Title: Inheritance of Secrets Author: Sonya Bates Genre: Historical Thriller Publisher: HarperCollins Australia (2020) After the horrific death of her Oma and Opa, Juliet Dunne must trace her family history and uncover secrets that were supposed to stay buried forever. She discovers that her grandfather, Karl, somehow had a connection to the Nazi party before…
Tag: review
Issue 26: Ashes
Cover by Ari Moore Issue 26: Ashes is here for your reading pleasure. This month we bring you a tasting plate of short fiction, flash fiction and poetry by writers from around Australia, including Sophie Roberts, Elaine Mead, Nadia Kim, W.D. Farnsworth and Ash Leonard. Editor Shelley Carter gives us a run-down of Gus Henderson’s…
Review: Rubik by Elizabeth Tan, reviewed by Jess Gately
May’s Review is here! Rubik, by Elizabeth Tan A review by editor Jessica Gately I was lucky enough to be introduced to this book at its launch at Beaufort Street Books in Mt Lawley. I joined a throng of other local literature lovers as store reps served wine and nibbles and Tan signed copies of…
Review: Black Hole Blues by Janna Levin, reviewed by Jess Gately
Issue 18’s Review Black Hole Blues by Janna Levin A review by editor Jessica Gately (this review can be found in issue 18: Black Hole) The timing of this book falling into my hands could not have been better. Apart from the impending release of this issue of Underground, whose theme is also somewhat coincidentally…
Issue 16’s Review: Am I normal Yet? by Jess Rae
Issue 16’s Review Am I Normal Yet? By Holly Bourne A review by editor Jessica Wilson-Smith (this review can be found in issue 16: Normal?) Am I Normal Yet? is a contemporary look at what it’s like to struggle with a mental illnesses and being a young girl in today’s society. As Book 1 of…
Issue 15’s Review: Defiance, by Tim Adeyemi
Issue 15’s Review Defiance by C. J. Redwine A review by editor Timilehin Adeyemi (this review can found in issue 15: Change) This intriguing story is plotted around Rachel Adams and a firmly kept secret within the shadow of a brutal leader in the city – state of Baalboden. Unlike other girls who opted for…
Issue 14’s Review: Death of a Bachelor (album), by Ana Neves
Issue 14’s Review Death of a Bachelor by Panic! At the disco A review by editor Ana Neves (this review can be found is issue 14: Bittersweetness) A lot of people feel betrayed that Brendon Urie is still performing on his own under the moniker of Panic! At the Disco. The band has been known…
Issue 12’s Review: The Power of One, by Dylan Dartnell
Issue 12’s Review The Power of One by Bryce Courtenay (1989) A review by editor Dylan Dartnell (this review can be found in issue 12: Small and Potent) Set in South Africa, The Power of One surrounds the character of Peekay during the closing years of WWII and well into the apartheid years following. We are…
Review: Ophelia by Breanne McIvor, reviewed by Dylan Dartnell
April’s Review Ophelia (2017) By Breanne McIvor (Illustration by Timothy Greene) A review by editor Dylan Dartnell I am sure no one remembers their first crush with much fondness. In fact, I am even more certain that those are memories we all suppressed until it was safe to laugh about without feeling the sting of…
Review: Underwater by Marisa Reichardt, reviewed by Tim Adeyemi
January’s Review Underwater by Marisa Reichardt A review by editor Timilehin Adeyemi Underwater is one contemporary novel that had me on the edge. Marisa Reichardt’s writing is phenomenal, employing a wordy style with every bit and piece coming together to form a brighter picture of event. The writing style was perfect for the plot. It captures…
September’s review: The Little Prince, by Kate Lomas Glendenning
September’s Review The Little Prince (Le Petit Prince) by Antoine de Saint-Exupery A review by editor Kate Lomas Glendenning The Little Prince is a beautiful, classic novel that children and adults alike adore. Le Petit Prince has continued to stand the test of time since its publication in 1943. It was first published in French, with illustrations by the author…
August’s review: The Cuckoo’s Calling, by Dylan Dartnell
August’s Review The Cuckoo’s Calling by Robert Galbraith (pen name of J. K. Rowling) A review by editor Dylan Dartnell Warning: This review may be considered blasphemous in some literary circles. I apologise in advance. Robert Galbraith’s The Cuckoo’s Calling hit the shelves in 2013, and since then, we have come to realise that this…
June’s Review: The Dressmaker (book), by Jemimah Halbert
June’s Review 12th June, 2016 Warning: this review contains slight spoilers A review by editor-in-chief Jemimah Halbert The Dressmaker by Rosalie Ham is, at its simplest, an Australian Gothic novel. I read it in large chunks over a long weekend, becoming fully immersed in the dusty town of Dungatar, its gossiping inhabitants, and the story…
May’s Review: The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August, by Shelley Timms
May’s Review The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August by Claire North A review by editor Shelley Timms The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August is a time travel story with a difference. He lives, he dies, and then he starts over again; in the exact same place he was born, and with all of…
December’s review: The Book Thief (book), by Jess Rae
December’s Review The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak A review by editor Jessica Wilson-Smith Despite classified as a “young adult” novel, Marcus Zusak’s The Book Thief is anything but that. Set in WWII Germany, the novel is painstakingly structured to cause as much heart-ache in the reader as possible and still be a work of…
September’s Review: The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tips, by Ailish Beahan
September’s Review The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tips by Michael Morpurgo A review by editor Ailish Beahan Michael Morpurgo, a popular author of school age fiction, is well known for his books Why the Whales Came, A Medal For Leroy, and Kensuke’s Kingdom. Set in 1943, The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tips is a well-woven…
July’s Review: Peter and Alice (play), by Kate Lomas Glendenning
July’s Review Peter and Alice (play) by John Logan A review by editor Kate Lomas Glendenning Peter and Alice is John Logan’s play about Peter Llewelyn Davies and Alice Liddell Hargreaves, two of the most famous muses in children’s literature. They are more commonly known as the children whom inspired J.M Barrie’s novel, Peter and Wendy and…