Received for review in early August 2011

Books received for review in recent days…

666 Charing Cross Road, by Paul Magrs (Headline Review, pb, 390pp). "From the creator of Brenda and Effie, Dr Who and Strange Boy comes an astonishing stand alone novel..." I don't think Paul Magrs actually created Doctor Who, but he's certainly given it a shot in the arm from time to time!

Creepy Presents: Bernie Wrightson, by Bernie Wrightson and others (Dark Horse, hb, 144pp). A collection of Swamp Thing artist Bernie Wrightson's artwork for Creepy and Eerie. Looks, erm, creepy!

Darkness Falling (Forever Twilight, Book 1), by Pete Crowther (Angry Robot, ebook, 9097ll). I'm a bit confused by this one, having previously reviewed another Forever Twilight Book One, Darkness, Darkness, which had some fantastic moments, but a bit too much slapping of hysterical women for my taste (i.e. any). A Kindle search of this one suggests it's an expansion of the novella (with slapping intact).

Dead Bad Things, by Gary McMahon (Angry Robot, ebook, 5313ll). A Thomas Usher novel. I've enjoyed everything I've read so far by Gary McMahon: Rain Dogs, Different Skins and What They Hear in the Dark. The previous book in the series, BFA nominee Pretty Little Dead Things, is currently available on Kindle for just 99p.

Debris, by Jo Anderton (Angry Robot, pb, 6999ll). Book One of the Veiled World Trilogy.

King's War, by Maurice Broaddus (Angry Robot, ebook, 5988ll). Volume III of the Knights of Breton Court.

Master of the House of Darts, by Aliette de Bodard (Angry Robot, ebook, 8083ll). Book 3 of the Obsidian and Blood series. Jenny Barber interviewed Aliette for Dark Horizons #57, and I liked the sound of her books. (The first half of the interview can be read on the BFS's website.)

Nowhere Hall, by Cate Gardner (Spectral Press, chapbook, 26pp). The third chapbook in the Spectral Press series. The super cover painting is by Daniele Serra.

Reign of the Nightmare Prince, by Mike Phillips (Journalstone, pb, ebook, 262pp). I've published some smashing stories by Mike in the past, including "The Free Dynamos and the Lone Island in the Sky" in TQF34.

Roil, by Trent Jamieson (Angry Robot, ebook, 5791ll). Book 1 of the Nightbound Land.

The Best American Comics 2011, by Alison Bechdel (ed.) (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, pb, 342pp). Includes comics by Gabrielle Bell, Joe Sacco, Jaime Hernandez, Kate Beaton, Jeff Smith, Angie Wang and many more.

The Complete Major Bummer Super Slacktacular! by John Arcudi, Doug Mahnke and others (Dark Horse, tpb, 384pp). I missed this series when it first came out from DC, although I was reading a lot of comics in those days (at one point I read pretty much nothing but comics and Doctor Who novels for two years). I don't know whether this is supposed to be any good, but I've always fancied reading it.

If you have anything to send us for review, the info you need is here. Thanks in advance!

If you fancy reviewing books for us, do get in touch. Most of the titles we receive are in electronic formats (all but one of the books listed above, for example), and so we're unable to pass them on, but we usually have a dozen or so print books in hand from which you could choose.

More books received for review in July!

Another quick round-up of books received to bring us up to date, for the very dull reason that I'm moving our list of books received from one spreadsheet to another…




Abraham's Issue, by Nigel Flanagan. Wink Publishing (www.wink-publishing.com), ebook, 9578ll. A novel chosen for publication by a contest, where the judges only get to read the first 50 pages of the book...



Alan Moore: Conversations, Eric L. Berlatsky (ed.). University Press of Mississippi, hb, 240pp. A collection of ten interviews with Alan Moore, beginning with one in 1981. Part of the Conversations with Comics Artists series.



Bricks, by Leon Jenner. Coronet (www.hodder.co.uk), hb, 136pp. A very attractive little book about a bricklayer who remembers a past life as a powerful druid. The superb cover art is by Jorn Kaspuhl.

Crimewave Eleven: Ghosts, Andy Cox (ed.). TTA Press (www.ttapress.com), pb, 240pp. The latest volume of TTA's crime journal includes stories by Nina Allan, Christopher Fowler, Alison Littlewood, Joel Lane and many others.

Received for review - June and July!

We've received lots of interesting stuff of late. Here's a little round-up.

The Eighth Black Book of Horror, by Charles Black (ed.) (Mortbury Press, Paperback, 200pp). The latest in the long-running anthology series. This volume features Stephen Bacon, Gary Fry, Reggie Oliver, Paul Finch, Marion Pitman, Thana Niveau, Mark Samuels and many others, all of whom can be seen in decapitated form above: surely one of the best ever ideas for the cover of a horror anthology.

Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine #51 (170pp).



Citizen Rex, by Mario and Gilbert Hernandez (Dark Horse, tpb, 144pp).

Conan the Barbarian: The Mask of Acheron, by Stuart Moore and Gabriel Guzman (Dark Horse, Comic, 64pp). A tie-in to the Jason Momoa powered film, which I'm a lot more excited about since watching him in A Game of Thrones.

Dark Heart, Darren J. Guest (Snowbooks, 288pp).




Dark War, by Tim Waggoner (Angry Robot, ebook, 4171ll).

Do Not Pass Go, by Joel Lane (Nine Arches Press, Chapbook, 44pp). A very handsome little book on very sturdy paper. I loved the previous book I read by Joel Lane, and I'm really looking forward to this one.

Double Cross, by Carolyn Crane (ebook, Untreed Reads, 5815ll).



Dragon's Time, by Anne and Todd McCaffrey (Bantam Press, Hardback, 326pp). Reading this at the moment. It's not terribly good so far.

Falling Skies, by Paul Tobin and Juan Ferreyra (Dark Horse, tpb, 104pp). A review of this one is almost ready.

Ghosts Can Bleed, by Tracie McBride (Dark Continents Publishing, Ebook, 200pp).



Hard Spell, by Justin Gustainis (Angry Robot, ebook, 4778ll)

Ill at Ease: Three New Stories of the Macabre, by Mark West, Stephen Bacon and Neil Williams (PenMan Press, Ebook, 36pp). I've enjoyed stories by Stephen Bacon and Mark West in the past - I included Stephen's post-apocalypse story "The Other Side of Silence" in Dark Horizons 57.



Johannes Cabal: The Fear Institute, by Jonathan L. Howard (Headline, Hardback, tbc). The previous book in this series was a lot of fun, but I'm finding it hard to get excited about sequels these days. One thing that was mildly exciting: seeing a quote from my review of the previous book on the PR sheet!



Journey into Space: The Red Planet, by Charles Chilton (AudioGo, Audio, 10xCD, 10 hrs 10 mins). Series two of the well-regarded radio drama.

King's Envoy, by Cas Peace (Rhemalda Publishing, Ebook, 360pp).

Maternal Instincts, by Jeffrey Ricker (ebook, Untreed Reads, 274ll).

Mind Games, by Carolyn Crane (ebook, Untreed Reads, 6312ll).




Mistification, by Kaaron Warren (Angry Robot, ebook, 4885ll).

O My Days, by David Matthew (Triskaideka Books, ebook, 8034ll)

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Dreadfully Ever After, Steve Hockensmith (Quirk, pb, 288pp)

Queen of Kings, by Maria Dahvana Headley (Bantam Press, Trade paperback, 444pp). In the thanks she calls a reviewer out on "bullshit" for criticising the length of the acknowledgment page of a previous book! Neil Gaiman's cover quote describes this as "a powerful work of the imagination".

Ready Player One, by Ernest Cline (Century, Paperback, 376pp). This looks very much like the kind of thing I would enjoy; how much I do might come down to whether the book gets gaming right. One cover quote gives it an awful lot to live up to: "this generation's Neuromancer"!

Reality 36, by Guy Haley (Angry Robot, Ebook, 5348ll).

Restoration, by Guy Adams (Angry Robot, Ebook, 5549ll).

Rules for the Care and Feeding of Tiffany, by Darby Krenshaw (ebook, Untreed Reads, 177ll).

Shooting Angels, by Nick Sansone (All Things That Matter Press, Paperback, 182pp). Nick Sansone's story "Founding" appeared in TQF29.

Skaldenland, by Jim Mortimore (Obverse Books, Paperback, 372pp). Jim Mortimore was responsible for getting me back into Doctor Who after a long period away - a pristine copy of a New Adventure he co-wrote, Lucifer Rising, turned up on the discards shelf at Reading Library (either a mistake, or someone thought the title inappropriate for their kids section), and before long I'd read dozens of them. Course, that was when I should have been revising for finals, so I guess Jim Mortimore was responsible for that as well...

Sky City – New Science Fiction Stories by Danish Authors, ed. Carl-Eddy Skovgaard (Science Fiction Cirklen, pb, 244pp).

Special Charter, by Chris Bauer (ebook, Untreed Reads, 150ll).

The Caretakers, by Adrian Chamberlin (Dark Continents Publishing, pb, 360pp).

The Crown of the Conqueror, by Gav Thorpe (Angry Robot, Ebook, 7013ll).



The Great Lover, Michael Cisco (Chômu, pb, 446pp).

The Left Hand, by Serenity J. Banks (Dark Continents Publishing, pb, c.200pp).

The Sixth Gun, Book 1: Cold Dead Fingers, by Cullen Bunn and Brian Hurtt (Oni Press, tpb, 178pp)

The Straight Razor Cure, by Daniel Polansky (Hodder and Stoughton, Hardback, 360pp). The cover design of this print ARC at first made me think it was a self-published novel. The PR info makes it sound interesting, though - "in the tradition of Dashiell Hammett and Gene Wolfe" - I'm not sure what tradition those writers share! The book's an uncorrected proof, not for sale (which is fair enough) or quotation (which may make it reviewing it tricky).

The Tower, by J.S. Frankel (ebook, Untreed Reads, 5113ll).




The Watchers, by Jon Steele (Bantam Press, Hardback, 556pp). A novel by a former ITN cameraman who worked in war spots all over the world.

The Zagzagel Diaries, by Bryl R. Tyne (6 x ebooks, Untreed Reads).

If you have anything you'd like us to look at, there's some information here. Thanks to everyone who has sent us stuff for review, and apologies once more for the fact that we won't get through everything!

Books received: March, April and May!

We have been receiving an awful lot of things for review lately, lucky boys that we are! Here is a little round-up... First up, Black Coat Press have supplied another couple of intriguing blasts from the past:



The Superhumans, Han Ryner (Black Coat, pb, 292pp). According to the back cover, Han Ryner was once voted "the Prince of Storytellers". There's a title to be proud of!



The Green Gods, Nathalie Henneberg (Black Coat, pb, 268pp). Translated from the French by C.J. Cherryh, this features a short novel, four stories and a bibliography. See here for our earlier reviews of titles from Black Coat Press.

Angry Robot are ahead of the game, being one of the very few publishers to supply books for review in epub format. Reviews of both of these will appear on the blog in the next few weeks:



The Damned Busters, Matthew Hughes (Angry Robot, 416pp). A slightly nervous fellow suddenly becomes the most important man twixt heaven and hell.



Vampire Warlords, Andy Remic (Angry Robot, 432pp). Third in the Clockwork Vampires series.

Chômu are one of our current favourites (they picked up one of my votes for best small press in the British Fantasy Awards), and they're publishing one of my favourite writers:



Link Arms with Toads, Rhys Hughes (Chômu Press, 286pp). But I tell you what, I'm sick of calling up Character Map every time I need to write their name! Must remember: it's Alt + 0244!

Rhys Hughes also has this saucy volume out from Gray Friar Press: The Brothel Creeper.

PS Publishing continue to be far more generous with their review copies than we deserve, and their latest titles include:

What Wolves Know, by Kit Reed (PS Publishing, 236pp – here).
Home Fires, by Gene Wolfe (PS Publishing, 284pp).

The Alice Encounter, by John Gribbin (PS Publishing, 174pp – here).

Junction, by Jack Dann (PS Publishing, 204pp – here).

Insinuations: an Autobiography, by Jack Dann (PS Publishing, 94pp – here).

The Render of the Veils, by Ramsey Campbell (PS Publishing, 26pp).

We also have two titles from NewCon Press:



Fables from the Fountain, edited by Ian Whates (NewCon Press, 256pp). This one includes a story by Neil Gaiman.



Further Conflicts, edited by Ian Whates (NewCon Press, 240pp).

And also two more books from the very productive people at Eibonvale:



Automatic Safe Dog, Jet McDonald (Eibonvale, 270pp).



Bloody War, Terry Grimwood (Eibonvale, 272pp).

Obverse Quarterly 1 - Bite Sized Horror, selected by Johnny Mains (Obverse Books, 90pp). Obverse Books are always interesting, and this one features stories by Reggie Oliver, Paul Kane, David A. Riley, Marie O'Regan, Johnny Mains and Conrad Williams. Future issues of the Obverse quarterly include: 1.2 Senor 105 and the Elements of Danger, 1.3 The Diamond Lens and Other Stories, and very interestingly 1.4 Zenith Lives! (Zenith was one of the inspirations for Elric.)

We've had two more issues in of Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine #49 and #50. One day we hope to actually read one! We spend so much of our time reading submissions to TQF that reading short fiction magazines, let alone reviewing them, feels like a busman's holiday.

Untreed Reads have sent a nice bunch of stuff, but we haven't got stuck into them yet. I seem to remember Immortality Inc. being a fantastic little book, though. It's been way too long since I read any Robert Sheckley.



Seeker by Andy Frankham-Allen (ebook, Untreed Reads)
Eric and Derik: Two Clones Searching for Love by Garry McNulty (ebook, Untreed Reads)
Into Thin Air by Nigel Bird (ebook, Untreed Reads)
Because I Could by David B. Silva (ebook, Untreed Reads)
The Ghost Hunter by P.A. Bees (ebook, Untreed Reads)
Motor City Wolf by David Perlmutter (ebook, Untreed Reads)
Immortality Inc by Robert Sheckley (Kindle, Untreed Reads)
Illusions by Victor J. Banis (Untreed Reads, epub)
A Vampire in Whitechapel by Scarlet Blackwell (Untreed Reads, epub)
Keep Your Friends Close by K.G. McAbee (Untreed Reads, epub)
Reflection by Andy Frankham-Allen (Untreed Reads, epub)
Postmodern Medicine, Trevor Price (Untreed Reads, epub)

And onto other books we've received lately…



Tobacco-Stained Mountain Goat, by Andrez Bergen (Another Sky Press, 230pp) (excellent title!)



Living After Midnight: Hard and Heavy Stories, ed. David T. Wilbanks and Craig Clarke (Acid Grave Press, c.218pp).


Tales of the Pahleen: Blue Fire Burning, by Hobb Whittons (Authorhouse, 496pp).
The Ballad of the Damned, Charles Senescall (self-published, epub, 13K).
The Abolisher of Roses, Gary Fry (Spectral Press, chapbook, 20pp) (a review will appear on the blog next week).
The Dead Shall Feed, Jason Whittle (Panic Press, 258pp)



The Ghost Story Megapack: 25 Classic Ghost Stories (Wildside Press, epub, 514pp)





Touchless, Russell Davis (Wildside Press, epub, 164pp)
Hungry For You, Anna Harte (1889 Labs, 27K words)

Quite a few titles from Big Finish have come in. As usual reviews of these will turn up either in TQF or the BFS Journal, depending whose deadline is coming up next. You can read our earlier reviews of Big Finish productions here.

It may seem odd, since I'm known for being quite keen on digital formats, but I've struggled at times with these audio downloads – listening to audiobooks on the iPod or the iPad I always seem to lose my place. I haven't yet listened to any of the Audible books I bought during an accidental six-month subscription – I have a tendency to fall asleep.

With these ones I've now got into the habit of (a) burning each story to a CD, or (b) using MP3 Merger to make an MP3 of each episode, which I can listen to easily on the Kindle. The Kindle is lovely for listening to audiobooks, thanks to its built-in speakers.

Anyway... I've really been enjoying the two-episode format of the Companion Chronicles:



Companion Chronicles 5.2: Echoes of Grey (Big Finish, 1xCD).



Companion Chronicles 5.3: Find and Replace (Big Finish, 1xCD).



Companion Chronicles 5.4: The Invasion of E-Space (Big Finish, 1xCD).



Companion Chronicles 5.5: A Town Called Fortune (Big Finish, 1xCD).

Companion Chronicles 5.6: Quinnis (Big Finish, 1xCD)
Companion Chronicles 5.7: Peri and the Piscon Paradox (Big Finish, 1xCD)
Companion Chronicles 5.8: The Perpetual Bond (Big Finish, 1xCD). (A review of this one will probably appear in the next BFS Journal.)
Companion Chronicles 5.9: The Forbidden Time (Big Finish, 1xCD). Polly remembers getting stuck sideways in time with the second Doctor. This is the current inhabitant of my CD player!
Companion Chronicles 5.10: The Sentinels of the New Dawn (Big Finish, 1xCD). Liz Shaw tells the story of an adventure that never happened! A review of this one should appear on the blog soon.

While the ongoing series has reunited Tegan with the fifth Doctor!



Doctor Who 137: The Whispering Forest (Big Finish, 2xCD). (A review of this one will probably appear in the next BFS Journal.)



Doctor Who 138: The Cradle of the Snake (Big Finish, 2xCD).



Doctor Who 139: Project: Destiny (Big Finish, 2xCD).
Doctor Who 140: A Death in the Family (Big Finish, 2xCD).
Doctor Who 141: Lurkers at Sunlight's Edge (Big Finish, 2xCD).



Doctor Who 142: The Demons of Red Lodge (Big Finish, 2xCD).
Doctor Who 143: The Crimes of Thomas Brewster (Big Finish, 2xCD).
Doctor Who 144: The Feast of Axos (Big Finish, 2xCD).

Big Finish have also produced some interesting one-offs:

Doctor Who: Lepidoptery for Beginners (Big Finish).
Doctor Who: The Four Doctors (Big Finish).
Doctor Who: The Little Drummer Boy (Big Finish).
Doctor Who: The Switching (Big Finish).

We also received a fantastic box of stuff from AudioGo (previously known as BBC Audio). Not all of it is fantasy, but we're not complaining! –



Dick Barton and the Cabatolin Diamonds, by Geoffrey Webb (AudioGo, 4xCD, 4hrs). Not the original version, but a re-recording for overseas markets. This looks fantastic: look at those knife-wielding chimpanzees on the cover.



Dick Barton and the Paris Adventure, by Geoffrey Webb (AudioGo, 4xCD, 4hrs). Again, a re-recording for overseas markets.



Doctor Who: The BBC Radio Episodes (AudioGo, 9xCD, 9hrs10). This fantastic box set includes Doctor Who and the Pescations, The Paradise of Death, The Ghosts of N-Space, Slipback, Exploration Earth, and Whatever Happened to... Susan? There will probably be a review of The Paradise of Death in the next BFS Journal.



Doctor Who: Inferno, by Terrance Dicks, read by Caroline John (AudioGo, 4xCD, 4hrs5). Not my favourite television story, but I always found the longer stories made really good books. I can't remember who suggested that the Doctor might be the dictator of the alternate universe, but I like the idea.



Paul Temple and the Margo Mystery, by Francis Durbridge, read by Toby Stephens (AudioGo, 6xCD, 6hrs). This one comes in a really cool CD case.



A King's Speech, by Mark Burgess (AudioGo, 1xCD, 45mins).



The American Civil War, by David Reynolds (AudioGo, 2xCD, 2hrs10). This seems to be a spin-off from Doctor Who: The Runaway Train.



The Jungle Book: Mowgli Stories, by Rudyard Kipling, read by Peter Jeffrey (AudioGo, 2xCD, 2hrs15).



Altitude, dir. Kaare Andrews (86 mins). I haven't requested many films for review lately, because I find reviewing them quite tricky. With my little family it's hard to book the TV time to watch them once, let alone two or three times. But I did like this one - a review will probably appear in the next BFS Journal, and we'll reprint it here on the blog a month or so later.

If you have anything you'd like us to look at, there's some information here. Thanks to everyone who has sent us stuff for review, and apologies once more for the fact that we won't get through everything!