"Power Play" by Joseph Finder

Joseph Finder’s “Power Play” is a fast-paced and involving corporate thriller, which seized me in its jaws and refused to relent until the final page. I’ll admit I had my doubts…that the story would unfold predictably and be cliché-ridden (can anyone really blame me? The most entertaining thriller I’ve come across so far is Michael Jackson’s), however it soon veered comfortably in an unexpected direction. Landry, a junior executive at an aerospace company, is invited to the high-powered company retreat. By no rights should he be there, but he’s the only one who can provide an honest appraisal as to why a commercial plane recently crashed. Written from Landry’s perspective, the tension continues to mount as the group is left without means of communication to the outside world. The “Man with a troubled past” individual has become overused these days, but Joe’s dusted it down—and for the duration of the story, it’s as if he’s the first to have written this type of character. The pacing—a crucial part of any thriller—is handled meticulously. It rises smoothly, so it takes a while to realise that you’re actually holding your breaths in a little longer each chapter. Hand-in-hand with pacing comes length. I would’ve loved a slightly longer book, with a few more chapters to speed through—but this is a sign of great writing rather than a legitimate complaint. Any more and the pacing would be shot, any more and the story would drag. Joe’s got a gift. Joe knows when to stop writing. Score: Recommended. Highly recommended if you’re looking for a book to read poolside on a short vacation, or on a long-haul flight (it’ll keep the blood circulating, that’s for sure!) Rationale: A brilliant blend of office politics, plane crash conspiracies and gunplay—skip it and regret it. "Power Play" is available in the US from August 21st.

"The Handmaid's Tale" by Margaret Atwood

"The Handmaid's tale" is a dystopic novel set in Gilead. In the aftermath of a coup, the United States has gone under drastic changes. Women are now classed as second-class citizens or worse. Each caste of woman wears different colour clothing, and has different duties. Wives enjoy the most "freedoms" and authority, and dress in blue. Handmaids are the childbearers, and dress in red. Marthas do all the cooking and other similar tasks, and dress in green. This may make me sound like a monster, but a quite a few of the decisions made by the Gilean government make sense and appear reasonable to me. Of course, I wouldn't condone an establishment of this sort--but that's the worrying thing. The changes took place little by little, without the populace being aware. This is when you realise The Handmaid's Tale isn't just speculative fiction, it's scarily plausible. The first-person perspective is an obvious choice, but at times becomes frustratingly hard to follow. This mainly occurs during recollections and memories (probably due to Offred--the protagonist--'s distress at the time). Nevertheless I found myself marking the page during those passages and returning to them later. This book left me sad. Aside from the obvious human rights breaches and what happens to misbehaving women, I felt distraught at the hypocrisy of the so-called "Christian" regime. Love doesn't feature anywhere in the equation, not in childbirth, sex or marriage. With moral considerations also out of the window, the people of Gilead are reduced to nothing more than animals--as evidenced by the sole purpose of a huge group of women to procreate successfully or be disposed of. Score: Recommended Rationale: It's a very powerful book. Distressing without resorting to cheap tricks like gore etc...

"Season of the Witch" By Natasha Mostert

"Season of the Witch" delves into several complex issues—memory, magic, parapsychology…. but maintains its readability in the face of the accurate, quite detailed information it exposes the reader to. In other words it does not get “bogged down” when explaining the necessary background facts and history the reader may not be familiar with. Gabriel—an electronic scam artist—is asked to investigate the disappearance of an old flame’s stepson. It is soon apparent to Gabriel that the sisters Monk, the deceased’s friends, are somehow involved in his murder. But all Gabriel’s original reasons for meeting the sisters are thrown aside as they become thicker and thicker friends. I’ve been searching for a book with a “sexy” feel to it for a long time, and this has been the first one to hit the mark—it has enough suggestion in it without any of the downsides you thought of when you saw the word “sexy”. The sisters are enticingly but not overtly creepy, and never failed to send a frisson down my spine or make my blood rush. The closest comparison that can be drawn has in fact been quoted in the book itself—the vampires that seduce Harker in Bram Stoker’s Dracula. The intrigue is sustained throughout most of the book—partly through Gabriel’s past traumas only being hinted at, partly due to the inclusion of the occasional pre-chapter diary entry by a mysterious woman. I found these entries to be the most intriguing parts of the book, but unfortunately after a certain event they become part of the narrative. Although I can see why this was done, I’ve yet to be convinced it was for the best. At that point the focus of the tension switches from intrigue-based to situation-based. It’s still reasonably effective, although I have a preference for intrigue and psychological tension than event-based terror. Perhaps that is why the conclusion felt slightly anti-climactic. Despite the minor complaints, I still derived a lot of enjoyment from “Season of the Witch” and it is by no means a badly written book—au contraire. Score: 8/10 Rationale: Sexy and readable, with a lot of class. It’s well written and has me paranoid I’m getting aneurisms every time I have a headache. Spooky!

"The Sacred Diary of Adrian Plass, aged 37 3/4" by Adrian Plass

The Sacred Diary of Adrian Plass, aged 37 3/4, written by Adrian Plass, is a fictional diary. As far as I can discern, it includes no real events whatsoever, and feels distinctly reminiscent of the Adrian Mole Diaries by Sue Townsend, which it intends to spoof. Instead of a teenager, we're introduced to a middle-aged Christian man who despite trying to live according to the straight and narrow, tends to fail miserably-leading more often than not into silly situations with stuffy members of his local church. That is part of the book's charm: although it is written by Christian and focuses on a Christian protagonist, it does not whack you over the head with holier-than-thou or God-is-my-saviour moments. It portrays the humanity in "experienced" Christians, and pokes fun at a lot of the silly stuff that goes on in the Christian world. Admittedly, this book was published in the late 1980s but it is surprising and quite scary that I know quite a lot of the character types being used in the book. The enjoyment doesn't really come from recognising the stereotypes that are being ribbed, although it certainly helps--the non-Christians whom I've lent this book to seem to have had quite a good time reading it...probably due to the humour and the fact that even members of the church realise how stupid some believers act. One thing about the "funny" aspect of The Sacred Diary is missing, as I said earlier it was published 2 decades ago, so a lot of the jokes or comments may be totally out of context, or appear very lame. However, there are enough silly anagrams, puns and downright ridiculous situations to keep a smile on your face. Rating: 6/ 10 Rationale: It would be a lot funnier if it had aged a bit more gracefully, and I'm afraid some of the jokes are "insider" jokes to a pretty small community.