The Children of Gods and Fighting Men - Shauna Lawless

 

'They think they've killed the last of us...

981 AD. The Viking King of Dublin is dead. His young widow, Gormflaith, has ambitions for her son – and herself – but Ireland is a dangerous place and kings tend not to stay kings for long. Gormflaith also has a secret. She is one of the Fomorians, an immortal race who can do fire-magic. She has kept her powers hidden at all costs, for there are other immortals in this world – like the Tuatha Dé Danann, a race of warriors who are sworn to kill Fomorians.

Fódla is one of the Tuatha Dé Danann with the gift of healing. Her kind dwell hidden in a fortress, forbidden to live amongst the mortals. Fódla agrees to help her kin by going to spy on Brian Boru, a powerful man who aims to be High King of Ireland. She finds a land on the brink of war – a war she is desperate to stop. However, preventing the loss of mortal lives is not easy with Ireland in turmoil and the Fomorians now on the rise...'

                                 }-{

 First things first I have to say that despite my best efforts I have not finished this book yet so this is only a 'my thoughts so far' post rather than a full review. But I can see a few late nights ahead as it is a story that grips from the off and isn't easy to put down. 

  Ireland (981AD) feels a magical, mystical place, the perfect setting for the battles, both physical and political between the Fomorians and the Tuatha Dé Danann. The story felt a bit Game of Thrones like to me (which plays right into my wheelhouse) mainly down to one of the viewpoint characters, Gormflaith, the king's widow, doing everything she can to seat her son on the throne (like a certain Lannister). But TCOGAFM is not a Thrones rip-off, it is very much it's own story - and a very well told one at that (and it is only the start of a series, yay!!😃).

 I've often struggled with Irish name pronunciation and if you are the same then worry not - as well as map in the front of the book there is a cast list with full pronunciation guide. I found it a godsend.

 So, ancient Irish historical fantasy with Immortal races, politics and battles in an atmospheric and well told tale. I'm only just over the halfway point but it's certainly looking like it's going to be a 5* read.

Many thanks to Head of Zeus for inviting me onto the Blogtour and providing the review copy. All opinions are mine and mine alone.

 Please have a look at the reviews by the other bloggers (below) and come back later for my full review.

The Last Girl To Die - Helen Fields

 

 'In search of a new life, seventeen-year-old Adriana Clark’s family moves to the ancient, ocean-battered Isle of Mull, far off the coast of Scotland. Then she goes missing. Faced with hostile locals and indifferent police, her desperate parents turn to private investigator Sadie Levesque.

Sadie is the best at what she does. But when she finds Adriana’s body in a cliffside cave, a seaweed crown carefully arranged on her head, she knows she’s dealing with something she’s never encountered before.

The deeper she digs into the island’s secrets, the closer danger creeps – and the more urgent her quest to find the killer grows. Because what if Adriana is not the last girl to die?'

 I don't know why but I seem to be really drawn to Scottish crime fiction. And when it moves from the usual spots (Edinburgh, Glasgow etc) even more so. There's something about those isolated areas that make things feel just that bit more off. TLGTD is set on the island of Mull and the 'offness' is certainly strong here.

 Our heroine in this standalone (for now at least) is Canadian PI Sadie Levesque who specialises in finding missing teens. She is brought in by the parents of 17 year old Adriana Clark in the hopes that she will be able to do what it seems the local police cannot be bothered to and find their daughter. Unfortunately, as you'd expect from the title, the search doesn't end well.

 The family of the missing (ok, dead) girl are American and only recently arrived on the island. The locals are standoffish at best and weirdly odd at worst so adding a Canadian PI to the mix doesn't make for good relationships between them and the islanders but I'll tell you what, it makes for a good, twisty tale. I had several guesses as to the final outcome but I'm glad to say I was wrong and the end caught me out.

 I would highly recommend this novel (and the author - I enjoyed this so much I'm going on the hunt for her other novels straight away)

4.5/5*

Thanks to Avon Books for the review copy and Midas PR for inviting me onto the tour. All views are my own and not influenced in any way. Also, big ❤️ to the people of Mull - I hope I haven't insulted or upset any of you in any way. My comments are only on the characters in the novel and I am sure you are all lovely people.

 The Last Girl To Die is published in the UK on September 1st 2022.

The Generation Killer - Adam Simcox

 

Welcome to my spot on the Blogtour for Adam Simcox's The Generation Killer (aka The Dying Squad 2) and first off let me apologise for being a day late (work's been busy and I lost track of the date). 

I was itching to get hold of this as soon as I heard about it as The Dying Squad was an absolute corker. So, to start off here's the blurb . . .

'There's a new serial killer on the streets of Manchester - and only a dead cop can stop them.

 Detective Joe Lazarus works for the Dying Squad, solving crimes the living police can't. When the Generation Killer starts wiping out Manchester's innocents, Joe and his new partner Bits have mere hours to catch the murderer. A young woman's life depends on it.

 Joe's former partner Daisy-May has her own problems. Children are going missing in the afterlife, and she's the only one who seems to care. Her investigation uncovers a conspiracy so vast, it threatens both the living and the dead.

 Her predecessor the Duchess can't help this time; she's tracked her treacherous sister, Hanna, to Tokyo, where she's been recruiting the dead. The Duchess must enlist the help of a local detective if she's to have any choice of stopping her.

 Time is running out for the Dying Squad. And if they can't crack their cases, it's the living that will pay...'

 Sounds like a fun ride yeah? Trust me, it was.

  I'll try not to give spoilers but would advise reading The Dying Squad first as coming into The Generation Killer cold will most likely confuse you.

 The Dying Squad are the police of the afterlife - they investigate crimes back in the real world (or The Soil as they call it) that the still living police are unable to and working for the DS is new(ish)ly dead ex copper Joe Lazarus. Joe's whole backstory is covered in book 1 so yeah, go read that first because, y'know, SPOILERS!!

 Back on The Soil there's a new serial killer (the Generation Killer of the title) and the police are baffled. Time to call for The Dying Squad - but there's a problem, the way back is blocked to Joe and co. after events in book 1. It's no real spoiler to say a way back is be found and then the supernatural sleuthing can begin.

 On this case Joe has a new partner, Bits, as his previous partner, Daisy-May, is now the big boss dead side. Bits took a little getting used to for me but he grew on me in the end.

 This could have been a really confusing book as there are three different investigations going on - 2 soul side, and one for Daisy in the Pens (a kind of afterlife holding area between being alive and where you eventually end up) but Simcox handles it all well.

 Did I enjoy it as much as The Dying Squad? Probably more actually, which bodes well for DS3 (please let there be a DS3)

Highly recommend 5/5* (but read book 1 if you haven't already, also a 5* read).

The Book of Gothel - Mary McMyne

 

Everyone knows the story of Rapunzel in the tower, but do you know the tale of the witch who put her there?

Enter a world of dark magic, mysterious woods and evil princes. This is the truth they never wanted you to know, as only a witch might tell it.

With her strange black eyes and even stranger fainting spells, Haelewise is shunned by her village, and her only solace lies in the stories her mother tells of child-stealing witches, of princes in wolf-skins, of an ancient tower cloaked in mist where women will find shelter if they are brave enough to seek it.

But when her mother dies, Haelewise is left unmoored. With nothing left for her in her village, she sets out to find the tower of legend-a place called Gothel, where Haelewise meets a wise woman willing to take her under her wing.

But Haelewise is not the only woman to seek refuge at Gothel. It's also a haven for a girl named Rika, who carries with her a secret the Church strives to keep hidden. A secret that reveals a dark world of ancient spells and murderous nobles behind the world Haelewise has always known.

                           My Thoughts

 Rapunzel is one of the first fairy tales I remember so the chance to read the origin story behind the witch who put Rapunzel in the tower was one I couldn't really refuse. The story follows Haelewise (aka The Witch) from her younger days. Early on she loses her mother and from then on is treat badly by her fellow villagers who do not understand her fainting fits. Her one shot at happiness is her friendship with Matthaus, she thinks her future is all mapped out with him but his father soon puts a stop to that.

  She leaves the village in search of a tower which offers refuge and hopes to learn about herself and her fainting fits. And there the journey to becoming the witch we know begins.

 I found this to be a comfy read and rather enjoyed it. The setting of ancient Germany felt right and I was rooting for Haelewise from the off. 

 Recommended 4/5*

The Book of Gothel is published by Orbit and is out now

Doctor Who - Empire of the Wolf - Titan Comics

 

This week's comic book takes us to one of my favourite subjects - Doctor Who. It's now 50 years since I first remember watching and I was hooked/addicted from that moment on. I devoured anything DW related - TV show, videos, DVDs, books (ah, all those target adaptations) and yes DW monthly magazine and the comic strips therein. And I enjoyed them all.

But as for comic strips - well, it's been a while.

This story has the eighth doctor teaming up with Rose Tyler (a face from his future) and the eleventh with an alternative Rose who is now The Bad Wolf Empress. This could have been confusing but the story (Jody Hauser) art (Roberta Ingranata) and colouring (Warnia K. Shadewa) kept everything clear. 

The characterisations of 8 and 11 were well done and believable - no shouty reliance on catchphrases here - and it was nice to see the 'human doctor' and Rose in their alternate universe and see how they had been getting on since we last saw them.

And yes, there is an old enemy that is thankfully not Daleks or Cybermen to add to the mix.

All round a highly enjoyable multi doctor tale 4.5/5*

Thanks to Will O'Mullane and Titan Comics for inviting me to review Empire of the Wolf and providing a review copy. All opinions, though, are my own and not influenced by either.

The Last Blade Priest W P Wiles

 

 Blurb

Inar is Master Builder for the Kingdom of Mishig-Tenh. Life is hard after the Kingdom lost the war against the League of Free Cities. Doubly so since his father betrayed the King and paid the ultimate price. And now the King’s terrifying chancellor and torturer in chief has arrived and instructed Inar to go and work for the League. And to spy for him. And any builder knows you don’t put yourself between a rock and a hard place.
 
Far away Anton, Blade Priest for Craithe, the God Mountain, is about to be caught up in a vicious internal war that will tear his religion apart. Chosen from infancy to conduct human sacrifice, he is secretly relieved that the practice has been abruptly stopped. But an ancient enemy has returned, an occult conspiracy is unfolding, and he will struggle to keep his hands clean in a world engulfed by bloodshed.
 
In a series of constantly surprising twists and turns that take the reader through a vividly imagined and original world full of familiar tensions and surprising perspectives on old tropes, Inar and Anton find that others in their story may have more influence on their lives, on the future of the League and on their whole world than they, or the reader imagined.

My thoughts 

The blurb sold me on this book - and it didn't disappoint (well, there was one 'disappointment' but I'll come to that later).

The 'style' of the story, especially from the point of view of Inar the builder, put me in mind of a massively expansive fantasy video game (you know the kind of thing where you just wander around the screen going 'Woooah, how cool is that') and for me that was a massive plus point. 

When Inar is sent to spy on The League, his people's conquerors, it made me wonder just what was going on as he seemed to be in a much better situation here - who are the 'good guys', who are the 'bad guys' am I going to be changing my mind every other page. Inar's part of the story was, I'll admit, my favourite - partly for the world building but also for his companion and comedy sidekick Lott, a great character who seems to lighten the mood at just the right time.

The other side of the story concerns the Blade Priest Craithe which, for the most part is more contained to the one area. This was a lot darker with sacrifice avian type Gods and the threat of an ancient Big Bad. When the book begins though the offering of human sacrifice is possibly coming to an end and the way this plays out between different factions made for an interesting read.

So, great characters, great plot, great world-building and a massive chonker of a book - 'what is there to disappoint?' you may well ask.

Well (and it's just a personal opinion) it could have really benefited from a map. That's it, a map, even though the world building was so good and so clear I knew more or less where I was for the majority of the time. What can I say, I like maps 😉

Two other things though - when Inar is first taken to The League they stay in a massive sprawling castle but the people who live there can find there way around as the corridors are all marked as are the individual doors - THEY BASICALLY HAVE A STREET GUIDE FOR THE CASTLE!! How cool is that idea? It may have been done before but I don't recall it.

Also, Evil Elves!!

So, when you put it all into context I guess the lack of a map is only a small thing really 

4.5/5* Highly Recommend (and the only reason it hasn't got 5* is that I feel the story is only going to get better in later volumes)

Rivers of London: Body Work Delux Writers Edition

 'CSI meets Harry Potter in this fantastic SPECIAL EDITION graphic novel from Ben Aaronovitch, writer of the bestselling Rivers of London supernatural police procedural crime novel series! This Deluxe Writers' Edition presents the full script of the graphic novel along with the unlettered, full-color artwork, allowing the reader to read the original script and see the artwork side-by-side.

Grant is part of a very special London police unit. Full-time cop and part time wizard he works on rather unusual crimes - those that involve magic and the general weirdness that permeates London's dark underbelly.

His latest case begins with a perfectly innocent car on a homicidal killing spree - without a driver. But, before you know it, there's a Bosnian refugee, the Most Haunted Car in England, a bunch of teenagers loaded on Ketamine and seemingly-harmless wooden bench with the darkest of pasts...'

                                    -

 So, last week I covered the origins of Spiderman from 1962. This week we come right up to date with Body Work pt1 the first graphic novel in Ben Aaronovitch's Rivers of London universe. And oh, my friends, it is so much more than that. This is the Delux Writers Edition and it is a thing of outstanding beauty.

 I've loved the RoL novels since day 1 but I've always been a sucker for 'magic London'. The series stars Peter Grant who is basically a wizard policeman and crimes with a supernatural leaning.

 With the graphic novels Lee Sullivan (pencils and inks) and Luis Guerrero (colours) bring the characters to life in Aaronovitch and Andrew Cartmel's story and I think I enjoyed the visual aspect of this even more than the novels (and I love the novels!).

 The story here is of a possessed car on a killing spree (reminded me of the King classic Christine) but there's so much more than just a killer car going on.

  The big thing about this edition though is the way it is presented. This is almost a masterclass on how a graphic novel is created and put together (I guess if Body Work were a dvd this would be one of the extras).

 

On each double spread we get the unlettered artwork on one side while the other has the dialogue, captions etc and such things as photo references that were taken to give the art accuracy. The book is printed on glorious feeling paper which gives it even more of a 'special book essence'.

And then, when you reach the end - another treat. Several 1 page shorts, Tales From The Folly, a collection of short stories featuring the side cast (Beverly Brook, Toby the Dog etc). It's amazing how much story you can get from 6 or so panels.

This book is a real gem and deserves pride of place on any book shelf but mostly it deserves to be in your hands as you treat your eyes to what I can only call a true work of art. 

5/5*

https://titan-comics.com/c/1651-rivers-of-london-vol-1-body-work-deluxe-writers-ed/