Blog Archives

Leading by the nose, Elizabeth Crayford

Scented Laurence Fearnley Penguin, $38.00 ISBN 9780143773283 If technology and price allowed, Scented would have made a fantastic “scratch and sniff” novel. As it is, the pitfalls of first-person narration make this a challenging read, and I finished the book…
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Posted in Fiction, Literature, Review

Opening the fifth dimension, Lydia Wevers

Science Fiction: A Review Of Speculative Fiction: Special Double Issue Featuring Phillip Mann (Vol 19, Nos 1-2) Van Ikin (ed) $AUD30.00 ISSN 03146677 A special double issue of a well-regarded journal, plus full-page authorial cover photo, is a handsome tribute…
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Posted in Fiction, Literature, Review

“The frequent flyer friar” John McCrystal

Nailing Down The Saint Craig Cliff Penguin Random House, $38.00, ISBN 9780143773740 Those familiar with Craig Cliff’s work will know that he is fond of a kooky premise – a starting-off point that allows him to tread the blurred line…
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Posted in Fiction, Literature, Review

Absolutely fabulous, Thom Conroy

The Absolute Book Elizabeth Knox Victoria University Press, $35.00, ISBN 9781776562305 The Absolute Book by Elizabeth Knox is a Ronsardian ode to worldbuilding. Who creates worlds? What connects them? Who controls them? These questions shape the novel’s plot, subject and…
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Posted in Fiction, Literature, Review

The life and the work, Martin Edmond

In Fifteen Minutes You Can Say A Lot: Selected Fiction Greville Texidor, (Kendrick Smithyman ed) Victoria University Press, $30.00, ISBN 9781776562268 All The Juicy Pastures: Greville Texidor And New Zealand Margot Schwass Victoria University Press, $40.00, ISBN 9781776562251 In April…
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Posted in Biography, Fiction, Literature, Non-fiction, Review

“The play’s the thing”, Sarah Ross

Ngaio Marsh’s Hamlet: The 1943 Production Script Polly Hoskins (ed) Canterbury University Press, $30.00, ISBN 9781988503134 In August 1943, as New Zealand troops in Europe began the Italian campaign, the Canterbury University College Drama Society (CUCDS) performed Hamlet to sell-out…
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Posted in History, Non-fiction, Plays, Review

In the hybrid zones, Airini Beautrais

How To Live Helen Rickerby Auckland University Press, $25.00, ISBN 9781869409050 Ransack essa may ranapiri Victoria University Press, $25.00, ISBN 9781776562374 Conventional Weapons Tracey Slaughter Victoria University Press, $25.00, ISBN 9781776562206 In a literary sense, genre is problematic. While it’s…
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Posted in Literature, Poetry, Review

“Unlicked selves”, Hugh Roberts

Collected Poems Fleur Adcock Victoria University Press, $50.00, ISBN 9781776562091 “Fleur Adcock is a New Zealand poet, editor and translator who resides in Britain” – so says, blandly, the inside back flap of the dust-jacket of Victoria University Press’s imposing…
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Posted in Literature, Poetry, Review

Timeless and timely, Hannah Marshall

Winter Of Fire (25th Anniversary Edition) Sherryl Jordan Scholastic, $19.00, ISBN 9781775435983 A dismal world where the sun has disappeared is the backdrop for Sherryl Jordan’s hard-hitting and powerful novel Winter Of Fire. Back in print 25 years after its…
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Posted in Imprints, Review, Young adults

Back to the future, Harvey Molloy

Where We Land Tim Jones The Cuba Press, $22.00, ISBN 9781988595023 Īnangahua Gold Kathleen Gallagher KingFisher Publishing $30.00 ISBN 978047345945I Small presses continue to publish some of our most exciting new fiction. Both Where We Land and Īnangahua Gold take…
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Posted in Fiction, Literature, Review
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