The Book Plank

Best Alternate History of 2015 Alternate history, the genre that bends the "what once has been" into something new, into what might have also happened. I am a big history fan and seeing with what these authors came up with I can only try to hide my grin. The Mechanical must not be missed by anyone and especially me being a Dutchy. Ian Tregillis is best known for his alternate WWII story with the Milweed Tryptich, in The Mechanical  he take you back to The Netherlands in the 17th century. Where clakkers, automatons, are slaves to help us humans. It is a wonderful imagining of The Netherlands and Ian Tregillis really did his homework when he was re imagining several parts of The Netherlands. I am a big fan of Nick Brown's Agent of Rome series. I like the Roman times a lot, during a holiday in Rome I visited the Colosseum. Awesome I tell you. With every book the series just seems to get better. Nick Brown shows a lot of versatility in the build up of his story. Highlightin...

Dead Man's Reach by D.B. Jackson, Thieftaker Chronicles #4 Boston, 1770. The city is a powder keg as tensions between would-be rebels and loyalist Tories approach a breaking point. One man is willing to light the match to ensure that he has his revenge. The presence of the British Regulars has made thieftaking a hard business to be in. Ethan Kaille has to resort to taking jobs that he would otherwise pass up, namely protecting the shops of Tories from Patriot mobs. When one British loyalist takes things too far and accidentally kills a young boy, even Ethan reconsiders his line of work. Even more troubling is the fact that instances of violence in the city are increasing, and Ethan often finds himself at the center of the trouble. Ethan discovers that some enemies don't stay buried… and will stop at nothing to ruin Ethan's life. Even if that means risking the lives of everyone in Boston, including the people that Ethan loves most. And thus we are presented, sadly, wit...

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...

A Plunder of Souls by D.B. Jackson, Thieftaker Chronicles #3 Boston, 1769: Ethan Kaille, a Boston thieftaker who uses his conjuring to catch criminals, has snared villains and defeated magic that would have daunted a lesser man. What starts out as a mysterious phenomenon that has local ministers confused becomes something far more serious. A ruthless, extremely powerful conjurer seeks to wake the souls of the dead to wreak a terrible revenge on all who oppose him. Kaille's minister friends have been helpless to stop crimes against their church. Graves have been desecrated in a bizarre, ritualistic way. Equally disturbing are reports of recently deceased citizens of Boston reappearing as grotesquely disfigured shades, seemingly having been disturbed from their eternal rest, and now frightening those who had been nearest to them in life. But most personally troubling to Kaille is a terrible waning of his ability to conjure. He knows all these are related…but how? When...