The Swords of Night and Day by David Gemmell

Synopsis

Heroes from the past, such as Druss and Skilgannon, are revered throughout the war-torn lands of the Drenai where men and women live in abject fear of the Joinings, abominable meldings of man and beast, and of their mistress the dark sorceress known as the Eternal. None can resist the relentless progression of the Eternals army . But what if the soul of a hero could be called back from the void, his bones housed again in flesh?

An ancient prophecy foretold that Skilgannon would return in his people’s darkest hour. To most, this is a foolish hope, but not so to Landis Kan. For years Kan searched for the tomb of Skilgannon the Damned. And at last, he found it, gathered up the bones and performed the mystic ritual and a thousand years after he fell in battle Skilgannon is reborn.

But the reborn hero is an enigma; a young man whose warrior skills are not as honed as they once where and whose memories are fragmented. Skilgannon is a man out of time, in a world as strange to him, remote from all he knew and loved. Or nearly all. Before bringing Skilgannon back, Landis Kan had experimented with other bones in the hero’s tomb. That ritual resulted in a surly giant who possessed astounding strength, but no memories. To Kan, he is a dangerous failure. To Skilgannon, this giant represents their last hope.

As the ageless evil of the Eternal threatens to drown the Drenai lands in blood, two legendary heroes rise again.

Review

I have always been a fan of David Gemmell, reading a number of his books in the past, so I had great expectations of this book and it did not let me down. I would describe this book as a page turner, a book I struggled to put down.

The story never stalls or looses it place, it relentlessly moves on with all its principal players being well rounded in a way that you end up empathising with the characters as the book progresses.

David Gemmell has the knack of telling engaging stories with sound plots in a simplistic language, this all helps the pace of the book and as a result it keeps you engrossed, wanting to know what happens next but not wanting the book to end.

It has been a while since I have read a fantasy novel but this book has rekindled my love for this genera, and I may have to keep an eye out for others

Rating

I give this book 9.5 out of 10, loved it

The 13th Hour by Richard Doetsch

Synopsis

Nick Quinn is being held in jail, accused of the murder of his beloved wife, Julia. He knows she's dead; he saw her bloody corpse, shot in the head at point-blank range. The police tell him they found the murder weapon with his fingerprints on it in the trunk of his car. Nick is confused, grief-stricken -- and completely innocent.

At 9 p.m. on July 28, a gray-haired gentleman visits Nick in the police interrogation room and asks him a simple question: "If you could get out of here, if you could save her, would you?" He hands Nick a golden watch that allows Nick to go back in time, one hour at a time, for a total of twelve hours. With each hour that Nick travels back, he finds more clues to the identity of Julia's real killer, but he also discovers that his actions in the past may have unexpected repercussions in the future.

In his race against time to save the woman he loves most in the world, Nick will find that friends become enemies, old loyalties are tested, and Julia's murder is part of a larger scheme that has its roots in greed and vengeance. Nick has the ability to save Julia, the chance to put his own world in balance, but he is venturing down a precarious route. If he hasn't set things right by the thirteenth hour, his desperate attempts to save Julia's life may lead to a far greater catastrophe than he could have ever imagined.

Review

This was one of the best books I have read in a long time, the plot was detailed and thorough, with plenty of twists to keep you turning the pages.  Keeping in mind that the chapters run backwards to correspond to the time flow the suspense and excitement still grows in the same manner of any really good thriller.

Each chapter builds and contains enough action to satisfy any action junky but the plot is complex enough for this book to be an ‘intelligent’ read with enough detail to fill the gaps but not so much to interfere with the flow or suppress imagination.

In short, I found the 13th Hour hard to put down and will look at reading more of Richard Doetsch books

Rating

I give this book 9.5 out of 10, go and get it

The Book of Unholy Mischief by Elle Newmark

Synopsis

It is 1498, and the whole of Venice is abuzz. Hidden somewhere in the labyrinthine city is an ancient book, rumoured to contain thorny heresies and secrets of immeasurable power. Luciano, a penniless orphan, has been plucked from the street and taken on as apprentice to the chef at the doge's palace. While learning the alchemy of cooking, he quickly finds himself entangled in the search for the ancient tome, even suspecting the chef, his maestro, may be concealing valuable information. But lurking in the wings are some of the most powerful, dangerous men in Venice, and Luciano's secret will lead him through a perilous maze to the center of an intrigue that will test his deepest desires and loyalties.

Review

This is a very elegantly written book and my original fears of it just being a historical Da Vinci Code went unfounded and the book quickly got into its stride, with the interaction of the principle characters being very believable and often bringing a smile to my face, almost as if you were getting to know them.

Since two of the main characters are a chef and his apprentice, a lot of the writing centres around food, and the descriptions of the said food are so elegant and detailed they leave you hungry for the real thing

The plot itself is intriguing with enough threads woven through it to keep it interesting, but not so many as to make it a heavy read.

If i did have one negative comment it was that the book, on a couple of occasions, jumps time periods that interrupts rather than adds to the plot, but on a whole the book flows well  

Rating

I give this book 7 out of 10, well written, in the most. and enjoyable

WW

Shadowmaker by Roy Lewis

Synopsis

Asked to advise on the antiques collection of a mysterious widow, Arnold Landon enlists the aid of an old friend, Carmela Cacciatore of the Carabinieri Art Squad. He soon finds himself drawn into the investigation of an antiquities smuggling operation which leads to murder in La Rochelle, the involvement of the CIA and the hunt for an ancient religious manuscript looted from the Baghdad Museum after the fall of Saddam Hussein. And lurking in the background is the threatening figure of an assassin trained by SAVAK, the murderous secret service established by the Shah of Iran, the Peacock Prince. But it is in Northumberland that Arnold finally learns the truth and faces the deadly menace of the Shadowmaker.

Review

I found this book hard to get into, maybe it was the long chapters that gave the impression of a slow pace or maybe it was the fact that the narration quite often entered segments of seemingly irrelevant detail that interrupted the flow of the story.

Don't get me wrong, the plot is good and the characters in the most are believable.

I mainly stayed with this book as it mainly takes place in the stunning country side of the north of England where I spend a lot of my leisure time and the descriptions within this book do the are justice.

The book builds nicely then falls away again before building to a climax that is .... almost good.  I ended up enjoying the book but it will not find a top place on my list

Rating

I give this book 6 out of 10, worthy of a rainy weekend

WW

Alexandria by Lindsey Davis

Synopsis

This is the 19th 'Falco' Book by Lindsey Davis, set in first century Rome, , Marcus Didius Falco works as a private “informer,” often for the emperor, ferreting out hidden truths and bringing villains to ground. But even informers take vacations with their wives, so in A.D. 77, Falco and his wife, Helena Justina, with the rest of the family travel to Alexandria inEgypt. But is isn't long before Falco finds himself in the midst of disreputable going ons—when the Librarian of the great library is found dead, under suspicious circumstances.

Review

This is the first of the 'Falco' books I have read, jumping straight in at number 19, but it turns out that they can be read as individual novels.  I am a fan of whodunits, Holmes, Parrot, Barnaby etc and this book sits well in this genera and quickly gets you caught up with the story and being book 19 the characters are well rounded and believable.

What also comes across with this book is a sense of humour and camaraderie between the principal characters, this book has all the ingredients of a good whodunit that just happens to be set in the Roman Empire in 77 A.D.  

Defiantly a book I can recommend and a series i will be coming back to  

Rating

I give this book 8 out of 10, an enjoyable book that was hard to walk away from

WW

Brother Odd by Dean Koontz

Synopsis

This is the third of the ‘Odd Thomas’ novels from the prolific writer, Dean Koontz.  Odd is looking for a peaceful time and takes some time out in a monastery in the High Sierra. It is winter time and the abbey is besieged by a snow storm. A white dog named Boo befriends him along with the ghost of Elvis. Meanwhile a world-famous and reclusive physicist is conducting experiments in his catacomb laboratories at the abbey. Could this be why Odd can once again see bodachs, shadowy harbingers of death and violence? They prowl the halls, suggesting terror to come. But what form will it take? And how will Odd defeat and try to prevent what is about to come?

Review

This was the first Dean Koontz book I have read, and I was quickly impressed how well it flowed in a manner that meant I dint really want to put it down. 

I did not know that it was actually the third book in a series when I picked it up, but I can gladly say that this book stands up very well to being read on its own.

The underlying theme to the story isn’t a new one, mad professor, remote cut off lab and murder is not a new one but Koontz handles it very well, the characters are well rounded and believable and the whole book suits its first person style, with Odd Thomas providing the narrative in a manner that helps you feel the story as it unfolds around him.

In short I found this book a really enjoyable easy read. 

Rating

I give this book 8.5 out of 10, an enjoyable read that will probably mean I will read more of Dean Koontz