The Perpetual To Read Pile (As it never ends, not because I'm Perp!)

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The Sign of the Four is the second Sherlock Holmes book but it is one that introduces a few of his more well-known elements. If the first novel told us that he was a violinist, using the instrument and the music to relax, this one showed us the darker side of his nature.

How, when his keen mind is not stimulated, he has to find an artificial stimulus, a cocaine-based blend of narcotic. Does this make him an addict, or is he able to control his urges? It is an interesting question, but fascinating to see how his need to use the drug evaporates when he has a problem to solve.

It is also the novel where, perhaps, the most famous of Holmes’ quotes appears, “when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth?”

It is also the Homes version of the ‘locked room mystery,’ where a body is discovered in a room, locked and sealed from the inside, a body obviously murdered.

The Sign of the Four is a short but enjoyable read, obviously a product of its time, but building on the characters in the first book and starting to cement the legend that would be one of those characters that steps beyond the printed page to become something so much bigger.

The story involves stolen treasure, lost treasure, murder, betrayal, a locked room and a desire for revenge. It is almost a delicate path that Holmes needs to follow. Linking events together to build a greater story. There is some decent period detail (although is it actually period detail, if it was written at the time, as it would just be detail….). The characters are good and strong, both Holmes and Watson spring of the page and cane easily perceived as real people, despite Holmes’ eccentricities. In fact, it could be argued that these very peculiarities are what make the detective so believable.

Despite being such a small novel, one originally produced serially, there is an unusual feeling of progress and movement through time. The story does not remain static imprisoning Holmes and Watson in the same situation. There is an (weak) element of romance as Watson falls hard for their client and ends up becoming engaged to her, and there are subtle hints that the injuries he suffered in the army are improving.

It would have been so easy for Conan Doyle to have set things up in the first book and kept them the same, instead life moves on.

The construct of the book is similar to the first, the case presented, the mystery unravelled, and then the backstory given at the end. But it seems to work a lot better this time around, probably because the backstory is a lot shorter and genuinely intriguing. It also serves as an insight into the way India was perceived in the past, with language and thoughts presented as they were at the time.

It is also great to see Holmes wanting to know how and why things came about after he has solved the case, rather than just solving it.

A definite case of being glad to revisit these works and appreciating them in a different way from when I read them 30 odd years ago!
 
This is simply a guide book, bought at Tintagel Castle.

It does, however come with a little bit more than the average guide book, which made it a slightly better read than some.

The first half of the book is pretty much a standard guide, talking the reader/visitor through the various sites at the ruins of one of the most legendary castles in the country. (It does mention King Arthur and Merlin once or twice, but not as much as it could have!).

The second half talks about the fascinating history of the castle, how it is believed to have fitted into the scope of time and how long it has been there. It tells about the various discoveries and archaeological digs that have taken place over the years, and just how it came to fit into Arthurian Legend. All very interesting and educational.

Of course, as is often the case with guide books, the real treasure are the number of pictures showing off the ruins to their best potential!
 
Ghostwritten

This is the first novel by author David Mitchell and it shows.

This does not mean that it is a bad book by a long shot, but it is certainly not up to the standards of his later work, serving to lay the groundwork of what is to come. In many ways I am glad that I did not read this first as it might have stopped me reading what was to come later and that would have been a shame.

The seeds of his later works are most definitely sewn here. Multiple characters and storylines, passing linearly through time but each character is linked to the previous in one way or another. There is nothing huge in these revelations, indeed in a lot of places the connection is not overt, rather subtle, enough to raise a smile on the face of the reader when it comes.

For me though, the disconnection between the various stories was too rigid. It felt like a chore getting to the end of one story and then having to start again. In some ways this might not be a bad thing, and I am sure there are many people who enjoyed this approach, just not for me.

The payoff, when it comes, pushes the story into the realms of imaginative fiction, the grounding in reality becoming much more tenuous hitting the reader with a series of metaphysical details that are different but graspable.

The stories themselves are scattered across the globe, and this is one of the novels strengths. Mitchell achieves to sell each culture really well, making them distinct and workable, while the characters that inhabit them are relatable and believable. In fact, I would go as far as saying I really enjoyed most of the segments as individual pieces. There is a magnetic fascination in following the lives of people, whether they live in a backwater part of China, or working in a record store and falling in love, or art thieves planning their greatest heist…

The break between each part, though, is too precise and it causes the story to spasm.

In short an excellent first attempt, but the individual components are greater than the sum of the parts.
 
There is a set pattern to the Recluce books of L E Modesitt Jr. that is becoming more obvious with each segment of his longest ongoing series. It is something that can be traced back to the very first novel, The Magic of Recluce, when Lerris left the island of Recluce and has been prevalent ever since.

In short, a young inexperienced character with unusual or apparently weak magic powers of description begins a journey that will not only enable him to grow into a well-rounded character, but that will see him develop those seemingly insignificant abilities into powers that make him one of the most formidable beings of his time.

In some ways though, this is not what the Recluce series has become about. Rather it is Modesitt growing and expanding his world, building upon the history he has always put in place and giving us a world that is a lot larger and more expanded than originally revealed. In fact, perhaps, the series that is referred to as the Recluce series, deserves a broader title, because that small island that was so pivotal in the first five books of the series has hardly been mentioned in the later books.

It might even be worth a mention, that the similarities, the character journeys that seem so familiar, might be an important part of the ongoing world building that Modesitt employs, showing how certain characteristics and abilities surface at times of major upheaval and change, raising the question as to whether these powerful individuals are the cause of change or a reaction to it.

The mighty and powerful nation of Cyador is gone, and its survivors have to settle into a new land, where they are tolerated, if not exactly wanted. They exist amid other powers who seem them as little more than something to be conquered, and they must survive the schemes from without and within in order to strengthen their nation, to survive, grow and ultimately thrive.

The story is told through the eyes of Lerial, the son of the Duke of Cigoerne, descendants of Cyador. He is the younger son, and perhaps feels that eh has a harsher lot in life than his elder brother, who might well be a little bit of a blow hard. He has abilities in chaos, but also in order, and it is this that is encouraged. Despite being limited in what he can do, he is forced to grow up quickly as the neighbouring lands begin to try and remove the threat they see growing in their midst, and a simple diplomatic mission leads to war.

As is the case with the pattern, Lerial begins to force his powers into action, stretching them and learning how to use them as he begins to understand them more, making him more and more powerful.

His talents and insights may well lead to him becoming a central figure in the world around him.
 
Mick Foley is a wrestler of some repute so seeing him associated with literature on the writers size might seem to be a bit of a stretch – especially when you consider his in ring persona.

However, there is a path that can be followed, from him deciding he wanted to write his own biography rather than having it penned by a ghost writer, to its acclaimed reception and the inevitable follow up.

Foley was not one to rest on his laurels and penned a couple of children’s books (mainly about cute versions of the wrestlers of the time), until he actually turned his hand at writing a novel. As far as things went, Tietam Brown was well received and was considered a slight success.

Inevitably Foley rode the wave of success and followed it up with Scooter.

Scooter is a novel that follows the life of a young man growing up in the New York area, over a period of decades, entwined in the backdrop of sport.

All well and good. Perhaps even a good idea. The story is well written, and the feel of the time is well reflected in the story, but it is let down by a few things, perhaps from an international perspective having the sport chosen to be Baseball. Understandably it is one of the great American pastimes, but there is nothing to latch onto for those readers who come from a country where baseball is as almost incomprehensible as cricket would be to the average American.

Cultural icons are just names in songs, the team names things that might have drifted across the consciousness at some point but have no real meaning to anyone outside of America. This is not a criticism as such, it is probably much the same had an English sportsman written a book using football or the aforementioned cricket in the same manner. It is only going to appeal to a limited readership.

Secondly, the main character, Scooter is not the most likeable of characters, growing up surrounded by other such characters, there is very little to latch on to. His life is one hard luck story after another, as he makes his way through the world caught up in the hopes and dreams of others, while letting himself stumble from one bad situation to another.

I can only think of one sympathetic character in the entire novel, (Scooter’s sister) everyone else is mess of neurosis and problems, most of which reflect back on the protagonist in the end. He has a hard life, almost impossibly so. Being shot, losing an eye, having his mother walk out, having his sister slightly mentally crippled and then abused, mother walking out, drugs, sexual manipulation, parentage thrown into question. It’s all there, probably too much so and it drains the book more than the writing can fill it.

There are some explosively good moments, much of the above is told well, and there are lessons to be learned. Do not try and live other peoples dreams for them. Do not give into the need for revenge. Indeed it is after Scooter realises this that he becomes a more likeable character, but all in all it is only an average novel.

It does not matter how great the writing is, if the story cannot carry it, then ultimately the book will sink.

Tellingly Foley has not written any more novels since this.
 
In the early 70's it became part of the BBC Christmas tradition to tell a ghost story over the festive season. They were overseen by Lawrence Gordon Clark and mostly adapted from the short stories of M R James.

This series was collected by the now defunct Spectral Press and put out in tribute to the iconic series. The strengths coming from the introduction by fan Mark Gattis and the introduction to each story by Clark himself. The book itself is finished with all kinds of interesting production data, that although might be little more than list of information, but is of interest never-the-less.

However, these are not scripts of the shows or anything like that, instead it are the original James stories upon which the episodes are based. And it is just these not any of the other authors whose books were translated (most notably Charles Dickens) that are adapted.

It does not lessen the stories at all, especially with Clark's comments included, but it would have been nice to have James credited as the episodes were based on his stories and is a collection of his stories printed here.

It may well be the Christmas Ghost Stories of Lawrence Gordon Clark, but these are not those stories, rather the short stories upon which they were based.

The style in which the stories are told is slightly dated - they were written in the 1800's, and they are enjoyable to an extent, but it is hard to give them a dispassionate review because I am not a fan of ghost stories, and found the tales to be less scary and somewhat derivative. (It has to be said that this is probably not the case, rather these are the original yarns that later stories take inspiration from.)

They are well told and there are some good ideas, but as a whole something that I can recognise as being more deserving of someone that would appreciate them.
 
There are a few books that I notice being reviewed and something about the review itself is enough to make me pick up the book.

Godblind was reviewed in SFX a few months ago, got a good rating, good write-up and the book had a good cover. (I know there is the old adage about never judging a book by the cover, but a good cover is still a good cover).

Godblind is Anna Stephens first novel, not that you could tell. It has been put together in a competent and well written manner, with a decent story and characters that come off the page – in a likeable and unlikeable manner. There is at least one really well executed WTF moment, with a twist I did not see coming until it was too late.

At the same time I have seen the book referred to as this recent term ‘grimdark.’ Now I am not really one for breaking down genres into smaller sub-genres, if a book is fantasy then that is all that I need to know. That being said, the book is pretty grim, and the characters journeys and situations can only be described as dark, so I cannot really argue with the grimdark moniker!

It is a human based fantasy world, so know elves etc, where the biggest fantasy element are the gods. The current dominant group are centred around the duo of the Dancer and the Fox god who have ruled the land for centuries and at this stage appear to be the ‘good’ gods.

Before them there were the Red Gods, blood worshiped beings, who to be honest appear to have been quite nasty. Their followers have been broken and live in small enclaves in mountains and isolated areas, while the fertile lands our occupied by the followers of the light gods, working together to keep the raiding ‘bad’ groups away.

But time has passed and the Red Gods are getting ready to rise once more, and their followers are growing. The characters are all strong, and all have their secret motives that often make them scheme against others, although a lot of that has yet to come to fruition. In a manner that would make George R R Martin blush, Stephens puts her characters through hell. No sooner do we see another twist revealed then it is time for something nasty to happen to another character! There are some particularly graphic moments that stay with you, particularly a rather gruesome sacrifice and the ongoing irritation/pain felt by one of the central characters and how he tries to deal with it.

The book does not hold back, and there is no easy thwarting of the returning gods plans, indeed it is more like a desperate attempt to stay alive rather than to fight back against them. The finale of this first book is stunning, claustrophobic and executed almost perfectly, leaving you holding your breath as you are reading the last few pages, wondering just where things are going to go and knowing that you are going to have to wait months for the sequel to arrive.

I don’t think that Stephens is the best new writer I have read recently, but she is up there near the top and is most certainly someone to be watched.
 
Gregory is a young lad with a singular interest in the more scatological aspects of life. Of course, this is not necessarily unusual for a child under ten, but when he is packed off to the huge city of Ankh Morpork to stay with his grandmother for a few weeks, it is an interest that somewhat blossoms as he learns all about poo, what it is used for and how, surprisingly it can be used to make someone’s fortune.

It would be easy to make a few puns about this short book, but other than to say it is full of crap I shall go no further. This is one of those oddities that pop up from time to time, where Terry Pratchett mentions a book in one of his novels and lo and behold that book suddenly appears in the real world.

I don’t know how much of an input the late Sir Terry had in the book, but it certainly has his feel to it, and I would hate to believe that there are other people out there who can make me laugh with the same kind of jokes and wordplay he was famous for.

It is not a big book, easily read and fun. It is also somewhat educational as the reader can learn, that despite it’s somewhat repulsive reputation, that there is a use for excrement of every description, and that although it is something that is not really relevant today, in the past there was a massive market for poop, recycling, industry and ingenuity at its best.
 
Welcome to another rip-roaring adventure to the pen of Edgar Rice-Burroughs.

Ten years have past since John Carter was on Mars, but once again he is called back to the red planet, and this time it is indicated that his return is going to be permanent. Instead of arriving in the North where he built his reputation he has returned to the South, and is shown another side of life on the planet.

There are some stunning ideas on show here, the society of Mars how there are different cultures and subcultures, how people have different ideas and beliefs as to how the world works, and how certain aspects of life are different from other people.

It also has to be noted that Burroughs does not shy away from disturbing ideas. Some of the characters, most notably the First Men are cannibalistic, quite happy to eat the flesh of different races, that they see as lesser creatures. I am sure there could be an argument made that as the First Men are Black skinned there is an element of racism at play, but there is also an element of respect given to the First Ones. They are describes as beautiful, almost beyond compare, almost more intelligent than the other races, brave and ferocious fighters. Much like all the different coloured races of Mars they have their strong points and weak. At their heart there is their queen, considered god Issus. She is a magnificent creation, truly twisted and despicable a worthy opponent.

As with the first book, the society that Burroughs has created is deep, well crafted and filled with good ideas. His understanding of Mars is surprisingly accurate, especially for the time it was written. (Well apart for the whole life on Mars thing... but the imagination with which he makes this possible is still astounding.)

On the downside, for me the problem this time is John Carter himself. Some of the things that were set up in the first novel are carried through here, he is stronger because of the lower gravity, he can leap great distances. But somehow in this book it goes too far, he is beyond compare now. He seems to find a solution for everything, to be good at everything he tries, to be the best of the best. All the women swoon over him and want to belong to him, all the men are happy to follow him as though he is the second coming (which he is, I suppose, and his initials fit.)

Burroughs also goes out of his way to keep Carter and his one true love, Dejah Thoris apart. Apart from a few brief moments they are apart at the end of the novel.

Of course it needs to be said that the story was originally published in parts as a serial, so there is probably a carry over from that.

In all fun, with some superb set-pieces, but it waivers slightly.
 
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