If Music Be

Archive for February, 2010

Today i’m having a lazy Saturday, even though i woke up stupidly early for being so tired. I have caught up on all my internet reading, i have picked up a couple of new podcasts and am listening to those, i have some books that i really need to get reading on because they look great and i also have last night’s True Blood to watch.

What does your Saturday hold?

Dear loudly,

Why do people like you insist on thinking they know best and meddling in things they have no concept of? Just because you’re ‘good with people’ doesn’t automatically mean you can grasp a situation and have enough technical knowledge to understand its vagaries. There’s a reason there is the word ‘specialist’ in my job title you know.

*****

Dear brain,

Please switch off at night so i can actually get a full sleep and not walk through the days like a zombie

*****

Dear Friday

I miss you, please come around sooner next week

*****

Dear wine,

You. Me. Tomorrow night – date!

by Alex Bell

Synopsis from Amazon: which is why he leads a double life as the notorious cat burglar ‘The Shadowman’ who has been (luckily) evading capture for years. Lex’s luck is about to run out because the Goddess of Fortune has selected him to be her player in the highly dangerous Games. Losing is not an option for Lex (particularly as it so often involves dying) but can he really win each of the perilous rounds? Given that the reward for doing so is money, fame and glory – all things that Lex is quite keen on – he’s going to do whatever it takes to make sure he will… and he’s certainly got good experience of cheating.

Review: This was heaps of fun and a really accomplished start to what is hopefully going to be a series of stories about Lex and his adventures. There are so many little twists and turns along the way that nothing gets dull or slow or boring it all just zips along at a lovely pace. You really get to know and like Lex, especially after the introduction of Lucius when you learn more and more about him. The other characters who appear throughout the story are just as well rounded too – other than the Gods who i am hoping to learn more about in subsequent books. Alex Bell already been likened in a very positive way to Terry Pratchett and one read and i can definitely see why. I’ll definitely be looking up more books by this author because if the style of writing is typical of her other work they’re going to be just as great as this was.

Rating 5 out of 5

by Bateman

Synopsis from Amazon: He’s the Man With No Name and the owner of No Alibis, a mystery bookshop in Belfast. But when a detective agency next door goes bust, the agency’s clients start calling into his shop asking him to solve their cases. It’s not as if there’s any danger involved. It’s an easy way to sell books to his gullible customers and Alison, the beautiful girl in the jewellery shop across the road, will surely be impressed. Except she’s not – because she can see the bigger picture. And when they break into the shuttered shop next door on a dare, they have their answer. Suddenly they’re catapulted along a murder trail which leads them from small-time publishing to Nazi concentration camps and serial killers…

Review: This was a really enjoyable story, with enough intrigue to keep me reading through the whole story. I didn’t ‘work out’ the main mystery either which is a sure sign that i have got into the characters to not spend all the time thinking about that part of the story. Really what keeps this ticking over as much as the mystery they are trying to solve is the relationships between the characters; especially given we learn more and more about each of them as they interact with each other. Would recommend this to anyone who enjoys their mysteries on the lighter side but still likes good characterisation along with a bit of head scratching

Rating 4 out of 5 – very good

What with work and study and too much good TV i have been neglecting you blogettes a bit recently. 2 essays will be out of the way by the middle of next week and then i will be back with you for fun and frolics and secksi dancing

In the mean time i leave you with this

You’re welcome lovers