Lord Samper's Library

  Page Count: 552 Pages Sorry for the ‘blog silence’ yesterday… The last couple of weeks have seen me somehow in charge of my team, at work, and given that one of my strengths is ‘usually flying under the radar’, it has been a bit of a shock to the system! No blogging yesterday then, I was trying to decompress a little… And that is what has led me to ‘The Briar King’ these past few days, the need for a spot of comfort reading. That should tell you all you need to know about how this post is going to go… I’ve been revisiting ‘The Kingdoms of Thorn and Bone’ series for years now, and rank the setting right up there with Tad Williams’ Osten Ard. Notice I said ‘setting’, this series isn’t perfect (more on that as I go through it) but there is still plenty to love here, certainly with ‘The Briar King’. So, lets take a look… In the kingdom of Crotheny, two young girls play in the tangled gardens of the sacred city of the dead where, fleeing an imaginary attacker, they discover the unkno...

As a rule, I normally stay out of the centre of London when it’s Marathon Day; nothing against the Marathon, I’m just not keen on fighting my way through the crowds, that’s why I do all my Christmas shopping online these days. With that in mind then, why did yesterday see me in town, fighting my way through ‘Post-Marathon’ crowds? Because apparently, I’m the kind of person who won’t even listen to my own advice… Yep, it went about as well as ‘more sensible me’ thought it would. If I start talking about Christmas Shopping on Oxford Street, take me to one side and have a word? Anyway… Birthday shopping, for my eldest, took me into Forbidden Planet; once I’d fought my way past the Manga shelves, the comic book shelves persuaded me to stick around for a while. Not that I needed much persuading… So, here’s what I bought and here’s what I thought of it. ‘Alien: King Killer #1’ – Ahmed, Nieto, Atiyeh, Cowles (Marvel) Whenever I’m in Forbidden Planet, I like to take a chance on a comic book th...

The answer is simple, When you remove the packaging and find that the book you ordered has somehow 'mysteriously' become this book while in transit... My first glance had me had me wondering if this was a tale of the galaxy's smallest policeman (because that is exactly how my mind works when I'm working from home and haven't spoken to anyone in hours...) but then I remembered the blurb, on the back, and that set me straight. It was an honest mistake though, especially as I've never read anything by Lois McMaster Bujold. It feels like everyone else probably has though, is 'The Vor Game' worth a read or would you start with something else instead. ?Leave a comment and let me know. (And not only did I get a refund from the seller, I don't have to return the book either. Not the luck I was looking for yesterday, but I'll take it)

  Page Count: 128 Pages For all my ‘I really won’t leave it too long before reading the rest of I Hate Fairyland’… It has been a while since I read ‘Volume 5’ . And that’s just the way it goes with this series; as much as I love it, I have to be in exactly the right mood to pick it up or it just doesn’t work for me. Well, after another stressful day at work yesterday, it suddenly struck me that I was in just the mood for something irreverent, anarchic and more than a little bit violent, all at once. And when that mood strikes me, this is where I end up! Lets have a little chat about ‘Last Gert Standing’… Death by a thousand Gerts! King Cloudeous is determined to finish what his sister, Queen Cloudia never could: kick Gert out of Fairyland FOR GOOD! And the only way to do that is to have every Gert who ever lived battle each other to the death. Who said that there’s only so many Gerts to go round?! They clearly haven’t read this comic… OG Gert returns to find the last key to escape,...

Yesterday was an absolute write-off in terms of getting anything read. I mean... I got some work done, got my eldest over to an interview (for 6th Form) and then hung out with both of my daughters, so I can't really complain, but... You know ;o)  Anyway, fingers crossed that reading happens today, we'll see. In the meantime, I came across this trailer yesterday and thought I'd share it here; mostly because of the movie title (made me laugh) but also... Look at it and tell me that you wouldn't watch it. Keep an eye open for 'Hungry' in June... 

  Page Count: 159 Pages Given that this book was first published in 1974, the word ‘New’ (in the title) is starting to look more and more redundant but… Given that I’m of an age now where shaving my head actually makes me look less bald (seriously), I’m a fine one to talk ;o) Anyway… I saw this collection in Greenwich Market, a few months ago, and had to grab it as it reminded me of the lesser frequented shelves, at my old primary school, where a kid like me could find all the old horror and supernatural anthologies, and did. It is surprisingly easy to lose a book at my place, a flat that is literally full of books, but I came across ‘Frighteners’ the other day and last night, finally settled down for a read. A beach inhabited by man-eating jellyfish… A death-mask which returns to life… A village of monster-mad zombies… A hideous body which refuses to die… A hospital menaced by a ghostly visitor… A withered corpse in search of a friend… Stories of stark originality and chilling hum...