Another Space in Time

Putting on young shoes, this is definitely a 5 star. Slopping in my comfy middle-aged slippers, this is definitely a 5 star. The writing is every bit as good as any hunk of Rowling's fantasy, and if anything the plot has more originality. I have to admit to being a bit of a long-term fan of books that can mysteriously pluck me from everyday life and plunge me into the realms of fantasy. The escape into otherness, away from this all too real existence, to weird places that night's illusions so often strive to go, is done very well in Lethal Inheritance. If we wish we can explain everything as delusion, or the stuff of nightmare, or of chemical concoction, possibly as shadows on the edge of perception, or simply consider this fantasy as metaphor for some deep, private, spirituality. I can't be bothered to dwell for long on such particulars, preferring to just get on with enjoying a very good tale told very well. Newland effortlessly draws us out of a suburban bedroom windo...

Upload grabbed my attention early on and wouldn’t let go. Having teenage children, in a society where all YAs seem to live half-way towards the world of McClelland’s main character Raymond, I had no trouble in seeing this as a very near future story. This science fiction contains plenty of technology, but it is anchored firmly in speculative and metaphysical science fiction arenas. Technology has just arrived at the point when human mental complexity, brain memory and an accurate digital physical copy can be accurately reproduced and uploaded into an electronic world. In other words, total digital maps of all that we are can be transferred into a created environment populated by whatever programmers choose to build. Many of this story’s characters’ lives have become increasingly dominated by “gaming”. Now they can really be part of the game. This intriguing technology has led Raymond, who lives on the edge of some sort of autism spectrum disorder, to plan to escape from the rea...

The mechanics of the plot are well designed, the first requirement of any legal thriller. I have no idea as to whether all the detailed legal structure holds up, or even the total psychological profile of the killer, not that such exactitudes have much influence on the stories excitement. What is important is that I was drawn in, founding myself to be genuinely concerned for the safety of Tara and Shining. The menacing power of the killer seemed only too real. I had no trouble believing the mix of sexual attraction and repulsion that Tara felt for both the killer, and her ex-lover, Ben. People are a mix of often contradictory and always confusing quirks, characteristics that Forster plays very well. All the characters worked for me, all flawed, all, including the killer, a mix of good and bad. The only relationship I struggled to believe was Bill's with his mother, but here we are on the very fringes of the story. To be a five star book I felt I needed better legal resolution, t...

Leah is not just a book with many of the traditional elements of romance, it is a life art experience. This is a moving tapestry, every bit as perceptive as we come to assume are the paintings created by the main character Mar. This is a psychological book, which deeply explores people and the moments that create them. We actually brush up against the paranormal, how closely will depend on the minds of the reader. The beautifully crafted words provide the frame; our imaginations are drawn to paint the colours. We may not at first know all Haffar's rich characters, but most will know a Mar, a Lemay, an Oscar. By the end we know the island and its inhabitants so well that they must long live in one's consciousness. On the evidence of this book, Dana K.Haffar deserves a great deal of success. A isolated island where the entire economy revolves around fishing, and everyone knows everyone else's business, provides a retreat for the central character and her daughter from a dom...

This is mainstream romance. Jennings writes in a traditional long style, taking care to build his characters, and draw the reader deep into their lives. The "heroic doctor" is very much the centre of the story, playing a handsome but needy romantic. Briana is the centre of surgeon Michael's, attention, a young beauty that appears to be too good to be true. That was almost the story! Both Michael and Briana are amongst the over-rich of affluent society America. Both though are "the right sort", generous with their skills, time and money. Michael's role as Good Samaritan heads the relationship towards disaster. Remember though, this is classic romance. Flight Surgeon is a book for the leisurely holiday, or the long weekends unwind. Some of it was a little too schmaltzy for my taste, and some of the build was a touch long; but overall I really enjoyed it, and I know that regular readers of romance will love this book. The sex is more about good hands than...

This beautifully written book is full of inventiveness, emotion, and clever re-examinations of a host of fantasy ideas. This is a modern adult fairy story, which draws on so many classic themes and cultural tales that it is difficult to guess which ones were originally uppermost in Alayan's mind. It is not that we need to de-construct to enjoy the story; it is simply that as a writer I cannot stop myself wondering from where the spark came. What we do need to do, if cynical adults, is to re-construct some aspects of our childish selves. After all, this is a fairy story in which wooden puppets can talk. Remember back to when Pinocchio seemed plausible. Now get on with finding your own way onto the train with Oliver and Sophie. Alayan enables us to see a complex world through the eyes of the variably innocent and naïve, whilst at the same time she avoids creating a childish story. Her fairy tale grows out of what is already a fantasy world, one a dimension away from our own, and t...

This is a Bookpleasures review  http://goo.gl/nSmFQ  of a Amazon book  http://www.amazon.com/The-Downs-Being-Dead-ebook/dp/B0086QBAMC This is a very inventive and truly speculative science fiction drama, which kept me interested from page one to the final word. The plot works very well, provided of course one is prepared to temporarily take on-board the very speculative premise. The idea that one may be able to exist, be a ghost, between the realm of the living and the kingdom of God or oblivion, works well enough for me. Cornelius has some unusual "explanations" for some behaviours that actually fit well to many theories about the subconscious and psychotic illness. You will be missing the enjoyment of a great story if you can't embrace the idea that out of body experiences may be portends of the future, rather than just the dying illusions of oxygen starved minds. The revival of tissues from cryogenic suspension has already been shown to work. It may not be long bef...

http://www.amazon.com/The-Wake-Dragon-Steampunk-ebook/dp/B0080UVQIW This was my first Steampunk novel; immediately I'm wondering my neglect. Hawkins writing is good enough that I was unaware of reading, as the words flowed so effortlessly into the adventure. Some writers can make me feel I'm watching film, I felt that. Hawkins crafts a wonderful adventure out of her genre inspired distortion of 19th Century History. We read about a fictitious battle for wealth, conducted by industry, traders and outright crooks. In particular we observe a battle for the trade in opium and other nefarious goods between all parties from the huge East India Company, down to the lowest of pirates. We are not though, as history would lead us to expect, at sea. We are in the skies above East Anglia, London, Cornwall and eventually Paris. Pirates in airships and other inventively interpreted steam age technologies add a magical layer to Victoriana. Imagine Montgolfier balloons with wooden...

http://www.amazon.com/Unhinged-ebook/dp/B0056IPCSQ If I didn't read the news regularly I would have found it hard to believe the sick minds and warped thinking described in this very disturbing thriller. I won't be relocating, to the book's setting of New Orleans, anytime soon. This isn't one for the tourist board. To be honest, I didn't really take to any of the characters, even the ones I assume we are meant to like. Of course, I had weaved my own detail into the various players. As with most well written fright literature the worst visions come from our own imaginations as much as directly from the crafted words. Findorff manipulates our view, forcing us to pry the dark recesses of our own minds. As I have said I don't much like the owner of the narrative voice, Decland. But to qualify that, I wanted him to win, if only in order to save the lives of the small army of his unfortunate ex-girlfriends. My opinion, almost to the last page, was that Decland w...

http://www.amazon.com/Spanish-Helmet-Matthew-Cameron-ebook/dp/B00537SKMA Scowen has created a very exciting story from the mix of "evidence", hypothesis, and hyperbole that is the history of New Zealand before 1769. The alternating chapters of possible 16th Century Spanish discovery and an equally plausible present day story are knitted together very well. As with history everywhere, the most easily accessible "truths" come from amongst the records of the victorious and not from those of the defeated. Taking this factor into account this fiction builds a believable plot. I loved the way Scowen blended together the "known" and the theoretical in creating this realistically paced thriller. He wasted little of his wide cultural experiences either, as he even weaves in some recently acquired knowledge of Switzerland. I include here a paragraph of background to help those unfamiliar with New Zealand gain a feel for this book's foundations. I would be di...

http://www.amazon.com/Born-a-Refugee-ebook/dp/B003A4IEFG This is a deep, rich, poignant and profoundly humanistic book. It is also one of the best "political" books I have ever read. The central thesis, a family that could be any one's neighbours anywhere of Earth, except that they are struggling against the crush of a "foreign" military occupation, living between Jerusalem and Ramallah, is brilliantly constructed. Whilst telling one extended family's story Hallaj very cleverly keeps the reader linked to the massive historical waves convulsing the nowadays lands of Abraham. The chosen device, the start of chapter historic, headline, quote, works very well. Haaaj is a very good reader of people. Her characters are totally believable, and her understanding of the issues facing stateless people walking their own ancestors' lands seems to an outsider to be sharp and profound. Politicians who really care for the pursuit of peace should read this book,...

http://www.amazon.com/Alexios-Before-Dying-ebook/dp/B006P1VRAA First off, this is a very well written book, and a very good example of the sort of original work that self-publishing has saved from the traditional publishing houses waste-bins. Perhaps in more enlightened times, ones less focused on the bogey of profit before enterprise, Chance would have found a main stream publisher. Fortunately ePublishing allows inventive authors to ignore the traditional paths. This is a thinker's read, not a high-brow pretentious one, but definitely cerebral. Amongst my early thoughts was the idea that I was reading a selection of short stories. Particularly the first few chapters can be read as self-contained pieces. By the end of chapter four I realised there was a thread, one that I failed to really see until the very end. I became increasingly aware of a need to concentrate more fully. I love the diversity of Chance's characters, or partial characters might be a more accurate des...

Amazon Link This is an action packed short-novel, aimed primarily at a female audience. I actually enjoyed it very much, despite my genitalia. The plot revolves around a fairly classic shake-down for money, with enough invention to be interesting and enough tension to be gripping. Actually, the plot was perhaps more convincing because the details of brutal excesses were left to one’s imagination. Many authors pack in so much gratuitous blow by blow violence that the balance of the story can be lost. Books like this show us that there is something to be said for leaving readers some freedom to pour in the quantity of blood they require. This is of course equally true of sexual content. If the male hero has a rather overplayed touchy feely side for me to easily identify with then this only provides a bit of balance to all the bloodthirsty books I have so often read. Yes, you must bear in mind that I am not a regular reader of romance. I will not attempt to deny that I have all sort...

http://www.amazon.com/Welcome-Sarnia-Planet-ebook/dp/B007JJV4UU This is a big read, a big read set in a huge tapestry. This is a read for lovers of sci-fi/fantasy who crave an epic and detailed view of a whole other planetary system. On the most habitable planet Sarnia, there was already an advanced civilisation when man arrived, in fact three separate, indigenous, and variously civilised Sarnian species, plus an earlier colonising one. As well as the invaders that proceeded man, there were two that succeeded their arrival. The present dominant species came as conquerors of Sarian, Toharrian and Human alike, and the last as an already subservient species of these other planetary empire builders, the Mi’ukmac. The new dominant beings allow the existence and a varying degree of independence to their subject races. Yes it is all most complicated, which is one reason for the length of this book. Of course there is a whole ecosystems worth of other native flora and fauna, as well as s...

There is a lot of originality in this dark tale. Burrell writes very well, and with a great deal of invention. I can only find any significant fault any in the concentration demanded of the reader. A little more description of each character on first appearance, or an index of characters profiles and key locations, would have helped me. My poor memory, alongside my tendency to skim read, are certainly much of my problem and so I really don't wish to labour the point. This nice mix of quirky new and well-worn fantasy elements gives plenty of scope to build for ourselves onto the scenery of Burrell's adventure. In my mind, the story emerged as a sort of future-time "scripture" story written in contemporary style. Indeed we have distant absent "gods" or, even if not, certainly their disciples. The "Reds", or rather their legends, are clear reflections of higher power. There are big evil spirits, we never quite know, casting "devil" shadows...

This is an absolutely first class read, both in terms of style and content. Like so much great fiction this book builds on a great deal of personal experience and a wide local knowledge. Based on truth may not be an accurate enough descriptive, but based on true-life certainly is. The first person view only increased my sense of connection with the characters. I am not like the main Paul Forté at all, but for the time it took me to read this book I thought I really could be. He is an easily recognisable character, the jovial success that is so often both popular and the subject of seething jealousies. This is not so much a book about a small fish that is getting fried, as about a dirty struggle for dominance in a world of variably moral and immoral egos. We smell the fishy stink of politics and its connections with the law. The main character and defendant is an intelligent and quick witted character, the sort of success in life that most can only aspire to equal. We see that even the ...

This fast paced action sci-fi thriller has some originality of content and style. It is one for lovers of a good Sci-fi romp, with plenty of action and a few glimpses of exciting sex. Science orientated SF fans will enjoy it if they keep their tongues firmly planted in their cheeks. One has to give one's imagination a free rein, not that there is anything wrong with that, to really enjoy this book. Strait has made very good use of the current fascination with the expiry date of a certain Mayan calendar, which certainly gives his book some current form, at least as far as the 21st December 2012. Actually, I don't really think the passing of that date will do anything to reduce the impact of the story, as there is always another convenient date looming for the end of the Earth, or at least of Earth as we currently know it. Projectile vomiting aside, I think this book could be the basis of a good film, though the date issue does rather reduce the time frame for this. Actually I ...

I very rarely read books cover to cover in a sitting, especially autobiography, which to me usually seems to be so much an exaggeration of very little. This book is a real page turner, and all the more so because it is a biography that underplays the drama that inspired it rather than the reverse. I was blown away by how much Levi has packed into his life, rubbing shoulders with the great, the ordinary, the good and the bad, the rich and very poor, and all written in a beguilingly modest way. Levi is a good writer, a true artist of the English language, a third or fourth learnt language after his native version of Serbo-Croatian. Levi has very much brushed over his personal tragedies, and avoided boasting his greatest triumphs. His heroes are always someone else, his words always describing a greater truth. This book is so much a tapestry of life, a tapestry of our modern times, a record of social history that should be for ever guarded. The book starts, "I am 89 now. As I sit i...

Amazon Link This is a very well written, exciting, and thought provoking book. Zendell chose well in writing in the first person, so giving the reader a feeling of personal connection. Zendell has mastered this device with aplomb, whilst holding together a complex scenario, and rounding out other vital characters. We are drawn into the suddenly confused thoughts of Dylan Brice, and nudged gently along by Zendell until we start seeing, and seeing is believing, that it just might be possible to live days out of order. There is some comfort in the book in the idea that we can be saved from ourselves by higher forces. This cosy thought may well start to unravel, but, I will say no more through fear of planting spoilers. The plot is very strong, and is probably tied together without any flaws! One would have to spend hours de-constructing the complex of sequences to be sure. Even if one did such an exercise would be pointless, because the soul of the book is in its ideas and not in the...

Amazon Link This is the standalone sequel to "Another Space in Time" My latest book, is a full length speculative fiction read- running to over 120.000 words. So it has length for the money. Has it got excellent content for your hard earned money? Obviously I think so. I can't guarantee that any individual will like it, but I can hope and say a very sincere thank you to all those who buy my book.  This is the continuing story of a murdered man's new life on another earth-like world. Rodwell is engaged by the local police of Axa-Goranas to help them capture or kill his twin brother's terrorist/gangland  boss. Rodwell replaces his brother as one of Youzhny's principle thugs. Discovery and pursuit soon follow, across land and sea, whilst Rodwell struggles to ensure that his new family are safe. I would love feedback from readers. Obviously I hope for praise, but I will be pleased to engage in a conversation if that is one's wish.  However you...

It is so difficult to find worthwhile blogs- I will do my best, though I fear that will not really be enough. There are two new truths in this world. Well okay, there are millions, but the list has to start somewhere. 1)There are thousands more bloggers, authors, writers, -word knitters- today than there were yesterday. 2)Some of them will be better reading than this. Isn't it hard to find them though. Some start so well, then just keep going on and on and on about the same story. Some start all weak and pathetic like this one. Some are full of colour and fun, some are bossy and self-opinionated, some are all about fruit cakes, and some are written by fruit cakes. So then what about this- well my reason for being here is to sell my books- let's not try and pretend otherwise. I am not here to re-invent to wheel. or to tell you how to get to Alpha Centauri. I can offer no useful advice about everyday issues- like ducks, and grazed knees- go to  http://faithinambiguity.blog...