Review: Country Doctor: Tales of a Rural GP by Michael Sparrow

Country Doctor is a collection of anecdotes about the life of a former Air Force medic turned country GP - Michael Sparrow. It follows in the footsteps of books like Sick Notes and Confessions of a GP, the primary difference in this case is that the doctor in question has had a rather dubious background for a GP; he is someone who openly admits to being less than academically gifted and admits to neglecting his duties whilst a student/house officer.

The book was enjoyable to read, and there were moments when I literally laughed aloud. The anecdotes in the most part are interesting and entertaining but I found three things hindered my enjoyment of the book. First, the title is misleading. Just a fraction of the book is actually set when the author is a country GP, the vast majority focusing on his early career and time in the Air Force. For me this was immensely disappointing as it was not the collection of interesting stories about interesting people, and good old fashioned village spirit, I had imagined it to be.

The next issue for me was the underlying vibe of the author saying "Look how great I am". Whilst on the surface the author says he wasn't that good a medical student or junior doctor, there is a definite vibe of "I'm better than you" throughout, which quickly got wearing such as when the author basically turns around and said that his tutor could see just how amazing a doctor he was, that they 'helped' him through his exams. Lastly, some of the 'true' stories recounted in the book are questionable. If they did indeed happen, then some of the events where at best unethical.

Overall I found Country Doctor to be a easy, humorous read but for the reasons outlined above I have given it a three star rating, although at only 99p currently, you cannot go too wrong.

Country Doctor is available from Amazon UK for 99p and from Amazon US for $1.63.

Review: Mortuary Confidential by Kenneth McKenzie

Mortuary Confidential is a collection of anecdotes about the lives and experiences of undertakers. It offers a different, more light hearted perspective on the industry than I had experienced before, although it is not as humorous as I had originally imagined.

It’s a real mix of some inspiring and heartbreaking stories – some of which left me in tears – and some really funny ones including my personal favourite of the undertaker who accidentally made up a person to look like someone completely different. Unlike similar book Stiff there is very little technical detail and the focus is primarily on the experiences of the undertakers rather than the corpse. There were also no ‘gross out’ moments, making it a more appealing book, although, as mentioned before, there are some very sad moments which may upset some people, especially the recently bereaved.

Overall, I found it a humorous as well as thought provoking book, which was extremely easy to read. It’s the kind of book you might take to an appointment where you don’t want to be too bogged down in an evolving plot but just want something light to pass the time.

Mortuary Confidential is available from Amazon UK for £6.47.

Review: Confessions of a Male Nurse by Michael Alexander

Confessions of a Male Nurse follows in the footsteps of books like Confessions of a GP and Life and Death on the Streets to chronicle the real-life experiences of a male nurse while he worked in both the UK and New Zealand. The book is split into short chapters dealing with one patient or one setting, and this makes the book very easy and quick to read. Perfect if you don’t want to be tied to reading a book for several days; it’s also easy to put down and pick up again without having to go back over parts of the story.

Whilst I enjoyed reading Confessions of a Male Nurse, it wasn’t as humorous as I would have liked it to be, especially considering it’s marketed as “frequently hilarious”. There were some points when I had a little smile but nothing caused me to laugh out loud. There was also a lack of deep, emotional stories; at no point did I feel that the nurse was particularly affected by what he had seen on an emotional level. He did show frustration at the state of the NHS and some of the situations he was put in but if you are looking for a tell-all on the state of the National Health Service this isn’t the book for you.

Overall Confessions of a Male Nurse was an enjoyable quick read. I would recommend it if you like similar books in this genre or fancy something light to read but if you are looking for real humour or an expose, you are going to be left wanting.

Confessions of a Male Nurse can be purchased from Amazon UK for £2.99 or from Barnes & Noble for $4.99. 

Review: Slabscape: Reset by S. Spencer Baker

“Take the most sophisticated A.I. designed mind that has ever existed, encase it in over fifty million cubic kilometres of diamond nano-rods and send it off on a twenty-thousand-year odyssey towards the centre of the galaxy. Then screw it all up by allowing thirty-two million humans to go along for the ride...”

Slabscape: Reset is not my usual type of read, but I was very impressed with the level of imaginative realism in this sci-fi outing. The plot and characters are very believable, humour was weaved throughout the plot and it reminded me a little of the Red Dwarf universe. There were times when the pace of the book slowed but overall the book was well paced, and as such I was left wanting more at the end.

I liked the idea of an online resource providing additional information and value to the book, and whilst I personally didn’t find it all that useful, I can see many readers enjoying the material provided there. The wiki will probably become more useful and interesting as the series progresses.

Overall Slabscape is a very humorous and believable sci-fi outing. Drago as a character is easily the most thought-out and well written character I have come across this year.

The book is available from Amazon UK for £7.69 and from Amazon US for $12.35. It is a shame that currently this book does not appear to be available in non-Kindle formats, although the paperback version can be obtained from Amazon.

[A review copy was provided by the author]

Review: Go the F**K to Sleep by Adam Mansback

Go the F**K to Sleep is the nightly routine that many parents go through, as such I am surprised that this is the first time someone has turned it into satire in this way. The book, designed to mimic a children's story book, is the internal dialogue of an exhausted farther who's daughter just won't sleep.

The book had me in stitches from page one, although most of the humour seemed from the 'naughtyness' of the liberal swearing throughout, this is not a high-brow satirical piece but is nevertheless a great read. I especially liked the ending, which happened to my own parents more than once over the years. The illustrations however are generally unappealing and the use of several different children in the illustrations instead of just one is confusing and unnecessary. Amusing as it may be, it is not a work of literary genius with lines such as "How come you can do all this other great s*!t, But you can’t lie the f*@k down and sleep?"

Overall, it is an amusing story, which all parents will be able to relate to, and would make a great little gift for new parents. Obviously this is not a children's book and should probably be kept away from little readers due to the language.

Go the F**K to Sleep is available from Amazon UK for £4.54 and from Amazon US for $7.35. There is also a free audio book version available from Audible, narrated by Samuel L. Jackson.

[An ARC copy was provided by Open Road Media]

Review: Pet Noir by Pati Nagle

Whilst Pet Noir originally sounded right up my street, especially as I am rather fond of cats, the reality was disappointing. The book follows Leon, a genetically engineered cat, who solves a range of cases along with his human companion Devin. That is perhaps the book's biggest downfall, as it is actually five short stories rather than one novel, which interrupted the flow when reading it. Some of the cases were predictable and felt rushed towards the end.

From Amazon

My one other major criticism is that the characterisation, at times, is unbelievable. Leon and Devin, are beautifully written, and it is a shame that the other characters are not written with such care. I did however like the idea of a cat detective, and Pet Noir did make me laugh in places.

As a final word, I would warn hard-core Sci-Fi fans that this is only really Sci-Fi in context, and the plot is rather more humour-based than heavy science-fiction.

Overall, I finished the book but didn't really like it, although that could be just that it wasn't what I expected. I wouldn't read this again, and I would only recommend it to fans of this particular sub-genre or perhaps the teenage reader, who wants something different. Only two stars I'm afraid.

Pet Noir is available from Amazon for £3.47

[This review copy was obtained in the LibraryThing Early Reviewers Giveaway]