Archives for reviews - Page 12
Tides of Winter by R.T. Lowe [Book Review]
Tides Of Winter by Lowe My rating: 5 of 5 stars Tides of Winter is the third installment in the Felix Chronicles. It's still awesome, in fact I'd say that Lowe is getting better with each book. It's shaping into a series that I'd love to see on screen. A sort of cross between Harry Potter at college and Buffy the Vampire Slayer (albeit without actual vampires, but plenty of monsters are slain). Tides of Winter Review Tides of Winter has a lot of parallels with the worst fears of Americans under their 45th President, although it must have been finished before the outcome of the election was known. There's the same three sided conflict as our previous stories, and this is strengthened. Several attempts are made to kill or woo Felix and Allison. We see a deepening of Felix's…
SS-GB [review] BBC Adaptation of Len Deighton’s SS-GB
I watched the BBC Adaptation of Len Deighton's SS-GB last night. I read the book a long time ago, it was probably one of the first alternative histories that I ever read. I've also enjoyed Young Lions by Andrew Mackay which is also set post-German Invasion of Britain. SS-GB Review The bombed-out ruins of Buckingham Palace as depicted in SS-GB. Image © Sid Gentle Films Ltd. SS-GB has a lot of elements that I enjoy. It's an alternative history, it's a police procedural, it has espionage/intelligence aspects and it's set during WW2. It also has another element that fascinates me. When do you remain loyal and when should you change sides? I was always going to watch this programme. The story is set in 1941, fourteen months after a successful German Invasion of Britain. In the opening shots we are…
The Nazi Hunters by Damien Lewis [Book Review]
The Nazi Hunters by Damien Lewis My rating: 4 of 5 stars A very well researched account, with a lot of detail on the SAS operations in the Vosges. While it does cover the post-war war crimes investigations most of the book is actually about the period leading to the war crimes. This is very interesting, and shows how they were operating and why so many SAS soldiers ended up in enemy hands. It also sort of explains the personal nature of the SAS War Crimes Unit's all consuming involvement in hunting down the perpetrators. The Nazi Hunters The defendants at the Nuremberg War Crime Trial in Nuremberg, Germany (Photo credit: Wikipedia) The Nazi Hunters is well researched, but it's wrapped in a little hyperbole about it being a previously untold and largely unknown story. During WW2 Hitler issued an…
Blood Faerie by India Drummond [Book Review]
Blood Faerie by India Drummond My rating: 4 of 5 stars I picked this up on kindle on a special offer, and finally got round to reading it over the summer holidays. I've enjoyed the Iron Druid stories, and it seemed to share some level of realism with those. Not exactly the same, but not a sparkly urban fantasy tale either. The faerie lore was quite different, and so were the druids. Blood Faerie is set in the real world, and magic happens without us noticing. So worth a read, especially on special offer. Blood Faerie Review I enjoyed it quite a lot. I would certainly read more in this world. The premise of the story is that there are some kinds of magic that the faeries don't tolerate. The Blood magic in the title being one of those forbidden…
Gestapo by Lucas Saul [Book Review]
Gestapo by Lucas Saul My rating: 2 of 5 stars Gestapo by Lucas Saul is a reasonable summary overview of the Gestapo, but didn't quite have enough detail for me. If you didn't know anything about the Gestapo before then it might be an OK place to start, although wikipedia would be cheaper. Gestapo by Lucas Saul Gestapo by Lucas Saul doesn't quite live up to the promise of the blurb. What I was hoping for was some analysis of how the Gestapo was formed, where its staff came from and why they joined up. Plaque on former gestapo and communist secret police building, Łódź 7 Anstadta Street (Photo credit: Wikipedia) What you get with this book is a rough chronological history of the Gestapo, and their involvement in the atrocities commited by the nazi state. You also get a series of dramatis…