Katherine

Excellent overall, and with a broad approach both geographically and chronologically which avoids the usual trap of histories of this period; namely, over-focus on Alfred the Great and the generations either side of him in Wessex and southern England. My one criticism is that, in her attempt to avoid obsessing over high politics, Fleming perhaps glosses over political developments a little too readily. Still, a fascinating study and well-worth reading.

The book tackles some core themes of Rastafari, with particular emphasis on the broad range of Abrahamic, pagan and animist influences to Rastafarian thought and its connection to the Ethiopian Orthodox Tawahedo Church. There is also a focus on the role of women within the movement, particularly in chapter eight, and on the interplay between Rastafari and the wider post-colonial world.

The writing style is sometimes hard to plow through, and there are elements of repetition and a curious thematic structure. Nonetheless, the book is a goldmine of information and puts forward some unique and interesting ideas. Worth reading, though possibly not as your first introduction to the subject.

Phenomenal. Having started and never finished this two years ago, I finally took the time to plough through it in essentially three sittings over the course of a week. So, so good. Both Sir Terry and Neil Gaiman are firm favourites of mine, so it was inevitable I would love it. Still - having not reached this point in my original, abortive attempt - the appearance of a certain, rather thin gentleman who speaks exclusively in capitals was a moment of pure glee.

Overall, this is a must-read for any Pratchett or Gaiman fan, though I would say it trends overall towards the Discworld feel.

Superb. The style in which the story is presented was a little jarring at first, but after fifty pages or so I got used to the idiosyncrasies of the narrator. The book really comes into its own from Part II onwards, with the chaotic exuberance of the fishing trip and the final night on the ward particular highlights.

Brilliantly written, fast-paced and comprehensive. This is an excellent, no-punches-pulled narrative of the gloriously unholy career of the heaviest band in the world. Wall's familiarity with the people involved allows him to write a compassionate yet frank account of their many misfortunes as well as their great triumphs. Ozzy, Tony, Geezer, Bill, Ronnie, Sharon, Don Arden and the rest of the motley crew surrounding Sabbath leap from the pages. If you love heavy metal, read this book.

A well-crafted history; nothing an academic would find hugely useful, but an eminently readable summary of one of the most turbulent periods in Earth's history. Gaddis has a fairly clear right-wing bias, but as long as you bear that in mind this is a useful and enjoyable book

Describing this book as a sequel to American Gods is something of a misnomer. Precisely one character is common to both books, and whilst Compe Anansi is hugely important in the story of Anansi Boys - for obvious reasons - the actual word count dedicated to him is relatively little. Anansi Boys does, however, pick up on some of the same themes as American Gods - the idea of gods and other ancient myths still living in today's world in particular. Whilst this is hardly a USP, being a key trope of modern fantasy, Gaiman does it in a particularly realistic, gritty way which makes his gods so much more alive than many others. The book is amusing throughout, laugh-out-loud funny in places, but keeps enough of the dark, mysterious nature of American Gods that I would not consider it a comedy by any means. Overall, a fantastic read - I could hardly put it down.

Fantastic. I've read it before, of course, but not in a couple of years and you do forget the details. In fact, I forgot some entire chapters. Orwell remains as pithy and as politically sharp as ever

Deer's research is invaluable, and without him Wakefield might really have gotten away with it, but my goodness, I just cannot stand his prose style. It's like every sentence is a newspaper headline. A shame, I've seen so many documentaries by Deer and based on his work that I'd been looking forward to this but it just doesn't gel with me. YMMV, of course

Densely packed with detail and impeccably well-researched, the book nonetheless founders on the border between a 3 and 4 star rating because the overwhelming lists of names make large sections of it, particularly in the latter half, at times both tedious to wade through and difficult to parse. In the end, I went with 4 because I did get a lot out of reading it, but be warned