Throughout October The Eloquent Page will be concentrating on all things undead. I’ll be reviewing a number of different literary interpretations of zombies. From the latest anthology, via detective novels through to young adult fiction – I’ll be taking a look at how everyone’s favourite brain munchers have re-invented themselves over the last couple of years. You have been warned. Join me if you dare! [fb-share]
When I decided to launch The Eloquent Page I made a conscious decision to try and post only book reviews. Less than three months in and here’s my third non book review related post. Didn’t take me long to jump that shark did it? I’ve lived in Nottingham for the last four and a half years but only discovered FantasyCon in 2009. In fact Mrs Cheesecake and I only discovered FantasyCon 2009 the week before and so only managed one full day last year. This year we were better prepared, booked some time off work, and managed all three days. On Friday night after the opening of the convention we went to the Heavy Metal karaoke hosted by Abaddon Books. I finally managed to meet some of those lovely people from Twitter who comment on my inane ramblings. A genuine pleasure to meet @ALRutter, @Ghostfinder, @Sandra_nz. @GavinGSmith was very pleasant too and I do hope he didn’t end up in a ditch as I didn’t see him again for the rest of the convention. The only disappointment of the evening was that due to all the booze consumed I misplaced my copy of I,Zombie. Over the course of the weekend…
Please note this review contains spoilers for those that have not read Kell’s Legend. When reading anything by Andy Remic you can rest assured that things are going to get brutal and bloody very quickly. I would definitely not recommend Kell’s Legend or it’s sequel, Soul Stealers, to those of you that are faint of heart. The violence is as graphic as it gets. The author doesn’t sugar coat anything. There are seas of blood and everyone, irrespective of age and gender, are a potential victim. In Kell’s Legend the main protagonist, Kell, is not a terribly nice man. He is an aging warrior who is in a constant battle with the ravages of time. He steadfastly refuses to give in to his inevitable decline, as well as trying to control an almost psychopathic temper. His code of honour would make most people consider him a monster. In fact with a few exceptions most of the characters aren’t that nice. Personally, this didn’t detract from my enjoyment of the story. Quite the reverse in fact. There is a refreshing honesty in the book which I liked. Kell and his main companion Saark are both flawed men. Kell with the dark…
To celebrate the launch today of Angry Robot Books in the US and Canada please enjoy a sample chapter from one of their first releases, the magnificently brutally and action packed, Kell’s Legend by Andy Remic. For the Brits amongst you a review of the forthcoming sequel, Soul Stealers, will be published in the next couple of weeks. Angry Robot books have also just launched an eBook store. If you haven’t already I suggest you check it out. I have had the opportunity to enjoy Sixty One Nails and The Road to Bedlam (see my review) by Mike Shevdon as well as Triumff by Dan Abnett. I can heartily recommend them all.
“Secret Experiment. Tiny Island. Big Mistake” At its most basic level, the story in Ancestor by Scott Sigler could be described as a number of chases. Firstly, we have the US government trying to track down renegade bio-engineering company Genada, as they try to operate above the law. Then we have the story of evil predators chasing people around an inhospitable island in the dead of winter. It would be really easy to right off this novel as just that, but I strongly urge you not to. Ancestor is so much more and is worthy of your time. What the author has done is to take a simple enough premise and add some welcome additional depth. The core of the novel is the topical subject of genetic manipulation. Should humans tinker with nature? Is the quest for profit enough of a reason to fool around with things we don’t fully understand? On the island of Black Manitou, the characters are split into three groups. Firstly, there is a group of scientists who are attempting to create a creature that can be a used as a universal organ donor. Using genetic engineering they are in a race against time to create…
“When you have to kill the same terrorist twice in one week, then there’s either something wrong with your skills or something wrong with your world. And there’s nothing wrong with my skills.” I have a confession to make. I’m thoroughly unsettled by zombies. It doesn’t matter if they are the old style slowly shuffling undead or fast moving rage fuelled beasts made popular over the last couple of years. The whole concept leaves an unpleasant sensation in the pit of my stomach. I think that it’s something to do with the thought that they were once alive. They were just like you or I. Now they are nothing – just an empty husk with the singular purpose of destruction. In an effort to face my fears I have started reading quite a lot of zombie fiction. Ironically, this constant observation of all things zombie has made me become slightly obsessive about them. Patient Zero by Jonathan Maberry has an interesting take on the zombie mythos. There are no supernatural elements at work here. These zombies are the product of scientific research. The main crux of the novel is that terrorists have developed a virus that kills swiftly and then…
Please note if you haven’t read Sixty One Nails, and I strongly suggest you do, there are some mild spoilers in this review. It’s not often that I pick up book by an untested author. I’ve made this mistake in the past and ended up reading some less than stellar fiction. Fortunately, the last time this happened I was lucky. I was in a bookshop in London and I found myself purchasing Sixty-One Nails by Mike Shevdon. I was on holiday and needed to select a third book to take advantage of the bookshops generous 3 for 2 offer. On an impulse based purely on the cover design, and blurb on the back, I made my purchase. A couple of weeks later I started reading the book and I was slowly drawn in. I didn’t know what to expect and was more than pleasantly surprised. Sixty One Nails is an excellent example of urban fantasy. While having a suspected heart attack on the London Underground Niall Petersen is saved by a mysterious woman calling herself Blackbird. Following their encounter, Blackbird introduces Niall to the secret world of Feyre where he learns that he is part Fey and able to control…
“The cut and thrust of political manoeuvring is never as simple as the cut and thrust of real battle” For the most part I don’t usually enjoy politics as a form of escapism. I’ve tried on multiple occasions to read The Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan, for instance, but the further I get in the story the less and less I care about the characters. For me all the political scheming starts to wear a bit thin. When I read fantasy I tend to prefer action and shy away from anything overtly political although I realise that some readers enjoy these intricate machinations. I’m glad to say however, that I’ve finally found a book that has made me revise my opinion. The King’s Bastard is the first in a new trilogy by Rowenna Cory Daniells published by Solaris. Surrounded by feuding warlords the story focuses on the country of Rolencia. King Rolen has managed to hold together a shaky peace for the last thirty years. In an attempt to keep the peace he has banned the unsanctioned use of Affinity, think mental powers derived directly from the earth itself. Only Rolencia’s monks and nuns have permission to wield Affinity after…
The good people at Angry Robot have released a sample chapter from The Road to Bedlam, the forthcoming sequel to the excellent Sixty One Nails. Full review on the site soon. Enjoy this sneak peak.
“The end of the world is approaching and only one man can prevent it…” Five Greatest Warriors is the third in the series featuring all round good guy and action hero Jack West Jr. Written by Matthew Reilly, this book continues the adventures of West and his motley crew of mismatched soldiers as they race around the globe on an international treasure hunt. Their continuing objective is to solve centuries old clues that will hopefully lead to an ancient machine and prevent a global catastrophe. On their trail are many other interested parties, including a Japanese suicide squad, a deranged ex-Soviet general with a metal jaw and even Jack’s estranged evil father and half brother. They all have their own nefarious plans/private agendas/traitorous schemes and will stop at nothing to impede Jack and his friends at every turn. I have been a fan of Reilly’s writing since I first picked up Contest, his first novel from 1996. The author has a real flair for action and this book certainly has a lot of that. The story kicks off at breakneck speed picking up where the previous novel,Six Sacred Stones left off. Jack was last seen disappearing over the edge of a…
Last Saturday was my birthday and I was fortunate enough to receive a new PRS600 Sony Touch eReader. This is my second foray into eReader ownership, I have owned a Sony PRS505 since Xmas 2008 and used it daily for nearly two years. In that time I have both loved it and loathed it for a variety of reasons. I always felt the quality of finish was lacking on the PRS505. The metallic front always seemed, to me, almost unfinished and quite sharp round the inner edge. This has been replaced be a nicely smoothed front piece. The various connection points, memory card slots and buttons that appear round the edge remain the same as before. There is one addition, the inclusion of a stylus the slides into a small recess in the top right hand corner of the device. One of the big selling points of the PRS600 is that it has a touch screen interface. You can move through pages on screen by swiping a finger/stylus either left to right (forward) or right to left (back). It is possible to switch this setting and I did so as the default seemed counter intuitive. I admit it takes a little getting…
Occasionally I enjoy nothing better than reading a big old doorstop of a novel. You know the sort of thing I mean. Big enough that you know your wrists are in danger of snapping if you try and read more than about 100 pages in a single sitting, The Passage falls into this category. With seven hundred and sixty-six pages all in, you can be sure that this story is epic in scope and promise. The book is split into two sections. Part one tells the story of military genetic experimentation gone wrong. Seen primarily through the eyes of a world weary FBI agent, the reader learns of the US Army’s plans to create man made vampires (it’s ok they don’t sparkle…they glow). The Authorities end up getting more than they bargained for, and their worst fears are realised when the vampires escape. Cronin manages to generate a real sense of despair and loss here. All the main characters are broken in one way or another. Special Agent Brad Wolgast is haunted by the family he lost. Six year old Amy is left abandoned by her mother at the doors of a convent. The ending of this part of the…
I learned about this meme via Floor to Ceiling Books and the idea originally came from Un:Bound. These are two great sites and I recommend you check them out. I also thought this would be a good way to provide insight into what I like to read so here goes. One Book That Changed Your Life: The Descent by Jeff Long.I only discovered this book a couple of years ago though it has been around for a while. I love the premise. What if Hell was a literal place and actually existed in the ground beneath our feet. The sequel, Deeper, continues to dissect religion and attitudes toward it. I’m not religious I guess that’s what makes it all the more fascinating for me. One Book You Have To Read More Than Once: The Belgariad by David Eddings.I re-read The Belgariad regularly, normally about once a year. I love it. It’s like a pair of comfortable socks that are always a pleasure to rediscover and slip on. If I have to pick one book from the series then Pawn of Prophecy would a good place to start. One Book You’d Want On A Desert Island: The Reality Dysfunction by Peter…