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.We Need to Talk About Kevin (Five Star Paperback)
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by: Lionel Shriver

May 09, 2006
There can only be one true word to describe this novel, Dire.

Without any apprehension, I can honestly say this is by far the worst book I have ever read. Anyone who thinks the whining and whinging of the irritating 'Eva' to be a compelling read needs to get out and buy another book, any book is better than this.

Not only do we know what happens before the story begins, we have to endure what seems like a never ending tide of drival about how Kevin's mum felt before his birth, after his birth and after the event.

This really is a case of 'The Emperors New Clothes', one critic says its brilliant and the mindless masses go and buy it, only to find it's rubbish. Not wanting to be singled out, they all nod ... Read More:
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.The Bone Garden
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by: Tess Gerritsen

September 11, 2008
I have only read one other Tess Gerritsen book Body Double,and I enjoyed it very much.

When i read the back of The Bone Garden i felt captivated by it straight away, its the best book ive read all year and would recommend it to anyone.

I really felt for Norris and Rose,and even when i had finished this book it played on my mind for days, which i feel is always the sign of a great book.
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.The Host
City Travel Guides > Books > General
by: Stephenie Meyer

May 06, 2008
Like many of you out there sci-fi novels aren't really on the top of my list of reading materials, but this is definately one not to be missed. Yet again Meyer has created a fantastic group of characters and a beautiful story of love, prejudice and humanity. Once you put aside your love of Edward and Bella (if you've read the Twilght Saga) you'll find yourself wrapped up in the new world of Melanie and Wanderer that will have you laughing, crying (literally) and waiting for more.
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.Sea of Poppies
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by: Amitav Ghosh

May 01, 2008
"Sea of Poppies" by Amitav Ghosh is a hugely ambitious book set during the Opium Wars. The plot revolves around a motley cast of characters who board a former slaving ship, the Ibis, each representative of some part of the wider story of the history and politics of the time. There is a good deal of "authentic" seafaring slang, pidgin English and other languages, but overdone to the point where many sentences stutter to a halt to include them. Normally I would say more about the plot of a novel, but the problem with "Sea of Poppies" is that it feels like a lot of scene setting. This may have something to do with the author's intent to make this the first of a trilogy. If so, I hope future instalments are more engrossing.
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.Winter in Madrid
City Travel Guides > Books > General
by: C.J. Sansom

October 06, 2006
I picked this book up while on tour and read it within a couple of weeks. At first I thought it had potential with the prologue showing the Civil war and focusing on one of the communist soldiers Bernie and then the air raids on London and how the people of London coped with this. However once the character goes to Madrid the plot slows right down and then doesn't seem to pick up again until the end and the plot twist, which I won't ruin for you.
I think the book is worth a read just for the historical value. It does show how bad the civil war was in Spain and if like me you don't know much about that part of history it does explain a lot.
By far not the best book I have read but still enjoyable
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.Innocent Traitor
City Travel Guides > Books > General
by: Alison Weir

June 07, 2007
History is my favorite subject and this author came highly recommended.
This is the first book I have read by her and was extremely disappointed.
It lacked a true atmosphere of the time,that this was set in.
I really could not picture any exacutioner, living during Mary's reign, thinking the thoughts that this author had written.
The terminology was all wrong, the dialogue sounded 1970's.
The characters all appeared wishy washy.
It is far more a type of Barbara Cartland for the history lover, than any serious attempt to understand or explain how these events really played out.
It is an easy light read, ideal for train travel or just before going to sleep.
The Tudor/War of the Roses have been far better written as stories by Rosemay ... Read More:
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.Midnight's Children (Vintage Classics)
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by: Salman Rushdie

May 01, 2008
It's hard to live up to the "Booker of Bookers" tag but this comes nowhere near. Rushdie can write: bursts of compelling narrative display that. Unfortunately the whole story is trussed up in that clever "flash-back", "flash-forward" conceit which eventually bored me. No, I didn't finish it. I got a little further than I did with Ulysses, but eventually hurled this into the same Pseud Bin.
I've read somewhere that the author intends the time switching to be like the digressions of an oral storyteller but I think that's like trying to capture ballet in a poem or the moon in a bucket. The device is overused and tiresome. Want a Third World Magic Realism Family Saga? try "House of the Spirits".
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.The Golden Notebook (Harper Perennial Modern Classics)
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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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.Revolutionary Road
City Travel Guides > Books > General
by: Richard Yates

December 13, 2007
There are few writers that can match Yates and this story, of the few I've read (I've resisted the desperate urge to devour them all too quickly) excels beyond so many other writer's work. The comparison drawn with Fitzgerald is right but I would say that Yates is better, more consistent. If you find Fitzgerald frustrating, Yates will show you why better than anyone; if you love Fitzgerald, you will worship this! If you like your books beautifully moving, exquisitely sad and sensual with sharp, dark humour that bites, then it doesn't get better than this. Yates' writing never puts a foot a wrong and from the outset you know you are in safe hands. It's one that shifts your perspective on life and left me fizzing for months, thankful that I found it and disappointed that I can't discover it again.
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.The Painted Man (Demon Trilogy 1)
City Travel Guides > Books > General
by: Peter V. Brett

September 01, 2008
New author, new ideas. The Painted Man, the first in the Demon Trilogy, is set in a world of Men, living in fear of night. When darkness descends the demons rise, thirsty for blood and chaos. The only defence against the demons are wards, drawn in wood, stone, and dirt to prevent demons access. From three besieged villages rise three very different children - who ultimately want to become a Warder, a Jongleur and an Herb Gatherer. The Painted Man is their journey through troubled times as children in to adulthood. The tale is very dark, with murder, betrayal, incest and rape occurring around them. This engaging fantasy tale has excellent structure, doesn't dwell on too much history yet portrays the fantasy world in vivid detail. The characters are well fleshed out and the struggle against demonkind is both gritty ... Read More:
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