First published 2006. Bloomsbury, paperback, 2012, pp325, c.115,000 words. I remember enjoying this when I first read it some ten years ago. Boyd is a writer who I greatly admire and has ranged widely across the genres of contemporary fiction. This is his spy thriller, the spy element mainly taking place between 1939 and 1941 […]
Restless — William Boyd Read More »
First published 1996. Pan, paperback, 1997, pp 437, c.120,000 words. Innes was around 83 when this, his last book, was published – the last of thirty books of fiction and three of non-fiction. It contains much that is familiar from his earlier thrillers, with taut writing, high adventure and exotic settings, as well as some
Delta Connection — Hammond Innes Read More »
First published 2022. Five, paperback, 2022, pp 143, c.30,000 words + many illustrations. This book is a collection of short pieces of prose and poetry by five accomplished artists. The five have known each other for quite some time and have been a support group to each other as they worked on their paintings, sculpture,
Five Artist Writers — June Cluett et al Read More »
First published 2012. Abacus, paperback, 2015, pp434, c.125,000 words. There is no doubt that Banks was a great writer. In this book, a pervasive menace hangs over every page. It’s a hugely impressive feat, especially as actual violence is very limited. A young man is returning to his home town for the funeral of the
Stonemouth — Iain Banks Read More »
First published 1953. Penguin, paperback, 1972, pp 240, c.85,000 words. This is one of Wyndham’s classic science fiction stories (for want of a better term for novels set in a speculative near future). They were hugely popular at least from the 1950s through to the end of the 1970s and were approved reading for young
Kraken Wakes, The — John Wyndham Read More »
(Books XXI to XXX) First published c.20 B.C. Penguin, paperback, translated by Aubrey de Sélincourt, 1972, pp 711, c.270,000 words (main text). We all know that Hannibal crossed the Alps with elephants, but what else can we remember about these events? For me, only a few other names from the period and the names of
War With Hannibal, The — Livy Read More »
First Published 1961. Pan, paperback, 1971, pp 237, c.90,000 words. This was Lyall’s first novel, and it was an immediate success. It allowed him to give up journalism and become a full-time writer. It is a classic thriller of the period, described in the blurb on the back as being ‘up to date’ but now
Wrong Side of the Sky, The — Gavin Lyall Read More »
First published 2018. Titan, paperback, 2018, pp 411, c.120,000 words. An entertaining space opera: big guns, faster-than-light travel and communications, weird aliens, disillusioned misfits. All the usual elements of the genre are here, so put your brain in neutral and enjoy the ride. A prologue gives the set-up: a war that is ended by a
Embers of War — Gareth L Powell Read More »
First Published 1965. Vintage, paperback, 2011, pp 176, c.55,000 words. What a quaint book this is. It has very old-fashioned feel and was almost out of date when it was written. A thick fog permeates London during the action, which is something that had faded out since the clean air act was passed in 1956
British Museum is Falling Down, The — David Lodge Read More »
First published, 1960. Pan, paperback, 1971, pp. 285, c.85,000 words. What a charming book this is. How unusual to find a story that has real narrative drive but where no one is truly bad; actually they are all decent people. The hero of this tale is a small man in the sense that he has
Trustee from the Toolroom — Nevil Shute Read More »