Archives for reviews - Page 8
Days of Fire by Samuel Katz [Book Review]
I picked up Days of Fire as part of my background reading for the Divided Land megagame last Saturday. Samuel Katz was a member of Irgun in the mid 40s, and Days of Fire is his story of how Irgun pushed Israel into being. Days of Fire Days of Fire is aptly titled, Palestine from 1944 until the end of the British Mandate was a turbulent place. Thousands of people were killed or wounded in the violence and more were dispossessed. Even before the British withdrew there was a civil war. Irgun were an extremist breakaway group of the Revisionist Zionists. A bit like PIRA three decades later. Mostly they tried to cause chaos and avoid killing people, although sometimes their warnings went unheeded, like the bombing of the King David Hotel. Katz started as a secretary to the South…
German Penetration of SOE by Jean Overton Fuller [Book Review]
English: Hon. Assistant Section Officer Noor Inayat Khan (code name Madeleine), George Cross, MiD, Croix de Guerre avec Etoile de Vermeil. Noor Inayat Khan served as a wireless operator with F Section, Special Operations Executive. (Photo credit: Wikipedia) The German Penetration of SOE by Jean Overton Fuller My rating: 4 of 5 stars I've been reading about SOE for more than three decades. This is the third book about SOE that I've read so far this year, and it is one of the earliest to point to the man behind the curtain. There is a carefully cultivated view of plucky heroism fighting thuggish Nazis, and prevailing eventually. The reality is clearly quite different. Each of the three books I've read this year has pointed that out (see my reviews of books about Vera Atkins & Nancy Wake). That we know…
Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone [Book Review]
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by Rowling My rating: 4 of 5 stars Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone is possibly the book that I have read more than any other (the only other contenders are either The Silver Sword or The Facts Factory by Giles Brandreth - both of which fell apart in my primary school bag). It starts a fantastic world that I could happily live in, and that both I and my children love. If you haven't read Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone then you haven't lived. I started reading Harry Potter when there were only two sequels out, and have re-read each of the books before the next one was published. I've also re-read them after watching the movies. So I've re-read this one at least six times. It's an awesome universe with loads…
Dark State by Charles Stross [Book Review]
Dark State by Charles Stross My rating: 4 of 5 stars Dark State is the middle book in a trilogy, and leaves us on a multi-threaded set of cliffhangers waiting for the final instalment in January 2019. Dark State The story continues from where Empire Games left off, with nary a beat missed. Paranoia is set to eleventy one and everyone is watching everybody else. We have four major threads to follow. Rita and her official mission with the US Dept of Homeland Security. Rita's girlfriend and grandfather and the Wolf Orchestra trying to save Rita from DHS. Major Hulius Hjorth who is engineering Elizabeth Hanover's defection from the old monarchy the Commonwealth. The remnants of the Clan in the Commonwealth and their plans for the imminent succession crisis when the First Citizen dies. Through all of these there are…
Vera Atkins: A Life in Secrets by Sarah Helm [Book Review]
A Life in Secrets: Vera Atkins and the Missing Agents of WWII. by Sarah Helm My rating: 5 of 5 stars A Life in Secrets has been on my shelf for a few years. I've had an interest in SOE since I read Carve Her Name With Pride when I was about 11. Since writing Hunting Nazis I've collected more and more material about SOE with the background thought that I might write some more historical fiction with the same characters. Vera Atkins: A Life in Secrets Vera Atkins in 1945 as a WAAF officer (but still serving with SOE) I found A Life in Secrets a very thorough piece of investigation by Sarah Helm. It builds on what has come before, especially the work of Jean Overton Fuller and adds to it using primary research with documents, interviews and…