This is what I was thinking, but that kind of marketing must lose any trust in the accuracy of the claims. The music industry is much better regulated. You can trust the singles and albums charts and silver, gold and platinum awards.
April 2022 Reading Thread
- Thread starter The Judge
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Danny McG
"Anything can happen in the next half hour!"
I'm trying this one by "Son of Anne"
Amazon Review of Deadly Shores by @Kerrybuchanan
Deadly Shores is the third book in the Harvey and Birch Murder Mysteries by Kerry Buchanan. The best thing about this story is that it is just as good as the previous two. In one sense it is a typical Murder Mystery. Someone (or more than one) person is murdered and the detective(s) have to discover who is responsible for the death. But this book and series really shines in that it is not simply that. I really like that a lot of the police officers are involved and do important tasks. Another great thing about Buchanan's stories is that their settings in Northern Ireland and in this case around boats and marinas ring very true. It is clear that she is well acquainted with both.
This book is well worth the time and effort to read it. But don't just read this book read the other two too. Which reminds me of another important thing to say. This book is part of a series, but reading the previous two adds little to this story, so it can actually be read as a stand alone.
Recommended
-------------------------------------
I am now reading Bright Morning Star by Simon Morden. (This book was mentioned by @Danny McG.) So far, 20% in, I am really enjoying this book.
Deadly Shores is the third book in the Harvey and Birch Murder Mysteries by Kerry Buchanan. The best thing about this story is that it is just as good as the previous two. In one sense it is a typical Murder Mystery. Someone (or more than one) person is murdered and the detective(s) have to discover who is responsible for the death. But this book and series really shines in that it is not simply that. I really like that a lot of the police officers are involved and do important tasks. Another great thing about Buchanan's stories is that their settings in Northern Ireland and in this case around boats and marinas ring very true. It is clear that she is well acquainted with both.
This book is well worth the time and effort to read it. But don't just read this book read the other two too. Which reminds me of another important thing to say. This book is part of a series, but reading the previous two adds little to this story, so it can actually be read as a stand alone.
Recommended
-------------------------------------
I am now reading Bright Morning Star by Simon Morden. (This book was mentioned by @Danny McG.) So far, 20% in, I am really enjoying this book.
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Danny McG
"Anything can happen in the next half hour!"
It reminded me a lot of Heinlein's Stranger in a strange land
Thank you so much for the review x
Simbelmynë
Well-Known Member
Most of my recent reading choices have come from a book club I joined last year. Last book we read was Station 11 by Emily St John Mandel. The problem with book clubs is you end up reading stuff you wouldn't normally pick, but in the right group with a good attitude to what reading is all about, along with a good representation from different age groups and a bit more reading experience across the group, this can be a good thing.
Station 11 probably would have been a DNF for me if not for the group, and I'm not all that sure I'm happy I did bother to finish it. A good story but kind of had a pulp fiction feel, which worked stylistically due to the references to a comic book series, but coming to this book late (it was published in 2014 I think) probably wasn't great because I'm suffering from a bit of post apocalyptic fiction fatigue by now. There's just too much of it (what that says about our future on his planet I don't know...). Not to mention having gone through a real pandemic. Although I have to say, the author did get quite a bit right about the global reaction to a pandemic, in spite of it being a much more fast acting and deadly virus in this story.
Overall, not a stand out novel for me, but if you like post apocalyptic fiction and thrillers then I'm sure its your bag.
Next we're onto The Testaments by Margaret Atwood. I read and loved The Handmaid's Tale some years back, and so far very much gripped by the sequel.
Station 11 probably would have been a DNF for me if not for the group, and I'm not all that sure I'm happy I did bother to finish it. A good story but kind of had a pulp fiction feel, which worked stylistically due to the references to a comic book series, but coming to this book late (it was published in 2014 I think) probably wasn't great because I'm suffering from a bit of post apocalyptic fiction fatigue by now. There's just too much of it (what that says about our future on his planet I don't know...). Not to mention having gone through a real pandemic. Although I have to say, the author did get quite a bit right about the global reaction to a pandemic, in spite of it being a much more fast acting and deadly virus in this story.
Overall, not a stand out novel for me, but if you like post apocalyptic fiction and thrillers then I'm sure its your bag.
Next we're onto The Testaments by Margaret Atwood. I read and loved The Handmaid's Tale some years back, and so far very much gripped by the sequel.
Danny McG
"Anything can happen in the next half hour!"
A crime thriller tonight
Stuart MacBride - No less the devil
Stuart MacBride - No less the devil
worldofmutes
A big metal fan
- Joined
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- 401
Stuart MacBride, the scottish writer who wrote Cold Granite, right? Need to read it.
Danny McG
"Anything can happen in the next half hour!"
Yeah, it's his brand new one, I had it on pre-order for release day today
worldofmutes
A big metal fan
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- 401
i highly recommend Linwood Barclay.
- Joined
- Mar 27, 2016
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- 2,297
John Wyndham & Lucas Parkes "The Outward Urge"
OK 1950s British SF. I thought I'd read all the Wyndham books (though not the short stories) , so it was a surprise to come across this one. In fact it's a number of short stories that follow different individuals in the same family over some two hundred years, all of whom have the same urge to go into space. The first story felt very predictable, but after that I was more interested.
There's a lot of (readable) detail about space stations and space craft and I assumed this was the contribution of the co-writer Lucas Parkes. Once I'd finished I looked the book up on Wikipedia and found that Lucas Parkes was one of Wyndham's earlier pen names: "The Outward Urge was conventional hard science fiction and his publishers decided that they wanted to use the Wyndham and Parkes byline because it was "not your usual Wyndham style".... So this is entirely written by John Wyndham....
OK 1950s British SF. I thought I'd read all the Wyndham books (though not the short stories) , so it was a surprise to come across this one. In fact it's a number of short stories that follow different individuals in the same family over some two hundred years, all of whom have the same urge to go into space. The first story felt very predictable, but after that I was more interested.
There's a lot of (readable) detail about space stations and space craft and I assumed this was the contribution of the co-writer Lucas Parkes. Once I'd finished I looked the book up on Wikipedia and found that Lucas Parkes was one of Wyndham's earlier pen names: "The Outward Urge was conventional hard science fiction and his publishers decided that they wanted to use the Wyndham and Parkes byline because it was "not your usual Wyndham style".... So this is entirely written by John Wyndham....
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- 3,386
The Long and Faraway Gone by Lou Berney is a crime novel, but not really a thriller (I sometimes enjoy thrillers, and I may have gotten this thinking it was of that genre). Actually, it seemed more a character-driven story than a hard-boiled crime novel; there's a lot of introspection deftly spliced into the book on the turns our lives take that are beyond our control.
Very good book, if a bit long. It tells two stories set in Oklahoma City, in alternating chapters; each is the story of a survivor of tragedy, one involving the lone survivor of a mass murder at a movie theater, the other the story of a 12 year-old girl whose older sister disappears one night at a carnival. These events scar the survivors for life, and for each of them, is the defining moment of their life.
The book is approximately half flashback/half real-time (1986 and 2012), and each story involves a protagonist seeking answers to the unresolved mysteries involving the deaths or disappearance.
The writing was very good and kept me interested throughout, the characters felt very real (though neither was a perfectly sympathetic person, and this felt real, too). I thought this was a fine novel, and I would try another book by this author. I kept waiting throughout the novel to see if the storylines intersect (I think anyone would be waiting for this), and I’ll leave the answer to that mystery up to the discovery of anyone interested in reading this. I lived near Oklahoma City once, and that might have added a pinch of nostalgic spicing to my enjoyment of the novel.
Next up: Mel Brooks and his memoir: All About Me!...
Very good book, if a bit long. It tells two stories set in Oklahoma City, in alternating chapters; each is the story of a survivor of tragedy, one involving the lone survivor of a mass murder at a movie theater, the other the story of a 12 year-old girl whose older sister disappears one night at a carnival. These events scar the survivors for life, and for each of them, is the defining moment of their life.
The book is approximately half flashback/half real-time (1986 and 2012), and each story involves a protagonist seeking answers to the unresolved mysteries involving the deaths or disappearance.
The writing was very good and kept me interested throughout, the characters felt very real (though neither was a perfectly sympathetic person, and this felt real, too). I thought this was a fine novel, and I would try another book by this author. I kept waiting throughout the novel to see if the storylines intersect (I think anyone would be waiting for this), and I’ll leave the answer to that mystery up to the discovery of anyone interested in reading this. I lived near Oklahoma City once, and that might have added a pinch of nostalgic spicing to my enjoyment of the novel.
Next up: Mel Brooks and his memoir: All About Me!...
Finished Toby Frost's The Imposters. Very good, and recommended.
Danny McG
"Anything can happen in the next half hour!"
Not recommended, mes amis, save your cash
Finished the Second Hammer Omnibus written by John Burke
Plague of the Zombies was the last novel.
Good "jobber" writer. Not heavy on description or character but he adds word phrasing that makes it more lively than just a transcript of the screenplays.
Plague of the Zombies was the last novel.
Good "jobber" writer. Not heavy on description or character but he adds word phrasing that makes it more lively than just a transcript of the screenplays.
Ian Fortytwo
A Poet, Writer and eclectic Reader.
I'm currently reading The Eagle Has Landed, by Jack Higgins.
great book , even better movie
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