Very Vocal Youngsters

Wednesday 25th January: It’s extremely rare for me to go to a gig outside of York these days. Tonight, however, saw me heading over the Pennines for a first ever trip to the M.E.N. Arena. In all honesty, I was treating this as more of a “duty” trip – Elizabeth was among a number of pupils from her school (and thousands of other kids from schools around the country) performing as part of the last of three Young Voices concerts held in Manchester this week. It’s not that I was forced to go, just that I wasn’t expecting to enjoy it that much.

It might be a little hard to picture the scene that greeted us inside the venue, unless you’ve been to an arena concert before. If you have, you will know that the stage is, generally, at one end of the floor and the seats behind and immediately to the sides of it are blocked off or empty or behind huge banks of speakers and lights. Well, it was more or less the same tonight, except that those seats were filled with thousands of kids, all dressed in white t-shirts and all supplied with small torches or glow sticks – perhaps the biggest set of backing singers you will ever come across.

Through a two-hour performance the kids perform alongside or, perhaps more accurately, behind four very different celebrity acts, with a full band (including Musical Director Craig McLeish), conductor (David Lawrence) and more grown-up backing singers on stage as well. Sprinkled among these performances are a a few medleys – songs from The Monkees, Toy Story and a pop song medley - which were performed just by the kids and the band. The celebrities tonight, in rough order of appearance were:

The High Kings – an energetic Irish folk band of multi-instrumentalists who performed Rocky Road, Gaudette, Step It Out Mary and, according to the programme The Fields Of Athenry (although I don’t remember that one…)

Randolph Matthews – an extremely talented (and barefoot) voice artist who not only sang Norwegian Wood, Precious and Something Inside So Strong but also led up to his first song with a story, complete with sound effects (footsteps, a car horn, a bird flying away, etc) all done with his own voice. I’m sure that some of the bands I’ve seen have used a loop machine when performing, but this was the first time that I have been able to truly appreciate how one works and what it can do to enhance a song, as Randolph started Norwegian Wood with vocal rhythms before building the actual song on top of them.

Connie Talbot – runner up in the 2007 series of Britain’s Got Talent, Connie’s performance really put me in my place in terms of my opinion of people who appear on that show. I admit that I’ve never watched it – too many thoughts of juggling dogs and dancing Grandads put me off – but my opinion has always been that, even if the singers can sing a bit, real talent includes writing your own material. Not only does eleven-year-old Connie have an incredible voice that belies both her age and her size, but she wrote one of the songs (I’m afraid the programme doesn’t list the title) herself when she was just seven. I’m guessing somebody has tidied it up a bit for her, but even so, that’s impressive. As was her rendition of Snow Patrol’s Run.

Urban Strides – were on stage quite a bit of the time, if only to provide guidance for the kids as to what dance moves they should have been performing during the songs. Street Dance specialists, I’m afraid that they were the least impressive part of the evening for me. I simply don’t “get” Street Dance (it’s probably my age) and during their showcase dance there was, at times, just too much going on at different parts of the stage to be able to take it all in. I’m sure that they are very good at what they do, it’s just that body-popping and robotic dancing (a style famously made fun of in Friends a decade ago – are dance styles cyclical, just like fashion?) just aren’t my thing.  

As well as their “solo” slots, all the celebrities returned to the stage for the finale – a Queen medley during which they showed just how much fun they were having performing, with Randolph visually taking the mickey out of other performers and Martin Furey (from The High Kings) getting down on his knees to perform alongside Connie Talbot.

But it wasn’t the celebrities that made the evening, it was the kids. We were lucky enough to have seats that were not only very close to the stage but were also so close to where the Headlands Primary School kids were positioned that we were able to pick out individuals, including Elizabeth. We could see their enthusiasm and the energy they put into the performances. We could also hear them. Boy could we hear them. It was fairly obvious that they had been told to shout and scream at various key points in the evening – for example, when the lights went down and the announcer told everybody the show was going to start – and shout and scream they did, at near-deafening volume. Getting some 6,000 kids to perform in sync, both singing, dancing and, at times, using their torches must have been something akin to herding cats. Most of the work was down with the individual choirs at their schools but the whole of tonight’s set only had one afternoon of rehearsal to get working together. Somehow, though, it was made to work and to say that the evening blew me away is a bit of an understatement. I’m fairly certain I spent the whole two hours with a big grin on my face and an even bigger lump in my throat. During the finale, the crowd were encouraged to their feet and the kids reproduced one my all-time favourite live spectacles – the synchronised clapping from Radio GaGa – while the torches were used to great effect, reproducing a sky full of stars during the rendition of Who Wants To Live Forever.

It was a very long day for the children involved. Our group didn’t get home until near midnight (on a school day) but Elizabeth’s enjoyment shone through her exhaustion and I wouldn’t think twice about letting her be involved again next year (assuming that the school is involved).

Not necessarily the sort of gig I would normally attend, tonight turned out to be a whole lot more enjoyable than I expected it to be and is, in fact, an early contender for gig of the year. 

Gig Of Dreams

Friday 20th January: I would like to start this post by saying “Thanks” to Roy (a.k.a. Seldom Seen From Strensall) for offering me a lift to tonight’s gig, for reasons that will become apparent.

This was my first trip to The Fulford Arms because, in the past, I had thought it too far out of town to be a feasible gig venue for me. I don’t mind cycling into the centre of town if I want a couple of pints with my music but, until tonight, I hadn’t realised that the pub was just a couple of minutes further out than The Barbican, which I had already cycled to. And what a lovely pub it is – open fires, loads of candles and fairy lights, big leather sofas (although I don’t know how early you would need to get there to get use of them) and, tonight at least, eight real ales to choose from. I stuck with the Ruddy Ram, a dark porter from Masham’s Black Sheep Brewery.

The pub also has a large, regular-shaped room, which makes it a better venue for music than some of the city centre pubs that we have frequented in the past. Tonight, Roy tells me that the room is quite a bit fuller than the last time Roy was here. That also made it quite a bit noisier, which was a shame as very few people seemed to be listening to tonight’s opening act. David Breslin is another man-and-guitar act, one I hadn’t come across even by name before tonight. From where we were sitting, it wasn’t easy to hear either his music or his introductions, so this “review” isn’t to be taken as comprehensive. My regular reader will know that I’m generally not averse to a bit of acoustic action, but Mr Breslin sounded just a little too “folky” for me. His opener, which may have been called Part Of The Problem, sounded OK but the second song was what I would class as more archetypical folk – slower, finger-picking and with slightly warbling vocals. The third was similar and the fourth seemed to get even slower and quieter. From the fifth onwards, I’m afraid that the ambient noise got too much and that, together with Andy finally arriving, meant that I lost interest. I think I only missed two songs and I do feel a guilty for not paying more attention. For the second post in a row, I find myself apologising to the opening act, although this time it’s more for not giving him much of a chance to impress me, rather than not liking him that much. Sorry David. He does, however, have one of the more interesting MySpace Bios that I have come across…

I’m sure it wasn’t deliberate but, when the main act took to the stage area, David and some of his friends had occupied the table next to us and, together with a group of rather loud women a little bit further away, started drowning out the music with their chatter. This eventually, after a couple of songs, prompted us to leave our seats and move closer to the front, standing but resisting the temptation to glare at the sofa occupiers until they took pity on us and gave up one of their comfy perches. This was a last chance to see the full band line-up of Dream Of Apollo for some months as bass-player Rhys was about to head off down-under to get married – best wishes, Rhys. Hope all goes well – and I’m glad I took the opportunity. The band are my favourite of the smaller (and I don’t mean that in any derogatory way) local bands and, since a brief flurry of activity last Summer, it’s been a while since I’ve managed to catch them play. Tonight’s set was, more or less, the same as the other times I’ve seen them live, with the addition of Over Me, a new song which was receiving its debut. Most of the songs are now familiar, but seem to offer something new whenever I hear them. Sandman, for example, is the song that convinced me to see the band in the first place, but it is only after listening to it on a demo-CD that Rhys kindly passed to me tonight, that I have realised that it is about somebody who can’t sleep. (I can almost see the band rolling their eyes in disbelief as they read that statement…) The main body of Too Lost, Too Late sounded just as before, but I don’t remember the superb instrumental jam ending to it. Leander was played without Winston, who was busy replacing a string that he had broken during the previous song, so definitely sounded different to previous versions, while I don’t remember Jamie leaving the stage during Jolene before tonight. And it was only tonight that I realised how haunting Vicki’s vocals can be, especially during the slower songs such as Someday and In A Manner Of Speaking. Vicki herself seemed a lot more relaxed than other times I have seen her. I’m not sure whether it’s true that that was down to her not driving to the venue and, therefore, being able to have a tipple or two, but that might also explain the near-premature end to the first half of the set – Vicki, “We’re going to do one more song, then take a ten minute break.” Winston, “I thought we had three songs left before the break…” – and the huge smile when one of her friends rushed forward to retrieve a dropped plectrum. 

I don’t know how many of the crowded room were there specifically to see Dream Of Apollo but it seemed to me that the applause grew with each song. At the end of the set most people were shouting out more more. A few were even suggesting what the encore should be. The deliciously dark Anatole seemed to be the crowd’s favourite but we got one of Vicki’s solo songs, played with Rhys and Jamie but with no guitar from Winston, who seemed content to provide backing vocals.

I’m told that, while Rhys is away, there is a possibility of some acoustic support slots for the rest of the band. Work will also continue on recording a debut album. Personally, I can’t wait.

Free And Easy

Monday 9th January: It’s been a while since I’ve seen a gig at Stereo. The last time I was here (in fact, the last two times) I was pretty much the only person in the audience and, I have to say, I was a little worried tonight – with just minutes to go before the gig was due to start and there was only me, one of the acts, the soundman and one other person loitering about. Thankfully, the addition of a few chairs and tables, as well as quite a few more punters, made the venue look reasonably full by the time the first act took to the stage.

Tonight is a free-entry acoustic showcase, a mix of acts I have seen before, ones I’ve heard of and one that I haven’t come across at all. Elliot Matthew Partridge is the latter and, I’ll be honest, he didn’t do a great deal with me. It’s not that his six song set was particularly bad, just that none of the songs grabbed me. For me, there were germs of promise in Moon Pies And Penny Whistles, We Are The Sons and something previously by Don’t Let Paris Fool You – a band that Elliot used to be guitarist in until recently. Unfortunately, I found the stories between the songs just the wrong side of irrelevant to the performance. It was almost as though he just wanted to get things that had annoyed him off his chest in front of an audience and that, as well as a propensity for slightly crude in-jokes with friends in the audience, distracted too much from the music for my liking. Sorry, Elliot.

Next up was Alice Ostapjuk, who I have seen perform solo before but who, apparently, now plays mostly with a band. Alice rails against the seemingly small things in life, using music and humour as her weapons. Incredibly the room was near-silent as Alice started her set with Samuel’s Secret and Love Game, a song inspired by Motown and Diana Ross (who is obviously a favourite as, just like last time I saw her, the set included a very different cover of a Diana Ross song – Where Did Our Love Go?, I think…). Her sisters playing of R&B songs inspired the aptly titled R&B Song, the lyrics of which were brilliantly humorous, blaming the genre for a large number of life’s ills. Kiss Me Better was followed by Paper Planes And Shooting Stars, another song I had heard last time out and one that most people seemed to know well enough to join in the clapping section. Finally, we got the first solo outing for Rage Against The Tangerine, another song that takes aim at the downside of some people’s lives, in this case the “perfect” girls at school, without being too serious about it. This was another interesting and enjoyable support slot from the young songwriter.

Johnny Gill was, I believe, a late replacement for Marck (Marbled) Whiley, who had to pull out due to ear problems. I knew his name, but hadn’t seen him perform before. It was, perhaps, appropriate, given his slight stature, that he started with I Was Never A Giant, a nice song played in an intricate and slightly mesmerising finger-picking style. Thieves Amongst Honour was followed by the wonderful Wolves And Waves, during which Jonny effortlessly switched between quiet and near-shouting vocal styles. Made Of Glass was a cover (I don’t remember if we were told who did it originally) and, again, featured great vocals but for me the best song of the set was something that might have been called Worst Things Happen At Sea. With just enough time to squeeze in two songs, Jonny failed to introduce the first, but finished with Friday Night Lights. A nice mix of songs, and a great voice complemented by some excellent music. Definitely an act I will be looking out for again.

I still haven’t managed to catch Mantra live, but I have seen frontman Oli Stevens-Vallecillo and guitarist Catherine Redfern perform acoustically once before. Tonight they are joined by James Fletcher, whose shiny electric bass looked just a touch out of place and seemed to be to be too loud in the mix for the early part of the set. Mixing Country and Western covers from the likes of Neal McCoy and Alan Jackson (Midnight In Montgomery) with what I assume were acoustic versions of Mantra songs such as Counting My Reasons and Always Drive Alone, provided for a varied set which was further enhanced by the use of effects pedals, some incredibly tight playing by the two guitarists and, on one song, a bottle neck playing style. Oli’s voice is superb, a kind of rich Southern drawl without coming across as too laid back and the backing vocals from Catherine were lovely. I doubt that this is what they sound like as a full band and one day I’m going to have to find out.

Finally, with the time already past the advertised finish (and with a cold bike ride home ahead of me), Boss Caine, in his now seemingly usual solo guise, took to the stage. Dan/G.T./Boss is probably my favourite acoustic act in York. Most of his songs are now so familiar that I can pretty much mime (you don’t want to hear me sing) along to the them, much as whoever was standing behind me could (only louder and more in tune) and it was nice to see people hanging around to see his set. Too many times when I have seen him opening for another act or performing in a crowded pub and, in both cases, having to try to punch through the ambient noise. Tonight’s crowd was certainly more appreciative and while Dan made light of his apparent miserablist reputation, it was also a pleasure to see him having a laugh on stage during his set. Opening with the brilliant and sombre Ghosts And Drunks he then treated us to the more uplifting duo of  A Kind Of Loving and Dead Man’s Suit and then a new song which, if he did tell us it, I missed the title of. It was back to the slightly downbeat with Be My Grievous Angel, a tribute to Graham Parsons, and Sweet Sorrow Surrender before taking an audience request for Murder On My Mind for his final song.

Overall this was a great night of acoustic music. Maybe such a showcase should be a regular or semi-regular Stereo event, with rotating, varied acts. I’d certainly be up for more nights like it.

2011 In Review–Part 3, The CDs

Friday 13th January: OK, I’m probably not in the best position to put this part of my year in review together but if I don’t do it now I’m probably never going to get round to it. So, here goes…

During 2011 I added eighty-two albums and five EPs/Singles to my CD collection.

Starting with the EPs/Singles, I’ll be honest and admit that I’m not really a fan of either format. To me, both seem to be a waste of time – you’ve no sooner put them into the CD player and pressed play than you have to go back and do it all again. (Yes, I still play most of my music through a CD player – I guess if I used MP3, EPs and singles would work better for me.) Anyway, two of the five were freebies. One was a Judy Dyble sampler which came with an issue of Prog, the other a copy of Morpheus Rising’s Fighting Man single, which the band were giving away during Graeme Tennick’s farewell gig. Of the others, I bought Differences of Light (Also Eden) as part of a bundle offer of all their recorded material and, at nearly twenty-five minutes long, you don’t have to revisit the CD player quite as quickly as some others. Altitude (Panic Room), I bought more or less for completeness sake and was a little disappointed by it as it only really contains one track, the cover of ELP’s Bitches Crystal, that I didn’t already have in other. The animated video for Satellite is quite impressive but, obviously, has to be played on a computer. On the other hand, I put off buying The Phoenix Suite (Heather Findlay) until it was available from Play, having heard less than brilliant reviews of it. It didn’t grab me when I first listened to it but while re-listening in preparation for seeing the live performance it really did start to grown on me.

I won’t bore you with a full breakdown of the eighty-two albums that I bought (or had bought for me). Even discounting the ten that were given away free with Prog, it’s more than I expected to buy and I haven’t had a chance to listen to a lot of them yet. I did take advantage of cheap deals from Play to start working on back catalogues of 70s prog bands such as Camel, Caravan, The Strawbs, Uriah Heep and King Crimson as well as more modern prog from Dream Theater, Opeth and Porcupine Tree and straight rock from Foreigner, Alter Bridge and Wolfmother. I also carried on my tradition of spending money to support bands that I saw live, buying albums from local bands such as Glass and Two, as well as those from touring bands like Vega, The Crave, Jeniferever, Also Eden, Amplifier and The Pineapple Thief.

Ignoring the free albums, twenty-four of my new albums were actually released during 2011 and, as is the tradition I have tried to pick my favourites from them. Firstly a few words about my criteria. I have listened to all twenty-four at least once and I have tried to rank them in order. It’s impossible – some of them are so different to others that it would depend on my state of mind while listening to them as to whether one was better than another. Similarly, my choice of favourites might change from one day to the next. Also, I very carefully chose the word “favourites” – these aren’t necessarily the best albums that I bought (I’m certainly not qualified to judge a CD based on the production or writing), but they are the ones that, as I look at the list, jump out as ones that I would l listen to right now if I had the time. With repeated listening to some of the others, that list might change over time. This might also explain why some albums which feature highly in other people’s top ten lists don’t even make an appearance in mine. Anyway, enough preamble, without further ado here are my favourite ten albums (in alphabetical rather than any other order…)

The Octopus (Amplifier):

This is a monster of an album – a double CD of proggy goodness, a concept album (but I rarely “get” concepts) that is choc-full of interesting and, at times, sublime music. It took me a couple of listens to get into but, eventually, was worth the effort.

 

Tao Of The Dead (…And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead):

This was pretty much an impulse purchase, based on a review in Prog and the fact that I thought there was a free graphic novel with it. Sadly that turned out not to be the case with the version that I ended up buying. The music, however, is quite brilliant – prog tinged with a little punk and, in one small section, something unmistakably “indie”. It’s not the easiest of listening experiences but it is powerful and, with its repeating themes, ends up being quite memorable if not catchy. Worth listening to for the epic, sixteen-minute final track, if for nothing else.

Mylo Xyloto (Coldplay):

Coldplay are one of the few non-prog bands that I am guaranteed to buy a new release from and their latest is, for me, a return to form after the disappointing Viva La Vida. This one is definitely catchy and, with few tracks lasting over four minutes, nothing one it outstays its welcome. I liked this album from the first play and it is one of the few from this year’s releases that I can get away with playing while Debbie is in the room. Perhaps the only weak spot is the collaboration with Rhianna.

Live At The Cafe 68 (Heather Findlay and Chris Johnson):

This is a recording of a special, acoustic live gig that Heather and Chris played in front of just a couple of handful of lucky ticket-holders. Sadly I wasn’t one of them although, if I had known how good the recording was going to sound, I might have made more of an effort to get hold of a ticket. Comprising track from Heather’s solo EP, Mostly Autumn’s back catalogue and Parade (now Halo Blind) along with others, it’s an extremely nice album which is enhanced by the stories told to introduce some of the songs. Easily the best of the three live albums I bought this year.

Sleep Sound (Hope & Social):

The third album from one of my favourite live bands is another return to form. Also, being released on the “pay what you want” basis, it can represent superb value for money. Once again, Hope & Social push the boundaries of self-recording/release, this time by including a full choir on the opening track. Sleep Sound is full of great songs that you just can’t help singing along to and that manage to run the gamut of emotions while you are listening to them.

Eclipse (Journey):

Apart from a Best Of album, this is the first thing I have bought by Journey and, in my opinion, most of it is better than a lot of the “Best Of”. Yes, everybody knows Don’t Stop Believin’ but this album’s opener. City Of Hope, is head and shoulders above that anthem. There’s an energy to Eclipse that makes the album seem to erupt to the speakers. A definite must-buy for fans of AOR, as well as air-guitarists and air-drummers everywhere.

Sangreal (Mandalaband):

Telling the story of the Holy Grail as it travels across Europe after being used by Christ at the Last Supper, this is a suitably grand and epic album which might easily be the soundtrack from a stage musical. Full of pomp, wonder and theatrics it sometimes hovers on just the right side of cheesy but ultimately it is superbly written and features not only great music but some fantastic vocal performances.

 

Like No Other (Chantel McGregor):

Chantel is another live favourite and I have been looking forward to this album since she announced she was working on it. It ended up being not quite what I expected and is, perhaps, a more commercial album than the solely Blues/rock album release I suspect most fans were expecting. Opening with the pop-diva Fabulous could be seen as a brave move but the inclusion of a stripped-down, acoustic version of Rhiannon and a superb rendition of Daydream was inspired. Original songs easily stand alongside those and even the, for me, uninspired Cat Song can’t take away the fact that this is one of the best debut albums I have come across.

Let The Sleeper Awake (Morpheus Rising):

Let’s face it, this release had very little chance of disappointing me. Not just one of my favourite live bands but my favourite York band (at the moment), Morpheus Rising survived the departure of vocalist Graeme Tennick and his replacement with Simon Wright to produce one of the best heavy metal albums I have heard in a long time. I sometimes worry that people think I “big up” certain bands in my live reviews because I have got to know the members. I don’t and in the case of Morpheus Rising they have never failed to impress me and have continued to do so with this album, which may have single-handedly revived my interest in a genre that I have barely listened to for some time.

The Unforgiving (Within Temptation):

I’ll admit to a little reticence before I first played this album. I had bought a couple of prior releases on the recommendation of a friend and they hadn’t grabbed me, to the point where I wasn’t actually certain why I bought this one when it came out. After leaving it on a shelf for a few months I finally gave it a play and was more than impressed. It’s a bit more mainstream rock than the others I had listened to and a little less dark than I remembered them. It’s a mark of how good it is that, after the first listen I immediately put it on again.

So, there you have today’s rather varied top ten. On another day it might include Steven Wilson’s Grace For Drowning, another album I worried about listening to when I started reading reviews saying that it was dense and inaccessible but which I found quite easy to get into during its only play so far. Or, perhaps, Anathema’s Falling Deeper, mostly instrumental re-workings of some of their back catalogue, which is pleasant enough but which I don’t know enough about to appreciate properly yet. Also bubbling under would by the newest releases from Whitesnake (Forevermore) and Yes (Fly From Here), while the new album from returning veteran Stevie Nicks (In Your Dreams) is unlikely to ever make my top ten – not that it’s bad, it’s just not that good. For completeness, the 2011 releases that I haven’t yet mentioned are: Think Of The Children (Also Eden), Breaking The Silence (The Crave), A Treasure Of Well Set Jewels (Liam Davison), Gown (Jo Hamilton – probably my least favourite of the year), Silesia (Jeniferever), Still Beautiful: Live 2011 (Mostly Autumn), Heritage (Opeth), Live In The U.S.A: The Bottle Of Gettysburg (The Reasoning), and Siren’s Song (The Union)

2011 In Review–Part 2, The Books

Thursday 5th January: 2011 saw a couple of relatively major changes to my reading habits. My regular reader will know that I haven’t bought many new books for a while now – I have had a “to read” pile which, when you add in the books I need to complete series that I have started buying, numbered quite a way into treble figures. Until this year, I had been concentrating on individual books, or series that I had already owned all the volumes of. Last year, however, I started reading incomplete series and if I found that I wasn’t enjoying them as much as I thought, I decided not to carry on buying them. Series that fell by the wayside in this way included Jan Seigel’s Fern Capel (after the first volume) and Orson Scott Card’s Tales of Alvin Maker (after four volumes). I also, for only the third time that I can remember, gave up on a book – The Worm Ouroboros by E.R. Eddison. Small changes, but they are helping bring the pile down a bit more quickly.

At the beginning of the year I also bought a Kindle which, if nothing else, is saving me shelf space and making purchasing books a bit easier (at least in some cases – not all the books I want to read are available as e-books yet). I have to say that I think the Kindle is one of the best pieces of kit I have come across. Whether it is better than other e-readers I can’t say, but I have yet to find anybody who doesn’t like it and, while I doubt I’ll ever completely give up on books, I really enjoy reading on it and can see a future when all my fiction is bought on it if available.

During the year, managed to read (or give up on) a total of fifty-eight books and added, either through purchases (anything I bought, I read) or gifts, twenty-five, leaving me with a total of sixty in the to read pile at the end of the year. These figures don’t include twenty-six Stephen King novels that I bought as a special offer from a book club – I really shouldn’t be allowed to drink alcohol at tea-time – and which are still sitting in a box under my bed.

Part of the reason that I managed to get through so many books was my foray into the Paranormal Romance genre, out of curiosity to see what all the fuss was about. I managed to pick up a number of Sookie Stackhouse novels (Charlaine Harris) and the first three Twilight books (Stephanie Meyers) very cheaply. I had previously given up on watching True Blood, the TV Series based on the Harris books but found myself enjoying the books which not only diverged quite dramatically from the TV version but only took a couple of days (if that) each to read. They are, perhaps, the literary equivalent of a Milky Way bar – the books you can read between other books – but are quite fun. I was less enamoured of the Twilight books but decided to read the fourth for completeness and found myself completely hooked by it, desperately hoping that the inevitable didn’t happen and wondering what direction the story would take after it had. I doubt I’ll be dipping my toe into the genre anymore.

My crime reading has also tailed off recently. I haven’t read a Patricia Cornwall for ages but did read three Jonathan Kellerman novels this year. Again, these are novels that I seem to fly through so it’s probably a good thing that crime isn’t my genre of choice as it would probably hurt my wallet more than SF and Fantasy do.

Disappointments in 2011, as well as those mentioned above, included Rainbow Mars (Larry Niven) which I just didn’t “get” and which went straight to the charity shop when I finished it, and the five books of Juliet E. McKenna’s Tales Of Einarinn, a fairly standard fantasy which suffered, from what I can remember, by having different viewpoint characters in each book but being written in the first person which, reading one after the other, left me confused at times.

From the Science Fiction genre, highlights for me were Orson Scott Card’s Shadow Saga, a parallel series to the Ender’s Game series. I originally read Ender’s Game some years ago and didn’t particularly get on with it, finding it hard to reconcile the age of the main character with his actions. I did, however, enjoy the sequels, perhaps because in them Ender had grown up. The Shadow Saga doesn’t necessarily need to be SF, and could under other circumstances just be a completely separate technological thriller series but it was an easy read and, for some reason, I didn’t find it as difficult to accept the very young characters as I did with Ender’s Game. I also enjoyed Alastair Reynolds Century Rain – I have yet to read one of his books that I don’t enjoy – but, in much the same way as Rendezvous With Rama (Arthur C. Clarke), I find myself wanting more. My favourite from SF, though, was something I read way back at the beginning of the year (and which, in fact, only found its way into my collection when the SF/Fantasy Book Club mistakenly sent me two copies…) Walter Jon Williams’ Dread Empire’s Fall trilogy is a Man versus aliens, navy in space story with parallels to the likes of the Hornblower era. The spaceships of the series have Captains who fill their cabins with fine art and employ what amount to interior decorators among their servants. Reading as slightly satirical in places, there is plenty of action, both in space and planet-side and I found the three books very entertaining. It reminded me of a less brutal version of David Feintuch’s Seafort Saga.

The best straight fantasy I read was Maggie Furey’s Shadowleague trilogy – generic fare but with a slight hint of science fiction entwined in its story. However, fantasy takes many forms and while the urban grime of China Mieville’s Perdido Street Station was as good as all the reviews made it out to be and, in my opinion, better than The Scar, its linked but indirect sequel it was Stephen R. Lawhead’s King Raven books which really grabbed me. Not strictly fantasy by definition, they re-write the Robin Hood legend, transplanting one of England’s most well-known heroes to a Wales of a slightly different era. Lawhead gives his reasons in the afterword of the first volume and they certainly sound plausible to me. Most of the standard ingredients of the legend are included and each of the three books concentrates on and fleshes out a different main character (Hood, Scarlet and Tuck, as per the titles).

As usual with these roundups, I have left out many “medium enjoyment” books in order to concentrate on what I really enjoyed. Despite the series I have now consigned to the “Well, I gave them a try” category, there were more books that I enjoyed than that I didn’t (but, then, I’m quite easy to please…) Hopefully, I can continue to chip away at the remaining pile during 2012, getting ever closer to being able to buy newer novels again. You never know, I may even get round to reading those Stephen King books one day…