stick to writing as sebastian faulks

I have not read any of the other James Bond books by Ian Fleming and so this summary may not entirely be fair but I am commenting as a reader of Sebastian Faulks. Having read Birdsong, Human Traces and Engleby all of which I thoroughly enjoyed with the build up of characters and story telling I found this book to be a very poor piece of work. The story was not great, the pace did not keep me interested and even now I hardly remember much of what I read it was just so boring.

In future stick to writing great novels as Sebastian Faulks for Sebastian Faulks fans.

Crime novel of the year

What a story! Utterly gripping, getting weirder and spookier with every chapter. A brilliant page turner with some colourful characters. I couldn't put it down!

A Quiet Belief in Angels

Not a traditional thriller, this book is in a category of its own. The sense of place and social commentary create a background of small town living that makes the horror to come even worse.
Did I want to know who the murderer was? It certainly did not seem the most important part of this novel. Although I was glad that there was a resolution for the main character. His journey is a very bumpy one and he and the killer seem to almost be as one.
I particularly liked the whole innocent idea that as a small boy he could keep his community safe with the help of his friends. His own personal need to safeguard his next door neighbour makes the inevitable events even more shocking.
The delicacy of the writing and the way that you can see into the thoughts and feelings of the characters as they are slowly revealed makes this a very compulsive read. I highly recommend this.

not as good as the other books

This book is an ok read if you are a plum fan but i do have to say its not as great as the earlier books, Stphanies life story doesnt really go to a new level in this book

A thrilling thriller

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys crime thrillers. It is easy to read with chapters nicely broken up in to decent sizes. The dialogue is pacy and realistic - as is the intricate plot. It appears well researched and is a super,exciting read and easy to visulize. The ending will leave all fans of the Roy Grace series desperate for more.

A major work

I can't say that this is the type of book I would normally gravitate to, but for some reason I picked up a copy in a bookstore and began to read it. Later, I wished that I'd bought it and did so online.

The plot is intricate and almost impossible to go into here, as are most great Japanese novels (Kobo Abe's THE FACE OF ANOTHER comes to mind), and so it's best to let you read the other reviews to get a sense of that. But what makes this book so exceptional is the style, translated or not, and the handling of the materials. Normally, when I hear a book has won this many awards, I shy from it. Not so with OUT.

The"idea" of this book was depressing to me at first---four women who work in the suburbs of Tokyo on the night shift--but the insight that Natsuo Kirino gives to them, their reasons for being there, and their motives for the most part, are fascinating. Regardless of their backgrounds or motives, they share a need to get OUT.

I'm normally one for a less bizarre book such as BROTHER ODD by Koontz or a light read like THIS CHARMING MAN, but couldn't resist this great read. OUT is violent and disturbing, like AMERICAN PSYCHO or some of even James Patterson's works. But this works for the text and feeling that Kirino wants to achieve.

My only hesitation in giving it five stars is the violence and the bit of a downer it was at times. I would have liked a bit more humour in this book, but I can see what the author was attempting and the overall outcome was successful. If you're looking for a lighter read (THANKS FOR THE MEMORIES or the odd BROTHER ODD by Koontz), then look some place else. If you want an intense thriller, OUT is the place to be.

Easy reading

I read this book in a couple of evenings and thought the description of the storm especially good. Fast moving and different from the norm plot.
Would have given 5 stars, but found the final ending a little far fetched. That apart a very good read and recommended.

Enjoyable

I will admit that I found this book utterly compelling and difficult to put down. Despite the fact that I had a presentation to prepare for today I still sat up until 4am to finish the book. I feel perhaps a little mean giving it only three stars because I was truly gripped by the plot.

The reason I gave it a kind of low rating is because it is very much a crime thriller genre type novel. I personally find with these types of books you are gripped by the ducking and diving plot twists and character surprises etc. However, I will qualify that with the fact that you don't really tend to take much away from the experience. I cannot say that this book is memorable in many ways despite the fact that I found it immensely enjoyable to read. It's a very strange paradox.

On another note, I found the main protagonist a bit of a ball busting arrogant twit at times. Although other reviewers have praised his character, I found his come backs and quips at times hard to identify with and this made him quite unlikeable. That being said, as a lawyer myself I found his quest for 'justice!' very refreshing given the complacent legal attitudes I come across in real life!

Overall, a good solid read, just don't expect to come away with too much.

Excellent stuff

What an excellent read this was. Gripping from begining to end and left me wanting more from C J Sansom. Well ballanced characters and a believable plot all the way through. As good as it gets for this type of fiction and absolutely worth the read.

Not for the faint-hearted

This is a good, well-written and interesting book.

However, it is not as good as his previous efforts, mainly because there is too much emphasis on the personalities of two of the main characters. For example, both the inspectors are not as most readers would see as average police officers. The female is outrageously butch and the other a bad-tempered fat slob. It seems very unlikely you could find two such officers in the same police station.

In fact the whole book, at least to me, is over-the-top, albeit an enjoyable and easy read.

Flawed Look at Husbands without Wives and Children without Mothers

Careless in Red will surprise most fans of the Thomas Lynley/Barbara Havers novels. Elizabeth George doesn't return to her roots, but attempts a more literary novel that primarily explores how fragile husbands and children are without wives and mothers to love and nurture them. Those who just want a good mystery will wonder why all the extra characters and plots are in place until they realize that the mystery is secondary to telling stories that build the major theme.

As the book opens, Lynley is a wreck following the murder of his wife and unborn child. He's been trekking along the coast without thought to comfort and safety, becoming little more than a homeless man. That mind-numbed state is disturbed when he spots a dead body and is pulled into the investigation. His police instincts are alerted when a woman he meets begins lying and he wants to find out why.

The book is rich in character development, relying on many different interacting narrators. Ms. George uses this device to explore many family mysteries, which may or may not be related to the crime mystery. If you find it fascinating to think about all the ways that families can become dysfunctional, this book is for you.

Within all these stories, there is a deep tragedy . . . the kind the ancient Greeks would have appreciated. Lynley senses that something like that might be looming behind the current events and helps to bring it to light.

I would rate this book higher, but the breakdown of Lynley and his fairly quick recovery didn't ring true to me. I can't exactly tell you why, but it set a false note that undermined the rest of the story for me. I also found the endings (which don't let anyone hint about to you) to be unsatisfying compared to the scale of the foundation for the novel.

I did find the book to be compelling. I stayed up late on two nights to finish.

not so good

Was looking forward to reading this but very disappointed. Glad only reserved it from the libray. Have read all previous books and agree with a lot of reviwers, that her writing isn't as good as it used to be. Try Harlan Coban or Steve Hamilton instead

Nothing like the film is going to be...

This is a rather strange collection of short stories by Ian Fleming which have been gathered together for the first time here. Some of them barely feature Bond at all and none of those that have been the titles of films bear any resemblance to those films. Many of the stories have appeared before in the collection"For your eyes only" so may be familiar already. It is reported that Fleming used the short story formula as a means of gaining commisions to magazines and based many of the stories on personal experience with many of the characters recognisable friends (or enemies) of the author. Well whether or not that is the case the stories themselves are of varying standard and the title"track" is an interesting one in itself but they appear to be hurried affairs and don't add to Fleming's legacy as I don't believe he was comfortable writing short stories. It has also been said that these stories owe much to the Ashenden series by Somerset-Maugham but for me they don't hold a candle to those ones. So all in all a fair collection but not a patch on the novels.

"The King found her so different from her picture... that... he swore that they had brought him a Flanders mare."

In this Second novel Dark Fire, two stories have been entwined over a twelve day period; C. J Sansom has brought us forward three years to 1540, the hottest summer of the 16th century. Based in London where brutality of life is harsh, noisome, sweat, stench and greed is everywhere. Thomas Cromwell's position as chief of staff for King Henry VIII is filled with great uncertainty, for the King is preparing to dump yet another wife Anne of Cleves. Sansom has also questioned Hunchback London lawyer Matthew Shardlake views after his Dissolution experience, he is now less sure of his political position, religious convictions and more sceptical of others.

Shardlake had been trying to keep a low profile; business had not been great since he had been out of favour with Cromwell. A case had come his way unexpectedly by helping an old friend's niece. Even though the Judge ruled against Shardlake in court, he suddenly had a change of heart outside of it; the Judge agreed to a stay of execution for two weeks. But Shardlake was about to realise darker forces had intervened, Cromwell's network had been doing overtime and the girl was only to keep a longer life span if Shardlake was to help his old nemesis, another pressing matter awaited.

Cromwell had witnessed with his own eyes a demonstration of Greek fire or Byzantine fire of liquid. It was capable of discharging a stream of burning fluid effective on both sea and land, inextinguishable, dreaded and feared by any enemy on attack. The secret behind Greek fire was handed down from one emperor to another and no one else had been able to produce it, but in history the formula had been lost long ago. What a war weapon to behold, not to mention it would put Cromwell back in favour with the King, whom he'd already promised a demonstration to, in two weeks. The problem was these men who had held the liquid formula were shrewd, willing for it to go to the highest bidder either in England or overseas; this was conspiracy against the King. Shardlake's commission was to find out about these men, quietly, also obtain the formula and source of Dark Fire, Cromwell appointed a minder for this dangerous mission one Jack Barak, the chase across London Begins.

Fantastic! Sansom gives us a broad view of politics in the Tudor era, conspiracies of court, a political system based on birth not merit, the division between church and state, prisoners who are tried without representation, housing and sewage problems, even Jack Barak is mocked for being the descendant of Jews. Shardlake is given plenty of scope to debate the morality of the world. Sansom does a great job of weaving real history with fiction so it flows remains easy to read and understandable.

This book is longer than Dissolution, but it's so enjoyable it's not noticeable, with its history and mixes of real names in history such as Richard Rich, Thomas Cromwell and the Duke of Norfolk even an overview of Henry VIII and his wives entwined with fictitious characters. Mathew Shardlake is a great fiction character at last given the opportunity for some sexual tension between him and a lady of higher standing. But adding the character Jack Barak to this novel is a wonderful touch of writing; Shardlake and Barak complement each other. Shardlake's quiet, logical and has formality, Barak's younger, slightly arrogant, rough and ready with touches of violence if needed and an eye for the ladies, the two get into no end of trouble.

Thoroughly enjoyable History. Highly Recommended!

Andrea Bowhill

Sovereign - C J Sansom

This is the first book I have read in the Shardlake series and found the book to be OK, but nothing special. The descriptions are very detailed and believable, Sansom has obviously researched Tudor England well and is knowledgeable of the period. However, the descriptions are too detailed, slowing the plot down to a snail's pace and making the book far lengthier than it should have been. As a result I found the book interesting but hardly compelling. Too often the author spent too long on the minutiae of Shardlake's daily movements, a blow-by-blow account of what he did when he got up, during the day and when he went to bed. I lost count the number of times he mentioned he was hungry or moaned about his back. At one point I was expecting Sansom to give details of Shardlake's bowel movements, although we came close with him urinating up a well!

The protagonist Matthew Shardlake did not appeal to me either. He appeared obnoxious, to self-preoccupied and not a man of the times, that is of sixteenth century England.

The plot itself was OK but anybody with an interest in the history of Yorkist England would know what the"secret" was about as soon as the name of Blaybourne is mentioned. There is a whodunnit as well running as another plot-line and this too was a bit easy to work out. To me it seemed obvious that I wondered how a supposedly bright man such as Shardlake could have been so gullible and slow in working it out.

In summary, I would recommend the book, as it is very atmospheric and the closest you'll get to being in Tudor England. It gets bogged down though!

A journey in memory

I've read many Reich's novels during the past years, and enjoyed them thoroughly, yet Bones to Ashes disappointed me. The fact is, I find it quite difficult to believe that, after many years, Tempe Brennan discovers not only what happened to her long-lost childhood friend Evangeline,but also is catapulted into a world of child abuse, pornography, depravity. It's just that the coincidences appear too many and the chain of events seems forced. All the pieces of the puzzle at the end fit, but the impression you receive is of something artificial and quite not right.
Also, Tempe's memories of her childhood and pure friendship seem irreal, not at all concrete. They look more like a reverie: it's true childhood is often evoked as an idyllic, magic time, yet this kind of interpretation seems out of place in a crime novel, and clashes with the corruption of the real world Dr.Brennan faces everyday.
There is something I found interesting though: the description of the Acadian culture, which is something I did know nothing about. It's very fascinating to think of these people so proud of their past and their heritage, and it's a good move on Reich's part to draw our attention to l'Acadie.

Great read!

I really enjoyed reading this book! It gives a very interesting view about cathedrals were built and why. It makes one want to read it at least twice to get all the details because the story is so filled with life and history!

Caught between Hope and Despair, Child makes a political statement

Working his way to San Diego from Maine, Lee Child's tough guy, Jack Reacher, finds himself in eastern Colorado walking westward from the pleasant settlement of Hope to the dingy town of Despair. Whereas the former was welcoming, the latter isn't, and the local law busts Jack for vagrancy and ultimately deposits him back on the asphalt in the midst of nowhere at the Hope-Despair boundary. Of course, this only gets Reacher riled. Against the advice of a Vaughan, a sympathetic officer of the Hope Police Department whose husband is an Iraq war vet, Jack trudges back to Despair determined to find out the nature of its problem with strangers and ready to bust some heads in the process. In the course of NOTHING TO LOSE, Reacher, no surprise, accomplishes both with a bang. That's his job, the one for which his fans pay the publisher to read about.

For the first time ever I'm decidedly unhappy with a Jack Reacher thriller, and it's made me more cranky than usual. I can forgive the evolution of the story line, which hyperextends itself with at least one superfluous subplot. But Child's major gaffe is to air his (apparently) own opinion of the Iraq war through the voice of his protagonist, a bias cleverly buried in an observation by Reacher to Vaughan on the obligations of America's civilian military overseers towards the troops. While I don't necessarily disagree with his position, assigning such to a popular fictional superhero verges on the unforgivable; heroic figures are best left apolitical. (When is the last time you saw Indiana Jones take a stand on abortion or gay marriage while chasing down some hidden treasure?) Thus, I'm knocking NOTHING TO LOSE down to three stars mostly on account of the author's bad form.

Lee, if you want to vent via an interview, fine. (Maybe you aleady have and I missed it.) Otherwise, please keep Reacher in the realm of recreational, fantasy reading, thank you very much.

Brilliant Sequel to Pillars of the Earth

Pillars of the Earth is my all time favorite novel, so although I usually wait for the paperback, when I saw the reduced price of the hardback at Amazon, I immediately ordered it. It was well worth it. However"Sequels are not equal". So I only give it four stars, although I admit, my expectations after Pillars of the Earth were extremely high. While brilliant, after Pillars of the Earth, I felt it lacked somewhat in originality. Also, I am not a prude, but I found the graphic sex as depicted not believable, considering the historical period and the morals of the time. Otherwise it appears to be well researched and historical accurate. In any case, a good read!