Please note this review contains spoilers for those that have not read Kell’s Legend. When reading anything by Andy Remic you can rest assured that things are going to get brutal and bloody very quickly. I would definitely not recommend Kell’s Legend or it’s sequel, Soul Stealers, to those of you that are faint of heart. The violence is as graphic as it gets. The author doesn’t sugar coat anything. There are seas of blood and everyone, irrespective of age and gender, are a potential victim. In Kell’s Legend the main protagonist, Kell, is not a terribly nice man. He is an aging warrior who is in a constant battle with the ravages of time. He steadfastly refuses to give in to his inevitable decline, as well as trying to control an almost psychopathic temper. His code of honour would make most people consider him a monster. In fact with a few exceptions most of the characters aren’t that nice. Personally, this didn’t detract from my enjoyment of the story. Quite the reverse in fact. There is a refreshing honesty in the book which I liked. Kell and his main companion Saark are both flawed men. Kell with the dark…

To celebrate the launch today of Angry Robot Books in the US and Canada please enjoy a sample chapter from one of their first releases, the magnificently brutally and action packed, Kell’s Legend by Andy Remic. For the Brits amongst you a review of the forthcoming sequel, Soul Stealers, will be published in the next couple of weeks. Angry Robot books have also just launched an eBook store. If you haven’t already I suggest you check it out. I have had the opportunity to enjoy Sixty One Nails and The Road to Bedlam (see my review) by Mike Shevdon as well as Triumff by Dan Abnett. I can heartily recommend them all.

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 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.