Lord Samper's Library

Well, the plan (for last night) was to finish off ‘Things Have Gotten Worse’ but after the way yesterday went… That was never going to happen, I didn’t have the energy for reading. But that was cool, ‘The Sword and the Sorcerer’ was on Prime so I thought I’d give that a go instead… Except that I totally didn’t. I ended up falling asleep part way in and waking up just as the movie was coming to a close. Lets be clear though, my falling asleep was nothing to with a film that looked like just my kind of thing, it was all on me 😉. I’ll have to get back to ‘The Sword and the Sorcerer’ when I’m a bit more awake. So I ended up doing that thing where you take a nap at exactly the wrong time of day and wake up in the middle of the night, all awake and with nowhere to go. That was ok though, I had ‘School’s Out Forever’ on my watchlist so I thought I’d give that a go instead… No sooner has Lee been expelled from his school, a pandemic spreads. With his father dead and mother abroad, Lee goe...

Every week seems to be 'one of those weeks' at the moment, nature of the job and all that ;o) And when that's the case, my reading tends to naturally gravitate towards books with a much larger quotient of men and women hitting monsters with various pieces of sharp iron. 'Whatever gets you through the day' really ;o) This week has very definitely been 'one of those weeks' and if you're looking a read that's full of 'man vs. monster' action, you can't go wrong at all with any one of a number of books from the 'Black Library'. I chose to pay the Old World another visit with Nick Kyme's 'Grimblades'... Orcs and Goblins have invaded the Empire, bringing death and ruin. The feckless emperor, Dieter IV, responds by fleeing to the sanctuaryof Altdorf. While the other Elector Counts bicker about the crisis, one man takes decisive action – Prince Wilhelm of Reikland. The Prince assembles an army of brave knights and foot soldie...

Yep, I know what the plan was (I only posted it on Monday) but I completely forgot to factor in it being 'New Book Deal' Day for Brian Keene's Reader Recession Relief Programme. I also completely forgot to factor in that I'd need a quick read for the bus ride home, yesterday, so really, 'School's Out' came round at just the right time ;o) I'll be honest, being a Dad (of two fairly young children) has led me to stay away from books like 'School's Out', where the main character is of a similar age and pretty much in mortal danger. I'll think to myself, 'that one is almost as old as...' and that's it, I'm done, I can't read any more. I’m doing a read-a-long though, and I’m in it for the long haul, so I’ve got to go where it takes me. And this week… ‘School’s Out’… Eight-year-old Alan doesn’t like going to school, but when a global pandemic leaves him orphaned, cold, starving, and lonely, he has no choice but to set ou...

Well, the plan was to read 'Zombie' first but I did a little digging, on the blog, and found that I'd actually reviewed it already, albeit a couple of years ago. Look, it's been a funny couple of years, you'll understand that I can't remember everything; that's half the reason I'm blogging in the first place ;o) If you want to read that post, it's over Here , we'll wait until you get back... You're back? Great :o) Like I said the other day, I've been waiting for a reasonably priced copy of this book for a long time now and when I finally found it... It didn't take long before I was deep into the next instalment of walking dead man Simon Garth... On one side: An honest cop just living his life day by day and an innocent women lost high in the mountains. On the other: An ever growing horde of the flesh-starved undead, an angry husband and a murderous pair of mountain men. And the only person who can tip the balance is dead. Will Simo...

This has worked quite well in the past, and I absolutely need some focus (to my reading) at the moment, so lets see how it works this time round ;o) My poor flat is full of TBR piles right now and work is gearing up to be a bit of a nightmare this week, here is my latest attempt to chip away at the TBR piles and escape from work and into a book... I'm already cheating a little bit as I'm a third of the way through 'Things Have Gotten Worse' and well into 'Grimblades'. Both are excellent albeit for very different reasons, if you've read 'Things Have Gotten Worse' then you'll know exactly what I mean... (I still can't get those last few pages out of my head) 'Grimblades' is my latest excursion back into the Old World, it's full of blood and death but I wouldn't have it any other way. If I finish both of those then I'll see if I can polish off 'The Black Corridor' as well. It has been years since I read it last and I...

My old landlady used to say that she could tell if I'd had a rough week by the number of parcels that would turn up on the doorstep addressed to me. I wonder what she'd say if she'd seen the parcels turning up this week... ;o) It hasn't been the worst week (trust me, I've had a lot worse), there's just been rather a lot of it with several deadlines circling ominously overhead; what a time to be alive ;o) The 'Purchase' button took a bit of a hammering and the Greenwich Oxfam had a few things for me too. Come and take a look... I've been on the lookout for a copy of 'The Zombie: Simon Garth' for a few years now (to replace an old copy that I had to sell back in the day) and my persistence finally paid off ;o) Look out for a 'Simon Garth' double bill over the next couple of weeks, it's been long overdue but now I have both books... 'House of M' was a surprise find in Greenwich Oxfam, I've never read it but always meant t...

The plan was to get some reading done last night but then I realised that I'd be missing out on 'She-Hulk' and 'The Rings of Power' and that pretty much made my mind up. Last night was a 'catching up with telly' night; maybe, just maybe, I'll get some reading done over the weekend. Lets see... In the meantime then, lets talk a little but about my two favourite shows of the moment (actually, the only two shows that I'm watching... anyone have any recommendations?) 'She-Hulk, Attorney at Law' – Episode 6, 'Just Jen' Don't you do it 'She-Hulk... Don't you go and get me all excited for a Daredevil appearance and then make this episode all about a wedding... Oh, you just did. Dammit. Actually, it wasn't that bad. I just really wanted to see Daredevil ;o) If we're going to go with the whole 'ordinary things happening to extraordinary', then this is the kind of thing that we're just going to have to get use...

This week has been, and will continue to be, a bit of a nightmare what with one thing and another (mostly work so, no change there then); reading time has been at a real premium over the last couple of days in particular. That’s not to say that there has been no reading though (come on, it’s me!), it’s just been shorter reads than normal, at the end of the day and with a ‘well done for getting through another day’ pizza 😉 By a happy stroke of luck, those short reads were both by Brian Keene; another ‘Reader Recession Relief’ deal (that I’d never read before) and the first release from Keene’s new ‘Manhattan on Mars’ imprint. Quick thoughts on both reads coming up, partly because they are both quick reads but mostly because this week has just about finished me and I’ve got half an eye on the earliest time I can reasonably go to bed… 'Sundancing' A broken, beaten, and burned-out horror novelist struggles to emerge from the aftermath of two years of personal and professional up...

“ You should read this book Dad...” So we're in a bookshop and my eight year old daughter found a copy of 'The Meg' on the shelf. She knew that I really enjoyed the film but what she didn't know was that I'd never read the book. Nothing against the book at all, I have a copy hidden somewhere in my Kindle, it just never seemed to be the right time; not until the other day when my youngest made a surprise recommendation ;o) Little thing was so pleased she'd found it that of course I bought it. And yesterday, the sequel came through the door so you can guess what I thought of 'The Meg'. Oh ok, let me tell you about it anyway... ;o) On a top-secret dive into the Pacific Ocean's deepest canyon, Jonas Taylor found himself face-to-face with the largest and most ferocious predator in the history of the animal kingdom. The sole survivor of the mission, Taylor is haunted by what he's sure he saw but still can't prove exists – Carcharodon megalodon...

I've got a few books on the go right now and hopefully I'll be able to share some thoughts on those towards the end of the week. Well, that's the plan anyway but we know what I'm like with plans ;o) Lets see what happens but in the meantime... After the way work went yesterday (not too badly but there was a lot of it, all at once, again...) I declared last night a 'Movie Night' and settled down for some 'Jurassic World: Dominion'. The 'Jurassic Park/World' movies are a sweet little guilty pleasure of mine. Some of those movies aren't brilliant, lets be honest, but so long as there's at least one massive dinosaur chasing people before getting munched on by a strangely heroic T-Rex... I'm in :o) With that in mind (and very much what I needed), I got watching... It has been four years since the destruction of Isla Nublar and dinosaurs once again roam the Earth. This time though, they're sharing it with a human population that must ...

I've sat through at least one dodgy 'Hellraiser' installment (we all have...) but on the whole, I love the franchise and will always make time for a new 'Hellraiser' when it comes round. Like this new 'Hellraiser' will do on the 7th of October, courtesy of Hulu (which I'm hoping means that it will appear on Disney+, we'll see). Check out the suitably bloody trailer... What do you think? I don't know about you but Halloween is looking up for me ;o)

Due to this weekend being what is was (full of things and lots of them), there wasn't an awful lot of time for reading; I was lucky to make it all the way through this twenty seven page Black Library short story to be honest. In a strange quirk of fate though, it turns out that I only have just enough time, today, to write about a twenty seven page Black Library short story... Funny that ;o) Put that together with my soft spot for the Imperial Guard (sorry... Astra Militarum) and 'Left for Dead' is what we're going to be talking about today. Lets go... After the horrors of war and the devastation of a world, one unnamed trooper from the Death Korps of Krieg – vat-born, grown to be a soldier – has had enough. Removing his uniform, he takes the identity of a fallen civilian and joins the workforce on the world he fought to liberate. But can this soldier overcome his conditioning and training and serve the Imperium in a new way, or will he forever be a warrior of the Ast...

Friday ended up being a good moment to catch up on the TV that I'd been meaning to watch; a little bit of food poisoning left me in no fit state to do much else. I'm good now though ;o) I've been enjoying the hell out of 'She-Hulk' and 'The Rings of Power' so I was looking forward to a couple of hours of quality television (that and my kids are massively into 'The Big Bang Theory' at the moment, I just want to watch anything else...) Just quick thoughts today as I've got a few other bits and pieces that I need to get done (including making a start on some of my birthday books). Here goes... 'She-Hulk, Attorney at Law' – Episodes 4 & 5 4. 'Is this not real magic?' She-Hulk's new client Wong is suing a magician for unauthorised use of the Mystic Arts. 5. 'Mean, Green and straight poured into these jeans...' She-Hulk discovers that Titania owns the name 'She-Hulk' and is suing her for trademark infringem...

It was my birthday yesterday and a very nice day it was too :o) Well, apart from the food poisoning but that was fairly short lived and a really good excuse to stay in bed and catch up on 'She-Hulk' and 'Rings of Power' (more on those another time, probably tomorrow). And there were books, of course there were... ;o) I think I've said this before but there is an amazing second hand bookshop in Plymouth ('Barbican Books', go check it out) that I don't get to spend much time in any more but my ex-wife will take me round via the medium of WhatsApp video calls. It's awesome, I get to see what's on the shelves and she will pick it up for me :o) Well, her and the girls were there the other week and took me round for a little birthday shopping. I had to wait for the books but now I've had my birthday, here they are... It has been years since I last read the 'Viriconium' books and they may well be due a re-read, same deal with 'The Black ...

So I was banging on, the other day, about how I have this natural bias towards anything with ‘Day of the Dead’ in the title; I love the original movie (probably, no, definitely my favourite of the original ‘Dead’ trilogy) so anything that has those four words in the title… I’m in 😉 And then I thought to myself, why don’t I put that to the test with ‘Day of the Dead: Bloodline’…? When I’m having trouble finishing books (and I’m definitely having trouble finishing books at the moment), I will literally run with whatever ‘blog idea’ pops into my head 😉 It had been a while since I last saw ‘Bloodline’ and while it was dreadful the last time I saw it, I was kind of hoping that I’d mellowed a bit, in the meantime, and that I’d find something to enjoy. So, what happened…? Let me tell you about a film that is still very much dreadful. Fear goes viral in this terrifying retelling of George A. Romero’s zombie horror classic. Five years after an epidemic nearly wiped out the world’s popula...

I'm not sure what led me down the rabbit hole of 'Spider Horror' this week (well, apart from the evil looking spider in my bathroom, and the other one I found trying to sneak into my flat, but anyway...) but I've read a couple of excellent books off the back of it so won't complain too much about it. I mean, now I'm even more jumpy about movement seen from the corner of my mind but that's kind of the whole point of these books (right?) so I'm calling the experiment a success. And if I don't go near 'Spider Horror' (or just spiders in general) then I'm sure you'll understand ;o) Yesterday's read was Matt Shaw's 'Infestation' collection (containing Books 1 and 2), let me tell you about it. One bite is all it takes. Your blood cells turn to spider hatchlings which then come crawling from your every orifice. You scream and thrash around but you are already dead, you move and scream because of the spiders under your skin a...

Another quick post today. I'm still feeling rough, work is still giving me a bit of a kicking and with the best will in the world, there's only so much blog post that you're going to get out of a book that weighs in at a hundred and fifty three pages long. But here I am :o) Lets do it. One of the things I absolutely love about old horror books (apart from reading them) is going straight to the back of the book and reading all the blurbs of the books where it all began. I can't remember which book I found the 'Spiders' blurb in (although it's a safe bet that it was by Guy N. Smith) but when I saw it, I knew I had to read the rest of the book myself. It took a little ebaying but I got there in the end ;o) So, let's talk 'Spiders'... The Kentish countryside was bathed in golden autumn sunshine. All around lay peace and tranquility. Maybe it was too peaceful, too ominously quiet, but who'd complain about that? Certainly not old Dan Mason, ener...

It's not just zombie books that I will hunt down and read... I've also made it a life's work of mine to watch all the zombie films and TV shows as well, the good ones and the bad ones (particularly the bad ones...) I've fallen well behind in watching anything with 'Walking Dead' in the title, and 'Z-Nation' come to think of it, but there's no hurry, I'll get there in the end. In the meantime... I've been ill all weekend so not a lot of reading happened (ok, no reading happened at all) but what did happen was my treating myself to the first season of Sy-Fy's 'Day of the Dead' and working through the ten episode run over the weekend. Now here's a show that I've had my eye on for a while, but haven't been able to watch until it turned up on Prime Video, and I'll be honest, I don't think I've heard a single good thing said about it. Now I've got some natural bias towards zombie TV shows, and anything that ...

My least favourite time of year to be honest. The kids go back to school and when they come home, they bring all sorts of germs and stuff with them... And it's like the germs all get together and make a pact to be the best/worst guests to their hosts... And this is why I'm sat here, shivering in my dressing gown, feeling like something a cat has thrown up. Not a long post today then but there are still plenty of books to show off :o) Last week's 'Old World' package was a post all by itself but there have been other books turning up as well, lets take a look at them, shall we? ;o) Has it really been forty years of Fighting Fantasy? According to 'Secrets of Salamonis' and 'Shadow of the Giants' it absolutely has been and there was no way that I was not going to have copies of these to read to my girls. Finding the time is going to be a little tricky, now they're back at school, but not impossible, never impossible ;o) Look out for posts very soon....