Guy Portman's Blog, page 22

The Books I Read in 2017

As is my custom at year end I am dedicating this blog post to the books I read this year. I have been busy in 2017 working on my fourth novel, the black comedy Sepultura (Release date January 11th). However, I did find some time to read. Here are the 20 books that I read this year Click on the links to read my reviews. They are presented in the order in which I read them:

Stalin’s Englishman: The Lives of Guy Burgess by Andrew Lownie (2015) – This well written biography of the notorious spy G...

My Top 6 Most Disturbing Books

This week’s post is dedicated to the 6 most disturbing books I have ever read. Click on the links to read my reviews.

 

6 – Haunted

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Haunted is a series of short stories, in which the author succeeds in not only horrifying his readers, but also skilfully exploring a variety of themes, including the media-obsessed nature of society.

My Review: Haunted is about a group of writers, who have been assembled by the conniving Mr Whittier to attend a writers group. The location of the retreat is in a...

Sepultura Front Cover Reveal

My fourth novel, Sepultura, is being released on January 11th. Last week I revealed Sepultura’s blurb. Today, I am pleased to unveil the front cover:

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I believe it is an accurate reflection of Sepultura’s subject matter. I hope you like the front cover as much as I do. For anyone who missed it last week, here is the blurb.

A sociopath can only keep up a façade for so long.

Dyson Devereux is a busy man, with a challenging new job at Paleham Council and a young son. He would be coping just fine...

Sepultura Blurb Reveal

My fourth novel, Sepultura, is being released on January 11th. It is the sequel to my satirical black comedy, Necropolis. Today, I am pleased to reveal Sepultura’s blurb:

 

A sociopath can only keep up a façade for so long.

Dyson Devereux is a busy man, with a challenging new job at Paleham Council and a young son. He would be coping just fine were it not for crass colleagues, banal bureaucracy and contemptible clothes. He is not going to take it lying down.

Because beneath Dyson’s charming,...

6 Books with Morbid Subject Matters

This week’s blog post is dedicated to six books with morbid subject matters. Five of them are Fiction and one is non-Fiction. Click on the links to read my reviews.

 

Dead Souls by Nikolai Gogol (1842)

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Dead Souls is an uncompleted, satirical novel that parodies Imperial Russia and provincial Russian life. Targets for ridicule include the gentry and rural officials.

My Review: Pavel Ivanovich Chichikov is travelling around provincial Russia, visiting landowners. His purpose is to purchase pap...

Necropolis is on Sale

My satirical black comedy Necropolis is only 99c/99p at all major retailers this weekend.

With Necropolis’s sequel Sepultura being released on January 11th, I thought this an opportune moment for a sale. And it coincides with Black Friday.

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What is a sociopath to do?

Dyson Devereux’s life appears to be on track. He has a way with the ladies, impeccable good taste, and as the recently promoted head of Burials and Cemeteries at Newton Borough Council, a job that demands respect.

But Dyson is be...

10 Works of Transgressive Fiction

This week’s post is devoted to ten works of Transgressive Fiction by ten different authors. Click on the links to read the reviews.

Definition: Transgressive Fiction is a genre that focuses on characters who feel confined by the norms and expectations of society and who break free of those confines in unusual and/or illicit ways.

The following books are presented in chronological order:

 

Tropic of Cancer by Henry Miller (1934)

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About: Sexuality, freedom and the human condition are themes in...

Necropolis Has A New Blurb

My fourth novel, Sepultura, is being released on January 11th. It is the sequel to the satirical black comedy, Necropolis. Today, I am pleased to share with you Necropolis’s new blurb. I believe it is a better representation of the book than the old one. I hope you like it.

 

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What is a sociopath to do?

Dyson Devereux’s life appears to be on track. He has a way with the ladies, impeccable good taste, and as the recently promoted head of Burials and Cemeteries at Newton Borough Council, a job...

13 Baffling Book Titles

This week sees the second instalment in my bewildering/baffling book titles series. Here are 13 baffling book titles. Click on the links to learn more about them.

 

How To Pray When You’re Pissed At God

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Knitted Meerkats

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Are Women Human?

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My Parents Open Carry

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Scouting for Boys

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277 Secrets Your Snake (And Lizard) Wants You To Know

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How to Be Happy Though Married

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Cheese Problems Solved

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Enjoy Your Pigeons

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Old Age Its Cause and Prevention

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Your Three-Year-Old: Friend Or...

Sociopaths in Literature

This week’s blog post is devoted to sociopaths and psychopaths in literature. Click here to discover the differences between the two. Sociopaths and psychopaths have long fascinated us. One of the reasons for this is that we wonder what we could accomplish if we were not burdened by that obstacle that is a conscience.

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There are numerous examples of sociopathic personalities in literature. These include:

The Prince (1532) by Niccolò Machiavelli — the reader is urged to be sociopathic

Othell...