To The Last Page

Jeremy Rose is the son of a militant Irish nationalist mother and the son of a Taiwanese diplomat who has no real connection to either of his estranged parents. When his lover, Shigeki disappears he goes to Taipei to try and find him. Shigeki is an artist and had a pair of prosthetic hands that can translate thoughts to art quicker than human hands - more quickly capturing the moment of inspiration rather than the mere memory of it. Unfortunately the hands have been designed by an insane genius, Hwa-yun Yeh, and the hands turn out to have a life of their own. When the bodies of other artists who once owned the hands start turning up in the seedy artists quarter of Taipei, things look bad for Shigeki. I can’t say I particularly liked The Hand That Takes , but it’s hard to explain why. Maybe I’m used to protagonists who are made of sterner stuff than Rose, but the constant hugging and re-affirmation that he requires on a regular basis becomes rather tiresome. OK, not everyone is Philip M

This Way Up is an anthology of short stories by two authors published by Aeon Press. The book is in the format of a split book, with one side showcasing stories of Nigel Quinlan, turned over and upside down it showcases stories by Dermot Ryan. Nigel Quinlan ‘The Limerick Trilogy’ is a nice piece of work, blending the everyday with the supernatural. Mackey and Joe are two hardmen gangsters with the ability to strike fear into anyone who crosses their path, but they still have normal everyday issues to contend with. Mackey is a father who has to keep his kids in line, while Joe is on the lookout for a nice young girl, but is rather awkward around them. At the same time they both have special powers, connected with ley lines and druidic lore, that make them the most feared pair in the city. Good characterisation, it is familiar and unsettling at the same time. My only problem is that each of the stories are too short to properly develop characters or situations. Each of the stories follo