Terragaineous

Terragaineous is a new novel for children by Irish born author and storyteller A. O. Comerford.

As a child growing up on a farm in rural Ireland, he recalls a scrawny aged ash tree that grew on the side of a hill on the family farm.

Its roots were exposed as it clung, somehow, to the hillside.

He imagined that there were tunnels beneath the tree and its roots and that there was a busy civilisation of wee folk who lived out their lives there.

Which brings us to his novel Terragaineous...

Callum is 15 years old, an ordinary young boy, living an ordinary life, until fate decides that it has other plans for him, when Callum's mother unexpectedly dies.

Riven with grief and rage at this cruel turn of events,  Callum's life, his whole world, falls to pieces.

Several weeks later Callum becomes convinced  that he has finally succumbed to insanity caused by his grief when he is rescued by a homeless man. Yet this homeless man is no ordinary man. He is an extraordinarily small man. In fact, he is a tiny man.

The tiny man reveals to Callum that he is a member of an ancient subterranean civilisation made up of tiny folk just like himself.

He regales Callum with stories of how they reside, happily in a magical world where all live in harmony with nature. Far away from the turmoil of the life led by humanity.

Realising that he has not lost his mind, Callum latches on to this opportunity to live beyond his own hurt and he convinces his friends to help him assist the tiny man to find his way home.

But exactly where will their open, childish curiosity and kind-heartedness take them?

What will happen to their tiny friend? What will happen to them?

This is a book that will captivate children -and adults- as it draws them into the world of Terragaineous.

It is published by Matador at £8.99 and will make an excellent present for children of all ages. It is not available for Christmas (the official publication date isn't until 28 December) but you can pre-order it at the Amazon-powered That's Books and Entertainment book shop, which will be found at the right hand side of this review.

Pirates and Promises

Pirates and Promises is a new adventure book written especially for children by Peter Gredan Davies.

Whilst he was enjoying a holiday in the beautiful coastal village of Mousehole, Peter (who hales from Portwrinkle) discovered that in 1595 there was a Spanish attack on both Mousehole and also on the town of Penzance when the Spanish invaders set both of those Cornish towns ablaze.

Intrigued, Peter undertook further research and discovered that the coast of Cornwall was subject to frequent and numerous attacks by the Barbary pirates of North Africa.

He combined his research with his lifelong passion for the sea (he is a former Royal Navy officer and a seaman) to provide the basis for his novel, Pirates and Promises, which is written for children aged from 9 to 12.

Becca and Jack Tremayne are twins living in Cornwall. They find a mysterious man, Azfer Hakeem, shipwrecked on a neighbouring beach and they save his life.

But there is much more to Azfer Hakeem than appears at first sight. For it transpires that he is of the royalty of the country called Lebanon.

He is in command of a fleet of armed merchantmen, ships that trade between Europe and the Mediterranean.

However, under the circumstances of them saving him from certain death, Azfer Hakeem feels honour bound to assist the twins in their desire to locate and rescue their parents, Kerenza and Brethoc, who had fallen prey to Barbary pirate two years before.

During his recuperation he and the children build up a genuine rapport and, whilst showing them is magic tricks and regaling them with tales of his distant travels, he begins to formulate a plan of how he could use his royal and diplomatic connections to discover the fate of the parents and to rescue them, if possible.

He uses his network of spies to find that Kerenza is being help captive in the court of the Governor of Algiers, and there are rumours that Brethoc is enslaved to the team of rowers on a galley.

Eventually, Azfer Hakeem is well enough to command his brave and resourceful crew of all nations to take the twins on an adventurous and perilous mission to attempt to locate and rescue their parents.

Will they survive? Will they find their parents? Can they rescue them?

Buy this book as a Christmas present and you and your children can learn for themselves!

The book is published by Matador at a very reasonable £6.99. It's also available from the That's Books and Entertainment Amazon-powered bookshop (you'll find it to the right hand side of this book review) but if you want it before Christmas, we would suggest you go for one of the faster delivery options.)

The Little Read Book

The Little Read Book is a new book from Mike Arblaster that takes a playful and energetic look at facts and words.

Mike takes us through an enterprising and entertaining romp through the world of words and also through the word of worlds.

He takes what we know and shines a strong light on it and helps us to see that perhaps what we thought we thought we knew is not actually always the case.

He casts his sardonic and humorous gaze upon matters medical, fashion, science, food and drink, medicine, business, the military, music, people, nature, the law, entertainment and the media, geography, literature and much more, besides.

The tone of the section on medical matters "Delirious Diagnoses" is set by the deliciously apposite aphorism: "Most men have a body shaped like a Homeric hero -too bad that it's from the Simpsons and not the Iliad."

Mike doesn't just take a sideways look at a subject. He takes the subject, breaks it down into its component parts and then says, gleefully: "See? See what this thing is really all about?"

And you look at it and you say: "Yes! Yes! I see it all, now! Why are consultants so expensive? And why is there no rhyming slang for rhyming slang? What was AA Milne thinking when he called the bear Winnie? And why was he a pooh bear? Why is English a universal language? And why is dyslexia spelt like it is?"

And is it true that the love of evil is the root of all money?

This book has the ability to turn a common, well known fact on its head and make you actually think about what you think you already know.

At £9.99 this book, published by Matador in paperback, it is the ideal Christmas gift for anyone who loves words and language.

It is, of course, available through the That's Books and Entertainment bookshop (you will find this to the right hand side of this book review) but we suggest that you use the faster delivery options if you want to make sure that it arrives before Christmas.

A Cold War Spy Hunt by a Crummy Army Newspaper

Thank goodness! A new and utterly wonderful book from novelist Tim Topps!

A Cold War Spy Hunt by a Crummy Army Newspaper tells the story of how Tim Topps, a recently commissioned officer (but one who does not feel in the slightest bit military-minded) is assigned to a laid-back army base in Shropshire, two years after the end of World War 2. Most of the people assigned to the base are "coming down" from the five years of the previous war.

But now a very different type of war was beginning to become noticeable, even at Tim's base. For this was the era when the Cold War began to become evident.

However, all Tim knew was that he was to perform the duties of an officer at the huge base, including being in charge of the stores, but what he might not have expected was that he would also have another duty dumped on him, that of serving as the editor of a "crummy army newspaper" that is "published" at the base every week.

Tim's remit as editor is to not only lick the weekly paper into some sort of shape, but to expand the paper, too.

However, all is not as it seems. For the true role that Tim is to serve  as the editor of the publication is to turn it into a tool (to "weaponise" it, to use a modern term) in order to trap a Communist sleeper agent who, MI5 is convinced) has managed to plant himself within the civilian staff of the base. 

In the meantime Tim manages -contrary to the rules- to fall deeply and madly in love with a very pretty and charming young ATS -who is also very good at her job- which merely adds to the general Mayhem of the situation as it develops and trundles along on its troublesome way.

Tim and his ATS assistant take their time but manage to narrow down the suspects not to a civilian worker but to an officer.

But is all it seems?

Is there a sleeper? If so, who is it? And who is working under him?

What is the connection with Southern France?

This book is an exciting romp, with some touching romance too, it must be mentioned, through the early days of the Cold War and is another must read book from Tim Topps.

This novel is available via the That's Books and Entertainment Amazon-powered bookshop to be found to the right hand side of this review. It will make an excellent Christmas gift. But may I suggest you order express delivery if you need it to fill a space in a Christmas stocking?

It is published by Matador in paperback at a very reasonable £8.99. 

(Incidentally your reviewer has a message for Tim Topps. When my father spent several years working as a civilian at COD Donnington in the early to mid-1960s, it was still just as laid-back as ever. And still is to this day, if stories are to be believed.)

The Devil Returns Twice as Deadly

The Devil Returns Twice as Deadly is a historic novel by Fred Smith.

It tells the tale of Robert Williams who is a County Bailiff.

He sees what he believes to be a chance to earn some extra, easy money.

But he could have had no understanding of the breathtaking and dangerous series of events that this engenders.

There's a ferryman who seems to have a problem, but what problem, exactly? Who, or rather, what was he? Man or something else?

Also there is a violent. troubled and bothersome landowner, a magistrate who is nursing a grievance that is ages old and what of Mary, the love of Robert's life? Has he inadvertently brought danger of an untimely end to her and even her entire family?

Can he save Mary and her family? Can he save himself?

This book is an ideal Christmas gift for anyone who likes a rip roaring adventurous novel, set in the olden days.

It is published in hardback by the Book Guild at £12.99.

It is, of course, available via the That's Books and Entertainment bookshop which is to be found to the right hand side of this review.

The Arabian Alchemist

The Arabian Alchemist is a fascinating new book by Edda Livingston.

It offers an intriguing look into the life of the body of people known as the Illuminati.

In it we read the account of a student search and discovery of a "Hidden Master".

We read how the narator, Gullvei, meets Michel Nizan, through mutual friends.

She, Gullvei, when she meets the magician and alchemist, is completely enthralled by him.

Their rapport is immediate and strong.

The reader is taken on a journey of discovery as Gullvei learns all that she can from her teacher.

The book is esoteric and one for followers of this path of knowledge.

It is published by The Book Guild and costs £9.99.

Wrack

Wrack is a novel by James Bradley.

It tells the story of David Norfolk who is an archaeologist who has the task of searching for the wreck of a Portuguese ship that is thought to have sunk 400 years ago off the coast of New South Wales, Australia.

If he were to find this ship it would lead to the complete rewriting of the history of the discovery of Australia.

But what happens is that instead of the prize he seeks, Norfolk discovers the remains of a man who had been murdered half a century earlier.

There is an elderly hermit who is living in a nearby shack. The man is dying and he seems to know something about the identity of the dead man. And tantalisingly points to a possible link between the corpse and the shipwreck that Norfolk is searching for.

The elderly man beings to reveal secrets from his own life, a life that was blighted by rivalry, passion abd betrayal.

But does he really know anything about the sunken ship and the story of the murder that took place all those years ago?

Will he reveal what he knows to Norfolk before it is too late?

This is a compelling and exciting story that is written by a master storyteller who is an excellent and highly skilled researcher.

The book will make an idea Christmas present for those who like adventure stories and is available through the That's Books and Entertainment bookshop, which is to be found to the righthand side of this review.

It is published in paperback by Faber and Faber at £7.99.

Unicorn Power A Princess who can't dance

It's the middle of the night. Eliza is sleeping. Yet her twin sister Darcy wakes her up. Why? Because a princess called Jemima is in trouble and needs their help!

All at once Eliza is awake and the twins are putting on their pretty pink wellington boots, saddle up their flying unicorn and dash off to the rescue!

The princess is in the expert help of Darcy and Eliza. She has been invited to attend a special ball, yet she doesn't know how to dance the waltz! Every time she has tried, she has fallen over.

Thankfully, the girls love to give dancing lessons at midnight and with the magical assistance of their unicorn called Blossom, they think they should be able to turn their princess friend into a spectacular, sparkling dancer.

And, after a few false starts, they soon have her dancing like a champion dancer.

This book, written by Andrea Miller, is not only charmingly written, it is also charmingly illustrated throughout.

It is an ideal Christmas present for little girls who like pink wellingtons, dancing, unicorns and helping princesses out.

It is published in hardback at £8.99 by The Book Guild and is available via the That's Books and Entertainment bookshop ,which you will find to the righthand side of this book review.

My Hair Curls

My Hair Curls is a wonderful and charming book by Sheryl Richards and vibrantly illustrated by Noushka Galley.

It tells the story of Angeline who is an ordinary, but remarkably special, little girl of a third generation family of African-Caribbean heritage. She lives with her mum and dad and her little brother, George.

Angeline tells her own story in a charming way, using very simple, yet very powerful words to describe the differences and the similarities- of not only her hair, but the hair of her friends.

There are also 18 beautiful butterflies for you and your child to discover which are hidden -in full view!- throughout the book.

There are also interactive elements within the book which mean that the book will become highly personalised to the very lucky owner of this book.

This isn't one of those well-meaning yet potentially very annoying books that promote diversity in a tedious and dull way. This is a book that celebrates diversity in a bright, breezy and effective fashion.

Sheryl is not only a very talented writer, she is also a mother and her understanding of what children want and like is reflected in this "must buy" book which will make an ideal Christmas gift for any child (probably best for girls, though) no matter what their cultural identity.

It's ideal for reading together (remember to look out for the butterflies!) and costs £6.99 in paperback from Matador.

You can buy it through the That's Books and Entertainment bookshop, which you will find to the righthand side of this review.

Just a Little Scratch

Just a Little Scratch, subtitled "Anesthesia a straightforward guide to what it is"  is a new book by Dr David Raitt.

The thought of a forthcoming operation can be unsettling, but now these concerns and fears can be allayed by this new and highly informative book by near-40 year veteran anaesthetist Dr Raitt.

Before the advent of anesthesia surgery was brutal and carried out as quickly as possible before the patient died of shock, due to the excruciating pain of having a broken bone set, an operation performed or a diseased limb cut off.

This was all changed, however, with the discovery and development of various types of anaesthesia.

Dr Raitt's guide to anaesthesia givers the reader a brief overview of the history and the development of the branch of medical science known as anaesthesia and modern, cutting edge techniques.

It takes the reader through how it works, what the anesthetist does during the operation, what the best anaesthetics are and much more, besides.

Dr Raitt had taken a look at the available books on anaesthesia and had realised that the available books on the subject were either all so filled with advanced medical jargon and terminology, or conversely, were so basic that thy were of very limited use.

Dr Raitt wanted to write a book that was suitable for everyone, but would be of special interest to patients and their families, before an operation was performed.

Dr Rait -who trained as an anesthetist whilst he was serving in the RAF- and who then spent near 30 years as a consultant anaesthetist in the city of Leicester, was fully aware of how daunting an operation could be, so wanted to provide a book that was as comforting as it was informative.

It is written in a very approachable style. Apparently this is the first informative guide that Dr Raitt has written. As this is the case it is to be hoped that this will be the first of many such books that he will write.

Before I picked up this book, I would have doubted that a book on anesthesia would have been enthralling, but this slim, but highly informative book, is enthralling and utterly engrossing.

Although Dr Raitt has intended this book to be for the layman it is my opinion that this book will make an ideal Christmas present for anyone who is either already a medical student, or is in pre-med classes at college or university.

It will also be of valuable assistance to nurses and healthcare assistants, hospital chaplains and other people who work with patients who are about to undergo an operation.

Hospitals really should consider buying this book by the case for staff and patients to read. It really is that good.

It's published by Matador at an incredibly modest £8.99 it is an ideal Christmas stocking filler for everyone from the first year medical student to someone about to undergo a surgical procedure.

You can buy it from the That's Books and Entertainment bookshop, you'll find it to the right hand side of this book review.

The Galician Parallax

The Galician Parallax is a new thriller by James G. Skinner.

Set in 2004, it touches on the three coordinated attacks on three commuter trains in rush hour Madrid that murdered almost 200 people, leaving a further 2,000 with physical and psychological scars.

A Jihadist group working in Madrid had taken two years to plan and then execute the attacks. The next planned attack would be in London.

At the beginning of the novel, a British yachtsman who lives in the Spanish city of Vigo kills himself.

Or did he? Because Segio Garcia, a youthful and inquisitive lieutenant in the Spanish Civil Guards does not believe in the suicide theory. For he suspects that the Briton's death may well have been down to a homicide.

In his own time he runs what is, virtually, an investigation that is running parallel to the official investigation that is being mounted by his colleagues.

As his own investigation proceeds he digs deeper into the case and is staggered to discover that there is a link between his private case and Al Qaeda.

The problem is, he realises that he cannot prove conclusively that the link actually exists.

He forms the conclusion that he cannot take the next step forward to prove his thesis on the link without the help and assistance of the British authorities. So he drafts in the assistance of Stan Bullock, who is the honorary British Consul.

Bullock is amenable to help and begins to bend the rules of the consular and Foreign Office rules in order to obtain the information that is required.

Their combined efforts do uncover a link to one of the top cocaine cartels operating within the United Kingdom, but ut is terrorists operatives that form a real and present danger to the lives of our two heroes.

Could they prevail against apparently insurmountable odds? Would they survive?

This is a pacy and exciting thriller and will make an ideal Christmas gift for the lover fo thriller novels.

It is published by Matador at £10.99 and is available via the That's Books and Entertainment bookshop, which is to be found at the righthand side of this book review.

"Oh! It's yerself!"

"Oh! It's yerself! ya bu**er!

This was the greeting that the Reverend Jack Kellet received from one of his 90-year-old parishioners, a life-long attendee of South Leith Parish Church.

It was a greeting that was met with a heartfelt kiss by way of a response.

The book is subtitled "A Scottish Minister looks back on a life of surprises."

The Reverend Jack Kellett describes himself as a lucky man. (Though some say that by-and-large, we create out own luck.)

However, his luck includes being fortunate enough to fall under the very positive influence of the famed Iona Community as a young man and lucky enough to have a surprise weekend at Balmoral Castle in the presence of the Queen.

He had experienced life within the working class community of Edinburgh, born to parents who had known what hard times were like for the desperately poor of Edinburgh.

He knew the love of his parents that was demonstrated in the taciturn fashion that was their way.

He also considered himself lucky to have fallen for a girl who also fell for him, despite, as he saw it, all his faults.

And lucky to have raised a family of three children.

He was surprised to find the Queen was much more ordinary than he had suspected might be the case, and didn't get into any trouble at all when he accidentally stepped on the paw of a Corgi who had been dashing toward its breakfast!

He also had the pleasure of saying grace, a short one, much appreciated by the Royal family and the staff, at a meal at Balmoral, where he had stayed as a result of being asked to preach a sermon at nearby Craathie.

Hobnobbing with the Queen and the Royal family. But that wasn't how it had begun for Jack Kellett.

His father was a grate builder who was proud of the fact that he was able to earn a halfpenny an hour more that the other tradesmen and he was the only employee never to have been paid off during the great depression.

He wrote with great eloquence about the childhood games of the 1930s, games like What's the Time, Mr Wolf? and the like.

He touches on childhood ailments, his school days, his National Service, his involvement with football and cricket and marriage to the great love of his life, Ena.

It was when he and Ena were enjoying a holiday on the Isle of Iona that Jack realised he had a calling to be a church minister.

And, after six years of theological study at Edinburgh University, that is what he became.

He proved himself to be a more than capable church minister, always busy being a husband and father and working for the members of his congregation and known for working with other churches in his area, including building strong links with local Catholic churches.

This book is compelling, amusing and truthful, written by a man who is, truly, a man of his God.

It is published by Matador at £10.99 and is a compelling autobiography.

Sisters of Fury

Sisters of Fury is a thriller by Keith Jackobsen.

It is set in the heady and exciting times of the late 1960s.

Jack Roberts is a northerner who comes from a family that is neither working class nor really middle class. sort of lower middle class, really, for want of a better description,

He is a bit of a drifter, intellectually speaking.  He has neither dreams for his future or ambitions.

But then he meets Hasan, a fellow student.

He and Hasan become good, close friends, and Jack idolises his new friend and he seems to become a new person, a person with hopes, dreams and ambitions.

But is Hasan all he seems? Is there a darker, edgier side to him?

But when their time at university comes to an end, it seems that Hasan just vanished from Jack's life.

So Jack returns to his aimless, intellectual drifter existence. But he never forgets about his exotic, somewhat mysterious friend.

Years later Jack learns that Hasan has written a book and is embarking on a tour to promote his book.

Intrigued, Jack decides to follow in the footsteps of his friend on the tour, yet decides, for some reason, to keep a distance between himself and his friend.

But then Jack notices that he is not the only person who is keeping Hasan under observation, for he is being tailed by a woman who seems to be fragile.

Jack meets the woman and realises that she might not be quite what she seems. For example, is she as fragile as she appears to be? And if she is, what caused her fragility?

Eventually Jack begins to understand that not only Hasaan is in danger, that he, too, could be at risk.

But from what? Or whom? And was Hasan all he had seemed to be?

This novel is described as Hitchcockian and as it exists in a maelstrom of angst, anger, mistrust and duplicity, that is as good a description as any.

It is published by The Book Guild and is available from the That's Books and Entertainment bookshop, to be found on the righthand side of this review.

The Seas of Ramion

The Seas of Ramion by Frank Hinks is another of the Ramion collection of books.

The wicked witch Griselda is exhausted. Witching really takes out out of a person!

Her faithful servant Boris the skull realises that Griselda needs a holiday to enable her to recharge her
Boris wants her to take a trip to the beaches of Southern France, but Griselda doubts that this is a good idea. Because she suspects that all Boris would do would be to eye up the girls.

Instead it is decided that they will holiday at a castle owned by her cousin Veronica, Morgan Castle in Pembrokeshire, in Wales.

But first she must cast a spell to cause the holiday plans of some children to be changed.

She wants the boys to also holiday at Morgan Castle so that she can eat them.

But who will protect the boys if Snuggle, their cat protector, is at home being looked after by Mrs Dean?

But when Griselda arrives at the castle, she finds it very disappointing. Her cousin is wearing a lovely dress and all of the instruments of torture have disappeared from the castle! What has happened to Veronica? Could Griselda's magical spell have had some totally unexpected, nice, outcomes?

 Are her plans to eat brothers Julius, Alexander and Benjamin about to come to fruition? Or will the plans be thwarted? But as the feline Snuggle is the one person who can deal with Griselda, how can the brothers be saved?

The boys accidentally enter the undersea realm of the King of the Merpeople and find that it has been taken over by a wicked stepmother.

They learn what happens to shipwrecked sailors and what fate befell the legitimate Queen. But can the three boys really save the undersea kingdom from the usurper and escape from the clutches of Griselda?

Or will Snuggle the cat be able to save the day?

And does Boris the good skull finally become evil?

This book is an ideal Christmas present for children of all ages and the quirky humour will be enjoyed by adults, too. It is very well illustrated and is published by Perronet books in hardback.

You can buy it via the That's Books and Entertainment online bookshop, available to the righthand side of this review.