Kevin

Another great read and a must have for any Game of Thrones fan. George R R Martin is a master story teller with every word chosen and placed with surgical precision. Can't wait for the next installment.

An anti war novel with commentary on deforestation, told as a classic science fiction story. There is so much crammed in to such a short book yet it still makes for an easy read.

The sequel to the outstanding Handmaid's Tale, this took a leap into the future of the story, leaving behind most of the characters of the original. All of the world building was done in the original novel so there was little to add here but this held its own as a stand-alone thriller set against the background of the original.

I very much enjoyed both the style of the prose and the character building. The pacing was great. The novel didn't follow a direct timeline, jumping about between pre and post-apocalypse to gradually piece the story together and, whilst this is not a style that I normally enjoy, in this instance it was done well and it allowed the story to unwind at a comfortable pace. All in all, there wasn't anything that I particularly disliked about this novel but ultimately it left me slightly underwhelmed. I can see why some people would love it and I certainly wouldn't discourage anybody from reading it but, for me, it's not one that I'll rush back to.

This is the first Lee Child I've read and based on this, it will be my last.
An appalling and totally unrealistic plot. By half way through it was so obvious who the killer was, I read on, waiting for the twist that never came.
Frustrating and disappointing.

I'm clearly I the minority here but I just found this very dull. Clearly it was well researched but the endless references to ancient literature really didn't add anything. The idea of writing from 2 different perspectives was interesting but ultimately I felt that it just interfered with the pace of the story telling, not that there was much of a story to tell.

Bit of a confused book. The details of Stephen's life story were so sparse I never felt I got to understand much of the man and the ‘science' bits were so deep, I felt myself becoming lost very quickly. It is interesting how he so readily slips into a discussion of highly complex theories the way most people talk about their shopping and some of his humour does come through. A quick read so I'm glad I made the effort but probably won't again.

I didn't like the film which I felt was dark, depressing and nothing really happened. I don't even know why I decided to read the book which I found to be dark, depressing and nothing really happens but, for some reason, I really quite liked it. If anything, the sense of hopelessness is even more overwhelming and this contrasts with the love between the man and his son which burns brighter as a result. You know it's not going to end well but that doesn't really matter. It's about the journey not the destination and with McCarthy's writing, The Road is one hell of a journey.

A must read for any true science fiction fan. Given that this was written over 200 years ago, the prose is understandably dated and, although this shouldn't detract from the novel, I struggled with the pace of it. I'm sure that if I read it again I would have a different interpretation and so would be able to reconcile many of the elements that I saw as inconsistencies but, for now, I can't say that I enjoyed it.

Understandably, this was considered a work of genius in its time and elements of it still spark. However, I think it's lost some of its shock factor.

A true science fiction first contact classic. Fast paced and well written, it is so forward thinking that it is hard to remember that this was written before the invention of powered flight.

I'd been looking forward to reading this for some time and it didn't disappoint. A thought provoking and downright scary speculation on the near future, it highlights how fragile and precious are the freedoms that have been fought for over generations and that we take so much for granted.

In depth and wide ranging, this was written as a rather dry history of everything Westeros (and beyond). As such, although interesting, it was a struggle to get through.

Excellent. A perfectly paced historical adventure. Very enjoyable.

Although a rather obvious plot, this book contained all of the comic elements that you come to expect from Ben Elton. I prefer the style of his later works (such as the excellent Two Brothers) and, for me, this was more reminiscent of something by Douglas Adams but, even so, an enjoyable holiday read.

The best I can say about this novel is that it was OK. The style is classic science fiction. Including a number of different ideas and characters, I personally felt that it would have benefitted from some simplification.

I was looking forward to reading this book but was ultimately left wanting. Although beautifully written, I never really connected with the characters and so, by the end of the book, didn't really care what happened to them.

I never had any great expectations before reading this book, having never heard of it or the author. I think I just picked it up somewhere as part of a job lot, so it's been sat on my shelf unread for a while. However, it became an unexpected favourite book of the year for me so far.
Arguably, the outcome was quite predictable but viewed Less of a ‘who dunnit' and more of an examination of how different people deal with different types of trauma and come to terms with their grief. The way it got there was, I felt, beautifully paced. Although I didn't have to agree with how people dealt with the situations, I was able to sympathize.

Romcom. From page 1 we pretty much know where this is going to end up but that doesn't make the journey any less enjoyable.

Another fantastic outing of the Thursday Murder Club.

I liked the premise of the book but that could have been wrapped up in the first three or four chapters. It soon became very obvious where the story was going to end up and it wasn't helped by the attempt to explain it all with concepts of the multiverse. Overall it was pretty disappointing.

The second light-hearted outing from Mr Osman. Hugely enjoyable, although possibly not quite up to the standards of the first but still an excellent romp and a must read if you want to go on to the excellent third book.

A real mixed bag. Clearly, Tolkien is one of the best writers who ever lived but this is a collection of his very early work, written long before he had mastered his art. Some clear glimpses of genius but not enough to make it noteworthy. The best bit for me was the essay about fairy tales – the last part of the book which, to be honest I almost skipped. This did give a real insight into Tolkien's way of thinking and of approaching his own masterworks, which made me want to delve into them again and re-capture the sense of awe that Tolkien so lovingly wove into them.

Just tedious and so convoluted that I completely lost track of what was going on so by the end, I'd forgotten what the point of the novel was and, to be honest, didn't care.

A heart rending story from one of the most diabolical events in human history, this was never going to be a light read. However, I felt that the writing style was very poor. All I got was a list of what people did and said to each other, never an understanding of how they really felt. I didn't feel any empathy and this let them down. This is an important story that needs to be told and re-told; I'm just disappointed that the author didn't do a better job.