The Flood by Ian Rankin

Advantages: Good story, enjoyable writing and exciting ending
Disadvantages: No epilogue

...Background I'm sure most people have heard of this author Ian Rankin through the Rebus books and television series. This was however my first experience of his work. About the Author Ian Rankin was born in Fife, Scotland in 1960. He is the UK's Number 1 selling crime author. So far he has written 27 novels, of which his most successful have been the Rebus books. His first novel was indeed 'The Flood', which originally was planned for Radio 4's Short story section but was considered too long so Rankin converted it into a novel instead. He has received many awards for his work including an OBE in 2002 for his services to literature. The Storyline of the book The book is set in a small Scottish town called Carsden. Whose traditional industry of coal mining was closing down due to it being uneconomic to mine there any...

CPTDANIELS 22.01.2008 · Read review
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Review of The Flood - Ian Rankin

Scrupulously-researched moving biography of a unique character ,

Advantages: Well-rounded, objective picture of the man and his times
Disadvantages: Lacks index

...Ian Dury was a complete one-off. Stricken with polio in childhood, born in middle-class Harrow but determined to shake off such origins to the extent of acquiring a real Cockney accent, he became an art school rebel whose early pub-rock experiences, as front man of Kilburn & the High Roads, led to one frustrating move after another. But he came out smiling, briefly, with the music sea change that was punk and new wave from the end of 1976 onwards when he put together a band, eventually christened the Blockheads, to take Britain by the scruff of the neck, hitting the Top 10 with "What A Waste" and going all the way to No. 1 with "Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick". After that it went pear-shaped, and a short career in films and associated avenues beckoned, before he started working for children's and cancer charities, and returning to...

JOHNV 15.07.2000 · Read review
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Review of Sex & Drugs & Rock'n'Roll: The Life of Ian Dury - Richard Balls

this is the mutts nuts

Advantages: lyrics to die for
Disadvantages: not enough tracks

...Mr love pants has got to be the best album ever. Ian dury is the quite essential urban poet and every time you listen you will spot something memorable that you will want to quote down the pub or even when trying to impress your future partner. Actually I only bought it unheard because the dog on the cover is identical to mine! But when you play this CD the music and lyrics hit you like a sledgehammer and yiu just want to keep playing it to soak up more poetry. Ian Dury's lyrics are just so clever, clever, clever. The first track, 'Jack s**t George is surely autobiographical and relates the thoughts of someone who was failed by the education system, with lines like 'When have you ever been top of the class- not once. What will you be when you're out on your a***- a dunce.' My favourite lyric of the whole album is from track 7...

doctorloz 24.05.2006 · Read review
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Review of Mr. Love Pants - Ian Dury & The Blockheads

IAN BROWNS THE GREATEST!

Advantages: EVERYTHING YOU COULD ASK FOR FROM HIS SOLO CAREER
Disadvantages: NO ROSES, NOT EVEN ANY CHOCOLATES!

...with each single. Nor is it the Ian Brown of yesteryear, with his Stone Roses counterparts fighting for the fan and his ever challenged wallet. No, this is a new era Ian Brown with units to shift. The question is, will he with the DVD? Sure, the die hard fans will rush out to get their hands on it like it was a free pint on a Saturday night. In all honesty though, it is an awesome line up of tracks. With the 6 live performances added to ensure anybody who already had all the videos rushed out to but the DVD, I?m pretty sure that yes, it will sell. Admittedly, most of the videos offer up nothing new and contain nothing more than predictable but nevertheless enjoyable promos. I can?t help but wonder why Brown couldn?t have taken a heads up from U.N.K.L.E. who often produce outstanding videos for their material. Hey! Whatcha gonna do...

ANTACID 14.05.2007 · Read review
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Review of Greatest, The - Ian Brown

Ian Brown's Greatest Hits

Advantages: Perfect collection of contemporary music
Disadvantages: Could be seen as repetitive because of the large number of tracks

...Never a person to dissapoint, this album offers a brilliant insight into the lyrical and musical talent that is Ian Brown, presenting some of his most renound tracks such as "F.E.A.R" and "My Star" in a well produced collection. The clear and obvious upside to this CD is the fact that it not only summarises Ian Brown's uncommon genre of music and taste, but it also provides a contemporary twist on what could be considered tracks worthy of his former band, The Stone Roses. The music on this CD is most definately creative, with a wide variety of instruments and mechanically engineered sounds implemented into many of the tracks. This could be considered a bad point by many people but in this instants it is a passable act because of the way the tracks have been recorded and layered in the studio. A slightly negative attribute...

SamJohnson 19.01.2006 (23.01.2006) · Read review
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Review of Greatest, The - Ian Brown

Wishing us a fond farewell

Advantages: great music even better lyrics
Disadvantages: this is the last!!!!! and Robbie Williams is on it.

...If you like Ian Dury and you don't own this CD you should be knocking on Woolies' door first thing in the morning because this is too good to miss. It probably won't be remembered as a classic but it is, after all, the last album by Ian Dury and the Blockheads. The songs were recorded between 1991 and 2000 and Blockheads dubs were added in 2001.The album was organised by Ian's wife Sophy, daughter Jemima, son Dexter, the Blockheads and Jamie Spencer and all at east central one who released Ian Dury and the Blockheads previous albums. The whole project is a work of love and dedication to a great musician and urban poet with contributions by family, friends and fellow musicians. Ian Dury's lyrics are, as always, sublime.A sort of cross between Noel Coward and Spike Milligan, although there is not so much humour in this collection...

doctorloz 08.06.2006 · Read review
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Review of Ten More Turnips From The Tip - Ian Dury

A Question of Blood by Ian Rankin

Advantages: The tone of this entry in the series is much lighter than the earlier books.
Disadvantages: The unspoken suggestion that the SAS soldiers are idiots, just because they oppose Rebus.

...surrounds. You really get a terrific feeling of place thanks to the detail that Ian Rankin goes into when moving through the city. If you?ve never read an Inspector Rebus book before and came across this one, you would be inclined to think that here was an untroubled policeman who is very proficient at his job. In actual fact, during the course of the previous 13 books, he has battled through a failed marriage, chronic insomnia, alcoholism and thoughts of suicide. Finally he appears to have arrived at a place where he is much more comfortable with himself. In the past he was a loner on the job, preferring to keep his thoughts and his theories to himself, much to his fellow detectives? frustration and his superior?s total annoyance. It looks as though this attitude has changed and I think it?s a change for the better. I was actually concerned...

damieng 22.01.2005 · Read review
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Review of A Question of Blood - Ian Rankin

IAN WRIGHT WRIGHT ... DEFINATLY RIGHT!!

Advantages: GREAT STOCKING FILLER - FUNNY - IDEAL FOR FOOTBALL FANS
Disadvantages: COULD ADD ANOTHER 20 CLIPS

...I had this DVD for Christmas and I must say I didn't really see it advertised so as you can guess I was suprised when I opened the packaging to find it was an Ian Wright DVD. At first I thought it was going to be tons of mishaps by fellow Arsenal team mates or from the times when he was playing but I must admit it had clips that I can't even remember happening which made me giggle. Ian Wright: It Shouldn't Happen To A Footballer is a DVD which consists of funny comical clips of footballers basically making a fool of themselves whether it is clear through on goal and whistling it wide or falling over trying to do a complex trick. All the clips are chosen by US .. general football fans thanks to the football magazine Four Four Two (must say I've only read it a few times but it seems to be a football fans bible...) The DVD is...

Phoenix7891 16.02.2007 · Read review
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Review of Ian Wright - It Shouldn't Happen To A Footballer (DVD)

Lost Love (On Chesil Beach - Ian McEwan)

Advantages: short, well written, poignant
Disadvantages: cold

......

magdadh 03.05.2009 · Read review
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Review of On Chesil Beach - Ian McEwan

Fleshmarket Close by Ian Rankin

Advantages: A very good police procedural with a likable protagonist in John Rebus
Disadvantages: Part of a long running series, you may feel you have to read the earlier books to keep up.

...Ian Rankin's Inspector Rebus series is now 15 books strong and probably stands at the top of the list of new releases that I look forward to each year. John Rebus is a CID detective with the Lothian and Borders Police in Edinburgh, Scotland. He's a driven, dedicated policeman who lives for his job and rarely rests until his case is solved. But for all his dedication he has always had a distinct disregard for his superiors with his unorthodox and preference for working in solitude regularly landing him in trouble. Faithful readers of the series will have noticed a gradual but definite change in John Rebus’ personality (a necessity in the success of a long-running series). When we first met him in Knots and Crosses he was a tormented man who was trying to get over a failed marriage, invariably drinking himself to sleep, that is...

damieng 19.01.2005 · Read review
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Review of Fleshmarket Close - Ian Rankin