The Last Gifts of the Universe by Riley August

  

The Last Gifts of the Universe

By Riley August

This is a debut sci-fi novel.

A group of space archaeologists are looking through the remains of dead civilizations in the hope of finding some clues as to why they died out. The problem being that big business is also trying to get to the relics from these civilisations in order to make a profit out of them. Add to that, there is something out there that is busy killing off civilizations, non of them seem to have found a way to stop whatever it is, anyone who comes up against it dies. So the race would appear to be, to find the answer to the question, how do we stop it before it gets to us and we become another dead civilization.

It is an interesting idea, and the archaeologists cat is not just there to de-stress, but I was rather hoping that they would come up with some answers, or at least some idea as to who or what they were fighting. Still, it is a good yarn and keeps you interested to the end. I wish Riley August all the best for their next novel.

Leave no Trace by MJ White

Leave no Trace

by MJ White

published 2023

My Dad would never read fiction, because in his opinion it was all lies, however, in his early 90’s he picked this book up either from a charity shop or a bargain book shop and tried to read it. I thought reading it might help me work out why he chose this, of all the works of fiction he could have chosen, to be the one he tried to read.

It is a crime novel. Someone disappears and as the fifteen anniversary of approaches there rumours that he is coming back for revenge.

There are so many cliches in this book, starting with the detective in charge being the son of the detective who led the initial enquiry into the disappearance. The father has a great reputation, but the son finds there was much lacking in the initial investigation, leads not followed up, the family disregarded, that sort of thing.

Next, the detective wants someone to join the team who can hear what things say. He says he believes her, but she seems to constantly doubt that she is being taken seriously. Another member of the team is hiding the fact that she is getting a divorce and a third one hasn’t told them he is in love with the missing persons ex-girlfriend, the person he had a row with just before he left.

The book starts when the team of detectives gets hit be a white van whilst leaving a pub quiz. The missing person is caught on cctv holding up a sign saying “Help me”, but doesn’t hang around for someone to help him.

The clock is ticking down to the anniversary of his disappearance. He makes an appearance at the place where he was last seen and the story winds up with another pub quiz, but without anyone being hit by a white van.

Was any the wiser as to why my Dad chose this, of all fiction books, to read. Possibly. On the front of his copy is a sticker saying £2.99 each or any 2 for £5. So, I think it was a random book he choose because it was cheap, one book having as much value as another. The sticker does say something about the book, published in 2023 for £9.99 it was a sell off book by 2024. At the point of printing there was a list of 3 other books in the series, I don’t think I will be reading any of them, but then again, I wouldn’t have chosen to read this book if it hadn’t been for me trying to work out why my Dad tried to read it.

 

A Sting in the Tale by Dave Goulson

  

A Sting in the Tale

by Dave Goulson

First published 2013

This book is about Dave Goulson but mostly about his fascination with bees which started when he was young. It has taken him round the world, studying them and this book tells us what he has learned and how much more there is still to find out about them and how important that information is to prevent them from disappearing.

Bees and wasps have a common ancestor, the divergence happened when the bees started to specialise in feeding from nectar rather than anything they could scavenge which included nectar.

He explained that bees tend to be from the northern hemisphere, they haven’t spread south of the equator because the weather is too hot for them. Hence the problems of pollinating clover, grown to feed farm animals, in New Zealand. There were no bees to pollinate them, therefore the seed had to be brought over each year to grow a fresh crop. It was decided to export some bumble bee Queens from England in the hope that they would provide the necessary fertilisation. The type of bumble bee exported to New Zealand is now going scarce in the UK, so it was thought that it might be possible to reintroduce some Queens from New Zealand. After much work it was found that the bees in New Zealand descended from only two of the queens that were exported in the previous century. That and the problems of exporting them, meant that it was better to get some from Sweden. At the time of writing this book, that was an ongoing project.

Bees seem such simple things, but the book tells you so much more about them, even identifying the different bumble bees is difficult. The more you learn the more respect you have for the little creatures for example, they are better at fertilising tomatoes than people with little buzzy sticks, the fruit they produce is bigger and tastier. Basically life is better with bees around, so we must do what we can to preserve them, stop with the insecticides and plant more wild flowers so that there is always a nectar source available for them.

The Wisdom of Sheep and other Animals by Rosamund Young

  

The Wisdom of Sheep and other animals

by Rosamund Young

first published 2023

This is a book of anecdotes about farm animals written by someone who has lived with them all her life.

The first story tells is of the winter of 1947, not something she lived through, but her grandparents and tells how the snow was so deep they had to dig a tunnel through the snow to the barn. It put me in mind of something my Mother told me, about a really bad winter in Kentmere where her father dug a tunnel through the snow to the village. Mum said that the snow came up the the upstairs windows and the house was a lot warmer, till the snow melted.

A lot of the time sheep are just white blobs wandering across the hills, but not in this book, here the sheep are individuals, as are the cows. In many ways, the animals are the ones in control with the people being blessed to share their lives.

The stories are full of humour and love, written from a lifetime of observation. I thought it was a book I could put down and pick up when I had the odd minute, but I found that I kept wanting to read one more story and another after that and it was disappointing when I got to the end of the book.

The author has written another book, “The Secret Life of Cows”.

Book review of "The Names"

The Names

by Florence Knapp 2025

There are times in life that are cross-road moments, the choice you make changes things and sets the course of your life. In “The Names” that moment is when Cora registers the birth of her son, the name she chooses and the reactions to it.

Bear – her daughter’s choice of name, because she sees him as a teddy bear, soft and cuddly, but will defend anyone.

Julian – her choice of name, meaning sky father

Gordon – her husbands name, his family have a tradition of naming the first son after the father and he was keen to follow the family tradition. He also wanted the birth to be registered before his parents came to see their grandson.

She knows there will be consequences whichever name she chooses. The book looks at the three choices and what happens at the time, following every seven years with an incident in the lives of the three different names of the son and the people in his life.

It is an interesting book, showing the difference a name can make to someone and how it affects the people in their life.

With Julian, the children are living with their maternal grandmother at the first seven year update. Cora has died, but there is no indication of how or why or even how they ended up with their maternal grandmother and not their father.

With all of them, there is the question of why the father didn’t accompany his wife to register the birth, then again there would be no story if he had, but all in all, it reads well and keeps the readers interest, though I wish she hadn’t killed Bear off.

 

Book review

 I thought I might try writing what I think of some of the books I have read.   This is the first attempt.

The Eight Reindeer of the Apocalypse

by Tom Holt

Everyone knows how annoying it is, a courier or Post person knocks on the door and asks you to take in a parcel for your neighbour who is out. You take it in because, one day the rolls may be reversed and it’s easier to go to a neighbour for your parcel than go to the sorting office and have to prove who you are. But it is still an obligation, a responsibility that makes you uneasy until the parcel is passed on to the rightful recipient. The book starts with someone being given a parcel, for a neighbour, but not by an earthly courier, their car is stopped and lifted into a space ship and the neighbour isn’t just a few minutes walk away, they are somewhere on the planet, not an easy job to get it to the right person, especially as a lot of the people who could help don’t want anything to do with it.

It all sounds far fetched, but when Tom Holt puts it into a story, he creates a world in which it is very possible, as are the solutions and the people involved. I was given this book as a Christmas present, the title is very reminiscent of Christmas and Santa does play a big part in it.

In my opinion, Tom Holt is a very good writer and this book will not disappoint.

After 12th Night

 The new year brings new ideas.   One I had was to post something new on this blog each day.   That isn't working, so I have decided on a more realistic, each week.   This being the 7th day of the year I decided to start now, with a poem that I have written. 

 

After 12th Night

The tree is gone,

The baubles 

Packed away for

Another year

The lights

Awaiting repairs

And the tinsel

Mostly put away

We will still find bits

Till next time

Reminders of the magic

That was here

And is slumbering 

Till the next time

by J.M.Nye 

07/01/24