Book Review: The Dead in Their Vaulted Arches by Alan Bradley

The Dead in Their Vaulted Arches by Alan Bradley

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Chemist, detective, little girl – Flavia de Luce is a character you can’t help but admire. I like strong-willed characters in my books, especially strong-willed female characters. Alan Bradley has done an incredible job of creating a protagonist that a reader can not only relate to, but also inspire to. In fact, there wasn’t one character I didn’t like – even Flavia’s annoying sisters!

I don’t want to go too much into the plot because there’s nothing worse than looking at a review only to see something along the lines of “I love the end where EVERYONE dies!” What I can say about the plot though, without getting any kind of spoiler-slap, is that it is well though-out, well planned and well executed. This book has a wonderfully peaceful pace. It’s the sort of book you’ll want to read out in the garden under a parasol, on a long winding train journey or perhaps just when you want to block out a too-noisy and chaotic world with something that’s altogether different. Don’t expect action, chocolate-eyed boys and love triangles. Expect mystery, expect murder, expect ESPIONAGE!

The Dead in their Vaulted Arches is perfectly written. The writing is smooth , flawless and screams experience. I haven’t read anything by Alan Bradley before, but I feel confident that his other works are every bit as good. There is some great comedy in this book, little flashes of humour that poke you in the ribs. “I nearly chucked my kippers” is my new favourite catchphrase. But as well as comedy, Bradley is well able to catch the more serious moments, and instead of the ribs, he gets you right in the gut. Some of his thoughts on death and grieving, particularly because they are from a child’s point of view, are incredibly moving and absolutely spot .

A beautifully written book. If you’re looking for something different than the usual YA tropes, give this one a try.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the free copy of The Dead in Their Vaulted Arches in return for an honest review.





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Book Review: Big Honey Dog - Message in a Bauble

Message in a Bauble by H.Y. Hanna

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Honey the slobbering Great Dane and her group of friends I like to call the D Team, are back in this short Christmas story. There is a new mystery to solve, more cats to cope with, and one of the gang is in serious mischief!

Just like the previous mystery The Curse of the Scarab, Message in a Bauble is well written in a clean and meticulous style that is perfect for middle grade readers. It’s funny and sweet, and Honey does a wonderful Lassie impersonation. The library cat was comedy gold, and in defence of Biscuit the Beagle, I totally would have investigated those crisps. Perfectly understandable.

Talking dogs. Thick humans. Charming little Christmas story. What more could you ask for?? Great stuff.




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Book Review: Big Honey Dog: The Curse of the Scarab

Curse of the Scarab by H.Y. Hanna

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


If you’re feeling ruff, you’ve lost that certain wag, and your ears are a little droopy, Big Honey Dog Mysteries: The Curse of the Scarab is the book to cheer you up. As the saying goes, it’s not to be sniffed at. Seriously, don’t sniff it; read it. That’s generally how books work in the year 2013. If you’re reading this in the year 2113 and sniff technology is the hot new thing, well excuse me.

One fine day, Honey the Great Dane’s life is turned upside down by the disappearance of local puppies. It seems they are being puppynapped! Honey must solve the crime and find the missing puppies before it’s too late. But do not fret, for she has a pack of friends to help her. There’s Biscuit the Beagle with the bulging belly and best nose in town; Suka the Siberian Husky with her tall tails [sic] of mad scientist vets; little Tyson the Terrier with the big personality and sharp teeth; and lastly, Ruffster the cockney mutt. Together they must dig holes, scare cats, learn about Egyptian mythology and find the missing puppies.

The Curse of the Scarab is a charming story. It’s well written, humorous and touching. Lots of dog jokes and adventure. In my opinion, the book is most suitable for the younger end of the middle grade scale, but I reckon dog fans of any age would love it. I’m thirty seven, very much enjoyed it and fell floppy ears-over-tail in love with Honey (who is based on the author’s actual and very beautiful Great Dane). There are some sad parts to the story, and I will admit to a small wobble of the bottom lip and the immediate consumption of chocolate. The sad stuff is handled very well, though, and I’m very much looking forward to more stories in this series. In fact, I’m just off the read the Christmas story Message in a Bauble…

I was provided with a free copy of the book in return for an honest review. This did not change my opinion in any way.




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Book Review: Champion by Marie Lu

Champion by Marie Lu

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Excellent ending to a superb trilogy. Great writing, sympathetic and raw characterisation and an engaging plot. The style of narration, both from Day’s and June’s point of view, was fitting with the Legend world – stark, matter-of-fact, bleak and awful but not in any melodramatic way. The Republic of America and the Colonies are both frightening pictures of a potential future – pure dystopian terror. But Marie Lu immerses us into these worlds with a wonderfully distant, cold and atmospheric style of story-telling that is very in keeping with the plot’s major themes and ideas. This is just the way it is, she’s telling us. She’s not trying to shock us. She’s not trying to be clever. She’s simply presenting a horrendous future and the two young people who are drowning in it.

I’m not a lover of romance, but the Day/June relationship touched me deeply. They are two teenagers who understand that the world is bigger than them, and that love isn’t about flowers and meaningless declarations. It’s about caring for another person more than yourself, putting someone else first, protecting that person with your own soul. It’s about holding on and letting go. I adored Eden. What a cutie. Lu perfectly presents an enviable relationship between him and his brother Day. I’d die for him, too. That’s love. And that’s good writing.

Champion has good emotional closure. It’s what I like to call a three tissue ending. I have mixed thoughts about the epilogue. The picky writer in me thinks the book would have been perfect without it, that it in no way needed it. But the emotional wreck of a woman who has a very delicate and breakable heart, needed it like a kicked puppy needs a hug and a promise. It doesn’t matter, though, because I loved the book either way.




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Book Review: Contaminated by Em Garner

Contaminated by Em Garner

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I want to get something straight here, right at the beginning of this review. If you are looking for an action-packed, gut-spilling, bucket-of-blood gore fest, you’re not going to get it. You’re also not going to get the grave-bursting, brain-craving undead. This is not a traditional or clichéd zombie novel. Please don’t rush out, buy this book hoping for a YA World War Z, and then complain it’s not what you expected. Consider yourselves warned.

Contaminated is a nice slow burn. Instead of throwing shocking deaths and bed-wetting surprises on every page, it concentrates on an element that is much more vital to a good novel: character. Velvet is in her late teens. Her parents are missing and she has legal custody of her younger sister. Velvet goes to school part-time, holds down a job at a care home and is a mother to little Opal. The diet drink ThinPro turned much of the population into dangerous zombie-like creatures, and Velvet is trying to survive in a world that is dealing with the aftermath of that. The story is told from Velvet’s point of view and it is remarkable how far into her head and life the reader gets. If this book had been about her jumping about beheading the walking dead, I would have become very bored very quickly. But instead, we get to see her struggle in a world that’s already been shaken by death and terror. We see her cope with the change from a world where she was an ordinary child with school, a boyfriend and two normal parents, to a world where she’s on her own. She’s lost almost everything and is expected to behave like an adult and make adult decisions. For Velvet, coming of age means abandonment.

One of the things I love about Contaminated is the stark and very believable reality it portrays. The horror is not in shambling zombie people and their victims. The zombies are the victims. The horror is in the world the contamination has created. People affected by the diet drink (Connies) and not exterminated during the first few waves of infection, were either lobotomised or, later, fitted with special collars. Both methods ‘neutralise’ the Connie and allow relatives to take them home. That Connies wear these collars and are kept in kennels says something about the climate in which Velvet lives. There is a subtle little metaphor slipped in where Velvet see a pack of dogs running loose in her old neighbourhood. What does that say? It says the Victims of ThinPro are hunted, collared, kennelled and even put down – they are treated worse than animals and certainly far less than a human being.

There is a parallel between old age and the Connies. Connies have trouble doing everyday activities for themselves. Many of them need help bathing, eating and even going to the toilet. When a family member collects a Connie from the kennel, they get a complimentary adult diaper and a set of restraints. When you consider the horror ThinPro has caused and then have a look at the goodie bag the kennel gives out, it tells you all you need to know about how much help is available to care for a family member. Assisted housing, transport, carers allowance – nothing is set up to encourage or help someone care for another individual. Just like real life. I was a carer for my grandfather for many years. He suffered from dementia and had mobility problems. But in order for both of us to survive, I had to work. But while I was at work who cares for him? Who stops him wandering into the street? At what point was I expected to lock him up? Use restraints when he became frightening? At what point was anybody going to notice that it wasn’t just him that needed help; I did too. But that help wasn’t there, and it nearly killed me. Why would anyone care for a zombie, some reviewers have asked. It’s unrealistic. Well, is it really? Ask instead why would anyone would give up their life to care for someone they love.

Contaminated is beautifully written. I couldn’t fault a single word. Good chapter lengths, no melodrama, strong and engaging characters, and just enough to spike the adrenaline and keep the reader in a constant state of caution and consternation. No, it’s not action packed, but the story is first class. I read the whole book straight through, only breaking for tea and to re-fill my Scooby Doo hot water bottle. I loved every word and I hope there will be a sequel. Em Garner is an author I will be keeping a close eye on from now on.

I received an ebook copy from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review. This did not alter my opinion in any way.




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Book Review: Blood Moon (Book Three - The Ravenscliff Series)

Blood Moon by Geoffrey Huntington

My rating: 4 of 5 stars




Blood Moon is the third book in the Ravenscliff Series, a saga about a teenage sorcerer who has been orphaned and shipped off to live in a spooky cliff-side mansion. What I love most about these books is the main character himself, Devon. He’s a nice guy. He’s not annoying; he’s intelligent, kind, charismatic and never whines. He’s the sort of teenage son I’m sure many parents long for and will never get. It’s the adults I find irritating. They complicate things, they lie, they hide things and they’re spiteful – just like real life. I feel Devon’s frustration with them. It’s clear at this point that he’s determined to discover his heritage no matter what the danger, so why don’t they help him out? It’s every child’s right to know where they came from. No one would blame him if he used his powers to bang a few heads together.

I love the purity of the Ravenscliff Series. It’s good old fashioned story-telling that doesn’t rely heavily on romance to attract its readers. While Blood Moon does have some elements of the ol’ love triangle trappings, it’s insignificant when compared with the rest of the story, and what a huge story it is. My advice to anyone thinking of reading this series is PAY ATTENTION. There are lots of characters spread over several different time periods and it gets complicated. I’ve scratched a bald patch trying to figure out how everyone fits into Ravenscliff’s mysteries.

My only real complaint is that I don’t feel the reader gets enough of a payoff at the end of the book. Yes, we find out some important things, but there is a lot left hanging, a lot of questions left unanswered and situations left unresolved. I was left hollering a dramatic slow-motion ‘NOOOOOOOOOO!’ at the end of the last chapter. Kudos for one heck of a cliffhanger, but I was disappointed that so much hadn’t been resolved.

On the whole, Blood Moon is well-written. There are a few clichéd sections of dialogue, a few too many exclamation marks, and a very confusing moment when the infamous East Wing turned into the West Wing, but aside from that, the writing flowed smooth and easy, and was an absolute pleasure to read. I can’t express enough how much I wish there were more books like this in our book shops. The adventure and the story are central. There’s no fancy showing off with weird metaphors and page after page of the main character brooding over his terrible predicaments. Ravenscliff is pure story, pure magic, mystery and adventure. I love it because it can be read without getting an ulcer.

I can’t wait for the next book. There’s so much I need to know and I’m hoping there’s some big answers coming. I don’t know how many books are planned in this series, but I feel the Nightwing concept could allow more adventures for Devon even after his own personal mystery is wrapped up. I can’t even fathom what’s coming next, but I did hear a rumour about vampires…

I received a free copy of the ebook from the publisher via NetGalley. This did not alter my opinion in any way.


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Book Review: Lockwood and Co: The Screaming Staircase

The Screaming Staircase by Jonathan Stroud

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Straight to the point. I find books as good as Lockwood and Co: The Screaming Staircase very difficult to review. Why? Because I’ve enjoyed them so much I find it tough to be critical. A good review, after all, is all about balance and objectivity. Well, stuff that. I loved this book to the point of obsession. While I was reading it, I didn’t want to do anything else. Sleep, work and toilet breaks became inconveniences, and other people only existed to be told how good this book was and why they should be reading it and buying multiple copies as Christmas presents. And if those people attempted to change the subject they were cut off with a perfectly reasonable “Your new baby is pink and boring – goodbye”.

So balanced, this review is not. Obsessed, I proudly declare myself to be. The next few moments will be consist of exactly why I love this book and why I am prepared to hire a secret agent to get my hands on the next instalment asap.

First and foremost: The Screaming Staircase is comedy gold. I have never read Jonathan Stroud before so I have no clue if his other books are funny, if he is generally funny or is descended from a long line of funny family members, but going by this book, the man is in the funny elite. Stroud is the Master of comedy timing. Making a reader laugh is a rare talent. Hilarious dialogue, amusing character monologues and comedy situations all take immense skill to craft. He knows where and when to put in the laughs. He knows how to creep up behind a reader and get them right in the ribs with a tickle tackle. He got me so many times drinking hot tea became a hazard. I switched to squash.

Characterisation is another strong skill of Stroud’s. Anthony Lockwood, lead operative and owner of Lockwood and Co. Investigators is a charming boy, a little scatty around the edges, slightly bonkers and incredibly readable. He reminded me a little of the Eleventh Doctor and the BBC’s Sherlock combined. He’s a bit of a disaster waiting to happen, but his intentions are always good and he seems to know more than he lets on, imploring you to lend him the trust that his agent (and the point of view character), Lucy, already seems to have in him.

Lockwood and Lucy, along with another operative, George, hunt ghosts. They live in a world where a ghost infestation is just as real and likely as a rat infestation. They even have equipment to banish, deter and trap ghosts. It’s honestly spooky stuff, and so original and well thought-out. The plot covers a few dark themes, but the light-hearted and humorous writing style takes the edge off and always keeps it a fun read (although I will admit to a small sniffle at one point plus the occasional urge to check under my bed, inside the oven, fridge etc).

Suitable for children and adults, The Screaming Staircase is written with heart. It’s an incredible book and – now brace yourselves because I’m about to make a bold statement – I will read it again. I don’t say that often, because there are too many good books in the world to read the same one twice, but this is just one of those books that make me want to take it back to bed with a cup of tea, two slices of wholemeal and a mobile phone that I’ve, whoops, accidentally turned off how did that happen.

I can’t wait to hear more about the next book. I can’t wait for a film to be announced because I’m convinced there will be one. Lockwood and Co has the potential to be The Next Big Thing. I see a string of novels. I see myself queuing at midnight for book number seven. I see myself annoying everyone I know by continually boasting that I spotted the Lockwood and Co phenomenon before they did. In conclusion, this is my book of the year, and I look forward to visiting Lockwood and Co World sometime within the next decadeand purchasing my very own miniature ghost head in a jar and plush George.

I was lucky enough to receive a free copy of the book from the publisher via NetGalley, and this in no way influenced my review.




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Review: Ravenscliff: Sorcerers of the Nightwing by Geoffrey Huntington

Sorcerers of the Nightwing by Geoffrey Huntington

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I chose to read Sorcerers of Nightwing because of the spooky cover and the mention of a haunted mansion in the blurb. Halloween was approaching and I like to get into the spirit of things by watching sanity-curdling films, listening to Black Sabbath and hissing “GET OUUUUUT” through my neighbours’ air vents. When I got my copy, I promptly lit some gothic candles (ignoring the blazing sunshine outside) and spent an entire day searching for my Headless Cross album.

You can probably tell, I was expecting to like this book. And I did. More than that, when I spend an entire day in my pyjamas without tweeting, washing, or eating anything but cheesy Wotsits, it means I loved it.

Sorcerers of Nightwing is a Young Adult book, so don’t expect anything horrifically frightening, but it has what so many paranormal books lack: atmosphere. The descriptions of Ravenscliff are vivid, ambient and fun. The thunder and lightning should be a tacky cliché, but it somehow works. Spooky and mysterious, Ravenscliff is an awesome place that I wish was real. I wanted to explore it with Devon, sneak into the East Wing with him, candle flickering, bravado turned on but fully prepared to run like a Whippet and leave him behind should anything white and floaty turn the corner.

The main protagonist, Devon March, is a nice lad who I didn’t want to slap even once (A true miracle). I felt intensely sorry for him, and even a little bit protective. He’s suffered a trauma or two, but he’s not the wallowing sort or the bad boy rebel type. He’s just a young boy trying to get on and work out who he is and what his place is within Ravenscliff. His character was a refreshing change from the usual emo stereotype. Hey, I loved Harry Potter and still wear my Gryffindor scarf on cold days but, wow, that kid could whinge.

Sorcerers of Nightwing is well-written with a narrative that flows and a plot that is well-paced, mysterious and absorbing. It’s definitely more of a story-based book than romantic-based. I hate it when a romance takes over a perfectly good story. Keep that for an actual romance novel. I came for spooky sobbing and the creepy caretaker, and those things I got. I loved this book. It was a great concept with well-written characters, awesome storytelling and a wicked shock ending. I look forward to the next book in the series.

I received a copy of the ebook through NetGalley in return for an honest review. Much thanks to Diversion Books.




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Review: The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I bought this book because it was in Amazon’s Daily Deal for 99p and I liked the birdie on the cover. I went in blind, no clue what The Raven Boys was about or what sort of writer I was dealing with. I like to call this literary Russian roulette. I could win or lose, revere it or despise it, become filled with book glory or die of a thousand papercuts to the brain. I loaded my Kindle, pulled the trigger and was pleased to find my brains did not splatter up my living room wall.

The book had a wonderful, slow build up. Which is a good thing. Yes, I said GOOD THING. I know people sometimes complain when a plot isn't instantly filled with smoochy, smoochy “Oh dear I'm helplessly in love with two boys, and I feel so angst-ridden because I'm a teenager and must therefore do stupid angst-ridden things the author thinks a teenager must do”. Notice at this point I have used a very important word: plot. This book actually has one. Truly. I'm not joking. Psychics, ley lines, a dead Welsh king and a complex friendship web. No smoochy smoochy, despite the novel’s tag line. Plotty plotty instead. An actual story. This book is the first part of a series, and from this first volume, I'm expecting something big. The scene has been set.

The Raven Boys themselves are an intriguing bunch, each with their own complicated background, motivation and mystery. Each character is light and dark, flawless and flawed. Each one needs a hug and a firm slap. In other words, they are perfectly human and perfectly believable.

Now, this is the middle bit of the review where I put in my shark dentures and take a bite. Early in the book I found some of the phrasing and word choices to be a little odd. It made me question if I’d read the offending lines properly, if I was a Brit having a dialect issue or if the line just needed the editor to pay more attention. Head-scratching and dandruff occurred. I also thought the very end was rushed. For such a beautifully and carefully constructed build-up, it was strange. More dandruff.

Right, shark teeth out, a little piece of the author’s soul swallowed and back to why I've given this book five stars: It was original. It wasn't dark and depressing. It made my heart beat faster. It made me simultaneously dread and yearn for the next book.

Because I loved every character, because I cried for one of them, and because I know I’ll cry again.

I will only give top marks to a book that leaves a dent. It has to make me smile when I talk about it. It has to make me picture what happened before, what happened between the lines and what will happen next. It has to make me recommend it to random people in Tesco. This book did all of that and left a raven shaped indentation on my heart.




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Review: The 5th Wave by Rick Yancy

The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I'd heard The 5th Wave was the next big thing. I'd heard it was all hype. Nothing makes me rush at a book faster than conflicting opinions. It's like waggling a hot dog at a Labrador Retriever. I've got to know what that hot dog tastes like! I will trample anyone who stands between me and that hot dog! I will afterward stop for a pee against the nearest school gate...! No, sorry, went too far.

The books starts slow. Slow in a good way. The most realistic books, the books that want to tether their horror to something real that readers can identify with, tend to do that. I enjoyed the flashbacks immensely. The build up was awesome, the one-liners chilling and I was genuinely terrified for the fate of a teddy bear.

Cassie, Zombie and Sams were great characters. Ringer, Dumbo and co also. The only character I didn't warm to was Evan. He was a little too Clark Kent for me, although it did help to picture Tom Welling. I could have done without the romance tropes, but that really is a personal thing. There's no place for 'chocolate eyes' in my world. To clarify, the romantic stuff was fine, it just doesn't poke my pumpkin.

The best thing about The 5th Wave was that it kept me guessing, kept me on edge, got me pointing a shaking banana at approaching 'interrupters' mid-read and shouting ARE YOU ONE OF THEM?!

Yep, good read.








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Custard Pies, Scottish Jokes and YA Swearing

Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I needed to put on my thinking slippers before I reviewed this book. My thinking slippers (fluffy, pink, with a dusky-rose bow and memory foam sole) allow me clearer reasoning of complex feelings and issues. I often don them when deciding pizza versus curry, long skirt versus short, and whether or not I like a book.

I read Steelheart because someone said it was great, another person did Puppy Eyes at me, and it’s about superpowers. I’m a big comics person, so the superpower theme is right up my Crime Alley. So I think I came to Steelheart with a certain expectation. An expectation that was heightened by the most incredible prologue I have ever read. Writers, don’t know how to write a prologue? Write it like that. Breathtaking. Faultless. Enviable. It got my heart pounding and made me want to run into the street to stop the rush hour traffic with a dramatic reading.

I wish the rest of the book had been so perfect. So here it is, my list of complaints, delivered quickly because I hate being mean. “Sparks, Calamity, Slontze” – the obsessive repeating of these words as slang swearing was irritating, confusing and tiresome. Stop it. PLEASE don’t use this technique for swearing in a YA book. Even if the characters had used the actual F-word, it would have been annoying. People who swear that much just are. One big impact use of the actual F-word is better than twenty uses of a fake swear. Yes, Battlestar Gallactica did it, but they were the fracking exception.

Next, the Scottish jokes that appeared ALL THE WAY THROUGH. It really got up my bagpipe. Cody was not a funny character. The Scottish thing just made him weird – back-slowly-away-weird. And David’s bad metaphors? Again, the repetition made it irritating and in the end I began to wonder if it was the author himself who couldn’t muster up a decent metaphor. I don’t think Sanderson does humour well. As a writer and lover of humour, I take my custard pies very seriously. Sanderson is a good writer, but his talents aren't in the funny department.

Lastly, I didn't think David was developed well enough. He seemed rather flat and I struggled to believe that he existed anywhere but on those pages. But guess who I did love? STEELHEART. There was something about him in the prologue that made me want to know much much more, and the fact that he barely appears in the book is probably the reason I've just childishly picked holes in it. That’s why the book didn't work for me. I didn’t want to read about the ragtag group of rebels. I wanted the supervillians, the Epics. They were the interesting characters, not the weirdo Scottish wannabe and the boy avenger. I wanted to be where the real action was – right by Steelheart’s side.

Saying all that, it was still good, with interesting ideas. I enjoyed it, despite all the whining I've just done. It is well written and has lots of action and plot twists. It was a good story and I loved that it was from a male POV with the romance kept to a minimum. It was a good book. It just wasn't the book I was hoping for.




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Latest Awesome Review

Bounty Hunter's latest incredible review, and more evidence of my vast talents.

New Bounty Hunter Releases

For Nook users, Bounty Hunter has just been released at Barnes & Nobel. For Sony EReader peeps, have a look at The Sony Store. Kai Koson and I are also now available through iTunes and Amazon Mexico.

Latest news on the paperback is that we're currently awaiting a new proof copy. Fingers crossed!

In the meantime, here is one of Bounty Hunter's many glowing reviews so far. Yes, my audience loves me. You may now shower me with praise, flowers, chocolates and salmon!

Legend by Marie Lu

Legend by Marie Lu

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I was planning to read this in September along with one of my Goodreads groups We Love YA. I downloaded it onto my Kindle two days ago and thought I'd take a quick peek. The first chapter couldn't hurt, could it? I'd save the rest for the September read-a-long. Nope. Got sucked in like a sock up a vacuum cleaner.

I couldn't put it down, couldn't look away, couldn't stand the thought that I had to go out and leave Legend behind. "Oh, Day! June!" I clutched my Kindle all day and burst back through my apartment door. I kicked off my trainers, flung myself in my recliner and read the rest straight through. Afterwards, in an attempt to stave the bottom-lip-wobble, I threw a Kit Kat down my neck and made a cup of tea.

For those who don't speak my language, all that meant Legend was wicked good.



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Book Review: Skulduggery Pleasant

Skulduggery Pleasant by Derek Landy

Stephanie's Uncle Gordon is a writer of horror fiction. But when he dies and leaves her his estate, Stephanie learns that while he may have written horror, it certainly wasn't fiction. Pursued by evil forces intent on recovering a mysterious key, Stephanie finds help from an unusual source -- the wisecracking skeleton of a dead wizard. When all hell breaks loose, it's lucky for Skulduggery that he's already dead. Though he's about to discover that being a skeleton doesn't stop you from being tortured, if the torturer is determined enough. And if there's anything Skulduggery hates, it's torture! Will evil win the day? Will Stephanie and Skulduggery stop bickering long enough to stop it? One thing's for sure: evil won't know what's hit it.

This book is in the 9-12 year old range, but don’t let that stop you. It reads like a damn good crack!fic and the one-liners are worth the cover-price alone. Skulduggery is simply a fantastic character. He’s smart, funny, kind and has an edge of darkness that sometimes makes him feel awfully real. I think I’ve developed a small crush, which disturbs me when I consider that he’s a dead detective skeleton.

There are several things I could criticize: the lack of sensory details in places, too much dialogue without accompanying narrative, sometimes Stephanie came across too old and Tanith too young. But you don’t want to listen to me whining on about that. The point is that when I’d turned the last page, I knew I’d had a wonderful read. I knew I was going to be thrusting the book in my friends’ faces and demand they read. I knew I was going to jump online immediately and find out when the second book is out.

Skulduggery Pleasant could be The Next Big Thing. Remember that I said that first so I can gloat later.

Oh, and make sure to click in the link above; there’s a little video of Skulduggery doing a funky dance. And here is the Official Website The next book is out in April and I will be getting it and dropping everything on the release date.

Recommended Reading

On Writing

By Stephen King


This book is part biography and part How To. A Memoir of the Craft, the front of my US copy says (thank you, ). I wanted to read this for a long time and, when I finally did, I wasn’t disappointed.

I was a big fan of Stephen King when I was younger and I still have a lot of time for him. My nan had a whole stack of his books, so the very first time I earned enough pocket money to be able to save up a semi-substantial amount, I bought her a copy of Firestarter, inside which I wrote a little birthday message in pencil. Firestarter was also the first adult novel I ever read. I loved it, I critiqued it, and I eventually bought the film and learned to hate Drew Barrymore and love Heather Locklear.

I lost touch with King’s books a few years back and the last volume I read was Everything’s Eventual. I grew up on Stephen King. I adored The Shining and Salem’s Lot and Misery and Carrie and … I don’t think I need to go on. We all know the classics.

But somewhere along the line I stopped reading Stephen King. I think that had a lot to do with needing to broaden my horizons, and then needing to read an awful lot of legal textbooks and then computer reference books. But I also think it had a lot to do with thinking that casting aside Stephen King and James Herbert and Clive Barker was about growing up, that somehow these books were unchallenging, pointless and a right old load of rubbish. Well, that’s what people told me, and that’s what people still tell me when I’m seen in the staff room reading Harry Potter or a Stargate: Atlantis tie-in novel or a story about a witch and a warrior. So if it’s not Jane Austin, or hasn’t been recommended by Richard and Judy’s book club, it’s apparently crap.

Anyway, I’ve gone totally off track.

On Writing is the story of the life of Stephen King, at least what he can remember of it after an immense amount of drugs and alcohol and a horrific car accident. The whole book comes across as very honest and it’s quite funny in places. The narrative is very relaxed and I swear I could actually hear him talking. Not talking to his readers, not talking to you, but talking to me, like he was right in front of me telling me about his life.

The How To portion of the book is very helpful and insightful. It was wonderful to get a glimpse of how this man’s brain works. I’ve read an absolute ton of How To books and will continue to do so because everyone writes differently and what’s right for one writer, isn’t always right for another. The way Stephen King constructs his stories is how I used to work. He takes a concept and he lets it flow. He’s not a planner and he doesn’t construct reams of chapter summaries and countless narrative outlines. The difference is that he’s good at it. Me? I need more structure these days. I need to know exactly where I’m going and where my path is in case I need to stray from it. How will I find my way back without a map?!

If you want to know the definitive way to write a book, don’t buy this because that One True Way does not exist. But if you want to see how one very successful man cracked open the writing business and made it truly his, this is the book for you.

Recommended Reading

The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas

By John Boyne

If you only read one book in the next fifty years, I implore you, let it be this one. When I put this on my Amazon Wish List (thank you, Kitty Poker), I knew nothing about it except that it was highly regarded and would leave a permanent mark. I didn’t have a clue about the plot when I started reading and I’m glad I didn’t or, honestly, it might have put me off, sensitive soul that I am.

So I’m not going to tell you what this book is actually about, except that it’s from the POV of a nine-year-old boy called Bruno. It’s written like a children’s book, right down to the large font, yet it is not for children. And it’s that paradox that makes this book what it is. An atrocity through the eyes of a child.

It did leave an impression, a big one. It was beautiful, funny, devastating, and by the end I could barely finish it. I read it in one sitting – and I recommend you do the same – and I struggled to read the last few pages because I couldn’t breathe, my hands were shaking and I was nearly blind with tears.

Please read this book. Come back and tell me what you think.

Recommended Reading

Sensible Hare and the Case of Carrots by Daren King

Hoppity hop to Amazon!


Sensible Hare is a detective. When Mazy Rabbit knocks on his door with a case - a missing suitcase of carrots - her silky ears and ruby-red eyes persuade him to take it on. But Mazy's case means trouble for Sensible; a bunch of poker-playing villains, led by Uncle Carbuncle, are also after the suitcase. Carbuncle and his cronies Jack Gin, Deaf Louie and Blind Huey pull the hare into a wild adventure of train chases, stakeouts and baddies in disguise. But luckily, Sensible has a clever friend, Ottoman the Otter, and a special weapon - feet as fast as kung fu...

I picked this book up today at Waterstones. I’m visiting my sister at the weekend and I wanted to buy something nice for her daughter, my niece. Now, I don’t know my niece at all, except that she’s four years old, has just started school and loves to colour. I’ve never even met her and probably won’t meet her until Christmas. Yet I wish to leave her some gifts, partly for positive association, partly because it’s an oddly peculiar and novel feeling to buy for a niece I didn’t even know I had until a few months ago, and partly because I wish to be known as ‘Mummy’s weird older sister who keeps buying me all the books.’

I’ll create another bookworm in the family even if it kills me.

But enough of all that. Back to the book. The nice blue cover with the odd-looking hare caught my eye. Cute. Would a child of four like it? Goodness knows. I read the blurb inside the front jacket. Funny. Would a child of four like it? Dunno. I picked a chapter at random and read a little. Absolutely side-splitting. Would a child of four like it? I have absolutely no idea, but if she doesn’t, I’m stealing it back. Seriously, it’s a book from the Under 5’s section and I would dearly love a copy. I sat down with a mug of tea when I got home and read it straight through in fifteen minutes. If the carrot jokes didn’t split my sides, then the otter jokes certainly did. Otterly hilarious.

Recommended Reading

The Tenderness of Wolves by Stef Penney - Set in Canada 1867, a man is murdered and a woman's 17 year-old son disappears. She sets out across a dangerous and desolate land to find her boy, Francis, and the murderer to clear Francis's name. I don't know what attracted me to this book in the first place, other than the fact that Amazon had it cheap, but I'm glad I went to the trouble. It's beautiful, engaging and wonderfully detailed. I completely fell for most of the main characters, especially Francis.

Gorgeous writing that makes me seethe with jealousy.

Recommended Reading

Yesterday, I finished The Savage Garden by Mark Mills Amazon.co.uk - Amazon.com

In 1958, Adam Strickland, a young Cambridge student, travels to Villa Docci in Tuscany to study a sixteenth-centur ygarden. Designed and laid out by a grieving husband to the memory of his dead wife, it is a mysterious world of statues, grottoes,meandering rills and classical inscriptions.

Buttragedy has hit the Docci family more recently. The German occupationduring World War Two had a devastating impact on them, and the tensions between collaborators and partisans were played out within their owntight circle.

Adam is fascinated by the Doccis and increasingly aware that there are dangerous secrets hidden within the familydomain.The garden itself starts to exercise a powerful influence overhis imagination, its iconography seeming to point to some deeper,darker truth than was first apparent. And what really lay behind akilling at the villa towards the end of the war?

Past and present, love and intrigue, intertwine in an evocative mystery which vividly captures the experience of an innocent abroad in the uncertainworld of post-War Italy.

The reviews for this book have been mixed and seem to vary from very good to very bad. I think it depends on what you're expecting. Yes, this is set in the crime thriller genre, but please don't expect a 'thrill a minute' or a 'heart-thumping thrill ride'. This is a slow burning account of secrets and discovery, a beautiful picture of post-war Italy, an intriguing and pleasurable look at how an aimless young scholar finds himself feeling suddenly alive.

The Savage Garden is well written with beautiful descriptions which are weirdly simplistic and never fall into dreaded purple prose. The characters are all mapped out vividly and are all likable, even if you hate them (uh, I know what I mean by that). My favourite character is Harry, Adam's troublesome brother who appears part-way through the book. I would jump at the chance to read a follow-up novel involving Adam and Harry and another mystery; they play well off each other. Chemistry.

If you're looking for something to blow your mind, this isn't it. If you're looking for something to make you smile, laugh and care about a main character, if you're looking for a intelligent, comfortable, well written novel to pass the time and leave you with an odd feeling of wanting to go on holiday -- preferably to Italy -- this is for you.