Monthly Archives: January 2013

REVIEW: The Sibyl in Her Grave – Sarah Caudwell

Posted on January 31, 2013 by Ela

This is the fourth and last of Sarah Caudwell’s all too short series of detective novels featuring the sleuthing talents of Professor Hilary Tamar (Caudwell died in 2000). Having come down from Oxford to London (to avoid the Bursar of … Continue reading →

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REVIEW: Great North Road – Peter F. Hamilton

Posted on January 28, 2013 by Ela

Hamilton’s latest sprawling sci-fi novel takes place largely in Newcastle, on Earth, and on the planet St Libra, in the Sirius system, in the year 2143. A timeline from 2003, summarising significant events to 2121, gives notes on events pertaining … Continue reading →

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REVIEW: The Last April Dancers – Jean Thesman

Posted on January 25, 2013 by Ela

Catherine St John, usually called Cat by her friends, is nearly sixteen years old and lives with her parents in a small town called Waterford near Seattle. Her mother is a real estate agent and her father is unemployed after … Continue reading →

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REVIEW: The Chelsea Girl Murders – Sparkle Hayter

Posted on January 23, 2013 by Ela

Robin Hudson, now Programming Head for the Worldwide Women’s Network, begins this fifth of her adventures when a fire forces her to leave her New York apartment block and take refuge in the Chelsea Hotel, at an apartment belonging to … Continue reading →

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REVIEW: Kushiel’s Avatar – Jacqueline Carey

Posted on January 19, 2013 by Ela

Since this is the third book in the Kushiel’s Legacy trilogy, there’ll be a few spoilers for the first two books. Stop reading now if you haven’t read either… The book starts ten years after the end of Kushiel’s Chosen. … Continue reading →

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BOOK TO SMALL SCREEN: Miss Marple by Agatha Christie

Posted on January 17, 2013 by Ela

Agatha Christie’s detective novels have been often filmed or televised, with Margaret Rutherford portraying Miss Marple in a number of films, the plots of most of which were entirely unrelated to the books Christie actually wrote. Unfortunately that also seems … Continue reading →

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REVIEW: The Lions of Al-Rassan – Guy Gavriel Kay

Posted on January 15, 2013 by Ela

In the peninsula which is divided between the three northern kingdoms of the former Esperaña (Jaloña, Valledo and Ruenda) and Al-Rassan in the south, an uneasy truce prevails. The people of the northern kingdoms generally follow the Jaddite religion, whereas … Continue reading →

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REVIEW: Kushiel’s Chosen – Jacqueline Carey

Posted on January 12, 2013 by Ela

Since this is a sequel to Kushiel’s Dart, there’ll be a few spoilers for the first book in the trilogy. I’ll try not to make them too glaring. The book starts after the end of Kushiel’s Dart by about six … Continue reading →

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REVIEW: Kushiel’s Dart – Jacqueline Carey

Posted on January 10, 2013 by Ela

Phèdre is the child of a Servant of Naamah, and was sold by her mother into indentured servitude at Cereus House, oldest of the Court of Night-Blooming Flowers in the City of Elua. A nobleman named Anafiel Delaunay recognised her … Continue reading →

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REVIEW: Louisa May Alcott – Jack and Jill / An Old-Fashioned Girl

Posted on January 7, 2013 by Ela

(Project Gutenberg e-books, originally published 1880 / 1870) I read these two books back in 2011, having downloaded them for the holidays. I’d read An Old-Fashioned Girl once before as a teenager, if I recall correctly, but hadn’t read Jack … Continue reading →

Posted in 2011 New Reads, Feminism, Fiction, Read on my Kindle, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , | 4 Comments