Here’s one for all those teachers out there! End of term is nearly here.
Reblogged from Lauraagudelo272
The Art of Blogosphere Conversation: Responding to Readers
Useful post about keeping the blogging party going!
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Review of The Exiled by William Meikle
Goodreads Synopsis:
When several young girls are abducted from various locations in Edinburgh, Detective John Granger and his brother Alan, a reporter, investigate the cases from different directions. The abductor is cunning, always one step ahead, and the only clue he leaves behind at each scene are the brutalized corpses of black swans.
When the brothers’ investigations finally converge at a farmhouse in Central Scotland, they catch a glimpse of where the girls have been taken, a place both far away yet close enough to touch. A land known throughout Scottish history with many names: Faerie, Elfheim, and the Astral Plane. It is a place of legend and horror, a myth. But the brothers soon discover it’s real, and, to catch the abductor, they will have to cross over themselves.
To catch a killer, John and Alan Granger will have to battle the Cobbe, a strange and enigmatic creature that guards the realm, a creature of horrific power that demands a heavy price for entry into its world. The fate of both realms hangs in the balance…and time is running out…
My review of The Exiled, by William Meikle. This is an advanced readers copy that the author has kindly supplied to me via NetGalley. Publication date 1 July 2014.
My review:
The Exiles does much to recommend it. It combines a well crafted detective story, a serial killer thriller, and dark supernatural fantasy, in a work that is gripping and about as original as it gets. The story landscape is Edinburgh, what more could I ask for?The majority of my young adult life was spent in Edinburgh, and the way that William Meikle describes the city, and some of its less salubrious inhabitants and aspects, certainly brought the narrative to life. A large proportion of the detective, and investigative journalistic time was spent in watering holes, persuading half drunk Scotsmen to tell all! The two main characters are brothers, John is a detective inspector, and Alan a journalist with an uncanny ability to research leads. To begin with Meikle paints them as brothers who have grown apart, almost like separate entities, on two sides of the divide. The Macabre nature of the crime draws the two brothers together, in a quest to find and bring to justice the abductor of the missing girls. Meikle manages to interweave a tale that is at times, so dark, that a smattering of black humour, and drunken, humorous elements, are needed to lighten the heavy load. The book is most definitely a page-turner. The characters are realistically depicted. The stress and pressure put on detectives investigating terrible crimes such as these, is realistically portrayed. In fact, John can only seem to cope with the situation by resorting to chain-smoking. moreover, Meikle stereotypes the Scots’ drinking habits, by suggesting that a stiff drink is a prerequisite for all and sundry. Somehow, his realistic, colloquial, dialogue and well crafted scenes, allow him the license to get away with this. Very early on, it’s clear that this is not a novel for the faint-hearted. The darkness, and disturbing graphical images that Meikle paints may well haunt the reader. In light of this, I would not recommend this to younger readers. But, having said that, the darkness of the plot is lightened by the desperation of the two main characters to solve the mystery, and stop the advancing progress of evil. I’m impressed by Meikle’s imagination, and his ability to combine Fantasy with detective genre in such a convincing, and readable way. I would be interested in reading more of his work. I found The Exiled difficult to rate but decided on four stars, though for originality I think it would score a high-five!
Very highly recommended for readers of thriller, dark fantasy, horror.
My rating:
4 stars
ISBN no. 9781940544212 available on Dark Fuse. http://www.darkfuse.com/ and Amazon http://www.amazon.com/
William Meikle’s website: http://www.williammeikle.com/
Information from his website: He is a Scottish genre writer now living in Newfoundland. When he’s not writing Willie drinks beer, plays guitar and dreams of fortune and glory! He has 20 novels and several hundred short stories in genre presses, anthologies and magazines. His current top seller is the sci-fi novel THE INVASION with 20,000 copies sold and counting.
Have you read The Exiled? Do leave a comment below I’d love to hear from you.
Bye for now,
Marje @ Kyrosmagica xx
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Nordic Noir: The Rise of Scandinavian Crime Fiction
Great article from The Culture Trip.
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Generation Diary: Anne Frank Trust
13-15 year olds, join in on this opportunity to create the world’s biggest digital diary. https://www.facebook.com/annefranktrust
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The Top Ten Novels of 2014 (So Far)
Thanks for this. Great list, from Read Her Like An Open Book.
As we near the halfway point of 2014, Top Ten Tuesday has asked book bloggers to share their ten favorite/best novels so far this year. Here are my favorites (listed alphabetically by author’s last name); I can’t honestly say they’re the “best” because there are so many novels I haven’t read.
(The hot links will take you to my recent reviews. I have also done interviews with Molly Antopol, Cara Hoffman, Laline Paull, and Mary Vensel White. My interview with Laura McBride is coming this week.)
The UnAmericans — Molly Antopol (Feb. 3)
The Ice Cream Queen of Orchard Street* — Susan Jane Gilman (June 10)
Be Safe I Love You — Cara Hoffman (April 1)
We Are Called to Rise — Laura McBride (June 3)
Everything I Never Told You* — Celeste Ng (June 26)
Boy, Snow, Bird — Helen Oyeyemi (March 6)
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Mango Ice Cream
This looks lush. Mango Icecream. Originally posted on traditionally Modern Food.
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Book Review: The Waiting Room by Alysha Kaye
Another interesting sounding book, The Waiting Room, by Alysha Kaye, reviewed by Virna Aryanita.
Rate: 4 out of 5 stars. I loved, enjoyed it, and would love to recommend this to everyone!
First of all, can we talk about the cover? It’s so pretty and I love it.
I always thought the term “true love never dies” is bullshit. After all, nothing last forever because in the end we all are gonna die, right? But I never really thinking what happened after we all die? Where are we going next? Either straight to hell or heaven?
The Waiting Room follows Jude, who dies in a car accident, and find himself wake up in The Waiting Room, place where all the souls waiting to go on to their next life, except Jude. He spent his entire time there watching his wife Nina through a window, until one day he learns that he’s the only one who ever wait that long. How long will he stay?…
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RIVER OF DUST: a spiritual journey through unknown China for characters and readers alike
River of Dust, Virginina Pye, review courtesy of Read Her Like An Open Book. This sounds interesting.
River of Dust
By Virginia Pye
Unbridled Books, 2013
Trade paperback published April 14, 2014
256 pages, $16.00
One of the great joys of the reading life is the ability to travel to other times and places, to experience life among other peoples and cultures. Virginia Pye’s River of Dust, though not a joyful novel, offers those pleasures in abundance. River of Dust is a character study of a man of great faith enduring a spiritual crisis, a close examination of the dynamics in a young marriage, a suspenseful missing persons story, and a jaundiced travelogue.
A few years after the Boxer Rebellion of 1898-1900, Reverend John Wesley Watson and his young wife, Grace, have been sent by the church to engage in missionary work in the small Chinese city of Fenchow-fu in the drought-stricken country northwest of Beijing. After making a name for himself building schools, roads, and…
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My Kyrosmagica Review of Lola and The Boy Next Door – Stephanie Perkins
Goodreads Synopsis:
Lola Nolan is a budding costume designer, and for her, the more outrageous, sparkly, and fun the outfit, the better. And everything is pretty perfect in her life (right down to her hot rocker boyfriend) until the Bell twins, Calliope and Cricket, return to the neighborhood. When Cricket, a gifted inventor, steps out from his twin sister’s shadow and back into Lola’s life, she must finally reconcile a lifetime of feelings for the boy next door.
My review:
An enchanting book. Stephanie Perkins creates wonderfully captivating characters. This book surprised me, I didn’t expect to enjoy it more than Anna and The French Kiss but I did. For all those teenage girls out there obsessed with fashion, and romance, this is the book for you. (My youngest daughter, would adore, ADORE, this book!)
Lola intends to go to her high school winter ball dressed as Marie Antoinette. Lola’s parents, two gay guys, Nathan, and Andy, worry about Lola going out with Max, her rocker boyfriend as he is so much older than her. Nathan and Andy’s devotion to Lola is touching. With the arrival of the Bell twins, Calliope, and Cricket, Lola’s old feelings for Cricket, her first love, are rekindled.
Lola is confused, by the arrival of Cricket, her emotions, seem to be as out of control as her over the top dress sense. Will she come to her senses? Will she discover the Lola within?
****BEWARE SPOILERS BELOW****
Cricket is so genuine and cute that Lola can’t stop herself falling for him all over again. Lola’s feelings for Max crumble and her confusion is relatable. It is a shock when she realises that Max is attracted to her child-like self. Lola is no longer willing to be a child. She is now a young woman, on the verge of discovering her identity. Will she go to the ball? She looks at herself in the mirror, and suddenly feels lost in her elaborate costume. Her wig is over the top, dwarfing her personality. Who is Lola? She despairs. Cricket comes to her rescue in the most wonderful way. He enables the Lola that he loves to go to the ball, and then proves that he is “the one,” by re-inventing her, and giving her the most beautiful gift that anyone could possibly imagine.
My rating:
4 stars
Find out more about Stephanie Perkins at http://stephanieperkins.com/books.html
Have you read Lola and The Boy Next Door? Do comment below I’d love to hear from you.
Bye for now,
Marje @ Kyrosmagica xx
