LEGENDS AREN’T BORN. THEY’RE FORGED. Dug Sealskinner is a down-on-his-luck mercenary travelling south to join up with King Zadar’s army. But he keeps rescuing the wrong people. First, Spring, a child he finds scavenging on the battlefield, and then Lowa, one of Zadar’s most fearsome warriors, who’s vowed revenge on the king for her sister’s execution. Now Dug’s on the wrong side of that thousands-strong army he hoped to join ­- and worse, Zadar has bloodthirsty druid magic on his side. All Dug has is his war hammer, one rescued child and one unpredictable, highly-trained warrior with a lust for revenge that’s going to get them all killed . . . It’s a glorious day to die. Turns out Iron Age Britain is not an easy place to get by in. The country is fragmented into many warring tribes constantly at one another’s throats. Bickering warlords try to grab hold of as much land and power as they can manage while trying to ignore the ever growing threat of the Roman Empire. Dug Sealskinner is a slightly shabby warrior, past his best, with a suitably world-weary outlook towards life. It’s not difficult to spot, the sardonic attitude, resigned acceptance of…

Irregularity is a collaboration between the National Maritime Museum and award-winning publisher Jurassic London: a collection of fourteen original stories from some of the most exciting voices in contemporary fiction. Using the Longitude Act as the jumping off point, Irregularity is inspired by the great thinkers of the Age of Reason – those courageous men and women who set out to map, chart, name and classify the world around them. The great minds who brought order and discipline to the universe. Except where they didn’t. Irregularity contains new stories from Nick Harkaway, Claire North, Adam Roberts, E. J. Swift, Tiffani Angus, Rose Biggin, Kim Curran, Richard de Nooy, Archie Black, Simon Guerrier, Roger Luckhurst, Henrietta Rose-Innes, James Smythe, M. Suddain and Adam Roberts. The anthology includes an afterword from Sophie Waring and Richard Dunn, Head of Science and Technology and Royal Museums Greenwich. The stories are illustrated by Gary Northfield, based on imagery from the archives of the National Maritime Museum. The cover shows “Resolution”, a work by Howard Hardiman. It’s been a while since I’ve read an anthology and when Irregularity dropped through my letterbox it appeared that the book gods were indeed smiling on me. Fourteen new works…

Please note Murder is a direct sequel to Mayhem. It is entirely possible that this review may contain spoilers if you have not read the first book in this duology. Dr Thomas Bond, Police Surgeon, is still recovering from the events of the previous year when Jack the Ripper haunted the streets of London – and a more malign enemy hid in his shadow. Bond and the others who worked on the gruesome case are still stalked by its legacies, both psychological and tangible. But now the bodies of children are being pulled from the Thames… and Bond is about to become inextricably linked with an uncanny, undying enemy. When we last met Dr Thomas Bond he, and his small group of allies, had defeated an evil that was stalking the streets of London. That encounter had left everyone it touched fundamentally changed. Years have passed and Bond is still suffering from the after effects. When evil resurfaces in the city, he is once again compelled to intercede but is the doctor strong enough to survive a second battle? In some chapters the point of view shifts from the good doctor to various other characters. Julianna Harrington and Henry Moore both…

Gosh, has it really already been twelve months since we all survived the Mayan apocalypse? It’s amazing how quickly we all forgot about that isn’t it? All those giant beasties, strange lights in the sky and everything. Crazy times, eh? Never mind, I’m sure there will another rapture-like event arriving imminently. While we’re waiting, why not pull up a chair and we can talk a bit about some of the top genre books that have arrived in the last year. I’ve decided, as I’ve done in the past, to hold an impromptu little awards ceremony. As ever the categories and winners are decided on by a crack team of intelligent, well-educated genre experts me. Here they are then, in no specific order, without any further rigmarole/needless waffle. Welcome Return of the Year Award – The Republic of Thieves delivered exactly the experience I was hoping for. I found myself getting happier and happier with each passing chapter. Just wonderful to have Locke Lamora, Jean Tannen and the other Gentlemen Bastards back. Great to see Scott Lynch’s return and to confirm he is still delivering exquisitely crafted fantasy. Character of the Year – Ack-Ack Macaque – This was a no brainer. C’mon people, he’s a cigar smoking, smart-mouthed simian who flies…

Forget everything you know about the big bad wolf. It’s not that simple any more. Here are werewolves, skin walkers, demons and unknown dangers. Nothing can be relied upon, not species not shape, not gender. In this second Fox Pocket collection of short flash fiction we explore what happens when nothing is what it seems. You’ll need more than a red hood this time. The idea of this collection immediately appeals. It’s no secret that I’m a huge fan of weres and shapeshifters. Hell, I‘ll even go so far as admit I was a devotee of Manimal back in the day (oh yeah, I went there). The promise of an entire book full of shape-shifting tales is just too good to pass up. Fifteen stories from fifteen different authors, each promising insight into the animal within. Here are some of the standouts – Carlos by K.A. Laity – Poor old Carlos. Everyone deserves the chance to indulge in the thing that they love, but the life of a shape-shifting rodent isn’t always a happy one. This rather beautiful little story ends on a pitch perfect bittersweet note. Eigi Einhammr by Rahne Sinclair – Harald has been caught poaching the King’s…

WEWELSBURG CASTLE, 1940. The German war machine has woken an ancient threat – the alien Vril and their Ubermensch have returned. Ultimate Victory in the war for Europe is now within the Nazis’ grasp. ENGLAND, 1941 Foreign Office trouble shooter Guy Pentecross has stumbled into a conspiracy beyond his imagining – a secret war being waged in the shadows against a terrible enemy. The battle for Europe has just become the war for humanity.   I don’t read a massive amount of alternate history, but I have to admit that something about the premise of this novel immediately appealed to me. Secret Nazi schemes involving advanced alien races and the quest for the Nietzschean superman. A plot like that sounds as though it could certainly hold the promise of something entertaining. Rising against the Nazi/Vril threat are the men and women of Station Z, the British department who exist shrouded in the utmost secrecy. They are tasked with stopping Axis plans by any means necessary, even if that involves working with “the most evil man who ever lived”. There are also a handful of chapters that cover the action from the perspective of the Axis soldiers. These provide a nice…

Fergus’s world changes forever the day his car crashes near the remote village of Allingley. Traumatised by his near-death experience, he stays to work at the local stables as he recovers from his injuries. He will discover a gentler pace of life, fall in love and be targeted for human sacrifice. Clare Harvey’s life will never be the same either. The young archaeologist’s dream find the peat-preserved body of a Saxon warrior is giving her nightmares. She can tell that the warrior was ritually murdered, and that the partial skeleton lying nearby is that of a young woman. And their tragic story is unfolding in her head every time she goes to sleep. Fergus discovers that his crash is linked to the excavation, and that the countryside harbours some dark secrets. As Clare’s investigation reveals the full horror of a Dark Age war crime, Fergus and Clare seem destined to share the Saxon couple’s bloody fate. I’ll begin with a confession, I’ve been told its good for the soul. I have spent the last week agonising over how to write anything resembling a coherent review of this book. Not, I should stress, because the book is bad, quite the reverse in…

Carthage, 146 BC. This is the story of Fabius Petronius Secundus – Roman legionary and centurion – and of his general Scipio Aemilianus, and his rise to power: from his first battle against the Macedonians, that seals the fate of Alexander the Great’s successors, to total war in North Africa and the Siege of Carthage. Scipio’s success brings him admiration and respect, but also attracts greed and jealousy – for the closest allies can become the bitterest of enemies. And then there is the dark horse, Julia, of the Caesar family – in love with Scipio but betrothed to his rival Paullus – who causes a vicious feud. Ultimately for Scipio it will come down to one question: how much is he prepared to sacrifice for his vision of Rome? Inspired by Total War: Rome II, from the bestselling Total War series, Destroy Carthage is the first in an epic series of novels. Not only the tale of one man’s fate, it is also a journey to the core of Roman times, through a world of extraordinary military tactics and political intrigue that Rome’s warriors and citizens used to cheat death. I don’t read a huge amount of tie-in fiction,…

To claim the powers of the legendary golden lotus, Tori Harding, a Victorian woman, must journey to Bharata, with its magics, intrigues and ghosts, to claim her fate, and face a choice between two suitors and two irreconcilable realms.  It is 1857. After millennia of seafaring, and harried by the kraken of the deep, in a monumental feat of engineering Anglica has built a stupendous bridge to Bharata. Bharata’s magical powers are despised as superstition, but its diamonds and cotton are eagerly exploited by Anglic colonials. Seething with unrest over its subjugation, Bharata strikes back with bloody acts of magical terrorism.  Despite these savage attacks, young Tori Harding yearns to know if Bharata’s magics may also be a path to scientific discovery. Tori’s parents hold little hope for her future because she has a club foot. Therefore they indulge her wish to have instruction in science from her famous botanist grandfather, even though, as a woman she will be denied a career in science by the male-dominated scientific societies. Though courted by a friend of the family, Captain Edmond Muir-Smith, Tori has taken to heart her grandfather’s warning not to exchange science for “married slavery.”  Emboldened by her grandfather’s final…

London, 1859. Novice detective, Campbell Lawless, stumbles onto the trail of Berwick Skelton, an elusive revolutionary, threatening to bring the city to its knees with devilish acts of terror. Thrust into a lethal, intoxicating world of sabotage and royal scandal – and aided by a gang of street urchins and a vivacious librarian – Lawless sets out to capture his underworld nemesis before he unleashes his final vengeance. Murder. Vice. Pollution. Delays on the Tube. Some things never change… I’ve discovered over the last couple of years that I really enjoy historical crime fiction. Taking the staples of a good mystery and adding the extra wrinkle of a different time period can really breathe new life into the genre. Authors like Sarah Pinborough and Lynn Shepherd have produced novels that are hugely entertaining, marvellously evocative and a pleasure to read. William Sutton’s debut, set in Victorian England, treads similar ground. The big question is though, does it deliver? Things get off to a good start, Sutton’s writing vividly brings the hustle and bustle of Victorian London to life. The capital is still caught in the vast changes brought about by the Industrial Revolution. You can sense the frenetic energy of the city. Everyone has a purpose,…

 Ulfar Thormodsson has spent two years travelling as envoy and bodyguard to his high-born cousin. They have one last stop – the walled town of Stenvik – before they can finally go home. Audun Arngrimsson works his forge and lives a secretive, solitary life. No one knows about his past, and he’d like to keep it that way. But the Old Gods have other ideas. The factions within Stenvik are about to come to blows, but a far bigger battle is approaching: a young king is bringing the White Christ at point of sword and edge of blade. And on the horizon are the sails of another, more mysterious enemy…  There is a 2009 film called Vahalla Rising by Nicholas Winding Refn that stars the uber-talented Mads Mikkelsen. It follows the journeys of a Viking and explores the stark, often brutal, time which he lived. Swords of Good Men, the latest publication from Jo Fletcher Books, covers similar thematic territory but goes that little bit further. Imagine a novel that offers insight into the nature of a proud warrior culture and how tribes managed on a day-to-day basis. The remote settlement of Stenvik is a hard place to survive, in fact,…