The Book Plank

Best Short Fiction of 2014 I only seriously started reading short fiction in the fall of this year and even made a new weekly feature "Short Fiction Friday" on the blog dedicated to review short fiction stories. A lot of readers aren't a fan of short fiction or anthologies but I really like it, well when they are good stories of course. In my opinion, short stories can excellently feature as in between stories for books or as a prequel to a series or just loose adventures in an on going series. The stories that feature in this list are all part of something bigger. Unlocked by John Scalzi gives the perfect introduction to his book Lock In which you will see later on. It is written in an interesting way dairy kind of style following the footsteps of the outbreak of the Haden syndrome I do warn you, be sure to have Lock In ready before reading this story as you want nothing more than to read the book. The Messenger by Mark Charan Newton was released a few weeks befo...

A Spell of Vengeance by D.B. Jackson, Thieftaker #0.5 Ethan Kaille is a thieftaker in Colonial Boston, scratching out a living by restoring stolen property to its rightful owners. But unlike others in his profession, Ethan relies on magical spells as well as his wits to track down thieves. Being a conjurer doesn't make him popular with the law in Boston, so Ethan is taken aback when the sheriff seeks his help in settling a dispute between a pair of wealthy merchants and a ship's captain who has threatened their lives. Ethan knows the captain can back up his threats with magic of his own. But there is more to this matter than the merchants have let on, and Ethan soon discovers that what he doesn't know might actually kill him. D. B. Jackson’s first Ethan Kaille novel, Thieftaker , will be published on July 3, 2012. What better story to pick than one of my favourite authors, D.B. Jackson. Only two weeks ago I read his third book in his Thieftaker series, A Plun...