A Very Compelling Story of Misguided Faith.

The Spire by William Golding
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A God loving man is Misguided by his faith. A more crudely drawn man, who is the builder by trade, tries to tell the priest about the structures of the grand spire being built. The absolute natural need for better supports and structures to withstand the elements of nature. Of course, the learned man of the cloth thinks God will provide. He will not listen to the builder. Throughout, the builder continues to try and convince the religious man that a sense of reality is needed. Natural laws of physics must be taken into consideration. Will the religious Dean listen?

As I read this story I felt as though the author was reaching inside of me and tearing out something that is flawed or blinded by what I want to believe. William Golding unsettles me yet this is his most compelling story that I have read so far. Brilliant!

C.A. Powell
Saxon Quest


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Blitzfreeze by Sven Hassel (My Goodreads Review)

Blitzfreeze by Sven Hassel

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Our usual crowd of vagabond heroes are at it again. The characters of Porta, Tiny, the Legionnaire and, of course, Sven the Danish writer who tells these stories in the first person singular.

These soldiers are in Hitler's German army on the Russian front. They are a cannon fodder and a penal battalion of political deviants, murderers and other criminal elements. Sven is a deserter who fled to Denmark, his country of birth. When Germany occupied the country in 1940. He got a knock on the door for going AWOL.

All the men of the penal battalion have their own stories to tell. Some of the antics are so comical; you will hold your stomach trying not to laugh. These are kind moments during leave or lulls in the battle of the Russian steppe. The other side of the coin is the horror of the war and the violent and often heart-breaking things that happen to the men as they become more brutalised in their endeavours to survive the madness and Hell on Earth about them.

There are many Sven Hassel stories with the same characters we all grow to love. They are meant to have really existed. However, perhaps some of the stories are made up more with old friends entered into the tales. Great read and easily hooks many readers for this type of genre.



C.A. Powell
The Black and Tan Summer: Ireland's Turbulent Year of 1920

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Noting in Shopping Centres Except the Quaint Old Buildings.

On Tuesday 2nd of May, my wife and I decided to go for a drive to Huntingdon. We often go here for a look at the small shopping centre. Sometimes we go to Kings Lynn or on other occasions Peterborough. On this day, however, it was Huntingdon. It did not take long and there was nothing we really wanted to buy. It was more for the ride out than anything else. We bought a few odds and ends but nothing we could not get in the local convenience store in our own town of March.

Along the way, we chatted about things and saw a few birds of prey in the clear blue sky. They always seem to like hunting over the fields. Once in the outskirts of Huntingdon, we noticed the old world feel of some buildings that were mixed with the newer ones. This was so as we walked around the shopping centre. I don't know whether it is me, but most of the town centres nowadays seem to lack any of the major department stores. There seem to be various types of cheap pound shops, fast food premises, estate agents, barber shops and tanning salons. All this with endless amounts of charity outlets. 

It all looked as though the actual town centre was in a state of decline, I'm sad to say. I think it is happening in most places nowadays. You can't find anything that flicks your interest anymore when going to town shopping centres. Unless you want to eat and have a coffee. There are also the nice old buildings that remind me of other times. 

    

  

Dystopian Brit Science Fiction Novel - Cyborg Britannia

My Goodreads Review

When I first started to read sci-fi set in dystopian worlds, I was drawn to the many Brit novels of the time, like John Christopher, John Wyndham and of course, Edmund Cooper.

I got through a lot of Edmund Cooper stories and they were all set in Britain under various dystopian societies. In a way, Cyborg Britannia reminds me a lot of these kinds of titles from the sixties and the seventies.

Cyborg Britannia is set in a dystopian Britain of around 2200. Half of Britain has a human/cyborg population that is referred to as, CYBORG BRITANNIA, The other half of the nation is Human Britannia.

The story starts off showing the reader that cyborg Britain still has a monarchy. One that governs via a Royal Family (King Konrad) There has been a fatal shuttle crash and the king's cousin Alistair is on the critical list. He has survived the crash but only just. His body is under repair and cybernetic components for nerve endings etc are not taking too well. He is in deep pain and no one seems to be able to speed the healing process up.

A young doctor of cybernetics is called in to aid Alistair's recovery. What the government of Cyborg Britannia don't know is that the cybernetics doctor is an illegal immigrant from Human Britannia. One that got past the buffer zone of no man's land where the dreaded mudmechs spring up out of the ground and devour those who violate the treaty and try to cross the deadly expanse. The screaming victims are bitten and chewed upon as they are dragged down beneath the Earth.

Lara was the only survivor of four illegal migrants who attempted the crossing. Her prize was to study cybernetics in secret in Cyborg Britannia. Though the cyborg nation is not the Utopia one might expect. If you like dystopian sci-fi, I would recommend this story.

My Goodreads Review of The Invisible Man by H G Wells

From My Goodreads Account

This was a thrilling story. Having read War of the Worlds and The Time Machine, I did not expect anything else would surpass. I thought The Invisible Man would be corny, but to my delight, it was so wonderfully presented. A gripping tale with characters that are better developed than those in his other good novels I have mentioned. The lead characters in the WOTW and TM had a certain anonymity about them. The Invisible Man's written character seemed much more up close and personnel.

The story takes place at an Inn in an English village during the time of late Victorian Britain. The local village people are nosey rumour mongers who find the strange bandaged man a bit of an odd fellow who keeps himself to himself. From here the wonderful plot begins as we gradually learn of the invisible man and the growing intolerance towards his desperate need for isolation and secretive studies. I thoroughly enjoyed this fabulous tale and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys SciFi or even horror.

    

A Sunny Day Makes All the Difference.

A sunny day makes all the difference when working. You can't beat it when spring comes. The rapeseed seems to have just shot up from nowhere. There was a little bit of hot weather followed by some rain and then more hot weather. Suddenly the fields are all turning yellow as the rapeseed shoots up.

Everywhere I drive through the Fens, there are fields and fields of rapeseed. It is a rewarding time of the year in the Fenland. 

I work in a smashing little town called Chatteris. It's more like a village really. The people are chatty and friendly plus the town is very pleasant indeed.

I used to work in Wisbech, which is a much bigger place with a lot more hustle and bustle going on. Being relocated to the Chatteris round is most enjoyable. 

I love working in rural places and there are also two smaller villages I do on alternate days. One is called Manea and the other is Benwick. These places are so small that if I blinked driving through the village, I would be likely to miss it altogether.

It is wonderful working outdoors, the time seems to pass so quickly. and there is always something of interest. The place is alive with all sorts of Birds of Prey. I see stoats, weasels and foxes. Also muntjac deer too.

I almost hit one of these muntjac deer in my truck the other morning. It was 6 am and I was on my way to Chatteris when two of the deer jumped out of the hedgerow ahead of me. They were panicked by the sight of the van and began to run along the grass verge. However, my van quickly closed the distance. One of the muntjacs was veering out would towards the road as I caught up. I thought the panicking creature was going to veer in front of the van. I have seen many of them as road kill along the lanes. I braised myself but fortunately, the animal veered back onto the verge. As I passed I checked the wing mirror and saw both Muntjac disappear back into the hedgerow, It all happened so fast and could have been fatal for the muntjac.

One can always guess where there are road kills because the hawks tend to circle the areas. Roadkill seems to help birds of prey and the carrion birds too.  

Delicious Little Dotty Dog Named Dotty.

Delicious little dotty dog Dotty is a complete contrast to Bob the debonair cat. For Dotty is the most full on loving and excitable little dog I've ever known.

She loves people but is not always good with other dogs. She needs to get used to them first.

When I get home from work she goes ballistic with excitement to see me. I must make a quick fuse of her first and foremost. She lays on her back and I must stroke her belly and then the ritual of my homecoming is complete.

Dotty is also very astute. I believe she knows what is been said to her and recognises most words. If I speak of going to the river or the bird hides to my wife Carole, Dotty starts barking because she recognises the words 'river' 'bird hides.' She gets excited and starts yelping with high-pitched expectation. Sometimes she finds it hard to contain her joy when in the car. She whines and yelps for most of the journey until we arrive and let her loose on the bridal path leading to the bird hides along the river Delph. 

Of she goes barking out the excitement until she calms a little and settles into her running and walking along the path. 

Dotty is a highly charged bundle of emotions and is a very happy dog. We all love her very much. She does not take much notice of Bob the cat and he seems to regard Dotty with the same dismissive attitude as he does humans. 

Once Bob struck her snout with his paw when there was a set too in the house concerning food and lounging about areas. Dotty yelped and cried so much, we had to console her with cuddles and strokes. Bob's swipe did not cut her, but ever since then, Dotty gives Bob his room in the house and they get by without taking too much notice of one another.