R. Weir

"pooliealbatross"
(REAL NAME)
 
Helpful votes received on reviews: 89% (306 of 344)
Location: Liverpool, UK
 

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Top Reviewer Ranking: 2,191,276 - Total Helpful Votes: 306 of 344
Ollie (Maisy) by Olivier Dunrea
Ollie (Maisy) by Olivier Dunrea
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Ollie doesn't want to come out of his egg. But Gossie and Gertie have been waiting for him for weeks... and they have a plan!

This is a board book that should stand repeated reading, and it's a good job because our experience is that it will need to. It's a wonderful little story that someone bought for us just before our first child arrived - and it gets read to him every night. Despite us both being able to recite it without even looking, we aren't bored with it yet - and neither is our little boy, who now has this as part of his bedtime routine. It's hard-wearing, and the illustrations are nicely done - colourful and bright, but not too cluttered either, ideal for attracting a young… Read more

Scott And Amundsen: The Last Place on Earth by Roland Huntford
10 of 19 people found the following review helpful
If you're looking for a book that tells you the story of the race for the pole, this is about as good as it comes - but Huntford's views on the two main protagonaists need to be balanced with those of other accounts.

Scott was a bumbling, self-serving, incompetent who refused to listen to advice; Amundsen was a great leader, professional in approach and clear in his aims. At least, that's what this book seems to portray. And Huntford makes a great case for this, in what must be one of the most readable and well-researched accounts of the two polar missions. Starting with what drove them to Antarctica, he looks at both characters in some detail - including Amundsen's navigating of the… Read more

The Dolphins Of Pern (The Dragon Books) by Anne McCaffrey
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars Not the best of Pern, 14 Jan 2004
I'm a fan of Anne McCaffrey, and Pern in particular - but I couldn't help finding this one of the less gripping books in the series. I couldn't help thinking, "Haven't I read this before?"

While it isn't exactly the same, I found too many parallels with "Dragonsong" to really enjoy this. It's not quite as simple as "Readis=Menolly, Dolphins=Fire Lizards", but sometimes it feels like it; at the time I first read this, I thought Pern was finished as a series and began to treat further volumes with a little suspicion. Fortunately I've found "Red Star Rising", "The Skies of Pern" and "Masterharper of Pern" to be a significant improvement.