Tag: book
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Reviewing history
More historical fiction book reviews by Steve Earles Cornwall: Romans to Victorians by Derek Tait One of my earliest memories is a childhood holiday to Cornwall, indeed to this day I still have a keyring from that holiday as a keepsake. I also have a great nostalgia for the original Poldark tv series (though not…
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Hammer Complete by Howard Maxford
The Films, The Personnel, The Company There are a great many books about the much-loved Hammer Films, many of them very worthy, but if you only buy one, make it ‘Hammer Complete’, it really is Hammer Complete. Howard Maxford is a superb writer; his book is well researched, entertaining, and good-humoured. It’s also an invaluable…
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Witches and historical “bad girls”
Bad Girls From History: Wicked Or Misunderstood? By Dee Gordon Now, this would make a great present, and in our current climate this book is very relevant. Among others, this book covers the lives of La Voisin, the 17th Century Queen of All Witches (a great title, she sounds like she comes straight out of…
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‘The Duke of Monmouth: Life and Rebellion’ by Laura Brennan
The Restoration is one of my favourite periods of history and the Duke of Monmouth is a significant character of this time. In 1660, Charles II, son of the murdered Charles I, was restored to the English throne following the death of Cromwell. The Duke of Monmouth was the illegitimate son of Charles II (the first…
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Bryant and May: Hall of Mirrors by Christopher Fowler
To my mind Christopher Fowler is the great unsung hero of modern popular literature, which is a compliment – Charles Dickens and Wilkie Collins were all popular writers, and Fowler fits well into their company. Christopher has written more than forty novels at this stage (I’ve read many of them, and none of them disappoint),…
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The Spiritual Meaning of the Sixties by Tobias Churton
The Magic, Myth and Music of the Decade That Changed The World Without doubt, as I have said before, and indeed, hope to say again in the future, any book by Tobias Churton is a special event. For instance, his books on Aleister Crowley are, without doubt, the most important books written on the Master…
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Conversations With Neil Gaiman
One of the most interesting pieces is a 1987 interview/article that Neil did with Alan Moore. Moore notes the shoddy deal given by UK comics to its creators where their work is bought outright meaning they get no money from reprints, merchandise, film and computer game adaptations, etc. A most unfair state of affairs. I…
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27: The Legend and Mythology of the 27 Club by Gene Simmons
Most people reading this review will have heard of the legend of the 27 Club, basically a group of talented musicians all having in common the fact that they died aged 27. The myth began in the 60s with the death of Brian Jones. Over the years membership of the club increased with the likes…
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Space Sirens, Scientists and Princesses by Dean Conrad
Nowadays, women are rightly a central part of science fiction films, but it was not always so. In early science fiction films women were usually assistants, eye candy, or there to give the square-jawed male hero someone to save from the flying killer bots from the planet Zog! Compare, for example, Forbidden Planet (entertaining though…
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Heavy Duty: Days and Nights in Judas Priest
by K.K. Downing with Mark Eglinton When a band member leaves an iconic band it’s then you’ll get the true story on the said band. Such a book is the splendidly named Heavy Duty – the autobiography of K.K Downing, formerly guitarist in Judas Priest. And it is unputdownable! K.K. comes across as a very nice…