I haven't been getting out much lately, apart from the permitted exercise and an occasional visit to the supermarket or pharmacist. We have managed to get most of our shopping needs delivered. One thing I miss most about this lockdown is being able to go browsing in the local bookshop. Bookshops seem to be all …
Category: Books
Carry On Dreaming
Tolkien and the Future of Epic Fantasy 'Then what are You, having no Chaos found To make a World, or any such least Ground? But your Creating Fancy, thought it fit To make your World of Nothing, but pure Wit. Your Blazing-World, beyond the Stars mounts higher, Enlightens all with a Cœlestial Fier. [William, 1st …
The Five
by Hallie Rubenhold The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper 'The victims of Jack the Ripper were never "just prostitues"; they were daughters, wives, mothers, sisters and lovers. They were women. They were human beings, and surely that, in itself, is enough.' During the late summer of 1888, death stalked the …
Just Published …. [2]
Dark Inheritance A Mediaeval Fantasy Today, I am posting another extract from my novel. "She prods the bundle with her finger. To her astonishment it moves. With beating heart, Tessera pulls aside some folds of cloth and finds herself looking into the face of an infant of no more than a few months old. Its …
Am I a Racist?
Why I'm No Longer Talking To White People About Race by Reni Eddo-Lodge A Review Once in a while, there is a book that really makes us think - not just about the words, the story, the literary value or even, superficially, about the message. Instead, it makes us search deep down in our own …
Undiscovered Territory
The Lost World by Arthur Conan Doyle A Review 'Challenger smiled with weary and tolerant contempt, as a kindly man would meet the yapping of a litter of puppies.' 'Beyond was an open glade, and in this were five of the most extraordinary creatures that I had ever seen .... Even the babies were as …
Westwind
by Ian Rankin First published in 1990, this novel was judged by the author himself to be a flop. Now that Ian Rankin has made his name, principally as a writer of classic detective stories, he has judged it suitable for reissue (or his publishers have). Westwind is essentially a what-if spy story. Although the …
The Art of Dying
by Ambrose Parry A Review 'The Reverend struck me again ...... It was what happened when you ate filth.' The Art of Dying reacquaints the reader with Dr Will Raven and Sarah Fisher, protagonists of Ambrose Parry's first novel, The Way of All Flesh. Now fully qualified, Raven returns to Edinburgh from a study tour …
Family Secrets
I first published this article on line about four years ago. Whilst my relationship to the real life characters mentioned is tenuous after so many generations, the story may appeal to any new readers with an interest in history and classical literature. The Story of the Lee Penny Truth, Myth and Fiction ‘ “Stay, let …
The Family
by Louise Jensen A Review 'I am still wrestling to be free as I am dragged, my feet scraping the ground, but I'm losing the fight ..... I know they'll never let us leave here now. Not alive anyway.' Not to be confused with Mario Puzo's splendid novel with the same title, Louise Jensen's fifth …
