Michael J. Ritchie's Blog, page 2

“Legends & Lattes” by Travis Baldree (2022)

“Viv buried her greatsword in the scalvert’s skull with a meaty crunch.”

My quest for cosy fiction continues, but I think I just found the pinnacle in a fantasy world that smells like coffee.

Viv is an orc who has retired from adventuring after her last mission had her find a rare scalvert’s stone, an item said to provide its owner with riches and good luck. She moves to the town of Thune to open a coffee shop, the first of its kind in the area, and convince the locals that coffee is the thing t...

“Prince Caspian” by C S Lewis (1951)

“Once there were four children whose names were Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy…”

So, I think it’s fair to say I wasn’t a particularly massive fan of the third book in the Narnia series and I’m understanding why some get talked about more than others. Prince Caspian was one I knew got mentioned a lot, so I hoped for the best.

While waiting on a train station platform to go to boarding school, the four Pevensie children discuss their adventures as royalty in Narnia the previous year. But then sudd...

“The Hotel New Hampshire” by John Irving (1981)

“The summer my father bought the bear, none of us was born – we weren’t even conceived.”

Hoo boy. Let’s crack on with this bizarre book.

Our narrator is John, the middle child of the Berry family. His father, Win Berry, becomes overwhelmed with the desire to run a hotel and sets one up in an abandoned school in their quiet hometown. Within the walls of the hotel, John and his siblings – Frank, Franny, Lily and Egg – will learn about life. But this is a strange life filled with circus bears, ince...

“They” by Kay Dick (1977)

“Seen through the early September light Karr’s house looked magnificent.”

One of the things I find most irritating and disturbing about conspiracy theorists is their insistence that it’s all being done by “them”. They won’t let you say anything. They are taking away your rights. They are in control. Who they are, however, is never explained. So maybe it’s time to meet them…

A dream-like novel, They is set in Britain at an unspecified time, with a narrator we know nothing about. All we know is th...

“Fourteen Days” by Various (2024)

“Call me 1A.”

I wondered if it was still too soon to leap into a book that’s specifically about the 2020 pandemic. But upon learning it’s a collaborate novel featuring some of the biggest names from across the gamut of genres, I’m on board. This book is possibly like any I’ve ever read. Broadly, it’s a set of short stories with an overarching narrative to peg them to, but it’s so much more than that. Because each story has been written by one of the greats – and you don’t know who they are.

In M...

“Come, Tell Me How You Live” by Agatha Christie (1946)

“This book is an answer.”

Just when you thought there wasn’t a Christie book left for me to discover, here comes another one.

While mostly known for her incredible work as a crime writer, there were definitely more facets to Christie’s character. One of the most surprising, perhaps, to those you don’t know her story, is that she was very taken with archaeology. This had mostly come about due to her second husband, Max Mallowan, being one of Britain’s foremost archaeologists, and taking her along...

“The Horse And His Boy” by C S Lewis (1954)

“This is a story of an adventure that happened in Narnia and Calormen and the lands between…”

Whew. Feels like a while since I wrote a review… but it was a run of one that’s not out for a while yet and I can’t spoil, a DNF, and a re-read, so finally I might be back on track. Unfortunately, I don’t think I picked the best one to return with.

Shasta has been raised by an abusive fisherman for many years, never knowing his parents, and one night communicates with Bree, a talking horse who has been ...

“Black Lake Manor” by Guy Morpuss (2022)

“Maquina, chief of the Mowachaht, watched impassively as the Pride of Whitby broke her back.”

Whether it’s by TARDIS, DeLorean, or magical remote control, we all fancy the idea of time travel at least a little bit. Here’s a new way of doing it, and not necessarily for the best intentions.

In a small mining town on the west coast of Canada, there is an old story of a native tribe who have a particular gift. Certain members of the tribe can, just once in their life, unwind the last six hours of th...

“Different Times” by David Stubbs (2023)

“In 2011, in the sitcom Outnumbered, the Brockmans have taken in a German exchange student, Ottfried.”

Look at Twitter or whatever it’s called this week and you’ll quickly find someone – invariably a middle-aged white man with a car for an avatar and three Union Flags in his bio – complaining that “you can’t say anything anymore”. Comedy, like all aspects of society, has shifted now to place where it’s trying to be more inclusive and less offensive. You can still offend, of course, but context r...

“The Question Mark” by Muriel Jaeger (1926)

“I called for a hero – one who should be typical of the England of 1925…”

It’s always interesting when authors try and predict the future. A lot of the time they miss the mark entirely – anything from before the nineties seems to be unaware the Internet is going to be a thing – but sometimes there’s some terrifying prescience. 1984 got the idea about fake news; Cold Comfort Farm suggested videophones; and even Flashforward got the name of the next Pope right. But then there are people like Murie...