Review: City of Dreams by Don Winslow

I call middle sections of trilogies storytelling cartilage. You need that connective tissue for the sake of the saga’s culmination. But those second novels rarely satisfy. They don’t function as standalone narratives. They’re bridges.  Leave it to the maestro, Don Winslow, to refute that notion. “City of Dreams” picks up moments after “City on Fire” … Continue reading Review: City of Dreams by Don Winslow

Review: The Last Orphan by Gregg Hurwitz

Evan Smoak returns in another pedal-to-the-metal action blockbuster, which doesn't really ingratiate itself to new readers, but will more than satisfy those who've been following Orphan X since the beginning. In other words, if you loved the others, you'll love "The Last Orphan," too.  This time round, our favourite government-assassin-turned-pro-bono-vigilante is captured by an army of … Continue reading Review: The Last Orphan by Gregg Hurwitz

Review: Age Of Vice by Deepti Kapoor

Deepti Kapoor's "Age Of Vice" is a sprawling, old-fashioned epic that reads like a fusion of Don Winslow and Rohinton Mistry. It's the story of India at the turn of the 21st century, prismed through the perspectives of three characters navigating the country's rampant corruption; its prejudice, class, money and power; and facing up to their own morality … Continue reading Review: Age Of Vice by Deepti Kapoor

Review: Sarn Helen – A Journey Through Wales, Past, Present and Future by Tom Bullough

Tom Bullough's "Sarn Helen" is many things: a travelogue of the author's walk of the titular Roman road that once cut through Wales, from southern Neath to northern Caerhun; a history of the country from its very beginning; and a terrifying prophecy of its future, as the climate crisis intensifies. Despite his inauspicious forecast, "Sarn Helen" is very much … Continue reading Review: Sarn Helen – A Journey Through Wales, Past, Present and Future by Tom Bullough