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Ross (3284 KP) rated Fires of the Dead in Books
Nov 12, 2019 (Updated Nov 12, 2019)
Very short but compelling story
* I received a free advance copy of this book from BookSirens, and would like to thank them, and the author, for the chance to review this book honestly *
This short story (around 90 pages) somehow manages to establish a well-explained magic system, and enough information about the world, and a decent story in a very small number of pages.
The story follows a small group of battle-worn mercenaries sent on a mission through the fire-ravaged wasteland to capture the skull of a dead pyromancer. Along the way they cross paths with other groups on similar missions as well as a stronger foe they had not intended to meet.
Herne has a talent for writing, that much is abundantly clear. His narrative is pithy, concise and very immersive. He changes PoV at a few points of the story, so the reader is given different viewpoints at different times (though sadly they don't change back again).
The characters are all uniquely defined and have their own place in the crew.
His story was well laid out, with some excellent, flowing action sequences. The story is well told and exposed at a good pace. There were a few small background details of the overall plot which I felt should have been outlined earlier, but given the character in question's background I can see why this happened this way.
My only complaint about this book was that it was too short. This could easily be expanded with more backstory and more information about the world without feeling padded out, I think. I would happily read this book again with another 300 pages of the same added in.
I will be reading the author's free short stories from his mailing list with relish.
This short story (around 90 pages) somehow manages to establish a well-explained magic system, and enough information about the world, and a decent story in a very small number of pages.
The story follows a small group of battle-worn mercenaries sent on a mission through the fire-ravaged wasteland to capture the skull of a dead pyromancer. Along the way they cross paths with other groups on similar missions as well as a stronger foe they had not intended to meet.
Herne has a talent for writing, that much is abundantly clear. His narrative is pithy, concise and very immersive. He changes PoV at a few points of the story, so the reader is given different viewpoints at different times (though sadly they don't change back again).
The characters are all uniquely defined and have their own place in the crew.
His story was well laid out, with some excellent, flowing action sequences. The story is well told and exposed at a good pace. There were a few small background details of the overall plot which I felt should have been outlined earlier, but given the character in question's background I can see why this happened this way.
My only complaint about this book was that it was too short. This could easily be expanded with more backstory and more information about the world without feeling padded out, I think. I would happily read this book again with another 300 pages of the same added in.
I will be reading the author's free short stories from his mailing list with relish.
Becs (244 KP) rated Always You in Books
Oct 2, 2019
Always You by Krista Carleson
Genre: Short Story, Novella, Contemporary, Erotica
Synopsis: The army took my first love and left me with a broken heart. That was ten years ago, but fate has a funny sense of humor. Not only is Aidan Dowell my best friend’s older brother, he happens to be my new roommate: the one who chose duty over love- who I thought had left my life forever. Now that I have to live in the same apartment as Aidan, I try to avoid him and guard my heart, but it’s impossible when the person in question is one gorgeous, sexy billionaire. The pull is too strong. The heat between us is going to burn me again. Little did I know that Aidan has a painful secret that threatens to come between us and now I have to make a choice: Fight for him or refuse this second chance at love?
Audience/ Reading Level: High School+
Interests: Erotica, Novella, Short Stories, Best Friends Brother
Point of View: first person
Difficulty Reading: Short, simple, sweet with a lot of hot and steaminess.
Promise: A short yet compelling read that will leave you wanting just a bit more.
Insights: Writing was a bit amateurish but for being the style of book it is, it was a good read. Would recommend to others who like Eroticas.
Ah-Ha Moment: When the boy gets the girl he’s been in love with for the past ten years. And vice versa.
What will you gain: A simple yet refreshing read.
Aesthetics: It was cool to see a billionaire and his brother living together with Cat. But other than that, there was really anything that stood out that’s worth mentioning.
Genre: Short Story, Novella, Contemporary, Erotica
Synopsis: The army took my first love and left me with a broken heart. That was ten years ago, but fate has a funny sense of humor. Not only is Aidan Dowell my best friend’s older brother, he happens to be my new roommate: the one who chose duty over love- who I thought had left my life forever. Now that I have to live in the same apartment as Aidan, I try to avoid him and guard my heart, but it’s impossible when the person in question is one gorgeous, sexy billionaire. The pull is too strong. The heat between us is going to burn me again. Little did I know that Aidan has a painful secret that threatens to come between us and now I have to make a choice: Fight for him or refuse this second chance at love?
Audience/ Reading Level: High School+
Interests: Erotica, Novella, Short Stories, Best Friends Brother
Point of View: first person
Difficulty Reading: Short, simple, sweet with a lot of hot and steaminess.
Promise: A short yet compelling read that will leave you wanting just a bit more.
Insights: Writing was a bit amateurish but for being the style of book it is, it was a good read. Would recommend to others who like Eroticas.
Ah-Ha Moment: When the boy gets the girl he’s been in love with for the past ten years. And vice versa.
What will you gain: A simple yet refreshing read.
Aesthetics: It was cool to see a billionaire and his brother living together with Cat. But other than that, there was really anything that stood out that’s worth mentioning.
There But for the
6.0
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Ali Smith, twice shortlisted for both the Man Booker and the Orange Prizes, is back with the...
Forever Rumpole: The Best of the Rumpole Stories
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Forever Rumpole - a hilarious new selection of the very best Rumpole stories by John Mortimer Horace...
DJ Muggs recommended Led Zeppelin IV by Led Zeppelin in Music (curated)
Wyrd and Other Derelictions
7.3
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Derelictions are horror stories told in ways you may not have encountered before. Something is...
Hadley (567 KP) rated Ghostly Tales: Spine-Chilling Stories of the Victorian Age in Books
Jan 20, 2021
Ghost stories (1 more)
Well-written
This collection of tales will transport you to a time when staircases creaked in old manor houses, and a candle could be blown out by a gust of wind, or by a passing ghost. Penned by some of the greatest Victorian novelists and masters of the ghost story genre, these stories come alive alongside exquisitely eerie art in this special illustrated edition.
Since this is a short story collection, I will list the stories with a short synopsis and what I liked and disliked about them.
"Oh, Whistle, and I'll Come to You, My Lad" by M.R. James
A professor decides to go on vacation to work on his golf game while doing a little side work in the town's archaeology, but when he digs up an old whistle and blows into it, he instantly regrets what the whistle brings.
Liked: the buildup to the climax was done masterfully, and the superstition that was used as the premise of the story
Disliked: that the ending is never explained
"The Old Nurse's Story" by Elizabeth Gaskell
When a governess and her ward are taken to a haunted house, they found out that everyone has to pay for their misdeeds.
Liked: the perfect example of what Victorian ghost stories were
Disliked: Nothing; I really enjoyed this one
"The Signalman" by Charles Dickens
A railroad signalman tells a co-worker that he is seeing a ghost that warns him of future accidents, but his co-worker can't tell if he's telling the truth or losing his mind.
Liked: an excellent ghost story; I wish it were an entire novel
Disliked: nothing
"The Body-Snatcher" by Robert Louis Stevenson
When a medical student realizes that the 'donated' bodies are murder victims, he's not so sure he can live with the consequences.
Liked: the ending wasn't predictable
Disliked: at the start, there's a little confusion among who is who
" The Captain of the Pole-Star" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
A group of whalers are stuck in the middle of the ocean because of ice burgs, but the ice is the least of their problems when they begin to hear and see supernatural things out on the ice.
Liked: the plot of the story was really good
Disliked: the run-on sentences, some of the accents were hard to decipher, and the ending wasn't explained
"The Phantom Coach" by Amelia B. Edwards
A young man loses his way while on a hunt, but soon finds help with an old man that is convinced the supernatural is real, and when he senses the young man does not, he puts him up against forces from the other side.
Liked: the story never lulled, and the descriptions of the undead were amazing
Disliked: nothing, I thought the story was really good
"The Screaming Skull" by F. Marion Crawford
When the friend of a family finds a skull in the latter's home, he begins to question whether or not the husband murdered his wife.
Liked: I love that this story is actually based off an urban legend
Disliked: the way the author kept breaking away from the story to talk to the audience; it caused the flow of the story to stop
Overall, the Victorian-era authors knew how to write a ghost story. I absolutely loved this collection of short stories. I highly recommend this book to people who love a good 'ol fashioned ghost story (not the gory ones we have today).
Since this is a short story collection, I will list the stories with a short synopsis and what I liked and disliked about them.
"Oh, Whistle, and I'll Come to You, My Lad" by M.R. James
A professor decides to go on vacation to work on his golf game while doing a little side work in the town's archaeology, but when he digs up an old whistle and blows into it, he instantly regrets what the whistle brings.
Liked: the buildup to the climax was done masterfully, and the superstition that was used as the premise of the story
Disliked: that the ending is never explained
"The Old Nurse's Story" by Elizabeth Gaskell
When a governess and her ward are taken to a haunted house, they found out that everyone has to pay for their misdeeds.
Liked: the perfect example of what Victorian ghost stories were
Disliked: Nothing; I really enjoyed this one
"The Signalman" by Charles Dickens
A railroad signalman tells a co-worker that he is seeing a ghost that warns him of future accidents, but his co-worker can't tell if he's telling the truth or losing his mind.
Liked: an excellent ghost story; I wish it were an entire novel
Disliked: nothing
"The Body-Snatcher" by Robert Louis Stevenson
When a medical student realizes that the 'donated' bodies are murder victims, he's not so sure he can live with the consequences.
Liked: the ending wasn't predictable
Disliked: at the start, there's a little confusion among who is who
" The Captain of the Pole-Star" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
A group of whalers are stuck in the middle of the ocean because of ice burgs, but the ice is the least of their problems when they begin to hear and see supernatural things out on the ice.
Liked: the plot of the story was really good
Disliked: the run-on sentences, some of the accents were hard to decipher, and the ending wasn't explained
"The Phantom Coach" by Amelia B. Edwards
A young man loses his way while on a hunt, but soon finds help with an old man that is convinced the supernatural is real, and when he senses the young man does not, he puts him up against forces from the other side.
Liked: the story never lulled, and the descriptions of the undead were amazing
Disliked: nothing, I thought the story was really good
"The Screaming Skull" by F. Marion Crawford
When the friend of a family finds a skull in the latter's home, he begins to question whether or not the husband murdered his wife.
Liked: I love that this story is actually based off an urban legend
Disliked: the way the author kept breaking away from the story to talk to the audience; it caused the flow of the story to stop
Overall, the Victorian-era authors knew how to write a ghost story. I absolutely loved this collection of short stories. I highly recommend this book to people who love a good 'ol fashioned ghost story (not the gory ones we have today).
Storyline (1 more)
Characters
Short but Worth the Read!
Being an avid King fan, I could not wait to read his latest novel, Elevation, and was a bit dismayed by the brevity. Upon starting the first chapter, however, I quickly realized that King had once again duped me into thinking he was only capable of writing long, winding novels (I've been duped before by his short story books and by Joyland) and I was pleasantly entertained from the first word to the last.
Elevation is set in a small town, like most of King's stories, one which gives off the air of being both a town to love and one to avoid on a family trip; it has the small town charm we all look for but comes with the small town bigotry as well. Our main character is a long-time resident with an already established problem of which there seems to be no cure and a rocky relationship with his neighbors, one that has a profound effect on his future. King manages to pull his reader in from first page and attach you to his characters, and not just the protagonist but the supporting cast as well, in a way that will leave you desperately wishing there were just a few more pages.
All in all, Elevation is another Stephen King that should not be passed up, filled with a strong central message about how we view the world and the people in it.
Elevation is set in a small town, like most of King's stories, one which gives off the air of being both a town to love and one to avoid on a family trip; it has the small town charm we all look for but comes with the small town bigotry as well. Our main character is a long-time resident with an already established problem of which there seems to be no cure and a rocky relationship with his neighbors, one that has a profound effect on his future. King manages to pull his reader in from first page and attach you to his characters, and not just the protagonist but the supporting cast as well, in a way that will leave you desperately wishing there were just a few more pages.
All in all, Elevation is another Stephen King that should not be passed up, filled with a strong central message about how we view the world and the people in it.
Louise (64 KP) rated I'll Be Home for Christmas in Books
Jul 2, 2018
I specifically left this book till December to get me into the Christmas spirit.
I love reading short story collections, it’s a great way to find new YA authors and sample their writing.
‘I’ll be home for Christmas’ is a collaboration of UKYA authors and their stories of young adults and what ‘HOME’ means to them. I loved that this book has several genres including science fiction, Horror and Contemporary with such diverse characters. We have refugees, race and sexuality being explored and there was something for everyone to enjoy. I obviously had my favourites in this book and it was surprising that it was the horror, it was so intense and atmospheric and definitely got my pulse racing and that was Claws by Thomas Becker. There was not one story that I disliked in this book and after each story was finished I was left wanting more. I will definitely be purchasing my own copy of this book. There are 15 short stories/poems in this book including a competition winner.
This book is heartwarming and heart wrenching at the same time and definitely recommend reading.
Stripes teamed up with the charity Crises for this book to raise awareness of the hardships young people are facing today. This book is definitely impactful and made me think of the people who are less fortunate and homeless, £1 from every sale is donated to the charity.
*I received a E-copy of this book from Netgalley and Stripes in exchange for an honest opinion.*
I love reading short story collections, it’s a great way to find new YA authors and sample their writing.
‘I’ll be home for Christmas’ is a collaboration of UKYA authors and their stories of young adults and what ‘HOME’ means to them. I loved that this book has several genres including science fiction, Horror and Contemporary with such diverse characters. We have refugees, race and sexuality being explored and there was something for everyone to enjoy. I obviously had my favourites in this book and it was surprising that it was the horror, it was so intense and atmospheric and definitely got my pulse racing and that was Claws by Thomas Becker. There was not one story that I disliked in this book and after each story was finished I was left wanting more. I will definitely be purchasing my own copy of this book. There are 15 short stories/poems in this book including a competition winner.
This book is heartwarming and heart wrenching at the same time and definitely recommend reading.
Stripes teamed up with the charity Crises for this book to raise awareness of the hardships young people are facing today. This book is definitely impactful and made me think of the people who are less fortunate and homeless, £1 from every sale is donated to the charity.
*I received a E-copy of this book from Netgalley and Stripes in exchange for an honest opinion.*
War is War: By Ex-Private X
Book
Alfred Burrage's War is War is his sincere and successful attempt to record his experiences as a...