Timstar

Yeah that's fair enough, I will get around to reading it but I find myself craving some traditional high fantasy :S

Great review, shame you didn't like it as much as you wanted to, do you think you will read the others?

Love that cover of Smooth Criminal

Finished Dexter is Delicious which is probably one of my favourites so far, now about half way through NOS4R2 by Joe Hill and is already his best book yet. I got Joyland by Stephen King and The Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick today as well.

Peter Dinklage

Got these lovelies today

Glad to hear, I will be reading it after NOS4R2 which I will read after the short story which I will read after Dexter lol. Aim is to get them all done before holiday on 12th June. Never heard of it...

Same here, should still be good though!

I had a seat at front and centre about a metre from where he was sitting and I complete forgot to get a picture I have just finished 20th Century Ghosts and really enjoyed some of the stories. Got it signed as well

This was for his third novel, his first was Heart-Shaped Box which I really enjoyed. His second was Horns which I didn't enjoy as much but was still good, it has an adaptation coming out this year with Daniel Radcliffe as the lead. But from what I have heard and read of his latest, NOS4R2, it could well be his best so far.

Very sad news about Jack Vance http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2013/may/30/jack-vance-dies-96-science-fiction Only read a few of his books so far but really enjoyed them, quite a few more on my TBR pile. A tremendously influential writer in science-fiction with a terrific signature prose.

Oh dear, it certainly wasn't my favourite but I do remember it being quite creepy and disturbing at points. Thanks i'll let you know how I find it. Went to a Reading, Q&A and signing with Joe Hill last night for his new book which was great fun. Such a funny and down to earth guy, got premium seats and a few autographs Started his new book and loving it already.

Hope you find something better soon Laura! Glad to report Father-in-Law has had a coronary stent and is doing well, he was discharged on Monday and is glad to be back home.

What did you think of Thinner? I enjoyed it with the usual King brutally that he brings. Started reading Dexter is Delicious by Jeff Lindsay which is great so far!

Bitter Seeds by Ian Tregillis Synopsis The year is 1939. Raybould Marsh and other members of British Intelligence have gathered to watch a damaged reel of film in a darkened room. It appears to show German troops walking through walls, bursting into flames and hurling tanks into the air from afar. If the British are to believe their eyes, a twisted Nazi scientist has been endowing German troops with unnatural, unstoppable powers. And Raybould will be forced to resort to dark methods to hold the impending invasion at bay. But dealing with the occult exacts a price. And that price must be paid in blood. Review This is a novel and author I have been excited about reading since I first heard of it last year. The concept just grabbed me straight away. It reminded me of the recent flurry of Nazi-centred B-movies (Iron Sky, Dead Snow, Nazis at the Centre of the Earth), that are generally enjoyable but such low-budget they can't achieve what they are attempting. A novel obviously won't suffer from this at as long as it's an interesting story with interesting characters, which Bitter Seeds certainly has. After reading this I re-read Steve's review of it and basically agreed with his points. This is very much a character driven book to which the supernatural elements almost take a back seat to. The characters themselves are superb and steeped in morale ambiguity that would make George R.R. Martin proud (and i'm guessing it did given his high endorsement, although they do belong to the same New Mexico writing club...) There were two elements I was surprised yet pleased about, the first was that despite Tregillis being an American there are no Americans in it! The majority of the book is set in war time London which Tregillis captures incredibly and clearly did his research. There's an interview with him at the end of the book in which he states he had only visited London twice before writing this and that was a long time ago. The English mannerisms and personalities are not stereotyped or clichéd, nor the Germans for that matter. The second element was how intelligent it felt given the subject, British Warlocks vs Nazi Psychics sounds more like a teenage comic book. But if you didn't know much about the Nazis and WWII you might struggle with some of this as the historical events in which it is centred around are not explained in their events or significance, it is taken as read that the reader knows enough to keep up. This I found very refreshing and I think it allowed him to get on with the characters and alternative history. I had a feeling I would like this and yet I enjoyed it for unexpected reasons which was a nice surprise. I am very impressed by this debut novel and can't wait to read The Coldest War which has just been ordered. Overall 9/10

Finished Bitter Seeds today and really enjoyed it! I bought The Coldest War as well as this, not sure if you'd seen it or not?

I haven't seen it before, I often look at lists online which is bad enough. Exactly. Would be interesting to see what the top ten are though.

Started Bitter Seeds by Ian Tregillis.

That's horrible! I really hope you get your full vision back. Well done for staying optimistic Glad to report My Father-in-Law is doing really well, The Doctor's are not sure what happened, he had a very high troponin level which means it was a heart attack but it hasn't affected his heart function in anyway. They think the attack may have cleared any blockages He needs to go to Oxford for an Angiogram just to make sure but we're very relieved. Thanks for all the good wishes, I will pass them on

I only managed to stay a couple of hours, my father-in-law had a heart attack so we had to rush back to MK, luckily I was sober enough to drive and he is doing ok now.

Cool when are you heading there?

It's the Cambridge Beer festival this week, so... goodbye til Monday!

Dredd, not as bad as I was expecting to be honest! It doesn't try to be any more than it is. Although somehow it has more slow-motion than a Zack Snyder film.

It wraps up the story nicely, but I am interested to read a couple more, certainly works as a stand alone book

Ender's Game -Orson Scott Card Synopsis Ender Wiggin is Battle School's latest recruit. His teachers reckon he could become a great leader. And they need one. A vast alien force is headed for Earth, its mission: the annihilation of all human life. Ender could be our only hope. But first he must survive the most brutal military training program in the galaxy... Review I know I say this a lot but I didn't know what to expect with this book. I tend to look up and learn about a book, decide I want it, see it and buy or borrow it then by the time I get round to reading it I have forgotten what it was about. I also rarely read blurbs, simply because I forget beforehand. So I can't really say it wasn't what I was expecting... so I'll say it wasn't what I had anticipated. The story follows closely with the life of Ender Wiggin, seen from inside his mind as he is abruptly taken from his home and put into battle school, in a space station, at the age of 6. He has been specially selected and as such he his subjected to, almost cruelly, daily tasks of increasing difficultly. Ender excels way beyond his class mates and we see his skills develop as they the school try to think of more challenges for him. Most of the training occurs in the form of battles between two teams, in zero gravity with 'stun' guns that freeze and immobilise whoever is hit. Using this idea Card creates many ingenious tactics for Ender to use that obviously required to not only understand zero gravity physics but also fully understand his own creation. Apart from a few chapters focusing on his Brother and Sister back on Earth the book is centred around Ender and as such allows the reader to be fully absorbed in the character, feeling sympathy for his constant trials, feeling the love for his friends and annoyance (or indifference) at his enemies. A great sci-fi that finds the rare working combination of ideas and characters that should appeal to old and new sci-fi fans a like. Overall 9/10