Journey back to Regency England – Land of the Undead Dawn of the Dreadfuls by Steve Hockensmith is a prequel to the hugely successful zombie/Jane Austen mash-up novel Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. Set five years before the first novel, it follows the five Bennet sisters as they are trained in the deadly arts of the warrior, in order to combat the undead menace that plagues England. The reader learns of Oscar Bennet’s part in ‘The Troubles’ and how, as a younger man, he made a promise to raise all his children as warriors, irrespective of their gender. It is a definite plus point that the reader gets to learn more about the character of Mr Bennet. In Pride and Prejudice and Zombies he is very much a secondary character but in the prequel his story is brought to the fore. He is head of the family and still, just about, in control of his wayward daughters. Once again Elizabeth is the main female protagonist but in this case she is only eighteen and much less sure of herself. Mr Darcy is not yet on the scene so she finds herself torn between the enigmatic Master Hawksworth, and a man of…

“It is a truth universally acknowledged that a zombie in possession of brains must be in want of more brains.” Recently I wrote the following statement while reviewing a book – I have often suspected any novel can only be enhanced by the addition of rampaging hordes of undead. The publisher Quirk Books, originators of the mash-up novel, were obviously listening and sent me some books that would allow me to test that theory. Over the next few days I’ll be posting reviews of a few of them. The first novel I read is Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Jane Austen & Seth Grahame-Smith. Before I begin, I have an admission to make, I have to be honest and admit that I have never read any of Jane Austen’s work. After discussing the book at length with my wife, who has read Austen, I am assured that the majority of the plot remains the same as the original text. The five Bennet sisters are all of marriageable age and their mother is keen to ensure that they all marry well into wealthy, well to-do families. The second eldest daughter, Elizabeth, is headstrong and independent. She refuses to bow to convention and…

Department 6 is the Army. Department 13 is MI5. Department 19 is the reason you’re alive. When I initially launched The Eloquent Page I didn’t even consider reading, never mind reviewing, any young adult fiction. Towards the end of last year I changed my mind and decided to take the plunge. I read The Enemy by Charlie Higson and All You Need is Kill by Hiroshi Sakurazaka and I have to admit I was just blown away by both. They were great examples of their respective genres and it was clear to me that young adult fiction had come a long way since my teenage years. With those experiences still fresh in my mind, I was keen to try another novel aimed at the teen market. There has been a lot of buzz around the Internet in the last couple of months regarding Department 19 by Will Hill so when I got the opportunity to read an advance copy I jumped at the chance. Seen through the eyes of sixteen year old Jamie Carpenter, the reader is introduced to the United Kingdom’s most secret government agency – Department 19. Jamie and his widowed mother are attacked by a strange creature one night in…

Hungry for You by A M Harte is a short fiction collection that examines the links between love, relationships and death.  There are ten short tales each with their own take on these themes. My personal favourites are listed below. Promises – An infected man watches as his girlfriend begins to turn into a zombie. In just three short pages Harte nicely sets the tone for what to expect from the other tales in the book. Hungry for You – This story was one of the highlights of the collection for me. It reads like a police procedural but with added zombies. Some interesting ideas about how the undead are seen, and used by the living. This reads like a prologue to a larger story and I would be keen to read more. A Prayer to Garlic – I like when an author takes an existing mythos and turns it on its head. What happens when an unfeeling creature like a zombie begins to care? Dead Man’s Rose–A women is trapped in an abusive relationship. She finds the strength to deal with her predicament only to end up even more trapped than before. The author uses both types of entrapment…

Joanna Raines has a degenerative condition that affects her vision. In an effort to save her sight she has been the recipient of an eye transplant. In Dead Man’s Eye by Shaun Jeffrey the reader joins Joanna while she is on the mend. Still physically and emotionally fragile, she witnesses a traumatic accident where she sees a man losing an arm. After the accident Joanna is aware of a black shadow surrounding the injured man. Initially she thinks nothing of it, her new eye playing tricks on her, but when their paths cross again at the local hospital Joanna realises that something terrible has happened. The injured man, Lincoln Parker, has been possessed by a demon and Joanna is the only person that is aware of its presence. Most of the action in the story takes place in and around the hospital where Lincoln is recuperating. This location works well. A vast maze of corridors, many rooms and a huge basement are used as an effective backdrop to the ongoing chase that develops between Joanna and the demon that is hunting her. Malachi, the demon, makes for a downright nasty villain. His human host is a body builder so he…

The Eye of the Moon by Anonymous is the follow up to The Book with No Name, presumably written by the same author. I read the first novel a couple of years ago and thought it was a fun, easy read that contained some entertaining elements. Based on that, I decided to give the sequel a try. The story is once again set in the fictional sleazy American border town of Santa Mondega and follows various low lives as they try to get their hands on a magical crystal, the mysteriously monickered The Eye of the Moon. This gem has many powers and will grant the wearer a raft of supernatural abilities. There is a near endless list of characters who want the stone for their own nefarious schemes. In the mix we have vampires, werewolves, ancient Egyptian mummies, monks, bikers, bartenders, serial rapists, mental patients and the worlds most successful murderer – The Bourbon Kid. This is my main problem with the novel. There was such an enormous cast of characters that I felt the overall story suffered. With such a large dramatis personae, I had difficulty determining who I should be routing for. I wanted a standout character…

Rob and Becky bought the old place after the death of their son, to repair and renovate – to patch things up and make the building habitable. They both knew that they were trying to fix more than the house, but the cracks in their marriage could not be papered over. Then they found the Quiet Room. Written by Gary McMahon What They Hear in the Dark is an intimate tale about love and loss. Rob and Becky have suffered a terrible tragedy and are trying to put the past behind them and continue with their lives. They have a new home, and hope to make a new start. It quickly becomes evident, however, that neither of them has been able to move on. When the story begins Becky and Rob have reached the stage where they are barely able to communicate with one another. The spirit of their murdered son seems to hang in the periphery of their lives. The story takes a turn when they discover a strange windowless room in their new house that is utterly quiet. Becky and Rob have very different perspectives of the Quiet Room. Becky is reassured, feels at peace and closer to the…

Last year I enjoyed reading the anthology Zombie Apocalypse! So I thought I would take the chance to dip my toes into the waters of shorts fiction once again. Sticking with horror, I was given the opportunity by Mortbury Press to read volume six of the Black Book of Horror. There are fifteen short stories in this volume ranging from paranormal horror to psychological horror. Overall, the anthology was very good, but rather than give too much away I thought I would give some feedback on the entries that were personal highlights for me. Six of the Best by John Llewellyn Probert – In the first story the psychic medium on a ‘Most Haunted’ style television show is plagued by gruesome visions of the dead.  A strong start to this anthology with an unexpected and unpleasant twist. This sets a high standard for the other stories to measure up to. Traffic Stream by Simon Kurt Unsworth – I liked the notion of taking a mundane activity, in this case giving directions over a phone to a colleague, and turning into something horrific. An Unconventional Exorcism by R. B. Russell–A quirky and darkly comic tale that is more funny than horrific….

This is you. This is now. And your number is up. For reasons that are too complicated to touch upon here I have long been a fan of apocalyptic and post apocalyptic fiction. Novels about the end of the world have always sparked my imagination and over the years I have read a fair number. Some, like Swan Song by Robert McCammon, and Blood Crazy Simon Clark, I keep going back to again and again. I always look forward to reading a new example of the genre and so was happy when I finally managed to pick up a copy of One by Conrad Williams. The novel follows deep sea diver Richard Jane, in the immediate aftermath of an extinction level event as he tries to travel from the north of Scotland to London in order to find his son, Stanley.  The country’s infrastructure has been swept away in an instant, and rather than hours, it takes him weeks to get back home. Every step of the way Jane is presented with some fresh horror. Throughout the journey, Jane comes to realise the true scope of the tragedy that has occurred. Towns and cities are ruined, survivors are few and far between, and…

Thanks to @Madnad, my better half, for taking some time out of her busy schedule to provide another review. Subterranean Press recently released a limited reprint of this book, which was originally published in 1989 by Grafton (Harper Collins). In honour of this, it deserves a re-read and a review as I am sure that there are a few people out there completely unaware of this gem. It is a werewolf story completely unlike any other I have ever read and even 20 years after it was released is still a good read. Forget Underworld, forget The Howling, and definitely forget Twilight… this Lycanthrope is more ‘James Bond’ than ‘Lucian’. The prologue offers us two tales – one of a wolf and one of a man – and introduces us to the two aspects of Michael Gallatin. Born Mikhail Gallatinov to an aristocratic family in Csarist Russia, Michael now works as a British spy and is sent on an important mission into Nazi occupied France. The book works almost like two novels in one, flitting between the two halves of Michael’s life and at times, is in danger of spoiling the pace of the story. The first story is an…

I’m very lucky in that I have had the chance to read some excellent novels in the past twelve months. I also took the plunge and launched The Eloquent Page back in July so I thought that now we are creeping towards the end of 2010 I would take the opportunity to reveal my literary highlights of the year. Not all of the books listed below were published in 2010 but I read them this year so as far as I’m concerned that meets my flimsy attempt at criteria. The books that I have reviewed on the site contain links back to the original reviews. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larrson – Brutal, daring and utterly gripping. Some of the subject matter is harrowing but once the story gets going you will be completely hooked. A superior thriller that establishes a hard as nails heroine in Lisbeth Salander. Well worth checking out the original Swedish language film as well. The Road to Bedlam by Mike Shevdon – I purchased Mike Shevdon’s debut novel Sixty One Nails on a whim and was totally captivated by the story. The sequel continues developing the tale of Niall and Blackbird. This…