Author Archive

Accused of practising pagan magicks, a young boy flees for his life…

In fear for her life, a woman suffering from a mysterious illness is forced to break out of the mine where she has been enslaved…

An innocent warrior is exiled by the holy man of this mountain tribe and told to make his own way in the world… 

In the Empire of the Saviours, The People are forced to live in fortified towns. Their walls are guarded by an army of Heroes, whose task is to keep marauding pagans out as much as it is to keep the People inside. Several times a year, living Saints visit the towns to exact the Saviours’ tithe from all those coming of age – a tithe often paid in blood.

When a young boy, Jillan, unleashes pagan magicks in an accident, his whole town turns against him. He goes on the run, but what hope can there be when the Saviours and the entire Empire decide he mud be caught?

Last year I read Necromancer’s Gambit by A J Dalton and, although I had some issues with the editing, overall I enjoyed the dark fantasy that the author created. You can’t ever go far wrong with an army of resurrected corpses in my opinion. Recently I was fortunate enough to receive a review copy of Mr Dalton’s new novel and I’ve been looking forward to checking it out.

The Empire of the Saviours is a society built around very structured roles and strong religious doctrine. Saviours control the Saints who in turn command the Heroes who maintain order and force the general populace, The People, to abide by their rules. It was easy to picture this set up in a similar vein to something like Clash of the Titans. The Saviours are forever playing a never-ending game of cosmic chess with the Saints, Heroes and People as their pieces. For The Saviours power struggles and petty jealousies are played out over the course of eons.

It’s the strong characterisation that ultimately won me over. Through Jillan, the reader is introduced to a whole host of memorable warriors, townsfolk, heroes, gods and monsters. Jillan himself is still very young and is mostly innocent in the ways of the world. He is forced to learn the rules as he attempts to flee from persecution. Very much a blank canvas when we first meet him there are some nice subtle hints about the man he has the potential to grow up to be.

The villains are all deliciously evil and lead by the twisted Saint Azual. He has been a living Saint for hundreds of years and dreams of becoming a god in his own right. Over the course of the novel, his tenuous grip on sanity slips away and his acts become increasingly violent and unpredictable. Azual’s rage knows no bounds and he will destroy anything that gets in his way. Unpleasant and brutal, he truly is a nasty piece of work.

The other villain I particularly liked, or disliked depending on your point of view, was Minister Praxis. When the reader first meets him he is the religious leader of Godsend, the backwater village where Jillan grows up, and he is driven by a fervent fundamentalism that makes him instantly dis-likable. As the main plot unfolds Praxis is tasked with taking the religion of the Saviours to the pagans and I enjoyed the various predicaments he finds himself in. His smarmy aloofness and strict bearing make the arguments he has with Torpeth, the pagan religious leader, a great deal of fun. Both men are so sure of their opposing viewpoints their constant back and forth regularly devolves into childish name-calling. These scenes, which are already funny, are made all the more surreal by the fact that one of them spends the vast majority of the novel naked.

My favourite character though was an enigmatic being known as The Peculiar. He/She/It features in some of the novel’s best moments. Mysterious and every so slightly smug about it I couldn’t help but like him/her/it. Even now I can’t decide if The Peculiar was evil or good (probably chaotic-neutral thinking about it). I liked the sense of ambiguity that surrounds every action that this perplexing individual makes.

Dalton has written a compelling story that works on multiple levels. There are some well-observed action and classic fantasy battles that are suitably rousing. Alongside that there is some interesting world building to discover and a surprising amount of dry humour to enjoy. Empire of the Saviours is a great deal of fun and certainly worthy of your time.

Empire of the Saviours is published by Gollancz and released on 17th May 2012. A sequel, Gateway of the Saviours, will be released in the future.

See larger image Empire of the Saviours (Hardcover) By (author) A J Dalton List Price: £20.00 GBP New From: £11.24 In Stock Used from: £11.27 In Stock

Day of Demons is a collection of powerful stories featuring the conflict of demons and humans over the course of a day.

Read how one women’s inner-self awakens to unexpected and frightening consequences, or how a charismatic half-breed thief is forced to strike a deal with a pen-stealing imp. Read about a mother as she struggles to cope with a deadly, satanic bargain, and a sword-wielding anti-hero as he returns out of exile to face his demonic fate.

Nine stories, nine demons, nine authors. From fantasy, to horror, to contemporary fiction, this anthology will fright, delight and grip you with tales of daring-do, danger and of course — demons.

Last year Anachron Press launched with the rather marvellous anthology, City of Hell. This week sees the launch of the second collection from this fledgling publisher.

The Deal by Karen Davies – A fantastical tale that follows a young adventurer who learns the hard way that coming to an agreement with even the lowliest of demons can cause you no end of grief. A nice balance of action, humour and re-interpretation of classic genre tropes gets things off to a great start. The ending is left wide open and I’d love to see this idea developed further. There definitely feels like there is a larger story here just waiting to be uncovered.

Inheritance by Phil Hickes – An old abandoned house containing hidden secrets and a grandson with a letter from beyond the grave, form the basis of a simple yet very effective tale. This story falls squarely into the short, sharp shock category and has an ending that will leave you open mouthed. The author gives you just enough detail for you to realise exactly how events are going to play out and it’s not going to be pretty.

The Serpent’s Kiss by Krista Walsh - An unexpected invite triggers a series of events that unleash Becca’s inner demon. Over the course of a few hours Becca goes from shy, awkward young woman to literal man-eater.

Sam & The Spear by Gary Bonn - Two children, one a bully the other a cowardly hero, face off against the toughest demons all the ones inside themselves.

Numen by V.D. Griesdoorn - Another tale of inheritance and one woman’s struggle to understand something that is completely alien to her. If I remember correctly this author delivered one of the most iconoclastic tales in the City of Hell anthology and she has done the same again here.

City of Light and Stone by Laura Diamond – Devils and demons are all about making deals. On the streets of Paris a man called Hector must complete a seemingly impossible task or face never-ending damnation.

The Cost of Glory by Edward Drake – Back firmly into the realms of fantasy and the last journey of Marek Stormheart.  Marek is a warrior of unsurpassed skill who is very nearly a living legend, famed for good deeds, shunned for bad. After a decade of hard fought questing, he is finally drawn homeward to face his demons. The highlight of this is the character of Marek himself. He’s not the nicest man you’re ever going to meet but I still found myself willing him on. Another story that I think screams out for further expansion. 

A Mother’s Love by James M. Mazzaro - The love of a mother pitted against the animal cunning of a demon, I know who I’d put my money on. I was worried for a moment that we’d get all the way through the anthology and there would be any stories that featured a deal made at a crossroads on a dark and stormy night. You can imagine me relief when that is exactly how this entry into the collection started. This was one of my favourite stories. The back and forth between the demon and the mother was pitched perfectly – one moment darkly funny, the next deliciously creepy.

The Devil and Mrs Milton by Sarah Anne Langton - The final story tells the tale of an old woman sitting waiting for her demon to arrive and collect on a bargain that was struck long before she was born. The question to be answered – is one lifetime time enough to discover a loophole in the rules?

Colin Barnes certainly has a knack for picking contributors that work well together. This anthology marks another solid outing from Anachron Press. The mixture of horror, fantasy and suspense mean there is something for everyone to enjoy. It’s always a pleasure to read the work of authors you have never come across before and, more importantly, to enjoy it. 

Day of Demons is published by Anachron Press and is available for your Kindle on Friday 13th April. A paperback version will be available shortly thereafter.

See larger image Day of Demons: A Dark Fantasy Collection (Kindle Edition) By (author) Karen Davies, Krista Walsh, Phil Hickes, Victoria Griesdoorn, Gary Bonn, Edward Drake, Laura Diamond, Sarah Anne Langton, James M. Mazzaro Release date April 9, 2012.

When Tudor explorers returned from the New World, they brought back a name out of half-forgotten Viking legend: skraylings. Red-sailed ships followed in the explorers’ wake, bringing Native American goods – and a skrayling ambassador – to London. But what do these seemingly magical beings really want in Elizabeth I’s capital?

Mal Catlyn, a down-at-heel swordsman, is seconded to the ambassador’s bodyguard, but assassination attempts are the least of his problems. What he learns about the skraylings and their unholy powers could cost England her new ally – and Mal Catlyn his soul.

Maliverny ‘Mal’ Catyln is a suitably heroic sort and he certainly typifies what you would expect from an Elizabethan dashing blade.  Driven to protect Queen and country, he throws himself into his role and won’t let anything stop him. Mal has a  roguish charm and his mix of easy manner and strong resolve make him a perfect protagonist.

Though Mal is an interesting lead, there were a couple of other characters that I was more taken with. Coby is a teenage girl who is forced to live her life pretending to be a boy, calling herself Jacob, in order to survive on her own. She is intelligent, inquisitive and has a quick wit. It struck me that she was far more sensible, and likeable, than the vast majority of her male contemporaries. The other character who struck a chord is Ned Faulkner, Mal’s best friend. I’ve not read a lot of fantasy fiction that features an openly gay character and I liked the dynamic that exists between Ned and Mal. There is an unrequited love that has a genuinely bittersweet air. Through Cody and Ned the author gets the chance to deliver some subtle, yet insightful, commentary on the nature of gender politics and sexuality in the 16th century.

One of the big questions that the novel examines is the coming together of different cultures. Initally the skraylings appear to be a slightly creepy, supernatural race, and their civilisation is completely alien to everyone that comes into contact with them.  Through his role as bodyguard, Mal gets to learn the secrets of their race. He gets to learn that in many ways the skraylings are not that dissimilar to us.

Anne Lyle’s writing manages to very effectively portray the differing faces of Tudor era England. In some scenes the reader will find themselves in the midst of a bawdy romp while in another there is the spectacle of all the pomp and ceremony of the age. Amongst all this decadence, there are also glimpses of the dark conspiracies and petty intrigues that existed at that time. Politics and murder walk hand in hand and it is up to Mal and his friends to discover the truth behind the lies.

One of my favourite things that about novels that have a historic setting is the language that an author gets the opportunity to play with. I can’t help but smile when I am faced with a hey nonny nonny. The Alchemist of Souls contains so many wonderful turns of phrase and scattering these throughout the text adds an extra layer of depth to the narrative. These little Shakespearean touches are a heck of a lot of fun.

Over on the Angry Robot website, author of  The Sword of Albion, Mark Chadbourn, has this to say about the novel.

“In her terrific debut novel, Anne Lyle conjures up a magical Elizabethan England of seedy glamour, long shadows, pulsating romance and heart-stopping adventure. The Alchemist of Souls is the calling card of a great new talent in the fantasy field.” 

Even after reading only the first few chapters I quickly realised that he was one hundred percent right. My advice Mr Chadbourn – you had better watch your back, you’ve got some serious competition.

The Alchemist of Souls published by Angry Robot and is already available in the US. The novel is released globally today.

See larger image The Alchemist of Souls (Angry Robot) (Paperback) By (author) Anne Lyle List Price: £8.99 GBP New From: £3.79 In Stock Used from: £4.40 In Stock

What better way than some news to dispel the grey nastiness of a dismal British afternoon. The following just popped into my inbox and I felt compelled to share.  

Strange Chemistry Signs Julianna Scott and Laura Lam for Two Books Apiece

Strange Chemistry, the YA imprint of Angry Robot Books, is delighted to announce the signing of two more fantastic YA authors for 2013: Julianna Scottand Laura Lam.

Julianna Scott has been signed for a two-book deal – negotiated by Strange Chemistry’s Amanda Rutter and Carly Watters of the P.S. Literary Agency – starting with The Holders. Laura Lam has also signed a two-book deal –
negotiated by Amanda Rutter and Juliet Mushens of Peters Fraser and Dunlop – starting with Pantomime.

Both titles will be published in the Spring of 2013.

About The Holders
17-year-old Becca has spent her whole life protecting her brother – from their father leaving and from the people who say the voices in his head are unnatural. When two strangers appear with apparent answers to Ryland’s “problem” and
details about a school in Ireland where Ryland will not only fit in, but prosper, Becca is up in arms.
She reluctantly agrees to join Ryland on his journey and what they find at St. Brigid’s is a world beyond their imagination. Little by little they piece together information about their family’s heritage and the legend of the Holder race that decrees Ryland is the one they’ve been waiting for. But they are all, especially Becca, in for a surprise that will change what they thought they knew about themselves and their kind.

About Julianna Scott

Julianna was born In Pittsburgh,  Pennsylvania, and spent the majority of her educational career convinced she would be a musician.  However, after receiving her music degree from Edinboro University of
Pennsylvania, she realized that she’d been born in the wrong era for her dreams of singing jazz to adoring fans
clad in zoot-suits and flapper dresses to come true, and began to wonder if her true calling might be elsewhere. While Julianna had always excelled in writing throughout school, she’d never considered it a career possibility until about three years ago, when she came up with her first story idea and decided to go for it. She grabbed her laptop, started
typing away, and has never looked back.

You can visit Julianna’s website at http://juliannascottauthor.com.

Amanda said: “The Holders showcases an utterly engaging new voice in YA fiction – with supernatural powers and a gripping love story set against the stunning backdrop of Ireland. I was enthralled and know you will be too.”

Julianna said: “I am so excited to be a Strange Chemistry author! It is truly a dream come true!”

About Pantomime

R.H. Ragona’s Circus of Magic is the greatest circus of Ellada. Nestled among the glowing blue Penglass – remnants of a mysterious civilisation long gone – are wonders beyond the wildest imagination. It’s a place where anything seems
possible, where if you close your eyes you can believe that the magic and knowledge of the vanished Chimeras is still there. It’s a place where anyone can hide. Iphigenia Laurus, or Gene, the daughter of a noble family, is uncomfortable in
corsets and crinoline, and prefers climbing trees to debutante balls. Micah Grey, a runaway living on the streets, joins the circus as an aerialist’s apprentice and soon becomes the circus’s rising star. But Gene and Micah have balancing acts of their own to perform, and a secret in their blood that could unlock the mysteries of Ellada.

About Laura Lam

Laura was raised near San Francisco, California, by two former Haight-Ashbury hippies. Both of them encouraged her to
finger-paint to her heart’s desire, colour outside of the lines, and consider the library a second home. This led to an overabundance of daydreams. She relocated to Scotland to be with her husband, whom she met on the internet
when he insulted her taste in books. She almost blocked him but is glad she didn’t. At times she misses the sunshine.

You can find Laura’s website at http://staticsplit.wordpress.com and follow her on Twitter at www.twitter.com/LR_Lam [@LR_Lam].

Laura says: “I originally subbed to Angry Robot Books’ Open Door Month a year ago, thinking I’d get a form rejection, shed a tear or two, and continue to write. It was a long year with much refreshing of my inbox, but I’ve learned so much and am grateful Amanda plucked me from the slush and gave me a chance to make Pantomime shine. I’m beyond excited to be a Strange Chemist.”

Amanda says: “I was Laura’s original reader during the Angry Robot Open Door Month and passed her MS along to the AR editors – even knowing that it was close to a first draft, because I saw the promise in this novel. After revising and
improving, Pantomime is now an incredibly rich novel with the tone of Robin Hobb and the adventure of Tamora Pierce – it is a new must-read in the realms of YA fantasy!” :::

More information can be found at strangechemistrybooks.com and
angryrobotbooks.com.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Harry Houdini team up to search for a literary-minded killer

It is 1923 and a beautiful young woman has just been found outside a tenement, bones crushed, head ripped from her shoulders. A few stories above, her squalid apartment has been ransacked, and twenty-dollar gold pieces litter the floor. The window frame is smashed. She seems to have been hurled from the building by a beast of impossible strength, and the only witness claims to have seen a long-armed ape fleeing the scene. The police are baffled, but one reporter recognizes the author of the bloody crime: the long-dead Edgar Allan Poe.

A psychopath is haunting New York City, imitating the murders that made Poe’s stories so famous. To Harry Houdini and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the killing spree is of purely academic interest. But when Poe’s ghost appears in Doyle’s hotel room, the writer and the magician begin to suspect that the murders may hold a clue to understanding death itself.

Conan Doyle and Houdini make for an intriguing double act.  Hjortsberg has taken a nugget of truth, the fact that they knew one another, and crafted a story around it. Both men were contemporaries and had occasion to travel in similar social circles from time to time. They also had a very public falling out over the subject of spiritualism. Conan Doyle was a firm believer while Houdini made it his mission to debunk so called practitioners. From that the author has created two characters that work as a perfect foil in a supernatural murder mystery.

The two men are from completely different worlds, have differing ideas about most things but still they respect each other’s opinion. They appear as almost the living embodiment of their respective countries. Conan Doyle is all stiff upper lips and ‘by jove’, the quintessential Brit abroad while Houdini is every inch the dapper American gent. Both are at the height of their respective professions and the verbal sparring between the two keeps things interesting.  It’s a nice touch that there are two protagonists that don’t see eye to eye on every detail.

The supernatural elements are quite subtly handled. The references to Edgar Allan Poe’s fiction are handled well and have a suitably gothic air. I’m sure that anyone who has ever read Poe before will enjoy trying to spot the elements that come from his work.

There are a host of historic cameos, the likes of Buster Keaton, Damon Runyon and W.C. Fields all make an appearance. Runyon in particular is an enjoyable inclusion as the author sprinkles his dialogue with lots of twenties slang. This adds a nice air of authenticity to proceedings.

Is this the book for you? Well, if you’ve watched and enjoyed Boardwalk Empire then you’ll get a lot from this book. The sights and sounds of the ‘Roaring Twenties’ are vividly brought to life. Prohibition era New York is a city full of dodgy dives and larger than life characters, this is the home of speakeasies and prize fights. Hjorstberg obviously delights in describing the outlandish, opulent detail of what was a very decadent time. Add just a hint of the supernatural and you’ll find yourself with a riveting read.

Nevermore was released on ebook by Open Road Media on 12th March 2012.

See larger image Nevermore: A Novel (Kindle Edition) By (author) William Hjortsberg Release date March 13, 2012.

Please note A Clash of Kings is the second novel in an on-going series and may therefore contain potential spoilers for anyone who has not read book one of the series, A Game of Thrones. Proceed at your own peril. 

The price of glory

From the ancient citadel of Dragonstone to the forbidding shores of Winterfell, chaos reigns as pretenders to the Iron Throne of the Seven Kingdoms prepare to stake their claims. As a prophecy of doom cuts across the sky – a comet the colour of blood and flame – five factions struggle for control of a divided land. Against a backdrop of incest and fratricide, alchemy and murder, the price of glory is measured in blood.

Almost a year ago I finally got around to reading the first novel in the saga A Song of Ice and Fire. I had actively avoided A Game of Thrones for a long time because, if I’m being honest, I was a little intimidated by the hugeness of it all. By the time I started reading there were already four novels available and the fifth was on the horizon. After completing, and enjoying, the first book I had significantly revised my opinion but decided to eek out the rest of the series so my reviews tie in with each new season of the HBO adaptation.

A Clash of Kings picks up from exactly the point where its predecessor left off. Westeros has been plunged into a bloody civil war as various factions attempt to stake their claim for the Iron Throne. The deaths of Robert Baratheon and Ned Stark have left a power vacuum and everyone is scrabbling around trying to fill it.

There are some truly epic moments as this massive, labyrinthine plot continues to unfold. The events at King’s Landing and Winterfell alone are guaranteed to capture a reader’s imagination. The fall out from both are bound to have wide ranging repercussions in the rest of the series. Meanwhile beyond The Wall the men of the Night’s Watch move closer to discovering the wildlings plans and far to the East, Daenerys Targaryen attempts to cement her position as the Mother of Dragons and leader of the Dothraki horde.

I also particularly enjoy the little details that Martin scatters throughout the story. A personal favourite is all the differing interpretations of the comet that has appeared in the night sky. Each group of characters uses its appearance to justify their own worldview. Is the comet a harbinger of doom, the herald of a new God or a sign of victory?

And what of all the huge cast of characters? You’ll be spoiled for choice, there are so many to choose from. Tyrion Lannister impresses as he deftly uses his only weapon, his intellect, to out think the rest of his family on an almost daily basis. Ser Davos Seaworth faces the difficult choice of doing what is right against remaining loyal to his king. Sansa and Ayra Stark both, individually, face the full horror of war. As an aside, it’s a genuine strength of the writing that I did start feeling sorry for Sansa. No mean feat when I actively disliked her character in the first novel. Even less prominent characters like The Hound, Sandor Clegane, get some excellent scenes.

Why is it worthwhile committing to reading such a huge series then? The bottom line is that A Song of Ice and Fire is all about Martin’s writing. He is a master storyteller and he breathes life into each and every scene he crafts. Swapping between multiple different story threads and viewpoints keeps things interesting once you get used to it.

It’s rare for me to get so caught up in the lives of the characters I read about, but there are so many gems just waiting to be discovered. With all the political machinations and personal vendettas you might think that a book this large, seven hundred plus pages, would feel a trifle bloated but the narrative doesn’t suffer and maintains an even pace.

I’m happily admit that Mr. Martin has his hooks firmly in me now. I’m committed to this series for the long haul. Suffice to say I’m willing to put money on the fact that at some point in 2013 I’ll be reviewing A Storm of Swords (book three).

A Clash of Kings is available now and is published by Harper Voyager. Unless I am very much mistaken, a television adaption of said tome is due to begin airing in the US on 1st April and on 2nd in the UK. I’ll be watching and I’m sure my enjoyment will be enhanced having read the mighty source text first.

See larger image A Song of Ice and Fire (2) - A Clash of Kings (Reissue) (Paperback) By (author) George R. R. Martin List Price: £8.99 GBP New From: £3.66 In Stock Used from: £4.00 In Stock

Since January things have been mysteriously quiet, some would say suspiciously so, on the Anarchy Books front. I was working on the assumption that Andy Remic was busy completing his crazed experiments in attempting to create an author who would work for nothing and required minimal supervision. Turns out I was wrong…

PRESS RELEASE

April 6^th, Good Friday, is also Good Anarchy Books Day! We’re releasing not 1 – not 2, but 7 (YES SEVEN!) new novels, and for a limited period we’re giving away our fabulous anthology VIVISEPULTURE for FREE! 

Our new releases are New York Blues by Eric Brown (hardcore SF heavyweight!), A Jar of Wasps by Luis Villazon (whom you may know as a technical writer on PCFormat, MACFormat and TechRadar.com, so he certainly knows his tech SF [digital] onions!),  Silversands and The Last Reef by Gareth L. Powell (rising star of contemporary SF), the gentle, beautiful fantasy Fynoderee by Alexander Caine-Duncan, and last but by no means least, Young Punks: A Tale of Anarchy in the UK, a fabulous oral history of growing up as punks in the 70s by BAFTA short-listed film director Paolo Sedazzari. And just to add to the fun, we’ll also be releasing a soundtrack to Young Punks by a brilliant raw new punk band, The Mice, containing their stunning mad single Sex Shop.

Check out www.anarchy-books.com for more information, and for details of how to get your FREE NOVEL – VIVISEPULTURE, and a free copy of SEX SHOP.

VIVISEPULTURE – Welcome to our anthology, a collection of weird and bizarre tales by Neal Asher, Tony Ballantyne, Eric Brown, Richard Ford, Ian Graham, Lee Harris, Colin Harvey, Vincent Holland-Keen, James Lovegrove, Gary McMahon, Stan Nicholls, Andy Remic, Jordan Reyne, Ian Sales, Steven Savile, Wayne Simmons, Guy N. Smith, Adrian Tchaikovsky, Jeffrey Thomas, Danie Ware, Ian Watson and Ian Whates. Artwork by Vincent Chong.

In the tradition of Poe, Kafka, Borges and H. G. Wells, this collection of weird stories are written with the primary drive of presenting twisted deviations of normality. Whether it’s the deviant factory workers of Neal Asher’s Plastipak™ Limited, the pus-oozing anti-cherub of Ian Graham’s Rotten Cupid, the acid-snot disgorging freak of Andy Remic’s SNOT, or Ian Watson’s alternate zombie-crucifixion, ZOMBIBLE, each story will drag your organs up through your oesophagus and give your brain a chilli-fired beating!

Please note this is novel is a direct sequel to The Mayan Resurrection and third in an on-going series. This review may contain potential spoilers for those who have not read books one and two. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Fate comes full circle…

It is 2047: fourteen years since Jacob Gabriel descended into the Mayan netherworld, while his twin brother turned from their chosen path, opting to remain behind.  

Immanuel Gabriel – still running from the forces that hunt his bloodline – believes his actions proved his role in the Mayan prophecy to be nothing but an ancient myth. Now, though, he will realize his mistake. 

As the prophecy begins to repeat itself and mankind once again faces annihilation, Immanuel learns there was only ever one person with the power to end the cycle of destruction: himself.

Three successive generations of the Gabriel family have now been involved in the race to save the Earth from itself. This novel finally brings them all together, no mean feat when at least one of them has been dead for decades. The action moves from 2047 back to 1990 and then forward again to the eve of the apocalyptic event the Mayans predicted in 2012.

Immanuel ‘Manny’ Gabriel is the focus for much of this novel, this is a nice touch as he spent much of The Mayan Resurrection (book two) overshadowed by his sibling, Jacob. There are some good moments where Manny gets the opportunity to revisit some key scenes from the previous novels, but the author has subtly tweaked them to give a slightly differing perspective than before.

Time travel has always struck me as a tricky story element to get right, there is always the possibility that you are going to lose your audience if you make things overly complex when you are write about it. Time loops, past lives, parallel time lines, temporal paradoxes and the like seem to exist just to trip an author up. Alten manages to handle this all quite well and I was able to follow the various cross-dimensional action without any degree of difficulty.

The same criticism I leveled at book two is still true in book three. At times there is a distinct over indulgence of fact that interrupts the flow of the fiction. Don’t get me wrong, I understand that a certain amount of exposition is required but there does seem to be an awful lot of it. Like its predecessor, this novel is very nearly six hundred pages long and I think it could have been trimmed down a bit. Losing some of the more detailed explanations would not have done any harm.

That small gripe aside I did actually enjoy the story. The series has successfully morphed from a thriller with science fiction elements (book one) into full-on galaxy spanning sci-fi (book three). Alten has written the literary equivalent of a shell game and the reader has to pay close attention or risk losing sight of the cup that contains the pea under it.

Looking around at reviews elsewhere I think that Alten is a bit of a marmite author, you either connect with his work and enjoy the ride or don’t.  I can appreciate that this series is not for everyone, there is lots of back and forth that some readers may find confusing, personally I enjoyed the challenge of trying to keep up. The best advice I can give is that, if you enjoyed the first two books then you will enjoy this one as well. Conversely I should also stress that the book will be utterly confusing if you haven’t read books one and two.

There is also a short epilogue at the novel’s end that suggests there may be more of this story still to tell. I’m not sure if another novel is entirely necessary? Though I am open to the prospect of being convinced however.  Honestly I would much prefer that there was a re-issue of Alten’s bonkers prehistoric shark magnum opus Meg.

The Mayan Destiny was originally published under the title Phobos: Mayan Fear in the United States back in 2011. The Mayan Destiny is published by Quercus in the UK and is available now.

See larger image The Mayan Destiny: Book Three of The Mayan Trilogy (Paperback) By (author) Steve Alten List Price: £6.99 GBP New From: £2.98 In Stock Used from: £3.83 In Stock

When staying alive is the only game worth playing…

Detective Jacob Striker has had more than his fair share of brushes with death. But this one really shocks him. When he is called to attend a suicide at a decrepit apartment on the bad side of town, the case unexpectedly brings him one step closer to home. This time the victim is not just another sad statistic – the end product of mental illness and drug addiction – this time it’s someone Striker knows and cares about.

And one thing is obvious to Striker: this wasn’t a suicide.

LIFE

Striker’s investigation quickly leads him to the Riverglen Mental Health Facility. The victim was a patient from the support group overseen by psychiatrist Dr Erich Overmann. And when Striker discovers that Larisa Logan – a dear friend of his, is also a patient of Dr Overmann – has gone missing, his investigation goes into overdrive.

OR

Racing against time and a chilling adversary, Striker searches desperately for Larisa. It is a dangerous game they play, where on right step can catapult you to a place of dominance – and one wrong step can leave you sliding to your doom.

DEATH?

Jacob Striker comes across as an engaging lead. He is driven to locate his missing friend and won’t let bureaucracy stand in his way of getting to the truth. He has various run-ins with authority figures, and I always found myself willing Striker on. He has an old school approach to his investigation and tends to go with his gut.  He’ll take a chance and is willing to make intuitive leaps.

The dynamic between Striker and his partner Felicia was somewhat unexpected. They work together but there is a deeper relationship that causes a certain amount of friction between them both. I liked the unpredictability that this added to the narrative. The volatile spark this creates ensures that things never get boring while the partners try to unravel the mystery.

One of the things I particularly liked is the fact that the author includes a number of chapters written from the perspective of Striker’s opponent. The reader gets to learn the motivations behind the person who is running rings around the authorities. You get inside their head and get a genuine sense of the chaos and cunning that resides there. I wouldn’t dream of giving away any spoilers, but suffice to say that this character, known only as The Adder, is one extremely sick puppy.

A few years ago I read some crime fiction by another Canadian author called Michael Slade. Slade’s novels are also set in Vancouver and were so dark that the stories seemed to exist somewhere in the thin line between crime and horror fiction. Sean Slater’s writing puts me in mind of that work. Both authors have a certain flair when it comes to digging into the darker side of the human psyche. The psychological elements that are played upon in this story tread some pretty harrowing ground.

After a bit of investigation of my own I confirmed my suspicion that Snakes and Ladders is the second title to feature Jacob Striker. There is another novel called The Survivor, which is already available. Though I have not read this I don’t think this detracted from my enjoyment of Snakes and Ladders. I picked up on a couple of references that must relate to the first novel but not knowing this backstory wasn’t a particular hindrance. If anything I’m more inclined now to seek out the first book and fill in the blanks.

Snakes and Ladders is published by Simon and Schuster and is available now.

See larger image Snakes & Ladders (Paperback) By (author) Sean Slater List Price: £12.99 GBP New From: £4.44 In Stock Used from: £8.53 In Stock