The premise of a detective dealing with the boundary between tech billionaires and the occult covers a couple of areas I knew I’d be interested in. What to Expect An interesting case that starts with bodies mutilated with arcane symbol, a former-police-currently-private detective with a shady past, tech moguls with Rampant AI, ancient demons, and […]
Book Review
Book Review: Just One Damned Thing After Another, by Jodi Taylor
This came up in the comments following me post on historical fashions, and looked like a fun read at a time I didn’t want anything heavy. What to Expect Expect a crazy roller-coaster of crazy cross-time adventures. The protagonist has studied ancient history and dabbled with archaeology, and gets recruited to a strange institute that […]
Book Review: Stone and Sky (Rivers of London #10), by Ben Aaronovitch
I’ve been following this series for a while (mainly the novels), and it’s pretty decent. What to Expect Another police-procedural case for Peter Grant, working for the “Special Assessment Unit” – London’s Met police unit for cases involving ‘strange bollocks’ (the occult). This time Grant is trying to vacation in Scotland, and we get many […]
On Screen Adaptations (four reviews in one!)
I’ve read The Survivors by Jane Harper and watched the Netflix TV series at the same time, so — rather than a plain review — I thought I’d do a post on comparative observations about screen adaptation. Ditto with The Thursday Murder Club novel by Richard Osman and the movie. Aaand I’ve covered Jane Harper’s […]
Book Review: Autolycus the thief, by Michail Sidiropoulos
A lesser known bronze-age character as a basis for mythical story – of course I jumped on the chance to read it. What to Expect An embellished telling of the life of the grandfather of Odysseus, told from his own point of view. The story starts with him as a child being dispossessed and growing […]
Book Review: A Natural History of Ghosts, by Roger Clarke
I came across this on The Rest Is History podcast, where the author featured as a guest and reviewed some of the history of ghosts in the UK. What to Expect An attempt to examine if England truly is the most haunted nation, whether it’s the isles’ weather or just the people. After setting the […]
Book Review: Stonelands, by Joseph Malik
Malik is one of those authors whose works I’ll read on principal, knowing that they’ll be outstanding (see my reviews for Dragon’s Tail and The New Magic). This novel uses the same world as his previous ones, albeit at a different location and characters so it’s independent from the others. I’ve had the pleasure of […]
Book Review: In Deep Coprolite, by Douglas Lumsden
Readers of my reviews and blog know I love Lumsden’s noir modern alt-history fantasy world. What to Expect A new adventure for Shade the Collector and his buddy Dwayne. This time a river spirit entrusts him with a coprolite (petrified excrement) to hide and guard. Naturally, the shadowy intelligence agency that employs him on occasion […]
Book Review: Mole Creek, by James Dunbar
Mole Creek is not far from where I live, and as I enjoy Tasmanian crime fiction I thought I’d give this a try. What to Expect Expect a fast-paced thriller, taking place in modern day Australia and during the Vietnam War. Most of the novel is from the point of view of the protagonist, Xander […]
Book Review: An Instance of the Fingerpost, by Iain Pears
I’ve had this on my TBR for a while, and when it was recommended by The Rest Is History podcast I decided it was time. What to Expect A Rashomon-style story in 17th century England. A Venetian dilettante physician arrives in England nominally to address his father’s collapsing business concerns, but spends very little time […]
FELIX THE FOX MYSTERIES 