Books for the TBR Pile... 'One Man and His Kindle' Edition

Happy Sunday everyone! I know things aren't great right now but hopefully today has given you at least one thing to smile about. If it has, feel free to share it in the comments; we could all do with some extra smiles these days so don't be shy... ;o)

If you've been following the blog this week just gone, you'll see that it hasn't been the best one for reading; one book and a couple of short stories... That's the way it goes sometimes (although funnily enough, my TV watching has improved dramatically); hopefully this week will be a better one. Lets see... One of my goals this week is to try and improve my work/life balance (which is all taking place in one room at the moment) so I'm feeling confident.

But you're here for the books though, aren't you? Of course you are ;o) I got paid on Friday so had a little Amazon shopping trip. I'm waiting for a few books to come through the letterbox but in the meantime, my Kindle is feeling all loved again as a few titles went its way. Lets have a look,

'Art of War' - Edited by Petros Triantafyllou

I follow Mark Lawrence on Facebook and he said this anthology was free for something like twenty four hours. I felt a little guilty about picking this up for free (as it's a charity anthology) but it was free so of course I picked it up in the end. There are some well known names on the cover so I'm hoping for good things when I finally get round to it. I'm not sure whether I'll review this all in one go or just dip in and review the occasional short story but it will feature on the blog in one form or another.

'Vampyrrhic' - Simon Clark

In Leppington, death isn't always forever...

David Leppington has returned to the town of his birth to investigate the possibility of a job as a GP, and also to learn more of its history. Bearing the same name as the town, the Leppington family used to be prominent members of the community. But the clan has dwindled to a sole uncle who is more loner than town leader. In this small, isolated town, people are affected by a horrendous condition. It’s Quiet. Unassuming. A forgotten backwater. Yet beneath Leppington’s streets terrifying creatures stir.

Driven by an ancient passion that has become an obsession. United in their burning hunger. They share an unending craving that will leave them in a coma unless they consume blood. They are the Nosferatu. And they have the power to drain your will to resist. To drain it so utterly that you will cheerfully, gladly, eagerly surrender yourself to their sharp, brutal teeth. Then a terminally ill man plans an act of vengeance: to set the dead against the living, so that the whole world might experience the misery the townspeople have endured for years…

One of those titles where I will be glad for the copy/paste function... Seriously though, one of the great things about eBooks is that all those authors you loved years ago, but can't find their books these days, are self publishing all their old work. Authors like Simon Clark, a horror author I had a lot of time for in the days when the horror shelves in Waterstones had more than just the usual names. I never read 'Vampyrrhic' but I'm going to now.

'Space Marine' - Ian Watson

Believe us when we tell you that Space Marine is quite unlike any other Warhammer 40,000 novel you’ve ever read.

First published in 1993 – though completed some years earlier – at a time when the background to the Warhammer 40,000 universe was still in a state of flux and not yet fully coalesced, the book follows three young Imperial Fist recruits from their formative years in the underhive gangs of Necromunda through to fighting as part of the First Company within the bowels (literally!) of a Tyranid bioship.

Not only will you find squats in this novel –Tzeentch-worshiping squats at that – but also Space Marines controlling Titans, Space Marines with lasguns, the Pain Glove and more than a small amount of toilet humour. Oh, and a Zoat. How could we forget the Zoat?

Although the temptation was great to rewrite significant portions of this book to make it conform to current background, as a curiosity piece, an historical snapshot of the Warhammer 40,000 universe circa the early 1990s, this book is invaluable. It also serves as a shining example of what can happen when a respected genre author at the height of his powers is let loose on an established shared universe.

I love Warhammer 40K novels but have never read 'Space Marine', mostly because it's a difficult one to track down if you don't have loads of money to spend on books (which doesn't normally stop me but even I have limits). The Kindle edition has changed all that though and now I'm looking forward to reading about those dark times when establishing canon was just a hopeful dream...

 

'The Magpie Coffin' - Wile E. Young

The year is 1875 and outlaw Salem Covington has spent the last twenty years collecting stories, possessions, and lives. Nicknamed "The Black Magpie" for his exploits during the war, Salem has carved a bloody trail across the western territories. Informed that his mentor, Comanche shaman Dead Bear, has been murdered. Salem vows vengeance on the perpetrators. Enlisting the help of an army scout and preserving the body of his mentor in a specially made coffin, he sets out in pursuit. But the choices of Salem's past that earned him the moniker "Black Magpie" are riding hard behind him and the only weapon that can kill him might not be as far away as he thinks.

It's very rare that I'll read a Western (in fact, I think book 1 of 'Nunslinger' is the only Western that I've read) but I will read anything with Wile E. Young's name on it so here we are :o) I can see this being read/reviewed this week but good intentions and all that... Lets just say that it will be reviewed and leave it at that :o)

And that's me and my new books! What about you? Has Lockdown led you to rediscover your Kindle? Have any new books come your way or are you using Lockdown as an excuse to revisit some old favourites? Leave a comment and let me know.