CUISINE REVIEW: Berber and Q - Josh Katz

RELEASE DATE:  31/05/18
PUBLISHER:  Ebury

SYNOPSIS:
Ditch burnt, joyless burgers for bold, flavoursome and wonderfully surprising barbecue food.

Here are over 120 of the very best, lip-smackingly good barbecue recipes from ex-Ottolenghi chef, Josh Katz. Perfect for sharing and pairing in different combinations, all of the recipes are a celebration of flavour. A book that is not just for meat-lovers, equal status is given to vegetables so that they are never treated like a sideshow. Instead each and every component of the meal is big, bold and completely unforgettable.

Meats, fish and vegetables are left to marinate and are then smoked, grilled, slow cooked or burnt (on purpose); while essential extras such as punchy pickles, fiery sauces, creamy dips and fresh salads are prepared ahead and ready to be heaped onto the plate. Taking inspiration from East to West, from the modern to the traditional, these barbecue recipes are like nothing you have ever encountered before – mashing tastes and techniques from New York, the Middle East, London, North Africa and beyond.

With recipes including Cauliflower shawarma with pomegranate, pine nuts and rose; Harissa hot wings; Blackened hispi cabbage with lemon crème fraiche; Honeyed pork belly with pineapple salsa; Monster prawns with a pil pil sauce and Saffron buttermilk-fried chicken with tahini gravy, you will be inspired to grab a bag of charcoal and a lighter, and create your very own barbecue feast.


REVIEW:
In a modern world, we tend to take food for granted more as a fuel rather than sitting down and enjoying it with friends and family and this book by Josh Katz brings the primitive man to the fore as huge flavours are packed into bbq style foods that are a feast for the senses.

Packed into the delightful title are loads of easy to follow recipes, beautiful colour photo's and tips alongside tricks to maximise the star of the meal as well as wonderful accompaniments to make it a real sharing time.  All round a great book for any home cooking fan and a title that will more than inspire your own experiments with these huge flavour profiles.  Magic.
 

HISTORICAL FANTASY REVIEW: Lancelot - Giles Kristian

RELEASE DATE:  31/05/18
PUBLISHER:  Bantam Press

SYNOPSIS:
The legions of Rome are a fading memory. Enemies stalk the fringes of Britain. And Uther Pendragon is dying. Into this fractured and uncertain world the boy is cast, a refugee from fire, murder and betrayal. An outsider whose only companions are a hateful hawk and memories of the lost.
Yet he is gifted, and under the watchful eyes of Merlin and the Lady Nimue he will hone his talents and begin his journey to manhood. He will meet Guinevere, a wild, proud and beautiful girl, herself outcast because of her gift. And he will be dazzled by Arthur, a warrior who carries the hopes of a people like fire in the dark. But these are times of struggle and blood, when even friendship and love seem doomed to fail.
The gods are vanishing beyond the reach of dreams. Treachery and jealousy rule men’s hearts and the fate of Britain itself rests on a sword’s edge.
But the young renegade who left his home in Benoic with just a hunting bird and dreams of revenge is now a lord of war. He is a man loved and hated, admired and feared. A man forsaken but not forgotten. He is Lancelot.

Set in a 5th century Britain besieged by invading bands of Saxons and Franks, Irish and Picts, Giles Kristian's epic new novel tells - through the warrior's own words - the story of Lancelot, that most celebrated of all King Arthur's knights. It is a story ready to be re-imagined for our times.


REVIEW:
I love an author who can take something that's been done before and add not only a different flavour to it, but gives it a whole new twist and for me, that's what Giles has done with this, his latest offering.

Taking inspiration from Roman times and moving the King Arthur myth to the Arthurian period (I kid you know that's what the historians know the 5th century as) we get a tale that not only has a feel of believability but also gives an established myth a new founding.

Its quirky, it has top notch action and when blended with a principle character who the reader will not only like to spend time with but also see grow up as he becomes the man of legend, all round gives the reader one hell of an adventure within the pages.

Back this with Giles own unique brand of storytelling, great prose and dialogue that just trips from the page all round gives the reader a book that was not only hard to put down but one that will become a firm favourite for years to come.  Legendary.

SCIENCE FICTION REVIEW: 84K - Claire North

RELEASE DATE:  24/05/18
PUBLISHER:  Orbit

SYNOPSIS:
From one of the most original new voices in modern fiction comes a startling vision of a world where you can get away with anything . . .

Theo Miller knows the value of human life - to the very last penny.
Working in the Criminal Audit Office, he assesses each crime that crosses his desk and makes sure the correct debt to society is paid in full.
But when his ex-lover is killed, it's different. This is one death he can't let become merely an entry on a balance sheet.
Because when the richest in the world are getting away with murder, sometimes the numbers just don't add up.
From the award-winning Claire North comes an electrifying and provocative new novel which will resonate with readers around the world.

REVIEW:
I've enjoyed some of Claire's books in the past but for me, she has come across at times as a marmite author, you'll either love the title or you'll hate it.  There really is no middle ground.  For me, this title from Claire, whilst interesting was a tale that I had a hell of a time getting into, I wasn't enamoured of the writing style in this case, I felt it was a little to disjointed for me and when I had a hell of a time getting to grips with the principle character I felt that it lost me as a reader.

I'm not saying that its bad, just that I wasn't a fan, there will be those that will love it to pieces.  For me, what this book could have been was more of a Sci-Fi version of Falling Down but due to lack of character empathy and the prose being not to my taste, it just wasn't for me.

All round, Claire is a prolific author and for me, my firm favourite to date is The End of the Day.

URBAN FANTASY REVIEW; The Hatching 3/3: Zero Day - Ezekiel Boone

RELEASE DATE:  01/03/18
PUBLISHER:  Gollancz

SYNOPSIS:

The world is on the brink of apocalypse. Zero Day has come.
The only thing more terrifying than millions of spiders is the realization that those spiders work as one. But among the government, there is dissent: do we try to kill all of the spiders, or do we gamble on Professor Guyer's theory that we need to kill only the queens?
For President Stephanie Pilgrim, it's an easy answer. She's gone as far as she can-more than two dozen American cities hit with tactical nukes, the country torn asunder - and the only answer is to believe in Professor Guyer. Unfortunately, Ben Broussard and the military men who follow him don't agree, and Pilgrim, Guyer, and the loyal members of the government have to flee, leaving the question: what can be more dangerous, the spiders or ourselves?

REVIEW:
Having read the previous novels I was wondering how the whole thing was going to go and to be honest I have to say that I felt a little bit short changed with this tale as it felt that it was more a conclude the main arc and leave supporting cast members arcs unfinished which for me made it a bit cheap.

Don't get me wrong, the first book was a great kick off but with this last one, it felt more of a damp fizzle than a good explosion that I was expecting.  Sadly as the books have gone on, the pace has slowed and in certain places become a little predictable and if I'm honest could have been cut down quite a bit to be more of a novella or perhaps finished the story in two books rather than the third and would have been tighter for it.

URBAN FANTASY REVIEW: The Testament of Loki - Joanne M Harris

RELEASE DATE:  17/05/18
PUBLISHER:  Gollancz

SYNOPSIS:

Ragnarok was the End of Worlds.
Asgard fell, centuries ago, and the old gods have been defeated. Some are dead, while others have been consigned to eternal torment in the netherworld - among them, the legendary trickster, Loki. A god who betrayed every side and still lost everything, who has lain forgotten as time passed and the world of humans moved on to new beliefs, new idol and new deities . . .
But now mankind dreams of the Norse Gods once again, the river Dream is but a stone's throw from their dark prison, and Loki is the first to escape into a new reality.
The first, but not the only one to. Other, darker, things have escaped with him, who seek to destroy everything that he covets. If he is to reclaim what has been lost, Loki will need allies, a plan, and plenty of tricks . . .

REVIEW:
A wonderful book from an author who not only gives the reader a cracking read but does so with cracking humour and demonstrates that her talents translate wonderfully from the YA field into adulthood with this top notch title.

The characterisation works on so many levels, the characters with foibles and flaws which when added to the way that Joanne tackles the various complications makes the read even more entertaining.  Back this up with a top notch plot and prose that just stick in the mind all round make this a top notch read that you have to have on your shelf.

FANTASY REVIEW: Kingdom of Grit 1: The Thousand Deaths of Ardor Benn - Tyler Whitesides

RELEASE DATE:  15/05/18
PUBLISHER:   Orbit

SYNOPSIS:

AN EXPLOSIVE TALE OF DARING DEEDS, DECEIT AND DRAGONS
Ardor Benn is no ordinary thief - a master of wildly complex heists, he styles himself a Ruse Artist Extraordinaire.
When a mysterious priest hires him for the most daring ruse yet, Ardor knows he'll need more than quick wit and sleight of hand. Assembling a dream team of forgers, disguisers, schemers and thieves, he sets out to steal from the most powerful king the realm has ever known.
But it soon becomes clear there's more at stake than fame and glory - Ard and his team might just be the last hope for human civilisation.

REVIEW:
To be honest I was really looking forward to this title, I loved the synopsis and couldn't wait to see how the whole thing would pan out, however rather than being a high octane fantasy heist  title, the book was rather a bit of a damp squib due to rather two dimensional stereotypical cast members with no real hooks to get the reader to care about their fates.

The writing was a little lack-lustre for me, the book could have been heavily edited to cut out a lot of fluff and of course that way would have allowed for solid pacing rather than a lot of running about with no real gain for the reader.

Back this up with basic dialogue and sadly all round, its a book that I can forget quite easily.  A great shame.

FANTASY REVIEW: Gods of Blood and Powder 2/2: Wrath of Empire - Brian McClellan

RELEASE DATE:  15/05/18
PUBLISHER:  Orbit

SYNOPSIS:
The country is in turmoil. With the capital city occupied, half a million refugees are on the march, looking for safety on the frontier, accompanied by Lady Flint's soldiers. But escaping war is never easy, and soon the battle may find them, whether they are prepared or not.
Back in the capital, Michel Bravis smuggles even more refugees out of the city. But internal forces are working against him. With enemies on all sides, Michel may be forced to find help with the very occupiers he's trying to undermine.
Meanwhile, Ben Styke is building his own army. He and his mad lancers are gathering every able body they can find and searching for an ancient artifact that may have the power to turn the tides of war in their favor. But what they find may not be what they're looking for.


REVIEW:
Another cracking novel from a favourite author who not only brings guns to the fore in his fantasy world but also brings complicated political situations whilst cleverly weaving action sequences into the book.

Its high octane moments have you running for cover with your favoured heroes, the politicla machinations have you wondering how its going to be twisted and when enemies move alongside counter strike, it really keeps you glued page after page.

Throw into the mix, characters that continue to grow through the ordeal's that they've undergone alongside living with choices they've made, all round makes this a series that I really can't find fault with.  A magical read and one I'd heartily recommend to other fantasy fans.