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Phil’s 2025 Year in Books
Take a look at Phil’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.
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Phil Syphe
Goodreads Author
Born
in Beverley, East Yorkshire, The United Kingdom
Twitter
Genre
Influences
Member Since
May 2013
URL
https://www.goodreads.com/phil_syphe
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Popular Answered Questions
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White Rose Blossoms
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The Marquise of Darkness: A Novel of Madame de Brinvilliers
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Escape to Deira: A Seventh-Century Adventure (Sons of Deira, #1)
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Cash 'n' Carrots & other capers
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published
2013
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2 editions
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Lunar Crescent (Emma Goodall, #1)
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published
2013
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Kissing Cousins (Emma Goodall, #2)
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published
2014
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2 editions
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Mixed Up (Emma Goodall, #3)
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published
2014
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2 editions
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Shep: A Cat's Tale
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published
2015
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3 editions
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The Inspirations Behind, and the Process of, Writing an Alternate History Novel
I’ve been an avid reader of historical fiction for years but felt too daunted to write it myself. I’ve also read a great deal of history books over the years, and have liked to watch history documentaries since childhood, with my foremost interests being in the histories of England and of France.
What first inspired me to attempt writing a historical novel was a ten-part TV series called The White Read more of this blog post »
What first inspired me to attempt writing a historical novel was a ten-part TV series called The White Read more of this blog post »
Phil’s Recent Updates
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Phil Syphe
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Of the 25 tales in this Christmas collection, few kept me hooked, and I skipped the least engaging ones. Gary Lovisi’s ‘The Christmas Crazies’ is the latest in a long line of stories that refers to tears being silent: ‘I noticed a tear streaming silent ...more |
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Phil Syphe
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Although this book is aimed at older children, I found it to be an entertaining read. The story is set in the lead up to Christmas but it’s not *about* Christmas. The season is merely a backdrop and is the reason why a family of four are staying at a ...more |
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This is a fast-paced crime novel with some exciting scenes. Downside, it's at times too unbelievable, and for me it lacks depth. 'Telling' often takes over from 'showing'. In short, it's not bad, but it's not great either. ...more |
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On the most part, ‘Dragonwyck’ is an engaging novel with plenty of conflict, intrigue, suspense, and tension. Country girl Miranda dreams of a better life than one of toil and prayer. She jumps at the chance to live with relatives in the magnificent h ...more |
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This is quite a mixed bag. On the whole, I found this collection to be disappointing, and skipped over a few tales that didn’t engage me. Nothing stands out in terms of brilliance, but one notable title is Mary Leader’s ‘Salem’s Children’, which is a ...more |
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'The Fields Of Death' is a good ending to the quadrilogy. The battles, including the most famous one at Waterloo, are expertly done. Only things I can criticise in this compelling story are certain style issues, with ‘telling’, not ‘showing’, being t ...more |
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“The difference between genius and stupidity is: genius has its limits.”
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“Never regret. If it's good, it's wonderful. If it's bad, it's experience.”
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“If you are not feeling well, if you have not slept, chocolate will revive you. But you have no chocolate! I think of that again and again! My dear, how will you ever manage?”
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“But he who dares not grasp the thorn
Should never crave the rose.”
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Should never crave the rose.”
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“Good-bye, Mrs Bartholemew," said tom, shaking hands with stiff politeness; "and thank you very much for having me."
"I shall look forward to our meeting again," said Mrs Bartholemew, equally primly.
Tom went slowly down the attic stairs. Then, at the bottom, he hesitated: he turned impulsively and ran up again - two at a time - to where Hatty Bartholemew still stood...
Afterwards, Aunt Gwen tried to describe to her husband that second parting between them. "He ran up to her, and they hugged each other as if they had known each other for years and years, instead of only having met for the first time this morning. There was something else, too, Alan, although I know you'll say it sounds even more absurd...Of course, Mrs Bartholemew's such a shrunken little old woman, she's hardly bigger than Tom; anyway: but, you know, he put his arms right round her and he hugged her good-bye as if she were a little girl.”
― Tom's Midnight Garden
"I shall look forward to our meeting again," said Mrs Bartholemew, equally primly.
Tom went slowly down the attic stairs. Then, at the bottom, he hesitated: he turned impulsively and ran up again - two at a time - to where Hatty Bartholemew still stood...
Afterwards, Aunt Gwen tried to describe to her husband that second parting between them. "He ran up to her, and they hugged each other as if they had known each other for years and years, instead of only having met for the first time this morning. There was something else, too, Alan, although I know you'll say it sounds even more absurd...Of course, Mrs Bartholemew's such a shrunken little old woman, she's hardly bigger than Tom; anyway: but, you know, he put his arms right round her and he hugged her good-bye as if she were a little girl.”
― Tom's Midnight Garden
