Star Wars Episode 7 cast announced

As regular readers of this blog might be aware, I'm a massive fan of the original Star Wars trilogy but I wasn't overly impressed with the prequels (Dude & I re-watched "The Phantom Menace" at the weekend and I still shudder at the ineptness of the 'there was no father' sequence).  When George Lucas sold Lucasfilm to Disney in 2012 I was cautiously optimistic about what might happen (see this blog) and I'm going to give the new film a chance - Lawrence Kasdan is back writing it, the original cast (except Billy Dee Williams) is involved, JJ Abrams is directing, it's been declared there will be more practical fx and so I'm looking forward to seeing what they do with it.

It will also - and this is the biggest draw for me - give me the chance to see a Star Wars film at the cinema with Dude.

Yesterday, Lucasfilm issued a press release with details of the new cast:

The Star Wars team is thrilled to announce the cast of Star Wars: Episode VII.

Actors John Boyega, Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, Oscar Isaac, Andy Serkis, Domhnall Gleeson, and Max von Sydow will join the original stars of the saga, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, Anthony Daniels, Peter Mayhew, and Kenny Baker in the new film.

Director J.J. Abrams says, "We are so excited to finally share the cast of Star Wars: Episode VII. It is both thrilling and surreal to watch the beloved original cast and these brilliant new performers come together to bring this world to life, once again. We start shooting in a couple of weeks, and everyone is doing their best to make the fans proud."

Star Wars: Episode VII is being directed by J.J. Abrams from a screenplay by Lawrence Kasdan and Abrams. Kathleen Kennedy, J.J. Abrams, and Bryan Burk are producing, and John Williams returns as the composer

Lawrence Kasdan and Harrison Ford flank J J Abrams (in front of R2), Peter Mayhew is far right with Carrie Fisher to his right, Mark Hamill is on the left (in the check shirt), with Anthony Daniels and Andy Serkis on either side of him.

I'll finish up with what I wrote on the sale of Lucasfilm to Disney in 2012.

My love for “Star Wars” hasn’t been diminished by the prequel trilogy, the expanded universe or the Clone Wars cartoon and so it won’t be diminished by whatever comes in the future.  But how about, for a change, a fan of the original trilogy looks for the positive?  This news means that there will be at least three more Star Wars films made and I’ll watch them, even if they don’t touch me in the same way.  But I’ll be able to take Dude to the cinema to see them, we’ll be able to share that universe together (and he will obviously know the history of it all too) and if it opens up a whole new generation of fans, then my beloved Original Trilogy will live on even longer - and that can’t be a bad thing.

Horror 101: The Way Forward

Released today, Horror 101: The Way Forward is a non-fiction guide to the horror genre edited by Joe Mynhardt and Emma Audsley, from Crystal Lake Publishing.  There's a lot of great information in here, from some terrific writers and I was chuffed to be asked to contribute (my essay is about overcoming writers block).

Horror 101: The Way Forward – a comprehensive overview of the Horror fiction genre and career opportunities available to established and aspiring authors.

Have you ever wanted to be a horror writer? Perhaps you have already realized that dream and you’re looking to expand your repertoire. Writing comic books sounds nice, right? Or how about screenplays?
That’s what Horror 101: The Way Forward is all about. It’s not your average On Writing guide that covers active vs. passive and other writing tips, Horror 101 focuses on the career of a horror writer. It covers not only insights into the horror genre, but the people who successfully make a living from it.

Covering aspects such as movies, comics, short stories, ghost-writing, audiobooks, editing, publishing, self-publishing, blogging, writer’s block, YA horror, reviewing, dark poetry, networking, collaborations, eBooks, podcasts, conventions, series, formatting, web serials, artwork, social media, agents, and career advice from seasoned professionals and up-and-coming talents, Horror 101 is just what you need to kick your career into high gear.

Horror 101: The Way Forward is not your average On Writing guide, as it is more focused on the career options available to authors. But don’t fret, this book is loaded with career tips and behind-the-scene stories on how your favourite authors broke into their respective fields.

Horror 101: The Way Forward is perfect for people who:
* are suffering from writer’s block
* are starting their writing careers
* are looking to expand their writing repertoire
* are planning on infiltrating a different field in horror writing
* are looking to pay more bills with their art
* are trying to further their careers
* are trying to establish a name brand
* are looking to get published
* are planning on self-publishing
* want to learn more about the pros in the horror genre
* are looking for motivation and/or inspiration
* love the horror genre
* are not sure where to take their writing careers

Includes articles by Jack Ketchum, Graham Masterton, Edward Lee, Lucy A. Snyder, Emma Audsley, RJ Cavender, Scott Nicholson, Weston Ochse, Taylor Grant, Paul Kane, Lisa Morton, Shane McKenzie, Dean M. Drinkel, Simon Marshall-Jones, Robert W. Walker, Don D’Auria and Glenn Rolfe, Harry Shannon, Chet Williamson, Lawrence Santoro, Thomas Smith, Blaze McRob, Rocky Wood, Ellen Datlow, Iain Rob Wright, Kenneth W. Cain, Daniel I. Russell, Michael McCarty, Richard Thomas, Joan De La Haye, Michael Wilson, Francois Bloemhof, C.E.L. Welsh, Jasper Bark, Niall Parkinson, Armand Rosamilia, Tonia Brown, Ramsey Campbell, Tim Waggoner, Gary McMahon, V.H. Leslie, Eric S Brown, William Meikle, John Kenny, Gary Fry, Diane Parkin, Jim Mcleod, Siobhan McKinney, Rick Carufel, Ben Eads, Theresa Derwin, Rena Mason, Steve Rasnic Tem, Michael A. Arnzen, Joe Mynhardt, John Palisano, Mark West, Steven Savile, and a writer so famous he’s required to stay anonymous.

Published by Crystal Lake Publishing
Edited by Joe Mynhardt and Emma Audsley
Cover art by Ben Baldwin
eBook formatting by Robert Swartwood

Final line-up:
Foreword by Mort Castle
Making Contact  by Jack Ketchum
What is Horror  by Graham Masterton
Bitten by the Horror Bug by Edward Lee
Reader Beware by Siobhan McKinney
Balancing Art and Commerce by Taylor Grant
From Prose to Scripts by Shane McKenzie
Writing About Films and for Film by Paul Kane
Screamplays! Writing the Horror Film by Lisa Morton
Screenplay Writing: The First Cut Is the Deepest by Dean M. Drinkel
Publishing by Simon Marshall-Jones
Weighing Up Traditional Publishing & eBook Publishing by Robert W. Walker
Glenn Rolfe Toes the Line with Samhain Horror Head Honcho, Don D’Auria by Glenn Rolfe
Bringing the Zombie to Life by Harry Shannon
Audiobooks: Your Words to Their Ears by Chet Williamson
Writing Aloud by Lawrence Santoro
Ghost-writing: You Can’t Write It If You Can’t Hear It by Thomas Smith
Ghost-writing by Blaze McRob
The Horror Writers Association - the Genre's Essential Ingredient by Rocky Wood
What a Short Story Editor Does by Ellen Datlow
Self-Publishing: Making Your Own Dreams by Iain Rob Wright
Self-Publishing: Thumb on the Button by Kenneth W. Cain
What’s the Matter with Splatter? by Daniel I. Russell
Partners in the Fantastic: The Pros and Cons of Collaborations by Michael McCarty
The Journey of “Rudy Jenkins Buries His Fears” by Richard Thomas
Writing Short Fiction by Joan De La Haye
A beginner’s guide to setting up and running a website by Michael Wilson
Poetry and Horror by Blaze McRob
Horror for Kids: Not Child’s Play by Francois Bloemhof
So you want to write comic books… by C.E.L. Welsh
Horror Comics – How to Write Gory Scripts for Gruesome Artists by Jasper Bark
Some Thoughts on my Meandering within the World of Dark and Horror Art by Niall Parkinson
Writing the Series by Armand Rosamilia
Running a Web serial by Tonia Brown
Reviewing by Jim Mcleod
Avoiding What’s Been Done to Death by Ramsey Campbell
The 7 Signs that make Agents and Editors say, "Yes!" by Anonymous
The (extremely) Short Guide to Writing Horror by Tim Waggoner
Growing Ideas by Gary McMahon
Filthy Habits – Writing and Routine by Jasper Bark
A Room of One’s Own – The Lonely Path of a Writer by V.H. Leslie
Do You Need an Agent? by Eric S Brown
Ten Short Story Endings to Avoid by William Meikle
Submitting Your Work Part 2: Read the F*****g Guidelines! by John Kenny
Rejection Letters – How to Write and Respond to Them by Jasper Bark
Editing and Proofreading by Diane Parkin
On Formatting: A Concise Guide to the Most Frequently Encountered issues by Rick Carufel
How to Dismember Your Darlings – Editing Your Own Work by Jasper Bark
From Reader to Writer: Finding Inspiration by Emma Audsley
Writing Exercises by Ben Eads
The Year After Publication… by Rena Mason
Writing Horror: 12 Tips on Making a Career of It by Steve Rasnic Tem
The Five Laws of Arnzen by Michael A. Arnzen
The Cheesy Trunk of Terror by Scott Nicholson
How to be Your Own Agent, Whether You Have One or Not by Joe Mynhardt
Networking at Conventions by Lucy A. Snyder
Pitch to Impress: How to Stand Out from the Convention Crowd by RJ Cavender
You Better (Net)Work by Tim Waggoner
Friendship, Writing, and the Internet by Weston Ochse
Buttoning Up Before Dinner by Gary Fry
How to Fail as an Artist in Ten Easy Steps by John Palisano
Writer’s Block by Mark West
Be the Writer You Want to Be by Steven Savile
Afterword by Joe Mynhardt

The ebook is available from Amazon and the Crystal Lake Publishing website

The Mystery Of The Dead Man's Riddle, by William Arden

Since 2014 marks the fiftieth anniversary of The Three Investigators being published, I thought it’d be enjoyable to re-read and compile my Top 10 (which might be subject to change in years to come, of course).  I previously read all 30 of the original series from 2008 to 2010 (a reading and reviewing odyssey that I blogged here), but this time I will concentrate on my favourite books and try to whittle the best ten from that.

So here we go.

Collins Hardback First Edition (printed in 1975), cover art by Roger Hall

Suddenly there was a loud crash and the houseboat lurched violently.

“We’ve broken loose!” cried Bob.  To their horror, the three boys saw they were already ten feet from the shore - and gathering speed rapidly.

“The dam!” Bob yelled.

A low roar grew louder.  Straight ahead the racing water of the creek surged over the dam in a thunderous mass.  There was nothing to stop them being swept to their deaths.

illustration from the Collins/Armada
editions, by Roger Hall

When local ‘wealthy eccentric’ Marcus ‘Dingo’ Towne dies, his will is revealed to be a challenge, with the person who finds his fortune able to keep it.  The boys are caught up in the hunt when Mr Andrews gives Bob an advance copy of it (to be published in the LA Times the next day) and also because Alfred Hitchcock (to his great displeasure) is named as an executor.  They are retained by Towne’s daughter-in-law Nelly and her fiancé Roger Callow (a lawyer) to find the fortune and assisted along the way by Nelly’s son Billy, who wants to be a detective himself.  The only problem is that the challenge is a set of six riddles, most of them written in rhyming slang (Towne’s father was a Cockney, though he was shipped to Australia as a convict) and once the news breaks, it seems that half of Rocky Beach is looking for the clues too.

This is the sixth entry in the series by William Arden (the pen-name of prolific mystery writer Dennis Lynds) and is, to my mind, pretty much perfect with a very sturdy mystery at its core.  Though hidden by good use of rhyming slang (something that I, as a kid, wasn’t aware of), the clues are clever and well realised and it’s fun to see how Jupiter cracks each one (though Billy manages to do a couple himself).

Staying close to home (often a benefit), this sends the boys all over Rocky Beach and the city is well described, with a great use of location in several sequences.  One of these is the key set piece (and the basis of all the cover art I’ve ever seen), where the boys are trapped on an old houseboat on the dam of the Ynez Creek.  It’s tightly written and exciting, allowing Pete to shine and builds the suspense up superbly (though the book makes it clear they’re ten feet from the bank, the artwork has them much further out).

There’s a lot of bright characterisation - especially Billy Towne, Dingo’s eight-year-old grandson who knows all about the Three Investigators and ends up a fourth partner (and wears a cape and deerstalker), Turk & Mr Savo and Dingo’s niece and nephew, the awful Winifred & Cecil Percival, two nasty piece of work English villains - along with some nice interplay between the boys.  The book also has a good sense of humour about it, typified by Pete’s eating habits and it runs at a cracking pace (I read the first half in one sitting and the time just flew by).  After opening on Bob writing up their last case (the search for Mrs Hester’s ring), we see the boys at school (and find out that Jupiter is president of the Science Club) and old favourite the Ghost-to-Ghost hook-up makes another appearance - and is used again by Billy, at a critical point of the story, where he makes his headquarters a phonebooth.

Featuring a well realised climax on the SS Queen Of The South, this is a cracking read, with a great sense of pace and I highly recommend it.

left - Armada format A paperback (printed between 1979 and 1980), cover art by Peter Archer
right - a US only illustration (by Jack Hearne) showing the boys arriving at Dingo Towne's place, after the riddle is published and the treasure hunters are out in force (see credit below)

Armada format B paperback (printed between 1982 and 1985), cover art by Peter Archer
(cover scan of my copy, 1983 impression)

The internal illustrations for the UK edition were drawn by Roger Hall.

Thanks to Ian Regan for the artwork (you can see more at his excellent Cover Art database here)
US illustration, by Jack Hearne, thanks to Philip Fulmer at the T3I Readers Site

Cold Turkey, by Carole Johnstone

In a new edition of the occasional series, I want to tell you about a book that I've read and loved, which I think adds to the horror genre and that I think you'll enjoy if you're a fan.

“I saw him Mr Munroe.” A sly look lit up Jimmy’s blinking eyes. “He’s always chasing you.”

Raym’s hand froze in front of his chest, creeping back up towards his throat again. “What?”

“In a funny square van.” The kid blinked, blinked, blinked. He wooshed his hands either side of his body like he was starting a drag race, and Raym flinched again. “It’s got black tails – really, really looong ones, like party streamers!”

All Raym wants to do is give up smoking. So why is his entire life falling apart? Why are new mistakes and old terrors conspiring against him? Why is he being plagued by the very worst spectre from his childhood? And why does giving up suddenly – horrifyingly – feel much, much more like giving in?

Raym Munroe has been a smoker since he was eight and even though he’s lost both parents - heavy smokers themselves - to cancer, he can’t seem to give the habit up.  But now he’s determined to and he’s doing to do it cold turkey.  A teacher at the school he went through as a kid (the Head teacher is the same man), he’s stuck in a dead-end job, in a dead-end town and tolerating a relationship with Wendy, who he’s been with since University.  They don’t like each other at all but that’s the way Raym’s life goes - he’d rather live with being unhappy than make a change.  As he begins to suffer nicotine withdrawal symptoms (though he’s more concerned with the ‘junk’ the Chinese put into their cigarettes) he begins to have what he believes are hallucinations, where he’s pursued by a spectre from his childhood, Top Hat the tally man.  This monster is tall and skinny (and beautifully captured on the cover art), with his crooked top hat and overlong tails and his hideously extended fingers “as sharp as dressmaking scissors” and appears to Raym in both his dreams - which are very well done in themselves - and chasing him as he walks to school.  It’s only when two children, both of them misfits, say that they can see Top Hat too that Raym realises his entire life is starting to crumble.  His dreams of the man become more vivid and after a particularly harrowing one - where Top Hat has ‘Imperial Superkings’ for fingers and burns Raym’s arms - he carries the same wounds into real life.  Sent by the head to see a hypnotherapist, who tells him it’s his brain fighting against itself, Raym not only starts losing hours from his life (corresponding to sneaky fag breaks) but he is assigned an LSA, a pretty young woman called Caitlin “Cate” MacDonald.  It’s not long before Raym and Cate are having an affair - their initial tryst, in an alley behind the local pub, is both grubby and erotic - but he thinks he can get away with it, slotting their time into the ‘lost’ hours.

This is an excellent novella, beautifully constructed and filled with wonderful little moments of humour- Raym braved the staff room with all the stoicism of a soldier shoved screaming over the top.  The characterisation is precise and clever - Raym isn’t generally a nice man (especially with Wendy and Cate) but you somehow willingly follow him and feel sympathy for his plight - and there’s a nice use of dialect too (especially the key phrase “Yer tea’s oot!”).  The male viewpoint is well captured and when everything goes wrong for Raym during the Easter Fayre, it all happens in a perfectly pitched sequence that is embarrassing and funny and painful but which you cannot look away from.

Johnstone doesn’t shy away from the dark side of things though, with some unpleasant sequences and an occasion of brutally shocking violence, as reality and fantasy intertwine until Raym (and the reader) are never quite sure what is actually happening and what’s imagination.  As an ex-smoker (and someone who loved King’s “Quitters, Inc”), Raym’s reactions and thought processes really rang a bell with me and I would suggest that this is written by someone who fully understands the pain of quitting smoking, even when you want to.  Top Hat is a superb creation, a ghoul who looks as if he’s stepped complete from a nightmare and it’s a testament to Carole Johnstone’s skill that she can make excellent use of something fundamental to your childhood - the ice cream van and the nursery rhyme Hickory Dickory Dock - and corrupt them both completely, making each one frightening and unpleasant.  Superbly written, with a great feel for character, dialogue and location, this is a great read and I highly recommend it.

For more details, follow this link to the TTA Press website

My friend Nick

Sometimes, I think, we don't talk enough about friends and what they mean to us, especially those that go back a long way in our lives.

detail of school photograph, Rothwell Juniors, 1977
with Nick on the left

I met Nick Duncan in September 1976, on the first day of junior school, just after my family had moved from Corby to Rothwell.  I don't know why Mrs Reid, our teacher, sat us next to each other - I didn't know absolutely anybody - but I'm really glad she did.  We became firm friends that day and, I'm happy to say, we still are.

Our friendship has been a bit of a rollercoaster at times but none of the 'downs' were that terrible with hindsight and most of the ups form the anecdotes of my life.  After school, he joined the RAF and moved away and that was a wrench, having to get used to a long-distance friendship.  This was in the late 80s and when we got bored of writing letters, we'd send each other taped messages - at least one side of a D90, occasionally padded out with new songs that we liked.  I still have some of them, though I haven't listened to one for years (just in case the tape snaps).  To this day, I've never quite got used to the distance - he now lives in Bristol - though that phrase, when you meet up again it's like you were never away, is entirely true.

Nick is my brother-from-another-mother and as kids, we spent so much time in each others houses that you often got fed by whichever Mum was in your orbit.  I was his Best Man, he was mine, he's Dude's godfather and - thankfully - he and Alison get on brilliantly well.

He hasn't had the best of times over the past couple of years and, on occasion, our friendship has really been tested - on both sides - but he's through it now, happier than I remember him being for a while and we're already planning adventures for the summer.

Today is his birthday.  I have known him for 38 years of his 45 and I hope we're best friends for at least the same amount again!

Off on a bike ride, 1987

Barnstaple, 2009

Market Harborough 2013

Happy birthday mate!

From little acorns...

Stephen King has been on my mind the last few weeks, with my re-reading of "Carrie" (read my review here) and my essay up at Matthew Craig's excellent #CarrieAt40 thread (which you can read here).  Following yesterday's blog post, I was having a little Facebook discussion with Ross Warren, Anthony Cowin, Andrew Murray and Alison Littlewood and we started talking about our personal top 10 favourite King books.  Then I posted this...

Here's an idea - Ross, Anthony, Andrew, Alison - how about next year, we declare it a Stephen King year. Twelve of us, we each pick one book and then blog a review/essay on it and link back to each others blog.  What do you think?

"More reviews?  Really?"

Well, they all thought it was a very good idea whilst I was wondering whether or not I could get twelve people interested enough in the project to take part.  Turns out, that wasn't something I should have worried about at all as within an hour, I'd filled all twelve spots with people who'd asked to be involved.

Ross made the suggestion of rather than hosting it on various sites, we have a dedicated blog for the reviews so I set one up and Willie Meikle gave it the perfect title "King For A Year".  I asked a few more people if they'd like to take part, yet more people came forward of their own volition and by the end of last night, I'd filled 24 spots.  As I write this now, we have 36 reviewers.

Alison later tweeted me "from little acorns..." and I'm really pleased that the idea of the blog has taken off so well.  The concept of it is very simple - you pick your favourite King book (novel, novella, whatever) and write a review of it and all of them will be posted throughout the year in 2015.

Some reviews you might agree with, some you probably won't but hopefully they'll lead the reader to some new titles they haven't tried before.

I hope you, dear blog reader, will dip in and out to see what people have to say about "the bloke who writes the scary stuff" and I hope it entertains you.  I'll remind you nearer the time when it's about to start but for the moment, the blog is up with a holding page here - http://kingreviews2015.blogspot.co.uk/

And just to whet your appetite further, here's the list of confirmed reviewers (so far):

Anthony Cowin, Stephen Bacon, Jenny Barber, Matthew Craig, Donna Bond, Mihai Adascalitei, Willie Meikle, Maura McHugh, Gary McMahon, Sarah Langan, James Everington, Selina Lock, Adele Wearing, John Llewellyn Probert, Lynda E. Rucker, Mark West, Kim Talbot Hoelzli, Jay Eales, Thana Niveau, Alison Littlewood, Phil Sloman, Steven Savile, Ray Cluley, Johnny Mains, Liz Barnsley, Jim Mcleod, James Bennett, Carole Johnstone, Andrew Murray, Cate Gardner, K. T. Davies, Ross Warren ,Sheri White, Colin F. Barnes, Simon Bestwick, Richard Chizmar

I'm looking forward to this...

Carrie At 40

Further to my review of "Carrie" (which I blogged here), my essay on the novel has now gone live at Matthew Craig's readerdad.co.uk site as part of his Carrie At 40 celebrations.

I was pleased to be asked, pleased to be in such sterling company and very pleased that I finally got round to reading Stephen King's first published novel.

You can read my essay at Matthew's site here.

The Unquiet House, by Alison Littlewood

In a new edition of the occasional series, I want to tell you about a book that I've read and loved, which I think adds to the horror genre and that I think you'll enjoy if you're a fan.

Mire House is dreary, dark, cold and infested with midges. But when Emma Dean inherits it from a distant relation, she immediately feels a sense of belonging. 

It isn’t long before Charlie Mitchell, grandson of the original owner, appears claiming that he wants to seek out his family. But Emma suspects he’s more interested in the house than his long-lost relations. 

And when she starts seeing ghostly figures, Emma begins to wonder: is Charlie trying to scare her away, or are there darker secrets lurking in the corners of Mire House?

The house was built for love, but love never came to fill it.  Something else did...

The book opens with Emma, who has just lost both of her parents and inherited Mire House from an uncle - Clarence Mitchell - she never knew.  Bereft and alone, she embraces the challenge of setting up a new house, seeing it as a way to escape the past and start again.  Occasionally prone to light flights of fantasy - she remembers her Mum saying “You’re being fanciful, Emma” - she is disturbed to find an old suit and pipe in a cupboard in her bedroom, which always seem to be there, even after she’s thrown them away.  Mire House is next door to a rundown church and when she explores it, she meets Frank before going out to investigate the graveyard.  Under an old Yew tree, she finds a bench with an inscription - “My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken me?  Matthew 27:46”  Then she hears voices and sees things in Mire House that she can’t explain and it seems as though something from the past might be reaching out to take her hand.

The book is told in four parts, with the bookends being the Emma sequences which are both set in 2013.  Part 2 - 1973 focusses on Frank Watts (the man from the church), who is 11.  Investigating Mire House, Frank meets Mr Owens, who lives there alone, sitting in the drawing room all day in his old suit, smoking a pipe as he mourns his lost wife.  Striking up an odd friendship, this is shattered when Franks friend Sam - who’s 12 and manipulative and sly - persuades him to steal something from the house, threatening Frank’s younger brother Mossy.  What happens after this is genuinely heartbreaking on several levels and I felt like I had a bit of dust in my eye.

“Part 3 - 1939 The Last Stook” is the story of Aggie, Frank’s Mum, who is 16 years old and living in the farm just up the road from Mire House.  There’s a tangible air of sadness to this section, for the doomed Mrs Hollingworth who is having Mire House built and also for Aggie’s brother and friends who are called up to the war that is just starting.  With the ‘second’ Mrs Hollingworth taking in evacuees - amongst them a very young Clarence Mitchell - Aggie begins to see a dark woman in the cemetery, under the Yew tree and this vision leads to another terrible, gut-wrenching conclusion.

The separate sections are vivid and full of life, easily standing as independent novellas and while this style works wonderfully for the book - and immerses the reader completely in the well-realised times - it’s also my one area to quibble, that we spend so long away from Emma (almost 300 pages) it takes a while to get back into her rhythm.  Having said that, part four works beautifully, setting up a painfully poignant note before moving swiftly and with complete assurance to an unexpected - and frightening - conclusion.

“The Unquiet House” is filled with writing that is assured and stylish, with barely a word wasted and long sequences take place without any dialogue, adding to the sense of unease and melancholy that the novel seems to exude.  With some nice touches - most of the dialogue is written as dialect, which is interesting - a keen sense of location and atmosphere - the house, the mire and the church are characters unto themselves - and a nicely deliberate pace that keeps you on the edge, this is told with verve by a writer spreading her wings and surely taking off for ever greater success.  Dark and spooky, with touches of humour and a knowing sense of family life and dynamics, this is an excellent novel and I highly recommend it.

The Mystery Of The Screaming Clock, by Robert Arthur

Since 2014 marks the fiftieth anniversary of The Three Investigators being published, I thought it’d be enjoyable to re-read and compile my Top 10 (which might be subject to change in years to come, of course).  I previously read all 30 of the original series from 2008 to 2010 (a reading and reviewing odyssey that I blogged here), but this time I will concentrate on my favourite books and try to whittle the best ten from that.

So here we go.

Collins Hardback First Edition (printed between 1969 and 1971), cover art by Roger Hall

A room full of clocks and they all scream…why?

A new mystery for Jupiter, Pete and Bob to unravel but they haven’t much to go on - a torn message in code, a recording of Bert Clock’s glass-shattering scream and the theft of several valuable paintings - a thin collection of clues and time is running out…

A great illustration inside Headquarters,
as Bob, Jupe and Pete try to crack Bert
Clock's riddles

Sorting through some junk that Uncle Titus has just brought in, Jupe plugs in an electric clock and it screams at him, bringing his colleagues running.  Deciding that a screaming clock is a good start to a mystery, the boys try to track down where it came from and the trail leads them to the home of Bert Clock, once a voice-actor on radio famous for his ear-piercing screams.  But Clock has gone, presumed dead, leaving his house cared for by Mrs Smith and her son Harry.  Harry's father is in prison, jailed for a theft he didn't commit and when an old adversary of the Three Investigators - not to mention a handful of ruthless criminals - enters the picture, it suddenly seems that the clock might hold clues to not only his innocence but to lost treasures too.  The boys, with Harry's help, must solve Bert Clock's riddles before time runs out!

With a fantastic opening line - “The clock screamed” - this is a great story and whilst not as sensational as other entries in the series, it is thoroughly entertaining.  Playing to Robert Arthur's strengths, this sticks resolutely close to home (following the trip to Varania in the previous book) and takes full advantage of the Junkyard, Headquarters and the sunny climes of Rocky Beach and Los Angeles.  Arthur plots a solid mystery and the boys detecting skills are showcased perfectly, though some of the clues do seem to rely heavily on chance.  Characterisation is first rate and it’s good to see Hugenay again (after “The Mystery Of The Stuttering Parrot” - it’s a shame he never appeared again), though his adversary Mr Jeeters is a surprisingly nasty piece of work (especially with the threats he makes to Jupiter and Bob).  As always with Arthur, there's a tinge of poignant nostalgia (in this case, the golden-era of radio plays) but that gives the story a bit more heart.  With some well written action sequences, nice interplay with the lads and two footnotes to previous cases, this is a thoroughly enjoyable read and definitely one of the better entries in the series.  Highly recommended. 

the Armada paperbacks, both with cover art by Peter Archer
left - format a, printed between 1971 and 1979 - right - format b, printed between 1980 and 1985

The internal illustrations for the UK edition were drawn by Roger Hall.

Thanks to Ian Regan for the artwork (you can see more at his excellent Cover Art database here)

Goodbye Sue Townsend, RIP

Late last night, Sue Townsend passed away at her home following a short illness.  She hailed from Leicester (sequences of the original Adrian Mole TV show were filmed there) and although I never got to meet her (I wish I had), her writing really spoke to me.  I read "The Secret Diary Of Adrian Mole, aged 13 3/4" in 1983, when I was thirteen - and it was brilliant, funny, sad and a work of genius (plus it had the lovely Pandora Braithwaite).

There's nothing else to say except that in 2012, as part of the Adrian Mole 30th anniversary, I re-read the original novel and it's sequel and went to an exhibition of her papers at the University of Leicester with Dude and our friend David Roberts.  And since she was a great writer, maybe that's the best memorial we can give her, to remember the joy of reading that she gave us (and think of all those people who picked up this book as the first one they chose for themselves, leading them - perhaps - to a lifetimes joy of the written word).

The Secret Diary Of Adrian Mole, aged 13 ¾
Starting in 1981, this follows Adrian Mole from being the eponymous age to his fifteenth birthday, detailing every incident in his life over that period.

I first read this in 1983 (making me the same age as Mole - in the book, he mentions that his father is 41 making me 2 years older as I re-read it) and it’s just as bright, inventive and funny today as I remember it being back then.  From his complete self-absorption - he faithfully reports on his parents marriage breakdown, without realising what’s going on - to his obsession with spots, from his trying friendships to first love with the enigmatic and beautiful Pandora Braithwaite, this is as accurate a portrayal of a teenaged boy as I can remember reading (I’ve kept a diary since 1981 and sometimes Adrian’s entries could have been lifted my mine).

Funny, poignant and never less than readable, this is highly recommended.

The Growing Pains Of Adrian Mole
Picking up the day after “The Secret Diary” ended, this volume contains plenty of turmoil in Adrian’s life - his mum and Stick Insect are both pregnant, which leads to the break-up of his parents marriage, there’s paternity issues on his sister Rosie (rat fink Lucas maintains she is his), his relationship with Pandora hits the rocks and he briefly ends up in Baz’s street gang, before running away to Manchester.

Slightly darker in tone than the first volume - the Falklands War is dealt with well - Adrian’s typical self-absorption means that it’s up to the reader to put together what’s happening and that helps the story well.

Still a lot of fun - with the added bonus to me that there are several references to my locale, namely on a Skegness holiday, their friend comes from Corby and one of Adrian’s letters is delayed when the mail train gets derailed in Kettering - this is a cracking read and very much recommended.

The following photo's were taken by David and myself at the University of Leicester, 27th October 2012.

originally called Nigel Mole

Wonderful artwork

Introducing a new audience...

RIP, Sue Townsend, you will be missed.


source - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-26982680