The Book Plank

Hive Monkey by Gareth L. Powell, Ack-Ack Macaque #2 The stunning follow-up to Ack-Ack Macaque, which featured the Spitfire pilot monkey hero of a computer game who turned out to be real. The first book was met with wide acclaim upon release.In order to hide from his unwanted fame as the spitfire-pliot-monkey who emerged from a computer game to defeat the dangerous corporation who engineered him, the charismatic and dangerous Ack-Ack Macaque is working as a pilot on a world-circling nuclear powered Zeppelin. But when the cabin of one of his passengers is invaded by that passenger's own dying doppelganger, our hirsute hero finds himself thrust into another race to save the world - this time from an aggressive hive mind, time-hopping saboteurs, and an army of homicidal Neanderthal assassins! Last year I was more than pleasantly introduced to Ack-Ack Macaque , I had first assumed it to be a standalone, but soon found out that there would be a sequel! I have to admit I d...

The end of the month again time for another Review Round-Up. Nothing but heavy hitters. April was definitely a very fruitful month for me reading wise. I have come across a set of books that all carry on "stop wow and awe" factor.  I have been able to catch up with some of the books that have been on my shelves for quite some time.  And finally getting around to finish up a few series as well. Though it always leaves a bit of an empty spot when you finish with series. Like after you read the last sentence it is just over and done.. However it also finally gives a closing to an often long anticipated final showdown, so both a plus and a minus for me.  In April we, over at Fantasy Book Review, started with out book club on goodreads . Our selected book for April was Old Man's War by John Scalzi. You can find our discussions over at the book club page . For May we will be reading or rereading for some The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch and we all heartily inv...

In 1944, as waves of German ninjas parachute into Kent, Britain’s best hopes for victory lie with a Spitfire pilot codenamed ‘Ack-Ack Macaque’. The trouble is, Ack-Ack Macaque is a cynical, one-eyed, cigar-chomping monkey, and he’s starting to doubt everything, including his own existence.   A century later, in a world where France and Great Britain merged in the late 1950s and nuclear-powered Zeppelins encircle the globe, ex-journalist Victoria Valois finds herself drawn into a deadly game of cat and mouse with the man who butchered her husband and stole her electronic soul. Meanwhile, in Paris, after taking part in an illegal break-in at a research laboratory, the heir to the British throne goes on the run. And all the while, the doomsday clock ticks towards Armageddon. The Ack-Ack Macaque idea first featured as a short story in the magazine Interzone and has been turned into a full length book and published by Solaris this year. And it is amazing. It is ha...