Dreaming the Bull by Manda ScottMy rating: 3 of 5 stars Competent writing, a talented story-teller, and excellent research all contribute to the entertainment value of this, the second book of Manda Scott’s Boudica series. My only quibble is purely personal taste in that with such a remarkable, historical backdrop I’m wondering why Scott had to wander so deeply into neo-pagan spiritualism and magic. The result, for this reader, diminishes the quality of the story…

Three Day Road by Joseph BoydenMy rating: 5 of 5 stars An astonishing novel. An even more astonishing first novel. There can be no disputing Joseph Boyden is not only an accomplished story-teller, but a significant Canadian voice in the 21st century. Three Day Road, drawn from real people and real history, is an impeccably researched, and skilfully wrought tale of two Cree soldiers who fight in the nightmare of WWI. It is a story…