Over the past few months, team Wayward Stars have been working our way through the books allocated to us at the start of SPSFC. Now we’re at the end of Phase Two where we can announce our Top 3 books – our semi-finalists! Below is each of the books with their blurbs to expand a little on what they’re about. Tropical Punch (Bubbles in Space, #1) by S.C. Jensen Strippers, Drugs, and Headless Corpses… All in a day’s work for…
In 2022, I read (and finished) a total of 37 books, which was one more than my GR Challenge target. These totalled 10,257 pages, with an average page count of 277, which felt a bit low to me but I did blast through a few novellas and novelettes towards the start of the year that has clearly brought that average down. This was less than in 2021 and 2020, but I’m not too concerned about that because both of those…
A Cup of Tea at the Mouth of Hell: by Luke Tarzian My rating: 4 of 5 stars ‘A Cup of Tea…’ is a clever, at times surreal, hard-hitting exploration of grief. If you have ever experienced loss, you may see yourself reflected in Lucifer as he deteriorates over a missing kettle. A kettle given to him by his mother. It is often small, surprising things, that drag us back into our grief: a Christmas card, a certain drink, the…
As I mentioned in my last post, I have joined up with some fellow book bloggers as a judging team for SPSFC 2! What is it though?
I feel like every year I have to make one of these entries where I explain my absence and the quietness of the blog. This time I think I have a valid excuse or two. Earlier in the year I joined Grimdark Magazine‘s online reviewer team and BookNest.eu‘s and agreed to do reviews for Black Dragon Books too. In an effort not to cross-post and detract from those sites, I haven’t been putting any of those review on here. I’ve…
Gunmetal Gods by Zamil AkhtarMy rating: 4 of 5 stars NB: This review is also available on Black Dragon Books. Please consider using them for your SFF and Horror book purchases. What use is winning if we lose everything in the process, even ourselves? This is the question that runs central to Gunmetal Gods by Zamil Akhtar. We see a war brought to the doors of Sirm; one that has been hundreds of years in the making led…
Brave New World by Aldous HuxleyMy rating: 3 of 5 stars Brave New World was first published in 1932 by a man who was nominated for a Nobel Prize on nine separate occasions, so you can imagine that much of what can be said about Brave New World has already been said. It is used as set texts in school curricula and has had innumerable books, articles and research papers written about it. In context, this review is but…
Dreams of the Dying by Nicolas LietzauMy rating: 4 of 5 stars Some of you may have spotted on Goodreads that I read Dreams of the Dying and never reviewed it. Don’t worry, I have reviewed it and a full and comprehensive review can be found at Grimdark Magazine, here: https://www.grimdarkmagazine.com/review-dreams-of-the-dying-by-nicolas-lietzau/ I’m very pleased and excited to say I’m joining the Grimdark reviewer team with this, my debut review!
The Kaiju Preservation Society by John ScalziMy rating: 5 of 5 stars A spectacular modern-day sci-fi romp through an alternate Earth with mountainous creatures and a bunch of nerds trying to study them. Jamie, our narrator, stumbles into a job as a lifter of things for KPS but, for some reason, doesn’t ask what KPS stands for. Upon arriving at his new workplace it becomes apparent: the K means Kaiju. Jamie and three other newbies to the company become quick…
The Coward by Stephen AryanMy rating: 4 of 5 stars The Coward takes a look behind the heroes in their tales and sagas to reveal who the real people behind the songs and daring deeds are. Written primarily from the point of view of main character, Kell Kressia, The Coward sees a damaged man thrust back into the world of heroism he had been hiding from for the last ten years. Once, he desperately wanted to be a hero and…