Reviews and Comments

I'd read a few of these about thirty years ago. Ok, its an unbelievable page-turner adventure, but wow, incredibly cardboard, racist, sexist and unbelievable. Were they all as bad as this when I first read them or is this one just worse then usual?

Fascinating stuff on how people (and peoples) navigate, how navigation evolved. I think I learned more about the hypothalamus than I ever thought I'd need to know, although some of it was too in-depth and I just skimmed through that part of the science

Fascinating stuff on how people (and peoples) navigate, how navigation evolved. I think I learned more about the hypothalamus than I ever thought I'd need to know, although some of it was too in-depth and I just skimmed through that part of the science

I stumbled on another of H.V. Morton's books a few years ago and enjoyed his style, so picked this up in a second-hand shop when I saw it. Although written almost a hundred years ago the language is very readable, not noticeably "old", while the places and people that he described are clearly from another age - and he is often remaking that he's seeing the last of "an old way of life" as modern transport and communications comes more strongly into play, mixing and changing society

I'd sworn off the whole series, just found them endlessly tedious after a while. At least this one got back to simple action and away from endless pages of political machinations

Enjoyable enough, especially for a $5 find in a discount pile. Not an easy read though, something about the author's style just made it harder going than other 'science lite' books I've read. A huge breadth of Madagascan history

Very readable, eminently believable. Rolls along with the character and author well familiar with the internet and the surveillance-state

I guess I deserve this for jumping in at book two of a four book series - I picked up no. 2 and 4 from a box of freebies because I recognised the author's name and I'd enjoyed the Brother Cadfael novels years ago. Thrown in the deep end, English & Welsh history, lots of characters, lots of places in the landscape, I think you'll need a map and a family tree to follow what's going on. Mostly just went with the flow and enjoyed it as it went, letting the bigger picture lose itself in the background

Disturbingly spooky in places, and again, very evocative of Barcelona, the city is a major character in its own right

I've had this kicking around in an EPUB for about five years, about time I got around to reading it! Enjoyed it more than I expected, the way you're thrown into the world with no explanation and figuring it out yourself

Simplistic and fun, enjoyed the whole series, although I realised afterwards that this is half of "John Carter of Mars", not just the same story by a different title

Simple, straightforward, outdated and cliched, I'm enjoying these far more than I should

Simple, straightforward, outdated and cliched, I'm enjoying these far more than I should

By the end of this all I can say is I'm relieved the book is over. I enjoyed the first few of the series, then I get the feeling the author was being paid by the page. Just seemed endless, and not much happening. Certainly didn't help that I read it slowly over a couple of months interspersed with other books. Not a favourite, and if I'd met this as my introduction to the series it would have quickly been a first and abandoned last

I think I read the entire series of these some decades ago shortly after they came out, recently found this one in a roadside little library and picked it up. Can vaguely remember the story and enjoyed it, the gentle mix of whodunnit and historic setting appeals. Shrewsbury tourism has a lot to thank EP for!