A Limited Justice
A man murdered outside his shop in Belfast, A WPC drowned and possibly raped found in the River Bann.
Two cases with apparently no links in this gripping first case for DCI Marc Craig. When the murderer strikes closer to home, with an attempt on a fellow police officer it becomes a race to find the killer before more bodies turn up.
This first novel by former police forensic medical examiner Catriona King is a tightly written, fast paced novel that reveals just enough along the way to keep you guessing until the unexpected reveal.
The characters of Marc Craig and his team, both police and civilian, are believable and have a depth to them that other authors don't always capture. Each character comes across as an individual, each with something different to bring to the team. I am hoping there will be many more stories to follow this one as the tale leaves us with unfinished business with some team members.
As for the murderer - as the story unfolds and you get to the reasons behind the crimes committed, you may get to thinking "what would I do under the same circumstances" and you may be surprised at the answer you come up with.
As a novel - a fantastic achievement. As a first novel - even more so. There is a new star on the scene and a brightly shining one at that.
Belfast needs its' own detective - and in DCI Marc Craig it now has one
Monday, 20 August 2012
Wednesday, 15 August 2012
RIP Harry Harrison
Woke up today to the news that author Harry Harrison has passed away at the age of 87. Mr Harrison was the author that moved my reading from Dr Who novelisations to Science Fiction as a much younger man.
I first came to his work via 2000AD comic who ran a comic strip based on The Stainless Steel Rat and ,later, further adventures of "Slippery" Jim diGriz (the aforementioned Rat).
For bringing me to mainstream sci fi I will always be grateful.
Rest In Peace Harry Harrison and thanks for the stories
I first came to his work via 2000AD comic who ran a comic strip based on The Stainless Steel Rat and ,later, further adventures of "Slippery" Jim diGriz (the aforementioned Rat).
For bringing me to mainstream sci fi I will always be grateful.
Rest In Peace Harry Harrison and thanks for the stories
Song of the Shaman by Robert Franks (a review)
This book is the third in the Glass Apple series and takes place a bout 18
months after book 2.
Anna is still missing in time and Jason, Kylie and Jason's friend the librarian Ant travel back to early America, hoping to find her (although Ant doesn't really want to).
Gobswhistle and Etain remain in the here and now with another new character, the American Emma who is missing her husband and son.
For me, the sections with Gobswhistle et al were the highlight of this book as they seemed to be followed by carnage, chaos, destruction and general mayhem but in a mostly comical way.
The threat of The Medb is still there and there is a nice twist at the end that sets both story strands up nicely for book four, and for me book four cannot come soon enough.
An excellent addition to an excellent series. If you haven't dipped into the world of The Glass Apple yet I can highly recommend it.
Anna is still missing in time and Jason, Kylie and Jason's friend the librarian Ant travel back to early America, hoping to find her (although Ant doesn't really want to).
Gobswhistle and Etain remain in the here and now with another new character, the American Emma who is missing her husband and son.
For me, the sections with Gobswhistle et al were the highlight of this book as they seemed to be followed by carnage, chaos, destruction and general mayhem but in a mostly comical way.
The threat of The Medb is still there and there is a nice twist at the end that sets both story strands up nicely for book four, and for me book four cannot come soon enough.
An excellent addition to an excellent series. If you haven't dipped into the world of The Glass Apple yet I can highly recommend it.
Wednesday, 1 August 2012
The Coffee Shop by Lauren Hunter (a review)
A very cleverly told tale of boy meets girl with a supernatural twist.
Derrick meets Annie when he visits a different coffee shop to usual. They get on like a house on fire but .........it's all a dream.
On waking, he leaves his apartment and due to a traffic problem he visits the coffee shop he dreamt of last night and his dream comes to pass....and that's when things start to get really interesting.
In the dream Derrick and Annie were together for 5 months but when he makes small adjustments to events the future he has is not the future of the dream. As Derrick tries to change things back there is a lot of to-ing and fro-ing which can get a tad confusing at times but all comes together later on.
I felt that this story could become a film very easily and hope it does.
I found this to be a very enjoyable read and not easy to put down. Highly recommeneded
Derrick meets Annie when he visits a different coffee shop to usual. They get on like a house on fire but .........it's all a dream.
On waking, he leaves his apartment and due to a traffic problem he visits the coffee shop he dreamt of last night and his dream comes to pass....and that's when things start to get really interesting.
In the dream Derrick and Annie were together for 5 months but when he makes small adjustments to events the future he has is not the future of the dream. As Derrick tries to change things back there is a lot of to-ing and fro-ing which can get a tad confusing at times but all comes together later on.
I felt that this story could become a film very easily and hope it does.
I found this to be a very enjoyable read and not easy to put down. Highly recommeneded
Monday, 30 July 2012
King's Champion by Cas Peace (a review)
This book carries straight on from part 1 of the Artesans of Albia series,
King's Envoy and as such you need to read King's Envoy first to really
appreciate what is going on.
We start with the companions in a mad chase away from the dungeons where Major Sullyan has been held captive and during the healing process the Major needs it is found that she will be unable to cross the veils and return to her home realm of Albia.
She makes the decision to offer her help to The Heirarch, the ruler of the realm of Andaryon, in his battle against Lord Rykan, the man who held Sullyan captive. The biggest problem is that women in Andaryan are very much looked down on and the men hold all the power. If Sullyan is to be accepted she has a lot to prove and due to her injuries sustained at the hands of Rykan she may not even survive to the final battle.
Once again, with this second book, Cas Peace shows herself to be a wonderfully gifted storyteller. Her descriptive skills allow you to live the book, not just read it and her battle tactics are as well written as it gets.
But it is with the characters that Ms. Peace really excels. As before Major Sullyan is one of the best and most believable female leads in fantasy fiction but all the characters are really well drawn. Lord Rykan is possibly one of the nastiest, most evil and hateful 'bad guys' yet and his general, Sonten is just plain despicable.
This is a book/series you can get lost in for hours, if not days but be warned, this is an author with the ability to tear at the heartstrings and leave you drained of emotion. This book will move you like possibly no other of its kind.
I predict great things for Cas Peace.
We start with the companions in a mad chase away from the dungeons where Major Sullyan has been held captive and during the healing process the Major needs it is found that she will be unable to cross the veils and return to her home realm of Albia.
She makes the decision to offer her help to The Heirarch, the ruler of the realm of Andaryon, in his battle against Lord Rykan, the man who held Sullyan captive. The biggest problem is that women in Andaryan are very much looked down on and the men hold all the power. If Sullyan is to be accepted she has a lot to prove and due to her injuries sustained at the hands of Rykan she may not even survive to the final battle.
Once again, with this second book, Cas Peace shows herself to be a wonderfully gifted storyteller. Her descriptive skills allow you to live the book, not just read it and her battle tactics are as well written as it gets.
But it is with the characters that Ms. Peace really excels. As before Major Sullyan is one of the best and most believable female leads in fantasy fiction but all the characters are really well drawn. Lord Rykan is possibly one of the nastiest, most evil and hateful 'bad guys' yet and his general, Sonten is just plain despicable.
This is a book/series you can get lost in for hours, if not days but be warned, this is an author with the ability to tear at the heartstrings and leave you drained of emotion. This book will move you like possibly no other of its kind.
I predict great things for Cas Peace.
Thursday, 26 July 2012
PDF's - a small post.
just a quick word to let people know that I can now accept PDF's for reviews (got a bb playbook and it sawesome
Sunday, 22 July 2012
Review thoughts
I know I went through this back in March but I do feel it is worth going over again.
I recieved a tweet this morning asking if I charged for the reviews I do, so anyone wanting reviews - this one is for you.
I cannot and will not accept payment for the reviews I do. This just doesn't feel right to me. If someone says "I'd like to have you review my book and here's £xx" it would stop me from feeling like I have given an honest review. I would always be wondering if people thought the book was, for instance, a 3* book that had bought an extra *.
I review because I love reading - that's the bottom line. If I read a book and really enjoy it the review is just my way of saying "have a look at this.
Now, here's an idea - if you ask me to review for you and you like the review, go do something good. Next time you pass a charity box chuck a £/Euro/Dollar etc in or do something to help a literacy group in your area, something like that.
So, in short, No - I don't charge for book reviews (although if a publisher wanted to employ me as a reviewer, that's a different kettle of cupcakes!).
If you like what I do tell others - it really is a good feeling when you get a tweet or an email saying "You reviewed a book for person x and person x has reccommended you"
I recieved a tweet this morning asking if I charged for the reviews I do, so anyone wanting reviews - this one is for you.
I cannot and will not accept payment for the reviews I do. This just doesn't feel right to me. If someone says "I'd like to have you review my book and here's £xx" it would stop me from feeling like I have given an honest review. I would always be wondering if people thought the book was, for instance, a 3* book that had bought an extra *.
I review because I love reading - that's the bottom line. If I read a book and really enjoy it the review is just my way of saying "have a look at this.
Now, here's an idea - if you ask me to review for you and you like the review, go do something good. Next time you pass a charity box chuck a £/Euro/Dollar etc in or do something to help a literacy group in your area, something like that.
So, in short, No - I don't charge for book reviews (although if a publisher wanted to employ me as a reviewer, that's a different kettle of cupcakes!).
If you like what I do tell others - it really is a good feeling when you get a tweet or an email saying "You reviewed a book for person x and person x has reccommended you"
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