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Ross (3284 KP) rated The Boys Volume 8: Highland Laddie in Books
Oct 29, 2019
If Irvine Welsh wrote Oor Wullie
Highland Laddie sees Hughie leave The Boys and head home to his Maw and Paw for some peace and quiet. He soon finds that his home town has barely changed and the nostalgia wears off quite quickly.
It turns out Hughie was something of an amateur detective in his youth, and stopped a minor smuggling ring. He starts to uncover something again in this story, while also being unknowingly mentored over his troubles by a mysterious gentleman.
This story is hilarious, and like a cross between an Irvine Welsh/Chris Brookmyre book and an issue of Oor Wullie/The Beano. The old Scots angle (wee dugs, mince and tatties, everything being braw), combined with more modern Scottish ideas (inventive swearing and heroin) makes for a laugh-out-loud tale. We also see Hughie start to come to terms with the revelation from the previous volume, and consider rejoining The Boys.
It turns out Hughie was something of an amateur detective in his youth, and stopped a minor smuggling ring. He starts to uncover something again in this story, while also being unknowingly mentored over his troubles by a mysterious gentleman.
This story is hilarious, and like a cross between an Irvine Welsh/Chris Brookmyre book and an issue of Oor Wullie/The Beano. The old Scots angle (wee dugs, mince and tatties, everything being braw), combined with more modern Scottish ideas (inventive swearing and heroin) makes for a laugh-out-loud tale. We also see Hughie start to come to terms with the revelation from the previous volume, and consider rejoining The Boys.
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ClareR (6236 KP) rated The Shadow Key in Books
Oct 9, 2024
The Shadow Key is an enjoyable, unnerving read, set in a quiet, secluded Welsh village in the late 1700’s.
Henry has been disgraced in his London medical practice, and takes a job as a doctor in a small Welsh mining village. A lucky break, perhaps? Except, no. The inhabitants of the village don’t like him at all, because he’s English, his employer, the local Lord, is decidedly odd and menacing, and Lord Julian’s sister is clearly suffering from some sort of mental illness.
Henry does start to like the village, and the villagers learn that he will help them with no conditions.
There’s an underlying menace throughout the book, and if I were Henry I wouldn’t have stayed to tough it out!
The descriptions of the village and the family seat, swing between beauty (particularly the landscape) and dread. I felt as a reader I was constantly being wrong-footed, played with. It really is a good read - the tension!!
Most definitely recommended!
Henry has been disgraced in his London medical practice, and takes a job as a doctor in a small Welsh mining village. A lucky break, perhaps? Except, no. The inhabitants of the village don’t like him at all, because he’s English, his employer, the local Lord, is decidedly odd and menacing, and Lord Julian’s sister is clearly suffering from some sort of mental illness.
Henry does start to like the village, and the villagers learn that he will help them with no conditions.
There’s an underlying menace throughout the book, and if I were Henry I wouldn’t have stayed to tough it out!
The descriptions of the village and the family seat, swing between beauty (particularly the landscape) and dread. I felt as a reader I was constantly being wrong-footed, played with. It really is a good read - the tension!!
Most definitely recommended!
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