All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque

 

⭐⭐⭐⭐

224 pages

You can buy All Quiet on the Western Front...Here

This Review is by...Owen Powell

• The Blurb...

In 1914 a room full of German schoolboys, fresh-faced and idealistic, are goaded by their schoolmaster to troop off to the 'glorious war'. With the fire and patriotism of youth they sign up. What follows is the moving story of a young 'unknown soldier' experiencing the horror and disillusionment of life in the trenches.

• My Review...

Most of the reviews I’ve read for this book state that it should be essential reading material in schools, and after reading it for myself I am inclined to agree. Although All Quiet on the Western Front is not an autobiography, Remarque has certainly drawn on his own first-hand experiences as a German soldier in The Great War to write it. The narrative of this novel, while compelling and harrowing, is not it’s main focus. This is less of a work of historical fiction and more of an exhibition of the very real atrocities of war. Although we follow the exploits of a specific soldier named Paul Baumer throughout the novel, the real main character of All Quiet on the Western Front is the war itself. 

While this book is an insightful read for most ages, I heartily recommend this book to younger people more than older people. I am twenty-three years old, and I am very glad to have read this book when I did. Honestly, I might have preferred to have read it a couple years earlier too. The lead characters in this book are a squad of young men (late teens to early twenties) and this made All Quiet on the Western Front really resonate with me.

As I read about what those soldiers did to pass the time between fighting for their lives in the trenches, I realised that me and my friends would act no different from them if we found ourselves there too. Things like betting bottles of beer on dog fights, having profound discussions about war and it’s purpose, and just playing cards to pass the time. While there is a few uplifting moments of comradery in this novel, there are plenty of excruciating and heart-wrenching moments to combat it, made all the more terrifying knowing the author was actually at it’s forefront. 

The tone in which Remarque describes the horror of war is very gritty and real. As a reader you are not spared any levity, you are told what happens and exactly how it happens in a very forthright manor. Things like the virulent effects of mustard gas, the agonising exhaustion from spending many days and nights in trenches and shell holes, and watching the life fade slowly from a dying soldier are all explained in painstaking detail. This novel is littered with many thoughtful and iconic quotes regarding war and it’s effects that really stick with the reader.

All Quiet on the Western Front has garnered an extensive reputation as being one of the greatest books on World War One ever and it’s clear to see why. It has made it’s way onto film too, first in 1930, and again in 1979. After doing some research I’ve discovered that another film adaptation of this book is coming to Netflix later this year in 2022 which I look forward to watching.  

• Selected Quotes...

“Young? None of us is more than twenty. But young? Young men? That was a long time ago. We are old now.” 

“Because one thing has become clear to me: you can cope with all the horror as long as you simply duck thinking about it – but it will kill you if you try to come to terms with it.” 

“Everything must have been fraudulent and pointless if thousands of years of civilization weren’t even able to prevent this river of blood, couldn’t stop these torture chambers existing in their hundreds of thousands. Only a military hospital can really show you what war is.” 

• If You Like This, You May Like...

Storm of Steel by Ernst Junger (Autobiographical)

The Guns of August by Barbera Tuchman (Non Fiction)

Regeneration by Pat Barker (Historical Fiction)

Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks (Historical Fiction)

Goodbye to All That by Robert Graves (Autobiographical)

• About the Author...

Remarque was drafted into the German army at the age of 18 and was wounded several times. After the war he worked as a racing-car driver and as a sportswriter while working on All Quiet on the Western Front. The novel’s events are those in the daily routine of soldiers who seem to have no past or future apart from their life in the trenches. Its title, the language of routine communiqués, is typical of its cool, terse style, which records the daily horrors of war in laconic understatement. Its casual amorality was in shocking contrast to patriotic rhetoric. The book was an immediate international success, as was the American film made from it in 1930. It was followed by a sequel, Der Weg zurück (1931; The Road Back), dealing with the collapse of Germany in 1918. Remarque wrote several other novels, most of them dealing with victims of the political upheavals of Europe during World Wars I and II. Some had popular success and were filmed (e.g., Arc de Triomphe, 1946), but none achieved the critical prestige of his first book. (From Britannica.com)

The Nesting Place by Jacqueline Harret

 

310 Pages

⭐⭐⭐⭐

You can buy The Nesting Place...Here

You can find out more about Jacqueline Harret...Here

• The Blurb...

Megan Pritchard is reported missing during a party in an isolated house in the Vale of Glamorgan.

A short time afterwards, her body is found. It looks like an accident, the result of consuming too much alcohol. But DI Mandy Wilde is suspicious. And Megan’s friends are hiding something.

As Mandy and the team dig deeper, they uncover a catalogue of secrets, and reasons why being friends with Megan could be difficult.

A series of disturbing activities come to light, adding lies, blackmail and trolling to a complex murder investigation.

• My Review...

This book follows DI Mandy Wilde as she finds out the circumstances of the death of Megan Pritchard. Megan was not a likeable person, but she did have a few friends. They were with her at an isolated house in the Vale of Glamorgan. Could one or more of her "friends" be responsible for her death, accidental or otherwise. Mandy also has other things going on in her life. Her sister has disappeared and left her in charge of her niece. Her DS is depressed and going through a marriage breakdown. To cap it all her boss makes her take on a new DC. Is the new DC a spy in the camp to report on Mandy?

Women are very much at the forefront of this book. Mandy, Olivia (her DC) all the suspects, etc. This is not a bad thing, just unusual and it all adds to the flavour of the narrative.

The dual settings of Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan were a bonus for me. For the uninitiated the Vale is the posh greenbelt area outside of the City. It also had a short sojourn to the rough valleys in the form Pontypridd (twinned with Mordor and Gomorrah 🤣) 

The driver for the book is the character of Mandy and her team. Tall and with an imposing glare, she does dirty deeds to get the job done all the while trying to help her DS Josh (played in my head by Kevin Lloyd who played Tosh Lines in the Bill, maybe it's because they were both DS and Tosh sounds like Josh. Odd but it works.) She has also to suss out her new DC Olivia. 

While we focus on the death of nasty piece of work Megan Pritchard. I found it surprising that, given Megan's history, they were all still friends years after Uni. The story of the disappearance of Mandy's sister, Joy, bubbles away on the back-burner. Mandy pursues each of Megan's friends in turn, each having reasons for at least disliking her if not hating her. It's a tangled knot that Mandy has to unpick one strand at a time, all the while under constant pressure from her heavily invested boss. 

While following the more than capable cast of coppers on their roller-coaster ride, one cannot help but think it would be more fun if they were on a bigger coaster. One would imagine finding someone dead, having choked on their own vomit is pretty mundane in the field of Police investigated deaths. It must happen to most Police forces. Not nearly as exciting as a wallop, bang in your face case such as say finding a lobotomised corpse, ala Crimson Snow, or finding a deceased priest with his nether regions cut out as in Snow That is probably just my preference. I like my fiction to be, well fiction. A little bit out there, a little bit "that cant be true". The Nesting Place reads like true crime, it sticks to reality as far as crime fiction can, if you see what I mean.

Following on from such Crime Fiction TV shows set in Wales as Hinterland and Hidden as well as the docudrama The Prembrokeshire Murders, I would love to see this tale, and subsequent ones in the series be turned into a drama series by BBC Wales or ITV Wales. All the above are set in the more lonely parts of Wales. Time now for one in the Capital, with a occasional trip to the rural Vale. 

The word that pops into my head when thinking about the writing in this book is "polished." It is smooth, nothing wasted, no bumps. The cast were also great, realistic and well formed, each with their own issues. Looking forward to their next challenge already.

• Selected Quotes...

“I always think the smell in hospitals in the morning is quite disgusting. It’s that mixture of disinfectant, fried bacon and shit. Gets you every time.”

She’d make a good detective. Instinctive. Listening not just to the spoken words, also thinking about what wasn’t said. What lay underneath.

Our Mums are friends too, so I suppose we stuck together out of habit.” It was a strange thing to say. Mandy thought about how some people did stay together, like in a marriage, because they couldn’t be bothered with the disruption to their lives.

Fear was the smell of a police station. There was something about being in an interview room that left even the innocent feeling guilty. Like the confessional.

If you liked this you may like...

• I Am Here To Kill You by Chris Westlake
  
• Murder In The Valleys by Pippa McCathie
  
• The Chair by GB Williams
  

• About the Author...

Jacqueline Harrett was born and brought up in a small village in Northern Ireland. After living in various places in South Wales she settled in Cardiff with her husband of many years, Lola the mad cat and Speedy, an ancient and territorial tortoise. Her two grown-up children – critical reader and technical advisor – live nearby.

As an only child she was a voracious reader and loved stories. Her father was a wonderful storyteller, encouraging her to tell her own stories and developing her love of oral stories. This was the inspiration behind her mini-book, Tell Me Another… Speaking and Listening Through Storytelling and her PhD on the effects of oral stories on young children’s language and imagination.

Jacqui has always been a writer but it wasn’t until 1997 that she started publishing her work with articles in English in Wales and then in the TES. A book for teachers, Exciting Writing, won the UKLA author award. As a former teacher and academic, she published and gave presentations on the value of story for children’s development.

After retiring from academia, Jacqui concentrated on more creative writing, attending classes and developing the craft. She had stories published in anthologies (Honno, MTP) and flash fiction online, and hidden in the depths of her computer are many other stories, a novel, novella and books for children. Like reading, writing is an obsession.

With her friend and colleague, Janet Laugharne, she has written a novel, What Lies Between Them, to be published in February 2022 under the pseudonym J. L. Harland.

Jacqui’s debut, The Nesting Place, was started in lockdown and the culmination of several different elements. It started with Katherine Stansfield’s excellent Crime Writing courses at Cardiff University, pre-pandemic. Then, during lockdown, a further course with Writing Magazine’s James McCreet, when the ideas began to take shape and the feedback from James helped with the process of producing the novel.

Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman

 

304 pages

Reviewed by... Owen Powell

You can buy Norse Mythology...Here

You can find out more about Neil Gaiman...Here

The Blurb...

The great Norse myths, which have inspired so much of modern fiction, are dazzlingly retold by Neil Gaiman. Tales of dwarfs and frost giants, of treasure and magic, and of Asgard, home to the gods: Odin the all-father, highest and oldest of the Aesir; his mighty son Thor, whose hammer Mjollnir makes the mountain giants tremble; Loki, wily and handsome, reliably unreliable in his lusts; and Freya, more beautiful than the sun or the moon, who spurns those who seek to control her.

From the dawn of the world to the twilight of the gods, this is a thrilling, vivid retelling of the Norse myths from the award-winning, bestselling Neil Gaiman.

My Review...

We’re all aware of the old saying ‘Never judge a book by it’s cover’ but in the case of Norse Mythology, I’d say it’s pretty safe to assume what you’ll be getting out of this one. Norse Mythology is a collection of tales and myths from (You guessed it) Norse mythology, regaled in a novelistic format by acclaimed author Neil Gaiman. As someone with a soft spot for all types of fantasy (Mythology included) and as a Gaiman virgin (Stop it) I was quite excited to delve right into this book.

Prior to reading this book, I was rather familiar with the topic of Norse mythology already, due to having seen the Marvel movies and played the brilliant God of War videogame. Unsurprisingly, all the characters I knew and loved were featured in this book. The Mighty Thor who wields the hammer Mjolnir, his dastardly and deceitful brother Loki, and the Allfather Odin all have significant parts to play in these tales. The collection of tales themselves are brief but each one is just as interesting and amusing as the last, ranging from the humorous to the grotesque. All the myths and legends within these pages convene in the climactic final chapter regarding Ragnarok- the end of the world. 

But the first thing that struck me in this book was the pacing, which was considerably quicker than what I’m used to. One minute you’re reading about one story, then in a few more pages you’re onto the next (I’m exaggerating here of course, but not by much) Normally I would count this as a negative aspect, but honestly the quick pacing does compliment this book as a whole. I’d liken it to a children’s book of nursery rhymes or fables but for an older audience. Instead of reading about Humpty Dumpty falling off a wall, you’re reading about Surtr and his flaming sword of death which burns so brightly that no mortal can look upon it. This type of pacing makes Norse Mythology an extremely light and easy read. There are no arduous details and not much lore to get your head around, you are given only what you need to know. Unlike other conventional books that we’re more accustomed to, you don’t have to completely submerge yourself into the world of this one. The writing is accessible to almost anyone - Simply pick up, read and enjoy. This, to me, was one of the biggest strengths of Norse Mythology, while also being the biggest detriment. Confusing, I know.

Here’s the thing; I like immersion in my stories. I like to build connections with the characters and live in the same world they do. I like being fully ensnared by intriguing plots and dialogues. Having read the blurb, I assumed that’s what this book was going to be like. I’d have thought the mystical land of Asgard and all the drama between it’s Gods would have lent itself quite well to that immersive format (I guess you can’t judge a book by it’s cover after all) Although Norse Mythology wasn’t entirely what I had hoped it to be, I wasn’t really disappointed in it either. I still had an engaging, educational and enjoyable time reading these stories. The stories themselves, although brief, will have you debating whether it’s time for you to go to bed or whether there’s time for just one more chapter.

Essentially, I’m torn on this one. I did enjoy Norse Mythology for what it was, a rapid retelling of the exploits of the Norse Gods. However, I can’t help thinking whether or not this book would have benefited from a slower pace and a little more immersion.

Selected Quotes...

"Because,” said Thor, “when something goes wrong, the first thing I always think is, it is Loki’s fault. It saves a lot of time."

"He said nothing: seldom do those who are silent make mistakes."

"That was the thing about Loki. You resented him even when you were at your most grateful, and you were grateful to him even when you hated him the most."

"The Norse myths are the myths of a chilly place, with long, long winter nights and endless summer days, myths of a people who did not entirely trust or even like their gods, although they respected and feared them."

If you like this, then you may like this

• Sea of Trolls by Nancy Farmer
• Odd and the Frost Giants by Neil Gaiman
• The Gospel of Loki by Joanne M Harris

About the author...

Neil Gaiman is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of more than twenty books, including Norse Mythology, Neverwhere, and The Graveyard Book. Among his numerous literary awards are the Newbery and Carnegie medals, and the Hugo, Nebula, World Fantasy, and Will Eisner awards. He is a Professor in the Arts at Bard College.

The Ceramic Dolls by Darren Arthurs

 

471 Pages

⭐⭐⭐⭐

You can buy The Ceramic Dolls...Here

You can read an interview with Darren Arthurs...Here

The Blurb...

The King is dying and there are many eyes watching the throne.
Chief among these is the young prince, Sever, the king’s own brother, the evil Lord Hesk and those from the holy order of The Hall who wish to unite the clans and follow one religion.

But none can claim the crown until they have in their possession two ancient Ceramic Dolls.

So begins a race across the kingdom where the dangers are many and the promise of power will tempt even the most loyal.

The Ceramic Dolls is a tale of fantasy. A story of power, corruption, politics and action.

My Review...

Those few hardy souls who follow this site regularly will know that I have reviewed some of Darren's work before. His previous work was the Cosy Crime books the "DeLuca" series. (Reviews can be found on this site.) I thought then that Darren had a gift for handling violent crime in a light and comical manner, which can be a hard thing to do. So I was intrigued to see how he would fare in this sojourn into Fantasy. Turns out that he is pretty good at this as well.

While I have read the Game of Thrones (GoT) and Lord of the Rings (LotR) series, I wouldn't say I was a fan of fantasy. I find the often vast amount of backstory and lore that one has to absorb to be, more often than not, well, a bit of a chore. Thankfully the author has retained his delicate touch and the backstory/lore is kept to a minimum. There are several very strange names to take in at the start, but once you know who is who you are good to go.

One thing I found a little odd, why the race for the dolls? They have no magical qualities, they have no intrinsic worth (unlike for example the crown jewels), and they don't appear to be the artefacts of state (unlike for example the orb and sceptre.) It's what Alfred Hitchcock would call a MacGuffin.

Personally I think I would have gone for a more snazzy title ala "A song of Fire and Ice" I think the title doesn't really convey the dynamism and intrigue of the book.

It's race for the crown, both physically and politically. There are three front runners, the son of the dead king, the brother of the dead king and the religious leader of the country. Although there a few other potential candidates lurking in the shadows. I loved this aspect. I find stories about power and the battle to get it, fascinating especially when it conflicts with the closest to you (The Godfather, Animal Farm etc.) There are rules, do you break them to achieve your goal? If so, when? What will be the consequences? Is destroying your family worth the cost of power? 

While the race for the dolls is carrying on, we also flash back to the palace where a more subtle battle is taking place. The Queen is attempting to save her and her son's political position, while fending off suitors and power hungry zealots. It reminded me a little of Penelope (the wife of Odysseus in Homer's Odyssey.)

The fantasy part is also intriguing. The author drip feeds these in periodically through out the book, each one is a new delight. There are people who can converse with birds (which is a great idea, it's like having a medieval cctv system), talking animals, witches, and legendary horses. 

The ensemble background cast is well drawn out too. Nobody seems to be a simple card board cut out, all have some depth and backstory (but not too much) about them. You don't just follow the main two characters. It all helps to create a fuller, more rounded picture in one's mind.

Overall, the author has created a very enjoyable entry level/ YA fantasy, chase/thriller. I can imagine a parent enjoying reading this to an older child and the child enjoying it even more.

If you like this you might like...

• The Chronicles of Narnia by CS Lewis
• The Hobbit by JRR Tolkein
• The Hero and the Crown by Robin McKinley

Selected Quotes..

"A fighting man needs to fight, when peace reigns, a fighting man is as disposable as a heavy coat in sunshine,"

"...unless I am drawn into the argument unwillingly, I will take no sides. Unless I am wronged, I have no reason to get involved in the tangled mess that an empty chair brings”.

"...it would bring little comfort to know her daughter’s killers were now dead, but, in grief, anger often sits near anguish and sadness."

"The soldier grinned, his black teeth revealing a life of bad choices and bad living."

"How the palace cheered him as he returned from battle, tired and in pain, bloodied and shocked, they cheered and waved. Some tapped his legs and feet as he rode by, praising his bravery and skill at taking another’s life, at widowing a poor woman and stealing a father from some unknown child. Kortince hated himself."

About the Author...

Darren is a hobbyist writer living in Swindon. He comes up with stories whilst driving to work and they niggle away at him, fleshing out details and characters until he has to write it down. He mostly reads crime and historical drama.  

A Stranger from the Storm by William Burton McCormick

 

⭐⭐⭐⭐

You can buy Stranger from the Storm...Here

You can find out more about William Burton McCormick...Here

The Blurb...

The year is 1900. The port city of Odessa on the Black Sea is being terrorized by a brutal killer called the Specter. With five people already dead, the murderer promises more.

One family, the Karadopoulinas, run a boarding house. Sisters Tasia and Eleni feel certain the killer is a scarred, shambling Londoner who took lodging with them one night during a thunderstorm. Furtive and threatening, Henry Humble, stalks Odessa’s labyrinth of interlocking courtyards and foggy docks at night, armed with weapons and skeleton keys.

As the body count rises, so do the questions...
Who is the mysterious figure haunting the catacombs below the streets of Odessa?
Why won’t Eleni’s police constable sweetheart investigate?
Who will be the next to die?

A Victorian-style murder mystery with elements of horror, adventure, and Hitchcockian black humor. "

My Review...

A Stranger from the Storm is a novella, that is easy and quick to read. It is unusual in its setting. I haven't read many books set in Eastern Europe and none set in Odessa in 1900, so that was an enjoyable first. The American author clearly knows his way around Europe.

The plot centres around twins Eleni and Anastasia who live and work in their impoverished widowed, mother's boarding house. One night during a terrible storm a strange and mysterious man comes to stay. At the same time there is an ongoing spate of child murders in the city. Are the two connected? Eleni and Anastasia get drawn in to the sinister riddle.

False trails and red herrings abound and the plot takes a left turn mid way. The main characters all change to a greater or lesser extent throughout the book, which is far more interesting than a plethora of stable straight line characters

There is a wicked sense of humour in this enjoyable slightly macabre tale which contrast nicely along side the mist shrouded docks and impending sense of threat hanging in the air.

There is a slight whiff of Fritz Lang's "M" with Peter Lorre, Conan Doyle's Victorian era stories, Edgar Allan Poe's "Murders in the Rue Morgue" and most intriguingly the Coen brothers Fargo

A Beautifully balanced slightly creepy unusual tale in an unusual setting in an unusual era. 

Selected Quotes...

"Well, if you learned the English language from Welsh miners it's a miracle you can speak a word."

"He's got a hideous scar, Mama," whispered Eleni. Mother arranged her drenched hair, peering into the looking glass perched on the bookshelf. "Eleni, it's not the body that matters but the soul." "Well, his soul better be pretty good."

"He's so much sweeter to Mother, isn't he?" "Maybe he fancies her. What kind of name is 'Henry?'" "One of their kings." "What'd he do?" "Killed all his wives."

"Play the music, Tasia, not simply the notes."

He glanced out the window. "Well, we shouldn't feel too safe and cozy. An unsettled mind may seek new challenges, don't you think?" "That's why we bolt the doors, Mister…" "Mr. Henry Humble, at your service."

About the Author

William Burton McCormick was born in Maryland and raised in Nevada. He has lived in seven countries including Ukraine, Latvia, Estonia and Russia solely for the purpose of writing.

William graduated from Brown University with degrees in Ancient Studies and Computer Science and earned an MA in Novel Writing from the University of Manchester. He has won awards in the production of entertainment and educational software, co-owned a company to reduce junk e-mail, and worked as an executive recruiter in the Washington D.C. area.

He was elected a Hawthornden Fellow in 2013.

William's fiction has appeared in "The Saturday Evening Post," "Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine," "Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine," "Sherlock Holmes Mystery Magazine," and "Over My Dead Body!" He is a Shamus, Derringer and Claymore awards finalist and member of Mystery Writers of America, the Crime Writers Association and International Thriller Writers.