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Book Reviews
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David Stone30 May 2009
Until the recent film release, Dan Brown's Angels and Demons was far less famous and successful than its sequel, The Da Vinci Code, but in many ways it is actually the better book. Although both Angels and Demons and The Da Vinci Code feature Harvard Symbologist Robert Langdon as the hero and feature similar plot elements, such as the conspiracies of secret societies and the Catholic Church, Angels and Demons is the far more exciting, absorbing and plausible of the two. The plot is full of twists, turns, intrigue and red herrings but, basically, the action follows Robert Langdon as he tries to stop an Illuminati plot to destroy Vatican City and bring down the Catholic Church using stolen antimatter particles. The Illuminati are an ancient secret society of scientists and free thinkers who were believed to have been destroyed by Church purges. But, following the death of the Pope, four Cardinals are kidnapped just before the papal conclave is due to begin to decide on who should be appointed as the new Pope. The missing Cardinals turn out to be the Preferiti, those considered to be the most likely to become Pope, and it seems clear that the Illuminati have returned and are after revenge against the church. Helped by Vittoria Vetra, one of the scientists who developed the antimatter that was stolen by the Illuminati, Robert Langdon has to follow the Path of Illumination across Rome to track down the Illuminati and save the four kidnapped Cardinals before they are murdered. Angels and Demons is one of the best books I have read - it is a fantastic story and I got so engrossed that I could hardly put it down! I can't wait for The Lost Symbol to be released so that I can find out what Dan Brown has in store for Robert Langdon next.
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Misha29 May 2009
This book is brilliant; it contains everything that you will need to know for biology GCSE. It is easy to look at the different units and has great questions at the end of each page to see if you have understood. I would definitely recommend this book!
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Naomi Stanley29 May 2009
This book is a genuinely hilarious read. It really will take you through a rainbow of emotions as you learn about the secret lives of these three women. The story is told through three main characters (Lola, Grace and Marnie) each with a different grammar style and personality.
Lola, the bubbly wacky stylist, crumbles when she learns the truth about the end of her relationship, but as you read on you find out that perhaps her relationship wasn't as perfect as is first portrayed. Lola's career is jeopardized by her own mistakes, risking her livelihood and reputation. She is sent away to a quiet seaside village on Ireland's beautiful West coast where she meets a whole host of 'interesting' characters from Boss, Mrs Butterfly and, my favourite, 'Chloe'. As she begins to rebuild her self esteem and her life she learns a lot about herself and why De Courcy isn't the nice guy she first thought he was. Lola was by far my favourite character. At first the grammar was hard to get used to but it actually suits the light-hearted nature of her side of the story. Simultaneously you can sympathise with her, whilst also finding her situation comical. All I can say is her Friday night 'events' will have you laughing out loud!
Grace, tough as old boots but a journalist with a heart, becomes involved with De Courcy and his party Leader Dee Rossini through articles she is asked to write. She avoids De Courcy despite knowing him as a teenager, but why? As the story unfolds it becomes evident why she does not like him, but are there are skeletons hiding in Grace's own closet? To begin within Grace was a character I found hard to warm till until you realise she is a journalist with a heart who puts her family before herself. Grace is almost like the moral conscience of this story, driving the plot forward.
Marnie, mentally ill and desperately unhappy, represents the darker side of this book. Her family begins to be torn apart from her state of mind and her actions. I felt so sorry for this character, she is trying everything she can to not be so miserable. For a light-hearted book, Marnie's character adds great depths and explores a very relevant issue that affects many people on society regardless of class, ethnicity, sex, or age.
These three characters are all linked through Paddy De Courcy and the dark secrets that surround him (and them all). Even though this book is a chick lit I also found it to be empowering to women as they eventually stand up for what they believe in. The plot is full of twists and turns that you would have to be a clairvoyant to predict!
I would definitely recommend this book as a perfect beach/pool side read! -
Socratic Logic: A Logic Text Using Socratic Method, Platonic Questions, & Aristotelian Principles
Al Farsi28 May 2009
This is a logic text book written for the common person, it is both practical and philosophical.
Most sections have a quiz at the end with answers at the back. Unusually however, I found that it only gave the answers to the even numbered questions, was this a mistake or intentional? Hard to see it as a mistake seeing as how I got the Third edition.
Another minor problem I had was some of the philosophical aspects were hard to follow compared to the rest of the book and I think most people new to the topic might struggle, but there is plenty aside from that that is easy to follow and comprehend.
The Logical fallacies section has about 49 fallacies covered, very extensive, well explained and helpful section.
Everyone should learn logic and this would be a great place to start, the drawbacks I mentioned are very minor, a highly enjoyable read (not what I expected from a logic text book) and I learned a whole lot more than I expected.
Thumbs up! -
David Stone27 May 2009
David Peace's The Damned United is an excellent fictionalised account of the forty-four troubled days that Brian Clough spent as manager of Leeds United in 1974. Told from the point of view of Cloughie himself, The Damned United is a stream of consciousness account of his failed attempt to impose his own will and playing style on the Leeds team that he inherited from his bitter managerial rival Don Revie. The Leeds players remained strikingly loyal to their old manager and so conflict with Clough was inevitable, leading the new manager to look back wistfully on his more successful days with Derby County. David Peace has a great ear for dialogue and I loved the banter and anecdotes that were spread throughout this book. Although The Damned United is based on fact, a great deal of the book is fiction, much of it based on rumours about Clough's time at Leeds that have been circulating for years and so many of the incidents described by David Peace should be taken with a pinch of salt. None of the characters are portrayed in a particularly positive light but it is Brian Clough himself who probably comes across the worse. Far from being a dynamic and inspirational manager, Clough is portrayed as being an extremely conflicted, foul mouthed man suffering hugely from alcoholism. Although Clough is the most extreme, David Peace hasn't shown any real bias since nobody comes out of The Damned United well - not the players, not the board, not even the fans. No doubt the characters of Clough and the others have been made far more extreme than their real world counterparts to make the book a more dramatic read but, as characters at least, they work really well. Despite the very heavy weight of fiction rather than fact in the plot, The Damned United is a great book, a really gripping read, and should entertain everyone, not just football fans.
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Power in the Blood: Whatever Happened to Bible John
john25 May 2009
Brilliant book! This is the truth, he's alive and lives in the West end of Glasgow - beware!
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Matthew Brew22 May 2009
Cherub: The recruit, is the first in the series of cherub books, which are mainly known by teenagers because of their extreme attitude and movie style.
Many books today hold back on explicit details or true feelings of excitement and danger, but this book creates it so easily. Any teenager who reads this will want to read it again and again.
The plot is a uniquely twisted one, with several hidden meanings, which follows the life of James, a classic trouble maker who is the hero of this book. When James gets expelled from school for assaulting a 15 year old girl, he doesn't know what he will do. Also, at this time his uncle Ron comes to his house to steal money off James' mother. He gets her drunk in order to steal the money, but because of her heart condition she dies. James is taken into a dingy cramped and crowded orphanage where the food is poor and the kids steal off one another to survive. He gets mixed in with some of the wrong crowd and ends up committing serious acts of vandalism.
This plot is punchy, gory and not afraid to chuck you right in. Robert Muchamore has captured the spirit of a teenagers life and has written in a way that is so unique and yet so common in the lives of today's teenagers. What I really admire about this book is in the way the author gives you sense of all the feelings involved. With this book it's not just words on a page, they are the thoughts you'd be thinking if you were involved.
The book's plot twists onward with a series of unexpected events that always leave you guessing and never being able to fully unravel the extensive plot.
One part of the book that is the main attraction for teenagers and I think is the main example of Robert's impressive writing style, is where he addresses the issue of sexual relationships between teens. He is not afraid to go into detail but never pushes it so far that it is offensive or too detailed. He just gives the reader subtle clues and occasional bursts of passion showing the spiralling convoluted path of a teenager's love life.
This books vibrant and vivid path is an exciting fresh new genre of its own that readers will be hooked by. But the one point I think it is very important to make is that this book is meant to be gritty, passionate and exciting and this review in itself is almost shaming what the book is all about.
The phrase "schools out" I think applies here because of this book throwing away all the rules of how a book should be written and all the rules of being able to analyse it. Robert Muchmore has not written Shakespeare, a book to be picked apart by an English class; he has written an exciting thriller that people want to read because it's good. -
Andrew Porter13 May 2009
Not having studied Larkin at school in the 1950s and early 1960s, it was only through reading his letters and Andrew Motion's biography that I discovered he'd had a novel published (two, in fact). I began to read with anticipation (having really appreciated the literary style shown in the letters and in some of his poems) and was rather disappointed on first reading it. To be honest I found it rather slow and ponderous and depressing, which is perhaps what the author intended. It perhaps sounds patronising to say "Ah, but he was only 21 when he wrote it" but...
Larkin himself wrote, in 1963 when making a few minor amendments to the book that was first published in 1946, "It will, I hope, still qualify for the indulgence traditionally extended to juvenilia". Perhaps I'll appreciate it more if I read it again. -
Hayley Rawlings11 May 2009
Absolutely incredible read, Osric's character is beautifully portrayed. Their battles, their socialising, and the intricately described history of these Norsemen is fantastic. Giles Kristian has created a masterpiece which is well worth the read, his background and knowledge of Nordic history breathes life into this book. The loyalty and comradeship described of these apparent barbarians is both heart-warming and tear jerking. As an English reader we are drawn to this band of brigands instead of the harsh, lying and often stupid English characters. This book comes absolutely recommended; the storyline, the history, and the characters created in this book tell a story both tragic and romantic.
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JANE DAWSON10 May 2009
Great ideas for the make-do and mend era we're returning to at the moment. Easy to read and follow instructions. Really colourful and inspirational, you'll be cutting and sewing before you know it. I love the way you can photocopy and enlarge the prints at the back of the book making it easy to transform a blank quilt cover and pillowcase into a work of art. Would make a great gift too as I have discovered!
