Author: Paul Grenyer

Infected Rain are one of those bands I thought I really ought to be into. A modern, European metalcore band with female vocals, what’s not to like? But I just couldn’t get on with the Ecdysis album. I persevered and when the band released a few tracks …

by James S. A. CoreyISBN: 78-0356504193In some ways Cibola Burn is a lot like Abaddon’s Gate, it’s slow to get going. It takes about half the book, however the second half of the book is really good. One way in which it is different from the stories w…

Would you travel for over 4 hours to spend less than 10 minutes with one of your favourite bands just to get their latest album signed and a photograph? I DID! Although, someone came from Germany, so it wasn’t the longest anyone travelled.I don’t think…

My wife is a massive PJ Harvery fan, but I always found her squeaky, out of tune, unable to play and talentless. And to be fair, some of her songs on some of her albums do sound like that. For one reason or another, we missed PJ Harvery at the Roundhou…

By Frank HerbertISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1473233812Here ends a journey which turned out to be more stubborn determination than enjoyment. As I’ve mentioned before, I first started reading the Dune books as a young teenager after loving the Lynch adaptation of…

When it comes to sound, the Underworld in Camden can be a bit hit and miss and tends to be more miss with heavier bands. I struggled to hear the guitars clearly for Born of Osiris last year and it was the same for both Perpetual Paradox and Phobetor, w…

By George R.R. MartinISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0007548279If this wasn’t the penultimate book written and I hadn’t enjoyed the TV series so much I would be giving up on the book series at this point. A Feast for Crows is boring and long winded. It’s full of a l…

By George R.R. MartinISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0007548279If this wasn’t the penultimate book written and I hadn’t enjoyed the TV series so much I would be giving up on the book series at this point. A Feast for Crows is boring and long winded. It’s full of a l…

Forgive me father, for it has been six months since my last gig.To be fair, my last gig was The Darkness and they played badly and we ended up next to some idiots in the crowd, so we left well before the end. A week or so before that was My Dying Bride…

I’ve used a lot of existing Representational State Transfer (REST) APIs and have created several of my own. I see a lot of inconsistency, not just between REST APIs but often within a single REST API. I think most developers understand, at a high level…

I’ve used a lot of existing Representational State Transfer (REST) APIs and have created several of my own. I see a lot of inconsistency, not just between REST APIs but often within a single REST API. I think most developers understand, at a high level…

James S. A. CoreyISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1841499932Abaddon’s Gate takes a while to get going. About half the book to get going. It’s all new character introductions and building. The second half is more exciting, but drawn out. Chrisjen Avasarala is totally …

James S. A. CoreyISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1841499932Abaddon’s Gate takes a while to get going. About half the book to get going. It’s all new character introductions and building. The second half is more exciting, but drawn out. Chrisjen Avasarala is totally …

Machine VendettaAlastair ReynoldsISBN: ‎ 978-0316462846Machine Vendetta is the final Revelation Space novel we’re getting and the final part of the Dreyfus trilogy and it could have been a lot better. Unlike the previous book in the series, there was o…

Machine VendettaAlastair ReynoldsISBN: ‎ 978-0316462846Machine Vendetta is the final Revelation Space novel we’re getting and the final part of the Dreyfus trilogy and it could have been a lot better. Unlike the previous book in the series, there was o…

A Storm of Swords, Part 2: Blood and Gold (A Song of Ice and Fire, Book 3)by George R.R. MartinISBN-13: ‎ 978-0007447855At least George R. R. Martin is consistent. I didn’t really enjoy the second part of this book any more than the first. The Red Wedd…

A Storm of Swords, Part 2: Blood and Gold (A Song of Ice and Fire, Book 3)by George R.R. MartinISBN-13: ‎ 978-0007447855At least George R. R. Martin is consistent. I didn’t really enjoy the second part of this book any more than the first. The Red Wedd…

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance  by  Robert PirsigISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0099786405 Zen and …

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance  by  Robert PirsigISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0099786405 Zen and …

Prelude To FoundationAsaac AsimovISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0008117481Although, as a child and teenager, I’ve heard an abridged audiobook many times and read Prelude to Foundation the first time more than two decades ago, I loved it more than I can describe and…

Prelude To FoundationAsaac AsimovISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0008117481Although, as a child and teenager, I’ve heard an abridged audiobook many times and read Prelude to Foundation the first time more than two decades ago, I loved it more than I can describe and…

Caliban’s Warby James S. A. CoreyISBN: 978-1841499918I was really keen to read this after Leviathan Wakes was so good and after enjoying the TV series so much. Of course there was the pull of the introduction of Chrisjen Avasarala as well, and she real…

Caliban’s Warby James S. A. CoreyISBN: 978-1841499918I was really keen to read this after Leviathan Wakes was so good and after enjoying the TV series so much. Of course there was the pull of the introduction of Chrisjen Avasarala as well, and she real…

By Alistair ReynoldsASIN: B0C99899GL Take two of my favourite things and my favourite author and what do you get? Formula 1 in space with cyborgs, and who doesn’t love a Sisters of Mercy Reference?From a Formula 1 perspective, there’s so much there. Re…

By Alistair ReynoldsASIN: B0C99899GL Take two of my favourite things and my favourite author and what do you get? Formula 1 in space with cyborgs, and who doesn’t love a Sisters of Mercy Reference?From a Formula 1 perspective, there’s so much there. Re…

By Frank HerbertISBN:  ‎ 978-1473233805I’ve seen lots of people rave about God Emperor of Dune, the first of the second Dune trilogy, which is set several thousand years after the events of Children of Dune. As far as I’m concerned, it’s ok.It con…

By Frank HerbertISBN:  ‎ 978-1473233805I’ve seen lots of people rave about God Emperor of Dune, the first of the second Dune trilogy, which is set several thousand years after the events of Children of Dune. As far as I’m concerned, it’s ok.It con…

Separation of Concerns is a key principle in software engineering. When we used to deploy applications to physical hardware, the two separate concerns of infrastructure and software would often become blurred as an application would often need to tailo…

Separation of Concerns is a key principle in software engineering. When we used to deploy applications to physical hardware, the two separate concerns of infrastructure and software would often become blurred as an application would often need to tailo…

Storm of Swords: Part 1 Steel and SnowGeorge R MartinISBN: 9780007447848I didn’t like the previous book, A Clash of Kings and Storm of Swords isn’t a great deal better, but it is better.  I really enjoyed the multiple threads and, of course, learn…

Storm of Swords: Part 1 Steel and SnowGeorge R MartinISBN: 9780007447848I didn’t like the previous book, A Clash of Kings and Storm of Swords isn’t a great deal better, but it is better.  I really enjoyed the multiple threads and, of course, learn…

A nonofficial, JavaScript, feature complete, client library for sending transactional emails via Bloomreach.The aim of the bloomreach-transactional-email package is to get you going with the Bloomreach Transactional Email API as quickly as possible. Th…

A nonofficial, JavaScript, feature complete, client library for sending transactional emails via Bloomreach.The aim of the bloomreach-transactional-email package is to get you going with the Bloomreach Transactional Email API as quickly as possible. Th…

by James S. A. CoreyISBN-13: 978-0316333429 I was apprehensive about reading Leviathan Wakes as a friend had suggested it was boring compared to the TV series, which I loved. It wasn’t! The Protomolecule is brown goo, rather than bright glittery s…

by James S. A. CoreyISBN-13: 978-0316333429 I was apprehensive about reading Leviathan Wakes as a friend had suggested it was boring compared to the TV series, which I loved. It wasn’t! The Protomolecule is brown goo, rather than bright glittery s…

I was out walking with a techie friend of mine I’d not seen for a while and he asked me if I’d written anything recently. I hadn’t, other than an article on data sharing a few months before and I realised I was missing it. Well, not the writing itself,…

I was out walking with a techie friend of mine I’d not seen for a while and he asked me if I’d written anything recently. I hadn’t, other than an article on data sharing a few months before and I realised I was missing it. Well, not the writing itself,…

SleepoverAlistair ReynoldsASIN: ‎ B0097AXWUYI often think that Alastair Reynolds must have encountered some truly unpleasant people in his life, as he creates such nasty characters so well. Sleepover starts with Gaunt awakened from a long sleep, but so…

SleepoverAlistair ReynoldsASIN: ‎ B0097AXWUYI often think that Alastair Reynolds must have encountered some truly unpleasant people in his life, as he creates such nasty characters so well. Sleepover starts with Gaunt awakened from a long sleep, but so…

The Silmarillionby J. R. R. Tolkien, Christopher TolkienISBN: 978-0007523221I read the Lord of the Rings when I was about 8, having loved the BBC radio play starring Michael Hordern as Gandalf. Of course I wanted to read the Silmarillion too, but was a…

The Silmarillionby J. R. R. Tolkien, Christopher TolkienISBN: 978-0007523221I read the Lord of the Rings when I was about 8, having loved the BBC radio play starring Michael Hordern as Gandalf. Of course I wanted to read the Silmarillion too, but was a…

The New One Minute Managerby Kenneth Blanchard and Spencer Johnson I rarely read a book more than once (unless it’s set in Alastair Reynolds’ Revelation Space Universe), but this is the third time I’ve read the New One Minute Manager, and It’s not…

The New One Minute Managerby Kenneth Blanchard and Spencer Johnson I rarely read a book more than once (unless it’s set in Alastair Reynolds’ Revelation Space Universe), but this is the third time I’ve read the New One Minute Manager, and It’s not…

Diamond Dogs, Turquoise Daysby Alistair ReynoldsISBN: ‎ 978-0575083134Diamond DogsI don’t get full satisfaction from stories that leave unanswered questions, unless those questions ge…

Diamond Dogs, Turquoise Daysby Alistair ReynoldsISBN: ‎ 978-0575083134Diamond DogsI don’t get full satisfaction from stories that leave unanswered questions, unless those questions ge…

The Great Dune TrilogyFrank HerbertISBN-13: 0575070706I remember distinctly reading Dune in 1992 after seeing the 1980s film. In fact I can still picture myself lying on a bed in a holiday cottage in a small French village near Carcassonne reading the …

The Great Dune TrilogyFrank HerbertISBN-13: 0575070706I remember distinctly reading Dune in 1992 after seeing the 1980s film. In fact I can still picture myself lying on a bed in a holiday cottage in a small French village near Carcassonne reading the …

So You Are Uncomfortable with Duplicate Data? If, like me, you’ve spent a reasonable amount of your career working with relational databases,  where data is rationalised to avoid duplication, the idea of duplicating data across microservices …

So You Are Uncomfortable with Duplicate Data? If, like me, you’ve spent a reasonable amount of your career working with relational databases,  where data is rationalised to avoid duplication, the idea of duplicating data across microservices …

Eversionby Alastair ReynoldsISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0575090781There’s little to no sci-fi in the first 30% of this book and you’d be forgiven for thinking Reynolds was just indulging himself in a seafaring romp. There’s only a hint of sci-fi up to about half…

Eversionby Alastair ReynoldsISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0575090781There’s little to no sci-fi in the first 30% of this book and you’d be forgiven for thinking Reynolds was just indulging himself in a seafaring romp. There’s only a hint of sci-fi up to about half…

ARDFollowing a nightmare which is parking in Manchester and getting a meal on a Saturday night without booking, we walked into the Bread Shed just as ARD were getting going, minus my vinyl and CDs for signing!. The masterpiece which is Take Up My Bones…

ARDFollowing a nightmare which is parking in Manchester and getting a meal on a Saturday night without booking, we walked into the Bread Shed just as ARD were getting going, minus my vinyl and CDs for signing!. The masterpiece which is Take Up My Bones…

Glory! Hammer! Were fantastic! They played well and were lots of fun as you’d expect.  I mean who doesn’t like a gig to start with a cardboard cutout of Tom Jones and Delilah playing on the PA. The band were all dressed up – it must have been very…