by Claire North 'Penelope, sixteen years old, left her father's court behind to marry a man she had known for three weeks. And, as she stood at the prow of the ship that carried her to Ithaca, she closed her eyes and repeated, I will love, I will love.' I used to read lots of …
Category: Books
Dawnlands
by Philippa Gregory '[Rowan] nodded and disappeared before his eyes. It was as if she had melted into air. One moment he held her warm hand and saw her confident smile under the shadow of her hat, and the next there were just shadows, not even the outline of her shadow, not even the whisper …
Reynard the Fox
A Very Old Story, retold by Anne Louise Avery Stories of the cunning fox, his escapades and his victims, have their origin in ancient Greece. The chief source is the Fables of Aesop which contain several fox stories, and these have been added to and embellished throughout Europe in the centuries ever since. Anne Louise …
The Ocean at the End of the Lane
by Neil Gaiman On looking back on some of my reviews from 5-6 years ago, I found a couple on Neil Gaiman's books. However, the links to the original posts seem to be broken so I thought I'd do them again! They are a lot of fun to read. ‘I just looked up at her, …
Catch a Falling Star …
Stardust by Neil Gaiman On looking back on some of my reviews from 5-6 years ago, I found a couple on Neil Gaiman’s books. However, the links to the original posts seem to be broken so I thought I’d do them again! They are a lot of fun to read. ‘She was one of the …
Castles
The Castles of Athlin and Dunbayne by Ann Radcliffe A Review 'They pursued their journey over the wilds, and towards the close of day approached the ruins of an abbey, whose broken arches and lonely towers arose in gloomy grandeur through the obscurity of evening.' In Ann Radcliffe's work, it seems to me, there is …
Tolkien in Fairyland
Tales from the Perilous Realm A Review 'And so it was that the dragon, charging down the line, suddenly saw straight in front of him his old enemy with Tailbiter in his hand.' This collection of tales and poems does not have the epic grandeur of LOTR. Nor does it have the literary merit of …
Stories for Everyone
'A local group claimed the books were satanic and promoting witchcraft, and consequently, set about burning a large cache of the books outside the Christ Community Church.' [a 2001 campaign in Mexico against The Lord of the Rings] In two previous articles, I talked about some of the books I enjoyed as a youngster. I …
Black Holes
by Brian Cox and Jeff Forshaw A Review 'Black holes are perfect for learning about physics because understanding them requires pretty much all of it.' 'What happens at the singularity of a black hole is beyond current understanding.' Sometimes you think you know quite a lot about a subject, only to find, after reading another …
A Story for Boys (and Girls)
World Book Day 2023 - thoughts after the event: Let me begin with a question: Should we boycott, ban or burn great stories because we don't like the authors' opinions, or the opinions and mores of the society in which they lived? Before delving again into the literary world I introduced in my previous article …
Bookheathen Scribblings 