Short Story Review - Lord of the Red Sands

Short Story - The Lord of The Red Sands
Writer - Aaron Dembski-Bowden
Series - Horus Heresy
Published By - Black Library

In my opinion, it really is hard to write a good short story. And specially hard to write one on the setting of a shared universe which already has a lot of good writers and stories as the history and expectation bogs you down. But Aaron Dembski-Bowden once again shows why he is one of the best writers currently writing for Black Library. This Horus Heresy short featuring Angron, who is musing on his reason for betrayal is a short yet tight and exquisite read which really lives a pleasant aftereffect in the mind after it is so quickly over.

Books to Look Forward to - June 2015

So Lets start the month of June this year with a post about some upcoming books that I think will be quite good.

'Finders Keepers' by Stephen King

A masterful, intensely suspenseful novel about a reader whose obsession with a reclusive writer goes far too far—a book about the power of storytelling, starring the same trio of unlikely and winning heroes King introduced in Mr. Mercedes
“Wake up, genius.” So begins King’s instantly riveting story about a vengeful reader. The genius is John Rothstein, an iconic author who created a famous character, Jimmy Gold, but who hasn’t published a book for decades. Morris Bellamy is livid, not just because Rothstein has stopped providing books, but because the nonconformist Jimmy Gold has sold out for a career in advertising. Morris kills Rothstein and empties his safe of cash, yes, but the real treasure is a trove of notebooks containing at least one more Gold novel.
Morris hides the money and the notebooks, and then he is locked away for another crime. Decades later, a boy named Pete Saubers finds the treasure, and now it is Pete and his family that Bill Hodges, Holly Gibney, and Jerome Robinson must rescue from the ever-more deranged and vengeful Morris when he’s released from prison after thirty-five years.
Not since Misery has King played with the notion of a reader whose obsession with a writer gets dangerous. Finders Keepers is spectacular, heart-pounding suspense, but it is also King writing about how literature shapes a life—for good, for bad, forever.

[The first in the 'Bill Hodges Trilogy' by Stephen King was praised by many to be one of the best books of last year. While I haven't read the first one named 'Mr. Mercedes' yet, as far as I know King, I am really looking forward to delve into this series soon.]

'Storm and Steel' by Jon Sprunk

 An empire at war. Three fates intertwined.
The Magician. Horace has destroyed the Temple of the Sun, but now he finds his slave chains have been replaced by bonds of honor, duty, and love. Caught between two women and two cultures, he must contend with deadly forces from the unseen world.
The Rebel. Jirom has thrown in his lot with the slave uprising, but his road to freedom becomes ever more dangerous as the rebels expand their campaign against the empire. Even worse, he feels his connection with Emanon slipping away with every blow they strike in the name of freedom.
The Spy. Alyra has severed her ties to the underground network that brought her to Akeshia, but she continues the mission on her own. Yet, with Horace’s connection to the queen and the rebellion’s escalation of violence, she finds herself treading a knife’s edge between love and duty.
Dark conspiracies bubble to the surface as war and zealotry spread across the empire. Old alliances are shattered, new vendettas are born, and all peoples—citizen and slave alike—must endure the ravages of storm and steel.

[Another second book in a series. Another promising series started in 2014. And epic fantasy stuff to boot. What more do you want?]

'The Liar's Key' by Mark Lawrence

The Red Queen has set her players on the board...
Winter is keeping Prince Jalan Kendeth far from the longed-for luxuries of his southern palace. And although the North may be home to his companion, the warrior Snorri ver Snagason, he is just as eager to leave. For the Viking is ready to challenge all of Hell to bring his wife and children back into the living world. He has Loki’s key – now all he needs is to find the door.
As all wait for the ice to unlock its jaws, the Dead King plots to claim what was so nearly his – the key to the underworld -- so that his dead subjects can rise and rule. 

[Yup, I am a fan of Mark Lawrence. Yup, this is his latest book. Need I say more?]




'Shadowshift' by Peter Giglio

Chet is a shape-shifter who uses his abilities to burglarize homes…
Hannah is a young girl with strange influences over inanimate objects…
Father and daughter, these supernatural misfits are bound by blood, their unfolding stories separated by time. While Chet follows a grim path, Hannah stands on the fragile precipice of hope: her mother’s faltering happiness with a kind man…the chance at a new family and a stable household…and the promise of freedom from the shadows cast by her father’s misdeeds.
But past and present are ready to collide, ushering hell home. 

[This new release from Darkfuse has a really promising synopsis, and is also quite short in length. This promises to be a short, fun and thrilling ride.]



'Blood of The Cosmos' by Kevin J. Anderson

 The second book in Kevin J. Anderson's Saga of Shadows trilogy. “Anderson hits it out of the galaxy again.” —Booklist, starred review, on The Dark Between the Stars
An epic space opera of the titanic conflict of several galactic civilizations against a life-destroying force of shadows, a dark cosmic force that has swept through the undercurrents of the human interstellar empire.
The intertwined plots, overflowing with colorful ideas, a large cast of characters, and complex storylines, span dozens of solar systems, alien races, and strange creatures.
As the second book of the trilogy opens, the humans and Ildirans, having narrowly escaped annihilation at the hands of the Shana Rei and their robot allies in Book One, are desperate to find a way to combat the black cloud of antimatter of the Shana Rei. The mysterious alien Gardeners, who had helped them previously, turn out to be a disaster in disguise and because of them, the world tree forests are again in danger. The allies believing they have found a way to stop their dreaded enemies, a new weapon is tested, but it’s a horrible failure, throwing the human race and its allies to the brink of extinction.

[I have yet to finish the first one of this series, but as far as I have read, this promises to be an epic and interesting read to say the least.]

'Slow Bullets' by Alastair Reynolds

From the author of the Revelation Space series comes an interstellar adventure of war, identity, betrayal, and the preservation of civilization itself.
A vast conflict, one that has encompassed hundreds of worlds and solar systems, appears to be finally at an end. A conscripted soldier is beginning to consider her life after the war and the family she has left behind. But for Scur—and for humanity—peace is not to be.
On the brink of the ceasefire, Scur is captured by a renegade war criminal, and left for dead in the ruins of a bunker. She revives aboard a prisoner transport vessel. Something has gone terribly wrong with the ship.
Passengers—combatants from both sides of the war—are waking up from hibernation far too soon. Their memories, embedded in bullets, are the only links to a world which is no longer recognizable. And Scur will be reacquainted with her old enemy, but with much higher stakes than just her own life. 




[To be honest, I haven't read anything by 'Alastair Reynolds' yet. But I have read only good things about him. This one was available on netgalley, I requested and was approved. Seems to be another short and fun read too.]

'The Philosopher Kings' by Jo Walton

From acclaimed, award-winning author Jo Walton: Philosopher Kings, a tale of gods and humans, and the surprising things they have to learn from one another. Twenty years have elapsed since the events of The Just City. The City, founded by the time-traveling goddess Pallas Athene, organized on the principles espoused in Plato’s Republic and populated by people from all eras of human history, has now split into five cities, and low-level armed conflict between them is not unheard-of.
The god Apollo, living (by his own choice) a human life as "Pythias" in the City, his true identity known only to a few, is now married and the father of several children. But a tragic loss causes him to become consumed with the desire for revenge. Being Apollo, he goes handling it in a seemingly rational and systematic way, but it’s evident, particularly to his precocious daughter Arete, that he is unhinged with grief.
Along with Arete and several of his sons, plus a boatload of other volunteers--including the now fantastically aged Marsilio Ficino, the great humanist of Renaissance Florence--Pythias/Apollo goes sailing into the mysterious Eastern Mediterranean of pre-antiquity to see what they can find—possibly the man who may have caused his great grief, possibly communities of the earliest people to call themselves "Greek." What Apollo, his daughter, and the rest of the expedition will discover…will change everything. 

[Yet another second book in a series (this seems to be the month for second books). I am currently reading the first one which I got as an ARC and liking a lot.]

'Asurmen: Hand of Asuryan' by Gav Thorpe

The Phoenix Lords are demigods of battle, warriors whose legends span the stars. They are embodiments of the warrior nature of the eldar, and each walks his own path. The first, and greatest, is Asurmen, the Hand of Asuryan. Since he led his people from destruction at the time of the Fall, he has guided his children, the Dire Avengers, in defending the remnants of the eldar as they plan their rise back to galactic dominance. A superlative warrior and peerless leader, Asurmen is one of the greatest hopes of the eldar race.
A stunning 224-page A5 hardback novel presented in a lavish dustjacket with internal colour section, this book is a fantastic insight into the creation of the first Warrior Aspect, as well as a snapshot of Asurmen’s current struggle against Chaos. Strictly limited worldwide to 1,000 copies and exclusively available via blacklibrary.com, it features a beautiful full-colour section with character vignettes and wargear descriptions. The savage grace of the eldar’s plight has never been represented quite so elegantly before. 


[While this book will be released this month I don't know when I will be able to get my hands on this one. This limited edition stuff is just to expensive for me, I wish Black Library would provide some ARC's for reviewers or at least cut the price down a bit.] 

Short Story Review - The Wolf of Ash and Fire

Short Story - The Wolf of Ash and Fire
Writer - Graham Mcneill
Series - Horus Heresy
Published By - Black Library

This one tells of a tale before the Horus Heresy, even before Ullanor, a battle during the Great Crusade, of a time when Horus was an ideal son of the Emperor. It is one of the few stories featuring the Emperor and also features him in battle. While the story was a bit slow at times these two characters and the action really makes it a fun read.

Short Story Review - Marriage of Moment

Short Story - Gotrek & Felix: Marriage of Moment
Writer - Joshua Reynolds
Series - Warhammer 
Published By - Black Library

Gotrek & Felix are just unadulterated fun at times and this short is just a great example of this fact. While incorporating memorable moments of humor and packed with intense bits of action this is a simple story of another adventure in the life's of these two in search of some gold.

Back Amongst The Living Again

Yup, that's it. I am back. After about 5 months of hiatus due to life biting back. 
I started a new job and was posted to a remote place in my country. Due to my financial conditions I couldn't access internet regularly.
But now I bought a new Lap Top and am going to start this site/blog again.
There is a huge backlog of reviews that I need to write and also quite a lot of new materials that I have finished too. So it seems to be a busy future for my site.
Let us just hope that everything goes on as smooth as it promises to be in the future.
Thanks to all my past readers who were with me, hopefully I wont disappoint you guys again.   

Comics Review - Original Sin (Mini-Series)

Comics Name - Original Sin (Mini-Series)
Published By - Marvel Comics
Genre - Super Hero/Crossover
Writer - Jason Aaron
Artist - Mike Deodato
Publication Date - April 2014 - August 2014
 
So this time Marvel decided to do a different kind of event; instead of a bundle of characters, an overarching plot and tons-of action they decided to do a mystery involving the murder of The Watcher and a group of superheroes trying to solve the mystery while also trying to deal with the consequences of the death. But sadly the story fell flat on its face with the mystery being not much of a mystery and with horrible pacing as of dragging a 4-5 issue series into 8-9 issues.

Short Story Review - Daemonology

Short Story - Daemonology
Writer - Chris Wright
Series - Horus Heresy
Published By - Black Library

To be honest I was a bit reluctant to pick this up, as I have not previously read any Horus Heresy novels (which I have been meaning to start from the beginning for quite awhile now). My knowledge of the event is very minimal, specially from various sources (mostly reviews) from the internet. But somehow I decided to read this short, and I am quite glad I did.