Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
The fifth Harry Potter book and basis for the latest film in the series which is due out later this year. I did a quick re-read in preparation for the film. I've reviewed it before when the book first came out, and this the first time I've read it since it came out.
Election 2007
So the polls closed not long ago here in Scotland and the first genuinely close, actually interesting Scottish Parliament election reaches it's denouement.
Maria McKee
Tom Baxter
Cabaret Voltaire, Edinburgh
Tom Baxter played an acoustic show supported by a guy with a violin. It was innocuous singer songwriter stuff. Guy's got a nice voice though.
Maria McKee, however, has an exceptional voice. An enormous talent who has somehow ended up on the musical margins with minimal sales and a determinedly cult audience despite outstanding critical acclaim. Perhaps it's just that the album that should have made her a superstar, Life Is Sweet, came out at the wrong time or
Glasshouse
Stross is not a writer who lacks confidence or ideas and in this novel it leads him to deal with post-singularity identity while simultaneously taking aim at prescribed gender roles within society.
It opens in the far future with a man who has elected to have his memory wiped. He begins a relationship with a woman when, suddenly, he finds himself in danger from a past he does not remember. To escape the danger he enters an utterly secure experiment studying 20th century gender roles. In the study he awakes to find himself in the body of a woman and expected to conform to a role he cannot begin to understand.
This book has a cracking couple of opening chapters then it hits a lull that it took me a force of will to overcome.
However once it gets past the lull, it cracks along at a stunning pace until it hits a satisfying denouement.
This is one for fans of top-notch modern science fiction. It's less than subtle at times, so it may annoy someone expecting better writing. It's jammed full of ideas though and will entertain sci-fans properly
Breakfast At Tiffanys
Capote's novella is famously the basis of a much sanitised hollywood film version. In this, the original work, it's pretty blatant that Holly is a hooker of sorts and she's portrayed as even more of a creature of impulse and criminal tendencies that she is in the film.
I got the impression that Holly was something almost feral yet so glamorous that the narrator loved her from a distance in his way but never really understood her.
Not my usual kind of thing but it's a pretty good read and is definitely worth seeking out if you've only ever seen the film version of these particular characters.
The Pinhoe Egg
The latest book in the revived Chrestomanci series is a sequel of sorts to the Guardian Award winning classic Charmed Life.
In this story Cat Chant (protagonist of Charmed Life) has settled into life at Chrestomanci Castle and finds himself drawn into events caused by a dark secret held by the magical families living in the surrounding villages.
Typically of DWJ this is a thoroughly enjoyable book, with engaging characters and a twisty and fun plot.
The simple fact is that there's not a better writer of children's fantasy out there and for my money she may well be the very best ever.
Thoroughly recommended.
Only Forward
Smith's debut novel is one of my favourite science fiction books of all time.
It starts of as a far future noir detective story with the lead character, Stark, full of wisecracks and "I'm smarter than you" confidence. That it ends up being an incredibly moving piece is testament of Smith's ability to shift the story around underneath the reader without them ever feeling cheated.
Part of that is the fact that it is made plain within the first couple of pages that Stark is a rather unreliable narrator, more than willing to lie, omit facts or completely fabricate things if he thinks it's amusing or suits his needs.
By the end when the layers have been stripped away and there are no more falsehoods you are in no doubt of how brilliantly the tale has been told.
After more than a decade, after numerous re-reads, this is still a remarkable piece of work.
I have no hesitation whatsoever in recommending it to anyone to read.
A booklog
Recent Posts
Authors
Bands
Blogs
Boards
treefell
Recently Listened
- Joe Jackson – Steppin' Out
- Joe Jackson – Tuxedo Junction
- Joe Jackson – It's Different For Girls
- Tom Waits – Rain Dogs
- The Pretenders – Back On The Chain Gang - 2009 Remastered
