🆕 blog! “Book Review: The Examiner - Janice Hallett”
★★★★⯪

I've thoroughly enjoyed all of Janice Hallett's previous crime books. The Examiner is, frankly, more of the same - and I'm happy with that!

You, the reader, are given a series of transcripts and have to work out what crime (if any) has been committed. You don't find out who the victim(s) is/are until…

👀 Read more: https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/02/book-review-the-examiner-janice-hallett/
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#BookReview #JaniceHallett

🆕 blog! “Book Review: The Examiner - Janice Hallett”
★★★★⯪

I've thoroughly enjoyed all of Janice Hallett's previous crime books. The Examiner is, frankly, more of the same - and I'm happy with that!

You, the reader, are given a series of transcripts and have to work out what crime (if any) has been committed. You don't find out who the victim(s) is/are until…

👀 Read more: https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/02/book-review-the-examiner-janice-hallett/
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#BookReview #JaniceHallett

🆕 blog! “Book Review: The Voyage of the Space Beagle by Alfred Elton Van Vogt”
★★☆☆☆

This is Star Trek before Star Trek. It is Alien long before Alien. It is the template for so much modern science fiction. What it is not is particularly good.

I don't intend to dump on the classics (and this is undoubtedly a classic) but 1950s sci-fi takes place …

👀 Read more: https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/02/book-review-the-voyage-of-the-space-beagle-by-alfred-elton-van-vogt/
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#BookReview #SciFi

🆕 blog! “Book Review: The Voyage of the Space Beagle by Alfred Elton Van Vogt”
★★☆☆☆

This is Star Trek before Star Trek. It is Alien long before Alien. It is the template for so much modern science fiction. What it is not is particularly good.

I don't intend to dump on the classics (and this is undoubtedly a classic) but 1950s sci-fi takes place …

👀 Read more: https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/02/book-review-the-voyage-of-the-space-beagle-by-alfred-elton-van-vogt/
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#BookReview #SciFi

4 stars for The Briar Book of the Dead: https://app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/57178cf8-463c-4038-9c30-95073b01edfc
Satisfying world-building, satisfying characters, satisfying plot, satisfying (and grim) conclusion.

#bookreview

4 stars for The Briar Book of the Dead: https://app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/57178cf8-463c-4038-9c30-95073b01edfc
Satisfying world-building, satisfying characters, satisfying plot, satisfying (and grim) conclusion.

#bookreview

🆕 blog! “Book Review: With the End in Mind - Dying, Death and Wisdom in an Age of Denial by Kathryn Mannix”
★★★⯪☆

Is it possible to "die well"? We have midwives for births, should we have "deathwives" for the other end of our lives? I think this book was recommended to me in the depths of the pandemic. I was too much of…

👀 Read more: https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/01/book-review-with-the-end-in-mind-dying-death-and-wisdom-in-an-age-of-denial-by-kathryn-mannix/
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#BookReview #death

🆕 blog! “Book Review: With the End in Mind - Dying, Death and Wisdom in an Age of Denial by Kathryn Mannix”
★★★⯪☆

Is it possible to "die well"? We have midwives for births, should we have "deathwives" for the other end of our lives? I think this book was recommended to me in the depths of the pandemic. I was too much of…

👀 Read more: https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/01/book-review-with-the-end-in-mind-dying-death-and-wisdom-in-an-age-of-denial-by-kathryn-mannix/
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#BookReview #death

🆕 blog! “Book Review: The Players Act 1 by Amy Sparkes”
★★⯪☆☆

So! Much! Melodrama!

This is a gently funny (and slightly tragic) romp with a band of travelling vagrants actors as they attempt to ply their renditions of Shakespeare to an indifferent 1700ish audience. There's a lot of charm to the characters and the plot is relatively straightforward.

The characters are a bit…

👀 Read more: https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/01/book-review-the-players-act-1-by-amy-sparkes/
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#BookReview

🆕 blog! “Book Review: The Players Act 1 by Amy Sparkes”
★★⯪☆☆

So! Much! Melodrama!

This is a gently funny (and slightly tragic) romp with a band of travelling vagrants actors as they attempt to ply their renditions of Shakespeare to an indifferent 1700ish audience. There's a lot of charm to the characters and the plot is relatively straightforward.

The characters are a bit…

👀 Read more: https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/01/book-review-the-players-act-1-by-amy-sparkes/
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#BookReview

🆕 blog! “Book Review: Doppelganger - A Trip Into the Mirror World by Naomi Klein”
★★★★☆

This book is excellent at describing the symptoms of madness which have beset the world. It expertly diagnoses the causes which have led so many people into a mirror-realm of fantasy. Sadly it falls short of prescribing a cure. I doubt anyone who has…

👀 Read more: https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/01/book-review-doppelganger-a-trip-into-the-mirror-world-by-naomi-klein/
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#BookReview #politics

🆕 blog! “Book Review: Doppelganger - A Trip Into the Mirror World by Naomi Klein”
★★★★☆

This book is excellent at describing the symptoms of madness which have beset the world. It expertly diagnoses the causes which have led so many people into a mirror-realm of fantasy. Sadly it falls short of prescribing a cure. I doubt anyone who has…

👀 Read more: https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/01/book-review-doppelganger-a-trip-into-the-mirror-world-by-naomi-klein/
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#BookReview #politics

#BookReview They Came to Slay, the Queer Culture of DnD - by Thom James Carter

You may have guessed it, but I bought the book because it's purple, and who could resist a title like that? 💜

For anyone who's played #DnD for a while, like myself, there wasn't much new in the book. A little bit predictable. But a fun one to have in my collection regardless, and inspired me to experiment with characters of other genders in future TTRPG sessions.

#BookReview They Came to Slay, the Queer Culture of DnD - by Thom James Carter

You may have guessed it, but I bought the book because it's purple, and who could resist a title like that? 💜

For anyone who's played #DnD for a while, like myself, there wasn't much new in the book. A little bit predictable. But a fun one to have in my collection regardless, and inspired me to experiment with characters of other genders in future TTRPG sessions.

🆕 blog! “Book Review: Human Rites by Juno Dawson”
★★★☆☆

After the pretty good Her Majesty's Royal Coven, the excellent Shadow Cabinet, the law of reverting to the mean hits the conclusion of Juno Dawson's Witches of Hebden Bridge trilogy.

By now you know the tropes - Bitchy-Witches, 90s pop-culture references, and wry chapter titles. It's all done well enough, the plot is a little …

👀 Read more: https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/01/book-review-human-rites-by-juno-dawson/
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#BookReview

🆕 blog! “Book Review: Human Rites by Juno Dawson”
★★★☆☆

After the pretty good Her Majesty's Royal Coven, the excellent Shadow Cabinet, the law of reverting to the mean hits the conclusion of Juno Dawson's Witches of Hebden Bridge trilogy.

By now you know the tropes - Bitchy-Witches, 90s pop-culture references, and wry chapter titles. It's all done well enough, the plot is a little …

👀 Read more: https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/01/book-review-human-rites-by-juno-dawson/
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#BookReview

🆕 blog! “Book Review: Surely You Can't Be Serious - The True Story of Airplane!”
★★⯪☆☆

This is a hugely extended version of Will Harris' "An oral history of Airplane". It goes through the pre-history of the project, how it eventually got made, and the aftermath. In many ways, it is like an old-fashioned DVD extra. The whole book consists of…

👀 Read more: https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/01/book-review-surely-you-cant-be-serious-the-true-story-of-airplane/
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#BookReview #comedy

🆕 blog! “Book Review: Surely You Can't Be Serious - The True Story of Airplane!”
★★⯪☆☆

This is a hugely extended version of Will Harris' "An oral history of Airplane". It goes through the pre-history of the project, how it eventually got made, and the aftermath. In many ways, it is like an old-fashioned DVD extra. The whole book consists of…

👀 Read more: https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/01/book-review-surely-you-cant-be-serious-the-true-story-of-airplane/
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#BookReview #comedy

🆕 blog! “Book Review: Exterminate/Regenerate - The Story of Doctor Who by John Higgs”
★★★★☆

The problem with fans is that we want to know everything. What did Lennon eat for breakfast the day he recorded Imagine? Which colour pencil did the script editor use on our favourite episode of Doctor Who? Did the costume designer on Buffy…

👀 Read more: https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/01/book-review-exterminate-regenerate-the-story-of-doctor-who-by-john-higgs/
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#BookReview #DoctorWho

🆕 blog! “Book Review: Exterminate/Regenerate - The Story of Doctor Who by John Higgs”
★★★★☆

The problem with fans is that we want to know everything. What did Lennon eat for breakfast the day he recorded Imagine? Which colour pencil did the script editor use on our favourite episode of Doctor Who? Did the costume designer on Buffy…

👀 Read more: https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/01/book-review-exterminate-regenerate-the-story-of-doctor-who-by-john-higgs/
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#BookReview #DoctorWho