Shoes: Are you my Mate?

Book review

Shoes: are you my Mate? by Camille Brown

Interesting little storybook for young kids that helps them to identify friendship and promotes helping your friends. Fairly harmless fun and should be fine for bedtime reading. My son seemed to enjoy it especially the bit where three shoes are tied to the bumper of a car (a useful introduction to weddings).

His moral afterwards seemed to be ‘if you lose your friend you should go and look or him’. Also this one would probably be good for good for brothers and sisters who don’t always get on.

Triceratops by Marcus Gorman

Book review: Triceratops by Marcus Gorman

This one concerns rampaging, wild musicians in New York but on different planet to the rest of us.  Death isn’t really what I look for in my favourite novels so I was disappointed to read of Xavier’s suicide so early in the novel. The characters are pretty crazy but I did like some of them.

I usually find characters that think about sex within a novel to be in bad taste but the female character’s feelings in particular read real to me. This is a little surprising given the male writer but who cares? It is the carefree attitude to sex that gave me that essential escape that is required from any novel. It is unusual to read about thoughts like this without it coming across as crude and distasteful but well done for managing this.

Overall the story was a bit lengthy but the (slightly too many) characters came together well. There are numerous colourful characters to get to know and boring is not amongst their traits.

Syd and Marcy by Beaird Glover

Book review: Syd and Marcy by Beaird Glover

This is quite violent and dark in many places but if you like your humour at its blackest you may enjoy it. At the beginning of the book the crime all seemed so unrealistic and unlikely but thankfully I don’t live in the US. I know from reading the news that gun and other crime is common in the US and this is probably a realistic characterisation of the typical persons involved.

It is hard to comprehend how you can consider calling the US an advanced society when so many people carry weapons whilst not being in their right mind. This novel shows that nobody is safe and the future cannot possibly be good.

Any British reader considering this will surely have their views on outlawing guns confirmed. It was not my usual escape and whilst I cannot say that I thoroughly enjoyed the read it was quite gripping in places. At the end my thoughts were provoked and I suppose that is all you can ask for.

Book review: Rich in Small Things by Helen J Beal

Book review: Rich in Small Things by Helen J Beal

The book appeals to me instantly as it relates to a young lady who loses her job in the city and finds that her skills are suited to online gambling. I am one of many who believe that many bankers are no more than professional gamblers. All gamblers, no matter talented, either hit a losing streak sooner or later or go for that one big risky deal. The excuse after a failure is that their methods worked perfectly until that one unlucky market crash but now everything is back to normal and they should be given another chance. Anyway, back to the book…

Melissa finds she is a natural at online gambling and soon finds she is a class act on the real poker table too. Like many of us she finds that drink played a part in her one big mistake and she is suddenly indebted to Ukranian thugs.

Melissa’s private life echos her profession as a steady relationship is followed by a fling. She throws herself at an East End wide boy, Henry. Before her big loss she already knows he works for the Ukranians.

In the biggest gamble of all Melissa, with a new female friend, embarks on a journey that takes the story on a long drive all the way from London, via Europe and Eastern Europe to Mongolia. This is a big change in direction for the book and we enter the world of treasure hunts, rallying, car mechanics and travelling. The Ukranians tag along to keep an eye on their debtor but there are numerous new characters forming the other teams. It takes a while to get to know all the personnel but it is worth the effort. My usual gripe applies where I would love to see a list of characters at the start of a novel like this, even with a little of their background.

The competition is fun and there are plenty of sexual possibilities for Melissa and her friend. Eventually Melissa takes a liking to a fellow competitor as the story moves towards the end. We are invited to feel sorry for the Ukranian family at the end but this is a little difficult to pull off. Even Henry becomes a nice guy though he has always been a likeable rogue with a small conscience.

So what does this all tell us about the author. At the start when Henry was talking in the first person I felt that only a bloke could have written some bits. My view changed as I progressed but we know that this author is good at putting herself into the shoes of others (and their thoughts). The author changes the personality of Henry as the book progresses and successfully makes us feel sympathetic towards the Ukraninan thug family (two reasons why I would bet the author watches Eastenders). Every bloke loves a girl who gambles though and this story is a delightful ride. Anyone interested in motor mechanics, rallying, treasure hunts and gambling will surely stay the course.

Book review: Disconnect by Imran Siddiq

Book review: Disconnect by Imran Siddiq

This is a fast and thrilling read once you get settled into the planetary time zone. Some of the initial parts of the book bear comparison with Cormac McCarthy’s The Road given that two of the principle characters are a father and son surviving in a future poverty-stricken underworld. Thankfully this novel has several more dimensions to it.

The original setting is a planet with a two-class structure. The wealthy live on the surface in a lovely environment and the remainder live underneath surviving on the daily ejection of waste from those above who are mainly unaware of the existence of the underworld. It all contrasts well with recent apartheid regimes and current class structures on our planet so it seems easy to pick up on the scene.

It also has a touch of Romeo and Juliet as the hero of the underworld illegally meets the girl of his dreams, Rosa, in the world above. The romantic interest combined with the forthcoming war keeps this one buzzing right to the end. Rosa has a rich family but isolated from friends for reasons of security and family overprotection. She has never met another sixteen year old until the hero turns up with his father’s maintenance ship. It serves as a reminder of where our current communities seem to be heading as gradually nobody talks to neighbours, rarely venture outside and most communication is made on a computer.

There is certainly scope to hear more from Galilei, Jupiter and Europa and it will be interesting to see how the next volume plays. Any Star Wars fans will surely enjoy this new epic.

Book Review: Catching the Barramundi by Rebecca Burns

This is a new publication by the author comprising a selection of short stories, some of which have been published elsewhere in the last two years.

The important thing with a book of short stories is not to read it in one go. Discipline yourself. Read one short story each day either before going to bed or during a break. In this way you can extend the length of these stories and ruminate about characters and outcomes. The best short stories rarely end suddenly but leave you hanging to fill in a few pieces by yourself; for this reason the above collection works well for me. I spent a fair bit of time putting myself into a characters position when I completed a short read and decided how I would feel and what I would do in their circumstances. This is a great way to drift off to sleep. Even the stories describing difficult or tragic circumstances can be ‘spun’ into a decent ending if you use your imagination.

The stories themselves focus heavily on relationships, often broken. My personal favourites follow:

‘Snails on the Road’ describes a family after the father has left for another woman but leaves us with hopeful possibilities. It is easy to read and warm-hearted even though the characters are having a difficult time.

‘Phillip Turpin gets a girl’ is my personal favourite as it reveals considerable depth in a hard-working man’s personality. 

‘Painting the Hay Bales’ reveals a little known (to me) art form within a smallholding drama linked to a relative in the city. It made me consider how close the City of London and the farming community really is.

In summary this collection worked for me and I am pleased to recommend it for anyone looking to chill out at the end of a day.

Book Review: 'Eternal' by Virginia Gamsky Hust

A must read for coming of age vampire fans especially as it is written in a naïve fast-readable style with plenty of conversation.

Andromeda, Mishra, Gabriel, Mica, Lady Maura and Michael are just some of the exotic stars in this epic and the good news is there is a sequel to follow. Kidnap, bondage, bile and some sexual references in the promiscuous vampire world means that this is not suitable for young teenagers. It is a bit racy in places for the rest of us but, crucially, not offensive.

Vampires aside the story in itself is a thriller well worth reading with various characters paranoid about who is after them and who is with them. There is plenty of skulduggery and worldwide travel to keep the intrigue going.

Personally I would like a list of characters at the start; this helps with this type of novel if you do not read in one go and need an occasional reminder who some people are when you pick it up again.

The author keeps the story tense and nearly every page appears to have sexual possibilities; these are rarely realised and this may be a clue to the author’s character but it does the novel no harm at all. In fact it gives the text an unusual and unique style rarely seen in female authors and is possibly the result of an upbringing in faith. The story becomes more serious though in the second half of the book as we concentrate on the possible endings and final conflicts.

3/5 for me but vampire fans will surely rate higher and it will be good to see how this writer develops her style.

Book Review: City of Pillars by Dominic Peloso

First published in 2000 I have just discovered this gem for fans of psychological manipulation and paranoia.

This book is that it contains one of the best and shortest prologues ever. It is chilling and sets your mind racing. Once you reach the end of the prologue there is no escape from reading the book.

The novel starts in San Francisco but any worries that it would be rather alien to my tastes rapidly dispersed. It reminded me of how I was shocked by this city on my only visit. The distance between huge wealth and desperate poverty is only a street or sometimes just the difference between light and darkness. In other words, whoever you are, there is the possibility of disappearing into the background should you ever have the need.

Thankfully what I thought was a great psychological drama only stuck in San Francisco soon became a worldwide travelling suspense and many more familiar places from my own travels were visited. Personally I have a weakness for any book that has the ability to entertain whilst informing me about other parts of the world. The chapters in Peru were particularly enjoyable.

In the end it was almost like reading two books. One is the story of the hero (lets call him) written in the first person. The second is reading your own mind to decide what you would do in similar circumstances. While this book provides excellent and gripping entertainment it also provoked me to consider the world we all live in and think deeply about people’s motivation and hidden agendas.

I have only just finished this novel but I know I will spend a lot more time thinking about it. I will probably need to read it again in a month or so.

Book review 'French Secrets' by Roisin McAuley

The opening chapters of this novel are tremendous. They rescue me from the Belfast winter rain and transported me into a warm hilly Californian climate where I could almost taste the wine. The characters were warm and everybody seemed happy.  I worried a bit when the story moved to Ireland but a bit more persistence and just when I thought California was going to be the peak we suddenly moved to the Bordeaux region of France. How wonderful. By now the plot was thickening nicely and it became clear to me that wherever else I was taken geographically I was going to have to finish this novel to discover the story of the ancient wines.

The Belfast Telegraph does the author a disservice with comparisons to Maeve Binchy. I find Roisin McAuley is not comparable to any female author of recent times. Thanks for writing this novel and for anyone out there in a cold wet miserable climate keep this book with you to warm your heart. Reading it is like a holiday.

5/5 is my rating

Book Review: Belfast Girls by Gerry McCullough

I started this book with a fair degree of trepidation given some of the poor fare served up over the years especially regarding the troubles. Initially it seemed to be more of the same but I stuck with it.

Written in a niave style made the pages turn quickly and eventually the author moved on to a quite interesting story that brought one of the girls to Dublin. Interesting characters were introduced who you quickly related to somebody in public life but this just made it easier to picture the scenes.

This is one of those books where it is easy to criticise in relation to the troubles as being too simplistic with an unlikely storyline, especially Sheila. However as time goes on I believe it will provide future generations with a useful insight to this era and the often crude behaviour of real people.

I started off thinking negatively of this book but by the end I felt that I had been taken on a fast journey that left me wanting more.