“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…

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…