Reviewing novels, short stories, plays and non fiction.
Human Is, by Philip K Dick, is one of my favourite short stories. I re-read it recently as part of the Electric Dreams anthology, with prefaces by the writers who adapted various short stories for TV. It examines McCarthy style witch hunts, authoritarian states and what it means to be human.
Body in the Library by Agatha Christie is an entertaining murder mystery with a lot of twists and turns. Plus an ending I did not see coming, from the queen of misdirection. This Miss Marple classic was published in 1942.
Continue reading “Body in the Library by Agatha Christie – Review”
Blackfish City, by Sam J. Miller, tells of a flooded future world, where a mysterious woman arrives in the floating Arctic city of Qaanaaq. Accompanied by an orca and a polar bear, she is one of the elusive and hunted few who have nano-bonded with animals. Her arrival shakes a city already struggling under the weight of corruption, organised crime, and a mysterious disease called the breaks…
In Death on the Nile, by Agatha Christie, yet another of Poirot’s holidays is disrupted by murder, mystery, intrigue, jealousy and romance. This classic murder mystery detective story is set aboard a the Karnak steamer, exploring the darkness and beauty of the River Nile.
The Big Four by Agatha Christie is a Poirot with a spy twist. Poirot finds himself plunged into a world of international intrigue and even encounters the mysterious Countess Vera Rossakoff. A tale of mystery, intrigue, explosions and lost love.
In Agatha Christie’s first published mystery, and the first Hercule Poirot novel, a brisk older woman, Mrs Inglethorp, has been murdered in Essex. Hastings has been invalided out of the army and decides to visit his old friend, John Cavendish, her stepson, at their country estate.
Continue reading “The Mysterious Affair At Styles by Agatha Christie”
How to Marry a Werewolf by Gail Carriger charts the adventures of eccentric geologist Faith Wigglesworth, as she heads to London after an indiscretion, to find a werewolf husband.
The monsters left Faith ruined in the eyes of society, so now they’re her only option. Rejected by her family, Faith crosses the Atlantic, looking for a marriage of convenience and revenge.
At a cheap hotel in Mexico, defrocked priest Lawrence Shannon clashes with bawdy hotel owner Maxine Faulk, and meets a saintly seeming drifter and artist, Hannah Jelkes, travelling with her elderly grandfather. Fever, stormy weather and lust wrack this Southern Gothic play by Tennessee Williams.
Continue reading “Night of the Iguana by Tennessee Williams”
In a near-future dystopian United States, the conflict between the pro-choice and pro-life movements escalated into a second civil war…
In 2029 CE, the Earth is run by the Unity organisation after a devastating world war. Unity runs the planet, controlling humans from childhood education onwards, gaining authority by using a series of AI called Vulcan. But it faces rebellion from the Healer movement, led by the charismatic preacher Frank Fields.
Unity Director William Barris discovers that the Vulcan 3 computer has become sentient. It is considering drastic action to combat what it sees as a threat to itself. And that there is corruption in Unity, with his superior having secret meetings with Vulcan 2…
Continue reading “Vulcan’s Hammer by Philip K Dick”
