Why War is Stupid

08 Jul 2004
The Hinge Factor - Erik Durschmied - Coronet 1999
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In my third and fourth year at secondary school, every Tuesday after lessons, we had CCF (Combined Cadet Force). I hated every minute of it. The pointless square-bashing, the licence for older boys to bully younger ones, the ridiculous obsession with shiny boots and straight seams in trousers. The experience left me with a life-long allergy to military uniforms and a tendency to pacifism. I strongly suspect that Erik Durschmied, a veteran Austrian-born war correspondent, also has a pacifist streak and certainly his book makes the strongest possible case against the use of war to solve political problems.
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A Failed Trilogy

27 Jul 2004
Felaheen - Jon Courtenay Grimwood - Simon and Schuster 2003
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Alarmingly, the subtitle on the cover has changed. Whereas the previous novels in this series were subtitled "The First Arabesk" and  "The Second Arabesk", it's now "An Ashraf Bey Mystery". Apart from being a misnomer (there's not a lot of mystery), it implies that there are more books to come. This would be a pity, because the law of diminishing returns has struck with a vengeance and Grimwood has clearly run out of inspiration.
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