• Fiction

      Keep The Home Fires Burning by Mary Elizabeth Edwards - Tommies Guides 

      by
      Joker62
       Number of Views: 752 
      1. Categories:
      2. Fiction,
      3. History,
      4. Military,
      5. War
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      After finally recieving this book, it took a while to get into it. The first few chapters focus on the main charcters upbringing in Radnorshire (now Powys). It's a long drag to get through, as the writing seems to be thrown around a bit, not making a lot of sense so has to be read again to gain any kind of momentum.

      Life in the 1910's in Wales seems to be a bit behind most of Britain (no slur on the Welsh there, BTW). Tom, the main character is a bit of a rogue, getting into trouble with the local tearaways and the like. He comes from a large family and life seems good and he gets to meet a girl, Rosalind. This all takes place in the years just before WW I.
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      Those in Peril by Wilbur Smith 

      by
      Captain_Crusty
       Number of Views: 2461 
      1. Categories:
      2. Fiction,
      3. Non-Military,
      4. Adventure/Thriller
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      Wilbur Smith is an author who needs no introduction; he has been doing this for nearly fifty years and has over thirty books to his name. I was going to describe him as a ‘Marmite’ author – you either love him or hate him – but, under cross examination, most of those who claim to fall into the latter category turn out to have read a remarkable number of his books!

      ‘Those in peril’ is his latest offering, published in the UK on Friday 31st March. It is a stand-alone novel, not related to any of his previous series of novels, but it conforms to the usual tried and tested formula.
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      The Rembrandt Secret by Alex Connor 

      by
      Lucretia
       Number of Views: 1747 
      1. Categories:
      2. Fiction,
      3. Non-Military,
      4. Adventure/Thriller
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      ‘If you know the truth, you will be silenced’ says the cover of this art history mystery, promising action and crime within. The plot centres around some letters written in 1651 by Geertje Dircx, housekeeper and discarded lover of the famous Dutch painter. Rembrant. These letters not only prove that Rembrandt was a nasty piece of work, they could also cast doubt on the authenticity of most of the major Rembrant portraits held in museums, and, more importantly, bought and sold for millions of pounds, propping up the international art world in the process.
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      44 Scotland Street by Alexander McCall Smith. 

      by
      clever_teacher_lady
       Number of Views: 1185 
      1. Categories:
      2. Fiction,
      3. Humour,
      4. Non-Military
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      Alexander McCall Smith is probably best known for his novels based around The No.1 Ladies Detective Agency which are set in Botswana; 44 Scotland Street brings him back to his home town of Edinburgh.

      The idea for this book began as a challenge; a conversation with the editor of The Herald and A.M.S being tasked to write a serialised novel in daily instalments. This gives rise to short, well structured chapters which do not necessarily lead on one from the other, making it an ideal book to take on a journey.
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      Hard Rain by David Rollins 

      by
      Auld-Yin
       Number of Views: 1148 
      1. Categories:
      2. Fiction,
      3. Military
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      This is the third book in the series starring the character Major Vin Cooper of the US Air Force Office of Special Investigations (AOFSI) in which he is a Special Investigator. The book is basically a crime thriller with a USAF background and works quite well.

      The book opens during the first Gulf War with an A10 pilot adding to the destruction on the Basra Road out of Kuwait. Jump forward to post second Gulf War and the pilot is discovered dead in his office in Turkey, where he is an Air Force attaché. The body has been cut up and laid out in a ritual manner with parts missing. Send for Major Cooper.
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      First Frost by James Henry 

      by
      Auld-Yin
       Number of Views: 1569 
      1. Categories:
      2. Fiction,
      3. Non-Military
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      This book is about Detective Sergeant ‘Jack’ Frost of Denton CID, a character originally introduced by R.D Wingfield. The authors are James Garbutt from Wingfield’s original publisher and Henry Sutton, an author – hence the pen-name James Henry. This book is a prequel to the DI Frost series of books and Frost is a Detective Sergeant. As always his bête noir Superintendant Mullet is on hand to try and control Frost, albeit unsuccessfully. The book does not give the actual year but the blurb introducing the book on the dust jacket gives the year as 1981 – but it was quite enjoyable identifying the events going on when this was taking place. ...
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      Hate: A Romance by Tristan Garcia 

      by
      Lucretia
       Number of Views: 794 
      1. Categories:
      2. Fiction,
      3. Non-Military
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      I might be prejudiced, but I had a suspicion that a book about the gay, left wing, intellectual scene in 1980s Paris would not be top of this site’s 2011 ‘must read’ list. If it was going to gather any readers on the strength of my review, it needed be a good read, with likeable sympathetic characters and a fresh approach.
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      The Ground is Burning by Samuel Black 

      by
      Captain_Crusty
       Number of Views: 1543 
      1. Categories:
      2. Fiction,
      3. History,
      4. Non-Military
      Article Preview
      “The Ground is Burning” is a historical novel set in Italy during the middle ages following the lives of Cesare Borgia, Niccolo Machiavelli and Leonardo Da Vinci. The fact that these three central characters in that era really did lead intertwined lives is well documented – this novel just fills in the annoying gaps! Leonardo Da Vinci worked for Cesare Borgia and Machiavelli was in the right places at the right time; even the love interest in the book really existed.
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