SCI-FI HORROR REVIEW: The Staircase in the Woods - Chuck Wendig

Release Date: 29/04/25

Publisher: Del Rey

SYNOPSIS:

Five high school friends, bonded by an oath to protect each other no matter what.

On a camping trip in the middle of the forest, they find something extraordinary: a mysterious staircase to nowhere

One friend walks up – but never comes back down.

Now twenty years later, the staircase has reappeared, and the friends return to find the lost boy – and what lies beyond the staircase in the woods…

FROM THE MODERN HORROR SENSATION COMES A NEW BONE-CHILLING MASTERPIECE.

REVIEW:

In addition to this, if you prefer to listen rather than read, click our YT video here:

Chuck Wendig is a prolific author and with a ridiculous number of books to his name, across a lot of genres.

Lucky enough to get a copy early from the publisher, we dig deep and consider climbing "The Staircase in the Woods."

Diving into this book was a  plunge into the unknown as whilst the mythos of the Stairs in the Woods is well known, what you'll get from the furtive imagination of an author like Chuck is a complete mystery.

The book is written with his usual panache, has cracking prose, top notch description and of course keeps you hanging on by your fingernails right until the final page, occasionally  allowing you to grab a breath of air  with masterful lulls of pace.

Add to this, characters that you want to spend time with, that are believable and of course dialogue that feels realistic with choices that you could see yourself making, all round makes this one of the books that I am recommending already for people who love something a little different to pick up as they'll love every page.

All round, a book that was a pure joy to devour and one that will stay with you long after the final page is turned.  Magical.

MINIATURE FEATURE: Mortenburg Dark Lords of the Shifting Sands - Heroes Infinite April 2025

 

Here at Totally Pawsome,

We just love to bring you our favourite print yourself mini's each month, and here for your viewing pleasure is our YT vid for Heroes Infinite's Mortenburg:  Dark Lords of the shifting sands, which also includes news on their new subscriber tier.  

As usual we always include a link to their own video and hope you enjoy our own efforts of our cherry picked favourites.  

Please join us for more features to come in the next few days.

Thundermouser

BOOK PUBLICITY: Dr Dhrolin's Dictionary of Dinosaurs - Palaeo Games

 

With so many D & D 5e books out there, finding something that will allow you to take your games in a different direction can feel quite hard, however we were lucky enough to come Dr Dhrolin’s Dictionary of Dinosaurs,

Here you can take your games in a totally new direction as you'll be able to bring the Savage lands into your DnD game without worrying about players knowing all the stats and immunities of what they'll be facing. Its nicely put together, has wonderful illustrations and of course stats so that you can throw some real surprises their way, we will be reviewing this book in full in the future, however here's our thoughts on what we've seen so far as well as letting you know the various links so you too can join in.

Paleo Games: Dr Dhrolin's Dictionary of Dinosaurs

Professor Primula’s Portfolio of Palaeontology Kickstarter

VIDEO BOOK REVIEW: Warhammer 40K: The Ultimate Guide - Guy Haley and Gav Thorpe - Dorling Kindersley

Here at Totally Pawsome we love the dark 41st Millernium of Warhammer 40k so when we got a chance to finally put our words to paper on the fabulous Warhammer 40,000:  The Ultimate Guide by Guy Haley and Gav Thorpe, we jumped at the chance.   Here is our video review of this book:

MONTHLY MINIATURES: Imperial Commando: Lost in the Jungle - Heroes Infinite.

 

Hail Mighty Readers and Mini Painting Officionado's,
Here's our first post for this month of mini's that we're already in love with and that we'd recommend to others that you can print at home.  These ones from Heroes Infinite will add quite a lot this month to a those who have Imperial Guard 40K armies, especially with so many fine Catachan to add.  We've also added a new feature this month, our first YT video where we cherry pick our personal favs.

This mini, from the Imperial Commando, Lost in the Jungle is pretty cool and would make a fab leader for any Catachan unit in its beautiful glory of colour as well as design.


Alongside this, they have a whole range of other mini's out there with two price ranges, where under the Leader Tier ($10) you get:

9-10 Heroes

3 Dynamic Troopers

1 Epic Centerpiece

14+ Scenic Bases

2 Monsters

Whereas if you take out the Overlord Tier ($16) you will get in addition to the above:

Additional 15-20 new Troopers

to create 5 different units

Exclusive alternative versions

of Heroes and Monsters

Mind-boggingly extensive

Modular / Scatter Terrain

Exclusive additional models

for our Heroes Infinite Overlords,

such as Mounted Heroes, Monsters, and more.

Each tier is pretty fab and we also wanted to link to their YT vid where you can see the full range for your money.

Finally if I were to pick one item from the range to call my favourite, I think it will have to be the fabulous Bulldog, featured in our own YT video with plenty of space to transport your soldiers and of course would look great to either transport a kill team or even just as a centre piece for your battlefield.


Please join us in celebrating everything to do with the joy of mini's.

And as we continue the series please remember that some of these will only be available at the prices cited for this month, so if you like them, get them now.  

There are plenty of others that we don't have the space to feature so please watch the YT trailer so that you can see everything to decide if there's some that you really want.

MONTHLY MINI'S: Eclipsed by Darkness: Inquisition Vs the Void Elves - Heroes Infinite

 

Hail Mighty Readers and Mini Painting Officionado's,
Here's our first post for this month of mini's that we're already in love with and that we'd recommend to others that you can print at home.  These ones from Heroes Infinite will add quite a lot this month to a fair few armies, whether you love the Druhkari, the Aeldari or the Inquisition/Sisters of Battle.  They all look pretty cool to paint as they add something a little different to a lot of others out there, so without further ado, lets get to it:

This mini, from the Inquisition Vs Void Elves range (this set is known as Eclipsed by Darkness, is pretty cool and would make a fab leader for any Sister battleforce in its beautiful glory of colour as well as design.

Alongside this, they have a whole range of other mini's out there with two price ranges, where under the Leader Tier ($10) you get:

9-10 Heroes

3 Dynamic Troopers

1 Epic Centerpiece

14+ Scenic Bases

2 Monsters

Whereas if you take out the Overlord Tier ($16) you will get in addition to the above:

Additional 15-20 new Troopers

to create 5 different units

Exclusive alternative versions

of Heroes and Monsters

Mind-boggingly extensive

Modular / Scatter Terrain

Exclusive additional models

for our Heroes Infinite Overlords,

such as Mounted Heroes, Monsters, and more.

Each tier is pretty fab and we also wanted to link to their YT vid where you can see the full range for your money.

Finally if I were to pick one item from the range to call my favourite, I think it will have to be the fabulous Skiff, plenty of space to put a fair few of your Druhkari and of course would look great to either transport a kill team or even just as a centre piece for your battlefield.



Please join us in celebrating everything to do with the joy of mini's.

And as we continue the series please remember that some of these will only be available at the prices cited for this month, so if you like them, get them now.  

There are plenty of others that we don't have the space to feature so please watch the YT trailer so that you can see everything to decide if there's some that you really want.

URBAN FANTASY MARVEL FICTION REVIEW: What If... Mark Spector was Host to Venom? - Mike Chen

Publisher:  Del Rey

Release Date:  22/10/24

Book Blurb:

Marc Spector and Venom engage in a battle of wills in the next adventure of an epic multiversal series reimagining iconic Marvel origin stories.
So many worlds, so little time. Infinite possibilities, creating infinite realities. Long have I watched Marc Spector cheat death in the name of the Egyptian god Khonshu. But…what if Moon Knight was subsumed by a Venom from another universe?

Marc Spector is used to voices in his head. He’s used to waking up disoriented, unsure what his alters, Jake and Steven, might have been up to. He’s used to having an Egyptian god command him as Moon Knight, his avatar of justice and revenge. What he’s not used to: staring into the face of a literal, out-of-body doppelganger.

Another Marc, crash-landed from an alternate reality, begging for help? Yeah, that is a new one, even for him.

But before he can really process anything beyond Khonshu’s incessant alarm bells, it becomes clear this other Marc didn’t travel solo. Some kind of alien ― a symbiote named Venom― casts off its current host and begins to merge with Marc, forcing Khonshu away from his chosen champion and claiming Moon Knight for its own. The formerly stark white suit that struck fear into the hearts of criminals now looms as a jet-black shadow over friends and foes alike. Marc’s lethal prowess fueled by Venom’s penchant for violence carves a trail of chaos as they comb through the vigilante’s torturous past.

Yet a sliver of hope remains: Finally free of Venom’s control, the other Jake and Steven re-gain consciousness to find themselves in a strange reality, without their Marc, but with a strange bird-like god insisting that “they will do.” Desperate, lost, and running out of time, the pair make a deal: become Khonshu’s new avatar to track Venom’s path of destruction, save this universe, and just maybe figure out a way back to their own

Review:

I've always loved the "What If..." TV series so to get chance to read a Venom/Moon Knight crossover was pretty exciting for me, especially as I got to love the character in the Marvel series as I didn't know anything abou the character beforehand.

This book is pretty faithful to the TV series versions of the characters with the reader being able to easily see the various personalities as the actors involved.  It worked wonderfully well for me, although that said I don't know how the comic fans will take to it.  For me, I loved the visual writing, I loved the chance to get to see a different side to all the various characters involved, the prose that kept the action moving at quite a pace and of course a story arc that was a pure joy for me to savour.

All round I was very happy with this title and I will be noting the authors name as I like the writing style, as well as looking forward to the next "What If..."  Magic.