Category: Uncategorized

Howl’s Moving Castle
Diana Wynne Jones

The Lonely Dead by Michael Marshall

This is the sequel to The Straw Men. It’s a good read but not up to the quality of the first book. Especially the weird bit about neanderthals.

Rating: C

A Hat Full of Sky

This is a second book about Tiffany Aching and the Wee Free Men.
As with the first book the writing is simpler and the world more real than is usual in a Discworld story.
There’s no real need to go into any detail of the plot, it should suffice to say that I think this is top rank Pratchett.
It’s funny, it’s moving, it’s deep and it feels full of truth.
I recommend it without hesitation.
If he can take the form he’s shown with these Young Adult books and apply them to a full blown Discworld book, he’s going to have a masterpiece on his hands.
I should note though – I get the feeling he’s getting ready to let some of his beloved characters die.

Rating: A

Newton’s Wake

This is an entertaining piece of far future science fiction. Set in a future where humans live on throughout the galaxy after the effects of a war between post human intelligences.
The story largely takes place on a planet where the people believe that they are the only survivors of the ‘Hard Rapture’. They are rudely disabused of this notion by a team scavenging amongst the post human technology left behind on the planet. The events in the book follow on from this point.
I’ve not read much in the way of science fiction recently, but this one I definitely enjoyed. No literary masterwork, but it has enough good ideas, novel takes on future society and entertaining plot to keep you reading.
Rating: B-

Witches Abroad

I bought myself a hardback copy of this in the most recent library sale. It’s always good to have a hardback copy – paperbacks don’t have the same lifespan.
Anyway I ended up reading it again. Still pretty funny after all these years. It’s not in the top rank of Pratchett’s work, but it is very good.
Rating: B+

The Nation’s Favourite

This is a look behind the scenes of BBC Radio 1 during Matthew Bannister’s time as controller. It follows the sacking of all the old DJs, the rise and fall of Chris Evans, etc., all in their own words.
I was prompted to read this by the last ever Mark and Lard show on Radio 1. This is the period when Radcliffe was doing the Graveyard Shift – which to do this day is the best radio show I’ve ever heard.
So this was a nostalgia read. It was entertaining enough but more entertaining, perhaps, for what it leaves out.
Not as good as Garfield’s book The Wrestling, but still a good read.
Rating: B-

Straw Men

This is a pretty mainstream crime thriller by the artist otherwise known as Michael Marshall Smith.
It’s a decent read, but the plot twists are telegraphed way too early for my liking.
I’d say it’s worth a read, but it’s not nearly as good as his science fiction classic Only Forward.
Rating: B

Update

I’m the middle of reading several books.
I’m doing a full re-read of the entire Sandman library -which i’ll review in long piece.
I’m also reading Straw Men by Michael Marshall and Dave Gorman’s Googlewhack Adventure. I’m also reading selected stories in the Legends II fantasy anthology, which I might review.

So, if you’re wondering at the hiatus – don’t worry it’s just that I’m reading too many things at once.

Only Forward

This is one of my favourite books from the nineties.
This is Smith’s debut novel and tells the story of Stark.
This book starts off as a funny fast paced science fiction noir and reveals new layers of meaning underlying the events in the narrative as time goes on.
It heavily depends on the fact that our narrator, Stark, is not always telling us the whole truth.
I continue to be really moved by this book, even after a decade of re-reads.
I would urge anyone to read it.
Rating: A