L. Neish

V for violence, Aug 1 2012

I agree with many of the other reviews about the quality of writing and well researched plot, but just a heads up about some of the descriptions of graphic violence. Perhaps it was just my sensibilites, but Yikes, there were about three incidents where I couldn't finish the page it was so awful. Guy Vanderhague is one of my all time favourite authors but I can't call this book relaxing. Edgy yes. The quantity of letters written between Case and Walsh got a bit tedious too but the intent seemed to be to use them as vehicles for historical information, so I didn't skip any of those. Please Guy not so much detail in gore next novel!

A reason to go to Haida Gwaii, Sep 4 2011

Excellent read and a gifted wordsmith. We just visited the archipelago of Hadia Gwaii (Queen Charlotte Islands) off the coast of British Columbia and saw the remnant of this famous tree, cut down by a now infamous logger/environmentalist with a manifesto. The author's chapters on trees themselves (e.g. most of a tree is actually scaffolding) were well written as were chapters on the history of the Haida people. The man who did the dirty deed (Grant Hadwin) is given a few chapters but the book is so much more than his story. His motivations are revealed as more complex than just the work of a "nutcase". The author provokes the reader to look at his/her own consumption of natural resources… Read more