This meticulously researched spoof of the diary of a late seventeenth-century student in Oxford who kept a dodo in his room will be specially enjoyed by anyone who knows something about the culture that makes Oxford what it was then … Continue reading →
Another ripping success for Hutchinson with this his second, and overall the third “book of the Aftermath” (if this doesn’t make sense, see the footnote here). This time the setting is mostly Oxford, but of course it’s not an Oxford … Continue reading →
This is the second book in the collaboration between Dave Hutchinson and Adam Roberts which started with Hutchinson’s ‘Shelter’. The third title, Hutchinson’s ‘Sanctuary’ has just been published; I have not yet received my copy. I have nothing original to … Continue reading →
In ‘Shelter’, written after completion and publication of the ‘Fractured Europe‘ novels and with the strapline ‘Book One of the Aftermath’, Hutchinson returns to the setting of a post-apocalyptic world. However in this one there is no time distortion, there … Continue reading →
I first came across Sally Hinchcliffe on Twitter* as someone who lives in Scotland and rides a bike, so when I realised she is also an author and had just had a novel published I thought it would be good … Continue reading →
If like me you enjoyed Dave Hutchinson’s “Fractured Europe” series (links to my reviews are in the sidebar – or scroll all the way down if you’re reading this on your phone) you will like ‘Cold Water’. It’s set in … Continue reading →
This Pulitzer Prize-winning book is a monumental effort by Richard Powers, in both length and scope. It’s a book about trees and people. The two are intertwined against a background of the destruction of the North American forests for timber; … Continue reading →
Nothing to do with Inspector Morse’s sidekick, these three novels are set on the Hebridean island of Lewis, the most northerly of the archipelago. The setting of a small community where everyone knows everyone else is not unusual in crime … Continue reading →
With regret, this is the least satisfactory of the Robert Harris thrillers I have read. Set in Geneva and based on the financial markets’ “flash crash” in May 2010, Harris’s usual comprehensive research allows him to write in detail about … Continue reading →
These are the first three of a six book series of mystery thrillers set in the late 16th century. Elizabeth I is Queen of England, Henry VIII’s break with Rome and the dissolution of the monasteries is still a recent … Continue reading →