2011

Recently reviewed

Hercule Poirot's Christmas

Agatha Christie


Warning: Use of undefined constant amp - assumed 'amp' (this will throw an Error in a future version of PHP) in /var/www/html/books/archiveamp.php on line 214
Buy book #ad:

Reviewed on 23rd December 2011

Poirot sets out to solve a gory locked-room murder where all the victim's family are suspects, in this novel which completely misled me with the vast number of red herrings.

read more

Ship of Destiny

Robin Hobb


Warning: Use of undefined constant amp - assumed 'amp' (this will throw an Error in a future version of PHP) in /var/www/html/books/archiveamp.php on line 214
Buy book #ad:

Reviewed on 17th December 2011

Robin Hobb's second trilogy set in the Realm of the Elderlings has focused on the Liveship Traders of Bingtown and their many and varied battles. This third book rounds off the story extremely well, wrapping up almost all of the threads, even some that I'd forgotten about, and brings the tale to a really satisfying close.

read more

Goldfinger

Ian Fleming


Warning: Use of undefined constant amp - assumed 'amp' (this will throw an Error in a future version of PHP) in /var/www/html/books/archiveamp.php on line 214
Buy book #ad:

Reviewed on 8th December 2011

I was surprised to find Goldfinger to be one of the weakest James Bond novels. After a chance encounter with the eponymous villain, Bond is sent after him by the Bank of England, only to find himself involved in planning a massive crime.

read more

The Broker

John Grisham


Warning: Use of undefined constant amp - assumed 'amp' (this will throw an Error in a future version of PHP) in /var/www/html/books/archiveamp.php on line 214
Buy book #ad:

Reviewed on 4th December 2011

In this novel, John Grisham really seems to show through as passionate about what he's writing, something which has seemed lacking in the last few of his books that I've read. Joel Backman, in prison for 20 years, suddenly receives a Presidential pardon and is shipped off to Italy with a new identity to hide from those who would rather his knowledge was not available.

read more

Pigeon Post

Arthur Ransome


Warning: Use of undefined constant amp - assumed 'amp' (this will throw an Error in a future version of PHP) in /var/www/html/books/archiveamp.php on line 214
Buy book #ad:

Reviewed on 30th November 2011

Pigeon Post is probably the best episode in Arthur Ransome's Swallows and Amazons series. It contains all the usual hardships of an adventure as the eight children spend their summer holidays hunting for gold in the lake district.

read more

The Race

Clive Cussler & Justin Scott


Warning: Use of undefined constant amp - assumed 'amp' (this will throw an Error in a future version of PHP) in /var/www/html/books/archiveamp.php on line 214
Buy book #ad:

Reviewed on 26th November 2011

Clive Cussler's early 20th Century detective Isaac Bell returns in what has to be one of the better of his adventures. After flying ace Josephine Josephs is the victim of an attempted murder, by her husband, Isaac Bell and the Van Dorn detective agency are recruited to protect her as she attempts a cross-America air race.

read more

To Brave the Storm

Michael A Martin


Warning: Use of undefined constant amp - assumed 'amp' (this will throw an Error in a future version of PHP) in /var/www/html/books/archiveamp.php on line 214
Buy book #ad: Buy ebook #ad:

Reviewed on 20th November 2011

I have to admit that this book wasn't quite what I was expecting, but nonetheless earns its place in the Star Trek continuity. It's the second part of a duology about the war between Earth and Romulus that has been established in Trek lore for some decades as happening prior to the foundation of the Federation, and something that the Enterprise series was long thought to be planned to be about.

read more

The Alloy of Law

Brandon Sanderson


Warning: Use of undefined constant amp - assumed 'amp' (this will throw an Error in a future version of PHP) in /var/www/html/books/archiveamp.php on line 214
Buy book #ad:

Reviewed on 11th November 2011

Brandon Sanderson has fast become one of my favourite authors - he has yet to disappoint. The Alloy of Law is a follow-up to his Mistborn trilogy, set some three centuries later and based around an entirely new set of characters. Waxillium Ladrian returns to his home city of Elendel to serve as head of his house, but might things be more dangerous here than out in the Roughs?

read more

The Song of the Quarkbeast

Jasper Fforde


Warning: Use of undefined constant amp - assumed 'amp' (this will throw an Error in a future version of PHP) in /var/www/html/books/archiveamp.php on line 214
Buy book #ad:

Reviewed on 7th November 2011

The sequel to The Last Dragonslayer just lives up to the promise of its predecessor. Jennifer Strange, acting manager of Kazaam - a magic company - is getting ready to rebuild Hereford's history bridge, but iMagic, their closest competitor, have something different planned.

read more

Bad Luck and Trouble

Lee Child


Warning: Use of undefined constant amp - assumed 'amp' (this will throw an Error in a future version of PHP) in /var/www/html/books/archiveamp.php on line 214
Buy book #ad:

Reviewed on 2nd November 2011

The eleventh Jack Reacher novel is probably the weakest of the bunch that I've read. Reacher is contacted by one of his former colleagues as another member of their old army team has been found dead. The plot then turns into a complicated need of running around as they try to find some baddies to slaughter.

read more

The Tiger That Isn't

Michael Blastland & Andrew Dilnot


Warning: Use of undefined constant amp - assumed 'amp' (this will throw an Error in a future version of PHP) in /var/www/html/books/archiveamp.php on line 214
Buy book #ad:

Reviewed on 23rd October 2011

An excellent exploration of how badly statistics can be misinterpreted and misreported, both by those with their own agenda and those who are tasked with communicating the truth to the public - much like the authors, two BBC journalists. The book splits the problems faced in reporting numbers into one issue per chapter and demonstrates with plenty of examples how badly results can be reported.

read more

Snuff

Terry Pratchett


Warning: Use of undefined constant amp - assumed 'amp' (this will throw an Error in a future version of PHP) in /var/www/html/books/archiveamp.php on line 214
Buy book #ad:

Reviewed on 21st October 2011

Discworld novel thirty-nine is surprisingly similar to a couple of the recent books in its focus, reminding me strongly of the themes from Thud! and Unseen Academicals. The story focusses on Commander Vimes, who is dragged away on holiday by his wife. Vimes' opinion though is that a policeman is never on holiday, and it isn't long before a crime comes to find him.

read more

Appointment with Death

Agatha Christie


Warning: Use of undefined constant amp - assumed 'amp' (this will throw an Error in a future version of PHP) in /var/www/html/books/archiveamp.php on line 214
Buy book #ad:

Reviewed on 17th October 2011

Poirot is on holiday in Egypt (again/still) and once again murder catches him up. Travelling with him are an American family led by a domineering old woman who keeps the rest of the group under her thumbs, and when she's murdered, suspicion falls on almost everyone.

read more

The Hero of Ages

Brandon Sanderson


Warning: Use of undefined constant amp - assumed 'amp' (this will throw an Error in a future version of PHP) in /var/www/html/books/archiveamp.php on line 214
Buy book #ad:

Reviewed on 13th October 2011

The third book in Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn series, and the end of the first of three planned trilogies is another brilliant read. Having accidentally released 'Ruin', a destroyer god, Vin and Elend must wage war against the falling ash, killing mists and an even more uncontrollable force of nature.

read more

The Struggle Within

Christopher L Bennett


Warning: Use of undefined constant amp - assumed 'amp' (this will throw an Error in a future version of PHP) in /var/www/html/books/archiveamp.php on line 214
Buy ebook #ad:

Reviewed on 4th October 2011

This is the first Star Trek ebook that I have read, and while it was a novel experience I don't think I'm yet ready to give up the dead tree variety. The Enterprise is dispatched to Talar to seek an alliance, while two members of the crew head off on a separate adventure.

read more

Dr. No

Ian Fleming


Warning: Use of undefined constant amp - assumed 'amp' (this will throw an Error in a future version of PHP) in /var/www/html/books/archiveamp.php on line 214
Buy book #ad:

Reviewed on 30th September 2011

The sixth James Bond novels shows the beginning of the larger-than-life super-villains that the series has come to be known for, in the character of Doctor No. When two MI6 agents go missing in Jamaica, Bond is dispatched for what is expected to be a light mission to find out where they have gone, only to find something altogether more sinister.

read more

The Last Juror

John Grisham


Warning: Use of undefined constant amp - assumed 'amp' (this will throw an Error in a future version of PHP) in /var/www/html/books/archiveamp.php on line 214
Buy book #ad:

Reviewed on 23rd September 2011

The Last Juror is a return to form for John Grisham, and tells the story of a young journalist in the 1970s who buys up a small local paper in rural Mississippi. It's an engaging, believable and even emotional story ruined only by one thing.

read more

Coot Club

Arthur Ransome


Warning: Use of undefined constant amp - assumed 'amp' (this will throw an Error in a future version of PHP) in /var/www/html/books/archiveamp.php on line 214
Buy book #ad:

Reviewed on 19th September 2011

Coot Club, the fifth book in Arthur Ransome's Swallows and Amazons series, is the first book to feature neither the Amazons nor the Swallows. Instead it follows Dick and Dorothea, the siblings introduced in Winter Holiday, as they visit the Norfolk broads at Easter, and learn to sail with locals Tom, Port & Starboard, and the Death and Glories.

read more

The Hard Way

Lee Child


Warning: Use of undefined constant amp - assumed 'amp' (this will throw an Error in a future version of PHP) in /var/www/html/books/archiveamp.php on line 214
Buy book #ad:

Reviewed on 16th September 2011

The Hard Way sees Reacher hired to investigate the kidnap of a rich businessman's wife - a fairly straightforward sounding story that quickly becomes far more complex. I've enjoyed reading it - by this stage in going through the series, I'd be surprised if I didn't - though there were a few niggles.

read more

Murder in the Mews

Agatha Christie


Warning: Use of undefined constant amp - assumed 'amp' (this will throw an Error in a future version of PHP) in /var/www/html/books/archiveamp.php on line 214
Buy book #ad:

Reviewed on 5th September 2011

Murder in the Mews is a collection of four novellas, each depicting one of Hercule Poirot's minor cases. There are two cases of suspect suicide, a theft and an accidental murder.

read more

Dead Simple

Peter James


Warning: Use of undefined constant amp - assumed 'amp' (this will throw an Error in a future version of PHP) in /var/www/html/books/archiveamp.php on line 214
Buy book #ad:

Reviewed on 2nd September 2011

This is the first of Peter James' books that I've read, and I must admit that I was a little aprehensive at first as I'm a little bit off straight crime at the moment having been recently reading humorous crime novels. Detective Superintendent Roy Grace investigates the disappearance of a man on his stag night, during which the other four attendees died.

read more

The Mad Ship

Robin Hobb


Warning: Use of undefined constant amp - assumed 'amp' (this will throw an Error in a future version of PHP) in /var/www/html/books/archiveamp.php on line 214
Buy book #ad:

Reviewed on 31st August 2011

Book two of the Liveship Traders trilogy is my favourite book I've read so far this year. The continuing adventures of the Vestrit family see Althea planning to rescue their ship from pirates, amongst a range of other complex plot-lines.

read more

The Men Who Sold the World

Guy Adams


Warning: Use of undefined constant amp - assumed 'amp' (this will throw an Error in a future version of PHP) in /var/www/html/books/archiveamp.php on line 214
Buy book #ad:

Reviewed on 24th August 2011

Book three of the Miracle Day prequels is certainly the weakest of the bunch. It focusses on the character of CIA agent Rex Matheson, and features none of the original Torchwood group except in passing. A CIA team have gone rogue with some alien technology and Rex takes it upon himself to track them down.

read more

From Russia With Love

Ian Fleming


Warning: Use of undefined constant amp - assumed 'amp' (this will throw an Error in a future version of PHP) in /var/www/html/books/archiveamp.php on line 214
Buy book #ad:

Reviewed on 19th August 2011

'Russia' is generally accepted to be Ian Fleming's best James Bond novel and I find it hard to disagree. SMERSH, the Soviet anti-spying agency decides to give the west a massive blow, in the form of Bond's assassination, and send forth two baits that he can't possibly resist.

read more

A Snow Ball in Hell

Christopher Brookmyre


Warning: Use of undefined constant amp - assumed 'amp' (this will throw an Error in a future version of PHP) in /var/www/html/books/archiveamp.php on line 214
Buy book #ad:

Reviewed on 18th August 2011

A Snow Ball in Hell features the return of petite Scots police officer Angelique de Xavia and her previous nemeses Simon Darcourt and Zal Innez. Darcourt has returned from the dead and hatched a macabre plot to kill off celebrities in animaginative and very public manner.

read more

Bleachers

John Grisham


Warning: Use of undefined constant amp - assumed 'amp' (this will throw an Error in a future version of PHP) in /var/www/html/books/archiveamp.php on line 214
Buy book #ad:

Reviewed on 10th August 2011

This is probably the best book that John Grisham has ever written. It's the story of Neely Crenshaw - a former american football star - who returns home for the first time in fifteen years as his old high school football coach is dying. It's the most emotional thing I've read from Grisham's pen, and the deepest.

read more

Long Time Dead

Sarah Pinborough


Warning: Use of undefined constant amp - assumed 'amp' (this will throw an Error in a future version of PHP) in /var/www/html/books/archiveamp.php on line 214
Buy book #ad:

Reviewed on 9th August 2011

The second book in the latest Torchwood trilogy, set shortly after the end of series three, is not as good as the first. This story is set in Cardiff, where local police and a mysterious military team from 'the Department' are working to clear the remains of the Torchwood Hub. What they've not banked on is a particular corpse in the morgue being not quite as dead as it used to be.

read more

Winter Holiday

Arthur Ransome


Warning: Use of undefined constant amp - assumed 'amp' (this will throw an Error in a future version of PHP) in /var/www/html/books/archiveamp.php on line 214
Buy book #ad:

Reviewed on 9th August 2011

Winter Holiday, book four in the Swallows and Amazons series, introduces the D's - Dick and Dorothea - to the group and the majority of the narrative is aligned with them. They are the intellectuals of the group, whether to broaden the appeal of the group (I don't recall feeling that they helped me to connect any better than the other characters and Dick is probably the closest to my own personality) or just to shake things up.

read more

One Shot

Lee Child


Warning: Use of undefined constant amp - assumed 'amp' (this will throw an Error in a future version of PHP) in /var/www/html/books/archiveamp.php on line 214
Buy book #ad:

Reviewed on 7th August 2011

This is a really enjoyable read, though the Reacher stories may be starting to get a little formulaic. When a sniper guns down five random people in an Indiana city, there are so many clues that the police take mere hours to track down and arrest the perpetrator. But all he does is ask for Jack Reacher.

read more

Death on the Nile

Agatha Christie


Warning: Use of undefined constant amp - assumed 'amp' (this will throw an Error in a future version of PHP) in /var/www/html/books/archiveamp.php on line 214
Buy book #ad:

Reviewed on 4th August 2011

Christie states in the introduction to my copy of Death on the Nile that she considers it the best of Poirot's overseas adventures, and so I started reading prepared to hold her to this claim. I was not disappointed.

read more

Paranormality

Richard Wiseman


Warning: Use of undefined constant amp - assumed 'amp' (this will throw an Error in a future version of PHP) in /var/www/html/books/archiveamp.php on line 214
Buy book #ad:

Reviewed on 4th August 2011

In Paranormality, Prof Richard Wiseman explores the paranormal, from ghosts to automatic writing, and offers the scientific explanation of how each type of supernatural experience is just a product of our own psychology.

read more

First Born

James Goss


Warning: Use of undefined constant amp - assumed 'amp' (this will throw an Error in a future version of PHP) in /var/www/html/books/archiveamp.php on line 214
Buy book #ad:

Reviewed on 30th July 2011

This novel, the first of three set between series three and four of the Torchwood television programme, is probably the best Torchwood novel I've read. Following the events of 'Children of Earth', Gwen Cooper and husband Rhys Williams, and their baby daughter Anwen, are on the run from mysterious forces. They find themselves staying in a caravan park near a little village on the Welsh coast, but as always, there's something strange going on.

read more

Children of the Storm

Kirsten Beyer


Warning: Use of undefined constant amp - assumed 'amp' (this will throw an Error in a future version of PHP) in /var/www/html/books/archiveamp.php on line 214
Buy book #ad:

Reviewed on 29th July 2011

I really enjoyed the last two Voyager novels - both also by Kirsten Beyer - and have been looking forward to this one for a while. I was a tad disappointed though. Voyager is now part of a small fleet which has returned to the Delta Quadrant on a mission of exploration and diplomacy. Three starships have gone missing while attempting to make contact with a hostile alien species - the Children of the Storm - and Chakotay and his crew must try to find them.

read more

Ship of Magic

Robin Hobb


Warning: Use of undefined constant amp - assumed 'amp' (this will throw an Error in a future version of PHP) in /var/www/html/books/archiveamp.php on line 214
Buy book #ad:

Reviewed on 26th July 2011

I was warned before I started reading this first book in the Liveship Traders trilogy, a follow-up to the Farseer trilogy, that it was very different to the series which preceded it. The tale focusses on the Vestrit family, owners of a soon-to-quicken liveship, and the perils that befall them in the changing society of Bingtown.

read more

Rip Tide

Stella Rimington


Warning: Use of undefined constant amp - assumed 'amp' (this will throw an Error in a future version of PHP) in /var/www/html/books/archiveamp.php on line 214
Buy book #ad:

Reviewed on 22nd July 2011

Liz Carlyle returns in Stella Rimington's sixth novel. When a British Muslim is captured by the French navy on a Somali pirate ship, Liz is called in to investigate.

read more

Jennings as Usual

Anthony Buckeridge


Warning: Use of undefined constant amp - assumed 'amp' (this will throw an Error in a future version of PHP) in /var/www/html/books/archiveamp.php on line 214
Buy book #ad:

Reviewed on 19th July 2011

This is another of the Jennings books that were not available in the 90s when I was young, and I think I can understand why. While it is an amusing story, it mostly focusses on the relationship between Jennings and Mr Wilkins - there's nothing in particular that marks it out as special.

read more

Diamonds Are Forever

Ian Fleming


Warning: Use of undefined constant amp - assumed 'amp' (this will throw an Error in a future version of PHP) in /var/www/html/books/archiveamp.php on line 214
Buy book #ad:

Reviewed on 13th July 2011

Diamonds are Forever is probably the weakest of the four James Bond novels I have recently re-read. Bond is roped in to track the pipeline that delivers stolen diamonds from African mines to American consumers - once again something fairly outside his given remit as a double-oh agent.

read more

The Gemini Agent

Rick Barba


Warning: Use of undefined constant amp - assumed 'amp' (this will throw an Error in a future version of PHP) in /var/www/html/books/archiveamp.php on line 214
Buy book #ad:

Reviewed on 7th July 2011

The third novella focussing on the characters in the alternate timeline set up in JJ Abrams' 2009 film sees the cadets reaching the end of their first year at the Academy. If the stress of exams wasn't enough, Kirk is having black-outs, and some pretty strong allegations aimed at him.

read more

Attack of the Unsinkable Rubber Ducks

Christopher Brookmyre


Warning: Use of undefined constant amp - assumed 'amp' (this will throw an Error in a future version of PHP) in /var/www/html/books/archiveamp.php on line 214
Buy book #ad:

Reviewed on 7th July 2011

This has to be the best of Christopher Brookmyre's novels that I have read. In his surprise new post as Rector of Kelvin University, Jack Parlebane becomes involves in an experiment into psychic abilities, something he doesn't believe in... until things start to get weird.

read more

The King of Torts

John Grisham


Warning: Use of undefined constant amp - assumed 'amp' (this will throw an Error in a future version of PHP) in /var/www/html/books/archiveamp.php on line 214
Buy book #ad:

Reviewed on 5th July 2011

I'm afraid to say I wasn't particularly impressed by this Grisham. Clay Carter is a run-of-the-mill public defender in Washington when he's offered an unbelievable opportunity, to take a mass tort case worth millions. Sadly, Clay comes across as a bit of a gullible money-grabbing idiot, and there's little there for the reader to identify with.

read more

Peter Duck

Arthur Ransome


Warning: Use of undefined constant amp - assumed 'amp' (this will throw an Error in a future version of PHP) in /var/www/html/books/archiveamp.php on line 214
Buy book #ad:

Reviewed on 1st July 2011

Peter Duck is the second written but third published of the Swallows and Amazons novels, and is quite different in setting from the other two. The children are visiting Captain Flint on his schooner to go sailing in the channel, and are joined by old sailor Peter Duck. Their holiday becomes and adventure though when Mr Duck tells them of long-lost treasure, and Black Jake the pirate chases them across the seas.

read more

Dumb Witness

Agatha Christie


Warning: Use of undefined constant amp - assumed 'amp' (this will throw an Error in a future version of PHP) in /var/www/html/books/archiveamp.php on line 214
Buy book #ad:

Reviewed on 29th June 2011

Another fantastic whodunit from Agatha Christie. When Poirot receives a letter from a woman who died months earlier, he sets out to prove she was murdered, and identify who did it.

read more

Watching the Clock

Christopher L Bennett


Warning: Use of undefined constant amp - assumed 'amp' (this will throw an Error in a future version of PHP) in /var/www/html/books/archiveamp.php on line 214
Buy book #ad: Buy ebook #ad:

Reviewed on 26th June 2011

This is the best Star Trek novel I have read for a long time, certainly post-destiny and possibly post-TNG relaunch. Set mainly in the 'Typhon Pact' era, it focuses on Lucsley and Dulmur, and their colleagues at the Department of Temporal Investigations as a new front opens in the temporal cold war.

read more

The Kingdom

Clive Cussler & Grant Blackwood


Warning: Use of undefined constant amp - assumed 'amp' (this will throw an Error in a future version of PHP) in /var/www/html/books/archiveamp.php on line 214
Buy book #ad:

Reviewed on 22nd June 2011

The third book of Blackwood and Cussler's 'Fargo Adventures' is the best yet, although that in itself is not much of a compliment. After a friend goes missing in Nepal, the Fargos are hired to find him, but they soon fall into a deadly treasure hunt, as usual.

read more

Nemesis

Jo Nesbo


Warning: Use of undefined constant amp - assumed 'amp' (this will throw an Error in a future version of PHP) in /var/www/html/books/archiveamp.php on line 214
Buy book #ad:

Reviewed on 17th June 2011

Jo Nesbo's Nemesis is a strange book, possibly stranger even that his previous work. After a meticulously planned bank robbery ends with the death of a cashier, Inspector Harry Hole is called in to investigate, but it's not his only case. An old flame has turned up dead and Harry can't remember where he was at the time of death - only that he met her earlier in the evening.

read more

The Well of Ascension

Brandon Sanderson


Warning: Use of undefined constant amp - assumed 'amp' (this will throw an Error in a future version of PHP) in /var/www/html/books/archiveamp.php on line 214
Buy book #ad:

Reviewed on 12th June 2011

The second book in Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn trilogy equals the first in its ability to entertain the reader. I found it a gripping novel that added some welcome twists the standard fantasy novel formula.

read more

The Enemy

Lee Child


Warning: Use of undefined constant amp - assumed 'amp' (this will throw an Error in a future version of PHP) in /var/www/html/books/archiveamp.php on line 214
Buy book #ad:

Reviewed on 5th June 2011

This novel is set in 1990, when Jack Reacher was still in the Army, and this sets it apart from the previous books as his approach to the events is ultimately driven by his profession rather than his conscience. When a general is found dead, without his briefcase, Reacher is ordered not to investigate, but he can't let orders get in the way of justice.

read more

The Psychopath Test

Jon Ronson


Warning: Use of undefined constant amp - assumed 'amp' (this will throw an Error in a future version of PHP) in /var/www/html/books/archiveamp.php on line 214
Buy book #ad:

Reviewed on 4th June 2011

The Psychopath Test is the tale of a journey that author/journalist went on after being asked to investigate some unusual books that were delivered to academics around the world. He sets out to find out what makes some people's brains work oddly, but soon focusses on psychopathy, how it can be diagnosed, and what effects it has.

read more

Cards on the Table

Agatha Christie


Warning: Use of undefined constant amp - assumed 'amp' (this will throw an Error in a future version of PHP) in /var/www/html/books/archiveamp.php on line 214
Buy book #ad:

Reviewed on 2nd June 2011

'Cards on the Table' is the second book I've read recently based around the game of bridge, and as a modern-day reader I found it useful to read up on the game to understand what was going on. When Poirot is invited to a dinner party, the host is murdered during after-dinner cards, and only four people could have done it. But all of them are murderers.

read more

Carte Blanche

Jeffery Deaver


Warning: Use of undefined constant amp - assumed 'amp' (this will throw an Error in a future version of PHP) in /var/www/html/books/archiveamp.php on line 214
Buy book #ad:

Reviewed on 30th May 2011

James Bond returns, rebooted, in this new novel set in the modern day, where he works for the ODG, a secret agency of the British government whose task is the 'protect the realm'. When a text message is intercepted mentioning an attack and potentially thousands of deaths, 007 is called in and given carte blanche (the modern equivalent of his old licence to kill) to save the day.

read more

Quirkology

Richard Wiseman


Warning: Use of undefined constant amp - assumed 'amp' (this will throw an Error in a future version of PHP) in /var/www/html/books/archiveamp.php on line 214
Buy book #ad:

Reviewed on 28th May 2011

An interesting journey through Richard Wiseman's professional career to-date, investigating quirky science around the world, from how fast people walk in different countries to how your date of birth actually can affect your personality.

read more

Blind Man's Bluff

Peter David


Warning: Use of undefined constant amp - assumed 'amp' (this will throw an Error in a future version of PHP) in /var/www/html/books/archiveamp.php on line 214
Buy book #ad:

Reviewed on 24th May 2011

The latest entry in the New Frontier series is another disappointment. It makes for a very quick read that hardly justifies the trade paperback format and accompanying inflated price tag. My experience with it wasn't helped by the complete lack of memorability of 'Treason', the previous book in the series.

read more

A Tale Etched in Blood and Hard Black Pencil

Christopher Brookmyre


Warning: Use of undefined constant amp - assumed 'amp' (this will throw an Error in a future version of PHP) in /var/www/html/books/archiveamp.php on line 214
Buy book #ad:

Reviewed on 22nd May 2011

This book is a stylistic departure from Brookmyre, and I can't say I found it as enjoyable as his previous novel. When two bodies are found it's up to Detective Superintendent Karen Gillespie to investigate, but everyone the case throws up seems to be one of her former schoolmates.

read more

Moonraker

Ian Fleming


Warning: Use of undefined constant amp - assumed 'amp' (this will throw an Error in a future version of PHP) in /var/www/html/books/archiveamp.php on line 214
Buy book #ad:

Reviewed on 17th May 2011

Ian Fleming's third James Bond novel goes back to the brilliance of Casino after what I found a rather duller second book. Hugo Drax has created the Moonraker - a new missile capable of striking any capital in Europe, but he also cheats at cards, and M is suspicious, so sets 007 on the case.

read more

Take Jennings for Instance

Anthony Buckeridge


Warning: Use of undefined constant amp - assumed 'amp' (this will throw an Error in a future version of PHP) in /var/www/html/books/archiveamp.php on line 214
Buy book #ad:

Reviewed on 13th May 2011

Take Jennings for Instance is a fairly run of the mill entry in the series. It's not laugh-out-loud funny, but it's equally not overly predictable and refuses to rely on the frequent set-up of an out-of-the-box misunderstanding to set up the plot.

read more

The Blade Itself

Joe Abercrombie


Warning: Use of undefined constant amp - assumed 'amp' (this will throw an Error in a future version of PHP) in /var/www/html/books/archiveamp.php on line 214
Buy book #ad:

Reviewed on 12th May 2011

While this book certainly is not bad, I didn't find it to be anything special and it's not imparted any urge in me to go out and read the rest of the trilogy. The story follows three main characters, Jezal, a self-obsessed soldier training for a fencing contest, Glokta, a torturer working for the government, and Logen, a warrior on the run.

read more

The Summons

John Grisham


Warning: Use of undefined constant amp - assumed 'amp' (this will throw an Error in a future version of PHP) in /var/www/html/books/archiveamp.php on line 214
Buy book #ad:

Reviewed on 6th May 2011

This Grisham can't really be described as a legal thriller - rather it's a novel whose characters just happen to be lawyers, and it's really a failed sort of mystery. When Ray's father dies, his son finds a suspicious surprise hidden in the old family home, but one that someone else wants.

read more

Swallowdale

Arthur Ransome


Warning: Use of undefined constant amp - assumed 'amp' (this will throw an Error in a future version of PHP) in /var/www/html/books/archiveamp.php on line 214
Buy book #ad:

Reviewed on 3rd May 2011

The follow-up to Ransome's most famous work sees the return of the Walker family to the lake district, where they plan to continue their adventures from the year before. Unfortunately the presence of the Amazon's great-aunt and the accidental shipwreck of the Swallows throws the children's summer into disarray.

read more

The Complaints

Ian Rankin


Warning: Use of undefined constant amp - assumed 'amp' (this will throw an Error in a future version of PHP) in /var/www/html/books/archiveamp.php on line 214
Buy book #ad:

Reviewed on 29th April 2011

This stand alone novel is the first of Ian Rankin's that I have read, and I've quite enjoyed it. Detective Inspector Malcolm Fox works for 'The Complaints' - a unit of the Edinburgh police which investigates the conduct of other police officers. He's given the name of a colleague to investigate, but it turns out the colleague is also investigating Fox - on suspicion of murder.

read more

The Final Empire

Brandon Sanderson


Warning: Use of undefined constant amp - assumed 'amp' (this will throw an Error in a future version of PHP) in /var/www/html/books/archiveamp.php on line 214
Buy book #ad:

Reviewed on 27th April 2011

After reading Brandon Sanderson's contributions to the end of the Wheel of Time series, and really enjoying them, I decided to have a go at some of his other work, and was not disappointed.

read more

Persuader

Lee Child


Warning: Use of undefined constant amp - assumed 'amp' (this will throw an Error in a future version of PHP) in /var/www/html/books/archiveamp.php on line 214
Buy book #ad:

Reviewed on 15th April 2011

This book returns to a more classic Jack Reacher set-up of a lone man against evil. Following a chance meeting with a man he had killed ten years earlier, Reacher teams up with the DEA to set things right.

read more

Indistinguishable from Magic

David A McIntee


Warning: Use of undefined constant amp - assumed 'amp' (this will throw an Error in a future version of PHP) in /var/www/html/books/archiveamp.php on line 214
Buy book #ad: Buy ebook #ad:

Reviewed on 12th April 2011

McIntee's book feels a little out-of-place in the next generation continuation, making very little reference to the ongoing storyline from the recent Typhon Pact mini-series. It focusses on Geordi La Forge, possibly the most under-used TNG character, as he joins a host of other familiar characters to investigate when a missing 200-year-old starship is discovered.

read more

Murder in Mesopotamia

Agatha Christie


Warning: Use of undefined constant amp - assumed 'amp' (this will throw an Error in a future version of PHP) in /var/www/html/books/archiveamp.php on line 214
Buy book #ad:

Reviewed on 6th April 2011

This is a really refreshing different setting for a Hercule Poirot novel, set as it is at an archaeological dig, where the wife of the dig leader is found murdered. The book is narrated by one of the characters close to the events, the victim's nurse, and tells the story of her time at the dig and helping Poirot in his investigations.

read more

The Redbreast

Jo Nesbo


Warning: Use of undefined constant amp - assumed 'amp' (this will throw an Error in a future version of PHP) in /var/www/html/books/archiveamp.php on line 214
Buy book #ad:

Reviewed on 4th April 2011

Far from being 'the next Steig Larsson', Jo Nesbo's first Harry Hole novel is set in Norway and other than being in the crime genre and translated into English has nothing in common with the author he is so frequently compared to. I've also found out after reading that this is meant to be the third book in the series (the first two not being available in English), which explains the lack of introduction to the characters.

read more

Skipping Christmas

John Grisham


Warning: Use of undefined constant amp - assumed 'amp' (this will throw an Error in a future version of PHP) in /var/www/html/books/archiveamp.php on line 214
Buy book #ad:

Reviewed on 25th March 2011

I was a little dubious starting this given its striking difference in genre to John Grisham's usual writing, and so bought it second hand so that it wouldn't be too much of a waste if I didn't get on with it. As it was, I was right.

read more

All Fun and Games Until Somebody Loses an Eye

Christopher Brookmyre


Warning: Use of undefined constant amp - assumed 'amp' (this will throw an Error in a future version of PHP) in /var/www/html/books/archiveamp.php on line 214
Buy book #ad:

Reviewed on 24th March 2011

An absolutely genius novel and possibly Brookmyre's best that I've read. The novel is action packed and full of laughs, and less gruesome/disgusting than some of his earlier stories. When Ross Fleming goes missing, his employer brings in a crack team to track him down before their enemies - and who better for them to recruit than Ross's own mother.

read more

Live and Let Die

Ian Fleming


Warning: Use of undefined constant amp - assumed 'amp' (this will throw an Error in a future version of PHP) in /var/www/html/books/archiveamp.php on line 214
Buy book #ad:

Reviewed on 21st March 2011

Ian Fleming's second James Bond novel is sadly nothing like as impressive as the first. In Live and Let Die, Bond is dispatched to the US to investigate the sudden appearance of a horde of Captain Morgan's treasure, and criminal mastermind Mr Big, whose deeds the gold is financing.

read more

Thanks to Jennings

Anthony Buckeridge


Warning: Use of undefined constant amp - assumed 'amp' (this will throw an Error in a future version of PHP) in /var/www/html/books/archiveamp.php on line 214
Buy book #ad:

Reviewed on 17th March 2011

Thanks to Jennings is one of the funnier books in this series about the antics and misunderstandings of a group of boarders at Linbury Court school.

read more

Assassin's Quest

Robin Hobb


Warning: Use of undefined constant amp - assumed 'amp' (this will throw an Error in a future version of PHP) in /var/www/html/books/archiveamp.php on line 214
Buy book #ad:

Reviewed on 16th March 2011

The third book in Robin Hobb's Farseer trilogy is, while still an excellent read, a little bit of a let down after the brilliance of its two predecessors. Fitz must recover from the events at the end of 'Royal Assassin' and set out to kill his evil uncle and restore his good uncle to the throne, while saving the kingdom from its enemies.

read more

The Jungle

Clive Cussler & Jack du Brul


Warning: Use of undefined constant amp - assumed 'amp' (this will throw an Error in a future version of PHP) in /var/www/html/books/archiveamp.php on line 214
Buy book #ad:

Reviewed on 7th March 2011

I'm very much in two minds about this book. Cut off by the US government following the events of 'The Silent Sea', the Corporation are reliant on work from private customers to pay their way, such as rescuing a kidnapped child and hunting for missing persons. It's difficult to say much more about the plot without giving anything away, so I won't.

read more

Without Fail

Lee Child


Warning: Use of undefined constant amp - assumed 'amp' (this will throw an Error in a future version of PHP) in /var/www/html/books/archiveamp.php on line 214
Buy book #ad:

Reviewed on 2nd March 2011

In this novel, Jack Reacher takes on his biggest challenge yet when he is called in to protect the Vice President elect from a mysterious death threat.

read more

One of Our Thursdays is Missing

Jasper Fforde


Warning: Use of undefined constant amp - assumed 'amp' (this will throw an Error in a future version of PHP) in /var/www/html/books/archiveamp.php on line 214
Buy book #ad:

Reviewed on 26th February 2011

The sixth book in Jasper Fforde's Thursday Next series is the best yet and proves once again that he has one of the top imaginations and sharpest minds of the current generation of authors. This time, Thursday is missing, and the novel is told from the perspective of her literary counterpart in the bookworld, the written Thursday Next - it might be worth having read the first five books to fully understand.

read more

Swallows and Amazons

Arthur Ransome


Warning: Use of undefined constant amp - assumed 'amp' (this will throw an Error in a future version of PHP) in /var/www/html/books/archiveamp.php on line 214
Buy book #ad:

Reviewed on 23rd February 2011

Swallows and Amazons is a classic children's novel set in the Lake District, where it tells the story of the holidaying Walker family, who sail the lake and set up camp on its island, where they meet the local Amazon pirates. It's been about fifteen years since I last read this and it has lost none of it's charm.

read more

The ABC Murders

Agatha Christie


Warning: Use of undefined constant amp - assumed 'amp' (this will throw an Error in a future version of PHP) in /var/www/html/books/archiveamp.php on line 214
Buy book #ad:

Reviewed on 19th February 2011

This Poirot novel, narrated by Captain Hastings, differs somewhat from the norm. The killer has written to Poirot to announce his act in advance, and so the famous detective joins the hunt.

read more

The Coming of the Terraphiles

Michael Moorcock


Warning: Use of undefined constant amp - assumed 'amp' (this will throw an Error in a future version of PHP) in /var/www/html/books/archiveamp.php on line 214
Buy book #ad:

Reviewed on 17th February 2011

I have read a few of the tenth doctor novels before this one, but gave up as they seemed too childish for an adult audience (maybe this is obvious?), however this eleventh doctor novel's release in a larger hardback format led me to believe it might be something different.

read more

A Painted House

John Grisham


Warning: Use of undefined constant amp - assumed 'amp' (this will throw an Error in a future version of PHP) in /var/www/html/books/archiveamp.php on line 214
Buy book #ad:

Reviewed on 12th February 2011

This is very different from John Grisham's earlier novels. Following his brief foray away from the legal thriller in The Testament, this book is a coming of age novel focussing on seven-year-old Luke, living on a cotton farm in 1950s Arkansas.

read more

Paths of Disharmony

Dayton Ward


Warning: Use of undefined constant amp - assumed 'amp' (this will throw an Error in a future version of PHP) in /var/www/html/books/archiveamp.php on line 214
Buy book #ad: Buy ebook #ad:

Reviewed on 10th February 2011

The fourth and final book in the Typhon Pact mini-series is the Next Gen focussed novel and departs from the practice of the first three books by dealing predominantly with a Federation member species, the Andorians. Their planet ravaged by the Borg and species threatened with extinction by reproductive difficulties, Andor plays host to a conference of scientists and politicians trying to find an acceptable solution.

read more

The Sleeping Doll

Jeffery Deaver


Warning: Use of undefined constant amp - assumed 'amp' (this will throw an Error in a future version of PHP) in /var/www/html/books/archiveamp.php on line 214
Buy book #ad:

Reviewed on 4th February 2011

I am ambivalent about this first book in the Kathryn Dance series, similar to how I felt about its sequel. In this she is on the trail of escaped prisoner Daniel Pell, a murderer who seems able to brainwash people into helping him.

read more

Confessions of a Conjuror

Derren Brown


Warning: Use of undefined constant amp - assumed 'amp' (this will throw an Error in a future version of PHP) in /var/www/html/books/archiveamp.php on line 214
Buy book #ad:

Reviewed on 1st February 2011

Derren Brown presents an interesting take on the idea of an autobiography - rather than the story of his life it is the story of his personality. The book is presented as a stream of consciousness, structured around a card trick performed at a restaurant in his early days as a magician.

read more

Be My Enemy

Christopher Brookmyre


Warning: Use of undefined constant amp - assumed 'amp' (this will throw an Error in a future version of PHP) in /var/www/html/books/archiveamp.php on line 214
Buy book #ad:

Reviewed on 30th January 2011

Brookmyre returns to his original protagonist, journalist Jack Parlabane for this novel, although a lot of the other characters get a chance to shine. A seemingly random group of individuals are invited to a trial run of an outward-bound team-building weekend, which is fine, until people go missing, and bodies turn up.

read more

Nerd Do Well

Simon Pegg


Warning: Use of undefined constant amp - assumed 'amp' (this will throw an Error in a future version of PHP) in /var/www/html/books/archiveamp.php on line 214
Buy book #ad:

Reviewed on 25th January 2011

In this autobiography, Simon Pegg, star and writer of Spaced, Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz, and of course the new Scotty in Star Trek, tells the story of his life so far, and another, more random and probably fictitious, story in which he is a superhero with a robot butler.

read more

Rough Beasts of Empire

David R George III


Warning: Use of undefined constant amp - assumed 'amp' (this will throw an Error in a future version of PHP) in /var/www/html/books/archiveamp.php on line 214
Buy book #ad: Buy ebook #ad:

Reviewed on 22nd January 2011

I was surprised by my disappointment with this novel. I am a big fan of DS9 and its novel continuation, and really enjoyed both the preceding Typhon Pact novels and the Destiny trilogy before that. I also enjoyed George's earlier DS9 book in the Mission Gamma arc.

read more

Royal Assassin

Robin Hobb


Warning: Use of undefined constant amp - assumed 'amp' (this will throw an Error in a future version of PHP) in /var/www/html/books/archiveamp.php on line 214
Buy book #ad:

Reviewed on 14th January 2011

The second book in Robin Hobb's Farseer trilogy sees Fitz return home to Buckkeep where his agony grandfather, the King, has Bren struck down with a mystery illness. Although following on directly from the first novel, Fitz seems older now, becoming something of the surly teenager.

read more

The Edge

Rudy Josephs


Warning: Use of undefined constant amp - assumed 'amp' (this will throw an Error in a future version of PHP) in /var/www/html/books/archiveamp.php on line 214
Buy book #ad:

Reviewed on 9th January 2011

'The Edge' is the second book published in the new Starfleet Academy series featuring Kirk, Spock, Bones & Uhura as we met them in the 2009 film. Despite the release order, this appears to have been meant to be the first book, and serves as more of an introduction to academy life - explicitly stating that some of the events occur within the first week.

read more

Lost Empire

Clive Cussler & Grant Blackwood


Warning: Use of undefined constant amp - assumed 'amp' (this will throw an Error in a future version of PHP) in /var/www/html/books/archiveamp.php on line 214
Buy book #ad:

Reviewed on 7th January 2011

Cussler and Blackwood's second adventure in the Fargo series is roughly on a par with the first - a blight on the Cussler name, and if he keeps putting his name on these mediocre efforts they will seriously damage his reputation as 'grandmaster of adventure'.

read more