Monthly Archives: February 2014

REVIEW: The Luck of the Vails – E. F. Benson

Posted on February 25, 2014 by Ela

(Vintage 2013, originally published 1901) E. F. Benson is well-known for his Mapp and Lucia books, full of snobbery and bitchiness and small-town intrigues, but he also wrote this mystery novel (along with The Blotting Book, also recently re-issued by … Continue reading →

Posted in 2014 New Reads, Crime fiction, Fiction, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

REVIEW: Fuzzy Nation – John Scalzi

Posted on February 21, 2014 by Ela

(Tor Books 2012) Fuzzy Nation is a re-imagining of the story and events in Little Fuzzy, the 1962 Hugo-nominated novel by H. Beam Piper – Scalzi describes it as a sort of “re-boot” of the Fuzzy universe. I’ve not read … Continue reading →

Posted in 2014 New Reads, Fiction, Reviews, Science fiction | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

REVIEW: Bitterblue – Kristin Cashore

Posted on February 17, 2014 by Ela

(Published in 2013 by Gollancz) Bitterblue is now Queen of Monsea, after her awful, terrible father, King Leck, was deposed and killed eight years previously. She’s now only just eighteen, and at the start of the novel is still being … Continue reading →

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BOOK TO SCREEN: White Mischief

Posted on February 13, 2014 by Ela

1987 film directed by Michael Radford White Mischief tells the story of the still-unsolved murder of Josslyn Hay, 22nd Earl of Erroll, in Kenya in 1941. Erroll was well-known for being in a louche set in Kenya – his impressive … Continue reading →

Posted in 2013 New Reads, Filmed adaptations, Journalism, Read on my Kindle, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

REVIEW: HHhH – Laurent Binet

Posted on February 9, 2014 by Ela

(Vintage 2013, translated by Sam Taylor; originally published by Éditions Grasset et Fasquelle 2009) This is the story of Operation Anthropoid, a daring mission in German-occupied Czechoslovakia, to assassinate Reinhard Heydrich, second in command of the SS and hated ‘Protector’ … Continue reading →

Posted in 2014 New Reads, Fiction, Historical fiction, Read in translation, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

BOOK TO SCREEN: Elementary

Posted on February 5, 2014 by Ela

(CBS television series) I blame Clare at the Literary Omnivore for sparking my interest in this show! Her occasional posts about this updated version of Sherlock Holmes – set in New York, and with a woman Watson – made me … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime fiction, Filmed adaptations, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments