Kell is one of the last Travelers—rare magicians who choose a parallel universe to visit. Grey London is dirty, boring, lacks magic, ruled by mad King George. Red London is where life and magic are revered, and the Maresh Dynasty presides over a flourishing empire. White London is ruled by whoever has murdered their way to the throne. People fight to control magic, and the magic fights back, draining the city to its very bones. Once there was Black London – but no one speaks of that now. Officially, Kell is the Red Traveler, personal ambassador and adopted Prince of Red London, carrying the monthly correspondences between royals of each London. Unofficially, Kell smuggles for those willing to pay for even a glimpse of a world they’ll never see. This dangerous hobby sets him up for accidental treason. Fleeing into Grey London, Kell runs afoul of Delilah Bard, a cut-purse with lofty aspirations. She robs him, saves him from a dangerous enemy, then forces him to another world for her ‘proper adventure’. But perilous magic is afoot, and treachery lurks at every turn. To save all of the worlds, Kell and Lila will first need to stay alive — trickier…

Please note The Iron Ghost is a sequel to The Copper Promise, so it is entirely likely that this review may contain minor spoilery type stuff. Don’t say I didn’t warn you! Wydrin of Crosshaven, Sir Sebastian and Lord Aaron Frith are experienced in the perils of stirring up the old gods. They are also familiar with defeating them, and the heroes of Baneswatch are now enjoying the perks of suddenly being very much in demand for their services. When a job comes up in the distant city of Skaldshollow, it looks like easy coin – retrieve a stolen item, admire the views, get paid. But in a place twisted and haunted by ancient magic, with the most infamous mage of them all, Joah Demonsworn, making a reappearance, our heroes soon find themselves threatened by enemies on all sides, old and new. And in the frozen mountains, the stones are walking… Last year Jen Williams delivered a rock solid debut in the form of The Copper Promise. Chock full of engaging characters, a cracking plot and more action than you could shake a big pointy stick at it was a successful reimagining of traditional fantasy tropes injected with a modern…

The angels at God’s office complex regularly turn out amazing projects. Lucifer happens to be working on the development of humans, within the larger Creation project. The other angels involved seem satisfied creating beings that aren’t living or feeling, a major problem, since Lucifer needs to create actual personalities before the fast approaching release date. To top it all off, he needs to fit rebelling against the Creator into his busy life if he ever wants to get a corporate promotion. Lucifer explores good and evil, fate and free will, and office politics in Heaven. Why was Lucifer cast out from Heaven? What caused the rift between him and the bigwigs in upper management? Did Lucifer fall, or was he pushed? Anyone who has ever worked in an office cubicle will appreciate the version of Lucifer who inhabits this tale. When we first meet him, he isn’t quite the vision of Hell that most are familiar with, far from it in fact. This isn’t anything close to the Father of Lies at all. He is a company man who relishes his work and likes nothing better than puzzling things out. The change that slowly starts to occur within our lead…

Flamboyant, charismatic Matthew Cannonbridge was touched by genius, the most influential creative mind of the 19th century, a prolific novelist, accomplished playwright, the poet of his generation. The only problem is, he should never have existed and beleaguered, provincial, recently-divorced 21st Century don Toby Judd is the only person to realise something has gone wrong with history. All the world was Cannonbridge’s and he possessed, seemingly, the ability to be everywhere at once. Cannonbridge was there that night by Lake Geneva when conversation between Byron, Shelley and Mary Godwin turned to stories of horror and the supernatural. He was sole ally, confidante and friend to the young Dickens as Charles laboured without respite in the blacking factory. He was the only man of standing and renown to regularly visit Oscar Wilde in prison. Tennyson’s drinking companion, Kipling’s best friend, Robert Louis Stevenson’s counsellor and guide – Cannonbridge’s extraordinary life and career spanned a century, earning him a richly-deserved place in the English canon. But as bibliophiles everywhere prepare to toast the bicentenary of the publication of Cannonbridge’s most celebrated work, Judd’s discovery will lead him on a breakneck chase across the English canon and countryside, to the realisation that the…

Please note The Boy Who Wept Blood is a sequel to The Boy With The Porcelain Blade and it is highly likely that if you haven’t read that first book then this review will contain something akin to spoilers. Be warned!    Ten years have passed since the disappearance of Lucien and his protégé, the young swordsman Dino, is struggling to live up to Lucien’s legacy. Sworn to protect the silent queen Anea as she struggles to bring a new democracy to Demesne, Dino finds himself drawn into a deadly game of political intrigue as the aristocratic families of Landfall conspire to protect their privilege. Always ready to prove himself as a swordsman Dino is anguished to discover that in order to fulfil his vow he must become both spy and assassin. And all the while the dark secret at the heart of Demesne is growing towards fulfilment. The King is dead, long live the Queen! Ten years have passed since the events in The Boy With The Porcelain Blade, and Demense is now ruled by Anea. She has promised to replace the old regime with a fairer society, hoping to ultimately create a republic where there is less of…

Welcome to The Eloquent Page review of 2014. It’s been another barnstormer, genre fiction wise, in the last twelve months. I’ve managed seventy eight books and for the first time ever the site has had over two hundred thousand page views which equates to over fifty thousand unique visitors. That boggles my tiny mind. But never mind all this statistical mayhem. Let’s cut to the chase. It’s time for my awards for the year. Random as ever, and judged by a panel of one, me. The “They Did What?” Award – I’m a boring old sod at heart. I’m not massively interested in the vagaries of the book industry. I read what I like, and that’s about all there is to it. That said, even I’ll admit I was confounded and disappointed when I discovered that Angry Robot were discontinuing Strange Chemistry and Exhibit A. Both were brilliant imprints. Obviously, I appreciate there were probably entirely valid economic reasons why what happened happened, but personally I wish they were both still around. I read some cracking books from both imprints and I’m still disappointed that they are gone. One small silver lining is that Kim Curran’s final book in the…

Alex Locke is a reformed ex-con forced into London’s criminal underworld for one more job. He agrees to steal a priceless artefact – a human heart carved from the blackest obsidian – but when the burglary goes horribly wrong, Alex is plunged into the nightmarish world of the Wolves of London, unearthly assassins who will stop at nothing to reclaim the heart. As he races to unlock the secrets of the mysterious object, Alex must learn to wield its dark power – or be destroyed by it. I’m incredibly lucky that from time to time, publisher see fit to send me books and I get to read them and waffle a bit about my opinions of their contents. That said, there is little I love more than a good rummage around in a book shop. Last week I was doing that very thing and I suddenly found The Wolves of London by Mark Morris in my hands. I can’t really tell you how it got there, all I can confirm is that as soon as it was in my hands I knew I was going to read it. My cleverly monitored review spreadsheet was immediately ignored and my previous commitments…

In a break from tradition what follows is not a standard review but rather an open letter to Professor Elemental on the occasion of the publication of his Letters Between Gentlemen. But first a little background… Professor Elemental: Misunderstood and benevolent genius, evil killer; or slightly deluded idiot? Private investigator Algernon Spoon really isn’t sure, but as the bodies mount up, it looks like someone is bent on slaughter: But who? And Why? And is there going to be Battenburg? Dear Professor Please excuse this intrusion but I felt compelled to voice my congratulations on the recent publication of your wonderful book Letters Between Gentlemen. I have long since been an enthusiastic fan of your fighting trousers and have endeavoured to spread the word of your musical stylings whenever possible. I am sure you have no difficulty imagining my unrestrained glee when I discovered you had written a book. The prospect of gaining invaluable insight into your scientific working methods and unique mind were a dream come true. Any man who is able to successfully bridge the gap between steampunk rapper, cutting edge inventor and author I consider to be well worthy of my time. Reading through the various correspondences…

Please note Vowed is a direct sequel to Banished so it is entirely possible that this review may contain something akin to spoilers if you haven’t already read book one. Actually if you haven’t read Banished why are you here? Go read it and then come back and we’ll talk. A Blackhart can see the supernatural behind everyday crimes. But some crimes hide even greater evils . . . Kit Blackhart must investigate why children are disappearing from a London estate. Their parents, the police and Kit’s fae allies claim to know nothing. And as more children disappear, the pressure mounts. Luckily, or unluckily, government trainee Dante Alexander is helping Kit with the case. Yet just as her feelings towards him begin to thaw, his life falls apart. As Kit struggles to unravel Dante’s problems and solve their case, she meets fae Prince Thorn in her dreams – but their relationship is utterly forbidden. Then Kit digs too deep, uncovering a mystery that’s been hidden for one thousand years. It’s a secret that could just tear down our world. Last year I was fortunate enough to pick up a copy of the debut novel by Liz de Jager, Banished while…

Legend holds that when Britain is in its darkest hour, King Arthur will return to save the country, if not the world. That legend is dead wrong. When a Grove of Druids sacrifices the lives of a group of innocents, including the fiancée of a member of SEAL Team 666, the ancient king is brought back from the dead and sets his sights on subjugating humanity and cleansing his land of all who are not true Britons. Because of political sensitivities, Triple 6 is ordered to stand down, but that order is ignored when one of the team seeks his own vengeance. Now, the members of America’s elite supernatural-hunting force must decide what is more important: their orders or their loyalty. With its plethora of supernatural and otherworldly myths and legends, I suppose it was only a matter of time before SEAL Team 666 set foot on good old Blighty’s shores. Britain has such a rich mythological heritage to pick from, I’m sure Weston Ochse was spoiled for choice. Like the other books in this series, Reign of Evil is all about the ride. Don’t over think what’s going on. Just sit back, relax and prepare for the mayhem. As…

Magic caused the war. Magic is forbidden. Magic will save us. It was said the Labyrinth had once been the great meeting place, a sprawling city at the heart of an endless maze where a million humans hosted the Houses of the Aelfir. The Aelfir who had brought trade and riches, and a future full of promise. But when the Thaumaturgists, overlords of human and Aelfir alike, went to war, everything was ruined and the Labyrinth became an abandoned forbidden zone, where humans were trapped behind boundary walls a hundred feet high. Now the Aelfir are a distant memory and the Thaumaturgists have faded into myth. Young Clara struggles to survive in a dangerous and dysfunctional city, where eyes are keen, nights are long, and the use of magic is punishable by death. She hides in the shadows, fearful that someone will discover she is touched by magic. She knows her days are numbered. But when a strange man named Fabian Moor returns to the Labyrinth, Clara learns that magic serves a higher purpose and that some myths are much more deadly in the flesh. The only people Clara can trust are the Relic Guild, a secret band of magickers…

After being chased by a dragon, tricked by a demon, almost killed by a psychopathic gang boss and hunted by a ferocious arrachid assassin, Breed’s life really takes a turn for the worst. Sentenced to five years bonded servitude to a one-handed priest magician, Breed must find the weapon of the ancient hero known only as the Hammer of the North within a year and a day. With only a drug-addicted vagrant, a rat faced child and a timid priest for back up Breed sets out for the mighty city of Valen and the tomb of the hammer. What could possibly go wrong? I keep a pretty strict schedule when it comes to reviewing. Ninety nine percent of the time I work with the principle first in, first out. It makes it easy for me to keep track of what I am reviewing and when. There is an exception to every rule, however. For me, it’s when a new book arrives from K T Davies. I can’t help myself. I loved The Red Knight, and when I got my hands on Breed I began to devour it immediately. My colour-coded schedule of book-reviewing loveliness was swiftly forgotten, and I lost…

LEGENDS AREN’T BORN. THEY’RE FORGED. Dug Sealskinner is a down-on-his-luck mercenary travelling south to join up with King Zadar’s army. But he keeps rescuing the wrong people. First, Spring, a child he finds scavenging on the battlefield, and then Lowa, one of Zadar’s most fearsome warriors, who’s vowed revenge on the king for her sister’s execution. Now Dug’s on the wrong side of that thousands-strong army he hoped to join ­- and worse, Zadar has bloodthirsty druid magic on his side. All Dug has is his war hammer, one rescued child and one unpredictable, highly-trained warrior with a lust for revenge that’s going to get them all killed . . . It’s a glorious day to die. Turns out Iron Age Britain is not an easy place to get by in. The country is fragmented into many warring tribes constantly at one another’s throats. Bickering warlords try to grab hold of as much land and power as they can manage while trying to ignore the ever growing threat of the Roman Empire. Dug Sealskinner is a slightly shabby warrior, past his best, with a suitably world-weary outlook towards life. It’s not difficult to spot, the sardonic attitude, resigned acceptance of…