octavia_cade's reviews
2467 reviews

This is really fast-paced for such a relatively long book; I zipped through it a lot quicker and a lot more easily than I thought I would when I picked it up. Anyway, I understand that there's quite a few books in this series, and I can see why. The main character's sympathetic, the plot's interesting with a great twist towards the end - one which I absolutely didn't see coming (but then I hardly ever do) - and a creepy, compelling villain. Plus, as I said, the pacing, which is probably the most attractive thing about it.

I'll definitely be picking up the next one. 

I do like these little books! They do a great job teaching basic facts about different animals. This time it's the bumblebee, and I'm glad - they're lovely, and I always enjoy seeing them flying round the garden. The ones I've seen lately have been particularly big and fat, so I trust they're feeding well. It's a shame I can't look inside their nests; I'd love to see the bumblebees assigned to air circulation flapping away on the nest ceiling. 

If there's ever a story set in a library that I don't like, I don't think I've read it. This one, set in the bowels of the British Library, fills me with longing. Not for the magical literary device at the centre of the narrative, no. But for all those bookshelves and the chance to explore them. There has to be a literary residency at the British Library, doesn't there? I'll have to look. If so, it's going on my bucket list. 

This is such an easy, fun read. Allison worked as a safari guide in Botswana, and this is a collection of his exploits introducing travelers to the local animals. My dad's recently come back from a trip to southern Africa, where he was able (lucky bastard) to visit the Okavango Delta (where Allison spends a lot of time) so it was interesting to read this while comparing it to the tourist version I got from him. 

The humour is the most appealing part here for me. Allison is clearly able to laugh at himself, and there's plenty of opportunity for him to do so. I cackled at him getting his jeep stuck in the hippo pools and having to abandon his tourists to run for help to get them out. It can't have been very funny at the time - hippos and crocodiles not being creatures you want to dangle yourself in front of! - but it was certainly funny to read.

There is, it must be said, less information on the actual animals than you might think when picking this up, as I did, at the local library. This is more a book on looking at animals than it is learning about them, but it's still a deeply entertaining one. 

I have to admit that it's taken me a week or so to slog through this. I just couldn't get into it. I've read and liked the rest of the series, but increasingly, as it's gone on, it's felt over-stretched to me. Padded out, and this particular volume is where that tendency has reached its peak for me. 

It dragged. I liked parts of it, but mostly I'm glad to be done. I can't help but wonder if this would have been a better, tighter series if it had been edited down to end a couple of books ago. 

This is the first issue in this series that hasn't blown me away. Don't get me wrong, I still liked it, but it was mostly backstory and fighting, without the emotional resonance that the other issues have had for me. (Why does everyone always want to be gods?! Every time I come across this in fiction, it is reliably the least interesting thing about the story that it's in.)

I will say, though, that the cover is gorgeous. Best artwork so far! 

I think it's fair to say that not a lot actually happens in this story, in which Peter Grant attempts to fix a car that won't start and ends up helping a little old lady get home. That's not to say that it isn't a pleasant read, because it is - it's just the sort of pleasant read where everyone's trying to do the right thing, even if they're going about it in the wrong way, and it all ends up alright regardless. Or at least as alright can be when a brain tumour is involved.

I quite like stories like this, that are very low drama. And quite by coincidence, I have the Alan Sillitoe collection, which I have never read, on loan from the library at the moment. It's sitting on top of a bookshelf, waiting for me to finish this similarly-titled story and get on to reading it for a change. Maybe in a bit. 

Written for teens, this is an accessible book geared towards critical thinking as it applies to news sources - particularly fake news. A lot of the techniques here are fairly basic, but it's an educational text aimed at critical beginners, essentially, so it works as an entry-level text. The most interesting thing, for me, was the historical examples of fake news, with examples ranging from ancient Egypt to 18th century America to WW2.

The real hook is that it's written by a former CIA analyst, but I have to admit that the lack of critical engagement here grates a bit. The book begins and ends with Otis' recollection of a quote carved onto the wall of the CIA: "And ye shall know the truth and the truth will make you free." As if the CIA itself hasn't been the cause of monstrous levels of misinformation in their own history, which Otis absolutely glosses over. It's a little hard to swallow the exhortations to rigour in fact-assessment when it's so patently directed outwards... and only outwards. Granted, the primary audience of this book is (presumably) American teens, but surely this should mean more attention should be given to their own government's dodgy practices, not less.