A Novel Review Book Podcast

To follow and support us, click here: http://anovelreviewpodcast.com In The Shadow of the Torturer, Gene Wolfe hands us a scalpel and says, “Figure it out.” Severian, our melancholic torturer with a soft spot for doomed women and old words, stumbles through a decaying Earth like a poetic space-opera Don Quixote. It's sci-fi wrapped in fantasy dressed as philosophy - beautifully baffling, like read...

A podcast all about books! To follow and support us, click here: http://anovelreviewpodcast.com The world book tour takes flight once more and this month we are off to Japan with the first stop in the kitchen! Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto is a melancholic hug wrapped in the scent of home-cooked meals. It’s a tale of grief, love, and late-night ramen, where kitchens become sanctuaries and loneliness...

To follow and support us, click here: http://anovelreviewpodcast.com Creating a list of the 30 best books of the 21st century with some rules is difficult enough but what makes it harder is just trying to remember all the books you have read in the first place. Join Seamus as he starts his list, counting down the 30 best books across 3 episodes! Painting: I am not sure what I painted, I was experi...

To follow and support us, click here: http://anovelreviewpodcast.com The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende is a sweeping historical novel that blends magical realism with political and family drama. It follows the Trueba family across generations, exploring themes of love, power, and destiny. Through vivid storytelling, Allende weaves Chile’s turbulent history into a tale of resilience, passi...

To follow and support us, click here: http://anovelreviewpodcast.com Mervyn Peake tragically passed away before being able to finish his planned 5 book Gormenghast series. He managed 2 books at full health and worked in a third, but this had its issues. Today I discuss this ‘trilogy’ and my issues with it being called that. Painting: Today I painted Titus Alone in front of a larger empty world Som...

To follow and support us, click here: http://anovelreviewpodcast.com Reality blurs with ghostly nostalgia, and the past presses continue whether we like it or not. Nona Fernández’s Space Invaders is a haunting puzzle of memory, dictatorship, and childhood, piecing together fragmented recollections of Chile’s Pinochet era through the eyes of schoolchildren. A novel both fleeting and unforgettable,...

To follow and support us, click here: http://anovelreviewpodcast.com "The Dark King Swallows the World" blends history and fantasy with a dash of whimsy, as 12-year-old Nora navigates faeries, giants, and a chilling King of the Dead—all to bring her brother back. It’s a magical rollercoaster where every page feels like a new twist, proving that even in the darkest times, a little imagination can g...

To follow and support us, click here: http://anovelreviewpodcast.com “A Woman in Berlin” is an anonymous account of a woman’s experience during the fall of Berlin in 1945, as Soviet forces invade the city. The diary, written by a journalist, reveals the harsh realities of war, sexual violence, and survival. Her poignant observations offer an unflinching portrayal of the human cost of conflict, exp...

To follow and support us, click here: http://anovelreviewpodcast.com In Gormenghast, Mervyn Peake doubles down on his surreal vision, crafting a gothic maze where time moves in sluggish circles and tradition is a trap. The castle is both character and prison, and its inhabitants, bizarrely fixated on status, seem destined to stumble through their own eccentricities. Steeped in dark humor and absur...

To follow and support us, click here: http://anovelreviewpodcast.com A story of fiction inlaid with the truth from someone who was there. The writer Hans Peter Richter was there in Nazi Germany, not just as a bystander but as an active participant. The story he writes explores the lives of a young boy living under this regime of ideological programming that led so many Germans along a morally abho...

To follow and support us, click here: http://anovelreviewpodcast.com Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell tells the historically fictive, gothic, fantasy tale of the two practical magicians in London. One is the master, the prim and proper, quiet and concerned Mr Norrell, the other, the apprentice, eager and energetic, daring and audacious, Jonathan Strange. Both believe in the magic they work on, but...

To follow and support us, click here: http://anovelreviewpodcast.com A girl returns but she never knew she left. How would you navigate growing up only to learn at age 13 you have been with a foster family, and your real family want you back. Only, they don’t really want you back. So begins the tale as our young narrator is forced to question the nature and definition of what constitutes a family....

To follow and support us, click here: http://anovelreviewpodcast.com The fantasy tour for 2025 kicks off with this crumbling vestige of fantasy literature that endures against the masses. Ghormengast is the great castle that outlasts all, and within its hallowed halls, the ritualistic mundane life of the Earl of Groan is carried out daily. Around him, a fantastically absurd cast of characters go a...

To follow and support us, click here: http://anovelreviewpodcast.com The world book tour takes flight and this month we are off to Italy. The Moon and the Bonfires by Cesare Pavese asking the personal question of ‘what is a home?’ If you leave your home and come back to find that you and it have changed, is it still your home. Lyrically pervasive with an attractive uneasiness, the novel packs a pu...

To follow and support us, click here: http://anovelreviewpodcast.com As 2024 comes to a close, I wonder where I will go next year. What magical countries will literature transport me to? That’s when an idea stuck me. A book world tour. 12 months, 12 countries, 24 books. A sample of some of the beauty that is out there in the vast world we inhabit. Painting: Today I painted a plane setting off for...

To follow and support us, click here: http://anovelreviewpodcast.com Ho Ho Hello and Merry Christmas! In A Christmas Carol, Dickens wraps up Scrooge's grumpy heart with a bow of redemption. Haunted by ghosts, he discovers generosity isn't just for the wealthy. A festive reminder that even the most miserly souls can learn the joy of Christmas cheer! Painting: Today I painted a duck with a Christmas...

To follow and support us, click here: http://anovelreviewpodcast.com What is a book? What constitutes a novel? These are the questions I ask while navigating 7 and a half stories of urban dread and social destruction. The interplay of youth and the political, the navigation of social norms and customs against the backdrop of familial ties and responsibilities. 7 and a half stories weaved into a ta...

To follow and support us, click here: http://anovelreviewpodcast.com In The Woman in Black, Susan Hill conjures a ghost story as chilling as Eel Marsh’s fog. Arthur Kipps, an unsuspecting solicitor, unravels the tragic spectre of vengeance—her hollow eyes haunting his every step. Hill’s prose dances like shadows, weaving dread into every corner, proving silence can scream louder than words. Painti...

To follow and support us, click here: http://anovelreviewpodcast.com In The Amber Spyglass, Lyra and Will defy gods and universes, only to find that saving Dust means bittersweet farewells. Talking bears, wheeled creatures, and quantum physics spice the plot, while the ultimate message whispers: freedom, curiosity, and love outshine even celestial tyranny. Painting: Today I painted the mountains t...

To follow and support us, click here: http://anovelreviewpodcast.com Stephen King's Misery traps readers in a harrowing tale of obsession and survival. When best-selling author Paul Sheldon finds himself injured and at the mercy of his "number one fan," Annie Wilkes, the line between admiration and madness blurs. Fueled by sinister hospitality and a typewriter's click, it's a chilling reminder: so...

Non-Fiction November. Today we dive into the rich tapestry of truth-telling—no dragons, no dystopias, just the raw, messy beauty of real life. Whether it's science, true crime, or biographies, we'll find stories stranger than fiction. Ready to get real? Painting: Today I painted a mountain because the mountain is our view of history Some of the books and authors discussed in this episode include:...

To follow and support us, click here: http://anovelreviewpodcast.com Octavia Butler’s Kindred is a riveting fusion of sci-fi and historical fiction that hurls its protagonist, Dana, from 1970s California into the brutal world of 19th-century slavery. Blending time travel with searing social commentary, Butler masterfully exposes how history's injustices linger in modern veins, making this a page-t...

To follow and support us, click here: http://anovelreviewpodcast.com The Subtle Knife, the second book in Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy, takes us on a journey between worlds. Here, 12-year-old Will discovers a knife that can slice through anything, even dimensions. Paired with Lyra, they navigate sinister forces and philosophical dilemmas. It's a spellbinding tale where science, magi...

To follow and support us, click here: http://anovelreviewpodcast.com Just in time for Halloween: In  Carrie, shy high school outcast Carrie White discovers she has telekinetic powers—just in time for prom. Bullied mercilessly, she unleashes a vengeful storm of horror, turning the night of glamour into a blood-soaked nightmare. Stephen King’s debut is a chilling reminder that you should never under...

To follow and support us, click here: http://anovelreviewpodcast.com Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier is a gothic whirlwind of suspense, intrigue, and a whole lot of "who's-who" confusion. The unnamed protagonist stumbles into Manderley, only to be haunted by the shadow of her husband's glamorous, dead first wife—Rebecca, who seems more alive than ever. It’s a gripping tale of love, jealousy, and iden...