Stuart Aken's Blog, page 31
July 6, 2022
The Forever House, by Linda Acaster: #BookReview
This book is very much about relationships, but in a setting with sinister undertones. The very ordinariness of happenings in the introducing chapter allows the following chapters to slowly build tension edged with something initially unknown but seemingly sinister.The book deals well with the nature of loss and grief, without a sentimental overlay and through …
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July 3, 2022
Why That Title? – Breaking Faith.
Titles for works of fiction often cause authors a lot of soul-searching. Ideally, we want to give potential readers clues about content, theme, style, and storyline. Not easy in anything from one to, say, a dozen words. Of course, the best titles are revealed as obvious choices once a book’s been read, so this series …
July 2, 2022
Horse of the Same Colour, by Melodie Trudeaux: #BookReview.
This children’s book is a follow-up to Horse of a Different Colour, and follows the adventures of Megan, Amy, and their fiends and enemies as they encounter more strange magic, ‘swaps’, and discover another foul scheme by the loathsome O’Neill. The story begins with an unexpected encounter between Megan and Jack, the horse with which …
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#ScenicSaturday 02/July/22
How many hands, over how many years, built such walls? Gravity and skill alone hold those stones together and keep them standing in line. Gathered by hand from fields they surround and define, they keep in sheep and keep out those who do not belong. Centuries old, many have stood, others rebuilt, and still the …
June 28, 2022
Shadeward: Expiation, by Drew Wagar: #BookReview.
The story concludes. And what a conclusion! Drew Wagar has created a masterpiece with this quartet of fantasy/sci-fi books set on a distant world in a not-too-distant future. In keeping with the social structure and history of the people starring in this series, he has kept the technological aspects as brief as possible, including only …
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June 25, 2022
Walking on the Greek Island of Skiathos
I posted an illustrated piece on Medium. If you’re a walker, or you’re thinking of visiting the Greek island of Skiathos, you might find it interesting. You’ll find it here.
#ScenicSaturday 25/June/22
What forces made these hills What cataclysm gouged the vale How many millennia has sea Washed its waves against Solid rock to wear it down And how much longer Will the land remain? # A daily post on natural beauty is hard to sustain if I’m to get on with my normal writing, so I’ve …
June 21, 2022
Shadeward: Enervation, by Drew Wagar: #BookReview.
Enervation is the third book in the Shadeward fantasy/science fiction adventure series by Drew Wagar. I read the first two in the series, Emanation and Exoneration way back in 2017, but many factors in my life and that of the writer combined to stop me reading Enervation until now. I’m now starting to read the …
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June 18, 2022
#ScenicSaturday 18/June/22
Green trees under sun Blue ocean beneath blue sky Nature’s beauty here # A daily post on natural beauty is hard to sustain if I’m to get on with my normal writing, so I’ve opted for a weekly one. Sometimes I’ll add words. I hope you’ll continue to comment, like, and share so we spread …
June 16, 2022
The Official Highway Code, by Dept for Transport: #BookReview.
Subtitled ‘This guide is for all road users’ this 2022 edition is the 8th revision. I read the 1969 version after learning to drive and taking my test when I was 19. I’m sure there must have been an earlier edition as I recall reading one before that test. Subsequently, I read the 1978 edition, …
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