Dune is Frank Herbert's classic SF novel, dealing with such themes as a galactic messiah, ecology, politics, treachery, and space opera.

The teenaged Paul Atreides, the product of thousands of years of selective breeding by the Bene Gesserit sisters, arrives on the desert planet Dune, home of the drug melange (or 'spice'). Spice is fun­da­men­tal to the galactic economy: the Guild navigators use it to 'fold' space and transport huge ships between star systems, and it confers longevity and health upon those who can afford it. Spice is a byproduct of …continue.

Rumpole of the Bailey is familiar to us from his later years as an old warhorse, a Fal­staffi­an character living a life of crime (defending criminals), drinking Chateau Thames Embankment at Pommeroy's wine bar, and sparring with re­cal­ci­trant judges, fellow members of his Chambers, and She Who Must Be Obeyed: his long-suffering wife, Hilda. He has often alluded to his first great case, the Penge Bungalow Murders, when alone and without a leader, he suc­cess­ful­ly saved a young man from hanging for a double murder.

At last, Rumpole …continue.

The second novel of le Carré's Karla Trilogy, following Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy and preceding Smiley's People.

The "Circus" (MI6) is in sorry shape after the mole "Gerald" was unmasked. George Smiley, now head of the Circus, must go on the offense. They find a trail of money leading to a Hong Kong busi­ness­man, Drake Ko. Jerry Westerby, a newspaper reporter and occasional agent, is sent out to Hong Kong to shake Ko's tree.

Smiley is a secondary character here. Jerry is the honourable schoolboy of the …continue.

Thraxas is an middle-aged minor sorceror and retired warrior, who is entirely too fond of the bottle, his grub, and the racetrack. He long ago fell from grace at the palace in the city of Turai and now makes ends meet by discreet private in­ves­ti­ga­tions. He is oc­ca­sion­al­ly aided by Makri, a gladiator-turned-barmaid and would-be university student, who happens to be part Orc, part Elf, and half human.

This book was published as two separate novels in Britain, Thraxas and Thraxas and the Warrior Monks. The plots are fairly for­get­table, but …continue.

In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Rowling demon­strates that she really has been building up to this finale across all seven books, laying down material in earlier books to be picked up here.

After a brief, happy interlude at the wedding of Bill Weasley and Fleur Delacour, Harry goes on the run with Ron and Hermione. A coup has taken place in the Ministry of Magic. A puppet minister has been installed, with Voldemort reigning behind the scenes. Mudbloods are being rounded up. Snape is the new headmaster …continue.

At the end of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, the reborn Voldemort finally revealed himself to the world. Harry is no longer being dogged by ill-founded claims that he is lying, making his sixth year at Hogwarts easier. Elsewhere in the magical world, Voldemort and the Death Eaters are wreaking havoc.

Dumbledore belatedly takes Harry somewhat into his confidence and reveals that Voldemort has split his soul into several pieces to assure his im­mor­tal­i­ty. Only if these fragments, which are hidden in horcruxes, are all destroyed, …continue.

The Accusers is one of the more recent titles in Lindsey Davis's long-running series about Marcus Didius Falco, an informer (private detective) in ancient Rome. Davis's prose is slyly witty with an occasional leavening of snark.

Falco and Associates look into the death of a senator who committed suicide after being convicted of corruption. Was it really suicide? A com­pli­cat­ed courtroom drama ensues.

On a par with other books in the series. En­ter­tain­ing, amusing, and plenty of plot twists.

Having just seen the new Harry Potter movie, I decided to reread this book and the Half-Blood Prince before the release of the final book, next weekend.

The movie omits vast swathes of plot, of course, but delivers a competent retelling of the book.

Voldemort came back to life at the end of the previous book, but only Harry Potter has seen him and few, apart from Dumbledore and the re­con­sti­tut­ed Order of the Phoenix, believe him. A tinpot dictator from the Ministry of Magic, Dolores Umbridge, is sent to …continue.

Michael Forsythe is an illegal immigrant from Northern Ireland, working for a crime boss in Harlem in 1992. When he sleeps with his boss's girlfriend, he and three others are set up to take the fall for a drug bust in Mexico. He breaks out of a hellhole prison, losing a foot and his friends along the way, and makes his way back to New York to exact revenge.

McKinty writes lush, at­mos­pher­ic prose, with a good turn in dialog. Forsythe grows from a bright, feckless teenager, with a …continue.