The Eloquent Page Review of the Year – 2016 Edition
Anthology , Crime , Fantasy , Historical , Horror , Sci-Fi , Thriller / December 22, 2016

For the uninitiated – The Eloquent Page is just me, on my own. There are guest reviews from time to time but I read 99% of the books myself. I’m most definitely not a writer, I’m just a collector of stories, so I don’t bother with negative reviews. Life, as I have discovered, is way too short to be reading books you don’t enjoy. As has become habit over the last few years, I like to round off the reviewing calendar with a look back over the last twelve months, and dispense some awards Read more […]

Dominion by Peter McLean
Angry Robot , Fantasy , Horror , Peter McLean / November 18, 2016

Before we begin a word of dire warning. Dominion is a direct sequel to Drake. If you haven’t read book one in this series then there is a good chance that this review may continue something akin to minor spoiler. Don’t say I didn’t warn you… In the tunnels deep under London, the Earth elementals are dying. Hunted by something they know only as the Rotman, the elementals have no one trustworthy they can turn to. Enter Don Drake, diabolist and semi-reformed hitman, and an almost-fallen Read more […]

The Shadow of What Was Lost by James Islington
Fantasy , James Islington , Orbit / November 11, 2016

It has been twenty years since the end of the war. The dictatorial Augurs – once thought of almost as gods – were overthrown and wiped out during the conflict, their much-feared powers mysteriously failing them. Those who had ruled under them, men and women with a lesser ability known as the Gift, avoided the Augurs’ fate only by submitting themselves to the rebellion’s Four Tenets. A representation of these laws is now written into the flesh of any who use the Gift, forcing those so marked into Read more […]

A City Dreaming by Daniel Polansky
Daniel Polansky , Fantasy , Hodder / October 6, 2016

M is a drifter with a sharp tongue, few scruples, and limited magical ability, who would prefer drinking artisanal beer to involving himself in the politics of the city. Alas, in the infinite nexus of the universe which is New York, trouble is a hard thing to avoid, and when a rivalry between the city’s two queens threatens to turn to all out war, M finds himself thrust in thrust in the unfamiliar position of hero. Now, to keep the apocalypse from descending on the Big Apple, he’ll have to call Read more […]

The High King’s Vengeance by Steven Poore
Fantasy , Kristell Ink , Steven Poore / September 23, 2016

Please note – The High King’s Vengeance is a direct sequel to The Heir of the North. I’d advise, if you haven’t already, you should read that first. If you don’t then it is highly likely that this review may contain something akin to spoilers. Consider yourself suitably warned. “I am the Heir to the North.” Malessar’s Curse is broken, the wards around Caenthell destroyed. The Warlock himself lies, exhausted and gravely wounded, in the rubble of his own house. And while the dire spirits Read more […]

Chasing Embers by James Bennett
Fantasy , James Bennett , Orbit / September 16, 2016

There’s nothing special about Ben Garston. He’s just a guy with an attitude in a beat-up leather jacket, drowning his sorrows in a downtown bar. Or so he’d have you believe. What Ben Garston can’t let you know is that he was once known as Red Ben. That the world of myth and legend isn’t just a fantasy, as we’ve been led to believe. And he certainly can’t let you know the secret of what’s hiding just beneath his skin… But not even Ben knows what kind of hell is about to break loose. A centuries-old Read more […]

Children of the Different by S C Flynn
Fantasy , S C Flynn , The Hive , Young Adult / September 9, 2016

Nineteen years ago, a brain disease known as the Great Madness killed most of the world’s population. The survivors all had something different about their minds. Now, at the start of adolescence, their children enter a trance-like state known as the Changeland and either emerge with special mental powers or as cannibalistic Ferals. In the great forest of south-western Australia, thirteen year-old Arika and her twin brother Narrah go through the Changeland. They encounter an enemy known as the Read more […]

Twilight of the Dragons by Andy Remic
Andy Remic , Angry Robot , Fantasy / September 7, 2016

Please note Twilight of the Dragons is a direct sequel to The Dragon Engine so it is highly likely that this review may contain minor spoilers if you haven’t read that first. Don’t say I didn’t warn ya! During a recent dwarf civil-war deep under the Karamakkos Mountains, the magick-enslaved dragonlords have broken free from centuries of imprisonment and slaughtered tens of thousands throughout the Five Havens before exploding from the mountain and heading in fire and vengeance for the lands Read more […]

You Don’t Belong Here by Tim Major
Fantasy , Horror , Snowbooks , Tim Major / September 1, 2016

Daniel Faint is on the run with a stolen time machine. As the house-sitter of a remote Cumbrian mansion, he hopes to hide and experiment with the machine. But is the Manor being watched by locals, his twin brother or himself from the future? Daniel is terrified about what the future may hold but, as he discovers, there can be no going back. If you were given the opportunity to escape all your past mistakes would you seriously be able to resist? You could start afresh, with a new life, and a clean Read more […]

Heart of Granite by James Barclay
Fantasy , Gollancz , James Barclay , Sci-Fi / August 18, 2016

The world has become a battleground in a war which no side is winning. But for those determined to retain power, the prolonged stalemate cannot be tolerated so desperate measures must be taken. Max Halloran has no idea. He’s living the brief and glorious life of a hunter-killer pilot. He’s an ace in the air, on his way up through the ranks, in love, and with his family’s every need provided for in thanks for his service, Max has everything . . . . . . right up until he hears something he shouldn’t Read more […]

Poison City by Paul Crilley
Fantasy , Hodder , Horror , Paul Crilley / August 16, 2016

The name’s Gideon Tau, but everyone just calls me London. I work for the Delphic Division, the occult investigative unit of the South African Police Service. My life revolves around two things – finding out who killed my daughter and imagining what I’m going to do to the bastard when I catch him. I have two friends. The first is my boss, Armitage, a fifty-something DCI from Yorkshire who looks more like someone’s mother than a cop. Don’t let that fool you. The second is the dog, my magical spirit Read more […]

Infernal by Mark de Jager
Del Rey UK , Fantasy , Mark de Jager / August 11, 2016

Stratus wakes in an unfamiliar place, with nothing but the knowledge that he is not human, with no memories of his past but possessing great strength, a powerful sorcery and the burning instinct to survive at any cost. Embarking on a journey of self-discovery, he sets out across a landscape torn apart by the ten year war between the Kingdoms of Krandin and Penullin, now reaching new levels of savagery as a dark magic drives the world to the brink of destruction. As his personality grows with Read more […]

Hero Grown by Andy Livingstone

Brann has come a long way since his days as a galley slave. At Lord Einarr’s side, he journeys to the capital of the Empire to warn the Emperor about Loku and his depraved cult. But Loku already has the Emperor in his thrall, and his scheming ensures that Brann is enslaved once more. He is put to work in the fighting pits deep below the city, where a man might escape with his life, but not his soul. Brann emerges bent on revenge, determined to stop Loku. But first he must fight to recover Read more […]