Spoiler Alert
Anyone who has not read Scythe by Neal Shusterman, The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon, Trigger Mortis by Anthony Horowitz, World Without End by Ken Follett or Needing Napoleon by Gareth Williams is hereby advised that this post may contain a few unavoidable spoilers.
Well, it’s been a while since I’ve done one of these (two years, in fact!) but I was thinking that I’ve let the blog stagnate far too long so what better way to kickstart things with another exciting instalment of Super Snappy Speed Reviews.
As usual, I’ve picked five novels at random(ish) and given my honest and heartfelt opinions on them all, squished, squashed and decimated into just a few brief sentences.
Enjoy. 👇
Scythe by Neal Shusterman
Compelling plot. Vivid world-building. Okay characters. Haphazard romantic subplot.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon
A little slow at points, but rich in characters, plot, worldbuilding, and just about everything else that matters. A high fantasy masterpiece.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Trigger Mortis by Anthony Horowitz
This book is everything you want from a James Bond novel: faithful to the source material and, if I’m honest, just a little bit more exciting.
It’s just a shame about the corny title.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
World Without End by Ken Follett
A well written story (and hard to believe it was written pre-covid given how closely this story mirrors much of what happened in real life, but it was). Alas, it didn’t keep me quite as hooked as the first book in the series and was once again ever so slightly let down by the authors fixation on the lady characters’ breasts.
⭐⭐⭐
Needing Napoleon by Gareth Williams
Can’t decide if you want to read historical fiction or sci-fi? Well heck, why not have both and join Richard Davey as he abandons his miserable life as a school teacher to travel back in time to meet his hero, Napoleon Bonaparte– and maybe even alter the events of his final defeat at Waterloo. I don’t know much about this period of history and was a little unsure how much of it I would understand, but Gareth Williams masterfully brings this period of history to life with vivid characters and a strong plot that kept me hooked until the very last page.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Andrew Ferguson is the author and illustrator of Rollo, The Bravest Chicken in the World and the Detective Mo Children’s Mysteries. He is also a husband and father with a passion for fiction, writing and music. He holds an honours degree in theology and can usually be found juggling writing with family life and a full-time office job.
PENSTRICKEN 
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