Category Archives: Reviews

Book reviews, as well as Reads to Reels

Foul Deeds will Rise

Posted on September 22, 2015 by smellincoffee

Foul Deeds Will Rise© 2014 Greg Cox384 pages             A galaxy can be a small world. When James T. Kirk attended a performance of The Tempest put on by volunteers nursing refugees in the middle of … Continue reading →

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A Week in Narnia

Posted on September 20, 2015 by smellincoffee

On last Friday I enjoyed The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, reading it for the first time since the O.J. Simpson trial. I never liked fantasy as a child; it took Redwall and Harry Potter to coax me into … Continue reading →

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The Last Battle

Posted on September 19, 2015 by smellincoffee

The Last Battle © 1956 C.S. Lewis 184 pages “This is my password,” said the King as he drew his sword. “The light is dawning, the lie broken. Now guard thee, miscreant, for I am Tirian of Narnia.” In The … Continue reading →

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The Silver Chair

Posted on September 18, 2015 by smellincoffee

The Silver Chair © 1953 C.S. Lewis 217 pages Escaping from bullies in their oppressively modern boarding school, Eustace Scubbs and his friend Jill Pole opened a door and promptly fell into Narnia. Visits to Narnia always come unexpectedly, and … Continue reading →

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The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

Posted on September 17, 2015 by smellincoffee

The Voyage of the Dawn Treader © 1952 C.S. Lewis 223 pages             There are unwanted gifts, and then there are unwanted gifts that pull your only son into a fantasy world of dangerous creatures, powerful … Continue reading →

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The Horse and his Boy

Posted on September 16, 2015 by smellincoffee

The Horse and his Boy © 1954 C.S. Lewis 199 pages “For in Calormen, story-telling (whether the stories are true or made up) is a thing you’re taught, just as English boys and girls are taught essay writing. The difference … Continue reading →

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Prince Caspian

Posted on September 15, 2015 by smellincoffee

Prince Caspian: The Return to Narnia © 1951 C.S. Lewis 195 pages            Once upon a time four children stumbled through an ordinary-looking wardrobe into another  world altogether, a place called Narnia where they became its kings and … Continue reading →

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The Magician’s Nephew

Posted on September 14, 2015 by smellincoffee

The Magician’s Nephew © 1955 C.S. Lewis 183 pages           Diggory and Polly were just two kids on vacation exploring a forbidding-looking attic. They didn’t intend to witnesss Creation, let alone accidently unleash evil into it. Like … Continue reading →

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The Eagle’s Conquest

Posted on September 10, 2015 by smellincoffee

The Eagle’s Conquest© 2002 Simon Scarrow320 pages In Under the Eagle,  Simon Scarrow introduced readers to two legionnaires:  Macro, a grizzled veteran, and Cato, a young bookish sort straight from Rome , a boy made an officer  because of his … Continue reading →

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Here be Dragons

Posted on September 8, 2015 by smellincoffee

Here be Dragons © 1985 Sharon Penman 700 pages               Here Be Dragons takes readers to the Welsh Marches in 13th century England. King John, remembered for losing England’s ancestral holdings in France and being gelded by his own barons … Continue reading →

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