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.