Quick Book Reviews Blog

The first book in the Imperial Radch trilogy by Ann Leckie, Ancillary Justice , garnered praise from virtually every review out there for introducing a fresh, new and unique entry into the world of science-fiction literature. Having presented us with the former warship AI-turned human called Breq as well as the vast and complex world she (it?) inhabits, Ann Leckie decided to move onwards with Ancillary Sword , the second book in the trilogy.

Just like every other review of Ancillary Justice , I will begin this one by pointing out that Ann Leckie's debut novel truly is something fantastic, something we ought to behold and admire, something that will undoubtedly one day be regarded as a classic of the science-fiction genre, captivating our imaginations years and years down the line. It seems that the practice of writing long, vast and expansive science-fiction novels is a trend that has been picking up lately, though it can be argued that few do it as well as this work of literature. (You can read the first chapter  here )

Gold is one of those things that managed to become larger than life in this world. At its essence, gold is simply a chemical element, one with mostly unremarkable characteristics. No, what makes gold so important in this world is the meaning we have given to it, our incessant yearning to decorate all we own in its glory.

Agatha Christie has had such a prolific and illustrious career that a large number of novels have made it into the “classics of literature” category, which in turn, unfortunately, overshadowed many other stories which, perhaps not being as good, still remain fantastic and for the most part, largely better than what has been printed since. They Do it with Mirrors is one such Agatha Christie novel, and it follows Miss Marple as she is beckoned by an old friend, Ruth Van Rydock, to go visit her sister, Carrie Louise Martin, at her family home (well, more like family mansion) and shed light on some strange happenings that have been bothering that latter one.

The idea of being haunted in literature is something which, for the most part, has taken a one-sense direction (and in movies too, for that matter). A haunting always implies some ghosts or malevolent spirits assailing living people's psychological sturdiness, often trying to frighten them above anything else. In If You've Got It, Haunt It , Rose Pressey has decided to take a slightly different approach to this whole haunting business, one that is lighter, quirkier, and frankly, a very welcome change of pace.

If there is one thing literature fans berate Jeffrey Archer for, it's that he takes so long to publish the next volume of his epic family saga, pitting two families against each other in every way imaginable. And that's in big reason due to the fact that every time a new part gets published, the hiatus is so long in-between that we tend to forget a few things, and the impact of the stories is lessened.

The idea of going from rags to riches and gaining all that we've never had and always dreamed of is something innumerable people think about night and day, and needless to say, it has been explored through literary works through and through. However, we never get tired of the idea, and that is certainly what drives Eileen, the protagonist in We Are Not Ourselves by Matthew Thomas, a work of literature that has made a splash on an international scale, praised by virtually every book review out there.

Agatha Christie has gifted the world of literature with countless mysteries which eventually paved the way for a number of prolific writers, and the character of Jane Marple is one that has often been imitated, but never successfully replicated by any others. Having her own series of British countryside crimes to solve, she often finds herself thrust deep into the middle of deceptively complicated and morbid affairs, as is the case in one of her most well-known books, A Murder is Announced .

Few are those who would claim that the countless technological advancements we come up with don't have their extraordinary benefits. Why, only in the past few decades we've developed a highly-efficient and unprecedentedly vast global network capable of connecting anyone with everyone else in real time. This network, which we all know as the Internet and deeply venerate, has of course opened up the opportunity for good as well as evil, and as it happens Harlan Coben explored that idea in his latest novel, Missing You .

Whenever a shocking tragedy like the terrorist attack on the diplomatic American outpost in Benghazi takes place there is always a wealth of information to mine through for months and months after. However, anyone can see that upon closer review it becomes unclear which information to trust and which to discard, with many conflicting accounts having the same amount of factual support. This creates a sort of dangerous vacuum where those responsible for bringing the truth to the public can choose how they want to tailor the story to suit their own needs.

Though it is a bit sad to say, many people have a rather one-sided and limited perception of Jamaica, confined to happy reggae songs and proficient cannabis smokers. Though there certainly is a fair share of that, it goes without saying that there is infinitely more to Jamaica, its people as well as its history. As a matter of fact, the three decades from the 1970s to the 1990s were some of the most turbulent times in the country, an era where crime and politics are virtually one and the same, a time during which poverty and violence were the daily rules for many.