Monthly Archives: August 2010

Discussion – genre fiction

Posted on August 30, 2010 by Ela

I read a lot of so-called genre fiction – mainly detective novels, sci-fi and fantasy – and I’ve been wondering why certain books tend to be pigeon-holed as genre fiction and others don’t, when they’re superficially about the same concepts. … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime fiction, Discussion, Fantasy, Fiction, Historical fiction, Science fiction | Tagged , , , , , | 6 Comments

‘Trade Wind’ – M. M. Kaye

Posted on August 28, 2010 by Ela

Unlike Kaye’s other historical novels (The Far Pavilions and Shadow of the Moon, both set in 19th century India), Trade Wind is set in the late 1850s in Zanzibar, off the coast of west Africa. Kaye warns the reader in … Continue reading →

Posted in Fiction, Historical fiction, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

‘The Railway Detective’ – Edward Marston

Posted on August 24, 2010 by Ela

Set in 1851, this books starts off with a crime – a train robbery (of £3000 worth of gold sovereigns and post on its way to Birmingham) which leads to the serious injury of the driver, Caleb Andrews, and destruction … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime fiction, Fiction, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

‘Unseen Academicals’ – Terry Pratchett

Posted on August 20, 2010 by Ela

I’m a fan of Pratchett’s work (though not to the extent of buying Sam Vimes artwork or Mustrum Ridcully figurines or any of the ‘Folklore of the Discworld’ books and suchlike), and so to state that I enjoyed this one … Continue reading →

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Travel books – Lawrence Durrell

Posted on August 17, 2010 by Ela

My first acquaintance with Lawrence Durrell was as Gerald Durrell’s irascible brother Larry in ‘My Family and Other Animals‘, and then through his thriller, White Eagles over Serbia, and Antrobus stories. Recently I’ve been reading his travel books – the … Continue reading →

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‘The Mystery of the Blue Train’ – Agatha Christie

Posted on August 16, 2010 by Ela

I re-read this title recently – one of Christie’s early Poirot mysteries – after having watched the ITV version starring David Suchet. The most recent of these TV adaptations have generally deviated quite a lot from Christie’s originals, to the … Continue reading →

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‘Stranger In A Strange Land’ – Robert Heinlein

Posted on August 13, 2010 by Ela

Valentine Michael Smith is a human being, born to two of the first people to visit Mars. Although his parents – and the rest of the mission – were killed, Smith was brought up on Mars, and, essentially, was a … Continue reading →

Posted in Fiction, Reviews, Science fiction | Tagged , , , , , , | 5 Comments