To claim the powers of the legendary golden lotus, Tori Harding, a Victorian woman, must journey to Bharata, with its magics, intrigues and ghosts, to claim her fate, and face a choice between two suitors and two irreconcilable realms.  It is 1857. After millennia of seafaring, and harried by the kraken of the deep, in a monumental feat of engineering Anglica has built a stupendous bridge to Bharata. Bharata’s magical powers are despised as superstition, but its diamonds and cotton are eagerly exploited by Anglic colonials. Seething with unrest over its subjugation, Bharata strikes back with bloody acts of magical terrorism.  Despite these savage attacks, young Tori Harding yearns to know if Bharata’s magics may also be a path to scientific discovery. Tori’s parents hold little hope for her future because she has a club foot. Therefore they indulge her wish to have instruction in science from her famous botanist grandfather, even though, as a woman she will be denied a career in science by the male-dominated scientific societies. Though courted by a friend of the family, Captain Edmond Muir-Smith, Tori has taken to heart her grandfather’s warning not to exchange science for “married slavery.”  Emboldened by her grandfather’s final…

It’s about high time we had a guest review so here’s one right now. Something a bit different today though, Mr Sam Strong has pricked up his ears and has taken a listen to an audio book. A killer is on the loose . . . Joel is fascinated by the art of Rithmatics – with its lines of power and ability to bring chalk drawings to life – but only a few have the gift and he is not one of them. When Rithmatic students from Joel’s school start disappearing, he is keen to investigate. Since he’s not a Rithmatist, Joel seems to be safe – but others are dying. Can he find the killer before the killer realizes just what a threat Joel really is? The Rithmatist is Brandon Sanderson’s first foray into the world of YA fiction. Perhaps best known for his Mistborn series, Sanderson is a bit of a machine, regularly churning out epic fantasy novels that tend to have incredibly detailed magic systems. I’m a big fan of the Mistborn series (except for that bit at the end where Sanderson’s personal beliefs are thrust upon the unsuspecting reader) so when Sir Cheesecake offered me the chance…

Please note Pigeonwings is a direct sequel to the events in Clovenhoof. I would advise reading book one before losing yourself in the chaotic nonsense that is book two. Oh, and this review might contain spoilers if you haven’t read book one. As punishment for his part in an attempted coup in Heaven, the Archangel Michael is banished to Earth. The holiest of the angelic host has to learn to live as a mortal, not an easy job when you’ve got Satan as a next-door neighbour. Michael soon finds that being a good person involves more than helping out at Sunday school and attending church coffee mornings. He has to find his purpose in life, deal with earthly temptations and solve a mystery involving some unusual monks and a jar of very dangerous jam. I’m still firmly of the belief that writing a genuinely funny story is the darkest of arts. Deciding what’s funny can be such a subjective thing. Writing something that is will appeal to multiple readers strikes me as almost impossible. The good news is that there are still those that attempt this feat. The even better news is that there are some who succeed. Heidi Goody and…

It is possible, though frankly improbable, that some may not be aware that The Glass Republic is a direct sequel to The City’s Son. Note well then this dire warning, herein may lie spoilers for those who have not as yet read book one. Proceed at your own peril. Pen’s life is all about secrets: the secret of the city’s spirits, deities and monsters her best friend Beth discovered, living just beyond the notice of modern Londoners; the secret of how she got the intricate scars that disfigure her so cruelly – and the most closely guarded secret of all: Parva, her mirror-sister, forged from her reflections in a school bathroom mirror. Pen’s reflected twin is the only girl who really understands her. Then Parva is abducted and Pen makes a terrible argain for the means to track her down. In London-Under-Glass looks are currency, and Pen’s scars make her a rare and valuable commodity. But some in the reflected city will do anything to keep Pen from the secret of what happened to the sister who shared her face. I hate Tom Pollock. There, I’ve finally said it. I’m sorry if this upsets you, but it’s true. He’s just…

 Ulfar Thormodsson has spent two years travelling as envoy and bodyguard to his high-born cousin. They have one last stop – the walled town of Stenvik – before they can finally go home. Audun Arngrimsson works his forge and lives a secretive, solitary life. No one knows about his past, and he’d like to keep it that way. But the Old Gods have other ideas. The factions within Stenvik are about to come to blows, but a far bigger battle is approaching: a young king is bringing the White Christ at point of sword and edge of blade. And on the horizon are the sails of another, more mysterious enemy…  There is a 2009 film called Vahalla Rising by Nicholas Winding Refn that stars the uber-talented Mads Mikkelsen. It follows the journeys of a Viking and explores the stark, often brutal, time which he lived. Swords of Good Men, the latest publication from Jo Fletcher Books, covers similar thematic territory but goes that little bit further. Imagine a novel that offers insight into the nature of a proud warrior culture and how tribes managed on a day-to-day basis. The remote settlement of Stenvik is a hard place to survive, in fact,…

Time from another guest review from MadNad…  It’s Cinderella, but not as you know her… Imagine an enchanted footman, two ugly sisters, a magical ball and a romance to remember . . . and now turn the page for the true tale of Cinderella, told the way it always should have been . . . As Mr Cheesecake tasked me to review Poison, it seemed logical that I would also review Charm, the second in a trilogy of adult fairy tales from Sarah Pinborough, when the opportunity arose. Boosted by the large and small screen revival of fairy tales, this series of books from Gollancz are perfectly timed. I will state, in the spirit of full disclosure, that despite growing fond of shows like Grimm and Once Upon A Time, I probably would not have picked this book up, and I would have missed out on a treat. I am never one to turn down an opportunity to read any of Pinborough’s work, although previous things of hers I have read are more horrific in nature. Her writing is so unbelievably skilled. She has a way of painting a picture with a few well-chosen words that leaves me breathless, and…

Present Day: Cadair Idris, Snowdonia. Hannah Wilde flees to Llyn Gwyr, a remote mountain farmhouse, her husband bleeding to death on the passenger seat beside her. In the back of the car sits their seven year old daughter. Hannah’s father is missing. Her mother is already dead. Mysterious strangers are converging on the mountain. And Hannah must decide who to trust – and who to sacrifice – if she’s to defeat the predator who has stalked five generations of her family. 1979: Balliol College, Oxford. Charles Meredith, a brilliant, obsessive professor, clashes with a beautiful French woman in Balliol’s library. When the woman disappears, and her identity is exposed as a sham, Charles is dragged into a terrifying pursuit. 1873: Gödöllö, Hungary. Lukas Balázs prepares for his végzet night, the celebration that symbolises his entry into adulthood. But the festivities are about to go horribly wrong, and only Lukas knows why.  A centuries-old secret is about to unravel … Jakab is coming. There is something intrinsically appealing about the idea of secret societies. The idea that somehow, often hidden in plain sight, groups of individuals exist who are different from everyone else. They live their secret lives, going about their secretive business, and…

Please note Rebellion is a direct sequel to Blood and Feathers, so if you haven’t read that, there is a good chance there will be some minor spoilers below. Got it? Good. Onwards… Driven out of hell and with nothing to lose, the Fallen wage open warfare against the angels on the streets. And they’re winning. As the balance tips towards the darkness, Alice – barely recovered from her own ordeal in hell and struggling to start over – once again finds herself in the eye of the storm. But with the chaos spreading and the Archangel Michael determined to destroy Lucifer whatever the cost, is the price simply too high? And what sacrifices will Alice and the angels have to make in order to pay it? The Fallen will rise. Trust will be betrayed. And all hell breaks loose… The thing I’m always on the look out for in the second book of any series is a successful expansion on the existing narrative.  The writing needs to reference the main events of book one and, using them as a base, expand upon the universe the author has already created. The good news is that with her second novel, Rebellion, Lou Morgan…

Angel City is a direct sequel to The Watchers. As a result of this it seems highly likely to me that there will be some spoilers in this review (I’ll be honest there are definitely spoilers, I was trying to be subtle). If you’ve not read the 1st book proceed at your own peril. Jay Harper, one of the last ‘angels’ on Planet Earth, is hunting down the half-breeds and goons who infected Paradise with evil. Intercepting a plot to turn half of Paris into a dead zone, Harper ends up on the wrong side of the law and finds himself a wanted man. That doesn’t stop his commander, Inspector Gobet of the Swiss Police, from sending him back to Paris on a recon mission… a mission that uncovers a truth buried in the Book of Enoch. Katherine Taylor and her two year old son Max are living in a small town in the American Northwest. It’s a quiet life. She runs a candle shop and spends her afternoons drinking herbal teas, imagining a crooked little man in the belfry of Lausanne Cathedral, a man who believed Lausanne was a hideout for lost angels. And there was someone else, someone she can’t quite…

Please note The Eighth Court is the fourth book in The Courts of the Feyre series. It’s entirely possible that this review may contain some spoilers if you’ve not read books one to three. Don’t say I didn’t warn ya! The Eighth Court has been established, but petty rivalries and old disputes threaten its stability. The mongrels that make up the court are not helping, and Blackbird enlists the help of the warders to keep the peace. Has Blackbird bitten off more than she can chew, and can the uneasy peace between the courts continue under such tension and rivalry? I have to admit that I’ve been a little worried about reading this particular book. The closer and closer it got to the top of my review pile the more and more nervous I became. Why all the unnecessary anxiety? Well Sixty One Nails is one of the first books that actually made me want to sit down and try to string together something resembling a coherent review. Yes, I know I didn’t review it on The Eloquent Page but it was one of the first books that made me want to share my passion for reading with the world….

As a fan of Greek mythology it’s always of interest to see modern interpretations of the ancient myths. Spin is based loosely on the legend of Arachne and her defiance of Athena. Arachne boasted that her skill was greater than that of the goddess.  She refused to acknowledge that her knowledge came, in part at least, from the gods. Taking the themes from this story Nina Allan has given this ancient tale a modern twist. Layla Vargas is a normal girl who has grown up with just her father on the Greek coast. The one thing that sets her apart from all others is her ability as a weaver. Her talent to create vibrant, colourful images from the silk her father manufactures is so good that it has prompted a change. Layla is moving to the city, to start a new life, taking a chance to control her own destiny. Everything appears to be going perfectly but who exactly is the mysterious old woman that keeps cropping up when Layla least expects it? On a deeper level this story explores the nature of what it means to be a creator, what it means to bring something new into the world. How does the creative…

Built up over the millennia, layer upon layer, the City is ancient and vast. Over the centuries, it has sprawled beyond its walls, the cause of constant war with neighbouring peoples and kingdoms, laying waste to what was once green and fertile. And at the heart of the City resides the emperor. Few have ever seen him. Those who have remember a man in his prime and yet he should be very old. Some speculate that he is no longer human, others wonder if indeed he ever truly was. And a small number have come to a desperate conclusion: that the only way to stop the ceaseless slaughter is to end the emperor’s unnaturally long life. From the rotting, flood-ruined catacombs beneath the City where the poor struggle to stay alive to the blood-soaked fields of battle where so few heroes survive, these rebels pin their hopes on one man. A man who was once the emperor’s foremost general. A man, a revered soldier, who could lead an uprising and unite the City. But a man who was betrayed, imprisoned, tortured and is now believed to be dead… There is a corruption that reaches to the very core of The…

Time to kick off what I’m tentatively calling “Sarah Pinborough Appreciation Week” here at The Eloquent Page. I can think of no better way to begin than with a guest review so without any further nonsense, let me hand you over to my better half @MadNad.  It’s Snow White, but not as you know her… Take a wicked queen, a handsome prince, a beautiful princess, and a poisoned apple… … and now read the true story of Snow White, told the way it always should have been… Like a lot of adults, I don’t usually read fairy tales. However, due to the popularity of shows like Grimm and Once Upon A Time, fairy tales are now once again in vogue and are being read not only by children. In the first of what is a trilogy of adult fairy tales, Sarah Pinborough has written a version of Snow White that has enough elements in it to appear familiar to those of you who read this as a child, but is retold in a way that will open your eyes to questions that your younger self never knew it had. The story is set in a timeless fantasy world of multiple…