THE GATES OF POLISHED HORN by Mark A Rayner #RBRT

4 out of 5 stars

On Amazon (universal link)
On Goodreads

How I discovered this book: it was submitted to Rosie's Book Review Team, of which I am a member.

In a Nutshell: Speculative/Science Fiction short stories.

My favourite genre to read is imagined views of our near future, so many of the stories in this speculative/science fiction collection hit the spot for me.  As with all collections of its type, some I loved, some I liked and some I felt needed a bit more thinking through, though of course such an opinion can only be subjective.

These were the four that stood out most for me:

The Height of Artifice - a man addresses his younger life in theatrical circles, and ponders why why the woman he loved never loved him back.  Delightfully sad.  And kind of funny at the end.

After The Internet - in 2036, a fifty-five year old professor struggles with the youth of the day, who have no understanding of life before the current interconnectedness.  'Explaining a world before the datasphere was like trying to explain the General Theory of Relativity to a fish.  He could do it, but the fish wouldn't understand'.

Probably my absolute favourite: The Gallant Captain Oates - possibly the shortest of them all, at less than three whole pages.  Yes, it's the story of Captain Lawrence 'Titus' Oates who, as a member of the famous South Pole expedition headed by Robert Falcon Scott, even more famously said, "I am just going outside and may be some time".  His comrades knew and understood that he was sacrificing himself for the greater good because his injuries were slowing the whole party down ... but was he?

Mark Rayner has, in two short sentences, put a completely different spin on the story.  It's brilliant, and hilarious.

I also loved Under the Blue Curve, in which Henry, a natural storyteller born after his own time, meets his great love Elisa.  She sees a way to profit from his gift in a way that is beyond Henry's meagre understanding of the current technology.  Sad, amusing, uplifting.

To sum up, when Mark A Rayner is good, he's very, very good.  I'd definitely read something else by him.

UNDER THE EYES OF THE WORLD by G Lawrence @TudorTweep

4 out of 5 stars

On Amazon (universal link)
On Goodreads

How I discovered this book: last book in a series of which I had read all the others.

In a Nutshell: The last part of the life of Anne of Cleves.

This book picks up the story of the English court shortly after the death of Catherine Howard.  It follows the fortunes of Katherine Parr after she is chosen to become the last wife of Henry VIII, and the complicated web of manipulation, secrets and lies that follow his death, as the young Prince Edward takes the crown under the guidance of Edward Seymour and John Dudley, all from the point of view of Anne of Cleves.

In her role of first person narrator, Anne talks about the events taking place in her homeland, as well as international conflict and her thoughts on each player in the dramas taking place at home.  She has a deep friendship with Katherine Willoughby, Duchess of Suffolk and widow of Charles Brandon, who relates details of events to her; much of the book is dialogue-driven.

I liked the inclusion of fictional detail in this book, for instance the visit of Princess Elizabeth to Hever Castle; not a great deal is known about Anne of Cleves, so much of this book comes from the author's imagination and research into other areas.  Most interesting of all was the reign of Mary; I was thinking about her before I started reading this book, and it occurred to me that out of all Henry's offspring, Mary was possibly the one most like him, and that she took after him in personality more than she did Katherine of Aragon.  Elizabeth was so much her mother's daughter, but the older Mary was pure Henry, at his worst.  I very much liked the way Anne could see this happening, too; she had to deal with her own feelings about what her friend had become.

Compared with what happened not only to the other wives but to many women of nobility in those days, she was indeed fortunate.

DEATH OF A CLOWN by Catherine McCarthy @serialsemantic

 5 out of 5 stars

On Amazon - available for pre-order. Publishes 27 May.
On Goodreads

How I discovered this book: Saw the author talking about it on X, requested an ARC.

In a Nutshell: 'a metaphorical tale of dark fantasy, a story of hope, courage and self acceptance.'

Chester was born into the circus, into the life of a clown, but his public persona of tragi-comedy is not one that sits well with him.  What he really wants to do is change his entire life.  See the world, concentrate on his main passion - his writing.  As we join him in this unusual tale, circumstances have given him the impetus to begin his adventure.

This is such a beautiful book, in so many ways.  I always read on Kindle, preferring it, but I wanted to hold this in my hands.  The writing itself is so emotive and atmospheric, bringing the cities and theatres to life; it's the best I've seen from this author.  Chester himself is a total darling, someone you badly want to find happiness.

Interspersed with the events of his own life are the stories he writes under his pen-name of Runo Quill.  These are often metaphors for his own life, though one, The City of Silence, was more like a warning from fiction about the threats to free speech we experience in our own world.  I love clever deviations from the main theme of a novel, especially when, like these, they give you the feeling of delving down intriguing side alleys before resuming your journey.

Death of a Clown will be released on May 27th - I highly recommend!

ADVENT OF LIBRA by Chris Wimpress #RBRT

3.5 out of 5 stars

On Amazon (universal link)
On Goodreads

How I discovered this book: it was submitted to Rosie's Book Review Team, of which I am a member.

In a Nutshell: A dystopian future UK

This book opens in an undetermined time in the near future of this country, I think about 10 or 15 years hence, and introduces us to three generations of a dysfunctional family around whom it is based.  Grandmother Stella is in a care home, her daughter Kelly a divorced, alcoholic therapist who relaxes by vaping skunk.  Kelly's niece Lara is secretly involved with a group of dangerous insurgents.

This group is called Libra, weaponised entitled youth who blame the older generations for every ill in their lives and feel it is their right to 'snuff' the 'stiffs', in other words terrorise towns, set light to care homes and murder the 'boomers' who apparently have no right to live their lives out in peace and comfort.  A particularly nasty piece of work called Alyssa is under the impression that they're 'living off her taxes'.

Some parts of this novel reflect the current times, with the media failing to report incidents that don't reflect the narrative the government want to promote, and Kelly's belief that the use of facial recognition technology is there to 'keep them safe'.  Much in the imagined future is feasible indeed - failing businesses, night time curfews - but I couldn't quite buy into the whole Libra idea; they didn't seem to have much agenda apart from mayhem and murder.  Where did they get sufficient weaponry to gain victory over the entire army and police force?  Who was funding them?  I felt that there were large gaps in the world-building; groups of insurgents generally have a few billionaires with their own agenda to back them.  There was, for instance, no indication of exactly how they managed to blow up the massive Tyne Bridge.  We were just told that they had.  And aside from the police and army, people themselves tend to form into groups and fight back.

The book could do with a better proofread, though I did enjoy reading it and there was interesting detail about Stella, Kelly and Lara's past, but I just couldn't quite believe in it.  Then again, many variations on our inevitable dystopian future are being written these days, and feasibility is always subjective.  

THE SIX WIVES OF HENRY VIII by Alison Weir

4 out of 5 stars

On Amazon (universal link)
On Goodreads

How I discovered this book: Twitter/X

In a Nutshell: Non-fiction account of the lives of the six queens

There is no doubt that this book is an exceptionally well-researched tome, with many quotes from those who were there at the time; this gives invaluable weight to those of us fascinated by these six women.

I did detect a certain bias; Weir has little good to say about Anne Boleyn, portraying her as a woman ruled by her ambition before anything else, though she mentioned the good works which Anne undertook without fanfare.  This, to me, made some of the other assumptions about her character seem less likely.  There is, of course, no doubt that Henry VIII was an overgrown child-monster who treated every one of them appallingly at some point during their time with him, but I've always believed (perhaps naïvely, I don't know) that Anne was as in love with Henry as he was with her.

I liked Weir's thoughts about Jane Seymour, that she was not just pushed forward by her family, but had calculated ambitions of her own.  I have long thought this, that she was not the retiring innocent flower of legend.  Catherine Howard I felt got a raw deal from this book, as it concentrated on her wanton ways rather than the fact that, as a child brought up without parents and siblings, she was preyed on by older men.  However, so much that we think or think we know about these famous ladies cannot be proven, so perhaps I read it with as much bias as that with which I considered it to be written - it's hard to assess!

I enjoyed reading this book, though I admit to skip reading some of what I considered to be rather laboured detail about the various political situations, though I can understand why it was included.

It's good, but I was a little disappointed in parts.

THE LONG WALK by Slavomir Racwicz

4.5 out of 5 stars

On Amazon (universal link)
On Goodreads

How I discovered this book: I read a review of it by RosieAmber.

In a Nutshell: The allegedly true story of Slavomir Rawicz, who escaped from a Siberian labour camp during World War II, and, with comrades, trekked thousands of miles to reach safety.  Fact or fiction?

I'd read half of this book before I looked at it on Goodreads, and was so disappointed to find that there is dispute over the veracity of the story.  Some say that there is no record of Rawicz having been incarcerated at the gulag mentioned, but I wondered about that.  Service in Siberia was in itself a punishment for Russian soldiers who had fallen short of the demonic Communist party's expectations; perhaps successful escapees were scratched from the records for the officers' own safety?

The journey takes the small party from Siberia to Mongolia, the Gobi Desert, Tibet, the Himalayas and finally to India.  I was so absorbed in the story and found it completely convincing until I saw the comments on Goodreads.  After this, I questioned everything.  I am not sure if this says more about me than the book!  There was a moment, early on, when I wondered if I would have been so engrossed if it had been fiction; I was able to answer that question later.  Nevertheless, it's fascinating and a real page turner.

One part that made me wonder was the section in the Gobi desert when Rawicz and his friends survived for up to 12 days without water.  Two of them died, yes, but 12 days?  On the other hand, the longest known survival without is 18 days (yes, of course I looked it up!).  And some, such as Ernest Shackleton, have talked about the 'Third Man Factor', during which they felt, in circumstances of extreme danger and hardship, that there was another, unseen being walking with them.

If all true, it's the most incredible memoir of escape, resilience, brotherhood and so much more, in which I often felt the detail itself spoke volumes.  If not, it's still a great story.  

THE GERMANS HAVE A WORD FOR IT by T R Thorsen #RBRT

4 out of 5 stars

On Amazo

n (universal link) - available from February 26th.

On Goodreads

How I discovered this book: it was submitted to Rosie's Book Review Team, of which I am a member.

In a Nutshell: A lonely man turns to AI to resurrect his late wife.

I enjoyed this book, which explores the possibilities of AI in a most disturbing way.  Davis is distraught after the sudden death of his wife, and learns of an app that can simulate Rachel's mode of texting, so that he can receive text messages that seem as if they're written by her.  At first he thinks the idea too bizarre, but he can't help himself being drawn in by the idea.  Almost immediately he finds great comfort in what he reads on the screen.  Like Rachel is still with him.

Rachel #2 soon wants him to upgrade the app, so that he can 'see' her, too.  Before long, his relationship with her develops as might a relationship with a live woman.  The problems start when she starts making demands.  Wanting everything a woman might require from a relationship.  Everything Rachel wanted, and more.

Davis has no idea what he has got himself into, and does not understand how the fine line between human and artificial intelligence can blur - or how the latter can upscale itself in leaps and bounds.

It's a clever, unusual story, and a cautionary tale indeed!