Category: Books

mabuse?

Posted on by Greig

The Jennifer Morgue

Charles Stross

Jennifer MorgueThe second Bob Howard book is a genuine delight.
Where the first played with the tropes of a Len Deighton style spy, this one subverts the James Bond archetype.
Full of clever twists and humour, Stross subverts your expectations at every step.
Of all his varied output I think that the Laundry books come out best – he tries a bit too hard with his full-on SF and seems a bit bored of his fantasy series. With the Laundry he\’s just having fun and it shows.
I wholeheartedly recommend that you read both The Atrocity Archives and this one – you will not regret it.

Rating: A

woodpecker?

Posted on by Greig

Going Postal

Terry Pratchett

going postalThe first Moist Von Lipwig book finds the young conman saved from the noose and given a second chance by the Patrician and tasked to take on the disaster that is the Post Office in Ankh-Morpork.
The scams and schemes that Pratchett puts Lipwig through are ingenious and frequently hilarious. This is a very good Pratchett if not in Night Watch or Small Gods class.
Totally recommended.

Rating: A

earthworks?

Posted on by Greig

Lords and Ladies

Terry Pratchett

lords and ladiesThe third book in the Witches sequence finds them freshly returned home from the events of Witches Abroad. The story takes a definite turn towards the Shakespearean again, with the plot following the lines of A Midsummers’ Night Dream.
All sorts of really interesting things happen in this one and the storytelling is very strong. It’s a pity that he reused so much of it for Carpe Jugulum, which is a much inferior book.
Thoroughly recommended, but do give Wyrd Sisters and Witches Abroad a read before starting this one though.

Rating: A-

owlswick?

Posted on by Greig

Making Money

Terry Pratchett

making moneyThe latest Discworld is the second to feature Moist von Lipwig as the lead character.
While, like every Pratchett book, this is a thoroughly entertaining read it just feels a bit tired. The central premise feels weak and several of the supporting characters are utterly forgettable.
There hasn’t been a truly exceptional Discworld book since Night Watch and that’s a good few books back now.
Anyway like every Pratchett I’d recommend it to anyone. It may be best to read the first Lipwig book – Going Postal – first as the storyline follows directly on from it and some of the humour plays off of things that happen in it.

Rating: B+

pow?

Posted on by Greig

The Creation Records Story: My Magpie Eyes Are Hungry for the Prize

David Cavanagh

creation records storyThis book is not only a comprehensive account of Creation records but also manages to place everything in the context of the fortunes and transformations of the british record industry over the course of a couple of decades.
Alan McGee reportedly hates it, which is a good indication of just how close to the truth the author has managed to get. Indeed it is a deeply impressive piece of research before you even consider it’s other merits.
It is authoritative and intelligent, thorough and thought-provoking. It’s single great flaw is that reading another page on the breakdown of the relationships in The House of Love or another page on the umpteenth studio that My Bloody Valentine spent two hours in before Kevin Shields decided it wasn’t good enough kills much of the momentum of the story and you can start to get bogged down bored with it and it can become a chore to get to the next interesting bit.
I think that you really have to be keen to know everything about Creation before even thinking about picking this one up. If you are you’ll find that you couldn’t wish for better overview.

Rating: B+

walk-in?

Posted on by Greig

Kitchen Confidential

Anthony Bourdain

Kitchen ConfidentialAnthony Bourdain, thanks in large part to this book, now spends a lot of his time travelling the world making TV shows about cookery. Back when he wrote this he was the executive chef at a successful brasserie in Manhattan specializing in ‘peasant-style’ French cooking.
What he does in this book is tell his life story in terms of how he fell in love with food, how he ended up becoming a cook, how he nearly threw it all away before getting his life in order. He also throws in a few interesting truths about how the catering industry works and what it takes to run a successful kitchen in terms of equipment and attitude.
Sadly this book really doesn’t stand up to a second reading, much of his attitude coming off as false, more of a schtick than his real personality. After all, he comes from a comfortable background, had every educational opportunity and any hardship he went through was largely down to his own sense of entitlement.
If you’ve never read it before, borrow yourself a copy and enjoy it for what it is.

Rating: B-

deck?

Posted on by Greig

A Tale Etched in Blood and Hard Black Pencil

Christopher Brookmyre

blood-pencil.jpgThe latest Brookmyre to hit paperback is both about a murder case in modern day Scotland and a group of people growing up together as they go through primary and high school.
It seems to me to be about how our school days shape the rest of our lives and how hard it is to see people for who they really are in the here and now when you spent every day of your childhood building up an idea of who they are.
Like everything Brookmyre touches this is a fun, quick read. The problem lies in the fact that the little details about playground life are so much better drawn that the actual characters of the schoolkids. So you have to be told that everyone knows that this character isn’t a bad kid rather than him actually showing it through actions and attitude.
Also as he really does fall in love with the sections in the past the contemporary story seems a bit lightweight, more of an excuse than the actual point of the whole thing. Though I did like the banter between the hotshot lawyer and the pub landlady.
Better than the mountain of dross than can be found in the crime section in most bookshops/libraries I’d say it’s well worth a read. Just don’t expect prime Brookmyre

Rating: B+

toad?

Posted on by Greig

Storm Front

Jim Butcher

Storm Front by Jim ButcherFirst of the Dresden Files Series introduces Harry Dresden, Wizard For Hire.
In this book Harry attempts to solve a series of ghastly magical murders at the request of a detective in the local Police Department, and tackle a missing persons case at the same time. All while having to deal with Madame who happens to be a Vampire, dark Magicians, being under constant surveillance by the wizard’s council and, oh, the local Chicago mob.
It’s a pretty entertaining romp if wildly nonsensical at times. I’d recommend it if you’re looking for a decent piece of fantasy horror with a nice dash of humour.

Rating: B

14k?

Posted on by Greig

Things My Girlfriend And I Have Argued About

Mil Millington

Things My Girlfriend And I Have Argued AboutMillington’s debut novel is inspired by some of the crazy and hilarious stories about his relationship with his long-term German girlfriend (and mother of his children) as detailed here.
The novel takes these anecdotes and fits them into a loosely plotted story of dodgy dealings and shifty politics within the university that employs his lead character, Pel.
Loosely plotted is generous. It basically amounts to a serious of very funny sketches that kind of hang together but not really.
Then again any book that features Laser tag, Triads, burial grounds and Library and IT in-jokes is hard to dislike entirely.
It really is frequently laugh out loud funny but then again if you’ve been following Millington since he used to write letters into Amiga Power, like I have, this will come as no surprise.
Hopefully one day he’ll get a hang of the telling a complete story thing and he’ll have something that I can praise to the hilt.

Rating: B-

chartreuse?

Posted on by Greig

Old Man’s War

John Scalzi

Old Man's WarScalzi’s debut novel is a stylish homage to Heinlein.
The central conceit of the novel is that the human Colonial forces recruit citizens of the wealthy western nations to become solidiers as they reach 75 years old with the lure that they’ll be young again and out defending humanity among the stars. It’s an idea that Scalzi has a lot of fun with as the new recruits go through basic training and on into relentless battle.
The prose can be a little lumpy at times and he’s not quite worked out how to show instead of tell, but it’s quite a lot of fun.
I’d recommend it if you’re looking for a diverting piece of old school science fiction

Rating: B+