Our Woden team have gathered together some wonderful reads this week!
Luckily our spotlight is used to handling glowing reviews.
Sherlock Holmes Vol. I by Sir Arthur Conan-Doyle:
Possibly the world’s greatest detective and his companion meet the world as only Sherlock Holmes can. Doyle really brings his characters to life as they sleuth it out across olde time London. Impossible to put down as you are immersed in a piece of history and follow Holmes through the smoggy streets, solving any tiny clue set out in front of him. A fun, funny and exciting read. Sherlock Holmes has clearly stood the test of time. As fresh now as he ever was. – Derek
Solomon Creed by Simon Toyne:
Solomon Creed burns with a slow wick. It reveals the plot slowly. It reveals the bad guys slowly and it reveals Solomon Creed himself very slowly.
We first meet him after a fiery plane crash near the border town of Redemption, Arizona. He is smartly dressed in tailor made clothes from Paris and carries a small paperback inscribed with the name James Coronado, who we learn has just been buried in the town’s historic wild west cemetery. He saves many lives during the wild fire that results from the plane crash and threatens to burn the whole town. He is thrown in jail for his efforts.
The story is told from many different perspectives. The goodies and the baddies are given equal time, but the most interesting part is hearing the story told in the paperback Creed was carrying in his pocket. It tells the story of the founder of the town, whose desperate trek through the deserts of the south-west leads to horror, wealth, wonder and Redemption. Though the ex-copper and hit-man Mulcahy is pretty interesting too, walking the razor’s edge between evil and really evil.
The rest of the story involves corrupt coppers and politicians, narcotics, psychotic drug kingpins from the badlands of Northern Mexico, and the strangest most intriguing albino hero you will meet in fiction. Solomon Creed can ride, shoot, fight but cannot remember where he is from or why he is in Redemption, Arizona but he knows he is here to save James Coronado, whoever he may be.
Part “No Country For Old Men“, part “The Son” by Phillip Meyer, with a smattering of the supernatural, we could not put this book down. It is captivating, a bit blood thirsty and very satisfying. – David (Store Manager)
Elizabeth is Missing by Emma Healey:
A fantastic and original concept in crime fiction.
This is the story of Maud, an ageing mother, grandmother and friend who’s memory is rapidly deteriorating. Maud’s life is made up of small snippets of memory helped along by notes she writes herself.
There are two puzzles in Maud’s life one new and one old which she must find the answers too, even as she struggles with a life that is becoming more confused day by day.
This book will leave you guessing to the end as you help piece together Maud’s story.
Told in a gentle, funny and sometimes sad way this book is full of wonderful, unforgettable characters. – Rachel (Store 2IC)
The Beast’s Garden by Kate Forsyth:
Everyone here at Woden knows that I am a hopeless romantic and cannot resist a heartbreaking love story, so it is not surprising that I grabbed Kate Forsyth’s latest novel, The Beast’s Garden, and did not let it go until the early hours of the following morning.
Similar to Kate Forsyth’s recent novels, The Beast’s Garden is a retelling of The Grimm Brother’s tale ‘The Singing, Springing Lark’ which is a variation of Beauty and the Beast. The novel is set in WWII Germany and follows the lives of a young Nazi officer and his new bride. Ava initially fears her new husband, however gradually realizes he is a good man and comes to love him. Ava and Leo soon become wrapped up in a dangerous underground resistance movement. The Beast’s Garden has all the indigents of a stunning love story; drama, intrigue and heartbreak. Not to be missed by any true romantic. – Shannon
Ready Player One by Ernest Cline:
Ernest Cline’s Ready Player One is a cult classic hiding in a modern day work. With unexpected thrills and over a hundred amazing references to popular 80’s movies and games, this book will give anyone who grew up in the 80’s nostalgia. The sci-fi book focuses on a video game called OASIS. OASIS is a fictitious virtual reality game that expands to thousands of kilometers and is so detailed that it is basically a whole new world. Wade, an orphaned boy, travels all the way across OASIS in order to find the only “Easter Egg” in the game. This hilarious book will take you on a unique adventure that will make you feel like you are actually in a video game. If you enjoy any type of video game or if you are a movie buff, Ready Player One will put you straight into its world and make you want more and more. – Alex
Station Eleven by Emily St John Mandel:
Canadian author Emily St John Mandel blew my mind with an artistic tale of the post-apocalypse named Station Eleven. Never before did I think that the post-apocalypse could be more than just an action thriller, Emily St John Mandel proved that wrong.
Taking place 20 years after an extremely deadly strand of flu took over 90% of the earth’s population, this book follows a group of actors and musicians called “The Travelling Symphony” who travel across the barren wastelands of the once known USA. The story crosses between before and after the flu, showing you a great deal of memory and loss and how it can affect people.
Station Eleven is a beautiful book with words and descriptions that made me feel like I was looking directly at a very beautiful but gruesome painting. A book that will make you actually feel like you’re in the post-apocalyptic world, Station Eleven will grab you by the heart and give you tingles down your spine. – Alex
