Wolfy's world tour challenge

This challenge will be another great way for me to expand my reading horizons (Never a bad thing, right?).

Although I've read a few books that I could kick off this thread with I'm going to start from scratch as from now. I know I won't get to all the countries out there but it will be interesting to see where I do get to.

Edit: My criteria for country selected will be the main setting of a book as to me the place is what is important and not the author's nationality.



create your own visited country map

United Kingdom

I have read books based in the
counties highlighted in blue. How much of the UK have you covered?

Get your own free editable county map at
www.ukgeocachers.co.uk

Map reproduced from Ordnance Survey map data
by permission
of the Ordnance Survey.
� Crown copyright 1999

England
Greater London - Millennium People by J.G. Ballard
East Sussex - Brighton Rock by Graham Greene
Gtr Manchester - Vurt by Jeff Noon

Scotland
Glasgow and Renfrewshire - Garnethill by Denise Mina
Highlands - Pandaemonium by Christopher Brookmyre

Wales

N. Ireland
Belfast - Harry's Game by Gerald Seymour

N.B.: United Kingdom will not be ticked off on the main map until all 4 countries are represented here.

Europe

Albania
Andorra
Austria
Belarus
Belgium
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bulgaria
Croatia
Czech Republic
Denmark
Estonia
Faroe Islands
Finland
France - The Stormwatcher by Graham Joyce
Germany - Steppenwolf by Hermann Hesse
Greece
Hungary
Iceland
Ireland The Magdalen Martyrs by Ken Bruen
Italy - I'm Not Scared by Niccolò Ammaniti
Latvia
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Macedonia
Malta
Moldova
Netherlands
Norway
Poland
Portugal
Romania
Russia - The Sacred Book of the Werewolf by Victor Pelevin
Slovakia
Slovenia
Spain - The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón
Sweden - The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets' Nest by Stieg Larsson
Switzerland
Ukraine - Death and the Penguin by Andrey Kurkov

United States of America

This will be covered in my 50 States Mystery Tour challenge.

South America

Argentina - The Book of Murder by Guillermo Martínez
Bolivia
Brazil
Chile
Colombia
Ecuador
Falkland Islands
French Guiana
Guyana
Paraguay
Peru
South Georgia
Suriname
Uruguay
Venezuela

The Rest of the Americas and The Caribbean

Bahamas
Belize
Canada (British Columbia) - Hey Nostradamus! by Douglas Coupland
(Ontario) - The Tenderness of Wolves by Stef Penney
(Quebec) - Deja Dead by Kathy Reichs
(Manitoba) Never Cry Wolf by Farley Mowat
Costa Rica
Cuba
Dominican Republic
El Salvador
Guadeloupe
Guatemala
Haiti
Honduras
Jamaica
Martinique
Mexico - The Savage Detectives by Roberto Bolaño
Nicaragua
Panama
Puerto Rico - The Rum Diary by Hunter S. Thompson
Trinidad and Tobago

Asia

Afghanistan
Armenia
Azerbaijan
Bangladesh
Bhutan
Brunei
Burma
Cambodia
China - Death of a Red Heroine by Qiu Xiaolong
East Timor
Georgia
India
Indonesia
Japan - Tokyo Year Zero by David Peace
In the Miso Soup by Ryū Murakami
Kazakhstan
Kyrgyzstan
Laos
Malaysia
Mongolia - Wolf of the Plains by Conn Iggulden
Nepal
North Korea
Pakistan
Philippines
Singapore
South Korea
Sri Lanka
Taiwan
Tajikistan
Thailand - The Beach by Alex Garland
Turkmenistan
Uzbekistan
Vietnam The Quiet American by Graham Greene

Africa

Algeria
Angola
Benin
Botswana
Burkina Faso
Burundi
Cameroon
Central African Republic
Chad
Congo
Congo Democratic Republic
Cote d Ivoire
Djibouti
Egypt
Equatorial Guinea
Eritrea
Ethiopia
Gabon
Gambia
Ghana
Guinea
Guinea Bissau
Kenya
Lesotho
Liberia
Libya
Madagascar
Malawi
Mali
Mauritania
Mauritius
Morocco
Mozambique
Namibia
Niger
Nigeria
Reunion
Rwanda
Senegal
Sierra Leone
Somalia
South Africa - Zoo City by Lauren Beukes
Sudan
Swaziland
Tanzania
Togo
Tunisia
Uganda
Western Sahara
Zambia
Zimbabwe

Middle East

Cyprus
Iran
Iraq
Israel
Jordan
Kuwait
Lebanon
Oman - Sandstorm by James Rollins
Qatar
Saudi Arabia
Syria
Turkey
United Arab Emirates
Yemen

Oceania and The Rest of the World

Antarctica
Australia
Fiji
Greenland
New Caledonia
New Zealand
Papua New Guinea
Samoa
Solomon Islands
Vanuatu

This bit of text has been c&p'd from my 999 challenge so if you've read that recently then you can skip this.

United Kingdom - England
Finished Millennium People by J. G. Ballard and am really surprised by mostly negative reviews for this work. I found it a very enjoyable read. A revolution from the Chelsea middle-class society is used as a backdrop for a look at how the world can be shaken by random acts of violence. From a bomb in an airport to the murder of a TV celebrity. Motiveless crimes that need to be analysed so we can reassure ourselves that it won't happen to us. While there is a mystery element to the plot, it's not too difficult to guess who was responsible but that's not the point of this book. (UK will not be ticked off on the map until all 4 countries have been visited)

Asia - Japan
Tokyo Year Zero by David Peace. I thought the setting would prove interesting and the author seems to be generally well regarded so thought I'd give him a go with this one. Unfortunately I'll have to say this will be my only experience of his work. It's all just too grim and the style of writing did nothing to alleviate my distaste for this novel. It really was a struggle to pick this up and read a bit more and I could only stomach this in small doses. Reading, to me at least, is supposed to be an enjoyable way to relax and get lost in a story. The only reason I think I finished this book was to make sure I never go back to it.

Asia - Thailand
The Beach by Alex Garland on the other hand is an excellent read and, imo, thoroughly deserves the usual praise associated with it. A compelling tale of the breakdown of a utopian society in a paradise environment. Told from the POV of a seasoned traveller we get to witness his descent into madness and it's very easy to get engrossed in this book. I think the short chapters help in that respect as well.

The Rest of the Americas and The Caribbean - Canada

Hey Nostradamus! by Douglas Coupland is a wonderful piece of storytelling dealing with how a school shooting affects the lives of the four narrators of this book. First up we have The Victim which describes the events leading up to the massacre and her relationship to the next story teller (her secret husband). His story is picked up 10 years on with subsequent chapters being written by his new girlfriend and ending with his father. It's a very moving tale which uses religion as an undercurrent to examine how we cope with dysfunction and the continued existence when things fall apart.

I think Coupland is great, but I haven't read that one yet. Sounds great! Thanks for the review.

That's only the 2nd of his that I've read so can't really say how it compares to his usual style. I found it really easy to stay with the book and compelled enough to read it in a day.

Oh, if you want to read more Douglas Coupland, I recommend Eleanor Rigby.

*sigh* Another one to add to the wishlist.

(j/k) Thanks for the recommendation.

Northern Ireland - Belfast

Harry's Game by Gerald Seymour

A senior politician is assassinated in London by the IRA. The Prime Minister is not happy and wants something done quickly. No leads immediately present themselves so an undercover agent is required. Up steps Harry Brown, a soldier with the necessary background. Chosen to infiltrate the Catholic community in Belfast to see what he can discover after an intensive 3 week training course.

Excellent characters backing up a good story which deals with the conflict in Northern Ireland without pulling punches from either side. I can't remember the film or if I've even seen it so I might have to look into finding a copy to see how it compares.

South America - Argentina

The Book of Murder by Guillermo Martínez

After a ten year gap our narrator receives a phone call from out of the blue by a woman who used to work for him. She goes on to spin a tale of revenge, and ultimately murder, perpetrated by a current best-selling crime author. Her lover, her parents and her brother have all been killed and she fears for the life of her grandmother and sister so pleads for his help. While all the deaths have a more plausible explanation, the way the story fits together seems more than coincidental so he agrees to her earnest plea and sets out to discover what he can.

All in all, a pretty decent mystery that is a very quick and easy read.

The Rest of the Americas and The Caribbean - Canada

The Tenderness of Wolves by Stef Penney

Stef Penney made good use of her previous work writing screenplays for this, her debut novel. Set in a small community in the Canadian wilderness during the onset of the winter of 1867 this book does a good job of relating the time and place of the story. Mrs. Ross, while looking for her absent son Francis, discovers the body of murdered French trader, Laurent Jammet, and becomes increasingly concerned for her boy. Dissatisfied by the way the ensuing murder investigation is heading, being led by Hudson Bay Company men who seem to be looking for the quickest solution with the finger of blame being fixed squarely on her still missing son, Mrs Ross takes up with an ex-Company man and tracker and follows the trail of Francis who appears to be doing likewise on another unidentified set of tracks.

While the story is set against a murder mystery background this takes less significance than the interaction of the various characters and the book handles this well varying the viewpoint between a number of them in alternating short chapters. I very nearly gave this a full 4 stars but there were times when it didn't fully hold my interest. If you read this book then don't expect everything to be tied up in a nice little ending package as although the main mystery is resolved you are still left wondering about what befalls some of the characters.

Asia - Japan

In the Miso Soup by Ryū Murakami

This book is set around the sleazier part of Tokyo and revolves around the relationship of Kenji, a guide to the local flesh-spots, and Frank, the tourist who employs him. The story is split into three acts, one for each night that Frank wants Kenji to show him around. The first is the set-up where Kenji becomes increasingly suspicious and scared that Frank may not be just a tourist out looking for a good time but might well be a homicidal maniac that could do him some serious harm. The second is the gory bit and the third is the psychological conclusion and I guess I should add that this book is not for the squeamish.

The book describes some areas of Tokyo that we don’t often see mentioned in this medium and also explores the attitudes of the Japanese to outsiders and vice-versa as well as asking questions on the modern way of life and how we feel about certain aspects of it. I enjoyed it a lot and would recommend it to those looking for a psychological thriller that is fast-paced and very easy to read despite the subject matter.

Asia - Vietnam

The Quiet American by Graham Greene

I never knew a man who had better motives for all the trouble he caused. This line is taken from the back of the book and perfectly sums up the situation Fowler, our narrator, finds himself in with Pyle, the quiet American of the title. Fowler is a British correspondent in Vietnam covering the attempt by the French to bring democracy there in the early fifties. Happily ensconced on the scene with his live-in lover, Phuong, and reporting but never participating on events happening around him he meets the young American who's recently arrived as part of the Economic Mission. Full of high ideals and a desire to make a difference Pyle also falls in love with Phuong and tells Fowler so and that he intends to make her his future wife. When Fowler learns just what Pyle has become involved in can he stay neutral or will he too become involved?

A fairly short novel but well deserving of its classic status. I Felt it described the events and sets the scene of early-mid 50's Vietnam very well. 5*'s

Wow, this is an amazing challenge to set yourself! Good luck with it.

Thanks. I doubt I'll get to every country on the list and as can be seen by the frequency of posts, I'm in no rush to complete the challenge. I'm just using this as a way to read books that I wouldn't noramlly have even thought about a couple of years ago or previous to that. This one along with the 1010 Category challenge are great ways to expand away from the comfort zone of the Fantasy/Sci-Fi genres that I found myself reading all the time.

Asia - Mongolia

Wolf of the Plains by Conn Iggulden

Born as the second son to the khan of the Wolves, Temujin along with his mother and the rest of his siblings are left to fend for themselves in the harshest of environments when betrayal leads his father to an early demise. This is the story of the early life of the boy and young man on his rise to power as he becomes Genghis Khan.

As the author tells us in the afterword, this book uses The Secret History of the Mongols as its main source and he also describes where he has changed events for the sake of the narrative. Having spent time with the Mongol tribes in researching this book, Conn Iggulden uses this knowledge to excellent effect in describing the environment and way of life of these people.

The first of a trilogy and the best historical fiction novel I've ever read. Will look forward to the rest of this series and will also look into acquiring his Emperor series about Julius Caesar while I'm at it.

Europe - Germany

Steppenwolf by Hermann Hesse

The existence of a lone miserablist is questioned when the self-styled lone wolf of the Steppes nears his 50th year of life. Having lived the life of an intellectual, Harry Haller meets a young woman who is his exact opposite in experiences. They have both, however, reached a similar point in asking the question "Is it worth it?" Hermine, the young woman, takes Harry under her wing and teaches him how to actually live rather than just exist and culminating in a trip to the Magic Theatre.

I found myself skip-reading the longer philosophical sections of this book but can appreciate at least part of what it was trying to say. Doesn't really do much in describing the actual place with just occasional meanderings into an unnamed town but does capture the feeling of pre WWII Germany and the rise of Nationalism at that time. Incredibly well written but not one for me.

Europe - Sweden

The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets' Nest by Stieg Larsson

The third part of the Millennium trilogy was a magnificent conclusion to this series. Such a shame the author is no longer with us and we have to leave these characters behind. Pretty much all of the elements of the previous books are here so if you've read these then you'll know what to expect, if you haven't and are a fan of the genre then I urge you to do so. I stayed up until 4am to finish this one last night.

I'm not going into plot details as it would give out too many spoilers for the previous books and as this one picks up the story immediately after book 2 they need to be read in order. Some nice descriptions of places and quite a bit about Swedish politics (some good notes at the back of the book help with this) imbue this book with a very good sense of place.

Europe - Italy

I'm Not Scared by Niccolò Ammaniti

While exploring a deserted farmhouse for a forfeit, 9 year old Michele uncovers a secret that will tear away his innocent beliefs and shake his world apart. So shaken with what he finds he does not divulge it to his friends and each time he tries to tell his parents something always interrupts his attempts. When he discovers that not only were they aware but that they were also part of what was happening it's another blow to his moral compass.

Told from the view of the 9 year old boy this is a very quick and easy to read short novel. The tension is heightened at each step and the characters are fully portrayed as is the hot summer of its Southern Italian setting. Although the sense of place is good it is also quite sparse being set in a very small community of just 4 houses. Be warned though that if you like your endings to tie everything up in a nice tidy package then you will be disappointed at the conclusion.

Sounds good -- onto the wishlist it goes. I wonder how difficult it will be to track down a copy.

edited to say . . . I was startled when I clicked on the touchstone and got a children's book about owls. It took a few seconds to realize I wasn't looking at the same book. I really didn't think your description sounded like a kid's book, never mind that it was about owls :-)

Read I'm not scared a couple of months ago and loved it! Definitely easy to read, but also so moving..... You're right Wolfy, it did feel like being in South Italy, despite reading the book in winter London tube.... I actually liked the ending and didn't think that it leaves things "untidy" - it's just that it is not the usual "happy ending", and I frequently prefer it that way.

Fixed the touchstone (thanks Nickelini). That'll teach me to not rush my posts. Had to rush off to work.

@Menexedia, I meant that not everything is fully resolved as is the case with most books these days. Though being familiar with Asian media I'm more used to that than a lot of people will be and so I don't mind it so much.

The Rest of the Americas and The Caribbean - Canada

Deja Dead by Kathy Reichs

This is the first in a long running series featuring forensic anthropologist, Dr. Temperance "Tempe" Brennan. It has also been adapted into a successful TV series, Bones, which I have yet to watch. The remains of a dismembered body are unearthed and Tempe is brought into the investigation. Seeing similarities with a previous case she does a little more research and thinks she's uncovered a serial killer. However, none of the policemen seem to accept her findings so she has to dig a little deeper.

Meanwhile, Tempe's friend is having a little trouble on a project of her own and is terrified she might be the victim of a stalker. When she goes missing Tempe thinks there might be a connection with what she's working on so sets out to try and find out.

While not being wholly original plot-wise I enjoyed the characters and setting for this book. Delving into the forensics side of things was also a plus and added something a little different to the standard police investigation story.

There's quite a bit of description of travelling around Montreal so you do get a good sense of place from this book. A smattering of French used in conversations also help to set the scene.

Kathy Reichs was a favorite author of mine for good, interesting forensic-style mysteries, but her last few books have been dreadful. I read an interview with her in which she said that she was present at all the filmings of Bones and had some important title there as well as being busy with public appearances and talk shows. So it's no wonder the quality has plummeted. Her latest few felt like first drafts without a lot of thought behind them, so I've said good-bye to the series, somewhat sadly. The best ones were always set in Quebec and kept the romantic entanglements to a minimum. Have you read any of the newer ones?

That was the first of hers I've read. Will be continuing with the series at some point and have added the 2nd book to my library just this last weekend. Thanks for the heads-up on the later stuff though it will probably be some time before I get that far. I'll probably check on the series some time as well but I believe the characters are quite different to the book.

The Rest of the Americas and The Caribbean - Canada

Never Cry Wolf by Farley Mowat

Intending to write a satire on bureaucracy and those that perpetuate it this charming little book instead turned into a charming account of the author's time spent studying Arctic wolves in their natural habitat. It was the firm belief of the time that wolves were responsible for systematically decimating the herds of caribou recently qualified naturalist, Farley Mowat, is sent on a mission to discover the exact relationship between the wolves and caribou for no documentary evidence of this well known fact actually exists.

Departing from Ottawa he heads out to Churchill and after a brief stay there proceeds into the Barren Lands and is quickly fortunate in meeting Mike, a local trapper, and establishes a base camp at his nearby cabin. Unfortunately, Mike is rapidly scared off by a demonstration of the scientific experiments that he intends to carry out and so he is left alone to pursue his studies once again.

Upon making contact with a family of wolves, the author is repeatedly disabused of the established facts as he discovers not the blood-thirsty killing machine he expects but a playful group that are skilled providers that are extremely caring and protective of their young. Contrary to belief it seems the wolves feed mainly on rodents with only the occasional deer taken from the sick or young of the herds. As part of his experiments he undertakes to prove a large mammal could survive on such a diet and provides a recipe for the reader if they feel inclined to do the same.

Told in a similar style to that of Bill Bryson's travel books this is both a poignant and humorous tale and recommended to anyone who wants to discover just a little bit more than the common knowledge. This book describes a lot of the scenery around the Barren Lands but tells almost nothing of its human population. Only brief encounters at Churchill and occasional meetings with a trapper and local Inuit natives.

The Rest of the Americas and The Caribbean - Mexico

The Savage Detectives by Roberto Bolaño

This book is split into three parts, the first and last being told journal style and being split by many snippets of interviews reminiscing about the two main protagonists. The first section is narrated by Juan Garcia Madero, a young aspiring poet, who is invited to join the Visceral Realists, a group who want to change the face of Latin American poetry. It details his encounters with the members of the group and reads extremely well.

The second part is the hardest part to get through, it really was a struggle at times, as this takes interviews with many people about their various encounters with the leaders of the Visceral Realists over the subsequent 20 years since the opening. Some of these interviews are just a paragraph or two while others go on for quite a while but are themselves split over many of this sections chapters. While a lot of these were quite interesting there were just too many of them, especially after where the first section ended - I just wanted to know what happened next.

The third part returns to that very point but in a much more downbeat way and so is less enthralling than the first.

It's a long book and sometimes feels even longer. Certainly not a conventional novel by any stretch of the imagination. Very well translated though and I didn't spot any glitches or uneven points throughout. Although we do get to see other country's in this story the main setting is Mexico and we do get to see quite a bit of Mexico City and the Sonora Desert in the first and third sections.

Europe - Russia

The Sacred Book of the Werewolf by Victor Pelevin

Love, sex and were-beasts in a satirical look at modern Russia with Eastern mysticism thrown in for good measure. A Hu-Li is a fox masquerading as human and earning a living by prostitution, hypnotising her clients into believing she will perform anything to satisfy their whim and desire. Brought to the attention of the FSB (formerly the KGB) it's there that she meets Alexander who proves resistant to her charms and also happens to be a werewolf. The start of their relationship will put a lot of people off reading this book but I should mention that none of the sexual acts mentioned in the book are described gratuitously.

I'd describe this book as being a Russian take on a Haruki Murakami novel, though more philosophical than fantastical in nature. Certainly not one that you can easily rush through in a day and I'm glad I had the time to be able to devote to it. While this book doesn't describe much of the country it does take a strong look at the political aspect often in a satirical form.

Asia - China

Death of a Red Heroine by Qiu Xiaolong

Chen Cao wanted to be a literary scholar and poet but his assigned role in life was to the police force in Shanghai. Through political manoeuvrings he has risen to the rank of Chief Inspector in only a very short time and some of his colleagues resent his burgeoning career. He is in charge of the Special Cases unit so when an opportunity arises to head up the homicide investigation of a national model worker he feels a responsibility to his job to solve the case no matter where it leads.

The main reason for reading this book is not the murder/mystery however, but the description of life in post-Cultural Revolution China and the struggles of everyday living as the people come to terms with the new political ideas that are shaping the country. Very evocative of the place and time as well as the way of varying levels of life for the people.

Europe - Ireland

The Magdalen Martyrs by Ken Bruen

Another third instalment only this time this one is as good if not better than the preceding two books in the series. Jack Taylor is a disgraced ex-cop from Galway in Ireland. He managed to let the drink get the better of him and he's also developed quite a drug habit too. At the conclusion of the last book Jack had found himself owing a couple of debts to local gangster Bill Cassell and now it's time to pay them off. The slate will be wiped clean if Jack manages to find the whereabouts of a woman who used to work at the Magdalen laundry. In the fifties, unwed mothers were placed there by their families or the Church. It was an abusive place to be. Not only were the girls forced to do laundry in conditions that a Japanese WWII prisoner of war camp frowned upon but they were subjected to all kinds of physical and mental tortures. Many of the girls committed suicide rather than endure more of the punishments.

Bill tells Jack that the woman he wants found is the one who helped his mother escape from the place and he wants to thank her personally for her kindness. Jack has just come off a bender and so is in no fit state to ask the right questions of Bill and also has no choice but to accept the job. Jack is also asked to look into the death of a young man's father. He thinks his stepmother might have killed him but the police have it down as a heart attack and with no post-mortem before the body was cremated it's not going to be an easy one to prove.

You do get quite a good feel for the changing face of Ireland as the older and more recent generations converge. You could also probably draw a pretty decent street map of Galway from Mr. Bruen's narrative.

Europe - France

The Stormwatcher by Graham Joyce

This book is really hard to classify. It has tinges of horror as well as the supernatural and magical realism feel about it but doesn't really fit comfortably in any of those genres. What it is, is a beautiful building of tension in the relationships of a family and friends holidaying together in the Dordogne. Each of whom have their secrets that they either share with or want to protect from the others in the group. This group consists of James, a successful advertising executive, and his French wife, Sabine, and two daughters, Jessie and Beth, Matt, James' best friend and former employee, with wife Chrissie and rounding out the group is Rachel, another former employee of James and also one whom he had an affair with. One un-named member of this party is giving the already slightly disturbed Jessie instruction which seems to be making her personality even more strange than it already is.

Storm clouds are gathering both in the meteorological sense and the emotional. When it strikes will it clear the air or is it a sign of great upheaval within the household?

I am a little loathe to use this book here but it does give a tourist's view of the Dordogne region of the country so it can go here for now. Maybe it will get supplanted by a later read.

United Kingdom - Scotland

Pandaemonium by Christopher Brookmyre

A group of Scottish catholic school students are sent to an outbound retreat at Ben Trochart in the Highlands to come to terms with the murder of one of their classmates by another who then committed suicide. An eventful trip is somewhat overshadowed by what happens at the party that's laid on for Saturday night. There's a very secret military base residing on the doorstep specialising in R&D and it just seems to have opened a portal to hell. The current guise of the Inquisition (did you expect that?) has taken control of the project and is just about to shut it down much to the disappointment of the scientists on board but things don't go as planned. Real life game of Doom anyone?

As with a lot of Brookmyre's work, the stereotypical characters that you start out with don't end up the way you expect and it's these characters that really make his work as enjoyable as it is. You also get the customary bad language and high blood spatter and body count you'd expect in a horror tinged spectacle such as this. Though that is where this work differs from his previous as they were all set in the crime/thriller genre whereas this one is most certainly not. The set-up is quite long in this book but it all adds up to setting the scene with a few reveals left until after the action starts. The humour is of the laugh in the face of death type which usually manifests in the excellent dialogue and with this one you don't need the glossary of local vernacular that was included in a previous novel.

Not much to the description of place but you are treated to the odd bit of local language here and there.

Middle East - Oman

Sandstorm by James Rollins

A novel which combines science and technology with an archaeological mystery and overlays that with a spy thriller which ends up as a pretty decent action-adventure yarn.

When what appears to be an accident at the British Museum destroys most of the Arabian collection owned by Lady Kara Kensington, her childhood friend and curator of the exhibition, Safia al-Maaz, makes a discovery that will send them on an expedition to Oman looking for the ancient city of Ubar. Putting together a team that will unite Safia with her former fiancé, Omaha Dunn, Kara is forced to accept Painter Crowe and his partner as members of the group. Crowe is an agent of Sigma Force, a secret US Government agency that combines special ops training with scientific knowledge to form an elite cadre of personnel that can handle any situation. They set off to discover where the discovered clue will lead them. Unfortunately for them there are also other interested parties that want to reach the same destination and they'll stop at nothing to get there. Mother Nature also wants to make her presence felt as well with the combination of a giant sandstorm and high pressure system to create a megastorm. Who's going to live through to the end and what will they find when they get there?

This book at times reads like an Indiana Jones film with bits of a Dan Brown plot thrown in for good measure but the end result is not bad. The action is plentiful but not really gripping in a kind of will they/won't they survive type of thing. The main characters are well written and you do care when they are up against it but the secondary characters just seem to be along for the ride or used to provide info-dumps on the science involved. I will at least read the next in the series at some point.

You do get to learn a little about the history of Oman and its people but you don't really get a good sense of place as the story has you travelling from one point to another and is more oriented towards the action going on rather than the scenery.

United Kingdom - England

Brighton Rock by Graham Greene

Now that Kite's dead most of his mob don't seem to want to stick around when the teen-aged Pinkie picks up the reins. When Pinkie decides an example needs to be made of one of the deserters, so as to keep the others in line, events head inexorably on a downward spiral with tragic consequences for those involved. Pinkie's descent into paranoia as the relentless Ida tries to bring him to justice and rescue the innocent Rose from his evil clutches is extremely well written. The two sides to the story fascinate the reader until the end. With the gangster not trusting anyone around him will there be a monumental bloodbath? Or will the other theme of Good vs. Evil (Pinkie and Rose are both Catholic) and Right and Wrong (Ida's take on things) prevail?

This is a powerfully rendered book that really sets the atmosphere of a pre WWII Brighton and while the reader doesn't invest too much emotionally with the characters you will still find yourself reading avidly until the gripping conclusion.

Europe - Spain

The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón

According to tradition, the first time someone visits the Cemetery of Forgotten Books they get to choose one to take away with them. Daniel selects The Shadow of the Wind and on reading it he is enthralled by the story and wants to find more by the author, Julian Carax. Daniel's father, a rare and second-hand bookseller, doesn't recognise the author either but together they ask a local expert if he can help. Gustavo Barcelo offers to buy the book outright but when Daniel refuses to sell he tells the story of how all of Carax's books are being collected and burned and that the copy Daniel has may be the only one left in existence. This tale sets Daniel off on a voyage of discovery where he meets terrible figures connected to the mystery one of which resembles the character of the Devil from the very book that Daniel found.

Not only do you get the historical mystery (post-war Spain) tied around the coming-of-age story of Daniel but you also get to learn of the city of Barcelona around that time as Daniel's story becomes increasingly linked to that of Carax. My copy of the book includes a walking guide for the locations used in the story which I'm sure would be a wonderful way to explore the city.

This was a book that I didn't really want to see the end of. It's beautifully written with what seems to be a well done translation. For those that still haven't read this book and are still pondering whether to or not, read the first half-dozen pages and that should make up your mind about it.

United Kingdom - Scotland

Garnethill by Denise Mina

Maureen O'Donnell has spent time in psychiatric care due to having a breakdown caused by the surfacing of suppressed memories of sexual abuse she suffered at the hands of her own father. She's also having an affair with a therapist which she manages to justify because she's not his patient. Nobody else can seem to recognise the fine distinction though so when she confirms suspicions that he's also a married man she decides to end it. When waking up after a particularly heavy night of drinking, when all she did after getting home was to fall into bed, Maureen discovers him tied to a chair with his throat cut she didn't think this was the kind of end that she meant. With no signs of forced entry and Maureen's mental illness history she and her drug dealer brother, Liam, quickly become the main suspects in the police investigation. Maureen manages to pick up on some clues that have eluded the police so sets about trying to find the real killer and the motive behind this brutal act.

This was such an accomplished story that I was surprised that it was the author's début novel. The characters are first rate and the pacing was spot on. It was very easy to read in large chunks so was quickly devoured. I'll look forward to picking up more of another tartan noir author.

You do get to see some of the sights of Glasgow as Maureen makes her way about trying to make sense of what's going on. Some vivid descriptions of some of the architecture from the theatre in which Maureen works to the light bulb factory.

Africa - South Africa

Zoo City by Lauren Beukes

A dark urban fantasy set in Johannesburg provides the setting for a missing persons case. For those that have got past that first sentence which only gives the tiniest of brief outlines that this book contains I'll add a bit more detail. Zinzi December has to carry around a Sloth everywhere she goes. Her companion gives her two things: A gift, in Zinzi's case this is the ability to find lost things, and also protection from the Undertow, a blackness that would literally swallow her up in a very unpleasant way. The downside to being animalled is that to get one you must have committed a murderous act. Zinzi also has to pay off huge debts that she ran up from her junkie days and to pay them off she is working for a 419 scammer sending out those e-mails that look so enticing but which first require you to pay a small fee in order to get your hands on a fortune. In the meantime, Zinzi also uses her gift to find those small things that everyone is always losing but when her latest client is murdered just prior to pay-day then she must take on a job that she never likes doing, find a missing person. In this case it's the female half of twins who are the latest music sensation who's disappeared just prior to finishing off their latest album and their producer hires Zinzi to locate her.

The story gives a fresh spin on an old tale with finely rendered locales and fully fleshed out characters which make reading this book an absolute pleasure even though the themes are on the seedier side of life. Throughout the story there are also articles detailing some of the themes of the book as well as faux reviews and extracts from books which add to the detail for the reader and don't interfere with the flow of the narrative at all. It's all very well done. Lauren Beukes will definitely be an author I look out for in future.

I've no idea personally how this book actually rates as to accuracy of place or people but I have seen glowing praise elsewhere on LT as to these particulars so I have no qualms at using this book for my entry for South Africa.

United Kingdom - England

Vurt by Jeff Noon

What would happen if Philip K. Dick was around to discover the New Weird movement? It might end up something like this.

Scribble is a member of the Stash Riders who use the Vurt feathers to explore different levels of virtual reality. On one of their trips his sister, Desdemona, was left behind and was exchanged with a vurt alien and all Scrib wants is to get her back again. To do so, he'll have to find that rarest of feathers, the Curious Yellow. The yellow feathers are not for the weak though so there's going to be some casualties along the way that's presuming they make it out again if they get there, not everyone does.

Set around the Manchester area of the UK in some near/alternate future there is a lot of very strange things happening in this book and it took me a while before I decided if I was going to enjoy the ride or not but in the end I did. There are some fantastic characters in this story and my hometown setting helped a bit as well. Although this is set in an alternate version there are still a lot of familiar locales used for settings such as the Curry Mile in Rusholme, Platt Fields, Fallowfield, Whalley Range etc. so I have no qualms about using this book here. This is a pretty good effort for a first novel and I'll certainly be on the lookout for more by the author.

*Grabbing a pen and a notebook and start taking notes on titles*

The Rest of the Americas and The Caribbean – Puerto Rico

The Rum Diary by Hunter S. Thompson

The story of a bunch of journalists that oversee the end of an English speaking newspaper in Puerto Rico in the late 1950's. Not much news gets reported on, just the amount of booze and hamburgers they manage to consume and the freeloading they manage to pull off. One of these jounos is Paul Kemp, the narrator of this account. Recently arrived from New York he manages to fit right in with the others but he starts questioning his chosen lifestyle when he sees how those around him operate and compares with the more successful people that he meets.

The author describes the setting quite well and there are side trips to the islands of Vieques and St. Thomas as well as describing the capital of San Juan itself. The author does not treat the locals very well as they are pictured as laconic at best and very volatile and quick to turn on the unsuspecting non-natives exceedingly quickly.

A decent early effort from HST that owed its release to the more successful later books. I've read (and much preferred) Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas but this read has not put me off from watching the recent movie adaptation which I hope to get to in the not too distant future. 3½★'s

Europe - Ukraine

Death and the Penguin by Andrey Kurkov

Viktor is a frustrated aspiring author but his short stories are often too short and any sign of a novel is so distant it might as well be the other side of the world. And that's pretty much where his constant companion, Misha the penguin, comes from. The zoo couldn't afford to keep all their animals and asked the public to take some off their hands so that's how Viktor and Misha came together. One day Viktor gets a job offer from a local paper. They liked his writing style though couldn't publish a story he'd submitted but thought his technique suited a new kind of obituary they wanted to try. Viktor starts writing them for notable personages that aren't quite dead yet so doesn't immediately see the fruits of his labour and it's only when one of those he's written about dies in suspicious circumstances that Viktor gets an inkling of what his new position is all about. His fears are increased when one of the people who provide his work asks him to take care of his daughter as he has to disappear for a while. After no immediate reappearance occurs, this necessitates the employing of a nanny to help him look after the little girl and so a family unit is born. When this family starts to become more of a reality will Viktor start questioning what he does for a living? And what will it get him if he does?

This fairly bleak story is riddled with dark humour. Set in the post-Soviet era Kiev with a lot of political manoeuvring (off-stage) which affects the main protagonists life dramatically but he seems to readily accept his situation no matter how much he's put upon. He tries to make the best of events while trying to keep as low a profile as possible. It's not that easy to lie low with a penguin in tow. The story follows Viktor in his day-to-day life but it's the relationship he has with Misha that really infuses it with warmth and feeling as his dealings with other people are quite cold and distant.

I definitely want to read more from this author and will, at some time, be seeking out the sequel to this particular story. 4★'s