The Loblolly Boy and the Sorcerer James Norcliffe Longacre, $19.99, ISBN 9781877460692 Sacrifice Joanna Orwin HarperCollins, $26.99, ISBN 9781869509125 It’s rare for a modern children’s writer to create a really original fantasy creature, but James Norcliffe achieved it…
Rangatira Paula Morris Penguin Books, $30.00, ISBN 978014565758 What is the value to us of historical novels? They are valuable only when they try to reconstruct the mentality of the past. Second-rate historical novels dress up modern characters in…
The Parihaka Woman Witi Ihimaera Vintage, $38.99, ISBN 9781869797294 New Zealand’s first novel, Taranaki: A Tale of the War, was written by a British (possibly Irish) army officer, Henry Butler Stoney, who served in the conflict. With a speed…
I Loved You the Moment I Saw You Peter Black Victoria University Press, $60.00, ISBN 9780864736598 The first pages of Peter Black’s I Loved You the Moment I Saw You struck me with their colourful, contemporary design and fine…
Nga Tini Whetu: Navigating Maori Futures Mason Durie Huia, $49.99, ISBN 9781869694524 Unlike many in the steady stream of publications about things Maori, Mason Durie’s latest book, Nga Tini Whetu: Navigating Māori Futures, turns its attention not to the…
People, People, People: A Brief History of New Zealand Stevan Eldred-Grigg David Bateman, $24.95, ISBN 9781869538132 In 1980 Stevan Eldred-Grigg wrote a provocative study of the great estate owners of the South Island which proved beyond any semblance of doubt…
Quarantine! Protecting New Zealand at the Border Gavin McLean and Tim Shoebridge Otago University Press, $45.00, ISBN 9781877372827 The word quarantine derives from the Italian for 40: the number of days deemed appropriate to seclude a vessel known to…
New Zealand Film: An Illustrated History Diane Pivac (ed) with Frank Stark and Lawrence McDonald Te Papa Press, $85.00, ISBN 9781877385667 It is rare to find a non-fiction book that offers such a fascinating and comprehensive view of its…