Conrad Allen

Advantages: a new twist to the vampire stories
Disadvantages: too short

...‘Professor Abraham Van Helsing was the fictional creation of Bram Stoker for Dracula, his dark work of fantasy. Or was he?’ This is an unusual idea for a book it is written a journal edited and with critical commentary by Professor Allen Conrad Kupfer. The story goes that he has recently found the journal in his grandfathers’ attic. His grandfather, Daniel, met Van Helsing at one of his lectures on vampires, he was interested so found out more and they became great friends. There are many tales of encounters with vampires in several countries. They use several methods to dispatch them, some I had not heard of before. Dracula is mentioned but the whole story is not included. They try to find out as much as they can about Vampires as the ‘plague’ is becoming a problem in London. The journal is mailed to Daniel who reads... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: Beautifully written, descriptive brilliance, insight, characterisation
Disadvantages: Style and structure may be difficult

...There are many ‘classic’ novels that are very over-rated, but this is not one of them. This is a fascinating exploration of greed and obsession set in a fictional South American republic plagued by constant revolutions. 'Nostromo' explores the corrupting influence of the pursuit of material interests and is prescient in its depiction of the U.S.A.'s involvement in the politics of the region. Meticulous in its detail and insightful in its exploration of human motivations and moral weakness, the action flows quickly (for a Conrad novel!) and the many shifts in time and location steadily draw the reader into the bloody history of Costaguana and its long-suffering people. The characterisations are excellent (although the author struggles a little as usual with his female characters)as are the evocative descriptions... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful

Advantages: I am a non-smoker, need I say more?
Disadvantages: None - just wish I'd read it sooner!

...I wrote this review on 1st December, having been 6 months smoke-free. I am now updating it since tomorrow (1st June) is the 1st anniversary of my husband and I stopping smoking. It has been a really good year, and I just wish I’d done it sooner. Although I don’t want to sound cocky, stopping smoking really was so easy after reading Allen Carr’s “Easy Way to Stop Smoking” book. I realise that everyone’s experience with smoking and stopping smoking is different, and what's easy to me might not be easy to others. However, I am writing this in the hope that it prompts someone to read the book, and that it changes their life as it has mine. The book actually says in it that you should keep it close by to refer back to, but I haven’t had to refer back to it at all as I haven’t craved cigarettes. As I am updating this review I... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful