Michael J. Ritchie's Blog, page 36
February 28, 2019
“The Golden Age Of Murder” by Martin Edwards (2015)
[image error] “On a summer evening in 1937, a group of men and women gathered in darkness to perform a macabre ritual.”
Crime fiction has held a key spot in book sales for decades, now. Changing tastes may have seen a switch from detective stories in English country manors to blood-soaked thrillers on the mean streets of New York, but at their heart sits the puzzle that people still clamour for. It was in the 1920s and 1930s, however, that detective fiction took off in a big way, with figures like Agatha C...
February 18, 2019
“Both Ways Is The Only Way I Want It” by Maile Meloy (2009)
[image error] “Chet Moran grew up in Logan, Montana, at a time when kids weren’t supposed to get polio anymore.”
Life is an endless series of choices. We find ourselves an endless number of futures ahead of us, and then the decisions we make whittle down the options, but there will always be more. Left or right. Buy or sell. Stay or go. Hide or seek. It’s interesting, isn’t it, that in time travel fiction, the heroes are always so concerned that any actions they make in the past might affect the future, bu...
February 10, 2019
“The Possession Of Mr Cave” by Matt Haig (2008)
[image error] “Of course, you know where it begins.”
I’ve been a big fan of Matt Haig’s work since I first read The Humans. I’ve since worked through most of his adult books, both fiction and non-fiction, but I realised that there were a few of his earlier works that I’d not got to yet, so here we are. Haig has become a loud and important voice in the world of mental health, and I think some people only know him because of his memoirs, such as Reasons To Stay Alive. I think sometimes his fiction gets lost...
February 5, 2019
“His ‘N’ Hers” by Mike Gayle (2004)
[image error]“With a remote control in one hand and a Budweiser in the other, I’m slouched on the sofa in front of my widescreen TV and The Matrix on DVD.”
Imagine that you’re in the pub with your best mate telling you a story, a table full of pints and peanuts in front of you. At the same time imagine you’re in the most comfortable claw-footed bath in the world with a good wine in one hand and a great book in the other. Add to this the thought of being in the front row of a really great comedy gig. Top i...
January 31, 2019
“Concrete Island” by J. G. Ballard (1974)
[image error] “Soon after three o’clock on the afternoon of April 22nd 1973, a 35-year-old architect named Robert Maitland was driving down the high-speed exit lane of the Westway interchange in central London.”
They say that no man is an island (except for the Isle of Man, of course), but even in this world that is more connected than it has ever been, it’s still possible to feel alone, surrounded by people who don’t understand you or maybe don’t even notice you’re there. Coming from an island nation myse...
January 26, 2019
“Mythos” by Stephen Fry (2017)
[image error] “These days the origin of the universe is explained by proposing a Big Bang, a single event that instantly brought into being all the matter from which everything and everyone are made.”
I return again to the Greek myths. No culture on Earth has produced a mythology quite like this, as far as I’m concerned. I’m doing a lot of research into Egyptian myth lately for a project, and they’ve got some fun stories, but for me the Greeks really have it all tied up. Stephen Fry turns his talented hand...
January 22, 2019
“Fear Nothing” by Lisa Gardner (2014)
[image error]“Rockabye, baby, on the treetop…”
The cosy crime novels of the early twentieth century are where I spend a lot of my time. There are some modern crime novels I love, including the easy and engaging works of Peter James and the supernatural-tinted Rivers of London series, but generally I prefer the bloodless criminal activities of the aristocracy in their large country estates. Although crime and thrillers are huge genres today, it’s a bloated arena, and not all are created equal.
In Fear Noth...
January 16, 2019
“Aristotle And Dante Discover The Secrets Of The Universe” by Benjamin Alire Sáenz (2014)
[image error] “One summer night I fell asleep, hoping the world would be different when I woke.”
When the weather gets gloomy and cold, it’s often best to take yourself off to somewhere warm, even if just in a book. I made my way El Paso, Texas in the 1980s to escape some of the British January chill. There, I found a story that was much more than I expected.
Angel Aristotle Mendoza – known as Ari – is in many ways your average fifteen-year-old, swallowed up by self-doubt, confusion and family troubles. Hi...
January 11, 2019
“Spill Simmer Falter Wither” by Sara Baume (2015)
[image error] “He is running, running, running.”
Once again, I turn my attention to a book about loneliness. I didn’t really intend to so early into the year, but here we are.
Ray is fifty-seven and can easily be defined as a loner. Treated as something of a pariah in his village – although how much of this is self-inflicted is up for debate – he knows that people think he’s weird and don’t like having anything to do with him. Since his father died, he’s been alone in his house and keeps his interactions w...
January 6, 2019
Top 10 Books of 2018
Every year, you think the world can’t get any weirder, and then it does. 2018 was disastrous in many ways, but thankfully there is always fiction to provide you with a safe space. My 2018 was one of mixed emotions, but was redeemed by reaching the crowdfunding target on my second novel, The Third Wheel, getting to hold it in my hands, attending the wedding of one of my best friends and being asked to be a “bridesmate” for my oldest friend this coming year, and, of course, books. I also finall...
