My 'Masterworks' Shelf

Bloody hell, who would have thought that this ‘Red Country’ review would be so hard to write? It’s a great book by the way; I just can’t seem to write about it. Oh well, maybe tomorrow…

In the meantime, have a look at my ‘Masterworks’ shelf, great isn’t it? :o)

I started mooching around second hand bookshops in an attempt to see how many of the old ‘Fantasy Masterworks’ books I could get hold of (like I need another excuse to go into a second hand bookshop…) and this soon became a mission to see how many of the ‘Sci-Fi Masterworks’ I could get hold of as well. Everything on the shelf is a ‘Masterwork’ although the edition may differ. I’d go mad trying to collect some of these titles in the ‘Masterwork’ format! I probably should have included the Del Rey ‘Elric’ books but they’re on a shelf all of their own.

My camera phone isn’t great so here are the titles (linked back to a review where there is one)…

‘The Anubis Gates’ - Tim Powers (couldn't get into this one the last time I tried it)
‘Viriconium’ – M. John Harrison
‘The Compleat Enchanter’ – L. Sprague De Camp & Fletcher Pratt
‘Gloriana’ – Michael Moorcock
‘Replay’ – Ken Grimwood
‘Air’ – Geoff Ryman
‘The Broken Sword’ – Poul Anderson (read this years ago but not for the blog)
‘Grendel’ – John Gardner
‘The Mark of the Beast’ – Rudyard Kipling
‘Non-Stop’ – Brian Aldiss
‘The Shrinking Man’ – Richard Matheson
‘Man Plus’ – Frederick Pohl
‘Flowers for Algernon’ – Daniel Keyes
‘The Fall of Hyperion’ – Dan Simmons
‘The Conan Chronicles (Vol 1) – Robert E. Howard
‘The Conan Chronicles (Vol 2) – Robert E. Howard (I reviewed ‘The Slithering Shadow’ but nothing else as yet)
‘I am Legend’ – Richard Matheson
‘The Dancers at the end of Time’ – Michael Moorcock
‘Floating Worlds’ – Cecilia Holland
‘Of Men and Monsters’ – William Tenn
‘Hyperion’ – Dan Simmons
‘The Difference Engine’ – William Gibson & Bruce Sterling
‘The Stars My Destination’ – Alfred Bester
‘Helliconia’ – Brian Aldiss
‘Hellstrom’s Hive’ – Frank Herbert
‘The Body Snatchers’ – Jack Finney
‘The Book of the New Sun’ – Gene Wolfe
'Lankhmar' - Fritz Leiber
‘The King of Elfland’s Daughter’ – Lord Dunsany

As you can see this is a real ‘shelf of shame’; filled up with good intentions but not a lot else. There’s still a few weeks until the end of the year and I want to cut this list of unread books down to size; are there any books (in particular) on the list that you would like to see reviewed here. HINT: Shorter books are more likely to be read… ;o)
Comments please!

The 'need to catch up with myself' Competition Winner's Post!

After all the fun last week it's back to job hunting and trying to cure Hope of her crush on Yoda. Seriously, my daughter is weird. It's a good weird but... he's made of Lego for goodness sake! If that wasn't enough for me to be getting on with there's also a whole load of books waiting to be reviewed right here. Some good ones and one that hasn't aged as well as I thought it would. Oh well, more on those later this week...

In the meantime, thanks to everyone who entered the 'Rogue Trooper' competition. My inbox was glad of all the attention. There could only be two winners though and they were...

Brian Stabler, East Yorkshire, UK

Steve Renshaw, Bradford, UK

Nice work there guys :o) Give me a couple of days to get to the post office and your books should be with you very soon.

That's it from me. I shall be spending the rest of the day trying to separate a stray job from the rest of the herd and running it down in a feast of gainful employment; wish me luck!

A few more books in the post...

Thanks for bearing with me through what has been a 'review light' week. The good news is that everything I have read this week (plus all the other stuff that is outstanding) will feature next week instead. Quite a few reviews then, can't say fairer than that :o) All I'll say in the meantime is, 'Ragemoor' is quite brilliant and I'm glad that I finally got round to reading it.

For now then, have a quick look at the books that were waiting for me when I got home last night; it's quite the little bundle...

The eastern seaboard of the USA is experiencing the worst winter weather in living memory, and John Redlaw is in the cold white thick of it. He's come to America to investigate a series of vicious attacks on vampire immigrants - targeted kills that can't simply be the work of amateur vigilantes.

Dogging his footsteps is Tina 'Tick' Checkley, a wannabe TV journalist with an eye on the big time.
  The conspiracy Redlaw uncovers could give Tina the career break she's been looking for. It could also spell death for Redlaw.

I've got a great feeling about this one, mostly because I loved 'Redlaw', and I'll be getting straight into it over the weekend. Can't say a lot more than that really :o)

Paris. City of lights. City of lovers. City of dreams. Yet if one man gets his way, its inhabitants will soon be forced to endure a nightmare such as they have never known.

Hero of the British Empire Ulysses Quicksilver is determined to stand in his way... even as he returns from the past to appear on the scene of a horrific murder!

Before he can hope to rescue the French capital from its fate, Ulysses must go on the run and track down the real killer. His intention: to clear his good name, and get back to England in one piece. And quickly, for the love of his life is about to take a most ill-advised trip to the Moon.

Can Quicksilver stop the terrorist known only as ‘Le Papillon’?

I'm not going to bore you with links back to all the reviews that I've done. Search the blog for Jonathan Green and you can see for yourself. Green's chunk of 'Pax Britannia' is pulp, it's Steampunk and it's a hell of a lot of fun. You really need to be reading these books if you aren't already. While you're getting caught up, 'Time's Arrow' will be another weekend read.

Ensign Andrew Dahl has just been assigned to the Universal Union Capital Ship Intrepid, flagship of the Universal Union since the year 2456. It's a prestige posting, and Andrew is even more delighted when he's assigned to the ship's Xenobiology laboratory. Life couldn't be better . . . although there are a few strange things going on...


(1) every Away Mission involves a lethal confrontation with alien forces


(2) the ship's captain, the chief science officer, and the handsome Lieutenant Kerensky always survive these encounters


(3) at least one low-ranked crew member is, sadly, always killed. 


Suddenly it's less surprising how much energy is expended below decks on avoiding, at all costs, being assigned an Away Mission. Andrew's fate may have been sealed . . . until he stumbles on a piece of information that changes everything . . . and offers him and his fellow redshirts a crazy, high-risk chance to save their own lives...

I heard lots of buzz about 'Redshirts' but I don't think I saw a single review although that's probably just me needing to catch up with my blog reading. Have you read it? Fair enough, what about you? Have you read it? I want to read 'Redshirts' soon but it might have to fight it out with some of the other books on the pile...

Lord Brentford has a dream. To create a Grand Exposition that will showcase The Wonders of the Worlds and encourage peace between the inhabited planets of Venus, Jupiter and Earth. Ernest Rutherford has a dream. To construct a time ship, powered by the large hadron collider he has built beneath the streets of London . Cameron Bell is England's greatest detective and he, too, has a dream. To solve the crime of the century before it takes place, without blowing up any more of London's landmarks. Darwin is a monkey butler and he also has a dream. To end Man's inhumanity to Monkey and bring a little joy into the world. Lavinia Dharkstorrm has a dream of her own. Although hers is more of a nightmare. To erase Man and Monkey alike from the face of the Earth and to hasten in the End of Days. Then there is the crime-fighting superlady, all those chickens from the past and the unwelcome arrival of The Antichrist. Things are looking rather grim on planet Earth.

A new Robert Rankin! I totally need to read this straight away, or I would if I didn't have 'The Japanese Devil Fish Girl' and 'The Mechanical Messiah' to read first. I am so behind with my Robert Rankin reading (try saying those last three words really quickly...); 'The Educated Ape' might just have to wait a little bit longer...

Any of those books take your fancy?

Do we really need the whole story?

So I got back from Malta, early this afternoon (yes, it was a lovely hot 'shorts wearing' break from the blog, thanks for asking!) I had a lovely week doing, well... not an awful lot really :o) Lots of lovely walks through Valetta and Mdina as well as time spent happily at the beach. I'm not too impressed at being back in London (ice in the morning and rain in the afternoon) but that's the way it goes. Thanks to Jamie, Jen, David and Lawrence for supplying some great posts while I was away. I find myself in the position of having to up my game to keep the standard as high as they did! That can't be a bad thing though... :o)

Anyway, I got back home to find this book waiting for me on the doorstep...

Darth Plagueis: one of the most brilliant Sith Lords who ever lived. Possessing power is all he desires. Losing it is the only thing he fears. As an apprentice, he embraces the ruthless ways of the Sith. And when the time is right, he destroys his Master - but vows never to suffer the same fate. For like no other disciple of the dark side, Darth Plagueis learns to command the ultimate power...over life and death.


Darth Sidious: Plagueis's chosen apprentice. Under the guidance of his Master, he secretly studies the ways of the Sith, while publicly rising to power in the galactic government, first as Senator, then as Chancellor, and eventually as Emperor.


Darth Plagueis and Darth Sidious, Master and acolyte, target the galaxy for domination - and the Jedi Order for annihilation. But can they defy the merciless Sith tradition? Or will the desire of one to rule supreme, and the dream of another to live forever, sow the seeds of their destruction?

I'm not too bothered about Star Wars books these days but I do have a whole load of them on the shelves so they will feature here at some point. 'Darth Plagueis' got me thinking though... Given that 'Revenge of the Sith' basically answers all these questions, is there really any point to this book? A bigger Star Wars fan than I might say otherwise but I'm having trouble seeing that point if there is one...

Looking at that blurb also got me thinking about the franchise's need to fill in every single little gap around each of the films (a gap often chiseled out of the tiniest piece of dialogue). Do we really need to know every single little bit of a story or is it better to leave some of it deliberately vague? I'm in two minds but if I had to make the choice I'd veer towards the latter. I like not knowing everything about a fictional world and its history. If a writer gives it all to me, on a plate, then there's nothing to explore and get into. I like to fill in those gaps myself; I find that it really helps me 'live the book' rather than just read it. Don't tell me what happens in that alleyway behind the pub; I'd much rather go off and work it out for myself. If you tell me everything then it's still a cool story (hopefully) but the mystery isn't there any longer and that's a shame.

How about you? Do you like to have it all or do you like to go away and think about all the stuff that you haven't been told? Comments please and any examples of books that do it (or not) for you would be great as well...

New Books in the Post.

Some interesting looking books have turned up in the post over the last couple of days. Check 'em out (along with a brief glimpse of Hope's foot, she was really interested in the photos being taken)...

The theme of the day seems to be 'authors that I've never read' and that always feels quite exciting. I probably should have read Lackey and Farmer long before now but it never quite happened. You can blame some awful cover art (Lackey) and some really uninspiring blurb (Farmer) for that. Has anyone here read any of these three books? 'A Feast Unknown' looks like it has the 'pulp vibe' that I'm into at the moment ;o)

'Malice' looks like it could satisfy my cravings for a book full of men hitting each other with swords (signing on can do that to a person...) so will more than likely be read before its December publication. Not too sure about the 'dark evil rising once again' though. Check out the blurb...


A black sun is rising … Young Corban watches enviously as boys become warriors under King Brenin’s rule, learning the art of war. He yearns to wield his sword and spear to protect his king’s realm. But that day will come all too soon. Only when he loses those he loves will he learn the true price of courage. The Banished Lands has a violent past where armies of men and giants clashed shields in battle, the earth running dark with their heartsblood. Although the giant-clans were broken in ages past, their ruined fortresses still scar the land. But now giants stir anew, the very stones weep blood and there are sightings of giant wyrms. Those who can still read the signs see a threat far greater than the ancient wars. Sorrow will darken the world, as angels and demons make it their battlefield. Then there will be a war to end all wars. High King Aquilus summons his fellow kings to council, seeking an alliance in this time of need. Some are skeptical, fighting their own border skirmishes against pirates and giants. But prophesy indicates darkness and light will demand two champions, the Black Sun and the Bright Star. They would be wise to seek out both, for if the Black Sun gains ascendancy, mankind’s hopes and dreams will fall to dust.

The only one I'm not sure of is Paul Cornell's 'London Falling'; nothing to do with the book itself, more about my growing ambivalence towards all kinds of Urban Fantasy (I couldn't even finish 'Whispers Underground' and I've really enjoyed those books in the past). Have some blurb anyway...


The dark is rising . . . Detective Inspector James Quill is about to complete the drugs bust of his career. Then his prize suspect Rob Toshack is murdered in custody. Furious, Quill pursues the investigation, co-opting intelligence analyst Lisa Ross and undercover cops Costain and Sefton. But nothing about Toshack’s murder is normal. Toshack had struck a bargain with a vindictive entity, whose occult powers kept Toshack one step ahead of the law – until his luck ran out. Now, the team must find a 'suspect' who can bend space and time and alter memory itself. And they will kill again. As the group starts to see London’s sinister magic for themselves, they have two choices: panic or use their new abilities. Then they must hunt a terrifying supernatural force the only way they know how: using police methods, equipment and tactics. But they must all learn the rules of this new game - and quickly. More than their lives will depend on it.

Do any of these books take your fancy?

The 'I've got my copy of Red Country!' Update Post!

For no other reason than that I've finally got the book in my hands and it is gorgeous :o)

I've still got to read 'The Heroes' though, my 'blogging break' (in a couple of weeks) looks like it just got booked solid :o)

If you're wondering what's coming up a little nearer to now though... I'm working my way through 'Tomorrow The Killing' (which is excellent) along with 'Ecko Rising' (also very good). I'm also looking at the vast tome that is 'Star Wars: The Essential Readers Companion' and am wondering how I'm going to be able to pick it up. Hope just likes to look at the cover and say, 'there's Yoda!' repeatedly... :o)
I've also got a couple of comic books and audiobooks that should get a mention as well. Plenty of cool stuff happening here then :o)

What are you reading?

So, we got back from Majorca at two o'clock this morning...

It's never nice to come back from a holiday but it's even less nice to come back to a cold house at two in the morning... Getting my hoodie caught in the taxi door (and almost getting smacked in the head by said door when the driver tried to get it out) pretty much paled into insignificance against the rest of it!

Anyway, that's why I scheduled a whole load of competitions over the last few days; it was way past time I had a break and that included a break from the blog. I'm back now though :o) I won't bore you with all the holiday details, lets just say it was really sunny and all the mosquitoes wanted to be friends... In terms of reading though... Frederick Pohl's 'Man Plus' was an amazing read (definitely an 'SF Masterwork') but I'm not sure quite how I feel about James Enge's 'A Guile of Dragons' though. There will be reviews of both next week. I ended up leaving S.L. Grey's 'The Ward' at home so I'm looking forward to getting back into that over the weekend.

For now, have a look at some of the books that were waiting for me when I got back :o)

The 'Definitely will read at some point...' Books

I asked for a copy of 'The Daughter of the Sword' (part of my mission to find Urban Fantasy that isn't like all the rest) so it would be rude not to read it ;o) 'Stray Souls' looks like it could be a good place to get back into Kate Griffin's London after I somehow managed to miss reading her last three books... I'm still not sure how I did that, not when 'A Madness of Angels' was so good. 'The Christmas Spirits' looks like it could be interesting but will be saved until mid December (at the earliest). The same deal with 'Scoundrels' I think, I've got a few other 'Star Wars' books that I want to read first.

The 'They turned up but I won't be reading them...' Books

I know I was moaning about there being too many zombie books but I refuse to replace them with a book about a 'special forces angel' falling in love with a mortal woman. That's 'A Touch of Crimson' out of the window then... :o) I never got round to reading 'Fire and Thorns' so it's doubtful that I'll pick up 'The Crown of Embers' to be honest. As far as 'The Soddit' goes... Just the title makes the book sound like it's trying too hard to be funny so I won't be reading that one either. Have any of you read 'The Soddit'?

The 'Black Library Rescue Package'

I'm after books that I can throw myself into right away, and enjoy, so the arrival of this package was timely to say the least :o) I've already reviewed 'Salvation's Reach' so won't be reading that again but the rest is fair game. All apart from 'The Ascension of Balthasar' that is, Hope broke the CD tray on our computer so transferring it to my iPod is going to be tricky...

Any of these books take your fancy?

The 'Is that really the time...?' Competition Winner's Post!

Sorry about that... In my defence, we've been cleaning the house today and I used the spare time to finally finish off 'Grendel'. There will be a review tomorrow but lets just say that it was superb in the meantime :o)

So, competition winners. Thanks to everyone who entered the 'Cold Commands' competition last week, always nice to see :o) There could only be the three winners though and they were...

Chris Miller, Maryland, USA

Emma Engel, Oregon, USA

Patrick Petzall, Ontario, Canada

Well done guys, your books should be on their way shortly (if not sooner) 

So, what else can you expect from the blog over the next week and a bit? I've already mentioned the 'Grendel' review and I want to have another review up on Thursday; not sure what that will be though. After that? Well, I'm taking a little break to get caught up with my reading (because there's a whole pile of half finished books in the house) and generally just chill out a little. That's not to say that the blog will stop though, I've got a couple of little posts all scheduled, for the weekend, and some competitions to take us through to next Thursday. Yep, competitions :o) It's not original at all but I need a break and... free books?

See you tomorrow ;o)

It's that time of year again :o)

I'm taking the day off so it can slowly sink in that I'm not too far away from turning forty. Oh yes, and to eat lots of cake and generally be made a big fuss of :o) I might even do some reading if there's time.

Have a good one today. Come back tomorrow when I'm part of Evie Manieri's blog tour for 'Blood's Pride' :o)

A 'Blatant Filler' Update Post...

Sorry about that by the way, today has been lovely but I've only just managed to get to a computer...

Well, today should have seen a review of John Gardner's 'Grendel' but it's pretty clear by now that's not going to happen. It's a great book (certainly deserving of 'Fantasy Masterwork' status from what I've read so far) but a very dense read considering it's only a hundred and twenty three pages long. There’s so much to take in and I really want to take my time here. Give me a couple more days on this one...

What do you get in the meantime? Well, how about some books that turned up in the post and caught my eye for one reason or another...

In an alternate world without global terrorism, a private detective is hired by a mysterious woman to track down the obscure creator of the fictional vigilante, Osama Bin Laden...

Joe’s identity slowly fragments as his quest takes him across the world, from the backwaters of Asia to the European capitals of Paris and London. He discovers the shadowy world of the Refugees, ghostly entities haunting the world in which he lives. Where do they come from? What do they want? Joe knows how the story should end, but is he ready for the truths he will uncover... or the choice he will have to make?

I've heard good things about 'Osama' but never paid an awful lot of attention as it didn't seem like the kind of book I'd normally go for. Now I'm looking for books that I wouldn't normally pick up and 'Osama' fits the bill perfectly. I reckon I might even start reading it tonight.

Four months after the Pennine Fusiliers vanished from the Somme, they are still stranded on the alien world. Lieutenant Everson tries to discover the true intentions of their alien prisoner even as he must quell the unrest within his own ranks.

Beyond the trenches, Lance Corporal Atkins and his Black Hand Gang are on the trail of Jeffries, the diabolist responsible for their predicament, they must face the horrors that lie within the Croatoan Crater, a place tied to the history of the alien chatts and natives alike.

Above it all, Lieutenant Tulliver of the Royal Flying Corps soars free of the confines of alien gravity, where the true scale of the planet’s mystery is revealed. To uncover the truth, however, he must join forces with an unexpected ally.

This one's simple, I really enjoyed the first two books and want to know what happens next. Sometimes that's all it takes :o) 

Once he was a hero of the Great War, and then a member of the dreaded Black House. Now he is the criminal linchpin of Low Town.  His name is Warden.

He thought he had left the war behind him, but a summons from up above brings the past sharply, uncomfortably, back into focus. General Montgomery's daughter is missing somewhere in Low Town, searching for clues about her brother's murder. The General wants her found, before the stinking streets can lay claim to her, too.

I was going to read this one anyway (once again, really enjoyed the last book) but the reason 'Tomorrow the Killing' caught my eye, when it came in the post today, is that the hardback is the third copy of the book that I've received. I've already received two advance copies in the last few months, I know Hodder want the book read (naturally) but... seriously? Oh well ;o)

I guess 'Osama' is the one that has caught my eye the most, enough to mess around with the reading pile again. Have any of you guys already read it?

 

The 'Disappointing but Informative Afternoon...' Competition Winner's Post!

What an afternoon... This was an afternoon where we got into London literally minutes after the Olympic victory parade finished. An afternoon containing a surprising bank statement (not a good one either). An afternoon where my two year old daughter managed to sneak two large boxes of M&M's out of the M&M store without anyone noticing (boy was my face red when I had to take them back). An afternoon where I realised that my taste buds have grown up and moved away from KFC (that really hurt)... I have learned a few things though, not least of which is to keep an eye on Hope (when she's in chocolate shops) and to stick with McDonalds in future :o)

Anyway, winners! I'm talking about the winners of last week's 'Stormdancer' competition in particular, thanks to everyone who entered by the way. There could only be a certain number of winners though and they were,

 Daphne Lao, London, UK

Kelly Hooper, St Ives, UK

Ina Martin, Corby, UK

Stewart Feasey-Edwards, Shoeburyness, UK

Melissa Symonds, Carshalton, UK

Well done guys! Your books should hopefully be on their way to you very soon. Better luck next time everyone else, which reminds me...

Just so people don't think that I only do these things for UK/US readers (and I know that some commenters here aren't happy about that)... I really don't. As much as I'd love to run more worldwide competitions, I'm at the mercy of the publishers who (for a whole load of reasons, like copyright issues for example) are only able to send these books to certain countries.Sorry about that.

Anyway, enough of that. The rest of this week will see me finally finish 'The Dirty Streets of Heaven' and review it here. I'm getting to some good bits so this will happen :o) As for the rest of it? Not sure right now, I did pick up a copy of 'Flowers for Algernon' today so I might read that. It does look good. Lets see how it goes...

See you tomorrow :o)

I bought a book on 'Buy a Book Day', did you?

A slightly later post than normal for a Saturday; it's actually sunny here (for a change) so we had to make the most of it. You understand... :o)  Anyway...

I actually ended up buying two books yesterday; partly because I thought I'd take up the slack, for those who weren't book buying, but mostly because it's me and I saw more than one book that I liked the look of. I made my purchases in Any Amount of Books, a second hand book shop that you absolutely have to go in the next time you're on the Charing Cross Road. It's a rare time indeed that I leave without at least one new (old) book tucked under my arm.

Enough of me though, the books themselves can have a word or two...

In the Matrix of cyberspace, angels and voodoo zaibatsus fight it out for world domination and computer cowboys like Turner and Count Zero risk their minds for fat crumbs.

Turner woke up in a new body with a beautiful woman beside him. They let him recuperate for a while in Mexico, then Hosaka reactivated his memory for a mission more dangerous than the one that nearly killed him.

The head designer from Maas-Biolabs is defecting to Hosaka, or so he says. Turner has to deliver him safely, and the biochips he invented – which are of supreme interest to other parties, some of whom are not human. Count Zero is human. Indeed, he’s just a kid from Barrytown, and totally unprepared for the heavy duty data coming his way when he’s caught up in the cyberspace war triggered by the defection. With voodoo on the Net and angels in the software, he can only hope that the megacorps and the superrich have their virtual hands full already.

This was a bit of a no-brainer. I enjoyed this book years ago, and then somehow let it go to a charity shop, so when I saw it on the shelf I knew that I had to read it again. I love the covers as well. I still need to re-read 'Neuromancer' but 'Count Zero' won't be too far behind after I do.

Rudyard Kipling was a major figure of English literature, who used the full power and intensity of his imagination and his writing ability in his excursions into fantasy. Kipling, one of England's greatest writers, was born in Bombay. He was educated in England, but returned to India in 1882. He began writing fantasy and supernatural stories set in his native continent, such as 'The Phantom Rickshaw' and 'The Strange Ride of Morrowbie Jukes', and his most famous weird story is 'The Mark of the Beast' (1890), about a man cursed to transform into a were-leopard. This Masterwork, edited by Stephen Jones, Britain's most accomplished and acclaimed anthologist, collects all Kipling's weird fiction for the first time; the stories range from traditional ghostly tales to psychological horror.

I didn't even know that Kipling had been a writer of weird fiction but there you go. I'm collecting the Fantasy Masterworks series the old fashioned way (i.e. go into a second hand book shop and see if there's anything there) so this was another no brainer really. The odd thing though was that as my eyes scanned the shelf the book wasn't there first time round. The second time my eyes went over the shelf (like, a couple of seconds later) there it was, shoved in the space between the top of the books and the shelf above. I'll swear it wasn't there before and I didn't move so no-one else could have put it there. It was almost like the book wanted me to pick it up... So I did :o) Couldn't resist it.

That's me then, did you buy a book on 'Buy a Book Day'? Leave a comment if you did.

New Books for the Reading Pile...

Well, it's more like a reading... I don't know anymore, there are books everywhere at the moment. I'm more than cool with that though; I don't think I'll ever be short of something to read :o)

Just got back, last night, from a weekend away at my folks, to find a couple more books waiting on the doorstep for me. Check em' out :o)

Do you like the way that I've managed to include a silhouette of my hands and the camera here? Stupid phone... I'd normally say something about the cover art here but there's only so much that you can say about what other people have already said about the book. This copy of Evie Manieri's 'Blood's Pride' is an advance copy festooned with all the nice stuff others have said about it. I didn't need to be told, I was already sold on the blurb and hunted this copy down myself. Here's the blurb in question...

A generation has passed since the Norlanders’ great ships bore down on Shadar, and the Dead Ones slashed and burned the city into submission, enslaving the Shadari people. Now the Norlander governor is dying and, as his three alienated children struggle against the crushing isolation of their lives, the Shadari rebels spot their opening and summon the Mongrel, a mysterious mercenary warrior who has never yet lost a battle. But her terms are unsettling: she will name her price only after the Norlanders have been defeated.A single question is left for the Shadari: is there any price too high for freedom?

The other book was...

Cora and her husband hunt things – things that shouldn’t exist.When the marshal of Leadville, Colorado, comes across a pair of mysterious deaths, he turns to Cora to find the creature responsible. But if Cora is to overcome the unnatural tide threatening to consume the small town, she must first confront her own tragic past as well as her present.

First things first, I'm a sucker for Chris McGrath's cover art and he's done it again here with another good one. The blurb did look a little too 'Urban Fantasy' for my tastes but then I realised that I haven't covered any 'Old West Urban Fantasy/Horror' and I am supposed to be all about getting out of a reading rut. With that in mind I started reading 'The Dead of Winter' at teatime and pretty much kept on going until I stopped to write this post. The short conclusion is that it's excellent so far, I should hopefully have something a little more indepth for you later this week :o)

Do either of these two books appeal to you? Go on, leave a comment and let me know what you think of them...

The 'Typical Bank Holiday...' Competition Winner's Post!

It began with my arm down the toilet (the truth is far more boring than whatever you're thinking right now so... don't ask) and it has just ended with a liberal dose of whiskey and coke. I'd personally prefer more of the latter, and less of the former, but all in all I can't complain really. How was your Bank Holiday?

This is a bit of a late post so I'm not going to hang about in announcing the winner of last week's competition. The winner of my spare copy of 'The Guv'nor' was...

Adam Wallace, Milton Keynes, UK

Nice work there Adam, your book will be in the post just as soon as I can get to a post office tomorrow morning :o)

I'm running out of books, that are waiting to be reviewed, so I'm not entirely sure what this week is going to look like review wise. I'm reading the hell out of 'The Dirty Streets of Heaven' though (really enjoying it) so hopefully that will feature at some point. Let's wait and see...

See you tomorrow ;o)

What I did yesterday (and why you should do it too!)

Yesterday had to be one of the hottest days we've had this year; lovely if you're into that kind of thing but not if you're me and frantically trying to jump from one cool shadow to another. It was a really good job then that we all found ourselves at the Royal Festival Hall (on the South Bank) where not only was it really cool but we got to hang out in this,

The photo doesn't quite do it justice but what you're looking at here is basically a large maze where all the walls are made out of books. Have you ever been in a maze where you can stop and browse the walls? I didn't think so and that's why you really need to check this one out if you find yourself on the South Bank. There's a little something here for everyone, plenty of sci-fi and fantasy if you keep your eyes open. What's really cool though is that you can get pictures like this on the way round...

 

When I die, I want to be buried at the centre of this maze :o)

When I wasn't chasing Hope around (she wasn't too bothered about the books, she just wanted to go running), this was one of the most chilled out afternoons that I've had in a long time. Finding my way through a maze and browsing books while I did it (amongst other things - a little bit of horror, some 2000AD and the rules for fielding a Warhammer army of Elves), what's not to like? I'm not sure how long the maze is there for so if you're in the area I'd give it a look before it goes :o)

The 'Just tried to toast a bagel in the knife rack...' Competition Winner's Post!

It's a Monday morning, things like this are meant to happen on a Monday morning... If you follow me on Twitter you'll know that I was up late last night trying to find a mosquito before it tapped one of my veins. the end result? Mosquito 1 Graeme 0. The sneaky little thing waited until I gave up looking then chewed the hell out of my leg while I was asleep... :o( Revenge will be mine.

Hopefully this week will start off a bit better for two people who have only gone and won themselves copies of Lou Morgan's excellent debut novel 'Blood and Feathers' (review Here). The winners were,

Mel Symonds, Surrey, UK

Michaela Gray, Bedford, UK

Your books are on their way right now :o)

The bookshelves are in a bit of a state right now so I need to find my 'finished books' before I can actually review them! That does leave things a little vague for this week but I will (finally) post my thoughts on 'Morning Glories Vol. 3' and 'The Guv'nor'. That should be enough to keep you going for now, I'm sure I can fit a couple of reviews either side of those...

See you tomorrow :o)

What I'm reading right now...

I'm in and out of several books at the moment and for a whole load of reasons (the usual ones as well as a couple that will become clearer in time). When I'm busy like this I find myself skimming a few pages, from different books, here and there and waiting for that moment when something clicks and I just carry on reading until I'm done. Here is the pile of books that is currently sat next to the bed. No promises when a review will be posted, just that it will happen sooner or later...

This is a great book to read as the format (collected short stories/novellas) doesn't put the pressure on to finish it all in one go. That's the kind of reading I enjoy, right now, and am planning to take my time over this one. You should give it a go though, I haven't read a bad story yet.

Purely because I wanted to read something with gladiators in it; I can be incredibly shallow sometimes :o)

Same deal as above but swap 'gladiators' for 'superheroes' :o) I also never got round to picking up 'Empire State' (really need to) so this is my attempt at getting caught up with Adam Christopher without it looking too much like I'm lagging behind...

There's a lot of great Warhammer fiction that gets overlooked in favour of its far future counterpart. I reviewed 'Fear to Tread' yesterday so am balancing things out by starting on 'Orion' as well.

Because I haven't been able to finish the last two books and there's enough there to make me really want to. I'm hoping that going back to the very beginning of Morlock Ambrosius' life should give me a little more impetus. That and this is a very short book, I love short books right now ;o)

This is the book getting the most attention, at the moment, and rightly so. I'm a big fan of Tad Williams and reading a new book of his always feels like coming home :o)

That's what's on the pile at the moment. What are you reading? Do you think I should be reading it too?

A Competition Winner! (Early Evening Edition)

Because it's been a bit of a busy one today... Trying to gently pry Hope loose from the playground equipment (she didn't want to go home...), a spot of house tidying, a visit from my folks (and watching the subsequent Grandparent/Grand Daughter love in...) and then a whole load of job hunting. Yep out of work again and looking for something to pay the bills (although something that I enjoy would be good as well, I know there are jobs like that out there).

A day like today doesn't leave me a lot of time to post but I'm going for it! :o)

Thanks to everyone who entered last weeks competition to win copies of 'Midnight Riot', 'Moon over Soho' and 'Whispers Underground'. One lucky person has some great reading ahead of them and that lucky person was...

April Vrugtman, Florida, USA

Well done April :o) Your books should be on their way to you right now.

A short (but hopefully sweet) one today then. The plan though is to make up for that, over the next few days, with reviews of Chuck Wendig's 'Mockingbird' and Lou Morgan's 'Blood and Feathers' amongst other things; there will more likely than not be a comic book review (either 'The Guv'nor' or 'Morning Glories Vol 3') and some Doctor Who as well. Sounds good to me.

See you tomorrow :o)

The ‘Didn’t get back until midnight…’ Competition Winner’s Post!

Over eighty thousand people went to the Olympic football games last night and after the final whistle, at half nine, they all tried to get into one tube station to catch a train home. It took me an hour and a quarter to get from my seat, in the stadium, to a seat on the train. Some great football and a bacon roll (a really nice one as well) made up for it but, an hour and a quarter… That is why this post hasn’t appeared until the tail end of the day. That and a daughter who just wanted to watch Peppa Pig (although she did say “I want to see the Daleks…”)

Enough of that though. I really need to get on and announce some competition winners before the end of the day :o) Thanks to everyone who entered by the way, even the person who thought that using my email address as a subject header would make her entry stand out. It did but only because I didn’t know what competition she was entering…
Anyway, winners…

‘The Passage’

Joseph A. Gervasi, Philadelphia, USA
Donna Simmonds, Missouri, USA
Charles Fraker, Virginia, USA

‘Kop Killer’

Scott Robinson, Australia
Jannick Verleysen, Belgium
Tvrtko Ivanisevic, Zagreb, Croatia

Nice work there guys :o) Your books will be on their way to you very soon. Better luck next time everyone else. There is another competition on the go right now, scroll down a little and see if it takes your fancy.

So, what else can you expect to see from me this week? Not a clue is the honest answer. A lot of my time will be taken up with job hunting and playing with Hope which doesn’t leave a lot of time for reading. Me being me though, it’s a pretty safe bet that there will be at least one zombie book reviewed this week and I’ve got some comics that I want to talk about as well. It’s all a little bit vague right now but it’s still going to be great. See you tomorrow :o)

Back Tomorrow...

As I'll be spending most of today going back and forth, across London, watching some Olympic events. Well, weightlifting and football but if yesterday's tennis was anything to go by (awesome) it should be a lot of fun.
I still don't think the Olympics should have come to London but even I have to admit that it's a lot of fun now it's here :o)

I'll see you tomorrow when things should hopefully be back to normal here...