Lord Samper's Library

  Page Count: 70 Pages I’m trying to draw a line between work and a little time where I can recharge in the evening; there’s no better way for me to draw that line than by picking up a book and having a read ;o) I’ve been reading Scott Oden’s blog for a while now and love his passion for Robert E. Howard and how this comes out in his discussion of Howard’s work as well as ‘Sword & Sorcery’ and what Oden calls ‘Heroic Historical’ fiction. I was after something heroic, while I try and sort a mini-TBR pile for ‘Cimmerian September’ so I figured it was way past time I gave Oden’s work a go. I have a copy of ‘Old Gods and Other Tales’ lined up, ready to go, but last night I thought I’d kick things off with ‘The White Lion’... Acre, at the close of the 13th century. The last remaining Crusader stronghold, where the ideals of a Kingdom of Heaven - forged by saints and zealots nearly two hundred years ago - now hang by the slenderest of threads. It is a city menaced by Saracen warlor...

Page Count: 176 Pages No matter what it might look like in various ‘Books for the TBR Pile’ posts, I really am trying to concentrate on reading books that are already on my shelves. ‘The Fireborne Blade’ is a very slender 176 pages long so I’m not going to beat myself up too much for missing it until now. With that page count, this is a book that can’t help but hide amongst the other books once it’s on your shelf. What I’d say is that if ‘The Fireborne Blade’ is on your shelf, don’t let it hide away, grab it for a read, I think you’ll be glad that you did. Quick thoughts on a quick read today. I’m not sure quite how it happened but yesterday was a bit of a write-off and I’ve got a lot to catch up on today (and take my youngest daughter out for lunch, I’m looking forward to that)… Maddileh is a knight. There aren’t many women in her line of work, and it often feels like the sneering and contempt from her peers is harder to stomach than the actual dragon slaying. But she’s a knight, and ...

  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...

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 ...

Page Count: 128 Pages I never leave it too long between watching ‘Hellraiser’ movies (I actually re-watched the 2022 remake the other day, it’s still a good one) but I always seem to leave it far too long between re-reads of ‘The Hellbound Heart’. It’s a particularly slim book, my edition is anyway, so I guess it is too easy to lose it on the shelf. I came across it again, the other day, and thought to myself that if I don’t read it now, it could literally be years before I come across it again. Plus I was due a bus ride into work, yesterday, and ‘The Hellbound Heart’ is just the right length for a commute so… It came along with me :o) The Doorway to ultimate pleasure. At last, he had solved the puzzle of LeMarchand’s box. He was standing on the threshold of a new world of heightened sensations. In moments, the Cenobites – who had dedicated an eternity to the pursuit of sensuality – would be here. They would reveal dark secrets that would transform him for ever. But with the exquisite ...

I’ll be honest, I’m not a hundred percent sure what the page count is here as I was reading ‘The Deacon of Wounds’ as part of of the collection ‘Unholy: Tales of Horror and Woe from the Imperium’. I’m going for a hundred and eighteen pages, in this edition, but I don’t trust my math and that’s all I’ll say about that ;o) I’ve managed to get a few Black Library tales under my belt over the last few months and ‘The Deacon of Wounds’ was a read back in December, one that I’d been looking forward to finally picking up. I couldn’t spring for the hardback, when it first came out, so the ‘Unholy’ collection was a welcome purchase and having already read ‘The Bookkeepers Skull’ , I went straight for ‘The Deacon of Wounds’ and… I’m glad that I finally got to spend some time with it. The planet of Theotokos is dying of thirst. For years, Arch-Deacon Ambrose has done everything in his power to help the people. Charismatic, virtuous, pious, he is as beloved as the corrupt Cardinal Lorenz, who hoar...

Page Count: 123 Pages I’m all about the short reads at the moment, can’t seem to focus on anything longer at the moment, so ‘Thornhedge’ immediately ticked a box. It was a little more than that though. I’ve always had a soft spot for fairy tales, even more so the ‘retellings’ that do more than hint at the blood and horror that lie beneath the surface of tales that most people think are ‘just kids stories’. Not me though ;o) ‘Thornhedge’ looked like it could tick that box as well so it swiftly became the book that I’ve been reading over the last couple of nights. And was it the book I thought it would be? Yes, yes it was, and a little bit more besides. Quick thoughts follow the blurb, I really should try sleeping at some point... There's a princess trapped in a tower. This isn't her story. Meet Toadling. On the day of her birth, she was stolen from her family by the fairies, but she grew up safe and loved in the warm waters of faerieland. Once an adult though, the fae ask a fav...

Page Count: 206 Pages ‘The Sun Dog’ can be found in the collection ‘Four Past Midnight’; it can also be found as an individual novella, part of the ‘Iconic Stories’ collection. I first read ‘The Sun Dog’ as part of ‘Four Past Midnight’ years ago, hiding in the school library so I didn’t have to go outside (a familiar tale). I came across it again… I can’t remember if I’m being honest. I’m sure there must have been a time when the ‘Iconic Story’ edition wasn’t on my shelf. All I know is that I came across it some time last month and figured it was way past time that I read it again. So, that’s exactly what I did ;o) It's mine - that was what he had thought when his finger had pushed the shutter-button for the first time. Now he found himself wondering if maybe he hadn't gotten that backward. Kevin Delevan wants only one thing for his fifteenth birthday: a Polaroid Sun 660. There's something wrong with his gift, though. No matter where Kevin aims the camera, it produces a...

Page Count: 181 Pages Just recently, pretty much all my reading has been 'low page count' stuff. Nothing against those chunky books you understand; time constraints have been a big factor recently so when I saw that there was a new edition of 'The Mist', I jumped on that one pretty much straight away. And then being me, I promptly went and lost it in the middle of a 'flat wide' book rearranging exercise... Yep, I know... Well, I was rooting around in the loft last night, trying to tidy things up a little, and there was 'The Mist', all sat on top of a pile of books without a care in the world. I had some time on my hands so grabbed the book, before it could hide again, and settled down for a read... A man staggered into the market . . . 'Something in the fog!' he screamed Following a freak summer storm, David Drayton, his son Billy, and their neighbour Brent Norton join dozens of others and head to the local grocery store to replenish supplies....

I am always the last person to read the cool book that everyone is talking about, especially these days when reading time is at a real premium and I have a nasty habit of falling asleep on the bus home (I’m getting old…) ‘Things have gotten worse since we last spoke’ is a novella that I’ve meant to read, ever since Twitter blew up about how good it was, but somehow never managed to get round to until I finally grabbed a copy of the collection, back in September , and gave the titular story a shot. That was back in September and it’s taken me until now to finally get to a point where my stomach has calmed down and I can write something about a story that I think will occupy a dark corner of my head for some time to come. That should give you a pretty big clue about what I thought about ‘Things have gotten worse’ but if you need more… Let’s go. Sadomasochism. Obsession. Death. A whirlpool of darkness churns at the heart of a macabre ballet between two lonely young women in an internet ...