The Monk - Tim Sullivan

 

To find a murderer, you need a motive . . .

THE DETECTIVE
DS George Cross has always wondered why his mother left him when he was a child. Now she is back in his life, he suddenly has answers. But this unexpected reunion is not anything he's used to dealing with. When a disturbing case lands on his desk, he is almost thankful for the return to normality.

THE QUESTION
The body of a monk is found savagely beaten to death in a woodland near Bristol. Nothing is known about Brother Dominic's past, which makes investigating difficult. How can Cross unpick a crime when they don't know anything about the victim? And why would someone want to harm a monk?

THE PAST
Discovering who Brother Dominic once was only makes the picture more puzzling. He was a much-loved and respected friend, brother, son – he had no enemies. Or, at least, none that are obvious. But looking into his past reveals that he was a very wealthy man, that he sacrificed it all for his faith. For a man who has nothing, it seems strange that greed could be the motive for his murder. But greed is a sin after all...

This was my first interaction with DS George Cross and his team and, to be honest, as a character he took a bit of getting used to. It cannot be easy writing someone like this, a person obviously on the spectrum and in a leadership role but Sullivan manages to pull it off. Cross comes across as rude at times and quite abrupt but it's clear from early on that his team work well around him and between them all they get the job done.

The case this time is the brutal beating and murder of a monk, Brother Dominic, who's body is found in woodland near Bristol. It is a case that needs Cross and team to unravel the previous life of the victim before he took Holy Orders and that is a job in itself.

With a good bit of the story taking place in and around the Monastery this was a different kind of scene than I am used to but it certainly came across well. Seeing Cross looking on the monastic lifestyle as something that would appeal to him also rang true (I work with people on the spectrum and know how much the world can be invasive to them at times). So, yes, Mr Sullivan, a job well done here.

The mystery itself is a twisty one with a few moments that wrong-footed me and I enjoyed it a lot - enough so that I am in the process of looking up the four previous books in the series (mid series is never the best place to start but this book did work ok on its own).

4/5*

Thanks to Anne Cater and Random Things Tours for inviting me onto the tour and providing the review copy (all views are my own). Please have a look at the posts by the other bloggers (below)

Herald of the Black Moon - Stephen Deas

 

'The Wraiths have raised an army of the dead. An army of the living is marching on the throne. Caught in the middle, Myla is supposed to be spying on a sorceress who can read minds. Things are not going well.

Far away, Seth and Fings are trying their hardest to have nothing to do with any of this. All Fings has to do is not steal anything. All Seth has to do is not meddle with Forbidden Magics. All they have to do is lie low. And for once, it’s all going swimmingly. Until, that is, Fings sees a face he thought they’d left behind in the ashes of Deephaven.

As Seth’s past catches up with him and Myla unravels the true nature of the Empire’s new Princess-Regent, the trio converge on the dead city of Valladrune. Armed with sinister secret behind an old war, they once more hold the fate of the Empire in their reluctant hands.

If only they knew what the heck to do with it.'

⚫

So, here we are then, the end of the road for Seth, Myla and Fings. Their world seems a little bigger and a whole lot more broken. Myla is up to her neck in espionage, Seth is closer than ever to 'the dark side' and Fings is . . . well, Fings is just being Fings, wanting everything to be right and just as it used to be. It's fair to say there is a way to go before he gets even a sniff of his happy ending. 

I don't know how it happened but this series passed me by untill this third and final book. In a way that's disappointing because I would have been in this world with these characters a lot sooner but on the plus side (thanks to those lovely people at Angry Robot) I got to binge the series in one go. I think the things that stood out for me most with this series was the characters and their conversations, how Deas makes them feel real, not just words on a page. It's the difference between caring about a character and wanting to go give them a hug, tell them it'll all be fine. It's a thin line in character development but Deas absolutely nails it.

I can safely say this is one of the best series I've read in a while and one I will be going back to for a leisurely re-read before much longer.

Highly recommended, go treat yourself today.

Many thanks to Angry Robot for inviting me onto this tour and supplying me with the series copies (all opinions are my own). Also, check out the other posts on the tour (below)

Lords of Uncreation - Adrian Tchaikovsky

 

                               BLURB

'From Adrian Tchaikovsky, author of Children of Time and winner of the Arthur C. Clarke Award, Lords of Uncreation is the final high-octane instalment in the Final Architecture space opera trilogy.

He's found a way to end their war, but will humanity survive to see it?

Idris Telemmier has uncovered a secret that changes everything – the Architects’ greatest weakness. A shadowy Cartel scrambles to turn his discovery into a weapon against these alien destroyers of worlds. But between them and victory stands self-interest. The galaxy’s great powers would rather pursue their own agendas than stand together against this shared terror.

Human and inhuman interests wrestle to control Idris’ discovery, as the galaxy erupts into a mutually destructive and self-defeating war. The other great obstacle to striking against their alien threat is Idris himself. He knows that the Architects, despite their power, are merely tools of a higher intelligence.

Deep within unspace, where time moves differently, and reality isn’t quite what it seems, their masters are the true threat. Masters who are just becoming aware of humanity’s daring – and taking steps to exterminate this annoyance forever.'

                           MY THOUGHTS

So, here we are at the end of The Final Architecture and, my friends, this is an absolute triumph. This isn't a book you can come into blind, if you haven't read the first two TFA books you won't have a clue (and you'd be missing out on two cracking books). 

Everything about this series feels huge from the planet sized aliens to the weirdness that is Unspace but somehow Tchaikovsky seems to make it all believeable. I sometimes struggle with Sci-Fi as it can be too tech/science heavy bit this guy writes in a way that focuses more on the story than the science, the characters lead the tale and, y'know, by the time I got to the end of Lords of Uncreation (about 3 hours ago) I I actually found myself missing some of them.

 This book and this series deserve all the plaudits they will surely receive. Character driven Sci-Fi on a massive scale - pretty much what I expected from an author who never disappoints.

Highly Recommended 4.5/5*

Thanks to Black Crow PR for inviting me onto this blog tour and for arranging a review copy for me (all views are my own and not influenced in any way). Please have a look at the posts by the other reviewers on the tour (below).

One final thing - Big Praise to the cover artist, I mean, come on, how cool is that art? Stunningly gorgeous 

Orphan Planet - Rex Burke

 

                                 BLURB

 With Earth in crisis, humans are travelling deep into space. But humanity’s future just took a wrong turn.

 A seventeen-year colony-ship voyage – a straight shot to a new planet. Handpicked, single-minded crew, and a thousand settlers in hypersleep. No children, no families, no fuss.

That was the plan, anyway.

 Captain Juno Washington commands a ship of loners and oddballs. The teenagers of the Odyssey Earth didn’t ask to be born, and face an uncertain future. And Jordan Booth really didn’t want to be woken up early to look after a bunch of kids.

 After an unexpected change of course, relationships are tested like never before. If they listen to advice, pull together and stop squabbling, they might just make it.

 Yeah, right. Good luck with that.

                         MY THOUGHTS

 The time is now but the timeline is slightly different. On the Earth of Orphan Planet climate change has wrecked the planet, lots of Britain is under water so we are reaching to the stars. Luckily a suitable New Earth has been located and the prospective settlers are on their way - fast asleep for 17 years.

 Unfortunately the plans to keep the crew don't quite work out and we have six children born on the early phase of the journey . . .

 Shoot forward 16 years and our six children are now teenagers, the crew don't have the time to bring them up, educate them etc so Jordan Booth is brought out of Hypersleep and given the task. Not what he was expecting but them's the breaks.

 Nearing journey's end 'events happen' and Jordan and his protégés are separated from the ship and have to learn how to cope for themselves. But with a life spent onboard Odyssey Earth these kids have never experienced 'outside'.

 This is where the story really comes into its own. Burke really captures the experience well. Planetfall for people who have never been outside has a sense of fear and wonder that the reader shares with them. There is danger and peril but there is also discovery and bonding.

 The highlight character for me is the ships near sentient AI computer (although he probably wouldn't like to be called a computer) Reeves - self named after its favourite film actor. Reeves is highly intelligent (obviously) and, trust me, he knows it so when events lead to Reeves becoming a lesser version of itself it tends to feel a bit more needy and gave me quite a few chuckles. In fact Reeves gave me one of my favourite lines - after telling the teens it'd watched every film ever (in 10 seconds) he goes on "Yes, I've read all the books - that's 20 seconds of my life I will never get back". Very Marvin (Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy).

 Orphan Earth is feel good Sci-Fi - adventure, alien planets and a whole heap of fun and I really can't recommend it highly enough. Don't let this one slip under your radar folks, miss this and you are missing a treat.

All the stars/5 cannot wait for the next in the series.

Viper's Dream - Jake Lamar

 

 

                                                                    BLURB

1936. Clyde ‘The Viper’ Morton boards a train from Alabama to Harlem to chase his dreams of being a jazz musician. When his talent fails him, he becomes caught up in the dangerous underbelly of Harlem’s drug trade. In this heartbreaking novel, one man must decide what he is willing to give up and what he wants to fight for.

                                                                     MY THOUGHTS

Clyde Morton is holed up in a jazz club in Harlem, his life seems to be collapsing around him so he is looking back at how he ended up where he is.

He set out for Harlem in the 1930's hoping to follow his dream of becoming one of the greats of the Jazz Age but, as is often the case, things don't fall right for him and he is soon working as a dealer (among other things) in the seedier side of town. He is okay with that until a new drug hits the streets. Smack (heroin) is a lot worse than he has been peddling so Clyde decides to draw the line while still getting deeper in with the gangs running Harlem.

This was a dark, gritty read, a gangland tale with the glory of jazz music running through it and I can honestly say I loved it. I had never heard of Jake Lamar before Viper's Dream but it looks like he has quite a back catalogue so I'm going to dive into that straight away.

Viper's Dream is an atmospheric tale that puts the reader right there, front and centre, in the Harlem of the 1930s through to the 1960s - a highly recommended read.

Thanks to Anne Cater and Random Things Tours for inviting me onto this tour and for providing a review copy. All views and opinions are my own.

Please have a look at the posts by the other bloggers on the tour (below)

Blake's 7, Origins Boxset - various authors

 

A distress call is coming from a Federation research base…

A crack team is assembled to take over the Liberator…

A band called the Dangerous prepare to ‘Rock the Rock Planet’…

***

Heroes or villains? Things are not always black and white in the dystopia ruled by the ruthless Federation. The crew of the Liberator are passionate in their opposition to the injustice and corruption of the government, but this group of convicts and outcasts aren’t exactly angels themselves… Whether it’s a large scale rescue mission, or a simple act of kindness, these stories explore an important question: what really makes a hero?

Back in 1978 an 11 year old me  was at a stage where Doctor Who was the bee's knees as far as TV Sci-Fi went but I was looking for something 'more'. That 'more' as it turned out was Blake's 7. The characters here were not as clean cut as the Doc and his companions and that appealed to me. It still had the dodgy sets and the scenes filmed in quarries that stood in for alien planets but it also had that gritty, slightly grubby feel to it, the characters argued amongst themselves, this was what I wanted, my next step on the Sci-Fi ladder and I took that step gladly,

Now comes this gorgeous looking (limited edition) box set of 7 books by renowned Sci-Fi authors based around the first series. Each book contains 2 stories which expand events in the episodes and so far (I still have 2 1/2 books to go) there's not a duff one amongst them. All the authors are fans B7 and it shows. They keep the feel of the original but also bring a touch of modernity to it as well (not too much though, it's still B7 from the 70s and 80s at heart and Orac still looks like something slapped together on Blue Peter to this reader - and I wouldn't have it any other way)

The stories are not long ones, novellas I guess, but they feel bigger and it's great to be spending time with 'old friends' again.

PLEASE NOTE :- These books are only available as the Boxed Set not individually.

Many thanks to Black Crow PR for inviting me on to this Blog Tour (and to revisit my youth) and supplying review files - all opinions are my own and not influenced in any way at all.

Please have a read of the posts by the other bloggers on the tour (below)

The Purgatory Poisoning - Rebecca Rogers

 

How do you solve your own murder when you’re already dead?

Purgatory (noun):

1. Where the dead are sent to atone.

2. A place of suffering or torment.

3. A youth hostel where the occupants play Scrabble and the mattresses are paper thin.

When Dave wakes up in his own personal purgatory (St Ives Youth Hostel circa 1992), he’s shocked to discover he’s dead. And worse – he was murdered.

Heaven doesn’t know who did it so with the help of two rogue angels, Dave must uncover the truth.

As divine forces from both sides start to play the game, can Dave get out of this alive? Or at the very least, with his soul intact?

Dave is dead! And that's just the start of events for him. Waking up in a youth hostel he feels he has been here before and he has - well, sort of. It's St Ives in 1992 and this is his version of purgatory, the place you wait in between Heaven and Hell to see where you will spend Eternity.

You see, St Ives 1992 was where, on a family holiday Dave did 'the thing' and that thing set the path for everything else that happened in his life. All he has to do now is make some atonements for what he did and then solve the mystery of his own murder. 

The story follows Dave's life up to Murder Day as he and his two angel assistants investigate but even with their angelic powers there are still problems as some of the people in his life are 'blocked' so they cannot be seen or 'read'. It's a whodunnit right up to the end - and a bloomin' good laugh too.

I will say I thoroughly enjoyed this read and will be looking out for more by this author in the future

5/5* Highly Recommended 

Many thanks to Anne Cater and Random Things Tours for inviting me onto this blog tour and arranging a review copy for me (all opinions are my own).

Please have a read of the other blogger's posts (below)