Reviews and Comments

Very well done!

Excellent second instalment of this series. Velvet continues to kick ass as the conspiracy deepens around her. Beautifully drawn and coloured, I'm very much enjoying this.

Excellent artwork and attention to detail as always.

This is a book that has not aged well. I'm sorting out some old books and gave this a rerun as I'd remembered it being gripping enough twenty odd years ago. Not sure why I bothered! Story is far fetched and I found it hard to suspend my disbelief and get into the flow. There was also this odd italicising of words for emphasis, which just grated on my nerves. Persevered to the end out of sheer bloody mindedness.

More a collection of chapter-sized mini-books, this is well worth a read for the insights into the footballing world. 'Why England Lose' isn't answered so much as turned on it's head - the seem to do slightly better than they should due to population size and economic development. The chapter on the transfer market was probably the most interesting, especially the section on how managers are (not) chosen.
Overall, a good book deserving of a place on the bookshelf.

Grand reading for the holidays

Classic Deighton, but I'm not as enamoured with the 'Harry Palmer' books as most. There you go, can't win 'em all. An enjoyable read.

"I have decided to take whatever my disease can throw at me, and to stay combative even while taking the measure of my inevitable decline. I repeat, this is no more than what a healthy person has to do in slower motion. It is our common fate."

An amazing book from Hitchens, well written and easily read, impossible to forget. It's a short book, yet it benefits from a slow reading. There is plenty of food for thought on the process of dying, I'd strongly recommend this book. Carol, his wife, closes out the book with an incredibly sad final chapter.

Hitchens died before the end.

Don't we all, I suppose.

"Death has this much to be said for it:
You don't have to get out of bed for it.
Wherever you happen to be
They bring it to you - free."
- Kinglsey Amis

Solid thriller.

An absolutely fascinating history of the economics of Nazi Germany's war effort. Highly readable, it makes an excellent case which explains the rationale behind some of the decisions taken by Hitler and the basic economic issues that constrained the Nazi war effort and fed into such horrors as the Holocaust and the Hunger Plan. Fascinating and highly recommended.

Reasonable potted history of aircraft, with some interesting little details about each design. Best bit is the lovely cutaway diagrams, which are sadly lacking any list of components. This leaves identifying what each part is for up to educated guessing.

Fascinating and absorbing read, detailing the background and buildup to the war and the social and political changes thereafter. It's impact on the collective memory of each nation involved is shown, and the Russian signposts to the recent Crimean crisis are now all too obvious in hindsight.