The Darkness by Ragnar Jónasson, Victoria Cribb (Translator)

Hulda Hermannsdóttir is being forced to retire early, told to clear her desk she has been given the opportunity to work out her last days looking into any cold case she wishes. She chooses one of a murdered asylum seeker, her body found washed up on a remote rocky beach.

To start with, she chooses the case as she feels it was not investigated properly in the first place. She thinks that the detective who ran the case is, at best, useless. Although there initially seems very little to go on, it becomes clear that there is more to the case. She goes back to the scene and the victims hostel, she discovers that another woman went missing a year before this murder. She was never reported missing but was thought to be still in hiding or left the country.

Along with this, Hulda has a new man in her life, the first one since her husband died some years before. Hulda has many secrets, her early life is told in snap-shot short chapters alongside her investigation and current life. Her new man is giving her hope for a future that she thought she would never see and eventually sees the retirement as the start of a new chapter in her life.

The investigation into the murder progresses but she is coming under increasing pressure from her superior to close the case and walk away. She will wish she had.

I’ve read the four Dark Iceland books translated into English and really enjoyed them. This new series in what is being called Hidden Iceland gets off to a fantastic start. This is definitly a page turner and the ending will come as a real shock. I had to stop, think, then reread the last few pages just to be sure I had read it right. Ragnar Jónasson is definitely one to add if you like Nordic Noir even darker.

Do You Dream of Terra-Two? by Temi Oh

Expected UK publication date of March 7th 2019

A group of teenagers are trained to become astronauts and travel the stars to a planet that is proven to be earth like yet nothing but plant life has been found on the planet. It will take twenty three years to get there with a newly invented space drive. The teenagers chosen to go are called the Beta group, they will travel with four much older, more experienced astronauts.

The story also follows an alternative history yet includes most of what has actually happened in our history other than the UK has a much expanded space programme having sent astronauts into space for many years. The main part of the story takes place from 2010 to 2018 and depicts history pretty much as it was apart from the big part the UK has in space flight.

The first part of the story is where we meet seven of the six teenagers, their experiences in training, their relationships and how they live with themselves and each other. One rather tragic incident colours their whole training and some begin to ask themselves what is really going on.

The main part is once everyone is on their way to Terra-Two. Mainly about their interactions, relationships and team coherence in close quarters. I found this part very interesting and the behaviours of some characters might be cliched but they are needed to move the story along. I did not find the cliches too bad and for the most part expected the outcomes but occasionally there were surprises.

The dramatic scenes come about 70% into the book, there is more tragedy, splintering of the two groups and splintering within the younger and older travelers too. The way this is written is very good and I thought all the behaviours depicted were not unreal at all.

The finale was a little unexpected, I will not go into it but some survive, some have regrets and some do the unexpected.

I thoroughly enjoyed this and the way it ends leaves it open for a sequel but the ending here is complete in itself. Good, honest SF, I’d recommend this to anyone that enjoys good, thoughtful SF writing.

I would like to thank Temi Oh, Simon & Schuster UK and Netgalley for a free copy in return for a fair and honest review.

I Hate Shaving.......I Hate Having Facial Hair Too

I have always hated having to shave my face but I dislike having a hairy face even more! It is itchy, makes my face sore and overall, not a nice thing to have.

A Vintage Safety Razor Add

The market for mens razors amazes me too. There are the big multi-national companies that charge a small fortune for their multi-bladed pieces of modern art. There are the new mail order companies offering their wares at a discount if you subscribe to a monthly/bi-monthly subscription. Then there are companies that seem to want you to part with your hard earned attempting to sell you a classic, single bladed safety razor.

All of this is great if you like to spend plenty of time on your ‘image’. Me? I like a clean shave that does not cost a small fortune and that I can purchase when I want. I use what a lot of people would consider a cheap and cheerful option. I use an own brand one that one of our big high street pharmacy sells (you know the one based in Nottingham). It is a 3 bladed affair and does an excellent job for me. The handle is inexpensive, yet strong and sturdy. Replacement blades are also inexpensive. Best of all, I get a really decent shave from it.

I know we are all in the position to buy and use what we want or like and mens grooming seems to be a growing thing these days, especially with the growing trend of fine beards. This is not a rant, just an observation that is confusing this old git.

Chemistry, Fairy Princes and Other Loose Ends

A few days away from it all is a good thing, when we do get away we spend quite a bit of our time visiting National Trust properties. We had a few days in Poole, Dorset and even though it was October we had some lovely weather.

Brownsea Island

On our first day we went to Poole Quay and went on a boat trip around the harbour. Part of this trip was to get dropped off at Brownsea Island, if you fancied it. Brownsea Island for most people is the place where the experimental first Scouts camp was held. It is also a home to the increasingly rare red squirrel.

Our next day we visited Kingston Lacy, a wonderful house that is the home to many fine paintings and for me, wonderful furniture and carpentry, the window shutters really caught my attention.

Kingston Lacy

The detail is wonderful, the craftsmanship, spectacular.

Hinton Ampner

On our final day we visited Hinton Ampner. A fine private house with spectacular views over the Hampshire countryside. In contrast to Kingston Lacy, the owner was a collector of fine china and pottery. Not my thing but it is easy to appreciate the skill and artistic expertise of the potters.

I guess for some it is a bit of anathema that the average citizen of today should go around glimpsing into houses and lives that at one time ruled over us. For me it is a pleasure to see that although the people are gone we as a nation are now able to visit these fine houses and voyeuristically look into the lives of our forebears. Besides, the National Trust own and look after plenty of other properties that have a more significant place in our history too.

‘Till the next time.

Record Of A Spaceborn Few by Becky Chambers

Humans have abandoned a dying Earth and for generations have travelled through space in their homesteader spacecraft searching for a new life. They come into contact with a collection of other life forms and agree to join them in a galactic council. The humans fleet settles around a sun and most still live in the space craft they their ancestors have lived and travelled in.

The story revolves around five characters, Tessa, a mother of two children. Isabel, an archivist for the fleets memories. Eyas, a caretaker which is someone that looks after the dead. Kip, a teenager that finds himself at odds with the fleet rules and Sawyer, an orphan from a human colonised planet looking for something new.

This is such an interesting read on so many levels. Firstly the way communities have come to live together in peace and harmony, it is almost utopian. No one has much but everyone is housed, fed and works. All work is done in return for the community and everyone has jobs they want to do. Those jobs that no one wants is then allocated by lottery and everyone does short stints. Everyone is equal no matter their job status, you do the job either because you want to or because it is the best thing you are good at.

As in all human societies, death is a part of life and the way that bodies are disposed of is quite ingenious. Due to the lack of dirt, or only having limited supplies of it, bodies are composted. Once composted the remains are reused as compost for growing new food. It might be against what we commonly believe but when you have limited supplies of minerals and fertiliser, this is a very economic way of producing food. It is another way of helping the community survive and continue and is another way of paying back for everything the community has provided in life.

There is so much more as well but the best way to discover it is to read the book, which I highly recommend.

The Chestnut Man by Søren Sveistrup

An expected UK publishing date 10 January 2019

Naia Thulin is currently working in the serious crimes division and wants to move over to the Cyber Crime squad in the Danish police force. She has just been assigned a new partner that she does not like and feels that she does not need even though she has yet to meet him.

Mark Hess has been sent back to the Danish force after a temporary reassignment from Europol where he feels he has been badly treated and his return home is not a happy one. With both characters not wanting to be where they find themselves, they are put onto a murder enquiry which soon becomes a countrywide hunt for a serial killer.

This book is horrific, gory, bloodthirsty but boy, is it an excellent read!

The two police officers cannot agree on how the investigation should go, their superior is preventing them from looking into historic murder cases as he feels they are not connected. Hess simply does not want to be there at all, spending his time attempting to decorate and sell a flat he owns. Thulin is constantly hoping that her wish to join the cyber crime team comes to fruition. Then they both start to become involved in the murders as they both see that the commanding officer wants a quick result and anything that sticks, will do.

I started off not feeling anything for any of the characters and not much love for the gory start but as chapters progress I became engrossed and ended up not being able to put it down and having to read beyond 1am to reach the finale, which is tremendous!. I never spotted the perpetrator and even when we knew who it was the story still progressed at a brilliant pace because now, we as readers were really invested in the outcome.

I would like to thank Søren Sveistrup, Penguin UK/Michael Joseph and Netgalley for a free ecopy in return for an honest and fair review.

Discovering new music and music streaming

6 years is a long time but hopefully I’ll start something new here whilst leaving the old stuff in place. I do have a book review blog, a link should be here somewhere.

I’m of a certain age, over 55 anyway. I have always spent a lot of my free time listening to music and for some reason it came to my mind just how lucky music lovers both old and young are today. With

the internet we all have access to what ever makes our ears happy. For instance my music formative years were the 70’s and I simply loved prog rock and listened to what ever I could at the time. Mainstream radio stations played very little, if any at all, even if they did it was late night when all good teenagers were asleep.

Today, we can listen to what we like, when we like. I have Spotify and love it. I can use it free and listen to a few annoying adverts every hour or I could pay the price of 1 CD and listen to everything they have for a month! For me personally, I think it is a great service. I discover new bands almost daily and these are bands that I could have discovered in my teens if this sort of service had been around. Their music was never played on any radio station that I knew of.

I know musicians moan about the streaming services and they do not get as much income from these sources but for young bands, a handful of listeners can spread the word worldwide, rather than a few mates you knew where into the same music. Then, if they are anything like I was, you paid to go to concerts, where bands earn the real income anyway.

So, back to my point. Streaming has given me quite literally, a whole new library of bands to listen to that where around and playing great music that I never got to listen to, until now. Today I have Beggars Opera and their Pathfinder album from 1972. Not heard by these ears until nearly 45 after the event and probably never heard at all by me without my access to the internet. Why is there so much crap out in this electronic world when there are some really good things out there too?

The Trowie Mound Murders by Marsali Taylor

Cass Lynch once again finds herself the centre of a murder investigation. Art thieves and drug smugglers all play their part in this. The local Trowie Mound, the Shetlan for Neolithic burial mounds, comes under scrutiny as one set of travelers goes missing. It soon becomes apparent that there is a lot more at stake than some missing art.

Another brilliant read with the waters around Shetland playing a key role in what is another very good story. Cass finds herself in the middle of this as she starts off by being a good samaritan and goes looking for some missing boaters that ventured into the hills. She soon becomes the target as the thieves find her at their hiding place and lock her in the Trowie Mound.

Besides all that goes on with the crimes, Cass also starts to have feelings for the Inverness DI that comes to the island a second time to investigate what is going on. There is also Anders, her Norwegian crew mate. This is only a side story and I hope it stays that way but I thought I had to mention it.

A great second story in these Shetland Sailing Mysteries.

Death On A Longship by Marsali Taylor

Cass Lynch is desperate to skipper her own Tallship and crew, sadly she currently works winters as a waitress and summers giving sailing lessons until one day in the restaurant she works in she overhears a conversation. A film crew are looking for a skipper to get a Viking Longship refitted and seaworthy to use on their next film project. Cass immediately puts herself forward.

Once the Longship is ready and the film crew arrives things go well for a while then the lead actress is found dead on the Longship. Along with a few other characters, Cass seems to be the main suspect.

I really enjoyed this, lots of twists and turns. The characters are well written and likeable. In the early chapters we get a lot of introspective thought by Cass about how she has ended up where she now finds herself but the story still moves along nicely and all this introspection has more meaning as the story progresses.

Some of the dialogue is written phonetically in the Shetland dialect. I am not normally a fan of this but in this book it is not overly used and where it is used it is part of someone's character. You can't have a salty old Shetland fisherman talking the Queens English can you?

I have been so lucky in my book choices recently and this was another great read.

Paris Echo by Sebastian Faulks

Paris Echo by Sebastian Faulks

A teenage Moroccan boy runs away to Paris to try and discover something about his French Mother.

An American postdoctoral researcher returns to Paris ten years after her student years in the city.

Tariq travels the rougher parts of Paris on the Metro that he falls in love with and works illegally in a fried chicken take-away. The search for his mothers history leads him to discover plenty about French/Arab recent history. His naivety of the recent past is startling but he learns to accept some of what has happened to his fellow Arabs and relates it to his lost mother even if that was not her families fate.

Hannah is researching the life of women in occupied France during World War Two. She spends her days listening to womens accounts of their lives during the war, recorded and kept in a library. She also revisits a few places from her past and meets up with an English friend. They talk about her research, her past love in the city. He helps with some of her research gaining access to one of the recorded women that is still alive. Ultimately Hannah discovers that she can love again.

Two very different characters brought together in this interesting story.  Tariq ends up lodging in the flat that Hannah has rented. His French is much better than Hannahs so he helps with some translating. He also provides a sounding board for Hannahs thoughts though neither realise this. These little discussions help them both come to realise what they both really want in their lives.

A lovely read with some dark humour hidden where you least expect it. Once again a highly recommend from me

The Little Country by Charles de Lint

Janey Little discovers a book hidden in her grandfathers attic. She is captivated by the first few pages and that is by an author she loves but did not know of this book. Then an old boyfriend comes back into her life unexpectedly and then things start to get complicated.

A strange cult leader has been searching for this book for most of his life. The last time he 'felt' it was when it was last opened some forty years ago. There is nothing he will not do to get his hands on this book this time.

I am slowly reading my way through de Lint's books in something close to published order and so far I have enjoyed every word. To start with I thought this would be the first book I was not going to enjoy but as I got into the story this feeling changed. Janey is a bit whiney and likes everything her own way, to the point where it drives people away. Anyone that does not agree with her is either shouted down or ignored. Her ex coming back into her life only seems to give her another reason to moan. Not a great start!

Ignoring this part of the story I persevered as there are two definite threads running in this story. You find that besides Janey's story we are also reading the book she has discovered and this story has a magical quality that I have come to expect when reading de Lint. The two stories seem far removed from each other but as we reach the climax we come to realise they are closely related. Also a very nice twist at the end, I'll not explain as it would spoil the read if you pick it up.

Another brilliant read from de Lint, another recommendation from me if you enjoy Urban Fantasy.

Information Received by E.R. Punshon

Bobby Owen has been a beat policeman for just over three years when he finds himself at the scene of a murder. At first he is simply another policeman at the scene but his inquisitive nature and frustrations at not not being more involved finally get him seconded to the C.I.D temporarily on this case.

He finds himself mainly doing the footwork but the detective in charge sees something more in Bobby and starts to include him more in the crime investigations.

This is the first of over thirty books about Bobby Owen as we follow his career in the police force of thirties and Forties Britain.

Originally published in 1933 this first instalment is a brilliant insight into life of thirties England. I really enjoyed this ebook even if the storytelling is a bit convoluted and life is seen through rose tinted glasses. Owen is an interesting character, driven by the need to know answers to unsolved mysteries. Dedicated to the truth at any cost to himself.

This story has a great plot with twists and turns on almost every page. I am not one who can ever guess early who the perpetrator of these crime books is, in this one it was even harder because we do not find out until quite late in the story that there are two.

I highly recommend this ebook if you enjoy period crime writing, or even crime writing in general.

Ten Thousand Thunders by Brian Trent

Ten Thousand Thunders by Brian Trent

Expected publication date 6^th October 2018

In a future time, the world is run by industrial factions and for 300 years there has been peace of sorts. Now war is upon civilisation once again, this time there seems to be something else at play. An

unexplained explosion on the Moon and the destruction of a space craft within seconds of the explosion seem at first unrelated but it is soon realised they are related.

In the aftermath, Gethin Bryce is tasked with finding out what went wrong and what forces are at play. He is joined by a Wastelander and two operatives from an opposite industrial faction. This disperate quartet aim to get to the truth about what is going on and try to halt the total annihilation of all life in the solar system as war would surely bring the end of everything.

I found the plot facsinating but somehow, reading the book left me deflated. The characters seemed flat, I did not like them or hate them. The writing is well paced and kept the story moving along nicely. What world building there is, is quite sparce. I like good world building in SF, sadly this left me wanting more.

Overall, a good solid read, hopefully more and better to come as I will be looking out the next episode as I understand the author is already working on it.

My thanks to Flame Tree Press, Brian Trent & Netgalley for the eARC copy in return for an honest and fair review.

Coffin Road by Peter May

A man washes up on the shore and does not know who or where he is.
A young girl becomes rebellious with her mother after her fathers apparent suicide two years ago. Then discovers he is almost certainly still alive.

A detective is brought in to discover just who the murdered man is whos body is discovered by holiday makers.

DS George Gunn (of the Lewis trilogy) returns in this story where almost nothing appears what it seems to be.

To start with the man washed ashore seems to remember nothing about who he is, yet has fractional memories returning to him as he gets back to a house that he is apparently renting.
This part of the story goes on rather long and it is a great relief when we finally meet some of the other characters.

Firstly we meet Karan, a rebellious young girl who is slowly going off the rails until she discovers her presumed dead father might actually be still alive.
DS Gunn is frustrated that he is getting nowhere with his investigation as his main suspect has no memory of who he is or what he is doing on the island.

This mishmash of single strands is bought together nicely with an eco twist in the tale, one that is very relevant today.
Another really good story with the Highlands scenery once again taking centre stage in another Hebrides tale from Peter May

Dead Simple by Peter James

Roy Grace is a thirty-something inspector who is trying to come to terms with his new desk promotion when he finds himself getting involved in a missing persons case. On a stag night, four young men are killed in a road accident and the fifth, the groom, is missing.

His business partner and his fiance both become suspects as Grace feels there is something not quite right with their statements or behaviour.

As the search for the missing man becomes more urgent as the days go by, Grace becomes more involved in the case.

I really enjoyed this book. The plot is entralling, there are plenty of twists and turns as one minute you feel that Grace has it covered, the next it seems as if all hope has gone. Another book that kept me awake till the small hours as I just had to know what would happen.

Highly recommend this one.

The Katharina Code by Jørn Lier Horst

As this is the twelfth book of the Wisting series I was a bit worried that I would be missing a lot of the characters history. I have to admit that this was not the case.

Wisting is a Cheif Inspector in the Norwegian Police Service. Every year for the past twenty four years he has reread the files of a cold case as it has played on his mind that som,ething was missed at the time.

Adrian Stiller, from Police HQ has been assigned to go through the files of another cold case that is two years older, Stiller thinks that both cases are linked.

I soon settled into this book, the characters are well rounded, as you would expect. The story telling has a brilliant pace, starting off gently and building steadily to where Wisting finds himself in a life threatening situation. I found myself having to slow my reading pace as I was rushing through it. I like to savour books when I read them but this one really started to get me racing!

I notice some of the earlier Wisting books have been translated into English. I will definitely be searching them out.

I would like to thank the publishers Penguin UK/Michael Joseph, Jørn Lier Horst and Netgalley for inviting me to read this book and give an honest review.

Earth Abides by George R Stewart

Earth Abides by George R Stewart

Ish finds himself one of just a few survivors after a mysterious virus pretty much wipes out humanity. He travels across America looking for survivors but ends up back at his family home on his own. Over time he does find a few survivors and a small community is founded.

They have to deal with the slow loss of utilities as they fall down but more survivors arrive and the community grows.

Children are born as they face more hardships but generally the community thrives under these new conditions.

This book has dated badly in places, a lot of things are very much stuck in the late forties but the main thrust of the story, the survival and the building of a new lifestyle shine through strongly. Although this book starts of as a disaster novel, it ends up with a surprising amount of hope for the future

When Worlds Collide by Philip Wylie and Edwin Balmer

When Worlds Collide by Philip Wylie and Edwin Balmer

It is discovered that a couple of rogue planets are coming into our sloar system and after further research, one will collide and destroy our planet. After the initial hysteria, most lives go back to some sort of temporary normality whilst a select group of scientists attempt to build rockets that will hopefully take a handful of people to the second planet. It is hoped that by the time this second planet

is in orbit around our sun, life will be possible.

We get to read about what natural disasters afflict the planet as the rogue planets get closer, earthquakes, tsunamis and volcanic activity across the planet. The personal story concerns a sort of anti-hero who has no special skills to offer but gets onto the scientific team anyway. Of course (being the 30’s) there is a romantic involvment with the lead scientists daughter and our hero but it’s more hero worship on our heros part. He simply worships her for her imense knowledge and understanding. He sort of gets the girl in the end but this is the first of three, so no guarantees (unless you’ve read After Worlds Collide).

There are some themes in this book which are very much of their time, the world political view being very dated but a reflection of how they were.
I recommend this especially if you enjoy SF from very close to it’s earliest days.

Violent Skies by T.J. Lockwood

Violent Skies by T.J. Lockwood

Teresa is a courier and she delivers packages throughout North America. Thing is North America is pretty much a wasteland with most dwelling in ground based cities or small, renegade settlements.

There are also the 12 floating cities that seem to have most of the wealth and latest technology. City Eleven was attacked and crashed to the ground. It has become a no-go area for everyone apart from those born in the city and have been allowed to leave the city to go wandering.

Teresa’s latest job is to deliver a package, a man, to City Eleven.

There is a lot of good writing and imagination in this debut novel. Sadly the author seems to get lost in her writing sometimes to the detriment of the story. Overall this was a quick, light read where it could have been so much more. As Debut’s go it was satisfactory but I will look out for more by this author.

Thanks to Netgalley& Mecha Panda Publishing for this review copy.

Galahad At Blandings by P.G. Wodehouse

Galahad At Blandings by P.G. Wodehouse.

Recently republished as Blandings: Problems With Drink

Original title: The Brinkmanship of Galahad Threepwood

Clarence, Lord Emsworth, attempts to stay out of harms way and only wishes to enjoy his prize pig, The Empress, and read books on pig husbandry. He also spends a great deal of time attempting to stay

out of reach from his sister Hermione who has taken it upon herself to try and bring Clarence and Blandings Castle into the sort of house she thinks it should be. Even hiring a secretary for Clarence!

Galahad, Clarences brother, has also moved into the castle for a short stay. His main aims are also to stay beyond his sisters reach and enjoy as much alcohol as possible whilst interfearing in everyone elses lives, to bring what he considers to be harmony to the household.

Poor Beech the butler has had his watch stolen!

If you know Wodehouse's writing from either the Blandings books or his Jeeves And Wooster then you will know that the above scenarios all end up in a bit of an hilarious mess. Lots of misunderstandings, word play at it’s very best but most of all, a heartwarming and witty story. The only thing missing from this one is did Beech get his watch back?

Great fun