The Hike is one of those reads that quite unexpectedly takes you by storm.  I had no idea what the book was about and in fact confess I felt a little anxious before picking it up but as it happens this story grabbed my attention completely from the start and held me captivated for the duration.  I think my biggest dilemma now is how to actually write an effective review that gives nothing away at the same time as making you want to pick a copy up. I can say that this book has something of a surreal feel, well, that’s how I  felt reading it.  It’s a strange journey of discovery following in the tracks of a hapless man, Ben, who seems to have stumbled onto the strangest path, a path on which, having witnessed a murder and being forced to flee for his life deep into the wilderness, is nothing like you could ever imagine unless in your wildest dreams. So, being unable to really say too much more about the plot, because this really is a journey that you have to make on your own, I’ll make this review simply about why this worked for me. I…

Fix is the final instalment of Ferrett Steinmetz’s Mancer series and brings to a conclusion a story that I’ve found totally absorbing and unique. I think for this particular review I’m not really going to delve too much into the story.  I don’t want to give anything away and I’m going to make the assumption that you’ve read the previous two books in the series.  If not, well then, I strongly suggest, nay implore, you to do so.   I also recommend not reading further in case there are spoilers for the first two books lurking below. This is a very entertaining series that I’ve thoroughly enjoyed.  If you love gaming and movies and all sorts of culture references, huge splashes of fun and a world that brings to you a new form of magic with oodles of action then I think you’re going to love this series. At the end of the last book I remember wondering how this family unit, that I’d come to enjoy reading about so much, would actually get on or even survive.  Let me say from the outset that this book puts you through the wringer a little bit in that respect and in fact…

Serving as a prequel to Twelve Kings in Sharakhai, the first book of The Song of Shattered Sands, Of Sand and Malice Made is a thoroughly entertaining story that adds another layer to the world that Bradley P. Beaulieu has created. Consisting of three interlinked tales, this is a book that goes beyond mere setting and culture to put a true Arabian Nights spin on epic fantasy. That fact surprised me almost as much as it delighted me, for it seems rather fitting that Çeda’s first chapter should have such a familiar, classic sort of feel to it. These aren’t quite fables or folk tales, but all of the elements are there, right from supernatural deities to charms and curses. Freed of the pacing issues and narrative flashbacks that were something of a challenge in Twelve Kings in Sharakhai, this is a story that all but races along as it gets the heart racing. What really excited me about it is that there is a feeling of genuine risk involved, which is hard to pull off in a prequel where you already know the fates of the main characters. In fact, there was several points where I had to glance…

As Star Trek novels (or, in this case, novellas) go, Time Lock was a very different sort of read. It’s set in the original timeline, within the extended universe that has continued beyond TNG, DS9, and Voyager, but aside from a few instances of name-dropping, it has nothing to do with the characters with which readers are most familiar. Instead, this is a sort of side series, dealing with the Department of Temporal Investigations. Christopher L. Bennett had his work cut out for him here, not only telling a story without the most famous characters or starships, but one that’s entirely dependent on the intricacies of time travel. In lesser hands, this could have been a confusing, convoluted mess. Not only do we have time travel, but there’s the paradox of viewing the present/future at the same time, and the added complication of time moving slower/faster for different characters. Even as a seasoned fan, I found it a bit challenging to maintain a sense of time inside and outside the facility, but that was part of the fun. The characters here really don’t get enough time to really develop or stand out as truly memorable, but they do a serviceable job of…

I started reading The Devourers with very little knowledge of the story, as I usually try to avoid re-reading the story synopsis when I start something new. And so I wasn’t quite prepared for such an unexpected combination of stunning writing and visceral imagery. This is a tale about werewolves, but they aren’t the sort you might be familiar with. Das’ beasts don’t simply kill humans for sport, they actually devour them down to the bones (hence the title), and then they take the smallest bones and weave them into their hair and skin as decorations. The actual transformation from human to “second self”—what the werewolves call their changed state—is told in vague descriptions that let each reader come to their own conclusions about exactly what these beasts look like. The Devourers is all about stories, and Das has constructed a fascinating story within a story. It takes a little time to figure out just what’s going on, so the beginning felt a little slow. But this should by no means turn you off this book. I’ve always enjoyed this method of storytelling, and Das is devilishly brilliant at it. The story begins in Kolkata, India, with a chance meeting…

Wolf’s Empire is a space opera with, as strange as it may sound, the Roman Empire set at it’s heart.  Imagine a world in which the Roman Empire continued to go from strength to strength dominating not only the known world but eventually branching out into space to eventually embrace an empire spanning the galaxy.  This story imagines a Rome set 7,000 years in the future and yet still brings to us an empire with conflict at it’s core.  The story is one of revenge and involves a young woman who goes to great length to avenge the deaths of her mother and brother and also to try and break free of the unwanted role placed upon her by society. I must say that I really did enjoy this read.  I had a few qualms here and there and I did wonder how a Roman theme would lend itself to such a futuristic story but on the whole I think the authors did a great job of bringing to us a sweeping story of revenge that actually evolves into so much more than I ever anticipated. Firstly, a little background.  Accala Viridian is a noblewoman, from House Viridian, one of the…

Catalia Fisa is a powerful mage and clairvoyant hiding out from her murderous mother. What’s a girl to do when she runs away from home? Why, she joins the circus of course! Posing as a fraudulent soothsayer and going by the name of Cat the Great, Cat’s been able to stay off the radar for years. Too bad for her that mommy dearest isn’t the only person interested in dragging Cat back home, kicking and screaming … This really shouldn’t come as a surprise, since Cat’s more than just your average mage or clairvoyant (of course). She’s the Kingmaker, a type of clairvoyant born every few hundred years with the power to detect any lies or disloyalty, and thus she can make kings rise – or fall. And the brilliant strategist and former warlord Griffin, known as Beta Sinta, wants Cat to ensure that his family’s reign will be long-lasting. Griffin’s sister is Alpha Sinta, the supreme authority in the Sintan territory, and she needs Cat’s abilities. And Griffin’s not going to take no for an answer. We get to know Cat, Griffin, and Griffin’s most loyal men very well as the ragtag group makes their way – some more…

Red Right Hand is a book based in a world full of monsters.  A dark and frightening place that takes inspiration from the work of Lovecraft.  I must say that I didn’t love this book and this puzzles me to an extent.  Perhaps the fact that I haven’t read any Lovecraft didn’t help but for me it was a strange combination of brutal truths and flashbacks combined with gruesome horror.  I certainly wouldn’t try to dissuade anyone from reading as I’m sure Lovecraft fans will find a wealth of imagination here to capture their attention. The pacing is good.  We get off to an immediate start as we’re introduced to Charlie Tristan Moore as she returns home from a disastrous night out with her boyfriend to be confronted by three skinhounds (which are every bit as bad as they sound and seem to have designs on Charlie).  Charlie is rescued by an unlikely Man in Black (MiB), a strange character, foreboding, not totally trustworthy, with a ruined red right hand and a leather coat that seems to have a mind of it’s own.  I wouldn’t say that the MiB has any redeeming characters, in fact it feels a little like going…

Surreal, imaginative, and even a bit quirky at times, Down and Out in Purgatory is a strange journey through love and death. The journey through the underworld has been done so many times now that it’s not easy to inject any sort of originality into it, but that’s precisely what Tim Powers does here. It all starts out with a somewhat perplexing trip to the morgue, followed by an even stranger trip off-road to a mobile home out in the middle of the desert. You see, when your entire life has been consumed by hatred for the man who stole (and murdered) the only woman you’ve ever loved, you can’t let something as simple as death stop you from seeking revenge. The mechanics of contacting the afterlife are central to the story, merging low-tech with the old-fashioned occult. As for the afterlife itself, it’s a bleak and depressing landscape, populated by those souls who either aren’t ready or who simply refuse to pass on. There’s some philosophical discussion about what might come next, but this is not a story about Heaven or Hell, salvation or damnation. Instead, it’s all about the revelations to be found in Purgatory. Needless to say,…

It Happened One Doomsday is, I think, the first in the start of an urban fantasy series with sorcerers, demons and possessed cars!  I must say from the outset that I really enjoyed this, it was a very easy read, I thought the characters developed well along the way, it had plenty of pace and I genuinely hope there will be more books down the line.  Basically, this reads like the start of a UF series and it ends on a note that promises more to come – but I genuinely don’t know if more books are planned *raises one eyebrow hopefully in Mr MacNaughton’s direction*? I don’t want to give too much away so, briefly, this is a book about the end of the world – okay, more a plot to end the world.  Seven cunning sorcerers (known here as harbingers) have hatched a plan to wipe the slate clean and start again and the survival of everyone will be in the hands of a barely magical, crystal toting woman who desires a normal life with her dentist boyfriend. At the start of the story we’re introduced to Dru, a young woman with a smidgeon of magical ability that allows her…