Reviewed by Patricia Simms-Reeve In the colourful bustling London of the first decade of the nineteenth century, Augusta and her twin Julia are constrained by the society’s strict rules as to the marriage eligibility of ladies aged forty- two. Julia is unfortunately a widow. Her husband, Robert, died in a hunting accident. She is in
Reviewed by Rod McLary Who doesn’t enjoy a romance – especially when it involves a brash American girl and an heir to the English throne? Sounds a little familiar, doesn’t it? But in this story, there is a further element – an impending apocalypse. Narrated in the first person by Wren Wheeler – eighteen years
Reviewed by E.B. Heath. Hearing … is a specialised form of touch. Although classified as Memoir, The House with all the Lights On, is so much more, a literary Tardis. In two-hundred-and forty-pages Jessica Kirkness’ writes: a personal memoir, a brief biography of her deaf grandparents, social and political experiences of the Deaf Community, well-researched
Reviewed by Wendy Lipke Léonie Kelsall is becoming known for her rural romance novels all set around a small country town in South Australia known as Settlers Bridge. Although the books she has written so far in this setting are not a series, the author says that several of the characters do pop up in
Reviewed by Antonella Townsend Well, I do not care that Harper Collins classifies this large beautiful book as ‘Juvenile: Age 3+’. It will be gracing my coffee table for some time to come. That said, note to parents, this is a must for the Christmas Stocking. A lovely present for children, aunties and uncles, alike,
Reviewed by Wendy Lipke Inside the novel Lowbridge, by Australian writer Lucy Campbell, I found a four-page A4 copy of a Mounthaven Chronicle which features articles about missing local schoolgirl Tess Dawes. Dated Wednesday February 11, 1987, it also included the report on an interview with the author of this book, Lucy Campbell. As part
Reviewed by Rod McLary Set across two specific time periods [November 1936 and July-August 1945] in Paris and Berlin, this tight and tense thriller chronicles the efforts of Auguste Duchene to locate a Gestapo war criminal SS-Oberführer Volker Sprenger. Duchene is persuaded, by veiled threats of harm to his wife Sabine, into undertaking the search
Reviewed by Richard Tutin For Christians and members of the Jewish faith, biblical stories are indispensable in understanding how we interact with God in everyday life. The books of the Bible are a treasure trove of stories, songs and teachings that assist believers through reflection and discussion. It’s always good then when an author offers
Reviewed by Rod McLary Eta Draconis was the winner of the 2022 Dorothy Hewitt Award for an Unpublished Manuscript – an excellent reason to read this rather dystopian novel set in south-west Western Australia. It is indeed a fine read. As well as being the book’s intriguing title, Eta Draconis is a star in the
Reviewed by Norrie Sanders Energy is a hot topic and the world is moving so fast that most of us can’t keep up. Our news feeds are crammed with battery technology, electric vehicle sales graphs, fuel cells and even different colours of hydrogen, but how do we know which ones will rule the future? We
Reviewed by E. B. Heath I am not a fan of dystopian literature, but the title implied the genre: Trump’s Australia. I stared at the book’s cover: the outline of that head, with its yellow hair and orange face, and the map of Australia for a mouth. Non-fiction Noir. How might another Trump Presidency, a
Reviewed by Patricia Simms-Reeve Mat Osman’s enthralling historical fantasy sweeps the reader into the London of 1601. Shay, a girl of 15, leaps across precarious rooftops in her role as a messenger… It is a unique way to communicate and this heralds the spirit of this novel. Shay lives with her failing father, a ferryman, in
The winners of the 2023 Western Australian Premier’s Book Awards have been announced. Chosen from shortlists announced in May, the winners include: The Western Australian Writer’s Fellowship ($60,000) Tracy Ryan Premier’s Prize for Book of the Year ($15,000) The Red Witch: A biography of Katharine Susannah Prichard (Nathan Hobby, MUP) The Premier’s Prize for an Emerging Writer ($15,000) Banjawarn (Josh Kemp, UWAP)
Winner – The Australian / Vogel’s Awards for Young Writers Anna McGahan’s Immaculate is the 2023 winner of The Australian / Vogel’s Award for Young Writers that has launched the careers of over a hundred Australian authors, including Anna’s uncle, beloved Australian novelist Andrew McGahan. The award is one of Australia’s richest and most prestigious
Reviewed by Rod McLary Artificial Intelligence [or AI] seems to be everywhere these days. Its applications include web searches, understanding speech [as per Siri or Alexa], self-driving cars and creative tools such as ChatGPT. A concern for the future is whether, if a machine has a mind and subjective experience, it may also have sentience