The Eye with Which the Universe Beholds Itself by Ian Sales
Average Rating [9/10] (1 Review)
Nigel has reviewed The Eye with Which the Universe Beholds Itself by Ian Sales. For fifteen years, Earth has had a scientific station on an exoplanet orbiting Gliese 876. It is humanity’s only presence outside the Solar System. But a new and powerful telescope at L5 can detect no evidence of Phaeton Base, even though it should be able to. So the US has sent Brigadier Colonel Bradley Elliott, USAF, to investigate. Twenty years before, Elliott was the first, and to date only, man to land on the Martian surface. What he discovered there gave the US the stars, but it might also be responsible for the disappearance of Phaeton Base... more»»
Nigel 31st December 2015 [9/10]

The Killing of Bobbi Lomax by Cal Moriarty
Average Rating [8/10] (1 Review)
Ben Macnair has sent in a review for The Killing of Bobbi Lomax by Cal Moriarty. Bobbi Lomax was the first to die, the bomb killed the prom queen on her own front lawn. Just moments later one of the nails from the city's second bomb forced its way into the brain of property investor Peter Gudsen, killing him almost instantly. The third bomb didn't quite kill Clark Houseman. Hovering on the brink, the rare books dealer turns out to be Detectives Sinclair and Alvarez's best hope of finding out what linked these unlikely victims, and who wanted them dead and why. But can they find the bomber before he kills again? Set deep in the religious heartlands of America, The Killing of Bobbi Lomax follows this troubled investigation as a narrative of deceit, corruption and forgery emerges, with an unlikely hero at its heart - a rare coins, books and manuscript dealer - who could either be a genius or the devil... more»»
Ben Macnair 31st December 2015 [8/10]

Only Superhuman by Christopher L. Bennett
Average Rating [8/10] (1 Review)
Paul has sent in a review for Only Superhuman by Christopher L. Bennett. 2107 AD: A generation ago, Earth and the cislunar colonies banned genetic and cybernetic modifications. But out in the Asteroid Belt, anything goes. Dozens of flourishing space habitats are spawning exotic new societies and strange new varieties of humans. It's a volatile situation that threatens the peace and stability of the entire solar system. Emerald Blair is a Troubleshooter. Inspired by the classic superhero comics of the twentieth century, she's joined with other mods to try to police the unruly Asteroid Belt. But her loyalties are tested when she finds herself torn between rival factions of superhumans with very different agendas. Emerald wants to put her special abilities to good use, but what do you do when you can't tell the heroes from the villains... more»»
Paul Lappen 31st December 2015 [8/10]

The Third Sin by Aline Templeton
Average Rating [8/10] (1 Review)
A. W. Colclough has kindly sent in a review for The Third Sin by Aline Templeton. Pleasure is the highest good: the group who called themselves the Cyrenaics embraced the hedonistic principle until the death of one of their members from an overdose. Sobered, the group went their separate ways. One headed for Canada, another disappeared and a third was believed to have committed suicide - at least until his body turns up two years later in the wreck of a car swept up on the Solway mud flats. The murky relationships among the Cyrenaics, revived when they start returning for a party celebrating Scotland's Year of Homecoming, bring more suffering and death. DI Marjory Fleming, called in to help the neighbouring division with the struggling murder enquiry, faces obstruction and hostility that begins to hinder her investigation of another murder on her own patch. With tensions both in her team and at home, Fleming starts to feel the odds are stacked against her... more»»
A. W. Colclough 31st December 2015 [8/10]

A Decent Bomber by Alexander McNabb
Average Rating [8/10] (1 Review)
Chrissi has reviewed A Decent Bomber by Alexander McNabb. Twenty years ago, Pat used to make bombs for the IRA. He doesn't want to do it again today... In a world where travellers are made walk barefoot through airport security in case there’s a bomb in their heels and we’re told 100ml of liquid is dangerous, what happens when a man capable of making bombs that weigh a tonne is torn out of retirement and forced to resume his old trade? Carnage. That’s what. Pat O’Carolan has been a farmer these past twenty years, living on a remote smallholding with his ghosts and occasional visits from his beloved niece. When he’s forced by Somali terrorist turned extortionist The Accountant to make a series of bombs using materials stolen from forgotten IRA caches, Pat joins the War on Terror as only he knows how. New terror meets old in a deadly clash with only one winner... more»»
Chrissi 30th November 2015 [8/10]

An Android Awakes by Mike French & Karl Brown
Average Rating [8/10] (1 Review)
Nigel has reviewed An Android Awakes by Mike French & Karl Brown. Your world is manipulated by computer coding, search engines and social networks. It’s just a matter of time before everything you watch, read and listen to will be created by autonomous machines. In the future some of us will become great writers, renowned artists, visionary filmmakers and talented photographers. Most of us though will just have more sex. Go forward a few more generations and none of us are creative save that of our procreation. Our culture is shaped by machines. The novel has become a 1000 words. Android Writer PD121928 is part of the Android Publishing Program. To replicate their idea of a writer’s life, his wife has been forcibly removed and he lives in solitude with an allowance for drugs and state prostitutes. He also has just had his novel The Eating of Citizen Kane rejected. He has 14 more attempts to get a story accepted by the Program or he will be deactivated. Can one of his characters and their story save him... more»»
Nigel 30th November 2015 [8/10]

The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman
Average Rating [7/10] (1 Review)
Ben Macnair has sent in a review for The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman. It began for our narrator forty years ago when the family lodger stole their car and committed suicide in it, stirring up ancient powers best left undisturbed. Dark creatures from beyond the world are on the loose, and it will take everything our narrator has just to stay alive. There is primal horror here, and menace unleashed - within his family and from the forces that have gathered to destroy it. His only defence is three women, on a farm at the end of the lane. The youngest of them claims that her duck pond is an ocean. The oldest can remember the Big Bang. The Ocean at the End of the Lane is a fable that reshapes modern fantasy: moving, terrifying and elegiac - as pure as a dream, as delicate as a butterfly's wing, as dangerous as a knife in the dark... more»»
Ben Macnair 30th November 2015 [7/10]

The SHIVA Syndrome by Alan Joshua
Average Rating [9/10] (1 Review)
Paul has sent in a review for The SHIVA Syndrome by Alan Joshua. A secret Russian mind research laboratory in Podol'sk erupts, annihilating thousands and leaving a monstrous, one-mile deep crater in its wake. Beau Walker, parapsychologist and reluctant empath, is coerced into joining a research team, code-named SHIVA, to investigate the enigmatic event. Walker must fight his way past political and military deceptions and a host of deadly adversaries to unlock the riddle of the SHIVA syndrome. Will he have the physical, emotional, and spiritual strength to defy the dangers he faces… or will they destroy him before he can come to a new, challenging understanding of the nature of reality... more»»
Paul Lappen 30th November 2015 [9/10]

Cherub: Mad Dogs by Robert Muchamore
Average Rating [9/10] (1 Review)
Alex Frost has sent in a review for Cherub: Mad Dogs by Robert Muchamore. In the eighth title of the CHERUB series, James is heading into the lethal world of gang warfare. The British underworld is controlled by gangs. When two of them start a turf war, violence explodes on to the streets. The police need information fast, and James Adams has the contacts to infiltrate the most dangerous gang of all. He works for CHERUB. Cherubs are trained professionals, aged between ten and seventeen. They exist because criminals never suspect that kids are spying on them. For official purposes, these children do not exist... more»»
Alex Frost 30th November 2015 [9/10]

Playing with Fire by Tess Gerritsen
Average Rating [8/10] (1 Review)
Chrissi has reviewed Playing with Fire by Tess Gerritsen. What if your child wanted you dead? Julia doesn't understand what is happening to her daughter, but she thinks she knows what's causing it. She is terrified for Lily, and for herself, but what scares her more is that no one believes her. If she is going to help Lily, she will have to find the answers alone, embarking on a search that will take her to the shadowy back streets of Venice. There, Julia uncovers a heartbreaking, long-buried tale of tragedy and devastation - a discovery that puts her in serious danger. Some people will do anything in their power to keep the truth silent… more»»
Chrissi 2nd November 2015 [8/10]

The House of Wolfe by James Carlos Blake
Average Rating [7/10] (1 Review)
Ben Macnair has sent in a review for The House of Wolfe by James Carlos Blake. On a rainy winter night in Mexico City, a ten-member wedding party is kidnapped in front of the groom’s family mansion. The perpetrator is a small-time gangster named El Galán, who wants nothing more than to make his crew part of a major cartel and hopes that this crime will be his big break. The only captive not related to either the bride or the groom is the young Jessica Juliet Wolfe, a bridesmaid and close friend of the bride. Jessie hails from a family of notorious outlaws that has branches on both sides of the border, and when the Wolfes learn of Jessie’s abduction, they fear that the kidnappers will kill the captives after receiving the ransom and desperately try to find her before it’s too late... more»»
Ben Macnair 31st October 2015 [7/10]

Vic: Terror Incognita by Jerry Gill
Average Rating [9/10] (1 Review)
Paul has sent in a review for Vic: Terror Incognita by Jerry Gill. After a little camping trip that was mostly fun, and a rumble in the streets that brings the Deputy Sheriff calling, Vic and her friend Lin Li head off on their next travel adventure. No danger this time, they say. Eat good food, see exotic locales, little hiking, lots of photos. They do get all of that. And more. The cave dwellers, the madman, the dinosaur, the great apes, the snakes, the head-hunters. And is Lin going to betray Vic for something so simple - to save her own life?! And Vic is still waiting for a call or letter from Stu James. For starters! Just when things look straight ahead, there's a wall or a twist. Non-stop action. Accurate historical and nature settings. The #1 awesome adventuress from the 1920's in her 4th book and if you crave action you won't be disappointed... more»»
Paul Lappen 31st October 2015 [9/10]

The Martian by Andy Weir
Average Rating [9/10] (2 Reviews)
Chrissi and Nigel have both reviewed The Martian by Andy Weir.
I’m stranded on Mars.
I have no way to communicate with Earth.
I’m in a Habitat designed to last 31 days.
If the Oxygenator breaks down, I’ll suffocate.
If the Water Reclaimer breaks down, I’ll die of thirst.
If the Hab breaches, I’ll just kind of explode.
If none of those things happen, I’ll eventually run out of food and starve to death.
So yeah. I’m screwed.
The Sunday Times bestseller: Robinson Crusoe on Mars - a survival story for the 21st Century... more»»
Chrissi 30th September 2015 [9/10]
Nigel 30th Septemner 2015 [9/10]

Hellbound: The Tally Man by David McCaffrey
Average Rating [8/10] (1 Review)
Chrissi has reviewed Hellbound: The Tally Man by David McCaffrey. His crimes - unforgivable. His death - inevitable. His suffering - just beginning. Obadiah Stark aka The Tally Man, is executed at ADX Absolom, his death sentence watched by the world's media, victim relatives and one investigative reporter, Joe O Connell. Penning an account of Stark's personal history and subsequent crimes in the hope of determining what elements make the sociopathic mind tick, Joe discovers clues and inconsistencies which cause him to investigate Stark's execution. While this is happening in the real world, Obadiah Stark awakens to an afterlife where he has a wife and daughter bound to his childhood hometown. Following his natural predatory instinct, Obadiah proceeds to torment the town, committing multiple murders before being gunned down by the police. He awakens to find that everything has reset, with no one recalling his murderous spree a reality which offers no escape. As the scenes repeat, he is forced to submit to emotions he has never experienced before… and with it, a poisonous dose of morality... more»»
Chrissi 31st August 2015 [8/10]

Dark Suits and Sad Songs by Denzil Meyrick
Average Rating [7/10] (1 Review)
Ben Macnair has sent in a review for Dark Suits and Sad Songs by Denzil Meyrick. The third instalment in the bestselling DCI Daley series, packed with accurate police procedure and gritty, dark humour. The best of Scottish crime. When a senior Edinburgh civil servant spectacularly takes his own life in Kinloch harbour, DCI Jim Daley comes face to face with the murky world of politics. To add to his woes, two local drug dealers lie dead, ritually assassinated. It's clear that dark forces are at work in the town. With his boss under investigation, his marriage hanging on by a thread, and his sidekick DS Scott wrestling with his own demons, Daley's world is in meltdown. When strange lights appear in the sky over Kinloch, it becomes clear that the townsfolk are not the only people at risk. The fate of nations is at stake. Jim Daley must face his worst fears as tragedy strikes. This is not just about a successful investigation, it's about survival... more»»
Ben Macnair 31st August 2015 [7/10]

The Occasional Diamond Thief by J.A. McLachlan
Average Rating [9/10] (1 Review)
Paul has sent in a review for The Occasional Diamond Thief by J.A. McLachlan. What if you learned your father was a thief? Would you follow in his footsteps, learn his ‘trade’? If you were the only one who knew, would you keep his secret? When Kia is training to be a universal translator, she is co-opted into traveling as a translator to Malem. This is the last place in the universe that Kia wants to be - it’s the planet where her father caught the terrible illness that killed him - but it’s also where he got the magnificent diamond that only she knows about. Kia is convinced he stole it, as it is illegal for any off-worlder to possess a Malemese diamond. Using her skill in languages - and another skill she picked up, the skill of picking locks - Kia unravels the secret of the mysterious gem and learns what she must do to set things right: return the diamond to its original owner... more»»
Paul Lappen 31st August 2015 [9/10]

The Bookseller’s Secret by Catherine Jordan
Average Rating [8/10] (1 Review)
Nigel has reviewed The Bookseller’s Secret by Catherine Jordan. Some secrets are meant to be shared; this magic book is one of them, and it will haunt you for the rest of your life. Mason Barry is an American reporter who has risked his life writing and whistle-blowing. His last venture ended with his friend and photographer murdered, and a bounty on his head. Regardless, he dives into the deep web, searching for his next great story. He catches a blurb about the anti-Christ, a woman alive and well, living in South Africa. Supposedly, she has written a magic book. Readers claimed the author’s words not only opened doors to the supernatural, but also compelled them to murder and suicide... more»»
Nigel 4th August 2015 [8/10]

Driven by James Sallis
Average Rating [7/10] (1 Review)
Ben Macnair has sent in a review for Driven by James Sallis. Drive, James Sallis's critically acclaimed thriller about a movie stunt-man who moonlights as a getaway driver for the mob, became an award-winning film - this is the stunning sequel. Seven years have passed since Driver ended his campaign against those who double-crossed him. He has left the old life, become Paul West and founded a successful business back in Phoenix. But walking down the street one day, he and his fiancee are attacked by two men and, while Driver dispatches both, his fiancee is killed. Sinking back into anonymity, aided by his friend Felix, an ex-gangbanger and Desert Storm vet, Driver realises that his past stalks him - and will not stop. He has to turn and face it... more»»
Ben Macnair 31st July 2015 [7/10]

The Heads of Cerberus by Francis Stevens
Average Rating [8/10] (1 Review)
Paul has sent in a review for The Heads of Cerberus by Francis Stevens. Written by the woman whose pseudonym was Francis Stevens, it has been hailed as the first alternate history novel. Fantasy master H. P. Lovecraft hailed Francis Stevens as among "the top grade of writers." The Heads of Cerberus tells of an alternate-world Philadelphia, reached by a handful of this-world people. This Philadelphia is one in which the political corruptors have become ruthless autocrats, ruling through phony civic service competitions which result in cynically brutal enslavement of the people. The name of William Penn has become, under the organizational label of ‘Penn Service’, the very fountainhead of viciously depraved, dictatorial government... more»»
Paul Lappen 31st July 2015 [8/10]

Kill Decision by Daniel Suarez
Average Rating [8/10] (1 Review)
Nigel has reviewed Kill Decision by Daniel Suarez. Linda McKinney is a myrmecologist, a scientist who studies the social structure of ants. Her academic career has left her entirely unprepared for the day her sophisticated research is conscripted by unknown forces to help run an unmanned - and thanks to her research, automated - drone army. Odin is the secretive Special Ops soldier with a unique insight into the faceless enemy who has begun to attack the American homeland with drones programmed to seek, identify, and execute targets without human intervention. Together, McKinney and Odin must slow this advance long enough for the world to recognize its destructive power, because for thousands of years the "kill decision" during battle has remained in the hands of humans - and off-loading that responsibility to machines will bring unintended, possibly irreversible, consequences... more»»
Nigel 30th June 2015 [8/10]

The Devil’s Detective by Simon Kurt Unsworth
Average Rating [7/10] (1 Review)
Ben Macnair has sent in a review for The Devil’s Detective by Simon Kurt Unsworth. Welcome to hell where skinless demons patrol the lakes and the waves of Limbo wash against the outer walls, while the souls of the Damned float on their surface, waiting to be collected. When an unidentified, brutalised body is discovered, the case is assigned to Thomas Fool, one of Hell's detectives, known as 'Information Men’. But how do you investigate a murder where death is commonplace and everyone is guilty of something? A stunningly original blend of crime, horror and suspense, The Devil’s Detective is a bold new thriller that will shock and amaze... more»»
Ben Macnair 30th June 2015 [7/10]

The Trillionist by Sagan Jeffries
Average Rating [9/10] (1 Review)
Paul has sent in a review for The Trillionist by Sagan Jeffries. Spurred on by a darkness residing within his brilliant mind, Sage Rogan, boy-genius and inventor, is relentlessly driven to bring modern advancements to his people. In fearing for his own sanity, he eventually discovers a part of his mind is, in fact, a shadowy ancient spirit with ulterior motives of its own. Realizing that the inventions he’s been coerced into creating could destroy his world, Sage yearns to make things right; clashing with the powerful entity to save his world from annihilation. Sage Rojan knows the truth, and it’s up to him to make things right. But before he can save the world, he must first save himself... more»»
Paul Lappen 30th June 2015 [9/10]

Black Run by Antonio Manzini
Average Rating [8/10] (1 Review)
Chrissi has reviewed Black Run by Antonio Manzini. Already an international hit, a sly, sizzling mystery set in the Italian Alps, the first in a sensational crime series. The dark flanks of the Alps tower over everything. Wind whistles through the fir trees. An expanse of ice and snow with no end in sight. A growing stain. A mess of flesh and blood. A corpse buried six inches under the snow. Enter Rocco Schiavone, Deputy Police Chief and a man who has more beautiful women in his bed than sensible shoes under it. He’s stuck in this backwards Alpine town after getting on the wrong side of the wrong people and longs for the fritto misto, cobbled streets and lucky breaks of his beloved Rome. He hates this place and the provincial locals almost as much as his superiors for their petty rules and for exiling him here. On top of that, he’s got a body to deal with and this mangled corpse is “a pain in the ass, number 10 on the scale, summa cum laude”… more»»
Chrissi 31st May 2015 [8/10]

Malaformed Realities by Thomas M. Malafarina
Average Rating [8/10] (1 Review)
Nigel has reviewed Malaformed Realities by Thomas M. Malafarina. Hideous creatures and nightmarish situations abound in Malafarina’s horror short story collection Malaformed Realities. History tells us that on October 3, 1849 the great master of the macabre, Edgar Allen Poe, was found wandering the streets of Baltimore, Maryland delirious and in grave distress. He was taken immediately to the Washington College Hospital, where he died at 5 a.m. on Sunday, October 7. Poe never became coherent enough to explain how he wound up in such an abysmal condition. There are a lot of theories about his death but no concrete evidence. Maybe he simply lost his way back from those incredibly dark places his writing took him. Thomas Malafarina can only hope that his own numerous journeys into that land of darkness will not someday take its toll on him... more»»
Nigel 31st May 2015 [8/10]

The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins
Average Rating [8/10] (1 Review)
Ben Macnair has sent in a review for The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins. You don't know her. But she knows you. Rear Window meets Gone Girl, in this exceptional and startling psychological thriller. Rachel catches the same commuter train every morning. She knows it will wait at the same signal each time, overlooking a row of back gardens. She’s even started to feel like she knows the people who live in one of the houses. ‘Jess and Jason’, she calls them. Their life - as she sees it - is perfect. If only Rachel could be that happy. And then she sees something shocking. It’s only a minute until the train moves on, but it’s enough. Now everything’s changed. Now Rachel has a chance to become a part of the lives she’s only watched from afar. Now they’ll see; she’s much more than just the girl on the train... more»»
Ben Macnair 31st May 2015 [8/10]

The Factory World by Joseph Edward Ryan
Average Rating [8/10] (1 Review)
Paul has sent in a review for The Factory World by Joseph Edward Ryan. Waking in a pipe in a silent forest, unable to remember how he got there or where he came from, Simon finds himself walking a rusting railway track with a mysterious stranger who cannot even remember his own name. Abandoned factories and eerie mannequins dot their path, falling stars lighting the night sky and searing holes through the earth to reveal a maze of pipes beneath. A dream, and a thousand miles away is their only way home. But they are not alone on this factory world, and soon realise that they are fighting for their lives... more»»
Paul Lappen 31st May 2015 [8/10]

Haunted Edited by Alex Davis and Ryan Merrifield
Average Rating [7/10] (1 Review)
Ben Macnair has sent in a review for Haunted Edited by Alex Davis and Ryan Merrifield. Spirits walk among us...  Ghosts can be found truly anywhere. It might be the quaint but abandoned village of Snap End, in the heart of the English countryside, or the beautiful but dilapidated Canterbrem home in rural Texas. Perhaps you’ll find these supernatural visitors in the heart of a suburban estate, or running through the forests of Muskogee country. Or maybe, just maybe, they’ll come strolling into your own home... Prepare yourself for five unique visitations in Haunted, where the dead return may return with a desire for revenge or the simple wish to continue making our lives better... more»»
Ben Macnair 31st May 2015 [7/10]

Pelquin's Comet by Ian Whates
Average Rating [8/10] (1 Review)
Nigel has reviewed Pelquin's Comet by Ian Whates. In an age of exploration and expansion, the crew of the freetrader Pelquin’s Comet – a rag-tag group of misfits, ex-soldiers and ex-thieves – set out to find a cache of alien technology, intent on making their fortunes; but they are not the only interested party and find themselves in a deadly race against corporate agents and hunted by the authorities. Forced to combat enemies without and within, they strive to overcome the odds under the watchful eye of an unwelcome guest: Drake, agent of the bank funding their expedition, who is far more than he seems and may represent the greatest threat of all. High octane adventure, dark secrets, hidden agendas and double-cross lie in store for the Comet and her motley crew as they pursue their goal to very edge of human space... more»»
Nigel 30th April 2015 [8/10]

Elizabeth is Missing by Emma Healey
Average Rating [8/10] (1 Review)
Chrissi has reviewed Elizabeth is Missing by Emma Healey. Meet Maud. Maud is forgetful. She makes a cup of tea and doesn't remember to drink it. She goes to the shops and forgets why she went. Sometimes her home is unrecognizable - or her daughter Helen seems a total stranger. But there's one thing Maud is sure of: her friend Elizabeth is missing. The note in her pocket tells her so. And no matter who tells her to stop going on about it, to leave it alone, to shut up, Maud will get to the bottom of it. Because somewhere in Maud's damaged mind lies the answer to an unsolved seventy-year-old mystery. One everyone has forgotten about. Everyone, except Maud… more»»
Chrissi 30th April 2015 [8/10]

Clockwork Heart by Dru Pagliassoti
Average Rating [9/10] (1 Review)
Paul has sent in a review for Clockwork Heart by Dru Pagliassoti. Flight is freedom, but death hangs in the skies... Taya soars over Ondinium on metal wings. She is an icarus, a courier privileged to travel freely across the city’s sectors and mingle indiscriminately amongst its castes. But even she cannot outfly the web of terrorism, loyalty, murder, and intrigue that snares her after a daring mid-air rescue. Taya finds herself entangled with the Forlore brothers, scions of an upperclass family: handsome, brilliant Alister, who sits on Ondinium’s governing council and writes programs for the Great Engine; and awkward, sharptongued Cristof, who has exiled himself from his caste and repairs clocks in the lowest sector of the city. Both hide dangerous secrets, in the city that beats to the ticking of a clockwork heart... more»»
Paul Lappen 30th April 2015 [9/10]

There but for the by Ali Smith
Average Rating [7/10] (1 Review)
Ben Macnair has sent in a review for There but for the by Ali Smith. 'There once was a man who, one night between the main course and the sweet at a dinner party, went upstairs and locked himself in one of the bedrooms of the house of the people who were giving the dinner party…' As time passes by and the consequences of this stranger's actions ripple outwards, touching the owners, the guests, the neighbours and the whole country, so Ali Smith draws us into a beautiful, strange place where everyone is so much more than they at first appear. There but for the was hailed as one of the best books of 2011 by Jeanette Winterson, A.S. Byatt, Patrick Ness, Sebastian Barry, Boyd Tonkin, Erica Wagner and Nick Barley... more»»
Ben Macnair 30th April 2015 [7/10]

The Seventh Day by Andy Malone
Average Rating [9/10] (2 Reviews)
Thirza has sent in a review for The Seventh Day, an atmospheric and tense science fiction thriller by Andy Malone. From a small eighteenth century Scottish village, comes the story of an ordinary man who makes a discovery so shocking that it will change the very foundation of life on Earth. Dougie Allan, a local silver miner, accidentally unearths a terrifying secret and is catapulted 300 years through time. Arriving in the modern world, amidst a backdrop of catastrophic natural disasters, Dougie must forge new alliances if he is to battle his unfolding nightmare. Befriending a local man, Tom Duncan, and a feisty reporter, Kate Harding, they soon find themselves entangled with the authorities in a deadly race against time. As humanity teeters on the brink of disaster Dougie must convince the authorities that a force of unimaginable power is preparing for Armageddon... more»»
Thirza 30th April 2015 [9/10]

Vyrkarion: The Talisman of Anor by J.A. Cullum
Average Rating [9/10] (1 Review)
Paul has sent in a review for Vyrkarion: The Talisman of Anor by J.A. Cullum. The living crystals, karionin, have been searching for young wizards capable of attuning themselves to the magic of the stones. Now, in this third and final book of the trilogy, will Jerevan Rayne, who was cursed at a young age to be a wizard, meet his match in Alanna Cairn, who, with almost no training, bears the crystal Vyrkarion? Jerevan knows he must train her, but she wants nothing to do with him. Will the prophecy that says “the king will die, a god-king take his place, and a child will need to be saved,” come true? Will Aavik, the ruler of the lizard folk, who wants Vyrkarion for himself, find that corruption in the capitol benefits his goal? And will Rhys Cinnac, the half breed who was cursed by a god to madness, take the throne... more»»
Paul Lappen 30th April 2015 [9/10]

Country of the Bad Wolfes by James Carlos Blake
Average Rating [7/10] (1 Review)
Ben Macnair has sent in a review for Country of the Bad Wolfes by James Carlos Blake. Begat by an Irish-English pirate in New Hampshire in 1828, the Wolfe family follows its manifest destiny into war-torn Mexico. There, through the connection of a mysterious American named Edward Little, their fortunes intertwine with those of Porfirio Díaz, who will rule the country for more than thirty years before his overthrow by the Revolution of 1910. In the course of those tumultuous chapters in American and Mexican history, as Díaz grows in power, the Wolfes grow rich and forge a violent history of their own, spawning a fearsome legacy that will pursue them to a climactic reckoning at the Río Grande... more»»
Ben Macnair 30th April 2015 [7/10]

The Seventh Day by Andy Malone
Average Rating [8/10] (1 Review)
Nigel has reviewed The Seventh Day, an atmospheric and tense science fiction thriller by Andy Malone. From a small eighteenth century Scottish village, comes the story of an ordinary man who makes a discovery so shocking that it will change the very foundation of life on Earth. Dougie Allan, a local silver miner, accidentally unearths a terrifying secret and is catapulted 300 years through time. Arriving in the modern world, amidst a backdrop of catastrophic natural disasters, Dougie must forge new alliances if he is to battle his unfolding nightmare. Befriending a local man, Tom Duncan, and a feisty reporter, Kate Harding, they soon find themselves entangled with the authorities in a deadly race against time. As humanity teeters on the brink of disaster Dougie must convince the authorities that a force of unimaginable power is preparing for Armageddon... more»»
Nigel 31st March 2015 [8/10]

The Humans by Matt Haig
Average Rating [9/10] (1 Review)
Ben Macnair has sent in a review for The Humans by Matt Haig. It's hardest to belong when you're closest to home... One wet Friday evening, Professor Andrew Martin of Cambridge University solves the world's greatest mathematical riddle. Then he disappears. When he is found walking naked along the motorway, Professor Martin seems different. Besides the lack of clothes, he now finds normal life pointless. His loving wife and teenage son seem repulsive to him. In fact, he hates everyone on the planet. Everyone, that is, except Newton. And he's a dog. What could possibly make someone change their mind about the human race? Can a bit of Debussy and Emily Dickinson keep him from murder? Can the species which invented cheap white wine and peanut butter sandwiches be all that bad? And what is the warm feeling he gets when he looks into his wife's eyes... more»»
Ben Macnair 31st March 2015 [9/10]

Red Rising by Pierce Brown
Average Rating [9/10] (1 Review)
Paul has sent in a review for Red Rising by Pierce Brown. Darrow is a Helldiver, one of a thousand men and women who live in the vast caves beneath the surface of Mars, generations of people who spend their lives toiling to mine the precious elements that will allow the planet to be terraformed. Just knowing that, one day, people will be able to walk the surface of the planet is enough to justify their sacrifice. The Earth is dying, and Darrow and his people are the only hope humanity has left. Until the day Darrow learns that it is all a lie. That Mars has been habitable - and inhabited - for generations, by a class of people calling themselves the Golds. A class of people who look down at Darrow and his fellows as slave labour, to be exploited and worked to death without a second thought. Until the day Darrow, with the help of a mysterious group of rebels, disguises himself as a Gold and infiltrates their command school, intent on taking down his oppressors from the inside. But the command school is a battlefield - and Darrow isn't the only student with an agenda... more»»
Paul Lappen 31st March 2015 [9/10]

The Recruit by Robert Muchamore
Average Rating [9/10] (4 Reviews)
Ramanan has kindly sent in a review for The Recruit by Robert Muchamore. A terrorist doesn’t let strangers in her flat because they might be undercover police or intelligence agents, but her children bring their mates home and they run all over the place. The terrorist doesn’t know that a kid has bugged every room in her house, cloned the hard drive on her PC, and copied all the numbers in her phone book. The kid works for CHERUB. They slip under adult radar and get information that sends criminals and terrorists to jail. For official purposes, these children do not exist... more»»
Ramanan 31st March 2015 [8/10]

Cold Caller by Jason Starr
Average Rating [7/10] (1 Review)
Ben Macnair has sent in a review for Cold Caller by Jason Starr. If Jim Thompson had gotten an MBA, he might have written Cold Caller, a ravingly readable story of a downwardly mobile yuppie who'll just kill to get ahead. Once a rising VP at a topflight ad agency, Bill Moss now works as a ‘cold caller’ at a telemarketing firm in the Times Square area. He's got a bad case of the urban blues, and when a pink slip rather than promotion comes through, Bill snaps... Now he's got a dead supervisor on his hands and problems no career counsellor can help him with... more»»
Ben Macnair 31st March 2015 [7/10]

The Perpetual Motion Club by Sue Lange
Average Rating [9/10] (1 Review)
Paul has sent in a review for The Perpetual Motion Club by Sue Lange. Welcome to the high school of the future. The glee club is full of rock stars, the brainy kids hack permanent records, and the basketball players are as conceited as the cheerleaders. The walls are ablaze with six-foot-high logos of the hottest junk food, software, and clothing brands of the day. The popular kids are sponsored by Abercrombie, Microsoft, and Frito-Lay. You, on the other hand, can't even get a return text from Clearasil. Your best friend is a witch, your boyfriend a twerp. Your geometry teacher hates you and your mom is gleefully counting down the days until graduation. Guess it's time for another hit of iHigh... more»»
Paul Lappen 31st March 2015 [9/10]

Betrayal by Tim Tigner
Average Rating [8/10] (1 Review)
Chrissi has reviewed Betrayal by Tim Tigner. Presumed dead after an attack blamed on al-Qaeda, FBI agent Odysseus Carr is running for his life with the missionary doctor who rescued him in Iran. Meanwhile the same power players who sent Odi to his death are now manipulating his sister, FBI profiler Cassandra Carr, into blindly tracking him down. As Odi unravels a devious plot of profound political manipulation and global consequence, the hunted becomes the hunter, and then the real terror begins. Written by a former Green Beret and Military Intelligence Specialist, Betrayal combines Vince Flynn’s hard-core covert action with Nelson DeMille’s gripping drama in a thought provoking and suspenseful thriller... more»»
Chrissi 28th February 2015 [8/10]

Modern Disciples (Volume 1) by Ian Anderson
Average Rating [9/10] (1 Review)
Paul has sent in a review for Modern Disciples (Volume 1) by Ian Anderson. The children of the gods walk among us, and their cold war has just begun. Enter a world where the Greek, Norse, Japanese, Hindu, and many other Pantheons of gods are all real. They would never openly admit it, but they have been having children with mortals despite their pact to withdraw themselves from our world. These children, known as Disciples, have never known their true heritage. When the ancient enemies of the gods escape their prison, the gods call upon their disciples to investigate any activity that may have been orchestrated against the gods and humanity. These investigations very often lead to intrigue and always lead to danger. Fortunately being the child of a god comes with many perks, including supernatural abilities... more»»
Paul Lappen 28th February 2015 [9/10]

Modern Disciples (Volume 2) by Ian Anderson
Average Rating [9/10] (1 Review)
Paul has sent in a review for Modern Disciples (Volume 2) by Ian Anderson. The country of Japan is devastated by a mysterious storm that literally leaves a dark cloud over the entire country. By day, the sun struggles to break through the cloud. By night, the country is overrun by nightmares. The lightning from the storm has damaged several power plants causing brown outs and people have a self-imposed curfew. Women are going missing or being murdered in public bathrooms. Men are found dead in the streets. The people of Japan are scared, and they should be. They are caught between the gods of Japan and an enemy that was banished many millennia ago. The one hope they have left is a group of six disciples and the queen of the gods who has gone absent. The third volume of the Modern Disciples saga finds our six heroes in Japan fighting spawn from Japanese mythology. They encounter tengu, kappas, goblins, and some characters from Japanese urban legends... more»»
Paul Lappen 28th February 2015 [9/10]

Modern Disciples (Volume 3) by Ian Anderson
Average Rating [9/10] (1 Review)
Paul has sent in a review for Modern Disciples (Volume 3) by Ian Anderson. Jane Dotter has spent the last few months in Las Vegas trailing a man who may be in league with the Titans. He is a well-known mobster who controls more than half the drug trade in the city. She is joined by Lisa Mikoto, a fellow disciple she met on her previous journey. Her suspicions are confirmed when she has an encounter with the spawn. Jane and Lisa soon learn that Ryan Hunter is gathering their group back together in Vegas. They are soon joined not only by Ryan, but Angie, Sajaad, and Armand. Jane's mother Freya appears and confronts Jane with a new task. Not only does Jane receive a new mission from her mother, but she must also deal with her developing feelings for Ryan. When an encounter with an old enemy brings a new sense of urgency, Ryan decides to split the group up into three teams... more»»
Paul Lappen 28th February 2015 [9/10]

One Million Euro by Rorie Smith
Average Rating [8/10] (1 Review)
Nigel has reviewed One Million Euro by Rorie Smith. A group of pilgrims led by the long dead poet Walt Whitman and the legendary football manager Sir Roy Babadouche are walking the Camino de Santiago. In the group are Echo the African Autodidact, Jack the Devon publican, and an unlikely bank robber called Oscar Bebbington. Also in the group are a socialist climber called Wilson, a dentist by the name of Denis Dennis and Venezia, a jolie Quebecoise. Two donkeys carry their equipment. They are very modern pilgrims as none of them believes in God. Instead they declare: 'We are on pilgrimage to regain our humanity.' The group start their pilgrimage near Marciac in southern France, crossing into Spain via the Col du Somport. Their journey, a distance of 650 miles, takes them a total of 54 days. One Million Euro recounts their many and strange adventures. During the course of the journey the pilgrims also tell stories of their lives. Some of these stories are true, but others are made up... more»»
Nigel 31st January 2015 [8/10]

Necropolis by Michael Dempsey
Average Rating [8/10] (1 Review)
Paul has sent in a review for Necropolis by Michael Dempsey. In a world where death is a thing of the past, how far would you go to solve your own murder? NYPD detective Paul Donner and his wife Elise were killed in a hold-up gone wrong. Fifty years later, Donner is back: revived courtesy of the Shift. Supposedly the unintended side-effect of a botched biological terrorist attack and carried by a ubiquitous retrovirus, the Shift jump-starts dead DNA and throws the life cycle into reverse, so reborns like Donner must cope with the fact that they are not only slowly youthing toward a new childhood, but have become New York''s most hated minority. With New York quarantined beneath a geodesic blister, government and basic services have been outsourced by a private security corporation named Surazal. Reborns and infected norms alike struggle in a counterclockwise world, where everybody gets younger... more»»
Paul Lappen 31st January 2015 [8/10]

Celestial Navigation by Anne Tyler
Average Rating [8/10] (1 Review)
Ben Macnair has sent in a review for Celestial Navigation by Anne Tyler. From the Pulitzer Prize winning author of The Amateur Marriage and Digging to America, comes this unusual and touching novel about two oddly-assorted characters and their intertwined lives. Jeremy is a child-like, painfully shy bachelor who has never left home. He lives on the third floor of his mother's boarding house and spends his days cutting up coloured paper to make mosaic sculptures - until the day his mother dies and the beautiful Mary Tell arrives to turn his world upside down... more»»
Ben Macnair 31st January 2015 [8/10]

Being Supreme by Rhys A. Wilcox
Average Rating [8/10] (1 Review)
Nigel has reviewed Being Supreme by Rhys A. Wilcox. It has always been Danny Knight's dream to gain enhanced abilities and be a part of a society or league for justice, standing for nobility, honour and decency. So when the chance arises, his first altruistic act is to introduce his best friend (a covert vampire) to the team. Coincidentally (or conveniently), someone starts killing the heroes. As each superb man or wonderful woman becomes an ex-man or insensible woman, the danger heightens inversely proportional to the number of remaining suspects. Amidst conventional heroic duties, origin stories and tight fitting costumes come subverting brutal violence, bad language and awkward sexual encounters... more»»
Nigel 3rd January 2015 [8/10]