Lord Samper's Library

Page Count: 370 Pages Before I kick things off, a big thank you to Angry Robot Books who sent me a copy of ‘The Ravening’ in return for a fair and honest review. I don’t normally request review copies these days, things being the way they are here, review copies really need to go where they stand the best chance of being read. I’d heard good things about Daniel Church though, see Alex and Matthew's reviews for ‘The Hollowing’, so I’ll be honest, I jumped at the chance to read ‘The Ravening’. It took me a little while to pick it up and I’m very glad that I did. Don’t be like me… When ‘The Ravening’ appears in your local bookshop (later on in September), get on it straight away. Jenna lost her mother when she was girl, a terrifying moment on a dark woodland road. She’s been angry, defensive and self-reliant ever since. Until she meets Holly. But just as life is beginning to offer some promise Jenna is ripped away, kidnapped by a bizarre cult in thrall to an ancient evil. There is a...

I really enjoy the 'Terrifier' movies although it has to be said that my stomach doesn't enjoy them quite as much... That's really the whole point though so it's all good ;o) What with other stuff going on, I'd forgotten about 'Terrifier 3' but I've just seen the trailer and I think it will at least as good/gross as the preceding two, looking forward to catching it at the cinema in October. For now though, we've got the trailer to be going on with. I've gone for the regular trailer (not the Red Band one) but even this one is more than a little grim. Just be mindful of that before you click on the trailer below... ;o) Don't let Art the Clown disguised as Father Christmas fool you... 'Terrifier 3' will be in cinemas in October.

Because my mental health is still fragile and everything feels like it's looming over me, ready to collapse and bury me :o( What does a Graeme do in this situation? Well, loads of things that have nothing to do with this blog but that's not what I want to talk about today ;o) No... What any Graeme does in this situation is simple... I spent an hour going through my shelves and picking out all the books that I really want to read but somehow always manage to get distracted from, Because one of my favourite things is building a TBR pile and getting all excited about what's in it. Everything else can wait until the morning ;o) Now this may well be the most ambitious TBR pile I've ever made but the plan is simple, just read whatever I can before the year runs out of days. It doesn't matter if I don't get through, in fact I highly doubt I will. My head will more than likely be turned by other books that are nowhere near this pile. I just want to read some good books ...

Dammit… I should have reviewed this ages ago but I left the book on the living room table and you all know what that means. Yep, another book pile grew in that spot and I completely forgot that ‘Son of the Forest’ was holding it all up, until last night when I was doing cleaning… And there it was :o) I really need to be better at keeping books on shelves. Anyway, better late than never and all that ;o) I’m a little late to the party (actually, the party might be over, where is everyone?) but that doesn’t make ‘Son of the Forest’ any the less worth talking about. You see, it’s a very good book… After ten thousand years of dreaming, locked in stasis at the heart of his shattered home world, Lion El'Jonson wakes to the nightmare of Imperium Nihilus. In this midnight age, the dying embers of humanity are threatened on all sides by the hungry darkness. Alone, even the Lion has no hope of prevailing against such evil – but there are those who would aid him in his quest. Hunted to the ...

There's not going to be a lot of that happening today... It's Bank Holiday Monday, here in the UK, but I've got a fair bit of work to do before I go back into the office tomorrow. Now seems a good time then to have a little look at what I watched on Saturday and Sunday ;o) A couple of hits and a couple of misses, sometimes that's the way it goes... ;o) 'Haunt' (2019) On Halloween, a group of friends visit an 'extreme' haunted house that promises to feed on their darkest fears. The night soon turns deadly though and they come to the horrifying realization that some nightmares are real. To be fair, there were some decent scares to be had here but our lead characters were far too lightweight to hang a plot off. Luckily enough, there was hardly any plot so you could just sit back and watch the leads die off one by one. But then, our villains weren't quite imposing enough to carry off the 'evil for the hell of it' routine they were going for eithe...

Honestly, the plan was just to spend my week off with my daughters, just hanging out and doing cool things. Buying more books wasn't a part of that plan at all. I mean, seriously... I've got far too many books as it is, I don't need to add more... Do I? I didn't think so but apparently, fate had other book-buying plans for me ;o) A mixture of books from various sources awaits below... The rule is that if we go into Waterstones then everyone has to leave with a book. What? I don't make the rules... Hang on, yes I do ;o) We didn't quiet manage it this time but I came away with a copy of Greg Keyes' new book 'The Wind that Sweeps the Stars' so I'm happy ;o) I'm putting together a new TBR pile (it's time) and this book will feature. And 'The Exorcist'? I'll be honest, I saw this in Tescos and was so taken with the idea of a supermarket selling 'The Exorcist' that I bought it ;o) No idea when I'll get round to reviewing...

I've done pretty well, blogging-wise, this week, but I've come to Friday and need to focus a little more on giving my daughters a decent day instead. Luckily, 'Past Me' loved blogging as much as I do now (okay, maybe a little bit more) and has come to the rescue again :o) With the first pictures from new TV show 'The Hedge Knight' doing the rounds, I thought it was a good time to bring this review out and let it have it's time again. It might even prompt me to (finally) read the other stories in this series. It's also another excuse to remind people that they really should have a copy of 'Legends' on their shelf if they don't already. It's a brilliant collection that is always good for a re-read ;o) Anyway... If you're after the original post, click Here . If not, feel free to keep reading ;o) What is a lowly squire to do when his hedge knight master falls ill in the middle of nowhere, knights him and then promptly dies? If you’re Dun...

I had completely forgotten about this until a few moments ago when I saw it being discussed on X. Go on, have a look... Yep, I'll be watching this when it hits the cinema in December, I'm no scholar of Tolkien (I just enjoy the stories) so I couldn't even begin to tell you what the ratio is of Tolkien's work to input and extra development from other writers. It's a tale set in Middle Earth and that's enough for me. That and the indisputable fact that the Riders of Rohan are easily the coolest people in the setting ;o)

Page Count: 143 Pages Just a quick post for you today… Yesterday was a busy one and today looks like it’s going to be a busy one as well. In a nice way though, I’m on leave this week and hanging out with my two daughters, which is always brilliant :o) Doesn’t leave me with a lot of time for reading though, not that I’d swap that time at all. As luck would have it though, I managed to carve out a little reading time last night after I’d dropped the girls back home with their Mum. When I saw ‘Time and the Rani’, in the charity shop, the other day, I knew that its slimness would come in handy this week and you know what? I was right :o) ‘Time and the Rani’ was last night’s reading then, let me tell you what I thought of it… Assailed by violent bursts of energy, the TARDIS is blasted off course and forced to land on the barren planet of Lakertya, and the violent buffeting triggers the Doctor’s sixth regeneration. But that is the least of his worries. He has been hijacked by that ruthless f...

I had a great day, yesterday, with my girls, a spot of book shopping with a break in the middle where we ate a fair chunk of McDonalds. Days don't come an awful lot better than that ;o) The only thing that didn't happen was any reading so... While I try and remedy that today (doubtful but we'll see...), I thought I'd show off another shelf of mine and see if I can come up with five interesting things to say about it. Or even just five things to be honest ;o) Anyway, here goes... First up, the easy one... ;o) Today's 'Shelfie' is brought to you by Zombie Captain America, the fourth Doctor, Godzilla, Stripe, Gizmo, 'Generic Lego Detective' and a lady body builder. One of these books was bought specifically for my girls (I'm not a big fan myself but they loved it). It shouldn't be too hard to guess which one it is ;o) Actually, I should probably find a new home for it; I can't see my girls picking it up now. I love all my bookshelves but thi...

I'll be honest... I'd completely forgotten that 'The Navigator's Children' was headed our way, what with a whole load of other stuff going on right now. That and the fact that I've come completely unstuck with 'Into the Narrowdark'... Not the book's fault at all, that's all on me as well :o( And then I was mooching about on Amazon earlier this evening, it's my birthday next month and that's the ideal excuse to make another list of books that I want, and saw that 'The Navigator's Children' now has some rather nice looking cover art. I had to share so here we are ;o) I originally wasn't too keen on the switch in cover art, especially as the cover for 'Empire of Grass' was just gorgeous, but from where I'm sat, this cover art makes up for a lot. I'd never really given too much thought to what Utuk'ku's mask looked like but this is definitely it. Now I just need to dig out my copy of 'Into the Narro...

Page Count: 187 Pages I’ve got a few books on the go but the last week, or so, has seen me fail to really get to grips with any of them. Not the fault of the books at all, this one is all down to me for reasons surrounding work, the weather being too damn hot, and looking after my girl’s pets while they were away. I never thought that looking after a cat and a rabbit would be any bother… Not until the weather got really hot, last week, and a pissed off rabbit decided that it was all the cat’s fault… Anyway. A bit of a roundabout way of saying that I hit a little reading slump last week :o) I dealt with it though, watching a whole load of movies and picking up a book that I absolutely knew I’d finish. My last Guy N. Smith read was ‘Doomflight’ , way back in April, so it was way past time that I picked up another book of his. Not sure what led me to pick ‘The Pluto Pact’, it took me a little longer to finish it, than I thought it would, but I’m glad that I finally gave it a go. A Black M...

You wouldn't believe it to look at my shelves but I'm really trying to buy less books. at the moment, and try and read books that I already own instead. Well, that's the plan anyway... I popped into Lewisham yesterday, to pick up some hay for the rabbit, and honestly, buying books was not on the agenda. Well, I say that... I thought I'd have a quick look in the British Heart Foundation shop and... I try not to live by too many rules, my brain doesn't have the bandwidth at the moment, but one rule I will work with it is not to leave 'Doctor Who' books on the charity shop shelf if you see them. Well, not if I don't already have them, I didn't in this case so made sure these two ended up with me. They're both quick reads and I don't have a lot of time for reading this week so... Could we end up seeing posts fairly soon? I reckon we might ;o) This one was more of a 'chance it and see what happens' purchase. I don't think you can go wr...

Not all in the same movie, that would have been... Fairly awesome actually but nope, all separate movies this time round. As you probably guessed yesterday, if you stopped by and saw no new post, I was all about finishing my latest Guy N. Smith read and catching up on a few movies that I'd been meaning to watch (payday makes all things possible). I'll tell you all about 'The Pluto Pact' in the next couple of days. For now, some quick thoughts on what I've been watching. 'Thanksgiving' (2023) After a Black Friday riot ends in tragedy, a mysterious Thanksgiving inspired killer terrorizes Plymouth, Massachusetts - the birthplace of the infamous holiday. I've seen a few Eli Roth movies... Okay, 'Cabin Fever' and a couple of the 'Hostel' movies. Having said that then, I thought this was going to be more of a bloodbath than it actually turned out to be. I mean, there were a couple of moments but in terms of the gore, it was a little tame. It wa...

Why is it that the day before your leave is due to start is the worst kind of day to have at work...? Seriously, every single time :o( Oh well, it's almost done and it's payday as well so I can see another Dominos pizza in my immediate future :o) I don't know what the blog will look like next week by the way, I'm not going anywhere but will be busy with my kids so things may go quiet(ish) here, we'll have to wait and see. That's next week though... Right now, another little stop on my occasional quest to lift the good stuff, from older blogs of mine, and deposit it all here :o) This time, 'Past Me' pointed me at an old 'Richard Matheson Post' from way back in 2013 . It made the cut so here we are, have some thoughts on 'Born of Man and Woman'. I’ve had a copy of ‘The Science Fiction Hall of Fame Volume One (1929 – 1964)’ on my shelf for a long time now. I never really picked it up as I’ve found that I have a bit of an aversion to being to...

Because I enjoyed doing the last one and I ate a huge pizza last night and ended up sleeping it off rather than reading or watching anything. Sometimes, you just have to go where the mood takes you and apparently, that was last night's mood :o) Anyway... One shelfie and the challenge of finding five things to say about it, let's go ;o) First up, the easy one... Today's Shelf Buddies are (from left to right): The Spirit of Roller Disco (sometimes, they just name themselves), a random turtle, Hellboy, Hawkeye, the Hulk, Jason Voorhees, Sadako, Gamora and... A random Lego guy dressed up as a Triceratops. There are a lot of books here that suddenly, I really want to read. I'm looking at 'The Trench', 'The Storm Lord' and 'A Storm of Wings' in particular. 'The Drive-In 2' as well. Are there any here that catch your eye?  There is a lot here that I haven't read yet and this is what happens if you give me a little disposable income. Just a ...

While I try and clear as much work off my desk as possible, before going on leave next week, and try to find a little 'reading time' in the meantime... Have a look at this new trailer for 'Kraven', due out in December (which isn't that far away now that I think about it), 'Sony Marvel' movies haven't really appealed to me, in the past, but I could be tempted by 'Kraven'. Looks like just my kind of movie to be honest :o) We'll see...

Welcome back to my occasional re-read of the ‘Walking Dead’ comic books; an attempt to get all the reviews, for the series, in one place, slightly hindered by the fact that I ditched my collection just before I moved house late last year. It’s going to take a little longer than expected then but that’s ok, it’s all about the journey isn’t it? ;o) Payday is looming on the horizon but at the same time, seems to be taking its own sweet time getting here. We’ll have to wait a little longer then before I can pick up new books but that’s ok, we’ve got ‘Miles Behind Us’ to keep us ticking over and as luck would have it, it’s one of my favourite volumes in the series :o) Just a quick warning… These books are pretty old now so I’m going to assume that people have read them, there will probably be spoilers then. Cool? Cool. Let’s go. Atlanta was never safe to begin with but now, even the outskirts and surrounding area are crawling with the undead. The camp is no longer a viable proposition and ...

Page Count: 218 Pages It took me a little while to get round to it but I did say I’d read it and… Here we are :o) I’m not a hundred percent certain (near as dammit though) but I think this was the first ‘Conan’ story I ever read, way back in the days of family caravanning holidays and markets where what was left of your pocket money could get you a book like… Well, ‘Conan the Barbarian’ ;o) I lost my original copy years ago, replaced it via eBay and then bought this copy because… Frankly, the size of the font is a lot easier on my eyes. Maybe I should start using my Kindle more… Anyway :o) Lets talk about ‘Conan the Barbarian’. The official adaptation of CONAN THE BARBARIAN, the seminal film written by John Milius and Oliver Stone, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and James Earl Jones. In the novel by L. Sprague de Camp and Lin Carter, the Cimmerian youth Conan witnesses the death of his parents at the hands of Thulsa Doom, a priest of Set. Enslaved, he is trained as a gladiator. Gaining...

One day, I will stop buying single issues and just concentrate on the trades instead. One day... But not today :o) I picked these two books up when I was in Bromley the other week, the 'Time Trek' store is long gone now (which is still a horrible shame) but 'Piranha Comics' is still about and is worth a look if you're passing by. We were passing by and popped in while we were waiting for a bus to turn up; here are some quick thoughts on what I bought while we were there... The cover looks absolutely gorgeous and the good news is that the artwork inside more than matches up to it. Secher just seems to naturally get Elric's world and this comic is a comic that is happy for you to just sit and look at how good it looks. The story though... It's taken me a while to put into words but across the 'Elric' books as a whole, I've always had an issue with the decision to base these books around themes rather than plot and that's definitely an issue her...

Well, I say 'unexpected'... After the way yesterday went (work, then had my girls over, and then straight back to work), my blogging plans took one look at me and decided to cut me a little slack. Which was nice of them ;o) I still wanted to post something though and after looking at my shelves, realised that the answer was literally in front of me the whole time... Lets take a look at one of my shelves (sorry about the photo, either my phone or eyes are having trouble focusing properly) and I'll see if I can come up with five things to say about it. Here goes :o) Lets start off with the easiest one first ;o) It's so clear that by the time I'd finished with the big move, all I was good for was literally emptying boxes of books straight onto the shelves. There's no order here at all and you know what? Years ago, I would have hated that but these days I like having shelves where I don't know what I'll find until I find it. It's only a little chaos but ...

I'm not sure what happened yesterday (it's all a bit of a blur...) but I was wiped out by the end of it and didn't read anything last night. I did have a mid-evening nap though which isn't a good thing, I really need to stop doing that and actually sleep when I'm supposed to. Anyway...  I thought I'd see if 'Past Me' had anything that he wouldn't mind me borrowing for the blog and, as it happened... He did and I'm very grateful (gives me a chance to catch my breath a little). There I was, thinking that my 'Elric Re-Read' was done and dusted, there are a few more books to go. I never read 'Destiny's Brother', or 'Son of the Wolf', so will have to dig them out and add them to the TBR Pile. In the meantime, have some thoughts on 'Daughter of Dreams' (my original review can be found Here )... Dark forces are behind the rise of Hitler and imprisoned Count Ulric von Bek must fight to keep his family's black sword...