The seeds of heresy are sown I’ve been aware of the Warhammer 40000 sci-fi novels for a while now and if I’m being honest, I’ve always been a bit wary. They have such a huge back catalogue of titles I have been a little intimidated and unsure where to start. Fortunately, through the power of Twitter, I was able to ask a friend of a friend, who works at Games Workshop, where would be a good place to begin. The near immediate response – Horus Rising by Dan Abnett. Set in the far future of the 31st century the Imperium of Man has left Terra (Earth) and taken to the stars. At their head, is the near immortal Emperor who has chosen his favourite son, Horus, to be his Warmaster and lead the empire’s troops into battle. Mankind is no longer burdened by petty internal squabbles based on religion or ethnicity. The humans of the future are positive in their belief that the entire universe is rightfully theirs and set about making all other planets comply. The novel follows the Imperial Legions as they move through the galaxy imposing their iron will on all that come before them. It pays…

From the moment I laid my eyes on the cover of  Vegas Knights by Matt Forbeck I had high hopes for what lay within. The cover boasts an eye-catching reworking of the famous Las Vegas sign and this perfectly sets the tone for what to expect. I’m glad to say that in this case my expectations were not only met, but also exceeded. The novel follows the fortunes of two college students as they attempt to break the bank in Vegas using magic. Jackson and Bill arrive in Sin City with plans to slowly, and as subtly as possible, win as much money as they can from the all the casinos. Needless to say their plans go awry and in a little less than a twenty-four hours they are way out of their depth and embroiled in the midst of a magical turf war. The pair discover that Vegas is the center for all magic in the United States, and that stage magicians are actually real magical practitioneers hiding in plain sight. The majority of the city is controlled by a mysterious figure known as Mr. Weiss and Jackson and Bill’s get rich quick scheme brings them directly to his attention. He…

Joanna Raines has a degenerative condition that affects her vision. In an effort to save her sight she has been the recipient of an eye transplant. In Dead Man’s Eye by Shaun Jeffrey the reader joins Joanna while she is on the mend. Still physically and emotionally fragile, she witnesses a traumatic accident where she sees a man losing an arm. After the accident Joanna is aware of a black shadow surrounding the injured man. Initially she thinks nothing of it, her new eye playing tricks on her, but when their paths cross again at the local hospital Joanna realises that something terrible has happened. The injured man, Lincoln Parker, has been possessed by a demon and Joanna is the only person that is aware of its presence. Most of the action in the story takes place in and around the hospital where Lincoln is recuperating. This location works well. A vast maze of corridors, many rooms and a huge basement are used as an effective backdrop to the ongoing chase that develops between Joanna and the demon that is hunting her. Malachi, the demon, makes for a downright nasty villain. His human host is a body builder so he…

The Eye of the Moon by Anonymous is the follow up to The Book with No Name, presumably written by the same author. I read the first novel a couple of years ago and thought it was a fun, easy read that contained some entertaining elements. Based on that, I decided to give the sequel a try. The story is once again set in the fictional sleazy American border town of Santa Mondega and follows various low lives as they try to get their hands on a magical crystal, the mysteriously monickered The Eye of the Moon. This gem has many powers and will grant the wearer a raft of supernatural abilities. There is a near endless list of characters who want the stone for their own nefarious schemes. In the mix we have vampires, werewolves, ancient Egyptian mummies, monks, bikers, bartenders, serial rapists, mental patients and the worlds most successful murderer – The Bourbon Kid. This is my main problem with the novel. There was such an enormous cast of characters that I felt the overall story suffered. With such a large dramatis personae, I had difficulty determining who I should be routing for. I wanted a standout character…

Rob and Becky bought the old place after the death of their son, to repair and renovate – to patch things up and make the building habitable. They both knew that they were trying to fix more than the house, but the cracks in their marriage could not be papered over. Then they found the Quiet Room. Written by Gary McMahon What They Hear in the Dark is an intimate tale about love and loss. Rob and Becky have suffered a terrible tragedy and are trying to put the past behind them and continue with their lives. They have a new home, and hope to make a new start. It quickly becomes evident, however, that neither of them has been able to move on. When the story begins Becky and Rob have reached the stage where they are barely able to communicate with one another. The spirit of their murdered son seems to hang in the periphery of their lives. The story takes a turn when they discover a strange windowless room in their new house that is utterly quiet. Becky and Rob have very different perspectives of the Quiet Room. Becky is reassured, feels at peace and closer to the…

It’s spreading. The suicide cults of kids barely through puberty. They kill themselves in Cutter Circles, brought together by 3g and desolate dreams. It’s a virus. A plague. Who knows how to stop it? Find out who caused it. Find out who’s in charge. Destroy them. Survive. I knew nothing about Point by Thomas Blackthorne when it dropped through my letterbox. The publisher had asked for reviewers for some of their upcoming titles and there was another novel I was hoping to get my hands on. I was a little disappointed but like the dutiful reader I am, I picked up the book and started to read. Within five pages all thoughts of the other novel had fled, and I was completely hooked. Set in the near future the novel is a frenetic, intelligent thriller with a splash of science fiction thrown in for good measure. In a world where the United States is falling apart, there are televised knife fights, and the British government is full of corruption, the reader is introduced to ex-serviceman Josh Cumberland. Josh was formerly a member of ‘The Regiment’ – think black ops amalgam of all the United Kingdom’s special forces. He is privately contracted…

Last year I enjoyed reading the anthology Zombie Apocalypse! So I thought I would take the chance to dip my toes into the waters of shorts fiction once again. Sticking with horror, I was given the opportunity by Mortbury Press to read volume six of the Black Book of Horror. There are fifteen short stories in this volume ranging from paranormal horror to psychological horror. Overall, the anthology was very good, but rather than give too much away I thought I would give some feedback on the entries that were personal highlights for me. Six of the Best by John Llewellyn Probert – In the first story the psychic medium on a ‘Most Haunted’ style television show is plagued by gruesome visions of the dead.  A strong start to this anthology with an unexpected and unpleasant twist. This sets a high standard for the other stories to measure up to. Traffic Stream by Simon Kurt Unsworth – I liked the notion of taking a mundane activity, in this case giving directions over a phone to a colleague, and turning into something horrific. An Unconventional Exorcism by R. B. Russell–A quirky and darkly comic tale that is more funny than horrific….

This is you. This is now. And your number is up. For reasons that are too complicated to touch upon here I have long been a fan of apocalyptic and post apocalyptic fiction. Novels about the end of the world have always sparked my imagination and over the years I have read a fair number. Some, like Swan Song by Robert McCammon, and Blood Crazy Simon Clark, I keep going back to again and again. I always look forward to reading a new example of the genre and so was happy when I finally managed to pick up a copy of One by Conrad Williams. The novel follows deep sea diver Richard Jane, in the immediate aftermath of an extinction level event as he tries to travel from the north of Scotland to London in order to find his son, Stanley.  The country’s infrastructure has been swept away in an instant, and rather than hours, it takes him weeks to get back home. Every step of the way Jane is presented with some fresh horror. Throughout the journey, Jane comes to realise the true scope of the tragedy that has occurred. Towns and cities are ruined, survivors are few and far between, and…

Thanks to @Madnad, my better half, for taking some time out of her busy schedule to provide another review. Subterranean Press recently released a limited reprint of this book, which was originally published in 1989 by Grafton (Harper Collins). In honour of this, it deserves a re-read and a review as I am sure that there are a few people out there completely unaware of this gem. It is a werewolf story completely unlike any other I have ever read and even 20 years after it was released is still a good read. Forget Underworld, forget The Howling, and definitely forget Twilight… this Lycanthrope is more ‘James Bond’ than ‘Lucian’. The prologue offers us two tales – one of a wolf and one of a man – and introduces us to the two aspects of Michael Gallatin. Born Mikhail Gallatinov to an aristocratic family in Csarist Russia, Michael now works as a British spy and is sent on an important mission into Nazi occupied France. The book works almost like two novels in one, flitting between the two halves of Michael’s life and at times, is in danger of spoiling the pace of the story. The first story is an…

Gideon Coxall was a good solder but bad at everything else, until a roadside explosive device leaves him with one deaf ear and a British Army half-pension. So when he hears about the Valhalla Project , it’s like a dream come true. They are recruiting former service personnel for excellent pay, no questions asked, to take part in unspecified combat missions. The last thing Gid expects is to find himself fighting alongside ancient Viking gods. The world is in the grip of the worst winter ever known, and Ragnarok – the fabled final conflict of the sagas – is looming. I knew nothing about The Pantheon Trilogy before I stumbled across The Age of Zeus in my local bookshop. The cover boasted an angry looking Anthony Hopkins look-a-like and a group of tooled up military types, I was intrigued. When I learned the story detailed the return of the ancient gods of Greece in the modern era I was sold. Fortunately my gamble paid off and I was treated to a fantastic read. The Age of Ra, which is in fact the first in this trilogy, soon followed and once again I was not disappointed. I should point out here…

Ezekiel Blue’s father committed a crime, unleashing a deadly menace into steampowered Seattle. And his bereaved family has paid the price. Now, Ezekiel is determined to clear his father’s name, risking death and the undead in the attempt. Sixteen years ago, as the American Civil War dawned, gold brought hordes to the frozen Klondike. Fanatical in their greed, Russian prospectors commissioned Dr Leviticus Blue to create a great machine, to mine through Alaska’s ice. Thus the Incredible Bone-Shaking Drill Engine was born. But the Boneshaker went awry, destroying downtown Seattle and unearthing a subterranean vein of blight gas. Anyone who breathed its fumes turning into the living dead. The devastated city is now walled in to contain the blight. But unknown to Briar, his widowed mother, Ezekiel is going in. His quest will take him into a city teeming with ravenous undead, air pirates, criminal overlords, and heavily armed refugees. And only Briar can bring him out alive If I’m being one hundred percent honest, I have to hold up my hands and say initially, I found  Boneshaker by Cherie Priest a difficult book to read. Now before all you Priest fans form a steam-powered lynch mob and head toward…

“Start a new life on the Moon!” I have been a huge fan of the Pax Britannia novels since I discovered the first novel Unnatural History back in 2007. I was quickly in thrall to the universe of gentleman adventurer and dandy, Ulysees Quicksilver and his ever loyal man servant, Nimrod. Set in an alternate Britain where the Victorian era never ended, the British Empire, now known as Magna Britannia, is still going strong. The industrial revolution continues unchecked and with the help of steam technology Victoria has retained her throne for over one hundred and sixty years. The following video serves as an excellent introduction into what you should expect from a Pax Britannia novel. In Dark Side, the sixth Pax Britiannia novel that Green has written, the author takes Ulysees Quicksilver from the now familiar streets of London Maximus, off world to the British colonial moon base Luna Prime. Our erstwhile hero’s brother, Barty, always the black sheep of the family, has left London unexpectedly and Ulysees is determined to track him down. Upon his arrival in the moon Quicksilver begins to uncover a massive conspiracy that will affect not only him and his family but the whole of…

“You died twenty years ago. Welcome back…“ Over the last couple of years, I have become a fan of the publisher Abaddon Books and have taken the opportunity to read as many of their ongoing series as I can get my hands on. I enjoy The Afterblight Chronicles, and Pax Britannia has become a personal favourite (more on that in the next review).  I recently picked up the first book in another series called The Infernal Game. The Infernal Game: Cold Warriors by Rebecca Levene charts the fortunes of the members of the Hermetic Division, the United Kingdom’s supernatural investigation agency. Disbanded at the end of the cold war the agency is reformed when rumours resurface regarding the mysterious Ragnarok artefacts. These items are said to grant their possessor great power. Due to the nature of their work the Hermetic Division is top secret and their existence is only known by a select few. The reader gets to follow new recruit, Morgan Hewitt, a marksman from the army who is seconded into the new team. As Morgan begins to learn the secrets of the Division he discovers that magic is real and there is an ongoing battle between the forces of…