Lord Samper's Library

When I was a kid, I went through a phase where I would literally read nothing but the old ‘Doctor Who’ Target novelizations, either through the library or the small collection that I built up over Birthdays and Christmases. I’ve said it before but it really was the best way to catch up with adventures that were last seen on the TV years before I was born :o) I lost my original collection, years ago now, but I’ve been making up for that, recently, by picking the books up whenever I’ve come across them. I found ‘The Time Monster’ just over a week ago, in Halcyon Books, and a quiet afternoon, yesterday, was just the right time to pick it up for a read… This will be a shorter post than normal; I’m on the mend (after a rough week, last week) but I’ve got a ton of work to get through today so need to pace myself a bit ;o) Outside the bounds of this world lives Kronos, the Chronivore - a mysterious creatures that feeds on time itself. Posing as a Cambridge professor, the Master intends to u...

If I'm not sleeping today (or seeing if my stomach will accept food, fingers crossed...), the plan is to get all comfy and try and finish a book or two. Brian Keene's 'Island of the Dead' is the priority read but I'm also looking to polish off Charlotte Bond's 'The Fireborne Blade' as well. Wish me luck ;o) While I'm doing that then, you lucky folks can have the final trailer for 'The Fantastic Four: First Steps' . Well, they say it's the 'Final Trailer' but don't bet against seeing a 'Final, Final Trailer' before the film is released next month ;o) I've never really read the comics but I love the Silver Surfer so I will probably make an effort to catch this one in the cinema... What do you reckon?

At the time of writing, it's about 3am and I am wide awake... It's not that I can't go sleep, I'm great at going to sleep, I just can't seem to get the timing right :o( Oh well, at least it's the weekend and all I've got to do is stay awake for when my daughters visit. The rest of my time is my own ;o) You wouldn't believe it but I'm really trying not to buy so many books at the moment (turns out that 'limited space' really is a thing...) but things happen and... I suddenly have extra books in the house. Here's what ended up at mine over the last few days (with bonus 'what I'm currently reading') and while I need to work on my restraint at little more, it could have been a lot worse... ;o) There's a free micro-library near my youngest's school so after I drop her off, I always pay it a visit on the way back; it would be rude not to ;o) What I love about 'Free Libraries' is that you never knew what you are going...

Just a fairly quick post today… I took yesterday as leave and although I got stuff done, I would have had a quieter day if I’d stayed in the office. Today is looking like a busy one too. Oh well, just a few more hours and then it’s the weekend :o) So not a lot of reading happened yesterday but I did take a little time out, in the evening, to sit and listen to a Black Library audiobook that I’d kept to one side, just for this sort of situation. In the real world, the ‘Horus Heresy’ series is done and dusted; even the ‘Siege of Terra’ series has more or less concluded now. My reading is all over the place though, jumping backwards and forwards over the timeline as the fancy takes me, and this time round, we’re looking at a pivotal event taking place within the Imperial Palace while the galaxy burns… Even as the Imperium faces the renegade Legions of the Warmaster, the ruling Council of Terra is becoming paralysed from within by increasingly petty bureaucracy. Fabricator General Kane has ...

  Page Count: 114 Pages I enjoy reading other bloggers’ bookish thoughts but it’s not often that I’ll act on a recommendation. Nothing against you or what you’re reading; I’ve just got far too many books to get through and I’ll be honest, I’m pretty set in my ways with my reading these days. Not enough time to stick with a book I’m not enjoying, and all that ;o) There are bloggers whose recommendations I will act on though and Alex, of ‘Spells and Spaceships’ , is one of those. I’ve read a couple of very good books thanks to Alex’s blog, so when I saw that he’d read and enjoyed ‘Death Cult’ , well… I knew what my next read would be. Having just graduated from college, Jason and Eddie are ready to let loose and embark on a cross-country road trip in the summer of 1984. After some killer partying at a rock music festival in Nevada, they head out into the desert with girls and adventure on their minds. Their situation takes a dark turn, however, when they lose direction and find them...

So, I'm on chemotherapy for a blood cancer that is, thankfully, not aggressive but will need lifelong treatment/management. It could be worse, there are definitely worse cancers to have :o) The chemotherapy tablets aren't too bad but do have a habit of taking my stomach by surprise and leaving it in a bit of a state... And that was my day yesterday, when I wasn't working I was trying not to throw up whatever I'd just eaten. It could be worse though. All of which is why I didn't read anything yesterday and why I've dipped back into an older blog to give you a little more Judge Dredd, this time with added Batman. Or is that 'Batman with a little added Dredd'? Either way... ;o) I'll see if I can come up with something new for tomorrow. In the meantime, my original review for 'The Batman/Judge Dredd' collection can be found over Here . All the important stuff is below though... My reading, this time round, was the ‘Batman/Judge Dredd’ collection ...

Page Count: 128 Pages ‘Judge Dredd’ stories have taught me a lot over the years… Yesterday, the ‘Citadel’ collection taught me that I can’t put it off any longer, I really need to get my eyes tested again :o) Or just buy a large magnifying glass, or maybe both. I’ll get back to you on that one. I do have a Kindle but I’m a little hesitant to go all in (and buy something that I read comic books off) as if I understand it correctly… You’re not actually buying the ebook, just a licence to read it? I don’t know. It’s probably cheaper just to get some new glasses :o) But anyway… I’ve had my eye on ‘The Citadel’ for a while, mainly because I love how tightly 2000AD maintain the continuity of Judge Dredd’s history and the blurb offered the chance of a little insight into a major event that still comes back to haunt both Judge Dredd and Mega City One itself. Check it out, The Apocalypse War rages and Judge Dredd leads a squad of Cadet Judges into battle, launching an assault upon The Citadel, ...

I bought a few books over the weekend but somehow managed to read very little; a little ‘Judge Dredd’ but that was about it. And that’s the way it goes sometimes, I spent a chunk of yesterday playing ‘Crash Team Racing’ with my youngest daughter and I don’t regret a second of it :o) I did watch some more movies though because of course I did (needed to put a little distance between me and the last week). Let me tell you about them… 'Crabs!' (2022) Mutated by nuclear runoff, a horde of murderous horseshoe crabs descend on a sleepy California town causing Prom Night terror. Against insurmountable odds, a ragtag band of locals devise an insane plot to save their town from the increasingly ginormous crab menace. You can’t go wrong with a film about giant crabs… Can you? Well, kind of… ‘Crabs!’ is a bit of a mess, trying to do a bit too much in not enough time, but at the same time, it just revels in crab based carnage and that was all I was really after. The ending just takes thi...

Sorry for the 'Blogging Silence' yesterday... Last week was relentless and about all I was good for yesterday was a bus ride to Halcyon Books and then a short trip Starbucks for a Caramel Frappuccino. That and watching a few movies but I'll tell you about those another day  ;o) It is a fact well established that when I'm low, I will inevitably try and cheer myself up by buying books. I've been pretty good at not doing this, just recently, but this week was a tough one (work, chronic health condition and depression, not a good mix at all) so... Here's another 'Books for the TBR Pile' post. I'll try and leave it a little longer until the next one ;o) The 'Amazon Pile' Because it was payday the other day :o)  I've always meant to give 'The Ruins' a go, I quite enjoyed the film, so grabbed myself a copy. This feels like a 'Summer Holiday Read' so I won't be opening it just yet. It feels like it's been a while since I ...

One more day to the weekend, we're almost there... ;o) I had plans for todays blog post but then it turned out that yesterday had plans for me and, here we are. Hospital appointment, work, chronic fatigue and a little depression to polish things off... Like I said though, one more day and then hopefully I'll get the chance to reset a little. In the meantime, 'Past Me' very kindly stepped up and let me use an old 'Garrett PI' review from way back in the day. I never got as far into this series as I'd have liked but I still have a few of them on the shelves, maybe I'll give them another shot. Anyone here read them? The full post can be found over Here , all the important stuff is below... ;o) Garrett is back from the war in the Cantard and looking to make ends meet by hiring himself out as a private investigator in the city of Tunfaire, home to elves, gnomes and wizards. A lot of his friends died in the war and it turns out that one of them (Denny) has mad...

Not a lot of reading happened yesterday; mostly because I had my daughters over, partly because I was trying to get work done but ultimately because it was too damn hot… This Graeme does not do well in the heat and we’re only half-way(ish) through June :o( Oh well, fingers crossed that things cool down a bit. I did get a little reading done though, not much but it counts :o) I’ve always got at least a couple of Black Library short stories on standby and when everything finally calmed down last night, it seemed like the right time to read a couple. Let me tell you about them… ‘Choke Point’ – Mike Brooks Page Count: 28 Pages For three weeks, the battered remnants of the Kilgannor 27th Astra Militarum have held the line against the frenzied assaults of Waaagh! Zogreb. Now, deliverance arrives in the form of Commissar Dorin and his troopers, Militarum Tempestus of the famed Delphic Lions. But survival is not enough… When the commissar drafts Lieutenant Kaseen and his surviving soldiers int...

I didn't manage to read an awful lot, over the weekend, but my comfy chair was still exactly the right place to try and make a little dent in my Prime watchlist so... That's what I did :o) My watchlist has a habit of continuing to grow, no matter how many films I get through (I wonder how that happens...?) but I did get through a few. Let me tell you about them... 'Anonymous Animals' (2020) The balance of power, between humans and animals, has shifted and in the depths of the countryside, this plays out in particularly brutal ways... One of those films where I know nothing about it other than that it has a cool title and that's why I'm watching it. And then the next thing I know, I've watched the whole thing without even thinking about it. I'll be honest, I don't think it's as clever as it wants to be but the no holds barred delivery makes up for a lot and makes for a compelling watch. Bit of a random choice but I'm glad I went for it. 'R...

I am slowly, but surely, getting rid of books that I’m either never going to read again or should never have bought in the first place (far too easily done at the moment, if you’re me…) It’s making me feel a little happier about myself and it’s also got me in the mood to keep going and read more of the books that are left. Although, having said that, payday tomorrow… Anyway :o) I’ve picked up a few of the books from the ‘British Library Tales of the Weird’ collection but up until now, have only read a couple of stories from ‘The Lure of Atlantis’ . I thought I’d do something about that and check out a couple of tales from ‘Spores of Doom’. I’ve always seen fungus more as background scenery for the main event, lets see what happens when it takes centre stage. Quick thoughts follow then on Mark Samuels’ ‘Cesare Thodol: Some Lines Written On A Wall’ and Aaron Worth’s ‘The Mykophagoi’ (quick thoughts I’m afraid, my medication is giving me a bit of a kicking so I need to pace myself a littl...

Page Count: 125 Pages Another Monday has crept up on us so while we’re all wondering where the weekend went, lets kick things off here with a quick look at the only book I managed to finish over the last couple of days. No regrets by the way, I spent Father’s Day with my girls and it was brilliant, wouldn’t swap it for anything. Way back in early 2020, when I reviewed the ‘Planet of the Daleks’ TV serial , I mentioned that I used to own a copy of ‘The Dalek Omnibus’, which was where I first came across the novelization of ‘Planet of the Daleks’. That book left my possession a long time ago now, long enough that back then, I was sure that I’d never see another copy. And I was right, I’m not counting the copies on eBay that have a different cover (I’m fussy). Not so long ago though, I did come across a copy of ‘Planet of the Daleks’, on Greenwich Market, and made sure that it came home with me. This weekend felt like the time to finally read it so… That’s exactly what I did ;o) Jo peered...

‘The Stronger Spell’ was first published in the November 1953 edition of ‘Fantasy Fiction’ and also appeared as part of the ‘Tritonian Ring and Other Pusadian Tales’ collection, also published in 1953 (thanks for the save Wikipedia, appreciate it). I found it in my copy of ‘The Mighty Barbarians’ collection, a book that had been sat on my shelf (without being read) for far too long. Last night, I thought I’d finally do something about that and read something by L. Sprague de Camp that wasn’t a ‘Conan’ book… After ‘singer of sweet songs’ Suar Peial rescues the druid Gleokh from a murderous affray, the two celebrate the latter's deliverance in a local tavern. Gleokh holds forth on his revolutionary new weapon, an experimental gun, but by the end of the evening, Peial and his friends will learn that even the concept of a gun is dangerous; especially when they are sharing a tavern table with a wizard… ‘Tavern conversation’ isn’t something I normally look for in my fantasy reading but...

It's been another monster of a week but I did round it off, yesterday, with a days leave and a trip to the cinema (with my eldest daughter) to see 'Clown in a Cornfield' and that made up for a lot :o) For the record... I'm not the target audience (by about roughly 35 years) but 'Clown in a Cornfield' was still a lot of fun with a twist that I didn't see coming and the kind of death scenes that make me chuckle. Can't ask for a lot more than that really ;o) Now I need to dig out my copy of the book and read it, just so I can chat about it with my eldest. In the meantime, there are probably things that I need to do today but I'll be honest, I'm going to sit in my comfy chair all day and read. I feel like I deserve it ;o) I'm not a hundred percent sure over what I'll be reading though, here's a 'Random TBR Pile' that I put together yesterday... There will be a number of short stories read this weekend, which is about all my focus ...

It’s Friday so you’d normally be looking at a post on whatever I read, on the bus to/from work, yesterday. Not today though… I had a touch of insomnia followed by a day in the office so while I had a book in my bag (I always have a book in my bag…), I was in no state to actually read it. Luckily, I had a couple of Black Library audiobooks on my phone so I listened to them instead. As a rule, I don’t tend to do too well with audiobooks that are hours long and just a narrator narrating. Black Library though, have a nice line in audiobooks that have a full cast, run for just over an hour and are full of immersive sound effects I thought I’d see how that worked with a couple of ‘Warhammer Horror’ tales… ‘The Way Out’ – Rachel Harrison In the midst of a vast gas nebula lies a remote watch-station, hanging silently against a tapestry of dying stars. It sits alone, patiently awaiting lost travellers adrift in the freezing vastness of the void. To such souls it appears as a blessing, a safe h...

My mental health is being gnawed at and my reading has taken a little hit, as a result, so I thought it would be a good time to avoid being bogged down by a longer read and go for the shorter reads instead. I’ve got a day off tomorrow and that might be the time to tackle something longer, we’ll see. In the meantime… I have finished a couple of comic books so let me tell you about them :o) ‘Uber: Volume 2’ – Gillen, White (Avatar Press) The first blow in the battle between English and German Ubers has been wrought and neither nation walks away whole. The war rages on in the Pacific Theatre as Japanese Kamikaze pilots attempt to drive the US forces out while delivering devastating losses to the enemy naval fleet. But the tides of war change as the Japanese deploy their own enhanced soldiers and the Germans deliver their devastating secret attack. Uber Volume 2 collects issues #6-11 of the comic book series. I’ll be honest, I’m not sure how the Japanese are suddenly able to deploy their o...

Yesterday did its best to defeat me but I fought it to a standstill. Well, a ‘standstill’ being about half five in the evening when I turned my laptop off and ordered a pizza ;o) I wasn’t in much of a state for reading so I ignored my latest TBR pile and settled down for a spot of TV instead… ‘Predator: Killer of Killers’ (2025) A Viking raider, a Ninja from Feudal Japan and a WW2 fighter pilot must each face a Predator on safari before going on a journey of their own… I’ll be honest, I love all the ‘Predator’ movies (even ‘The Predator’) so don’t expect too much objectivity here ;o) With that out of the way, ‘Killer of Killers’ is beautifully animated and looked superb from where I was sat. More importantly though, ‘Killer of Killers’ absolutely granted a longstanding wish of mine to see how a Ninja would do when facing off against a Predator; the inclusion of a Viking Shield Maiden was a very welcome bonus. I don’t want to give too much away other than to say that we’re left in no do...

Page Count: 88 Pages I hate saying this, because it’s only Tuesday dammit, but this week is already looking like it’s going to be another tough one so I’ve got a funny feeling you’ll be seeing mostly short stories here over the next few days. Maybe a couple of comic books as well. I’ll try and pick some good ones ;o) Today then, lets go to the darkest corners of a grimdark universe that’s already dark enough as it is; what with the constant warfare and all. I used to wonder whether, given the nature of the setting, a ‘Warhammer Horror’ line was over-egging the pudding but I’ve been proved wrong on a number of occasions now. That’ll teach me… I’m used to the line turning out some decent stories so it was no surprise then that ‘The Colonel’s Monograph’ was another one ;o) When invited to catalogue the antiquarian book collection of the late Colonel Grayloc – a celebrated hero of the Imperium – former archivist Teresina Sullo is swift to accept. Grieving for her dead husband, she sees an ...