Books for the TBR Pile... 'Got My Bonus' Edition

And it paid off a couple of debts, leaving enough to take my girls out for some book shopping, pizza and a quick dash into Boots for what ended up being the most pungent hand sanitizer I have ever come across. I suspect parts of Covent Garden in particular still smell of raspberry... ;o) And if you're wondering about the pizza, it was mostly ham and pineapple for me. My stomach is still feeling fragile so I didn't want to tempt fate with anything more adventurous (and I actually quite like ham and pineapple these days)... But you're here for the books, not the pizza :o) Forbidden Planet and the Trafalgar Square Waterstones now have a little more of my money, lets take a look at what I got in exchange (along with a couple of other books that found their way to mine over the last few days)...

The two big purchases from Forbidden Planet. I've been enjoying Titan's 'Conan' output so 'City of the Dead' was an easy choice and I'd never read any of the 'Weapon X' stuff so thought I'd take a punt on this collection. I've got a ton of other books that I'd like to read first but out of these two, you're more likely to see a 'Weapon X' post first.

And here's what I found in Waterstones :o) 'A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms' replaces an older copy that died a particularly messy death this week. 'The Lure of Atlantis has a Clark Ashton-Smith tale that I don't believe I have and an REH tale that I'm certain I don't. This week is looking such that a couple of short story posts may be necessary so I'll let you know what I think of those two tales sooner rather than later.

Because I was ill last week and fancied a little 'Doctor Who' reading. That cheeky little bookmark tells you that I've already started 'Planet of the Ood', you might just see a review this week.

Just because the cover and blurb combined to really catch my eye. You can see the cover, here's the blurb...

Across Italy there are many half-empty towns, nearly abandoned by those who migrate to the coast or to cities. The beautiful, crumbling hilltop town of Becchina is among them, but its mayor has taken drastic measures to rebuild―selling abandoned homes to anyone in the world for a single Euro, as long as the buyer promises to live there for at least five years.

It’s a no-brainer for American couple Tommy and Kate Puglisi. Both work remotely, and Becchina is the home of Tommy’s grandparents, his closest living relatives. It feels like a romantic adventure, an opportunity the young couple would be crazy not to seize. But from the moment they move in, they both feel a shadow has fallen on them. Tommy’s grandmother is furious, even a little frightened, when she realizes which house they’ve bought.

There are rooms in an annex at the back of the house that they didn’t know were there. The place makes strange noises at night, locked doors are suddenly open, and when they go to a family gathering, they're certain people are whispering about them, and about their house, which one neighbor refers to as The House of Last Resort. Soon, they learn that the home was owned for generations by the Church, but the real secret, and the true dread, is unlocked when they finally learn what the priests were doing in this house for all those long years…and how many people died in the strange chapel inside. While down in the catacombs beneath Becchina…something stirs.

This will more than likely be a Halloween read but in the meantime, I'm intrigued.

That's your lot for this week, I'll add these to the book pile (well, one of them) and keep on reading... ;o)