The Dreams of the Black Butterfly

The Dreams of the Black Butterfly is a fantasy novel by Mark James Barrett.

It tells the story of Moises Quispe who has heard rumours and reports that there could well exist a Black Butterfly that resides in the jingles of Peru.

With its wings of velvety black, with a span of two feet across, it lives in the jungle that is under threat of destruction of the chainsaws of the loggers.

Why does Moises want to track down this elusive Black Butterfly?

Is it the reward of a million Nuevo Sol that is offered by the mysterious Mr Dollie?

Or are there other calls upon Moises, that compel him to seek out the Butterfly that might, or might not exist in the dark nights of the jungles of Peru?

But what is the purpose of the Black Butterfly? What terrifying messages does it carry for humanity?

This book is available from Matador at the price of £8.99 and can be bought through the That's Books bookshop, which is to be found on the right side of this review.

Mutable Passions

Mutable Passions is a new novel by a novelist about another novelist. One of the greatest English novelists of the last 200 years, Charlotte Bronte.

April 21st is the bicentenary of the birth of Charlotte Bronte.

But author Philip Dent poses some interesting questions about Charlotte Bronte.

What, exactly, do we know about Charlotte Bronte?

What, for example, do we know of the experiences of Charlotte Bronte in regards to love in her own life?

During her life Charlotte Bronte knew of the pains and problems of poor health, insomnia and of an extreme form of loneliness.

At the time of this novel, her siblings were all dead and Charlotte had the distinction or honour (dubious though this might be)  of being her father's sole companion at the parsonage.

But all was to change for Charlotte! For this novel is based on the true life facts of the situation that saw Charlotte Bronte wooed, courted and married by her suitor Arthur Nicholls.

The novel is a compelling, evocative and sensitive examination of what happened to Charlotte Bronte when the fictional knowledge of love that she had written about became, for her, an exciting, vibrant reality.

The author takes the known facts of the situation and brings to life an imaginary, but utterly realistic, real life story of what happened when Charlotte Bronte threw off the mantel of Victorian spinster and placed upon her head, instead, that of a Victorian wedding bonnet.

This delightful book is published by Matador at £8.99 and is, of course, available via the That's Books and Entertainment bookshop which you will find to the right of this book review.

It will make an ideal gift for the Bronte fan, Why not buy a copy and put it away until Christmas?

My Aunt Manya

My Aunt Manya is a book for children written by children's author Jose Patterson.

It relates the story of Sarah, a ten-year-old immigrant who is making they journey to America.

The journey for Sarah is a long and hard one.

Sarah lives in Russia toward the end of the 19th century.

Sarah's home life is pitiful. She hates her stepmother with a passion. But unfortunately her father has had to leave Russia in order to seek work in the new promised land, America.

He has left home to live with his sister, Sarah's aunt Manya.

Then, comes a terrible blow to young Sarah. She receives a letter from her aunt Manya. Her father has met with an accident and has died.

In the letter, however, is also the hope of a possible salvation. For aunt Manya has enclosed some money and a boat ticket and the offer of a home in New York.

The life of Sarah and her family is one of constant worry, as they are Russian Jews and their community is under constant threat of random, murderous attacks by Cossack soldiers.

When friends of Sarah receive reports of a force of Cossacks camped near to their village they decide to help Sarah set out, alone, to make her bid for freedom from oppression and to make a new life for herself ion the new world that is America, with her aunt Manya.

Sarah sets out on her long and arduous journey, facing the unknown perils of the great undertaking that she must make, as she reaches out for her aunt Manya and her new life.

This book is published by Matador at £6.99 in paperback and £10.99 in hardback.

It is available for sale at the That's Books and Entertainment bookshop, just to the right of this review.

Amelie and the Great Outdoors

Amelie and the Great Outdoors is a heart-warming book for children (and their parents and grandparents, too!) which is written by Fiona Barker and illustrated by Rosie Brooks.

It tells the story of Amelie. Who is a delightful little girl. Who really would just prefer to be left indoors, thank you very much!

Well, what's so great about the great outdoors?

Amelie is content, or actually, happy, to stay indoors. She loves it indoors. She loves to play indoors, she loves to be indoors by herself.

She never goes outside. Why would she want to? In fact, to be truthful, she finds the idea of being outdoors more than a little bit threatening.

Well, outdoors has no toys. No computer games and no TV to watch!

She loves her toys, she loves her computer, she loves her TV.

Her parents have struggled for a long time to get Amelie interested in going outside, until, eventually, they have very nearly given up on the idea.

They have tried everything. The park?  No. The beach? No. Enjoying ice cream in the sunshine? Again, the answer is no!

But suddenly it all changes because Amelie meets with a very special friend who eventually tempts Amelie to do the unexpected and the utterly unthinkable. Her very special friend tempts Amelie to venture into the Great Outdoors!

This book is a real winner. It costs £7.99 and can be obtained via the That's Books and Entertainment bookshop, which you will find to the right of this book review.

Incidentally, is it possible that this book might just have a basis in reality? If you buy the book you can find out for certain, when you real the book's dedication!  

The Gessami Residence

The Gessami Residence is a "must read" for all of you fans of romantic fiction.

It tells the story of a woman who, although mature, still fully intends to live her life to the full.

Written by Jane L. Gibson it tells the story of Jenny.

Jenny, who is in her early 40s, has had a bad time of it recently, following the unexpected death of the love of her life, her husband Paul, three years previously.

Her sons are all at university and the only thing that keeps her sane are her three best friends, Amanda, Beth and Rose.

After a bit of a confab, they decide that what they really need is a girly holiday, during which they can escape the mundanity of their every day lives and live it up for a while.

Rose hits on a trip to that idyllic and peaceful haven of quietness and exquisite good manners, Ibiza but she keeps the location of their holiday secret until they arrive at the airport. (EDITOR: Oh, dear!)

After the first night of their holiday is spent in heavy drinking, Jenny falls for a handsome stranger called Ethan. Well, actually, that's stretching it a little bit, she falls, drunkenly, on the sand and Nathan finds her and, rather gallantly, helps her back to her hotel room.

Jenny is intrigued by Ethan. He isn't what she would have expected to find in Ibiza, but the more time she spends with Ethan, and with her irrepressible friends, she starts to come out of her shell, so to speak, and to realise exactly what she has been missing in her life.

Do Ethan and Jenny fall in love? Will they be together for ever? How will her sons cope with this new dynamic in Jenny's life?

To find out you'll have to buy The Gessami Residence by Jane L. Gibson.

It is published by Matdor Books at £7.99 and can be purchased at the That's Books and Entertainment online bookshop, which you will find on the right hand side of this book review, along with a host of other romantic novels and DVDs.

Sons of the Sea

Sons of the Sea is a riveting and compelling book which tells the remarkable story of Harry Cecil Gaffney who had the somewhat dubious distinction of serving at sea through not one but two different world wars.

The subtitle of the book is: "Royal Naval Stories and Tales of Foreign Seaports from 1910 to 1966."

It is written by Patrick Gaffney, the son of Harry Cecil Gaffney. According to Mrs Gaffney whilst her husband was at best a "woeful husband" ha had been a "brilliant sailor."

He had known something of his father's life, but, upon realising that there was so much more to the story of his father's life, Patrick decided to really dig deep into his father's life, to undertake years of very thorough research.

He discovered that his father had, indeed, been a consummate seaman, a Master Mariner of the old school, who had, as the saying goes, 'been born with salt water in his veins.'

Gaffney senior had served at sea during both the Great War and the Second World War,

It relates how he trained on the HMS Conway, and was subsequently to serve a three-year apprenticeship on a steel-hulled barque by the name of the Inversnaid in 1911.

The Inversnaid worked in South American waters and Gaffney senior progressed well through the ranks, also learning Spanish.

Upon his return to Britain  he found the country at war, so swiftly joined the Royal Navy, serving on HMS Kinsfaun Castle.

Eventually at the age of 24 he was made the commanding officer of his first ship, Torpedo Boat No 24.

The book is also well illustrated with photographs and it follows Gaffney's senior and junior through their respective naval careers (for Patrick also served in the Royal Navy, but during peacetime) and is a very interesting book, especially for those who have an affinity for the sea and the Royal Navy.

It is published by Matador at £9.99 and is available through the That's Books bookshop, which you will find to the right of this book review, along with many other books and DVDs on naval history and the like.

A Journey Through Time in Africa

A Journey Through Time in Africa is an utterly compelling book written by husband and wife team of Dr Peter Peeters and Claire Van Velsen.

We go back to 1981. Dr Peter Peeters has a sabbatical year. During this year and his wife Claire Van Veelen will travel through the continent of Africa.

It is their intention to explore the country and to try to learn why it is that some countries in African have been able to develop whilst some seemed stuck in the past and were unable to grow and develop.

Eventually, after all their planning it is a snowy evening the the Belgium capital of Brussels and they are ready to start off on the first leg of their amazing journey in a somewhat elderly Land Rover.

The book, which is copiously illustrated with their evocative photographs, follows their journeys through Africa.

They met with a wide variety of vastly different people and peoples, learn to go with the flow and work at a less frantic pace than they were used to.

They had preconceived ideas about Africa and the people who made up its disparate populations. They swiftly learn to re-think all they thought they knew.

It was an interesting and life-changing experience for them, filled with drama, comedy and some pathos as they allow their Land Rover to take them through Africa.

They coped, very well, as it happens with a variety of emergencies: The rainy season, coping with a three inch thorn stuck in a foot as they drove along, unable to stop. The treatment -whilst mobile- was a bucket of Detol with the foot jammed in it as blood flowed all over the floor of the Land Rover, the quaint way of making phone calls back home to Belgium from Zaire, meeting with witchdoctors and much more including seeing and interacting with the bewildering array of wildlife.

This highly interesting travelogue is ideal for armchair travellers or those who know Africa and who want to be reminded of it or who want to learn more.

It is a coffee table sized book and is worth every penny of the  £18.50 price.

It will make an ideal present or a wonderful minor indulgence for yourself.

It is published by the Book Guild and is available via the That's Books and Entertainment online book shop. just check it out on the right-hand side of this review, plus thousands of other travel books, DVDs, etc.