My Review (5 stars out of 5) In 1915 arctic explorer Ernest Shackleton recruited 27 men and set sail for the ice-bound Antarctic seas in a bid to cross Antarctica via the pole. But their ship became wedged in the ice and Shackleton was faced with keeping his men alive until they could be rescued.…
Category: Adventure
‘Kalahari Passage’ by Candi Miller
My Review (5 stars out of 5) This is the follow up to book one, Salt and Honey, which saw the young lovers Koba and Mannie separated and thrown in jail. Mannie takes the chance of parole to abscond in the hope of finding Koba, but she is already in the process of being taken…
‘The Trials of Arthur Whitty’ by Tim Walker
My Review (4 stars out of 5) Retired accountant Arthur Whitty is a fantasist, but his vivid imagination helps him deal with a series of challenging situations. Allowing his alter-ego to take over, he dreams up adventurous settings where he is the hero – Art the Racing Driver, Major Whitty of the Royal Dragons, intrepid…
‘Salt and Honey’ by Candi Miller
My Review (5 stars out of 5) In 1950s South Africa, Koba’s tribe are hunter-gatherers, following the traditional ways of life of an ancient culture. But when her family clashes with a group of white people, the outcome is tragic, leaving her orphaned. Taken to their home, the girl grudgingly learns to speak their language…
‘The Day of the Triffids’ by John Wyndham
My Review (5 stars out of 5) (Audiobook) In hospital for an eye operation, Bill Masen misses an unusually bright meteorite shower during the night. The next morning, disturbed that no-one has come to remove the bandages, he takes them off himself and discovers everyone who witnessed the phenomenon is now unable to see. Meeting…
‘Men of Iron’ by MJ Porter
My Review (4 stars out of 5) This is the first book in a new series titled The Dark Age Chronicles. With little historical documentation to fall back on, the story is instead inspired by archaeological evidence, though the author’s knowledge of the period (real or imagined) does shine through. The plot revolves around several…
‘Killing Rommel’ by Steven Pressfield
My Review (5 stars out of 5) (Audiobook) In 1942, Hitler’s armies are sweeping across Europe. In North Africa, Rommel has beaten back the British Eighth Army and stands ready to overrun Egypt, Suez, and the oil fields of the Middle East. The British come up with a desperate plan to infiltrate enemy lines and…
‘The Wicked of the Earth’ by AD Bergin
My Review (5 stars out of 5) Newcastle, 1650. Parliamentarian spy James Archer travels back to the city of his birth in search of his sister Meg, missing in the aftermath of Newcastle’s witch trials. Amid an atmosphere of treachery, deceit and lies, Archer strives to find someone he can trust who might lead him…
‘Wild’ by Cheryl Strayed
My Review (5 stars out of 5) Cheryl Strayed’s story of an 1100-mile solo hike on the Pacific Crest Trail that helped her to rebuild her life after her divorce and the death of her mother. From the Mojave Desert through California and Oregon to Washington State, Cheryl faced everything from rattlesnakes and bears, to…
‘Ripley Under Ground’ by Patricia Highsmith
My Review (3 stars out of 5) A team of art fraudsters at the Buckmaster Gallery in London plan an exhibition of work by Derwatt – a dead artist whose works they’ve been forging. Tom Ripley’s part in the scam requires him to help perpetuate the myth. Travelling to England from his home in France,…
Colin Garrow 