Twenty Five Million Ghosts

Twenty Five Million Ghosts is the debut novel of Steve Aitchsmith.

It tells the story of Steve. Steve is a troubled man. He is troubled by an army of persistent, organised ants. But that's only the beginning. 

After a varied range of careers, insurance followed by a stint in the army and some rather dubious but officially sanctioned joint services intelligence gathering, the police and, finally, education, Steve has retired to a secluded and somewhat tumbledown cottage in woodlands not far from Brighton.

His wife works away from home during the week, his daughter lives in university accommodation for most of the time and he is generally happy with his lot.

His mother has not long to live and he finds that, apart from his constant battle with the warrior ants in his garden and house, he is beginning to acknowledge his need or rather his desire for not only personal security and an understanding of what is happening in the world.

In his quests he is assisted by a somewhat unconventional Roan Catholic priest as he explores the war-torn past of his own family and the new world that he now occupies.

He finds himself exploriung his own past, the past of his family, the adventures that he found himself involved in, to examine the world, to break the law and  to find peace, through reading journals of the wartime activities of his forebears.

This book, although a work of fiction, is clearly based on real life events that happened to members of the author's family or people that he knew.

The book is published by Matador at £9.99 and can be bought here https://goo.gl/wdCFDG.

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Man of Two Worlds

Man of Two Worlds is a new non-fiction book from Peter Rutt.

Rutt has eschewed the usual such as religion, science and what might be described as mainstream beliefs and opinions in Man of Two Worlds.

Instead he has set out to take a refreshingly new and idiosyncratic look at the mechanics of life and of death.

He has enjoyed a journey of discovery and he is now inviting his readers to follow him on that selfsame journey.

His book covers a wide range of fascinating concepts and ideas. For example, why there are certain types of spiritual apparitions that it is impossible for mortals to communicate with, previous life experiences, the Akashick register, karma and why some people are born poor, why some people are murdered (it is all something to do with what they did or did not do in a previous life, apparently).

He debates the nature and existence of truth, including where truth actually resides.

Rutt also describes what happens to the soul after death, how he discovered when writing his book "Jack the Ripper From the Cradle to the grave" that there were a large number of "bad souls" from the Victorian era who were all congregating in the lower levels of the London Underground tube stations.

And how he was able to help hundreds of damaged souls flee to the light.

It is an interesting book published by The Book Guild at £8.99 and available for purchase here https://goo.gl/wdCFDG.

Random Treasure

In Random Treasure, London-born but Scotish based Roger Stewart looks back at six decades of seeking out and finding objects lost and forgotten about in second-hand shops, antique shops and local auctioneers and salerooms up and down the country.

It started out as an interest and a hobby for Roger, but as his knowledge and expertise grew and increased over the years it became a very lucrative and profitable pastime, too.

Roger Stewart takes his readers through what can potentially be a minefield for the unwary. Is the object you see before you a deliberate fake, an accidentally misidentified reproduction, or is it, after all, perhaps the real deal? A genuinely valuable antique?

He covers how antiques rise and fall in value, what provenance is and if it matters, how an auction works and how to behave during an auction.

He takes a peek at how antique collectors act, what their psychological makeup is and how they behave.

How and why do some amateur antique collectors make the spectacular finds that we read about in the papers or see on the Internet?

Does it take expertise, skill and years of training and experience? Or can anyone do it?

He also has some very useful pointers to ensure that your collecting hobby remains just that, as a hobby and doesn't degenerate into an obsessive compulsion. In other words, a hoarder?

The book is also copiously illustrated with some high quality photographs. Including a press archive photograph of the dreaded Collyer Mansion of New York.

The book is exceptionally well researched and well written and will be a must buy book (or gift!) to every art and antique lover or dealer, every armchair enthusiast or anyone who is a fan of David Dickinson, The Antiques Roadshow, The Antiques Road Trip, American Pickers or Going for a Song.

It's published by The Book Guild at £12.99 and can be purchased here https://goo.gl/wdCFDG.

The Buzzer

What is factual is that a Russian transmitter site has been broadcasting a buzzing noise every other second for 40 years.

Reportedly, every couple of months, the buzzing cycle is interrupted with a voice that intones "U V B 7 6" followed by a series of numbers and what are believed to be coded words.

Experts and amateur theorists have come up with a number of explanations for this phenomenon over the years, ranging from a secret military communication system or even a countermeasure against nuclear war. It is the latter theory that David Mason uses as the basis for his novel.

Natalya Kovalski is a journalist who has decided to launch a research project on the mysterious shortwave Buzzer transmissions.

She teams up with computer programmer and shortwave radio enthusiast Stepan Litvin to try to get to the bottom of this mysterious transmission.

It is suspected that a deserted and abandoned former military base in Povarovo was, at one time, the host site for the transmission and so Natalya and Stepan decide to visit the site to see what they might be able to learn.

Their research work brings to their attention some mysterious links between a secret CCCP experiment, the Soviet Human Enhancement Project C-1, which was undertaken at the height of World War 2 and the city of Luga.

Are they correct in their suspicions that the transmissions and the C-1 Project were an experiment on the hapless population of the city of Luga?

They face something of a dilemma. Should they use Natalya's press contacts to expose the experiment on the people in order to save them and their city? Or would their attempts to do the right thing actually put the city into even more danger?

And what if Project C-1 was even more horrifying than anyone could have even anticipated? Would they be safe? For that matter, would anyone be safe, even again?

This is a truly terrifying thriller of a read. It's published by The Book Guild aat £8.99 and can be bought here https://goo.gl/wdCFDG.

Knowledge: The Root of All Happiness

Knowledge: The Root Of All Happiness is a philosophical book with a difference. It is written in order to make philosophy accessible to everyone.

Even so, it deals with some core concepts of philosophy. "What is the univer's nature?" "Who are we?" "Where are we from?" "What is the goal of life?" and "How Should we live?"

In this book author M. A. Risso explores several key concepts of philosophy, yet does so in a way that although it is designed to be read by everyone, it not in the least bit condescending.

It is concise and is deliberately not over-long, avoiding the temptation to go into too much detail of specific theories and philosophies.

In his introduction M. A. Risso makes a very compelling and highly pertinent point: " Science and religion are often at loggerheads, buy they do not need to be. With our limited senses, it is simply not possible for humans to understand everything in life and we should have the humility to admit this."

The book is an interesting primer for those intending to study philosophy or those who want to know the basics of philosophical thoughts and theories.

It is published by The Book Guild at £9.99 and can be ordered at https://goo.gl/wdCFDG.

Clash

This is a first for me. It is the first time I have read a book based on the ancient Irish sport of Hurling.

Written by South African-based filmmaker and story teller Dermod Judge, it tells the story of what happens when an idiosyncratic and eccentric Irish millionaire gets a hold of Hurling and transforms it inot a dangerous gladiatorial style contest, with his own handpicked team "The Danann."

Into this sporting melee comes John-Joe Crosby a Kerryman who is a skilled hurler of the traditional kind.

John-Joe become embroiled in this new derivative of Hurling which seems dead set on eschewing the rules of safety because the lives of the players are deemed as not being as important as the viewing figures and the ratings.

However, he falls in love with the gorgeous Kitty and soon they find that their lives are both at risk when they inadvertently discover that far from being idiosyncratic and eccentric, the millionaire behind the new Hurling craze is nothing but a dangerous crook who is using graft, bribery and corruption in order to build a new sports complex and stadium in Dublin, Ireland's capital city.

John-Joe and Kitty are forced to flee for their lives.

However, John-Joe helps to bring together a Hurling team to battle the thuggish and brutal Danann team. But there is no intention of allowing John-Joe to survive the match. Nor to allow Kitty to take the evidence the two have amassed to the Irish authorities.

However, the match isn't over until it's over.

This is a rip roarer of a novel, powerful and as deadly as a Hurling stick.

It's the first of two novels in the series and is heartily recommended. 

It's published by The Book Guild at £8.99 and you can order it here https://goo.gl/wdCFDG.