Another year is nearly done, and if this post has been published then it appears that those Mayan types were wrong (or we’re now living on borrowed time. I can’t decide which). 2012 has been a busy year here at The Eloquent Page. I’ve read over one hundred books and managed to attend three conventions.  So, without any further ado here is my annual post covering my highlights of the year. Book of the Month (January to December) Jan – Hell Train by Christopher Fowler Feb – Cyber Circus by Kim Lakin Smith Mar – Redlaw by James Lovegrove Apr – Alchemists of Souls by Anne Lyle May – Blackbirds by Chuck Wendig June – Empire State by Adam Christopher July – Bitter Seeds by Ian Tregillis Aug – Blood and Feathers by Lou Morgan Sept – Great North Road by Peter F Hamilton Oct –  Coldbrook by Tim Lebbon Nov – Blood Fugue by Jospeh D’Lacey Dec – Blood Oath by Christopher Farnsworth And now for a few specific categories of my own devising.* Best Ongoing Series – Department 19 by Will Hill – The second novel in this series ,The Rising, was released this year and it’s great.  Brilliant characters,…

They searched for GOLD. They found DEATH. Iraq, 2005  Seven mercenaries journey deep into the desert in search of Saddam’s gold. They form an unlikely crew of battle-scarred privateers, killers and thieves, veterans of a dozen war zones, each of them anxious to make one last score before their luck runs out. They will soon find themselves marooned among ancient ruins, caught in a desperate battle for their lives, confronted by greed, betrayal, and an army that won’t stay dead… Outpost, Adam Baker’s debut novel, was an unexpected highlight of last year. Creepy, action-packed, with a cast of memorable characters and a darker than dark story it most definitely earned its spot on my book of the year list.  When my copy of Juggernaut arrived, I have to admit that my expectations were extremely high. Like its predecessor, Juggernaut features a strong female protagonist as its main character. Lucy leads the group of mercenaries from the front and she is just as tough as any of her male counterparts. She is ex Special Forces and her calm under pressure makes for an engrossing character. She doesn’t panic, she doesn’t flinch, and she just does whatever needs to be done. Like…

Juggernaut by Adam Baker is published by Hodder & Stoughton and will be released on Thursday 16th February in the UK. Fancy winning yourself a copy? Of course you do. Well it’s all terribly easy. Simple follow the instructions below. All you have to do is copy and paste the text below into a tweet .  All those that post the tweet will be entered into a draw and 1 lucky winner will picked at random. Please tweet the following text by 9pm Friday 10th February: Follow @TheEloquentPage & RT this for a chance to win a copy of Juggernaut by Adam Baker #Juggernaut http://bit.ly/AwOw7d RULES: To be entered into the draw you must have tweeted the above text sometime before 9pm Friday 10th February 2012, AND be a follower (old or new) of @TheEloquentPage twitter account. Unfortunately this competition is restricted to UK residents only.

2011 has been another great year for books. First off a few stats – I have managed to read eighty-two novels which works out at over six and a half books a month. After a swift and very rough calculation that works out at approximately 6,150000 words. Some were bad, some were good and some were even great. I thought it would be nice to round off this festive season with a little bit of review. Firstly, my books of the month January – December 2011. There is a mixture of new releases and others that have been around for a while. Each and every one was a genuine pleasure to read, and I recommend them all heartily. Jan  – Point by Thomas Blackthorne Feb – Vegas Knights by Matt Forbeck Mar – The Heroes by Joe Abercrombie Apr – Vampire Warlords by Andy Remic & Serial Killers Inc by Andy Remic – I dont feel too bad about a tie here as both books are by the same author (prolific sod that he is) May – Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs Jun – The Watchers by Jon Steele Jul – Tourniquet by Kim Lakin-Smith Aug – Outpost by…

They took the job to escape the world. They didn’t expect the world to end. Kaser Rampart: a derelict refinery platform moored in the Arctic Ocean. A skeleton crew of fifteen fight boredom and despair as they wait for a relief ship to take them home. But the world beyond their frozen wasteland has gone to hell. Cities lie ravaged by a global pandemic. One by one TV channels die, replaced by silent wavebands. The Rampart crew are marooned. They must survive the long Arctic winter, then make their way home alone. They battle starvation and hypothermia, unaware that the deadly contagion that has devastated the world is heading their way… I’ve said it before, and I’ll no doubt say it again, I am utterly fascinated by apocalyptic fiction. I grew up in the eighties and I think this has left a rather fatalistic streak in my character. I still remember the first time I was exposed to dramas like When the Wind Blows and The Day After. These left a distinct impression and as I grew up, and learned to appreciate the written word, I have devoured any fiction that touches on this broad subject matter. The nature of the…