Tony Talbot's Blog, page 2

Review: Before I go to sleep

(I apologise in advance for the use of caps lock. Never a good sign when a review makes me use caps lock…) Chrissie wakes every morning and does not know where she is. She doesn’t know who the man sleeping next to her is, and why the face in the mirror is twenty … Continue reading "Review: Before I go to sleep"

Review: The Quiet at the End of the World

    Shen and Lawrie are the last humans to be born…or will ever be born. A global infertility epidemic four generations ago made every woman sterile, and the human race destined to die out within the next hundred years. They spend their days mud larking and cataloguing the past, until an accident reveals a … Continue reading "Review: The Quiet at the End of the World"

A birthday that wasn’t

It should have been a milestone today. My brother should have been fifty. There should be a wife and kids (and grandkids maybe!) celebrating with him, and nieces and nephews for an uncle like me to spoil. There should, at least, have been cake. And possibly a party. I’m not one for parties, but I’m … Continue reading "A birthday that wasn’t"

Review: The Loneliest Girl in the Universe

    Romy Silvers is the most isolated human in the history of humanity. For six years, she hasn’t touched another human being. She’s never felt the rain on her face, or sat under a tree. Her only company has been a TV show beamed to her from NASA, two light years behind her lonely spacecraft. … Continue reading "Review: The Loneliest Girl in the Universe"

Review: Eve of Man

    There’s a problem with the human race: For fifty years or so, no girls have been born. Until Eve comes along into the remains of a civilisation that has nearly torn itself apart… Well, where did that go wrong? The four hundred pages of this seemed to take me forever to read…it seems … Continue reading "Review: Eve of Man"

Review: Truth or Dare

    When Kam gets in an accident that leaves him brain damaged, his brother Sef comes up with an idea to raise money to help him: Dare him to pull pranks. Enlisting the help of social-media expert Claire, things begin to spiral out of control… This is one of those books where the narrative … Continue reading "Review: Truth or Dare"

Observation is my superpower!

    For those of you who don’t know, my Myers-Briggs personality result says I’m an INFJ. So what does that mean for me? Well, I’m very sensitive to criticism, shy away from confrontations (verbal and physical) and hate social events with a blazing passion. I don’t like bullies, and I hate to see animals … Continue reading "Observation is my superpower!"

Dickens!

have been reading Charles Dickens for quite a while. I started with A Tale of Two Cities at some point in the 20th century. My mum had an old copy published in the 1950s, I think. It was kind of weird, since it was my first classic. It took a while to get into the … Continue reading "Dickens!"

Review: The Pickwick Papers

      “Being an account of the Pickwick Club”, of Victorian London. (Actually, slightly before Victoria. This was written in 1836, and she didn’t reign until 1837). Phew. This was the last Dickens novel I had to read before I finished his fourteen novels…and what a drag it was. I’m glad I didn’t start … Continue reading "Review: The Pickwick Papers"

Movies: First Man (and why I avoid Oscar movies)

First man is a potted biography of Neil Armstrong (You might have heard of him) from 1961 to the first moon landing in 1969 (I hope that’s not a spoiler for anyone except those who think he didn’t go). It started off shakily. Story wise, that is. The shaky camera work was pretty consistent all … Continue reading "Movies: First Man (and why I avoid Oscar movies)"