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Knots and Crosses (Inspector Rebus, #1)
Knots and Crosses by Ian Rankin Published: 1987 Ian Rankin is one of those authors that I’ve always known about but never had any desire to read. It’s too overwhelming to start on something that’s already nineteen novels in, and it’s hard not to see the writing as a case of quantity over quality when confronted with a back catalogue of that size. I should know, being a fan of Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series (forty books in and still going strong), that this line of thinking is complete nonsense, but that’s what comes to mind. I don’t think it helps that these books fall into the crime genre, which can…
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Chocky
Chocky by John Wyndham Published: 1968 This is my third John Wyndham novel, and he’s quickly becoming one of my favourite authors. I love this older, pulpy science fiction. He has very creative ideas, but I wouldn’t say the ideas themselves are the main focus, as with some science fiction. They’re more of a backdrop for really interesting character interaction. The premise of Chocky is simple – a young couple’s adopted child, Matthew, has begun hearing a voice. The story is told from his father’s point of view, and he isn’t too concerned at the beginning. Their youngest, Matthew’s sister Polly, had an imaginary friend for about a year when…