A Guide to the Birds of East Africa by Nicholas Drayson - review

Contrary to the title, this is actually a novel. And the second book in my TBR Challenge.

I read Confessing a Murder by Nicholas Drayson a  few years ago, and it was an odd, quirky but memorable novel

Guide is much the same.

Every Tuesday, Mr Malik takes part in a weekly bird walk, sponsored by the East African Ornithological Society. He's in love with the woman who leads the walks, which leads Mr Malik - an honourable, quiet man - into a very strange competition.

Guide reminds me a little bit of The No 1 Ladies' Detective Agency in its quirks and charms, which Drayson balances nicely with very human details and shading.

There are also hints of P G Wodehouse in the competition at Mr Malik's club, which is reminiscent of Wodehouse's golf stories.

It's a short novel, but it's definitely a charmer.

The Eyes of the Dragon review

One TBR read down! Heh :D

Stephen King is of course, best known for his horror novels, but once in a while he takes a look down a different aisle, tests out the goods.

The Eyes of the Dragon can be found down one of those offshoot aisles.

Written, apparently, for King's daughter who didn't like horror stories, The Eyes of  the Dragon is definitely a departure.

Not that that's a bad thing. Not at all because The Eyes of the Dragon is great. If it has to be categorised, I would say it's YA Fantasy. It's actually a very straightforward fantasy novel, and I mean that in the best possible sense of the word.

It's set in a magical kingdom, where king Roland is a foolish if kind king, with two sons - Peter and Thomas - and a shadowy magician adviser called Flagg.

When Roland is murdered, Peter is accused of the crime and imprisoned in The Needle.

Peter is, of course, innocent, and Flagg is determined to make mischief.

There's something oddly comforting about The Eyes of the Dragon and I can't quite put my finger on it. It feels like the narrator is telling you the story personally, and all of the elements are familiar, and it just all pulls together into a cosy, remarkably readable whole.

The 2014 TBR reading challenge list

I finally pulled this together. I've cleared part of a bookshelf so all the books could hang out, keep each other company.

The list is, from left:

Eye of the Dragon by Stephen King
A Guide to the Birds of East Africa by Nicholas Drayson
Nefertiti (non-fiction) by Joyce Tydesley
The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss
Winter Solstice by Rosamund Pilcher
Galileo's Dream by Kim Stanley Robinson
A Song of Ice and Fire bk 3- A Storm of Swords by G R R Martin
The Passage by Justin Cronin
Someplace to be Flying by Charles de Lint
The Children's Book by A S Byatt
The Looking Glass War by Frank Beddor.

I'm starting with Eye of the Dragon in January, and then working through month by monh in the order they're in the bookcase. :)