H_B Posted January 8, 2013 Author Share Posted January 8, 2013 My latest "discovery" is Ingrid Black/Eilis O'Hanlon. Dublin crime noir that's extremely well written - a very pleasant surprise. I came across it in a charity shop and had never heard of "her" (it's actually a husband and wife writing team) "The Dead" is probably the best place to start. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Granny Danger Posted January 8, 2013 Share Posted January 8, 2013 I was going to get that Lewis Man book as well, just because of the price. Glad I didn't now. When I registered my Kindle, I got a month of Amazon Prime free, with access to the Kindle Lending Library. I thought I'd try Blood Tears by Michael J Malone. Crime, set in Glasgow, expected it to be full of that witty weegie patter with a clever storyline. What's good about it is there's a nice twist I hadn't seen coming and it doesn't finish in a nicely wrapped bundle where they all live happily ever after. What's bad? None of the weegie banter I expected, the story is the classic 'Catholic nonce gets what's coming', not exactly original and the DI investigating makes some frankly ridiculous choices that only serve to further f**k things up. I'm just glad I never paid for it. Usual price is £1.99, so if you can afford to throw that away and have nothing else to read, go ahead. If you want something clever and original, keep your money and find something else. Read a couple of Colin Bateman books following you mentioning them. The Starkey ones are good but the latest one, 9 inches, is better than his earlier stuff. Maybe his style has improved the more he has written. Started on Mystery Man today, liked it so far. The Lewis Man is part of a trilogy. You should really read The Blackhouse first, for it to make more sense. I've read both. I liked The Blackhouse, but found The Lewis Man harder work, and pretty dull. Have read and enjoyed all three books but agree starting with the Black House is the best option. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lisa Cuddy Posted January 8, 2013 Share Posted January 8, 2013 Read a couple of Colin Bateman books following you mentioning them. The Starkey ones are good but the latest one, 9 inches, is better than his earlier stuff. Maybe his style has improved the more he has written. Started on Mystery Man today, liked it so far. I've still not read any after that first one yet, but will definitely get around to it at some point, hopefully soon. I've got a load of free/20p books to get through for the time being and I want to try and read them before I buy anything else! Divorcing Jack was certainly enjoyable and it was a compelling story but I felt that the writing itself could have been improved on - it wasn't bad, but it came across as a very young, inexperienced author writing for the first time. Which makes sense, of course. Glad to see he gets better. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mighty meadow Posted January 9, 2013 Share Posted January 9, 2013 The Lewis Man is part of a trilogy. You should really read The Blackhouse first, for it to make more sense. I've read both. I liked The Blackhouse, but found The Lewis Man harder work, and pretty dull. ^^^ agree with above, 100% ^^^ I will wait until The Chessmen comes out in paperback so I can complete the trilogy. Hoping it's more like the 1st book than the 2nd. Currently reading 'Birthdays For The Dead' by Stuart MacBride. Struggling to get into it though read a good few chapters last night. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stimpy Posted January 25, 2013 Share Posted January 25, 2013 "A Million little pieces" by James Frey It's the account of the authors time in a rehab unit in America, apparently he has taken some poetic licence with some of the stories from his youth. I however could care less, I normally take an age to read a book just due to time constraints but I turned over the 511 pages in this one in 5 days. It was compelling stuff without having huge cliff hangers or things in the story that made you read on to see how they were resolved. I just had to keep going and see what came next how he got through the next day. Nothing is ever perfect so a close 9/10 from me. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mighty meadow Posted January 25, 2013 Share Posted January 25, 2013 (edited) Finished this ... From Amazon ... The Number One bestselling crime thriller from the award-winning Stuart MacBride. A bloody, brilliant and brutal story of murder, kidnap and revenge.Detective Constable Ash Henderson has a dark secret… Five years ago his daughter, Rebecca, went missing on the eve of her thirteenth birthday. A year later the first card arrived: home-made, with a Polaroid picture stuck to the front Rebecca, strapped to a chair, gagged and terrified. Every year another card: each one worse than the last. The tabloids call him 'The Birthday Boy'. He's been snatching girls for twelve years, always in the run-up to their thirteenth birthday, sending the families his home-made cards showing their daughters being slowly tortured to death. But Ash hasn't told anyone about Rebecca's birthday cards they all think she's just run away from home because if anyone finds out, he'll be taken off the investigation. And he's sacrificed too much to give up before his daughter's killer gets what he deserves… Personally I struggled to get through this. The story was unbelievable, I didn't really care about any of the characters. As soon as a certain character was introduced I guessed they were the culprit and halfway through I just wated it to finish. 4/10 Now reading this ... Edited January 25, 2013 by mighty meadow 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YOGI IS GOD Posted January 26, 2013 Share Posted January 26, 2013 (edited) Billy Connolly's Journey to the Edge of the World - Really good easy-going read, I think he's a bit of an arse these days but it's still a good travel book with a load of belly laughs 6/10. Knots and Crosses - Ian Rankin: My first ever Rankin novel, a real page turner and it's fun to read fiction in a Scottish setting. 7/10 Edited January 26, 2013 by YOGI IS GOD 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Granny Danger Posted January 26, 2013 Share Posted January 26, 2013 Billy Connolly's Journey to the Edge of the World - Really good easy-going read, I think he's a bit of an arse these days but it's still a good travel book with a load of belly laughs 6/10. Knots and Crosses - Ian Rankin: My first ever Rankin novel, a real page turner and it's fun to read fiction in a Scottish setting. 7/10 Knots and Crosses was one of the early Rebus novels, if you liked that you'll like the others because his writing style did improve as the series of books progressed. I'm about quarter of the way through 'When the Devil Drives' by Christopher Brookmyre. A decent read but so far none of the dark humour I associate with his writing. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DA Baracus Posted January 26, 2013 Share Posted January 26, 2013 Im currently reading Star Wars: The New Jedi Order: Edge Of Victory II: Rebirth 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Savage Henry Posted January 26, 2013 Share Posted January 26, 2013 At last! Finally got through The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich by William L. Shirer. It did require cheating and listening to the second half on audiobook, but still. Also sped through Smiley's People by John Le Carre, which I didn't enjoy nearly as much as Tinker, Tailor... Now, probably going to have to read some International Relations textbook for my MA. Which is more interesting than it sounds. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daviehaybhoy Posted January 26, 2013 Share Posted January 26, 2013 The Problem of Pain - CS Lewis. Lewis was a brilliant theologian and the discussion of suffering being permitted by God is treated from his own previously held Atheist view and the monotheistic argument. Orthodoxy - GK Chesterton The greatest theology book of all time imo. Chesterton compares Christian philosophy with others and it is brilliantly written. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ludo*1 Posted January 26, 2013 Share Posted January 26, 2013 Anyone read any of the Necroscope series? Been recommended it, but not sure if it'd be to my liking. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SlipperyP Posted January 26, 2013 Share Posted January 26, 2013 just been handed a book; Familiar Strangers - Quicksand Bryan Forbes not a fiction reader usually, but yes/no 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SlipperyP Posted January 26, 2013 Share Posted January 26, 2013 The Problem of Pain - CS Lewis. Lewis was a brilliant theologian and the discussion of suffering being permitted by God is treated from his own previously held Atheist view and the monotheistic argument. Orthodoxy - GK Chesterton The greatest theology book of all time imo. Chesterton compares Christian philosophy with others and it is brilliantly written. I honestly thought you had given up with this shite, I will not up my count by hounding you, only once will do.....On be behave of planet earth... f**k OFF 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daviehaybhoy Posted January 26, 2013 Share Posted January 26, 2013 CS Lewis theology books are far superior to the fantasy novels he wrote. They are however allegorical for this Christian beliefs but his arguments are brilliantly thought out and clear and they stay with you 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SS-18 ICBM Posted January 26, 2013 Share Posted January 26, 2013 Though the aforementioned reviewers would have us believe that Tolkien's books contain simple allegories of good vs. evil, Tolkien portrays wizards and witches and wizardry as both good and evil. There is white magic and black magic in Tolkien's fantasies. For example, a wizard named Gandalf is portrayed as a good person who convinces Bilbo Baggins in The Hobbit to take a journey to recover stolen treasure. The books depict the calling up of the dead to assist the living, which is plainly condemned in the Scriptures. Though not as overtly and sympathetically occultic as the Harry Potter series, Tolkien's fantasies are unscriptural and present a very dangerous message. TOLKIEN SAID THE BOOKS ARE NOT CHRISTIAN ALLEGORIES In his last interview in 1971, Tolkien plainly stated that he did not intend The Lord of the Rings as a Christian allegory and that Christ is not depicted in his fantasy novels. When asked about the efforts of the trilogy's hero, Frodo, to struggle on and destroy the ring, Tolkien said, "But that seems I suppose more like an allegory of the human race. I've always been impressed that we're here surviving because of the indomitable courage of quite small people against impossible odds: jungles, volcanoes, wild beasts... they struggle on, almost blindly in a way" (Interview by Dennis Gerrolt; it was first broadcast in January 1971 on BBC Radio 4 program "Now Read On..."). That doesn't sound like the gospel to me. When Gerrolt asked Tolkien, "Is the book to be considered as an allegory?" the author replied, "No. I dislike allegory whenever I smell it." Thus, the author of The Lord of the Rings denied the very thing that some Christians today are claiming, that these fantasies are an allegory of Christ's victory over the devil. TOLKIEN SPAWNED DUNGEONS AND DRAGONS Tolkien's books created the vast and spiritually dangerous fantasy role-playing games that are so influential today. Dungeons and Dragons, which appeared in the early 1970s, was based on Tolkien's fantasy novels. One fantasy-game web site makes this interesting observation: "The whole fantasy adventure genre of books came into play when J.R. Tolkien wrote his The Lord of the Rings books. From his vivid imagination and creative thinking he created the fantasy adventure genre. Tolkien probably got his ideas from ancient religions. Peoples of different civilizations were writing epic's way before Tolkien was even born. They wrote epics about people with superior strength, about gods that punished people and, travels to the underworld. Tolkien is accredited to being the man who started it all but if traced back even further you'll see that he wasn't the one that created it, just the one that pushed it forth." This secular writer better understands what Tolkien's books are about than the aforementioned Christian publications. Tolkien certainly did get his ideas from pagan religions, and the message promoted in his fantasy books is strictly pagan. ROCK AND ROLLERS LOVE TOLKIEN Tolkien has influenced many rock and rollers. The song "Misty Mountain Hop" by the demonic hard rock group, Led Zeppelin, was inspired by Tolkien's writings. Marc Bolan, of the rock group Tyannasaurus Rex, created a musical and visual style influenced by Tolkien. The heavy metal rock group Iluvatar named themselves after a fictional god from Tolkien's work The Silmarillion. Others could be mentioned. C.S. Lewis, who the church at large respects as a Christian apologist and author, bore the fruits of an infiltrator by promoting the doctrine of "white magic" (good magic) via fictional novels directed toward children. Because all magick that is not merely illusory tricks originates with Satan, Lewis' "white magic" lie is definitely worthy of scrutiny. All real magick originates with Satan and his devils. Any writer who represents himself as a Christian and yet conditions his readers to embrace the concept of helpful, "white magic" is knowingly furthering Satan's agenda. In the case of the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and The Lord of the Rings, the authors' "good magic" paradigm shift has primed many people to believe that supernatural occurrences should be regarded as good--even if the source of the power is not from God--if the result is good. The truth: The source of all supernatural activity is either from God and his angels or Satan and his devils. In any literary work -- including fiction -- if God and his angels are not identified as the source of supernatural activity, then Satan and his devils are the source of the power, whether the author discloses this fact or not. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_eZKOFGEkQ 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daviehaybhoy Posted January 26, 2013 Share Posted January 26, 2013 SS last post was full of it so he deleted it. His youtube link is off topic and tedious; like most of his troll drivel 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christophe Posted January 27, 2013 Share Posted January 27, 2013 The Best Of Myles by Flann O'Brien. Even funnier than The Third Policeman, which is no mean feat. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jester Posted January 27, 2013 Share Posted January 27, 2013 Scotland: End To End by Cameron McNeish One for the hillwalkers amongst you. Quite a good read. 8/10 Full review on my BLOG. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jester Posted January 27, 2013 Share Posted January 27, 2013 Does anyone else have a specific subject matter they tend to read about? For me it's Soviet Russia I've read some good thrillers set in Pre WW2 Germany. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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