Month: July 2022

Annette’s Devon Bookshelf

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Annette Shaw is a freelance journalist with 30 years of experience, and has a regular column in Devon Life, sharing her pick of brilliant books with Devon connections. With her reputation for championing books and authors around the county, we’re delighted to have the opportunity to showcase her reviews here. Deception by Lesley Pearse Her 30th novel. Now that’s an achievement! As a global bestselling author, there’s never any doubt that Lesley’s books will challenge, engage and feel totally satisfying to … Read more

Review: Shrines Of Gaiety

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  Its 1926 and, while London recovers from WW1, there are cracks in the Coker family empire – a string of glamorous but illicit nightclubs in Soho – built by the wily and resourceful Nellie Coker, a character inspired by the obituary of real-life club maven Kate Meyrick. Shrewd and ruthless, Nellie is ambitious with a flair for business. She wants the best education for her six children, funded by her extremely lucrative trading activities. But the world Nellie exists … Read more

Review: The Legend Of Luther Arkwright

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  After a gap of 21 years, swashbuckling anti-hero Luther Arkwright makes a spectacular return for more warped adventures in the multiverse. Luther Arkwright travels through parallel dimensions of earth that are both familiar and startlingly different, skipping between utopian and dystopian in the blink of an eye. When humanity is threatened with mass destruction from an evolved threat, it is up to him to use strength and guile to overcome staggering odds and save the day. Superstar writer and … Read more

3 Questions With Bryan Talbot

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Bryan Talbot is a British comics artist and writer, best known as the creator of The Adventures of Luther Arkwright and its sequel Heart of Empire, as well as the Grandville series of books. He collaborated with his wife, Mary M. Talbot to produce Dotter of Her Father’s Eyes, which won the 2012 Costa biography award. After a gap of over 20 years The Legend Of Luther Arkwright, an eagerly-awaited third volume in the series, is published on 14th July … Read more

Review: The Lincoln Highway

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  A road trip in 1950’s America is fraught with diversions and distractions in this fantastic and immersive read. Returning home from juvenile jail, where he has served time for accidentally killing a boy, Emmett intends to take his brother and set off across the state line to make a new life for them both. However his past is never far away, and threatens to ruin their future before they even get started building it. What could be a long … Read more

Annette’s Devon Summer Bookshelf

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Annette Shaw is a freelance journalist with 30 years of experience, and has a regular column in Devon Life, sharing her pick of brilliant books with Devon connections. With her reputation for championing books and authors around the county, we’re delighted to have the opportunity to showcase her reviews here. Wild Swimming Walks: Dorset and East Devon by Sophie Pierce and Matt Newbury It takes your breath away. By that I mean the scenery, as well as the cold water. And … Read more

Review: The Circling Sky

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  A beautiful, balanced account of a year exploring the natural history of the New Forest, revisiting places first discovered 40 years ago, how they have changed and reflections on what Ansell has learnt in between.  Neil Ansell has shown in his previous books, Deep Country and Last Wilderness, a special talent for immersing himself in a landscape. In clear, descriptive prose The Circling Sky conveys his experiences of 30-odd walks throughout all seasons of the Forest – the sights, … Read more

Better Verse Novels For Young Adults

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Our superb volunteer Belinda explores the world of verse novels and makes some recommendations… I have to confess to a slight sinking feeling when I picked up my first verse novel, One by Sarah Crossan.  I was interested in the story line but was sceptical about the verse format.  How could the details and subtleties of the story be conveyed when the word count was so much lower than a novel written in prose?  How wrong I was!  The sparseness … Read more