Courage of Fear is a fascinating offering from a writer with an already individual voice. Read it to be in there on the ground floor, for it is a sure harbinger of much good work to follow.
Category: Book Reviews
Book Reviews
A review of Nigella Christmas by Nigella Lawson
This is an exquisite book, which manages to combine the most outrageous frivolity (it’s kind of like the Manolo Blahnik of cookbooks with its green ribbon, sumptuous pictures, and the big hardcover red and greenness of it) with absolute practicality in terms of the useability of its recipes, the practicality of its suggestions, and the tempting nature of the items chosen.
A review of Brisingr by Christopher Paolini
Christopher Paolini has the uncanny knack of leaving a chapter hanging just at a crucial point before lifting off to some other character – and leaving that hanging as well! It creates nail biting suspense as well as urging you to keep on going.
A review of Exit, Pursued by a Bee by Geoff Nelder
When time is no longer the backbone of our lives, and everything we perceive about ourselves disappears, those sensations remain. Nelder has created a novel that will both satisfy readers at a deep level, and at the same time raise unsettling questions about the very fabric of who we are.
A review of Voice of the Muse: Answering the Call to Write by Mark David Gerson
There is a warmth and an affirmative coaching quality to this book, but it isn’t only about urging you on. There are also some useful suggestions and exercises designed to help you work through your fears, and find out exactly what you need to write. There are exercises for overcoming block, even when it seems overwhelming, ways of coping with distraction and transition, and ideas you can use to deepen your characters, enrich your settings, and extend your plot.
A review of Standing at the Water’s Edge by Anne Paris
Standing at Water’s Edge provides a deep psychological understanding of what is required, and how we can allow ourselves deeper immersion into the world of our art, regardless of what kind of art we practice. The end result will be not only more powerful art, but a better sense of who we are and how to overcome the many fears that block our creative impulses in all aspects of our lives.
A review of Ivan: from Adriatic to Pacific by Coral Petkovich
Without that inner life coming to the fore, without more psychological depth, he comes across as self-centred, bullying, and insufferably sexist. The author hints at these problems, but she needs to have explored them more deeply to bring out the special character of Ivan that drove her to write this book.
A review of Are You Famous? Touring America With Alaska’s Fiddling Poet by Ken Waldman
The reader can’t help liking the author for his honesty. He is unashamed to admit to occasional physical or mental breakdowns, and his efforts to maintain a positive attitude in the face of an indifferent public and the even more indifferent (and occasionally vicious) publishing and music industries is laudable.
A review of Essence of Health by Dr Craig Hassed
Overall, the need for this kind of educational program for the medical profession is becoming increasingly critical as the population continues to age. It’s obvious that the nature of our conditions are interlinked, and treating problems in isolation, or through the dispensing of a single pill, is not going to help improve our overall well-being.
A review of The Sea Lady by Margaret Drabble
This is a masterly display of passion gone wrong performed by a novelist who has here written, as she has sometimes in other works failed to do, a work of sustained interest and vitality. Those acquainted with her other works will want to read this book. Readers who have not yet read any of Drabble’s books, will find this one a good one with which to begin.