I am very unsure that I can craft a review that does any justice to the sheer lyricism of this book. It is to be savoured. The narrative exists ob a variety of levels from the small anecdotal insertions of individual…
I didn’t warm to this novel initially and it took a good chunk of the book before I became rather engrossed. However, the Adventure of the Peculiar Protocols by Nicholas Meyer grabbed my attention after 20% and there was no…
A book club alternate this month, I am always looking for a few more suggestions and this one was a great read. Despite promises of post-apocalyptic grittiness and Atwoodian overtones, I chanced a delve and was well rewarded. Station Eleven…
The Code: Silicon Valley and the Remaking of America by Margaret O’Mara casts a far-reaching net to construct a long view perspective on the rise of Silicon Valley as a culture and society in its own right. O’Mara provides a…
Shadowplay is a sumptuously stunning read full of fact and fiction to enlighten and engage the reader. For me, it is a perfect balance of clever allusion and reference to documented factual occurrence and playful injection of plausibility and possibility.…
I originally posted this as a far briefer review – which is unfair to the author and the material raised. Consequently – like Wallace-Wells’ transformation of an essay into a full-length book – I revisit this review to expand on…
Rivers of London / Midnight Riot by Ben Aaronovitch A brief review. I give this first novel in the series a full five stars for pure enjoyment, wonderful inventiveness and how the author builds a wonderful clever relationship with the…
This is an odd book. It’s well written, engaging, and comprehensive look at German espionage efforts in Ireland during the emergency. As such I would suggest that it would be better entitled to the more broad offering that it is.…
This historical-action-espionage novel (as strange as that combo may sound) asks the question: just what was it that allowed the Knights Templar to exert influence in or over the Roman Catholic church during the 12th/13th centuries? And what if that…
The waves splash and crenellate the shore. They create a boundary zone. Seeking to reach inland, denied by the land. The struggle between tenacious forces creates a spectacle of natural wonder. The tapestry spreads below, beaches, rocks, fields, streams and…
Ciarán McMahon provides a much-needed call for action by questioning how much we really know about the influence of social media services and platforms on society and social relations in the modern world. His writing is lyrical, approachable and easily…
Again, I feel I am a little late to the game (Vikings, Game of Thrones). I caught an episode of the Last Kingdom early on and despite high production value was not seized to keep watching. Additionally, as a long…