Rigg's Cabinet of Curiosities

Please note : This review includes a couple of spoilers.

… brilliant cast and astute humanity

I wanted to add a couple of things to the many reviews of Terry’s elegiac last Discworld novel.  What stands out for me always in his books is his brilliant cast and his astute humanity.

Lord and Ladies, his reinterpretation of A Midsummer’s Night Dream, is one of my very favourite DiscWorld novels and so I was delighted by the Elves’ return.  I love his reversal of this race with their unprincipled, vicious glamour so akin to modern celebrity culture; and his parallel championing of the strong minded honest folk: midwives, shepherds, blacksmiths over the weaker kings and queens.

After focussing for so long on strong women in his latter books, it is also lovely to be introduced to Geoffrey, the apprentice witch with his unique calm-weaving ability; and Mr Sideways and the magic of the man-shed.

As Antonia Byatt mentioned in her Guardian review :“Something I came to love about Pratchett was his inability to go on disliking either a character or a race.”  It was fascinating to watch Tiffany carefully teaching Nightshade, ex-Queen of the Elves, why is matters to be kind and thoughtful; and I was delighted, though not entirely surprised, by the sudden bravery of the irritating Letice Earwig.

I was also going to point out Terry’s art of not saying too much about some of the characters, for example: You, the enigmatic white cat, which adds to the reading pleasure. However I have since learnt that there is a story behind Granny Weatherwax’s familiar.   Back in August 2015, Neil Gaiman’s revealed a plot layer that was never included because time ran out.  Click here for a link to this article if you are interested … which I suggest you read after reading the book.

If there’s a debt to be paid, it’s to oneself.

Imma’s parents are dead and her beloved brother, Nikko, has run from the orphanage; now she must find her own way.  Imma becomes entangled in a world of obligations, betrayals, and no second chances.   Through the harsh deserts and mean water parched towns, she learns how to catch and deflect bullets  … and she learns much, much more: about life and honesty, about the desert and death.

If all of this sounds a little heavy, Imma’s searing honesty and determination made me really want her to succeed and the plot twists and turns like a rattlesnake to a satisfying climax.  There’s a well drawn cast of secondary characters including the mentor, the Bullet Catcher; an old Gunslinger, Hartright; the beloved Nikko and his friend, Cloak.

The book is full of beautiful descriptions and deftly worded images which makes it a pleasure to read.  I enjoyed being absorbed into the Bullet Catcher’s world where a girl learns what it is to decide between hard choices and where Imma finally realises: If there’s a debt to be paid, it’s only to oneself.

Out in paperback 4 Feb 2016 published by Hot Key Books.

pacey re-telling of the Minotaur myth

This is a refreshing and lively version of the Minotaur myth is pitched to capture the attention of a new generation of readers.  The story is told from the viewpoint of  13 year old Stephan, son of King Minos, and includes all the familiar characters: Ariadne, Daedalus, Theseus and Icarus, all in slightly different but very believable roles and concludes with a satisfyingly terrifying ending.

… compelling, intense story about witchy wasps and a boy who fights back …

When Steve’s brother is born, something isn’t right.  The baby is waiting for an operation and may not pull through.  In his dreams, Steve is visited by a witchy albino wasp who says she and her sisters are going to fix the baby.  Can Steve trust her?

Oppel has created a beautifully realised world of childhood fantasy and a brave hero who fights through his own fears to save his brother.

The Nest is a short, intense read with a vivid and scary finale.  Recommended.

… London teen caper that slides between the centuries …

AJ has enough to contend in his own hopeless, dead-end life without Slim nicking a gangster’s girlfriend and skateboarder Leon, disappearing after his mum’s death.  Now he’s got a key with his surname on it that leads to the 19th century.  Gardner assured pacing take her vivid characters on an adventure that twists in and out of grim North London council estates and 1830s Clerkenwell through the Jobey door.    The three lads have to dodge the modern day whilst solving a Victorian murder and, in doing so, find a future for themselves.  Recommended.