Hypotheses – DaneCobain.com

Colin Dexter – The Daughters of Cain | Review

Title: The Daughters of Cain

Author: Colin Dexter

Type: Fiction

Page Count/Review Word Count: 388

Rating: 8/10

Colin Dexter – The Daughters of Cain

This book is yet another instalment in Colin Dexter’s Inspector Morse series, and so to a certain extent, you know what to expect here. I’ve never watched the television adaptation of the series, and so I can’t tell you how close the TV series and the books are in style and substance, but I will say that I’ve had a lot of fun reading these.

Now, I’ve read the Morse books out of order, but I don’t think it’s necessarily important. Certainly, this book works well as a standalone, and it’s fascinating to see the subtle shifts in power when Morse, Lewis and Chief Superintendent Strange are all working together to solve a murder case.

Here, they’re looking into the discovery of a corpse in a flat in North Oxford, which was discovered with a knife through its stomach. Unfortunately, at least to begin with, the police have no leads, and don’t even know what the motive might have been.

Colin Dexter

Luckily, with Morse on the case, you know that we’re going to get to the truth eventually, even if he does change his mind along the way as new evidence comes to light. Morse is a classic example of the armchair detective, the sort of copper who solves crimes whilst drinking pints in the pub at lunchtime, and who simply needs to go over the case in their head until the truth dawns on them.

And of course, there are plenty of twists and turns along the way, which keep you – as the reader – guessing about what happened right up until the very end. There’s also the inevitable second death, which seems to be a staple in the Morse books – Dexter builds up your expectations and convinces you that one of the characters was the guilty party, and then they get killed and you have to restart your hypotheses. But it works, and it makes for a truly gripping read that’s a lot of fun, especially if you’re already a fan of detective novels.

So what are you waiting for? The Morse books are lots of fun, and while this one doesn’t rank above any of the others, it’s still a good place to start.

Colin Dexter Quote

Click here to buy The Daughters of Cain.

Stephen Hawking and Leonard Mlodinow – The Grand Design | Review

Title: The Grand Design

Author: Stephen Hawking and Leonard Mlodinow

Type: Non-Fiction

Page Count/Review Word Count: 256

Rating: 8/10

Stephen Hawking and Leonard Mlodinow – The Grand Design

The Grand Design promises to offer “new answers to the ultimate questions of life”, and boy, does it perform. With this book about reality, alternate histories and the theory of everything, amongst other topics, Hawking proves a point – he’s still got it, the sly old dog, he’s still as sharp as ever and his ability to explain complex concepts is, if anything, more prominent here than anywhere else.

Layout has clearly been a concern here – the print is large enough to make long words easy to read, and there are pictures and illustrations dotted throughout to help keep you focused. My only gripe would be with the weird, glossy paper that the pages are made from, but you can’t be picky when it comes to a book like this – that’d be like dismissing the Beatles because you once saw Paul smoking a cigarette.

Hawking’s thought-processes, elevated elegantly with the input of Mlodinow, are pretty much a continuation of what he set in motion with the release of A Brief History of Time, and you can expect answers (or at least, hypotheses) to when and how the universe began, why we’re here and whether the deepest questions that philosophers have ever posed can be answered by science. It’s a fascinating, easy to understand, mind-expanding read, and one that I heartily recommend.

So get out there and grab yourself a copy now – no excuses.