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bigbeardedbookseller's reviews
480 reviews
Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake
4.0
Three Dark Crowns is the start of a Y.A. fantasy series by Kendare Blake, and a good start at that. For once I never got the twist until the end of the book, which leaves us on a massive (almost literally) cliff-hanger of a revelation.
Kendare tells the story of Three Princesses, triplets that are born every generation to become the Queen of Fennbirn, the only problem is that the other two have to die for one to be crowned.
Each Princess is meant to be the master of a different type of magic; poison, elemental and natural and are given to their sixteenth year to develop their skills in their speciality.
Things do not go as planned (well if it all went as planned there wouldn’t be much of a novel really) and we follow the three princesses through these.
I enjoyed the premise and the execution was well done and am looking forward to the next book in the series.
Kendare tells the story of Three Princesses, triplets that are born every generation to become the Queen of Fennbirn, the only problem is that the other two have to die for one to be crowned.
Each Princess is meant to be the master of a different type of magic; poison, elemental and natural and are given to their sixteenth year to develop their skills in their speciality.
Things do not go as planned (well if it all went as planned there wouldn’t be much of a novel really) and we follow the three princesses through these.
I enjoyed the premise and the execution was well done and am looking forward to the next book in the series.
In the Beginning...Was the Command Line by Neal Stephenson
4.0
It’s been quite a while since I read this and I remember it being a book that helped me navigate the social phenomenon of the Internet and how it has developed.
Mainly humorous, definitely tongue-in-cheek, this book still makes points that are worth exploring today even though it is almost 20 years old.
An updated version would be appreciated.
Mainly humorous, definitely tongue-in-cheek, this book still makes points that are worth exploring today even though it is almost 20 years old.
An updated version would be appreciated.
In Praise of the Garrulous by Allan Cameron
4.0
A wonderfully, garrulous account of language and its development, but also a warning on where our language could go if we aren’t careful.
Love of words, sounds and the full gamut of the English language is sung out loud here, and that song is a rallying cry for those who also love the language as much.
Slang and common-tongue is not ridiculed but seen as a dark slope that can limit the use of words and expression by ‘streamlining’ our speech and thought processes.
As an object I found the book desirable, with a great cover and flyleaf that holds information and images.
Love of words, sounds and the full gamut of the English language is sung out loud here, and that song is a rallying cry for those who also love the language as much.
Slang and common-tongue is not ridiculed but seen as a dark slope that can limit the use of words and expression by ‘streamlining’ our speech and thought processes.
As an object I found the book desirable, with a great cover and flyleaf that holds information and images.
Five Rivers Met on a Wooded Plain by Barney Norris
4.0
Before I started working as a bookseller for Waterstones I would never have contemplated reading a book such as this.
I would have looked at the blurb and thought ‘why would I want to read a story about real lives intertwining?’ I was far more interested in magic, dragons, spaceships and lasers, quite a limited reading pool really.
This was one of our books of the month and I’m trying to read beyond my normal genres, so I opted to read this.
I was captivated, the rambling nature of the books echoed that of rivers and their tributaries, the simplicity and paucity of language used cut the experiences down to their essentials.
Before I knew it I had finished the book, but was pleased that I had found more genres to read and thank Barney Norris for introducing me to them.
I would have looked at the blurb and thought ‘why would I want to read a story about real lives intertwining?’ I was far more interested in magic, dragons, spaceships and lasers, quite a limited reading pool really.
This was one of our books of the month and I’m trying to read beyond my normal genres, so I opted to read this.
I was captivated, the rambling nature of the books echoed that of rivers and their tributaries, the simplicity and paucity of language used cut the experiences down to their essentials.
Before I knew it I had finished the book, but was pleased that I had found more genres to read and thank Barney Norris for introducing me to them.
Extreme Rambling: Walking Israels Separation Barrier - For Fun. by Mark Thomas, Mark Thomas
4.0
I bought this book after the show of Mark’s walk around the Israeli Barrier.
The show was highly entertaining and spiced with Mark’s wit and sense of outrage, all of this transferred well to the book.
In the book Mark could expand on the themes and ideas that he brought to the show and go more in-depth with his examples and verbal ramblings.
An important show and book, people should read this to get a personal feel of what is happening in Apartheid Israel and how they are treating the Palestinians.
The show was highly entertaining and spiced with Mark’s wit and sense of outrage, all of this transferred well to the book.
In the book Mark could expand on the themes and ideas that he brought to the show and go more in-depth with his examples and verbal ramblings.
An important show and book, people should read this to get a personal feel of what is happening in Apartheid Israel and how they are treating the Palestinians.
The Adversary: A True Story of Monstrous Deception by Emmanuel Carrère
4.0
The Adversary is an interpretation of the name Satan, and this is where the writer gets the title of the book from, as the acts and behaviour of Jean-Claude Romand could be interpreted as evil.
This is a hard read, but compelling, in the way that watching a car crash is compelling.
How Jean-Claude Romand was able to live such a life for so long is unimaginable, the lies he told and the lies others must have told themselves to compound his initial lies are beyond belief.
The translation gives the book an almost clinical tone, but it is suited to the subject matter.
This is a book that has to be read, if only to convince yourself that it is not a work of fiction.
This is a hard read, but compelling, in the way that watching a car crash is compelling.
How Jean-Claude Romand was able to live such a life for so long is unimaginable, the lies he told and the lies others must have told themselves to compound his initial lies are beyond belief.
The translation gives the book an almost clinical tone, but it is suited to the subject matter.
This is a book that has to be read, if only to convince yourself that it is not a work of fiction.
Pax by Sara Pennypacker
4.0
I will make this clear right from the start. This book had me in tears at several points, the whole of the first chapter was so sad I had to put the book away for a week before I went back to it, but once I went back to it I couldn’t put it down.
A story of a boy and his rescued, but then abandoned fox (beautifully illustrated by Jon Klassen). We follow the trials of Peter and Pax through alternating chapters.
We watch them develop and grow and become independent. This story touches on a lot of difficult subjects, such as; truth, love, anger, and guilt, all against the backdrop of an escalating war.
Though we are unsure of which war and which country, there is a feeling that this could be in small, town America but also European. This ambiguity serves to highlight the universality of the emotions that are being explored.
I had an unsettling feeling throughout that the end was going to be extremely sad, but though there was a sadness it was triumphed by the independence that both Peter and Pax had achieved and was the correct ending.
Loved the book throughout even though I had to put it down, made all the more special by Klassen’s wonderful illustrations.
A story of a boy and his rescued, but then abandoned fox (beautifully illustrated by Jon Klassen). We follow the trials of Peter and Pax through alternating chapters.
We watch them develop and grow and become independent. This story touches on a lot of difficult subjects, such as; truth, love, anger, and guilt, all against the backdrop of an escalating war.
Though we are unsure of which war and which country, there is a feeling that this could be in small, town America but also European. This ambiguity serves to highlight the universality of the emotions that are being explored.
I had an unsettling feeling throughout that the end was going to be extremely sad, but though there was a sadness it was triumphed by the independence that both Peter and Pax had achieved and was the correct ending.
Loved the book throughout even though I had to put it down, made all the more special by Klassen’s wonderful illustrations.
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
4.0
Melancholic.
This is about the only word that can be used to describe this book, it is there from the start to the end.
Always on the verge of crying. This is such a well-crafted elegy to the dead or about to die.
Nothing is clear and the characters see their lives written in euphemisms.
Certainly a book to get you thinking about societies and how societies other outsiders, how societies commodify aspects of life they shouldn’t.
This is about the only word that can be used to describe this book, it is there from the start to the end.
Always on the verge of crying. This is such a well-crafted elegy to the dead or about to die.
Nothing is clear and the characters see their lives written in euphemisms.
Certainly a book to get you thinking about societies and how societies other outsiders, how societies commodify aspects of life they shouldn’t.
Sky Song by Abi Elphinstone
4.0
This started as if it was a children's classic, with an evil Ice Queen corrupting what used to be good and fair and after the first chapter I was hooked.
It concerns the quest of Eska and Flint, with various other companions, to fight the Ice Queen and restore balance to the land and free the prisoners of the Ice Queen.
The pace was excellent and helped me keep going through the book, always wanting to know what was going to happen next to these characters.
It was another wonderful touch that all the adults were prisoners and it was up to children to not only save the world but more importantly to keep the world running.
The magic in the world was subtle, but powerful and developed well from a beginning where it isn't trusted to where it is so important.
There were touches of Philip Pullman in here, and touches of old fairy tales, but overall it is a beautifully described world with an exciting adventure.
It concerns the quest of Eska and Flint, with various other companions, to fight the Ice Queen and restore balance to the land and free the prisoners of the Ice Queen.
The pace was excellent and helped me keep going through the book, always wanting to know what was going to happen next to these characters.
It was another wonderful touch that all the adults were prisoners and it was up to children to not only save the world but more importantly to keep the world running.
The magic in the world was subtle, but powerful and developed well from a beginning where it isn't trusted to where it is so important.
There were touches of Philip Pullman in here, and touches of old fairy tales, but overall it is a beautifully described world with an exciting adventure.
Witch for a Week by Kaye Umansky
4.0
Elsie is chosen to look after Magenta’s Witch Tower for a week whilst Magenta goes to see her sister. Elsie doesn’t realise why in the beginning but sees it as a good opportunity to get away from the domestic chaos of her house where her younger brothers tend to chew on anything, including to her dismay, books.
With a lovely cast of supporting characters we follow Elsie through her discovery of why she was chosen to look after Magenta’s tower.
There are plenty laughs and comedic exchanges throughout the book, with some really silly bits, but everything sorts itself out in the end.
This was a wonderful evenings read and would be an exciting book to read to lots of younger children, with plenty of exlamations and different voices.
Absolutely love the illustrations from Ashley King.
I’m really looking forward to the continuation of the series and finding out how the characters get on and develop.
With a lovely cast of supporting characters we follow Elsie through her discovery of why she was chosen to look after Magenta’s tower.
There are plenty laughs and comedic exchanges throughout the book, with some really silly bits, but everything sorts itself out in the end.
This was a wonderful evenings read and would be an exciting book to read to lots of younger children, with plenty of exlamations and different voices.
Absolutely love the illustrations from Ashley King.
I’m really looking forward to the continuation of the series and finding out how the characters get on and develop.