‘Ghost Walk’ – Brian Keene

I thought that ‘Dark Hollow’ was the best thing that Brian Keene has written, to date, so I was both really excited and a little apprehensive when ‘Ghost Walk’ (Brian’s latest book and sequel to ‘Dark Hollow’) came through the door. I’m a big of Brian’s work, so I’m always excited to see what he comes up with next, but could he improve on ‘Dark Hollow’? Well, kinda…
LeHorn’s Hollow has lain empty ever since the final cataclysmic events of ‘Dark Hollow’. Rumour and legend still abound however and the stories surrounding the Hollow make it the perfect place for entrepreneur Ken Ripple to set up his ‘Ghost Walk’ attraction. The thing about legend though is that it based on fact and the evil that waits in the woods is all too real. Unless a reporter, a former Amish man and Adam Senft (the author from ‘Dark Hollow’) can rise to the challenge hordes of tourists are about to get much more than they bargained for at midnight…
As a fan, I think that Brian Keene has delivered yet again both in terms of a scary tale and also as another strong piece of the overall ‘Labyrinth’ mythos that he is building. ‘Ghost Walk’ (the book) does exactly what a ghost walk would do in real life. It draws you in slowly with a feeling that anything could happen; it then draws out the tension until you start to think that nothing could possibly and you let that breath go that you were holding. That’s when Keene strikes with a vicious mix of horror, and the supernatural, which me jump and my stomach turn at the same time. What adds poignancy to these scenes is the way that he gets into the character’s heads and lays out their deepest fears for us to see. When they met their end I felt for them all the more as I had got to know them in a way that you don’t normally get with horror fiction ‘cannon fodder’. The flip side of this is that you can spot who will die next because they’re the people who are having their fears laid out for all to see. This veers towards making things a little predictable but at the same time adds a sense of inevitability that compliments the supernatural theme and the pure evil of what lurks in LeHorn’s Hollow.
For anyone who hasn’t spotted the ‘Labyrinth’ theme yet, ‘Ghost Walk’ will tell you all you need to know and, for the long time fan, it’s fun once again to spot the links to other books. The link to ‘Ghoul’ is one to look out for and I also really liked the way Keene pokes fun at what he’s doing when the reporter scoffs at the suggestion there may be an alternate world infested with zombies.
‘Ghost Walk’ follows on from the events of ‘Dark Hollow’ but you don’t have to read the first book to get an idea of what’s happened before. Keene takes time to fill in new readers, on past events, and the only thing I’d say here is that if you’ve already read ‘Dark Hollow’ you may feel that there’s a little too much exposition. At times I just wanted to get on with the story, I already knew what had happened before. Having said that though it’s pretty cool to see an author do this kind of thing, for the sake of a complete story, when he could have just said, “go out and buy ‘Dark Hollow’ if you want to fill in the gaps…”
While ‘Ghost Walk’ doesn’t quite surpass ‘Dark Hollow’ (in my opinion) it’s a worthy successor and a ghostly read that will have you yelling, “don’t go into the woods!” at various characters. As long as Brian keeps writing horror of this standard I’ll keep reading it. Talking of which, the book also contains a preview of his next novel ‘Castaway’, a reality show with an unexpected bite…

Eight and Three Quarters out of Ten

I interviewed Brian late last year, if you haven't seen it already then have a click over Here.

I've also been going on about how great 'Dark Hollow' is, here's my Review.

Giveaway! The Malazan 'Taster Test'...

I don’t know about you but I am one of those people who are wary of forking out cash for the first book in a multi-volume epic. It may be great, it may be awful but you can bet that I’ll be purchasing the rest of the series just to see how it ends… Some absolute rubbish has had to be cleared off my bookshelves because I was too lazy to go to the library and take out book one!
Hands up if you’ve held off trying out Steven Erikson’s ‘Malazan’ series for precisely this reason. Okay…
Well first of all; let me tell you that you’re missing out on a treat as far as I’m concerned, ‘The Malazan Book of the Fallen’ is one of the top epic/ military fantasy series on the market right now. If you like epic or military fantasy then the odds are that you’ll like what Erikson is doing right now. Still not convinced? How do you fancy trying out the first few books and seeing what you think?

Thanks to those lovely people at Transworld, two lucky people (who have never read the ‘Malazan’ books) are going to get the chance to decide whether they think Steven Erikson is up to scratch or not. Each person will win a ‘taster pack’ containing ‘Gardens of the Moon’, ‘Deadhouse Gates’, ‘Memories of Ice’ and ‘House of Chains’. There’s some quality reading to be had there but don’t take my word for it, see if you can pick up a pack for yourself!
Entering is as easy as ever, just send me an email (address at the top right hand of the screen) telling me who you are and what your mailing address is. This competition is open to anyone, it doesn’t matter where you live!
I’ll let this one run until Thursday 12th of June and announce the two winners on the Friday.

Good Luck!

Fancy hedging your bets a little? Robert over at Fantasy Book Critic is running a competition to win all eight books in the series.


If you’re just waiting for the latest instalment, Pat is giving away five signed copies of ‘Toll the Hounds’ and also has a competition where you can win some Todd Lockwood art (the US cover for ‘Toll the Hounds’)

Steven Erikson - UK Tour in July

This has been posted on a couple of forums already but Transworld sent me the schedule this morning and I figured it would be worth posting again for anyone who doesn't frequent either the Malazan or Westeros forums (Why not? They're great and you should sign up right away).
I am really looking forward to this (I'll be going to the Forbidden Planet signing), just trying to work out if I can get away with taking all my books to be signed... :o)

Tuesday 1st July LEEDS / YORK

12.30-1.30pm Waterstone’s Leeds
93-97 Albion Street, Leeds LS1 5JS
Signing session
For further information telephone: 0113 244 4588

6.30pm Waterstone’s York
28-29 High Ousegate, York, YO1 8RX
Talk, Q&A, Signing
This is a ticketed event only. Tickets £1 (redeemable against purchase of book on the night) and can be obtained from the sales desk at Waterstone’s York. For further information telephone: 01904 628470

Wednesday 2nd July NOTTINGHAM / BIRMINGHAM

12.30–1.30pm Waterstone’s Nottingham
1/5 Bridlesmith Gate, Nottingham NG1 2GR
Signing session
For further information telephone: 0115 948 4499

6.30pm Waterstone’s Birmingham
24-26 High Street, Birmingham B4 7SL
Talk, Q&A, Signing
This is a ticketed event only. Tickets £3 (redeemable against purchase of book on the night) and can be obtained from the sales desk at Waterstone’s Birmingham. For further information telephone: 0121 633 4353

Thursday 3rd July DERBY / MANCHESTER

12.30-1.30pm Waterstone’s Derby
78-80 St Peter's Street, Derby DE1 1SR
Signing session
For further information telephone: 01332 296997

7.00pm Waterstone’s Manchester
91 Deansgate, Manchester M3 2BW
Talk, Q&A, Signing
This is a ticketed event only. Tickets £3 (redeemable against purchase of book on the night) and can be obtained from the sales desk at Waterstone’s Manchester. For further information telephone: 0161 837 3000

Saturday 5th July LONDON

1.00-2.00pm Forbidden Planet, London
179 Shaftesbury Ave, London WC2H 8JR
Signing session
For further information telephone: 020 7803 1823

Monday 9th July ABERDEEN

7.00pm Waterstone’s Aberdeen
3-7 Union Bridge Aberdeen AB11 6BG
Talk, Q&A, Signing
This is a ticketed event only. Tickets £3 (to include complimentary refreshment from Costa Coffee) and can be obtained from the sales desk at Waterstones Aberdeen. For further information telephone: 01224 592 440

Tuesday 8th July GLASGOW

6.30pm Waterstones Glasgow Argyle Street
174-176 Argyle Street, Glasgow G2 8BT
Talk, Q&A, Signing
This is a ticketed event only. Tickets £3 (£2 redeemable against purchase of book on the night) and can be obtained from the sales desk at Waterstones Glasgow. For further information telephone 0141 248 4814


Wednesday 9th July MILTON KEYNES

6.30pm Waterstone’s Milton Keynes
72 Midsummer Place, Milton Keynes, Bucks MK9 3GA
Talk, Q&A, Signing
This is a ticketed event only. Tickets £3 (£2 redeemable against purchase of book on the night) and can be obtained from the sales desk at Waterstones Milton Keynes. For further information telephone: 01908 395 384

Thursday 10th July CAMBRIDGE

6.30pm Borders Books Music & Cafe
12-13 Market St, Cambridge, CB2 3PA
Talk, Q&A, Signing
This is a ticketed event only. Tickets are free and can be obtained from the sales desk at Borders Cambridge or by calling 01223 306188 to reserve your ticket.

'The Books of the South' - Winners!

Thanks to everyone who entered this competition. I'm a big fan of the Black Company so it's been great to spread the word about how great this series is :o)
Unfortunately there could only be three winners and these lucky folks are,

Jeff Timmers, Highlands Ranch, USA
Ed Curtis, Huntington, West Virginia, USA
Robert Dover, Cambridge, UK

Well done! Your copies of 'The Books of the South' will be on their way to you shortly.
Everyone else - Better luck next time! (There will be a next time...)

‘The Edge of Reason’ – Melinda Snodgrass (Tor Books)

If there’s one thing that is better than urban fantasy it’s urban fantasy where the stakes are raised much higher than before. Tales about werewolf packs and what vampires get up to are all well and good (except, well… you know who I’m talking about) but what’s even better are tales of global conspiracies run by secret societies overseen by strange monsters from another dimension… Charles Stross did this in ‘The Atrocity Archives’ and ‘The Jennifer Morgue’ and this is also what Melinda Snodgrass has given us in ‘The Edge of Reason’. I really enjoyed this book and if you’re a fan of urban fantasy thrillers, which really get you thinking about what you’ve read, then I reckon you will enjoy it as well.
A secret war is being fought for the souls of humanity; on one side are the Old Ones, who feed on the energy generated by religious fanaticism and superstition, while the Lumina seek to liberate the human spirit through progress in science and technology. Richard Oort is not only an Albuquerque beat cop he also happens to be a genetic anomaly in that he is one of only a few humans with no magic in him at all. This makes him extremely valuable to both the old ones and the Lumina and a chance encounter will draw him into the fray. Caught up in the middle of the struggle, Richard will encounter truths contrary to everything he has learnt. As he struggles with this (and the lengths that the Old Ones will go to in order to subvert him) it becomes very clear that the decisions Richard makes will have grave consequences for the rest of the world…
At a first cursory glance ‘The Edge of Reason’ looks like another thriller that delights in bashing organised religion and holding up science as the way forward for humanity but when you get into what it’s all about you realise that although the battle lines have been drawn they’re actually really blurry. Nothing is as clear cut as it seems and the author uses the character of Richard to explore what this means. Both sides have their pitfalls making it difficult to pick a side, if you take the book at face value then the Lumina are headed up by the Devil himself but I don’t think it’s that simple especially if you dig out the story behind other similar characters. As the fight goes on, and more humans are drawn in to replace flawed Gods, the main message seems to be one of celebrating a multi-faceted humanity over and above religion or science. ‘The Edge of Reason’ is a book that is deceptively easy to accept at face value but there is a lot more to be had out of it if you go a bit deeper.
Of course, none of the above would be any good at all if there wasn’t a good plot to back things up and ‘The Edge of Reason’ delivers in style (although slightly dry at times which I didn’t like). The line ‘there is no chance, only convergence’ pops up from time to time and this element of predestination can sometimes rob the story of its urgency. The rest of the plot makes up for this, however, with plenty of twists and turns that kept me turning the pages. I found the characterisation more than a bit sparse to begin with but this is intentional as the author feeds us little morsels of information that gradually build up into fully rounded characters. Richard himself begins the tale as a stereotypical cop, no different from any other, but by the end had become so much more. I defy anyone to feel anything other than sympathy for Richard after you read what he has been through! Things are left open ended enough for a sequel (if not more) and I’d certainly pick future instalments.
Tiny niggles to one side, ‘The Edge of Reason’ was a book that completely engaged with me and really got me thinking about what I was reading as well as thoroughly enjoying it. Recommended to anyone who wants an engrossing read…

Nine and a Quarter out of Ten

A Tale of Two Competitions...

You see what I did there? Oh well, back to the comedy drawing board and on with this post...
This time last week I had a copy of Brian Ruckley's (very good) 'Bloodheir' to give away. (I was also going to give away my ARC copy as a runners up prize but something leaked in my bag and all of a sudden that was no longer an option!) This isn't the case anymore because I picked a winner and the lucky person is...

Lisa Davies, Mid Glamorgan, Wales

Well done Lisa, your book will be on it's way as soon as I can get to the post office tomorrow! Everyone else, you still have a chance to win the 'Books of the South' omnibus and if that's not your thing then how about this...



Sometime last year my wife read Terry Pratchett's 'Making Money' and posted a review. She wasn't too keen on it, and I'm not really a fan anymore, but there has to be at least one of you who is so how would you like a copy of 'Making Money' in mass market paperback format? Yes, once again I have been sent a book that has already been covered on the blog so thought I would see if anyone else wanted it instead. You do? And you do as well?? Well, simply send me an email (address at the top right hand corner of the screen) with your name and address in it. I'll let this one run until next Saturday (7th June) and let you know who won on Sunday.

Good Luck!

‘The Essential Batman Encyclopaedia’ - Robert Greenberger (Ballantine/Del Rey)

If you were a criminal looking to make it big in Gotham City then it stands to reason that you would want to know as much as possible about the city and the people who live there. Imagine how stupid you’d look in front of your fellow gangsters if they started talking about Poison Ivy and you thought they were talking horticulture… Or what about if people were reminiscing about the ‘good old days’, when the Electrocutioner first came to town, and you didn’t have the slightest clue who he was… Do you know what a ‘Lazarus Pit’ is or what ‘No Man’s Land’ signified? You wouldn’t last long in Gotham City if you didn’t know these basic things, at the very least you would have nothing to talk to people about…
Luckily for would be criminals everywhere, and fans of Batman, I’ve spent the last few days flicking through a book that answers all of these questions and more besides. Robert Greenberger appears to have spent most of his life (or a few hours on Google) gathering every scrap of information on Batman, his friends/enemies and everything else that’s related to Batman in any way and wrestled it all into one huge book. Now, I wouldn’t say that I know loads about Batman but based purely on the size of the book I can safely say that there isn’t much (if anything) missing. There’s also plenty of illustrations inside so people like me, who don’t know a lot about Batman, can see exactly who we’re reading about – the ‘Hooded Hangman’ for example.
This isn’t a book that you can pick up and read from cover to cover but it is great for just picking a page at random and finding out new stuff. I never knew who the ‘Heavy Weapons Gang’ or ‘Killer Moth’ were until I happened to come across their pages…
If you’re a Batman fan who has managed to get their hands on all the comics’ etc then this probably won’t be much use to you as it’s all stuff that you’ve seen before. If you’ve just started reading Batman however, this book will prove invaluable at filling in all the gaps and getting you up to speed quickly.
Batman isn’t really my thing but it’s easy for even someone like me to see how fans could get a lot out of this book. Worth a look in my opinion…

Eight and a Half out of Ten

‘Bloodheir’ – Brian Ruckley (Orbit Books)

Despite a slow start, I thoroughly enjoyed reading ‘Winterbirth’ and the prospect of more goodness to follow meant that ‘Bloodheir’ swiftly became one of my ‘can’t wait to get hold of this’ books for 2008. So why is then that I’ve only just got round to reading it when I’ve had a review copy sat on my shelf for a few months? Well, apart from the fact that I’ve been spoilt for choice as far as good reads go a number of other reviewers got there before I did so I thought I’d wait for a bit. It’s now the week before ‘Bloodheir’ is released and I’ve finally got round to reading it. It’s great. I loved it and if you enjoyed ‘Winterbirth’ then I think you’ll enjoy it too.
I interviewed Brian last year and one of the questions I asked was what we could expect to see in ‘Bloodheir’, his answer was,

If my agent’s response is any guide, the answer to that is ‘dark’. I’ve always thought of the trilogy in fairly straightforward beginning, middle and end terms (scriptwriters would call it the ‘Three Act’ structure, I think). In ‘Winterbirth’, the main characters are presented with a set of problems; in ‘Bloodheir’ the problems get worse, for pretty much everyone, and some possible solutions are (faintly) hinted at…
That’s the long answer. The ten word answer is: Bigger battles, reversals, faltering alliances, assassination, Anain, Highfast. More snow

Not surprisingly (seeing as he wrote the book!) Brian hit the nail right on the head with his answer, ‘Bloodheir’ is a very dark book full of betrayal and setbacks and it was this that made it such an enthralling read as far as I was concerned.
The war between clans of the ‘Black Road’ and those of the True Blood continues and monumental stupidity on the part of the Bloodheir helps to ensure that the outcome is in no doubt. Or is it? Whilst internal divisions trouble both sides the na’kyrim Aeglyss uses his new found power to twist people to his will for his own ends. If this wasn’t bad enough Aeglyss’ power has awoken the Anain which can only spell trouble for everyone…
Before you start reading ‘Bloodheir’ it’s probably a good idea to have a quick flick through ‘Winterbirth’ first. Not only is it a great book but it will also refresh your memory in a way that the ‘What has gone before’ section (in ‘Bloodheir’) fails to do. I didn’t re-read ‘Winterbirth’ and quickly got bogged down catching up with a whole bunch of characters that the introductory piece hadn’t mentioned. This is a very convoluted tale so, as you can imagine, there is a lot to catch up on! Because of the size of the cast, and everything that is (or will be) happening, it also takes a while to manoeuvre everyone into place which means you get a lot of journeys/meetings etc which are important to the plot but aren’t exactly enthralling to read. Ironically, it’s the level of detail that Ruckley goes into which redeems these passages. The attitude seems to be that if you’re going to be stuck on a long journey then you may as well learn something about the surrounding area while you’re there! It’s a really ‘gradual’ approach to world building that doesn’t get in your face, I was surprised to find out just how much I’d picked up (about the world of the True Bloods and the Black Road) without even realising it.
Just before the halfway mark, Ruckley gets everyone just where he wants them and things really start to happen. I’ve heard Greg Keyes be compared to George R. R. Martin but, to my mind, Ruckley edges Keyes in this respect for the sheer grittiness of his work and the fact that he can throw the reader a wicked curve ball that blows your expectations right out of the water. Characters who are seemingly aimed down one path often find themselves doing completely different and Ruckley is also not afraid to kill his characters where necessary so don’t get too attached to anyone! Having said this, it’s quite hard not to get attached to characters that are well drawn and sympathetic, I even felt sorry for Aeglyss on more than one occasion.
As far as I’m concerned, ‘epic fantasy’ isn’t all that epic if there isn’t at least one major battle. Ruckley puts the ‘epic’ into his work with some particularly brutal affairs where no expense is spared in showing the reader exactly what is going on. More please!
‘Bloodheir’ is another slow starter from Ruckley and I hope that this is something that he avoids in the final book. However, once you get past that then I think you’re in for a treat of a read that will appeal to all fans of epic fantasy. I’m looking forward to the final book…

Eight and Three Quarters out of Ten

Have a click Here for my review of 'Winterbirth' and there's also an interview with Brian Here if you fancy a look!

‘Covenant’ – John Everson

Fictional characters who are journalists; if there’s one thing you can count on it’s that these nosy types won’t stop ferreting around until they’ve dug up every single last scrap of information that they can get their hands on. If my boss told me not to do something my attitude would be, “Woohoo! Less work for me…” but if an editor tells a journalist to stay away from a story then all of a sudden it’s about freedom of speech and the public just have to know etc…
Sometimes this kind of attitude can backfire spectacularly as reporter Joe Kieran is about to find out in John Everson’s 2004 Bram Stoker award winning novel…
Joe Kieran was a top reporter in Chicago until a story he ran ended up sending his girlfriend to jail (talk about dumb luck). Now he’s covering stories for a local paper in the sleepy coastal town of Terrel’s Peak and his nose for a story is about to land him in more trouble than he bargained for… The cliffs on the coast have been the site of a number of deaths over the years, these have been brushed off as suicides and tragic accidents but the facts that these deaths occur on the same day each year suggest that something else is going on. Joe is about to find out the horrifying secret behind the deaths and what is waiting for him in the caves below the cliffs…
‘Covenant’ weighs in at only 296 pages long (making it an ideal ‘commuter book’!) but Everson seems to find plenty of room to spice things up with chills and horror. It’s basically a tale of what people will do to fulfil a deal with the devil and how they live with this afterwards. What this means for the reader is a mixture of some really nasty supernatural occurrences (demons work off their boredom in some sick ways!) and the dark side of humanity. Sometimes it’s hard to work out which is worse… There are also moments of genuine tension where you don’t know what is going to happen next, just that it could be anything (such as the events following Joe’s pot-holing expedition)…
For such a gripping read it’s somewhat unfortunate that it’s the prospect of a sequel that dampens the feel of ‘Covenant’. I loved the way the book finished, really open ended with a feeling that whatever happened next things were looking bleak for Joe Kiernan. When I realised the book included a taster of the sequel, ‘Sacrifice’, it felt that the whole point of ‘Covenant’s’ ending had been taken away. While I’m interested to see what happens next the deliciously creepy feeling I had, at the end of ‘Covenant’, was taken away and replaced with the standard ‘oh, so everything does work out in the end’ feeling. I wonder if the move into mass market paperback meant that a sequel had to be written. I also felt that, for a town where everyone was trying to dissuade Joe from his investigation, nothing was done to show why everyone else (apart from that one particular group whom the story is about) was trying to hide secrets. Where the police involved more than was let on? Why did the editor initially try to downplay James’ ‘suicide’? None of this is elaborated on which left me feeling like I hadn’t been told the whole story. Having said that though, I guess there’s only so much that you can fit into 296 pages!
While it’s plain to see why ‘Covenant’ took the Bram Stoker award it also felt like the story had been handled in such a way that the greater impact was lost. Still interested to see what happens next though…

Seven and Three Quarters out of Ten

'Scar Night' - The Winners!

Thanks to everyone who entered the competition but there could only be three winners and they were...

Benjamin Yang, Singapore
Tara Weinberg, Cape Town, South Africa
Riva Gregorio, Santa Clarita, California

Your books are on their way (thanks again to the nice folk at Tor)! Hope you enjoy them...
Everyone else - Better luck next time. There's still a couple of competitions that you can enter (if you haven't already) and there will be more competitions in the near future! ;o)

Graeme’s Retro Classics! ‘Childs Play’

I spent a great deal of the Bank Holiday Weekend watching movies (yet still somehow managed to miss ‘Ironman’, I’ll get there yet!) Some were good (‘Pan’s Labyrinth’, more on that another time), others were not so good and some were so bad they were actually rather good. ‘Childs Play’ is one of those films and is a film with ‘Retro Classic’ written all over it…
If you had to make a list of all the iconic horror figures of the eighties, and early nineties, then Chucky the ‘Good Guy Doll’ would be right in there alongside stalwarts such as Freddy Krueger, Jason Voorhees and Michael Myers. He’s a cute little doll who would be a boy’s best friend if it wasn’t for the fact that he has the soul of a disembodied serial killer that wants to get back into a human body again. That human body belongs to Andy Barclay, who Chucky was given to as a Birthday present, whom no-one will believe when he says that his doll killed the babysitter…
‘Childs Play’ is one of those films that looks really dated (it’s twenty years old so that’s not surprising) and not as scary as it would have been back in the day. I think it also suffers from the hype generated from the whole ‘do violent movies encourage violence’ debate that arose from certain court cases in the nineties. I watched it for the first time, over the weekend, and couldn’t see what the fuss was about. It is a good movie (more on that in a bit) but it feels like a film that got caught up in the hysteria rather than a film that caused it. The premise is good and I liked what they did to make Chucky come to life (animatronics?) but there is something faintly silly about a woman having a fight with a toy doll… Having said that though, that’s partly why ‘Child’s Play’ is such great fun to watch. It’s obviously not taking itself too seriously :o)

At the same time though there’s something really sinister about a doll that’s alive, as well as evil, and that’s where the film becomes something that you have to keep watching as well as being something you can laugh at over a beer. For a film that doesn’t take itself that seriously, it’s actually really scary and full of moments that had me on the edge of my seat in suspense. I’m thinking about the scene where Andy’s mother makes the discovery that Chucky has been talking non-stop for the last couple of days but doesn’t have any batteries in him… I shouldn’t mention this (although I’m blatantly going to!) but a certain someone who shall remain nameless, who I’m married to, got so scared at one point that she managed to give herself a nose bleed! My wife’s education in horror is going to have to continue at an even slower pace than it already is…
As is only right and proper, Chucky steals the show with a mixture of snappy one liners and a great line in ‘creative killings off’ that had me looking nervously at the toys my neighbour’s children had left downstairs…
‘Childs Play’ is a film that isn’t actually as bad as everyone made out; a decent mix of horror shocks and laughs. ‘Retro Classic’ status is duly conferred for Chucky’s iconic presence as well as it being a great film to have a few beers to…

‘Dawn over Doomsday’ – Jaspre Bark (Abaddon Books)

I didn’t get a lot of reading done over the Bank Holiday weekend (hence all the competitions!) and I wanted to get some more reviews up quickly so Abaddon Books’ latest instalment in ‘The Afterblight Chronicles’ seemed like a safe bet for a quick read that would be entertaining at the same time. At least that’s what I thought…
America has been crippled by the ravages of ‘The Cull’, a plague that has spared only one tenth of the earth’s population (those of a certain blood type), and there are those who wish to rebuild the shattered country with their own aims in mind. Chief Hiamovi is one such man, he sees the aftermath of the plague as an opportunity for his United Tribal Nations to reclaim America for the Indian tribes. Samuel Colt is another such man but his aims are different The Neo-Clergy once ruled America and Colt wants them back in power again, if a few Native Americans have to die for this to happen then it’s no big deal. Matters are about to come to an explosive head at Little Big Horn but fate may yet have a surprise in the shape of Anna Bontraeger. Anna carries another virus that could either save what remains of humanity, or destroy it…
Previous books in the ‘Afterblight Chronicles’ have all been about the apocalyptic landscape and what people will do to survive in it. This has generally resulted in a lot of running battles, mutants and arch villains prepared to do anything to gain power and I’ve been more than happy with this as it means I get a fast paced read with lots happening to entertain me. ‘Dawn over Doomsday’ has the running battles and evil villains but takes a slightly different approach in that it talks a lot about themes of spirituality and redemption in the post-apocalyptic world. When I say ‘a lot’ that’s precisely what I mean and while it’s an interesting area to look at I got the feeling that all the other cool stuff (the stuff that makes Abaddon Books what they are) suffered as a result. Pretty much every character has their own spiritual journey to make with a lot of agonising and suchlike, some find a form of redemption while others crash and burn (literally in some cases) along the way. The thing is that I just wasn’t interested in pages and pages about why Hiamovi couldn’t hear the coyote anymore or Samuel Colt’s crisis of conscience. I wanted gun fights, tight spots to escape from and crazed biker gangs all of which were in short supply. There was just enough of that to keep me reading but not enough to keep me happy…
What redeemed the book for me (although not enough for me to give it a higher mark) was the character of Greaves, the scientist who rescues Anna at the beginning of the book. The author does a really good job of building up our preconceptions of Greaves only to knock them all down when we least expect it, showing the character in a brand new light and making me want to find out what happens to him next. The end scene, with Greaves, is particularly powerful in it’s depiction of the fine line between sanity and madness and I’m still not sure which way Greaves fell…
The explosive ending was just a little too late for me though, I’d been expecting the literary equivalent of an Arnold Schwarzenegger film (fun, popcorn reading) and got something that wanted me to get involved in a completely different way but just didn’t hook me in the way it should have. If you’re a fan of this series then I’m sure there’ll be something here for you but ‘Dawn over Doomsday’ hasn’t done nearly enough for ‘The Afterblight Chronicles’ to dislodge either ‘Pax Britannia’ or ‘Tomes of the Dead’ as my favourite series for Abaddon…

Five and Three Quarters out of Ten

Giveaway! ‘Books of the South: Tales of the Black Company'

Not only am I slightly hungover but I haven't finished any books this weekend so I thought I'd bring this rather great competition forward a couple of days ;o)
As you may already know, I'm a big fan of Glen Cook's 'Black Company' series and think that they are books that everyone should try if they get the chance. Well, here's your chance!
I've already given away the first omnibus collection and now, thanks to those great folks at Tor Books, I have three copies of the next collection to give to three lucky winners! Unfortunately though, Tor are only able to send books to North America and the UK. This means that if you're not from either of these places then your chances of winning are poor to non-existent (sorry!) You're more than welcome to try your luck with the 'Bloodheir' and 'Scar Night' competitions though ;o)
'The Books of the South' is comprised of 'Shadow Games', 'Dreams of Steel', and 'The Silver Spike' and there's enough exposition there that you can read this collection on it's own (although the first collection is still cool, go and buy it!)
Sounds great doesn't it? If you fancy a copy then just drop me an email (address in the top right hand corner) telling me who you are and what your mailing address is. I'm going to let this one run until next Monday (2nd June) and announce the winners on the Tuesday.

Good Luck!

Who wants a spare copy of 'Bloodheir'?

A few months ago I was given an advance copy of Brian Ruckley's 'Bloodheir' which I've finally got round to reading (it's good, check it out!) So when a hardback copy of 'Bloodheir' came through the door on Friday afternoon I was left with one book more than I actually needed...
Does anyone want my spare hardback copy of 'Bloodheir'? You do? Ok, here's what you have to do. Just drop me an email (address at the top right hand corner of the screen) telling me who you are and your mailing address. I'll pick a winner next Saturday (31st May) and announce it on Sunday. It's that simple so... what are you waiting for? :o)

'The Mirrored Heavens' - Winners!

Thanks to everyone who entered :o) These two lucky winners will each get a copy of David Williams' debut courtesy of Bantam Spectra...

Steven Klotz, Los Angeles

Ken Reid, Nairn, Scotland

Your books are on the way!

Everyone else - Due to a complete lack of time to read this weekend (a sarcastic 'thank you' goes to the nice person who thought it would be a great idea to smash one of my car windows...) I'll be doing a couple of giveaways that I was originally to leave for a bit. Stick around, I think they're cool... :o)

Author Interview! Gary Braunbeck

If you browse through everything under the 'Horror' label, here, then you'll soon see that I've got nothing but good things to say about Gary Braunbeck, he writes some seriously scary stuff that is still rattling around in my head monthes after I've read it! Being more than a little bit of a fan, I was really excited when Gary kindly agreed to answer some questions about Cedar Hill, his writing and horror in general. Here's what he had to say...

Hi Gary, thanks for agreeing to take part in this interview!

1.‘Mr Hands’ is one of my favourite book titles as well as a great name for a murderous killer doll with huge hands. Where did that name come from? As a child, did you have a toy action figure with abnormally sized hands?

“Mr. Hands” was the name given to the creature by Alan Clark, who created a series of eerily gorgeous paintings and sketches focusing on it. Alan always wanted to know the story behind the monster, so he asked me to tell him its story. The novel would not exist were it not for Alan Clark, which is why the book is dedicated in part to him.

As a child, I had one of those red “Monster Magnets” that was designed to look like a grimacing face growing out of two hands, and the damn thing always gave me the willies. Wish I still had it.

2.For anyone reading who hasn’t read your work, what can you tell us about Cedar Hill and the overall tale that takes place within it?

Cedar Hill is a town that is located in a part of the world where – as one character describes it – “…the walls of reality aren’t quite squared, so sometimes things slip through.” It’s a nexus populated by people who have come to accept the everyday weirdness around them. There is a small group of central characters who always pop up in one way or another in the cycle of books and stories, and central to this group of characters is the man known only as “The Reverend” who runs the Open Shelter (and serves as the omniscient narrator in Coffin County). It’s a place where the sins, violence, and horrors of the past have never truly gone away, and can re-emerge anywhere at any time.

The overall story of Cedar Hill is one of…I guess you’d call it “reconciliation.” Only in the case of Cedar Hill and its denizens it’s an on-going grappling with violence, suffering, and grief, and how the characters try to reconcile these elements with the idea of a Just and Loving God who watches over a universe where, supposedly, even the most banal of a human being’s daily actions carry some greater meaning than what is glanced on the surface.

In short: the central story is concerned with how the individual faces unspeakable horrors and still manages to find a reason to keep going.

3.How much background knowledge, of the Cedar Hill mythos, do you think a reader should have before reading ‘Coffin County’? Is it a book that people can just jump straight into?

Coffin County can be read as a stand-alone novel without any previous knowledge of the myths and legends in Cedar Hill’s history. But if a new reader can, I’d urge he or she to read the 4 books in the order they were written: In Silent Graves, Keepers, Mr. Hands, and Coffin County.

This isn’t an underhanded attempt to sell more books, but if one has read the 3 previous novels, then there’s a bit more to (hopefully) enjoy. But, just to repeat, Coffin County can be read as a stand-alone.


4.Things get pretty bleak in ‘Coffin County’ as we see a mental process that leads people to commit unspeakable acts. How do you maintain a distance from your subject matter so that you don’t end up feeling really depressed and shooting your neighbours?

Who says I maintain a distance? Point them out, give me names and addresses!

At some point during the writing of a Cedar Hill story – be it a short story, novella, or novel – there is no distance, and I fall into a fairly grim mindset – just ask my wife. It’s not something that I can help, and even if I could help it, I’m not sure I’d want to. If you expect to make the reader feel something, you yourself have to be experiencing those emotions and impulses as you write the story, or else it’s all just posturing and affectation. If you only want to go for the throat, for a quick shock or gross-out, that’s fine, but if you’re aiming for something deeper inside the reader, the heart and psyche and spirit, you can’t fake it. Make it as honest and unfiltered as you can without killing yourself, and the reader will feel the truth of those feelings, even those that lean way over into dark territories.

And to be completely honest, I’ve been getting treated for clinical depression for most of my life, so it’s a lot easier for me to access these bleaker feelings and be able to express them with what I hope is honesty on the written page.

5.In ‘Coffin County’, policeman Ben Littlejohn is faced with a horrible decision to make right at the end of the book. As the author, how much leeway do you give a character in terms of letting them make these decisions? Do you allow them to surprise you with their actions? Have you ever had to shoehorn a character back into the direction you wanted the plot to go?

I’ve found that, if a character decides to step in and take things out of my hands, that usually means I was moving things in the wrong direction. For me, plot comes from characterization and the interaction of those characters, not vice-versa. The best example I can offer is that of Rael from In Silent Graves. I’d originally intended for him to appear briefly at the start of the book, maybe a second, shorter appearance somewhere toward the middle, and once more at the end – but he had other plans. No matter how hard I tried to keep him out of things, the son-of-a-bitch kept showing up and moving the story in different directions, and suddenly I had three major characters instead of the two I’d planned on. If I’d succeeded in pushing Rael out of the way, if I’d let my ego and not the story dictate the direction of the narrative, the novel would have been a disaster.

So, no – I’ve never shoehorned a character back into a situation or direction where he or she didn’t belong.

6.You’ve mentioned on your message board that you’ve written over a hundred stories set in Cedar Hill. Even though this is obviously a decision that you’ve made yourself, how does it feel knowing that your Cedar Hill cycle is coming to an end? Is Cedar Hill a location that you are planning to re-visit in the future?

The cycle itself is not coming to an end, merely this branch of it. Admittedly, it’s taken me 26 years to get to this point, so it does feel a little like saying farewell to over half my life, and in a way that saddens me, but it’s also a new set of challenges.

By the time Far Dark Fields (the 5th Cedar Hill novel from Leisure) and The Carnival Within have been released by this time next year, the Cedar Hill timeline will have been at last established; here’s where it all started, here’s where it all ended. But I have deliberately been leaving gaps in the timeline that I can go back and fill in. If one is going to attempt to create an entire universe in which the majority of one’s tales are going to be set, then one sticks with it. Look at what Charles de Lint has done with his Newford tales. Damn near everything he’s written has been set there, and has continued to focus on a central set of characters. Because of his dedication to it, Newford is as rich and wondrous a universe as is Narnia or Middle Earth.

So I’m not leaving Cedar Hill anytime soon.

7.There’s a post on your message board where you’ve said that you will be taking your writing in a couple of new directions, namely mystery and urban fantasy. People can read your post and find out why you are moving away from horror but what was it that prompted you to move towards writing mystery and urban fantasy?

It’s not that I’m “moving away” from horror – I’m proud to be called a horror writer and always will be – but the majority of my stuff doesn’t quite fit in to a single category. That wasn’t a deliberate choice, it’s just the way it turned out. A lot of readers of traditional horror think my work has no business being mentioned in the same genre as King and Straub and Keene and Barker and Langhan and dozens of other writers because it doesn’t adhere to the traditional tropes (and that is not a slam against those wonderful storytellers, far from it). It boils down to my work being a bit too whimsical at times for hardcore horror readers, but way too grim and dark for readers of traditional fantasy.

As for mystery, I’ve written and published dozens of mystery and suspense stories over the years, many of which take place in or around Cedar Hill. If I’m going to more fully develop and explore this universe, then I’ve got to start making some unexpected turns, taking new chances, and moving a little more into mystery and urban fantasy will help strengthen the base on which the whole shebang is built upon.

8.Your short story, ‘We now pause for station identification’ won a Bram Stoker award but I can’t find it anywhere (I’m more than likely looking in the wrong places)! Where can I find this tale and why should all horror fans make sure they read it as well?

I was really stunned when “We Now Pause for Station Identification” received the Stoker Award because it was a zombie story – something I vowed I’d never write unless I could give it (in my eyes) a fresh perspective. When the chapbook was released, a lot of people were surprised to see that I’d dedicated the story to Brian Keene. Bear with me for a few more moments and I’ll give you an actual answer, promise.

I had been reading Brian’s The Rising, and early on in the novel there is this throwaway line about the main character listening to a radio DJ finally flip out and killing himself on the air. That conceit intrigued the hell out of me for some reason, so I asked Brian if he had any plans of doing anything with that particular event in a later book or story. He said no, it was just something he threw in in order to illustrate the psychological disintegration of society, and that if I thought I could do anything with that situation, I had his blessing.

So I decided to write a story about a DJ who’s barricaded in the broadcast booth while the dead crawl out of their graves and make their ways back home. But instead of telling it in 3rd-Person, I decided that the story would be a rambling, sleep-deprived monologue as he describes what has happened, what is happening, and what will happen. Midway through the monologue, the “zombies” began taking on much different characteristics than those usually associated with them, and I had no control whatsoever over what my narrator was seeing and describing; as a result, there’s this almost numinous sea-change right in the middle of the story that takes it in a direction I’d never even considered going in, and the story becomes more about physical and spiritual re-birth than about the end of days. I re-read the story before we started this interview and I still find it hard to believe that I wrote it. A happy, even joyous zombie story? What idiot would ever try that? (He said, nervously raising his hand.)

Why should all horror fans read it? Ooooh, boy, that’s not a loaded question at all, is it?

Okay, here goes (and hopefully this won’t sound egotistical or arrogant): horror fans should read it because it’s a good example of both what and how I write, but more than that, I think “We Now Pause…” shows that, with a little extra effort and a willingness to look at things from a parallax viewpoint, it’s possible to breathe new life into a traditional trope. Bear in mind, that was not my intention when I sat down to write it. I’m not claiming to have re-invented the wheel or have broken new ground or some-such happy horseshit like that; all I set out to do was tell a story about one man’s acceptance of his individual destiny, and how that destiny was tied in with that of all humankind. I wanted to write a zombie story that subtly incorporated String Theory.

Jesus, could I sound any more pompous? This is why I try to avoid questions about why people should read my work; once I get going on the explanation, I start to sound self-important in my own ears and wind up wondering why anyone would bother reading my stuff in the first place. Thanks, Graeme, for allowing me to parade my dreadful personality problems in front of everyone ;)

As to where you can obtain a copy of the chapbook – good luck with that. Your best bet would probably be to check Ebay or half.com or Alibris. I’m hoping that there will be an opportunity for me to reprint the story somewhere soon.


9.Someone comes up to you, in a bookshop, and asks you to recommend them some good horror fiction. Name a couple of authors who you think are doing really good things right now…

Christopher Golden and Tom Piccirilli are both nearing the height of their considerable powers; Tim Lebbon has all but reinvented himself as a storyteller with his amazing Noreela series; Horror’s Two Sarahs -- Pinborough and Langan
-- are writing some of the most eerily beautiful prose to be found anywhere; Steve Rasnic Tem and Melanie Tem just released The Man on the Ceiling, which is to my mind a stunning work of art; and Richard Dansky’s Firefly Rain is a novel that illustrates everything good horror should be but so often isn’t.

10.And finally, Cedar Hill can be full of horror but there is beauty there as well (as your short story ‘I’ll play the blues for you’ shows). Would you live there?

Hell, I already do live there – and some nice property just became available a few doors down. Once they get the bloodstains out of the hardwood floors, it’ll be as good as new. I know the realtor and can get you a good mortgage rate…

Thanks for your time Gary, I really appreciate it.

For more information about Gary Braunbeck, and his work, have a click
Here for his official website. Reviews for Mr Hands and Coffin County are on the blog if you fancy a look.

'Sly Mongoose' - The Trailer!

I just found this on Youtube and thought I'd share :o)

‘Sly Mongoose’ - Tobias S. Buckell (Tor Books)

Tobias Buckell’s ‘Ragamuffin’ was one of my surprise finds of last year. Science Fiction isn’t really my thing but what I do love is space opera that’s full of heroes, strange alien races and cool looking spacecraft that can do impossible things when piloted by their roguish captains, ‘Crystal Rain’ and ‘Ragamuffin’ did all of this with an Afro-Caribbean twist that really freshened things up for me. Coming off the back of these two great reads I’d earmarked ‘Sly Mongoose’ as one to look out for in 2008, I’ve just finished it and can safely say that I wasn’t disappointed. (It's got 'space zombies' in it and that's just the start)
‘Sly Mongoose’ is set in the same universe as it’s predecessors but a number of years on. Because of this the book stands on its own fairly well but there are elements where you’ll enjoy it more if you’ve read the other two books as well. The action takes place on the planet Chilo; a world of corrosive rain, crushing pressure and deadly heat (kinda like Venus in our solar system). This isn’t so bad if you live in one of the floating cities, at a safe height, but if you’re one of the young men who has to make a living scavenging on the surface of the planet then things can be very dangerous indeed. Timas is one of these men until the day his routine is shattered by the arrival of a stranger in his city. War is coming and none of the floating cities are safe. The only answer to this problem lies within the perpetual storm that Timas’ city orbits…
Before I say anything else, any book that kicks off with a man strapping himself to a heat shield in order to enter a planet’s atmosphere (he really doesn’t have a lot of choice in the matter) is seriously cool as far as I’m concerned! This opening scene is also a real statement of intent about how far Buckell is prepared to push things for his readers and he proceeds to do this with aplomb. While ‘Ragamuffin’ was action packed, it has nothing on the buzz I got reading this. The second things start to happen; they just don’t stop until the final page, expect some mighty battles and action scenes involving characters who are constantly moving. I loved the final scenes where a floating city was used to ram and invade another floating city but even that was eclipsed by how Tima made his final journey to the surface… Having said that though, I did have an issue with the resolution of a couple of cliff-hangers where pages would be spent in the build up and then everything was explained in one sentence tucked away in a paragraph somewhere… One of these in particular had me going backwards and forwards between pages trying to find the bit I’d obviously missed because, well… Tima was an inch away from death… wasn’t he?
I also found the characterisation to be spot on, especially with Pepper (back and as tough as ever) who bridges the gap between ‘Ragamuffin’ and ‘Sly Mongoose’. It’s very interesting to see the development Pepper goes through (and the decisions he has to make) as he can no longer just shoot his way through a problem, he has to interact with the people around him and be a little bit sly... Pepper’s still a tough character though with a real no-nonsense approach that constantly causes friction and this makes for some fun reading at times.
You wouldn’t have thought that you could do much with an uninhabitable planet but Buckell still manages to suffuse it with life with his signature airships and strange Strandbeest (self replicating craft) amongst other. There’s also a real sense of Chilo’s atmosphere as an entity in its own right (something extremely dangerous to the settlers) and this contributes to a vivid picture of life as a colonist of a dangerous world.
An old enemy rears its head but it’s the promise of new danger on the frontiers that makes things really exciting and has got me looking forward to whatever Tobias writes next. Things are left open ended but I think we’ll be seeing more of Pepper in the future and I for one am really glad. The first chapter has drawn to a close but there is the promise of more good things to come.

Nine out of Ten


PS Reviews of Crystal Rain and Ragamuffin are on the blog if you fancy a look.

Giveaway! 'Scar Night' (Alan Campbell)

I told you another competition would be along soon... ;o)

If you look down the page you'll see that I really enjoyed Alan Campbell's 'Iron Angel', so much in fact that I thought it would be a cool thing to do to give away some free copies on the blog. But then I thought, 'what about all the people who haven't read Scar Night yet...?' (Ok, there was also the fact that an 'Iron Angel' competition would have ended up being 'UK only' and I wanted everyone to be able to enter if they wanted!) So the idea of a 'Scar Night' giveaway was born! :o)
Here's a very brief synopsis for those who don't already know the story...

Suspended by chains over a seemingly bottomless abyss, the ancient city of Deepgate is home to a young angel, an assassin, and a psychotic murderer hungry for revenge—or redemption. But soon a shocking betrayal will unite all three in a desperate quest....

I told you it was brief! Do you fancy a copy? Well, thanks to the good folk at Tor UK I have three copies to give to anyone who fancies a good read. Are you one of these people? You are? Cool! What you need to do is send me an email (address at the top right hand side of the screen) telling me who you are and where you live. This competition is open to anyone, it doesn't matter where you live! I'll let the competition run until next Wednesday (28th May) and announce the winners on the Thursday.

Good Luck!

Indiana Jones Competition - The Winners!

Thanks to everyone who entered the 'Indiana Jones' competition. It would have been great if I could have given books to all of you but well, you know...
Anyway, without further ado the lucky winners are...

Pat Neal, Orange New Jersey, US
Steven Van Bael, Belgium
Michael Below, Germany

Well done folks, your books are on their way. Happy Reading!
Better luck next time everyone else, there will be more competitions in the future so keep your eyes open...