fantasybooknerd

There are thousands of reviews on this book. If you want the plot, I am sure you will find better written reviews.

My opinion of the book - I liked it.

When I read the first book, I gave it six stars. For me, the whole series is six stars. I really liked this set of books and I will be reading them again.

I wanted to write something witty and insightful about the Impossible Times series, but I am not going to bother. What I am going to say is that these three books have worked themselves into my favourite books of all time list.

David (and Leigh) Eddings books hold a great place in my heart. I remember reading these books when they first came out. I also remember waiting with some excitement when the new ones came out. Now it is many years since I read these. I have reread them at some point and recall thoroughly enjoying them. All the books in both series ‘The Belgariad' and ‘The Mallorian' are good.
It's funny. I am not sure if these books are as good now, but these books are an integral part of my childhood and no matter what anyone says about them, they will remain books that I personally cherish.

It's been a couple of days since I read The Bone Ships and I have to say that it has taken me a couple of days to digest it really.

This is my first introduction to RJ Barker and I have got to say that I am pretty impressed. It???s not that I expected the book to be anything but brilliant. However, I didn't know what to expect really and The Bone Ships really surprised me.

The story takes place on The Tide Child, a black ship of The Hundred Isles.
At the beginning of the book, we are introduced to the main protagonist, Joron Twiner, the hapless ship wife (Captain) of The Tide Child. As he is on land, he is challenged to a duel by Lucky Meas Gilbryn and thus we are introduced to the world of The Tide Child, the blackships and the fleet of The Hundred Isles and the adventure they are about to embark on protecting a great Arakeesian, the last of the legendary sea dragons that populate the oceans of The Hundred Isles.

This is an incredibly imagined and strange world that Barker has set his story in and is quite different to the ones that readers are used to. In the first part of the book, Barker gives us some major worldbuilding, describing the Hundred Isles and its culture. The world is populated with all manner of strange things, the plants, the animals and the people.

This is a harsh and menacing world and there is no place for weakness and any form of feebleness quickly perishes. However, not only is the world harsh and unforgiving, its people are of a similar nature. One of the aspects of the people that live in the Hundred Isles is that there is a high level of congenital deformity and those who are able to give birth to undeformed infants are highly prized in this culture. In addition to people of the Hundred Isles, there are the Gaunt Islanders, and we learn that the people of the Hundred Isles have been engaged in a never-ending war with them for hundreds of years.

Not all of the people in this land though are people, or more accurately humanoid. There are the Gullaime. A race of bird like people who are prized for their magical ability to control the wind. The Gullaime are treated as slaves and are blinded at birth for their ???own protection??? and are treated as outcasts on the ships of the fleet, only used for their supernatural feats of managing the winds.

Now I have to say that I loved Barker's world, and I found it very redolent of 1970???s British SciFi / fantasy movement, in that he has used some of that experimental energy from the movement to create a world that is unforgiving and menacing, and at once quite original. As I said it is a harsh environment in every sense of the word and every aspect of it has an opaque menacing quality to it. And on top of that, it has a sense of dankness about it, and Barker constantly describes the dirt, grime and stink of it.

I really found the characters of the book to be utterly absorbing. From the first page to the end of the book, the characters are front and centre of this story. The story???s main protagonist, Joron Twiner is introduced from the very first line and this is who we follow throughout the whole of the book, we get his thoughts, his insecurities and join him on his journey from an inadequate hapless individual who has been thrust into a situation not of his making to someone who grows in his confidence and abilities. I can???t say that when I met Joron Twiner at the beginning of the story that I actually liked him. He is a man that has been sent to the Tide Child to join the crew of a Black Ship, which is essentially a place where people are sent to die. And we get the impression that Joron is indeed a man who has joined the living dead. He is an inadequate commander and when he loses his duel with Lucky Meas and she forcibly takes over the ship, we learn that not only is he hopeless, but he is the conspirator of his own inadequacies and has let the crew of the Tide Child basically govern themselves. However, as the story moves on, Joron begins to grow. Instead of killing him in the duel, which is what usually happens in this world, Meas makes him second in command and moves against tradition. We don???t know why, and neither does Joron, and whilst at the beginning of the book he hates this interloper who has taken his crown from him. He soon learns to respect and admire Meas and her harsh methods. Not only does she turn the crew from a bunch of worthless, hopeless set of miscreants, but she also turns Joron into a respected officer by giving him trust and in her own way encouragement.

Meas is an interesting character. She is a hard woman on the outside (and inside at times) but she is fair and trusting. We never really get to see her whole motivations for the decisions that she makes, but you get the impression that she is fighting for a new way, a fairer way that is inclusive of everyone.

But this book is not just made up of Joron Twiner and Lucky Meas Gilbryn, there is also the crew of the Tide Child. At first, they are a nameless and characterless bunch (and I think that they are done this way purposefully due to the fact Joron Twiner at the beginning of the book never bothered to learn their names). As we move through the tale, the crew starts to take on a more colourful character. We get to learn individuals and their names as Joron begins to learn them and they become an integral part of the story.

And we cannot forget the Gullaime, the strange bird like creatures that perform the magic of controlling the wind. At first, the Gullaime refuses to interact and when Meas fails to get the thing to do as she bids, she tasks Joron to befriend the creature. Although he hates it, he does as she commands and an unlikely friendship develops between Joron and Gullaime.

The other thing that impressed me was Barker???s ability to write bone crushing action scenes, particularly the naval battles. The action scenes are written so smoothly that at times I forgot I was reading words on the page and I could see every battle in my head.

I found R. J. Barker???s book to be utterly charming in its own way. Yes, it is set in a very different fantasy world, but it is not inaccessible, although there is a steep learning curve involved. For me, I found the book to be about journeys, not just the journey of the boat, but the journey of Twiner and the crew as they all move from being unwanted and unloved to having a sense of pride and purpose. Whilst the book is filled with hard edges, there are lots of moments of tenderness peppered throughout.

Barkers ability to write engaging prose is something of a wonder. He writes so self-assuredly that he transported me from my normal comfy chair in the living room, and onto the deck of the Tide Child where I could practically feel the salty sea spray hitting my face and the brine encrusted winds coursing through my hair.

The artwork in this is gorgeous and there are some good ideas in it. However, the story reminds me of a more dangerous version of the D & D cartoon from the eighties.

I was really interested in reading this and I suppose it is a decent start to the series. I am intrigued to see what comes.

The story is a bit thin though and I wonder where it can actually go.

We are the Dead - by Mike Shackle

If I could liken a book to a song, then I would liken ???We are the Dead??? to ???Bleed??? by Messhuggah. Hard, uncompromising and totally bloody brilliant. This is the first book in Mike Shackle???s ???The Last War??? Trilogy and I don???t know what to say. This book is something else.

The usual path for a fantasy book is to culminate in that final climactic battle. However, Mike Shackle takes a totally different view and thinks it is a good idea to start the book with the ultimate battle, and in this world the Evil Empire wins. They don???t just win, but they pulverise the good guys and then rout the rest of the country.

Well, that took me by surprise, I must say! Where on earth do we go from there? Urm, I???m not sure. It???s a good job that Mike Shackle does.

We are the Dead is a book about oppression, rebellion and survival. It???s about how normal people survive in extreme circumstances and the choices they make when placed in an impossible situation.

I really enjoyed this book. It is a gripping narrative that has you guessing what on earth is going to happen next.

I have got to say that Mike Shackle has done something different with We are the Dead and I loved every minute of the ride that he took me on.From beginning to end, this book never lets up.

The book starts with a student, Tinnstra on the verge of completing suicide due to her disgracing herself in some way for an unknown misdemeanour. We learn that she is at military school in the country of Jia, training to be an elite soldier called The Shulka, just like her father.

We then cut to the north of the country, where the army of Shulka are prepared to meet the Egril, an undisciplined, barbarian army. As we learn, the country of Jia was the home of magic and the Jians overcame the Egril at some point in the past. However, the magic disappeared long ago and now the Shulka, a set of elite warriors, protect the country from invasion..

What happens next, nobody is prepared for. Jax, the leader of the Shulka, believes that this is going to be an easy battle. However, the best laid plans and all that. Subsequently,the Jians learn the Egril are not what they seem. They are a highly organised machine that have magic, monsters and weapons that can destroy the Shulka with no chance of fighting back..

Believe it or not, that is the first forty pages, the first forty pages. Whaaat?

What comes next is a tale of oppression and fear. All the heroes of the land of Jia have been decimated and there is no one left to fight for the people. The Egril are cruel and rule with a hand of terror.

The Egril have got to be the best set of fantasy villains that I have read. They are truly horrible and Mike Shackle writes so well that the feeling of oppression is palpable. They dehumanise the people that they rule and treat them worse than animals. They have no qualms about killing anyone for the slightest thing and regularly do. As you read the book you can almost smell the fear that the inhabitants of Jia live with every day.The Egril are brutal and use this brutality with great abandon.

As we move through the story we are introduced to the characters. Now don???t be expecting heroic magic and sword wielding heroes that will ride in on a white charger and save everyone, coz it ain???t gunna happen. In this book, most of the characters are unlikeable or have a fault running through them so wide the sea would be swallowed.

We meet Tinnstra in the first instance as she is preparing to end her life. And it is at that point we realise that Tinnstra is so consumed with fear that she is willing to withdraw from everything, even life. We have Dren, a bombastic teenager who is willing to send anyone to their deaths without a thought. Dren has no care, and we see this early on when he coerces a young mother to be a suicide bomber and kill a load of people that he believes are collaborators with the enemy. He has no regard for life at all.

There are other characters, like Jax, the leader of the Hanran, who was broken in the first assault by the Egril and has arm cut off, and then there is Yas, a single mother whose husband was killed horrifically by the Egril, leaving her to bring their child into the world.

Throughout the book. The characters develop in many ways and experience life changing events. They all go on their journey and all change in ways they cannot imagine. I found this to be a strength to the narrative in that whilst you may not like the characters initially, your relationship with each individual character changes throughout the book.

The pacing of the narrative is supersonic. Mike Shackle writes with a clipped prose that does not waste a word. HIs descriptive prowess is brilliant. Sometimes a little too brilliant, particularly when we get to a scene with Jax and Darus (an Egril Chosen who has been imbued with power, and the fifth pov in the book). This made me squirm, really squirm as the violence that Darus meters out on Jax is gut wrenching.

The other thing is that Mike Shackle writes action scenes that are so cinematic it is like having a TV in your head.He is totally unflinching in describing the violence of the situation, describing each sword stroke and the damage that results. At times, it reminded me of something from a Wachowski brothers film.

He does not fluff the brutality that the oppressors meter out to the citizens of Jia. Nor does he make any judgements on the lengths the characters will go to, to get their freedom. And this is something that struck me throughout the story. Our ???so called??? heroes do some nasty stuff, and I mean the types of things that a war crimes committee would have a field day with. However, the character???s are not held to account for the actions that they take and you understand the decisions that they make.

Despite it being a war torn country, Mike Shackle builds a rich world. Whenever the book moves to the different cities in the country of Jia you get a distinct difference in the environments that the characters inhabit. Shackle describes a world with a rich history, giving you all the background you need to picture the environment and the people that inhabit it.

As I have said before, Mike Shackle???s books have placed themselves firmly in my all time fantasy favorites and this series deserves all the praise that it gets.

Most of the fantasy world is abuzz at the moment with The Rage of Dragons, as the second instalment is just around the corner.
Evan Winter???s book is highly acclaimed and has recently gained a place on ???the most influential??? lists. A high accolade indeed! Does it deserve it? Damn right it does! This is a fantastic book that has everything from Dragons, demons to incredible fight scenes and exhilarating action.
The Rage of Dragons begins with a battle against two races of people. One who has just arrived from some unknown lands and the inhabitants of the lands that they have landed on. We are immediately thrown into the action from Page One, where a brutal and bloody battle that is raging. The prologue sets the tone for the book, describing the brutality of the battle, introducing the magic system of the book that is purely centred around bolstering military might, and introduces us to the Omehi people or ???The Chosen??? as they believe themselves to be.
We then move onto the main story of the book and quickly introduced to the book???s main character, Tau.
From the beginning of the book, Winters build his world, describing the political system, the caste system that governs the Omehi people and the militaristic way that the inhabitants live their life. The world that Tau lives in is a harsh world that is governed solely by caste and tradition and everyone knows their place.
At the beginning of the book, Tau is happy with his standing, wanting nothing more than to attend The Testing, a ritual competition to test fighting prowess and skill, and join the Ihashe, a division of the army. However, when he attends his friend Jabari???s testing as his second, events occur that will change Tau and his life forever. At the testing, Tau is assigned to an incompetent noble???s son to spar with, but unfortunately for Tau, the noble is as proud as he incompetent and attacks Tau. Tau responds by disarming the noble and thus brings about the attention of Councillor Odili and Tau???s fate is sealed, setting him on a path of pain, obsession and revenge.
For the rest of the story, Tau vows to become the ultimate killing machine. He vows that he will gain a place in the Ihashe and become the greatest fighter that the Omehi people have ever seen. So, that he can gain his ultimate revenge on those who destroyed his life. And he will do this at whatever cost to himself or those around him.
As we move through the story we learn that the years of tradition have created an unjust and unfair society where the lowest of the governed people are seen as nothing more than bodies for the everlasting, unwinnable war that rages with the Hedeni, whilst the privileged members of society do not recognise the worth of those that they see beneath them and are corrupt and cruel. And this cruelty is displayed time and time again throughout the tale of Tau and his sword brothers.
In the meantime, Tau???s story is developed, and he becomes the very thing that he set out to be. However, his character is flawed by the trauma he has endured. He scorns friendship and comradeship focussing totally on his ultimate goal. However, others are not willing to give up on him and eventually his comrades break through his barriers and he eventually forms long lasting bonds with those around him.
Winters masterfully interlaces a tale of comradeship, winning against the odds and determination in his story of Tau. However, be prepared! This is not a happy tale, and whilst there are light moments of friendship in the book, Winters does not shy away from the brutality of war and the cruelty that is rife amongst the socio-political structure that his characters inhabit. However, it is a dazzling story that will have you gripped, as I was from the very start.

This review is also on fantasybooknerd.com. If you liked this review please visit and have a look at some of the other reviews.

The Impossible Times Trilogy is fast becoming my favorite books written by Mark Lawrence.

This is the second in the trilogy and in this instalment of the story, the character of Nick is developed further. Some of the other characters in the first book do not feature as much, such as Mia and John, but this does not impact on the story.

Mr Lawrence' writing is as excellent as ever. Whilst there is the timey wimey stuff in it, it does not take centre stage in the books. This is left to the characters. We get to learn how much of a maths genius Nick is and the story moves along with his move to Cambridge. Mia becomes the DM (and is pretty good at it too, does she want to come and DM for me, please!), and there are new characters introduced that all have an impact on Nick and take the story in a new direction.

I think that one of the best things in this is how sensitively the author deals with disability. In numerous cases the disability is obvious, but it does not define the characters and is accepted. Simon, for instance, shows all the signs of being Autistic, but this is never mentioned and it is just there and everybody adapts. NIck's leaukemia is a barrier that he has to overcome, but never once does it define Nick's character. He doesn't fall into despair and lie there moping about (he does on some occasions, but hey wouldn't you).

The setting of 1986 works well and I think that this is something that I connected with completely and the depiction of Cambridge highlights class differences that are still there.

I think the books remind me of a lot of things that have really struck a chord. There seems to be some Sue Townsend in there along with Stephen King (and I mean this in the best sense in that SK does some brilliant depictions of childhood) and I think that this is just as good.

Can't wait for the next book.

The Gutter Prayer

This is a new one on me. I have seen The Gutter Prayer labelled as ‘grimdark meets epic fantasy', but I think that this detracts from the uniqueness of this book.
For me it' s a kind of like Gibsonian in it's outlook and the sprawling metropolis of Guendor, mixed with Neil Gaiman, chuck in a bit of steampunk, add a pinch of Mervyn Peake for spice, blend thoroughly for five minutes and hey presto, you have The Gutter Prayer.
If anyone is coming to this blind like I did, then be prepared for a shock. This is not like any Fantasy book I have read before.
Yes, there are recognisable tropes from the genre, the returning evil that wants to dominate the world, the hero who gains a new power and has to deal with controlling this power and hopefully defeating said bad dude before the whole place goes to shit.
However, in this case, the whole place has gone to shit, what with warring gods who destroy anything in their path, alchemists who transform everything into candle monsters, gullheads or some other insane Frankenstein creation.
This is an interesting book, I have to say. There are some niggles with it. It took me a while to get my head around the use of present tense and, I am not sure if this is anything to do with me reading the electronic version, but there were some jarring editorial slips in Chapter Twelve that made me go,eh?
The writing is very fast paced and instead of patiently holding your hand through the fantasy world building, Hanrahan chucks you in head first and it is a case of sink or swim baby.
The world is vastly different from other fantasy ideas. Gone is the merry clip clopping of horses and welcome to an otherworldly Victorian London.
As I said, I kind of found it very Gibsonian in it's outlook. The city and the writing style reminds me of this very much, and whilst the characters are likeable, at the same time they aren't, which gives them a three dimensional quality rather than your run of the mill fantasy heroes. I loved the character of Aleena, primarily because she reminded me of Neil Gaiman's ‘Angela', which made me adore her.
The main characters were also well rounded, with each of the three characters moving the story along to get where we are going.
Can't wait for the next one.

So, this is one of those books that did something quite rare - it surprised me.

I did not know much about this book. I had obviously seen countless reviews as I follow Mark Lawrence on this site and thought I must get around to reading that.

I totally agree with Robin Hobbs, this is a six star book. I loved it. I think especially because I was sixteen in 1986, I was a goth, not the updated type, but the proper 80's Sisters of Mercy type and I was right into fantasy stuff (and in later years, played D & D). So, Mark, you got me covered. And on top of that it has my son's name in it. He only appears for a minute (and just for clarity, The author does not know my son and any representation to people living or dead is purely coincidence, which this is).

You can tell it is a good book, when you find yourself with a spare five minutes, the book suddenly (as if by magic) appears in your hands, demanding you to find out what happens next. Except that the five minutes turns into an hour, tea is burning and you are quite blissfuly unaware that you have reached the end of the book in two days.

I loved this book and if the rest of it is like this, then I think that this will be the best trilogy I have read all year.

One small niggle and this is the smallest hill that I am willing to die on is that I am sure that in 1986 it would have been Beadle's about - not Candid Camera. Teeny weeny hill!

Oh and the bit about the nurses is hilarious. On two counts really, I was in and out of hospital when I was a kid and I am a nurse now, so that bit about nurses is definately true. I could go on and on, so I have to stop now.

I liked this. If you want to know what the book's about, then read the other reviews. They will tell you the story. Anyway, it's a good book. I enjoyed it!

I love Norse Mythology, and I loved this book. I think one of the things that I liked about about it was the comedy, and I think that this is something that you do not normally get when reading mythology. What Neil Gaiman does is flesh out the characters to give the Gods more characterisation rather than them seem to be omnipresent beings. And besides that, what else can you say. It's Neil Gaiman! Nuff said!

Give me some time and I will write a proper review but by god's, that was excellent

What can you say about this book. For a start, I think that this is the first book in ages that I have given a five star review to, and this book deserves it so much. I saw the praise that the book was receiving from critics and other authors and thought I would give it a try. Unfortunately, I could not put it down.
The prose of the book is gorgeous, Bancroft's imagination is outstanding and the development of the characters is excellent. In fact, I am quickly running out of superlatives to describe this book.

For those that haven't read this and fancy reading this, the story concerns itself with the hero of the title, Thomas Senlin, a fish out of water schoolteacher who takes his young bride to the famed Tower of Babel. The story moves extremely fast from their arrival at the Tower's market and the loss of Thomas's new bride whilst on their honeymoon.

What follows are Thomas's adventures and misadventures in order to attempt to locate his missing bride.

This is wonderfully written book, reminding me at times of Johnathon Swift, but primarily GK Chesterton, particularly the dreamlike absurdness of the Man who was Thursday. However, the story can turn on a sixpence to violent undertones.

I really recommend this book, and am moving on to the second one. I hope that it is as good as this!

In Croswald, the only thing more powerful than dark magic is one secret...

For sixteen years Ivy Lovely has been hidden behind an enchanted boundary that separates the mundane from the magical. When Ivy crosses the border, her powers awaken. Curiosity leads her crashing through a series of adventures at the Halls of Ivy, a school where students learn to master their magical blood and the power of Croswald's mysterious gems. When Ivy's magic and her life is threatened by the Dark Queen, she scrambles to unearth her history and save Croswald before the truth is swept away forever.

Warning: This review may contain clich??s and superlatives in my description of this book.

(Please note: no clich??s or superlatives were harmed in the writing of this review)

When I started reading this book I had a hatful of superlatives that I intended to use, you know, things like Magical, Enthralling, Enchanting, Captivating etc.

However, I decided to throw them out of the window and tell you what I really think.

I loved this book! It made me remember why I fell in love with fantasy books. Why, as a kid I would want to read books that took me out of this world and plonk me into another world with strange beasts, magic and a hero that would defeat the evil King, Queen, Sorcerer (delete as appropriate).

If I could time travel back to my childhood, I would take this book back with me, and say ???Here kid, read this!???

Now, I suppose you want me to tell you about pacing, character development and all that kind of stuff! Well, I don't know if I want to!

Well, I might just do that, but in a bit. What I wanted to tell you is that when I started this book, I started it with a reviewer's hat on, but after the Prologue, I decided to throw away all pretence of trying to review this book and decided to let myself get caught up in the story's joyful style and just read it, and enjoy it.

As the description tells you, the book is the story of Ivy. A maid in the Plum household, a household devoid of magic and is quite simply the most boring place in the world.

Ivy is a Scaldrony maid, in the kitchens of the Plum Acreage. Her job is to look after the Scaldrons,a type of dragon that doubles up as an oven. The kitchen is run by the tyrannical Helga Hoff and after a series of mishaps involving the aforementioned Helga Hoff, Ivy, finds herself, quite unexpectedly, out on her ear into the wider world.

However, things are not as they seem when her friend, Rimbrick, the bright spot in her previous life of drudgery, leaves her a small fortune, some books and a mysterious letter, telling her of a debt that he owes to her family.

She is shortly collected by the mysterious Lionel Lugg, longtime scrivenist and freelancer. The scrivenist informs her that she is to attend The Halls of Ivy, where Royals and Scriveners alike receive an education in the arts of magic.

What follows is a classic fish out of water story of a girl who is thrust into a world she does not understand. We follow Ivy as she tries to fit into this unfamiliar world, sharing with her the isolation that she feels and the sense of excitement and wonderment that she experiences when she is plunged into this new world that she does not quite understand.

As Ivy becomes more proficient in her learning, her powers start to blossom and soon Ivy finds that her world is full of secrets, adventures and mysterious strangers.

Now, full disclosure. I am not the intended demographic for this story, exceeding that age by at least three or four times. But does that matter? No, not one bit. I was able to enjoy and relish the story as much as I would have done when I was a much younger reader and admire the quality of the prose (although younger me would have no idea what that word meant).

Night's world is rich, filled with characters that will delight (Ha ha, I told you to expect that didn't I?) and keep the reader enthralled (there's another one!). Ivy???s character develops as she learns more about magic and the Halls of Ivy. Throughout the world, there is a vast array of beasts that will keep any young fantasy fan happy. She also has an interesting magic system that works well. However, this magic system is not too impenetrable for younger readers and is pretty easy to follow. As for the world, she is constantly introducing new aspects that enrich both the environment around our main protagonist and also the story.

The other thing that we have here is a strong female lead and a collection of equally strong female characters. The main positions of power centre around women and the fact that they have got there by being exceedingly brilliant in every way. And whilst the story centres around female characters, Night successfully brings in a nice element of scrunginess to the female characters that makes them seem like real girls, instead of the popularised image of little girls wanting to be princesses and queens (although there are plenty of princesses and queens in the story).

For me, the story centres around the magic of books and words. The scrivenists embrace the use of words in order to create their magic, but ultimately, the power is held by books and stories.

In all, Night brings in the right amount of danger, comedy and world building to keep the story moving along at a pretty good pace. The sense of threat is there to keep the reader involved and wanting to know more before they put it down for the night.

So, if you have a budding little fantasy book nerd at home, and you want to keep them happy, give them a copy of this book and hopefully, all will be well.

Right, I was asked by the publisher, Stories Untold & Netgalley to have a look at this book and review it. I did & all the enjoyment is my own. So there!

If you like this review, I have a blog https://www.fantasybooknerd.com/ Have a pop along and see the other reviews, all my reviews in one place.

Sometimes, I need to break from fantasy, and this book was the perfect tonic.

The story is about Robert (Bob) Johansson, a software developer who has just sold his company, making him a pretty rich guy. So, what does he do? He goes to a company to get his head frozen in the event of his death (obviously harking to the urban legend that Walt Disney got his head frozen too!).

Now the thing about Bob, is that he is also a sci fi nerd as well. He loves Star Trek, Star Wars etc, and after signing his contract to have his head surgically removed from his body if he dies. He then promptly goes off to Vegas to attend a Sci - con. Listens to a fascinating lecture on Vann Neumann probes (self replicating probes) and then leaves. However, it is in Vegas that he comes off worst in an argument with a car.

Good way to start a story, with the hero of the piece getting splattered in the first twenty pages. However, with the death of our titular hero, this is when the story starts proper, as Bob finds himself suddenly transported to 2133 and finds that he is a new and improved version of himself, well, minus a body and a head and he is in fact a computer simulation of himself. He is Bob version 2.0.

He soon learns that not only has he changed, but the whole world has too. Gone are the political systems that once ruled the world and they have now changed, with the USA has become THE FAITH ENCLAVE, which is basically a theocracy. In addition to this, Brazil has become a superpower, as has the UAE (I think it's that, you will have to excuse my memory when it comes acronyms, I always forget them), which stands for United Affiliation of Eurasia, and China.

As we move on in the story, it soon becomes evident that Bob is the property of the Faith Enclave, and he is in competition with some other A. I. s to undertake a mission of extreme importance. To be one the controlling AI in an interstellar probe looking for habitable planets.

So, how did I get along with a book whose main character happens to be a sentient spaceship. Well, quite well actually, and this is mainly down to Denis E Taylor's writing. Yes, the main character is a sentient ship, but he is bursting with a snarky character and Taylor interjects some serious nerdom, making refernce to various bits of popular culture,which works surprisingly well.

Taylor gives Bob a surprisingly human character, and as the story progresses, Bob does become more human, especially when he replicates himself, with each ‘copy' being slightly different. Now I thought that this was a good plot device on how to introduce more characters. However, at times, I did find this more and more confusing as more copies are introduced and I kept getting lost occasionally as each chapter flits between a number of the different versions of the original Bob.

In between all this, Taylor manages to ask some big questions, like what makes us human, our concept of self and is AI actually sentient (a la the Turing Test). Which he manages to sneak in without the topics being too overbearing.

The other thing that I found a little bit cumbersome, was the description of space travel and the manoeuvrability of the ships. At times, I found that the inclusion of the differing speeds dragged the action a little, because this was done on each encounter that Bob has whilst in space. It seemed a little bit video gamey, and I was always put in mind of the video game Elite Dangerous.

I also found that the pacing stumbled a little in the second act of the book, as the main focus is on exploration, mining for minerals, obtaining enough materials etc, which became a bit repetitive.

However, the pacing does drag itself up towards the end of the second act and into the final acts, and the book starts to add in other aspects of plot, which helps it lead to it's conclusion.

All in all, I found this to be an enjoyable sci fi book that was full of snarkiness, nods to nerdom and general fun, and yep, I really enjoyed it! Oh and one other thing. I listened to this on audio and I really enjoyed Ray Porter's narration.

So, I finally started reading Cradle by Will Wight, beginning with the first book in the series, Unsouled. Now, there are 12 planned books in the Cradle series, and I have made it one of my reading goals this year to get through this series and see what all the fuss is about, as each time I look for recommendations for a series this comes up.

Unsouled introduces us to the World of Cradle, and its main protagonist Wei Shi Lindon, as well as other people in the series.

So, with Cradle, I am finding myself introduced to new words and concepts, which is always a pleasure as it sends my brain a whirring. According to other reviewers, the Cradle series resembles Shonen Anime/manga in its inspiration.

Got to say, I haven???t a clue, and I will take their word for it!

In addition to the anime/manga thingy, I am an absolute noob when it comes to progression fantasy.

(I did have to look up the meaning for this as you can see from my earlier musings on the why I chose this book)

Now, whilst I have a little bit of trepidation on that lot of information, the main concerns for me is whether I would enjoy it. It???s always a bit nerve wracking when you start a series, and it was particularly nerve wracking when you have decided to devote this as a 10 ??? 12-month endeavour.

However, not to worry, coz I positively devoured this book over two days and could not put it down. It was such an enjoyable and easy read.

The story is set in an Asian inspired world with a people that devotes itself to the practice of magic and their progression through the mystical arts. Each member of the society that Lindon grows up in is tested for whichever brand of magic that they possess and when Lindon is tested, the special substance that is used to identify the individual???s magic, shows that Lindon does not possess any magical abilities. He is subsequently labelled as unsouled (which I thought was a bit harsh to be honest!). This has an impact throughout his life, and he is seen as a freak and an encumbrance (yay highly enlightened people for accepting difference). This means that Lindon cannot progress in the magic/martial arts system that he resides in, which is a kind of isolated world in the mountains and hidden from the world outside, reminding me of the legends of Shangri ??? La.

However, through various misadventures he sees a way to progress and forge his own path. At one point he is entered into a duel against a much more powerful opponent, and he orchestrates the opponent so that he cannot win, and Lindon comes out of a potentially devastating situation unscathed. Throughout the book, Lindon has to employ his wits to overcome insurmountable odds, and whilst at times, Lindon can come across as a little unscrupulous in his methods and without any thought as to their actual consequences, you can see that he is highly disadvantaged in the society that he lives in. I have seen that some reviewers thought that there was a level of dishonesty in the methods that Lindon employed. However, for me, I thought that he was battling against overwhelming odds in one of the harshest and elitist societies in SFF that I have seen, and that whilst he uses some dodgy methods, he uses his quick wittedness to do what it is natural to do in this highly competitive environment. And as a world view, he is a little selfish in his goals, but the whole society is built on the principle that you can elevate yourself is to be solely enamoured of your own abilities.

This is very much an introduction to the story of Cradle, and at times there is some info dumping on the reader, which at some points slowed the pace a little, yet on the whole, it did not affect my enjoyment of it.

Initially, I did find the characters a little two dimensional, but this changes about halfway through when there is an incident that changes that whole direction of the book. I have to say that I had no idea that this inexplicable event would happen, but when it does it certainly pulls the rug out from you. And another point to add, is that by the very nature of the society that Will Wight introduces us to, is pretty two dimensional in all honesty, when its only goal is to progress further in their search for more power.

Now, you cannot write a review of the Cradle series without mentioning the magic system. It is such an integral part of the book, and is so intricately woven, with it having some influence from Chinese spirituality and mixing it with the use of artifacts and elixirs.

I don???t want to go too much into the minutia of the book, as I think the best way to go into this is without any indication (except from the obvious!) of the plot.

I have got to say that I really did not have a clue what this book was about in all honesty, but I can definitely say, that I was not expecting that.

And for those of us that are old enough to have a ???what the hell is going on??? look on our faces when anime or manga is thrown at us, it really doesn???t confuse you at all, and me, with very little anime experience was able to appreciate the story.

Unsouled is a fantastically paced romp that had me hooked. It???s one part coming of age, with one part underdog story, mixed with a whole lot of adventure.

Give it a go!

Well, this is a terrific trilogy of books. V. E . Schwab, where have you been all my life.

The book begins immediately from the end of the second book and then gallops along at breakneck pace.

You do think that this pace cannot be maintained and it does slow down.

One of the things that is really good about Schwabs writing is that her world building skills are really impressive. Rather than bogging down the reader with complicated prose that describes the world, Schwab moves her characters through the world as part of the story.

She also has a brilliant skill of expanding the characters and she does with the minor characters as well as the major characters like Holland and Alucard.

The relationship between Rhy and Alucard is explored further, and one of the best things about this is that it is completely natural and there is no fuss about it.

Definitely, one of my favourite fantasy series.

The Fisherman by John Langan

“A story doesn't have to be fitted like some of pre - fabricated house - no, it's got to go its own way - but it does have to flow. Even a tale as black as this has its course”The Fisherman is a masterful tale of suspense and eldritch terror. Langan's tale of grief, horror and otherworldly horrors is an absolute masterpiece. This booked deprived me of sleep as I could not put it down and had to read well into the night to find out what happened next.The story revolves around Abraham or ‘Abe', as he tells us in the first line of the book, and Dan. When Abe's wife dies from cancer, he finds solace and relief from his grief in the gentle art of fishing. He finds that it quiets his mind and helps him get through the grief. When Dan, a colleague at work experiences a sudden bereavement, Abe offers his hand in friendship, the two form an unlikely bond, borne out of their shared grief. One Day, Dan unexpectedly suggests a change to their normal fishing trips and suggests a trip to an unknown stretch of water, called Dutchman's Creek. It's on their journey to Dutchman's Creek that the strange tale of how the unmapped stretch of water got it's name, when they stop in fisherman's diner. The horrific tale is told to them - as a warning.As I said earlier, this book is a masterpiece of suspense. The book is essentially two stories, the tale of Abe and Dan, and also the history of Dutchman's Creek and the terrifying events that surround it.Whilst, essentially these seem like two diverging tales. Langan skillfully weaves and interlocks the two stories into a fantastic ending that sent me searching for more of this author's work.In addition to two stories, the story is told from two different perspectives. Firstly Abe's, and then Howard, the owner of the diner which Abe and Dan visit on their way to Dutchman's Creek, who tells them the events surrounding how the creek got its name. For the final act of the book, we return to Abe and the initial story. This altering of the narrator, crafts the idea that there is a story within a story so effectively that you do not notice the shift of tone, but it makes it all the more compelling as you wonder how this has an effect on the main story. The initial story is set in the modern world of computers and IBM. However, there is a complete contrast of the second story which is set at the time of the construction of the Ashoken Reservoir, whose employees are mainly immigrants to America who bring their own folklore and customs. The prose that Langan writes is not too difficult, but it is hard to define his style. Whilst, it can be quite literary at times with passages of description, for anyone who is familiar with Lovecraft, this should not be too difficult to get your head around. In some ways, Langan's style is reminiscent of Stephen king and Shirley Jackson (he is on the Board of the Shirley Jackson Awards) in that he slowly layers the uneasiness constantly throughout his story until the story reaches a crescendo. Essentially, though, this is a human story of how grief affects us and what we would not do to have that final day with those who have passed. For me, I would recommend this book to anyone (and have to anyone who will listen) as one of the best horror novels of recent years and I do not say this lightly.If you liked this review, please check out some of my other reviews on my website, fantasybooknerd at www.ahordeoffantasy.blogspot.com

This is a short story by P. Djeli Clark, clocking in at forty six pages, and I have to say that they are forty six pages of pure gold.??

I don't know how P. Djeli Clark does it, he must be a magician becasue he sets up this little self contained story with such craftsmanship.?? When I read this was absolutely engrossed with this take on an alternative world in which Cairo is inhabited by Djinn, Clockwork Angels and murderous ghouls, all painted on a steampunk backdrop.

In such a short space of time, he introduces his snarky, bowler hat wearing female protagonist, Fatma el Sha'arawi at the scene of a death in which a Djinn has died in what appear to be suspicious circunstances. Fatma is an investigator in the Ministry of Alchemy, Enchantments and Supernatural Emtities, who besides wearing a bolwer hat, carrying a specially made cane, likes to look ‘exotic' by wearing an english style suit. As soon as Fatma quips at the salacious police chief Aasim in the first scene I knew I was going to like her. However, P. Djeli Clark just populates his little world with brilliantly realised characters.

Immediatley you are thrust into a world which is vibrant and colourful, and that is surprisingly expansive. Cairo is brilliantly realised with trams, motorised cariages and strange flying machines. Clark builds the world so vividly that never once are you lost as you move through the city with Fatma.

The pace of the story is like a runaway motorised carriage and it takes you along at such a speed you are shortly out of breath. Honestly, from begining to end not one word is wasted. And before you know it, you are at the climactic end, holding your breath until events play out.??

I will most definitelybe seeking out the next instalments of these stories, with the Novella ‘The Haunting of Tram Car 015 and Clark's debut novel, The Master of Djinn. Which is to be relaesed in May 2021. I'm not sure if they have Fatma el Sha'arawi in, but I hope so!

I have really enjoyed this series of books. This is a brilliant close to the story. It chronicles the end of the final empire, but it also gives a good ending to the main character's journey that has been developing in the first two books. Really enjoyed it. Ps. There were no spoilers, so if you are reading this set of books for the first time I will not spoil the end for you.

Full review to follow

Everybody has described the book, and probably better than I could. I enjoyed the book, it was engaging, raised some interesting questions, presented some good hypotheses and was at time quite funny. What more do you want me to say?

At only 2000 words, this has the weight of a million!

V. E. Schwab, where have you been all my life. Why did nobody tell me that you wrote such good books and that when I started reading one, I wouldn't be able to put it down.

I am not going to write about plot, characterisation or world building etc coz you can read all about that stuff yer Sen, there's loads of that stuff. What you really want to know if you are reading this book is ‘is it any good. Well the answer is in the stars. I don:t usually give that amount as I can usually find some flaws, but this is perfecto.