Ian Williams > Recent Status Updates

This is a long book, but the pacing is rapid, the plot clever and the story engaging. My attention was gripped right until the very end. However, the characters lack enough depth of personality to distinguish themselves from one another. I wasn’t always sure who was who and what their place in the story was. We need to see them in order to recognise them. Their lack of actual vividness let the book down.

Having been a devoted fan of this film since I saw it on tv in the late 70s, I was eager to read the background of this film. This book does not disappoint. It gives character sketches of the writers, the director, the producer, and the actors, including the supporting actors, many of whom had fled war torn Europe. If you are fan of Casablanca, and there are many of us out there, then this book is for you.

The Madness of Crowds: Gender, Race and Identity by Douglas Murray is a welcome weapon in the armoury against the most malignant curse of our time. Murray compares the civil rights movement for women, ethnic minorities and gays to a train that had successfully arrived at its destination, but instead of pulling safely into the station, picks up speed and goes hurtling along the tracks totally out of control.

A good take on a familiar twist to the Ripper story. I hope I am not giving anything away, but the Whitechapel murders of common prostitutes may have connections to those high up in the British establishment. If you like ripperology and Sherlock Holmes pastiches, then you should like this book. David Stuart Davies writes well and makes a good contribution to the Sherlock Holmes series being published Titan Books.

A good take on a familiar twist to the Ripper story. I hope I am not giving anything away, but the Whitechapel murders of common prostitutes may have connections to those high up in the British establishment. If you like ripperology and Sherlock Holmes pastiches, then you should like this book. David Stuart Davies writes well and makes a good contribution to the Sherlock Holmes series being published Titan Books.

If you like your short stories to have a twist in the end, then Dahl is your man. A good collection and an enjoyable read.