2019
Recently reviewed
Dauntless
Reviewed on 27th October 2019
Dauntless is the first book by Jack Campbell that I’ve read, and is the first book in the Final Empire series. It’s the tale of a war which has been raging for 100 years - and the return of a legendary Captain from the early days of the war, who finds himself somehow in command of a fleet on the back foot, attempting to return home.
The Secret Panel
Reviewed on 27th October 2019
The twenty-fifth Hardy Boys novel sees the brothers encounter a dead man, sunken treasure, a mysterious key, a kidnapping, and much much more.
Waiting for Sunrise
Reviewed on 27th October 2019
Waiting for Sunshine is the fourth novel I’ve read by William Boyd - and although superficially similar, isn’t really anything like the others. It’s the tale of a man in the 1910s who seeks treatment for a medical condition.
Ghost
Reviewed on 27th October 2019
Ghost is the third Marc Dane novel by James Swallow, and follows the character as he’s settled into his role as an operative working for a private secret agent operation defending the world against various nasties. This slightly more settled opening gives rise to a complex plot that takes his around the world in the style of the classic spy thriller.
Children of Time
Reviewed on 27th October 2019
Children of Time is a hard sci-fi novel set in a future where space travel and genetic engineering are the norm, and scientists are starting to think about seeding terraformed planets with the seeds of intelligent life for purposes that are not particularly moral. The book was lent to me by a friend who found it unreadable due to the presence of giant spiders.
The Short-Wave Mystery
Reviewed on 27th October 2019
Book 24 and I’m well into the run of the original Hardy Boys novels. I remember this one quite a lot from reading it as a child - or at least the opening chapters.
The Enterprise War
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Reviewed on 27th October 2019
The Discovery tie-in novels seem to be coming at a good pace now - and remain well crafted to serve as prequels and tell stories that are less likely to be contradicted by future TV (although one of them has suffered this fate a little). This time it’s the chance to find out what the Enterprise was up to during Discovery’s first season - it’s probably a spoiler, so best to watch to the end of Season Two before reading this if such things matter to you.
The Fourth Man
Reviewed on 1st September 2019
This short novella in the Jack Reacher universe sees the character pay a trip to Australia after his photo turns up on a hit list.
Grey Wolves
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Reviewed on 1st September 2019
Grey Wolves is the fourth novel in the Cherus prequel series ‘Henderson’s Boys’, set in the early days of the youthful secret agent service during World War Two. This time, Henderson has taken a group of his young operatives to occupied France.
The Rapture of the Nerds
Reviewed on 1st September 2019
I picked this book up in a charity shop based on the title, and having read a book by one of the authors previously. It’s the tale of a neo-luddite Welshman in a technological future, who travels to attempt to put a stop to modern technology, but ends up on a complex roller-coaster ride.
The Mystery of the Melted Coins
Reviewed on 29th July 2019
This mystery is a classic of the Hardy Boys - seeing the brothers investigating several different mysteries which come along at the same time - a man with a missing memory, some counterfeit coins, and hidden treasure - but the greatest mystery might be the secret that Aunt Gertrude is keeping.
Knife
Reviewed on 29th July 2019
Book one-too-many in the Harry Hole series sees the crime hit a bit too close to home, and… well actually, I didn’t finish it.
The Mystery of the Missing Man
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Reviewed on 29th July 2019
Book thirteen of the Five Find-Outers (and dog) was an interesting one in that I had very little memory of the plot from when I read it (probably multiple times) as a child.
The Real Town Murders
Reviewed on 29th July 2019
An unusual book - the first of Roberts’ that I’ve read - set in a future where most people live virtual lives, and only a few bother to inhabit the real world.
The Traitor Queen
Reviewed on 29th July 2019
The final novel in the series (after two trilogies and a standalone in between) wraps up the tale of Sonea and her magician friends, as they fight against a rogue, a country of slavers, and a drug problem.
A Colder War
Reviewed on 29th July 2019
The second Thomas Kell novel sees the exiled former spy called back into action when his former boss suspects one of their colleagues of being a mole, leaking intelligence to Russia.
The Flickering Torch Mystery
Reviewed on 22nd July 2019
The twenty-second of the original Hardy Boys series is one that I never read as a child. The brothers head off for some work experience at a local science farm, while investigating a mystery of some stolen butterflies at the place next door.
The October Man
Reviewed on 22nd July 2019
A fascinating spin-off from the Rivers of London series, this novella is set in Germany, with the German equivalent of Peter Grant starring as a trainee magical police officer, investigating crimes with mystical involvement.
The Man From Barbarossa
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Reviewed on 6th July 2019
An early nineties-based James Bond novel from continuation author John Gardner, this novel follows on from the collapse of the Soviet Union, with Bond being sent to Russia as a friend to help investigate a mysterious new terrorist group.
The Crimes of Grindlewald
Reviewed on 23rd June 2019
This is the script of the film - which I got a while before actually seeing the movie and kept on the shelf until I’d seen it.
Hotel Alpha
Reviewed on 23rd June 2019
I devoured a couple of Mark Watson’s novels before, and this one was no different. It’s the story of a hotel, but primarily of two of the regular fixtures - one the concierge who joins as a young man, and lives his life through the hotel, and the other the blind son of the hotel owner, whose education is provided by visitors to the hotel.
The Undefeated
Reviewed on 23rd June 2019
I am a big fan of Una McCormack’s tie-in novels, and so when I saw that she had written an original work I made sure to pick it up and read it immediately.
Fallen Angel
Reviewed on 23rd June 2019
Chris Brookmyre’s latest stand-alone novel is a surprisingly dark exploration of a family’s secrets, which gradually emerge over the course of a holiday in Portugal following the death of the patriarch.
Available Light
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Reviewed on 23rd June 2019
The latest Star Trek: The Next Generation continuation novel successfully balances two plots - one covering the ongoing events from previous novels that have rocked the Federation and a second being a stand-alone mission that the Enterprise is on.
Suspicious Minds
Reviewed on 22nd June 2019
The first novel set in the world of Netflix series Stranger Things (also the first novel I’ve ever seen where the copyright statement says “Netflix assets the right…” etc.) - this is a prequel telling the tale of a group of university students on the cusp of the Vietnam war who respond to a mysterious ad for participants in a research study.
The Truth
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Reviewed on 22nd June 2019
My first read through of the Discworld series was in strict publication order. Now that I’m revisiting them I’m just dipping in wherever I’m inspired, and this time I picked up The Truth after hearing Brandon Sanderson (another of my favourite authors) talking about it on a podcast.
Words of Radiance
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Reviewed on 22nd June 2019
Book two of Sanderson’s mega epic The Starlight Archives is individually epic in itself - I’ve got the full hardback edition and carrying it around on my commute every day made for one rather full rucksack.
The Carpet People
Reviewed on 22nd June 2019
One of Terry Pratchett’s earliest novels, which has lived on my shelf for many years before I’ve got around to reading it. It’s the tale of a tiny world of peoples who inhabit a carpet, and much fun is had describing the various aspects of their landscape.
Gone for Good
Reviewed on 22nd June 2019
An early Harlan Coben novel, Gone for Good is the story of a man who has some interesting and complicated relationships, particularly following the disappearance of his brother years before.
The Secret of the Crooked Cat
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Reviewed on 19th May 2019
One of the classic Three Investigators stories that I remember well from reading as a child. The team set out to locate five stuffed cats, after one is stolen from them at a travelling fair.
Altered Carbon
Reviewed on 19th May 2019
Recent TV series Altered Carbon is based on this book - though I’ve entered the world from a book-first approach, so can’t compare the two.
Worlds Turned Upside Down
Reviewed on 19th May 2019
This behind-the-scenes book about Stranger Things caught my eye in the bookshop because of its artificially battered cover and attempt to look very 80s. As a teenager, I devoured works about the creation of films and TV series, from Star Trek and James Bond to Dad’s Army and Captain Scarlet. I knew pretty much immediately that I had to have it.
The Memory of Blood
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Reviewed on 19th May 2019
Book nine for Bryant and May takes a different route than the one I had expected. The previous two novels having formed a mini-series, I was expecting this to form part three of the trilogy, but I was wrong and it stands alone.
Curtain
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Reviewed on 19th May 2019
The final Poirot novel returns us to where his adventures began in the very first novel, and to Captain Hastings, who returns to help bookend the series. Poirot slowly reveals that there is a murderer about, and that he requires Hastings’ agility to investigate and feed him information.
Madness is Better than Defeat
Reviewed on 28th April 2019
I picked this book up very cheaply based on little more than the cover catching my eye. It has an interesting premise, but not one that really kept me engrossed.
The Clue of the Broken Blade
Reviewed on 28th April 2019
Another original (well, in the case of my copy, updated original) Hardy Boys story, which sees the brothers become involved in a particularly complicated case focussed on a story of inheritance.
Lies Sleeping
Reviewed on 28th April 2019
Somehow the seventh novel in the Peter Grant / Rivers of London series, this story sees some of the ongoing plot come to a head.
The Way to the Stars
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Reviewed on 28th April 2019
The fourth novel based on the latest Star Trek series, Discovery, is the first written by a woman, and I’m slightly surprised that sums wasn’t asked to write one sooner, both because the show has made a point of focusing on its female characters and creators, and because Una is probably the best Star Trek novelist currently writing.
The Witness at the Wedding
Reviewed on 23rd January 2019
After what feels like a couple of years I finally found this, the next book in the Fethering series - and dived back into the comfortable lives of Carole and Jude. Carole’s son is getting married - injecting a fun element of soap opera to the plot - but there are murderous goings-on amongst his future in-laws which Carole feels compelled to get to the bottom of.
Skyward
Reviewed on 23rd January 2019
I honestly don’t know how Brandon Sanderson can create so many amazing different worlds. This one is a new series - a science fiction tale that’s marketed as Young Adult but is frankly as suitable for any adult as any of his other works. It’s the tale of a colony defending itself against alien attack, and a teenager who wants to be a pilot in defiance of those around her.
Masks
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Reviewed on 23rd January 2019
A Star Trek: The Next Generation novel from (probably) the late 80s - set during the second season of the TV show (as evidenced by the presence of Dr Pulaski) and seeing Picard and several of his crew marooned on a planet where an old Earth colony has evolved into something resembling mediaeval Europe.
Shadow Wave
Reviewed on 23rd January 2019
The final novel in Robert Muchamore’s original Cherub series is a bit different (this seems to be a trend in this sort of young adult series actually). James, now 17, has a little more agency and decides to refuse a mission on moral grounds - and creates a mission of his own instead.
Five Children and It
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Reviewed on 23rd January 2019
I first read this book many years ago, and recall vaguely a television series based on it. I was inspired to pick it back off the shelf after I’d been discussing it with some colleagues. It’s the tale of a family of children, who with their mother and servants, retire to stay in a somewhat dilapidated house in the countryside, near a disused quarry.
Past Tense
Reviewed on 23rd January 2019
The latest in the long series of Jack Reacher novels sees the ex-Army nomad wandering America when he spots the hometown of his father - and in an uncharacteristic bout of nostalgia he decides to have a look around. Turns out that things aren’t as they seem.
Rin, Tongue and Dorner
Reviewed on 23rd January 2019
A weird book that I was leant by a friend. It follows the life of an engineer in a post-apocalyptic society, where people live on islands under domed habitats kept warm in a snowball earth scenario by massive, temperamental generators. It’s a fascinating setting and has the potential to make for a really interesting story - but unfortunately this isn’t that story.
The Reckoning
Reviewed on 23rd January 2019
2018’s John Grisham novel is an interesting blend of his earlier and later styles. We start out with the traditional courtroom drama setup - we find out what happened, who’s who, what the lawyers are up to, and end up in court. But this book also gives us something else - a lot more back story than I was expecting, and a lot more forestory (if that can be a thing).
The Naming of the Dead
Reviewed on 23rd January 2019
Book sixteen of Rebus, and this time he’s investigating a crime that nobody else seems to care about, because the victim was a criminal himself.
Tao Zero
Reviewed on 13th January 2019
I’m not usually a big reader of hard science fiction, and so felt slightly nervous about picking this off the shelf. It’s the story of a deep space colony ship - sent out to try to find a new planet and home for a post-nuclear humanity - a ship that will travel so fast it will experience time dilation to the extent that there is no going back.
The Moscow Sleepers
Reviewed on 13th January 2019
The tenth Liz Carlyle novel sees the increasingly senior MI5 officer back in contact with a Russian source, who points her in the direction of a complex plot against the UK and its allies. There’s quite a lot going on across multiple countries and it’s interesting to see how the author balances these in a way that doesn’t affect the flow of the narrative.
Lies of the Beholder
Reviewed on 13th January 2019
The third and final novella in the Legion series sees our main character beset by problems when one of his aspects - hallucinations that represent part of his own mental faculties - goes missing, and he’s forced to face another absent person from his history.
Barren
Reviewed on 13th January 2019
The fourth short story from the world of the Demon Cycle - this time focussing on relationships between some of the minor characters from the series, and showing how their world and culture has evolved over time, neatly paralleling changes in the real world.
Lethal White
Reviewed on 13th January 2019
The fourth book in the Cormoran Strike series returns us to the office of the London private detective and his partner Robin. The plot is so complex that it’s hard to find a sentence to describe it - there are so many interconnected threads of the possible crime that Strike is asked to investigate, and simultaneously we follow the private lives of the two detectives as they also increase in complexity.
Darius the Great is Not Okay
Reviewed on 13th January 2019
I was lent this book by a friend, sold to me on the interesting premise of a young Trekkie who is visiting Iran for the first time. Naturally it is actually vastly more complex and interesting than that.