Three Men. One Battle. No Heroes. The Heroes by Joe Abercrombie is a standalone novel set in the same world he created for the First Law trilogy. It follows the course of a single battle, over the period of three days, between the forces of the Union and the Northmen. The opposing armies have been dancing around one another for many months but in the valley of Osrung, they finally come together in a definitive clash. There are three mai...
For those that have not read Pride and Prejudice and Zombies as well as Dawn of the Dreadfuls please note that this review contains some minor spoilers. The final novel in the Pride and Prejudice and Zombie trilogy is published today. Dreadfully Ever After by Steve Hockensmith picks up the story four years later. Elizabeth Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy are now happily married and living at Mr Darcy’s country estate, Pemberly. Eliza...
Journey back to Regency England – Land of the Undead Dawn of the Dreadfuls by Steve Hockensmith is a prequel to the hugely successful zombie/Jane Austen mash-up novel Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. Set five years before the first novel, it follows the five Bennet sisters as they are trained in the deadly arts of the warrior, in order to combat the undead menace that plagues England. The reader learns of Oscar Bennet’s part in ...
“It is a truth universally acknowledged that a zombie in possession of brains must be in want of more brains.” Recently I wrote the following statement while reviewing a book – I have often suspected any novel can only be enhanced by the addition of rampaging hordes of undead. The publisher Quirk Books, originators of the mash-up novel, were obviously listening and sent me some books that would allow me to test that t...
Department 6 is the Army. Department 13 is MI5. Department 19 is the reason you’re alive. When I initially launched The Eloquent Page I didn’t even consider reading, never mind reviewing, any young adult fiction. Towards the end of last year I changed my mind and decided to take the plunge. I read The Enemy by Charlie Higson and All You Need is Kill by Hiroshi Sakurazaka and I have to admit I was just blown away by both. T...
Hungry for You by A M Harte is a short fiction collection that examines the links between love, relationships and death. There are ten short tales each with their own take on these themes. My personal favourites are listed below. Promises – An infected man watches as his girlfriend begins to turn into a zombie. In just three short pages Harte nicely sets the tone for what to expect from the other tales in the book. Hungry for Yo...
The seeds of heresy are sown I’ve been aware of the Warhammer 40000 sci-fi novels for a while now and if I’m being honest, I’ve always been a bit wary. They have such a huge back catalogue of titles I have been a little intimidated and unsure where to start. Fortunately, through the power of Twitter, I was able to ask a friend of a friend, who works at Games Workshop, where would be a good place to begin. The near imme...
Thanks to MadNad for taking the time to sit down and write an article that puts a personal face on the proposed library closures across the UK. Once upon a time, in a land far far away, was a girl who was severely depressed and lonely after a relationship had failed. She lived in a new town, with no friends, and was then made redundant. Her home had halved in value, yet the mortgage payments had doubled. It was a tough time for our hero...
From the moment I laid my eyes on the cover of Vegas Knights by Matt Forbeck I had high hopes for what lay within. The cover boasts an eye-catching reworking of the famous Las Vegas sign and this perfectly sets the tone for what to expect. I’m glad to say that in this case my expectations were not only met, but also exceeded. The novel follows the fortunes of two college students as they attempt to break the bank in Vegas usin...
Joanna Raines has a degenerative condition that affects her vision. In an effort to save her sight she has been the recipient of an eye transplant. In Dead Man’s Eye by Shaun Jeffrey the reader joins Joanna while she is on the mend. Still physically and emotionally fragile, she witnesses a traumatic accident where she sees a man losing an arm. After the accident Joanna is aware of a black shadow surrounding the injured man. Initia...
The Eye of the Moon by Anonymous is the follow up to The Book with No Name, presumably written by the same author. I read the first novel a couple of years ago and thought it was a fun, easy read that contained some entertaining elements. Based on that, I decided to give the sequel a try. The story is once again set in the fictional sleazy American border town of Santa Mondega and follows various low lives as they try to get their hands...
Rob and Becky bought the old place after the death of their son, to repair and renovate – to patch things up and make the building habitable. They both knew that they were trying to fix more than the house, but the cracks in their marriage could not be papered over. Then they found the Quiet Room. Written by Gary McMahon What They Hear in the Dark is an intimate tale about love and loss. Rob and Becky have suffered a terrible tragedy ...
It’s spreading. The suicide cults of kids barely through puberty. They kill themselves in Cutter Circles, brought together by 3g and desolate dreams. It’s a virus. A plague. Who knows how to stop it? Find out who caused it. Find out who’s in charge. Destroy them. Survive. I knew nothing about Point by Thomas Blackthorne when it dropped through my letterbox. The publisher had asked for reviewers for some of their upcomi...