rachelahyde

• Rated 4 stars

“Nothing new about the Ramayana, one of the best-loved stories in the world. This is a good retelling of it, and highly recommended for anybody who is not familiar with it - as well as anybody who is!”

rachelahyde wrote this review Saturday, October 13, 2007. ( reply | permalink )

• Rated 5 stars

“My favorite in this series, as the story is now well into its stride, but without the verbosity of later books.”

rachelahyde wrote this review Saturday, October 13, 2007. ( reply | permalink )

• Rated 5 stars

“My favorite book in one of my favorite series! I grew up hearing my father (who used to live in Singapore) tell me about Rajah Brooke of Sarawak, and Fraser's description is marvellous. I love the way he manages to write meticulously researched historical fiction with the kind of dash and style that is normally used for the other kind! What do you mean you haven't read this series yet? What are you waiting for?”

rachelahyde wrote this review Saturday, October 13, 2007. ( reply | permalink )

• Rated 5 stars

“You've got the lot in here, and written by the co-author of my favorite TV series Twin Peaks too! Horror, a historical setting, mystery, a Sherlock Holmes angle and more. I am not normally a horror fan, but this rocks. The sequel is The Six Messiahs, also unmissable.”

rachelahyde wrote this review Saturday, October 13, 2007. ( reply | permalink )

• Rated 5 stars

“The first real fantasy novel I read, that converted me to the genre. Easy to read and full of loveable larger-than-life characters - it makes me wonder why the stuff he writes now is so bad!”

rachelahyde wrote this review Saturday, October 6, 2007. ( reply | permalink )

• Rated 5 stars

“SF and fantasy all rolled in one, by one of the seminal fantasy authors. Hugely influential, this predates Tolkein and is a lot shorter. ”

rachelahyde wrote this review Saturday, October 6, 2007. ( reply | permalink )

• Rated 5 stars

“My favorite historical whodunit, by my favorite whodunit author! If you haven't discovered John Dickson Carr (aka Carter Dickson) then you are missing a huge treat. A contemporary of Agatha Christie, he was influenced by G K Chesterton and wanted to write like him. There is a Chestertonian flavor, but his style is really all his own. This is his acknowledged masterpiece, with a man making a bargain with the devil and travelling back to 17th century London to solve a crime. A real classic - he describes the scene so well you would swear he had been there...”

rachelahyde wrote this review Saturday, October 6, 2007. ( reply | permalink )

0 of 1 members found this review helpful.

• Rated 5 stars

“Tired of Tolkeinesque fantasy? Try this tale set in an alternative Victorian London”

rachelahyde wrote this review Sunday, September 30, 2007. ( reply | permalink )

• Rated 5 stars

“Late 17th century Japan is the setting for this historical whodunit, the first in a series that just gets better and better. If you like Robert van Guilk, or even if you don't know who he is (or was), and if you enjoy historical crime even a tiny bit then this is one of the best series in the genre. Interesting characters and vivid settings bring the period and story to vibrant life. Hugely enjoyable!”

rachelahyde wrote this review Saturday, July 28, 2007. ( reply | view 1 replies | permalink )

• Rated 5 stars

“My very, very favorite fantasy novel, by one of my favorite authors and my favorite type of fantasy writing! That is a lot of favorites, but this book more than delivers the goods. You probably already know the story of this quest for a lost city through seeing bad films and TV dramatisations, but the book is many times better. Go on, read it...you know you want to! What I tend to mean when I rate something as being "hugely enjoyable", which is the highest praise I give when reviewing a book.”

rachelahyde wrote this review Saturday, July 28, 2007. ( reply | permalink )