Bob Moore: Hostile Territory by Tom Andry

He's back! After the chaos of his last adventure Bob Moore, PI, is back in the saddle, so to speak.

I will state here that if you haven't read the previous books then there will be mentions of plot spoilers ahead. Also, why are you skipping to the third book in the series? Seriously, who does that?

Still reeling after his previous adventure it appears at first that our flawed private investigator has found his niche working undercover. The only issue being a slight lack in his accounting skills. However, we should all know by now that nothing is ever as simple as it should be. With the tragedy of Nineteen still on his mind, his new leg and feet being constant reminders of his reasons for hating Supers and an unexpected visit from the United State's Vice President with an offer that he could happily turn down you wonder if this poor man really needs to have people stalking him as well? He really does attract trouble and Mind is no help with her hilariously sarcastic responses and almost constant nagging.

With two ambassadors disappearing from the Supers' newest annoyance to Bob, the Super City, he is tasked with finding out what happened and to do so he must pose as the third US Ambassador. Obviously he's the poster boy for public relations and the like. Put a politician from every country in the world together and there will be squabbles, alliances and behind closed doors pacts made and that is what Bob has been thrown into. Now remember that this is a guy who has annoyed pretty much all the powerful Supers that are left and he's now on a floating city full of them!

You'd think for someone like Bob this would be enough to have him emptying the not so mini mini-bar but no, wait! There's more. Let's just throw in the mere idea of someone from his past that isn't his ex-wife and watch him squirm. Although the squirming around his ex-wife is pretty fun to watch anyway. This is definitely a hint to grab some popcorn and pull up a chair.

Andry has done a brilliant job of pulling together influences from popular culture and blending it with his own unique creativity to really sell the believability of this world and it's inhabitants. The idea of a superhero or main character of a storyline being untouchable was discarded a long time ago and Mr Andry has been sure to keep it in the history books. You have an alcohol dependent, overweight main character, the females leads will never be someone you'll want to mess with or imagine as damsels in distress and, would you believe it, even the secondary characters feel fleshed out and cared for. The Supers are never to be considered as safe, not in these books, and to be the spectator as they realise that is not fun or uplifting but it sure as heck keeps you on the edge of your seat.

I thoroughly enjoyed this series, despite the shortness of the books (quality over quantity), and it's clear that there is a lot of research done to make some of the scenarios more believable (not so much believing I'll see anyone fly past my window anytime soon mind). There are enough plot twists to make you wonder and question your own feelings towards certain characters and, I'll be honest, I even put the book down and refused to believe what I was reading at one point.

I recommend this as a must read for those who like action, adventure and just a bit of an exciting romp through a fantastical world not completely dissimilar from ours when it all boils down to basics.

For Tom Andry's website go here: www.tomandry.com

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Seriously, use these links and buy this eBook!!

The Descendants by Kaui Hart Hemmings **possible spoilers**

This book follows a family having to cope with a tragedy in their lives. The husband, Matt King, is forced into a position where he has to take care of two daughters he barely knows whilst also dealing with the fact that his thrill seeking wife is lying in a coma with little chance of recovery. Add on to this the fact that he has cousins all grasping for various amounts of money from his large family business that he doesn't care for and you just know that it's going to be a rather interesting journey.

The story starts with the wife, Joanie, already in the coma and Matt being confronted with the fact that he is a poor father when it comes to dealing with the every day things necessary when caring for a child. He had obviously been a stay-away dad due to work and business and it is there as an under-current throughout the book. Things are made worse when he is informed by the doctor that Joanie will never wake up and had made a living will where she did not want to be kept alive by machines.

Right from the beginning you can sense that these are not the only problems this family will face, and you'd think they would be enough for anyone, and there are revelations and realisations that jump up and slap these people in the face (one or two punches too) throughout the book. This is a real tragicomedy, at times you find yourself laughing at some dry humour and then stop yourself as you remember the feelings behind the comment.

Matt King is a father who doesn't have a clue and a husband who hid in obliviousness. His business kept him away from his family to the point where he doesn't recognise who his daughters have grown into, one a precocious, spoilt bully and the other a recovering drug addict who'd been sent away to boarding school. Most of the humour, tinged with guilt or sadness, is based around his attempts to make up for his time away, trying to grab hold of little children he thought he knew but instead getting the older versions who don't even think they need him. The children are definitely the more intriguing of the characters.

Whilst there is a main plot twist that is focused on I found myself more interested just reading the family dynamics as they change and evolve, not a normal family but definitely better than they were before the tragedy.

This is a lovely book, if set around tragic circumstances, about different family members with different coping mechanisms and all with their own secrets who go off on a slightly different sort of 'family holiday'. I feel that the character of Matt King could have been expanded upon in that it was all too perfect - his only flaw was his total obliviousness to what was happening and even that's turned to his advantage at times.

I would recommend this for a holiday read, or for a book on a flight. It's not too long but will keep you reading.

The Phantom Of The Opera - Gaston Leroux

Having seen the show and the more modern film I thought it was a crying shame that I had yet to read the book that started it all.

For those who don't know; this is a story of tragedy and (occasionally unrequited) love. It's so hard for me to write about this book as it's always been in the background of my mind for me and now I find myself back to the root of what started it and, whilst this was a lovely read, it was slightly disappointing  as it didn't quite live up to the hype I'd piled on it. Not to say it isn't a good book though but, as has been the case with the book for most of it's history, it has always been overshadowed by stage & screen (there were moments it even went out of print in the twentieth cent.).

This Gothic romance tells the story of a a chorus girl caught in a love triangle between the Opera Ghost, Erik, and the French nobleman she knew from her childhood, Raoul. As this story progresses Christine becomes an amazing opera singer who is even used as a replacement for the Prima Donna, this she attributes to her 'Angel of Music', who she wholeheartedly believes in being an angel.

This novel starts off in an investigative format, with the author setting the idea that what he is writing is an article to disprove the idea of the Opera House being haunted by a ghost and, what's more, that the same man (for he states he believes it's a human) is responsible for the disappearances and deaths that occurred around the same time the 'ghost's' activities were at it's highest. Leroux uses the idea of the unnamed author/investigative journalist to introduce us to the only character left who can really tell the story of what happened, including insights into the Phantom's previous life that's not been brought up on stage or on screen.

For those who have never read the book but been exposed to the story in another way, like myself, you may be forgiven for thinking that this is just a classic french tale of romance with just a touch of angst thrown in - but wait!! This book is not only romance but also a fine example of a gothic horror at the time of being written. You have a ghost that is never really seen except for his actions, he has the ability to be all over the opera house & yet not be caught. At the same time there is a young, impressionable girl caught up in the thrall of this unseen Angel of Music with an infatuated old friend trying to save her from his grasp.

Although I believed this to be a well known story I found parts that were completely new to me and put the whole thing in a different light. It was a lot more horrifying and terrifying than I thought and the romance seemed, at times, to play second fiddle to the phantom's devious acts.

Although I found Erik to be well written I must confess to believing that Raoul and Christine seemed to only be written as two-dimensional characters for Leroux to compare Erik against. They had moments but most of the time they fell flat and couldn't hide from the fact that they really were just supporting characters in this tale about a man's descent into darkness, literally and figuratively, as he tried to hold onto the light the only way he knew how.

I enjoyed this book, though at times it was slow due to the style of writing, and for such a short read (I thought it'd be a lot longer) it ould definitely hold it's own, probably why it's become a classic!

I recommend this book to anyone who has enjoyed the various adaptations of this story as it will give you a whole new outlook. Also a good read for lovers of the gothic novels.

Tony Hogan Bought Me An Ice Cream Float Before He Stole My Ma by Kerry Hudson

Janie Ryan is born to a long line of Aberdeen fish wives and into a childhood of living in hostels, B&Bs and council estates. This book follows the trials and tribulations of growing up with a mother who, whilst always wanting to provide the best for her child, has poor taste in men and really does get close to hitting rock bottom all shown through the eyes of a child.

The book starts with the birth of the latest Ryan woman, who's father is a mysterious, married American, and it is from there that things are seen to go downhill with her first 4 weeks in this world being spent in a women's help centre. This is Janie's first introduction as to what to expect in her life and, to begin with, she sees it all with the childish innocence that makes it seem all that much worse for the reader.

As fear and shame are gradually introduced into her life far too soon for our liking she comes to see the differences between her family and home compared to others, usually coming out worse. This, however, is a slow process and throughout most of the book I'd say that her innocence protects Janie from what could've been some devastating truths for a young girl. Eventually though the bitterness and awareness win out and the last third of the book is told through the eyes of an angry, teenage cynic who see's her mum as she really is and doesn't want to become her, despite the groups and habits she falls into.

There are some really touching moments in this book that push the reader along to read 'just one more page' until you find you're at the end and, for me any rate, very grateful for having the family I have. I found Janie to be a character that I started to invest my feelings in as I followed her through her childhood. Ms Hudson does well to make sure the reader relates and empathises with Janie as well as her mum and you find yourself hoping that the next move and the next guy will be the right one for all of them.

On the surface this appears to be a tale of woe about a single mother being given all the short straws and the daughter having to suffer too. If you look deeper, however, it's a tale about the strength of a bond between a mother and her child, how it didn't matter how bad things got for her because she could handle it as long as she had her daughter with her and knew she was safe.

This is a very interesting read and an emotional piece of modern fiction that gives the reader an insight into a life which they possibly have never had to experience. It leaves you hoping for more, hoping for better and really hoping that Janie Ryan does good with her life. Kerry Hudson has managed to make a potentially depressing subject into something laced with wit and occasionally humourous observations.

What makes this all the more interesting is that the 'About The Author' bit in the back of the book lets us know that Kerry Hudson is not writing this without any knowledge of her subject but has lived in council estates and B&Bs (and I really hope that's as far as her knowledge goes because some of it is heart wrenching) so you just know that she knows.

I recommend this book for anyone looking to pick up a new author (her twitter mentions she's working on a second book so she hopefully isn't a 'one-time appearance' sorta woman) as well as people who are interested in modern fiction that isn't just women sipping wine in their flats, deciding to take on the world and picking up a guy on the way - this is a far more interesting and thought provoking stance on the genre.

50 Shades of grey by E. L. James **possible spoilers**

WARNING: Mature content will be mentioned & mature language in quotes used as this is a mature book.

There is a section in this book where the male character claims that he is 'Fifty shades of fucked up' and I'll be honest - that's an accurate description for this book and the entire premise behind it.

I thought it was worth me reading at least the first book in the trilogy so that I could form an honest opinion based on actual knowledge instead of listening to hearsay - In a way I'm glad I did that but I would've been happier avoiding it and the furore surrounding it and just carried on with reading Les Miserables.

This is definitely a 'Marmite' book - you'll either love it or hate it. I am now going to try to keep my anger to a minimum in order to not just sound like some harpy spewing hatred through this blog.

The story behind this (I know, there is a story folks, it's not just about BDSM and a virgin who can then have orgasms at the drop of a hat!) follows a completely innocent & naieve 21 year old Anastasia Steele who finds herself interviewing the suave, sophisticated, drop dead gorgeous, billionaire Christian Grey. There is chemistry between them and Mr Grey has taken a definite interest in Ana, showering her with expensive gifts and treating her to helicopter rides. This all culminates in him introducing her to the BDSM lifestyle in the hope that she will accept him and this lifestyle in order to stay with him. However, it must be noted, he doesn't 'do' relationships. It is an arrangement - contract drawn up and everything - that he'd like her to agree to.

What follows is Ana becoming emotional, confused, eager and curious as she debates with herself whether this is something that she really wants. She does work out halfway through that, whilst this may scare her, it will let her be with Mr Grey and that's all that matters to her.

Now, whilst the idea behind this book is a good one, I found there were a few too many instances that had me gritting my teeth and feeling like I was the only one who saw this as a bad way to start any relationship with another person (I'm not talking about relationship in it's romantic sense, I mean what exists between two people getting to know each other). I found the characters were too predictable and cliche. With Ana being your typical clueless main character who admires her best friend for being able to attract all the men but not being able to see that every guy she's come into contact with has fallen head over heels for her and Christian being the billionaire, untouchable, looks to die for guy who happens to have a dark past that's hidden from the world it just all seemed a bittoo predictable and unbelievable.

Throughout this book Ana believes that if she goes with what Christian wants (despite her trying to appear as an independent, strong young woman) then she'll be able to do what no other woman has yet managed and change the unfeeling Mr Grey. This is not a good idea for a woman to take away from this book (yes, it's fictional, but people do still look for lessons to take away) as if I had a man find out where I lived and worked after our first meeting, tracked my mobile phone after our second and then find out where my mother lived and 'conveniently' end up staying in a hotel where my mum and I were drinking - my thoughts would not be running along the lines of 'Oh how romantic'. I also would not be willing to overlook his actions and emotional/sexual manipulations just because he's more knowledgeable than I am - there should be something along the lines of common sense telling me to get out (oh wait, she did want a break from him to think about it but then he followed her).

In my mind there is nothing normal or healthy about what happens between these two in this book but it is made acceptable with the reasoning that Mr Grey was abused when he was younger so he can take it out on any woman who falls under his spell.

What the author initially had here was a good idea for a plot, unfortunately the lack of character building, some rose tinted glasses on certain actions and some rather immature writing let her down. It felt choppy and hard to get into - in fact the best written parts were, surprisingly, the erotic scene, although I have read many people's comments on how it was poorly portrayed and threw a dark light on the BDSM lifestyle and as I personally have no knowledge of this I will refrain from commenting.

All in all I did not enjoy this book at all (as those who have read my social networking posts can attest to) and will not be continuing on to the next book. However, if you are able to gloss over the poor writing and two-dimensional characters as well as passing off questionable actions on just a guy being in love then please, pick this book up. If you want a quick, steamy read and have read the blurb and what others have said and feel it's for you - pick it up. This is just my own personal take on the book and I did not care for it.

North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell

I have a confession to make, before realising this was a book I first saw this as the BBC TV adaptation and fell in love with it (no, of course it had nothing to do with Richard Armitage playing the lead male character, I'm offended by your insinuations). although the books and their screen adaptations always vary I knew that this was a book I HAD to read.

Now, I should first like to note that, at the start of my copy there was a preface mentioning that N&S originally came out as entries in a newspaper and so Elizabeth did not feel she had included everything she could and some vital parts to the story had to be omitted, this was corrected in some parts when she was to have the book published but at other parts it does feel that some of it has been rushed *cough* the ending *cough*.

The story follows Margaret Hale as she moves back to live with her parents in her beloved old parish home in Helstone only to be faced with leaving it as her father, the vicar, has a crisis of conscience (not faith, he doesn't lose his faith only finds that his views on it differ from the church's - or something like that, not completely explained).

With their income cut down, and unable to live in the cottage as it is for the parish priest, the Hale's must find a place that is affordable and all signs point to that place being up in the North of England (as opposed to the South where they currently reside). By contacting an old friend Mr Hale finds them a good deal on a house but apart from that it appears that responsibility for everything else falls on Margaret and this seems to remain one of the underlying themes throughout the book.

The differences between the manufacturing North and the agrarian South are made clearly evident through Margaret's eyes, at first as she favours her home the south, and is obviously looking at it through fond memories and rose tinted spectacles. This comes in direct contrast with our male lead character, Mr Thornton, who is a Milton man born and bred and is the epitome of the what Gaskell believes the north stands for; someone who has worked his way from destitution to a place of prominence in the eyes of the other mill owners, who is sought for advice and known for being honest and open. The south is represented in a softer, kinder way that relies a lot on words and less on action, where it would seem the (supposedly) warmer climate and more laid back way of life has become a part of the people themselves.

What follows is a story of understanding, love, tragedy, friendship and one or two things that made me get a bit teary as well as Gaskell's more political views on class barriers, how women are perceived and expected to act as well as the relationship between an employer and his employees. These are usually the lines Austen refuses to step over and barely hints at with her well-veiled hints at her political standings covered in lines of poetic descriptions and fun, light hearted debates.

I found this book to be just as enjoyable, if not moreso, than the BBC adaptation - and I love the adaptation (seriously, it's not all about Armitage, I swear!). Gaskell delivers a work that reminds you of Austen but goes deeper into the personalities and psyches of the main character. Where Austen gives you a strong-willed heroine Gaskell adds on the deeper thoughts this woman has. At some points I truly felt sorry for Margaret, at others I wanted to slap her before then acknowledging that maybe she had a point. Mr Thornton is not just there to be the male lead who has the ladies at his feet but has a brain and business sense that would make even your modern day man proud.

Managing to grasp the changing moods of the time, Gaskell really doesn't sugar coat too much for the poor readers delicate senses at the time, although nowadays we'd barely bat an eye at some of the descriptions of the slums, but then we have history lessons and resources to draw on to already have an idea of how bad it really was.

A brilliant read that will stay with me for a long while. I recommend this to anyone who enjoys fiction from this time period and if you happen to get your hands on the BBC adaptation after reading this I suggest chucking out th other half when watching it!

First Men In The Moon by H. G. Wells

One of H. G. Wells lesser known books (in comparison to the likes of The Time Machine, The Invisible Man, War of The Worlds) I still thought it was worth going into it with the feelings that reading his other books gave me.

First off I’d like everyone to remember that this book was published in 1901 and, as with many of Wells’ books, he is well ahead of his time. 

Set in England, Wells introduces us to Bedford – a man who’s trying to find an easy way to earn money to pay off the debt collectors chasing him. He decides upon writing a play, as he believes it to be relatively easy (someone really should’ve told him the truth) but becomes distracted by a figure out of his window. 

This eventually introduces him to Professor Cavor, your run-of-the-mill eccentric scientist who has just hit upon an idea for an invention but has no idea what to do with it. This is where Bedford spots a business investment and a way to not only pay off his bad debt but to also make themselves rich. The new invention is Cavorite, a material that can block ‘gravity waves’ thus making the object float after the correct scientific treatment. To his credit, Wells doesn't do a Verne and try to go into great scientific explanations, making his narrative character excuse himself as the man with the business brains and not the scientific one.

Bedford and the professor (mainly the professor) come up with a plan to make a sphere container out of the material that's large enough to carry them and some supplies up to the moon. With a large explosion and then some very complicated shutter opening and closing in certain sequences the two eventually find themselves on the cold satellite. At first all is as it would appear to the reader of the time, freezing cold, rocky with minimum atmosphere, just enough to be breathable. It isn't until the sun shines that things start to change. With quick growing flora sprouting up the two men suddenly find themselves on a wholly different world and the events that ensue would've caused some readers of the time to look at this familiar rock in their night skies in a different way.

Some of the aspects in this book were very much ahead of Wells' time and I enjoy being able to look back with my 21st Century knowledge and marvel at how things were perceived, either accurately or differently from the reality we now know. The idea of the moon coming to life and being inhabited by beings that live underground in it's hollowed out shell may be pushing the realms of belief too far but this is what science fiction is all about and Wells is one of the original masters as far as I'm concerned.

 Wells style of writing can be hard to get into and it is a slow start with some parts that seem to just be put in there for the heck of it, but I imagine they exist in order to pad out the story or give it some depth... or something. Overall I can see why this book has lasted but at the same time there is a reason it is a little less well-known than his others. It doesn't have that extra something (in the case of War of the Worlds we'll call it fear) that draws you so into the book it becomes something you carry with you.

A book that really can be nothing but early 20th century sci-fi it lives up to the expectations but, in certain parts, can't seem to break through and go beyond. From a modern point of view I didn't find myself overly excited upon finishing this, but I can see how it would have grabbed the imaginations of contemporary readers.

If you're a fan of Wells' other works then please, by all means, read this book. If you're interested in early 20th Century works then, again, read it. If you're interested in any part of this book then I can tell you that you will not have wasted any time reading it, but I don't think you'll come away from it changed or affected by it in any way.