Superheroes are most definitely “in” right now. You just have to look at the schedule for Marvel films over the next few years, the forthcoming Justice League films starting with Batman v Superman, the succession of TV series from Gotham to Flash to Agent Carter… Yep, superheroes are popular. It’s not just films and TV (taking… Read More
reviews
The Shadow Keeper, by Abi Elphinstone, is the sequel to The Dreamsnatcher, which was one of my top 3 books of last year. So let’s get that out of the way – is it as good as The Dreamsnatcher? No. It’s even better. Everything I loved about The Dreamsnatcher is present in The Shadow Keeper,… Read More
The Many Worlds of Albie Bright, by Christopher Edge, is a quantum fairy-tale. Albie – short for Albert, named after Albert Einstein – is the son of two scientists: his Dad has a popular science TV show, and his Mum worked down a mine, safe from the interfering effects of cosmic rays, probing the universe… Read More
The Night Raid is another of Caroline Lawrence’s retellings of stories from Virgil’s Aeneid for Barrington Stoke. After I reviewed Queen of the Silver Arrow a few days ago, Ms Lawrence was kind enough to send me a copy of The Night Raid for review. While Queen of the Silver Arrow is taken mostly from Book XI… Read More
Queen of the Silver Arrow, by Caroline Lawrence, is a retelling of part of Virgil’s Aeneid – the story of Camilla, huntress and warrior, who comes to the aid of Prince Turnus against the invading Trojans, led by Aeneas, who are fleeing the sack of Troy and looking for a new home in Italy. I love… Read More
Cat Burglar by Tamsin Cooke is the story of Scarlet McCall, 13-year-old completely unremarkable schoolgirl by day, apprentice cat burglar by night. Her dad is in the business of stealing back stolen art and antiquities – and given that this involves balaclavas, night-vision goggles, and grappling hooks, Scarlet is only too happy to accompany her… Read More
Island of Dreams is an account of Dan Boothby’s time as an unpaid volunteer warden on Kyleakin Lighthouse Island, a former home of the famous writer Gavin Maxwell, author of Ring of Bright Water and other books. The lighthouse is no longer a lighthouse, and the island is barely an island – it serves as a foot… Read More
Railhead by Philip Reeve is the story of Zen Starling, thief and railhead – someone who loves the great locomotives that ride the rails between the worlds. It’s the far future, and humanity has spread out amongst the stars. Interstellar space travel is too difficult due to the vast distances involved, but for centuries there… Read More
Pugs of the Frozen North is the third collaboration between writer Philip Reeve and illustrator Sarah McIntyre, after Oliver and the Seawigs (reviewed on this blog) and Cakes in Space (one of my top books of 2014) and it’s the best yet – assuming you like pugs. I think pugs are great, with their comical… Read More
The Wolf Wilder is the story of Feo – short for Feodora – who lives in the snowy woods of Tsarist Russia with her mother. Both of them are wolf wilders – people who take in wolves who have been adopted as pets by aristocrats then abandoned when it became clear that a wolf could… Read More