more updates to my 1001 Books And Authors To Read Before You Die List...

I told you I had lots of books to update on my 1001 List, well here's a couple more....

DEADLOCKED BY A.R.WISE ~ "There seems to be a complete surge of Zombie novels available on Kindle at the moment...and not just novels but also novellas and short stories as well. In fact some days you cannot move for Zombie tales, there are so many overloading the virtual shelves.

Whilst some are good though, others, the majority in fact, are truly awful! Thankfully Deadlocked Volume 1 is right up there with some of the best!

Telling the story of a father just diagnosed with a terminal illness, this novel, the first in a series, follows his journey as he tries to make his way home to his family just as a Zombie outbreak occurs. How this outbreak begins is part of the mystery, there are hints of some kind of terrorist action that may have started it all off but no definite answers, but what makes this novel truly great is the attention to detail and the fact that it is told in a real-world perspective. For instance, to start with no one realises that their attackers are zombies, just that people in the streets have started to go crazy. Secondly, everyone that our hero, David, encounters behaves just as you might expect them to do in such a situation! All in all, this makes for a tale that is both highly believable and ultimately quite terrifying!

I really loved this and can't wait to read the further installments that carry on the story. Volume One sets everything up perfectly and introduces us to some really well-rounded characters that the reader can't help but connect with and future volumes, I am told, not only continue the story but expand on many of the themes and ideas that we are introduced to here. Also smaller characters who appear here briefly in cameos also get more of a chance to shine! But even if you don't fancy paying for any of the other novels (this volume only is free at the moment from Amazon), then there is still plenty here to enjoy as this can be enjoyed as much as a stand-alone as it can as part of the larger series as a whole!

If you like the T.V series, The Walking Dead then you are going to absolutely love this! This is a zombie lovers wet dream; a real-life, believable zombie story that simply can't be beat! On the Kindle at least, this novel has no equal and this reviewer VERY highly recommends this for a realistic take on the traditional Zombie tale!"

THE BLACKWATER FLOOD BY ROBERT WILLIAMS ~ "Blackwater Flood is one of the best books I have read on Kindle so far and is another great example of absolutely awesome indie fiction in a sea of mediocrity.

It starts with a young boy, sheltering in his grandmothers house with his parents from a mighty storm outside that refuses to abate. The nearby river is preparing to flood its banks and it looks as though the family is going to be stuck there for some time. But it is not just the flood they have to be worried about....

Scientists at a local nearby Goverment Laboratory have been messing about with things they shouldn't and when the family take a stanger into their midst, they soon learn that the rising flood water is the least of their troubles....there is something out there in the water, several somethings in fact, and they are hungry for flesh.....

This was a very well written, extremely scary thriller that started off well and progressed swiftly throgh a journey into absolute terror. The ending was a little bit contrived but was totally unexpected and brought all the various plot strands together nicely leaving nothing unexplaned and the reader with a good sense that they knew exactly what had happened. There is nothing worse, after all, than a book that leaves you guessing at the end and scratching your head in puzzlement.

I cannot talk about this book too much because I don't want to give anything away, but this book was even good enough to go on my 1001 books and authors to read before you die list on my Blog and this is a real honour!

Overall, I can totally recommend this and can quite cateogorically state that this is one of the best horror thrillers available on Kindle right now! "

More soon....

Introducing Catt Dahman......

So, recently on Goodreads I discovered a group called Apocalypse Whenever which specifically looks at and discusses post-apocalyptic fiction and there was a section of the forum there called author/reader co-op. This is where authors post asking a limited amount of people to read their work for free in exchange for a review on Amazon and Goodreads. This was how I discovered the aforementioned End Of Faith and how I have since discovered Catt Dahman. Catt has kindly sent me a selection of her fiction to try out and review if I enjoy them. And, thankfully for her, her gamble has worked out because, as it turns out, she is a pretty darn amazing writer!

As you guys know, if I don't like something I will be brutally honest about it and pass on my opinions accordingly. There are a lot of books out there and part of the mission that Bloggers like myself and fellow Blogger, Lainy (amongst others) have chosen to undertake is to read as many of them as is humanely possible so that you guys who read our Blogs get an idea of what's hot and what's not.

Anyway, back to Catt Dahman...(and if you want to learn more about her, her website is here ~ http://www.cattd.com/). First of all, let me tell you about Time Of Grace...


"First of all, I have to say that Time Of Grace is simply amazing! Kind of a cross between Stephen King's IT and Robert McCammon's Boy's Life, the story is set initially in '50's America where a small town teenager first befriends then falls in love with the girl next door. But something is happening in the local area and when tragedy strikes, the life of the main character and his close circle of friends is irreparably changed forever....

I loved this and thought it a wonderful novel! Catt Dahman is better known for her Z Is For Zombie series but is keen to point out that she is NOT a zombie writer, just catering to the law of supply and demand. Well, I personally think Catt should write more books like this one because this was just awesome - the supernatural element that appears mid-way through the book never feels forced and gives this coming-of-age tale an extra dimension and twist that lifts it high up and above any other similar styled stories by other authors I have read.

I recommend this highly and think it is a first-rate little tale that left me wanting more. And that is always a good sign of a story, when you don't want it to end...." 

Though this didn't quite make my 1001 List, I wanted to tell you about this book because I enjoyed it so much and, to be fair, it only misses making the list by a whisper! I can't explain why some books make The List and some don't as it is a purely personal choice but I should point out that this book still comes highly recommended and got 5 stars from me on Amazon and Goodreads so that should go some way to show how much I thought of it...


Catt has also written the Z Is For Zombie series and this is my review of the first novel here : " Z is for zombie:georges terms is the first in a series of novels set in a post-apocalyptic world in which the dead have returned to feast on the living following the outbreak of a pandemic across the entire planet.

The symptoms of the disease begin with you contracting the virus, bleeding out from every orifice and then lapsing into a coma. But it doesn't end there because you then awake with the urge to feast on living flesh and tissue!

A group of survivors slowly begin to gather in the basement cafeteria of a nearby hospital that has all but been evacuated and begin their quest for survival against all the odds. But when a secondary catastrophe befalls the world outside, their greatest enemy becomes themselves!

This book is less plot driven and more character driven as the author explores the fragile balance of humanity and mankinds total inability to get along, despite the need to work together! I really loved this book and thought it a great start to the series with the introduction of some interesting characters whom I hope to encounter again -this despite the fact that subsequent novels are intended as stand-alones rather than sequels!

My only issue with this, a copy gifted to me by the author in exchange for a review, was that it could have done with a good proof-reading! I found several mistakes through the course of the text and, whilst this didn't affect my overall rating, it was at times distracting! I hope this is something the author takes note of as this has the potential to be the start of one of the best zombie series yet with just a little more attention to detail. The consequences of this not being better proof read is that it could well put people off picking this up in the first place and that would be a shame.

I gave this 4* rather than 5 because I did think it began to lose a little momentum towards the end despite a shocking and unexpected added twist that totally threw me around half-way through the plot! That said, I did really enjoy this and look forward to picking up the second volume...."

I am actually reading the second volume now and about half-way through and can honestly say it is as good as the first book if not better. Introducing elements of Stephen King's The Stand into the ongoing story, I have a strong suspicion that if this series continues the way it is going, from strength to strength up until now, then it could well be a serious contender to go on The List....we will just have to wait and see but whatever the outcome, I recommend you check this gal out because she is certainly an author to watch and deserves all the praise she can get.

Oh...did you miss me?

So....it's been a while and there's not really any excuse except that life has kind of gotten in the way these past few months and I have neither had the time nor inclination to Blog much. Still, there was no way I was ever going to abandon you completely and so, with Emilie now starting Reception class at School full-time, hopefully I should have more time to myself and be better able to keep you updated with my life and reading habits...

I have several books that I want to add to my 1001 Books And Authors To Read Before You Die list and of course it might be nice to update you with some of the stuff that has been happening since I have been AWOL but all that can wait...

First of all, I want to talk about a book I have just finished called The Skin Map by Stephen Lawhead.

I have only had limited experience in the past of Mr.Lawhead, having tried, and then promptly given up, to get into his Pendragon cycle once several years ago.  The Skin Map though is an absolutely fantastic read that had me gripped from start to finish! The basic premise is that travel through alternate versions of our reality is possible through the use of Ley Lines; those invisible lines of Energy that cross the surface of our world largely undetected. Kit is standing at the crossroads of one of these Ley Lines in a dark London alley when he is approached by his Great Grandfather. Cosimo explains to Kit that he is involved in a search for something called The Skin Map that charts the course of these Ley Lines and needs Kit's help. This is the reason why he mysteriously disappeared decades before. He has not aged because Inter-dimensional travel slows down the ageing process. 

Kit fobs off his Great Grandfather, even after an example of such travel is demonstrated to him, but later returns to the alley with his girlfriend in an attempt to convince her he is not making it all up. But when the pair are separated when they pass through the gateway, Kit suddenly realises that now HE needs his Great Grandfather's help instead of the other way round if he is ever to see his girlfriend again! Mix in a nefariously evil bad guy who has his own reasons for wanting to obtain The Skin Map and what we get is a brilliant and expertly imagined adventure story that takes you on a roller coaster ride through Time and Space...

Like I say, I really enjoyed this and got a lot out of it. It was not without a few flaws (for example ~ how comes no one ever falls through these Ley Lines by accident, surely that would be happening all the time if they are scattered around everywhere? ) but still I enjoyed it immensely asnd canhighly recommend it even if it isn't quite worthy enough to make my 1001 List. Oh, and a big thank-you must go to http://booksneeze.com/ for supplying me with a free E-copy in exchange for this review! Now I just need to read the next book in the series, The Bone House, which continues the story.....

Two new additions to my 1001 Books List......

Two new additions to my 1001 Books List are the novels The Last Gasp by Trevor Hoyle and Yesterdays Gone by Sean Platt and David.W.Wright....
 
First up, The Last Gasp:- 

"The Last Gasp is a science fiction novel first published in the mid-eighties that is part ecological thriller/ part cold war spy drama and part science fact! It takes a pre-emptive glance at one possible future for our planet if we carry on the way we are going and attempts to highlight the dangers of ignoring vital enviromental signs that might have far-reaching consequences for the Earth!

Marine biologist Gavin Chase is performing experiments in the Antarctic when a Russian scientist quite literally comes storming into camp. Badly injured and unable to talk any english, his last act, before being sheparded out to an American military base for interrogation, is to give Chase a standard scientific formula written on paper and to pass on the name of one of his associates. Meanwhile, out in the Pacific, recluse Theo Dettrick makes a startling discovery and realises that the future of the Earth is in jeopardy. Unfortunately no one is willing to listen to his fears for the future and big corporations just wish him silenced. Over the next few decades, his predictions for the enviroment begin to come true...but is it now too late to act?

This is one of my favourite books of all time that I have read several times over the years and which came out long before we had films like The Day After Tomorrow. It is very bleak at times but has a chilling message that should not be ignored. Namely that the needs of our planet vastly outweigh individual country's political gain and that only by working together can we hope to turn the tide of damage we have caused! Unfortunately, with the negative real-life results of events like the recent Green conference in Copenhagen, it largely looks as though this is a message being ignored by the Goverments of our world. The possible end repercussions for behaviour for this are very accurately and brilliantly explored in this novel and though it may be fiction, the themes and ideas herein examined are not! 

The story is told over several years, decades even and each new segment of the tale carries on several years after the last with handy recaps of what has gone on inbetween in a style that at no times feels forced or artifical. By following the same cast of characters too, Hoyle is able to pull you into the story and keep you interested and there is no point when this stretches credubilty. The other good thing about it too though is that ithe novel ends not with despair but with a faint glimmer of hope for humanity leaving you with a few last vestiges of postivity!! Too often these kind of books can leave you feeling depressed and unhopeful....here, at least, there is one small glimmer of light left at the end of the tunnel. That is not to be said that everything is all resolved and tied off neatly however, because that would be too convienient and unfaithful to the rest of the novel, but simply that all is not lost in the final pages!" 

Next, Yesterday's Gone:-

"Yesterday's Gone is a mini-series of short interconected novellas inspired by the likes of Stephen King's Green Mile series and the old cliffhanger serials of days gone by. Available either in seperate E-book episodes or collected together in one "season", the story is a chilling one that twists and turns for many miles before reaching an impossibly infuriating climax that leaves the reader hungering for more and desperate for answers.....

The story is a simple one. A group of people, spread out amongst America, all wake up simultaneously to discover that their loved ones and much of the population have disappeared with no apparent trace. It is as though they are just simply....gone. Each character then sets off in search of other survivors, some of them eventually coming together and forming bonds, desperate to find some kind of answers. But more and more mysteries confound them at every turn.......mass graves are discovered along the highways; strange creatures begin emerging and evolving ~ their infection passed on through the exchange of bodily fluids, often in very messy and disgusting ways; and signals begin getting heard, coming from some kind of Military Outpost on a remote island. And all through this, one question remains....what the frack is going on?

This is a great thriller that keeps you gripped at every twist and gasping at every new turn of events. The survivors, both those together and those alone, are a real mixed bag ranging from a murderous serial killer to a guy who may or may not be a former Goverment Agent through to a mother and daughter and a lowly everyman who just wants to find his son. And action? This book is full of action in every chapter! The only thing not forthcoming is any definite answers and, in that way, this book closely follows the style of modern T.V shows such as Lost. In fact, everything about this book is written as if it was a T.V show with chapters referred to as "Episodes" and the collection here referred to as "Season One"!

Season Two has just been released in its entirety for less than a Fiver and this Season was priced at a similar price on Kindle last year. I downloaded the first Episode for free and was hooked! This is post-apocalypse end-of-the-world fiction of the ike you have never seen before! It is brilliant, it is frustrating, it is often scary and always keeps you on your toes. Honestly, E-books don't get much better than this and I cannot recommend it enough!"

A quick look at more books wot I have read.......

So...i keep promising you an update on the Kindle books etc that I have been reading so thought that it was high time that I finally got around and done it. Let's start with...

THE GOOD...

The first book I want to talk about, and a new addition to my 1001 Books And Authors To Read Before You Die List, is Man Of Wax written by the same author who wrote The Dishonoured Dead; an alternative Zombie novel that itself was a recent addition to The List. Here is what I said about it on Dooyoo...

"Man Of Wax is the first E-book in a new trilogy from the author of The Dishonoured Dead; an alternative Zombie tale that some may recall I raved about a few weeks ago on here. The story takes an ordinary everyman and puts him in a series of dangerous scenarios as he fights to try and discover who is behind the kidnapping of his wife and daughter.

The novel begins with Ben Anderson waking in a Motel room with no idea how he got there. On the back of the bathroom door, presumably written in blood, are the words "Let the game begin...". A few minutes later, he recieves delivery of a Cell Phone, car keys and 500 Dollars in cash in a wallet. A voice on the other end of the phone tells him his name is Simon and that they are about to start a sinister game of Simon Says. Failure to comply will result in his wife and daughter being tortured and maybe even killed. Ben's first task is to steal a Snickers bar from a garage but from then on the stakes get higher and higher as Simon attempts to push Ben closer and closer to the edge......

But someone else is watching Ben with his own private agenda and when they intervene, suddenly Ben's life starts getting very complicated indeed!

This is a great thriller that takes its influence from films like Phonebooth or The Hitcher and novels like Dean Koontz's The Husband but gives them all its own unique twist. It is written paticularly well, is much better written than The Dishonoured Dead, and quickly pulls you in and keeps you gripped throughout. At times it is quite grim and very dark in nature and the tension and suspense it fills you with lasts long after you have turned the final page. This novel though is just part of a much bigger story and reading this leaves you in no uncertain terms that you are going to want to pick up the next installment when it is published sometime in the next couple of months!" 

Next up is another addition to my 1001 List ~ Agent 6 by Tom Rob Smith. Agent 6 is the final part in Smith's trilogy of novels that began with the highly acclaimed Child 44 (itself an entry on my List) and continued with the slightly inferior Secret Speech. Set both before and after these novels, the story that is the main focus for Agent 6 spans several decades and looks heavily at the relations between America and Russia during the period of The Cold War with a large interlude dealing with Russia's occupation of Afghanistan in between. 

This time around, Leo Demidov has left the Secret Police and is trying to likewise leave his old life behind him and start anew. But the past has an awful way of catching up with you and when Leo's wife, Raisa, and his two adopted daughters are allowed passage to America to take part in a peace concert that is supposed to support the ongoing relations between Russia and America, things go horribly wrong and personal tragedy strikes. 

Obsessed with finding a killer, Leo goes ever so slightly off the rails and, finding it difficult to cope, takes up an Opium addiction and re-enlists in the Soviet Army stationed in Afghanistan. A cycle of events that will end up seeing Leo's life go full circle in Tom Rob Smith's most compelling and addictive novel to date!

This is like A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini all over again at times with its really horrific scenes set in an Afghanistan  dominated by Russian Forces but told from a different viewpoint and perspective. Certainly there are parts of this novel that have a similar affect on your senses! I cannot stress enough that this is a real return to form for Tom Rob Smith and that this latest book is a vast improvement on The Secret Speech and easily as gripping as Child 44!

Very rarely am I as moved as I was by this book and it is one that will stay with me for much time to come. It is great to travel back into the main character, Leo's life once more just as it is equally great to see the conclusion to his story that began so long ago in Child 44.  This is my recommendation for the month and a book I really think everyone should read ~ what's more, you don't have to have read the previous books as this is one of those novels strong enough to stand on its own merits though, obviously, if you have read Child 44 or Secret Seech then you will be more familiar with the characters who appear here!

Agent 6 is one of those books that you sincerely wish you could just give 6 stars out of 5, it is THAT good!

Next up, here's my review of Chelea Cain's latest  thriller, THE NIGHT SEASON: 


"The Night Season is Chelsea Cain's fourth thriller in her best-selling series and the first not to feature serial killer, Gretchen Lowell in a starring role. Fear ye not though because Archie Sheridan and his team, including intrepid reporter Susan Ward, are all back for another outing in this, her most ambitious novel yet, which deviates away from her normal, established pattern to bring something fresh and new to the table.

It is the rainy season and the streets of Portland are in panic as floods threaten to wash away much of the older regions of the town. But the floods have brought out not just the Emergency Services but also the remains of a skeleton who died sometime around the last time Portland flooded. Susan thinks she has story. Her Editor not so much. And then it becomes apparent that a spate of recent drownings were in fact actually murdered! How are these two stories related, if at all? Susan becomes determined as always to find out but at what cost to her and her friends?

This is another great thriller from awesome author, Chelsea Cain! I love the alternative murder weapon used in this story (which I will not reveal but suffice to say, it is a doozy!) and the fact that Chelsea has added a unique and innovative touch to what so could easily have become just your average-run-of-the-mill crime thriller without the usual guest apperance of Beauty Killer, Gretchen.

As always, Chelsea keeps you on your toes throughout and, despite this getting some negative reviews from fans on Amazon, I actually like this more BECAUSE it concentrates on something other than Gretchen Lowell, whom we have come to expect in every Archie Sheridan thriller so far. It is good to see that Archie can, in fact, survive on his own merits without Gretchen and does not need her to carry a plot and this is easily one of the best thrillers I have read in months and definitely right up there with her previous novels to date!

Comes highly recommended!"

 

THE BAD....

 

In brief, other books that I have read in recent months include ALICE IN DEADLAND BY MAINAK DHAR ~ not a parody as the title might suggest but a serious post-apocalyptic Zombie novel based in India where the only blonde-haired white girl left in the country (her father was based at The American Embassy when the outbreak occurred) is mistaken as the fullfillment of a prophecy held by a half-Zombie/ half-Human Queen. A prophecy that fortells of a girl who will help bring about a peaceful resolution between Zombie and Human and see the two living alongside each other. Of course, the Queen is quite mad and her prophecy is no more than an old, faded copy of Alice In Wonderland but there are some okay moments in this book and it is a good attempt to try and do something diferent with the Genre; it just doesn't quite work.

AND THE UGLY.....

 

AN APPLE FOR ZOE BY THOMAS AMO comes next and this is another one of those books that starts off well then disintegrates into a confused and convoluted mess! It begins with a murder mystery whose clues lead a pair of Homicide Detectives to the infamous hotel where Fats Domino once allegedly raped a girl with a Coke bottle and where Al Johnson died. From there, everything gets a bit messy as we end up in a tale of Demonic posession with Dark forces trying to break through into our world. Could've been better but it is just so badly written that, towards the half-way point, you start to realise you haven't a clue what is going on....


Next up is PHOBIA BY ELIZABETH PARKER; a dull psychological thriller about a man with an affliction that leaves him panicked both in the dark and small places who falls for a kindred spirit whose ex kills people by exploiting their phobias. This was okay but took too long to get going and when it did, it was predictable....A big no-no from me!


Oh and finally, MESSAGES BY J.MICHAEL HILEMAN. Here is what I wrote about it on Dooyoo again.....


"David Chance is a lowly back-room boy working in a News Studio whose job is less than enthralling. One day whilst working on edits, he lets his attention wander and picks random words from objects around him in a vague attempt to construct a sentence. A few minutes later, his Boss tells him he needs to head out to his Office to retrieve a file just as Chance's randomly constructed sentence predicted a few seconds before. Thinking it was all just a coincidence, Chance plays the same game on the drive home and gets the message "Stop Now!" Chance hits the brakes as a car behind him overtakes angrily and a few seconds later watches as that car is totalled by a truck that had jumped the lights! Suddenly Chance is scared. Is somebody trying to send him messages?

Chance's brother-in-law thinks it is all just hokum. His wife has more than enough on her plate to deal with. His neighbour thinks it is God working in his own infamously mysterious way and that there is a purpose behind the messages that Chance should definitely pay heed to. When Chance's eyes are next drawn to a message that seems to suggest an attempt on the President's life, he finds himself pulled into a dangerous web of conspiracy and betrayal. And when Chance learns that someone is also aiming to plant a dirty bomb somewhere in the city, it quickly becomes apparent that someone or something, some divine force or entity, wants Chance to stop not just the President's asassination but also the bomb from going off and killing thousands of innocent bystanders in the process. Is it God or something else that is working through him?

This is an okay thriller with lots of potential. Unfortunately it never quite lives up to that potential. There seems to be a heavily religious theme running all through this book and yet that theme is contradicted at the end by the author suggesting that in fact, anyone believing themselves to be recieving prophetic messages like the main character in his book should probably be best seeking psychiatric help. This would be okay if the book didn't seem to ram home the idea that God speaks to us each and everyday if only we would open our eyes to what he is saying. But the fact that it does, coupled with the authors notes at the end, seems to give off very mixed signals.

I didn't like the way either that, around the half-way point of this story, the whole thing gets a little cliched in its take on the War On Terror. The bad guys are predictably Middle-Eastern and there is this whole post-911 feel to it that just comes across as clumsy and unnessecary! I'm not saying this is a BAD novel because it isn't, it just has a few too many flaws and seems to take itself, at times, far too seriously for my liking!

I really thought I was going to enjoy this as it had lots of glowing recommendations both at the beginning of the book and on Amazon. But instead what could have been a great idea and a totally interesting concept simply feels wasted on a very sub-standard plot.

For trying very hard to be innovative and original, I give this 3 stars. Unfortunately, I don't feel able to give it any more. Not even if God himself asks me too!"

Finally there's PATIENT ZERO BY JONATHAN MABERRY, a book that started well, showed promise but ultimately disappointed. Again, here's my Dooyoo review.... 

"Patient Zero is a brave attempt to try and do something different with the Zombie novel. And why not? The market is flooded right now, with many of the stories on offer consisting of the usual pulp post-apocalyptic fare that is tall on action, short on originality but still seems to sell. A few stand-out exceptions in recent times include offerings from horror writer, Brian Keene, which depict Zombies as vessels for a demonic infestation and Robert Swartwood's Dishonoured Dead which attempts to reverse the usual perspective and look at things from a Zombie viewpoint.

In Jonathan Maberry's fast-paced techno-thriller, our hero is Joe Ledger; a Cop involved in an Anti-Terorist swoop on a warehouse, accompanied by Homeland Security. Things all go a bit pear-shaped, some of the terrorists get away in a couple of trucks, only one of which the Task Force manage to track, and Ledger is deemed at least part-way responsible by some of those involved. Called in for a meeting with a secret Goverment Department, he instead finds himself being interviewed for a potential vacancy and quickly learns exactly what the Terrorists were up to in that warehouse when he is made to face one of them he thought he had killed......

It seems the Terrorists have created a new Bio-Weapon that turns men into psychotic animals that are extremely hard to kill and keep going even after their bodily functions have long begun to shut down. They are planning to utilise it in a strike against the West.....the only question is where and when......

This is not a bad thriller that certainly kept me entertained for about two-thirds of the book before it all began to get a bit repetitive and kind of just ran out of steam towards the end. It does get to a point in this book where you begin to wonder if Joe Ledger isn't some kind of super-human himself, the amount of Zombie ass he is able to kick, and the climax of this book just feels a bit too familiar and tired as the First Lady is put into jeopardy and has to be saved.

This novel is okay but I am not sure I would read any more from this author if I had to pay for subsequent volumes and there are several others written in this same universe that carry on from here. It all just felt a bit too gung-ho and though it was okay, it never really progressed beyond that to awesome though I applaud the author's efforts to try something new and original!"

 

I'm back! (At your inconvenience!)

Well, finally I have managed to get around to writing in here again after an (extended) xmas hiatus that I'm sorry has lasted far longer this year than in previous years. Some of those amongst you still reading this must have of thought I had abandoned you ~ no such luck fuckers! No excuses, I'm afraid, just that I'm lazy and haven't really felt bothered to write again. Problem is, as I might have said before ~ I honestly don't remember, I get out of the habit over the busy xmas period and then just find it hard to get back on the horse again....

The more observant of you will have noticed I have edited the layout of this Blog slightly to incorporate my personal 1001 books and authors to read before you die list ~ this is to alleviate the need to keep publishing updates as each new book will now simply be added to the list on my right after I have discussed it here first. You might also notice that the number of books/authors on the list has decreased. This is not due to anything or anyone being taken off but merely due to me editing how books appear on the list. Therefore all Robin Hobb's books are now collected on the list inntheir various trilogies and I have grouped stuff like John Connolly's Charlie Parker novels together etc....

I know, I know ~ I keep fiddling with it but this is now the definitive version of my list and I will not fiddle with it any more I promise. Once something is added to the list on the right, then it is now going to stay there regardless of any sudden impulses of mine to mess about with it any more!

The eagle-eyed amongst you might also notice there are a few new books on there. These include: the dishonoured dead by robert swartford~ an alternative zombie novel which deals with a future in which the usual conventions are reversed and we, the living, have become the hunted. The zombies all eat, have children and have created a society for themselves based around our former civilisation but have banned all forms of expressionism such as writing and art as they consider them to be the contributing factors that made us weak. But there are those who believe the living have rights too and have begun conducting acts of terrorism in a bid to bring forth a society where Zombies and humans can live alongside one another. 

This is a great Kindle book that really attempts and achieves something different with the genre and is innovative for the fact that it is, as far as I know, totally unique in its perspective. It has a few flaws and a few inconsisticies but these can be forgiven by the fact that this whole thing works really well like a skewed modern version of Aldous Huxley's Brave New World!

Also new to the list is The Icarus Void; the best sci-fi novel I have read this year and my favourite book this year overall. The Icarus is a revolutionary new Spacecraft, travelling closer to the Sun than any other ship before it, on a Research mission to investigate the dying star's atmosphere and examine the solar radiation it produces. When the crew discover an alien artifact already in orbit around the Sun, certain members of the Science team become obsessed with getting the artifact onboard before it can be lost forever.....but this is just the start in a perilous and dangerous series of events that end up putting everyone in jeopardy as they work to discover the secret of the artifact. 

This book was fracking brilliant like a cross between Event Horizon, Sphere and Aliens with shades of Disney's Black Hole thrown in and Danny Boyle's Sunshine for good measure. With so much heavy influence, you would think this Kindle book could not live up to expectations but you would be wrong! This book kept me on edge for the whole time I was reading it and I literally could not put it down!

Next up is The Culled; the first of a sereies of novels set in a world devastated by a pandemic that takes out anyone who hasn't got type O blood. The main character is a survivor, holed up in an old Secret Service office block where he once worked, who recieves a signal using codes he recognises sending him half-way across the world in pursuit. A bit pulp sci-fi but, like Deathlands, is an awesome, awesome tale that really keeps you hooked!


Next up is George.R.R.Martin's Song Of Ice And Fire; a fantasy series set in a world beset by fratricide, incest, treachery and betrayal and the series on which the recent Game Of Thrones T.V series was based. You all know how much I adore the work of Robin Hobb? Well, Martin is as good if not a little better at times. If Robin is the Quennof fantasy fiction then George.R.R.Martin is its King.....

Right that's it for now but will try and write more next few days if I don't get a chance later. I need to try and update you in what's going on in my life and add a few more titles to my 1001 List...until then, Goodbyeeeeeeeeeee!

Sparky xxx

Correspendence from an author.....

So, I am a member of a group on Facebook called Free Ebooks UK-Sharing Group and the other day saw a couple of posts by Christopher Hunter who, as you may recall, wrote the excellent Unravelling that I recently download and added to my 1001  List. So, I decided to post a Link to my Blog there and tell him how brilliant I thought his book was. His response....."Wow Mark, thank you!!! This has made my day and I was already having a good one as was. I will share the link with others, and just to point out, I consider this a novella trilogy as opposed to a novel trilogy. It's open to personal interpretation (some people have even claimed this as a short story!), but just wanted to give you the author's statement. Really appreciate you taking the time and hope you enjoy the rest of the series. :-D"

How cool is that? 

In other news, I also received the following E-mail from author, Michael Winn:

 

"Hey, Mark. I’m Michael Winn, the author of an ebook you’ve recently downloaded from Amazon. My publisher, Janice, at Janday Publishing e-mailed you a free gift certificate for The Dead Dog and Other Tales of Tragedy and Triumph. If you’ve had time to read it, I would be very grateful if you would post a short review on Amazon UK. I’m anxious to know the thoughts of avid readers. Hopefully you loved the book and will have some good things to say. And if you didn’t like the book? Well, as my mom taught me, sometimes it’s more polite to say nothing at all... :) Either way, if you post a review and would like to receive a free copy of a second book from the publisher, just let me know at this email or contact me through Facebook – I’ll be sure to let the publisher know to send you one right away. Thanks!

Kind Regards,

M.J. Winn"

I quite enjoyed getting that E-mail right up until the point where he says  "And if you didn’t like the book? Well, as my mom taught me, sometimes it’s more polite to say nothing at all." Errrr.....censorship!!??!! What, you only want to hear my opinion if I enjoyed the book? Errrr...sorry but it doesn't work like that! Actually I just read the book, a collection of short stories, and pretty much thought it dull and uninspiring with stories that never seemed to go anywhere and didn't have any point to them! Remember I talked about Virtual kindling? Well, along with Surviving The Fog, this E-book is certainly it! Big question is do I tell him what I think?

I think discretion has to be the better part of valour but I will be posting a passively negative review on Amazon because I think it is my due as an amateur reviewer. I have a duty to report how this book made me feel and I refuse to lie, either by omission or more directly, because it goes against all my principles!

The other book I have just finished is Amanda Hocking's Hollow land which is a zombie apocalypse novel very much in the vein of 28 Days and Weeks later! The book begins with Remy, a young teenage girl quarantined in a Government Facility, finding herself fighting for her life when security becomes compromised. Forced to flee, she sets off in search of her baby brother who was one of the first to be evacuated. Because her brother has a secret; and one that has ramifications for the future of the entire human race!

This was a good book aimed at younger readers and if the ending was a tad flat, it was only because it is paving the way for a sequel! I wouldn't say it was brilliant but was certainly better than Zombie Apocalypse recently reviewed by Lainy over on So Many Books, Not Enough Time recently which was highly original, depicting the use of Twitter during the beginning of the Zombie outbreak amongst other things, but which ended on a very silly and almost damaging note that threatened to discredit all that came before. At least Hollow Land stays pretty consistent throughout and is what it is ~ a teenage Zombie novel that flows at a fast pace and is reminiscent of Justin Cronin's The Passage at times.

Next to read on Kindle ~ have just downloaded a free short story from F.Paul Wilson from web-site Smashwords that details the early days of the conflict between Glaeken and Rasalom from his Adversary and Repairman Jack series!!! Am so excited to have found this for free and cannot wait to read this being a big fan of his Secret History Of The World!! The link to download it yourself is here: 

http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/23892  The book comes in a Mobi file which you can download to your Kindle using a USB cable!

Oh, I just remembered, I have also recently read the short story, Tales From The Void:Scarecrow which I downloaded from Smashwords. A short horror tale set in an alternative world of Goblins and Trolls it was alright but nothing groundbreaking and okay for what it was. Basically a force of Magick breathes through from something never fully explained called The Void, awakening an ancient evil lying at rest inside an old scarecrow. One to read only if you have nothing better on the go....until next time....

Happy reading......luv Sparky xxxxx

Joining the reading revolution......

Once again I have proved to myself why I should be careful before adding book titles to my 1001 List willy-nilly as a book I might have added fails to bear up under scrutiny. I had been all set to add James Bradley's The Resurrectionist to my list when I decided to re-read it figuring, as it is a short book, it would not take me too long. Unfortunately, though I enjoyed it first time around, on second reading I found it all to be a bit disappointing!

The story begins in Georgian London with Gabriel Swift apprenticing to a renowned Anatomist only to fall foul to the pleasures of Opium and Dice and who then finds himself falling in with a notorious Body-Snatcher or Resurrectionist when it becomes time to pay his dues. His Master expels him from his Apprenticeship and things all go a bit foul. Then the story jumps to Australia in its closing chapters as Swift attempts to start a new life and leave his demons behind....

 What starts off promising ends up being a bit of a shambles. The book is good but as a complete whole feels fragmented and a bit disparate from itself at times. It is a shame as I recently recommended this to someone who has it on their TBR pile and was considering picking it up! That said, I seemingly enjoyed this more first time around. It is just a shame that it did not match up to my high expecting standards upon a second read!

In case some of you may not have known, last week was my birthday. Mrs.Sparky bought me a Touch-Screen Smart Phone that I am slowly getting to grips with with my fat and clumsy fingers, her mum bought me John Connolly's latest Charlie Parker thriller and I used the rest of my money to buy a Kindle!

I had been umming and aahing about buying one for some time but an E-mail from the Martyn Lewis Money-Saving website finally convinced me! Amazon has just released a new Slim-line version of their Kindle with no Keyboard so have slashed the price of the original models but also have begun selling refurbished Kindles at a bargain price too! Seeing as how the refurbished models still come with a years warranty, I went for the refurbished (I'm not proud!) and I love it! Though I do feel a little bit of a traitor to my Tree books, frak it!

Downloading a book to your Kindle takes sixty seconds tops, it has an in-built dictionary so no more looking up words you don't know and even has a web browser that works off of your Wi-Fi so that you can access the web! I went for the wireless option not the 3G so I cannot access the web anywhere but I don't think I will need that option at any rate. On Thursday, I was all over Facebook shouting out to the world about my new Kindle and cannot shut up about it at home either. I am so excited!

The good thing is that there are plenty of books that you can download for free. Many of the classics are out of copyright so you can get hold of them easily enough but there are also pages on Amazon of free indie authors whose novels are available for nought too! My good friend Lainy (whose Blog "So Many Books, So Little Time" {shameless plug}so encapsulates my whole philosophy when it comes to reading) has already recommended one particular E-book for me and so far, I am loving it! But I have also downloaded another couple of freebies!

All of which means that soon I have decided to start a new irregular feature: Sparky's Kindle Korner in which I will be taking an irrelevant look at some of the stuff you can download from the net for your Kindle and telling you whether or not it is any good! My plan (a work in progress) is to not give it any kind of usual rating but instead mark it in one of two categories: if I rate it Kindle that means it is a good read worth downloading, but if I rate it Kindling it means it is only good as fuel for a virtual conflagration!

Good idea or not? Thoughts would be appreciated.......

Anyway, that's all for now ~ this is Sparky signing out! Laters Taters!