A place to find out author interviews along with book reviews of thier works in the following genres:
science fiction, fantasy, historical fiction, crime, horror, history, arts and crafts, hobby, true life, real life, autobiography, zombie, paranormal, demons, vampires, religion and spirituality, thriller, mystery, psychological thriller, spy tory, techno thriller, humour.
Release Date: 08/09/16 Publisher: Head of Zeus SYNOPSIS:
All that was dead will rise. All that now lives will fall. The final, epic battle for the Lands of Ro.
The dead god is waking. His power-mad priestess has deployed a mass of men and beasts onto the plains of Ro Weir. Faced with this black swarm, the last remnants of a nation crumbles and falls. This is the final battle for the mortal lands of Ro.
Far to the north, the ice men of Rowanoco muster their Exemplars against the witch's assassins. In the blistering southern deserts, a squire with no master walks unscathed through a poisoned city. And, in the halls beyond the world, a thrice-born man dares to tread the path of Giants...
REVIEW:
I've not always been the biggest fan of Smith's Long War series however as its continued I've gotten behind it more and more. I love the characters, the way that the story has developed and backed it with real emotional content as choices made have to be faced in the final instalment. Its hard hitting, pulls no punches and for me, alongside the detailed action sequences also gives the reader some great lulls to allow them to regain thier breath.
All round a cracking ending and with dialogue that feels realistic for the characters and helps you to form a real bond. I can't wait to see what AJ retuns with for his next series.
Hail Mighty Readers and Followers of the Calloused Thumbs, Recently we've been asked to add some V-blog options to our Reviews, so here you go. Here is our first attempt and to be honest we were more than happy to take the time with For Honor's Alpha Gameplay. All round its been a great bit of fun and please let us know what you think:
Release Date: 22/10/16 Publisher: Transworld SYNOPSIS:
Ex-deniable operator Nick Stone has spent a lifetime in harm's way - but when someone he cares for very deeply is murdered in cold blood, he can no longer just take the pain.
A high-level internecine conflict at the dark heart of the resurgent Russian Empire and an assassin's bullet on an isolated Alpine pass propel him from an apparently run-of-the-mill close-protection task into his most brutal and challenging mission yet.
As the body count increases, Stone becomes one of Europe's Most Wanted. He must evade the elite police forces of three nations in his pursuit of faceless men who trade in human misery, and a lone wolf terrorist who threatens to unleash the Western World's worst nightmare.
Vengeance of the most explosive kind is top of Stone's agenda. The fuse has been ignited - but who really holds the detonator?
REVIEW:
OK, you like Thrillers and want something spectacular, you also want something with a historical context alongside a huge sense of danger accompanied by consequences for choices made throughout. So where are you going to go? Well, this recommendation from me is from an author I’ve not read before and whilst I know he has a back catalogue, it was the premise of this title that really grabbed me. Taking us back to the days of World War 2 with a tale of a daring rescue from Auschwitz. Its gripping from page one. Has a cracking protagonist and keeps you glued throughout as the knowledge that it’s all being done for could end the world.
The dialogue is cracking, the time period brought to life and really lets you feel that you are walking through that dark period of history which when backed with a good sense of pace really does deliver a book that I’d put top of any Thriller fans list for the Christmas period. Yes it’s a little early to be thinking that far ahead but this book really was that good. Cracker.
Release Date: 22/09/16 Publisher: Pan SYNOPSIS:
Auschwitz, 1944. Alfred Mendl's days are numbered. But he has little left to live for - his family were torn away from him, his life's work burned in front of his eyes - until a glimmer of hope arises as he watches a game of chess. To the guards Mendl is just another prisoner, but in fact he holds knowledge that only two people in the world possess. The other is working hard for the Nazi war machine.
Four thousand miles away, in Washington DC, intelligence lieutenant Nathan Blum decodes messages from occupied Poland. After the Nazis murdered his family, Nathan escaped the Krakow ghetto and is determined to support his new country - and the US government knows exactly how he can. They want to send Nathan on a mission to rescue one man from a place no one can break in to - or out of.
Even if Nathan does make it in and finds him, can they escape the most heavily guarded place on earth?
REVIEW:
OK, you like Thrillers and want something spectacular, you also want something with a historical context alongside a huge sense of danger accompanied by consequences for choices made throughout. So where are you going to go? Well, this recommendation from me is from an author I’ve not read before and whilst I know he has a back catalogue, it was the premise of this title that really grabbed me. Taking us back to the days of World War 2 with a tale of a daring rescue from Auschwitz. Its gripping from page one. Has a cracking protagonist and keeps you glued throughout as the knowledge that it’s all being done for could end the world.
The dialogue is cracking, the time period brought to life and really lets you feel that you are walking through that dark period of history which when backed with a good sense of pace really does deliver a book that I’d put top of any Thriller fans list for the Christmas period. Yes it’s a little early to be thinking that far ahead but this book really was that good. Cracker.
Release Date: 20/09/16 Publisher: Head of Zeus SYNOPSIS:
Half a century after the Doomsday Battle, the uneasy balance of Dark Forest Deterrence keeps the Trisolaran invaders at bay. Earth enjoys unprecedented prosperity due to the infusion of Trisolaran knowledge. With human science advancing and the Trisolarans adopting Earth culture, it seems that the two civilizations can co-exist peacefully as equals without the terrible threat of mutually assured annihilation. But peace has also made humanity complacent.
Cheng Xin, an aerospace engineer from the 21st century, awakens from hibernation in this new age. She brings knowledge of a long-forgotten program dating from the start of the Trisolar Crisis, and her presence may upset the delicate balance between two worlds. Will humanity reach for the stars or die in its cradle?
REVIEW:
The conclusion to Liu's Three Body Problem Trilogy and one that not only delivers on what has gone before but gives the reader one hell of an explosive end but pulls no punches whatsoever.
The prose is sharp, the pace allows the readers take a breath where required and perhaps best of all the author allows the characters to take the tale to what feels like quite an organic conclusion. Finally throw into the mix a top notch translation that flows smoothly and all round I was a more than happy reader.
Release Date: 08/09/16 Publisher: Head of Zeus SYNOPSIS:
Ken Liu is one of the most original, thought-provoking and award-winning short-story writers of his generation. This is the first collection of his work – sixteen stories that invoke the magical within the mundane, by turns profound, beguiling and heartbreaking.
Included here are: The Man Who Ended History: A Documentary (Finalist for Hugo, Nebula, and Sturgeon Awards), Mono No Aware (Hugo Award winner), The Waves (Nebula Award finalist), The Bookmaking Habits of Select Species (Nebula and Sturgeon award finalists), All the Flavors (Nebula Award finalist), The Litigation Master and the Monkey King (Nebula Award finalist) ,and the most awarded story in the genre's history, The Paper Menagerie (the only story ever to win the Hugo, Nebula, and World Fantasy awards).
REVIEW:
Whilst I keep up with the various awards and who win's what, there are times when I don't get to read as much as I'd like to. In the case of Ken. I know he's won a lot of awards for his short fiction but hadn't tried them, so when I found out that this book was being released I was pretty excited, counting down the days when the posty would deliver so that I could see what all the fuss was about.
Not that I doubted I'd get wouldn't get something exciting or mind blowing but there are times when I know that some people get awards for confusing the hell out of others in such a way that you feel stupid when you don't see what they're going on about.
What Ken presents here is a book full of adventure, tales full of cracking characters and above all else something different for everyone so that they can see the wide scope that he's become known for.
Not every story was a cracker but that doens't matter, what i loved best was the sheer variety of what I had in store, from time travel, travelling the universe to even virtual space. Its a quirky, eclectic mix and when you throw into the bowl of fantastic fiction an author as talented as Ken, its easy to see how he's won so many awards. They'r eeasy to get into, cracking fun to read and perhaps best of all allow you to take a break from the real world in breathable chunks.
An absolute corker and if you really want something special for that Sci-Fi fan in your life for the holiday period, definteily give this book a go. They won't be disappoointed.
Release Date: 08/09/16 Publisher: SYNOPSIS:
The much anticipated follow-up title from the multi-award winning author of The Bunker Diary, recipient of the 2014 Carnegie Medal for an outstanding book for young adults.
Elliot is terrified of almost everything.
From the moment he was born, his life has been governed by acute fear. The only thing that keeps his terrors in check are the pills that he takes every day.
It's Christmas Eve, there's a snowstorm and Elliot's medication is almost gone. His mum nips out to collect his prescription. She'll only be 10 minutes - but shen she doesn't come back, Elliot must face his fears and try to find her. She should only be 400 metres away. It might as well be 400 miles...
Born Scared joins the ranks of Jennifer Niven's All the Bright Places, Ned Vizzini's It's Kind of A Funny Story, and Jay Asher's Thirteen Reasons Why as an example of teen fiction offering a frank and intelligent portrait of mental illness.
REVIEW:
I love to try books that are a bit different to the norm and when a subject is tackled by an author that has a unique premise associated with it, I tend to sit up and pay attention. Kevin is an author I’ve read with his adult work but for me, its his YA titles that I've heard more about from friends so when I had this opportunity I ordered it pretty quickly. What Kevin does well in this book is bring the principle character to the fore. Elliot works wonderfully well with his sense of fear leading the tale allowing you to form bonds as some of his fears are quite common amongst all of us.
Add to this cracking dialogue alongside naturally feeling character development and all round I felt that I was treated to something wonderfully special. Magic.
