Category Archives: Review

Film Review: Hostiles (Christian Bale and Rosamund Pike)

Posted on October 15, 2018 by odeboyz

Captain Blocker (Bale) is a hugely conflicted soldier in the Old West. His colonel orders him to return a native Indian chief to Montana. He’s taunted by a journalist about his reputation for brutal treatment. Blocker then uses the Nazi … Continue reading →

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Book Review: Michael Lewis ~ Flash Boys: Cracking the money code

Posted on September 24, 2018 by odeboyz

This is a wonderfully entertaining book, which reads like a novel, an incomprehensible techy textbook and a polemic against the US stock market. Parts were beyond my understanding. For example- “Round-trip travel time from Chicago to New Jersey has been … Continue reading →

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Football Review: Dagenham and Redbridge vs. Chesterfield Saturday 15th September 2018

Posted on September 17, 2018 by odeboyz

Dagenham (‘Redbridge’ is silent amongst hard core fans) have had a torrid 2018. The principal sponsor and benefactor withdrew support and with very poor crowds (a home crowd of about 1000 + away support) and mounting debts it looked like … Continue reading →

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Book Review: Helen Cresswell ~ Ordinary Jack: the Bagthorpe Saga

Posted on September 11, 2018 by odeboyz

Ordinary Jack is aimed at the 9+ market. Yes it’s a children’s book. It’s full of guileless humour and strong characterisation. Ordinary Jack is a member of the Bagthorpe family all of whom are very high achieving talented and utterly … Continue reading →

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Book Review: Geoff Dyer ~ Jeff in Venice, Death in Varanasi

Posted on August 28, 2018 by odeboyz

This book is actually two books linked by the narrator, Jeff. The first half is of Jeff as a degenerate freelance journalist who hates both his job ‘writing shit articles’ and himself. He reflects on lost talent and an inability … Continue reading →

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Book Review: Mick Herron- Slow Horses

Posted on August 21, 2018 by odeboyz

Every organisation has people who don’t fit in. Slough House is full of MI5 rejects, underachievers and the really talented who don’t fit in: they don’t have any career prospects. Jackson Lamb is significantly superior to everyone else with a … Continue reading →

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Book Review: Omar El Akkad ~ American War

Posted on August 14, 2018 by odeboyz

Omar was born in Egypt, lived in Qatar and is now a Canadian. This matters, American War is a dystopian novel set in the late 21st century. America is engaged in a vicious civil war. Climate change has caused havoc … Continue reading →

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Book review: Anonymous ~ The Secret Barrister: stories of the Law and How It’s Broken

Posted on August 7, 2018 by odeboyz

The Secret Barrister quickly establishes his non-traditional background. He was educated at a comprehensive school and isn’t a high-flyer. His post-2000 career has been blighted by reductions in legal aid payments. He offers many examples of stellar legal work but … Continue reading →

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Book Review: A A Dhand ~ Girl Zero

Posted on July 31, 2018 by odeboyz

The hackneyed British thriller genre featuring maverick Detective Inspectors is moved on by Dhand. Detective Inspector Harry Virdee is British-Asian brought up in Bradford where his father owned a corner shop. As a teenager Harry murdered a thief who was … Continue reading →

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Book Review: John O’Farrell ~ There’s only two David Beckhams

Posted on July 17, 2018 by odeboyz

A wonderful satire on football is exactly what’s needed in a post-World Cup period and this is that book. O’Farrell has made the wildly improbable plausible- including a Raheem Sterling goal. The book begins with Tony Blair elected as a … Continue reading →

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