Living Legends

'The Ravenmaster: My Life with the Ravens at the Tower of London' by Christopher Skaife

I've been in a bit of a flap over the past few months.  Three books that I, really, really, REALLY wanted to read were all due to come out in the same week in October and I was finding it hard to sit still until I got my hands on them.  Fortunately, October arrived and I've purchased and read the first of the tempting trio, 'The Ravenmaster' by Christopher Skaife.

'The Ravenmaster' by
Christopher Skaife
(4th Estate, 2018)

In 'The Ravenmaster', Yeoman Warder Christopher Skaife lifts the trapdoor on life with the Tower of London's most famous residents: the ravens.  Legend has it that if the birds leave, then the kingdom and the Tower will fall.  It's the job of Skaife and his team to make sure that the current cohort of seven birds are so happy and healthy that they never do.  Unfortunately, at times the ravens themselves can have other ideas...  'The Ravenmaster' shines a spotlight on these extraordinary birds, interweaving details of their characters, habits and relationships with broader tales of their cultural significance, the history of their home and the practicalities of life with Britain's most famous birds.

Under Cover Uncovered

'Soldier, Spy' by Tom Marcus

So, from peril in the Underworld I moved on to peril in the UK in the form of  'Soldier, Spy', memoir of former soldier and MI5 surveillance officer Tom Marcus.

'Soldier, Spy'
by Tom Marcus
(Penguin Books, 2017)

'Soldier, Spy' is a brutally, no-nonsense memoir.  After a necessarily self-sufficient childhood, Marcus joined the Army as soon as he was able, eventually becoming the youngest person selected for Special Operations in Northern Ireland.  In this role, the particular skills he'd acquired while growing up on the streets were noted by his superiors and he was recruited to MI5 soon after the 7/7 terrorist attacks in London.  He became an able but gradually more and more maverick officer, completing team operations across the country to tackle everything from international spies to home-grown terrorism.  It's a dark, dangerous and low profile business, and, eventually, a lifetime on high alert starts to take its toll on Marcus's mental health.  But in a world of half-truths and suspicions, how do you tell what's right and what's wrong?