The Book Plank

Best Debuts of 2014 Debuts are important. For publisher to bring new material to the readers and for new authors to break through in the densely populated writing world. Every year there are loads of new books coming out and too be honest some do fall into repetition but other are really genre bending and breaking. When I look for a new author I always truly to find authors that dare to go the limit, as a first book can make you (and unfortunately also break you). This year I read a lot of solid debuts. The books below are all books that featured something different from the gross of the genre books out there. The Emperor's Blade was my first debut of 2014 and as promised Brian! The Emperor's Blade is in essence Epic fantasy but with a definite twist. The Incorruptibles by John Hornor Jacobs featured a most interesting world building and some very cool protagonists. Edward Cox' The Relic Guild brought something completely new to the saturated fantasy genre, just aweso...

Review Round-up June Last month of this half of the year! Don't know where the time has gone, it went over to fast for sure. I said that I wanted to read 175 books this year and I am pleased to say that I am on track and have already passed the half way maker. Only about 90ish more to go. These were my favourites of June Which books did you enjoy the most in June? Cheers, Jasper ---------------------------   1. Veil of the Deserters by Jeff Salyards, Night Shade Books Last year I read Jeff Salyards debut, Scourge of the Betrayer , it proved very soon that it was one of Scourge of the Betrayer was those books directly to my liking. a great read wait till you get your hands on this sequel. The wait was pretty long for the sequel but luckily for me and many other readers it was published last month in June. I had high expectations for Veil of the Deserters but what Jeff Salyards manages to pull of went wildly above my expectations. Jeff Salyard doesn't wait on...

A Kill in the Morning by Graeme Shimmin The year is 1955 and something is very wrong with the world. It is fourteen years since Churchill died and the Second World War ended. In occupied Europe, Britain fights a cold war against a nuclear-armed Nazi Germany. In Berlin the Gestapo is on the trail of a beautiful young resistance fighter, and the head of the SS is plotting to dispose of an ailing Adolf Hitler and restart the war against Britain and her empire. Meanwhile, in a secret bunker hidden deep beneath the German countryside, scientists are experimenting with a force far beyond their understanding. Into this arena steps a nameless British assassin, on the run from a sinister cabal within his own government, and planning a private war against the Nazis. Now the fate of the world rests on a single kill in the morning . . . Every once in a while a book comes a long that is different from the general Science Fiction and Fantasy stories that I generally read. A Kill in ...

Author interview with Graeme Shimmin Author Bio: Graeme Shimmin was born in Manchester, and studied Physics at Durham University. His successful consultancy career enabled him to retire at 35 to an island off Donegal and start writing. He has since returned to Manchester and completed an MA in Creative Writing. The inspiration for A Kill in the Morning came from Robert Harris' alternate history novel, Fatherland , and a passion for classic spy fiction. To find out more, and read his spy-themed short stories and book and movie reviews, visit http://graemeshimmin.com. ------------------------------------------------ Hi Graeme, welcome over to The Book Plank and for taking your time to answer these few questions for us. BP: First off, can you give us a short introduction as to who Graeme Shimmin is? What are your hobbies, likes and dislikes? GS: I’m spy thriller novelist, and the author of the award-winning novel A Kill in the Morning . I also run a...

(p)review forecast June part 1 Here is my selection of books that I will be reading in the first two weeks of June.  What will you be reading? 1. Hot Lead, Cold Iron by Ari Marmell, Titan Chicago, 1932. Mick Oberon may look like just another private detective, but beneath the fedora and the overcoat, he's got pointy ears and he's packing a wand. Oberon's used to solving supernatural crimes, but the latest one's extra weird. A mobster's daughter was kidnapped sixteen years ago, replaced with a changeling, and Mick's been hired to find the real child. The trail's gone cold, but what there is leads Sideways, to the world of the Fae, where the Seelie Court rules. And Mick's not really welcome in the Seelie Court any more. He'll have to wade through Fae politics and mob power struggles to find the kidnapper – and of course it's the last person he expected. 2. Veil of the Deserters by Jeff Salyards, Night Shade Books ...