I have explained in the past that I am not a massive fan of short story collections but there is an exception to every rule. In my opinion, The Wild Cards novels are the best ongoing series of short stories available today. When I heard that Tor Books was re-releasing the first novel I felt compelled to immediately start re-reading my old copy. How best to describe the concept of Wild Cards? The quick answer would be – imagine an alternative Earth where an alien virus has been released and as Read more […]

In the 25th Century the British Space Empire faces the gathering menace of the evil ant-soldiers of the Ghast hive, hell-bent of galactic domination and the extermination of all humanoid life. Back in the dim and distant past when I was at university, I was introduced to the scoundrel that is Harry Flashman. Created by George McDonald Fraser, in a series of books collectively known as The Flashman Papers, dear old Flashy rode rough shod over the 19th century leaving his imaginary mark over Read more […]

“He died in battle . He was reborn in victory”. In the film Groundhog Day, Bill Murray repeatedly wakes up and re-lives the same 24hrs over and over again. Each time the cycle repeats, he learns another valuable lesson about his life. All You Need is Kill by Hiroshi Sakurakzaka has a similar premise but instead of being set in Punxsutawney it is set on the muddy battlefields of Japan in the midst of a future war. Alien creatures called Mimics have landed and are attempting to invade Earth. Read more […]