All Reviews by John
The Amazing Interlude
by Mary Roberts Rinehart
I am a European-American male in my late 50s, and I don't generally read books that are labelled "romance", but I came across this one in the long list of books by Mary Roberts Rinehart, of which I had already read some good stories.
This is not the kind of story that I thought I would like, but the quality of the writing and the strength of the character development captured me. And now this is my favorite Mary Roberts Rinehart book, and that's saying something because I generally like all her stories!
Give this one a chance even if you don't generally read "romance" fiction. It is much more than just a romance.
The Altar Steps
by Compton MacKenzie
I downloaded this book for something to do while on a long road trip, and I wasn're sure how good it would be. I was pleasantly surprised by the book, and it had many twists and turns, and seemed pretty full of action. Still, the auther did an excellent job of making it easy to follow. Almost definitely the best book I have ever read off this site, or anywhere for that matter. I will very briefly describe the book:
Basically, a young boy named Mark Lidderdale, the son of a Catholic priest, goes through many difficulties in his childhood, striving towards his ultimate goal, which is to be a priest like his father, who died when he was very young. This book tells of how Mark got there, and how he resisted many temptations.
A bit long of a review, but I felt I had to sum up how good this book really is!
Graveyard of Dreams
by H. Beam Piper
Really good for a sci-fi short story. Well written and interesting.
The Coral Island
by R.M. Ballantyne
No one else seems to have actually read the text. It was an enjoyable story that didn't require a lot of analysis. In the future, I would recommend that the comments posted reflect the true work.
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I have definately uncovered a treasure in this series of books. I wander thru them and it seems to be like chatting with old friends and learning of their week.
They are classified as humourous but dont look for belly laughs on every page, you will however smile quite often as u stroll alongside the Dr Thorne
Any Coincidence Is
by Daniel Callahan
I read this book in one sitting. I like books with quotations at the start of each chapter! It starts off like something from Douglas Coupland but ends up more like Futurama. Mad scientists, crazy physics. It made me laugh at one point, and it's a fun story, but just gets wierder and wierder until it stops hanging together. I stopped caring what happened to the characters in the end. Better than anything I've ever written, though!
The Hound of the Baskervilles
by Arthur Conan Doyle
Good fun, easy reading, and atmospheric. The author doesn't waste time on long descriptive passages. I enjoyed it.
The Fall of the House of Usher
by Edgar Allan Poe
A very short story, which ends just when it is getting interesting. You'll need a dictionary for some of the words. It sort of builds up to a climax, then stops, with no explaination, but it's well worth reading if you have 5 minutes to spare.