FIRST THOUGHTS

Newly published this week

The Man Who Ate His Boots

Anthony Brandt

Jonathan Cape; £20, Kindle £10.70

Review: Roddy Brooks

IT IS testament to the folly of the British Empire and all of its spin-off adventures to far-flung places that whole generations found it vital to scour such inhospitable places as the extremities of North America in search of fame and fortune.

Locked in for months by unforgiving ice and snow, as well as crippling cold, the journeys of these sailors of fortune led to numerous stories of their exploits.

Their foolhardiness and the appetite of an adoring public has produced a history rich for the likes of Anthony Brandt to pick from.

Sir John Franklin, the prime fool of the time, and others such as William Edward Parry — who inspired a young Emily Bronte — and their companions braved freezing temperatures and near-starvation like a badge of honour.

Brandt, the author of two previous historical books and a seasoned writer of magazine articles, draws on a rich vein of fact and fiction but never quite manages to break this book free of its laborious passage, much like the explorers it tells of.

As they failed in their search for the elusive Northwest Passage, so Brandt does not quite deliver the reader the expected literary experience.

Hell’s Bells: Samuel Johnston V The Devil Round II

John Connolly

Hodder & Stoughton; £12.99; Kindle; £12.99

Review: Rachel Howdle

THIS fabulously chatty book at times sounds like a favourite lively science teacher, or Stephen Fry with a vast other-worldly knowledge of demons.

This book is the perfect vehicle to introduce thriller writer John Connolly as a leading children’s literature author.

In Samuel Johnston V The Devil Round II, our teenage hero is sucked into hell by Mrs Abernathy, a demon in human form who is hell bent on revenge after being defeated by Samuel in The Gates and is trying to win back her spot next to the Devil himself.

We follow Johnston and the motley crew of anti-heroes as they negotiate their way through the circles of Hell to make their way back to Earth.

The feel of the book is very similar to that of the Discworld novels, but more accessible for the younger reader. The story is cleverly worded and will keep the interest of adult fantasy readers too.

To Die For: Is Fashion Wearing Out The World?

Lucy Siegle

Fourth Estate; £12.99

Review: Rachel Howdle

DO any of us really know the true price that the current trend for fast fashion is costing the world?

Observer Magazine columnist Lucy Siegle has travelled the globe to find out if fashion is wearing out the world as a result of high street labels producing so many clothes in such a short space of time, and at such low prices.

Siegle questions the apparent financial alchemy of selling great amounts of clothes so cheaply. She looks at how the fashion industry copes ethically now that the majority of the clothes being sold are cut, sewn and finished off in poor areas of the developing world, in conditions that are less than ideal.

The author analyses cheap fashion and moral codes to expose the pitfalls of fast fashion and provides lots of information to help the reader decide if “fast fashion” should be in their wardrobes.