Posts Tagged ‘fiction’

King of the Vagabonds is the second book in Neal Stephenson’s Baroque Cycle, following on from Quicksilver. When I say “following on” the story is unrelated but just the next in the series. It follows the adventures of a commoner, Jack Shaftoe, and his adventures around Europe and the world.

Crooked House is a murder mystery novel by Agatha Christie. It is one of the few that stands alone without any of Christie’s regular detective characters. It was okay. I didn’t have to force myself to finish it but it wasn’t amazing.

THe A.B.C Murders is a murder mystery novel by Agatha Christie. It features Hercule Poirot trying to solve a series of alphabetically-organised murders.

As I have commented in previous reviews, once you have read And Then There Were None, All other novels are inferior. But I did enjoy this one. The ending is okay but the story is entertaining throughout. Maybe ranks third behind And Then There Were None and Murder on the Orient Express.

Peril at End House is an Agatha Christie novel. It features Hercule Poirot who is on holiday when he finds himself drawn into investigating the attempted murders of Nick Buckley. It’s pretty good but not one of my favourites.

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd is a murder mystery novel by Agatha Christie. It features Hercule Poirot and is the second novel I have read to feature the character.

Spoiler alert: there is a twist at the end. And more spoilers below. I wasn’t a big fan of the twist, but it is a well-written novel and I think most people would like it. Anyhow, It was an enjoyable read but I found Caroline Sheppard an annoying character and the whole nursing home a bit strange.

The Murder at the Vicarage is a mystery novel by Agatha Christie. It is the first one I have read to feature Miss Marple.

I have heard plenty of jokes about the death rate in St Mary Mead and I do wonder how exactly so many novels will be spun out on the topic. Maybe she travels? Anyway, I enjoyed the book.

Murder on the Orient Express is a mystery novel by Agatha Christie. It features Hercule Poirot and revolves around a passenger being murdered on the famous train that Poirot happens to be travelling on.

It has a nice twist (spoilers: there’s a twist!) although not quite as intriguing as And Then There Were None. I was not in love with Poirot as a character initially but I have since warmed to him. Overall, an enjoyable read.

And Then There Were None is a mystery novel by Agatha Christie. It was another punt on my unused Audible credits as recommended by Elina. It was the first Christie novel I have read and does without her two famous characters, Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot.

I really enjoyed it. In many ways, maybe I should not have started with such a good Christie novel as it has massively set my expectations for the other books I am reading.

Blood of Elves is a fantasy fiction book by Andrzej Sapkowski. It is the first in the Witcher series and having a bunch of Audible credits I took a punt and bought the first three. I did not pay off massively, but it was an enjoyable read.

The audio is quiet which is annoying as I have to listen to it at maximum volume. The story is okay, but not as gripping as A Song of Ice and Fire which is the nearest thing I could describe to to in my admittedly limited reading of fantasy.

Quicksilver is a historical novel by Neal Stephenson. It is part of the The Baroque Cycle, although I don’t really know what that is.

It jumps around which kept things interesting. The pace differs. Lots of details about the ships, not much about the plague or the fire. Overall, it was enjoyable, and I will probably end up reading more of the series.