PETER GALVIN’S
BOOK REVIEWS
MAY 2007
Master’s Mates, Peter Corris, crime novel set in
My rating
☻☻☻☻
An enjoyable romp through the back streets of
Taking care of
Business,
Peter Corris, a collection of short crime stories set in
My rating
☻☻☻
More
Cliff Hardy stories not as good as the full length ones but not a bad way to
wile away the boredom.
Enemy in Sight, Alexander Kent, maritime novel
set in the
My rating
☻☻☻☻
Another excellent adventure with the heroic Richard Bolitho, senior
post captain in the Royal Navy. As a reader who started in the middle of this absorbing
series of novels, than on the end and than to the beginning I have now arrived
at the middle again. This is one of the better ones’
The Devil's Own
Luck, David
Donachie, maritime mystery novel set in the
My rating
☻☻☻☻
I find
this author’s approach to the genre quirky but differently enjoyable.
Under Orders, Dick Francis, crime novel set in
My rating
☻☻☻☻
The 4th Sid Halley novel and Dick Francis’ first book in 5
years, since the death of his wife and chief researcher. I found the novel a bit heavy on
the introspection and death possibly a reflection on the author’s frame of
mind, but as the story unfolded it got back into the familiar refrain so much
loved by Francis’ legion of fans and Sid Halley aficionados in particular.
The Darkening Sea, Alexander Kent, maritime novel
set in the
My rating
☻☻☻
One of the
weaker books in the series of which there are now 25. When
Tenacious, Julian Stockwin, maritime novel
set in the
My rating
☻☻
The 6th Thomas Kydd novel and by far the worst. Stockwin clearly thinks of
himself as another O’Brian, Kent, or even a Donachie. However he is that worst
kind of sycophant in that he is in love with his heroes (in this case Horatio
Nelson) and uses his books to consummate that love. He fills the first half of
his story with every kind of nautical bric a brac to show off his tedious “knowledge
of boats and ships” but without any of the briny depth to display any real
empathy with the sea. The rest of the novel is filled with the adventures of
his hero Kydd most of which actually occur on land. Go figure. This book
appears to be a crass attempt to cash in on the 200th anniversary of
Nelson’s victory at Trafalgar but others have done it better. The first four
books in the series “Kydd, Artemis, Seaflower
and Mutiny”
were at least entertaining.
Imperium, Robert Harris, historical sword
and sandals novel set in
My rating
☻☻☻☻☻
A fictional biography of the great Roman orator Cicero in the years
immediately prior to the rise of Julius Caesar.
Nature Girl, Carl Hiaasen, satirical novel
set in
My rating
☻☻☻☻
I just
love this off beat author and I recommend all his books:
A Death in
Double Whammy Native Tongue
Skin Tight Strip Tease
Tourist Season Skinny Dip
Stormy Weather
The Mission Song, John Le Carre, espionage novel
set in
My rating
☻☻☻☻
Without
Smiley’s People to populate the genre, spy novels just ain’t
what they used to be.
A Hanging Matter, David Donachie, maritime novel
set in
My rating
☻☻☻☻
The Omega Scroll, Adrian d’Hage, religious
thriller novel set in the middle east, first published
2005.
My rating
☻☻☻☻☻
A loved
this first highly original novel by former Australian army officer d’Hage.
The Artisan, Stephen Sheppard, wartime novel
set in the
My rating
☻☻☻☻
Command, Julian Stockwin, maritime novel
set in the
My rating
☻☻ ☻☻
A big
improvement on his previous novel (see Tenacious above), and it needed to be.
In the Name of the
Father, A J Quinnell, espionage novel set in the
My rating
☻☻☻☻
A first
rate religious action novel written long before the DaVinci
Code made this genre fashionable. An enjoyable romp through
the labyrinth of intrigue and rivalry between the
The Undertow, Peter Corris, crime novel set in
My rating
☻☻☻☻
The very latest and possibly last of the Cliff Hardy stories. I recently met the author by
accident when browsing through a second hand bookshop in
Brethren, Robyn Young, historical novel
set in
My rating
☻☻☻☻
Another
from the DaVinci genre this time centred on the
Templar knights and their struggles with the Hospitaller
knights, the English Crown, and the Islamic world.
The Unknown Terrorist, Richard Flanagan, war novel set
in
My rating
☻☻☻☻☻
On my
personal enjoyment level I would have rated this at about a 3, it was just a
little too depressing for me to really get into. But the prose and after taste
raise this book above the normal page turner class. If you find the truth too
depressing you may not want to reads this.
“… that dirty, dead decade they were all condemned
to live through, a sack of shit that had once been a man, in a place that had
once been a community, in a country that had once been a society.”
The Wind’s Twelve
Quarters, Ursula
Le Guin, a selection of science fiction short stories, first published 1970 -
1975.
My rating
☻☻☻
Having
avoided the sci fi genre
for a decade or more I hoped for more from this accomplished author. This
series of short stories left me a little underdone.
In the Evil Day, Peter Temple, politics
and massacre novel set in
My rating
☻☻☻
Nelson: Breaking the
Line, David
Donachie, biographical novel set in
My rating
☻☻
Another book in the Horatio Nelson hero worship mould. I don’t believe that a country
that treats you like shit when alive is entitled to hero worship you when you
are dead.
Sharpe’s Fury, Bernard Cornwell, historical war
novel set in
My rating
☻☻☻☻
More Sharpe and published no doubt to cash in on the TV versions. More of the
same.
The Broken Shore, Peter Temple, crime novel set in
My rating
☻☻☻☻☻
I’ve
never felt the need before to describe a book as beautiful but this is such a
wonderful novel it is simply beautiful. The best book I have read in a long long while.
Other
books I have read recently include:
The Poisoned Chalice, by Bernard Knight, from the
El Magic, by Hazam El Masri, a Lebanese born
Australian, First published in 2007. ☻☻☻☻☻
You just gotta
love Haz and all that he has achieved.
Rebel, by Bernard Cornwell, from the
Nathaniel Starbuck adventures in the
American Civil War. I’ll reserve final judgement until after I have read the other
2 books in the series
Fine, Thanks Mate, by John Peard, an Aussie footy player
on his battle to recover from a stroke, published in 2007.☻☻☻☻
Inspirational!
Shattered, by Dick Francis,
So so.
Shooting Star, by Peter Temple, Australia, first
published 1999. ☻☻☻☻
Real good.
Beware of the Dog, by Peter Corris,
One of best Cliff Hardy novels.
Day of Confession, by Allan Folsom, American writer,
first published 1998. ☻☻☻☻
Another
See ya
Peter
Galvin
May 2007
