Review – The Pale Horseman by Bernard Cornwell

Continuing on from the review of the Last Kingdom (here), The Pale Horseman is the second novel in the Saxon Stories, and the next book I've had the pleasure of reading. Continuing where The Last Kingdom left off, Uhtred returns to King Alfred of Wessex to share news of his glorious victory over Ubba Lothbrokson … Continue reading Review – The Pale Horseman by Bernard Cornwell

Review – The Last Kingdom by Bernard Cornwell

The way I came across this book is a little unusual, but it's a fine example of word of mouth. Earlier in the year, the chaps at the Brush and Boltgun were discussing a Dark Age game called Saga. I'd only ever heard of it, but was interested in trying something different so picked up … Continue reading Review – The Last Kingdom by Bernard Cornwell

And a year flew by – a blog reanimates like Frankenstein’s monster

Well it's been some time since my last post. With one thing (Brush and Boltgun) and another (Real Life) I'd slowed down on my reading and not managed to pick up books as much as I'd like. With changes this year though, I canned driving to work in favour of taking the train, which gave … Continue reading And a year flew by – a blog reanimates like Frankenstein’s monster

Audible Review: The Mammoth Book of Jack the Ripper by Maxim Jakubowski

When I saw this book on Audible, I downloaded it for two main reasons - it was massive, and it was a subject I had a bit of interest in. I watch a lot of crime documentaries, how detectives catch murderers, how they operate, etc, and this fit the bill for the series' I've been … Continue reading Audible Review: The Mammoth Book of Jack the Ripper by Maxim Jakubowski

Audible Review: Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, narrated by Derek Jacobi

Frankenstein is a story that I'm sure most people have at least a vague knowledge of. The basics; Dr Frankenstein creates a being constructed of pieces of of freshly dead people, stitched together, and brought to life using a jolt of lightning - I could use that first thing in the morning. The first Frankenstein … Continue reading Audible Review: Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, narrated by Derek Jacobi

Audible Review – The Stainless Steel Rat by Harry Harrison

The Stainless Steel Rat - and its abundance of sequels - follows the exploits of James Bolivar diGriz, also known as Slippery Jim. In this, the first novel, we find Jim performing a daring robbery and fleeing from Special Corps - a kind of police unit comprised of former criminals - as he tries to make good … Continue reading Audible Review – The Stainless Steel Rat by Harry Harrison

Where did all the painting go?

Despite how popular a lot of my painting posts were, a while ago I decided to just use this site for my writing, and removed all the painting posts from it. Now because painting is something that I love doing, and do regularly, Mike Hollows and I have teamed up and created a new website, … Continue reading Where did all the painting go?

Short story released in Deadzone Dossiers anthology

Hello there, Yesterday was the day that saw Deadzone Dossiers - a Deadzone short story anthology - released, and I'm pleased to say that it includes one of my short stories, Junkerstown. The Anthology is released digitally from Mantic Digital, and can be purchased here for the princely sum of £6.49. Or it was when I wrote … Continue reading Short story released in Deadzone Dossiers anthology

Book review: Chickenhawk, by Robert Mason

As part of my research into books around people's experiences in the military, I was pointed toward Chickenhawk, a book by Robert Mason following his time as a Huey pilot in Vietnam. I can safely say 'Wow'. The book starts with mason's account of helicopter training with the army. As my pal Kev said when … Continue reading Book review: Chickenhawk, by Robert Mason