Book Review - Poets in Hell

 

It’s hard to know what to expect from a book titled ‘Poets in Hell’, at least I hadn’t a clue until I turned the first page. What I got was something quite mad, that’s mad in an absolutely wild, clever, surreal and brilliant way.

I like fantasy, and I like it dark, this is probably what attracted me to a book set in the vast expanse of hell, what a brilliant playground for a group of writers to unleash their imaginations. Of course, the idea of a collection of stories about poets doesn’t exactly conjure an image of action and adventure, but I can say, this group of wordsmiths may have lived sedate, studious lives, but death gets seriously real for them. There is such a wild, eclectic mix of characters in this collection, all bound together with a common theme, and a running consistency that speaks of very clever world building, behind the scenes. Although each author has his or her own take on hell and the, madcap adventures they put their characters through, there are also common themes and characters binding the collection together and giving the book a strong feel of oneness, giving the reader the feel of roving through the many layers of hell, like some kind of traveller roaming through space and time witnessing all of the action up close.

 As I said there are consistent rules running through the collection. Wars are fought in hell, murders committed, anything that happened in life can happen in hell, but generally with horrible consequences. Food tastes like shit, literally, nothing is as it seems, if something appears good it’s most likely just a trick of the devil’s to torment the soul even further. Shakespeare, Yeats, Genghis Khan, Napoleon Bonaparte, Helen of Troy… the cast is endless and limitless. They live, love and lose all in hell.

 

A good book? Hell yeah!

Cover Reveal For Shadow King

I'm happy to be part of the cover reveal for Jennifer Eifrig's Shadow King, sequel to Discovering Ren. Here is my review of Discovering Ren:



Isadora Ambrosine is an archaeologist with a speciality in Ancient Egypt. Charged by the director of her museum to put on an exhibition of magic in the museum, she travels to Cairo to research her subject. While walking through a packed market, she has a strange encounter with a mysterious woman who gifts her a collection of, what appear to be, ancient amulets. On her return to the US, she and her husband are attacked by a group of would be assassins, during the ensuing struggle she discovers a hidden gift for magic. And so it begins.

While her husband lies in a coma in hospital, Isadora begins a journey of self discovery where she learns she is an incarnation of the goddess Isiss, her responsibilities include the small matter of the defence of mankind against a horde of demons, vampires, and the biggest villain of all, her own brother in law Seth, who is an incarnation of the god Set. Although Set/Seth is a despicable bad guy, who allows his petty jealousies and paranoia to take control of him, you can’t help but feel a little sorry for him, and get the feeling his role had been pre-ordained, mirroring previous incarnations in an endless battle with his sister in law whom he both longs for and despises.

This book is jam-packed with magic, myth, and action. Isadora is a real super hero who must quickly assimilate her new role as defender and champion of humanity against the darkness, with her old life as wife, and research archaeologist.


And here is the cover for Shadow King... Ta - da!

So rush out and grab a copy of Discovering Ren and get ready for book 2, Shadow King!

Discovering Ren US
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FREE!!!!!

Tribesman is currently free on Amazon until Thursday 8th August.

A warrior in exile seeks a path home.
Banished from his homeland, a warrior of the Northern Clans grows weary of life in a harsh, alien land.
With the dark god Morrigu haunting his dreams, and a desert princess as a companion, Culainn, a warrior and champion sets forth on a journey north in search of a merchants daughter abducted by clansmen and taken back across the mountains. Through a land baked by a scorching sun, where bandits roam free and dark beasts stalk the night.
An ancient evil is rising from the desert. A Benouin myth of a ghost city inhabited by the souls of their ancestors, a bridge to the Underworld is unleashing demonic creatures on an unsuspecting world. Culainn and Persha, warrior and mage stand alone against a tide of darkness. All the while, Morrigu, the dark war god of the north seeks to use Culainn as her own tool, her own champion.

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Book review - Mistborn: The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson.

Two things, for me, made this book stand out from many other books in the epic fantasy genre. A lot of fantasy stories centre around the premise of a dark lord rising in the east, or the west or wherever. Or a prophesy of a dark lord rising in the east or west… about a hero or group of heroes, overcoming huge odds, to stand against the colossal threat emerging from the shadows. In this book however, the evil overlord has already won. The tagline of the book is ‘what if the Dark Lord won?’ And that in a nutshell is where we start, with an evil, omnipotent emperor, a godlike figure ruling over a thousand year empire inhabited by two very separate classes of people, the Skaa, a downtrodden, oppressed group of people, who are treated as slaves and forced to live in inhuman conditions, with no rights whatsoever. In fact their overlords, the nobles, are actually obliged to kill any Skaa women they sleep with, in order to prevent cross breeding between the classes. The nobles live very different lives, centred around lavish balls and very privileged backgrounds, and rule over the Skaa in a sort of Spartan – Helot way. The landscape is incredibly bleak with plumes of ash constantly spewed over a barren land, devoid of all colour and beauty, and where a mist, thick with wraiths, rises every night… think Mordor on a bad day. Over all this, the Lord Ruler rules.

The other thing that leaps out at me is the magical system. Most fantasy books—though not all—have one. In the Final Empire an elite group, mostly from the noble class, have the power to enhance their attributes by ingesting and then calling on, ‘burning’ a specific metal to access certain supernatural powers. Each metal gives the user a different enhanced power, for example, burning pewter enhances physical abilities, such as strength and endurance etc, burning steel or iron allows the ‘Misting’ to push or pull on nearby metals, allowing them to throw or drag metallic objects or even fly through the air using the metal as a base. Most of the gifted users, called Mistings can only use one metal, and specialise in one particular gift. However there are a small number of Mistings who can use all ten, and these are called Mistborn.

So, the basic premise of the story is about a group of skilled Skaa, with the help of a gifted street urchin who turns out to be a powerful Mistborn, attempt to overthrow the empire… but, in an unusual way. The group attempt to con the nobles into bringing down the empire by instigating a ‘house war’ amongst the elite class. It’s a ‘sting’ and just like the movie ‘The Sting’ it’s slick and suave and, basically, unbelievable. However, it’s a fantasy novel, and suspension of believe is a prerequisite, and it’s a really good, engrossing read. The story and characters develop really well and utterly hook you. I have to admit towards the end there were a couple of instances where I thought, ‘well why didn’t he just do that in the first place? Well, one in particular. But I can forgive that.

Book Review - Prince of Thorns (The Broken Empire #1) by Mark Lawrence -

I really liked this book. I know there has been a bit of controversy over the MC's attitude and seeming lack of conscience, but for me this actually made it more appealing. I was curious to see what made Jorg tick. Sure, initially he comes across as an utter bastard, and even had he not suffered the trauma of watching his mother and brother brutally killed, you get the feeling he would still have turned out a bollocks. However as the story unfolds we realise he is more complex than simply a psychopath, and there are other forces at play.
In fairness, I prefer flawed heroes, and with Jorg we don't get a hint of a dark past, we get smacked in the face with it. I enjoyed the experience. Without spoiling the story, I was a little put off by the origins of the builders, especially the scene with the door, it took me out of the mood a little, I realise it is part of the overall story, and part of the world created, and it certainly wasn't enough to put me off enjoying the read. Another thing I had a hard time getting my head around was the age of Jorg, he seemed very young to have such developed feelings, words and actions, but age is relative to the average life-span, and well, when 40 is old age it doesn't take a huge leap. Overall I really enjoyed the book, and will definitely read the next one.

Book review -The Gorge by Jason McPherson

 

One of my favourite things about The Gorge is the setting. What an epic location for a creepy story involving dark voices, a charismatic cult leader and the ghosts of a long dead Indian tribe. The vast wilderness of The Blue Ridge mountains, expertly described by the author, lends itself to a wild, creepy story, both violent and scary in equal measure, but never predictable.

Nathan Mires is comfortable in and knows the mountains well, it is the obvious place to flee when voices in his head cause him to go on a murderous rampage, but the voices know the mountains very well too and tighten their grip on him, using him as a physical force to defend their sacred grounds against any they deem as unwanted intruders. Nathan is powerless against them and succumbs to their will, killing more. The story could have followed a predictable path here, with a background of Native American spirits in a wild and lonely environment, but new storylines and layers are added to an already thrilling creepfest. A pastor with a devoted following stirs up trouble in the local town, setting his flock on a collision course with Mires and a far darker evil than even a cult leader with a god complex can comprehend.

 

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A review of Book of the Forsaken by Yannis Karatsioris:

The Book of the Forsaken is one of the most unusual and original fantasy stories I’ve read. Basically centred around three main characters, all of whom possess special powers of one sort or another; a petty-criminal Irishman who can manipulate fire and project his sight to see what is happening elsewhere, a suave French bookseller who can teleport anywhere, and a Russian magician who can perform much more than mere illusions, particularly when it pertains to death; handy as he doubles as an assassin. A fourth character who is also the narrator and some sort of demi-god, not only tells the story but becomes actively involved in order to manipulate events.

The three men are each given separate tasks which brings them all together at a live event – a magic show performed by the Russian trickster in Moscow. The Irishman is aided in his release from prison in order to assassinate a Russian government minister at the event. The Frenchman is instructed to steal a rare book from the German ambassador, and finally the Russian magician is also instructed to murder a government minister, but not the same one as the Irishman. All three perform their tasks and are brought together with much manipulation by the narrator who enters the scene as a character.

With the three main characters now together and in possession of the book, a whole mystery opens up to them, twisting and turning, involving two fantastical groups, The Magi and The Forsaken Races. The Book of the Forsaken is the key to a deadly game played out between these two groups. What part does the narrator have to play in this game? And what is the fate of the three main characters? Intriguing question to be found in The Book of the Forsaken!

 

Buy the book on Amazon US and Amazon UK