This is Brilliant - This is a Book by Demetri Martin, a Book Review

‘This is a Book’ by Demetri Martin is a wonderful, inventive and incredibly random book showcasing some of the author’s excellent comedy.

One of several covers used in different editions of the book.

I ordered this book after seeing that it wasn’t a novel, wasn’t non-fiction and didn’t seem like anything else that I have on my bookshelf at present. I’m glad that I chose this book – it’s an excellent, easy-to-read book full of wit and charm. Each chapter focuses on something different, and no two chapters are the same (excluding ‘More Drawings’, an extension of ‘Some Drawings’). Some are short stories; others are scripts for skits and sketches; yet more are simply charming drawings and representations with witty annotations and captions. This is a book that you can flick through, choose a chapter and read without bothering about continuity – in this book, there’s no such thing as continuity. Nothing connects to anything else. This apparent anarchy suits the book perfectly. It means that once you’ve finished reading one section, you can be assured of something completely different to follow it.
Although pretty much everything here is excellent, there are some chapters that really stick out as truly wonderful. My personal favourite was the chapter entitled ‘Robot Test’, which took form as a fake quiz. That truly was excellent. Other highlights include ‘Sheila’, a bittersweet ghost/love story (you can tell that I took that bit from the blurb; guilty as charged), ‘We’re Pregnant’, ‘Cat Calendar’ and ‘Epigrams, Fragments & Light Verse’.

In short, this book is a madhouse of brilliance – funny and charming with an edge of insanity added to it. It’s an excellent read. Whatever your taste in humour (assuming you aren’t a wrinkly old man with no love for the world), you’ll find something to tickle your funny bone in here. Buy it quick, read it fast – and chuckle yourself to sleep at night with thoughts of this genius book.

Rating: 8/10

This review was taken from Penguin Book's 'Spinebreakers' website, where the author goes by a slightly different name. To view the original review, click here. For more information on Spinebreakers and how to become one, click here.

A Tarnished Gold Ingot - Hurricane Gold by Charlie Higson, A Book Review

Charlie Higson has done a remarkable job with his 'Young Bond' series. The fourth book in the set, 'Hurricane Gold' follows James Bond as he ventures to the tropics. Caught in a hurricane, he and his hosts are embroiled in a series of events that shall take them far.

The book. Duh.

This book, while very entertaining, was more than a small annoyance at times. As with pretty much all the Bond books, it was slow to start and marginally uninteresting, however characters were developed well in the first few chapters. Unfortunately, the plot was a little shaky, and some unlikely car chases and near-misses simply worked to remove more enjoyment. As has been said previously, it was very entertaining to read, though with little point to it.

The final third of the book made up for this, though. Finding themselves on a remote island for insanely rich criminals, James and his latest female interest - this time named 'Precious' (never naming my kids that) - must plan their escape through the 'Rat Run' - a deadly assault course arena, where the prize for winning is freedom and the punishment for failure is death. Even so, this seemed fairly hollow: there was a fairly unsatisfactory ending to the whole thing that left you wondering "Oh. Is that it?"

All in all, a bit of a piece of tarnished gold: there is worth in this book, and much enjoyment may be gleaned from it, but you must first either ignore or clean away the dirt. I believe Higson may have forgotten to polish his work. In short, read this if you enjoyed the other 'Young Bond' books or if you like a good adventure, but look elsewhere if you like everything to be tied off.
Rating: 6/10

This review was taken from Penguin Book's 'Spinebreakers' website, where the author goes by a slightly different name. To view the original review, click here. For more information on Spinebreakers and how to become one, click here.

An Action-Packed Modern Myth - The Throne of Fire, A Book Review

Egyptian mythology has fascinated the world for centuries, and its eerie grip on us is exploited perfectly by Rick Riordan in his book 'The Throne of Fire'.


The book. Duh.

A sequel to his book 'The Red Pyramid', the second book in The Kane Chronicles series follows our young heroes as they embark on a quest to stop Apophis the chaos snake from rising. In the meantime, though, they've got several gods to get through, and a perilous boat trip to take.
When I picked this book up, I was stuck between two pre-opinions: One, that it would be terrible beyond imagining, and the other that it would simply be another unputdownable read from 'the myth master', as he's now known. And, in a way, I was right on both accounts. It is a truly riveting read, but there are some elements that I've begun to dislike in retrospect.

First on the list of bones to pick is: characters. Riordan appears to have an aptitude for perhaps accidentally recycling his characters (not to mention his plots). The similarity between his Kane Chronicles characters and his Percy Jackson series is unthinkably close. This makes for a rather predictable read as far as characters go. You find a god, they either want to kill you, help you or manage to be insanely funny. Which brings me to my next point...

The prose and the plot is all the same. Whoopee, you're a magic person. Now go and find the sacred donkey and win back the magical Sceptre of Watercress; or something along those same lines. Saving the world gets boring when it's gods, gods, gods and magic people or demigods. however, even I, critical as I can be, must admit that this story has some merits.

For one, the action and suspense scenes are amazing. Sword battles, godly skirmishes and general magical mayhem spreads itself throughout the book, and I always get a warm fuzzy feeling when a truly evil monster appears. Like Apophis, or Ra. And even Sekhmet, though she may have been in 'The Red Pyramid'. The suspense is also on the verge of intolerable. Ending in a bit of a cliffhanger, it's almost certainly a marketing ploy coupled with a plot device, but by Odin's missing eye, does it work!

So it is that I'm looking forwards very much to the next book in the series, 'The Serpent's Shadow'. And, seeing as I'm lucky, I'll be getting my itching fingers on that very soon indeed.

This is Professor Pisces, saying if you like myths, legends and monster mayhem, read this like Lewis Hamilton tries to drive an F1 car: fast.

Rating: 7.5/10

This review was taken from Penguin Book's 'Spinebreakers' website, where the author goes by a slightly different name. To view the original review, click here. For more information on Spinebreakers and how to become one, click here.

An Interesting Idea, Ruthlessly Murdered - Guantanamo Boy, A Book Review

Guantanamo Bay, an American prison in (surprise, surprise) Guantanamo Bay, Cuba has long been a rallying point for those who may accuse the American government of being racist. However, in this book, it is seen from a new perspective: that of a teenager living on the inside.


The book with the cover that I read it in.

Although a provocative read, 'Guantanamo Boy' is a rather flat and lifeless book. There are few real plot twists throughout its many pages, and its characters are to the mind what cardboard is to the mouth: dry and tasteless.

The story is alright for the first fifty pages or so, but after that it becomes a monotonous rerun as our 'hero', for want of a better word, finds himself trapped in Gauntanamo. There are but one or two really surprising moments, and those were highly unlikely - for example, when he realises that his cousin is living on the other side of the wire mesh wall that separates prisoners. The liklihood of such a thing occuring is very small. Unfortunately the actual consequence of this supposedly life-changing scenario is met with an idiotic level of apathy from the character.


The climax isn't much better than the rest of it. After a rather predictable 'twist', nothing much happens. Everything winds down, if that were possible. In the end you're left with an empty spot in your head where a little man stands shouting: "Well, what was that all about?"


In short, a dull and boring book. Depressing and remote. There may be nothing to compare it to, but that's a good thing - nothing else could be this bland. Maybe there was an interesting idea there at some point, but it was long ago ruthlessly murdered.


This is Professor Pisces saying: Read this book only if you like cardboard. But if you still love life, stay away from it. Far, far away.

Rating: 3/10

This review was taken from Penguin Book's 'Spinebreakers' website, where the author goes by a slightly different name. To view the original review, click here. For more information on Spinebreakers and how to become one, click here.