Archives for reviews - Page 27
Author Interview – Kevin McLeod
Kevin McLeod is the author of the Viking's Apprentice series, award winning children's adventure stories. How long have you been writing for and what made you start writing? I've been writing stories since I was in primary school. I really started to get properly interested in writing after reading The Eyes of the Dragon by Stephen King. It's a brilliant story written for his children. Do you write for a living, or do you also do other work? I gave up my day job on my 39th birthday as a present to myself for the success of The Viking's Apprentice. I used to work for the Civil service. I've never looked back. How did you get into being a professional writer, and how much effort did it take to be able to write full time? I always enjoyed writing and I…
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Book Review – Lehrter Station by David Downing
Lehrter Station by David Downing My rating: 4 of 5 stars With the fifth in the series we're in the immediate post-war period, six months after Berlin fell to the Soviets John & Effi are back. Having escaped to London with the surviving family members John is blackmailed by the Soviets into returning in the guise of a double agent. As with the previous books the real central character is Berlin and its people. The theme is one of devastation, both human and physical. John & Effi both get involved in finding out what happened to people they knew, and the friends of the survivors. It's mainly upbeat, although sprinkled with tragedy as one would expect. The book evokes the chaos following the end of the war very well, and the overturning of tables. The 'victims of fascism' are exalted…
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Book Review – Potsdam Station by David Downing
Potsdam Station by David Downing My rating: 4 of 5 stars We're in the final month of Nazi Germany, with John Russell, Effi Koenen and Russell's son Paul all providing points of view for this tale of the final days of the Third Reich. The family is all scattered and trying their best to survive the carnage. There is real tension in this volume as one cannot be sure that any specific characters will survive. Will there be a happy ending, or will there be tragedy. Effi is living undercover in Berlin helping others as she hides herself. The city is being bombed night and day by the Allies, and the landmarks are disappearing with every raid. Her side of the story continues the series trademark description of Berlin and how it is changing. Her character has really developed over…
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Book Review – Stettin Station by David Downing
Stettin Station by David Downing My rating: 4 of 5 stars In the third of the series the focus widens to also include Effi Koenen, John Russell's film star girlfriend. She's been there in the first two as a strong supporting character, but she really comes into her own in this one. This story starts in the Autumn of 1941 leading up to the entry of the Americans into the war. Having been largely left alone for a couple of years following the outbreak of the war by the Germans and the Soviets Russell has been working as a foreign correspondent for some American papers. On the side he's been doing some investigative reporting on the fate of the Jews he's known. As the entry of the US to the war approaches the journalistic work becomes less worthwhile, only authorised…
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Book Review – Scotland’s Stories of Home by Alan Warner
Scotland's Stories of Home by Alan Warner My rating: 4 of 5 stars A good collection of wee stories and poems from the Scottish Book Trust. Most of the content only uses a couple of pages in print, so there is a lot of content crammed in from a variety of sources. Some of it is from established writers but most seems to be from ordinary people sharing their memories of what home means to them, whether now or when they were growing up in Scotland. There's a high level of social history from the mid to late 20th century baked in here. Primary sources rather than analysis bit worth reading nevertheless. It's well put together and an easy read, although there are a few thought provoking bits. For example, how many people really died during the Clydebank Blitz? It's…