Catching up with book, part 1

I have four new reviews on Revish with four more to come.

An Illiad: A Story of War. Alessandro Baricco retells the story of Homer's Illiad by removing nearly all references to the Greek gods and their interference in mortal affairs. He describes the action from the viewpoint of the characters in the story. It is well done and would be a good introduction to the story for a young reader who might only have seen the movie Troy. You do lose the aspect of the story where the humans are pawns in a game played by the gods but still it is a valid and interesting approach.

Expletive Deleted. This is a collection of crime short stories that feature some aspect of the F-word. some of my favorite authors have stories in this collection including Ken Bruen. The stories range from amusing to disgusting with one that you could call poignant.

Silver Swan. This a sequel to Benjamin Black's excellent novel, Christine Falls. Quirk the Dublin pathologist is back. This time a former school mate asks Quirk not to do something which launches a chain of events that hit close to Quirk's personal life. I feel sorry for but don't really like any of the characters that that didn't stop me enjoying it tremendously. black is a terrific writer.

Confessions of a Fallen Angel. This is Irish solicitor Ronan O'Brien's first novel. I'm not sure how to characterize it. There is a bit of supernatural but it doesn't take over the story. Romance, sentimentality, substance abuse, all have a part. It is the character driven story of Charlie from age 10 until ... and surfacing of his special gift to foretell the death of someone close to him. and to be the cause of that death.

I enjoyed it and recommend it.