Lethal White by Robert Galbraith ‘ “I’m not mental! He strangled the kid and they buried it, down in the dell by our dad’s house. Wrapped in a blanket it was….” ' The latest novel by JK Rowling under her Robert Galbraith pseudonym begins with the wedding from hell. Robin Ellacott, employee/partner at the …
The Robots of Dawn
by Isaac Asimov A Review 'And all turned to grey - and he was drowning. He could not breathe. He struggled desperately to open his clogged throat, to call to Daneel for help -' Looking back, I notice that I reviewed Asimov's Robots and Empire in May last year, and The Naked Sun in December …
No God But God
(The Origins, Evolution and Future of Islam) by Reza Aslan A Review 'Fundamentalism, in all religious traditions, is impervious to suppression. The more one tries to squelch it, the stronger it becomes. Counter it with cruelty, and it gains adherents. Kill its leaders, and they become martyrs. Respond with despotism, and it becomes the sole …
Rotherweird
by Andrew Caldecott A Review Rotherweird is indeed an apt title for this strange and original novel. A mix of history, mystery and magic, it is clearly fantasy from the outset, though the real fantastical element takes a while to appear. Rotherweird is a town in rural England, one that has been cut off by …
And the Lesson for Today is ….
‘The bitter truth is that the world has simply become too complicated for our hunter-gatherer brains.’ 21 Lessons for the 21st Century by Yuval Noah Harari Disillusionment; Work; Liberty; Equality; Community; Civilisation; Nationalism; Religion; Immigration; Terrorism; War; Humility; God; Secularism; Ignorance; Justice; Post-Truth; Science Fiction; Education; Meaning; Meditation: What meaning do the words in this …
One Planet – One Human Race
Brief Answers to the Big Questions by Stephen Hawking ‘When we see the earth from space, we see ourselves as a whole …. with a compelling message; one planet, one human race.’ Stephen Hawking’s final book, Brief Answers to the Big Questions, makes a few optimistic predictions. It also hands out some chilling warnings. …
A Romance of Exmoor
Lorna Doone By R.D. Blackmore RD Blackmore was a prolific and popular writer of novels and poetry during the mid-nineteenth century. Lorna Doone is the only one of his works to survive the test of time. Lorna Doone is a love story. Yet in choosing its subtitle, A Romance of Exmoor, the author had something …
