Archives for reviews - Page 30
Notice: Trying to access array offset on value of type bool in /var/www/html/themself/wp-content/themes/mesocolumn/lib/functions/theme-functions.php on line 502
Book Review – Lion Rampant by Robert Woollcombe
A motorcycle and infantry of the 2nd Glasgow Highlanders, 46th Brigade, 15th (Scottish) Division, advance along a lane near Caumont, (Photo credit: Wikipedia) Lion Rampant by Woollcombe Robert My rating: 5 of 5 stars The author was a platoon commander in Normandy (going ashore on D+8) and then a Company 2ic from the breakout until the end of the war (although with six Company Commanders in six months he spent almost as much time in command as any of the 'permanent' OCs). He served with a battalion of the KOSB in 15th Scottish Division in 1944 & 1945. Like all first hand accounts it has a certain pathos to it. Detailed descriptions of people and his interaction with them, like the young sniper he shared a slit trench with under fire in Holland for six hours until the other older more experienced…
Book Review – Heroes Wanted by Allen Donnelly
Heroes Wanted by Allen Donnelly My rating: 4 of 5 stars I have enjoyed reading this, and laughed out loud in places too. A fantasy tale with a different, not a serious quest for honour and glory, but a wry and humourous take on the genre from the point of view of a young woman who has inherited the Dragon's Flight pub in a village called Heroes Rest, the last stop before the adventuring in the mountains begins. The humour is laced through the story, and reminds me very much of some of Terry Pratchett's earlier works. The world Allen Donnelly has created is believable and seems real. It has fantastical bits, there are elves and dwarves as customers, but these are background mostly. There's also a dragon which is sort of foreground too. However these are a natural part…
Book Review – Death, the Devil, and the Goldfish by Andrew Buckley
Death, the Devil, and the Goldfish by Andrew Buckley My rating: 3 of 5 stars A little mixed on this one. on the plus side I enjoyed the inventive nature of the story and it made me laugh in places. So it could have been a four or five star read. The story is engaging and has clearly been crafted. I could go with the necessary suspension of disbelief for the core plot elements of the eponymous Death, the Devil and the Goldfish. These were good as well as the robot elves and the other characters. In fact that whole bit was fab. The bit I had some issues with was an easy fix. Ostensibly the book is mostly set in London, and I live and work in the area covered. However the book uses rather a lot of North…
Book Review – Foxglove Summer by Ben Aaronovitch
Foxglove Summer by Ben Aaronovitch My rating: 5 of 5 stars A change in direction for the Peter Grant series. Peter's out of London and without his mentor Nightingale. As well as this the story is one of two missing children, which adds an urgency to the pace of events. As you'd expect there is a strong supernatural element to the story, with an interesting twist in it. Only Peter and Beverley Brook really feature through the story, Nightingale bookends it and there is minor contact with Dr Walid at one point. All the rest of the characters are locals from West Mercia. Out on his own Peter develops as a character. He's a lot more self-reliant and capable, he doesn't have any magical backup so deals with what he finds himself. The background is also expanded a bit, Peter…
Book Review – Why Does My Book Not Sell? 20 Simple Fixes by Rayne Hall
Why Does My Book Not Sell? 20 Simple Fixes by Rayne Hall My rating: 5 of 5 stars This book is full of useful tips, and more importantly a broad framework for approaching improving your work as what works is continually evolving. Once enough people find a new technique for improving their book's visibility and sales it becomes less useful. However there are definitely a set of things that will always remain useful. I'm not going to tell you the list, Rayne deserves to profit from her hard work and she's not charging the earth for the book. I got it on pre-order for £, about 99 cents US. That could of course just have been a ploy on her part to catapult it up the sales rankings. However even if it costs you a little more it may still…