The GF book thread

[Rico1304]

On 02/08/2022 at 08:00, Rico1304 said:

Can’t remember if I’ve mentioned them but I’m 3 books into the Ray Tatum series by TR Pearson.  Set in the US and very good slow burn about the Midwest.  They are difficult to read at first as the sentence structure is (I guess) typical of that area but once you get the hang of it they are great.  

Onto the 5th in this series now.  Thoroughly recommend. 
 

Enjoyed the Parker book too.  

[redinblack]

On 24/05/2022 at 16:00, Captain Willard said:

Finally got round to reading this, the same author as the Wire. Got a 2 hour Eurostar journey in front of me so I’m going to eat this lemon tart then buy a decent red wine and settle down on the train. 

I have read and re-read this. Fantastic yet horrifying as to how some people live, basically a slow suicide

[SasaS]

If I didn't particularly like first Charlie Parker novel (first two, as it seems the two were combined in one volume) is it worth persisting, does it get better / different or is that it? Asking for a friend.

[Mudface]

1 hour ago, SasaS said:

If I didn't particularly like first Charlie Parker novel (first two, as it seems the two were combined in one volume) is it worth persisting, does it get better / different or is that it? Asking for a friend.

It gets much less 'scattergun'- it seemed like he threw the kitchen sink at the first novel and introduced way too many characters. Give the second a whirl, they're very good- I'm up to number 18 now and still enjoying them, although Angel and Louis are save the day a bit too frequently.

[Paul]

5 hours ago, SasaS said:

If I didn't particularly like first Charlie Parker novel (first two, as it seems the two were combined in one volume) is it worth persisting, does it get better / different or is that it? Asking for a friend.

I think it massively improves - and also changes somewhat. 

[polymerpunkah]

Black Wave: Saudi Arabia, Iran, and the Forty-Year Rivalry That Unraveled Culture, Religion, and Collective Memory in the Middle East

 

Kim Ghattas

 

Just what is says on the tin: an account of the radicalization of Islam in the Middle East over the last 50 years, centred in particular around the rivalry between Saudi Arabia and Iran.

 

A good summary of the situation and base for further reading.

 

[SasaS]

16 hours ago, Mudface said:

It gets much less 'scattergun'- it seemed like he threw the kitchen sink at the first novel and introduced way too many characters. Give the second a whirl, they're very good- I'm up to number 18 now and still enjoying them, although Angel and Louis are save the day a bit too frequently.

 

11 hours ago, Paul said:

I think it massively improves - and also changes somewhat. 

 

Thanks, I give one more a go to see if it grabs me. I know he is Irish and not American and that may have affected my opinion before even starting, but the first books strike me as a bit phoney, as in set in some imaginary America, story is a bit over the top and there are hints at fantastical elements which I hate in crime fiction. Everything comes across as fairly contrived. And that ex-cop PD with the literary references, give me a break. When I read Michael Connelly or Lehane, I trust them they know what they are talking about, with Parker series, it feels artificial, devoid of lived experience.

 

6 hours ago, polymerpunkah said:

Black Wave: Saudi Arabia, Iran, and the Forty-Year Rivalry That Unraveled Culture, Religion, and Collective Memory in the Middle East

 

Kim Ghattas

 

Just what is says on the tin: an account of the radicalization of Islam in the Middle East over the last 50 years, centred in particular around the rivalry between Saudi Arabia and Iran.

 

A good summary of the situation and base for further reading.

 

Ha, I have put this on my audio books shelf yesterday.

[Mudface]

4 minutes ago, SasaS said:

Thanks, I give one more a go to see if it grabs me. I know he is Irish and not American and that may have affected my opinion before even starting, but the first books strike me as a bit phoney, as in set in some imaginary America, story is a bit over the top and there are hints at fantastical elements which I hate in crime fiction. Everything comes across as fairly contrived. And that ex-cop PD with the literary references, give me a break. When I read Michael Connelly or Lehane, I trust them they know what they are talking about, with Parker series, it feels artificial, devoid of lived experience.

Ah- then I'd stop right there as the books become much more overtly supernatural as they go along.

[SasaS]

4 minutes ago, Mudface said:

Ah- then I'd stop right there as the books become much more overtly supernatural as they go along.

Ah... that's what I was afraid of. I really hate this. It always smacks of fantastical deus ex machina the writer can always pull out of thin air when in trouble.

[Mudface]

1 minute ago, SasaS said:

Ah... that's what I was afraid of. I really hate this. It always smacks of fantastical deus ex machina the writer can always pull out of thin air when in trouble.

It's not really like that, Parker doesn't suddenly gain superpowers that help him through. The plots become less prosaic- Parker is protected to some extent from law enforcement by an XFiles department within the FBI and fights against mentally ill, psychotic baddies- to more overtly supernatural- Parker may or may not be an angel, and the baddies are possessed by demons looking to incite a war.

[SasaS]

4 hours ago, Mudface said:

It's not really like that, Parker doesn't suddenly gain superpowers that help him through. The plots become less prosaic- Parker is protected to some extent from law enforcement by an XFiles department within the FBI and fights against mentally ill, psychotic baddies- to more overtly supernatural- Parker may or may not be an angel, and the baddies are possessed by demons looking to incite a war.

Ay ay ay, as they would say (I imagine) in Leonardo Padura's novels.

[Chairman Meow]

On 17/08/2022 at 10:23, redinblack said:

I have read and re-read this. Fantastic yet horrifying as to how some people live, basically a slow suicide

 

The effects of full blown undeterred capitalism and a bull shit drug war in full effect. 

[Paul]

14 hours ago, SasaS said:

 

 

Thanks, I give one more a go to see if it grabs me. I know he is Irish and not American and that may have affected my opinion before even starting, but the first books strike me as a bit phoney, as in set in some imaginary America, story is a bit over the top and there are hints at fantastical elements which I hate in crime fiction. Everything comes across as fairly contrived. And that ex-cop PD with the literary references, give me a break. When I read Michael Connelly or Lehane, I trust them they know what they are talking about, with Parker series, it feels artificial, devoid of lived experience.

 

 

 

Ha, I have put this on my audio books shelf yesterday.

 

 

The Portland/Maine he establishes feels incredibly real to me. I strongly recommend sticking with it. Honestly, it’s brilliant. I’m amazed by the way he’s managed to keep it feeling fresh after so many novels. The characters develop too and the sardonic humour is great. He also deals with the supernatural element in a very matter of fact way that makes it feel realistic. I find myself continually surprised that I love a series of books that has a consistent supernatural theme (albeit a relatively subtle one) running through it. 

[Paul]

13 hours ago, Mudface said:

It's not really like that, Parker doesn't suddenly gain superpowers that help him through. The plots become less prosaic- Parker is protected to some extent from law enforcement by an XFiles department within the FBI and fights against mentally ill, psychotic baddies- to more overtly supernatural- Parker may or may not be an angel, and the baddies are possessed by demons looking to incite a war.

This is all correct and yet it doesn’t read anywhere as heavily supernatural as this sounds. I think Connelly’s greatest achievement is to deal with this stuff with such a relative light touch. It doesn’t come across as horror at all. And it’s not even vaguely hokey either. 

[Paul]

Very disappointed by Pep Ljinders’ Intensity. It’s quite obviously written in his authentic voice but that is its main failing. His syntax is odd with weirdly structured sentences. He also absolutely fucking loves jargon, but often jargon that is his own and therefore feels a little impenetrable.
 

On the face of it, this is an insider’s diary of our entire season, but it mostly reads like a confusing, but VERY, VERY, VERY impassioned stream of consciousness about how much he loves EVERYTHING about his job. You get no sense of the rest of the coaching team as people, and the players are almost incidental, even when referenced individually.

The other thing that annoyed me is that there’s almost no detailed analysis of the matches themselves; just quickly glossed over snapshots.
 

Apparently, James Carroll co-wrote this. However, I haven’t got a fucking clue what his contribution was because he appears to have had no discernible impact on the book’s readability. 
 

Very disappointing. 

[Paul]

I’ve now started Heat 2, Michael Mann’s literary sequel/prequel to his classic film. I’m only 10% in but it’s already drawn me right in. 

[Paul]

On 21/08/2022 at 07:05, Paul said:

I’ve now started Heat 2, Michael Mann’s literary sequel/prequel to his classic film. I’m only 10% in but it’s already drawn me right in. 

So Heat 2 is absolutely fucking brilliant. It deals with events from before and after the film in a surprising but incredibly satisfying way. One of the best books I’ve read all year and apparently there’s scope for a follow up. 

[polymerpunkah]

Listened to the BBC's dramatization of the Nuremburg trials.

 

It's a series of vignettes dealing with various aspects of the process: investigations, Russia's involvement, prison, trials, aftermath etc, and it's very well done.

 

The story-telling is excellent: starts out with the mundane, a bit of humour, etc but as it goes along the gravity increases and it really hits home.

 

 

[Sugar Ape]

Time for my biennial(ish) list of books on my to do list. I look at reviews over a period of time and save the names of books that interest me and now I'm going to get a load and work my way through them. Only really interested in Horror, Crime/Thriller, Fantasy and Sci/Fi so books will be within those genres. Few History books at the end actually that were on my list.

 

Horror

 

Cunning Folk by Adam Nevill

Probably the best British Horror author around. He wrote The Ritual which Netflix made into a film. This is his latest one. 

 

Cunning Folk

 

Quote

Money's tight and their new home is a fixer-upper. Deep in rural South West England, with an ancient wood at the foot of the garden, Tom and his family are miles from anywhere and anyone familiar. His wife, Fiona, was never convinced that buying the money-pit at auction was a good idea. Not least because the previous owner committed suicide. Though no one can explain why.

Within days of crossing the threshold, when hostilities break out with the elderly couple next door, Tom's dreams of future contentment are threatened by an escalating tit-for-tat campaign of petty damage and disruption.

Increasingly isolated and tormented, Tom risks losing his home, everyone dear to him and his mind. Because, surely, only the mad would suspect that the oddballs across the hedgerow command unearthly powers. A malicious magic even older than the eerie wood and the strange barrow therein. A hallowed realm from where, he suspects, his neighbours draw a hideous power.
 

 

Dark Country by Monique Snyman

 

Dark Country

 

Quote

Too often people mistake monsters for gods. When a ravaged corpse is discovered in Pretoria, South Africa, Esmé Snyder―an occult-crime expert―is called in to investigate. But she doesn't know the scope of what she's up against. Esmé is the target of a cat-and-mouse game with a serial killer who uses the paranormal to do his bidding, with the intent of becoming a god on Earth. With assistance from her team―a brusque detective, eccentric millionaire, stoic priest, hawkeyed secretary, and handsome British forensic criminologist―Esmé hopes to find the killer before he strikes again. But the clock isn't all that's working against them. The media catches wind of the threat against the citizens of Pretoria, and their reported speculations promise a post-Apartheid Satanic Panic. As the body count grows, Esmé must figure out who is behind the heinous crimes before she ends up the final sacrifice. Dark Country highlights the multicultural mythologies, magic, histories, beauty, and horror of living in pseudo-modern South Africa.

 

Black Mouth by Ronald Malfi

Heard nothing but good things about Malfi's books. Going to start with these two.

 

Black Mouth

 

Quote

For nearly two decades, Jamie Warren has been running from darkness. He's haunted by a traumatic childhood and the guilt at having disappeared from his disabled brother's life. But then a series of unusual events reunites him with his estranged brother and their childhood friends, and none of them can deny the sense of fate that has seemingly drawn them back together.

 

Nor can they deny the memories of that summer, so long ago – the strange magic taught to them by an even stranger man, and the terrible act that has followed them all into adulthood. In the light of new danger, they must confront their past by facing their futures, and hunting down a man who may very well be a monster.

 

Come with Me by Ronald Malfi

 

Come With Me

 

Quote

Aaron Decker's life changes one December morning when his wife Allison is killed. Haunted by her absence―and her ghost―Aaron goes through her belongings, where he finds a receipt for a motel room in another part of the country. Piloted by grief and an increasing sense of curiosity, Aaron embarks on a journey to discover what Allison had been doing in the weeks prior to her death.

 

Yet Aaron is unprepared to discover the dark secrets Allison kept, the death and horror that make up the tapestry of her hidden life. And with each dark secret revealed, Aaron becomes more and more consumed by his obsession to learn the terrifying truth about the woman who had been his wife, even if it puts his own life at risk.

 

The Burning Girls by C.J. Tudor

 

The Burning Girls

 

Quote

500 years ago: eight martyrs burned
30 years ago: two teenagers vanished
Two months ago: a vicar died mysteriously

Welcome to Chapel Croft.

For Rev Jack Brooks and teenage daughter Flo it's a fresh start. New job, new home. But in a close-knit community old superstitions and a mistrust of outsiders mean treading carefully.

Yet right away Jack has more frightening concerns.

Why did no one say the last vicar killed himself? Why is Flo plagued by visions of burning girls? And who is sending them threatening messages?

Old ghosts with scores to settle can never rest. And Jack is standing in their way . . .

 

From Below by Darcy Coates

 

From Below

 

Quote

Years ago, the SS Arcadia vanished without a trace during a routine voyage. Though a strange, garbled emergency message was broadcast, neither the ship nor any of its crew could be found. Sixty years later, its wreck has finally been discovered more than three hundred miles from its intended course...a silent graveyard deep beneath the ocean's surface, eagerly waiting for the first sign of life.

Cove and her dive team have been granted permission to explore the Arcadia's rusting hull. Their purpose is straightforward: examine the wreck, film everything, and, if possible, uncover how and why the supposedly unsinkable ship vanished.

But the Arcadia has not yet had its fill of death, and something dark and hungry watches from below. With limited oxygen and the ship slowly closing in around them, Cove and her team will have to fight their way free of the unspeakable horror now desperate to claim them.

 

Commodore by Philip Fracassi

Short story at about 90 pages but looks good and the author has got a couple of interesting looking books due out in the next year or so.

 

Commodore

 

Quote

There is a legend in the town of Sabbath that tells of a haunted car lost somewhere in the local junkyard. Young Jim Honeycutt and his friends have decided that they're going to find it today.

Unfortunately for them, they do.

And the ghost stories of that old Commodore can't even touch the horrors they are about to experience...

 

Beneath the Rising by Premee Mohamed

I like Lovecraft themed stuff so I'll check this series out.

 

Beneath the Rising

 

Quote

Nick Prasad has always enjoyed a quiet life in the shadow of his best friend, child prodigy and technological genius Joanna ‘Johnny’ Chambers. But all that is about to end.

When Johnny invents a clean reactor that could eliminate fossil fuels and change the world, she awakens primal, evil Ancient Ones set on subjugating humanity.

From the oldest library in the world to the ruins of Nineveh, hunted at every turn, they will need to trust each other completely to survive…

 

*

 

Crime/Thriller

 

Chasing the Bogeyman by Richard Chizmar

 

Chasing the Bogeyman

 

Quote

Summer 1988: the mutilated bodies of several missing girls are discovered in a small Maryland town.

Rumour spreads that the evil stalking local teens is not entirely human. But law enforcement and members of the FBI are sure a serial killer is playing games with them.

Now recent college graduate Richard Chizmar returns to his hometown to write a personal account of the killer's reign. And what he discovers will haunt him for years to come . . .

'Chasing the Boogeyman does what true crime so often cannot: it offers both chills and a satisfying conclusion' - Stephen King

 

The Old Man by Thomas Perry

Watched the TV adaptation with Jeff Bridges and John Lithgow and liked it so the book it's based on is next.

 

The Old Man

 

Quote

To all appearances, Dan Chase is a harmless retiree in Vermont with two big dogs and a grown daughter with a
life of her own. But most sixty-year-old widowers don't have multiple drivers' licenses, savings stockpiled in banks across the country and two Beretta nanos stashed in the spare bedroom closet. Most have not spent decades on the run.

Now, the toppling of a Middle Eastern government suddenly makes Dan Chase, and the stunt he pulled thirty-five years ago as a young hotshot in army intelligence, a priority again. Racing across the country and beyond, Chase must reawaken his survival instincts to contend with the history he has spent his adult life trying to escape, coming face to face with an army veteran-turned-agent who plays the game just as he once did.

 

Angel Maker by Morgan Greene

This is the first in a series of six books (so far) and they have good reviews.

 

Angel Maker

 

Quote

When a teenage girl is found dead in the woods, her body posed like an angel, Stockholm holds its breath. The kill bears a chilling resemblance to those of the Angel Maker, a serial killer caught two decades ago...

One who just died in prison.

Detective Inspector Jamie Johansson is taking some much-needed time away from the London Met when the call comes in. Her father, one of Stockholm's most notorious detectives, caught the Angel Maker when she was just a girl, and Jamie has long since closed the door to that part of her life. But with the original case files missing, the threat of another kill looming, and her father’s reputation at stake, Jamie is drawn back to the frozen streets of her hometown to finish what he started.

Has a copycat emerged? Or did he catch the wrong man all those years ago?

Jamie will have to confront her own dark childhood, as well as the evil stalking the city if she hopes to crack this case find the truth. But with so many secrets buried beneath the snow-laden earth, will she be able to catch the killer before he claims his next victim?

The Angel Maker is back, and a plan twenty years in the making is already in motion.

 

 

Yesterday's Echo by Matt Coyle

Series of P.I. novels that I've seen compared to Robert Crais and Michael Connelly. Have to be good to live up to them, but he has won the last two Shamus awards so maybe they are. First one in the series:

 

Yesterday's Echo

 

Quote

Unable to escape his own past, Rick Cahill risks his life for a woman who is hiding her own.

 

Rick Cahill was never convicted of his wife’s murder, but he was never exonerated either. Not by the police. Not by the media. Not even by himself. Eight years later, police suspicion and his own guilt remain over his responsibility in his wife’s death.

 

When he meets Melody Malana, a beautiful yet secretive TV reporter, he sees a chance to love again. When she is arrested for murder and asks Rick for help, the former cop says no, but the rest of him says yes, and he grasps at a chance for love and redemption.

 

Rick’s attempt to help turns terribly wrong, and he becomes a suspect in the murder and target of a police manhunt. On the run, Rick encounters desperate people who will kill to keep their pasts buried.

 

Before Rick can save himself and bring down a murderer, he must confront the truth about his own past and untangle his feelings for a woman he can never fully trust.

 

 

Blacktop Wasteland by S.A. Cosby

 

Blacktop Wasteland

 

Quote

"Bug" Montage: honest mechanic, loving family man. He's no longer the criminal he was - the sharpest wheelman east of the Mississippi.

But when his respectable life crumbles, a shady associate comes calling with a one-time job promising a huge payout. Inexorably drawn to the driver's seat - and haunted by the ghost of his outlaw father - Bug is yanked back into a savage world of bullets and betrayal.

 

Sandstorm by James Rollins

I've got my eye on the 'Sigma Force' books by James Rollins. He wrote the novelisation of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull which I'm not sure is a good or bad thing. There are a fair few of them out already and the reviews look good. Not sure if there is a supernatural element to them or they are action books like Dan Brown or something so putting them in this section. First one:

 

Sandstorm

 

Quote

An inexplicable explosion rocks the antiquities collection of a London museum - and sets off alarms in clandestine organisations around the world...

Lady Kara Kensington's family paid a high price in money and blood to found the gallery that now lies in ruins. And her search for answers is about to lead her into a world she never imagined existed: a lost city, buried beneath the Arabian desert, where something astonishing is waiting...

A covert government operative hunting down a traitor is being drawn there. But at the end of a perilous journey lies an ageless power that can create a utopia - or tear down everything humankind has built over millennia of civilisation...

 

Five Decembers by James Kestrel

 

Five Decembers

 

Quote

December 1941. America teeters on the brink of war, and in Honolulu, Hawaii, police detective Joe McGrady is assigned to investigate a homicide that will change his life forever. Because the trail of murder he uncovers will lead him across the Pacific, far from home and the woman he loves; and though the U.S. doesn't know it yet, a Japanese fleet is already steaming toward Pearl Harbor.

 

Rooster by John C. Foster

 

Rooster

 

Quote

John Gallo is a professional hitman with a history that’s spattered in blood and littered with bodies. Known in the criminal underworld as Rooster, Gallo is an assassin suffering from mental illness and constantly battling the black dog of depression that stalks him. When able to crawl out of his downward spiral and throw himself into the job, he’s a proficient, stealthy and unforgiving killer. A relentless wheeler-dealer in the game of death.

But now he finds there’s a price on his head. A vendetta that could have been placed by anyone in the gangland underground. And everyone wants to collect. From two-bit street punks to the highest echelons of organized crime. The Mafia. Yakuza. Russians. Chinese. Every crime syndicate that’s ever been on the bullet-end of his gun is now taking aim at him, intent on ending the reign of the Rooster.

After making a fast break from New York with a young actress rescued from certain death at the hands of the Chinese mob, Rooster is on the run and headed to his native Boston and promised refuge with his on-again, off-again criminal associate Grace. He quickly learns Beantown’s dark underbelly is only interested in welcoming Rooster home so thugs and gangsters can line up to seize the prize that is his head.

Determined to solve the mystery of who wants him dead and exact his own revenge, Rooster uncovers a deadly plot with tendrils that stretch across the country, revealing a conspiracy designed to achieve the ultimate retribution.

 

*

 

Fantasy and Sci/Fi

 

Shards of Earth by Adrian Tchaikovsky

 

Shards of Earth

 

Quote

Idris has neither aged nor slept since they remade his mind in the war. And one of humanity’s heroes now scrapes by on a freelance salvage vessel, to avoid the attention of greater powers.

Eighty years ago, Earth was destroyed by an alien enemy. Many escaped, but millions more died. So mankind created enhanced humans ­such as Idris - who could communicate mind-to-mind with our aggressors. Then these ‘Architects’ simply disappeared and Idris and his kind became obsolete.

Now, Idris and his crew have something strange, abandoned in space. It’s clearly the work of the Architects – but are they really returning? And if so, why? Hunted by gangsters, cults and governments, Idris and his crew race across the galaxy as they search for answers. For they now possess something of incalculable value, and many would kill to obtain it.
 

 

Deep Dive by Ron Walters

 

Deep Dive

 

Quote

As the founder and creative director of a small video game development company, Peter Banuk is responsible for overseeing every project they produce. Two years after their second release crashed and burned, Peter is still reeling from the failure and struggling to get a new virtual reality game off the ground. He desperately needs a win, not only to save his struggling company, but to justify the time he spends away from his wife and daughters.

 

When his tech-genius partner tells him an experimental VR headset called Deep Dive is ready for beta testing, Peter excitedly agrees to give it a whirl. The trial run goes horribly wrong, rendering Peter unconscious. Upon coming to he discovers that his daughters no longer exist...

 

The Shadow Glass by Josh Winning

 

The Shadow Glass

 

Quote

Jack Corman is failing at life.

 

Jobless, jaded and on the “wrong” side of thirty, he’s facing the threat of eviction from his London flat while reeling from the sudden death of his father, one-time film director Bob Corman. Back in the eighties, Bob poured his heart and soul into the creation of his 1986 puppet fantasy The Shadow Glass, a film Jack loved as a child, idolising its fox-like hero Dune.

 

But The Shadow Glass flopped on release, deemed too scary for kids and too weird for adults, and Bob became a laughing stock, losing himself to booze and self-pity. Now, the film represents everything Jack hated about his father, and he lives with the fear that he’ll end up a failure just like him.

 

In the wake of Bob’s death, Jack returns to his decaying home, a place creaking with movie memorabilia and painful memories. Then, during a freak thunderstorm, the puppets in the attic start talking. Tipped into a desperate real-world quest to save London from the more nefarious of his father’s creations, Jack teams up with excitable fanboy Toby and spiky studio executive Amelia to navigate the labyrinth of his father’s legacy while conjuring the hero within––and igniting a Shadow Glass resurgence that could, finally, do his father proud.

 

Ordinary Monsters by J M Miro

 

Ordinary Monsters

 

Quote

1882. North of Edinburgh, on the edge of an isolated loch, lies an institution of crumbling stone, where a strange doctor collects orphans with unusual abilities. In London, two children with such powers are hunted by a figure of darkness - a man made of smoke.

Charlie Ovid discovers a gift for healing himself through a brutal upbringing in Mississippi, while Marlowe, a foundling from a railway freight, glows with a strange bluish light. When two grizzled detectives are recruited to escort them north to safety, they are confronted by a sinister, dangerous force that threatens to upend the world as they know it.

What follows is a journey from the gaslit streets of London to the lochs of Scotland, where other gifted children - the Talents - have been gathered at Cairndale Institute, and the realms of the dead and the living collide. As secrets within the Institute unfurl, Marlowe, Charlie and the rest of the Talents will discover the truth about their abilities and the nature of the force that is stalking them: that the worst monsters sometimes come bearing the sweetest gifts.

 

The Shadow of the Gods by John Gwynne

Some of his previous books have been great so I've got high hopes for this. First in a new series.

 

The Shadow of the Gods

 

Quote

A century has passed since the gods fought and drove themselves to extinction. Now only their bones remain, promising great power to those brave enough to seek them out.

As whispers of war echo across the land of Vigrið, fate follows in the footsteps of three warriors: a huntress on a dangerous quest, a noblewoman pursuing battle fame, and a thrall seeking vengeance among the mercenaries known as the Bloodsworn.

All three will shape the fate of the world as it once more falls under the shadow of the gods.
 

 

The Last Smile in Sunder City by Luke Arnold

This series looks similar to The Dresden Files books which I love and the Rivers of London ones.

 

The Last Smile in Sunder City

 

Quote

I'm Fetch Phillips, just like it says on the window. There are three things you should know before you hire me:
1. Sobriety costs extra.
2. My services are confidential.
3. I don't work for humans.

It's nothing personal - I'm human myself. But after what happened, it's not the humans who need my help.
I just want one real case. One chance to do something good. Because it's my fault the magic is never coming back.

 

Rosewater by Tade Thomson

 

Rosewater

 

Quote

Rosewater is a town on the edge. A community formed around the edges of a mysterious alien biodome, its residents comprise the hopeful, the hungry and the helpless - people eager for a glimpse inside the dome or a taste of its rumoured healing powers.

Kaaro is a government agent with a criminal past. He has seen inside the biodome, and doesn't care to again - but when something begins killing off others like himself, Kaaro must defy his masters to search for an answer, facing his dark history and coming to a realisation about a horrifying future.

 

Eversion by Alastair Reynolds

 

Eversion

 

Quote

In the 1800s, a sailing ship crashes off the coast of Norway. In the 1900s, a Zepellin explores an icy canyon in Antarctica. In the far future, a spaceship sets out for an alien artifact. Each excursion goes horribly wrong. And on every journey, Dr. Silas Coade is the physician, but only Silas seems to realize that these events keep repeating themselves. And it’s up to him to figure out why and how. And how to stop it all from happening again.

 

Empire of the Vampire by Jay Kristoff

 

Empire of the Vampire

 

Quote

It has been twenty-seven long years since the last sunrise.

 

For nearly three decades, vampires have waged war against humanity; building their eternal empire even as they tear down our own. Now, only a few tiny sparks of light endure in a sea of darkness.

 

Gabriel de León, half man, half monster and last remaining silversaint – a sworn brother of the holy Silver Order dedicated to defending the realm from the creatures of the night – is all that stands between the world and its end.

 

Now imprisoned by the very monsters he vowed to destroy, the last silversaint is forced to tell his story. A story of legendary battles and forbidden love, of faith lost and friendships won, of the Wars of the Blood and the Forever King and the quest for humanity’s last remaining hope:

 

The Holy Grail.

 

*

 

History

 

Istanbul: City of Majesty at the Crossroads of the World by Thomas F. Madden

 

Istanbul: City of Majesty at the Crossroads of the World

 

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For more than two millennia Istanbul has stood at the crossroads of the world, perched at the very tip of Europe, gazing across the shores of Asia. The history of this city--known as Byzantium, then Constantinople, now Istanbul--is at once glorious, outsized, and astounding. Founded by the Greeks, its location blessed it as a center for trade but also made it a target of every empire in history, from Alexander the Great and his Macedonian Empire to the Romans and later the Ottomans. At its most spectacular Emperor Constantine I re-founded the city as New Rome, the capital of the eastern Roman empire, and dramatically expanded the city, filling it with artistic treasures, and adorning the streets with opulent palaces. Around it all Constantine built new walls, truly impregnable, that preserved power, wealth, and withstood any aggressor--walls that still stand for tourists to visit.

From its ancient past to the present, we meet the city through its ordinary citizens--the Jews, Muslims, Italians, Greeks, and Russians who used the famous baths and walked the bazaars--and the rulers who built it up and then destroyed it, including Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the man who christened the city Istanbul in 1930. Thomas F. Madden's entertaining narrative brings to life the city we see today, including the rich splendor of the churches and monasteries that spread throughout the city.

Istanbul draws on a lifetime of study and the latest scholarship, transporting readers to a city of unparalleled importance and majesty that holds the key to understanding modern civilization. In the words of Napoleon Bonaparte, If the Earth were a single state, Istanbul would be its capital.

 

The Last Battle: When U.S. and German Soldiers Joined Forces in the Waning Hours of World War II in Europe by Stephen Harding

 

The Last Battle

 

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May, 1945. Hitler is dead, the Third Reich is little more than smoking rubble, and no GI wants to be the last man killed in action against the Nazis. The Last Battle tells the nearly unbelievable story of the unlikeliest battle of the war, when a small group of American tankers, led by Captain Lee, joined forces with German soldiers to fight off fanatical SS troops seeking to capture Castle Itter and execute the stronghold's VIP prisoners. It is a tale of unlikely allies, startling bravery, jittery suspense, and desperate combat between implacable enemies.

 

At Night All Blood is Black by David Diop

Seen this compared to All Quiet on the Western Front which I love so I'll pick this up at some point.

 

At Night All Blood is Black

 

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Alfa and Mademba are two of the many Senegalese soldiers fighting in the Great War. Together they climb dutifully out of their trenches to attack France's German enemies whenever the whistle blows, until Mademba is wounded, and dies in a shell hole with his belly torn open.

Without his more-than-brother, Alfa is alone and lost amidst the savagery of the conflict. He devotes himself to the war, to violence and death, but soon begins to frighten even his own comrades in arms. How far will Alfa go to make amends to his dead friend?

 

 

[Guest]

On 30/06/2022 at 11:04, Bjornebye said:

They had the author of this Jonathan Freedland on Radio 2 last week talking about this book. I'm looking forward to it. If it's anywhere near as good as The Tattooist of Auschwitz then it will be great. It's about Rudolf Vrba and Fred Wetzler who became the first Jews ever to break out of Auschwitz and tell the world what was happening.

 

 

99p…

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B09D7GM666?storeType=ebooks

[Bjornebye]

8 minutes ago, Shooter in the Motor said:

99p…

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B09D7GM666?storeType=ebooks

I'm not keen on the audiobooks mate. Thanks anyway 

[Guest]

11 minutes ago, Bjornebye said:

I'm not keen on the audiobooks mate. Thanks anyway 

I posted a link to the kindle version, you shark fin soup spoon. 

 

The Escape Artist: The Man Who Broke Out of Auschwitz to Warn the World eBook : Freedland, Jonathan: Amazon.co.uk: Books

[Bjornebye]

Just now, Shooter in the Motor said:

I posted a link to the kindle version, you shark fin soup spoon. 

 

The Escape Artist: The Man Who Broke Out of Auschwitz to Warn the World eBook : Freedland, Jonathan: Amazon.co.uk: Books

I don't like kindles either you fucking locksmith 

 

 

 

 

[Guest]

3 minutes ago, Bjornebye said:

I don't like kindles either you fucking locksmith 

 

 

 

 

That's all you had to say, you keyhole surgeon.

[Bjornebye]

1 minute ago, Shooter in the Motor said:

That's all you had to say, you keyhole surgeon.

Bad glass of ribena you.