Mithila’s world is bound by a Wall enclosing the city of Sumer—nobody goes out, nothing comes in. The days pass as they have for two thousand years: just enough to eat for just enough people, living by the rules. Within the city, everyone knows their place. But when Mithila tries to cross the Wall, every power in Sumer comes together to stop her. To break the rules is to risk all of civilization collapsing. But to follow them is to never know: who built the Wall? Why? And what would the world look like if it didn’t exist? As Mithila and her friends search for the truth, they must risk losing their families, the ones they love, and even their lives. Is a world they can’t imagine worth the only world they have? I’m a huge fan of the Terry Gilliam movie Brazil. It the simple story of a man ground down by existence, hemmed in at every turn. During his waking hours, he is crippled by insecurity and forced to conform. His life is an endless stream of banality but it is safe and secure. There is no challenge, but also no chance of failure. At night however, he…

Glasgow, 1932. When the son-in-law of one of the city’s wealthiest families is found floating in the River Clyde with his throat cut, it falls to Inspector Jimmy Dreghorn to lead the murder case – despite sharing a troubled history of his own with the victim’s widow. From the flying fists and flashing blades of Glasgow’s gangland underworld, to the backstabbing upper echelons of government and big business, Dreghorn will have to dig deep into Glasgow society to find out who wanted the man dead and why. All the while, a sadistic murderer stalks the post-war city leaving a trail of dead bodies in their wake. As the case deepens, will Dreghorn find the killer – or lose his own life in the process? Much like corporation buses, you wait for one historical crime novel set in Glasgow to arrive and then three come along at once. I recently read and reviewed Bobby March Will Live Forever by Alan Parks and in a couple of weeks I’ll be reading The April Dead, also by Parks. Sandwiched between the two we have Edge of the Grave by Robbie Morrison. Fortunately, Alan Parks’ novels are set in the nineteen-seventies while Morrison’s debut…

Out Past the Stars is book three in The Farian War trilogy. Please note, what follows may contain minor spoilers if you’ve not read books one and two… Who am I kidding, of course it will contain spoilers. How could it not? The book blurb is a spoiler for goodness sake. When Hail finally confronts the Farian gods, the last thing she expects to discover is that they’re part of the Hiervet, an alien race who once spread war throughout the galaxy long before humanity’s ancestors crawled out of the sludge of Earth’s oceans. The discovery carries with it dire news: the Hiervet are coming, eager to take revenge on those who escaped and they don’t care who gets caught in the crossfire. The fate of the galaxy is on the line and Hail will have to make one final gamble to leverage chaos into peace. Here we are at the grand finale of Hail Bristol’s story. After many twists and turns the final book in The Farian War trilogy, Out Past the Stars, has arrived. The good news is that Hail’s swansong is exactly what I had hoped it would be. She leaves us on a high, doing what…

Please note, though this is a standalone novel it is the third book featuring detective Harry McCoy. I’d recommend reading Bloody January and February’s Son before picking this book up. I’ll guarantee that if you do when you do read Bobby March Will Live Forever you’ll enjoy it all the more. WHO IS TO BLAME WHEN NO ONE IS INNOCENT? The papers want blood. The force wants results. The law must be served, whatever the cost. August 1973. The Glasgow drugs trade is booming and Bobby March, the city’s own rock-star hero, has just OD’ed in a central hotel. Alice Winters is twelve years old, lonely. And missing. Meanwhile the niece of McCoy’s boss has fallen in with a bad crowd and when she goes AWOL, McCoy is asked – off the books – to find her. McCoy has a hunch. But does he have enough time? It is universally understood that the people of Scotland do not function well in high temperatures, so finding Harry McCoy attempting to solve multiple crimes in the midst of a blistering heatwave does not bode well. When we join the detective, he is attempting to locate a missing child, unravel the story behind a…

When Liz and Nick Holland buy Wintergate, an isolated, long-empty Victorian seaside house, they believe they have found the perfect home. However, it isn’t long before it begins to have an unsettling effect on Liz. She hears the sound of crying babies in the dead of night, and a sinister presence seems to be stalking her, making her doubt her sanity. Wintergate has a dark secret. Something evil lives there, and Liz must unravel the house’s twisted history before she becomes its next victim. I couldn’t tell you the last time I read a haunted house novel. It’s strange because I am fascinated by the history of buildings. I can’t say I believe in the idea of haunted houses exactly but there is something endlessly fascinating about the thought that locations retain a sort of memory, an echo of the past. If this is a violent, bloody echo then who knows how that can affect someone’s mental state? The House of Frozen Screams starts off in a pretty traditional fashion. A young couple, eager to find their own place, happen upon Wintergate. It feels like a dream come true and before you know it, they are all moved in looking forward…

Please note, The Two Lost Mountains is the sixth book in an ongoing series. If you haven’t read what has come before then chances are the review below is going to contain minor spoilers. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.  AN INCREDIBLE VICTORY BUT AT A TERRIBLE PRICE… Against all the odds, Jack West Jr found the Three Secret Cities but at a heartbreaking cost. His beloved daughter Lily, it appeared, was slaughtered by Sphinx in a cruel ancient ritual. TO THE MOUNTAINS AND THE FALL! With his rivals far ahead of him, Jack must now get to one of the five iron mountains-two of which have never been found-and perform a mysterious feat known only as ‘The Fall’. Although what is this object on the moon that is connected to it? A NEW PLAYER ARRIVES Amid all this, Jack will discover that a new player has entered the race, a general so feared by the four legendary kingdoms they had him locked away in their deepest dungeon. Only now this general has escaped and he has a horrifying plan of his own…  Wow! So here we are, the penultimate novel in the Jack West Jr series by Matthew Reilly….

Warning: use of this gate will take you outside of the InTech corporate zone. Different community guidelines may apply, and you may be asked to sign a separate end-user license agreement. Do you wish to continue?  Tanta has trained all her young life for this. Her very first mission is a code red: to take her team into the unaffiliated zone just outside InTech’s borders and retrieve a stolen hard drive. It should have been quick and simple, but a surprise attack kills two of her colleagues and Tanta barely makes it home alive.  Determined to prove herself and partnered with a colleague whose past is a mystery even to himself, Tanta’s investigation uncovers a sinister conspiracy that makes her question her own loyalties and the motives of everyone she used to trust. This week’s review is science fiction thriller Inscape by Louise Carey. If you are looking for a new read featuring some clandestine rendezvous, shady high-level conspiracies and a dash of future-tech enhanced action then this is the book for you.  The protagonist in the novel is a newly promoted InTech agent called Tanta. She has spent her life in the care of this huge, faceless conglomerate. When…

Please note, Down Among the Dead is book two in The Farian War. If you haven’t read book one, There Before the Chaos (and the trilogy that preceded that) then what follows will contain minor spoilers. Don’t say I didn’t warn you! Gunrunner empress Hail Bristol must navigate alien politics and deadly plots to prevent an interspecies war, in this second novel in the Farian War space opera trilogy. In a surprise attack that killed many of her dearest subjects, Hail Bristol, empress of Indrana, has been captured by the Shen – the most ruthless and fearsome aliens humanity has ever encountered. As she plots her escape, the centuries-long war between her captors and the Farians, their mortal enemies and Indrana’s oldest allies, finally comes to a head. When her captors reveal a shocking vision of the future, Hail must make the unexpectedly difficult decision she’s been avoiding: whether to back the Shen or the Farians. Staying neutral is no longer an option. Will Hail fight? Or will she fall? Putting it in the simplest terms Down Among the Dead, the latest chapter of The Farian War, by K B Wagers is an emotional rollercoaster. The book begins with a…

The Fermi is Earth’s first faster-than-light capable spaceship. It’s also its last. The moment its engines engage, it unleashes a shockwave that vaporises entire planets, entire solar systems. Fermi’s crew, the last surviving members of the human race, now find themselves circling an ancient Dyson sphere in a distant corner of the galaxy, where they must explore a city of ships and negotiate with a vast, lonely AI for their survival. But that isn’t their only problem. Because the Fermi’s engines are powering up again… What with all manner of real life events engulfing last year*, I made a conscious decision to reduce my reviewing output for a while. I took almost the entirety of December off to recharge my mental batteries, and now I’m back to the point where I am dipping my toe tentatively back into book reviewing waters. This week’s review is Dyson’s Fear, a new novella from Chris Farnell. I read Chris’ short story anthology, Dirty Work, way back in 2014 and thoroughly enjoyed it. His latest is a homage to classic science fiction with a quirky, modern twist. The crew of the Fermi are a rag-tag bunch of mildly odd souls. Samson is your typical…

Scholars, shopkeepers, collectors, aficionados. Obtainers of rare antiquities; relic hunters who can’t resist a lead, even when it takes them into terrible danger. There’s always an opportunity to be found amid the confusion, in the wake of the terrible Kinslayer War. There’s always a deal to be done, a tomb to open, a precious thing to obtain. From encounters with the monstrous Vathesk to exploring new worlds; from wielding great power to do great good, to unearthing dark things best left lost. If you need the experts, if you can find your way to their Cherivell shop, maybe you can hire Doctors Catt and Fisher. Twenty-twenty has been one hell of a year, what with global pandemics and political nonsense all over the place. I’ve been on quite the emotional rollercoaster as it goes. Fortunately, reading has helped enormously to get me through the tougher moments. Being able to escape into a good book offers no small measure of solace. I’ve read some truly wonderful stories in the last twelve months and I’m glad to say my final book of the year rounds things off perfectly; it is an absolute gem. The Tales of Catt & Fisher – The Art…

GOING UP? A dinner party is held in the penthouse of a multimillion-pound development. All the guests are strangers – even to their host, the billionaire owner of the building. None of them know why they were selected to receive his invitation. Whether privileged or deprived, they share only one thing in common – they’ve all experienced a shocking disturbance within the building’s walls. By the end of the night, their host is dead, and none of the guests will say what happened. His death has remained one of the biggest unsolved mysteries – until now. But are you ready for their stories? 13 Storeys by Jonathan Sims is a portmanteau novel featuring a baker’s dozen of tales woven together by a strange building and its equally strange owner. Welcome to Banyan Court, a place where nothing is ever quite what it seems. Let’s meet the residents and staff in the run up to the most exclusive event the building has ever hosted. Night Work – Violet Ng works the night shift. She loves the peace and quiet of the slumbering city. She finds comfort in the empty streets and the lonely walk home. Unfortunately, when your home is Banyan…

Please note, Call of the Bones Ships is a direct sequel to The Bone Ships and if you have not read the first book in the Tide Child trilogy then it is likely what follows may contain some minor spoilers. Don’t say I didn’t warn ya! Dragons have returned to the Hundred Isles. But their return heralds only war and destruction. When a horde of dying slaves are discovered in the bowels of a ship, Shipwife Meas and the crew of the Tide Child find themselves drawn into a vicious plot that will leave them questioning their loyalties and fighting for their lives. Ahoy me hearties, tis time for us to set sail once again on the good ship Tide Child. R J Barker is back with Call of The Bone Ships so prepare yourself for more fantastical adventures on the high seas. Ok, I’ll admit it. I have been looking forward to this book for ages. C’mon, we’re talking sea dragons, skeletal pirate ships and more swash than you can shake a buckle at for goodness sake. How could you not be excited about that? Joron Twiner has come a long way since the end of book one. Before…

Caiden’s planet is destroyed. His family gone. And, his only hope for survival is a crew of misfit aliens and a mysterious ship that seems to have a soul and a universe of its own. Together they will show him that the universe is much bigger, much more advanced, and much more mysterious than Caiden had ever imagined. But the universe hides dangers as well, and soon Caiden has his own plans.  He vows to do anything it takes to get revenge on the slavers who murdered his people and took away his home. To destroy their regime, he must infiltrate and dismantle them from the inside, or die trying. Enter a universe of daring space battles and impossible technology, a world where planets can be destroyed in the blink of an eye, and where the galaxy’s most valuable substance – nophek gloss – is in the hands of one young man who will tear it all down. I don’t read a huge amount of science fiction as a rule, so when I choose to it needs to be a cut above. This year I’ve only read Goldilocks by Laura Lam, The Saints of Salvation by Peter F Hamilton and…