Read “The Road from Coorain” on my mother-in-law’s recommendation. She is a big fan of biography which as she pointed out to me, presents particular problems. I mean how many books of biography is the average person going to write? So she finds a great book and she knows that there will never be more than one or two subsequent volumes, if that. Unless, I suppose, you like the Beckhams. “The Road from Coorain” didn’t do it for me but it was far better than the other thing I read last week. On the basis of rave reviews, I bought two volumes of the “Shadowmancer” series at once. It’s alright. For teenagers and a bit too overtly religious – epic tale of a struggle between good and evil described somewhere, with accuracy, as a cross between His Dark Materials and Jamaica Inn. Author is a vicar and so is the baddy in the story, so clearly the author has a sense of humour. It is a bit worthy though. Lots of biblical quotes which I suppose might be new to teenagers in godless England, but certainly aren’t to me. A bit puritanical too – he is down on cards and beer. However, further evidence of humour comes from the author biog at the front of the book. He is described as follows:
“G.P. Taylor has spent the whole of his life searching for the the hidden secrets of the universe. He lectures on the paranormal and folklore and lives in a secluded graveyard.”
