Dodge & Twist: A Sequel To Oliver Twist – Book Review

Dodge & Twist: A Sequel To Oliver Twist

By Tony Lee

Published by Amazon

Readily available in paperback and Kindle

RRP £4.99 Kindle

Twelve years after the events of Oliver Twist, a once more penniless Oliver travels back to London in order to try to reclaim his inheritance. After learning is claim is futile he has a chance meeting with a grown up Artful Dodger that leads Oliver into a scheme to steal a fortune and reclaim his place in society.

But as plans unfold, and friends and foes from his past begin to gather, Oliver begins to wonder if his meeting with Dodger was by chance. The deeper he becomes involved in Dodger’s plans the more he is immersed into a world he had hoped he’d escaped a decade earlier. Betrayal, deception and danger mount as Oliver begins to realize Dodger may not be the friend he makes out to be, and instead of aiding Oliver in his quest for his fortune, is in fact plotting with Fagin’s ghost for vengeance.

A maze of lies and half truths lay in wait as Oliver re-visits his birth place, Fagin’s Saffron Hill den, Sowerberry’s Undertakers and has to face his personal demons in the shape of Mister Bumble, Noah Claypole and his own guilt over Nancy’s death.

My only knowledge of Oliver Twist stems from the musical staring Ron Moody as Fagin, I’ve never read it and being honest, have never felt the inclination to read it. Due to a twitter post I did however come across mention of this book by Tony Lee, and will say I was intrigued. After reading this I will say I was surprised by what a dark piece this sequel paints the original to be, I was also compelled to get a copy of Oliver Twist downloaded to my Kindle, but more of that another time, onto the sequel.

The world Lee paints is very vivid; he has obviously gone to a lot of trouble to research the subject matter – evident by the lengthy acknowledgements section – to make sure the feel of the story sits well with the time. Victorian London is a dark and foreboding place, as much a character in the story as the human ones. The dirty streets, the people crammed in living on top of each other all go to make an interesting brew that makes the scenery come alive around the characters.

As for the two main characters, Oliver is very much the Oliver I remember from the musical. Now I can imagine that this take on the character may be nothing like what Charles Dickens intended, but here Tony Lee writes him as a wide eyed enthusiast, willing to give the benefit of the doubt. But he is also very much a victim. A victim of the time he lives in, and of those around him who being more wise to the ways of the world, take advantage of his good nature. Jack Hawkins – or as he is known on the streets, the Artful Dodger – is on the surface a nasty piece of work, through manipulation of events and people he steers Oliver into his seedy world for his own ends. Bit part players from the original like Noah Claypole and Charlotte have a part to play, both in Dodger’s plans and in Oliver finding some sort of closure for the early years of his life. And there is some chance for Oliver to put the ghost of Nancy to rest in the form of her young sister.

The plot is ingenious and complex, but in some ways can come across as a bit daft. An end game that has been in the planning stages for years all hinging on the correct people, being in the correct place, at the correct time. And we are asked to believe Dodger managed this having been away from the country for the better part of a decade. But if you put aside any forms of logic, and read the story as a ripping adventure yarn it works totally and is fully enjoyable.

The colourful characters move the plot along at a swift pace, it twists and turns as much as the dark alleys it is set in so the reader is left wondering what will happen next.

Day Of Demons Edited by Colin F Barnes – Review

Day of Demons

Edited by Colin F Barnes

Authors – Karen Davies, Krista Walsh, V.D. Griesdoorn, Edward Drake, James M. Mazzaro, Laura Diamond, Phil Hickes, Sarah Ann Langton, Gary Bonn

Published by Anachron Press

Readily available on Kindle

RRP £3.23

Day of Demons is a collection of powerful stories featuring the conflict of demons and humans over the course of a day. Read how one women’s inner-self awakens to unexpected and frightening consequences, or how a charismatic half-breed thief is forced to strike a deal with a pen-stealing imp. Read about a mother as she struggles to cope with a deadly, satanic bargain, and a sword-wielding anti-hero as he returns out of exile to face his demonic fate.

 Nine stories, nine demons, nine authors. From fantasy, to horror, to contemporary fiction, this anthology will fright, delight and grip you with tales of daring-do, danger and of course — demons.

 Never read any stories featuring demons, I suppose most authors follow the current trends meaning vampires, werewolves and zombies are the monster of choice. Still demons deserve a look in as I feel out of all the choices an author could go for, they are the most versatile. With a demon possession they could be anyone, they can change host, bedevil hunters and literally raise hell unhindered.

This collection of nine short stories highlights a wide range of possibilities with demons as the central theme. The settings are as diverse and the stories, ranging from epic fantasy, to gothic horror to steampunk. Each author has an individual voice, there is no repetition of style, and each author presents a different view as to what a demon is and can do. But one thing each story has is a tale about the deviousness of demons and the culpability of humans.

This a great read with some interesting ideas and promising authors who I’d like to hear more from. If I was pushed to pick a favorite it would be The Deal by Karen Davies, chosen purely for my love of all things fantasy. The other eight stories are equally as good.

Horns By Joe Hill – Book Review

Horns

By Joe Hill

Published by Gollancz

Readily available in paperback and Kindle

RRP £7.99 in Paperback / £4.99 Kindle

Ignatius Parrish spent the night drunk and doing terrible things. Next morning he woke with a hell of a hangover, and horns growing from his temples. Once Ig had a blessed life, a life of privilege. The second son of a well know musician, brother to a rising late-night chat show host, he has wealth, security, status; and the love of the girl of his dream Merrin Williams.

Then Merrin was gone, ripped from his life, brutally raped and murdered, but worse Ig was the Police’s prime suspect. Although never tried for the crime he was convicted by the court of public opinion. He was whispered about, shunned, ignored. Everything he had taken from him.

Now he had the horns, and with them a terrible power to look into people’s darkest secrets and lay them bare. With a touch he knows what they know, with a suggestion he can steer them to do as he wishes. Ig sets out on a quest to find who killed Merrin and destroyed his life. Being good and praying for the best never got him anywhere, now it’s time for payback, time the Devil got his due.

This is the second novel by Joe Hill, and like Heart-Shaped Box has left me thinking why I’m so late in reading his work. The way this story unfolds may seem daunting to some, it is told in a non-linear fashion jumping around in time looking at events in the present as well as before and during the core of the story; the rape and murder of Merrin Williams.

Throughout the story you are given an insight into the main characters, either through the parts told during Ig & Merrin’s first meeting and after, or through the power of the horns enabling Ig to see into people minds. In this way you get the back-story to the couple, and their friends, as well as different POV’s of the lead up, and eventual crime, inflicted on Merrin. Through the power of the horns Ig unravels the events of the night Merrin died. Ig’s own memories of that night are vague – due to him passing out blind drunk – meaning there is some lingering doubt throughout for the reader if he is actually the killer.

As much as telling the story of Merrin’s death and the aftermath, the book also looks at how the character of the Devil is perceived. Ideas are put forward that in some ways the Devil is an anti-hero, not the embodiment of total evil. Another is that God and the Devil are on the same side, both out to punish sinners. To some these ideas may not sit well, I suppose it depends on your faith, as an atheist I find them interesting and do fall in camp of the Devil getting a bad – and one sided – press.

Joe has taken great care to create a believable and sustainable world. Much like his first book he has taken pains to make the settings and characters comfortable to be around. He has also laid seeds for a shared universe with the name check for a character from Heart-Shaped Box; Judas Coyne.

Horns is a story about the devil inside all of us, and what happens when we let them have free reign. 

Heart Shaped Box by Joe Hill – Book Review

Heart-Shaped Box

By Joe Hill

Published by Gollancz

Readily available in paperback and Kindle

RRP £7.99 in Paperback / £4.99 Kindle

Judas “Jude” Coyne is a collector of the macabre: a cookbook for cannibals, a real hangman’s noose, a snuff film. He’s an aging death-metal god and his tastes for the unnatural are well known to his legions of fans. But nothing he possesses matches his latest purchase, a dead man’s suit.

For $1,000 Judas became the owner of a suit said to be haunted by a restless spirit. But what UPS delivers to his door packed in the black heart-shaped box is no metaphorical ghost, no conversation piece. Suddenly the suit’s previous owner is everywhere, behind the bedroom door, sitting in the passenger seat of Jude’s restored Mustang; staring out from the widescreen TV.

But the ghost has no interest in simple haunting; it has a purpose, a reason to be in Jude’s house. Everywhere Jude goes the ghost is there with a gleaming razor blade on a chain hanging from its hand.

It’s been a lot of years since I read a ghost story, I’d hazard a guess it was the early 1980s, and was probably written by Joe Hill’s father.  As I read Heart-Shaped Box I was reminded a lot of King’s early work, his attention to detail with all things every-day. Hill’s style does differ from his father’s though; the story is tighter, more compact and the suspense delivered in sharper doses.

The idea behind the story is pretty straightforward; a vengeful spirit intent on righting a wrong. But as you get into the story you realize there is more to it. The wrong the ghost is attempting to right, is not as clear cut as you at first thought; the ghost’s motivations clouded by what its sense of right and wrong was when it was alive. It is all helped by very believable characters (if a ghost can be said to be believable) that are put in a situation that, despite its supernatural element, feels very real.

Judas Coyne is every inch the aging rocker living out his semi-retirement with a string of young girls to keep his bed warm. Georgia, his latest bed warmer, is not just there as someone for the ghost to chase though, she’s a very strong character, very resourceful, obviously made from the same stuff that made Buffy Summers. Together they are thrown into a nightmare with seemingly no escape route, embarking on a harrowing road-trip not only fleeing the ghost but taking Jude into his past.

If you are a heavy metal fan you’ll love the references dotted throughout, the nods to bands great and small. If you’re a fan of good old fashioned ghost stories you’ll love the way this story is assembled, the pieces carefully crafted. Joe Hill maybe his father’s son and may share his love of rock and the macabre, but he is his own man and this tale – although echoing some of King’s earlier work – has a very distinctive voice that is Hill’s and Hill’s alone.

Empire State – Book Review

Empire State

By Adam Christopher

Published by Angry Robot

RRP £7.99 in Paperback (£4.49 on Kindle)

Available Now

It was the last great science hero fight, one-time partners the Skyguard against the Science Pirate, but the fight released energies that ripped a hole in reality, giving birth to the Empire State. Linked by the fissure in reality the two worlds co-existed, the smaller Empire State a mirror of prohibition New York but in a perpetual state of war with an unknown and unseen Enemy. But the link between worlds is weak, and forces from both sides of the divide are working toward severing the link risking the existence of both worlds.

A jaded Private Eye takes on a simple missing persons case, and ends up a central figure in the battle to save reality. Robots, airships, shady organisations and high adventure, Rad Bradley must face them all, but worse than that it’s prohibition and he really needs a drink.

I forgot the golden rule of alternative reality stories whilst reading Empire State, everyone has a double. Schoolboy error I know, and boy did I feel stupid once the fact dawned on me roughly halfway into the book.

Empire State is Adam Christopher’s first book for Angry Robot. He is obviously a fan of the prohibition era and has researched well. The character’s are well visualised and obviously products of the time they are set in. Combining noire theme’s with fantasy and weird science, Adam has managed to create a vivid and vibrant tale that twists and turns through the grim fog shrouded streets of the Empire State.

All along you are kept guessing as most of the main characters switch sides, cross and double cross and baffle the central figure, Private Investigator Rad Bradley. But like Same Spade or Mike Hammer before him he doggedly forges ahead, his eye’s always on the case.

The opening chapters get the reader into the world of the Empire State, the place, the characters, Wartime. Sometimes slow going it is addictive and once you get into the second half of the book, you begin to realise why Adam took his time introducing you to everyone. You need to keep your wits about you as the pace quickens and you have to keep track of the what, where and why things are progressing. Refreshingly, for a modern writer, Adam doesn’t need excessive use of F and C bombs. There is some swearing, but it is there for a reason and fits in with the characters and said because – in a similar situation – you’d say it then as well.

As a first novel this is a fresh if twisted look at a classic era that is sure to please any fan of the weird and fantastic.

The Hobbit – Book Review

I’ve read The Lord Of The Rings at least a half dozen times, I’ve read The Silmarillion twice, but I’ve never read The Hobbit. At least I’ve never read all of it.

When it was first announced that Peter Jackson and New Line intended to film the book I decided I should get it and find out what it was like. I struggled, I’ll be honest and say I never got beyond Bilbo and the Dwarves going into the goblin caves. It was just so unlike the other books and so I gave up. I have now finally read it – all the way from start to finish – and I really surprised at how much I enjoyed it.

For anyone who has read it, they will know it is nothing like The Lord Of The Rings, this is very definitely a children’s story, and it is told in the style of an adult telling the story to a child. This was part of my problem the first time round – that and all the songs. If you were to compare the style of this and the later books, you would think it had been penned by different authors.

Its not only the style that is different, the characters are nothing like what follows. The Dwarves come across as cowardly and lazy, they leave all the dangerous work up to Bilbo. I know they come good in the end, and do prove themselves during the Battle of the Five Armies, but up until that point they don’t come across very well.

I was amazed that how much I already knew that happened during the book, didn’t actually seem to take very long to get through. Bilbo and Gollum barely covered a couple of chapters, the trolls and the battle with the spiders in Mirkwood just sort of happened.

But it’s what was missed out that amazed me. I know from reading the appendex to Lord Of The Rings all about the White Council and the fight to drive the Necromancer from Mirkwood. But this isn’t even mentioned, except a few lines maybe in passing and the but that’s a story for another day line.

I will be honest though, for a children’s story it is very dark, so I believe Tolkien wrote it for his own children as a bedtime story. Not sure if it the sort of story I’d want to read to a child of mine.

 

 

Attic Clowns & The Sun Never Rises In The City – Review

I’d heard of Jeremy C Shipp through the Pill Hill Press forum, it wasn’t until I joined Twitter that I actually got to know him. Jeremy is an author of novels and short stories, his latest novel – Cursed - was nominated for the Bram Stoker Award.  I’ve recently had the pleasure of reading one of his short story collections – Attic Clowns - and his short story The Sun Never Rises In The City.

Attic Clowns is a slice of madness all of us have no doubt come across at some point or another in the dark of night. Each chilling slice revolves around a clown in some shape or form, it is used as a manifestation of certain characters quirks and hidden personalities. The imagery Jeremy creates is graphic, worrying and scarily familiar to anyone who’s had a vivid nightmare.

Each tale cranks up the horror, making the reader squirm,  painting a picture with flowing prose riddled with colourful language that is not recommended for for use in front of your granny. I’d recommend you not read this at night, after a supper of strong cheese. I doubt Jeremy would claim responsibility for the resulting nightmares – though he’d probably like to incorporate them into another anthology.

The Sun Never Rises In The City is a noir crime story set within a horror tale. It is set in a strange world, that though it is like ours it so obviously isn’t. There is a defined class system of master and serf, the use of the term Sire and and underclass of Dollhouse-like creatures who’s purpose is to bring pleasure to their masters. Mixed in is a technology equal or in advance of ours. I had the distinct feeling of being inside a computer game, or virtual reality world, where everyone who could afford it lived out their fantasies.

This is a hard hitting short story – a little over 5,500 words long – that manages to build a world as well as tell a story.

I enjoyed my brief glimpse inside the twisted imagination of Jeremy C Shipp, sometimes it scared me, sometimes it made me think, but one thing it did do is make me want more.

 

 

The Iron Jackal – Book Review

The Iron Jackal

By Chris Wooding

Published by Gollancz

RRP £12.99 in Paperback (£6.99 on Kindle)

Things are finally looking up for Captain Frey and his crew. The Ketty Jay has had an overhaul; they’ve had their first taste of fortune and fame. And for once no one is trying to kill them. This includes Trinica Dracken, Frey’s ex-fiancée and long time nemesis; in fact she’s offered them a job. But the job is in Samarla – the bitter enemies of Vardia – and involves a theft from a train. Join the crew as they become involved in mayhem and mischief, roof-top chases, death-defying races, Daemons, psychopaths, golems and a cranky cat.

The first time was to clear his name, the second was for money. This time it’s a race against the clock for the ultimate prize; Frey’s own life.

For anyone who is not familiar with Captain Darian Frey here’s how’s best to sum him up. He’s part Han Solo, part Mal Reynolds, he has a smattering of Indiana Jones and a sizable dollop of James T Kirk. Overall he’s a chancer, always on the look-out for the next Joe who he can fleece, or rob blind. At least he was, before what happened at the end of Black Lung Captain.

Now Capt. Frey is a changed man, his crew has changed along with him. No more are they a group of misfits who happen to end up on the shame ship, and just stick together because there’s no-where else for them to go. Now they are a group of misfits who behave like a proper crew, they have a bond, a bond forged in the skies beyond the Wrack. They’d faced death together – numerous times – and come out the other side.

In this third outing for the crew of the Ketty Jay things are a little different. They are on their uppers, they have money in their pockets, and the ship now runs like a dream due to an overhaul – paid for by Trinica Dracken – and even Slag the cat seems to have come to terms with Harkins and Jez. Life was good, things were looking up; trust Capt. Frey to screw it all up.

That’s not entirely true, due to the crew working together for a change they successfully carry out a dangerous mission. But despite instructions from Dracken, Frey has to open the box and take a look at what they’d stolen. That simple act sends the crew on a race against time to save their Captains life, and uncover deeply guarded secrets that could lead to war.

This is a tighter book than the first two. Towards the end of Black Lung Captain it was becoming too easy to predict the various ways in which Frey and his crew were going to get shafted; usually by Dracken. But this time round Wooding has moved up a notch, you think you know how things are going to turn out, then BAM things change and you’re left floundering. It’s a good feeling because in doing this Wooding has breathed new life into the characters and setting. The crew are fleshed out, two more than the rest, they become more rounded, more three dimensional.

Also this time out there is more in the way of world-building. You get several in-depth history lessons, the main continent gets a name (least think this is new can’t remember it before) and you get the feeling Wooding is sowing the seeds for future stories, seeds that may take a few books to take root and sprout.

All in all this is a fast paced action adventure with little let up in the pace from start to finish, the humour is dark and plentiful, there is also several horror tinged incidents.

The Cold Commands – Book Review

The Cold Commands

By Richard Morgan

Published by Gollanz

RRP £12.99 – Hardback

The old order is rotted through. Old enemies are stirring, and the dark gods are watching. Time to stop running. Ringil Eskiath, scarred wielder of the Kiriath forged sword Ravensfriend is on the run – from his past, his family and from the slave trade magnates of Trelayne – with no-where else to turn he heads south in the hope old war comrades will give him the shelter he needs. In Yhelteth Kiriath half-breed Archeth is caught in the middle of the growing tension between the Burnished Throne and Citadel, tensions that are not helped by her house guest cum bodyguard Egar the Dragonbane.

As Yhelteth simmers under the blistering southern sun old friends re-unite unaware the city is about to explode.

Before I start on this review I will state that The Cold Commands is a great read, yes it’s a slog in places, and I got lost along the way. But it’s a good read.

If there is one thing Richard Morgan does well it’s angry men. None come much angrier than Ringil Eskiath. If you thought he had an axe to grind in The Steel Remains - the first book in the trilogy titled Land Fit For Heroes – then you ain’t seen nothing yet. From the opening raid on a slave caravan, through encounters with mercenaries, ghosts, demons and other denizens of the grey places Ringil broods, glowers and intimidates beyond anything seen before.

But unfortunately throughout the book he does little else. Most of the action, and intrigue, is spread throughout the chapters covering Archeth and Egar. In fact reading Ringil’s travel through the grey places I was reminded of Ozzie Isaacs, from Peter F Hamilton’s Commonwealth series, and his wanderings along the Silfen paths. And unfortunately I found those chapters as pointless and boring.

I feel that as good as this book is, it is pretty much 90% filler, and we are being set up for the big finale in the third book. Now there is a lot of background covered, a lot more world building than we got with Steel Remains. But I did feel slightly let down come the end when  I realised a lot has been left hanging.

I suppose after the Kovacs trilogy I had expected something along those lines, three separate standalone novels set in the same universe. Kudos to Morgan for moving away from that, and for feeding in an overall arc building towards an endgame. For me though there was something missing from this second outing, and I may need a re-read of both books back to back to find what it was.

 

 

The Copper Promise: Ghosts Of The Citadel – Book Review

Title: The Copper Promise: Ghost Of The Citadel

Author: Jennifer Williams

Format: Amazon Kindle (readily available)

RRP: £2.99

The Citadel of Creos: silent, forbidden, haunted. No person in their right mind would attempt to explore it, but then, as Wydrin was fond of saying, adventurers are rarely in their right mind, especially when large amounts of coin are involved.
For the young Lord Frith, the secrets within are his key to a bloody revenge; for Sebastian, exiled from his order for crimes he’d rather not talk about, thank you very much, it is a distraction from his recent disgrace. And Wydrin? For Wydrin it means fortune and fame, or at least the seeds of a good story she can embellish later.
But something ancient and hungry lies restless in the hidden depths of the Citadel, and the long years of its imprisonment are nearly at an end. The three adventurers are about to find out that ghosts are the least of their problems.

I cut my reading teeth on Robert E Howard’s Conan stories, you all know the way it goes, a young adventurer embarks on a mission to steal the fortune from a fabled – and possibly haunted – castle/keep/dead city. Along the way he battles demons, the un-dead and monsters beyond imagination. These type of stories were my bread and butter during the 1970s, my escape from drab TV and wide bottomed trousers made by my Mum.

Since then there there has been – for me – a lack of that style of writing, the Pulp style where the reader is thrown straight into the story without countless chapters of back-story, character and world building. In recent years I have discovered several authors that have re-invented that style for themselves – Joe Abercrombie, Chris Wooding, Scott Lynch – they tell a story and let the reader learn about the worlds they have created as you go along. After reading The Copper Promise I would like to add Jennifer Williams to that list.

The story begins with a brutal torture, a break-in, a grisly death and an introduction to what might be lurking in the bowls of the Citadel of Creos. Jennifer Williams fleshes her characters out with ease, reading about Lord Frith, Wydrin and Sebastion I feel I have known them for sometime – and that this is not the first story I’ve read involving them. They are easy characters to accept, easy to understand and relate to.

The world she has created is the same as her characters, it is very distinct in its feudal make up, numerous city-states, at least one ambitious Empire (masquerading as a People Republic) vying for control. But alongside are the possibly barbarian places of the world, Crosshaven for one sounds like a place I’d like to visit later in a story.

There is little fluff filling this story out, I think it was a good choice by Jennifer to keep this as a novella, the writing is tight, the action sequences well thought out and visualized. This is a return to the Conan stories of my youth, you get a good return for your money.

As a first time self-published author Jennifer Williams has produced a worthwhile successor to the Pulp authors of the 1920s & 30s. She has a bright talent and rosy future, and I for one can’t wait to see what she has in mind for the remaining books in this planed four series tale.

To learn more about Jennifer Williams – and order a copy of The Copper Promise - then visit her website http://sennydreadful.com/