My reading pile has gotten ridiculous. At this point, 43 books remain unread. And the thing is, I’ll not be able to justify buying anything else until I’ve reduced the mountain to a molehill. So I’m on a self-imposed crusade to read a book a week.
So far so good. This week, I’ve read Hidden River by Adrian McKinty. Last week it was Colin Bateman’s Titanic 2020. A review of Hidden River will follow in a day or two, when I’ve digested the final chapters a little, but what of Titanic 2020? It’s written by Colin Bateman, so it probably deserves some publicity here. But it’s young adult fiction, and not crime at all. It’s almost science fiction, but there’s very little science. Post-Troubles fiction? Well, there’s no reference to the Troubles, though the main character, young Jimmy, is a Belfast born scallywag. Maybe post-apocalyptic fiction is closer to the mark? Yeah, a little; that’s the backdrop but not the defining theme, if you ask me. It’s an adventure story, with a few scoops of Bateman’s excellent wit, less some of his more colourful language.
Whatever the label, Titanic 2020 is a great book.
So, it’s not quite getting the full CSNI Wee Review treatment, but I will take the time to recommend it. If you’ve a young ’un, say 12-ish or older, buy this for them, read it yourself and badger them into reading it too. It’s a fun, easily-read smart Alec of a book, and an award winner too! I wish there’d been books like this and Skulduggery Pleasant when I was a kid.
So far so good. This week, I’ve read Hidden River by Adrian McKinty. Last week it was Colin Bateman’s Titanic 2020. A review of Hidden River will follow in a day or two, when I’ve digested the final chapters a little, but what of Titanic 2020? It’s written by Colin Bateman, so it probably deserves some publicity here. But it’s young adult fiction, and not crime at all. It’s almost science fiction, but there’s very little science. Post-Troubles fiction? Well, there’s no reference to the Troubles, though the main character, young Jimmy, is a Belfast born scallywag. Maybe post-apocalyptic fiction is closer to the mark? Yeah, a little; that’s the backdrop but not the defining theme, if you ask me. It’s an adventure story, with a few scoops of Bateman’s excellent wit, less some of his more colourful language.
Whatever the label, Titanic 2020 is a great book.
So, it’s not quite getting the full CSNI Wee Review treatment, but I will take the time to recommend it. If you’ve a young ’un, say 12-ish or older, buy this for them, read it yourself and badger them into reading it too. It’s a fun, easily-read smart Alec of a book, and an award winner too! I wish there’d been books like this and Skulduggery Pleasant when I was a kid.
