Books read in January / February
Mar. 2nd, 2013 11:21 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
gervase_fen 1) Code Name Verity, by Elizabeth Wein
2) The House of Silk, by Anthony Horowitz
3) The Survivor, by Greg Hurwitz
4) The 500, by Matthew Quirk (Edgars nominee, Best First Novel)
I started reading "Code Name Verity" last summer, stopped for a bit because it deserved (invited even) re-reading from the beginning given the quality of the book - Elizabeth Wein pulls off several impressive things all at the same time. There are two different and compelling first person narratives, lightly worn historical research, and an inspiring sense of verite to the writing - the descriptions of learning to fly in Lysanders (and what happens when things go wrong.) It's about friendship, trust, and the high stakes and bravery of life in the SOE in the 1940s (and how young the people involved are.) Magnificent. (There's a nice review here from Maggie Stiefvater, who writes roughly in the same genre, who is equally enthusiastic.)
"The House of Silk" - Anthony Horowitz has done first class work here, delivering an engrossing story in an excellent approximation of Conan Doyle's Watsonian narrative voice. Although the central mystery is easily guessable by anyone who does crosswords (and followed the major media story of 2012). Two subsidiary mysteries did go by completely unguessed, and I was not surprised to see thanks in the acknowledgments to Lee Jackson - his own novels set in the 1890s share the same meticulously researched and fascinating milieu.
"The Survivor" is an accomplished race-against-time thriller, boasting a skilfully handled narrative, some deft characterisation, a couple of "I can't believe that just happened" moments and some memorably nasty bad guys. Thoroughly entertaining.
The category shortlists for the Mystery Writers of America Edgars were announced a few weeks ago ("Code Name Verity" has been nominated in the Young Adult category) so my next couple of books are potential prize winners. "The 500" is a pacy, workmanlike debut that reads like a mash-up of Suits, Scandal and Hustle. By the time our hero has locked himself in a safe to save himself from a raging inferno it's pretty clear that we're not in the realms of documentary realism. Shortlisted in the debut novel award category, I will be surprised if it wins.
2) The House of Silk, by Anthony Horowitz
3) The Survivor, by Greg Hurwitz
4) The 500, by Matthew Quirk (Edgars nominee, Best First Novel)
I started reading "Code Name Verity" last summer, stopped for a bit because it deserved (invited even) re-reading from the beginning given the quality of the book - Elizabeth Wein pulls off several impressive things all at the same time. There are two different and compelling first person narratives, lightly worn historical research, and an inspiring sense of verite to the writing - the descriptions of learning to fly in Lysanders (and what happens when things go wrong.) It's about friendship, trust, and the high stakes and bravery of life in the SOE in the 1940s (and how young the people involved are.) Magnificent. (There's a nice review here from Maggie Stiefvater, who writes roughly in the same genre, who is equally enthusiastic.)
"The House of Silk" - Anthony Horowitz has done first class work here, delivering an engrossing story in an excellent approximation of Conan Doyle's Watsonian narrative voice. Although the central mystery is easily guessable by anyone who does crosswords (and followed the major media story of 2012). Two subsidiary mysteries did go by completely unguessed, and I was not surprised to see thanks in the acknowledgments to Lee Jackson - his own novels set in the 1890s share the same meticulously researched and fascinating milieu.
"The Survivor" is an accomplished race-against-time thriller, boasting a skilfully handled narrative, some deft characterisation, a couple of "I can't believe that just happened" moments and some memorably nasty bad guys. Thoroughly entertaining.
The category shortlists for the Mystery Writers of America Edgars were announced a few weeks ago ("Code Name Verity" has been nominated in the Young Adult category) so my next couple of books are potential prize winners. "The 500" is a pacy, workmanlike debut that reads like a mash-up of Suits, Scandal and Hustle. By the time our hero has locked himself in a safe to save himself from a raging inferno it's pretty clear that we're not in the realms of documentary realism. Shortlisted in the debut novel award category, I will be surprised if it wins.
Believe miserly generics without preparation
Date: 2017-01-29 12:43 pm (UTC)[url=http://pharmshop-online.com]generic cialis[/url] cialis for women cancer edad
generic cialis (http://pharmshop-online.com) - cure ed
cialis 20mg msn messenger