#TopTenTuesday Forgotten Backlist Titles #TuesdayBookBlog

Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme created by The Broke and the Bookish and now hosted by Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl.

The rules are simple:

  • Each Tuesday, Jana assigns a new topic. Create your own Top Ten list that fits that topic – putting your unique spin on it if you want.
  • Everyone is welcome to join but please link back to That Artsy Reader Girl in your own Top Ten Tuesday post.
  • Add your name to the Linky widget on that day’s post so that everyone can check out other bloggers’ lists.
  • Or if you don’t have a blog, just post your answers as a comment.

Top Ten Tuesday Forgotten Books

This week’s Top Ten Tuesday topic is Forgotten Backlist Titles, the idea being to spread the love for books that people don’t talk about much anymore. I’ve focused on the first ten books I ever reviewed on my blog. They may not all fall into the category of untalked about books but in many cases they’re ones I’d forgotten I’d read! Revisiting my early attempts at reviews has been a little painful so show some compassion to the newbie blogger that was me in 2016. 

The Hour of Daydreams by Renee M Rutledge 
World’s End by Upton Sinclair 
Spaceman of Bohemia by Jaroslav Kalfar
Miss Treadway and the Field of Stars by Miranda Emmerson
The Fortunate Brother by Donna Morrissey
Operation Finisterre by Graham Hurley Thomas Hoover
Stay With Me by Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀
Legacy of the Lynx by Clio Gray
Hell’s Gate by Laurent Gaudé
The Ashes of Berlin by Luke McCallin

Having compiled my list, I was interested to see how many (if any) books the authors have written since the ones I reviewed, and if I’ve read any of them. Here’s what I found:

Renee M Rutledge has written children’s books but no further adult novels
Upton Sinclair died in 1968 but, amongst others, wrote ten further books in the series that started with World’s End
Jaroslav Kalfar has written one further novel, A Brief History of Living Forever, which I read and reviewed recently
Miranda Emmerson‘s next novel was A Little London Scandal which I read and reviewed in 2020
Donna Morrissey has a new novel, Rage the Night, which is due to be published in August 2023 and is available to request on NetGalley
Graham Hurley is a prolific author and since Operation Finisterre I’ve read and reviewed four more of his books – Last Flight to Stalingrad, Kyiv, Katastrophe and his latest, The Blood of Others. He has also written at least two crime series
Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀‘s latest novel, A Spell of Good Things, was published earlier this year
Clio Gray‘s latest book, Stumblestone, was published in 2022
Laurent Gaudé has written further novels but none appear to have been published in English
Luke McCallin wrote a fourth novel in his Gregor Reinhardt series, Where Gods Does Not Walk, which I read and reviewed in 2021

#BookReview #BlogTour The Black Crescent by Jane Johnson @HoZ_Books #TheBlackCrescent

Welcome to the opening day of the blog tour for The Black Crescent by Jane Johnson which will be published on 3rd August and is available for pre-order now. My thanks to Poppy at Ransom PR for inviting me to take part in the tour and to Head of Zeus for my review copy. Do check out the post by my tour buddy for today, Sarah at A Cottage Full of Books.

You can listen to Jane talking about the book here.


About the Book

Hamou Badi is born in a mountain village with the magical signs of the zouhry on his hands. In Morocco, the zouhry is a figure of legend, a child of both humans and djinns, capable of finding all manner of lost objects, hidden water.

But instead, Hamou finds a body.

This unsolved murder instils in Hamou a deep desire for order and he trains as an officer of the law, working for the French in Casablanca. But the city is trapped in the turmoil of the nationalist uprising, and soon he will be forced to choose between all he knows and all he loves…

Format: Hardback (400 pages) Publisher: Head of Zeus
Publication date: 3rd August 2023 Genre: Historical Fiction

Find The Black Crescent on Goodreads

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My Review

In her Author Note, Jane Johnson writes, ‘I love to learn when I write fiction, and I hope readers will enjoy learning alongside me.’ I certainly did. Although I was aware of a French influence in the history of Morocco, I knew nothing about the extent of French control over the country and, in particular, the period of unrest that followed the exile of the Sultan of Morocco in 1953. Nor was I aware of the brutal actions taken by the French authorities to suppress the independence movement, some parts of which (like the fictional Black Crescent of the title) turned to increasingly violent measures.

Hamou Badi is our witness to these events, events he views with increasing horror. ‘Violent deaths became a daily occurrence. Regime collaborators killed by nationalists. Nationalists executed by the authorities. Moroccan activists killed by settlers. Settlers murdered by terrorists.’ He struggles with a growing sense of complicity; he joined the French police force out of a desire to do good but finds his integrity increasingly compromised.

Hamou comes to epitomise a person caught between two worlds and two identities. As he observes, ‘There it was, he was alone again, stranded in that no-man’s land between the rock of the French regime and the hard place inhabited by his own people.’ That there will come a breaking point seems unavoidable and when it does, it has devastating consequences.

Hamou is a solitary, self-effacing person making him an entirely sympathetic character. His innate sense of justice and humanity shines through everything he does. For instance, the kindness he shows towards Didi, a young beggar. And his instinctive desire to help those in trouble will reap rewards at crucial points.

Although there are brutal scenes at some points in the story, there’s also humour particularly towards the end of the book as Hamou takes up a new role and is presented with some tricky problems to solve. There was even a laugh out loud moment, which rarely happens for me.

The author’s love for Morocco, its people and its culture is evident throughout the book. (You can read about her very special – and romantic – connection with the country on her website.) In particular, there are wonderful (and mouth-watering) descriptions of the food of Morocco but also of its landscape, architecture, traditions, social and religious customs and rich history. The strong sense of community in which ties of blood are of particular importance is exemplified by Hamou’s family. But there is also a sense of change in the air, a transition from old ways to more modern ways, with some things lost in the process but others gained.

I’ve enjoyed all the books I’ve read by Jane Johnson – Court of Lions, The Sea Gate and The White Hare – but I think The Black Crescent is her best yet. It had everything I look for in historical fiction: a fascinating period setting, an engaging central character and a compelling story line that transported me to a different time and place. And, for me, it had the perfect ending.

In three words: Immersive, powerful, assured


About the Author

Jane Johnson is a British novelist, historian and publisher. She is the UK publisher of many bestselling authors, including George R.R. Martin. She has written for both adults and children, including the bestselling novels The Tenth Gift and The Salt Road. Jane is married to a Berber chef she met while climbing in Morocco. She divides her time between London, Cornwall and the Anti-Atlas Mountains.

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