Category Archives: Reviews

REVIEW: The Islands of Chaldea – Diana Wynne Jones

Posted on March 24, 2014 by Ela

Since Diana Wynne Jones’ death from cancer in 2011, fans of her books (of whom I count myself) have had to satisfy themselves with a fair number of novels and a couple of collections of short stories, primarily written for … Continue reading →

Posted in 2014 New Reads, Fantasy, Fiction, Read on my Kindle, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

REVIEW: The Regeneration Trilogy – Pat Barker

Posted on March 20, 2014 by Ela

(Penguin e-book, 1996) The trilogy of books, set during the First Wold War, takes as its starting point the arrival of Siegfried Sassoon at Craiglockhart, a hospital in Edinburgh for soldiers suffering from “shell-shock”. His friend, Robert Graves, a captain … Continue reading →

Posted in 2014 New Reads, Fiction, Historical fiction, Poetry, Read on my Kindle, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

REVIEW: Wounded – Lindsay Buroker

Posted on March 17, 2014 by Ela

(self-published e-book, 2014) Wounded was billed as a romance on Amazon, but I thought I’d try it anyway because I really like Buroker’s writing, having enjoyed The Emperor’s Edge series of steampunk fantasy novels, and a couple of related novels, … Continue reading →

Posted in 2014 New Reads, Adventure, Fiction, Read on my Kindle, Reviews, Romance | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

REVIEW: Wild Justice – Kelley Armstrong

Posted on March 13, 2014 by Ela

(Sphere e-book 2013) Francis Bacon wrote: “Revenge is a kind of wild justice; which the more man’s nature runs to, the more ought law to weed it out. For as for the first wrong, it doth but offend the law; … Continue reading →

Posted in 2014 New Reads, Crime fiction, Fiction, Read on my Kindle, Reviews, Thriller | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

REVIEW: His Dark and Dangerous Ways – Edith Layton

Posted on March 9, 2014 by Ela

(Avon Romance/HarperCollins e-book 2008) I don’t read much in the way of romance novels: though I do like a good romance in a novel that’s actually about something else, I do read them from time to time. This one was … Continue reading →

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REVIEW: Agent in Place – Helen MacInnes

Posted on March 5, 2014 by Ela

(Titan Books 2013, originally published 1976) MacInnes, who was born in the UK and later moved to the US with her husband in 1937, wrote a number of spy thrillers between 1941’s Above Suspicion and 1984’s Ride A Pale Horse. … Continue reading →

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REVIEW: Swordspoint – Ellen Kushner

Posted on March 1, 2014 by Ela

(Bantam Books 2003, novel originally published 1987) I don’t recall where I first read about Swordspoint, but it was certainly on Redhead’s blog where I read about the sequel, The Privilege of the Sword. Although for her the sequel didn’t … Continue reading →

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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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