The End is Nigh

As I posted yesterday this blog has been going for a year.

The Lady and the Villa and I are off on a 34 day cruise that we have been planning for 6 months now.
I will contemplate continuing the blog on my return.

Its this Blogs 1st Birthday

This blog started a year ago today.

I hope all the regulars have enjoyed it as well as the casual visitors.

Books read in December 2010

Resurrection Men. Ian Rankin. This is without doubt his best book. I was never entirely sure of the outcome, until the very end. I was enthralled by the twists, by the wide range of new characters. Siobahn gets a much greater billing (including the concluding chapter, a sign of things to come?) and you really feel what Rebus would be feeling, at each twist and turn. I loved it. No weak parts, well done Ian Rankin. I for one don’t want the series to conclude. 5 Stars.

A Question of Blood. Ian Rankin. A shooting at a private school and two seventeen-year-olds are killed by an ex SAS man. Ex-Army himself, Rebus becomes fascinated by the killer, and finds he is not alone. Army investigators are on the scene, and won't be shaken off. Rebus has more than his share of personal problems, too. His hands are heavily bandaged, and he won't say how it happened. Could there be a connection with a house-fire and the unfortunate death of a petty criminal who had been harassing Rebus's colleague Siobhan Clarke? Rebus's bosses seem to think so. It is spoilt by the ending that clears everything up in not more than a sentence. Brilliantly written but poor plot ending. 3 stars.
 
The Stand. Stephen King. This is a long book, nearly 1200 pages and shows Stephen King at the peak of his powers. The basic plot is that a super-virus is accidentally unleashed on the public. 99.9% of the population is wiped out, and the few remaining survivors are drawn to two people they dream about. Flagg is one. Mother Abigail is the other. The story shows how people survived the outbreak, then begin to reform society and then decide how to fight against the evil Flagg. That is it in a nutshell - without spoiling anything too much. The way King writes about the books characters is excellent - you have to know what is going to happen to them. The plot is excellent, and moves well. It does lull in the middle a bit, but this is the lull before the storm, as the final section of the book moves on at a rip-roaring pace. Considering the length of the book it is amazing how it holds your attention all the way to the last page. 4.5 Stars.

A Short History of Nearly Everything. Bill Bryson. My eldest daughter bought me a Bill Bryson book many years ago and now I have revisited the author with this book. Bill brings science to the masses in an entertaining and easy understandable manner. If you've ever wondered for example, what the theory of relativity actually means, get this book. The size of the volume belies the breadth of topics covered.  Alongside the huge amount of science contained in this book, he takes a look at the bickering, back-stabbing and fallings-out of history's great scientists and revolutionaries and you have to wonder how scientific knowledge managed to advance in light of this. 3 Stars.

A Happy New Year