| History and Nostalgia |
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Book of the month:
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S J PARRIS: HERESY (Harper Collins HB)
Introducing the monk Giodarno Bruno, magician, scientist, and heretic in a
new series of historical thrillers for fans of C.J.Sansom and 'The Name of the
Rose' England, 1583 A country awash with paranoia and conspiracy -- but a safe
haven for a radical monk on the run. Giordano Bruno, with his theories of
astronomy and extraterrestrial life, has fled the Inquisition for the court of
Elizabeth I. Here, he attracts the attention of Francis Walsingham, chief
spymaster and sworn enemy of Catholic plotters. Bruno is sent undercover to
Oxford, where the university is believed to be a hotbed of French dissent. Bruno
quickly finds himself drawn into college intrigues, and distracted by a
beautiful young woman. Before long, he is investigating a hideous series of
murders, each linked by a letter offering clues. The letters suggest that each
victim was guilty of heresy. But is Bruno being aided or misled - or is he
himself the next target? Stalking a cunning and determined killer through the
shadowy cloisters of Oxford, Bruno realizes that even the wise cannot always
tell truth from heresy. But some are prepared to kill for it! This is a brilliant debut, and quite unlike other Tudor England stories in that it's a Midsomer Murders-type of murder mystery but set a few centuries ago. Parris has created a powerful and interesting "hero", who happens to be working for Walsingham's secret service, rooting out heretics in Queen Elizabeth 1st's England, a country steeped in mystery and conspiracy, and not a few papists anxious to carry on practising their religion in secret. The atmosphere is beguiling, the descriptions of Tudor Oxford brilliant, and the whole book reeks of intrigue and mystery. Brilliant, utterly brilliant.
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THE BEST OF JOHN BUCHAN: THREE RIP-ROARING RICHARD HANNAY ADVENTURES (Prion PB)
Long before James Bond was born, the man of action to whom His Majesty's Government turned when there was a devious espionage ring to be infiltrated or
an evil international super-spy to be brought to justice, was Richard Hannay.
The most famous fictional creation of author, politician and statesman John
Buchan, Hannay averted disaster for king and country on many occasions, being
hounded by ruthless villains from Scotland to the Swiss Alps and the wilds of
Turkey in the process. Together in this one epic volume are his three thrilling
First World War adventures comprising: "The Thirty-Nine Steps" - Richard Hannay
first becomes involved in the despicable skullduggery of a German spy network,
battling to expose them while wanted by the police for a murder he didn't commit
and pursued by the enemy in one of the greatest man-hunts ever; "Greenmantle" -
Just as he finishes convalescing from wounds received on the battlefield in
France, Hannay, now Major Hannay, is reunited with some old friends and sent to
thwart German plans to instigate a holy war in the Middle East; and, "Mr
Standfast" - Drafted back into the Secret Service once more and working
undercover as a pacifist to bring down German operation in Britain, Hannay comes
up against the enemy's most cunning master spy, meeting the love of his life
along the way. For thriller fans who have fought the Boche with Richard Hannay
before, this collection puts you right back in the firing line, and for anyone
who's used to seeing their secret agents weighed down by gadgets and gizmos,
Hannay shows you how a real man survives with just skill, determination and
sheer guts. Another secret service man almost. Richard Hannay was the turn-of-the-century equivalent of James Bond, and these three fabulous adventures are packaged brilliiantly by Prion (Carlton Books).
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CAPT. W E JOHNS: BIGGLES' SECRET ASSIGNMENTS (Prion PB)
Biggles' Second Case: Biggles hunts for a wartime German submarine, the U-517, whose ruthless captain, Von Shonbeck, has escaped to the Antarctic with a
horde of stolen gold bullion.; Biggles Breaks the Silence: Back in the Antarctic
once again, Biggles tracks down a ship frozen in the pack ice with a hold full
of treasure and does battle with a gang of desperate villains while attempting
to recover the ship's cargo.; Biggles Gets His Men: Biggles is tasked with the
dangerous mission of finding and rescuing a group of important scientists who
have been kidnapped and smuggled to a remote region of China.; Biggles Follows
On: Biggles comes up against his arch enemy, Erich Von Stalhein, and teams up
with Gimlet King's special forces unit behind enemy lines in Korea. That favourite flying ace is back in a third fantastic volume from Prion, complete with 1950s-style illustrations. If you haven't discovered Biggles yet, now's your chance. Wonderful!
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JACK LONDON: FIVE CLASSIC NOVELS (Prion PB)
Jack London is perhaps best known for his much-loved tales of the great outdoors in novels such as "The Call of the Wild" and "White Fang", for which he
drew on his experiences of the harshest environments as a seaman and as a
prospector in Alaska during the Klondike Gold Rush. London became seriously ill
due to the privations of life in Alaska and returned home to Oakland, San
Francisco, where he embarked on a career as a writer. His first novel, "A
Daughter of the Snows", was published in 1902 but it was his second novel, "The
Call of the Wild", that made him truly famous. Published without any great
expectations for commercial success, the story of the pet dog turned wolf pack
leader became a huge bestseller. "White Fang", like "The Call of the Wild",
explores the theme of contrast between civilization and savagery when a wild
wolf cub is brought up by humans only to become a champion fighting dog. "The
Game" revolves around London's favourite sport of boxing. Joe Fleming is a prize
fighter and, on the eve of his wedding, his fiancee agrees to watch his last
ever fight. "The Scarlet Plague" was first published in 1912 but tells of a
disease that wipes out most of the world's population in 2012. The story is set
sixty years later as one of the survivors attempts to pass on a lifetime of
wisdom and experience to his grandsons. "The Star Rover" is a prison tale in
which the main character endures torture sessions, surviving by entering a
trance-like state, when he walks among the stars and experiences past lives. This is the stuff of "Boys-Own" story papers, and the type of story you'd read in any 1950s anthology or annual. The stories are thrilling and inspirational in a way that simply doesn't exist any longer, and Prion are doing us a huge service by keeping them in print. Another briliant collection from the world's best publisher of nostalgia.
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LAUREN WILLIG: THE MASQUE OF THE BLACK TULIP (Allison and Busby PB)
'But if modern manhood had let me down, at least the past boasted brighter specimens. To wit, the Scarlet Pimpernel, the Purple Gentian and the Pink
Carnation, that dashing trio of spies who kept Napoleon in a froth of rage and
the feminine population of England in another sort of froth entirely'.
Modern-day student Eloise Kelly has achieved a great academic coup by unmasking
the elusive spy, the Pink Carnation, who saved England from Napoleon. But now
she has a million questions about the Carnation's deadly nemesis, the Black
Tulip. And she's pretty sure that handsome Colin Selwick has the answers
somewhere in his family's archives. While searching through Lady Henrietta's old
letters from 1803, Eloise stumbles across something more exciting than she ever
imagined: Henrietta and her old friend Miles Dorrington were on the trail of the
Black Tulip and had every intention of stopping him in his endeavour to kill the
Pink Carnation. But what they didn't know was that while they were trying to
find the Tulip - and trying not to fall in love in the process - the Black Tulip
was watching them...
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