Book Review - The Dunbar Case by Peter Corris

Another Cliff Hardy installment. This is a classic of the hard bitten private detective genre. Cliff is on the hunt for some historic information from a convicted criminal. He gets involved in current murder and mayhem, reconnects with an old flame and annoys local gangsters. Taut writing and believable plotting, Cliff has still got it. Wendy

Book Review - Return to Priorsford by Evelyn Hood

This is a gentle village drama with a varied cast of characters. I am new to this series but you can catch up fairly quickly. We follow two pairs of lovers and some assorted other families through some twists and turns in a quintessential English village. There are the impoverished gentry, the struggling famer, the local store keepers and publicans in the mix. It's undemanding yet quietly satisfying. Wendy

Book Review - The Caspian Gates by Harry Sidebottom

The next installment of The Warrior of Rome story is packed full of battles, adventure and travel as Ballista and his familia experience an earthquake in Ephesus and then head for the Caucausus Mountains to rebuild the Caspian Gates, a barrier to hold the mountain passes against the marauding Alani barbarians. The author teaches classical history at Oxford University and is well versed in the period detail. More importantly, he tells a rollicking good yarn. His warriors are men who fight and kill and face death. They live with honour according to their various gods and customs. Ballista is a northerner of Germanic origin, taken as a hostage as a boy and now a veteran soldier of Rome, whose fate is unfortunately as often decided by the labyrinthine politics of the region as by his skill in fighting battles. The complicated Roman social and political structure is explained enough to let you concentrate on the fighting, the drinking and the sex, with the odd bit of philosophy thrown in. The meditations on being exiled are pertinent and thought provoking. A complete escape from the modern world and well worth a visit. Wendy

Book Review - Beseiged: siege Warfare in the Ancient world by Duncan B. Campbell

This informative volume charts the development of strategies and equipment used in besieging towns and cities in the classical worlds of Greece and Rome. Ancient texts, archaeological finds and modern re-constructions of war engines are used to explain when and how they were used. Famous generals such as Hannibal, Julius Caesar and Alexander the Great feature, with descriptions of their successful and unsuccessful attempts to subdue fortified towns. It was quite important for towns to defend themselves, because if they fell, the men were generally killed and the women and children enslaved by the victors. Filled with illustrations and extensively annotated. Wendy

Book Review - The Teleportation Accident.

This book starts out in 1930s Berlin in the louche world of theatre and art. The protagonist, Egon Loeser, is desperately in love with a girl, Adele, who seems to love every body but him. His story takes many twists and turns in this dark, funny, quirky novel. There are many characters in his book, all practicing deceptions, seeking love, studying physics, avoiding blackmail, seeking advancement, getting married and working for governments of all persuasions. Read it – you'll either love it like I did, or you'll give up very quickly. If you stay, you will be rewarded. Wendy