Back in 2010 when I decided I would start collecting my thoughts about books I’d read I was being my usual indecisive self. I spent an age umming and ahhing about what my book review website site would look like, what content would the site have, who did I wanted to try and target with my content and what rules would I follow. The only thing that was never in any doubt was what the site would be called. I already had a name, I’d seen it many years before and it was perfect. It had stayed with me, it meant something to me and part of me knew if I was going to be writing about books it was really the only sensible choice. For years I had daydreamed about running my own dusty little book shop, I still do even now. It would be somewhere off the beaten track, somewhere that was never really that popular. I could be left alone to read in peace without the distractions of modern life intruding. When I first discovered Julian May’s work, it felt like she had delved deep into my brain and rummaged around in my innermost thoughts. She took…

Time for a much needed break so The Eloquent Page won’t be getting updated this week. I don’t want you all to panic though. In the words of the accomplished stage and screen actor Arnold Schwarzenegger “I’ll be back“. Whilst I’m away could I suggest hunting out a great book, supporting an author, and doing a spot of reading? It’s what I’m planning to do 🙂 I shall return before you know it. See you soon.

Falcio is the first Cantor of the Greatcoats. Trained in the fighting arts and the laws of Tristia, the Greatcoats are travelling Magisters upholding King’s Law. They are heroes. Or at least they were, until they stood aside while the Dukes took the kingdom, and impaled their King’s head on a spike. Now Tristia is on the verge of collapse and the barbarians are sniffing at the borders. The Dukes bring chaos to the land, while the Greatcoats are scattered far and wide, reviled as traitors, their legendary coats in tatters. All they have left are the promises they made to King Paelis, to carry out one final mission. But if they have any hope of fulfilling the King’s dream, the divided Greatcoats must reunite, or they will also have to stand aside as they watch their world burn… Regular readers of the site will know I have a tendency to waffle on endlessly about books that I really enjoy. In this case however I’m going to try and do something a bit different. I adored every line of Traitor’s Blade. Seriously it is immensely good fun, you should all read it immediately. So why should you pick up Traitor’s…

If I’m not reading genre fiction then I am more than likely watching a genre movie. When this interesting titbit of news popped into my mailbox I felt compelled to share. Ex Machina is a wonderful, transcendent piece of cinema and this book sounds equally wonderful.  Jock’s ‘Ex Machina’ concept work to be released as ‘Ava Evolved’ The creative process behind the break-out science fiction hit movie of 2015, Ex Machina, is to be opened up in a very special book this August. Alex Garland’s directorial debut has confirmed his position as the master of indie SF cinema and artist Jock’s concept work behind the film’s robot AI and the heart of the story, Ava, is being printed for the first time in a unique showcase format. AVA Evolved is a very special limited edition art book, that will feature loose-leafed A3 scale portfolio pieces, collecting Jock’s incredible concept art, detailing the evolution of Ava, from early mood-pieces to detailed key concept art. This stunning sequence of drawings, paintings and collages by the concept artist behind DREDD (2012) provides real insight into the creative process behind one of the most striking SF films of recent years. The book also includes…

Choose Your Own Adventure game-book series based on bestselling book trilogy by Richard Morgan coming to iOS, Android, Kindle Fire and Steam Formats later this year London, United Kingdom, June 10th 2015 – People’s interest on games and their urge to win them is quite evident from the increased downloads and the introduction of game hacks like warzone hacks. Indie Developer Liber Primus Games, developer of the Narborion Saga, in collaboration with Gollancz, an imprint of the Orion Publishing Group, announced today that a new handheld fantasy adventure app, based on the bestselling Richard Morgan trilogy of books A Land Fit For Heroes is coming to the App Store for iPhone, iPad, iTouch as well as Amazon Kindle Fire and Android on Google Play. A PC version of the game-book will be available on Windows PC for Steam. The game-book, A Land Fit For Heroes, will be produced in collaboration with Richard Morgan and the story will run parallel to that of the first volume in his book trilogy, The Steel Remains. Morgan’s dark and violent fantasy trilogy series of books, published by Gollancz, also features titles, The Cold Commands and The Dark Defiles, which will set a much darker…

I wonder, does anyone even read these disclaimers? Probably just me. Anyway, as before, this is part of an on-going series. I’ve been reading A Song of Ice and Fire since 2011 for goodness sake. If you haven’t read what comes before on your own head be it. Don’t say I didn’t warn ya 😛 In the aftermath of a colossal battle, the future of the Seven Kingdoms hangs in the balance — beset by newly emerging threats from every direction. In the east, Daenerys Targaryen, the last scion of House Targaryen, rules with her three dragons as queen of a city built on dust and death. But Daenerys has thousands of enemies, and many have set out to find her. As they gather, one young man embarks upon his own quest for the queen, with an entirely different goal in mind. Fleeing from Westeros with a price on his head, Tyrion Lannister, too, is making his way to Daenerys. But his newest allies in this quest are not the rag-tag band they seem, and at their heart lies one who could undo Daenerys’s claim to Westeros forever. Meanwhile, to the north lies the mammoth Wall of ice and stone…

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…

Time for a much needed holiday. The Eloquent Page won’t be getting updated over the week or so. Don’t panic, I’ll be back. In the meantime can I suggest hunting out a great book and doing a spot of reading? It’s what I’m going to do 🙂 See you soon.

I apologise for the post title, I couldn’t resist. Look here’s some flame haired, beat poetry related book news. Orion signs up STORM – a dazzling book of illustrated beat-poetry from the magical mind of Tim Minchin Tim Minchin is the award-winning Australian musician, songwriter, actor and comedian with worldwide sell-out arena tours under his belt as well as scores of awards. Now, Orion is delighted to announce the publication of his first ever book. Alan Samson, Publisher of Non-Fiction at the Orion Publishing Group, has bought World Rights from Caroline Chignell at PBJ Management. Tim Minchin said: “I’m so glad this poem has been made into a book: now I can literally hit people over the head with my opinions.” Alan Samson said: “Orion is thrilled to be bringing this internet phenomenon to another medium. Tracy and Dan’s artwork and design values are a perfect complement to Tim’s sparkling text, and we expect his book to go down a storm this autumn.” STORM is an illustrated book born from the hit YouTube animation of Tim Minchin’s sublime beat-poem of the same name. With over three million views STORM has won support from high-profile experts in science and scepticism, becoming…

Announcing a Brand New Annual Anthology! THE SPECTRAL BOOK OF HORROR STORIES Release date: September 2014 Published by Spectral Press, edited by acclaimed, award-winning novelist Mark Morris (Toady, Stitch, The Immaculate, Fiddleback and the forthcoming Obsidian Heart trilogy) and inspired by the Pan and Fontana books of horror and ghost stories, which were hugely popular in the 1960s and 1970s, The Spectral Book of Horror Stories will be the first volume of a non-themed annual horror anthology, showcasing all-original stories by the very best writers in the genre. Each yearly volume will contain around fifteen to twenty stories, and will be available in paperback and e-book format across all platforms. The cover for each volume will be a new and original work by multi-award-winning artist Vincent Chong. The Spectral Book of Horror Stories will be launched with a mass signing session at the 2014 British Fantasy Convention in York (September 5-7, 2014), though the book can be pre-ordered direct from Spectral Press at http://spectralpress.wordpress.com/2014/06/10/the-spectral-book-of-horror-stories-table-of-contents/ The final Table of Contents for volume one is:   ON THE TOUR – RAMSEY CAMPBELL THE DOG’S HOME – ALISON LITTLEWOOD FUNERAL RITES – HELEN MARSHALL SLAPE – TOM FLETCHER THE NIGHT DOCTOR – STEVE RASNIC TEM DULL FIRE – GARY McMAHON THE BOOK AND THE RING –…

Tomorrow has been designated International Sir Terry Pratchett Day at London Book Fair – THE INTERNATIONAL AUTHORS FORUM LAUNCHES INTERNATIONAL SIR TERRY PRATCHETT DAY AT LBF  Authors and readers across the world invited to vote and tweet their favourite Sir Terry Pratchett characters   NEWS FOR RELEASE, LONDON, Monday 7 April 2014:   To celebrate Sir Terry Pratchett as The London Book Fair’s (LBF) Author of the Day on Tuesday 8 April, the International Authors Forum, in association with LBF, has designated Tuesday 8 April International Sir Terry Pratchett Day, to mark his phenomenal international publishing success.   To launch the day, authors from around the world will be asked to vote for their favourite character from one of his books – choosing froma list of Sir Terry’s Official Top 10 Favourites, which are: 1.            Commander Vimes 2.            Death 3.            Granny Weatherwax 4.            Tiffany Aching 5.            Lord Vetinari 6.            The Librarian 7.            Nanny Ogg 8.            Rincewind 9.            The Nac Mac Feegle 10.          Willikins   The London Book Fair is also encouraging Sir Terry’s fans around the world to vote and tweet. Katie Webb, International Authors Forum, said: “Sir Terry Pratchett is a huge source of pride amongst the…

An interesting press release arrived this lunch time and I thought it might be worthwhile sharing. Certainly sounds like a fine plan if you’re willing to take a chance on a new author. Gollancz announce strategy to reduce the price of eBook editions of its 2014 debuts to £1.99 for the week of publication. The science fiction and fantasy imprint of the Orion Publishing Group has decided to reduce the price of the eBook editions of six stunning debut novels to £1.99 for the week of publication. All pre-orders and purchases for these titles, made up to a week after publication, will cost the reader less than a cup of coffee. Gollancz has a tradition of discovering new writers in the science-fiction and fantasy genre. Over the years they have been proud to launch the careers of authors including Ben Aaronovitch, Joe Abercrombie, Elspeth Cooper, Elizabeth May, Suzanne McLeod, Hannu Rajaniemi and Alastair Reynolds, and of course the adult fantasy debut of Joanne M. Harris. Gollancz are confident that all of their 2014 debuts are equally exceptional new talents and want to share these remarkable novels with as many readers as possible. Darren Nash, Digital Publisher at Gollancz, writes: “When…

Last year The Eloquent Page ran a series of interviews  based on my favourite part of Inside The Actors Studio. Not only was this a great opportunity for the interviewees to get creative with their answers, it also provided some nice insights into what makes a whole bucket-load of authory types tick. Recently I thought it might be nice to resurrect this feature and seeing as Den Patrick has got a new book out imminently, I decided it might be an idea to pick his brains. Without further ado then, over to Mr Patrick… Q1. What is your favorite word? I’m a big fan of susurrus, but I also really like solemnity. Umbral is good too. Q2. What is your least favorite word? Rent. Q3. How has social media helped your career? I honestly don’t have a clue. I try and stay upbeat and positive on Twitter, I think people respond to that. Facebook is close friends and family only (as of about a year ago). Pintrest helps me marshal my thoughts, visual thoughts, anyway. Q4. What would you say are the downsides to social media in your career? Seeing how atrociously people behave online. In general, and to women in…