Tag archives for book review - Page 13
What if? by Randall Munroe [Book Review]
What If? : Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions by Randall Munroe My rating: 5 of 5 stars This is just fab. It made me laugh out loud several times. Also science, lots of lovely science with nice twists. Well I say nice, but really evil twists. That's what makes it funny and interesting. What if? by Randall Munroe English: Last panel of the xkcd webcomic "Philosophy". On the xkcd site, it displays with the tooltip "It's like the squirt bottle we use with the cat." (Photo credit: Wikipedia) Randall Munroe is best known for the xkcd comics (and if you haven't read them then you really must). 'What if?' comes from an offshoot of the popularity of xkcd. People have been sending Randall their 'what if?' questions and Randall has been off to do some research to answer…
Fight Another Day by J.M. Langley [Book Review]
Fight Another Day. Langley by J M Langley My rating: 5 of 5 stars Fight Another Day has been sitting on my shelf for years, right next to MI9 (which I only realised was co-authored by J M Langley). I'm not sure why it took me so long to get round to reading it. It fits my usual preferences in a number of ways. It's a first hand accout by an infantry officer, it's about escaping from a POW camp, it's about organising secret agents to work in nazi-occupied Europe. Any one of those would have got Fight Another Day onto my to-read list. Fight Another Day Fight Another Day tells the story of Jimmy Langley from his enlistment in the special reserve of the Coldstream Guards. He gets mobilised in August 1939 and goes to France, and we are…
Felix Chronicles by R.T. Lowe [Book Review]
The Felix Chronicles: Freshmen by Lowe My rating: 4 of 5 stars The Felix Chronicles is a bit like a grown up version of Harry Potter. It has a shadow magical world in the real world and it's a thumping great tome of a story, but that's where the similarities stop. The Felix Chronicles is darker and more realistic. The Felix Chronicles The protagonist of the Felix Chronicles is an 18 year old college student with all the things that go with that. He's surrounded by a group of four other students, his reality show roommate, his childhood friend, her roommate and her roommate's best buddy from home. Felix is an only child and has recently been orphaned by a freak fire at his family home. He has no idea that he is a sourceror (magic is referred to…
Strangers on a Train by Patricia Highsmith [Book Review]
Strangers on a Train by Patricia Highsmith My rating: 3 of 5 stars I read Strangers on a Train because it was a book club choice in the office. The synopsis gives an intriguing premise, and I sometimes read crime stories (I've just downloaded the first four Cadfael stories, and I enjoyed the Ian Rankin novels I've read). Strangers on a Train was a contemporary crime novel when it was fit published in 1950. So I thought I'd give it a go. Strangers on a Train The premise is of two strangers on a train who get talking and eventually agree to murder someone for the other person. The idea is that because they aren't linked to the murder victim then they'll get away with the crime. It's set about 1950, so forensic science doesn't come into the equation. Strangers…
Bloodline Feud by Charles Stross [Book Review]
The Bloodline Feud by Charles Stross My rating: 5 of 5 stars Bloodline Feud is a reworking of the first two books in the Merchant Princes series. Charlie Stross explained why he'd rewritten them on his blog. Basically he'd written them this way and was asked by the publisher to split them into smaller books because the fantasy doorstop wasn't in fashion. The Bloodline Feud I'd already read the entire series so I was wary of buying the Bloodline Feud. The only reason I did was because it was on special offer from Amazon for 99p. At that price almost anything is worth trying. Bloodline Feud is mostly the same story, but it is better than I remember either of the two books being. Also the combining them into one volume works very well. The story has a better pace…