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Suswatibasu (1702 KP) rated Nothing is True and Everything is Possible: Adventures in Modern Russia in Books

Jul 28, 2017

Clash of cultures within one civilisation

A fascinating look into how Russia has essentially used contemporary and western culture to reconstruct the same Soviet system. It's not so much an evolution but adaptation to bolster their former glory.

Peter Pomerantsev is a veteran reporter for Russia, and his tongue and cheek yet informative look into the country is engaging, concerning and at times just plain insane.

The book itself meanders through a variety of topics, mostly based on the writer's experiences of working on various television programmes for state sponsored networks, therefore doesn't strictly stick to the nitty gritty political system.

Kudos

Sarah (7799 KP) rated The Shell Collector in Books

Aug 27, 2017

The Shell Collector

Hugh Howey | 2014 | Fiction & Poetry

5.0

(1 Ratings)

Book Rating

Promising but ultimately disappointing

I've loved some of Hugh Howey's other works and I had high hopes for his take on a romantic novel, but sadly this was pretty disappointing. It had promise, with an interesting plot based around a romance taking place in a near future where the sea levels have risen and shells are becoming extinct. Howey writes very well and I can't fault him for that, I just felt he concentrated too much on the predictable romance side than developing the scientific future aspect. The characters too were nothing special, and the whole book just felt very rushed.

Kudos

David McK (3496 KP) rated Aliens: Alien Harvest in Books

Jan 30, 2019

Based, apparently, on a dark horse comic of the same name and released before Alien: Resurrection, this book is really only a light read that adds nothing new or exciting to the whole Alien concept: if anything, some of it detracts from that concept (eg the Alien hive easily being penetrated by a small group of characters).

I think I bought it in a sale years ago for round about £2.50 (that's the price written on the inside cover): I'm quite glad that I didn't pay full price for it, which would have felt like a major waste of money!

Kudos

Microeconometrics and MATLAB: An Introduction

Abi Adams, Damian Clarke and Simon Quinn

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Book

This book is a practical guide for theory-based empirical analysis in economics that guides the...

Rationale-Based Defences in Criminal Law

Mark Dsouza

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Book

PRAISE FOR THE BOOK "Despite the existing scholarly literature on criminal defences, many issues...

Economics of Planning Policies in China: Infrastructure, Location and Cities

Wen-Jie Wu

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Book

Decades of fast economic growth and rapid urbanization have significantly changed the "faces" of...

Ross (3284 KP) rated Bottleneck in Books

Jul 16, 2018

Bottleneck

Ed James | 2015 | Crime

9.0

(1 Ratings)

Book Rating

Excellent pacing to the next Cullen adventure. A body is discovered in the hidden streets underneath Edinburgh's old town and the ensuing investigation leads them to investigate members of the Scottish music scene and venture North to Cullen's hometown of Dalhousie (loosely based on my own hometown of Carnoustie), and West to Glasgow.
The story also continues the ups and downs of Cullen's relationship with Sharon McNeill and his career aspirations, building on the previous books in the series.
This is quite a short and very pacey book that is a genuine page-turner (as the chapters are quite short it's always "one more chapter", until the cleaner gets angry at me spending too long on the toilet at work).