Archives 2012

Filter

This is a list of all the reviews that SFBook have published in 2012.

latest
Science Fiction
review
Pure by  by Julianna Baggott
latest
Science Fiction
review

I do so love a post apocalyptic tale and they often seem not very far from the reality in these times of economic turmoil. It therefore gives me great pleasure to inform you dear reader of another tale of survival after a world altering cataclysmic event. Pressia can barely remember a time...

Article by Ant on 2nd January 2012
Read article
latest
Science Fiction
review
Empire State by  by Adam Christopher
latest
Science Fiction
review

Empire State is the début novel of the talented author Adam Christopher, combining a superhero tale with an alternative reality prohibition era noir-esque New York. Throw in gangsters, private investigators and a rogue robot and even a slight nod to steampunk then you have one daring mix. The...

Article by Ant on 5th January 2012
Read article
latest
Science Fiction
review
Theme Planet by  by Andy Remic
latest
Science Fiction
review

Andy Remic has managed to carve out his own particular niche within the science fiction genre, deliberately pushing the boundaries and not holding back in the slightest. Finding a new Remic book is very much like finding a new Tarrantino film - you just know it's going to be an irresistible...

Article by Ant on 6th January 2012
Read article
latest
Science Fiction
review
Who Goes There by  by John W Campbell
latest
Science Fiction
review

"Who Goes There?" is the novella by John W Campbell on which John Carpenter based the classic film "The Thing", its presented here with another 6 short stories by the same author, mostly published within Astounded magazine in the 1930's. John W Campbell is widely regarded as being highly...

Article by Ant on 9th January 2012
Read article
latest
Fantasy
review

Back in May last year I reviewed a novel by Peter Koevari, a promising new Indie author who has been creating an epic fantasy series known as Legends of Marithia. This is the second novel in that series and follows straight on from the events of the previous book - Legends of Marithia:...

Article by Ant on 11th January 2012
Read article
latest
Fantasy
review
Out of Oz by  by Gregory Maguire
latest
Fantasy
review

I must admit that I missed the first 3 novels in this series although I have heard a lot about them (all good) and remember hearing about the (Tony winning) Broadway musical that was based on the first book "Wicked". The books themselves are inspired by Frank Baum's childrens classic "The...

Article by Ant on 13th January 2012
Read article
latest
Fantasy
review
Storm Front by  by Jim Butcher
latest
Fantasy
review

Storm Front is the first novel introducing the wizard P.I. Harry Dresden to the world, a gritty urban fantasy that manages to captivate right from the start. We join Harry as he's going through a bit of a slow patch and so when the Chicago PD asks for help with a double homicide he jumps at the...

Article by Ant on 16th January 2012
Read article
latest
Science Fiction
review

I first read one of Paul J McAuley's novels over 20 years ago, picked up completely at random for reason's that are shrouded in the midst of time. The book was Secret Harmonies and it became one of the most memorable novel's I have read before or since, managing to evoke a powerful...

Article by Ant on 19th January 2012
Read article
latest
Science Fiction
review
Floating Worlds by  by Cecelia Holland
latest
Science Fiction
review

The only science fiction novel that the immensely talented Cecelia Holland has written, Floating Worlds is taking it's rightful place within the halls of Gollancz SF Masterworks collection. The novel tells the story of humanity 2000 years in the future where capitalism has been overthrown and...

Article by Ant on 20th January 2012
Read article
latest
Fantasy
review

Brains, Brains, BRAINS!, you just have to love those lurching, decaying animated corpses. The living dead make a great enemy and here we have wall-to-wall flesh eating monsters, ghouls and things that go bite in the night, brought to (un)life by some of the best horror and fantasy writers in the...

Article by Ant on 23rd January 2012
Read article
latest
Science Fiction
review
Cat's Cradle by  by Kurt Vonnegut
latest
Science Fiction
review

Cat's Cradle is my first foray into the world of Kurt Vonnegut, I have heard his name mentioned over the years but for one reason or another I have never actually picked up one of his novels. My youngest brother recommended his works (specifically siting Slaughterhouse five) and I have been...

Article by Ant on 25th January 2012
Read article
latest
Fantasy
review
Vivisepulture by  by Andy Remic
latest
Fantasy
review

Vivisepulture is an ebook collection of weird tales from some seriously talented authors, edited by the singular Andy Remic. (According to the online dictionary Vivisepulture is the act of burying someone alive by the way and you get some odd articles looking that one up on Google I can tell...

Article by Ant on 27th January 2012
Read article
latest
Science Fiction
review
Spirit's Destiny by  by Ken Dawson
latest
Science Fiction
review

Spirit's Destiny follows the path of one Ella Bland, who having just finished a degree is looking forward to living on earth (a right for attending 4 years of university). The very last thing she ever expected was to become embroiled in an ancient, bloody and quite secret war between a...

Article by Ant on 30th January 2012
Read article
latest
Science Fiction
review

There are very few authors alive today that can quite match Alastair Reynolds vision of future space and Blue Remembered Earth is the beginning of possibly his most ambitious future vision yet. At the same time it's also one that also feels much closer to home than any novel he has written...

Article by Ant on 1st February 2012
Read article
latest
Fantasy
review
Blackbirds by  by Chuck Wendig
latest
Fantasy
review

Blackbirds follows the life of Miriam Black who has a singular gift (or curse) that means each time she touches someone she knows when and how they will die - vividly reliving their final moments. Still in her early twenties she's seen sights most people couldn't even imagine along with...

Article by Ant on 3rd February 2012
Read article
latest
Fantasy
review

Autumn - The City is the follow up to the sensational zombie novel Autumn, promising the same power and subtle horror of the first. It takes a lot of guts to start a story again right from the beginning but told from a different perspective - a brave move that could have gone horribly wrong....

Article by Ant on 6th February 2012
Read article
latest
Science Fiction
review
Ghostmaker by  by Dan Abnett
latest
Science Fiction
review

The second novel in the Warhammer 40k Gaunt's Ghosts Series and written by that insanely talented author Dan Abnett, Ghostmaker acts as a reflection on the history of the Ghost's and focuses on telling the story of the major characters within the regiment. This is done through the use of...

Article by Ant on 8th February 2012
Read article
latest
Science Fiction
review

Another novel being published by those good people at Scifi Cafe, The Inosculation Syndrome is something of a surprise. The book tells the story of the astronaut Kal who becomes stranded on an alien planet due to a series of errors after losing touch with his star ship while charting regions...

Article by Ant on 10th February 2012
Read article
latest
Science Fiction
review
Legion of the Damned by  by Rob Sanders
latest
Science Fiction
review

Berserker chaos marine chapter the World Eaters are blazing a path of destruction across the galaxy, following in the path of a weird, blood-red comet which holds portents of doom. The small cemetery world of Certus Minor is one such planet along this celestial bodies route and the Excoriators...

Article by Ant on 13th February 2012
Read article
latest
Fantasy
review

Anyone who remembers those old Hammer Horror films (or indeed still watches them) will just adore this book, along with anyone else who loves a good story. In their hey-day between the 50's and 70's the Hammer films starred such great screen actors such as Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee with...

Article by Ant on 15th February 2012
Read article
latest
Science Fiction
review
Odyssey by  by Jack McDevitt
latest
Science Fiction
review

First Impressions: Odyssey took some getting used to in order to plow through it! My only other introduction to the author Jack McDevitt is through his excellent novel, "Time Travelers Never Die" so I was hoping this book was going to be a continuation of the excellent style I was used to....

Article by Jim on 17th February 2012
Read article
latest
Science Fiction
review
Rogue Moon by  by Algis Budrys
latest
Science Fiction
review

Rogue Moon is the disquieting story of what happens when aberrant scientific ambition is matched by human obsession. Shortlisted for the 1961 Hugo Award (losing out to the quite wonderful A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller, Jr), Rogue Moon is one of the few genre novels that Algis...

Article by Ant on 20th February 2012
Read article
latest
Fantasy
review

There has been a lot of good things said about Songs of the Earth and a consummate amount of praise given to the author of this debut novel. It has even been described as the "fantasy debut of 2011" when it was first released in hardback last year and has been on my list of books to read for...

Article by Ant on 22nd February 2012
Read article
latest
Science Fiction
review
Gentle Reminders by  by Martin Perry
latest
Science Fiction
review

Regular visitors will be aware that Gentle Reminders is being serialised right here on SFBook courtesy of the kind author Martin Perry. It therefore only seemed fair that I read and review the book that some of you good readers are indeed reading. The novel is the first in a series that is part...

Article by Ant on 24th February 2012
Read article
latest
Fantasy
review
Kultus by  by Richard Ford
latest
Fantasy
review

Meet Thaddeus Blaklok, mercenary, demonist and down right violent thug-for-hire who uses his fists the way most people use punctuation. He is dragged out of semi-retirement to "retreive" a very mysterious key for his equally mysterious benefactors. He isn't the only one after the artefact...

Article by Ant on 27th February 2012
Read article
latest
Science Fiction
review
Tribes by  by Carmen Webster Buxton
latest
Science Fiction
review

Hob is a slave, abandoned as a baby to be brought up with no hope of freedom or any chance of a normal life. On the world of Tribes any male babies born without a father figure to welcome him into his tribe becomes enslaved. Eventually Hob manages to escape and is rescued by a woman from a...

Article by Ant on 29th February 2012
Read article
latest
Fantasy
review
Black Halo by  by Sam Sykes
latest
Fantasy
review

Tome of the Undergates was a fun, bloodthirsty and action packed novel with a young and yet confident voice and Black Halo promises more of the same, picking up where the first book ended. These mismatched and grumpy souls that make up Lenk's rag-tag band manage to get themselves shipwrecked on...

Article by Ant on 2nd March 2012
Read article
latest
Science Fiction
review
Know no Fear by  by Dan Abnett
latest
Science Fiction
review

I can't really imagine a more exciting sounding Warhammer 40K novel, a battle during the Horus Heresy conflict that depicts the Ultramarines (my favorite Legion) against the Word Bearers - told with energy and grace by that master of battles Dan Abnett.

The Primarch of the Ultramarines -...

Article by Ant on 5th March 2012
Read article
latest
Fantasy
review

The Strange Affair of Spring-Heeled Jack won it's author the Philip K Dick award for best novel last year, what makes this acheivement even more remarkable is that it was also the authors début. The novel is a steampunk tale set in an alternative England where Queen Victoria was actually...

Article by Ant on 7th March 2012
Read article
latest
Science Fiction
review
Dangerous Visions by  by Harlan Ellison
latest
Science Fiction
review

Dangerous Visions was originally published in 1967 and was the brain child of it's editor Harlan Ellison. Anthologies rarely attract the kind of attention that this one has over the years but then most don't win major awards for more than half a dozen of it's stories either. Hugo award wins...

Article by Ant on 9th March 2012
Read article
latest
Fantasy
review
Anno Dracula by  by Kim Newman
latest
Fantasy
review

I remember reading the short story "Red Reign" about 20 years ago, written by Newman and published in the Mammoth Book of Vampires. This short story formed the basis for the novel and it's been on my list of books to read for some time. The imminent re-release of the sequel "The Bloody Red...

Article by Ant on 12th March 2012
Read article
latest
Fantasy
review

Mountain Man introduces us to a world that is now mostly inhabited by the walking undead and Augustus Berry lives a day-to-day existence that is largely composed of getting drunk, foraging for supplies and preparing for the day when the Zombie horde will come up the side of the mountain and...

Article by Ant on 14th March 2012
Read article
latest
Science Fiction
review
Dying Star: Exodus by  by Samsun Lobe
latest
Science Fiction
review

The self-proclaimed Emperor Vas returns to stamp his will on the unsuspecting Virtues of Son Gebshu's moon. His inflexible will and iron determination manages to breed resentment which fast leads to an all-out civil war. Meanwhile on the dying planet below the temperature continues to plummet,...

Article by Ant on 16th March 2012
Read article
latest
Science Fiction
review
Mine by  by Lin Sten
latest
Science Fiction
review

Some time ago, I reviewed the novel Mine by Lin Sten and at the time I had mixed feelings about the book, there were some great ideas, a strong central premise and in parts great dialogue however this was all obscured behind some serious lack of editing, poor language and quite ropey running...

Article by Ant on 19th March 2012
Read article
latest
Fantasy
review

James Barclay is undoubtedly one of the finest heroic fantasy authors writing today, his Raven series are incredible novels with some really exceptional battles and fight scenes. Rise of the TaiGethen is the second novel in his series that feature those immortal forest dwellers, the Elves - and...

Article by Ant on 19th March 2012
Read article
latest
Fantasy
review

Framed for Murder and on the run, Detective Inspector Cass Jones gets unwelcome attention wherever he goes, including being hounded by his former colleagues. As he works desperately to save his kidnapped nephew and gain answers he finds himself going up against The Bank and its sinister...

Article by Ant on 21st March 2012
Read article
latest
Fantasy
review

Reviewed by Ed Prior. Moon Over Soho is the second novel in Ben Aaronovitch’s Rivers of London series about Metropolitan Police Constable and trainee wizard Peter Grant and his magical mentor DCI Thomas Nightingale. Moon Over Soho finds PC Peter Grant still living with the fallout from his...

Article by Ed on 22nd March 2012
Read article
latest
Science Fiction
review

The 15th April 2012 marks a century after the RMS Titanic (operated by the White Star Line) sank after colliding with an iceberg during her maiden voyage from Southampton to New York. 1517 people died in those freezing waters. It's as much a lesson in human arrogance as it is in maritime...

Article by Ant on 23rd March 2012
Read article
latest
Fantasy
review

For those who have never met them, Gotrek and Felix are unsung heroes of the Warhammer fantasy Empire, the dwarven slayer* Gotrek Gurnisson and his human rememberer Felix Jaeger are the stuff of legend and have been featured in 13 novels, numerous short stories, the Warhammer fantasy Battle game...

Article by Ant on 26th March 2012
Read article
latest
Fantasy
review

Review by Ed Prior. Homeless young orphan Locke Lamora is deemed not "circumspect" enough to make it as a thief. Narrowly escaping a swift death he is packed off to be a disciple at the temple of the Crooked Warden, the god of Fate and Fortune - patron of thieves and rogues. Locke soon learns...

Article by Ed on 27th March 2012
Read article
latest
Science Fiction
review
The Sirens of Titan by  by Kurt Vonnegut
latest
Science Fiction
review

Reviewed by Philip Graham. Kurt Vonnegut was, until recently, my personal Leo Tolstoy. By that I mean that I knew his name, I knew he was a famed author, and I knew that I really should have read more, or even some, of his work. So finally I went out and got "The Sirens of Titan". I chose this...

Article by Philip on 28th March 2012
Read article
latest
Fantasy
review

String of Pearls asks the question; what if Heaven turned out to be just as dangerous as Hell? Dayson Snow has spent most of his life fighting against the greed of multinational corporations and when he arrives in Washington DC with Yumi Mihara - the love of his life - he becomes embroiled in a...

Article by Ant on 29th March 2012
Read article
latest
Science Fiction
review
Phalanx by  by Ben Counter
latest
Science Fiction
review

The gargantuan star fort of the Imperial Fists, the Phalanx is to be the host for half a dozen Space Marine Chapters. Along with Inquisitors, Sisters of Battle and agents of the Adeptus Mechanicus they will witness a darkly historic event - the end of a Space Marine chapter. After the events of...

Article by Ant on 30th March 2012
Read article
latest
Science Fiction
review
Odd John by  by Olaf Stapledon
latest
Science Fiction
review

Odd John was first published in 1935 and was one of the very first novels to explore the theme of the super human, coining the term homo superior. It's being reviewed here as part of Gollancz excellent SF Masterworks series. Written from a narrator's perspective, Odd John is a pretty unique...

Article by Ant on 4th April 2012
Read article
latest
Fantasy
review

Those good fellows over at Titan books have released a brand new edition of the best-selling sequel to Anno Dracula, complete with an additional novella. Continuing the alternative history tale where the vampire hunter Van Helsing was defeated by Dracula, bringing Vampirism into the open and...

Article by Ant on 5th April 2012
Read article
latest
Science Fiction
review
Path of the Renegade by  by Andy Chambers
latest
Science Fiction
review

Asdrubael Vect has ruled the dark city of Commorragh for millennia, ruthlessly disposing of any who would dare cross him. His reach is long and his position unassailable... or so he thinks. The ambitious Archon (highest ranking member of a Dark Eldar Kabal) Yllithian thinks otherwise and joins...

Article by Ant on 10th April 2012
Read article
latest
Fantasy
review
Snowtear by  by S.B. Davidson
latest
Fantasy
review

Review by author Luis Villazon. This is a detective novel, with a fantasy setting. The city of Winter Moon is surrounded on three sides by impenetrable mountains and on the fourth by an impassable frozen sea. Its only connection to the outside world is via the magical floating city of...

Article by Luis on 11th April 2012
Read article
latest
Fantasy
review

I have always loved the Arthurian legend, there is something quite special about King Arthur, the Knights of Camelot and of course Merlin, by far my favourite character from the stories. One of my favourite cartoons is still the Disney classic "the Sword in the Stone" and I always look forward...

Article by Ant on 12th April 2012
Read article
latest
Fantasy
review
The Return Man by  by V. M. Zito
latest
Fantasy
review

The Return man is a post-apocalyptic Zombie novel that manages to offer a few surprises and original ideas in this rapidly expanded sub-genre.

The story goes that a mass "outbreak" divides America in two, on the east the untouched survivors remain safe while the west has become truly...

Article by Ant on 13th April 2012
Read article
latest
Fantasy
review

The Last Wish is the first of two short story collections that precede the main Witcher Saga, written by the polish author Andrzej Sapkowski. The majority of the stories that make up this novel were originally published in the Polish science fiction magazine Fantastyka which have been...

Article by Ant on 16th April 2012
Read article
latest
Fantasy
review

The noble and venerable order of The Knights of the Blazing Sun dedicate themselves to the warrior-goddess Myrmidia and in her name travel the land as Templars. The young knight Hector Goetz is sent to investigate a group of knights gone missing on the distant island of Svunum. Reunited with...

Article by Ant on 18th April 2012
Read article
latest
Science Fiction
review
Iron Warriors by  by Graham McNeill
latest
Science Fiction
review

On the dark and bloody battlefields of the Warhammer 40k universe few enemies incite more dread than the merciless Chaos Space Marines. Spreading terror and destruction in their wake, they have fought against their hated Space marine brethren for a millennia. The Iron Warriors are brutal even...

Article by Ant on 20th April 2012
Read article
latest
Science Fiction
review
Resident Fear by  by Hylton H Smith
latest
Science Fiction
review

It's the year 2018 and Britain has been expelled from the European Union. Over in the Northeast of the country the body of a wealthy Industrialist is found, draped at the base of the iconic sculpture - The Angel of the North. D.C.I. Jack Renton soon begins to understand that this isn't a simple...

Article by Ant on 23rd April 2012
Read article
latest
Science Fiction
review
Architect of Fate by  by Christian Dunn
latest
Science Fiction
review

Architect of Fate is a Space Marine Battles Anthology which collects together 4 novellas that make up the series featuring the infamous greater daemon of Tzeentch, Kairos Fateweaver. A master of manipulation who schemes and uses his prodigious power to play with the fates of thousands, even the...

Article by Ant on 25th April 2012
Read article
latest
Fantasy
review
Nocturnal by  by Scott Sigler
latest
Fantasy
review

San Francisco Homicide detective Bryan Clauser thinks he may be losing his mind. What other explanation could there be for the dreams he keeps having, dreams where he witnesses some really gruesome murders that also happen to be actually carried out all over the city. As he and his partner...

Article by Ant on 27th April 2012
Read article
latest
Fantasy
review

Carrying on right from where we left the survivors back in Autumn: The City, Purification takes us further down the Zombie survival road. Pretty much imprisoned within the underground Army base this small group sit and wait while on the surface the crowd of shuffling corpses is growing in size...

Article by Ant on 30th April 2012
Read article
latest
Horror
review

Reviewed by Arron Clegg. Stephen King’s first foray into the realms of fantasy couldn’t really have been written any better. He manages to keep his familiar style of writing, one that keeps us turning the pages, long after the sun has set in the sky, and yet has written in an olde-worlde...

Article by Arron on 1st May 2012
Read article
latest
Science Fiction
review
Void Stalker by  by Aaron Dembski-Bowden
latest
Science Fiction
review

The Night Lords are being relentlessly hunted by the Eldar of the Craftworld Ulthwé, fleeing to the dark fringes of the Imperium in an attempt to escape their pursuers. The fickle hand of fate delivers them to the carrion world of Tsagualsa, a world where their Primarch died and the legion...

Article by Ant on 2nd May 2012
Read article
latest
Fantasy
review

It would be a bit of an understatement to say I've been eagerly anticipating this novel, ever since I was lucky enough to review Sixty One Nails I've been completely hooked by Mike Shevdon's rich, dynamic prose and unique, powerful voice that helps to create this astounding urban fantasy...

Article by Ant on 4th May 2012
Read article
latest
Fantasy
review
Dead Winter by  by CL Werner
latest
Fantasy
review

Dead Winter is the first novel in a new series that's set within the "Time of Legends" collection, itself set within Warhammer Fantasy with the aim to tell the stories of some of the greatest heroes of the Warhammer world.

A thousand years have passed since the Age of Sigmar and the...

Article by Ant on 7th May 2012
Read article
latest
Fantasy
review
Asbury Park by  by Robb Scott
latest
Fantasy
review

Ten weeks ago Homicide Detective Sailor Doyle worked on his first ever solo case, a horrific double murder in a remote area of Virginia that almost finished him for good. Now he's recuperating from the physical wounds and mental trauma, the near death experience acting as a focus to overcome...

Article by Ant on 9th May 2012
Read article
latest
Horror
review
The Spear by  by James Herbert
latest
Horror
review

Review by Arron Clegg. James Herbert has long been regarded by many people as Britain’s finest horror writer of the 20th century and with his 5th novel The Spear it is hard to argue against such claims. It is a horror novel that has it all, ghosts, the occult and Nazis.

The writing in...

Article by Arron on 10th May 2012
Read article
latest
Science Fiction
review
Eye of Vengeance by  by Graham McNeill
latest
Science Fiction
review

This is a first for SFBook, in it's 13 year history not once has an Audio book been reviewed, it's long before time this changed and I hope to review at least a few novels in this format over the coming months. Honour of the first goes to a specially created audio only book by the Black...

Article by Ant on 11th May 2012
Read article
latest
Science Fiction
review
Luna for the Lunies by  by Ira Nayman
latest
Science Fiction
review

Review by Luis Villazon. Ira Nayman bills himself as the proprietor of the “Alternate Reality News Service”, a sort of Reuters for the multiverse. This collection of short stories is structured like a newspaper, with technology stories, crime reports, obituaries and advice columns supplied...

Article by Luis on 14th May 2012
Read article
latest
Fantasy
review

Empire of the Saviours is a very, very clever novel than manages to offer something different over the traditional fantasy fare, using tried and tested fantasy tropes - young boy from humble beginnings find he has incredible power - but then creating something quite different, fresh and unique...

Article by Ant on 16th May 2012
Read article
latest
Science Fiction
review
Butchers Nails by  by Aaron Dembski-Bowden
latest
Science Fiction
review

Written by Aaron Dembski-Bowden and voiced by Seán Barrett, Butchers Nails is a new and original Audio Drama set within the time of the Horus Heresy and focused on Angron, Primarch of the World Eaters legion - uber-violent, unpredictable and somewhat unhinged (he eventually went on to become a...

Article by Ant on 18th May 2012
Read article
latest
Science Fiction
review
Wonder by  by Robert J Sawyer
latest
Science Fiction
review

In the very near future the Internet has given birth to a sentient, artificial being. "Webmind" could be seen as a post-human event that could benefit the whole of humanity but some of the World's governments don't share that optimism and see this new digital life as an enemy of mankind, fearing...

Article by Ant on 21st May 2012
Read article
latest
Horror
review

Review by Arron Clegg. Shaun Hutson. For fans of horror he is the master of all that is gory in the world of horror novels and has been for some time now. His roots however give more than a passing nod to a compatriot of his Mr. Herbert. Unmarked Graves shows exactly what Shaun does well. He...

Article by Arron on 22nd May 2012
Read article
latest
Fantasy
review

Way before be became a household name with his Songs of Ice and Fire series, George RR Martin wrote a number of stand-out novels and Armageddon Rag is often seen as one the most off-the-wall if not his finest early works. Nominated for the Locus and World Fantasy awards it failed to gain any...

Article by Ant on 23rd May 2012
Read article
latest
Science Fiction
review
Anomalies by  by Gregory Benford
latest
Science Fiction
review

Reviewed by Matt Karder. I have never been an ardent fan of short stories but this collection certainly is an exception. The flow within the prose is a major factor. Short sentences bursting with content focus the reader’s attention very effectively. A Worm In The Well & The Worm Turns The...

Article by Matt on 25th May 2012
Read article
latest
Fantasy
review
Red Glove by  by Holly Black
latest
Fantasy
review

It's funny how even if you follow a genre closely you can still miss some pretty successful authors, I guess that there are just so many novels published nowadays that this will become increasingly common. I haven't read anything by Holly Black before but I have been aware of her work without...

Article by Ant on 28th May 2012
Read article
latest
Fantasy
review

Bitterblue is the third novel in the Seven Kingdoms series, following on from the events of Fire and Graceling. The story begins eight years after the events of Graceling and is more a direct follow up to this novel with only the occasional crossover from the Fire storyline.

The focus is...

Article by Ant on 30th May 2012
Read article
latest
Horror
review

Review by Arron Clegg. Wow, what a novel. Not my first time for reading it, but I just seemed to enjoy it even more this time around. Now, most of you out there are already aware that Richard Bachman was a pen name for Stephen King. He chose to do this purely because in his early days, even as...

Article by Arron on 31st May 2012
Read article
latest
Science Fiction
review
A Jar of Wasps by  by Luis Villazon
latest
Science Fiction
review

Graham Trevennan is one of those people who coast through life without great aspirations or desire to own the world (or even a secret hollowed out volcano). Having split with his girlfriend he's mooching about pretty aimlessly when he get's the shock of his life - secret lumps of rock, shady and...

Article by Ant on 1st June 2012
Read article
latest
Fantasy
review

The greatest city in the Thirteen Lands, Rigus stands as a radiant hub of grandiose manors and sparkling citadels. It's a place where nobility rules and disagreements are settled with honourable duels. In the shadow of this glory sits Low Town, a vast warren of dark, narrow streets, dirty alleys...

Article by Ant on 5th June 2012
Read article
latest
Science Fiction
review

The legendary Grey Knights are all that stand between mankind and the horrors of chaos. Secret Guardians who journey into the very realms of the warp and beyond in pursuit of the enemy; to most they and their foes are nothing more than myth and legend, those are the lucky ones.

The...

Article by Ant on 6th June 2012
Read article
latest
Science Fiction
review
Raise the Gipper! by  by John Barnes
latest
Science Fiction
review

Raise the Gipper! is a satire about the forthcoming American presidential elections (The Gipper is a nickname given to the late ex-president and former actor Ronald Reagan) and plays on the current political climate to great effect.

The story goes that the Republicans - who are currently...

Article by Ant on 7th June 2012
Read article
latest
Science Fiction
review
Amped by  by Douglas E Richards
latest
Science Fiction
review

Amped follows on directly from the events of Wired reviewed late last year. We rejoin the brilliant scientist Kira Miller who has discovered how to boost the human IQ to extreme post-human levels for short periods of time. With this extreme intelligence comes the danger that the same process...

Article by Ant on 8th June 2012
Read article
latest
Science Fiction
review
The Primarchs by  by Christian Dunn
latest
Science Fiction
review

It is a time of legends, the entire galaxy is one mighty battleground which see the indomitable space marines locked in a bitter civil war, divided by the heresy of Horus.

Some chapters remain loyal to humanities greatest leader; the Emperor, while others have chosen the chaos tainted...

Article by Ant on 11th June 2012
Read article
latest
Fantasy
review
Bloodsworn by  by Nathan Long
latest
Fantasy
review

Bloodsworn follows on from the events in the previous volumes Bloodborn and Bloodforged as Ulrika the Vampire returns to Nuln, finding her former Lahmian sisters preparing for war. Their arch rivals, the deleterious Von Carsteins meanwhile have begun to attack their strongholds and lead the...

Article by Ant on 13th June 2012
Read article
latest
Horror
review

Review by Arron Clegg. (*Darkness Comes is also known as Darkfall). In his early days Dean spent a lot of time trying different genres out and attempting different writing styles. Nowadays he is more famous for writing about events and stories which are very feasible in the modern world....

Article by Arron on 14th June 2012
Read article
latest
Science Fiction
review

The Other Log of Phileas Fogg is very much a "literary mashup" novel which fills in the blanks from Jules Verne's classic novel "Around the World in 80 Days". It's being given a new lease of life thanks to Titan Books, originally published almost 40 years ago.

As the title suggests the...

Article by Ant on 15th June 2012
Read article
latest
Fantasy
review

He-Dog and Balless are mad, brutal, unpredictable mercenaries, and those are their good points. The remains of this ragtag group also includes the suicidal, one-eyed ex-champion archer Borus and the disfigured but deadly Chop . When they accept a mission that no-one else would touch, they travel...

Article by Ant on 18th June 2012
Read article
latest
Fantasy
review
Kraken by  by China Mieville
latest
Fantasy
review

Kraken is essentially "grown up" urban fantasy - and when I say grown up I don't mean littered with expletives but with a deal of maturity and written without compromise (as all Miéville's works are). You won't find any soppy vampires or angst ridden werewolves here, Kraken is a complicated mix...

Article by Ant on 20th June 2012
Read article
latest
Horror
review
The Rats by  by James Herbert
latest
Horror
review

This was James Herbert’s first novel and while it isn’t a masterpiece by anyone’s standard you could quite clearly see he was a writer with some promise. His style was easy on the eye and although fairly basic in places you could see that he knew how to use pace and atmosphere to his...

Article by Arron on 21st June 2012
Read article
latest
Science Fiction
review
Courage and Honour by  by Graham McNeill
latest
Science Fiction
review

The fifth book in the Ultramarines series and the second in the newly released Ultramarines Omnibus II, which also includes several additional short stories and even a nice graphic short. Captain Uriel Ventris is once again in charge of the 4th company, this story is firmly rooted in Uriel's...

Article by Ant on 22nd June 2012
Read article
latest
Science Fiction
review
The Chapters Due by  by Graham McNeill
latest
Science Fiction
review

The Chapters Due is the sixth novel in the Ultramarines series and the third in the Ultramarines Omnibus II, which also includes several additional short stories and even a nice graphic short. Once again we follow Captain Uriel Ventris as the Chapter goes up against their ultimate nemesis, the...

Article by Ant on 22nd June 2012
Read article
latest
Science Fiction
review
The Killing Ground by  by Graham McNeill
latest
Science Fiction
review

The Killing Ground is the first novel in the newly released second Ultramarines Omnibus, which also includes several additional short stories and even a nice graphic short. The story see's the Two Ultramarines Pasanius Lysane and Uriel Ventris escaping from the Eye of Terror after the events of...

Article by Ant on 22nd June 2012
Read article
latest
Fantasy
review
Fool Moon by  by Jim Butcher
latest
Fantasy
review

Fool Moon is the second book in the Dresden Files by Jim Butcher and once again we meet up with Chicago's only professional wizard and one of only a dozen of his power in the country. Since we left Harry business has been pretty non-existant and he's been unable to find any kind of work at all...

Article by Ant on 25th June 2012
Read article
latest
Science Fiction
review
The Dog Stars by  by Peter Heller
latest
Science Fiction
review

Hig is a survivor, a lone pilot who's wife, friends and almost all neighbours are long dead. Living in the hanger of a small abandoned airport with only his dog and his gun-toting neighbour for company. He flies his 1956 Cessna around the perimeter looking out for trouble and occasionally sneaks...

Article by Ant on 27th June 2012
Read article
latest
Fantasy
review

The Heir of Night was reviewed by me for the 2012 David Gemmell Morningstar Award, which went on to win the award! I've been aware of the novel for some time now but as it was never sent to me it remained one I'd been meaning to buy and I'm very glad that I'm getting the chance to read it for...

Article by Ant on 29th June 2012
Read article
latest
Fantasy
review

I found this book during a post Christmas hunt in my local Waterstones after receiving a number of gift vouchers. I had never read anything by the author (or indeed the publisher) but have seen the third novel in the series (the Immorality Engine) appearing around the web for a while.

...

Article by Ant on 2nd July 2012
Read article
latest
Science Fiction
review
Time's Last Gift by  by Philip Jose Farmer
latest
Science Fiction
review

A journey into the past that can never be repeated, travelling from 2070 AD all the way back to 12000 BC; a chance for the four passengers of the "time ship" to study the primitive man as no-one could ever do before or will be able to since.

None were prepared for what they would...

Article by Ant on 4th July 2012
Read article
latest
Fantasy
review

As with many urban fantasy detective novels, Whispers Underground starts with the discovery of a body. On this occasion its an American exchange student with a wealthy, politically powerful family who is found brutally murdered at the far end of the Baker street tube station.

With the...

Article by Ant on 6th July 2012
Read article
latest
Science Fiction
review
Triggers by  by Robert J Sawyer
latest
Science Fiction
review

An Assassin's bullet strikes President Seth Jerrison on the eve of a top secret military operation, he is taken to the nearest hospital where doctors fight to save his life. At the very same hospital Dr Ranjip Singh is carrying out experiments with a device that can ease traumatic memories....

Article by Ant on 9th July 2012
Read article
latest
Science Fiction
review
The Long Earth by  by Terry Pratchett
latest
Science Fiction
review

The Long Earth follows the premise that there are an infinite number of alternative dimensions, all existing within one great "Multiverse", each universe containing a slightly different version of the Earth. A few years in the future and a device powered by the humble potato (it will make sense,...

Article by Ant on 11th July 2012
Read article
latest
Fantasy
review

Former Vampire turned powerful Mage Peter Octavian returns to investigate the small coastal town of Hawthorne in Massachusetts when the forces of darkness target the otherwise ordinary community. Since the Vatican's sorcerers are no more the magical barriers they spent hundreds of years building...

Article by Ant on 13th July 2012
Read article
latest
Fantasy
review

For me Tad Williams sits right up there with the very best fantasy story-tellers, I read his Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn series many years ago and it still ranks as one of the most memorable fantasy series, even after all that time. If you haven't read the series and are a fan of the fantastic...

Article by Ant on 16th July 2012
Read article
latest
Science Fiction
review
Foundation by  by Isaac Asimov
latest
Science Fiction
review

The Earth is an all but forgotten planet in the footnotes of mankind's history, a race who are now spread throughout the Milky Way as part of the vast Galactic Empire. An Dominion that looks after a quintillion souls and one that is becoming crippled by it's very size and complexity. A whole...

Article by Ant on 18th July 2012
Read article
latest
Fantasy
review
Moon Crossing by  by Cathy Farr
latest
Fantasy
review

Moon Crossing is the second novel in the Fellhounds of Thesk series and the follow-up to the young adult fantasy novel Moon Chase. We are once again joined with Wil Calloway and those huge Fellhounds and this time its to rescue one of Wil's friends, continuing on from the cliff-hanger ending of...

Article by Ant on 20th July 2012
Read article
latest
Science Fiction
review
The Science of Avatar by  by Stephen Baxter
latest
Science Fiction
review

Avatar is without a doubt a great film and I'm clearly not alone in that opinion, since it's release in 2009 it has become the highest grossing film of all time and the first to pass $2 billion in sales. It was nominated for a total of 9 Academy Awards and won "Best Cinematography", "Best Visual...

Article by Ant on 23rd July 2012
Read article
latest
Science Fiction
review

Passengers: Revelations is the third novel in the series and brings together characters from the first two novels while expanding the story. The media are in a frenzy over imagined "man-eating" aliens while Symch and Goster are incarcerated following their previous escapades.

Spider...

Article by Ant on 25th July 2012
Read article
latest
Fantasy
review

The Illearth War follows straight on from the events in Lord Foul's Bane and just as Thomas Covenant is getting used to the idea that his recent experiences were just a dream he is again summoned to the Land.

On his return however he discovers that 40 years have passed in his absence...

Article by Ant on 27th July 2012
Read article
latest
Fantasy
review

I've been collecting Jasper Fforde novels for a while now however until I got this one through the door I hadn't actually read any of them; after reviewing this book I kinda wish I had paid more attention to the author earlier. The Woman Who Died A Lot is the seventh novel in the Thursday Next...

Article by Ant on 30th July 2012
Read article
latest
Fantasy
review

The Wizard of Crescent Moon Mountain is firmly rooted within the high fantasy genre, telling the tale of the wizard Greybeard and little elf Beezle who set off on an adventure after a magical weapon proves to have a distinct life of it's own.

The novel draws heavily from Lord of the...

Article by Ant on 1st August 2012
Read article
latest
Science Fiction
review
11.22.63 by  by Stephen King
latest
Science Fiction
review

When asked to review this book I can honestly say I did so with some trepidation. Although few would doubt King is as his name suggests, his later period of novels, Dark Tower aside, would, I’m sorry to say argue the case against him. But this is King you say, and I know many Constant Readers...

Article by Arron on 3rd August 2012
Read article
latest
Science Fiction
review
A Thousand Sons by  by Graham McNeill
latest
Science Fiction
review

The Space Wolves, those fiercely loyal and dependable Space Marines are sent to Propsero to enforce the Emperors justice after the Primarch of the Thousand Sons chapter makes a serious mistake that puts the safety of the very birthplace of humanity at risk.

The events of this story run...

Article by Ant on 6th August 2012
Read article
latest
Science Fiction
review
Prospero Burns by  by Dan Abnett
latest
Science Fiction
review

This is the third audio book to be reviewed within the pages of SFBook and again we are firmly within the realms of Warhammer 40k, this time during that tremulous period of the Horus Heresy. Dan Abnett is the author and Prospero Burns the novel, narrated by Gareth Armstrong on eleven CD's...

Article by Ant on 6th August 2012
Read article
latest
Fantasy
review

Full Dark House is the first novel in the long running series that follows the enigmatic detectives Bryant and May as they attempt to solves crimes that few would dare to touch. The novel begins in a very unexpected and quite brilliant manner, by one of the main characters dying in a large...

Article by Ant on 7th August 2012
Read article
latest
Science Fiction
review
Lessons Learned by  by Martin Perry
latest
Science Fiction
review

Lessons Learned follows on from the life-changing events of Gentle Reminders serialised right here on SFBook. Finding themselves without a Captain, Maur and the Jump Cannon crew try to adapt to their new roles and face some of their deadliest missions yet.

The Free Man group is still...

Article by Ant on 10th August 2012
Read article
latest
Science Fiction
review
Ubik by  by Philip K Dick
latest
Science Fiction
review

Death, the final frontier, the one inescapable and inevitable fact of that we call life, or is it? What if even after you died you could come back for a limited time and in some limited form to once again see your loved ones and experience the linear existence we so often take for granted. In...

Article by Ant on 13th August 2012
Read article
latest
Fantasy
review

Thomas Covenant is once again summoned to the strange alternative world where magic exists and an ancient enemy threatens the land. Although for Thomas mere days have passed, for the inhabitants of "The Land" it's been over seven years since the unbeliever was abroad.

The land is much...

Article by Ant on 15th August 2012
Read article
latest
Fantasy
review

I have many fond memories of the fighting fantasy books created by the legends Steve Jackson and Ian Livingston. I devoured them during childhood and still have a number of them of my shelves, including the very first, the Warlock of Firetop Mountain. At the same time I also discovered the joy...

Article by Ant on 17th August 2012
Read article
latest
Science Fiction
review

Set within the same universe as the authors previous novel Tribes, Shades of Empire follows the ex-soldier Alexander Napier, merchant starship captain Madeline Pallestrino and a host of other colourful characters.

Alexander still reluctantly wears the marks of his servitude to the...

Article by Ant on 19th August 2012
Read article
latest
Fantasy
review

Graham Joyce has a wonderful knack of writing about very ordinary, very real characters that lead generally ordinary lives and yet making those people not only highly engaging but also act in a realistic fashion to events around them. He then places just one small idea that is outside the realms...

Article by Ant on 20th August 2012
Read article
latest
Horror
review

Now it has been many a year since I have picked up a book by this author, and although he was considered a great horror writer by many fans, I can't remember why. Now I don’t want to give the author a complete disservice, after all this book was one of his earliest and there are elements to...

Article by Arron on 21st August 2012
Read article
latest
Fantasy
review
Safari by  by Keith Blackmore
latest
Fantasy
review

We are once again re-united with one of the few survivors in a world infested with the undead. Gus is a little more dishevelled than the last time we saw him, more bruised and a bit more reckless too as his daily existence of waking up, getting drunk and preparing for the inevitable zombie horde...

Article by Ant on 22nd August 2012
Read article
latest
Horror
review
Victims by  by Shaun Hutson
latest
Horror
review

Back in his heyday Shaun Hutson was a prolific writer of horror novels. When people ask what defines a horror novel, depending on who you ask, you will get a plethora of answers. The horror genre has changed so much over the years as also the number and type of things people are frightened of...

Article by Arron on 23rd August 2012
Read article
latest
Science Fiction
review
Seven Wonders by  by Adam Christopher
latest
Science Fiction
review

Have you ever wondered what happens in those years after the Superheroes have saved the planet? Would they continue to fight crime or would it all turn into a big PR exercise? While many would see them as noble warriors who are elevated far above the common man what would happen if they...

Article by Ant on 24th August 2012
Read article
latest
Fantasy
review

Breaking the Devil's Heart continues the ideas presented in the previous novel Logic of Demons. This time we follow the young couple Stewart and Layla as they spy on the Devil and try and figure out how to beat "the formula", bankrupt Satan's underground Company and save Heaven from civil war....

Article by Ant on 27th August 2012
Read article
latest
Science Fiction
review
Amped by  by Daniel H Wilson
latest
Science Fiction
review

Amped is a near future story that tells of the post-human singularity event, a world where humans are implanted with upgrades that make them capable of super-human feats. Fear of that which is different rears its ugly head and before long a new set of laws is put into place restricting the...

Article by Ant on 29th August 2012
Read article
latest
Fantasy
review

On the bloody battlefield littered with the dead and dying, two figures step cautiously through the viscera, the blood, guts and many feasting crows. These two appear ill-matched; one a slight and nimble figure, the other a hulking brute. You may be forgiven for thinking that perhaps they are...

Article by Ant on 31st August 2012
Read article
latest
Fantasy
review
Mockingbird by  by Chuck Wendig
latest
Fantasy
review

Mockingbird reunites us with that wonderfully screwed-up, dark and acerbic character of Miriam Black; the girl who has the (mis)fortune to witness how someone will depart this mortal coil with just a simple contact of skin.

Some time has passed since we last met that crazy bird and after...

Article by Ant on 3rd September 2012
Read article
latest
Science Fiction
review
The Seed Garden by  by DB Reynolds-Moreton
latest
Science Fiction
review

A while ago now I reviewed a surprisingly entertaining novel called "The Insoculation Syndrome" which detailed a tale of an astronaut stranded on a alien planet.

The Seed Garden starts in a very similar fashion, Jed's ship malfunctions and his only hope for survival is to jump in an...

Article by Ant on 5th September 2012
Read article
latest
Science Fiction
review
School's Out Forever by  by Scott K Andrews
latest
Science Fiction
review

Sometimes I feel that reading post-apocalyptic tales are less an escape and more training for the future, after all as a race we aren't doing a great job of preventing this self-destructive outcome. Luckily there is no shortage of literature to teach us about survival in a future wasteland and...

Article by Ant on 7th September 2012
Read article
latest
Fantasy
review

When we left Gair at the end of the spectacular novel Songs of the Earth there had been a pretty big shock. Rather than start where the story left off, Trinity Rising instead follows Teia, a young woman who seems destined to witness great and terrible things. a young woman who has hidden powers...

Article by Ant on 10th September 2012
Read article
latest
Science Fiction
review
Turbulence by  by Samit Basu
latest
Science Fiction
review

There seems to be a bit of a resurgence in the superhero story and this new wave of fiction manages to offer a different slant on the traditional tales, combining the modern interpretation of a superhero set within with the contemporary urban fantasy framework.

Turbulance manages to go...

Article by Ant on 12th September 2012
Read article
latest
Fantasy
review
Ecko Rising by  by Danie Ware
latest
Fantasy
review

Ecko Rising is the début novel from Danie Ware, publicist and events organiser for that famous retailer Forbidden Planet. You've got to admire her ambition, not content to just write her first novel within a standard science fiction or fantasy setting, with Ecko Rising she attempt's that which...

Article by Ant on 14th September 2012
Read article
latest
Horror
review

A debut novel from an aspiring novelist. The book reached number 6 on the London Times fiction best seller list. A traditional tale of a haunted house. And already reading this. You feel like you are. Reading the novel. I’m sorry Christopher but I’m honestly not sure how you managed to...

Article by Arron on 15th September 2012
Read article
latest
Science Fiction
review
Total Recall by  by Philip K Dick
latest
Science Fiction
review

Total Recall the film has recently been re-made and updated from the 1990 version that featured Arnold "The Governator" Schwarzenegger. This time Colin Farrell stars as Douglas Quiad, the man who dreams of walking on Mars. I was a big fan of the original but have yet to see this modern adaption...

Article by Ant on 17th September 2012
Read article
latest
Fantasy
review
Control Point by  by Myke Cole
latest
Fantasy
review

Have you ever wondered what would happen if someone who had military experience wrote urban fantasy? The result is Control Point, a quite brilliant blend of other-worldly fantasy and gritty combat.

The novel follows the US Army Lieutenant Oscar Britton who finds himself working alongside...

Article by Ant on 19th September 2012
Read article
latest
Science Fiction
review
Jack Glass by  by Adam Roberts
latest
Science Fiction
review

Adam Roberts is one of those rare authors who not only manage to create a rewarding, entertaining story but also does so in a way that challenges your perceptions, encourages you examine that which you take for granted and often plays on accepted norms of the genre. Jack Glass is no exception....

Article by Ant on 21st September 2012
Read article
latest
Science Fiction
review
Perfection by  by Nick Kyme
latest
Science Fiction
review

Perfection, an audio drama from those wonderful people at Black Library; this time we are welcomed with the words of Nick Kyme who writes about those colourful, chaotic characters of the Slaaneshi Space Marines. The warped warriors of chaos have beseiged the world of Vardask and things look...

Article by Ant on 24th September 2012
Read article
latest
Science Fiction
review
The Middle Kingdom by  by David Wingrove
latest
Science Fiction
review

The Middle Kingdom, the third volume in David Wingrove's re-imagined epic Chung Kuo series see's the Earth covered in continent spanning, mile high city of Ice; ruled by the seven T’ang, the Kings of China.

A century of peace is shattered when the Minister of the Edict is assassinated...

Article by Ant on 26th September 2012
Read article
latest
Science Fiction
review
Chosen of Khorne by  by Anthony Reynolds
latest
Science Fiction
review

Back when I used to play Fantasy Battle Khorne was my favourite of the chaos horde, I had an army of bloodletters, fleshhounds and beastmen, all lead by a greater deamon. There is something primal about Khorne, the blood-red colours, the flames and the atypical looks that all speak of what a...

Article by Ant on 28th September 2012
Read article
latest
Fantasy
review
Dodger by  by Terry Pratchett
latest
Fantasy
review

Dodger, a young sewer "tosher" who works beneath the streets of Victorian London is guided along series of events that will transform his life and those around him. It all starts when a young women is beset upon by two ruffians and Dodger rescues the young lady from certain death.

I was...

Article by Ant on 1st October 2012
Read article
latest
Science Fiction
review
13th Zookeeper by  by Bernd Struben
latest
Science Fiction
review

Mankind has long lost it's connection to mother nature, to the wildlife of Earth and all the natural wonders contained. In an effort to recreate that which was lost a remote planet is terra-formed to resemble mankind's first home and then populated with all of the plants and animals that existed...

Article by Ant on 3rd October 2012
Read article
latest
Fantasy
review

Robert Rankin is pretty unique amongst the literary world, in many ways he's like a grown up version of Spike Milligan who perhaps has been influenced by Pratchett in a "funny mood". His books are always very easy to read and yet have hidden depths for those who wish to look for them, I've yet...

Article by Ant on 5th October 2012
Read article
latest
Science Fiction
review
Shadows of Treachery by  by Christian Dunn
latest
Science Fiction
review

38 000 years in the future and the greatest, most terrible war humanity has ever faced rages across the galaxy as the forces of chaos look to spread terror to every corner and man fights fellow man. On the home world of the human race preparations have begun to defend the Imperial Palace and get...

Article by Ant on 8th October 2012
Read article
latest
Fantasy
review

A one hundred and forty year old Vampire who is sworn to protect the President of the United States, now THAT is an interesting concept. It's the idea of the author Christopher Farnsworth who presents us with an rich urban fantasy that manages to honour some well known and much loved series...

Article by Ant on 12th October 2012
Read article
latest
Fantasy
review

Tomorrow the Killing returns to that hive of villainy that is Low Town and to our guide through these mean streets, the Warden. Following on from The Straight Razor Cure and the Warden is back to his usual tricks, that is until he becomes reluctantly embroiled in a missing persons case that...

Article by Ant on 15th October 2012
Read article
latest
Fantasy
review

Charlotte Markham and the House of Darkling is a unique offering that manages to create a Victorian gothic-esque supernatural adventure that manages to create a tangible feeling of suspense.

Set within an ancient, remote manor house, the story begins with the murder of Nanny Prum -...

Article by Ant on 17th October 2012
Read article
latest
Fantasy
review

Dracula Cha Cha Cha is the third novel in the Anno Dracula series, set in the alternative history of 1959 where Vampires are just another part of the population. This time we are in Rome as Vampires, intellectuals and other important people are gathering to witness the marriage of the count...

Article by Ant on 22nd October 2012
Read article
latest
Science Fiction
review
The Fractal Prince by  by Hannu Rajaniemi
latest
Science Fiction
review

The Fractal Prince is the follow-up to the hit début novel The Quantum Thief that was released to a great deal of acclaim last year. Like the Quantum Thief, The Fractal Prince follows two distinct threads, which while written in a vividly descriptive and disarming style offers a vision that is...

Article by Ant on 24th October 2012
Read article
latest
Fantasy
review
The Sundering by  by Gav Thorpe
latest
Fantasy
review

The most tragic tale from the Time of Legends tells of the fall of the greatest houses of the elves and the fates of three kings: Pheonix, Witch and Shadow.

There was once a time when all was order, now so distant that no mortal creature can remember it. Since time immemorial the elves...

Article by Ant on 26th October 2012
Read article
latest
Fantasy
review

Swords of the Emperor combines the two Warhammer fantasy novels Swords of Vengeance and Sword of Justice along with the short stories Feast of Horrors and Duty and Honour. Each of these tales have been brought to life from the pen of Chris Wraight who creates a sense of maturity and depth to the...

Article by Ant on 29th October 2012
Read article
latest
Science Fiction
review

Written in 1966 The Moon is a Harsh Mistress has been critically acclaimed and is often considered as one of Heinlein's finest works, winning the prestigious Hugo award and also becoming a part of the original SF Masterworks collection. It's only the third Heinlein novel I have read...

Article by Ant on 31st October 2012
Read article
latest
Fantasy
review
Romeo Spikes by  by Joanne Reay
latest
Fantasy
review

Living amongst us are a group of creatures who prey on the vulnerable and the weak, guiding them to commit suicide and living off this energy released (known as "span") of a life snuffed out before its time.

These Tormentas look just like a regular human, often taking the guise of a...

Article by Ant on 2nd November 2012
Read article
latest
Science Fiction
review
Osama by  by Lavie Tidhar
latest
Science Fiction
review

Joe is a private detective who after a visit from the obligatory attractive but mysterious woman is tasked with finding the author of the pulp-fiction series "Osama bin Laden: Vigilante". In this alternative history which seems to have split some time after world war two, the horrific terror...

Article by Ant on 5th November 2012
Read article
latest
Fantasy
review

The Complete Alcatraz collects the whole series of Brandon Sanderson young adult novels including Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians, Alcatraz Versus the Scrivener's Bones, Alcatraz Versus the Knights of Crystallia and Alcatraz Versus the Shattered Lens.

These novels follow the...

Article by Ant on 7th November 2012
Read article
latest
Science Fiction
review
Origin by  by J T Brannan
latest
Science Fiction
review

Antarctic research scientist Evelyn Edwards always knew that the bleak land of snow and ice held deep secrets locked within it's frozen grasp but when her team finds a 40000 year old body the discovery surpasses even her wildest dreams.

This dream soon turns into a nightmare however as...

Article by Ant on 9th November 2012
Read article
latest
Fantasy
review

One the greatest advantages of this ever shrinking world is being able to read stories that break out of the "western" mindset. Initially The Throne of the Crescent Moon may seem like a traditional sword & sorcery that was a stable of fantasy in the 80's however look a little deeper and you will...

Article by Ant on 12th November 2012
Read article
latest
Fantasy
review

I've bought a few Abercrombie novels over the past few years, partly due to the huge amount of positive feedback his work attracts but also as he is a fellow Lancastrian, hailing from the same fine city as I.

Due to the sheer volume of review copies I receive I've yet to have time to...

Article by Ant on 14th November 2012
Read article
latest
Science Fiction
review
The Explorer by  by James Smythe
latest
Science Fiction
review

Journalist Cormac Easton is chosen to join a group of elite astronauts as they take part in the very first manned mission into the furthest reaches of the solar system. Documenting the greatest journey of human-kind should secure his place in history as one of the outstanding explorers of the...

Article by Ant on 16th November 2012
Read article
latest
Fantasy
review

The wolves are howling outside the city of Constantinople and mysterious sorcery plagues its citizens. On a field of battle littered with the dead and dying stumbles a ragged figure dressed in wolfskin and wreaking of death. Slipping past the guards he enters the tent of the Emperor and draws...

Article by Ant on 19th November 2012
Read article
latest
Fantasy
review

A veteran of the fantasy scene, Mercedes Lackey has enjoyed a great deal of success in the US but until now hasn't really had a great deal of exposure over here in the UK.

This is set to change however thanks to Titan Books with the release of Foundation, the first volume in the...

Article by Ant on 3rd December 2012
Read article
latest
Science Fiction
review
Neuromancer by  by William Gibson
latest
Science Fiction
review

Released in 1984, Neuromancer was one of those rare moments that broke the mold, pretty much inventing the notion of cyberspace and beginning the genre of the cyberpunk novel.

It's been many years since I first read this book and I am re-visiting it here as part of my desire to...

Article by Ant on 5th December 2012
Read article
latest
Science Fiction
review

I have a sort of self imposed resolution to read all of the books that have won a Hugo award and to be honest this is the only reason I first picked up this book. I haven't read anything else by the author although I am of course aware of him, however as a more "literary" author he's not...

Article by Ant on 7th December 2012
Read article
latest
Horror
review
Velocity by  by Dean Koontz
latest
Horror
review

When I picked this book up, read the front and back covers, I thought wow! It sounded like an amazing story to tell, one that would keep the heart pumping with every page turned, keep you hooked until despairingly you came upon the last page and wanted to go back for more. This wasn’t the book...

Article by Arron on 10th December 2012
Read article
latest
Horror
review
Afraid by  by Jack Kilborn
latest
Horror
review

This is the first book I’ve read by this author. I kind of stumbled across it by accident and I’m so glad I did. Jack Kilborn is a pen name for the author J.A Konrath, and this was his first novel writing under that name. It is a simple tale, wrote simply and in no way completely original...

Article by Arron on 11th December 2012
Read article
latest
Fantasy
review

The Good, The Mad and the Undead follows on from the authors previous book A Heist Too Far which we were lucky enough to review last year. Here we are re-united with the dangerous, blue-skinned assassin Mallik who has split up with his comrades Dick and Jules in order to let the heat die down...

Article by Ant on 12th December 2012
Read article
latest
Science Fiction
review
Redshirts by  by John Scalzi
latest
Science Fiction
review

I was seriously impressed with the first novel I read by Scalzi, the book was Old Man's War and the exceptional prose and clever story really won me over; so much so that I picked up Fuzzy Nation soon after - although I haven't had to read that book yet.

It was therefore with...

Article by Ant on 14th December 2012
Read article
latest
Fantasy
review

Robert Rankin is without a doubt one of the select few funniest and sometimes strangest authors alive today. Often his novels are more than a little odd and with The Educated Ape he manages to merge these styles with a steampunk theme and some quite brilliant characterisation.

This is...

Article by Ant on 17th December 2012
Read article
latest
Science Fiction
review
State of Union by  by Sven Michael Davison
latest
Science Fiction
review

State of Union follows on from the events of the authors previous novel, State of Mind - a post cyberpunk novel that we reviewed back in February 2011.

Jake has been living off the grid for five years and returns to civilisation to find a nano-virus pandemic known as MaxWell has killed...

Article by Ant on 19th December 2012
Read article
latest
Horror
review
The Veil by  by Jerry Ibbotson
latest
Horror
review

Something isn't quite right in the little Yorkshire village of Henchcombe, a thick mist sweeps down off the moor with an unnatural regularity and when it does strange things walk the streets.

In the dead of night the villagers are confronted by their bitter regrets, lost loves and...

Article by Ant on 21st December 2012
Read article
latest
Science Fiction
review
Forever Peace by  by Joe Haldeman
latest
Science Fiction
review

First things first, Forever Peace is not a sequel to Forever War, for that you need to look for the later novel Forever Free (expect a review at some point when time permits). Forever Peace does however share a few of the same ideologies as it's predecessor and it also won both the Hugo and...

Article by Ant on 24th December 2012
Read article
latest
Fantasy
review
Intrigues by  by Mercedes Lackey
latest
Fantasy
review

Intrigues is the second book in the Collegium Chronicles, following the trainee Herald Mags who we first met in Foundation, situated within the realm of Valdemar. Foundation set the scene pretty well and allowed us to learn about Mags and the Heralds college, I was struck by the quality of the...

Article by Ant on 27th December 2012
Read article