Death and Croissants by Ian Moore

I fancied reading another whodunnit murder mystery so jumped into Death and Croissants, the first installment in the Follet Vally Mysteries series by Ian Moore.

Englishman and early-retiree, Richard Ainsworth is the owner of a chambre d’hôte (B&B to you and me) in the fictional Val de Follet, a quiet corner of the Loire Valley in France. Richard likes a quiet life with no excitement and he mostly tends to his guests by avoiding eye contact and blending into the background. But that all changes when one his older guests goes missing, leaving a bloody handprint on his expensive wallpaper and a broken pair of spectacles. 

Richard is also a film buff and see the likes of IMDb as the works of the devil. He likes nothing better than to sit down and watch some old movies, especially now that his wife has gone off in search of a more exciting life. He's convinced his marriage is over but he's not entirely sure, well, he is but there are no lawyers involved, yet. He also keeps hens for a supply of fresh eggs for breakfasts and he's called them

This is pretty much a cosy mystery so if you like murder mysteries with minimal gore and a convoluted plot, this should keep you guessing all the way. Given the main protagonist is a bumbling Englishman, I kind of applied an image of Richard Briers onto the character and that seemed to fit quite well into the mildly comedic antics involving a bounty hunter, assassins, swingers with a bondage dungeon, the Italian Mafia, a French policeman, a small dog called Passepartout, and three hens called Ava Gardner, Rita Hayworth and Lana Turner.

I quite enjoyed it and will almost certainly read the next installments in the series. 7/10 😀

Meantime by Frankie Boyle

Meantime is a dark, funny, and thought-provoking debut fiction novel from comedian Frankie Boyle.

The story follows Felix McAveety, a currently-unemployed Glaswegian of Irish descent with a bit of a drug problem. When his friend Marina is found strangled in Kelvingrove Park, Felix sets out to investigate the murder along the way, he encounters a cast of colourful characters, including a Chinese drug dealer, a radical political activist, and a former Scottish spy.

It's set in 2015, not long after the Scottish Independence Referendum where Felix is "between jobs" and hops about in a haze of uppers and downers. When he's initially suspected of the murder, he decides to solve it himself, as the police don't seem to be that capable, and manages to enlist the aid of an ex-police/crime novelist and his somewhat unstable downstairs neighbour.

Boyle's writing is sharp and witty and, as anyone that knows his stand-up or TV work will be aware, he doesn't shy away from tackling difficult subjects. The novel explores themes of loss, grief, addiction, and political corruption. However, it is also full of dark humour, and Boyle's trademark wit shines through - so much so that I immediately imagined Felix's character as being Frankie, accent and all.

I found it a bit of a difficult read as it's so laden with Frankie's off-hand commentary on everything. If you're familiar with his stand-up act or his TV shows Tramadol Nights or New World Order, then you'll know what I mean - nothing is sacred or untouchable. Being a Glaswegian, I enjoyed recognizing the places and locations in the book and have almost certainly walked past the murder scene in Kelvingrove Park many times back in the 70s and 80s.

Meantime is not a traditional crime novel, it's certainly not a "whodunnit" in the traditional sense and the body count doesn't stop at just one, but it is a compelling and thought-provoking read once you get into it a bit and I found myself chuckling fairly often. Frankie's fans will find much to enjoy in this darkly funny and thought-provoking debut.

Overall, despite it not being a cheery an uplifting story, I enjoyed reading Meantime and I would recommend it to fans of dark humour and crime fiction. However, I would also warn them that the book is not for the faint of heart. 8/10 😅

The Satsuma Complex by Bob Mortimer

The Satsuma Complex is the debut fiction novel by Bob Mortimer, the comedian and presenter best known for his work with Vic Reeves and fishing adventures with Paul Whitehouse.

It’s a darkly comic crime thriller that follows the misadventures of Gary Thorn, a shy and unremarkable legal assistant working in Peckham, who becomes embroiled in a web of intrigue and danger after meeting a mysterious woman in a bar. It’s also a wee bit semi-autobiographical as Bob used to be a solicitor working in Peckham.

The story is full of Mortimer's trademark absurdist humour, from the opening scene, in which Gary has a conversation with a squirrel, to meeting his mate Brendan, a private investigator with a penchant for novelty socks, who subsequently turns up dead but not before giving Gary a phone number and a pendrive that looks like a corn cob. However, The Satsuma Complex is more than just a comedy; it is also a suspenseful and well-crafted crime novel. Mortimer does a skillful job of building tension and suspense, and the story is full of memorable characters, both good and bad.

One of the things that makes the story so enjoyable is Mortimer's ability to create a sense of place. The book is set in Peckham, South London, and Mortimer brings the area to life with his vivid descriptions of the streets, shops, housing estates and pubs. The reader can almost feel the heat and humidity of a summer's day in Peckham, and they can smell the fried chicken and curry from the local restaurants.

The Reeves and Mortimer style of comedy was never something I enjoyed that much…far too manic for me but Bob minus Jim Moir, as in his autobiography And Away… or in Mortimer and Whitehouse is a more serene experience even if we still get Boiler-Suit Man and Mr. Clown Shoes woven into the tale.

Overall, I found The Satsuma Complex a perfect choice for fans of Mortimer's comedy, as well as anyone who enjoys a good mystery. If you're looking for a funny, suspenseful, and well-written crime novel, then I highly recommend it. It's a great debut novel from a talented author. 8/10 😀

A Death in the Parish by the Reverend Richard Coles

A Death in the Parish is another Canon Clement mystery and the follow up to Murder Before Evensong.

Set some months after the first novel, things in Champton St. Mary are just beginning to return to a semblance of normality when the bishop decides to merge the parish with those of neighbouring Upper and Lower Badsaddle.

The merger brings with it a new associate vicar, who is a very different type of clergyman than Daniel, his wife and two teenage twin children. Chris Biddle is evangelical and charismatic, and he quickly clashes with Daniel's more traditional style of ministry.

Added into the mix are Miss March, the proprietor of the local dress shop; Miss Hawkins, an aging parishioner who's dying and wants Daniel and his mother Audrey to be executors of her will, and the Tailbys, a local couple known for preying on the old and less-capable. Daniel's mother Audrey is also struggling to come to terms with their poor financial status and Daniel's incapacity to understand such menial details.

This is a fair improvement on the previous novel. Yes, it's still a bit slow and plodding and again we're about 30% in before the main crime is committed but the author fills the void with lots of details about the village, his parishioners, their overlords the De Fleurs and the machinations and rituals of "The Church" until another murder rocks the village and Daniel again finds himself once again investigating it.

A Death in the Parish is a charming and insightful portrait of life in a small English village. Coles captures the sense of community and belonging that's so important to village life, and he also explores the challenges that such communities face when change comes.

Overall, A Death in the Parish is a well-written and enjoyable cosy mystery novel and well worth reading. It's a must-read if you've already read the first one of the series. 9/10 😀

Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Q. Sutanto

Lorna was reading this on holiday and, having had to put with quite a few chortles, I thought I'd give it a read as well.

 

Set in San Francisco’s Chinatown, the tale follows Vera Wong, the owner of a forgotten tea shop, a self-proclaimed tea expert, and a Chinese mother. Vera’s normal routine is to get up at 4:30 a.m, go for a brisk walk, and have a shower before texting her son to remind him to get up and find a wife and then opening up her tea shop. The tea shop is sadly failing and she really has only one regular customer these days.

However, her routine is shattered one morning when she comes down to the shop and finds a dead body on the floor. The man, it's a man, is unknown to her but he's holding a flash drive in the hand so, after calling the police like a good citizen, she pockets the flash drive and then draws an outline around the body in permanent marker (she has no tape) as she's seen them do that on TV and she wants to be helpful. She might also have checked his pockets for clues as well.

Vera is a woman with time on her hands so, when the police fail to check for fingerprints or take DNA samples, she decides it's up to her to solve this crime. So she begins to collect a list of suspects, beginning with anyone that turns up at her shop looking for information about the murder because, as everyone knows, murderers aways return to the scene of the crime!

This one is a gem. It's a very decent, reasonably paced whodunnit that kept me guessing to the end. Vera is a very opinionated person that speaks her mind, regardless of anyone's sensitivities, and she really knows her teas so it's filled with plenty of humour, a fair bit of compassion and plenty of tea.

A thoroughly enjoyable read! 8/10 😀

Death Comes to Marlow by Robert Thorogood

Death Comes to Marlow is the second book in Robert Thorogood's Marlow Murder Club series, and it’s just as much fun as the first. The book follows Judith, Suzie, and Becks, three local women who form a crime-solving club in the sleepy town of Marlow. Judith is a retired archaeologist and now a crossword setter, Suzie is a radio producer/dog walker, and Becks is the local vicar's wife.

In Death Comes to Marlow, the ladies find themselves invited (by one means or another) to a party at the home of Sir Peter Bailey, a wealthy and powerful man in Marlow. Sir Peter is to be married the following day but the party is cut short when the future groom is found dead in a room that was locked from the inside.

The police believe that Sir Peter's death was an accident, but our amateur detectives aren't so sure. They begin to investigate the case, and they soon discover that Sir Peter had many enemies. As the club digs deeper, they uncover a web of secrets and lies that could lead them to the killer.

The book is a classic cosy mystery, with a well-crafted plot, plenty of suspects, and a satisfying ending. The author does a great job of developing the characters, and the three women of the Marlow Murder Club are all likeable and relatable to us commoners. The story is clever and well-paced, with several twists and turns, and the reader is kept guessing until the very end.

I enjoyed reading Death Comes to Marlow - it’s well-written, entertaining, and engaging and I highly recommend it to fans of the genre. 9/10 🙂

A Pen Dipped in Poison by J. M. Hall

A Pen Dipped in Poison by J.M. Hall is the sequel to the popular cosy mystery A Spoonful of Murder. In this instalment, retired schoolteachers and now amateur sleuths Liz, Pat, and Thelma are back to solve another mystery when a series of poison pen letters start to circulate in their small town.

 

 

The letters reveal some of the deepest secrets of the town's residents and, as one by one, careers are ruined and relationships are destroyed, the three friends decide that they must take matters into their own hands. But as they get closer to the truth, they begin to wonder just how far someone will go to silence the writer, if discovered or if the writer will actually carry out some of the threats implied.

A Pen Dipped in Poison is a well-written and engaging mystery. The author does a great job of creating a sense of suspense and mystery in the book. The letters are all anonymous, so the characters are never sure who is sending them or what their motives are, which keeps the reader guessing until the very end.

The plot is full of twists and turns that will keep you guessing until the very end. The book also features a bit of social commentary on the English educational system, which adds an extra layer of depth to the story.

In addition to the mystery, the author also provides some humour in the book. The three main characters are all likeable and relatable, and their interactions with each other are often funny, which helps to lighten the mood of the book and makes it a more enjoyable read.

On the downside, like A Spoonful of Murder, having three protagonists still left me a bit confused at times, trying to identify who was who in each scene.

Overall, I would recommend A Pen Dipped in Poison to fans of cosy mysteries. It's a well-written and engaging mystery with some likeable characters, some not so much, and a satisfying-ish ending, even if it didn’t meet my expectations (no spoilers here). 6/10 😐

The Marlow Murder Club by Robert Thorogood

The Marlow Murder Club is a charming and well-written mystery novel by Robert Thorogood, the creator of the Death in Paradise TV series, set in a little Buckinghamshire town on the River Thames.

 

The story follows a group of unlikely amateur detectives who team up to solve a murder that the police are sceptical about. The characters are all well-developed and likeable, and the plot is full of twists and turns that will keep you guessing until the very end.

One of the things that I enjoyed most about The Marlow Murder Club were the characters. Judith is a retired archeologist, now a crossword setter, who is now in her 70s, lives in a faded mansion and likes to swim wild in the River Thames. She’s sharp, witty, and always has a plan. Becks is the vicar's wife, who’s tough, determined, and fiercely protective of her family. Suzie is a local dog walker and she’s kind, compassionate, and always willing to help others.

When Judith, out having her usual swim in the river one evening, witnesses a murder, the police don't believe her so she takes matters into her own hands. The plot thereafter is full of twists, turns and a few red herrings, and the reader is kept guessing until the very end. I found myself racing through the book, eager to find out who the killer was.

Overall, I thought The Marlow Murder Club was a great read. It is a charming, well-written mystery with a cast of likeable characters. I would definitely recommend it to fans of cosy mysteries or anyone who enjoys a good whodunit.

 

It's being adapted into a TV mini-series with Samantha Bond (Downton Abbey, Home Fires) taking the lead as Judith Potts, Cara Horgan (The Sandman, Traitors) as Becks Starling, Jo Martin (Doctor Who, Back to Life) as Suzie Harris, and Natalie Dew (Sandylands, The Capture) as DS Tanika Malik.

• IMDB - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt27950663/

I would definitely read more books by Robert Thorogood. 7/10 😀

A Spoonful of Murder by J. M. Hall

A Spoonful of Murder by J.M. Hall is a cozy mystery novel set in Yorkshire. The story follows three retired school teachers, Liz, Thelma, and Pat, who become amateur sleuths after their friend Topsy is murdered. The book is full of humour, heart, and suspense, and it'll appeal to fans of Agatha Christie and Richard Osman.

The characters are well-developed and relatable. Liz is the leader of the group, and she's determined to find Topsy's killer. Thelma is the wisecracking one, and she always has a joke to lighten the mood. Pat is the motherly one, and she's always there to offer support and the three friends work well together.

The plot is engaging and suspenseful. The author does a good job of keeping the reader guessing until the very end. There are a few twists and turns along the way, and the ending is satisfying.

Overall, A Spoonful of Murder is a well-written and enjoyable cozy mystery and it's a perfect book to curl up with on the sofa. I would recommend it to fans of the genre with a few caveats:

• Having three protagonists left me a bit confused at times, trying to identify who was who.
• The villain was a bit too predictable.

I enjoyed reading A Spoonful of Murder. It's a good book to read if you're looking for a cozy mystery with a bit of suspense but not too heavy on the thriller side. 6/10 😐

Murder Before Evensong by the Reverend Richard Coles

The Reverend Richard Coles's debut novel, Murder Before Evensong, is a cozy mystery set in the little fictional English village of Champton St Mary in 1988. The book follows Canon Daniel Clement, the rector of the village church, as he investigates a series of murders that have rocked the community.

I enjoyed Murder Before Evensong, but I found it to be a bit slow at times. The book is full of well-developed characters and a charming setting, but the plot takes its time to develop and I was about 30% in before the first fatality. This is not necessarily a bad thing, as it gives the reader time to get to know the characters and the village, but it may not be to everyone's taste.

The book's strengths lie in its characters and its setting. Canon Daniel Clement is a likeable and relatable protagonist. He's a kind and compassionate man who is dedicated to his faith and his community. He's also a bit of a mystery himself, as he's still coming to terms with the death of his husband.

The village of Champton St Mary is also a well-realized setting. Coles brings the village to life with his descriptions of the countryside, the people, and the local customs. The village is a place where everyone knows everyone else, and where secrets are hard to keep. Add to that the fact hat the rector wants to install a toilet at the back of the church and chaos ensues among the congregation.

The book's plot is a bit slow at times, but it does eventually pick up. The mystery is well-crafted, and the reader will be kept guessing until the very end. The book also features a few twists and turns that will keep the reader engaged.

Overall, I enjoyed Murder Before Evensong. It's a well-written and enjoyable cozy mystery. I would recommend it to fans of the genre. 8/10 🙂

When True Night Falls - by Celia Friedman

When True Night Falls is the second volume in Celia Friedman's Coldfire series and the sequel to Black Sun Rising. After reading Black Sun Rising I couldn't wait to dive into this one so here's a brief outline of the plot…

With the evil in the rakhlands defeated reverand Damien Kilcannon Vryce and the immortal sorceror Gerald Tarrant along with Hesseth the Khrast guide are heading East in search of the source of the land's malaise. Something malevolent lies there, possibly Fae-born but maybe not, warping the very nature of Erna's native creatures and determined to bring down humanity.

Their answers may lie on the Eastern Continent, long-separated from the Western settlers and with which little contact has been made for a very long time. What they find there seems to be a land in harmony with itself; a prosperous and stable place without the need for sorcerors or magic to protect them for the Fae do not enter their cities or villages. The truth however is a very different picture and our three adventurers soon find themselves fleeing from their long-lost cousins and lost in a land full of deception and treachery.

I'd imagine that it's difficult to design a storyline that encompasses three books with all three being equally entertaining in their own right. That may be the burden of anyone writing a trilogy of any kind but Ms. Friedman has successfully, so far at least, managed to do that. Black Sun Rising was a cracking read and When True Night Falls has picked up the storyline and moved it to the next level pretty well.

This time we get both the hero character of Vryce and the anti-hero character of Tarrant teaming up again, along with their Khrast guide Hessesth from the rakhlands and heading overseas in search of whatever evil is infecting their world. It's all good stuff and you know that while Vryce is incorruptable, Tarrant always has his own agenda and you never know if he's going to side with the team or turn on them. The whole idea of having a man like Gerald Tarrant, an undead vampire and sorceror, as part of the good guy's team works really well and gives it a different edge.

As you'd expect, there are new characters introduced into the mix and all in a new land where magic is forbidden and anyone possessing the power runs the risk of being arrested and used as demon bait, a career that has a very short lifespan. Behind all of this is a web of deceipt, controlling the population, hating every one of them and with the ultimate aim of cleansing their world of humanity.

When True Night Falls is another excellent story from Celia Friedman and well recommended. The next and final installment in the trilogy is Crown Of Shadows, which is lying on my bookshelf and in the reading queue.

Genre:Adventure, Fantasy, Science-Fiction
ISBN: 1-84149-542-5
My Rating: 8/10

Storm Front - by Jim Butcher

Storm Front is the first novel in The Dresden Files series by Jim Butcher. It's a detective novel with a supernatural twist and here's a brief taster of the plot…

The place is Chicago and Harry Dresden is a professional wizard. No really, Harry is listed in the phone book as a wizard for hire. If you want to find something or someone you've lost, need a potion brewed or a bit of a protection spell, then Harry is your man … or wizard.

He's also the guy the Chicago P.D. Special Investigations department call in when they have a case that transcends the normal physical limitations of your average perp. Trouble is, the wizarding business isn't what you'd call lucrative so when he gets called in to consult on a grisly double murder committed with what appears to be black magic, Harry jumps at the chance to earn some much needed cash. But where there's black magic, there's usually someone really nasty behind it and now that guy knows Harry's name. And that's when things start to get … interesting. Magic. It can get a guy killed!

This is the first in a series that has, to date, spawned 11 novels along with audiobooks so there's no mistaking that Butcher has hit on a very successful formula with both the reading public and his publisher. It even made it into a TV series for a season in 2007 and then fell foul of the big studio clampdown that killed off loads of sci-fi series at the time, simply because of the high production costs. However, with all of that behind it, I reckoned it was worth taking a chance that The Dresden Files were worth a read and where better to start but at the beginning.

Butcher tells the story from the point of view of Harry Dresden in much the same narrative style as a Mickey Spillane detective novel. It's a good formula, it sold Spillane over 225 million copies worldwide, and it works well here too. Adding magic to a basic gumshoe type story is what this is all about and that makes it that much more interesting. It's not only the bad guys our hero has to contend with, it's bad guys with magical powers and demons too.

Storm Front isn't what you'd call a big book and most people will get through it in a few sittings but it's a good introduction to the series and the characters and, if the rest of the books follow the same easy reading style along with some gritty crime drama, then they'll make ideal travelling companions for filling out those long holiday journeys or even just to pass a rainy day.

Genre: Crime, Fantasy
ISBN: 978-1-84149-398-5
My Rating: 7/10

Prey - by Michael Crichton

I quite like Michael Crichton's writing so when I spotted Prey for around £3 in ASDA a few weeks ago it seemed a no-brainer for something to read.

Californian Artificial Intelligence systems expert Jack Forman, fired for trying to expose his boss's criminal activities, is practically unemployable and finding life as a house-husband very stressful. His wife Julia however, is riding high an an executive in a nanorobotics company on the verge of perfecting a revolutionary new nano-technology based medical imaging technology.

When Julia starts working very long hours and behaving very oddly, Jack suspects she's having affair. But then his daughter develops a strange rash that disappears as soon as she's put in an MRI and when his son's MP3 player's memory chips simply corrode away and he finds a strange device in his daughter's room, he suspects something much more sinister is afoot.

When he gets invited to help with a software problem at Julia's company fabrication plant out in the desert, he doesn't think twice. However, that's when things start to get really out of control!

Prey serves us up a tale of nanobots gone rogue. However, these aren't just your average nanobots, these are intelligent, solar-powered and self-replicating with a drive to succeed and prosper as a "species" and all of this was programmed into them by us short-sighted humans. In essence, Crichton is trying to tell us what could happen when commercial pressures force companies to disregard the proper controls over scientific research and produce something that could threaten our very existence on Earth.

Frankly, I didn't buy it! Sure, it's an entertaining enough read but the science just didn't ring true enough and as someone with a fair bit of programming experience, the idea of them being able to install a whole AI predator-based program into something of just above atomic size, seems highly doubtful. Not impossible but just very, very unlikely with our current silicon technology. On top of that it was a bit predictable and it seemed obvious that Mr. Crichton had written it with the potential for a movie deal in mind.

A sensationalist, over-hyped, sci-fi thriller - quite readable but switch off your logic circuits first.

Genre: Science-Fiction, Thriller
ISBN: 978-0-00-722973-4
My Rating: 6/10

The High Lord - by Trudi Canavan

The High Lord is the final volume in The Black Magician trilogy, which also contains The Magician's Guild and The Novice. Here's a short taster of the story without giving too much away…

Sonea has learned much at the Magician's Guild in Imardin and the other novices now treat her with a grudging respect. Apprenticed now to High Lord Akkarin himself, she cannot forget what happened in his underground chamber or his warning that the Sachakans, their realm's ancient enemy, are growing in power once more and are getting ready to attack.

However, can she trust him, knowing what she does about him? Is Akkarin trying to trick her into assisting him in some dark and evil scheme or is he telling the truth and they really are in enormous danger from the Sachakans.

Having been somewhat dissatisfied with the forerunners to this book, the story takes a darker turn here and really starts to hot up a bit. It's obvious that the thread around Akkarin and black magic that started back in the first book has finally solidified into a tangible story here.

The dialogue is still somewhat stilted and the plot a bit predictable but it's a great improvement on the first book and obviously Ms. Canavan's writing skills have developed a great deal since beginning this tale.

Now that we've finally got going with what was the main plot of the series, it runs along at a decent pace with plenty of action, magic and even a bit of romance. The High Lord brings the trilogy to a fairly satisfying conclusion and, on the whole, the The Black Magician is reasonably entertaining and worth reading is you like fantasy tales.

Genre: Adventure, Fantasy
ISBN: 1-84149-315-5
My Rating: 7/10

The Seagull Drovers - by Steve Cockayne

The Seagull Drovers is the last installment in Steve Cockayne's Legends Of The Land trilogy. It's a complex tale but here's a taster of the story line…

Nothing is right in the Land. King Matthew is indisposed and the city is controlled by the wicked Fang and his Royal Wolf Boys. Leonardo Pegasus, inventor of the Multiple Empathy Engine and ex-Royal Magician, has retired to the country where he searches the murky depths of the Signal Network for a malevolent entity that lurks there and preys on the weak.City girl Ashleigh Brown needs a change from her urban life in Tower Mansions and has set her sights on the gaudy wagon of Wanderer Liam Blackwood while Charles Bannister has made his fortune from his Power-Driven Carriage and nows searches the Islands for fuel to run them on. Imp Fever is rife on the Network and roaming bands of Seagull Drovers seek to guide lost gulls back to the sea and when they pass, the children are vanishing.

The Legends Of The Land is a trilogy in three fairly separate parts, spanning about twenty years. Each book tells a different story and in The Seagull Drovers, some of these story threads and characters come together. I'm not sure if I'd call it a climax but some things get tied up at the end.

I suppose the character of Leonardo Pegasus is the most prevalent in the stories but it is all very loosely tied together and you'd easily get lost wondering what some characters play in it at all. That said, it's a pretty easily read and mildly entertaining story. The characters are well developed and easily empathized with but on the whole it's just a little unsatisfying and a bit slow in getting where it's going.

Genre: Adventure, Drama, Fantasy, Science Fiction
ISBN: 1-84149-304-X
My Rating: 6/10

Wintersmith - by Terry Pratchett

Wintersmith is the third Tiffany Aching novel and the 35^th in Terry Pratchett's Discworld series.

Two years after the events of A Hat Full of Sky, young Tiffany Aching is now 13 years old and in training with the terrifying old witch Miss Treason. When Miss Treason takes Tiffany to witness the secret "dark morris", the dance that welcomes in the winter, Tiffany finds herself drawn into the dance and joins in. Unfortunately, she finds herself face to face with the Wintersmith, the spirit of winter himself, who mistakes her for the Lady Summer and falls in love with her.

The Wintersmith pusues his suit well and gives her gifts of ice roses, her name in the frost on windows, snowflakes with her picture on and even giant Tiffany shaped icebergs. When Miss Treason, Nanny Ogg and Granny Weatherwax find out about all this they try to recify things and recruit the Nac Mac Feegle to find a hero that will rescue Summer from the Underworld and sort things out before the prolonged and harsh Winter descends forever. Meanwhile the Wintersmith is trying to make himself ... a man!

Wintersmith is another cracker of a read from Mr. Pratchett. The characters are, as ever, up to par with the best in comic theatre. Miss Treason, the blind old witch, lording it over her flock with a rule of fear and Boffo is perfect as Tiffany's tutor. Regulars like Granny Weatherwax and Nanny Ogg still deliver some amazingly funny quips and the Nac Mac Feegle are hilarious all through the tale in their attempts to protect their Big Wee Hag and avoid the wrath of the witches.

Then there's Tiffany! In training but wiser than any witch her age should be and the side-story around Miss Treason's cottage with Annagramma and Mistress Earwig and the other young witches adds yet another layer to the tale.

The idea that an ageless elemental like the spirit of Winter could imagine itself as human or even in love adds a dark and mysterious edge to the story as well and the trip into the Underworld is both frightening and funny. I mean the ferryman wants his fee but also really doesn't want the always-skint Feegles to stay and cause absolute chaos in his nice, ordered realm.

A very funny book and well worth reading if fancy something light and humourous.

Genre: Comedy, Fantasy
ISBN: 978-0-552-55369-8
My Rating: 8/10

The Last Hero - by Terry Pratchett

The Last Hero is Terry Pratchett's 27th Discworld novel and it's been published as a graphic novel, fully illustrated by Paul Kidby. It features a couple of characters that were introduced in the very first Discworld story - Rincewind and Cohen the Barbarian.

Legendary Discworld warrior Cohen the Barbarian is getting on a bit. He's been there and done it all, seeing most of his old friends pass away into obscurity and, now the current ruler of the Agatean Empire, he is unhappy with his Gods. He doesn't like the way they let men grow old and die so now he and his band are heading for Dunmanifestin, the home of the Gods, with the intention of giving them back something that mankind stole from them long ago - fire!

Trouble is he wants to do it with a 50lb keg of Agatean Thunder Clay and, given that the Gods live on top of Cori Celesti, the highest mountain on the Disc and the hub of the world's magic field, the explosion will result in the magic field collapsing. Unfortunately, the Discworld needs magic to exist - the turtle and the elephants holding it all up could very well just vanish.

Cohen and his Silver Horde may want to go out with a bang but it's a bang that could destroy the world. So, Lord Vetinari and the Magicians of Ankh Morporkh send gather their finest, or in this case, Leonard of Quirm, Rincewind and Captain Carrot, to go on a mission to try and stop them.

It was nice see Rincewind and Cohen back in a Discworld tale, even if it is a fairly short story. Pratchett's wit and humour are up to their usual par and there are some very funny moments in there. Also back in the frame are the Silver Horde, who made an appearance in Interesting Times, but they're minus Old Vincent, who has passed on. So Ghenghiz Cohen, accompanied by Truckle the Uncivil, Boy Willie, Caleb the Ripper and Mad Hamish, is on a kami-kazi run to give the Gods a bit of his mind (and body).

On the other side, we've got Lord Vetinari and the wizards of Unseen University, who've somehow got wind of his scheme and obviously want to put a dampener on it. Without going in to much detail, they choose Leonard of Quirm to build and pilot a device that will enable them to catch up with Cohen, Captain Carrot for some muscle and Rincewind as he's been in so many scrapes and is still alive they reckon he must have some serious luck on his sideand they're going to need it this time.

Then there the Gods, who're watching all of these goings on with some amusement. And there's Evil Harry Dread, the stock Dark Lord of the tale, who accompanies Cohen's band but really can't act out of his mould for very long. There's The Code to be followed you know!

It's actually quite a funny story and the book is fleshed out with a fair number of illustrations by Discworld artwork regular Paul Kidby, which helps make it last a wee bit longer.


Genre: Comedy, Fantasy
ISBN: 978-0-575-08196-3
My Rating: 7/10

The Illuminatus! Trilogy - by Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson

The Illuminatus! Trilogy is a compendium of the three books (The Eye In The Pyramid, The Golden Apple and Leviathan) in one volume.

The story begins with an investigation by a couple of New York City detectives into the bombing of a leftist magazine called Confrontation and the disappearance of its editor. The two discover that it was currently looking into the John F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy, and Martin Luther King, Jr. assassinations and, following a trail of memos that suggest the involvement of powerful secret societies, they become drawn into a web of conspiracy theories.

Who really shot the Kennedys? Why is there a pyramid on a one-dollar bill? Can dolphins really talk? All this and the mysteries of of the lost city of Atlantis are answered within.

Unfortunately, for all the back cover hype, this was perhaps the most disappointing book I've read in a long time. There were so many occasions that I thought about just giving up and reading no more but I persevered just in case something could resurrect my interest. Sadly it was not to be and I ended up finishing the book with no more satisfaction than I had after the first 100 pages.

The writing style is atrocious! There is literally no structure to the work. There are no chapters and sentences can run on from one to the next with no breaks or punctuation. What's even worse is the fact that, within a paragraph, you can be reading about one character's exploits and in the next sentence the focus switches completely and there's no indication that anything has changed at all until it dawns on you that something doesn't seem right.

How anyone can rate this as a "cult masterpiece" or a "devilishly funny work" I'm not sure. There's very little in the way of humour in it and most of the story is either just confusing or absolute waffle. Okay, they've seeded it with a few hard-core sex and drug scenes to appeal to the pulp-fiction junkies but even that gets a bit tedious after a while. Most of the main characters meandered through the story while high on drugs so I wouldn't be surprised to learn that the authors were in a similar condition when they wrote it.

If you want to retain your sanity, then give this one a miss!

Genre: Mystery, Science-Fiction
ISBN: 978-1-85487-574-7
My Rating: 3/10

Ironcrown Moon - by Julian May

Ironcrown Moon is the second volume in The Boreal Moon Tale by Julian May. Here's a short summary of the plot as it develops…

Conrig Wincantor has achieved his aim of uniting the island of High Blenholme under his sovereignty and he now sits on the Ironcrown throne as King. But not all of his subjects are happy about the new arrangement.

Conrig's spy Deveron is now Sir Deveron but he's still Snudge in more ways than one. Conrig's first wife Maudrayne, thought drowned when she leapt from the tower after agreeing to his divorce demand, has resurfaced in the north. Conrig fears that she could divulge his secret to the world and rob both him and his heirs of the crown.

Meanwhile the many other plots and schemes continue. Prince Beynor of Moss, banned from using moon sigils by the Beaconfolk on pain of death, is now playing several sides off to his own advantage, or at least that was the plan. Killian Blackhorse, Conrig's denounced alchemyst, has escaped and plans to recover the Trove of Darasilo and aid the exiled prince of Didion to help him gain the throne of that province and so challenge the sovereignty.

Deveron, sent North to seek out Maudrayne, is unhappy with his King and is worried that the old saying about absolute power corrupting absolutely may be starting to have its effect on him. Oh, and the Salka monsters want their island back!

Julian May continues to impress with this series. It has a wealth of characters, creatures, schemes and plots; certainly enough to keep most readers turning the pages. The plot may be fairly standard fantasy stuff but there's so much going on and all of it interlinking nicely as the tale progresses. The main players are very well developed at this stage so it's interesting to see how their own circumstances and the ramifications of the storyline lead them to change character.

Basically, Ironcrown Moon is a very acceptable sequel to Conqueror's Moon and an entertaining story in itself.

Genre: Adventure, Fantasy
ISBN:
My Rating: 7/10

Black Sun Rising - by Celia Friedman

Black Sun Rising is the first volume in Celia Friedman's Coldfire series. It looks like the beginning of a very readable science-fiction/fantasy story so here's a brief outline of the plot…

Over 1,000 years ago, colonists from Earth settled on the far distant, seismically active but beautiful planet Erna. However, this seemingly habitable world was fraught with perils that no-one could have forseen and the colonists soon found themselves caught in a desperate struggle for their very survival.

Erna was home to the Fae, a terrifying natural force with the power to prey upon the human mind, indiscriminately bring both dreams and nightmares to life. But with nowhere else to go, the colonists learned to live with the Fae and twelve hundred years later, mankind and Fae have reached an uneasy stalemate.

Now, human sorcerors manipulate the Fae for profit but what they don't realize is that there are demonic forces on Erna that feed upon their interactions with the Fae and they are gaining in strength. Into this cauldron of power are thrown a priest, an adept, an apprentice and a sorceror and together they must find and confront an evil beyond their imagining. The very fate of humanity depends on them.

Okay, it's been done many times before now but I like the mix of science-fiction and fantasy here. It gives some background to the story and provides a set of rules by which the fantasy element can be controlled. Friedman has crafted a plausible world with a sound basis in science-fiction and populated it with a rich mix of characters for her story. Erna has three moons, which means there's always some light available and only rarely do all moon set together, bringing about true night. True night is a time to be feared by all as the Fae is at its strongest.

I suppose the story can be likened (a bit) to the movie Forbidden Planet, where monsters of the id were responsible for the extinction of the Krell race. Where Altair-4 had the vast machinery if the Krell, Erna has the Fae but the results are much the same. Imagine a world where your very thoughts, even a stray one, can become reality and you'll appreciate how living on Erna would be very difficult. It also explains the rise of the church in what should have been a scientifically oriented society.

The mix of primary characters is pretty good too with the reverand Damien Kilcannon Vryce as the leader of the party of adventurers and the mysterious Gerald Tarrant, also known as the Hunter and master of the forbidden Forest, as a sort of anti-hero. You know Tarrant is evil but even he isn't beyond redemption and there are much worse things out there.

The next installment is called When True Night Falls and it's definitely on my must read list.

Genre:Adventure, Fantasy, Science-Fiction
ISBN: 1-84149-541-7
My Rating: 8/10