Steve's Bookshelf 2013

[Karsa Orlong]

Book #29:  The Cure of Souls by Phil Rickman

 

 

From Amazon:

 

'Black poles against the pale night . . . like a site laid out for a mass-crucifixion.'

In Herefordshire's hop-growing country, where the river flows as dark as beer, a converted kiln is the scene of a savage murder.  When the local vicar refuses to help its new owners cope with the aftermath,
diocesan exorcist Merrily Watkins is sent in by the Bishop. Already involved in the case of a schoolgirl whose mother thinks she's possessed by evil, the hesitant Merrily is drawn into a deadly tangle of deceit, corruption and sexual menace as she uncovers the secrets of a village with a past as twisted as the hop-bines which once enclosed it.

 

 

Thoughts:

 

Very quick review of this one, as I won't have much time over the next few days and would probably never get around to it if I didn't do it straight away!

 

This is the fourth of Rickman's books about priest and Deliverance minister Merrily Watkins.  And by 'Deliverance' it means that she deals with the apparent supernatural.  On this occasion it's a mix of familiar elements:  a spirit that refuses to leave a kiln where a brutal murder took place, and a young girl apparently possessed by evil.  What Rickman is very good at doing is creating a sense of foreboding, and building a suitably convoluted tale in a small village where the nouveau riche are exerting their financial power over those who have lived in the area for generations.  Add to this Romany gypsies and a hint of black magic and you get the general idea.

 

I'd say Rickman is an author who is consistently good without being consistently great.  I think this is the sixth of his books that I have read, and they have all been intriguing and held my attention.  I think all of them have been a little too long for the amount of story contained within, but his characters are very good (he has a real flair for dialogue) and the mysteries they become involved in are well-plotted with a fair amount of surprises thrown in.

 

This is proving to be a very reliable and enjoyable series.

 

 

7/10

[Karsa Orlong]

The Plan 2

From the TBR list:

Best Served Cold by Joe Abercrombie - finished 17/04/13

Stonemouth by Iain Banks - finished 09/04/13

The Desert Spear by Peter V. Brett (Demon Cycle Book 2) - dropped

The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch (Gentleman Bar Steward Sequence Book 1) - finished 05/04/13

HMS Surprise by Patrick O'Brian (Aubrey/Maturin Book 3) - finished 21/04/13

The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson (Stormlight Archive Book 1) - finished 22/03/13

Terminal World by Alastair Reynolds - started 23/03/13 - finished 28/03/13

The Cure of Souls by Phil Rickman (Merrily Watkins Book 4) - finished 24/05/13

 

 

Re-reads:

A Fire Upon the Deep by Vernor Vinge (about 20 years since I read this) - finished 19/05/13

A Study in Scarlet by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (over 30 years since I read this!) - finished 30/03/13

 

Books I might buy:

Dead Beat by Jim Butcher (Dresden Files Book 7)

Altered Carbon by Richard Morgan (Kovacs Book 1)

Leviathan Wakes by James S. A. Corey (Expanse Series Book 1) - finished 09/05/13

Monarchies of God by Paul Kearney

Necessary Evil by Ian Tregillis (Milkweed Tryptich Book 3) - finished 03/05/13

Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry

Shogun by James Clavell

 

The 'one no-one saw coming'

East of Eden by John Steinbeck - finished 29/04/13

 

 

And that's Plan 2 finished, as I'm not buying any of the 'might buys' at the moment.  This is the first time I've been without a plan for a few months . . . and now I don't know what to read next!

Edited May 25, 2013 by Karsa Orlong

[Athena]

Time for a new plan! Hopefully it'll come to you what you feel like reading . Do you have any books currently owned that you haven't read yet?

[Karsa Orlong]

Hee, yeah, loads

 

I was intending to go for a while without a plan but I'm not so sure after this morning's agonising     

 

I picked a few off the shelf:  The Children of the Sky (Vernor Vinge), Emperor: The Gates of Rome (Conn Iggulden), Prophecy (S. J. Parris) and Pompeii (Robert Harris).  Read the first page of each and liked them all, tbh, but settled on The Children of the Sky.  It seems to make sense to read it whilst A Fire Upon the Deep is still fresh in my memory

[Raven]

I actually have this on the shelf.../sigh/   Great review, sounds verra good!

 

I do now, as well!

[Timstar]

Finished Bitter Seeds today and really enjoyed it! I bought The Coldest War as well as this, not sure if you'd seen it or not?

[chaliepud]

My other half is now reading Replay, big deal you say, but he is not a reader of fiction at all (and very little non fiction!!) in fact the last fiction books he enjoyed were some of the Flashman series.. He is a third of the way through and is enjoying it, now to wait and see if he finishes it..

 

Has Ken Grimwood written any other books you would recommend Steve?

[pontalba]

My other half is now reading Replay, big deal you say, but he is not a reader of fiction at all (and very little non fiction!!) in fact the last fiction books he enjoyed were some of the Flashman series.. He is a third of the way through and is enjoying it, now to wait and see if he finishes it..

 

Has Ken Grimwood written any other books you would recommend Steve?

My husband read and loved it. 

[frankie]

Oh dear.... If Janet comes over to tell us that her hubby also read the book and loved it, I will eat my shorts

 

Edit: And then maybe finally read the book

Edited May 27, 2013 by frankie

[Janet]

^  I must head back to the library and get it out for him now! 

[frankie]

Nooooooooooooo.......

[chaliepud]

Read it, read it, read it........

[Athena]

XD!!

[pontalba]

Oh dear.... If Janet comes over to tell us that her hubby also read the book and loved it, I will eat my shorts

 

Edit: And then maybe finally read the book

 

 

^  I must head back to the library and get it out for him now! 

 

 

Nooooooooooooo.......

 

 

Read it, read it, read it........

 

 

XD!!

 

/rubbing hands with much glee/  Oh Boy!  Oh Boy!  Oh Boy!!

 

[Karsa Orlong]

Mwahahahahahaha!

 

I wish I was getting royalties for this

 

 

 

Has Ken Grimwood written any other books you would recommend Steve?

 

He wrote a handful of other books, chalie, but they're incredibly difficult to get hold of (Breakthrough, his first book, is currently £18 plus postage for a second hand copy through Amazon Marketplace), so I haven't read them yet.  Sadly, he himself died of a heart attack whilst writing the sequel to Replay.  Wonder how many replays he's had, himself.

[pontalba]

Mwahahahahahaha!

 

I wish I was getting royalties for this

 

 

 

 

He wrote a handful of other books, chalie, but they're incredibly difficult to get hold of (Breakthrough, his first book, is currently £18 plus postage for a second hand copy through Amazon Marketplace), so I haven't read them yet.  Sadly, he himself died of a heart attack whilst writing the sequel to Replay.  Wonder how many replays he's had, himself.

LOL

 

I looked at some others listed on Amazon, and the reviews were not so promising.  I was a bit tempted, but not enough honestly.  A shame.

[Karsa Orlong]

I looked at some others listed on Amazon, and the reviews were not so promising.  I was a bit tempted, but not enough honestly.  A shame.

 

Yeah, but then I can't think of many authors who could write two books as good as Replay

[Janet]

I looked on Ebay but they're mostly Replay.   One book was for sale on the Australian Ebay but they want $55 for delivery!

[chaliepud]

Was a film ever made of it?

[Janet]

No, but interestingly if you search Ken Grimwood on IMDB.com it comes up with Replay as being 'in development' - although you can only look at what's going on if you have a pro account (which I don't!). 
 
ETA: This is on Wikipedia!
 
Ken Grimwood was working on a sequel to Replay when he died from a heart attack in 2003 at the age of 59. While Grimwood was still living it was rumored that a film adaptation starring Brad Pitt and Julia Roberts was in the works. This adaptation never materialized. In 2010, it was reported that Warner Bros was planning on filming a version of Replay starring Ben Affleck. The screenplay for this adaptation has been written by Jason Smilovic.  Robert Zemeckis is in talks to direct.

^Source

Edited May 28, 2013 by Janet

[pontalba]

Yeah, but then I can't think of many authors who could write two books as good as Replay

 

Hah.  Interestingly enough I found something that apparently Replay may have been.....not based on, but sprung from... http://www.amazon.com/The-Man-Folded-Himself-ebook/dp/B004KPLWHQ/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1369755179&sr=1-1&keywords=The+Man+Who+Folded+Himself  I don't know how true that is, but it's on my kindle.

I looked on Ebay but they're mostly Replay.   One book was for sale on the Australian Ebay but they want $55 for delivery!

 

Good grief!!!!!!!

[Karsa Orlong]

 

 

Ken Grimwood was working on a sequel to Replay when he died from a heart attack in 2003 at the age of 59. While Grimwood was still living it was rumored that a film adaptation starring Brad Pitt and Julia Roberts was in the works. This adaptation never materialized. In 2010, it was reported that Warner Bros was planning on filming a version of Replay starring Ben Affleck. The screenplay for this adaptation has been written by Jason Smilovic.  Robert Zemeckis is in talks to direct.

 

Brad Pitt and Julia Roberts?  Nooooooooooooooooooooooo!  That's just ruined the book for me forever! 

 

 

 

 

Hah.  Interestingly enough I found something that apparently Replay may have been.....not based on, but sprung from... http://www.amazon.com/The-Man-Folded-Himself-ebook/dp/B004KPLWHQ/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1369755179&sr=1-1&keywords=The+Man+Who+Folded+Himself  I don't know how true that is, but it's on my kindle.

 

I seem to remember reading something along those lines, too.  David Gerrold.  The man who wrote The Trouble With Tribbles

[Karsa Orlong]

I looked on Ebay but they're mostly Replay.   One book was for sale on the Australian Ebay but they want $55 for delivery!

 

 

On Amazon Marketplace Into the Deep is currently £69 for a new copy, and Breakthrough is . . . £340!

[pontalba]

I like Julia Roberts!    They can keep Brad Pitt though.  How about......oh I always get two mixed up, Ben Affleck and whatshisnamethatlookslikeAffleck? /giggle/

[Athena]

I like Julia Roberts too! She is such a great actress. I'm not a fan of Brad Pitt. I'm not really sure why, I think it's because many people rave about him and I just don't see the appeal, or something.