Matt McAvoy Book Review

Some significant time investment is required for this superbly written war fantasy, by an author of real personality and capability.  First, it is long, and feels it sometimes, due to the ensemble cast of characters and parallel storylines; second, I am unusually content to spoil in this respect, by advising that the book is left open, so be warned.  I think it is only fair to advise you that you are expected to engross yourself utterly in the soap of these characters’ lives for the foresee...

Feels like a book of two halves, this one, and really it’s carried by the huge creative talent of the author J. Lee Bagan.  I have to be honest and say I enjoyed it immensely up to a point, probably midway, when I genuinely thought this was simply a book about a bereaved young boy and his immense strength of character, as he grows up surrounded by people who care for him, in spite of his severely dysfunctional home life.  With a father in prison and a drug-addicted mother, I honestly though...

This mystery thriller might leave you with a few more questions than answers by the end, as there is rather a sense that its main objective is more firmly about setting up its sequel, and perhaps a series, rather than establishing itself as a standalone narrative; I don’t intend to spoil the book by any means, but looking at the formula and the way the heroine is portrayed would suggest this is very likely.  I would hope so, otherwise you may find yourself somewhat non-plussed by the loose ...

Another entry from the excellent Glyn Haynie, on the tours of duty of Sergeant Andy Carter, in the Vietnam War.  Gritty and gripping as always, veteran Glyn’s books are as accurate a portrayal of the day-to-day life of soldiers on the ground as you are ever likely to read.  This is perhaps a less eventful tale than previous instalments, though as always there is no shortage of action – nor heartrending casualties.  Given another mission, to locate and destroy an NVA base situated amongst ...

Very sharply scripted, biting satire, and more of the same from the sardonically witty Harlin, this time set against the increasingly fashionable backdrop of the battle of the generations: Millennials vs. GenX (or whatever monicker the superior former have deemed dominion to label the latter with).  It was by pure coincidence that I read this book, about a former creative, days from his 50^th birthday, just a few days before my own 50^th birthday, and I therefore felt I had more of a stake in i...

This was a very tough book to read, in many ways, and I implore you to familiarize yourself before picking it up.  It wasn’t bad, by any means, but indeed very unpleasant to read; I don’t think it’s unfair or inaccurate to say that if you are sensitive to triggers relating to child sexual abuse and snuff themes, then this isn’t one for you.  In fact, and I don’t mean this to offend the author or readers, it’s difficult to ascertain who the book might particularly appeal to.  To su...

A beautifully written and poignant book exploring the long-term effects of war on the human psyche, this is as good a study of post-war trauma and melancholy reflection as you are likely to read, delivered by Stephanie in a thought-provoking and warmly endearing style.

Eye Contact Over Truk is all about its themes and its characters, as two men go on a wreck-diving excursion to the South Pacific island – the site of a devastating air and naval battle in the American-Japanese branch of Worl...

There’s something a little bit different about this entertaining, light-hearted book, in that it is so talky and arty, almost to the point of bohemian, that it is perhaps most accurately described as literary fiction with a subplot – if there can be such a thing.  For the most part, it is about an ageing former band-member who gets in touch with old acquaintances, and starts to think about forming a new band and launching old material, in what might be considered something of a midlife cr...

A particularly gripping drama thriller, this one, it has to be said; the author April Seymour really knows how to craft an intriguing, twisty, crime drama with a very tangible, ominous sense of threat permeating throughout.  The multi-viewpoint narrative of Violin starts to piece its tale together well, and as the reader you are watching it unfold at a very satisfying pace, from one character’s version of events to another.  When put together, it feels just the right length, and its mood hi...

This is a sequel but you wouldn’t particularly know that, nor is it necessary to; this book pretty much stands alone.  If you like action-packed World War Two stories, this will be right up your street, about a U.S. naval commander who finds himself immersed in a dangerous mission helping the Resistance rescue and smuggle Jews out of Europe.  It is that welcome mixture of just the right amount of swashbuckling with a significant amount of accurate historical detail.  There are some great ch...

It is clearly with no small amount of affection that Tim Adams presents this collection of short stories by his late good friend Trey Meade.  I enjoy short stories a great deal, and the more cerebral the better; these are sublime.  Trey was an absolutely superb writer, from a tender age, too.  Even in the heat and horror of the Vietnam War, this veteran was waxing lyrical and philosophizing with a maturity, class and cultural refinement way beyond his years.  His prose is exquisite at times, ...

Here is a collection of famous and not-so-famous quotes and quips by renowned and well-known historical figures, given contemporary punchlines, some clever, others observational and some just a bit wacky.  The illustrations are great, and some of the adages themselves gave rise to thought, but to be honest the jokes weren’t my cup of tea at all; I think the book would be far more suited to a U.S. audience, accustomed to that style of humour.  That said, it was interesting to see the quotes ...

I won’t lie, I was sceptical about reviewing this book, being firstly an atheist and secondly someone who has never had particularly strong feelings either way about the LGBTQ+ community, neither as a critic nor particularly an active ally.  So, I wondered if I was the right choice of reviewer.  Furthermore, I wondered how serious a book this could be with the title Jeza’s Jesus Juice.  Now, I have to say, I’m somewhat humbled by my initial unconscious bias and pessimism; this book is e...

I really enjoyed this intriguing mystery from Sean, in actual fact a lot more than I was expecting to.  Most books like this are pretty average to good, but A Curse in Kyoto was absolutely quite a cut above that, and I read the whole thing in a couple of long sittings.  This was actually no mean feat, because the book is pretty lengthy – yet it doesn’t feel like it; I was gripped and entertained throughout.  With the barely noteworthy exception of a slightly drawn-out third act, this was ...

I’m not necessarily a big fan of high fantasy of the otherworld and dragons variety, so it’s great to see one like this, which doesn’t take itself seriously.  Oh, I don’t doubt that behind this mocking façade Kyle is actually a huge fan of the genre – he is simply too knowledgeable and accomplished not to be – but you can see that he takes great pleasure here in dissecting its usual tropes and clichés in the name of satire.  Despite that, though, and the Hitchhiker’s Guide-esq...

Bizarrely offbeat, this book is part fantasy, part satire and generally overall, I think, mostly literary fiction.  Those familiar with the original Baron Munchausen tales – and I refer now to the book, not the tall stories told about the real man himself – will recognize this as much of the same, with the same strangely vivid, visual setpieces and abstract palette, though I have to say I’m not entirely sure why the author chose to pigeonhole himself with a direct sequel to a literary c...

I won’t lie, it was a slightly tough read, this fantasy thriller from Nick Nielsen.  Not because he isn’t a good writer, by any means; quite the contrary, in fact, he is an exceptionally good writer – in fact, I think this might actually be the issue for me; he is too good.  This is a great story, with some fantastic writing, tremendously well edited, but, if I’m being as obtuse and simple about it as I can, the book simply felt too long.  There is an exceptional number of words – s...

A very entertaining read, I should say, in the young-adult sci-fi genre.  This book is fun, and it doesn’t take itself too seriously, nor delve too deeply into high fantasy, as many in this genre seem to these days.  A few years ago, this might have been considered pure science fiction, with its Terminator-style storyline of artificial intelligence acquiring self-awareness and setting out on a path for world domination, but this one is perhaps for slightly younger readers in the early-teen ...

To be honest, this future-set book didn’t go at all in any of the directions I might have been anticipating.  I didn’t read the blurb, so was genuinely intrigued to find that, far from science fiction or another very trendy dystopian gloomfest, Legacy of the Third Way instead went on to offer a mildly interesting look into American politics, though, it has to be said, it doesn’t really delve too deeply into the subject.  The story is quite a simple one: a dying man writes his autobiogra...

Unapologetically liberal and unashamedly topical, this short fable is both simplistic and complexly layered, as a stinging indictment on the immigration debate – which probably bears striking resemblances the world over.  It is tremendously engaging, and I read it in a single sitting, although it is rather a novella than a novel, at about 20,000 words.  And it is a good read, whichever side of centre your political views fall on; I must admit, without wanting to throw my hat into the debati...

This is a tremendously well-written and well-edited book, by an undoubted professional at the peak of his potential, though its narrative feels a touch obscure at times, perhaps abstract or even metaphorical in places.  Whether it is set in a utopian or dystopian far-future is perhaps a matter of opinion at times, depending on what your ideal society looks like; I would veer more toward the latter, as there are touches of The Handmaid’s Tale and The Island about this one, particularly in th...

Stories about an oppressive dictatorship in the very near future are bang on trend at the moment, but very few are as good as this soul-destroying cautionary tale by T.K. Kanwar.  In fact, the last time I read a book quite this good on the subject was, in fact, the last time I read and reviewed a book by Kanwar.  The World We Deserve is not so much a direct sequel to Identity Crisis as the afterword may lead you to believe, but it is definitely a series of sorts, in the same narrative vein, o...

It seems bizarre to be saying this, but I am genuinely grateful to Lin, and others like her, for sticking her neck out and saying what needs to be said.  Even more bizarre is the suggestion that she is taking great risk in doing so, but here we are. 

Lin has never been one to shy away from controversial issues, and there are few more controversial at the moment than the indoctrination of children by some of the more extreme elements of the trans community, fully supported by those organizati...

It has to be said, the word “epic” is one which is often bandied about far too liberally by publishers and authors, particularly in regard to historical drama, and even more so when they have a military or wartime premise.  But I’m not hurling superlatives when saying that Hardened Steel by Victor Gregor meets the criteria in the purest way.  Furthermore, it is not just epic; it is fantastic.  A real sprawling tale in the same vein as The Revenant, as its narrative almost weaves its way...

I was in the mood for a little over-the-top, horror-gore silliness, a short, fun read, and I have to say this bone-licking, blood-sucking little vignette from D.E. Fox really delivered that – and then some.  In fact, I think it’s fair to say that some of the violence in Second Hand Rose really does push its boundaries, and I need to be honest and say there are some out there who will find its depictions of the gruesome, grisly slayings and devouring, including of babies and children, quit...

If you’re a horror movie fan, like I am, you’ll love Chris and Preston’s intriguing, in-depth and insightful analyses of the most famous villains, from Freddy to Jason, Candyman to Leatherface and even the shark from Jaws (though that vilification feels a little unfair to me, as an animal lover).  It is full of surprises, the biggest being the turn these essays all take: this book, perhaps a little unlike the blurb might suggest, is rather a psychologist’s guide to self-help with vari...

I can confidently claim, without any overstatement, that this is probably as good a collection of short stories as I have read yet.  Annika Galloway is a fantastic storyteller, a student of psychology and the human condition, and it shows in these four profound, melancholic tales of a group of people in a psychiatric waiting room of sorts, which you’ll be thinking about long after you finish reading them.  Each of the tales is affecting and utterly engaging, with some very clever craftiness...

Another magical outing for the kids of White Stone Town in Wales, their third in this series, and in my opinion this may well be the best of the three, if only for its pure educational value.  Don’t get me wrong, all the books in the Magic Islands series, aimed at the 8-12 age group, are fantastic sources of information about the planet and the environment generally, but while the earlier two books were much more explicitly cautionary tales about the environment, and the dangers of man-made...