Tag Archives: Book Review.

Stephen King, Mr Mercedes. Book Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 7/10

After so many years of writing in a particular style that even the appearance of a full stop suddenly placed before the reader’s eyes was enough to have them scurrying for the covers and checking nervously under the bed, to witness Stephen King, the ultimate in the name of Horror in the 20th Century, take on a straight forward suspense thriller is akin to see him offer a book aimed at children…Mr Mercedes is no My Pretty Pony though, then again it is also no Under The Dome either.

Stephen King, Mr Mercedes. Book Review. full post

(527 words, estimated 2:06 mins reading time)

Geoffrey Beevers, The Forgotten Fields. Book Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

We perhaps like to think we look at the periods of time that went before us with a modern, dispassionate eye. An eye that picks over the fine details of what made the people of the time the way they were, the condition in which they allowed their lives to flourish or stagnate and the system of which they featured. We are not so far removed from the days that saw the world go to war in 1914, from the rush for Empire in the 19th Century, (instead of countries to conquer, there are now conglomerates who desire to own everything that moves) or even the so-called Dark Ages and the race to collect souls in the name of religion. How will future generations evaluate us, how can they decide what we were like if all they have to go by is the mess that we leave behind? This is the fascinating question that lurks at the heart of Geoffrey Beevers’ novel The Forgotten Fields.

Geoffrey Beevers, The Forgotten Fields. Book Review. full post

(470 words, estimated 1:53 mins reading time)

Angela Douglas, Swings And Roundabouts. Book Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Angela Douglas is one of Britain’s much loved actors. Married to one of British cinema’s legendary performers, she made a mark in both theatre and films, notably perhaps the four Carry On Films she appeared in as the romantic female lead, Carry On Sreaming, Cowboy, Follow That Camel, On Up The Khyber and in films such as The Comedy Man and The Gentle Terror. Her life is one that unfortunately seen under the gaze of a British public that was under such moral sexual introspection, a hangover from the so called Victorian values that dominated society until the 1970s and the perhaps phony tides in which people judged other lives.

Angela Douglas, Swings And Roundabouts. Book Review. full post

(650 words, estimated 2:36 mins reading time)

Mike Rutherford, The Living Years. Book Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Genesis could well be one of those very unique bands that splits opinion in the wider music world and in amongst their own very loyal fans, the before and after brigade. The question always being, are you a Genesis/Gabriel fan or Genesis/Phil Collins acolyte? Unless you are one of those satisfied with all areas of the bands work from the very daring and dark Genesis To Revelation to We Can’t Dance, then the question can be utterly perplexing.  

Mike Rutherford, The Living Years. Book Review. full post

(494 words, estimated 1:59 mins reading time)

Stephen King, Doctor Sleep.Book Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

For nearly 40 years Stephen King has thrilled his readers and on many occasions has put just enough wind up them to make them see something in the shadows, something unnatural that makes the reader slightly unnerved about turning over the next page but also too riveted to put down the book, even into the small hours of the day. His latest novel, Doctor Sleep, is no exception.

Stephen King, Doctor Sleep.Book Review. full post

(559 words, estimated 2:14 mins reading time)

Nigel Jones, Tower: An Epic History Of The Tower Of London. Book Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

One of the most endearing and potent symbols of England arguably stands to the east of the 21st century’s modern day London and its historic buildings, fashionable residences, iconic sporting grounds and tourist traps. The East-End characterised by the 19th century world vision of smoky-disease and crime ridden streets that even now have the sense of history haunting its streets like some macabre vengeful spectre. The Tower of London, the palace of Kings and Queens, of plots and prisoners from its inception after the Norman invasion is the subject of Norman Jones book Tower: An Epic History of the Tower of London.

Nigel Jones, Tower: An Epic History Of The Tower Of London. Book Review. full post

(398 words, estimated 1:36 mins reading time)

Simon Armitage, Walking Home. Book Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

There is always a worry when reading a book by a poet, by someone who you conceive to have weighty matters on their head to the point that the world only really makes sense when viewed through their eyes and through whichever form of the medium takes their fancy. Arguably poetry is the single purest expression of writing and when you consider the greats, the toil they spent making each word convey the deepest meaning can put you off writing anything as you know you can never capture the spirit of someone such as Ginsberg, Hughes, Stevens, McGough or even Simon Armitage.

Simon Armitage, Walking Home. Book Review. full post

(556 words, estimated 2:13 mins reading time)

Danny Baker, Going To Sea In A Sieve: The Autobiography. Book Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

You cannot do justice to the life of radio personality, journalistic music legend Danny Baker in a few short lines, it is a near impossible task and one that even the man who was once asked by a Daily Express journalist if he lived with Elton John, is unable to do in just one autobiography.

Danny Baker, Going To Sea In A Sieve: The Autobiography. Book Review. full post

(432 words, estimated 1:44 mins reading time)

Tom Holt, Doughnut. Book Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

In the best possible sense you do have to wonder what goes in the mind and favoured imagination of Tom Holt when he sits down infront of a computer screen or writing pad, the keystrokes humming away, the faint scratching of the pencil, all giving credence to the most bizarre, the most incredible plots conceivable to be published in the last 50 years.

Tom Holt, Doughnut. Book Review. full post

(452 words, estimated 1:48 mins reading time)

Keith Elliot Greenberg, December 8, 1980: The Day John Lennon Died. Book Review.

Liverpool Sound And Vision Rating * * * * *

There are various moments in time, especially in the fast hard news dominated world of the 20th and 21st Century, where a single event can affect millions of people around the globe like a stone being dropped into water. Whether large or small, the person knows exactly where they were at the moment they heard the news and it is a memory that stays with them forever. In the case of the assassination of one of Liverpool’s, if not the world’s favourite musical sons, the day John Winston Ono Lennon was shot outside his apartment building in New York City on December 8th 1980 was a ricochet bursting through time, an event so huge and life changing that history itself could be seen to change that day.

Keith Elliot Greenberg, December 8, 1980: The Day John Lennon Died. Book Review. full post

(528 words, estimated 2:07 mins reading time)