In my reading choices, I tend to concentrate on YA, climate fiction, and sci-fi, because that’s what I write. But I also have a
long-standing love of whodunnits, and I thought I’d try this one, set in London
in the immediate aftermath of the Great Fire in 1666.
I’ve often found that
“historical” mysteries get a bit carried away with the history aspect, but not
so with The Ashes of London. The character development was rich, the
pacing perfect, and the mystery truly intriguing. I also got a great feel for the
dangerous political forces at play at the time.
I raced through the book in a
few days, which was really quick for me!
The first book in the No. 1 Times bestselling series
'This is terrific stuff' Daily Telegraph
'A breathtakingly ambitious picture of an era' Financial Times
'A masterclass in how to weave a well-researched history into a complex plot' The Times
A CITY IN FLAMES London, 1666. As the Great Fire consumes everything in its path, the body of a man is found in the ruins of St Paul's Cathedral - stabbed in the neck, thumbs tied behind his back.
A WOMAN ON THE RUN The son of a traitor, James Marwood is forced to hunt the killer through the city's…
This is one that’s often recommended in the “best climate
fiction” lists, and I can see why.
Set in a depressed area of Appalachia, the
story hinges on the arrival of a huge number of monarch butterflies, whose
annual migration pattern has been disrupted, and the effect this has on the
local community.
But worked into the main story are some important, closely observed messages: how climate change feels insignificant to people who
are struggling to cope, how journalists and others can promote climate change
denial, and how scientists need to get angry.
As with other Kingsolver novels
like The Poisonwood Bible, the characterisation is closely-observed and
highly believable. A rich and rewarding read.
"The flames now appeared to lift from individual treetops in showers of orange sparks, exploding the way a pine log does in a campfire when it is poked. The sparks spiralled upward in swirls like funnel clouds. Twisters of brightness against grey sky."
On the Appalachian Mountains above her home, a young mother discovers a beautiful and terrible marvel of nature: the monarch butterflies have not migrated south for the winter this year. Is this a miraculous message from God, or a spectacular sign of climate change. Entomology expert, Ovid Byron, certainly believes it is the latter. He ropes in…
All right, I’m a sucker for
fantasy too. Dragonflight was a novel well before it was a video game; I
first read it in the 1970s, not long after it was first published, and I think
it was the first proper fantasy I’d come across.
Fifty years later, I thought
I’d reread it, and I have to say, I was astonished.
I’ve read lots of
fantasy novels in the intervening years, some of them very good, and I’d
expected that Dragonflight would seem a little jaded by comparison. I
found the reverse was true. This is a rollicking tale, with the worldbuilding
so well written that the reader can just accept it, and move on to the next
surprise.
Lessa, the protagonist, comes a hell of a long way by the end of the
novel, and although it’s relatively short at 80k words, the pace and the
balance seem perfect. Well worth a read!
Volume I of The Dragonriders of Pern®, the groundbreaking series by master storyteller Anne McCaffrey
On a beautiful world called Pern, an ancient way of life is about to come under attack from a myth that is all too real. Lessa is an outcast survivor—her parents murdered, her birthright stolen—a strong young woman who has never stopped dreaming of revenge. But when an ancient threat to Pern reemerges, Lessa will rise—upon the back of a great dragon with whom she shares a telepathic bond more intimate than any human connection. Together, dragon and rider will fly . . . and…
KNOWLEDGE IS POWER. TO SURVIVE IN A HOSTILE WORLD, WOMEN MUST TAKE CONTROL OF THE KNOWLEDGE THAT REMAINS.
The year is 2149. The Women’s Republic of Anglia seeks to harness forgotten technologies from the days when men ruled the world. But when Clara Perdue stumbles on information that the Republic has tried to keep hidden, she begins to realise that the society she has been taught to believe in – and trained to defend – is not all that it seems. A secret from Clara’s past puts herself, her family, and her friends in danger, and Clara must choose between subservience and rebellion.
In a world where knowledge is power, what you know can save your life. Or it can get you killed.
