Graeme's Fantasy Book Review

‘Know No Fear’ – Dan Abnett (Black Library)

2012-02-14T00:38:00.000Z

Another year, another book in the ‘Horus Heresy’ series. Another one of many in fact, I think there are a few more due to be released over the next few months… There have been rumblings about the length of the series, that it’s far too long already and with no sight of an ending just yet. I can see where people are coming from with this as emptying your wallet for a never ending series is never good… I think that this approach is damaging to the structure of the series as a whole but I’m getting ahead of myself here; more on that later on in this review.
On the other hand though, so long as each novel delivers then do we really have anything to complain about? There has been one significant dip in quality, over the course of the series, but that’s been the only one as far as I can see. On the whole, the ‘Horus Heresy’ series has done an admirable job of showing the reader one of the most turbulent times of the human Imperium. So long as the quality is consistent then, maybe we should all just enjoy the series while it lasts?

This is a particularly easy thing to do when the next ‘Horus Heresy’ book to step up to the plate not only covers one of the key points in the Civil War but is written by one of the Black Library’s most popular authors. Dan Abnett literally cannot put a foot wrong, as far as writing ‘Warhammer 40K’ fiction goes, and I was looking forward to more of the same with ‘Know No Fear’. I got more of the same, ‘Know No Fear’ is a brilliant read.

The Heresy has erupted into full blown warfare spanning entire star systems but there are still regions of the Imperium that don’t yet know what is going on. The Ultramar system is about to find out in the worst way possible…
Primarch Roboute Guilliman is ordered to launch an offensive against Orks mustering in the nearby Veridian system. His Ultramarines will work with their brothers in the Word Bearer’s Legion not only to cleanse the Ork threat but also to repair a relationship damaged (almost beyond repair) over forty years previously. At least that’s what Guilliman thinks…
The Word Bearer Legion follows a different master now and he has ordered them to attack the Ultramarines when they least expect it, completely decimating their home planet of Calth. What will follow is all out war not only on Calth but across the whole Ultramar system, fought between super enhanced warriors looking to settle the bitterest of rivalries. Calth will burn but who will be left standing when the flames finally die down…?

I’ve been reading the ‘Horus Heresy’ books for a few years now but I’m still very much finding my way through the wider background of this setting. I heard that the battle for Calth was a very big deal and was looking forward to reading about what sounded like a pivotal event in the war, especially as Dan Abnett was the guy writing it.
The bottom line is that ‘Know No Fear’ is a superb read that should cater nicely for long time fans while being self contained enough for newcomers to be able to pick it up and dive straight in.

One thing about it though that bugged me in terms of the series as a whole… Because the setting is so vast, and the war is taking its time in spreading, it feels like the series takes two steps forwards and then has to take at least four steps back to cover an event that has happened earlier in the timeline. I get why this has to happen but I’m looking forward to the day when everything catches up with itself and we can all move forward together in a straight line. I mention it here because the rest of the series had moved past the battle for Calth (at least as far as I can see) and now we’re having to go back to make sure that it gets a mention.

There’s no doubt though that Abnett’s coverage of the event ensures that the battle of Calth is worth that mention. Not that it wasn’t worth it anyway, it was, but Abnett does what he does best and makes ‘Know No Fear’ almost essential reading.

Dan Abnett proves once again that he has an eye for what draws the reader into a battle sequence on paper and keeps them reading through. He has a keen eye for the big ‘showcase’ events, stuff that makes you almost feel like you’re watching things happen instead of reading about them. We’re talking about star cruisers crashing into orbital platforms (and everything else), planetary defence grids firing on the sun and battle ships crashing onto the surface of Calth itself. If that wasn’t enough, you have a Primarch so awesomely strong that he is able to punch a man’s head clean off his shoulders! That last example is particularly spectacular but the book is full of moments like these. Abnett not only knows what military sci-fi is all about but is more than able to present it on the page in all its explosive glory.

‘Know No Fear’ isn’t just about the spectacle though. Abnett also gives us a close up into just what the battle for Calth means for the people suddenly caught up in the middle of it. What the reader gets as a result is an event that is fully formed instead of a random collection of (admittedly) really cool space battles.
The rank and file, of the combatants, get their time but Abnett’s focus here falls on the Marines of the Ultramarines Legion and how they react to this sudden betrayal. For warriors genetically altered to be perfect killers, the Ultramarines are stymied by the one thing they never saw coming; betrayal by their brother Legionnaires. Abnett really lays it on the line how deeply this betrayal cuts with characters dying in their droves as they are unable to handle the enormity of what has just happened. Things are really on a knife edge here and even though I had a rough idea of how it had to end the real joy was in seeing how Abnett gets the reader to that ending.

The plot itself is framed beautifully by a clock counting down to the betrayal and then counting on from it, displaying not only how long the battle takes (adding emphasis to each event) but also showing how the battle impacts on the future…

‘While Word Bearers still live, in the madness of the Maelstrom or in the depths of the warp, the mark of Calth will continue to run.
It is running now.’

This stylistic approach worked for the most part. I was left wondering if it gave certain characters enough time to shine. Oll’s story line looks like it’s meant to conclude in future books but for all the build up that Telemechrus gets… you don’t see an awful lot of him. I couldn’t help but wonder if this was deliberate, if it was then it didn’t work for me I'm afraid. It felt like a bit of an anti-climax instead (although I could be missing something here...)

Small complaints though when set against a book as good as this. Dan Abnett sets himself high standards and maintains them with every book he writes, ‘Know No Fear’ is no exception.

Nine and a Half out of Ten

‘Conan: Road of Kings’ – Thomas, Hawthorne, Lucas, Stewart & Jackson (Dark Horse)

2012-02-13T00:29:00.004Z

I’m not sure how quite it happened but a quick look at the bookshelves will show you that Robert E. Howard was not the only person to write tales of Conan. I’ve only read the Robert E. Howard stuff but I do know that Robert Jordan wrote some Conan tales and Lin Carter was also known for his tales of the Cimmerian amongst others. L. Sprague de Camp also had a shot with a Conan series of his own. When I heard tell that Dark Horse were publishing ‘Conan: Road of Kings’ I thought they’d dug up the old Karl Edward Wagner tale of the same name. Having only read Wagner’s ‘Dark Crusade’ (which is excellent and I highly recommend it) I was really looking forward to getting hold of ‘Road of Kings’ and seeing more of his work; well, something based on his work but you know what I mean…

As it turned out, reading ‘Road of Kings’ and doing a little bit of online research told me that I wasn’t reading an adaptation of the Wagner work after all which is a bit of a shame (I really wanted to read more Wagner…) What we have here instead is an original piece that links ‘Iron Shadows in the Moon’ (reviewed Here) to the forthcoming mini-series ‘Queen of the Black Coast’ (original story reviewed over Here)

So… I went from having some expectations of ‘Road of Kings’ to having absolutely none whatsoever. I like it when that happens :o) I will admit to a little shamefacedness though having sworn that I was finished with Dark Horse’s ‘Conan’ comics. I was especially shamefaced seeing as ‘Road of Kings’ was a very good read indeed.

Conan’s life as a pirate, on the Vilayet Sea, is about to be cut short in a very final manner. Not only has Conan just had his ship sunk from underneath him but also his companion Olivia has been receiving visions of her royal father, begging her to come home.
Home for Olivia lies at the end of the fabled Road of Kings but it’s a long old road and anything can happen on the journey. For Conan it will involve monsters, highwaymen, victims of Conan’s short-lived life of crime and a hired killer who just won’t stop coming until he has Conan’s head. If that wasn’t enough, Olivia is kidnapped and Conan must rescue her…

Having fallen completely in love with Tomas Giorello’s depiction of Conan, I feel that it’s probably best to start things off here with what I thought of Mike Hawthorne’s art. After all, the exit of Giorello, and the entrance of Hawthorne, was what had me swearing off this book on the first place.
As it turns out, I’m not afraid to admit that I was wrong about my original decision (and even if I was afraid, I’ve have to admit to being wrong anyway!). Hawthorne’s work may be a little too cartoonish for me (and that may be the fault of Dave Stewart’s colours as much as Hawthorne’s art) but he captures both the essence of Conan himself and Conan’s world in such a way that I was drawn in far more easily than I thought I would be. The detail may not be there but the passion, energy and expression certainly is. It’s more than enough in fact and that is just what a Conan tale needs in any format; it needs to be brimming over with all three of these things.

There is a lot more politicking and intrigue in ‘Road of Kings’ than I’ve found in the other ‘Conan’ stories that I’ve read and this made for a really refreshing change. Conan doesn’t really have much of an idea what is happening half the time, he just finds himself in the middle of things almost entirely by chance, and this approach lends just the right amount of energy that the story needs to flow as smoothly as it does. Roy Thomas is no stranger to writing Conan stories and, as a result, Conan is able to extricate himself from difficulty in just the way you would expect from him. Sure, all this really involves is a strong sword arm but Thomas also focuses on Conan’s innate barbarian cunning and this means a properly fleshed out three-dimensional Conan, just as Howard surely intended.

The plot itself is full of little twists and turns that keep the reader on their toes as well as Conan himself. All of this in punctuated with some nasty looking huge monsters and the swordsman Gamesh whose remorseless pursuit makes him more than a match for Conan in terms of attitude. I have to say that I read ‘Road of Kings’ in one sitting as I literally couldn’t stop until I was done. If I had one complaint, ‘Road of Kings’ being a ‘bridging work’ (between two other works) robbed the book of some of its tension. You know Conan is going to be around for ‘Queen of the Black Coast’ so you know he makes it through. Having said that though, there is an argument to be made that this is really the whole point of Conan stories anyway… I’m still trying to make my mind up here.

‘Road of Kings’ was nothing short of brilliant then, I just couldn’t get enough of it. The book may link two others but it’s self contained enough that new-comers to the Dark Horse series could do a lot worse than jump on here. I’d recommend that you do just that.

Nine and a Half out of Ten

Giveaway! 'Black Halo' (Sam Sykes)

2012-02-12T00:59:00.010Z

Now here's a book that I really should have read last year, it's still sat on the reading pile in fact... Must get round to it, especially as it's been out so long Gollancz have now released it in paperback.

To mark the paperback release of 'Black Halo', Gollancz have very kindly given me two copies to give away on the blog (UK entrants only though...) Check out the blurb,

Lenk and his band of fellow mismatched and grumpy adventurers are shipwrecked on an island. An island that is a graveyard for demons and dragonmen alike. An island inhabited by lizard men. An island of secrets that is about to become a battleground. And back in civilisation Bralston, a very different Librarian, is being sent out to learn exactly what has happened to the Tome of the Undergates and to punish those that have misused magic. And Bralston will uphold the law. But the Tome will be read and it is calling to those who would read it and open the gates to hell.

If you want in just drop me an email (address at the top right hand side of the screen) telling me who you are and what your postal address is. The subject header needs to be 'Black Halo'. I'll do the rest :o)

I'll let this one run until the 19th of February and will aim to announce the winners as soon as possible afterwards.

Good Luck!

Giveaway! 'The Ruined City' (Paula Brandon)

2012-02-11T10:55:00.000Z

Thanks to those very generous people at Ballantine Books, I have five copies of Paula Brandon's 'The Ruined City' to give away on the blog. You're probably looking at the flowing dress on the cover and feeling a little dubious here. Lets see if the blurb can change your mind...

Reality is wavering. Soon its delicate balance will shift and an ancient force will return to overwhelm the Veiled Isles. Now those with the arcane talent forge an uneasy alliance in hopes that their combined abilities are enough to avert an eerie catastrophe. Yet it may be too late. The otherworldly change has begun. The streets of the city are rife with chaos, plague, and revolt. And it is here that Jianna Belandor, once a pampered daughter of privilege, returns to face new challenges.

The dead walk the streets. The docile amphibian slaves of humanity have taken up arms. Jianna’s home lies in ruins. Her only happiness resides in her growing attraction to Falaste Rione, a brilliant nomadic physician whose compassion and courage have led him to take dangerous risks. Jianna, stronger and more powerful than she knows, has a role to play in the unfolding destiny of her world. But a wave of madness is sweeping across the land, and time is running out—even for magic.

If you want in (and this competition is for US entrants only...) then you already know what to do. Simply drop me an email (address at the top right hand side of the screen) telling me who you are and what your postal address is. The subject header needs to be 'Ruined City'. I'll do everything else.

I'll let this one run until the 19th of February and will aim to announce the winners as soon as possible afterwards.

Good Luck!

‘How Nuth Would Have Practiced His Art Upon The Gnoles’ – Lord Dunsany

2012-02-10T12:22:00.001Z

I don’t know if I’m looking in all the wrong places (probably) but I can’t seem to find anything by Lord Dunsany on the shelves at the moment; this is all the more annoying as I’ve never read any of his works up until now. I’d really love to get hold of a copy of ‘The King of Elfland’s Daughter’…
Luckily for me then, I found ‘How Nuth Would Have Practiced His Art Upon The Gnoles’ hidden within the depths of Ann and Jeff Vandermeer’s ‘The Weird’, an anthology so large that I will never be able to review it all in one go. The plan is then to take bite sized chunks out of the book and feature them here every now and again. ‘How Nuth Would Have Practiced His Art Upon The Gnoles’ is the first such chunk…

‘Despite the advertisements of rival firms, it is probable that every tradesman knows that nobody in business at the present time has a position equal to Mr. Nuth.’

Mr. Nuth is… well, a master burglar with no rivals that even come close to his prowess. If you want something then Nuth is the man to get it for you even though there may be a price to pay later on; that price is worth it though. The story is only three pages long and at least a third of it is telling the reader how great Nuth is at his trade.

So far so… well, not really that weird at all. We’ve basically been shown a portrait of a man who is very good at his trade although the moment where he surprises visitors is a little unsettling…

‘For a long while they waited, and then there was a smell of pipe tobacco, and there was Nuth standing quite close to them.’

The weirdness is still to come and there is no doubt that Dunsany delivers on this score. Nuth and his young apprentice set out to steal emeralds from the Gnoles and Dunsay uses the plot to show us just how far outside human understanding the realm of Faerie is as well as how dangerous it can be.

‘The nearest village was some miles away with the backs of all it’s houses turned to the wood, and without one window at all facing in that direction.’

‘They saw the skeleton of some early Georgian poacher nailed to a door in an oak tree; sometimes they saw a fairy scuttle away from them…’

Dunsany shows us very clearly (but not too clearly as that would defeat the point) that there is a world just outside or view that operates on rules that we would be mad to try and understand. It is weird and we are right to be a little nervous and afraid as we follow Nuth and his apprentice into the wood.

In a setting like this, the only possible outcome to the job is the one that Dunsany gives us and he makes it all the more frightening by refusing to divulge the fate of the apprentice. Nuth escapes though and this reader was left wondering if Nuth had a little Faerie blood in him…
An excellent tale and I will put a lot more effort into searching out Lord Dunsany’s works on the strength of it. 'Weird' is definitely the word to describe it.

‘King Conan: The Scarlet Citadel’ – Truman, Giorello and Villarrubia (Dark Horse)

2012-02-09T13:10:00.000Z

It seems like a long time since Conan trod the jewelled thrones of this blog under his sandalled feet, doesn’t it (and did you see what I did there)? I still need to dive into the original texts at some point (in the same way that I still need to read a lot of books right now…) but it was the announcement that Dark Horse’s ‘Conan The Cimmerian’ series was to end that had me seriously wondering whether to pick up any future ‘Conan’ reads. It may look like cutting my nose off to spite my face (I love the ‘Conan’ comics) but Truman and Giorello worked together so well on ‘Conan The Cimmerian’ that it felt to me like anything else would be an anti-climax. What would be the point?

Well, it looks like that decision has been put off a little while longer with the trade release of ‘King Conan: The Scarlet Citadel’. Not only have I not read the original short story but Truman and Giorello have teamed up once again to deliver this version. I couldn’t say ‘no’ really could I?
‘The Scarlet Citadel’ was originally a four-issue mini-series that has been collected for trade release. As a result, I got a shorter read than normal and that has just left me wanting more. I know I said that I wouldn’t read anymore ‘Conan’ but I absolutely have to read ‘The Road of Kings’ now…

Conan is now King of Aquilonia but he is finding that holding a throne is far more than gaining one; especially when neighbouring kingdoms have their own ideas about who they want on the throne…
Conan finds himself betrayed and cast into the dungeons of Tsotha-Lanti’s Scarlet Citadel. If he is to rescue his kingdom, Conan must brave terrors like never before and that is just in escaping the dungeon itself. Even harder challenges await but an unlikely ally might hold the key to victory…

I’m of the opinion that you’re pretty much onto a winner already if you choose to adapt any of Howard’s tales for comic book format, especially Conan. The material is already so brash and larger than life that it often feels to me that Howard wrote it with comic books in mind. He didn’t (I don’t think…) but that’s what it feels like. All you need to do then is just tell it like it is and you’re home and dry, surely? Truman does this to a degree, recounting what happens and making sure that all the bases are well and truly covered in the manner that Howard intended the story to be told (which can make the plot a little more liner than it perhaps wanted to be). To his credit though, Truman isn’t just satisfied with just telling the story and takes things a couple of steps further; not only having Conan tell the tale himself but also providing a very good reason why Conan would do so. I loved this approach, not only does it all make sense but we get a little glimpse of how Conan is faring as King and you are left with the impression that it’s a weight that he is slightly uncomfortable bearing. You also get a little glimpse into Conan’s mind as he wonders the depths of the Scarlet Citadel, a glimpse that leaves you with an idea of Conan’s basic humanity and how it drives him on.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again; Tomas Giorello’s ‘Conan’ is the definitive one as far as I’m concerned. Giorello really captures the primal rage simmering under the surface (even when Conan is chained in a dungeon) and unleashes it in veritable tidal waves of gore. This is also the case when we are shown Conan as an older King; he may be older in years (and sporting a nasty new scar) but you still wouldn’t want to cross him, not at all. The background that Conan fights against is as skilfully rendered as ever and there were panels where I just wanted to stop and stare so I didn’t miss out on anything.

All in all then, ‘The Scarlet Citadel’ was nothing short of superb as far as I was concerned. Classic ‘Sword and Sorcery’ deftly fleshed out to fit the presented format.

Nine and a Half out of Ten

Cover Art - 'Sadie Walker Is Stranded' (Madeline Roux)

2012-02-08T11:09:00.000Z

Because it has been three days since I last mentioned zombies on this here blog and that's far too long really... ;o)

Lots of grey grasping hands and blood, just what I like on a zombie cover :o) And here's some blurb for you...

Sadie Walker fights for survival as the dead close in...

In the months since The Outbreak, Seattle has become a walled fortress - the Infected are kept at bay, and the survivors are trying to scrape back a life. But the city is rife with crime, religious cults and black-market dealings. And things are about to get much, much worse.

When a group of frustrated fanatics, the 'Repopulationists', destroy part of the wall, zombies start swarming the city. Sadie, devastated by the brutal kidnapping of her young nephew, must find him and get them both out before it's too late. But the only escape is by sea, and she's seen for herself the horrible fate of those who tried that route before...

I loved the initial concept for Roux's 'Madeline Hewitt is Trapped' but it really didn't hold up to scrutiny and I wasn't too sure if I'd read more of her work off the back of it. It looks like Roux has ditched that approach here though so I'll be giving it a go, it is zombies after all... :o)

The reading pile is looking dangerously high at the moment (it won't be once I finally finish 'A Dance With Dragons'...) so it might take a while to get round to 'Sadie Walker is Stranded'; anyone else reading it in the meantime?

My copy was published by St. Martin's in the US, I'll hazard a guess and say that Headline will be releasing it over here.

‘Luthor Huss’ – Chris Wraight (Black Library)

2012-02-07T12:15:00.000Z

Over the last couple of years I’ve really come to look forward seeing more of Chris Wraight’s work, whether it’s set in the far future universe of Warhammer 40K or the fantasy setting of the Old World. I haven’t been a fan of the Black Library all that long but even I can see that Wraight ‘gets it’ in such a way that his tales will always engage long term fans as well as fantasy fans coming across his work for the first time. From where I’m sat, the Warhammer 40K stuff is coming along nicely but Chris’ forte is very much the stuff set in Old World. Long term readers (hi guys!) already know that I love Wraight’s ‘Warhammer Heroes’ books but if you don’t, well… have a click Here and Here to get an idea of what I’m on about.

The merest mention then of another ‘Warhammer Heroes’ book, from Chris Wraight, was more than enough to have me looking forward to 2012 and checking the doorstep with an obsession that wasn’t appreciated by my wife (I was letting the draught in apparently…) The book arrived, and got me through some particularly grim last few days at work, but it wasn’t quite the read that I was expecting. It was very good indeed but… let me try and explain…

The Empire is always under threat from forces on its borders as well as those chipping away from within. Witch Hunter Lukas Eichmann is a man whose calling it is to halt that threat from within; a series of bizarre murders will lead him into the depths of the Empire at the head of his own army. The warrior priests of Sigmar have that very same calling and Luthor Huss battles to free the denizens of the Drakwald forest from a plague of the walking dead. Little do they know it but the fates of these two men will come together in such a way that not only will the true threat to the Empire be revealed but one of the men will find out that he is integral to that threat’s fruition. But that’s only if both Eichmann and Huss can hack their way through the absolute worst that the Drakwald forest has to offer first; a forest that brims over with all that is worst in both men and beasts…

I didn’t need to get too far into ‘Luthor Huss’ to see that Chris Wraight has done it again as far as I’m concerned. ‘Luthor Huss’ has everything in it that made ‘Sword of Justice’ and ‘Sword of Vengeance’ such gripping and compelling reads; there are several other writers producing novels for the ‘Warhammer Heroes’ range but right now, this is a series that Wraight has made all his own. As always, any more books from Wraight would be more than welcome in this house.

The setting is as grim and bleak as ever with danger lurking in the shadows as well as in plain site where you can’t quite make it out until it’s too late. A setting like this is just what the doctor ordered for this kind of book and Wraight delivers on that score. We’re looking at a backdrop where you’re left in no doubt as to the dangers that ordinary citizens of the Empire face on a daily basis. It’s a wild country out there and even the strongest of men and women might not be able to stop a sudden knife in the dark or the clawed shadow that lurks in the trees… Such a setting also highlights the resolve of such men and women to carve out a life for themselves, in this inhospitable wilderness, and beat back the encroaching darkness. This series focuses on heroes for a very good reason, there are loads of them out there and their stories all need to be told. It’s not just Luthor Huss who is the focus in this respect (although his story does take centre stage, more on that later on), there is heroism in the most unlikely of places and Wraight does well to shine a piercing light on all of it. Whether it’s Rickard’s quest for redemption through fanaticism, Mila constantly testing her own boundaries or Huss himself; all bases are very much covered here. The result is a work that is at times very stirring as people push themselves to the absolute limit and will not back down.

Wrapped all around this is a tale of darkness and horror where there is more than one surprise waiting to catch the unwary (and I’m talking about the characters as well as the readers here…) There is plenty going on here to hold your interest and it’s punctuated with bursts of warfare and combat so intense and bloody that I found myself holding my breath until it was all done. Wraight knows only too well how bloody and capricious combat can be in the Old World, especially when you’re trying to face down a Beast Man twice the size of you…

Where the problem came for me (and it was the only problem I had with in the entire book) was with the character of Luthor Huss himself, which was a bit of an issue seeing as the whole book is based around him. Here is a guy who is simply unable to form any meaningful relationship with the world around him; not only does his calling take priority but there are also other issues which you find out about towards the end of the book. What this means is that, for the larger chunk of the book, you are following a character whom it’s more or less impossible to engage with; he’s just not built that way. His heroism is never in doubt but you never really get an idea of why that is. You are told at the very end of the book but by then it’s far too late…
I’m going to give Wraight the benefit of the doubt and say that perhaps he wrote Huss a little too well here, read the book and you’ll understand what I mean. Even so, this approach can make for frustrating reading at times…

Stick with it though and you’ll be rewarded with a stirring tale of pitched battles and heroism that won’t fail to hit the spot. Wraight cannot write quickly enough for me, more please!

Nine out of Ten

The 'Snow, what Snow?' Competition Winner's Post!

2012-02-06T10:58:00.000Z

We had a little bit of snow yesterday and, erm... that was it. Bit of an anti-climax really although Hope had a lot of fun stamping in all the puddles that sprung up when the snow started melting. I was after something a little more substantial myself; something where I could sit in the warm and laugh at all the people struggling to get to work (because I can be evil like that!) Oh well, there's always time for more to come... please?

In a change from my normal Monday morning posts, I'm actually feeling quite happy. I do need to find a job but I've left one that I never really enjoyed at all; it's a guaranteed way to make your Mondays feel that much better! :o) I've also feeling sprightly because it's that time of the week where I get to be the bearer of good news to people who have won stuff in one of my competitions. Yep, I'm talking about the 'Phantom Menace' competition that I ran last week. The three lucky winners were...

Rebecca Denyer, Reading, UK

Kate Moss, London, UK

Anene Cousin, London, UK

Well done guys, your tickets should all be sorted out for you very soon :o) Better luck next time everyone else, I'm always looking to run competitions here so check back often and see if there's anything that takes your fancy.

That's that then for another Monday. Have a good one whatever you're doing; I shall be job hunting, reading (I've been reading some great stuff just recently) and tidying up after the little one...

‘Juggernaut’ – Adam Baker (Hodder & Stoughton)

2012-02-05T13:00:00.000Z

I’ve said it before a number of times, here on the blog, but it’s always worth saying one more time. One of the things that I love the most (perhaps the thing) about reading books for the blog, and just reading in general really, is when I come across a book that just completely blows me away. It could be the characters, the plot or whatever; I’m just gripped for the entirety of the book and I’m practically gasping for breath by the time I put it down at the end. We’ve all read books like that haven’t we?
What’s even better is when it’s a book where I haven’t anticipated that reaction at all. We’ve all got our favourite authors where we’re guaranteed a great read but even those books can’t hope to beat a book that just comes right out of nowhere and flattens you with the tale that it has to tell. A book like Adam Baker’s ‘Outpost’ for example. I picked up ‘Outpost’ more or less on a whim (I love tales of the apocalypse and that was what was on offer here) and very quickly found that I couldn’t have put it down even if I’d wanted to. You can read my review Here if you like but here’s a couple of quotes that sum the whole thing up…

‘I really couldn’t put it down for a whole number of reasons, to the extent that I didn’t want to talk to people until I’d finished it. I finished it, put the book down and thought, ‘bloody hell...’ In the best possible way that is, any book that can put me through the wringer like that more than deserves praise.’

‘Outpost’ is a gloriously bleak read that offers you everything that a good apocalypse should and then proceeds to go one better in every area. You should read it, you really should.’

If you haven’t read ‘Outpost’ by now then I highly recommend you go and read it as soon as possible but I’m digressing.
I’d already made my mind up to check out more of Baker’s work and the arrival of an advance copy of ‘Juggernaut’ gave me the chance to do just that. What really sealed the deal for me though was the realisation that ‘Juggernaut’ was in fact a prequel to ‘Outpost’; I was really excited at the chance of finding out more about the Virus, where it originally came from and so on.
I got my wish but at a cost. ‘Juggernaut’ is a compelling read but not in the same league as ‘Outpost’…

It’s Iraq, in 2005, and seven mercenaries have just found themselves with a chance of becoming very rich. They have a guide who will take them into the desert and straight to a hidden cache of Saddam’s gold, enough to set all of them up for life. Their luck is about to change though and very much for the worse…
The team finds themselves marooned in ancient ruins with traitors in their midst and a shadowy government agency suddenly taking a keen interest in their activities. What’s far worse though is the army under their feet that is suddenly waking up; an army that will do anything to get their hands on fresh meat, an army that just won’t stay dead.

‘Juggernaut’ is not ‘Outpost’, of course it isn’t; ‘Juggernaut’ is it’s own book and very much does it’s own thing. A lot of what was good about ‘Outpost’ doesn’t seem to have found its way to ‘Juggernaut’ though and that’s a real shame. Like I said, ‘Juggernaut’ is a great read but I couldn’t help thinking what could have been…

Whereas ‘Outpost’ pretty much drops you in the middle of an already impossible situation (and has it get worse), ‘Juggernaut’ takes the approach of gradually building up to the big payoff. The problem is though that it takes just that little bit too long to get there and the transition from build up to full on action is choppy to say the least. ‘Juggernaut’ is not a smooth read, in that respect, and it really needed to be with the approach that it took.

What I also found odd was that for all the time it took to set up the mission, get to the ruined temple and so on, I never really got much of a feel for who any of the characters really were. To be fair, the frantic second half of the book doesn’t leave you a lot of time to get to know people but what about the long trip into the desert in the first half? Surely that was the time for introductions? There’s a very definite line drawn between ‘good’ and ‘evil’ but you can’t really root for the ‘goodies’ as you don’t know them. Contrast this with the characterization in ‘Outpost’ (which was very good) and you’ll get why I wasn’t too happy this time round.

When things do kick off though, you find yourself forgiving the bits that weren’t so hot earlier on. There’s a double-cross that you know is coming but at least two more that you don’t and this is what keeps the book fresh and engaging. Yeah, I could have done with more of this earlier but better late than never I guess.
The virus possessed ‘zombie’ soldiers make for some gripping reading as well. They are remorseless and the slightest scratch from one of them spells a demise that makes a regular zombie bite look like a wasp sting. No-one is safe and Baker does a great job of getting that fear across. The two mercenaries left must fight their own comrades as well as a vertaible horde of possessed soldiers that just will not stop coming. Baker does a superb job of drawing you into those moments of quiet and then, when it’s far too late, showing you that it’s not so quiet after all…

Fans of ‘Outpost’ will also get a lot out of ‘Juggernaut’ for the gaps it fills in as far as the arrival of the virus, on Earth, goes. There is more going on in the background than you thought and it fleshes out the overall story more than satisfactorily.

That wasn’t quite enough to save ‘Juggernaut’ for me though. Once it got going I couldn’t put it down but its departure from the tried and proven formula that worked so well for ‘Outpost’…? That was where things fell down for me.
There is a third book in the works and you can bet on my being there for its publication as the overall story line is one that just has to be read. I’m hoping for more along the lines of ‘Outpost’ though…

Eight and a Quarter out of Ten

‘Book of Sith’ – Daniel Wallace

2012-02-04T00:27:00.002Z

It may not feel like it sometimes but there are books out there that you will never see being dished out for free as review copies. You don’t believe me do you? Well, how about a book that comes with its own Holocron case and retails for $99…? I’m talking about the ‘Book of Sith’ here; a book that reviewers like me would probably not bother reading because they were too busy playing with the very funky looking mechanized Holocron case. Nope, what we get is a (much) smaller book of excerpts instead which I think is probably fair enough all things considered.

This isn’t really a review as such then, how can it be when I haven’t got the whole book in front of me? What I’m going for here is more a case of my reactions to what was in front of me and how that bodes for the book as a whole. My reactions weren’t all that great…

According to the press release, the ‘Book of Sith’ is a collection of Dark Side texts that were squirreled away by Emperor Palpatine and have only now just come to light. Palpatine wrote his own manifesto, for the collection, and each of the texts are heavily annotated by various Jedi who have come across them over the years. There’s also the Holocron case that it all comes in as well as some other little bits and pieces (scrap of Sith burial shroud anyone?) but that’s pretty much what you get for your $99.

I think collectors will love it, no question. You’ve got a very cool looking Holocron case etc and that has to look good when placed next to your replica Darth Vader lighsaber. What I just couldn’t get away from though was the nagging feeling that the actual text wasn’t telling me anything that I hadn’t already gleaned from the dozens of other Star Wars books that I’ve read over the years.

Strip away the fancy sounding names and it all basically boils down to ‘The Sith are really angry and hate the Jedi because they’re not’. I could have told you that without reading the excerpts; there are six films and a whole load of related merchandise that have been telling me that since I was five years old! I’m going to assume that the rest of the book follows the same lines (complete with really smug annotations from Luke Skywalker denouncing the Sith stuff) and if that’s the case then you can count me out. ‘Tell me something I don’t know or just don’t bother’ is the order of the day here I think. This book looks very nice but is ultimately another sign of just how stale the Star Wars universe can feel sometimes.

If you’re a collector then I suspect you’ve already ordered the ‘Book of Sith’; I have a Mace Windu lightsaber myself so I think I know where you’re coming from ;o) Everyone else, if you’re dead set on having this book then I’d hang onto your money for a little while longer. Titan Books released a much more affordable version of ‘The Jedi Path’ (remember that?) not so long ago and I suspect the same thing will happen with the ‘Book of Sith’.

Mediocre Cover Art (An Occasional Series) 'Phalanx' - Ben Counter

2012-02-03T10:15:00.000Z

It occurred to me, not long ago, that I actually love bad cover art. Seriously, I do. The worse it is, the more likely it is that bad cover art will get attention whether it's on blogs like this or people gagging at the sight of it on the bookshelves. In a weird kind of way, bad cover art does a good job in that it gets people noticing the book and that is always a good thing if people then pick that book up and check it out.

Mediocre cover art though... that just makes my blood boil... I mean, what's the point of having cover art that the eyes can't fail but slide over in the hunt for something far more interesting? Cover art is more often than not the first thing you see of a book so make it interesting dammit! Make your cover art do something, make it say something to potential readers whether the artwork is well done or poor. Don't, whatever you do, don't just stick half of a very uninteresting spaceship on the cover (with just one star in the background) and think that's enough to get potential readers excited. Don't do something like the cover art for Ben Counter's 'Phalanx' for example...

You can actually hear the artist yawning as he drew this; I think I yawned when I saw it... If you can't do the whole job then don't bother doing it at all; hand it over to someone who actually gives a... you know what :o)

Shame really, as the blurb didn't look too shabby,

Phalanx, the great star fort of the Imperial Fists, is playing host to Space Marines from half a dozen Chapters, alongside Inquisitors, Sisters of Battle and agents of the Adeptus Mechanicus. They have come together to witness the end of a Space Marine Chapter, as the once-noble Soul Drinkers, now Chaos-tainted renegades and heretics, are put on trial for their crimes against the Imperium. But dark forces are stirring and even this gathering of might may not be enough to guard against the evil that is about to be unleashed...

Doesn't look like much of a star fort to me... I expected better from the Black Library whose covers never fail to catch the eye. More mediocre cover to follow (especially if the blurb looks decent).

From My Bookshelf… ‘The Regulators’ – Stephen King

2012-02-02T13:03:00.000Z

Because sometimes it’s nice to put all the new stuff to one side and read books that have been on my shelves for years. What’s the point of having them on the shelf otherwise…?

Lets take things back to the late nineties when I had just left college and was getting my first proper taste of the world of work at the local psychiatric hospital where I was working the night shift. It was quite a nice job actually, apart from the odd bout of nastiness from the patients. Most of the patients slept straight through the night, leaving me to either have a quiet smoke (when no-one was looking) or cram my face full of sugary goodness in an (often vain) attempt to stay awake for the whole shift. I also read a whole load of books, there really wasn’t an awful lot else to do (apart from when I found myself working on the elderly wards, that’s another story though). At the time, I was working my way through a large chunk of Stephen King’s back catalogue; all the horror stuff anyway, I still haven’t read ‘The Eyes of the Dragon’ nor the books that he wrote with Peter Straub. A lot of these books had been out for a long time and ‘The Regulators’, along with its companion novel ‘Desperation’, was the first time that I’d actually picked up a work by King (it says Bachman on the cover but we all know by now don’t we?) that had only just been published. I lost the two books when I moved to Northampton (‘book purges’, the time of many an ill thought out decision…) but a trip to New York, years later, saw me leave with a new copy of ‘The Regulators’ and a copy of ‘Desperation’ followed not long after.

Years on from that and a chance browse across the shelves reminded me that it had been ages since I last read either book. ‘The Regulators’ and ‘Desperation’ share many similarities but none of these points to the best book to read first (probably intentional). I figured that I’d start my re-read off with the book that originally kicked it off for me all those years ago…

It’s high summer in Wentworth, Ohio and nowhere more so than on Poplar Street where the sun is out, Frisbee’s are flying and the local paperboy is about to be the first to die in a drive by shooting unlike any other. The idling red van on the corner is only the start of the horror to come and, unbeknownst to the residents of Poplar Street, it is a horror that was born right in the midst of their quiet street. Will any of them survive the horror that lurks in Audrey Wyler’s house or will they perish at the nightmarish guns of the Regulators…?

The abiding thought that has stayed with me since I first read ‘The Regulators’, all those years ago, was that it was ok but King had written books that were one hell of a lot scarier. That was pretty much the thought I had upon finishing the re-read this time around. Having said that though, ‘The Regulators’ has stayed on my shelf while books such as ‘Christine’ and ‘The Shining’ went to ‘Charity Shop Heaven’ many years ago. It definitely has a staying power that the other books don’t and, having thought about it, I’m going to say that it’s very much down to the cast; I find myself engaging with them just that little bit more than I have done with the casts of King’s earlier books. There’s something about Johnny Marinville (author who is just looking for a quiet life) and Steve Ames (the guy who happens to take a wrong turn at the wrong time) that made me want to keep turning the pages to spend time with them, even though I’ve read the book before. Thinking about it, these characters (as well as some of the others) are just so open and honest about whom they are, no pretension at all. The first time I read the book I felt like I’d known Johnny, Steve, Cynthia and Collie Entragian for years already and, this time round, I felt like I was catching up with old friends (old friends in a fight for their lives but you know what I mean).

It’s a good job the characters appealed to me so strongly though because, like I said, the actual story wasn’t anywhere near as scary and chilling as King is so obviously capable of. It starts off well enough with a picture of glorious American ordinariness slowly corrupted by something unexplainable and just plain evil. The tension is ramped up smoothly yet inexorably and you’re sucked in just about the time the first gunshot is fired.

And then you find out what is causing it all…

This is where the book falls down for me as you don’t really find out enough about Tak to get a feel for why it is putting Poplar Street through hell. Doing it for food and fun will only get you so far and things proceed to degenerate into a repetitive cycle that forces the plot onwards but at the cost of some of the earlier sparkle. The moments inside Seth Garin’s head make up for this (as does the 'gradual possession' side plot) but only a little bit. The ending has to be experienced though, you can see what’s coming (and how it has to happen) but the sheer power of it will knock you sideways.

‘The Regulators’ is a great tale of survival against supernatural odds that is spoilt, sadly enough, by the supernatural elements set against the residents of Poplar Street. I stay for the characterisation though and that’s why I’m sure I’ll be reading it again and again.

Eight out of Ten

The 'Back from Holiday Book Haul'!

2012-02-01T20:10:00.000Z

I don't normally do posts like this, there are at least three people (that I know of) already doing it and a lot better than I would, but there was a nice little haul waiting for me last night (when I got back from Plymouth) and I thought I'd share :o) Check em' out. I've included blurbs where I thought people here might not recognise the book straight away, everyone knows about the first book though which is...

Result! :o) I've got a couple of books to finish first but I'll be starting on 'Throne' early next week I reckon. 'Know No Fear' didn't arrive though, still keeping an eye open for that one.

Lovely looking cover but I can't see myself getting round to reading this one anytime soon. It's the final book in a nine book series and I've only read the first three. There's an awful lot of catching up to do there (even my Malazan reading isn't that far behind!)

Another series that I need to catch up on but I'm only one book behind in this case. Expect a review sometime soon(ish) as I did enjoy the first book when I read it the year before last.

Magda Lazarus was a reluctant witch until the dire threat of Nazi Germany convinced her to assume the mantle of her family's ancient powers. But though this young, beautiful Jewish woman has fought off Hitler's SS werewolves and the demon who would rule through the Fuhrer, she has been unable to prevent the outbreak of World War II. As long as Magda can summon spirits, there is still a chance to save people from the dire threat of the Holocaust. Her family's guardian angel, Raziel, stands beside her in the battle against the human and supernatural forces of evil arrayed against her people and all of Europe.

To be honest, it's only the mention of SS Werewolves that has me considering picking this one up... I can see myself reading it but it's not a priority. I think this is a 'second book in the series', is there a first book and has anyone here read it?

It’s a big Spiral Arm, and the scarred man, Donavan buigh, has gone missing in it, upsetting the harper Mearana's plans for a reconciliation between her parents. Bridget ban, a Hound of the League, doubts that reconciliation is possible or desirable; but nonetheless has dispatched agents to investigate the disappearance.

The powerful Ravn Olafsdottr, a Shadow of the Names, slips into Clanthompson Hall to tell mother and daughter of the fate of Donovan buigh. In the Long Game between the Confederation of Central Worlds and the United League of the Periphery, Hound and Shadow are mortal enemies; yet a truce descends between them so that the Shadow may tell her tale. There is a struggle in the Lion’s Mouth, the bureau that oversees the Shadows—a clandestine civil war of sabotage and assassination between those who would overthrow Those of Name and the loyalists who support them. And Donovan, one-time Confederal agent, has been recalled to take a key part, willingly or no.

I want to read a lot more sci-fi this year but I'm leaning towards space opera rather than the harder stuff, 'In The Lion's Mouth' looks like it could do the trick on that score :o) Review hopefully in the next couple of weeks.

What is it about this particular batch of books that almost everything so far has been 'Part X in a Series of Y'? We're looking at Book 2 in the 'Forerunner Saga' here and I'll probably pick this one up at some point. Partly because I've never read anything by Greg Bear and partly because I love playing 'Halo' whenever I'm anywhere near an XBox... :o)

The tag-line on my advance copy reads 'Hunted by Heroes...' but the cover is exactly the same. Have some blurb,

In the Empire of the Saviours, the People are forced to live in fortified towns. Their walls are guarded by an army of Heroes, whose task is to keep marauding pagans out as much as it is to keep the People inside. Several times a year, living Saints visit the towns to exact the Saviours' tithe from all those coming of age - a tithe often paid in blood. When a young boy, Jillan, unleashes pagan magicks in an accident, his whole town turns against him. He goes on the run, but what hope can there be when the Saviours and the entire Empire decide he must be caught? Jillan is initially hunted by just the soldiers of the Saint of his region, but others soon begin to hear of his increasing power and seek to use him for their own ends. Some want Jillan to join the fight against the Empire, others wish to steal his power for themselves and others still want Jillan to lead them to the Geas, the source of all life and power in the world. There are very few Jillan can trust, except for a ragtag group of outcasts. His parents threatened, his life in tatters, his beliefs shaken to the core, Jillan must decide which side he is on, and whether to fight or run . . .

Is it just me or have I read this before under a different title...? The note, at the front, assures me that I'm not just reading the same old story over again so I guess I'll just have to take their word for it. Again, not a priority read though...

That's the haul then :o) Any of those books take your fancy...? Should I read 'Apocalypse' despite being horribly behind on the series? ;o) Comments please!

A Little Wishlist...

2012-01-31T02:03:00.002Z

I've spent the last few days in Plymouth and very nice it's been too :o) As much as I don't want to go back home I don't really have much choice in the matter so I'm hoping that there will be at least a couple of books waiting on the doorstep to sweeten the deal. You want specifics? Here goes...

Because I've been hearing a lot of good things about this book and it sounds like just the kind of reading that I need right now ('engaging and fun' is the order of the day with a side of 'sword and sorcery'). I've really got my fingers crossed for this one.

The 'Horus Heresy' series has very much become a 'mark the release of each new book in the diary' kind of affair for me; a 'Horus Heresy' book from Dan Abnett gets the same treatment plus at least one sleepless night wondering if my copy will show up the next day. I really hope today's that day...

If I had to choose one of these books I'd go for... Well, it has to be 'Know No Fear', Abnett hasn't let me down yet while Ahmed is an unknown quantity (although like I said, I've been hearing good things). We'll see what the postman has left for me I guess... Are any of you guys positively itching for the postman to show up at your door? What book(s) are you waiting for and should I give them a go?

In other news, 'A Dance With Dragons' is nearing the close and right now I don't know how I feel about it. There are flashes of brilliance but there are just as many moments that, well... just aren't. I'm hoping to have it all read by the end of the week so you can expect a review fairly soon after that.

Thanks for bearing with me, over the last week, by the way. The whole 'job ending' thing has meant a whole load of changes already and it's only been a week since I finished! Things are on the up again though so the blog should be looking more like it should very soon ;o)

‘Elric: The Balance Lost’ #1 – Roberson & Biagini (Boom! Studios)

2012-01-30T00:43:00.007Z

A bit of a shorter post than normal for those of you who turn up on a Monday to hear me moan about being in the office of a morning. No job equals no office to be in so things are a little jauntier today; I’m also feeling good because I’ve spent the last couple of days poring over a comic that I’d completely forgotten was on the shelves last year. Thank goodness for reprints or, in this case, other comics on the shelf that hid this one.

I had my eyes open for the ‘Balance Lost’ series, last year, so I don’t know how it passed me by. Perhaps it was the mention of it being written by Chris Roberson, I’ve never finished a book of his that I’ve started so I wasn’t exactly filled with confidence when I heard that he had control of the reins. Turns out I was mistaken; ‘The Balance Lost’ looks like it could well be another title to collect in trade format.

The set up is a familiar one especially if, like me, you’ve read the ‘Chronicles of Castle Brass’. The Cosmic Balance is threatened across the Multiverse and three incarnations of the Eternal Champion are slowly being summoned to combat whatever is behind the collapse. In our world a games designer, Eric Beck, dreams nightly of events taking place in other dimensions. What is his connection to the three Champions and are his dreams about to become reality…?

‘The Balance Lost’ #1 runs very much along the lines of setting everything up whilst giving nothing away of what the future holds in store. This approach verges on the tedious although I understand that this series is going to be a long running one so maybe taking one issue to set things up is understandable. I think what this is all about is catering to readers who aren’t all that familiar with Moorcock’s work and I guess that’s far enough really. You might want to bear that in mind though if you’re a long term fan.

Roberson makes up for all this though with the situation that he throws Elric into the middle of; you know Elric will escape but it’s set up as such that I really want to find out just how he does it. It’s also good to meet Dorian Hawkmoon (who is fast becoming a favourite Champion of mine) and Corum again and have certain gaps, in their history, filled in. the introduction of Eric Beck isn’t going to raise any serious questions amongst long term fans but the sub-plot with his brother looks like it could have some real potential. I want to see how it plays out in terms of echoing certain stories, of the Multiverse, that have already been told.

Francesco Biagini’s art kind of crept up on me when I was least expecting it. It started off looking a little too ‘Marvel’ for my liking but Biagini’s depictions of the raw stuff of Chaos really catch the eye. His portrayal of the Champions is a little more hit and miss though. Elric looks a little too cartoonish although his final panel really captures the essence of the Pale Prince. Hawkmoon though… I saw him and felt straight away that this was the man I had been reading about., Biagini captured him perfectly (war weary yet noble) as far as I was concerned.

‘The Balance Lost’ looks like it could be a series worth following then. A quick look on Amazon sees that Volume Two will be out in July, has anyone else been reading this series?

Eight out of Ten

Cover Art - 'The Pillars of Hercules' (David Constantine)

2012-01-29T00:58:00.004Z

Because Nightshade Books always come up with good cover art and I've enjoyed David Constantine's work in the past, albeit under a different name...
I won't bother giving you the blurb as it's right above you, click on the picture (to make it bigger) and you'll see just what 'Pillars' is all about. I'm looking forward to it... :o)

Win tickets to see Star Wars 3D ('The Phantom Menace') at the BFI IMAX

2012-01-28T07:19:00.001Z

You might even see me there... I need to know whether 'The Phantom Menace' works better in 3D, it has to! :o) Thanks to those lovely people at the BFI I have three pairs of tickets to give away, if you fancy a little bit of '3D Star Wars' then you've come to the right place. Here's what you need to do...

- Click Here for a list of dates that the film is showing. Pick a date that you'd like to go on.
- Drop me an email (address at the top right hand side of the screen) telling me who you are, your address, and the date that you'd like to see the film. The subject header needs to be Star Wars.

Erm... and that's it :o) I'll do everything else. The only condition of entry is really obvious. You need to be in a position where you can make it to the IMAX, in London, on the date you've asked for (Edited to add... That's any date apart from the opening weekend. Sorry for any confusion). There's no point in entering otherwise is there...?

I'll let this one run until Sunday the 5th of February and will announce the winners as soon as possible afterwards.

Good Luck!

‘Creepy Comics 1’ (Dark Horse Books)

2012-01-27T16:09:00.000Z

As a boy, if there was a minor operation to be had (and time off school afterwards) then you could bet that I’d be taking up a hospital bed somewhere. It wasn’t that I was particularly ill or anything, it was just that various small parts of me would need removing from time to time. That’s just the way it goes I guess. It goes without saying that the resulting time off school was always the best part, especially when a Grandparent would show up with comics for me to read while everyone else was in lessons :o)
One time while I was off the ‘Get Well Soon’ comic pile threw up an issue of ‘Scream’, a relatively short lived UK comic that I will always remember for a story about a tower block run by an AI that would systematically kill off everyone that threatened his residents. I think that may have been the moment I fell in love with horror comics…

This was a love affair that died spectacularly during my teenage years and was barely remembered when I got back into reading comics at college. The ‘Zombie World’ comics took care of that though and, more recently, so did ‘The Mammoth Book of Zombie Comics’ and ‘The Mammoth Book of Horror Comics’. I’m always after more horror in my comics though and the first collected volume of Dark Horse’s new ‘Creepy’ series (collecting issues #1 to #4) seemed like a great place to get my fix. Have you seen how much the older volumes of ‘Creepy’ are going for? Before I spend serious money on those (and it would be serious money) I thought I’d check out the latest stuff first. There was also the fact that I’m a sucker for Eric Powell’s artwork and this book is full of it. Having read the book, there’s definitely potential for future issues and I’ll probably be there to see how it all pans out. I’ll be hoping for stories that are more ‘hit’ than ‘miss’ though as that’s how I’d sum up Volume One…

If your comic book is called ‘Creepy’ then that’s making a serious statement of intent. Not only are you making promises on the quality of the content but you’re also hearkening back to the ‘Creepy’ of yesteryear, a series that was very well received back in the day. I guess the bottom line is that the revitalised ‘Creepy’ of today should have been called ‘Some of it is Creepy but there’s a lot of filler that isn’t’… I know that’s a long title for a comic book cover but sometimes you’ve got to be honest about these things.

‘Creepy Comics 1’ can be split into two halves. You’ve got the stories that are genuinely creepy, the stuff where the revelation sends a genuine shiver up your spine and you can’t get it out of your head. You also have the stories that forego these chills and set out to just plain shock you instead. Not creepy at all in other words.

This wouldn’t be such a big deal but a number of these stories don’t really shock at all. Neil Kleid’s ‘All the Help You Need’ has a great concept but the ending can be seen a mile off. It’s the same kind of issue with Mike Baron’s ‘Muscle Car’ but this tale takes a big step backwards when it decides to concentrate purely on the gore. Doug Moench’s ‘Pelted’ could have been something special but Angelo Torres’ art was far too plain and functionary to do it the justice it really deserves.

Braun and Haffner’s ‘Xchange’ though… That was the one story that set out to shock yet somehow ended up being quite creepy at the same time. I won’t spoil the ending, even though you can probably guess just how Hitler managed to escape Germany at the end of the war, I’ll only say that’s it very well handled and worth sticking around for.

It’s not just about the shocks though, thank goodness. ‘Creepy’ does show moments of real… well, creepiness and that’s what not only made the book one that I stuck with but ensured that I’ll check out future volumes.

I really want to see more along the same lines of Joe Harris’ ‘The Curse’ for a start; a genuinely unnerving tale of what ultimate power can do to the unprepared. It’s also a tale that introduces you to the darkness in everyone as well as making you question just what reality really is. ‘The Curse’ spans several issues of ‘Creepy’ but there are also one shots that do the job just as well. Take Joe R. Lansdale’s ‘Drawn Out’ for starters, a tale that really ratchets up the tension and has you wondering just how unlucky one man can be. Not that he didn’t deserve it… Andrew Foley’s ‘Fit for a King’ is another such tale, one that shows you what can happen when a cannibal chooses not to finish a meal… Michael Woods’ ‘Chemical 13’ marries horror all too well with the horror of the Nazi concentration camps and is more than ably drawn by Saskia Gutekunst. The collection signs off in just the right way with Andrew Mayer’s ‘Om Nom Nom’, a tale of the grotesquely cute that ends up being just plain grotesque in its creepiness. Lukas Ketner’s art really catches the tone of this piece perfectly.

There are more tales that are just as unnerving but I’ll let you find them for yourself. There is a lot of filler in this collection but when ‘Creepy’ hits the spot it does so in such a way that you won’t get those stories and images out of your head. I’d like ‘Creepy Comics 2’ to be more consistent in what it promises to deliver and I’ll be there to see if it makes good on that promise.

Eight and a Quarter out of Ten

Some cover art that caught my eye...

2012-01-26T00:51:00.006Z

In case you were wondering where all the reviews are this week... I'm well and truly into 'A Dance With Dragons' at the moment (about four hundred pages in) so I'm sure you'll understand that there hasn't been time for much else! ;o) Thoughts so far? I wish they'd hurry up and get on with whatever they're going to do. It's not so much 'A Dance With Dragons', more like 'Dragons telling each other how strong the King is and why they can't fight him even though he's a little boy'... Oh yes, there's also lots and lots of detail about what people are eating; makes me hungry just reading it! There are flashes of brilliance but I thought the book would have taken off by now, I'm far enough in to keep reading though and the potential is there. I'll see how I feel in six hundred pages time...

I might be able to post a review (maybe two, we'll see...) before the end of the week. In the meantime, here are a couple of covers that have caught my eye over the last couple of days.

This one caught my eye in a reproachful way initially, gently reminding me that I still haven't read 'The Winds of Khalakovo'. Soon, I promise! Once the guilt was out of the way, I was able to fully appreciate what looks like a very crisp, fresh cover (Nightshade are good at coming up with these); even if I'm not a hundred percent convinced about the perspective employed on the front. I'd rather see what the guy is leaping onto personally. Pat loved 'The Winds of Khalakovo', anyone else read it?

It's like I was saying the other day... A cover doesn't necessarily have to be good just so long as it's eye catching. Some bright orange letters make sure this cover catches your eye, even if it took me a little while longer to work out what the rest of it was all about. Is this a cover that draws you in, asking you to make sense of it, or is it just badly drawn with some splashes of colour? I'm going for the former but it could just as easily be the latter... I'm not sure whether I'll give 'The Troupe' a go or not, still thinking about it.

And now it's back to the 'Dance' :o)

Audrey Niffenegger comes to Solaris for Magic anthology

2012-01-25T00:50:00.004Z

From the Press Release...

International best-selling author Audrey Niffenegger is to pen her first ever story for a commercial trade anthology, after signing to Solaris’ forthcoming short story collection, Magic.

Solaris are proud to announce that Niffenegger, whose novel The Time Traveller's Wife has sold more than 2.5 million copies worldwide, is to produce a story for the themed anthology of the occult and arcane, due for release in November 2012 in North America and the UK, in both paperback and ebook.

The story marks Audrey’s first ever appearance in any commercial trade anthology and is the third themed collection from Solaris editor-in-chief Jonathan Oliver. The previous critically-acclaimed anthologies include The End of the Line, which featured stories set on the Underground, and House of Fear, which rebooted the haunted house for the 21st Century. The titles garnered ecstatic reviews, with The Times describing End of the Line’s stories as “exceptionally good”.

“I'm delighted to be involved in this project,” said Audrey Niffenegger. “My story is called The Wrong Fairie and is about Charles Altamont Doyle. He was a Victorian artist who was institutionalized for alcoholism. He was also the father of Arthur Conan Doyle, and he believed in fairies.”

“It's really very exciting to be working with Audrey, whose novels The Time Traveller's Wife and Her Fearful Symmetry show an author with a great talent for subverting genre norms and delivering the unexpected,” said Jonathan Oliver. “Audrey's story is sure to make a great addition to Magic.”

The line-up for Magic: An Anthology of the Esoteric and Arcane is set to include other high profile authors, including Richard and Judy Book Club-choice Alison Littlewood, NYT Bestseller Dan Abnett, and celebrated authors such as Christopher Fowler, Storm Constantine, Robert Shearman, Paul Meloy, Sophia McDougall, Will Hill, Gemma Files, along with new writers such as Sarah Lotz, Lou Morgan and Thana Niveau and more.

I'm not too bothered about the news as such, having never read any Audrey Niffenegger, but the news about the shape of Solaris' next anthology has got me excited. Solaris produce good anthologies you see... :o)

2012 World Book Night... Now with added SFF!

2012-01-24T01:09:00.003Z

I didn't really pay much attention to World Book Night, last year, and only really caught the tail end of all the fuss and bother about there not being any SFF on the list. One year on and World Book Night has not only 'redeemed' itself a little bit by including SFF on the list but has showed that it knows what it's talking about by including 'Let The Right One In' and Iain M. Banks' 'The Player of Games'.

Having never read 'Let The Right One In' (any good?) this post is all about plugging 'The Player of Games'; it's been a long time since I read it but the twist in the tale has stayed with me all that time. A stunning work of SF as far as I'm concerned, maybe I'll read it for World Book Night...

Anyway... If you want to be a giver on World Book Night, or if you want to find out more about 'The Player of Games' then click on this Link and get going. I'll tell you now though, give it a read; you won't regret it :o)

‘Game of Thrones’ Episode One: ‘Winter is Coming’

2012-01-23T00:07:00.002Z

What with one thing and another I never got round to watching the first season of ‘Game of Thrones’, I kind of figured that I’d read the books so wouldn’t be missing out on a huge lot… would I? On the other hand…The thing is, I’d always fancied checking out at least one episode; I’d really enjoyed the books and wanted to see how it all translated onto the small screen. Like that was ever going to happen though, I’d have to wait at least a couple of years for the box set price to drop and even then I’d still be way behind everyone else. Who knows, at that rate George might have even finished writing the series by the time I caught up with Season Three…(probably not but it’s not like I don’t have a heaving pile of books to get through in the meantime).

Then I saw this post and was off down to my local HMV in the time that it would normally take for Robert Baratheon to father another bastard child. I might still have to wait a little while for a cheap box set deal but the first episode should be enough to keep me going in the meantime.

Before we get started, is there anyone who hasn’t read the books? How about anyone who hasn’t seen the first episode of ‘Game of Thrones’? Really? I don’t believe that…;o)
Look, if you haven’t read the books or seen the show then you need to be aware that I’m not going to skirt round any spoilers; if I see one coming at the end of a paragraph then I’m just going full steam ahead. The season defining spoilers don’t come along until much later but even so, you’ve been warned.

The bottom line is that ‘Winter is Coming’ really worked for me, I’ve definitely got my eye on the box set now (even though I’ve read the books). Some of the CGI scenery is a little too obviously CGI (I thought the Direwolf pups looked fine myself) but when that’s the only thing wrong with the episode, well… you can’t complain really can you?

What we’ve got here is an episode that introduces us to the Seven Kingdoms, sets up all the players on the board and then has them jockeying for position while nasty stuff is starting to happen up North beyond the Wall. Those scenes in particular were superb as far as I was concerned, tense and shocking moments that held my attention straight away. The producers/directors (I can never tell the difference) are obviously not afraid to skimp on the blood and that is definitely in keeping with GRRM’s grim medieval world.

There’s only an hour to get all the initial stuff set up and so it’s inevitable that not everything will fit in. It seemed to me that events took precedence over characterisation although the main players do get a chance to shine. Peter Dinklage in particular shines as Tyrion Lannister. When an actor replaces my own mental image of a character then I just know that they’ve done a good job. When I next read the books it will be Dinklage’s Tyrion that I see. Nikolaj Coster-Waldau's Jaime Lannister was almost as impressive but looked a little too much like Prince Charming (‘Shrek 2’) for me to be totally convinced. Sorry, that’s just the way it goes sometimes. And just where is Rickon Stark? I couldn’t see him but that’s not saying that he wasn’t there. Help?

Like I said, all the main events (from the opening chapters of ‘A Game of Thrones’) are covered in enough detail that the viewer is left with a decent idea of who means what to whom and why certain events are still resonating down the years. You can see how certain events build up a good head of steam (poor Bran) that will carry things along nicely in terms of pacing. From what I could see of the scenery, Ireland looked like a good place to film Winterfell. Where were the Dothraki scenes filmed? That looked gorgeous as well.

Apart from a couple of ropey CGI moments, ‘Winter is Coming’ really kicked things off in fine style and promises good things for the rest of Season One. You probably all knew that already though ;o) Don’t expect to see me talking about the rest of Season One anytime soon as I’m waiting on that box set…

‘Millennium Falcon: Owner’s Workshop Manual’ – Ryder Windham, Chris Reiff and Chris Trevas (Del Rey)

2012-01-22T00:25:00.002Z

Now I’m sure you’ve all been reading the blog long enough to know that I cover genre fiction here and not really anything that’s non-fiction. That’s just the way my preferences lie I guess, I want to lose myself in worlds of speculative fiction not have them stripped down and opened up for inspection. With this in mind then, why am I talking about the ‘Millennium Falcon Haynes Manual’…? A work of non-fiction arising from a fictional universe, that counts as non-fiction for me!

Star Wars and the Haynes Manual… An unlikely combination that has somehow awakened a severe bout of nostalgia in me. The ‘Star Wars’ element pretty much speaks for itself, I challenge anyone my age not to feel just a little bit nostalgic about the original trilogy (notice the important distinction there…) The Haynes Manual though… Well, that brings back memories of my very first car, a Mini that was older than I was, and the Haynes Manual that came with it. I’ve got to admit that I barely looked inside said manual (the stuff that happened to that car couldn’t be fixed by a mere manual!) but it was very much part of the whole ‘rites of passage, I don’t have to walk anywhere now that I have a car’ thing that crops up in everyone’s life. Two nostalgic things then, what happens when you put the two together? Put it this way, I wasn’t rushing to watch the films so I could see the Falcon in action. It wasn’t a bad read though, it made for a interesting hour or two.

If you’ve owned or read a Haynes Manual in your time then you’ll know the format which is basically an in depth look at where all the bits in your car are meant to go if they are to work properly. That’s what you’ve got here with the Millennium Falcon manual, a detailed guide to what is what and how it all works together to keep the ship moving. It’s not a hard format to stick to and the end result was that I felt like I was holding a proper manual instead of something based on a spaceship in a film. I couldn’t ask for a lot more than that and the authors take things a step further by going into a lot of detail, not only about the craft itself (I never realised that the Falcon had its own tractor beam projector…) but about the Corellian Engineering Corporation, the company that originally built the YT-1300 freighter. That’s a lot of information for fans, all accompanied by detailed schematics of the Falcon and its component parts.

The book definitely looks very good and there’s a lot of information inside for fans. The thing is though; it’s a tough one to get through, very tough in fact. You see, the thing about manuals is that they’re not really there to be enjoyed, a manual is there to give you information in order to get things working again. The authors succeed in adopting this tone, for the most part, although I did find myself wondering why the manual needed to include information on previous and current owners. What does that have to do with how the ship itself works? Sometimes though, the authors succeed in adopting this tone a little too well and the resulting material makes for dry reading to say the least. It’s the kind of book that a die-hard fan would love but a more casual fan might put down, after a while, because it’s so heavy going.

Having said that though, the ‘Millennium Falcon: Owner’s Workshop Manual’ did make for some nice nostalgic reading even if it ultimately wasn’t entirely for me. Before you pick this book up just ask yourself, ‘how much of a fan are you?’

Seven and a Half out of Ten

Reader of many books, finisher of none...

2012-01-21T01:05:00.002Z

"I've been waiting for ages for this book and it's here! Time to start reading! A hundred pages later and... "Actually, this other book has been on the pile for ages, I really should give it a go..." A hundred and fifty pages later... "Why am I reading fantasy when it's horror that I'm really after, I'll check out this other book instead." Seventy five pages later and...

That's me at the moment; reader of many books and finisher of very few of them (I've got a couple ready for review but the number of partially read books outweighs this right now). Do you have this problem? I really wish I could settle on just one book at a time...

This post then is about some of those books that I've started and then put down to move onto something else entirely. This should give you an idea about what to expect over the next few weeks, if I ever finish them off...

'Neuromancer' - William Gibson

I put this one down thirty eight pages in when I realised that I wanted to read something where the air of cool felt natural instead of being so forced. What? Don't tell me you don't feel the same... Look, it's a re-read so the plan is still to go back and see if the actual plot is as good as I remember. I'll see if I still feel the same then.

'The Emperor's Knife' - Mazarkis Williams

I made it through all of thirty nine pages here when I realized that the book was just that little bit too bulky for commuting on the Jubilee Line. What I was really after was something smaller, probably a mass market paperback of some description. What I read though looked very promising indeed and it's not as if I'm commuting at the moment... :o)

'Brimstone Angels' - Erin Evans

I was really enjoying this 'Forgotten Realms' novel (I made it fifty four pages this time!) but wanted to read a couple of shorter works, for the blog, before my job ended. I'll be back into 'Brimstone Angels' before you know it :o)

'The Call of Cthulhu' - H.P. Lovecraft

If there was one lesson that I learned last year it's that a man can only read so much Lovecraft before all the stories (short and otherwise) blur into a squamous mass of tentacles and you can't tell the difference between 'The Picture in the House' and 'The Rats in the Walls'. I bailed out at page one hundred and seventy this time round, just as 'The Colour out of Space' was about to begin... A title like that means I will be back to find out more; I just needed to read something different.

'Giant Thief' - David Tallerman

You know what? I have no idea why I put this book down at page fifty one. Let me get back to you on that one...

'A Dance With Dragons' - George R.R. Martin

I know exactly why I put this book down (at the end of the first 'Tyrion' chapter)... It's simple, I wanted to read a book that I didn't have to do warm up exercises in order to be able to hold for any length of time! Don't get me wrong, I love reading 'door stopper' fantasies but damn 'ADWD' is heavy!

Would you like to see any of these books reviewed here? Would anyone care to hold 'Dance' for me while I read it...? ;o)