over.

 

First things first: The Crippled God is a HUGE book and, for its first half, I didn't think I was going to like it. Much like Reaper's Gale and Dust of Dreams, there is a lot of talk to start off with, a lot of build up, a lot of conversations between lesser characters - the grunts, if you will: Erikson has always told his stories from the points of view of the lowliest soldiers, rather than Kings and Queens. The problem is that, as he invariably kills off large chunks of characters in each book, the ones we are left with, by and large, aren't quite as familiar (or good) as those that have, erm, fallen along the way.

 

Adjunct Tavore, is leading her army of Bonehunters and their various allies to a final confrontation with an elder race, and a few gods, and a hell of a lot of dragons. Much of the first half of the book is about the armies making their way east towards Kolanse, and the suffering they go through on the way. This is fine in theory but in practice it goes on a bit too long.

 

Then, suddenly, about half way through, it's like Erikson flicks a switch, shifts through the gears, and suddenly he's back in the groove that I thought maybe he'd left behind at about book six. It suddenly gets very exciting, and he starts pulling together plot threads from the entire length of the series. Characters I thought he had forgotten about, and had been wishing would turn up, turned up. Suddenly I was reading with a big grin on my face, despite the odds facing my favourite heroes and villains. Suddenly it becomes a novel of epic, awe-inspiring moments of invention and quieter moments of humour and emotion. It's Erikson back to his best.

 

There's a scene where a rift to another realm tears open - and, in so doing, unleashes the long-lost dragons upon the world - that is so well-written that the terror is almost palpable. In another, that mysterious, sly mage Quick Ben strides into battle against the Forkrul Assail, opening gateways here there and everywhere through which to send an assassin to deal with them. And then there is the last stand of The Bonehunters, against insurmountable odds. It's pulse-pounding stuff.

 

Then he turns to the intimate: a father betrayed by his people and then reunited with the children he thought dead; a woman damned to live for hundreds of years who gets one final moment with the ghost of her long-dead lover; the brother and sister reunited after years apart; the soldier who gives up his life to save a dog. The list goes on. It sounds a little trite when I write it down but, in Erikson's hands, I read all of it through misty eyes

 

Yes, there are still unanswered questions after the final page is turned. I, for one, couldn't help wondering what happened to Laseen and her lackies back in Malaz City. But, still, I suspect that maybe that has been left for Ian Esslemont to deal with in his companion series. Perhaps that's too easy an answer, and perhaps it shouldn't be so, but at the moment I'm willing to forgive Erikson all his foibles, all his maddening unexplained events and over-wrought self-indulgence.

 

Scoring this book is very difficult. Based on its own merits, the first half would get a 6, whilst the second half would get a 10. As a finale to such a mammoth series it would get an 11. It's that good.

 

In the end these tales of The Malazan Book of the Fallen get the grandest of send-offs. I can't imagine that, given the scope of everything he has attempted over these ten novels, Erikson could have come up with anything closer to the perfect ending, even down to the two epilogues and a final poem which left a huge lump in my throat. He has delivered the most epic, sprawling, original, inventive, infuriating, exhilarating, amusing, confusing, heartbreaking, uplifting and uncompromising series that I have ever read.

 

And, perhaps most (and best) of all, he did it his way.

[Karsa Orlong]

Thanks a lot for going and sharing the links of these books released.... Will surely like to try some of them out such as the "The Religion" and "Worth Dying For".......

Hey no problem

 

Don't say I didn't warn you about The Religion though!

[Karsa Orlong]

Revelation by C J Sansom

 

In Sansom's fourth Matthew Shardlake novel we find our Tudor lawyer once again caught in the middle of a dangerous situation. When his friend is murdered in a particularly gruesome manner, Shardlake vows to the man's wife that he will find the killer. Naturally, it isn't that easy, and soon the bodies begin to mount up and Shardlake and his assistant Barak find themselves with a full-blown serial killer on their hands. All this is set against the backdrop of Henry VIII's continued meddling in all things religious, and his obsession with Catherine Parr.

 

If I have one negative comment (and I'll get it out of the way first) it's that Sansom does seem to hammer you in the head with clues in the book. It didn't mean that I guessed what was going on, but he does say on several occasions that something is reminding Shardlake of something else, etc. It's a minor niggle.

 

Apart from that, and much like Jo Nesbo, Sansom's standards never seem to drop. This is a gripping novel, full of twists and turns, brilliant characters, and an atmosphere that seems to permeate the pages. Sansom's writing flows as beautifully as ever. His characterisation is wonderful. Shardlake, as always, is a flawed character, full of doubts and anger, which sometimes come to the surface at the worst times. Barak and Guy provide able support, and both have their own sub-plots that wind the way through the book. Other returning characters include Thomas Cranmer and the wonderfully infuriating Bealknap, who basically just makes me want to kick him Of the new characters, I really liked the coroner, Harsnet, who was beautifully fleshed out from what seemed to be a fairly standard introduction, and Ellen, who works at the Bedlam and helps to look after one of Shardlake's clients.

 

And then there's the 16th century London setting which I love, especially as this novel is set in the area where I work. I loved looking at the map at the start of the book. Every day I come out of Chancery Lane tube station, walk down Fetter Lane and across to Shoe Lane and down to Fleet Street. I can see Ludgate Hill and St Paul's from the office window. In some ways it's hard to imagine these streets without buses and taxis and tall buildings, but Sansom's descriptions really make Tudor times live and breathe. It proves to be a very dangerous and uneasy place, full of dark nooks and crannies, no street lights, beggars and thieves at every corner. Just like now, really

 

If you like your modern day crime novels and thrillers and fancy trying something a little different, look no further. These books are superb.

 

9/10

[Ooshie]

I'm glad you found a good book to help you recover from finishing your Mazalan series! I really enjoy crime novels and thrillers, so thanks for the review of Revelation, I can see C J Sansom really is a writer I will have to try.

[Karsa Orlong]

Thanks Ooshie! And please do give him a try, you won't regret it

 

 

 

Moonlight Mile by Dennis Lehane

 

A friend bought me two hardbacks for my birthday, the next C J Sansom (Heartstone) and this one. He's long raved about Dennis Lehane to me, but I have never read any of his stuff before, so a couple of problems arose here: my friend obviously didn't realise this is a sequel to Gone Baby, Gone, and I didn't even realise it until I'd finished this book and read some reviews.

 

Did it affect my enjoyment? Well, judging by the reviews on Amazon, I would have liked this book a lot less had I read the previous novel(s) about these characters first. I must admit, having seen the movie versions of Mystic River and Shutter Island, I was expecting something a lot more complex and disturbing. Moonlight Mile is none of those. It's a straight ahead mystery/thriller. It's brief, and moves really quickly. I really liked Lehane's writing style. It's great when an author has a distinctive voice, and I think he does. There's an almost laconic edge to it, and the better characters come across really well, especially their senses of humour. He also uses them as mouthpieces for his views on various aspects of society.

 

However, even to me, this has the feeling of being something of a throwaway novel, one the author rattled off quickly to fulfill a contractual agreement. It's almost over before it begins, and the solution to the problem is so contrived it's almost annoying.

 

The plot? Well, it's about the same girl who was kidnapped in Gone Baby, Gone when she was four years old. Now it's twelve years later and she disappears again and Patrick Kenzie, the detective who found her the first time around, vows to find her again. Along the way he gets involved with drug dealers and the Russian mob.

 

7/10