The Book Plank

Osbert the Avenger by Christopher William Hill, Tales from the Schwartzgarten #1 Meet Osbert Brinkhoff, the unlikeliest of avengers. His is a tale of dark delights and ghastly goings-on, of injustice and revenge. The villains are vicious. The settings are sinister. And good does NOT always prevail...If you prefer cleavers to kittens and fiends to fairies...then welcome to the GRUESOMELY FUNNY Tales from Schwartzgarten. Chirstopher William Hill was one of the authors in the Books For Keeps feature on rising talents. Osbert the Avenger is his debut novel and the first book in the Tales from the Schwartzgarten series. When I first saw the front cover of the book I actually had imagined that this story would be a bit of a children’s detective book, with Osbert being a young version of Sherlock Holmes. But was I wrong. I think you are in for quite a surprise when you start in Osbert the Avenger. Osbert the Avenger takes place in the Gothic, dark town of Schwartzgarten. What y...

Pirate Cinema by Cory Doctorow Trent McCauley is obsessed with making movies. But when his illegal download habit causes his family's Internet to be cut off, he's forced to run away from Bradford to London. Squatting in an East End pub, Trent falls in with a band of activists who introduce him to dumpster diving, graveyard raves and the anarchist girl of his dreams. When a new bill threatens to criminalise Internet creativity, the future looks bleak, but the film industry fat cats--and the MPs they hold in their pocket--haven't reckoned with the power of a gripping movie to change the people's minds... When I came across Pirate Cinema, the synopsis really reminded me of some past protests and other activities. Squatters and Occupy movements and fighting online piracy. It has been a heavy debate since a few years and I was therefore quite interested into how Cory Doctorow would address his story Pirate Cinema around this subject. In Pirate Cinema you f...

The Rithmatist by Brandon Sanderson, Rithmatist #1 More than anything, Joel wants to be a Rithmatist. Chosen by the Master in a mysterious inception ceremony, Rithmatists have the power to infuse life into two-dimensional figures known as Chalklings. Rithmatists are humanity’s only defense against the Wild Chalklings — merciless creatures that leave mangled corpses in their wake. Having nearly overrun the territory of Nebrask, the Wild Chalklings now threaten all of the American Isles. As the son of a lowly chalkmaker at Armedius Academy, Joel can only watch as Rithmatist students study the magical art that he would do anything to practice. Then students start disappearing — kidnapped from their rooms at night, leaving trails of blood. Assigned to help the professor who is investigating the crimes, Joel and his friend Melody find themselves on the trail of an unexpected discovery — one that will change Rithmatics — and their world — forever. Brandon Sanderson is a well k...

Three by Jay Posey, Legend of the Dustwalker #1                    The world has collapsed, and there are no heroes any more. But when a lone gunman reluctantly accepts the mantel of protector to a young boy and his dying mother against the forces that pursue them, a hero may yet arise. I don’t know how this book totally escaped my attention. Luckily Angry Robots have their notification emails that mentioned Jay Posey’s Three. Jay Posey has been working in the game industry since 1998 and has been writing for over a decade, currently Jay Posey works as a Senior Narrative Designer for Red Storm Entertainment. His portfolio consists of designing for Tom Clancy’s award winning Ghost Recon and Rainbow Six. As you can see the synopsis of this book is pretty short but judging by the cover of the book, which is just stunning to say the least and the words like lone gunman and ...

Ganymede by Cherie Priest, Clockwork Century #3 Josephine Early, New Orleans brothel owner and Union spy, has a mission. One that might just end the Civil War. She must deliver Ganymede, an astonishing prototype submarine, to the North. But the giant war machine is at the bottom of a lake, no one has successfully piloted it and she must sneak its huge bulk past enemy forces. Luckily, she knows the right man for the job. She hasn’t seen former lover and air-pirate Andan Cly for years, but has a sweet job to tempt him back. He agrees to help, but his primary mission is to retrieve supplies for blighted Seattle, where noxious gas has forced residents underground and undead rotters menace the city. Although legal, the Seattle run makes Cly uncomfortable. He no longer flies sap, disapproving of the drug’s ugly side-effects, and the job is funded with sap money. Josephine’s jaunt could be a great distraction. But will they end up in the history books, or at the bottom o...