Author: Steven

Red Pill

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Choosing Red Pill by Hari Kunzru was a big mistake on part. The reviews for his previous novel were outstanding, how could I not like it?

‘Exquisitely attuned’ 
‘Electrifying, subversive and wildly original’ 
‘A book that everyone should be reading right now’ 
 ‘Haunting, doom-drenched, genuinely and viscerally disturbing…’ 

The only one of those quotes that applies to Red Pill is “doom-drenched”

Red Pill is about an academic writer who has lost his motivation to write while experiencing an existential crisis. He is awarded a grant to spend 3 months residency at a cultural foundation in Wannsee near Berlin where things go from bad to worse. I don’t know where the story might have gone as I gave up after dragging myself through about a quarter of the book.

Maybe I missed out, but I found Red Pill to be a slow paced, overly wordy, self indulgent dirge. This is literary fiction at its absolute worst.

1/5

The Thursday Murder Club

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The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman is a slow burner, I nearly put it down after the first few chapters but I soldiered on and it improved a bit.

Four friends living in a retirement community meet once a week to discuss unsolved murder cases (one never quite finds out why or how). Then a brutal murder takes place on their doorsteps and they manage to insert themselves into the case gradually unpicking the threads which go back almost 50 years.

The narrator is one of the 4 pensioner detectives and her voice is droll rather than funny. There are a couple of twists as the plot draws to a close but you are left with the feeling of clumsily strewn red herrings rather than gasping in surprise.

Maybe if I you like the Miss Marple series or watch Midsomer Murders you will enjoy this, but I thought it was a bit meh!

3/5

Chaos

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There’s a lot of historical crime and spy fiction about at the moment – CJ Sansom, SG Maclean, CS Quinn and SJ Parris to name a few that I have enjoyed. I wonder why all of these authors choose to use both initials rather than their first names?

Chaos, the second novel by AD Swanston is a worthy addition to the list. Set in Elizabethan London, Dr Christopher Radcliffe (the Earl of Leicesters chief Intelligencer) is struggling to uncover the source of counterfeit coins that are causing panic and riot within the city. Strange messages start to appear on the walls of the city and then plague crosses are daubed on doors. Chaos is very close but Radcliffe and his informers are getting no closer to finding out who is responsible or why.

At the same time Radcliffe’s slightly unusual personal life is unravelling, his housekeeper is in Newgate accused of witchcraft and his paramour abandons him.

Chaos is very good, a pacy read with fascinating detail about Elizabethan London and politics.

4/5

Agent Running in the Field

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Le Carre is back and he is as good as ever. Agent Running in the Field is a classic Le Carre spy novel but set in 2019 with sharply observed comment on Trump, Brexit and our government.

Nat is an end of career spy who has returned to England after a mid level career overseas. Nat is given one last assignment, to manage a small group of defectors in a run down department in London. As often happens in a Le Carre plot there is a cross over between Nat’s personal life and the intelligence services.

This is brilliant, I couldn’t put it down. It twists and turns and surprises without ever seeming contrived. Made me want to go back and reread the whole Smiley series again.

5/5

Scarlet Odyssey

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Scarlet Odyssey by CT Rwizi is a fusion of magical fantasy and sci-fi set in Africa. It takes a while to grasp what is going on (I’m still a little puzzled) but it’s well worth the effort.

Salo is a young man who struggles with his mystical talents inherited from his mother. In his community men are warriors not mystics. When his village is attacked and his young friend is killed Salo knows it is time for him to declare his magical skills.

Salo is sent on a journey to the heart of Africa pursued by an evil enchantress and her minions.

This was described as a “young adult” novel but it seems pretty readable and adult to me. Certainly good enough to look forward to the second in this series!

The Rhino Conspiracy

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The Rhino Conspiracy by Peter Hain is set in modern day South Africa, it combines a page turner about the battle against rhino poachers with a scathing critique of the corruption that pervaded South Africa in the post Mandela era.

Hain is well qualified to expose the corruption of the modern state but I was surprised at how good a thriller writer he is. This is really really good, I wonder what he will do next?

4/5

The Liar’s Dictionary

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The Liar’s Dictionary by Eley Williams is very very wordy. If you love words you may well love this novel about the creation of a dictionary, I didn’t, I gave up before the 3rd chapter.

For me, this was too wordy, too self indulgent and trying too hard to be clever. That said lot’s of critics have been very impressed and it will probably turn out to be a cult novel which will mean that I have to pick it up and give it a second try!

Lost Souls

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Lost Souls by Jonathan and Jesse Kellerman is a police procedural centred around Deputy Coroner Clay Edison.

Amidst protests against the redevelopment of Peoples’ Park in Berkley California the body of an infant is uncovered. At the same time Clay is approached by someone who thinks the baby may be his sister who disappeared 50 years ago.

This is a well executed novel with a few twists and turns and some good nostalgia for the San Francisco peace and love activists of the 60’s but ultimately it lacks something.

3/5

The Sandpit

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The Sandpit by Nicholas Shakespeare is a bit of a slow burner but well worth persevering with.

John Dyer, an ex journalist, has returned from Brazil to Oxford with his son and enrolled him in the rep school that he had attended nearly 50 years ago. Life is dull and predictable in the middle class Oxford academic and school community until an Iranian, Rustum Marvar, parent entrusts John with the results of his research. When Marvar and his son disappear, the mystery unfolds at pace as different intelligence services and murky business interests encircle John and his son trying to find the potentially world changing secret.

The Sandpit is elegant, well observed and quite readable but overall a little unsatisfying.

3.5/5

The House of Lamentations

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The House of Lamentations is the 5th in Shona Maclean’s much praised Seeker series.

It’s 1658, Damian Seeker is living under cover in Bruges keeping tabs on the royalist followers of the exiled King Charles who are scheming to restore Charles to the thrown. Meanwhile in London the Protector, Cromwell, is in the last days of his life and all around him are preparing for a power shift and a new leader.

The royalists have discovered that there is a spy within their midst they have no idea who it is and send their own spy to spy on Seeker’s spy. Complicated? Yes but Maclean weaves a complex plot around these characters while providing a fascinating and detailed understanding of life in 17th century Bruges and the politics of England and Europe.

The House of Lamentations is historical fiction at it’s very best. The publisher says this is the last in the series. I hope not!

4.5/5