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SCIENCE FICTION

MYSTERIES & THRILLERS

Paul Vidich launches a new series of compelling spy novels

Paul Vidich launches a new series of compelling spy novels

When we first meet Alex Matthews, he is on an errand for his old friend, the CIA Director. Matthews had once served as Moscow Station Chief. Now, having left the Agency nine years earlier, he is in Moscow running an investment firm. But this night he is on his way to meet...

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NONFICTION

A memoir by one of the greatest wits of the 20th century

A memoir by one of the greatest wits of the 20th century

Jessica Mitford was one of the greatest wits of the 20th century, and perhaps of any century. Her books, most famously The American Way of Death, eviscerated the American funeral industry, our prison system, and obstetrical care in the United States. But to those in Britain,...

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Popular Fiction

Explore My “BEST OF the category” selections

WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE BOOK?

When people ask me that question, I never know what to say. In a lifetime of reading, I’ve read many thousands of books. And I’ve reviewed well over 2,000 of them on this site. Picking just one as a “favorite,” or even a handful of them, makes no sense to me.

The problem is, I read for many different reasons. Perhaps you do, too. And I read many different sorts of books. Mysteries and thrillers. Popular fiction, especially historical fiction. Science fiction.

And nonfiction, history in particular. You’ll find hundreds of reviews in every one of those categories on this site.

Look to the right for a rotating random selection culled from throughout this site.

Happy reading!

 

The Case of the Reincarnated Client

India’s tragic history explains this clever Indian detective novel

Tarquin Hall's masterful Vish Puri series introduces readers to India through the often comical adventures of the country's "#1 or #2 private investigator." But Hall's serious intent comes through clearly in each of the five novels in the series. You can feast on the delicacies of Indian cuisine...
Switch by Dan Heath and Chip Heath

Chip Heath and Dan Heath: how to change things when change is hard

Here we've got a professor of organizational management and a high-powered management consultant, both young (at least from the perspective of my advanced age), who can actually write in an engaging and entertaining way—and they deliver a message that is truly both profound and practical. Switch...
Kurt Vonnegut lives in The Humans.

Kurt Vonnegut lives in Matt Haig’s novel

For a long time I've wondered where Kurt Vonnegut (1922-2007) was when we needed him. Well, I may have found him. He's lurking in a novel entitled The Humans by someone allegedly named "Matt Haig." Of course, Haig may or may not be Kurt Vonnegut reincarnated. Certainly, the book's genre-busting...
Cover image of "Liberation Movements," a novel about life behind the Iron Curtain

Love, betrayal, and terrorism behind the Iron Curtain

A review of Liberation Movements, by Olen Steinhauer. @@@@ (4 out of 5). Mystery piles atop mystery in this fourth installment of Olen Steinhauer’s five-novel cycle of life behind the Iron Curtain in Central Europe. The book is populated by secret policemen, Armenian terrorists, and a woman with psychic powers.

Murder in Old Bombay

A brilliant debut novel based on an unsolved murder

All the elements are here for a gripping mystery. The brutal unsolved murder of two young society ladies. A posh mansion on a hill in the city's most exclusive neighborhood. Military expeditions into territory ruled by violent tribesmen. The devout members of a tiny religious sect. And, yes,...
Blackout

Historians study World War II in person

History is often an unreliable guide to the past. Documents go missing or remain classified. Records may be erroneous—or even have been written to be misleading. And historians inevitably build their own prejudices and expectations into their interpretation of past events. How extraordinary it...
Cover image of "Holy Orders," a novel characterized by gorgeous prose

From Benjamin Black, a mystery to savor for its gorgeous prose

How often have you started reading a book in which the first several pages were beautifully written, only to notice that the prose grew progressively plainer and less interesting as you proceeded? Perhaps you've never been aware of that, but I sure have. It's a sign that the author struggled to...
Cover image of "People of the Book," a good example of the outstanding historical fiction of Geraldine Brooks.

The outstanding historical fiction of Geraldine Brooks

The Australian-American author Geraldine Brooks has written six works of outstanding historical fiction to date. She began her career as a journalist, working as a foreign correspondent for the Wall Street Journal. In France, she met and married an American journalist and converted to Judaism. In...
Labyrinth is one of four novellas in the long-running Vorkosigan Saga.

A missing chapter in the long-running Vorkosigan Saga

Lois McMaster Bujold (1949-) has won six Hugo and two Nebula Awards for the long-running Vorkosigan Saga. She deserves them all. At this writing, the series consists of sixteen novels, four novellas, and two short stories. They explore the lives of Lord Miles Vorkosigan and his family over the...
Cover image of "Empty Hearts," a suicide bombing satire

An over-the-top satire of . . . what? Terrorism?

Here we have a strange, depressing, dystopian novel about a suicide prevention clinic that trains and supplies suicide bombers to terrorist groups. It's satire, I suppose. Now, if you can swallow that premise, you might enjoy Empty Hearts, a thriller of sorts by the German lawyer and author Juli...

My Most Popular Reviews

Weekly Reviews Delivered to You!

Mal Warwick - Book Reviews

Weekly book reviews to match your taste!

Love mysteries and thrillers? Science fiction fan? Prefer to read nonfiction? Or, like me, you just love reading? Take your pick of my four weekly newsletters. Just click the Yes! button, and you’re on your way.

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Mal Warwick

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includes my latest SF book review, with links to other science fiction content.

 

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…includes my latest mystery and thriller book reviews, with links to other content in the genre.

The latest nonfiction book reviews every Wednesday.

…includes my latest nonfiction book review, with links to other nonfiction content.

My latest book reviews,
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…includes summaries and links to all the previous week’s three to five book reviews, including some that don’t appear in any of the other newsletters.

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