Category Archives: Blog tours

Review: Wild Treasure, by Hannah Stitfall

My Review

Thanks to Anne Cater for organising this tour. My copy did not from the publisher did not arrive, so I bought myself one. I’m not a fan or the author. their TV shows, or anything like that, I’m interested in both wildlife and Cornwall, since my mum’s maternal family and my step-Dad are Devon and Cornwall (unlike Stitfall who is a blow-in from Essex).

I’ve been a bit of a spotter since I was a kid, but I was never any good at it. I used to enjoy taking my little Osbourne books of birds and coastal life out with me on hikes with my dad and the local walking club, but haven’t really done much since I was 14. I do like to sit in the garden, or allotment, and bird watch. We have a new ecology group at work too, so I’m picking up bits of insect information. Again, I’m not very good at it. I need more practice.

Sorry if I sound grumpy today, I’m in pain. Because of this book. I read an awful lot of my copy on Tuesday, and enthused by the writing, decided to take a walk along the coast near here. The Humber is a SSSI designated area. I walked from the main drag of the Prom to the sand dunes by the swimming pool and then along the paths through the sea grass meadows. They’ve become much more extensive in the last twenty years. the area that used to be beach, on the other side of the swimming pool has changed immensely, with a much more varied habitat of dunes and salt marsh. I kept to the paths, but they got a bit wobbly once I got to the marsh adjacent to Meridian Point and I fell twice trying to cross from the path to the sea wall. got covered in mud. Which, to be honest, is nothing new. I have a cut on my right knee and my left hip is registering its disapproval quite vociferously. I did make it to a bus though and home, so it’s all good.

I saw a heron, and lots of crows and magpies. I think. I didn’t get bitten by anything, which is practically a miracle in itself, and I had a paddle in the water. I took photos of various plants and birds and at some point I’ll attempt to identify them.

Back to the book review.

I enjoyed the writing style, straightforward and descriptive, shading into poetic at times. I loved the photography. It really enthused me about going out and appreciating the local nature (the ‘wild life’ is a different matter altogether – Newquay misbehaviour ain’t got nothing on Cleethorpes in the early hours of a summer Saturday). This book is a celebratory and entertaining trip through the natural calendar of Cornwall, written by someone with a genuine love of wildlife and an ethical approach to nature photography. I recommend it to people who want to see what’s living in their area, if they live in Cornwall or are visiting at any time of year.

Also, my step-Dad tells a fantastic story about Seal Island near St. Ives, involving a boatload of American tourists and an inflatable seal.

Book Review: Thirty Days of Darkness, by Jenny Lund Madsen

PUBLICATION DATE: 9 MAY 2024
PAPERBACK ORIGINAL | £16.99 | ORENDA BOOKS

A snobbish Danish literary author is challenged to write a crime novel
in thirty days, travelling to a small village in Iceland for inspiration,
and then the first body appears…

Copenhagen author Hannah is the darling of the literary community and
her novels have achieved massive critical acclaim. But nobody actually
reads them, and frustrated by writer’s block, Hannah has the feeling that
she’s doing something wrong.

When she expresses her contempt for genre fiction, Hanna is publicly
challenged to write a crime novel in thirty days. Scared that she will lose
face, she accepts, and her editor sends her to Húsafjörður – a quiet,
tight-knit village in Iceland, filled with colourful local characters – for
inspiration.

But two days after her arrival, the body of a fisherman’s young son is
pulled from the water … and what begins as a search for plot material
quickly turns into a messy and dangerous investigation that threatens to
uncover secrets that put everything at risk … including Hannah

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Review: Reinventing Democracy, by David Kauders

Ninety per cent of electors want political reform. But how to escape the mess? Britain should adopt a federal structure with a written constitution and an elected apolitical People’s Council replacing autocratic and ineffective bodies.
 
Reinventing Democracy grew out of a series of private meetings involving the author, a respected investment manager, notably one that exposed the hidden costs of the Private Finance Initiative in 2002, an examination of federalism in 2015, and an investigation into Brexit paralysis in 2017.

Growing concern about the relative economic deterioration of the United Kingdom led David to the realisation that the system of political governance is probably an unrecognised cause of British decline. Events over the last few years have provided a fertile supply of examples. All that was needed was some original thought, but nobody seemed to be facing facts. Hence the book.

At the centre of these ideas lie four major concepts:

  1. The People’s Council to replace the Privy Council, House of Lords, and some scrutiny functions of the present House of Commons.
  2. A federal structure, with sovereignty defined as sovereignty of the people of each nation instead of the Crown in parliament.
  3. Representation in United Kingdom-wide bodies to be determined according to the Fibonacci series, so that England can be outvoted by Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland combined, thereby preventing England treating the other nations as colonies.
  4. The book includes a draft written constitution, with the aim of putting citizens in control of government.
    There is much more waiting for you to discover.
Continue reading “Review: Reinventing Democracy, by David Kauders”

Review: Lords of Uncreation, by Adrian Tchaikovsky

Published in paperback by Tor
11 April 2024
9781529052008
624 pages

Synopsis

From Adrian Tchaikovsky, author of Children of Time and winner of the Arthur C. Clarke Award, Lords of Uncreation is the final high-octane instalment in the Final Architecture space opera trilogy.

He’s found a way to end their war, but will humanity survive to see it?

Idris Telemmier has uncovered a secret that changes everything – the Architects’ greatest weakness. A shadowy cartel scrambles to turn his discovery into a weapon against these alien destroyers of worlds. But between them and victory stands self-interest. The galaxy’s great powers would rather pursue their own agendas than stand together against this shared terror.

Human and inhuman interests wrestle to control Idris’ discovery, as the galaxy erupts into a mutually destructive and self-defeating war. The other great obstacle to striking against their alien threat is Idris himself. He knows that the Architects, despite their power, are merely tools of a higher intelligence.

Deep within unspace, where time moves differently, and reality isn’t quite what it seems, their masters are the true threat. Masters who are just becoming aware of humanity’s daring – and taking steps to exterminate this annoyance forever.

Continue reading “Review: Lords of Uncreation, by Adrian Tchaikovsky”