Category Archives: Books

Robert Holdstock’s The Charisma Trees

I was in the Estate Library several weeks back looking for short stories as I often read one when I get a short break while tending bar in the Pub. When I was there searching the indexes where we listed … Continue reading

Posted in Books | Tagged , | Comments Off on Robert Holdstock’s The Charisma Trees

Thomas Godfrey’s English Country House Murders

Back some twenty years ago, I went looking for novels that involved murders set in English country houses. It was, in those days before search engines indexed damn near everything on the Net, far more difficult than it would be … Continue reading

Posted in Books, Uncategorized | Comments Off on Thomas Godfrey’s English Country House Murders

John Connolly and Declan Burke’s Books To Die For

I’ve been reading mysteries, mostly ones that are set in the British Isles, Ireland, and Europe for well over forty years now. My favourite series are set between The Wars, but I’m willing to read a well-written contemporary ones as … Continue reading

Posted in Books, Uncategorized | Comments Off on John Connolly and Declan Burke’s Books To Die For

Kelley Armstrong, Led Astray

Kelley Armstrong’s Led Astray hits all the notes it’s supposed to, and quite a few higher ones as well. A short story collection featuring both original tales and smaller bits and bobs related to Armstrong’s various ongoing continuities, it’s an … Continue reading

Posted in Books, Uncategorized | Tagged , | Comments Off on Kelley Armstrong, Led Astray

Hannu Rajaniemi’s Collected Fiction

To read Hannu Rajaniemi’s Collected Fiction is to get thrown immediately into the deep end. There are no warmup stories here, no simpler pieces to ease the reader into Rajaniemi’s voice and style. Instead, the very first story bombards the … Continue reading

Posted in Books | Comments Off on Hannu Rajaniemi’s Collected Fiction

Michael Newton’s Victorian Fairy Tales

Fairy tales weave a complicated dance between children’s stories and sophisticated adult commentary, often within the same story. Pinning down a definition of what constitutes a fairy tale can sometimes feel like nailing water to a tree, but certain elements … Continue reading

Posted in Books, Uncategorized | Tagged , | Comments Off on Michael Newton’s Victorian Fairy Tales

S. J. Tucker and Trudy Herring’s Rabbit’s Song

Children’s books like Rabbit’s Song often have reviews that are much longer than the text within them. And this review shall be so. We haven’t reviewed a lot of books of this nature here, but ofhg the ones we have reviewed A … Continue reading

Posted in Books, Uncategorized | Tagged , | Comments Off on S. J. Tucker and Trudy Herring’s Rabbit’s Song

A Kinrowan Estate story: Whisky Tastings

Have I mentioned that twice a year we have a high-end whisky tasting here? Each is hosted by, quite naturally, the Estate Librarian, Iain Nicholas Mackenzie, a Scot born and bred. It’s limited to a mere dozen participants, each of … Continue reading

Posted in Books, Stories, Uncategorized | Comments Off on A Kinrowan Estate story: Whisky Tastings

Robert Heinlein’s The Number of The Beast audiobook

“He’s a Mad Scientist and I’m his Beautiful Daughter.” That’s what she said: the oldest cliché in pulp fiction. She wasn’t old enough to remember the pulps. The thing to do with a silly remark is to fail to hear … Continue reading

Posted in Books, Uncategorized | Tagged , | Comments Off on Robert Heinlein’s The Number of The Beast audiobook

Robert Heinlein’s Friday audiobook

As I left the Kenya Beanstalk capsule he was right on my heels. He followed me through the door leading to Customs, Health, and Immigration. As the door contracted behind him I killed him. I have never liked riding the … Continue reading

Posted in Books | Tagged | Comments Off on Robert Heinlein’s Friday audiobook