The Book Plank

The Totally Secret Origin of Foxman: Excerpts from an EPIC Autobiography by Kelly McCullough, School for Sidekicks #0.5   Before O.S.I.R.I.S, before the betrayal and the drinking and "the Incident at the Tower," before Captain Commanding (that jerk!), before the new powers and the super suit, there was Rand, a teen boy with a few family problems and a gift for inventions... Then the Hero Bomb went off. For the first time, the Fabulous Foxman tells his own origin story in his own words (no matter what that silly ghostwriter says). I am going to be frank. I was definitely lured to this story by the cover. It's awesome. And then came the synopsis and had to stop doing what I did to read the story! A hero bomb turning every day joe's into superheroes. Digging a bit deeper revealed The Totally Secret Origin of Foxman: Excerpts from an EPIC Autobiography , is the prequel story to Kelly McCullough's upcoming novel School for Sidekicks  which is being publis...

Author interview with Ishbelle Bee Author bio: Ishbelle   Bee writes horror and loves fairy-tales, the Victorian period (especially top hats!) and cake tents at village fêtes (she believes serial killers usually opt for the Victoria Sponge). She currently lives in Edinburgh. She doesn’t own a rescue cat, but if she did his name would be Mr Pickles. ------------------------------------------------------------- Hi Ishbelle, welcome over at The Book Plank and for taking your time to answer these few questions for us. BP: First off could you give us a short introduction as to who Ishbelle Bee is? What are you hobbies, likes and dislikes ? IB:   I live in Edinburgh, Scotland and I am half Scottish and half English ( I was born in London). I write adult fairytales infused with horror elements and inspired by folklore and mythology. My hobbies are reading and illustrating. I like cheesecake and  I dislike thoughtless, rude people and tripe. BP: Mi...

Three Moments of an Explosion by China Mieville London awakes one morning to find itself besieged by a sky full of floating icebergs. Destroyed oil rigs, mysteriously reborn, clamber from the sea and onto the land, driven by an obscure but violent purpose. An anatomy student cuts open a cadaver to discover impossibly intricate designs carved into a corpse's bones—designs clearly present from birth, bearing mute testimony to . . . what? Of such concepts and unforgettable images are made the twenty-eight stories in this collection—many published here for the first time. By turns speculative, satirical, and heart-wrenching, fresh in form and language, and featuring a cast of damaged yet hopeful seekers who come face-to-face with the deep weirdness of the world—and at times the deeper weirdness of themselves— Three Moments of an Explosion is a fitting showcase for one of our most original voices.   I am a long time fan of China Mieville's book every since reading ...

Guest Blog: Alien Invasion Stories from Armada to Grunt Traitor  By Weston Ochse © 2015   There’s something at once terrifying and romantic about an invasion. One wrong move could mean the destruction of everything you know and love, but in the heat of battle, there are crystalline moments in which true humanity shines. Like many military authors, I often look to history for guidance on how to write the future. I’ve always looked at the Battle of Rorke’s Drift as the perfect sort of battle to represent an alien invasion. One hundred and fifty British soldiers in a remote outpost are beset by four thousand Zulu warriors. The odds seemed impossible, yet in the end the British won the day. The early Michael Cain movie Zulu retells this story and stands as one of my favorite military movies of all time. There are moments in the film that resonate. In the face of overwhelming attack, the sergeant major lowly commanding his men to take it easy. Right when everything ...

Redzone by William C. Dietz, The Mutant Files #2 The year is 2065, almost thirty years since a bioterrorist attack decimated the population. The world has been divided, and new nations have formed. Those mutated from exposure inhabit the red zones, while “norms” live in the green zones. In the nation of Pacifica, Los Angeles detective Cassandra Lee is in charge of investigating a disturbing case, tracking a cop killer dubbed the Bonebreaker. But strange new murders have occurred, falling outside the normal pattern and leaving Lee and her team wondering if the serial killer has become unpredictable—or if he’s no longer acting alone… To make matters worse, Lee’s attention is diverted after she receives a letter from her long-lost mother. Now she must venture into the red zone, a lawless land where might makes right—and where the biggest danger may be her own family. Just a few months ago I listened to the first book in William C. Dietz' The Mutant Files: Deadeye. I ha...

Death Descends on Saturn Villa by MRC Kasasian, The Gower Street Detective #3 London: 1883  125 Gower Street was once a house of justice, truth and perspicacity. Now madness, murder and scandal lurk in its empty halls. It is rumoured that its owner Sidney Grice - London's foremost personal detective - has been driven to the brink of despair.  But, as will all good stories, we must begin at the beginning. With Sidney Grice journeying to Yorkshire to solve a mysterious death. And with March Middleton, his ward, left to her own devices in a London swarming with danger and vice.  Curiosity, as we know, has a dark edge. So when an intriguing letter leads March to the gates of the palatial Saturn Villa, and into the nightmarish world of her long-lost uncle, it could be the beginning of an end, for all...  If you haven't heard about the enigmatic, quirky and rather peculiar detective duo Grice and Middleton you must have been living under a rock. Just a...

Playing Nice with Gods Bowling Ball by N.K. Jemisin [no synopsis provided] I know N.K. Jemisin mainly from her Inheritance series for which she had received a lot of well deserved praise. This series was with a heavy influence of Gods and mortal men and it seems that this is right up N.K. Jemisin's alley as Playing Nice with God's Bowling Ball has something of the same working in it's favor but with a more subtler approach.  The story picks up with an police investigation where Detective Grace Anneton is questioning a little boy called Jeffy Hanson. Jeffy Hanson turned himself in for causing the disappearance of his best friend Timmy. He miracalously dissapeared, or did he? Now let me take you back to how it happened. Jeffy and his mother don't have a lot of money to spend but the money that Jeffy saves he spends on buying card from the popular Monster Fusion King franchise a collectable card game. This one day when he once again has saved enough money for a b...

Author interview with Una McCormack  Author Bio: Una teaches writing at undergraduate and graduate level. Her background is in sociology, and she has taught organisational behaviour at Judge Business School, Cambridge, and Cambridge University Engineering Department. Una is the author of several science fiction novels (including a New York Times Bestseller!), and numerous short stories in that genre. She is also a prolific fanfiction writer, setting up and organising a number of online writing groups and resources for fanfiction writers. She lives in Cambridge with her partner, Matthew, her daughter, Verity, several daleks and no cats. ---------------------------------------------- Hi Una, welcome over at The Book Plank and for taking your time to answer these few questions for us. BP: First off could you give us a short introduction as to who Una McCormack is? What are you hobbies, likes and dislikes? UMc: I have a young daughter, so I don’t get m...