This
year I read 46 books. Of that number, here are my top 12. An invidious
decision, this, as I’m pleased to say that over the year I haven’t read a bad
book, though some shone more than others. There are a number of honourable
mentions which will appear in the full 2013 listing later. In no particular
order…
JANE
– The woman who loved Tarzan by Robin Maxwell
This
book’s release, authorised by the estate of Edgar Rice Burroughs, the creator
of Tarzan, coincided with the centenary of the publication of Tarzan of the Apes. It’s a fitting
re-invention.
Many years ago, I read and re-read
all two dozen of the Tarzan books and also the John Carter series. Like fans
worldwide, I’ve always felt that the films never did Lord Greystoke justice.
So, it was with a little trepidation that I tackled this book. What many film-makers neglected but
this novel recognizes, ‘There is no Tarzan without Jane’, to quote John R
Burroughs. As I became immersed in the tale, all fears for the treatment of the
lord of the jungle evaporated. It was obvious that this was a work of love and
respect for the original, a worthy homage.
There are several poignant moments –
not least the reading of Alice’s diary, the vaguely recalled past of young
Tarzan and the erotic yet tasteful relationship between the ape man and his
mate, Jane.
You don’t have to have read any
Tarzan book to appreciate this wonderful novel. If you have read some of the
ape man’s adventures, then you’ll find much to please you in this retelling,
bringing the lord of the jungle back to an adult readership, Burroughs’
intended audience. The full review can be read here.
SEPTEMBER WIND by Kathleen Janz-Anderson
Orphaned
at birth in 1940, Emily lives the next eighteen years on her grandfather’s farm
with four thankless men and an indifferent aunt nearby. When the school board
forces Grandfather’s hand and allows her to attend school, she experiences a
beautiful friendship, and the thrill and pain of an innocent young love. Still,
there is an underlying loneliness, and a secret she bears alone. When she prepares
to leave the farm forever, a traumatic confrontation thrusts her into a
harrowing run for her life. She arrives in San Francisco wide-eyed and filled
with hope, but is deceived into entering a bordello... Emily’s innocence
survives, despite the unwelcome and unexpected hand fates deals her; her heart
is torn and tugged, yet it remains pure. Finally, she learns about her past, a
secret she never guessed at. A journey of self-discovery. Riveting, moving and
finally heart-warming.
THE
SINGING MOUNTAIN by Anne E Summers
This
thick fantasy tome spans the period 1918 to 1940 – the end of one war and the
outset of another. Yes, it’s about conflict, but in an Otherworld. Megan is accused
of murder and her sanity is questioned. Before the law can step in, she is attracted
to a gypsy friend, Alun, who helps transport her from Wales to a mythological
world parallel world yet in a different time. For some mystical reason, the
White Witch of this world can clear Megan’s name. In this strange world she
encounters Wil, an immortal, with whom she feels a strong affinity… Myths of
the Mabinogion, battles of good and evil, love across time and worlds… This is
a moving account that will suck you in until the last breath of… but that would
be telling. Summers uses evocative prose and description to immerse you in her
two worlds.
WORLD
WITHOUT END by Ken Follett
This
1237-page tome continues the story of Kingsbridge, the town and cathedral we first
encountered in The Pillars of the Earth,
but some 200 years later. Monumental in size, in scope and execution, World Without End is an enthralling read
that deserves all the superlatives it has gleaned. I’m only sorry it took me so
long to get around to read it – it’s been sitting on my library shelf for five
years. Initially, I was daunted by its size. But once I’d read Pillars, I knew that it might be a thick
book, but it would be a fast read, and it was, as Follett’s story pulls you in
and the pages seem to turn of their own volition.
Throughout,
it’s a believable depiction of the lives and times in this period, with the
feudal system crushing ambition, the plague devastating swathes of the
population, and politics of church and aristocracy vying for power and glory.
By the end, I felt I’d lived with these characters and was sorry to leave
(most) of them - no mean achievement for a writer after so many pages!
TARZAN
CENTENNIAL by Scott Tracy Griffin
This book is lavishly illustrated throughout with colourful
artwork and stills from the films. It’s a mine of information about the
creation of all the books, with a brief storyline of the twenty-four novels.
Hollywood never really did the ape-man justice – he wasn’t a monosyllabic
tree-swinging hero; in fact, Tarzan became fluent in many languages, among them
French, German and Russian.
Ron Ely, one of the many screen Tarzans, provides a Foreword in which he
rightly states that he believes most of the films and TV productions misplaced
the ape-man by putting him into contemporary society when the basic allure is
the period he was created, the 1920s, an age when communication and travel were
protracted and challenging; though the film Greystoke came close. It’s about
time this great character was restored to his former glory, not as an
adventurer in children’s fiction but as an exciting pulse-pounding adult hero,
which was the original creation. Scott Tracy Griffin, a foremost expert on
Edgar Rice Burroughs, has amassed a wealth of information about the ape man and
his creator and provides insight into the creation of the novels.
This is a book to enjoy and treasure, a slice of cultural history. The full
review can be read here
THE
SATANIC GOSPEL by William Patrick Hackett
The blurb reads: ‘Sixteenth century Spain. In a monastery, a
Hebrew manuscript written by Nicodemus is discovered. Its revelations are
startling and eventually destructive to the monks and their abbot. When the
translator is murdered, an illiterate monk escapes to return years later, now
as an ex-soldier and very literate. Disguised as a pilgrim, he plans to
retrieve and read the Spanish translation he hid and to right a dreadful wrong
he had witnessed.’
This is a superbly written book, a literary conundrum to rival
Umberto Eco’s The Name of the Rose. A
splendid realization of Spain in the sixteenth century, where power struggles
and belief vie for the souls of men. A remarkable – and perhaps controversial –
novel with cunning twists at the end. Not to be missed. As impressive as
Hackett’s debut novel, A Dark Time,
yet completely different.
THE
ELEPHANTS OF SHANGHAI by Stephen Jared
Here
we have two books in one – Jack and the
Jungle Lion and The Elephants of
Shanghai. They’re about Jack Hunter, 1930s adventure film star who first
survives a plane crash in the Amazon and finds not only an escape from
head-hunters but true love; then some five years later, he finds himself in
China in a race against time involving priceless jewels, secret weapons, a
mysterious singer and a fiendish warlord. This is your Saturday morning at the
flicks, with hair-raising cliff-hanging chapter-ends, humour and lots of pluck.
Beautifully written and with a lot of heart. This should make a great TV or
film series.
BREATH
OF AFRICA by Jane Bwye
Spanning
almost thirty years, this novel follows the trials and tribulations of
Caroline, a girl from a privileged background in Kenya. Her childhood with best
friend Teresa is scarred by the State of Emergency that existed due to the Mau
Mau uprising. Two other significant characters are Charles Ondiek, a farm
labourer who aspires to study in Oxford and Mwangi, a wielder of effective
black magic curses. Interwoven in the story is Kenya’s transition to
independence under Jomo Kenyatta. The breath of Africa permeates the entire
book and certainly reminds me of Doris Lessing’s The Grass is Singing in the depth of feeling by Jane Bwye for the
dark continent.
GAME
OF THRONES by George R R Martin
There
are so many prime characters that Martin sensibly hands over POV to individuals
to move the story forward, and it works:
Lord Eddard of the North, Bran, his seven-year-old son, Jon, Eddard’s
bastard son, 14, Catelyn, Eddard’s loving wife, Arya, their daughter, 9, Sansa,
their eldest daughter, 11, betrothed to Prince Joffrey, 12, Tyrion Lannister,
the Imp, the dwarf brother of Queen Cersei, and Daenerys Stormborn, an exiled
princess, 14.
Eddard
is soon out of his depth when he joins his old friend King Baratheon in the
South. He discovers truths that threaten the very existence of the monarchy
and, sadly, his honour leads him into dangerous waters. Queen Cersei tells him
on p471, ‘When you play the game of thrones, you win or you die. There is no
middle ground.’ And this game has no rules, despite it being played out by
knights, some of whom possess dubious honour. The fantasy elements hover in the
shadows, never far from mind. The devious plotting by self-serving acolytes and
ministers creates almost palpable tension. The duplicitous Queen and her twin
brother are cunningly drawn. The book is rich in detail and atmosphere and is
deservedly regarded as the beginning of a great epic.
I’ve
almost finished the sequel, A Clash of
Kings, but that won’t happen till the year changes…
A
LIMITED JUSTICE by Catriona King
First
in a series of DCI Craig novels, this is a very impressive debut. I’m pleased
that I have three more in the ‘Belfast’s Modern Thriller Series’ to read in my
pile of books. Considering this book was published in 2012, that’s a laudable
production schedule Catriona King is maintaining.
King
trained as a doctor and as a Police Forensic Medical Examiner in London, where
she worked for many years – and it shows: ‘… with the smell of burnt flesh, to
make a perfume that would never find a market’. Here we have the voice of
experience.
DCI
Marc Craig is a fine creation… King doesn’t skimp on the forensic details, but
this will doubtless appeal to the vast audience who can’t get enough CSI and
its siblings. However, there’s humour to leaven the trauma and horror, usually
between the team workers in Craig’s section. This is a moral tale, with no easy
answers.
PLAYING
ON COTTON CLOUDS by Michela O’Brien
In
this superb book about friendship and relationship, we travel with the main
characters from 1983 through to 2008, with a poignant flashback to 1980. What’s
interesting is that the author was born and lived in Italy until 1994, when she
moved to England; yet she captures the period prior to her arrival very well
indeed.
The
narrative is from the perspective of the three friends, and at every stage
there’s a depth of character and an emotional resonance that rings true.
Emotion in a relationship novel has to be felt by the reader, not simply
observed – show, not tell, and Michela O’Brien does that brilliantly: she could
have written ‘Livy felt hurt by him’ or something similar; instead, she gives
us ‘Her heart had taken a dive into her stomach and she briefly held her breath
to fish it out and put it back in its place.’ There is a birth and a death,
both handled with exquisite restraint and all the more powerful and moving for
that. This debut novel is excellent, the writing controlled and a delight.
BAD
MOON RISING by Fraces di Plino
This
debut novel is simply excellent. Frances de Plino takes command of the characters,
the plot and the narrative in a measured, masterful way. This book can be read
on several levels. It’s a graphic, grim psychological thriller, a police procedural
foray into the dark recesses of a destabilised killer, and it depicts a view of
social breakdown… What raises this book above many others in the crime genre is
its emotional intensity. The characters are believable and prone to hurt, and
the villain is truly reprehensible. Not for the squeamish or the prude. De
Plino deftly inserts red herrings and misdirection into her plot.
Suspenseful,
page-turning stuff! De Plino, in my book, can certainly give Minette Walters a
run for her money.
***
My
books currently available include BLOOD OF THE DRAGON TREES and SPANISH EYE.
