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.Emperor: The Field of Swords
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by: Conn Iggulden

September 05, 2005
This is a review based not just on "The Field of Swords" (third installment) but the entire quadrilogy. Whether you love ancient history fiction or non fiction you'll enjoy this book and the entire series. For fiction lovers who haven't yet tread through the pages of historical epics, than this is a great series to begin the adventure.

The recreation of the brutality of the battles and the atmosphere of ancient cities is realistic. The author almost transports you to another world.

Be warned though, if you like your protagonist a hero/heroine, you'll be badly disappointed. The primary character (Juluis) begins the journey in the first book "gates of rome" as an innocent boy. By the third installment, he has become ... Read More:
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.The Secret Scripture
City Travel Guides > Books > General
by: Sebastian Barry

May 01, 2008
To assuage his curiosity about one of his patients, psychiatrist Dr William Grene tries to research her life, unaware that at the same time she is writing her own account of her youth. Her journal sheds light on her past; she grew up during the period of civil war and conflict as the young Irish state struggled to find its feet. Roseanne Clear was a victim of persecution and prejudice, locked up in an asylum because no-one was willing to look after her. Grene becomes anxious to discover the truth as he himself tries to cope with his guilt following the death of his wife.

Barry inhabits his two main characters, bringing their worlds to life. Roseanne describes her youth, her family home and her troubled parents with heartbreaking clarity. ... Read More:
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.Darkly Dreaming Dexter
City Travel Guides > Books > General
by: Jeff Lindsay

July 27, 2005
... Books are even better. Simple as that. If You enjoyed the show the books are the icing on the cake. Ok technically the other way round, but I went from the shows to the books. Well worth it.
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.Scarpetta
City Travel Guides > Books > General
by: Patricia Cornwell

October 07, 2008
... Books are even better. Simple as that. If You enjoyed the show the books are the icing on the cake. Ok technically the other way round, but I went from the shows to the books. Well worth it.
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.The Golden Notebook (Harper Perennial Modern Classics)
City Travel Guides > Books > General
by: Doris May Lessing

June 18, 2007
Tedious, ramshackle and utterly utterly self indulgent. I bought this book when I heard she had won the Nobel Prize, and actually read over half of it.
But, Oh what torture! All about herself, which is not good as she comes across as batty, but most of all as hugely boring.
first part set in Rhodesia, but might as well be Victoria Coach Station.
I live in central London, so please come and take my copy away, before I fling it out of my high rise!!
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.The Brass Verdict
City Travel Guides > Books > General
by: Michael Connelly

October 16, 2008
Tedious, ramshackle and utterly utterly self indulgent. I bought this book when I heard she had won the Nobel Prize, and actually read over half of it.
But, Oh what torture! All about herself, which is not good as she comes across as batty, but most of all as hugely boring.
first part set in Rhodesia, but might as well be Victoria Coach Station.
I live in central London, so please come and take my copy away, before I fling it out of my high rise!!
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.Half of a Yellow Sun
City Travel Guides > Books > General
by: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

January 15, 2007
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie has written a deeply human novel about the 1967 Nigeria-Biafra war, a war that some have accused the world of turning away from, in a book that she says she always knew she would write. Within the novel a character is actually writing a book entitled `The World Was Silent When We Died'. Indeed, as a reasonably politically aware young student at the time, I remember, along with millions of others, turning my attention towards Vietnam and, by default, away from what seemed a complex internecine African struggle.

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie does not lecture us, despite having lost both her grandfathers and other family members to the war. Instead, she creates a wonderful group of characters whom we come to care about greatly and whom ... Read More:
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.The Odyssey (Penguin Classics)
City Travel Guides > Books > General
by: Homer

January 30, 2003
I thought this book would be great, an interesting adventure and my first step into the literary world of greek classics. But after this, I am not rushing out to buy another greek classic.

The story is good, and the interesting mythological creatures and encounters are what kept me reading it. The characters make a square look less two dimensional and I can't, in all honesty, say I liked the good ones. I found Odysseus very arrogant and the gods hypocritical and the actions of them morally questionable. The style was also patronizing in places, by always addressing characters with an adjective describing their character, which we should make our own minds about, and not be force fed what we should think of them.

Perhaps if I was born at the time ... Read More:
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.This Charming Man
City Travel Guides > Books > General
by: Marian Keyes

April 30, 2008
I have read many books and all of Marian Keyes and is one of the worst books i have ever read! It took me 4 and a half weeks to read and couldn't wait to finish it so I could a better book! It was far to long but u never get to know any of the characters properly, starts off funny and then gets a bit depressing. Very dissapointed!
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.The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories
City Travel Guides > Books > General
by: Angela Carter

January 03, 1998
I never found myself impressed by Carters writing technique. She writes in a very long winded, self-indulgent way often making the reader feel lost and disengage with her stories altogether. I personally find her rambling stories unimaginative in the way they all seem to portray males as perverted and evil for example. She often attempts to shock the reader by the use of vulgar imagery and though she does succeed in this, i simply cannot understand how this is meant to endear readers into her stories . I also question the format of short stories, they do not give the reader a chance to explore the characters and therefore make it difficult to 'get into' any of her stories. I honestly do not understand why the book is so popular as I found it exceptionally painful and dull to read ... Read More:
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Used Price: £2.95