September 18, 2008 – 14:43
Well, it’s finally stopped raining - I’ve done no gardening done since Sunday. Didn’t manage any gardening yesterday, probably won’t do any today either - yesterday I got my new hard drive and spent the whole day just installing everything; I’m still dont finished, still got to copy over all my music and pictures, [...]
The Coroner’s Lunch by Colin Cotterill
The time is 1976, the place is Laos. The Royal Family has been overthrown by the Communist Pathet Lao; many of the country’s intellectuals and ruling class have emigrated, and the country is reshaping itself while struggling out of chaos.
Caught up in this is Dr Siri Paiboun, a 75-year [...]
Hmmm…
The drugs do work! Well, so far. I’m feeling cheerful and energetic, and generally much happier and healthier than I’ve been for bloody ages. I’ll have to tell Doc G about it - he’ll be pleased that something he’s prescribed for me is finally working.
So I’ve really been charging ahead with work [...]
Duma Key by Stephen King
I have to confess that I haven’t read that many Stephen King books. So this could be far from being one of his best. However, it’s very nearly the best King that I‘ve read so far.
1992’s Dolores Claiborne and last year’s Lisey’s Story I’d class as he very best; [...]
Alic Sebold’s The Lovely Bones was built around in interesting and (as far as I know) original concept of the afterlife: rather than there being a single one-size-fits-all Heaven where everybody goes, everyone gets their own individual Heaven - a place where they are truly happy. Although each heaven is specific to each individual, [...]
The Execution Channel by Ken MacLeod
It’s strange how a book you’re reading can fit into the moment. I’d already read several of Ken MacLeod’s books and was impressed enough to grab this one straight away from the library shelf.
It’s set in a Britain of the near future, when terrorism has spread widely [...]
How to Good-Bye Depression: If You Constrict Anus 100 Times Everyday. Malarkey? or Effective Way? by Hiroyuki Nishigaki
In case the title doesn’t make it clear, the author explains:
I think constricting anus 100 times and denting navel 100 times in succession everyday is effective to good-bye depression and take back youth. You can do so at [...]
The Poet in Exile by Ray Manzarek
Ray Manzarek used to be the keyboardist with legendary group The Doors. This rather slim novel is a bit of a mixture - part-wish fullfillment fantasy, part roman a clef. For a Doors fan, the early, gossipy, bitchy roman a clef part is [...]
Cell by Stephen King
The blurb on the back claims that King is the greatest storyteller ever. Oh no he’s not. Not on the evidence of this, anyway. I can instantly come up with the names of at least three other authors whose plotting and characterisation are consistently superior to this. (OK, the [...]
The Minotaur by Barbara Vine
I have been a long-time fan of Barbara Vine (who also writes as Ruth Rendell). Her novels deal with mytseries and secrets and the dark things that hide behind surbuban faces - especially English suburban faces. They often aren’t entirely successful; in particular, she has constant problems making [...]
Granny Made Me An Anarchist by Stuart Christie.
Stuart Christie is probably a completely unknown name for anyone under fifty (in fact, he’s probably equally unknown to most over-fifties too); he was deeply involved in anarchist politics and activism in Britain, Scotland and Europe in the 60s and 70s. His main claim to fame is [...]
That’s the transit I’ve got right now. Ho hum, another bummer time to deal with. Don’t feel up to explaining about it, except I’m not handling stress at all well.
Anyway, at least I’ve got some chance to relax. The Elfin stuff is nearly wrapped up - just got to wait for [...]
It’s been a long time since I wrote; so, as I’ve been doing lots of reading (my computer is not healthy and needs lots of time off), I’ll do a bit a literary criticism.
Last week in the library, when I spotted Badgers Moon by Peter Tremayne, I got pretty excited. I already knew [...]
