Rough music: (- n) a loud cacophony created with tin pans, drums, etc,; the cacophonous ringing of bells, hooting, blowing bull’s horns, the banging of frying pans, saucepans, kettles, or other kitchen or barn implements with the intention of creating long-lasting embarrassment. Sometimes, the sounds we hear in the dark have resonances that we cannot foresee… This story has a wonderfully simple premise and can check this content experience that beautiful premise. A man, called Cornish, is woken every night by a noise that only he can hear. Over a series of successive nights, the noise gets louder and louder and when he discovers the source he is forced to confront the truth behind the lies in his life. I liked the sense of ambiguity and uncertainty that flows through the narrative of this story. Is Cornish merely projecting his internal turmoil, are all the events he witnesses occurring just in his head or is something more sinister going on? As the plot unfolds the reader is given the opportunity to interpret the events that occur and draw their own conclusions from Cornish’s reactions. I read Rough Music a couple of times over the course of a few days and…
Meet Sam Thornton. He collects souls. Sam’s job is to collect the souls of the damned, and ensure they are dispatched to the appropriate destination. But when he’s sent to collect the soul of a young woman he believes to be innocent of the horrific crime that’s doomed her to Hell, he says something no Collector has ever said before. “No.” I have a confession to make – My name is Pablo and I’m an addict, I’m hooked on Angry Robot books. There I’ve said it, feels good to finally get it out there into the open. Things got so bad that I’ve actively avoided Angry Robot publications for the last couple of months. Ever since I pronounced them my publisher of 2011 in December, I realised that I had to go ‘cold turkey’ for a while. There was a serious danger of me reading nothing but Angry Robot books all the time and getting stuck on one publisher doesn’t work terribly well if you are a book reviewer. Up until very recently I’ve done quite well. There has been the odd wobble (I’m looking at you Empire State), but with the exception of that one lapse my life has been…
Where there’s Hope there’s trouble… A former elite member of the SAS, Ben Hope is tortured by a tragedy from his past and now devotes his life to rescuing kidnapped children. But when Ben is recruited to locate an ancient manuscript which could save a dying child, he embarks on the deadliest quest of his life. The document is alleged to contain the formula for the elixir of life, discovered by the brilliant alchemist Fulcanelli decades before. But it soon becomes apparent that others are hunting this most precious of treasures – for far more evil ends. It seems that everyone – from the Nazis during WW2 and powerful Catholic organisation Gladius Domini – want to uncover the secrets of immortality. Teaming up with American scientist Dr Roberta Ryder, the trail leads them from Paris to the ancient Cathar strongholds of the Languedoc, where an astonishing secret has lain hidden for centuries… Last year I read both of Scott G. Mariani’s Vampire Federation novels Uprising and The Cross. After I had finished reading them I discovered that he writes thrillers as well, under the name Scott Mariani. I guess the G. is important when it comes to writing horror? I’m…
When John Simpson hears of a bizarre animal attack in his old home town of High Moor, it stirs memories of a long forgotten horror. John knows the truth. A werewolf stalks the town once more, and on the night of the next full moon, the killing will begin again. He should know. He survived a werewolf attack in 1986, during the worst year of his life. It’s 1986 and the town is gripped in terror after the mutilated corpse of a young boy is found in the woods. When Sergeant Steven Wilkinson begins an investigation, with the help of a specialist hunter, he soon realises that this is no ordinary animal attack. Werewolves are real, and the trail of bodies is just beginning, with young John and his friends smack in the middle of it. Twenty years later, John returns to High Moor. The latest attack involved one of his childhood enemies, but there’s more going on than meets the eye. The consequences of his past actions, the reappearance of an old flame and a dying man who will either save or damn him, are the least of his problems. The night of the full moon is approaching and…
The impulse to collect springs from deep within the human psyche Squirrels gather acorns, rats collect shiny things, but only humans assign meaning to the objects they collect. Detritus is a collection of stories about the impulse to collect, preserve, and display gone horribly wrong. The stories in this collection can be about hoarders, cat ladies, people who keep cabinets of curiosities, folks who have secret stashes of strange and disturbing things or any other sort of person who has a frightening collection or a desperate need to gather up and keep things close. My own personal obsession with short stories has grown considerably over the last couple of years to the point that any new anthology is something that I really look forward to. Detritus found its way into grubby little mitts via the wonder of technology that is Twitter. This collection contains fifteen short stories that range from the surreal to the gruesome by way of extremely geeky. There is a whole lot to enjoy here and my thoughts about my favourite entries are listed below. Shots and Cuts by Mary Borsellino – A homicide detective discusses the rise of the violent Internet memes and you-tube videos that depict…
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…
A story of survival and obsession in a world brought to its knees. When Jez White disturbs Rachel’s solitary existence she finds herself being drawn into a murky territory somewhere between stalking and being stalked. This powerful is by turns sensual and sinister, and conjures up an all-too-believable near future – of isolated communities, wild weather and strange allegiances. I Have Waited, and You Have Come is a character study that follows the life of a woman who shuts herself away from the world as it starts to fall apart due to global warming. As her story unfolds, I have to admit that I found my feelings towards Rachel changing on almost a chapter-by-chapter basis. She chooses to live an isolated existence, purposefully avoiding human contact whenever possible. The relationship she had with her previous partner ended badly, and this has undoubtedly left a mark. Her increasingly fragile grasp on reality and deteriorating mental state make her come across as quite abrupt and standoffish at times. There were moments when part of me felt sorry for the situation she was in, but another part of me couldn’t help but feel that some of her problems were due to her cutting…
London, 1850. Fog in the air and filth in the streets, from the rat-infested graveyard of Tom-All-Alone’s to the elegant chambers in Lincoln’s Inn Fields, where the formidable lawyer Edward Tulkinghorn has powerful clients to protect, and a deadly secret to hide. Only that secret is now under threat from a shadowy and unseen adversary – an adversary who must be tracked down at all costs, before it’s too late. Who better for such a task than young Charles Maddox? Unfairly dismissed from the police force, Charles is struggling to establish himself as a private detective. Only business is slow and his one case a dead end, so when Tulkinghorn offers a handsome price for an apparently simple job Charles is unable to resist. But as he soon discovers, nothing here is what it seems. An assignment that starts with anonymous letters leads soon to a brutal murder, as the investigation lures Charles ever deeper into the terrible darkness Tulkinghorn will stop at nothing to conceal. Inspired by Charles Dickens’ masterpiece Bleak House, Tom-All-Alone’s is a new and gripping Victorian murder mystery which immerses the reader in a grim London underworld that Dickens could only hint at – a world…
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.
Hellequin, last of the HawkEye military elite, is desperate to escape the legacy of Soul Food, the miraculous plant food that leeched the soil, destroyed his family, and instigated a bloody civil war. For a man awaiting the inevitable madness brought on by his enforced biomorph implant, there’s only one choice. Run away with the circus… Drifting above a poisoned landscape, Cyber Circus and her exotic acrobats and bioengineered freaks bring a welcome splash of colour into folk’s drab lives. None more so than escaped courtesan turned-dancer Desirous Nim. When Nim’s freedom and her very life are threatened, Hellequin is forced to fight again. But, even united, will the weird troupe and their strange skills be enough to save Nim and keep their home aloft? That’s assuming, of course, that Zan City’s Blood Worms, mute stowaways, or the swarms don’t manage to bring them down first… Welcome to the greatest show on Sore Earth! Last year I read Tourniquet and thoroughly enjoyed the author’s iconoclastic take on a neo-gothic future Nottingham. Based on that experience, I made a promise to myself that I would definitely read Kim Lakin-Smith’s next novel when it was published. I’m embarrassed to say that due to other commitments I…
For centuries it has been locked away Lost beneath the sea Warded from earth, air, water, fire, spirits, thought and sight. But now magic is rising to the world once more. Gavin has given up on the adults in his life, and they’ve given up on him. His father appears to hate him, his mother is scared of him, his teachers think maybe he should be in a different school. What he has is a gift – one he neither wants nor understands. At fifteen, his closest friend and confidante is the mysterious Miss Grey, although he has given up trying to talk to people about her as it only seems to upset them. Turned out of school, and not included in his parents’ holiday plans he catches a train to what may be his last haven; his aunt Gwen in Cornwall. However, she is not there to meet him. Instead the weather is turning bad, and unnerving things are stirring. Gavin is at that difficult age between childhood and being an adult. He is filled with uncertainty and he doesn’t seem to fit in anywhere. When the reader is first introduced to him you aren’t given a great deal of…
Something is sapping the energy of the usually robust dancers of the Moulin Rouge … Zombies roam the streets of New York City … Clowns die in mysteriously humorous ways … Jack the Rippers crimes are investigated by a vampire … Welcome to the horrific and poetic world of Sam Stone, where Angels are stalking the undead and a vampire becomes obsessed with a centuries-old werewolf. Terror and lust go hand in hand in the disturbing world of the Toymaker, and the haunting Siren’s call draws the hapless further into a waking nightmare. Thirteen stories of horror and passion, and six mythological and erotic poems from the pen of the new Queen of Vampire fiction. This collection is split into three sections. The first seven short tales fall under the banner heading of Lucrezia’s Stories. Lucrezia is the main character from another novel called Futile Flame, which is part of the Vampire Gene series. The second section, called Other Bloody Jottings contains six one off short stories. The collection is rounded off with six poems Of the thirteen stories that make up the main body of the anthology my personal favourites are listed below. Fools Gold – I have to…
Some houses appear to be haunted: their ruined facades and fabled pasts lead to stories of haunts and spirits. Some houses are legitimately haunted: ghosts that refuse to leave this world behind roam their rooms and hallways trying to recapture the life that has been taken from them. But there are some houses that go beyond these simple haunts. There are some houses that hide secrets so dark and grisly that the very essence of evil seeps from their walls. One of these houses sits tucked away in the quiet woods of southern Virginia in the sleepy little town of Ponderbrook. Terrence Bennett, an esteemed author, is taking his small crew to Ponderbrook to investigate the house for his next book. A skeptic at heart, he approaches the house and its history as nothing more than another spooky tale. But he will soon learn that there is a very real evil that separates normal haunts from those that twist the mind and damn the soul. And when this evil is stirred awake, it is rarely content to stay confined to the four walls of the house in which it has grown. I’ve always been intrigued by the idea that buildings…