Keep Calm and Drink Tea!

I'm having a moment... my first moment in 18 months... and I'm having a decent sized wobble. I seem to be powering through it fairly quickly now that I've screwed my head back on. I've been thinking about good times I've had, which in turn has been making me think of all the hypothetical good times there are to be had in the future... What's that thing people say? Tomorrow is a new day... Even so, here's a wee list of the things that are the source of some mighty fine memories.

• late night bus journeys from Glasgow to Edinburgh
• (or by train)
• Scotland in general
• late night Potter chats
• Chicken Casserole
• Fighting crime in dark corners!!
• Cafe Nero (I mean Pacific, you're good, but it's not the same...)
• laughing till your stomach hurts
• COLD WEATHER!!!
• dancing like a lunatic in a box, no matter who's watching
• putting a smile on someone's face when you hand them their morning coffee
• "To the outside world it looks like bullying..."
• classical music and coffee in the snow
• studying in a library - there is nothing better
• lectures! 
• Midday Pints! 
• PIRATES (because really, Pirates!)
• "What if  your train was an ACTUAL train!!!!"
• a proper pub
• watching rugby at a reasonable hour
• sitting on the windowsill in the architecture studio
• a salad that doesn't cost the earth!
• The Hive (R.I.P.)
• talking out ideas
• a hug, when you need it
• Mighty Boosh evenings
• having someone to sit with - conversation not required
• cafe's in bookshops
• Mamma Mia a la Flatmate and Wine!
• WEEKENDS
• Radio 1 (I miss waking up to this, even if I have to listen to Nick Grimshaw - that's the state we've got to!)
• People being a phone call and a short distance away, rather than a phone call and half the world away.
• Cones on statues
• Christmas lights on Buchanan Street
• Rowing on the Clyde
• Daft Friday - Oh what a night! 
• A 2 hour journey to the homestead as opposed to 24! (worth every minute though, even a lay-over in Dubai!)

But,despite all that, and today's sadness, I've got me a supply of Earl Grey tea, for as some wise person somewhere said: 

"You can't buy happiness, but you can buy tea, and that's kind of the same thing!"

Well said Sir, well said!

Sad Songs Say So Much

Yes Elton, yes sad songs DO say so much. Not that I have anything against a happy song, far from it, after all there's a time and place for everything! But a sad song can evoke a wider variety of emotions. I've been listening to the same song and it's not even a sad one, the sentiment is incredibly sweet and heart warming, but today it's had me in tears. Every so often, when you're feeling emotionally fragile, a song comes along and completely floors you. Great!! Just great!! - Thanks John Legend for writing beautiful music and reducing me to a sobbing mess (it really is a great song though - really, go and listen to All Of Me.)

Love in the Future is actually a great album from John Legend! I loved Evolver and then wasn't greatly enamoured with anything that followed (Ordinary People is a good song, but just didn't do it for me!) - he's making up for it now though, despite my tears!

Another day, another public holiday...

One of the things I have come to love about autumn in Hong Kong is the number of Public Holidays (not that you can really call it that, it's not really autumn without the leaves turning brown, the clocks changing and the frosts beginning to set in, but that;s by the by). After three months straight of one day off a week, a run of three public holidays is just what the doctor ordered! That's not to say that the days don't also have their downsides! 

I enjoy these magical days off when I stay at home, or at least in my local area. Venturing into crowded areas on a Public Holiday is only going to cause more harm than good, especially when the pedestrian rage comes in to play! I have discovered that while I don't have a people problem per-se, I do have great difficulty with masses of people with little-to-no spatial awareness and an uncanny knack of stopping in places that make it impossible for you to dart around them. If anything, spending time in Hong Kong makes you a master weaver when it comes to maneuvering along pedestrian crowded pavements! (British People Problems Abroad anyone...!!)

This is the last Public Holiday before Christmas, and while I feel I should be making use of it, I am instead going to stay holed up in my local area doing my usual thing - the biggest debate is whether I get myself a sewing machine to occupy my time or not... The pro's and con's of sending fabric home, or manipulating it into a wearable form so it can make it's way home in a suitcase. Knowing that the burners for the job hunting engine are about to be reignited in the not too distant future, a more versatile and more "me" working wardrobe needs to be concocted and with even more capsule qualities than before. Without doubt, Pinterest is about to become my closest Allie (like it wasn't that before). In fairness the decision is most likely to be swung by the fact that my after school activities were majorly limited by the horrendous post-run shin splints that had me hobbling around like a granny for three days - I gather this was great fun to witness, even if I was in my own personal world of agonizing pain! Have to provide the humour somehow!

So ends another random waffle, tailing off into the distance and losing it's pace as I get ever tireder as the clock winds down on today's proceedings! I'm about to hit the 18 month mark (good lord, when did that happen) but I am no more used to 6 days weeks and the lack of That Friday Feeling - I can count only one in the last 18 months - ONE!!! One thing is for sure, I appreciate two days off in a row far more now than I ever did before, and in celebration of such an event happening this weekend I shall leave you with some celebrating penguins - what's not to love!

Sometime you just need to start so you can keep going!

FINALLY!!! Short Stories From The East has a new post!! Hallelujah! And about time too, if I do say so myself! It has been a long, dark and empty time. I've had more than a little bit of doubt and more "can I do this" moments than are really healthy for a writer, but I'm back! The determination is flowing and I am itching to write on every scrap of paper that stays still for long enough (believe me, though I am surrounded by the stuff, it is in constant motion!)

It turns out I just needed to write something, no matter how random the waffle was, just to have something new and posted. It feels good... like I've got a little of myself back. It seems I've been weirdly out of kilter since the changeovers and due to Summer... It's all coming good!

This is a short one - I am now off to filter my inspiration. There are so many stories to tell! In the meantime, I'm going to leave you with this beauty... joyful!

When it comes to music, language is no barrier!

I have always had my ipod's recently played playlist capped at 250 songs. This is out of age old habit (I haven't altered it in the six years I've had an ipod) and because it generally allows for a decent turn over of songs. At the end of every month I used to save the playlist so I could go back and listen again, sadly that ipod died a heroic death and the playlists were lost *sobs quietly into consoling cup of tea*. That is something I should probably start doing again... I digress.

What surprised me when I scrolled through the playlist this morning was how the majority of the songs are not in English. There is currently an extraordinarily large amount of K-Pop, a bit of J-Pop thrown in, a fair whack of French music some German tracks and even a lone Spanish one floating around, covering a vast range of genres. There's reggae, some indie rock, pop of various guises, a little R&B and much in between! 

I speak none of these languages fluently, but when it comes to music I have found that this has little-to-no impact whatsoever. The music and the voice alone are enough to convey the message of some songs, and sometimes understanding the lyrics is surplus to requirements (although when the odd word or phrase in English is thrown in, it adds a whole new aspect to working out the meaning of a song - especially when you pick up on incorrect grammar!). 

All that said, one of the few track on the playlist that IS in English is 'I Miss Her' from Jessie J's new album, Alive. While it's not going to win an accolade as the greatest song ever, the lyrics connect on such a deep personal level that I can't help but love it. It's a song that put one of my worst fear's to music, but that in itself makes the prospect OK. Music has always been part of who I am, I associate places and people with music. There are songs I associate with Lower School, some with Upper School, some with 6th From, and more than a few that remind me University! I wouldn't have it any other way. Music has this way of transporting you back to the best (and occasionally the worst) memories. It can fire up your imagination, comfort you when you're sad and celebrate with you when you're happy. You can love, laugh and cry to music. It can fix you when you're at your lowest, even if you don't speak the same language. 

In the end, music is universal. 

All Quiet on the Eastern Front...

I have been shockingly bad at keeping up with posts in recent weeks months! How did that happen...?? I became a brain dead zombie for the duration of summer, that's how, and I just about seem to be returning to regular functionality - all in time for the winter bugs to hit! Oh the joys! But, finally, I have (mostly) leveled back out and I have done something worth writing about! I visited a Theme Park!!!

Now for many this will be received with a shrug of the shoulders and a "so what", but I have never been to a Theme Park before... I have made it a third of the way through my 20's and avoided them all together until last Monday, at which point I was running around Hong Kong's Ocean Park with the same amount of excitement as a five year old!

The best bit... PANDAS!!! oh yes... I have now seen Pandas and all they do is... eat... Well I suppose they have to, so who can blame them, but all that eating makes Pandas a dull watch. The reaction from the locals when the Pandas appear is amazing. Whoops, cheers and shouts of amazement and joy. It was both strange and endearing at the same time - it is their national animal after all! Oh!!! And there were penguins! They are so CUTE! (yes, yes, lots of capitals... they really are though!) It's oh so black and white at the moment...

The rides part of the Theme Park experience, I could take or leave. I've been on a roller coaster now, so that can be ticked of the Mental List Of Things I should Do At Least Once (a long title, but does what it says on the tin) and I can also tick of Ferris wheel (yes, I'd never been on one of those either). These - and other rides - were great fun but I'm not feeling a great need to run back for round two however - brilliant day though it was.

Ocean Park being Ocean Park there are, of course, lots... and lots... and lots... and lots... of fish. Seals, Dolphins, Walruses, stingrays, A HAMMERHEAD SHARK (I am rather fond of them...) and jellyfish to name but a few (and some rather snazzy carp too). They were great (especially the jellyfish - very artfully displayed) and I had so much fun wandering between the different tanks!

All in all a great day out - and FINALLY we have a post.... deary me it has been far, far, far too long! Off to find my writing hat...

Of course it counts.... it's a classic! (52 Books #24)

So the 52 books has stalled again and it's going even slower than before. To be honest the life of an English teacher in foreign lands is not one that generally affords you long holidays and summer is often more busy rather than less, so less time available for reading (even less so with a visitor who's arrival is imminent but without and means of communication... men... typical!) But I have managed to read something - Little Women. 

This is one of my favourite books of all time and as it's been a ridiculously long time since I've read it I'm including it in my 52! There's not really much to say about this book that hasn't already been said... Louisa M. Alcott is one of my favourite authors, and I love her much underrated Eight Cousins! The people she writes about are real and likable and in the end I love that love wins through all that she writes, even when there are deaths. 

You'd have to be living under a rock not to know about the death of one of the four sisters in little women and it is one of the few books that makes me weep every time I read it, despite knowing what's coming and despite the tender care with which it is written!

I love this book, and the re-reading came at a perfect time - if you haven't read it, then find yourself a copy! 

Lazy Sunday Cookies

Sunday morning, lurgy free... what to do!? Naturally tidy the room, organise the wardrobe and bake! In my room tidying escapades I came upon yet another hat, so I've spent the day wondering round in black and looking very philosophical (no poetry spouting though).

So, with wooden spoon in hand, and nod to France oh so neatly placed (I didn't plan that one) in homage to my baking buddy having realised that this was the first time I had baked without her about, I was ready to go! I bring you an amazing baking brain-child:

Lazy Sunday Lemon Cookies

Ingredients:

6 oz Butter
2 oz Icing Sugar
1/2 lb Self-Raising Flour
1 decent sized Lemon
Icing sugar

Method:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 190C/Gas 5.
2. Cream the butter and sugar together.
3. Grate the lemon zest into the sugar mixture and mix together.
4. Work the flour in with your fingers until it comes together in a ball.
5. Roll out the dough on a floured surface and cut into rounds.
6. Put on a baking sheet and bake in the oven for 8-10 minutes till a pale golden brown.
7. Let them cool on a wire rack.

Now here is the really good bit...

8. In a small bowl/cup pour in a small amount of icing sugar, then squeeze in the lemon juice from the grated lemon. Mix well.
9. Keep adding icing sugar to this until you reach a consistency that is spreadable but not too runny. I was lucky that this made exactly enough icing for the number of cookies I had!
10. Spread your icing onto your cool biscuits, leave to set and then nom away!

Nothing beats a good ol' sing-song!

Friday 5:30pm - the time that one of my most challenging classes arrives. Imagine my surprise when this rowdy class of four boys were utterly enchanted and captivated by McFly's Love Is Easy and constantly requested to hear it again - they even remembered to say please! It just goes to show that nothing beats a good song! Oh all right I know I'm biased and that I have a deep love for McFly that has been firmly rooted since they appeared 10 years ago (10 years ago - cripes) but the point still stands, music is powerful!

After this revelation, I pootled off home to have an evening of chilled out cooking (and a fair bit of weeping as a mountain of onion was involved) and I stuck on an album from a band I wasn't familiar with but had been suggested to me by Amazon and Spotify. The album in question is Kodaline's In A Perfect World. This time it was my turn to be blown away.

I can't not love this cover - It reminds me of both my homes!

To anyone reading this in the UK, I realise I must be well behind the times! In my defence, it takes a fair wee while for music from the homeland to permeate over here, and I don't listen to the radio anymore (bar the odd Radio 4 program... yes... yes I did just admit to that!) To anyone not in the know, what I have discovered is that Kodaline are apparently a "Dublin-based Irish alternative rock quartet". Well that sounds grand to me!  Although it was Amazon that gave me the recommendation, I had iTunes pennies to use up, so hoisted myself over there for purchase and I am rather glad I did! My favourite track on the entire album (I ended up with the Deluxe version) is Latch. Love of the goosbump variety there, and it's not often I get that!

I find the whole alternative rock/ folk hybrid genre a difficult one. I want to love so much of the music, but some of it does nothing for me. I heard the Lumineers album and immediately thought of my sister and she loves it, but it doesn't light my fires in the same way. Kodaline have lit those fires and they're roaring away! What a delight!

As there was a request for more recipes on here, I will share with you what I was cooking as I made this magical musical discovery! There is no name for it really. Mum calls it a barbecue sauce, it could be called a sweet and sour sauce, but whatever it is it's very very yummy!

Random Saucy Goodness

Ingredients: 

3 decent-large sized onions
Olive oil
a small glass bottle of tomato ketchup (preferable Heinz)
White or cider vinegar
granulated sugar

Method:

1. Slice the onions. Now there IS a correct way to do this for this recipe. See the hast picture below and cut as indicated by the dotted red lines (I hope this makes sense!)

2. Splash some oil into a large saucepan or a wok and add the onions, breaking them up as you go. Drizzle a little extra oil over the top. 

3. Turn on the heat and cook the onions down till they are soft, stringy and opaque. Be careful not to burn them.

4. Add the tomato sauce, stir in, then fill the bottle with water, shake and add to the pan so you have all the tomato goodness and exactly the right amount of water! 

5. Let the mush simmer for a wee while, then add splashes of vinegar and spoons of sugar till is reaches a taste to your liking -  there are not instructions for how much to add. 

6. This can be eaten straight away or be kept for a good while in the fridge or frozen and it is always at its very best the day after it's made. 

Revamp...

There's been a bit of a revamp over at Short Stories as it's previous incarnation, pretty though it looked, it wasn't doing anything to persuade me add to my stories and as my little place for my imagination soup to have a more physical home it ought to be a place I want to put things, so this is what it now looks like: 

I'm much happier with this layout and hope to be adding more and more to it, at far smaller intervals, in the future! It's definitely been a slow burner of late, but the cogs are turning and I want to know where all these stories end up going... even I don't have a clue what's round the next corner! 

Comfort Cookies

One of the simplest of recipes and one that provides fantastic comfort in hours of need that I thought I'd better share all the cookie (although bear in mind they come out quite spongy) love!

Ingredients:

100g flour
50g sugar
60g butter/margarine
1 tsp vanilla essence (I promise that it's better with the stuff and I never normally bother with it!)
1 egg, beaten
pinch of salt
1/2 tsp baking powder, dissolved in hot water (though I always use self-raising flour anyway)
1 small bag M&M's (or smarties, or chocolate-chip, raisins...)


Method:

1. Pre-heat oven to 175 C.
2. Cream the butter (or margerine) and sugar together.
3. Add the egg, vanilla essence, salt and baking powder and mix.
4. Add the flour and mix it in.
5. Throw in your M&Ms (or indeed whatever you fancy)
6. Bake for at least 10 minutes (use your judgement - I know all ovens are different and have their ticks)

These are best eaten the day they're made and are so deliciously comforting that you'll wish you made more (but be glad you didn't or you'd have scoffed the lot!) Luckily for me, this recipe is perfect for those with a wee oven and it makes five generous cookies (or if you accidently double the quantities like I did then you end up with five ma-hoo-sive cookies....).

Enjoy!

Lurgied up but battling on...

There is only one thing worse than being ill... Being ill and not being able to read. That happened to me on Monday, and it sucked! Endless time to read is usually the only saving grace of being under-the-weather, and the only thing that keeps you from the insanity that is illness related boredom. Sadly I am not in great danger of the latter. Although I have been struck down with tonsillitis, it's a mild bout and I am working through it (yet another astounding set of words to put on a page for those who know me, but in the past 14 months I've worked through nearly every illness thrown at me bar the occasion I was signed off by the doc!)

Even so, on Monday morning I was in my bed and all I could do was sleep. In fairness I needed it, but it was also my precious morning off... I was planning some epic reading time this week, and all of it has been nabbed from me in the name of recovery. There have, however, been a few inane things I have managed to do so far this week: 

• I Got Stamps...

 

Yes, yes I know this is sad (and I haven't divulged my full collection on here) but I just can't get enough of them, and being the snail mail aficionado it means I can create things like this:

Now come on, who doesn't want to receive a letter with waving robots adorning the paper and the envelope!  Sometimes I think that I should go into business, but then it wouldn't be so exciting would it! And besides, it wouldn't be nearly so much fun sending them then! 

• I've found great joy in eating dragon fruit out of the bowls given to me by a departed friend... now just look at how good that looks! 

• I started to write out a blog post in long-hand! What can I say, I'm old school like that! 

And the best bit, when I started feeling that bit better;

• I BAKED!! It's been a long time since my last baking outing and it's still as calm and therapeutic as ever (even if they did come out a little on the large side!)

Slowly, things seem to be on the up ill-wise! Naps have been my saviour and all the news of the Royal Baby has done wonders in passing on good feelings a-plenty. Here's to next week looking a little brighter, now I'm off for a cookie and a nap! 

Recommendations for a Friend #1 (52 Books #21, #22 and #23)

I was asked recently to make personal book recommendations to a friend - well who am I to refuse such a request! And so she (and she know's who she is) now has her very own set of posts for just this purpose!  I have also realised that, by some fortunate happy accident I'm remembering books I'd forgotten I'd read this year, so that's a few more to add to the 52 books list!

So, jumping in with Angelfall by Susan Ee.

This was one of those books that was first published digitally and received popularity through word of mouth. I picked it up on Amazon when it was going for a lowly 99p, and devoured it almost instantly. Angelfall is a shoe-in if you were a fan of Suzanne Collins' Hunger Games,  following the similar theme of the older sister protecting the younger one. It will also appeal to Twilight fans, as it features a human/mythical romance, but as with both aforementioned it's all about the way the stories packaged and Angelfall, although being a familiar plot, was readable and different enough story. The sequel is coming out in mid-November, and I just hope it's worth the wait!

Another recent book I've read has been another Ngaoi Marsh, this time Death In a White Tie.

This one follows on directly from Artists in Crime and expanded on the characters beautifully. There's not much more I can say about these books that I didn't say here, but the same longing for a long-forgotten era is jolted when reading these books, especially as this one is set against the backdrop of the first "season" of the protagonist Roderick Alleyn's niece as she makes her entrance into society as a debutante.

The final book in this wee list of suggestions (and 52 books tally) is The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield. I first bought this book when I was at uni, I'm going to hazard a guess at 2008, and read it after purchase. I remember thoroughly enjoying it, so I picked it up again to remind myself why.

I loved this book for two main reasons. One, it's an out and out mystery that surprised at every turn, and two, the novels two leading characters are an author and a bibliophile. It's a book persons story.  I am all about a good story, and a nice gothic mystery full of deep and dark family secrets makes a book you can really get into! Definitely one to give a whirl!

About time for down time! Phew! (and 52 Books #19 & #20)

It's been the best part of four weeks since I got back from my holiday to the UK and I've been rushing around being ridiculously social every since (for anyone who know's me this may be something of a surprise as I am most usually to be found eschewing large get-togethers in favour of down time with a good book, cup of tea or a blank page). There have been farewell parties, sad goodbyes, euphoric returns and a myriad of welcomes. This weekend I've spent my time off doing sweet f-all. It's been brilliant.

That's not to say I haven't enjoyed my running around though! I've been to new places (lets be honest, that's hardly difficult in Hong Kong, there is just SO MUCH to do), experienced a variety of weathers (well it's a Hong Kong Summer, though without a doubt cooler than last year - who'd have thought I'd ever look at 81% humidity and respond with "that's low!") and been on a Junk - only taken me 14 months!

What the last few days has afforded me (and about time too) is ample reading and writing time! I have just spent my time giggling away to Miranda's gloriously funny Is It Just Me?

Written as she speaks, it was a total delight and had me laughing out loud the whole way through! Miranda holds a special place as I spent happy times watching it with one of my friends who has now left Hong Kong, but fear not - she has gone armed with her Heather Small mask! In all seriousness, what more could you ask for!

I was finishing the above as the new broke that J.K. Rowling had written the Robert Galbraith book, The Cuckoo's Calling. My, what an outstanding marketing ploy that was. Naturally, I had to see what all the fuss was about.

While I have never pegged Rowling as the most technical of writers, it's never mattered due to her ability to tell an excellent story. I, personally, enjoyed A Casual Vacancy. I found it so very different to Harry Potter, yet still as readable. It was just what it needed to be - a complete departure. The Cuckoo's Calling dips a toe back into adventure (something that Harry Potter couldn't be without) and it's clear that Rowling was much more comfortable writing this one. I have a hunch this may also have been due to the complete lack of pressure surrounding it's writing and publication - and who can blame her after storm that is Harry Potter. It's well worth the read!

And for the next seven weeks I will be battling through summer courses and generally having fun with my students, that this week includes Mayan Headresses! Looking rather fine, even if I do say so myself!

Edging closer to the twenties (52 books #18)

Edging closer to the twenties and number eighteen has come in the form of One Moment, One Morning by Sarah Rayner. It was my morning off work this morning so I lounged around the flat for a while and picked up a book. I started this book months ago and then put it down and forgot about it and I thought it was about time I resumed my progress! I have since wept my way through the rest of the book.

Now, I'm someone who turns to mush at the most mildly sad things, but parts of this book were heat wrenching. Add that to the fact that a good cry has been on the cards anyway and I nearly flooded the flat. But don't be thinking that One Moment, One Morning is a miserable weep fest - it's not. It's actually a warm,  thoughtful story that is full of hope and acceptance as it follows a group of friends dealing with a tragic loss.

I would read this book again and I'd recommend it. It's short but powerful and it reads well. Rayner has woven the interconnecting lives of her characters beautifully and with great thought and care. A lovely read.

Europe in Asia

Today was a crazy day of tourism! Kind of! After fourteen months in Hong Kong I still hadn't been to Macau, and today I made it over there. The fact it was public holiday made today's travelling absolutely mental, one of the reasons I'm not such a fan of public holidays out here. There's a ridiculous number of people about at the best of time's, and more so on a Sunday, but when a public holiday comes around even more people come out of the woodwork and the people levels reach insanity. 

To which end, Macau happened in a bit of a rush. My esteemed new flatmate had to make the trip regardless, so I tagged along for the ride. Due to the volume of people, boats out of Hong Kong were running late and ours was delayed by half an hour (thank god! We were sent to three different gates before we got the right one for our sailing - everything was different to the screens in the ferry terminal before passport control.) Yes, that's right, passport control ... Macau has given me a new stamp in my passport! 

It's not a long boat ride, just over an hour, but getting through passport control upon arrival seemed to take a night and a day! Mental, un-moving queue. All in all the delays and the achingly slow queue left us with little over two hours in Macau before we had to head back. We only saw a little, but it was definitely enough to warrant a trip back! 

Macau is an jarring mix of influences! It is unmistakably European, the heavy Portuguese influence is at Macau's core. This European foundation is surrounded by the Las Vegas lights of the casinos and all the trapping of a Chinese community. It's a little unerring at times as one minute you feel like you're meandering down a street in Europe, the next you realise they're driving on the wrong side of the road for that to be true and remember that you are, in fact, in Asia.  

There's more to be seen and discovered in Macau and I'm looking forward to going back and giving it a little more of my attention! 

Sometimes, a second go is all you need! (52 Books #17)

So I gave Mr James Rollins a second chance and read another of his books. I thought I'd go for Sandstorm, the first in his SIGMA series. It was fabulous.

It was fun, it was exciting, it was imaginative to the point of crazy and I found it much more rewarding than Excavation. The way Rollins organises his books is clearly to jump form character arc to character arc within chapters, and while I still found this jarring, I found Sandstorm to be a tighter knit story and the interviewing aspect of the story worked well. In general I think I prefer more linear books, I could get used to his style.

It is different for books like The Time Travelers Wife. They nature of the story lends itself to a narrative that jumps too and fro and Rollins' stories don't lend themselves to it in the same way. Despite that niggling qualm, I found this much more readable and I'm looking forward to reading more.

This is a book for anyone who's a fan of Matthew Reilly (as anyone who reads this will know I most definitely am) and would also suit anyone who like's Dan Brown (I am rather excited to read Inferno and I'm hoping it's better than The Lost Symbol) or even if you're just a fan of action films with a historical twist in a book form! Some parts of this plot are crazy it's true, but why not...just why not!