Synopsis from Waterstones:
A short but perfectly formed complete Discworld novel, fully illustrated in lavish colour throughout, THE LAST HERO is an essential part of any Discworld collection. It stars the legendary Cohen the Barbarian, a legend in his own lifetime. Cohen can remember when a hero didn’t have to worry about fences and lawyers and civilisation, and when people didn’t tell you off for killing dragons. But he can’t always remember, these days, where he put his teeth …So now, with his ancient sword and his new walking stick and his old friends — and they’re very old friends — Cohen the Barbarian is going on one final quest. He’s going to climb the highest mountain in the Discworld and meet his gods. The last hero in the world is going to return what the first hero stole. With a vengeance. That’ll mean the end of the world, if no one stops him in time.
This is number 27 in the Discworld series and shorter than most because it is an illustrated novel. There is worry all around Ankh-Morpork’s senior leaders: the heroes are going to challenge the gods. This could be the end of life as they know it. So the solution? Team up Rincewind the wizard and Captain Carrot of the City Watch and send them off in a flying contraption to save the day.
I have one word for this story: genius! The idea of Rincewind and Carrot together is awesome. Both make me laugh and both I enjoy reading about. Rincewind because of his ability to get himself in trouble and Carrot because he is so nice he can manipulate others into doing what he wants. This story also featured the wizards. And I love Ridcully. I love how he is the Arch-Chancellor yet knows nothing useful.
Like with all Pratchett’s other novels, this is full of adventure and excitement; and of course Pratchett’s dry humour. I love his writing style – how he draws you in and keeps you gripped right to the end. He thinks up wonderful storylines that compel you to read them. He is descriptive and has a wild imagination that he is willing to share, and I love stepping into the Discworld.
I think from this book there is one image I will take away with me: the sight of the elephants holding up the Discworld as Rincewind and Carrot fly past. That to me is just awesome.
As always, this was not a let down. I am truely addicted to this series and recommend them all to everyone.
4/5
Synopsis from Amazon.com:
The second of Dickens’ Christmas Books, The Chimes recounts the tale of a poor day laborer, Toby Veck. Like Scrooge, Toby is guided by a specter through the scenes that refocus his views of Victorian London with all its “stern realities.”
This is not as well known as A Christmas Carol, and not as popular either back when Dickens was writing. I can see why, and actually I preferred A Christmas Carol too – however, that is not to say this is a bad book. It is not by far. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this. It is another short story, one which I read in a day. In this story we meet Toby Veck. For the first half of the book he is looking for work and listening to those in wealth speak and seeing just a glimpse of their life. In the second half, he sleep walks up to the Great Bells, where their chiming guides him through a life where is dead and has left his daughter Meg to struggle through.
This book would act as a good historical source because Dickens is not scared to write London as the poor see it. He is explicit in the hardships he portrays – things such as death, drunkenness and of course, poverty. It was heart wrenching to read of these horrendous lifestyles, but that was how it was in Victorian London if you were on the lower end of the wealth spectrum.
Dickens writes in a magnificent way. He is descriptive and captivating. The words flew off the page at me and I was sucked in to what he was writing. I was gripped. I did think that Dickens spent too long on the introduction of Toby’s life however.
He writes lovely characters too. I loved Toby. He was an old man struggling for work, and when he saw the hardships Meg had to endure his heart broke – and I really felt his anguish. And I loved Meg. She was bubbly and caring – and their relationship was very loving.
Although not as famous as A Christmas Carol, this is a very enjoyable Dickens novel. It is short, fast-paced and gripping.
8/10
Waterstone’s Synopsis:
Two eavesdropping train passengers learn more than they bargained for about their own love lives; an office-party fling has unforeseen consequences for a young woman and for a marriage; a suburban housewife is forced to face her past when her estranged mother, famous and exotic, makes contact after many years; an office worker who imagines herself an undercover agent finds her commute to work livened up by the daily sightings of a handsome stranger…whose life she decides to investigate; an adopted woman journeys to meet the woman who gave her up all those years ago, and finds that all is not what she imagined!
This is a book full of short stories. Each story focuses on a passenger of the Dart. Some stories involved people from other stories, others were stand-alone stories. None were very long but I found them all readable, making this a quick read.
I have never read Sheila O’Flanagan and I will read her work again. I found the book enjoyable and easy to read. All the stories were gripping but I did find that some of them were not finished to my liking. There was one story about domestic violence and I thought that the resolution was too predictable and that the issue was not really looked into. There were other stories I would like to read as long stories too.
This is chick-lit and was enjoyable. I would have liked more depth in some of the stories but this was a quick book to read and I liked how O’Flanagan wrote. The stories are generally full of love and friendship and they were nice reads. If you want a quick, chick-lit book to read, this is for you.
8/10
Synopsis from Amazon:
A QUICK READ – part of the WORLD BOOK DAY 2009 literacy initiative for emergent readers. March 1928. Freddie Smith is on a motoring holiday in the mountains of south west France. He is caught in a violent storm and his car crashes. He is forced to seek shelter in a boarding house in the nearby village of Axat. There he meets another guest in the tiny hotel, a pale and beautiful young woman called Marie. As the storm rages outside, she explains how the region was ripped apart by wars of religion in the 14th century. She tells how, one terrible night in March 1328, all the inhabitants of Axat were forced to flee from the soldiers into the mountains. The villagers took refuge in a cave, but when the fighting was over, no one came back. Their bodies were never found. Axat itself became a ghost town. When Freddie wakes the following morning, Marie has gone. Worse still, his car will take several days to repair and he has to stay at the boarding house for a few days more. To pass the time, he explores the mountains. Then he realises it is almost 600 years to the day since the villagers disappeared. He decides to go and look for the cave himself. Perhaps, he thinks, he might even find Marie? It is a decision he will live to regret.
This is a Quick Read book and only 97 pages. It is typical Mosse though, with secrets hidden in caves, disaster striking to keep Frank in this ghost town and someone from the past communicating to him so he finds the caves.
I found this book fairly predictable. When Frank met Marie you knew it was her ghost from the fourteenth century. And of course you knew he was going to head up the mountain to find the cave. There were a couple of surprises but it is such a short book that not a lot can happen in it.
Being so short, the characters didn’t have time to develop so I didn’t feel anything for them. It was an OK read but in hindsight it was nothing special. It was just so short and predictable. I enjoy Kate Mosse books and feel a bit let down by this book. It has left me unsatisfied really.
5/10
Synopsis from www.harpercollins.com:
On the verge of giving up—anchored to dreams that never came true and to people who have long since disappeared from their lives—Van Booy’s characters walk the streets of these stark and beautiful stories until chance meetings with strangers force them to face responsibility for lives they thought had continued on without them.
This book contains five short stories. In all of them the protagonist is lost and looking for love. They all find it, but the journey each take are individual and life-changing. The characters are all likeable, and you find yourself wanting the best for them. The outcomes are not always as you expect, but that just adds to the joy of this book.
This is a beautiful book. Everything from the cover design to the stories is just gorgeous. Van Booy explores the power of children, growing up and the power music can have. The sentences are short but the stories just flow from the pages. It is a quick read, gripping and thrilling. This is a real page-turner. As I sit writing this I can’t think of a bad thing to say about this book. I was hooked right from the beginning. All five stories are different but with one theme: love. This is an uplifting book, and I highly recommend it.
10/10
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