Thursday 1 November 2007

GP Taylor "autobiography" review

I was in Skipton yesterday studying the 1841/51/61 census returns for Ingleton. They made fascinating reading. To see the characters I am writing about in the George Hope novel right there on the page is stimulating. Well, it's not the page but the microfiche screen. But the feelings the same.

During the journey there and at lunchtime I finished off the GP Taylor "autobiography" I picked up on Wednesday last week. I wrote this review and sent it to Zondervan publishers:



I bought this hardback book called GP Taylor Sin, Salvation and Shadowmancer in
the Wesley Owen bookshop in Liverpool City Centre, England. It was marked at £8
off the cover price of £12.99. The amount I paid for the book - £4.99 - was a
price at which it would be much more likely to sell.

At first I was puzzled by the fact that a best selling English author had to tell his story through freelance American writer Bob Smietana. But as the pages turned I realised that this was written for the American market. Explanations were given which were needless for the English reader and some of the expressions were very American.
It also became clear that GP Taylor is a storyteller rather than a writer, but
what a story he tells!
You couldn't have made it up. Growing up in a working class neighbourhood in the North of England, plugging records for Virgin, a social worker, a policeman, a vicar and now a writer. All the time the man's voice was speaking and his personality was shining through. It was as gripping as his books are supposed to be, although I've never read one. Although after this I suppose I shall have to.
Verdict: A great read but not worth £12.99.

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