With the Ghosts mourning the loss of Try Again Bragg at the end of The Guns of Tanith, they are committed to the ancient battlefields of Aexe Cardinal. EJ Davies casts his baleful eye over the third in The Saint cycle as the Ghosts tackle a war of arms, and of minds.
“Dan Abnett serves up gripping action, compelling characters, and nail-biting relationships.” ~The Founding Fields.
Bane of Kings continues his reviewing of comic books/graphic novels with The Man Who Laughs by Ed Brubaker, a collection of two stories set in the Batman universe, published of course by DC comics, illustrated by Doug Mahnke and Patrick Zircher.
“The Man Who Laughs is really a comic of two halves, and both separate stories manage to be entertaining, but whilst the first story that knocks it out of the park, the second suffers.“ ~The Founding Fields
Shadowhawk reviews Angry Robot Books’ latest offering, Obsidian and Blood, the omnibus edition containing all the Aztec Mysteries novels and short stories featuring High Priest Acatl.
“This is one of the greatest stories ever told. Aliette de Bodard has brought Noir, Aztec and Fantasy together for an explosive and engaging mix worthy of being called a new trend in the genre. If you have ever wanted to experiment with your reading, then you’ll be hard-pressed to do better than read the story of Acatl, High Priest of the Dead.” ~The Founding Fields
Aliette de Bodard is a prolific writer of science fiction and fantasy, specialising (I’d say so) in writing about non-western cultures. She has been nominated for quite a few awards in her career and has also won a few of them. My run-in with her earlier this year was quite accidental: I saw the cover art for her upcoming (at the time of course, but now released just yesterday!) omnibus edition of her popular Aztec Mysteries novels. It took me a long time to get around to reading her work but I can definitely say I’m the better for it. I contacted her after finishing Obsidian and Blood about doing a post on her experiences writing non-anglophone cultures and this what she had to say.
Bane of Kings writes a review of the 2012 David Gemmell Morningstar award winning novel, The Heir of Night, by Helen Lowe, published by Orbit Books.
“A strong opener to a series that I will certainly be reading more of despite its flaws.” ~The Founding Fields
EJ Davies takes a look at Chris Roberson’s first Warhammer 40,000 novel which tackles the Imperial Fists chapter, a chapter first seen in the seminal Space Marine by Ian Watson. The short story Gauntlet Run (available in Heroes of the Space Marines) takes place around the halfway point in this novel.
“A read that treads faithfully over some old ground.” ~The Founding Fields.
Shadowhawk reviews the second novel by up and coming Black Library explosive (metaphorically speaking) favourite Sarah Cawkwell as she gets both feet wet in the Old World.
“With action scenes that leap off the pages and intrigues that are as bloody and brutal as they get, Valkia the Bloody is proof that Sarah Cawkwell can write Warhammer Fantasy as well as she can write Warhammer 40,000.” ~The Founding Fields
Bane of Kings reviews the thrilling, historical fiction novel Gladiator, the first novel in the Spartacus Duology by Ben Kane, published by Arrow Books and set in Ancient Rome.
“Gritty, dark, action-packed, Kane drags the reader in and keeps them hooked until the very end.” ~The Founding Fields
Shadowhawk reviews the first 10 issues of the New 52: Batman series, written by Scott Snyder and published by, well, DC Comics of course!
“Startlingly brilliant, New 52: Batman takes you on a dark, philosophical and action-packed journey through the psyche of the Great Detective and the city he loves so much. This is Batman and Gotham like never before.” ~The Founding Fields
EJ Davies reviews the long awaiting Grey Knights novel from Aaron Dembski-Bowden, The Emperor’s Gift.
“Brutal, visceral, emotional, surprising. All the hallmarks of Aaron Dembski-Bowden’s wonderful prose.” ~The Founding Fields.
