FANTASY REVIEW: Shroud of Prophecy 1: Fate of the Fallen - Kel Kade

Release Date: 05/11/19
Publisher: Tor UK



SYNOPSIS: Fate of the Fallen is the start of a brand new adventure from New York Times bestselling author Kel Kade

Not all stories have happy endings.
Everyone loves Mathias. Naturally, when he discovers it’s his destiny to save the world, he dives in head first, pulling his best friend Aaslo along for the ride.

However, saving the world isn’t as easy, or exciting, as it sounds in the stories. The going gets rough and folks start to believe their best chance for survival is to surrender to the forces of evil, which isn’t how the prophecy goes. At all. As the list of allies grows thin, and the friends find themselves staring death in the face they must decide how to become the heroes they were destined to be or, failing that, how to survive.




REVIEW: This is a book that I read and then wanted to take the time to think about my review before writing as I wanted to make sense of everything and figure out how to do it without ruining the tale in any way for the reader.

Yes the plotline in the blurb sounds a lot like your typical stereotypical fantasy title however what the author does differently is have the prophecy thing turned on its head, exploring what happens when evil triumphs.

Its a cracking concept, the prose is solid and the overall arc is more than entertaining. The pace keeps up with what the reader would expect of a first book in a series and what the author really has done well is flesh the characters out so that as a reader you give a damn as to what happens to them.

As you'd expect with this, its a title that really does take you for a ride with its quirky twists, some cracking asides and dialogue that will keep you reading late into the night not only because of how hard a time you'll have putting it down but also because of the joy of taking a different tack to a great many other titles out there.

SCI-FI REVIEW: Rise of the Jain 1: The Soldier - Neal Asher

RELEASE DATE:  15/05/18
PUBLISHER:  Tor

SYNOPSIS:

Her mission is vital. Her failure is unthinkable.
A corner of space swarms with alien technology, a danger to all sentient life. It’s guarded by Orlandine, who must keep it contained – as it could destroy entire civilizations. An alien intelligence shares her vigil. But she doesn’t share everything with Dragon . . .
Orlandine is hatching a plan to obliterate this technology, removing its threat forever. For some will do anything to exploit this ancient weaponry, created by a long-dead race called the Jain. This includes activating a Jain super-soldier, which may breach even Orlandine’s defences.
Meanwhile, humanity and the alien prador empire also watch this sector of space, as neither can allow the other to claim its power. However, things are about to change. The Jain might not be as dead as they seemed and interstellar war is just a heartbeat away.
The Soldier is the first novel in the Rise of the Jain series, by bestselling science fiction author Neal Asher.

REVIEW:
I've been a fan of Neal's writing for years as I love the way he brings high octane action ot the fore with cracking characters, complex ideologies as well as a carefully crafted universe for everything to occur within.

In this the latest work set in his Polity Universe we get to see things from the point of view of a cracking principle character, I love the way that he gives them human traits that allow you as a reader to get a hook into them and care about thier fate which when backed with solid prose and good dialogue makes this space opera a great read and one I've recommended to quite a few people. 

FANTASY REVIEW: Echoes of the Hawk 3: The Hyena and the Hawk - Adrian Tchaikovsky

RELEASE DATE:  05/04/18

PUBLISHER:  Tor UK

SYNOPSIS:

They face a hunger that could consume the gods themselves
From the depths of myth an ancient enemy has returned: the Plague People, whose very presence obliterates whole villages; whose terror destroys minds. In their wake, nothing is left of the people, not their places, not their ways.
On the plains, the warriors and the wise of all tribes gather to confront the aggressor. Loud Thunder leads his great war-host south, even as Tecumet and Asman head north with the Sun River army. With Maniye Many Tracks, they plan to forge a new unity between the tribes such as the world has never seen. But will it be enough to stave off an oblivion that might devour even their gods?
Their adversary’s presence is like a wound in the world, and wakes all the old terrors and evils from the peoples’ stories. But before they can deal with the enemies without, they must conquer their demons within.
The Hyena and the Hawk is the third book in Adrian Tchaikovsky's epic fantasy trilogy, Echoes of the Fall, following The Bear and the Serpent.

REVIEW:
Adrian's always been an author who has not only delivered story arcs interwoven with complex relationships but also given readers cracking prose, action sequences that leave you short of breath and wrapped it all up with believable characters.

Its a cleverly woven set of skills that within its rich tapestry not only gives you a story that is fun for a single read but will pay dividends as you seek to find the little nuances that led events to shape the way that they went.  Add to this good character development and all round I was a more than happy reader.  Cracking.