Silver Skin by Joan Lennon (reviewer: Karen Bush)

Rab lives in an overcrowded, bland world in the future: travelling back in time to try and earn credits for a place to live, something goes wrong and he finds himself injured and stranded in the past, in a place where he needs to adjust fast to his circumstances.

Yes, this is a time travel book, but it focusses very much on the story and the people - while it features sci-fi and ancient history, it is the tale which matters and which is timeless. So even if you don't much care for historical books or sci-fi, don't be too quick to dismiss this one - give it a try and I bet you'll enjoy it. Don't just add it to the 'to read' list either - buy it and if you can't start reading it right away, stick it right at the top of the pile: I promise you won't regret it.
    
There's a quote from The Times on the front cover (which is fabulously eye catching) which says "Joan Lennon writes with humour, clarity, sympathy"
Yes, she does - and with a terrific eye for detail too, and at times a slightly different way of describing some of those details - such as the flame 'thrashing' on the candle wick in the opening chapter - but which instantly gives you the perfect image in your mind's eye. She's good at making you care about her characters too, and ever so cleverly teaches us that it's easy to be judgmental, especially when you don't know all the facts ... 
But most importantly of all, Joan Lennon spins a damn good yarn, maintaining the tension to keep you turning the pages, needing to know what happens next the whole way through, and never certain of the eventual outcome. And very satisfyingly, leaving you to work out a few things for yourself. Perfect. 

Red Champagne by Reb MacRath

Review by Bill Kirton

Where to begin with the various pleasures of this short narrative? The atmospheric evocation of a period (the 1930s) with its music, its lifestyles and the glamour of travelling on a powerful beast of a luxury train? Well, yes, that’s a start. Then there are the passengers, a group of interesting, interacting characters, each with his or her striking characteristics and agendas and each an important element in the mystery which is the defining centre of the narrative. Or maybe we should focus on the magical aspect of a story which gives its protagonists chances to relive and actually alter the experiences that lead up to and beyond that mystery, learning more about themselves as they do so, and subtly changing their approaches to the dilemmas they face.

The truth is that all these (and other) effects are woven together with such skill and élan that we just sit back and enjoy the spectacle as we hurtle with the characters through the night of Xmas Eve 1938. the author sustains the narrative’s pace with deceptive ease, teases us with repeated snippets of events which fold us into the time shifts without disorientation, and even, despite the seeming impossibilities of achieving a satisfactory resolution, comes up with a happy ending.

On top of all this, there’s also the obvious delight he takes in using language and making his words work hard for the effects he seeks. There are the “boarded windows of bored–dead enterprises” which are both “a misty presence to the eye” and “musty presents to the fog, as happily haunted as holes in the hills." It’s a deliberate manipulation of language which both contributes to the text’s impact and offers the additional pleasure of purely linguistic effects and allusions. After a throwaway mention of Byron, for example, a conversation contains the exchange and comment:

"You're mad."

"And bad and dangerous."

To know what she'd done and to see her like this […] was more than Claire could suffer.

The positioning of that “To know” brings a smile that has little to do with the story and lots to do with just the joy and power of words.

I note that the book’s garnered plenty of 5 star reviews. That’s no surprise at all – it’s from the pen/keyboard of a real writer.

Doomsday Book by Connie Willis

Doomsday Book

This is one of my favourite books by Connie Willis, and despite having been read many times now, it never fails to satisfy me. Set at a time in the near future where time travel has become a reality, student Kivrin travels to the past to complete some research for her thesis. Due to an error she ends up in the middle of the Black Death in 1348 - while the Oxford of the future which she has just left mirrors her problems with major and life threatening problems of its own in the form of a virulent flu outbreak which leaves her stranded in the past.

Dark, haunting and utterly unputdownable, this is one of those books which will stay with you long after you have finished reading it: the characters live and breathe, and you really do care about what happens to them.