J.O. Bird

Advantages: Puzzling, involving and very hard to put down
Disadvantages: Sometimes confusing

...st i k o oopoo po opo o o o po poooo ppo o o o o o oooo ppp o oo oo o st i k o oopoo po opo o o o po poooo ppo o o o o o oooo ppp o oo oo o st i k o oopoo po opo o o o po poooo ppo o o o o o oooo ppp o oo oo o st i k o oopoo po opo o o o po poooo ppo o o o o o oooo ppp o oo oo o st i k o oopoo po opo o o o po poooo ppo o o o o o oooo ppp o oo oo o st i k o oopoo po opo o o o po poooo ppo o o o o o oooo ppp o oo oo o st i k o oopoo po opo o o o po poooo ppo o o o o o oooo ppp o oo oo o st i k o oopoo po opo o o o po poooo ppo o o o o o oooo ppp o oo oo o st i k o oopoo po opo o o o po poooo ppo o o o o o oooo ppp o oo oo o st i k o oopoo po opo o o o po poooo ppo o o o o o oooo ppp o oo oo o st i k o oopoo po opo o o o po poooo ppo o o o o o oooo ppp o oo oo o st i k o oopoo po opo o o o po poooo ppo o o o o o oooo... Read review

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Advantages: Its about little furry animals
Disadvantages: You know where he is going

...discovers that J is not what he expected, J sets off with Mudge to make his home - in the new world as they could only summon him and not set him back. Stangely, he seems to take this mostly in his stride! In the course of things he discovers that he is able to work magic with the aid of music (hence the title spellsinger). However, nothing goes to plan - as his 'talent' is somewhat 'raw'. The books then follow the central characters around on their adventures, defeating the insect hoard, and other exciting stuff, before finalling returning J home. The books I have in the series are: o Spellsinger o The Hour of the Gate o The Day of Dissonance o The Moment of the Magician o The Paths of the Perambulator The books are well written, structure and enjoyable, if not a little 'American'. What makes these books different is that he uses man... Read review

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Advantages: Unsettling and erotic
Disadvantages: A bit much to take in one go

...Let's make one thing clear; Pauline Reage's "Story of O" is clearly a work of literature. You can tell this because it's filed under "Modern Fiction", has endorsements from J G Ballard, Graham Greene, Brian Aldiss and Harold Pinter, and contains an essay by Jean Paulhan of the Academie Francaise. This presumably keeps the book out of reach of those who may mistake the masterpiece for a dirty bit of SM porn (and let's face it, the French language has no equivalent phrase for "Is it necessary to the plot?"). In fact it does read at times like a satire on love - although O's torture is consensual, she seems to undergo it purely to please her lovers rather than because she particularly enjoys it. In fact I occasionally had to wonder if O would be well advised to get a life - a suggestion that applies even more to Jean Paulhan, whose... Read review

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