We are delighted to be arranging an exciting project in assocation with The Reading Agency's Reading Partners initiative to promote word of mouth in the book community!
So far we have delivered up to 1,000 free books to library book groups across the UK because:
- we are passionate about our books
- keen to promote the importance of UK libraries
- Want to demonstrate the power of word-of-mouth, which is essential for spreading the word of talented new authors.
If you are currently taking part in the project we would like to thank you for your support so far and hope you have/are enjoying your novel.
SYP Conference - if you were given a book at the recent conference, please also follow the instructions to add your reviews and complete the survey at the bottom of the page.
What to do next...
If you are taking part please complete the short 2 minute survey at the bottom of the page, and please add your review as a comment at the bottom (including your name, book and book group). Alternatively, you can email your review to info@legend-paperbooks.co.uk or post to:
Legend Press
2 London Wall Buildings
London, EC2M 5UU.
And, particularly if you liked the book, it is now down to you to spread the word to other readers who you think would enjoy it, so helping the word-of-mouth to pick up pace. Also, you can buy other books by the same author below at great discounts.
What to do if I'm not involved yet...
If you are currently not involved in the project we are sorry but unfortunately all our free books are now allocated. However, if you are still keen to take part please purchase the book you feel you like the sound of best (at a special discounted price below), complet the survey, send in your review and spread the word!
5 books to choose & spread the word!
Mr Two-Bomb by William Coles (Legend Press)
Order your copy of Mr Two Bomb now - £5.00
Japan in the last fortnight of World War II. One man manages to survive the atom bomb of both Hiroshima and Nagasaki: Mr Two-Bomb. The novel draws on the author's extensive research on the 12 survivors of both atomic bombs.
The History of Us by Philip Leslie (Legend Press)
Order your copy of The History of Us now - £5.00
Told from three viewpoints and perceptions, this haunting and beautiful story illustrates how childhood love and loss can leave a indelibly mark on the rest of our lives. An unforgettable take of love, obsession and whispers.
Fire Horses by Mark Liam Piggott (Legend Press)
Order your copy of Fire Horses now - £5.00
Fire Horses, told through Joe Noone and a visual portrayal of England’s apparent underbelly over the last 25 years, is the epic and story of a troubled man kept going by a vague hope. Friendship, love and whether we can or should escape ourselves.
The Grease Monkey's Tale by Paul Burman (Paperbooks)
Order your copy of The Grease Monkey’s Tale now - £5.00
Nic is drawn from his settled life by the allusive Siobhan. Framed for a robbery, he accepts a job in Gimbly and finds out that not all small towns are what they seem. A surreal, magically written depiction of the power of story-telling.
The Ice Cream Army by Jessica Gregson (Paperbooks)
Order your copy of The Ice Cream Army now - £5.00
Based on the Battle of Broken Hill, Australia, 1915, The Ice Cream Army tells the story of two Turkish immigrants who become involved in the local community, only for the breakout of war to see them violently ostracised.
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Interested in reading more?
If you liked what you read please think about reading another Legend Press or Paperbooks author. The following novels are available by the same authors:
The Angel Makers by Jessica Gregson
Order your copy of The Angel Makers now - £5.00
The bleak Hungarian plain, 1914, an isolated village shrouded in superstition and rumours of witchcraft. Outcase from village life, Sari is tormented by a loneliness like no other. The daughted of a Taltos, Sari has the second sight and a reputation as a witch. At the outbreak of war, the men of the village are called away to fight and a powerful bind develops between the women left behind. Sari for the first time, finds herself with friends. However, these friendships come at a price as the women struggle to hold on to the freedom that war has brought them and problems can only be solved with sinister undertones.
The Snowing and Greening of Thomas Passmore by Paul Burman
Order your copy of The Snowing and Greening…now - £5.00
Something strange has happened to Thomas Passmore. Waking from a warm Australian beach, he finds himself at Heathrow Airport on a winter's morning, only he can't remember getting there. Burdened with emotional baggage and an unshakeable sense of deja vu, Thomas tries to piece together fragments of his life that he's just not sure he should be remembering at all...
Out of Office by Mark Piggott
Order your copy of Out of Office now - £5.00
Based over ten days Out of Office is a gritty fast-paced novel about a man dissatisfied by life. Set around the time of the 2012 Olympics, the novel sees a chaotic London, with failed terrorist attacks and significant problems in the City, leading to a growing sense of unease.
The Well-Tempered Clavier by William Coles
Order your copy of The Well-Tempered Clavier now - £5.00
Set against the backdrop of the Falkland's War, thi is the story of a torrid love affair that develops between schoolboy Kim and his piano teacher, the beguiling but pained India, at the most traditional of institutions, Eton College.
Lord Lucan: My Story by William Coles
Order your copy of Lord Lucan: My Story now - £5.00
This is Lord Lucan's personal memoir of his life as the world's most infamous fugitive. It is the story of an Old Etonian Earl on the run; of how a man became a murderer; and how a life-long friendship soured into an enduing hate. Here, for the first time, is the full monstrous account of the life of Lord Lucan. This is his story.
Dave Cameron's Schooldays by William Coles
Order your copy of Dave Cameron’s Schooldays now - £5.00
This is the extraordinary first-hand account of Tory leader David Cameron's Eton Schooldays. In this cracking yarn, which also happens to be entirely fictional, veteran journalist Bill Coles reveals how Cameron's first year at Eton College helped turn him into one of the wiliest political operators of his age.
Reviews
Thank you for reading and reviewing one of books. We would greatly appreciate it if you could complete the short Legend Press Club Survey.
And please leave your review as a comment below, quoting name (optional), title of book and book group (if applicable).
Legend Press
Jessica Gregson's Ice Cream Army is not a book I would probably normally pick up to read and I agree that the cover is rather off putting. The thing which initially intrigued me was the bit of blurb which said 'Based on the Battle of Broken Hill 1915'. I looked up this incident and found out that it was event of apparently random violence of the kind that is becoming shockingly familiar today. The book sets out to tell the possible human story behind such an incident and it does so in a way which is both gripping and moving. There are parts of the book which come across as rather awkward - for instance Patrick's story, which is not very well integrated into the rest of the book. Overall however I thought this was a very impressive book, raising all sorts of issues and questions and beautifully told.
Posted by: Jenny | 16 March 2011 at 09:05 AM
The Grease Monkey's Tale by Paul Burman
Paul's first book was a rewarding read with quite a few twists and turns to keep the average thriller reader occupied. The idea was original at least to me and I enjoyed the book overall. I liked the idea of a whole town being run for the purpose of a deception and that the on/off relationship between the two main characters intriguing.
Posted by: Colin Scott, Hillfields Reading Group | 08 February 2011 at 09:48 AM
The Grease Monkey's Tale by Paul Burman
Very good idea, well done for a first book. Book was very detailed but in places it didn't need to be since it could be confusing at times... Overall I believe the book was good to read and I would read boos by the same author in the future but I think the authors style of writing is not very 'user friendly' and could be hard to set into.
Posted by: Mani, Hillfields Book Group Coventry | 08 February 2011 at 09:44 AM
The Grease Monkey's Tale by Paul Burman
Very good, enjoyed reading.
Posted by: Frank Jenkins, Hillfield Reading Group | 08 February 2011 at 09:41 AM
The Grease Monkey's Tale by Paul Burman
For a first book it was quite good, however the ending was a bit weak. Their was a good build up of suspense and mystery which kept be interested. I will look out for future books by this author. The book was interesting and kept me gripped for a good while.
Posted by: Saboor Arif | 08 February 2011 at 09:40 AM
Looking for Mrs Dextrose by Nick Griffiths
Review by Rob McDade : “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to Nowhere?
This second installment in the Dextrose family saga is somewhat of a departure from the purely outrageous irreverent wit of the first.
Our hero Alexander Grey, who at the very end of the first book discovers he is really Pilsbury Dextrose, son of the legendary explorer Harrison Dextrose, continues his journey. This time his drunken, comatose father is in tow. It may be for that reason he doesn’t get as far geographically as he did in the first. But this novel is more of a journey within, one of self-discovery. The quest is to find the progenitor – one Mrs. Dextrose.
As is expected, Mr Dextrose is of very little help, leading our hero and the reader on a wild goose chase. He encounters a tribe of bizarre native types, complete with mentally deranged witch doctors. He is lost on a road to nowhere, with a rather disturbing incident involving a trip to the lavatory, an empty crisp packet, and… well I’ll say no more! A homicidal wheelchair bound, granny. (Keep an eye out for her in the third installment!)!!!
Griffiths is true to form. However, the tone and sentiment takes a bit of a turn towards the end. The outrageous and fantastic flavour that is Nick’s trademark, gives way (though not entirely!) to a more thoughtful sentimental mood. It shows another side to the author, and rightly so as it sets the reader up for a more touching end.
It took me longer to read this novel, than it did the first (I could not put that one down!) Perhaps that was because I was involved in one or two other reads at the same time. But I enjoyed it almost as much as the first. In the Footsteps of Harrison Dextrose was a hard act to follow. That was a masterpiece of bizarre, expect-the-unexpected type writing which has been compared to Douglas Adams and maybe hints of Ben Elton. With Looking for Mrs Dextrose I think Griffiths pulls it off, and shows other sides to his abilities as a writer. I was moved by his autobiography Dalek I loved You, and can’t wait for the third installment of the Dextrose saga (will there be a fourth and a fifth? Will there be a film??)
Posted by: Rob McDade | 25 January 2011 at 12:03 PM
In the footsteps of Harrison Dextrose / by Nick Griffiths
Reviewed by Rob McDade (10 minute review)
I was recently introduced to this author when I found a copy of his first book Dalek I loved You in a second hand bookshop. Being a Doctor Who fan of similar vintage (and fully judging a book by its cover) I purchased it and put it on my 'maybe read one day' pile. The fact that I read it sooner rather than later, thoroughly enjoyed it, and could not put it down is either testimony to the skill of the author, the subject matter (which I really related to), or my own obsessive/insane personality. I think that as we both grew up watching the Pertwee / Baker MkI era of Doctor Who, and have a warm fuzzy attachment to that time, as well as a teenage love of music - particularly prog rock groups such as Pink Floyd and Rush, as well as other greats rocker like David Bowie - I felt a sort of bond with Nick. Like I was reading my own life story but in a parallel universe.
Anyway, I couldn't wait to make contact with Nick, tell him what a load of crap his book was and find out what other drivel he had managed to put out.
Hence, Harrison Dextrose. Picked it up, could hardly put it down and within a few days had finished it. The same addictive style as DILY but with a totally way-out, hilarious adventure tale. Full of colourful characters, bizarre places, black humour, white humour, even dwarf humour, with just enough rude bits to keep an oversexed gen X-er like me captivated from start to finish.
In the footsteps of ... is a postmodern text. Griffiths' book contains a text within a text as our hero (anti hero) Alexander is compelled to retrace the explorations of Harrison Dextrose as journaled in his book The Lost Incompetent: a Bible for the Inept Traveller. Gullible as I am, I initially thought this Harrison Dextrose character and his book were real. But soon found reading between the lines / between the pages of Alexander's story, the story of Dextrose to be an outrageous tale of travel, adventure, drunkenness and whoreing.
As Alexander tells his own tale, pathetically imitating his hero, it becomes clear that Alexander is the REAL hero. His journey, filled with twists and turns right up to the end, is far more interesting, outrageous, perilous and meaningful than Dextrose's. While Dextrose is either drunk, firing his fellow expeditionaries, sleeping with whores or doing all these at once, Alexander seems to be caught up in efforts to liberate people from oppressive ideological regimes, and even saving the world from destruction. His is a journey of self-discovery.
Nick Griffiths - as has been described already - has a Douglas Adams flavour to his writing. He could also be the next Ben Elton - but I hope he remains 'underground', unlike Elton himself who has become way too mainstream.
To put it simply it's a bloody funny adventure yarn, a far cry from the 'old ladies' novels that seem to fill bookshops these days - to the extent that I could not even find Nick's book and had to order it online. - But that's not to say that old ladies shouldn't read it.
Hilarious! Can't wait to read the follow up - Looking for Mrs. Dextrose.
... and BBC - get this man to script a Doctor Who episode or two.
Posted by: Rob McDade | 25 January 2011 at 12:01 PM
Fire Horses by Mark Liam Piggott
Every serious or even semi serious reader deludes themselves with the notion that they “have a book in them”. We read the mundane, run of the mill fiction that populates many of the best seller lists convinced that we could do at least as well ourselves.
Then, out of the blue, a book comes along that destroys this fantasy. A book that is so well conceived and crafted that it brings us back to earth with a resounding thud. Our delusions evaporate as they are exposed to true literary ability and talent. Fortunately our perception is not so befuddled that we can fail to recognise excellence when we are in its presence.
Fire Horses is such a book and Mark Liam Piggott it seems is such an author.
It is the story of Joe Noone who despite his efforts to live up to (or down to) his surname still ends up “some one”. But, it is much more than just his story. In its telling we get a view of the social and political climate in this country over the last 25 years. This told from the viewpoint of a member of a small but significant subculture whose norms and values do not reflect those of the majority. This group has no expectation of or desire for full time employment or stability. Their lives are merely a series of exercises in short termism. Little more than where the next drink or fix is coming from; where the next squat is; or the next opportunity for sex. An existence that seems to be controlled by their emotions.
Despite this almost nihilistic, self destructive approach to life, Joe still manages to be successful. Despite himself, he is unable to wrestle defeat from the jaws of victory. He abuses friends, family and lovers, undertakes some fairly shameful acts and does his best to destroy any beauty in his life, but the reader still roots for him. We see that Joe’s views and actions are often misguided and ill conceived. WE are aware that many of his experiences are brutal in their ugliness, but some are poetical in their beauty while others are heart aching in their sadness. Ultimately, though the book is optimistic. Joe takes two steps back for every three forward; progress is made, but at a price.
This is an extremely well crafted book. A book so peppered in shrewd observations and one liners that publishers must be concerned for fear the supply runs out for subsequent publications. A story that has elements of squalor and ugliness as well as great love and beauty told with compassion and wit. A book that is emotionally charged providing genuine insight into a way of life which revolves around drink and drugs displaying a cavalier attitude towards possessions, property and life. This is a book that unlike most others, can be revisited. In so doing, the reader becomes even more convinced of the quality of the work. I look forward to reading other pieces by this author.
The Mitchell Library, Glasgow, Book Group
Posted by: Willie McKinstery | 04 January 2011 at 03:04 PM
Lord Lucan: My Story by Bill Coles
William Coles’ superbly constructed novel explores the harrowing events of 1974 and proves itself to be worthy of crime fiction status as it delves into the mind of the notorious Lord Lucan. The book is entitled ‘Lord Lucan: My Story’ a deceiving title that plays contentedly on the ‘mystery’ surrounding the controversial old Etonian Earl.
Originally recognised as the ‘editor’ of the book, William Coles sets his readers up with the chilling tale of the accidental murder of Sandra Rivett, orchestrated in Belgravia. This travesty not only dominated the country’s headlines for years to come, but was also one which was ultimately going to lead to one of the longest manhunts of British history.
Although the first person narrative is based on true events, Coles states that any resemblance to persons living or dead is purely coincidental. A bit tongue in cheek, don’t you think? The accurate descriptions of Lucky Lucan and the Clermont Club leave little to the imagination whilst the internal monologue of Lord Lucan attempts to reveal the motives behind his crimes. However, the lines between reality and fiction of course become blurred and so one is left only to believe what the author wishes them to accept. Lord Lucan moved to Goa, adopted a life of heroin addiction and never again made contact with Great Britain. Or so the author would have you believe as Coles firmly sets out to convince his readers that he is merely the editor, left in charge of a mass of papers recovered from a vault at a leading London Solicitors firm. William Coles follows Lucan’s decline through humanity, from Etonian Peer to a drug addled senior, haunted by his actions and doomed to a life of solitary existence.
It must be said that the light cast on Sir Jimmy Goldsmith is not kind and echoes back to the Etonian rivalry between himself and Lord Lucan. The gamblers often come head to head and although it would seem that Goldsmith attempts to help the runaway, Coles implies that darker ulterior motives were present.
Contrastingly, John Aspinall is held as shining beacon of hope for the condemned protagonist as he successfully assists his childhood friend in whichever way possible. The zoologist takes an anthropological interest in his companion, becoming one of the unsung heroes of this tragedy.
This book would satisfy any person who is thrilled by a conspiracy theory, and William Coles really has done his research. All of Lucan’s internal monologues are strategically divulged and meticulously unveiled to present a man of little worth who was desperate to claim his children from the ex-wife he no longer loved.
Posted by: Charlotte Chase | 22 December 2010 at 02:02 PM
In the Footsteps of Harrison Dextrose by Nick Griffiths
Ok, picture this. You’re on a cramped and to be blunt rather vile train heading into the gloriously busy London and to pass time you reach into your bag and pull out your copy of In the Footsteps of Harrison Dextrose by Nick Griffiths.
I am going to stop here to applaud you for two reasons:
1. Well done on choosing such a good book, I mean really well done, good effort.
2. Congratulations on prizing your elbows far enough away from your sides to open the book. That alone, on a cramped train, is quite the achievement (and whenever I see someone persist with this activity I congratulate them).
Hurray! You have your book successfully open and your mind can now transport you to the fantastically surreal world of Alexander Grey and Harrison Dextrose as they both embark on the exploration of a lifetime. I'm not going to say much about the plot, because I certainly can't do it justice. Suffice it to say, if you like the absurd and the unpredictable, you'll like this book. I, myself read this book whilst commuting and made the horrible mistake of forgetting that other people were also accompanying me on our journey through unknown tunnels. So I was pretty horrified when a snort escaped from my face whilst reading Nick Griffiths work of comic genius. Looking up (pretty stealthily, I thought) to check if my cool exterior had been crumpled by my snorting fit, I found my jolly companions were all tuned into their iPods/iPads/Kindles etc and staring glumly above my head at Flu Jab adverts. No-one had noticed, so my street cred was still intact, and actually, between you and me, I felt pretty liberated. In fact I loved it, I’m now a self-confessed ‘Laugh-out-loud commuter’ and it makes me pretty happy. I had a whale of a time reading In the Footsteps of Harrison Dextrose and I reckon you will too.
Go on, read it on a train and snort out loud if you want.
I dare you.
Posted by: Charlotte Chase | 22 December 2010 at 02:01 PM
Mr Two Bombs By William Coles
Having started the book with some misgivings due to its subject matter - that of 'the bombs' and their aftermath in Japan - I did go on to enjoy it.
The main character in his own words a 'selfish and sometimes unpleasant man' and his question on surviving both bombs 'was I blessed or cursed' was the theme of the book.
All characters I felt well drawn Mr Two Bomb, his old friend and the seven year old gir (perhaps a bit too good to be true?) and many smaller characters I liked too.
The human, endurance, friendship, caring and ultimately love and his redemption made the book so readable for me. His story told with amazing ironic humour - and yes, he I felt was 'blessed' and 'lucky' in the end.
A good read.
Posted by: A Member of Huncote Library Reading Group | 07 December 2010 at 12:33 PM
Fire Horses by Mark Liam Piggott
After reading the blurb on the back cover many of us approached this book with some trepidation. After reading it more than one reader was reminded of Trainspotting. The gritty realism with drink, drugs and stomach-churning sex was just too much for most of our readers. The author’s acknowledgements at the front include one to his Nan – would you really want your Nan to read stuff like this - was a question one reader asked. The answer was a resounding no. Once past the worst, however, the novel improved and became more interesting and engaging.
This is the story of Joe Noone, from his childhood to the present day. Joe’s is raised by his father after his mother abandoned them. When he sees his father having sex with his girl-friend, he leaves his hometown and has no more contact with his father. From this unpromising start in life, things can only get worse. His best friend, Tony, marries the only girl he ever really loves; he forms a relationship with another needy person who has his child only to throw herself and the child under a train. They live in squats and are depicted as living off booze and drugs, continually vomiting. Everything is squalid and depressing. Eventually, Joe finds success as a photographer and moves to Mallorca with his Spanish girlfriend.
However, the sense of alienation and sadness persist throughout the book, even when the move to Spain with a woman who seems to have a more stable character.
There were some good parts. Many of us enjoyed the references to events of the recent past, Thatcher, the Troubles, the hurricane, Millennium etc. After the 1997 election there were comments on the middle-class lifestyle. The exploration of less salubrious parts of London was also interesting. Gradually the reader became more involved in the character, sometimes feeling sympathy and identifying with his anguish and pain. At other times one just felt he was an unpleasant person. In parts the writing was very powerful. The love / hate relationship between Joe and Tony was well drawn. Their rivalry, especially over Hermione was very believable.
There were, however, many criticisms of the book. The first couple of pages put one reader off. It read like an exercise you would get in a creative writing class – how many similes can you get in? Don’t forget to include adjectives.
“… the catholic chimes end their metronomic march and segue into freeform.. “. This was over the top.
A Spanish speaker complained of mistakes in the Spanish. The time shifts within the chapters were not clearly identified which caused some confusion. Joe finds success as a photographer but apparently without him ever having worked really hard to achieve it. For many, this did not ring true. Scenes of him drinking and vomiting are described, but the worst part of getting drunk, the waking up and subsequent hangover, are not.
The main defect was that, although written in the first person, there were too many unexplained gaps. So he was upset at finding his father in bed with his girlfriend. It is conceivable that he would take off on his friend’s motorbike, head out and then abandon the bike when it ran out of fuel. But why first burn down his friend’s caravan? He was the one person who had been generous to him. Similarly, why abandon someone on a deserted beach just because he found out that her name was the same as his dead daughter? It just did not hang together. There could have been more exploration of the main character and why he acted the way he did.
Many found the ending a surprise. Was that a glimpse of a happy one? Will he live happily with Hermione, the love of his life? Some thought probably not given his track record. However, like all good endings, nothing is clear-cut and you can write your own!
Posted by: Avid Readers Group | 07 December 2010 at 10:16 AM
Mr Two Bomb by William Coles
A story about the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings, told from the point of view of one of the few survivors based on interviews with the survivor. This is a story about how some good can come from bad. Worth a read.
Posted by: Sheila Hinds, Huncote Partnership Library Reading Group | 06 December 2010 at 09:41 AM
Fire Horses by Mark Liam Piggott
Although I struggled at first to understand this 'story', I felt drawn into it and knew I had to read to the end. The explicit language was sometimes unnecessary however there was some humour, a lot of despair and a happy ending.
Posted by: Laura | 06 December 2010 at 08:46 AM
A few typos and editorial errors, font readable though paper quality duller than we are accustomed to. Could have done with fewer adjectives, particularly at the start. Once the story got going it was a good read, giving a portrait of a faraway place - even for the coastal Australians - and varied collection of believable characters. While I might mention it to those of my friends interested in WW1 and Australia, the subject might be of less interest generally. Characters were credible, the build up of tensions in comparison to the previous existence between the town and the haphazard camp were well done so the ending was all the more believably tragic.
Posted by: Anthea, Soutborough Library Book Group | 05 December 2010 at 05:37 PM
Mr Two Bomb by William Cole
This book was an incredible read. Even though the reader knows what is coming, the action never lets up and every page keeps you guessing. As you follow the eponymous Mr Two Bomb across Japan you come to realise the emotional impact of the world's first atomic bombs and you come to appreciate the history of our world in a way you have never before. Not something lightweight but a thrilling story and one I would recommend to anyone.
Posted by: SL | 05 December 2010 at 05:15 PM
The Grease Monkey's Tale by Paul Burman
I found this quite a gripping story, even though I could see what was coming. The main character, Nic, was very likeable if extremely gullible. A little part of me believes that such an amazing place as Gimbly could exist after seeing some of the remote areas of North America.... I enjoyed this book and would definitely recommend it.
ML - Huncote Reading Group, Leicestershire.
Posted by: M Leach | 05 December 2010 at 05:09 PM
Fire Horses by Mark Liam Piggott
Why did such a well written book have to be so nauseating?
Other novels written exploring sex, drugs and the spoilt lives of a group of friends caught in the hoplessness of growing up (e.g. trainspotting) did have some humour and an engaging character or two -but not this one. Hopefully any future stories by this author will be less hard on the stomach.
Posted by: Andie | 05 December 2010 at 03:34 PM
The Ice Cream Army proved to be an engrossing read about a period of history about which I knew nothing. As well as learning about the involvement of the Australians in the First World War, I was intrigued by the language test which Australia applied to immigrants so long ago. The book isn’t helped by the confusing typo in the blurb on the back, and I did wonder if the person who wrote that had actually read the book. The characters were all convincing, although calling two of them Peter was confusing, particularly as it didn’t feel a very likely name for a middle aged man of that era. The development of the racial tension was frightening and depressing and the tragic end of the story very well told. Stylistically, the language seemed over blown at the beginning and became much more readable as the book developed, marred again by typos and infelicities of syntax. I shall certainly look out for further novels by the same author.
Posted by: Margaret, Southborough Library reading group | 04 December 2010 at 05:56 PM
The Icecream Army would have been a reasonable short story if it had been well edited. One sentence of 92 words. Tedious.
Posted by: Southboroough library reader | 03 December 2010 at 07:55 PM
Fire Horses by Mark Liam Piggott.
I struggled with this because I hate to give up on an unknown (to me) author, but it was a chore to read and a struggle to find any of the characters pleasant. I had no empathy with Joe Noone and I found the excessively flowery descriptive language a barrier to the narrative flow.
Posted by: Laura T from Pendeford Library | 02 December 2010 at 09:33 AM
On the Holloway Road by Andrew Blackman
I was given this book at the SYP conference to review. It is the story of two mismatched friends, Neil and Jack, who with nothing better to do, go on a road trip from London to Scotland. Unfortunately, I struggled to find the motivation to read on so banal was the synopsis. It improved slightly towards the end, however, when a glimmer of meaning shone through. Overall, though, it was a rather boring read.
Posted by: Nickie Roake | 01 December 2010 at 05:58 PM
The Ice Cream Army by Jessica Gregson
I found the book interesting, descriptive and it gave me much food for thought. It kept me reading it avidly and I would like to read more books by her.
Posted by: Anne Marie Doyle, Southborough Library | 01 December 2010 at 12:02 PM
Fire Horses by Mark Liam Piggott
Did not like this book. Main characters had no redeeming qualities.
Very difficult to follow, skiping backwards and forwards in time. Severl inconsistencies in plot and character descriptions
Posted by: lynne | 30 November 2010 at 08:20 PM
The Ice Cream Army is the sort of book every reader dreams of finding - gripping, un-put-downable story-telling that is a real pleasure to read and with filmic potential too.
The story is based on the battle of Broken Hill in Australia in 1915 and follows Halim, a young Turkish man, as he leaves Turkey for a new life in Australia and how he finds his way to a remote mining town in NSW and attempts, with the help of Suleyman, a fellow Turk, to establish himself there amongst the community of Australian miners and other outsiders. What neither of these peace-loving men know is that events at Gallipoli, when Ottoman Turks slaughtered thousands of Australians & New Zealanders, will have such racist and violent repercussions in their own lives.
The characters are very well drawn and believable but ultimately I was left wondering why we are so unable to live together in peace, why we so often react against "the other" and why we never learn....
The one big flaw with this book is the cover design -it's so off-putting that I would never have picked this up in a bookshop. As a former Waterstones Manager, I know that people really do judge a book by its cover so this needs rectifying.
Posted by: Penny Ward | 29 November 2010 at 01:01 PM