Reviews and Comments

In 2021 my top read of the year was by an author I had never heard of before, V. Castro, The Queen of the Cicadas was stunning, I was blown away by it’s violent beauty, so I had high hopes for her next book. Mestiza Blood is an anthology of urban legends and folklore based in a modern setting and it is bloody good fun, each story has been meticulously written so that it is strong enough to stand on it’s own, I can assure you there is no weakness in this book. One feeling I kept having when reading was that this could be a book of trailers, each story is good enough for me to want a full length book made from it, even the longer stories left me wanting more.

One of Castro’s strength’s is that she can write proper good characters, her female leads are always strong and she writes about their beauty so vividly you can picture them perfectly and where some writers who manage to create a strong female lead end up falling flat with floppy male characters, Castro steps up and produces a male that you can appreciate whether they are good or evil. So which of the stories was my favourite? Impossible to choose! I really enjoyed the 3 longer stories, Castro slowly builds up the tension until the final scene full of violence and gore, the ending of The Final Porn Star was genius. With all short story collection a lot hangs on the first story, will it be good enough to make you wanna race through the others or will it be so weak you’ll be unable to focus on the others? “Night of the Living Dead Chola” gives the book the perfect start, it sets the tone for what is about to comes, it has that blend of vengeance and heartbreak that you’ll soon come to expect from the rest of the book, it also felt like the perfect stepping stone to move from her last book to this one.

In amongst all this violence Castro covers some sensitive subjects, racism, human rights (ICE) and gender inequalities, she uses the characters strengths to stand up to these injustices and it seems that Karma steps in now and then to assist. Castro even gives us a glimpse of the future where you can transfer yourself into a foetus before you die so that you can live again, it raises a lot of questions about whether this was right or not.

These stories are creative, I really enjoyed reading what direction Castro was going to take things and I loved that she surprised me again and again. I think Castro has done it again, front runner for my favourite book of 2022 and one of my favourite horror writers ever!

Blog review: felcherman.wordpress.com/2022/01/28/blog-tour-mestiza-blood-by-v-castro/

I have mixed feelings about this book, it has it’s good moments but there is a lot of weak writing and I can’t decide whether I liked it or not. The setting in the Swiss Alps was a fantastic idea, you can tell the author knows this landscape well, the descriptions are stunning and you could almost be there yourself. The plot itself is interesting enough to have kept me reading to the end, the idea behind the Sanatorium’s history was quite chilling.

The characters though are rubbish, nobody is developed enough to get you interested in them, Elin has a lot of baggage from an event in her past and it is dragged out for two thirds of the book, maybe if it was dealt with quicker she would have become the strong character that this book needed. The rest of the characters left you thinking they could be the killer and also not the killer at the same time, they were tough to get a read on, rather wishy-washy. A lot of the issues could be down to the very short chapters, the tension will start to build and then the chapter ends and you are left to start again, so many of the chapter breaks seemed unnecessary to me.

So it all came down to the ending would it be strong enough to make me want to recommend it to others…it wasn’t half bad, the reasoning behind the murders was very good, the final scene was very intense….and I have to admit I can’t remember if it was spread across loads of chapters or not, the flow was kept up well and I got caught up in the moment.

I think the book was ok in the end, it is a debut after all. There is a sequel, I’m hoping that Elin’s past has now been dealt with and that the readers can now get to see her in her element and start to solve some interesting cases. I think if you are a big reader of crime novels then you’ll like this one, I’m just a fussy old git.

Blog review: felcherman.wordpress.com/2022/01/04/the-sanatorium-by-sarah-pearse/

I consider myself a big fan of Hunter S. Thompson…even though I have only read 3 of his books (Hell’s Angels, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and The Rum Diaries) and only started reading him after he had died, this biography has shown me I have have only touched the surface with Thompson’s writing. There have been many books written about Thompson so what makes this book special? Thompson was the master of blending fact and fiction and it is nigh on impossible to unravel the truth from Thompson’s books, his letters, interviews and audio recordings, Wills has done an incredible job of trawling through all that work to separate fact from fiction and has created this biography that is one of the most interesting I’ve read. Sure he might have had to make assumptions here and there but that has to be expected, there is no real way to get to the truth, especially as in the end it’s not obvious as to whether Thompson himself was sure of the facts.

One thing that is obvious from this book is just how tragic Thompson’s life was, trapped inside a persona that he had created and unable to find a way out. The guy was most definitely a genius, some of his insults (especially those towards Nixon) are some of the funniest you’ll ever read and it’s amazing that you imagine Gonzo journalism as a huge movement but it was just the one guy, it was such a crazy concept that nobody was able to imitate and ultimately Thompson was unable to find his way out. Wills shares with the reader quotes from those closest to him and it’s very moving to see just what they did for him to help him focus on his writing, the quote at the beginning of the last chapter by Sandy Thompson was shocking, it really puts things into perspective about what Thompson was going through. Reading of his decline in these pages was quite depressing but Wills has handled it sensitively.

What makes a good biography? In my opinion it needs to be of somebody of interest, not some recent “celebrity”, the number of quotes from other sources needs to be kept down, the biographer needs to write things as if the object of the book is a character, any statements they make need to be backed up with understandable reasoning and finally it needs to leave you in awe and wanting to explore the person more. For me this book has ticked all the boxes, I have learnt a huge amount, the research has been fantastic, so well written that now and then I found myself all caught up in the events in Thompson’s life and finally it has made me want to re-read the three books I’ve read and to also read the poor quality work that Thompson wrote. If you want to know more about the myth that is Hunter S. Thompson then this is a great place to start, it ain’t just for the fanboys.

Blog review: felcherman.wordpress.com/2022/01/03/high-white-notes-the-rise-and-fall-of-gonzo-journalism-by-david-s-wills/

In the words of Grace (Hungry Paul’s sister) “Well now, that was nice”. When I tweeted that I was about to start this book it got a huge amount of love from so many people, I was quite surprised…can it really be that good that people were jealous of me reading it for the first time? The book really is that special, I am now officially in the gang who will get jealous when somebody else gives this a go. A friend of mine saw the book and asked what it was about, I was at a loss for words to describe it, I settled on “It’s a really nice book about two lads who still live with their parents, these two lads are the wisest people you’ll ever meet” and then I said she should get her own copy and snatched my one back.

Leonard is the more outgoing of the two (only by a bit), recently his world has been turned upside down by events and he is struggling to cope with these changes. Hungry Paul is far quieter and so very wise, he offers some very sage advice and if he starts up a cult, I’ll be there signing up fer sure. There was something about Paul that felt familiar to me and it took the scene with the roses for me to realise what it was, he comes across as a un-obnoxious version of Ignatius J. Reilly from The Confederacy of Dunces, he has the same sort of sage advice to give and will stand up for what’s right. The rest of the characters were lovely, how they acted around Leonard and Paul was heart-warming. The story itself was well written and easy to follow, a sort of coming of age type book, throughout the whole book I had the feeling that things were gonna come undone for the duo and that Hession was gonna sucker-punch me, I guess the pandemic years have damaged me a bit for always expecting the worse.

This book is bloody fantastic, I laughed loads, I’ve learnt things, I’ve had my outlook on life altered and dammit! I also welled up a bit, the teeniest tiniest bit, was probably just raining on my face or something…anyways give this book a miss cos I’ll only get jealous!

Blog review: felcherman.wordpress.com/2021/12/26/leonard-and-hungry-paul-by-ronan-hession/

What is a Buckarastano? This book starts of with this question, I had no idea what it was, and according to Microsoft’s red squiggly line they don’t know either. Luckily I have now read this field guide and I understand what it is and the dangers it represents….unfortunately that’s where all understanding ends for me with regards this absurd book.

What have I read here? Moles mixes poetry, theatre, essays, diagrams and stories to mess with the reader’s consciousness; when I read collections of short stories I love to look for the links between each story, in this book I was left scratching my head, “is that a link?” “Hang on! It’s those blooming Ravens again” were thoughts I kept having. Somehow Moles has taken the “normal” tenuous links in short story collections and created a vortex that it is quite impossible to escape from, I kept seeing the same thing again and again and yet maybe I hadn’t see anything at all. It really does mess with your mind, you shouldn’t read this book if you are not prepared to give it your full attention.

As I was reading this I assumed it was all made up so I decided to google a few of the statements…turns out the total of the numbers on a roulette wheel and the message on Shakespeare’s grave were 100% accurate, I can only assume then that everything in this book is true. The sense of humour is very wicked, all the Beatles experiments/theories had me laughing big time and trying to explain it my family. There are also some very good lines, I especially liked the altered version of The Beatles song “When I’m Sixty Four”. The writing at times felt a bit like Hunter S. Thompson, with the author putting himself into the story and there is even a short story called “Hell’s Academics”, which is another fine moment.

This is a very good book, I’ve enjoyed the experience of it’s madness, I’ve most definitely not understood all that has gone down but I think that’s the point, it’s all part of the experience. One question I am left with is, “like Spider-Man this book messes with the Multiverse, therefore should it get it’s very own Marvel franchise?”

Blog review: felcherman.wordpress.com/2021/12/18/your-dark-meaning-mouse-by-stephen-moles/

A collection of brutal short stories that examines masculinity and the pressures a man is under to keep up the the appearance of being a big strong man. A lot of the stories had a similar set up, two people, one who has put up walls and thinks that sharing their emotions is not the correct thing to do and the second is the person trying desperately to understand this male figure in their life. There is nothing to like about the first person, their masculine face has been worn for so long that they have become bitter and twisted. The second person makes for hard reading, you instantly care for them but you can see the inevitable outcome that they are going to turn out just as bad.

The writing is very good, these characters are experiencing every day events and MacKenzie manages to draw you in very quickly, in fact he does this a little too well, a few of the stories are only 2 or 3 pages long and I had already invested myself when it had suddenly ended. There is a constant threat of violence, quite often alcohol induced and it is this theme that made me think of Palahniuk…without Palahniuk’s trademark of trying to gross you out.

This is the first thing I’ve read by MacKenzie and I see that he has a novel too, this book has left me intrigued to see what he can do with a longer project. Favourite story here was the opening one “Scenarios” a great little discussion between kids on the most awesome way to die…Jerry was very wise. haha

Blog review: felcherman.wordpress.com/2021/12/15/river-weather-by-cameron-mackenzie/

Snow is my favourite weather, it brings back memories as a kid sat eating my breakfast listening to the radio as the DJ reads out the list of schools that are closed because of snow, and the cheer as my school was read out and then the day of fun playing in the snow…now that I’m a parent the school closures give a different response :-). Every year I take December off work in the hope of a good snow storm and the chance to explore.

This little book is only just over 100 pages long but it is crammed full of information…just like snow Sedgwick has packed it down to fit on the pages. There are 6 distinct chapters where Sedgwick investigates snow, it’s science, etymology, art, history, literature and mythology are all explored. Mixed in amongst this info are his personal experiences of snow, he shares that he lives in the Alps and gets the full-on snow experience, the shovelling of snow multiple times a day to stop it building up and he shares just how much joy he still gets from the first snow fall of the year.

When I purchased this book I didn’t realise it was a Little Toller Monograph, surely it isn’t going to be any good being so small? I thought…but it was the perfect length. Sedgwick covers just enough books and art to wet your appetite and he goes deep enough into the science and etymology to not confuse and bore you. The shared personal experiences give you the longing for some snow so you can get out there and see how the world has been transformed overnight. This book totally works, the monograph idea is a brilliant one and this reader is hooked and must have them all!

Blog review: felcherman.wordpress.com/2021/12/07/snow-by-marcus-sedgwick/

I do love a book that manages to find a unique and interesting storyline (at least to me) that is able to grab my attention in the way that this one has….an English woman buys a factory in China that makes dildos, or “sex-aids” if you prefer the polite term (good luck getting your review past the Amazon censor bot), she tries to save the struggling factory from ruin all the time whilst fighting a battle of wits against Chinese bureaucracy. As soon as I saw this book I knew it was for me, sounded like fun.

The book was as much fun as I expected, what took me by surprise was all the layers of the book, you have all the dildos and sex talk, then you have the bureaucracy (the sort of thing that Monty Python could come up with) all the mad rules and their loopholes and then you have what the book truly is about…the woman’s place in the world, the fear that they have to live with from a young age and the lack of rights they have for their whole life….the book is based in the past but at times it barely feels like that.

Our main character is Mo, her father has just died and she inherits some cash and so starts her adventure in China. She is a rather distant character, it is hard to get a take on her and my first thoughts were that I didn’t like her, but as the book goes on and events happen we get flashbacks into her upbringing and the abusive father she had and she soon found a place in my heart. This was some clever writing, McMillan almost starts with a blank slate and lets your imagination create the character as the information comes in….this worked well for me as I was almost shouting at the pages as the book neared it’s conclusion. As soon as Mo reaches the factory in China I instantly loved the place and it’s people it felt idyllic, I especially liked the Mayor.

There is a lot of sex talk here, some of the words used made me a bit squeamish at first but it is done in such a scientific way that I became engrossed in all the facts, as good as any non-fiction book, I’ve learnt a lot too, the number of types of orgasm a woman can experience, the number/timing of contractions during said orgasm and how long it should take a vibrator to spin when at full power. All interesting facts.

I may joke a bit during this review but this was a horrifying book, the way a woman is treated, an object with no rights and her Husband who informs her of her place and that she will work hard to make him happy made me sick, the feelings this book invokes in the reader was shocking. The scenes that Mo witnesses and the threatening behaviour she endures was heart breaking and it is this powerful writing that makes this such a good book to read.

The conclusion was a powerful statement on family and a fine way to end this stunning book. It’s an eye-opener of a book that I don’t think this review can do justice to, so all I can do is recommend this to everybody I know.

Blog review: felcherman.wordpress.com/2021/12/05/the-happiness-factory-by-jo-mcmillan/

I’m one of those Brits who never goes abroad, never needs a holiday that is super hot, I’ve always said that there is so much in the UK left for me to explore and this book has given me a list of some fantastic places to check out on my next trip up north. As a scout I spent a lot of time in the Lake District and as an adult I’ve spent a lot of time exploring the Solway Firth on the Scottish side…you’d think with all that time spent in this area I’d know it well, this book has shown me there is so much I have missed. I’ve never heard of Leven Estuary or the Ravenglass Estuary but these are the two most interesting places included here, I can’t wait to have a visit…and try and check out a steam train.

The book is jam packed with information, facts and many lovely photographs, my daughter has just got into photography and can’t wait to see the places captured in this book. The book is well spaced out with interesting headings, like coastal themes and the Irish sea. More care seems to have been taken here than I have found in similar guide books, for example I absolutely loved that you get a whole page dedicated to the River Leven…from source to sea, fascinating stuff.

Even if you are not planning on visiting this area I would still recommend this book, in this era of uncertain COVID travel restrictions this is the sort of book to inspire you to see what’s at home.

This review is based on reading the book, I’ll update once I’ve taken it out into the field for testing.

Blog post: felcherman.wordpress.com/2021/12/15/the-cumbria-and-lake-district-coast-by-kevin-sene/

It’s one of those sad things in life that so few people have heard of Dervla Murphy, I went around mentioning her to people at work and not one person knew her name and when I explained her achievements a couple of people didn’t believe me. If you want to get an idea of what sort of person Murphy is then this is perfect book for you to read, the introduction describes how she got a bicycle and an atlas for her tenth birthday and it was there and then that she decided she was going to cycle all the way to India, this is a crazy idea for an adult let alone a 10 year old girl…this book is her bringing that dream to light.

In 1963 Murphy was 31 years old and her bike was called “Roz”, she comes across as planning the bare minimum and also taking with her the least amount of stuff she would need. During the trip she was to face her fears about strangers, face wolves and fight the elements (extreme cold, insane heat, sand storms and the Monsoon). I found it incredible what she was able to endure, the lack of food in the mountains, the lack of water in the desert, the lice/flies/fleas/bed bugs and the intense smell in some of the areas, this is most assuredly not an adventure for me. By far the most interesting thing to come out of this book is the trip would have been impossible without the generosity of the people she met on the way, anybody she met was willing to chat and feed her and put her up for the night with nothing wanted in return. She met some very interesting people, both rich and poor and the treatment was the same no matter their station.

The book is not really your standard travel book, Murphy wrote a journal and this book is that collection put together with no further elaboration, it did take me a while to into this style, most of Europe gets missed out with the focus being on Afghanistan and Pakistan. Each section has been written at the end of a long day’s ride and how much you get told all depends on how that day went, there is plenty about the scenery which from these pages sounded stunning, what is lacking is the people. She shares her overall opinion of the village but only really goes into detail about those she stayed with a few nights…I’m guessing this was mostly down to pretty much being a figure passing in the night as she had many early starts (another thing to put me off this trip…up at 4am to ride my bike, no thank you).

I think what Dervla Murphy achieved in this book was incredible, a woman on her own in these countries where you are only told the bad things that happen, it blows my mind what she did, I was constantly shaking my head at how well she handled each situation. She is one of my heroes no doubt about that.

Blog review: felcherman.wordpress.com/2021/11/28/full-tilt-ireland-to-india-with-a-bicycle-by-dervla-murphy/

The narrator in this book is Lapo, a victim of an accident who wakes up in a hospital with multiple broken bones and amnesia. We join him just after he has got his memory back, there is one thing that I’ve never considered before about amnesia (in fact this is the first time I’m come across this idea) when you get your memory back you are left with dual memories of everybody you’ve met between waking up and the return of your memories. For example you would know your parents all your life but you would also have memories of them sat at your side and you having no idea who they are….this almost hurts my head as much as understanding time paradoxes. This muddled memory sets the tone for the book, Lapo’s nostalgic trip into his past memories as they suddenly turn up make this a nice easy going book. And his problem with remembering names confused the hell out of me at first, the main doctor’s name always having one letter changed tricked me into thinking there were many doctors.

You can see that Lapo has been traumatised by the accident, he feels safe in the hospital with his day all set up for him, you can sense his mistrust of those from his past who turn up to visit him and as his earliest memories come back he seems to get stuck in a childlike mode, the only people he truly seems to trust are his niece and a nurse who reminds him of a girl from when he was at school. All of this just makes Lapo all the more loveable and you find yourself hoping he finds a way to stay in the hospital where he’ll be safe.

The book is written in a sort of stream of consciousness, whole conversations are written in the same paragraph with very little punctuation and the next chapter starts a few spaces after the last one ends, not on a new page as per normal. For me this worked, it helps you to share the disjointed world Lapo has found himself in. The characters are interesting and I liked how the book is set in a bed at a hospital, I enjoyed this journey through Lapo’s memories very much, it certainly makes me want to check out more by Paolo Pergola.

Blog review: felcherman.wordpress.com/2021/11/13/reset-by-paolo-pergola/

Full disclosure…a lot of this book went way over my head so what you are about to read is my interpretation of where my thoughts went whilst reading this book. There are four essays here, the first is about the mighty Aurochs, it once roamed Europe but as farming became more popular it gradually ran out of space and was gone. The Aurochs is an animal that not everybody may have heard of, probably because it hasn’t featured in an animated movie yet, unlike the popular Dodo. I was quite surprised to find out just how much it has been immortalised in literature, Burnside shares quite a few excerpts, that have now been added to my reading list. And with it being such an amazing looking animal I’m not that surprised the Nazi’s tried to bring it back.

Next up is an essay on what extinction actually is. To me it seems like the word is often misused, the dodo and the Great Auk did not go extinct, we exterminated them! This essay took me a while to read, the old brain kept going off on a tangent, some very interesting ideas and well worth getting the book for this essay.

The third essay is about our “extermination” of the Great Auk, I’ve read about this bird’s ending many times and it always hits me hard, the bird sounded amazing and we’ll never get to see it because of how callous humans can be.

Finally in the fourth essay Burnside shares with us his near death experience with COVID, this was such a good piece of writing, the other essay’s had been rather dry and very dark whereas this one was full of passion, he even show’s that he has a wicked sense of humour. I’ve been lucky enough to escape COVID but it sounded terrifying but it was lovely to see his love of the NHS and tomato sandwiches and the good work they do.

The cover and artwork inside is rather spectacular, the images are so ghostly it is like we are glimpsing what was, I especially liked the Auk on the back cover, turn the book slightly and it seems to start to disappear…almost as if it was never there.

I have really enjoyed this book and will be re-reading in the future, it was thought provoking and had me nodding my head at a fair amount of what Burnside had to say. Highly recommended.

Blog review: felcherman.wordpress.com/2021/11/07/aurochs-and-auks-essays-on-mortality-and-extinction-by-john-burnside/

It’s been a tough couple of years, incompetent Governments, a virus killing millions and humans showing the worst side of themselves with social media and panic buying, it can make it hard to try and stay positive and to not fall into a pit of despair…this book is what the world needs right now. This is the most uplifting and happy book I’ve read, full of genuinely lovely characters whose only wants in life are to help those in need and love each other…if you think this isn’t for you there is also killing, time travel, sex, booze, sinister characters and a magician. And if that isn’t enough to tempt you there is a James Bond style character called Hugo who I am 100% sure is based on me.

A chance meeting between a Russian Physicist and a British secret agent gives them access to a mysterious device that allows them to travel back in time to Mexico City in the year 1970. I found myself instantly thinking “what if they have COVID? Amazing how life makes you think. They are soon joined by the incredible and unique Luna, her powers and intelligence are a sight to behold, it is her that you see on the cover. With each person that joins their family it adds another aspect to the perfect family, Pablo’s art, Vincent’s drinking and Maria’s cooking. Ansbro is so good at spinning a yarn, you can’t help but love the characters and spend all your time trying to figure out where the story is going, this James Bond-esque reader loves when a book gets you so involved. Ansbro’s usual sense of humour comes across so well with these characters, you can’t help but grin like an idiot the whole time.

As with Ansbro’s previous books this doesn’t disappoint and you’re left hooked right to the last page. Reading this book is like running through a meadow on a summer’s day, something you shouldn’t miss out on.

Blog review: felcherman.wordpress.com/2021/11/03/in-the-shadow-of-time-by-kevin-ansbro/

The events in this book are shared with us through the eyes of “The Patient” directly after his failed suicide attempt, no details are shared, he was talked into voluntarily going into the mental health ward and is very disoriented and scared. My current theory about this book is that it follows after Stark’s book Creases, I was left with the feeling that it was the same voice.

The ward that The Patient finds himself in is far different from what you would expect, there is a real community feel to the whole place, everybody starts off at first as being strangers, you expect the staff to be uncaring or abusive and you expect the other people staying in the ward to be stuck in their own little worlds and oblivious to what is going on. The staff have been written with much respect for what they do, they get abused and sometimes hit but still keep their cool under stressful situations, it felt really nice to see them written about in this way. The other patients, whilst having their problems still find time to care for others…well most of them…and when one of their circle suddenly leaves you can feel the whole they have left behind.

There is also an element of magic to the story, The Patient finds he has special abilities, how he got these powers is unknown, what actually happened during his attempted suicide? One of life’s many mysteries. What we do know is that The Patient puts these abilities to good use with his new found friends.

There is one thing that Stark is an expert at, he can take just a few pages and create a world that somehow leaves you emotionally connected to it. He writes with so much compassion for his characters, even the ones most authors would treat as the bad guy. For a book based in a mental health ward this was incredibly uplifting.

Blog review: felcherman.wordpress.com/2021/11/02/seen-and-unseen-by-jack-cj-stark/