Reviews of Burning Wolfhound

OTT “Boys Own” novel: I can see I am in a minorty here, but I struggled to give this book 3 stars. It was so O.T.T. and read like a “Boys Own” adventure, plus several sex scenes and bad language. Bernhart was supposed to be a lethal assassin, yet he did several really stupid things. We never found out who he worked for, though it was supposedly a hush-hush govt. department. We never knew if Jones was really MI6, even though he tried to kill Bernhart. Wolfhound was a very noticeable boat – yet Bernhart moored up in harbours near the “bad guys” and didn’t think they would recognize it! There were gun battles in a restaurant and harbours and crowded streets – yet the police never turned up?? Bernhart chased Jack Davenport’s boat right across the world and, guess what? he caught up with him at every place despite not really knowing where Jack was headed. Lastly, why did Bernhart spend 40 years in Goa? Lack of a passport shouldn’t really have stopped him moving on, with all his connections. I am sure the author had a lot of fun writing the book, but it was too far fetched for me. 2.5 stars.

A chase around the world, gangsters, girls, and mysteries. Found I had to keep reading to unravel the whole story. Very good will read more by the author. 5 stars.

Reviews of Codename Wolfhound

Flashbacks and Groggy Memories: The second book in an ongoing series is done in a flashback type of setting. While there is violence, adult language, and moderately graphic sexual situations included, it all serves its purpose. After suffering from a head injury, Bernhart Smith discovers his ship is missing. With a groggy memory, he surveys his remaining possessions, he discovers some photographs. He believes the photos and the limited information are clues to people that he supposed to seek out and “take care of” for his country. Thus begins his somewhat convoluted journey. While I enjoyed the book overall, there was something that felt off. Perhaps that was how I viewed the story at the time. Since each person views a story differently, perhaps you’ll have a different reading experience. 4 stars.

Reviews of Misplaced

Justin Tuijl short stories cover a variety of topics from modernised fairy tales to contemporary fictions, wars and science fictions. There are no links between the stories or the characters and each story stand on its own. Some of the stories are very short and some are just a bit longer. There are a variety of emotions the characters exhale from rather morbid to euphoric and heroic. Since the stories are so short they do not have a well defined start or ending and it is up to the reader to fill in the gaps. The collection of short stories is easy to read, at times humorous and tongue-in-cheek. There are a few references to Jeremy Clarkson and his influence is obvious by the writing style. 5 stars.

Not overly good or bad. 3 stars.

Reviews of Caffeinated in Woolwich

A wet Saturday afternoon during Storm Dennis prompted me to finally study this work by Justin , that he kindly gave me for free on Amazon Kindle some time ago. It was written as part of his degree course at the University of East London. Linked by the theme of Woolwich, Caffeinated in Woolwich is a collection of short pieces that showcases varying approaches to writing. In it I can spot some experiments with new techniques and structures. The first story is a travelogue where the reader is lead by a guide, J, presumably Justin. The “we” is Justin and he reader. I was waiting for a few paragraphs for second character to be revealed, but it never was, so I presume that I, the reader, was the second character. I was taken on a walk round Woolwich during which I am given some insight into local issues and J’s response. The second is a description of an interactive video game by four people in a coffee bar in Woolwich, and how this game mirrors them in the real world. The third is a conversation between two people in the waiting room of an addiction recovery centre. It;s a bit like a short play with no narrative; the exposition occurs totally by the conversation of the two characters. Their situation is revealed by their fantasies of what they do not have. The fourth was described as a poem but it came across more as a stream of consciousness, a spewing forth of words commenting on many issues surrounding the narrators personal history and view of the world. I liked the way Justin used and invented devices to get across what he was trying to say. I was impressed with the fluidity, the experimentation and the continuation of J behind it all despite the varying styles. I was expecting something less than this and was pleasantly surprised.Caffeinated in Woolwich. 5 stars.