After the Scrum
9.0
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When a former rugby player reinventing himself meets a man who’s afraid to move on, can love offer...
Contemporary MM Romance
Return of the Thief (The Queen's Thief #6)
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The thrilling, twenty-years-in-the-making, conclusion to the New York Times–bestselling Queen’s...
The Boys Volume 2: Get Some
7.7
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Fiction Non-Fiction Limited Editions Series A–Z Authors A–Z Social Back to product...
China Room
9.0
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Longlisted for the 2021 Booker Prize, the breathtaking story of a woman and a man in pursuit of...
Historical fiction Literary fiction India
Thorn in My Side
8.0
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DI Mike Yorke is coming home. After three months in London, he’s looking forward to being back in...
David McK (3843 KP) rated Razor's Edge (Star Wars: Empire and Rebellion, #1) in Books
May 26, 2026
The name now given to those novels set roughly during the period of the original movies.
And with me being unsure, I have to say, whether this particular entry is still considered Canon, or if it had been given 'Legend' (aka the old EU) status.
Anyway, this is set after the events of A New Hope but before those of The Empire Strikes Back, and largely focuses on Leia Organa's response to the situation when she uncovers the fact that a group of pirates, preying on victims in the Outer Rim, are all survivors of Alderaan (and some of whom blame her for the destruction of said planet).
With passages also told from the point of view of Han Solo and, to a lesser extent, Luke Skywalker, this thus very much follows the original trio of stars from the original trilogy.
It's just a pity that I never really got the sense that it *was* Leia, Han or Luke - I can't really put my finger on it, but - to me - there just seemed something 'off' slightly.
Still, other readers mileage may vary!
David McK (3843 KP) rated Arthur (The Arthurian Tales #3) in Books
Jun 30, 2024 (Updated Jun 30, 2024)
It's also the first one - I believe - to so heavily rely on flashbacks, paralleling the 'now' of the story with the background to one of the main characters Beran (whose identity I, personally, found quite easy to grok early on).
As a whole, I have to say, this trilogy is one of the best retellings of the Arthurian myths I have come across although retelling, however, may be too strong a word; perhaps a better on would be re-imagining as there's no mystical Green Knight (reimagined in 'Camelot'), search for the Holy Grails (again, see 'Camelot'), or mysterious women lying in ponds and distributing swords ("that's no basis for sound government..."), but which does cover the whole Arthur/Lancelot/Guinevere love triangle (see, in particular, 'Lancelot') and the fall out thereof.
In short, all three novels are well worth a read - personally, I found I enjoyed these more than the 'Blood Eye' series by the same author.
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2605 KP) rated Murder in the Graveyard in Books
Oct 16, 2025
Many of these authors featured their series stars. I’ve read many of those novels, so it was fun to spend time with them. For those who I haven’t met outside of these short story collections, I didn’t feel like I was missing anything with the stories we got here. Each story was fun, taking me about half an hour to read. With nine stories, we get plenty of content. I was smiling through most of them, even laughing some. And the stories kept me engaged from start to finish.
Whether you read this book now or open it in a different season of the year, you’ll enjoy these stories.
Heather Cranmer (2721 KP) created a post
Sep 19, 2022
David McK (3843 KP) rated Scoundrel (the sailing thrillers, #5) in Books
Nov 29, 2023
Maybe because I'm *from* Belfast, Northern Ireland and have relatives who lived through the period of history colloquially known as The Troubles (I was a teenager in the 90s, when they 'ended', and when this is set), so know exactly what the IRA and their loyalist counterparts were/are like.
It made my blood boil to read passages in this where they were treated as heroes by some in Boston (and, yes, I know it's a fiction book): surely to goodness nobody could be that naive??
Anyway, I normally like Bernard Cornwell (Author) novels.
I know he spent a bit of time here (the BBC, I believe?), before moving to the States.
His knowledge of landmarks does show.
I would have thought he would have known better, though, in how he portrays the tangled mess that is politics and history that went on in this fair isle.
Sorry, Mr Paul Shanahan: you're unlikeable as a lead character; no match to a Richard Sharpe or an Uhtred of Bebbanburg.
(his other stand-alone sailing thrillers - those I have read, at least - are all much better)