Posts tagged "Fiction"

A Dance With Dragons George R R Martin

Its Here ” A Dance With Dragons: Book 5 of A Song of Ice and Fire (Song of Ice & Fire 5) ”

The book itself weighs in at an impressive 31/2 lbs not light reading bu any means. I tried last night in a chair whilst my wife watched TV.
My hand and wrist were numb in no time. But thats not what you want to hear is it?
You really are going to have to shell out the £12.50 that I did (no freebies here). As soon as I am a few chapters in I will post an update. So either buy a copy here A Dance With Dragons: Book 5 of A Song of Ice and Fire (Song of Ice & Fire 5)
or wait for the next tell all missive

Those in Peril – Wilbur Smith

Amazon.co.uk Widgets

As its not available untill March 31 2011 there is not much to say beyond what Amazon has here. I for one have pre ordered at £9.99. I’m a sucker for Wilbur Smith.

Product Description

Hazel Bannock is the heir to the Bannock Oil Corp, one of the major oil producers with global reach. While cruising in the Indian Ocean, Hazel’s private yacht is hijacked by African pirates. Hazel is not on board at the time, but her nineteen year old daughter, Cayla, is kidnapped and held to ransom. The pirates demand a crippling twenty billion dollar ransom for her release. Complicated political and diplomatic considerations render the civilized major powers incapable of intervening.

When Hazel is given evidence of the horrific torture which Cayla is being subjected to, she calls on Hector Cross to help her rescue her daughter. Hector is the owner and operator of Cross Bow Security, the company which is contracted to Bannock Oil to provide all their security. He is a formidable fighting man. Between them Hazel and Hector are determined to take the law into their own hands.

Those in Peril is available tp pre-order or order here. Good Reading!

The Gladiator – Simon Scarrow

`The Gladiator - Simon Scarrow`

Product Description

The action-packed new novel featuring Roman army officers Macro and Cato from Sunday Times bestselling author Simon Scarrow. While centurions Macro and Cato are returning to Rome from a harrowing campaign against the Parthians, their transport ship is almost capsized by a tidal wave. They barely make it to the port of Matala in Crete where they are stunned to find a devastated town. An earthquake has struck the island, destroying its cities and killing thousands. In the chaotic aftermath, large bands of the island’s slaves begin to revolt and local bandits, taking advantage of the slave rebellion, urge the Cretans to overthrow the Roman administration. With many of the island’s troops either killed or wounded during the earthquake, the governor of the province calls on Macro and Cato for help. Can they move swiftly enough to counter the rebellion before it sweeps the Romans from the island?

Synopsis

A gripping new novel featuring Roman army officers Macro and Cato on their most dangerous mission yet. While centurions Macro and Cato are returning to Rome from a harrowing campaign against the Parthians, their transport ship is almost capsized by a tidal wave. They barely make it to the port of Matala in Crete where they are stunned to find a devastated town. An earthquake has struck the island, destroying its cities and killing thousands. In the chaotic aftermath, large bands of the island’s slaves begin to revolt and the local bandits, taking advantage of the slave rebellion, urge the Cretans to overthrow the Roman administration. When the local governor of the province hears that Macro and Cato have arrived on the island, he summons them at once. With many of the island’s troops either killed or wounded during the earthquake, the governor calls on these experienced Roman officers for help. Can Macro and Cato move swiftly enough to counter the rebellion before it sweeps the Romans from the island?

I like the following quote By Sqn Ldr Raymond Leach :-

“Another episode featuring the two Romans Cato and Macro. I am looking forward to the sequal. In earlier days it would have been classed as ‘a ripping yarn’. ”

The Legion – Simon Scarrow

The Legion: A great milestone in the current series, it being the 10th of an excellent highly addictive and action packed series.


Carrying on from where Gladiator left off, with our heroes tasked with tracking down the vicious ex-Slave and one time Gladiator Ajax. Newly arrived from his adventures in Crete, having failed to conquer the island, he has escaped to forment rebellion along the Nile.
I have read Simons books since day 1 of publication, and have enjoyed each book, I have to admit to being frustrated with the last book Gladiator whilst still enjoying the great writing and characterisation that Simon brings to every story he writes there was something that didn't work for me.

I was however overjoyed to read The Legion and find that all that frustration had gone, that the Heroes Macro and Cato are back on song and the plot raced along at such a pace I had to slow down my reading so I didn't miss anything.
For me this was a return to old, this book was right up there on a par with one of the series best Eagles Prophecy, the comparison easy coming to mind as it links the Roman Naval writing by Simon and Ajax's past. Simon does seem to have a knack for writing all types of bloody battles but the Naval ones being particularly good, with a high degree of realism, pace and action, whilst remembering that people get tired, frustrated , complacent etc..

What we don't want are super heroes we want fallible complicated men, and we get that in spades.
This book also has the added elements of our 2 heroes coming to grips with a change in the dynamic of their relationship, Cato now having progressed through the ranks beyond his mentor, but also Cato struggling with that new rank at times and the responsibility it confers. A true achievement of the book, to have the back drop of these personal turmoil's whilst not taking away the action and the pace and the drama.

This book for me is a real triumph, a return to the best, and a clear sign that we can expect many more great books and exploits' for our intrepid Soldiers. 9/10...or an Amazon 5 Stars. If you like reading Historical fiction then this is a must because Simon is clearly one of the iconic writers of the genre, he sets the standard for others to follow. By R. J. Carter "parmenion-books" (UK) -

Harry Potter for geeks?

the thing is is that harry potter is so fantastic and the author is such a wonderful author and i don't understand why people think that its for dorks!!! loads of amazing people read these series and the people that are making fun of the people who read it just make me upset and confused!

David Farland – Brotherhood of the Wolf (Volume Two of the Runelords)

David Farland’s “Runelords” fantasy sequence began in 1998 with The Sum of All Men, a career-relaunch novel whose sales far outstripped earlier SF published under his real name Dave Wolverton. Runelords are supermen whose strength, stamina, vision, etc. are multiplied by magical “endowments” transferred from unfortunate donors who are crippled by their loss: the arch-villain is virtually invincible thanks to tens of thousands of endowments. This second book avoids middle-volume doldrums by introducing a vast onslaught of still tougher and memorably unpleasant non-humans which even the villains must oppose. Meanwhile various characters skirmish in different parts of the map, and the hero struggles with unreliable powers conferred on him when he was chosen as Earth King to save the land and humanity–or maybe only a tiny part of each.

Farland maintains a steady flow of new situations, reversals, gambits and surprises…it’s a real shock when one chap who has incurred a dreadful penalty for virtuous reasons is not spared (as expected in the normal chivalry of fantasyland) but pays the full, eye-watering price. One small criticism: the writing contains occasional sloppiness and repetition that a copyeditor should have removed. It’s still a rousing, painfully gripping story. –David Langford

David Farland Brotherhood of the Wolf (Runelords)

Val McDermid – A Darker Domain

One of the best modern authors again we have to introduce Val McDermid as the author of 22 bestselling novels, translated into 30 languages, selling over 10 million copies, and won many awards internationally. She was inducted into the ITV3 Crime Thriller Awards Hall of Fame in 2009 and has for many of those novels thrilled many of her fans.

BUT anyone can drop one. First the blurb from the book and then my say. —

1984. The National miners’ strike is dividing the country, and in a struggling coal-mining town, the miners and their families are living at the edge of their resources. They have no money, and there is no food or heating. On the 14th of December, five miners break ranks to travel to Nottingham and work. For those who stay behind, this is an unforgivable betrayal, and the men are branded as scabs. 23 years later, a young woman is asking the police to trace her missing father: miner Mick Prentice vanished, never to be seen again, although money has been sent to his family; he was widely considered to be one of the scabs. Soon, D I Karen Pirie and DS Phil Parharta find themselves investigating a forgotten disappearance.

This is the provocative premise of Val McDermid’s latest novel, A Darker Domain, and this utterly compelling book is further proof that McDermid is determined to stretch the parameters of what crime fiction is supposedly capable of. McDermid has always been prepared to freight serious issues into her work, and this novel — which, in many ways, is an examination of the conditions that produced the Britain we live in today — demonstrates the continuing high level of her ambition.

In fact, Karen Pirie, when taking on this new assignment, is already involved in a case of kidnapping that took place 22 years earlier (in which a woman was killed during a bungled handover of money). Journalist Bel Richmond makes a startling discovery concerning the MacLennan kidnapping while on holiday in Tuscany, and as the three protagonists dig deeper into ever-more labyrinthine mysteries, they are to make some remarkable discoveries — discoveries which throw light not just on the crimes involved, but on the whole of British society……

Yes OK Thats true as far as it goes, remember the BUT. in truth the plot is fairly simple and the reader can soon work out a likely ending. Whilst the plot is well laid out and the characters well drawn the ending falls far below the standards we have come to expect. In Val McDermid – A Darker Domain the ending, denouement or whatever is over in about two pages. First it seems the investigation is going nowhere and then BANG its all over goodbye ’till next time. I don’t know. Rarely does such an author make such a cockup.

Still it is well worth buying the paperback as its an interesting and provocative tail. Its only the ending that gets my goat!

Summer is on the way and it will make a good gentle read whilst sunbathing in a hammock or drinking a G and T by the pool.

Philip
P.S. Val McDermid – A Darker Domain is available here

Hard Girls – Martina Cole

Hard girls by Martina Cole.

Martina Cole has long been a great favorite of my wife’s. With her rich characters taken from all walks of life-including of course mobsters gangsters and the police force her books are full of violent intrigue and passion.

Martina Cole as an author is something of a force of nature. The sales are tough East End novels. She works herself extremely hard, and it would seem hardly ever takes a holiday. The standard of writing is always consistent, direct and to the point. She writes about both genders who are ready to bend the rules in the most uncompromising way. And it’s clear that this style strikes a chord with many readers. Readers in general, lead law-abiding lives. They cannot deny that there is a fascination for those who step outside the strictures of society. Martina has a good ear for dialogue and everyday speech, and it is this that helps to give her books such an impact. Since her first novel dangerous Lady in 1992 there has been continual list of equally forceful books in which the latest is Hard Girls .

In Hard Girls , the murdered body of a prostitute is discovered grotesquely mutilated and sexually assaulted. The body, described as a grotesquely mutilated and sexually assaulted shocks even DCI Annie Carr, a woman with no illusions about life.

Kate Burrows, who readers will remember from several other novels once had Annie’s job but is now retired and acting as a consultant. Kate is a woman, with plenty of experience in capturing murderers (famously tracking down the Grantley Ripper) and a pedophile ring in the south-east. Kate joins Annie in the race to catch a sadistic killer, moving into a territory that is challenging, even for these two experienced policewomen.

Martina Cole’s fans will know exactly what to expect in Hard Girls . She delivers it here, magnificently. Don’t be surprised to see hard girls made into a film or a television miniseries, as happened recently with The Take .

My wife tells me this is a book to read. Available now at a very reasonable price, put it on your presents list.

Philip
P. S. You can get it here

Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell

I’m afraid that after Carol Jordan and Tony Hill Sam Fisher is very much an anti climax. I read them one after another witch was probably not the best thing to do.

David Michaels – PLEASE NOTE NOT TOM CLANCY – has done a fair job. The story is set in our here and now, immersed in the politics and wars and conflicts that are currently being waged in the middle east and this gives the story and immediacy and reality that I wasn’t expecting for a fictional hero. The Splinter Cell game is played in the third person, but Michaels has presented Sam Fisher in the first person. We learn of Fisher’s views on politics, war, women and the people he works with, and it gives us a much more rounded picture of Sam Fisher. This is an engrossing story, thoroughly researched and, surprisingly, educational, with Michaels highlighting, through Sam’s thoughts, the different cultures and histories of the middle east.

Sadly, it does disappoint if you are expecting this to be in the same style as real Tom Clancy novels. It seems to rely on the fact it has ‘Tom Clancy‘ written in big lettering to make you assume the book is written by Tom Clancy when it is not! The whole marketing issue relies on you not noticing the (‘s) after Tom Clancy.

I suppose what you want to hear is does it work. Well if you are a David Michaels yes, if a Tom Clancy fan NO.
Sorry David I have to vote NO. An enjoyable read but not what I expected.

Philip
P.S. Tom Clancy gets my vote in fact I think I’ll re read a few.

Posts tagged "Fiction"

A Dance With Dragons George R R Martin

Related Reading:

Those in Peril – Wilbur Smith

Those in Peril – Wilbur Smith

Related Reading:

The Gladiator – Simon Scarrow

`The Gladiator - Simon Scarrow`

Product Description

Synopsis

Related Reading:

The Legion – Simon Scarrow

Related Reading:

Harry Potter for geeks?

David Farland – Brotherhood of the Wolf (Volume Two of the Runelords)

Related Reading:

Val McDermid – A Darker Domain

Val McDermid – A Darker Domain

Related Reading:

Hard Girls – Martina Cole

Related Reading:

Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell

Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell

Related Reading:

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