Lynda Wilcox

This is my first Lynda Wilcox book.  I can see it not being my last!  Great fun, this story.

A Novel Way to Die

Amazon.com A Novel Way to Die

My review - 

This is the third book featuring Verity Long, the sort of young, sassy, intelligent and feisty gal I still am – in my head! It’s the first I’ve read though, and it’s a novella rather than a full length novel, as the others are. There’s a crime writers’ conference and authors, researchers, agents and publishers are gathered there. The murder victim is the sort of creep who has you cheering the murderer! There are crime writing clichés (it’s a locked room mystery) and lots of wry humour. I love mysteries and thrillers, and often read the hard, dark and gritty kind, but this is light, frothy and a total delight!

I loved the writing style. There was some really good description of the gardens in the early morning, for example, which delighted me. It wasn’t self-conscious; it was part of the scene setting but was so good. Naturally, most of the characters were two-dimensional – there were plenty of them and the work isn’t long enough to go any deeper – but they were all individual – no mixing up characters who are too many and too similar. I found this an easy read and a well-balanced story. I enjoyed it very much.

Matthew McFarland

I found this to be an excellent selection of short stories - a quick read but not a superficial one.

The Liar and Other Stories

Amazon.com The Liar and Other Stories

My review -

This is Matthew McFarland’s second book of short stories and I think he has excelled himself here. In each story he takes a sideways look at a situation and finds something unique to say about it. There are some wonderful ideas here. There isn’t a story among them that I didn’t like, but I found Hospital a lovely story, very true to life for a four year old. Toxic Love was also compelling, and The Savant was real food for thought. I’m sure anyone would find a few favourites in here, which will stay in the memory.

Mathhew McFarland has a really accessible and clear writing style and he cuts to the meat of his story straight away. I think that’s important in something which is necessarily short. His stories are all substance and never waffly. I hope he never tires of writing them!

B J Burton

This story, begun with Dartmoor...the Saving, has grown progressively darker.  What a stonking tale it is.

Myrddin's War

Amazon.com Myrddin's War

My review -

Myrddin’s War follows directly from B J Burton’s first book, Dartmoor…the Saving, and it features the same characters, with some additions. The word most reviewers used about Dartmoor was ‘charming’ and that charm is still there in abundance, with the little ‘Dini’ and the new character, Ranger Bob’s wonderful boy Arthur. This story, however, is much darker and grimmer in tone. Myrddin begins to tell the world where our selfish habits are leading but is he too late to effect a change? There are some really awful new characters here, motivated by greed and lust for power and watching the struggle between the two sides has been an anxious and nail-biting read. The story is a powerful one and will not be read by anyone who remains unaffected by it. 

B J Burton has created a strong modern myth with these two books. I enjoy his easy (but not simple) writing style and his obvious knowledge and love of the Celtic mythology of Britain. I also find myself very much in agreement with the style of living his characters advocate in the books. Whether you are ecologically minded or not though, you can’t help but be drawn in to this wonderful tale of people with conflicting beliefs and lifestyles. I shall be thinking about this for a long time. It’s an excellent story.

Matt Langford

This is an astonishing book.  A first person narration by a young man with serious learning difficulties makes thought-provoking reading.

The Watchman

Amazon .com The Watchman

My review - 

This astonishing book is written in the voice of Adam, a young man with severe learning difficulties, who is on the verge of adulthood. He’s unable to understand what people are telling him and is also unable to express his own needs, fears and rages to his family. We join them as the family moves away to the country. Adam has his own words for things and can say a handful of words and phrases that only those who know him well can understand. We watch as his relationships with his younger siblings become distant as they outpace him in every way. We also see his parents struggling with his needs and their own. To give Adam some stimulation he is sent to a school where he forms a close relationship with one of the instructors, whom he trusts. Another is aggressive and nasty to him but he’s unable to tell anyone of his fears. His only outlet is violent outbursts.

This book is gripping in its intensity. To begin with we are left guessing at one or two of Adam’s expressions but we get into his world and see it through his eyes. It’s a place where you can’t defend yourself and you can’t understand others. It certainly makes you think about people in this situation and the devastating frustration they must have to face. It’s a book of ups and down, smiles and sadness. I enjoyed reading it hugely.

B J Burton

BJ has written an epic story here, about the little people who dwell in secret on Dartmoor - and what happens to them when they meet a Ranger.  It's full of charm, wonderful characters ... and portents of things to come!

Dartmoor...The Saving

Amazon.com Dartmoor...The Saving

My review - 

This is a charming story which capitalises on our persistent mythologies of races of little people; fairies, pixies, leprechauns, ‘the lordly ones who dwell in the hills, in the hollow hills’. The Dini are the remnant of a cursed British tribe, the Votadini, who have dwindled in stature and potency. There have been no baby Dini born for 18 years. The Dini live in secrecy on Dartmoor, scratching a hard life, moving at night, hiding in damp, abandoned mines in the day. One day, Ranger Bob finds that there are more little creatures on the moor than rabbits.

This book is suitable for older children upwards (way upwards!) and weaves Celtic myth and legend into a modern concern for the environment. If you read this book, you’ll meet Merlin of the Arthurian legends, and find with him the great sword of power. There are heart-stopping moments when the Dini, or Gododdin, as they should really be known, are in danger of discovery or death, but the Prince of Wales is asked to help. Can he come to the rescue? You need to read this to find out! There’s a lovely ending to the story but it’s not a conclusion to the whole tale. Fortunately, there’s another book in the series which I shall have to hunt down. I wish we’d had this book when I was a youngster. Still, I’ve made up for it now!

The Ignite Five Star Review Badge

After a little forum banter about review sites awarding badges for people to add to their blogs, Michael Brookes, author, games developer and all round nice bloke, designed the above badge for my blog.  Thanks, Michael.  You make me feel like a real reviewer!

Many review sites actively solicit free copies of books for review and some have a number of reviewers, each with a genre specialism.  I just review the books I choose to read and even in cases where I've seen a preview copy, I buy the book so that I feel I can review it on the same basis as any other reader.  So - I make no claims other than that if the book is here, I've enjoyed reading it enough to want to pass the good news on to other people.

If you've had a book reviewed on this blog, then help yourself to a badge!  If you're able to copy it from here, please do so.  If you want to get one emailed to you, please get in contact.  Go on, make my day!  ;)

Tim Arnot

Tim Arnot is a new author and has created a believable world.  You most certainly don't need to be a young adult to enjoy it, though the main protagonists are.

Wanted (Flick Carter)

Amazon.com Wanted (Flick Carter)

My review -

This is a post-apocalyptic book with a difference.  Most of them concentrate on a devastated world where chaos rules.  Tim Arnot has taken a world which collapsed maybe a couple of hundred years ago and people have adapted.  He creates a Britain in which electricity and technology are forbidden (except to the Kingsmen – an elite law enforcement agency).  Sixteen year old Flick Carter makes flint arrowheads, hunts and helps her dad to run the local inn.  Out hunting, she ‘finds’ a young man, Shea, injured after using forbidden technology.  Her caring for him puts her in danger; he’s already in it up to his neck!  There are those working against the king, to raise a private army.  Flick falls foul of these and her life is forfeit. 

Tim Arnot has created a believable world here and has fabricated the politics to go with it.  I enjoyed the characters, feisty Flick and her younger sister Rosie; the Faringdon Watch and the Kingsmen, in particular, Jessica Dixon.  There are evil characters to get your teeth into too; especially the corrupt and bullying mayor and his weak and venal thugs.  We learn just enough about the mysterious Shea to want to follow his exploits and there are hints that Jessica is more than she initially seems to be.  Flick is a darling!  I really look forward to reading more.