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Spotlight Posts

Tangled Web - Anne Bishop

Rockstar by Jackie Collins

Mortal Danger & Other True Cases

Queen of Darkness by Anne Bishop

Heir To The Shadows by Anne Bishop

Monstrous Regiment

Daughter of the Blood by Anne Bishop

A Rose For Her Grave by Ann Rule

Eternal Life and how to enjoy it

Unseen Academicals by Terry Pratchett

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Hades Daughter - Book One of The Troy Game

October 31st 2010 02:52

Hades Daughter Sara Douglass The Troy Game

Deserted by lover Thesus, Ariadne, Mistress of the Labyrinth swears vengence on her lover and her sister, by returning the evil Minotaur from the grip of death. Using the dark craft gifted to her by the Minotaur Aridane begins the unwinding of the Agean Labyrinths that protect the ancient world from evil, before fleeing to a new world. There's one catch. In exchange for the gift of the dark craft Ariadne agrees that should she or any of her daughter-heirs try to re-establish the Game, they will forever belong to the Minotaur.

******

Brutus, King of the now destroyed Troy, receives a vision from Artemis, telling him to free the Trojan slaves held in Mesopotamia and come to the land of Llangarlia, where together they will raise a new Game, The Troy Game, to protect their people and live forever as immortals.

Destroying the army of Mesopotamis, Brutus takes as his wife the spoilt daughter of the King, Cornelia. Raped and married to a man she hates, Cornelia swears bloody vengence on Brutus, particularly when she finds herself carrying his unwanted son.

Catching wind of the munity organised by Cornelia, Brutus is led to the hidden Game, lying beneath the city, and un-winds it, unleashing chaos and death on all who live within Mesopotamia, Cornelia surviving only because she carries the Trojan heir in her womb.

Arriving in the land of Llangarlia, Cornelia falls instantly in love with the land, finding an unexpected home in the rolling green hills and ancient forests. Genvissa, MagaLlan of the people along with Brutus is to dance the dance that will erect the Game, and after the Game the Mistress of the Labyrinth and the Kingman consumate their passion, creating a Daughter Heir of their own. Before the final gate can be erected, Cornelia murders Genvissa, and with her dying breath, Genvissa curses all on whose body her blood falls to return to life again and again until the Labyrinth is completed.

*****

Hades Daughter is a wonderful evocative book. The characters are richly detailed, you will both love and hate all over them. Flawed hero's make a much more interesting read then goody-goody heros.

The Troy Game is an ambitious project, weaving myth and legend with the history of England. It is a gamble by Australian author Sara Douglass, and one that pays of richly.

Hades Daughter sets the stage for the remaining 3 books in the series, and as each story unfolds, love, betrayal, murder and revenge form a tight tapestry that leaves the reader breathless.

Next week I'll post a review of God's Concubine, Book Two of The Troy Game.

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Coming Soon

September 14th 2010 02:53

Hi Author's Cafe readers. I haven't forgotten you I'm busy reading up a storm and working on some exciting new offerings to bring to the Authors Cafe. Keep an eye out in the next week or so and we'll have a new review and I'm hoping to have a couple of new features in the next month or so.

While I'm working on revamping The Authors Cafe, don't forget to check out my other review blogs:

Film Mage

OutFlicks

Good times are a-coming.

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Tangled Web - Anne Bishop

July 27th 2010 02:44

Tangled Web Cover

Returning to a world recovering from the dramatic climax of the Black Jewel Trilogy Anne Bishop reintroduces us to many faces familiar from her ground breaking trilogy.

After hearing how the landen children believe the Blood live, Janelle Angelline comes up with the idea to create a "spooky" house as an entertainment during the Autumn harvest festivals. Talking her sister-in-law Marian into assisting her, Janelle sets about using the landens believes - mice and rats in the walls, cobwebs hanging over the staircases - to create the entertainment, much to Hearth Witch Marians horror.

Recovering from the climax of Queen of Darkness, Janelle has married Damon Sadi, and is settling into a much quieter life than she led as Witch.

Much to her families horror Janelle moves forwards with her plans to create the spooky house, ignoring both Husband and Father's plea's to find a better alternative.

A formally written invitation, reminiscent of Dorothea Sa Diablo arrives at the home of both Lucivar and Damon, as well as Surreal demanding their presence at a special viewing of the spooky house. When only Surreal and her escort turn up, they invite a group of landen children to accompany them. It is not until they are inside the house that the trap slips shut and they soon discover they can't use their powers inside the house without closing an exit permanently.

Chased by the demon dead and the tangled webs of Black Widows who are also trapped within the house, Surreal and her escort try to find a way out of the spooky house, and to safely deliever the children out of harms way.

Janelle notices the invitation to Damon and promptly descends into depths of power that no one expected her to still have. As Damon realises he faces Witch and not his wife, he also realises something is terribly wrong with the invitation.

Janelle and Damon descend on the house and try to plan a way to go in and get everyone out alive. Lucivar, who has been instructed by Damon to "stay home" arrives riding the Killing Edge of an Eyrian Warlord Prince and smashes his way into the house, and it's then the fun really begins for those who would set themselves against Damon and his family.

After the success of the Black Jewel trilogy it must be extremely tempting for a writer to stay with a known formula. I bought this book in an airport news agents and was slightly hesitant to read it, having loved the original trilogy so much. But Anne Bishop triumphs where many other authors fail.

This is a fresh story, with familiar characters. Reading Tangled Web is like slipping into a warm bath. It's comforting, familiar and leaves the reader completely satisfied.

Tangled Web is not part of The Black Jewel Trilogy but is a true cousin to the first three books.

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27 Bones by Jonathan Nasaw

May 3rd 2010 00:46

27 Bones Cover

Californian based author Jonathan Nasaw returns with the third adventure of FBI Agent Pender. After retirement, Pender is approached by colleague Julian Coffee, now chief of Police on a Caribbean island. Two bodies have washed up on shore, both missing their right hand, and the police need to capture the murderer before the tourist season.

The story is well written and I really enjoyed it. I only have two points that I was less happy with. The first is a style-bug for me. I absolutely hate it when authors write in dialect. The story is set on a Caribbean island, I get that. I know how the language sounds. Writing certain lines of dialogue in accent and then flipping backwards and forwards is a diistraction. When you're reading a fast paced scene to have the dialogue go into "accent" and then out again interupts the flow of the paragraph. It's also confusing for people who have to stop and re-read the section to try and figure out what the characters are talking about.

The other oddity - more than a problem - with this book, is that unlike traditional crime thrillers, there is no time for the reader to figure out whodunnit. The serial killers are unmasked in the second or third chapter. There's also no time to figure out why they're doing it, as that is given to the reader almost as quickly. Most of the excitment and joy in a crime thriller comes from digging for clues and seeing if you can figure out who and why before the denounment at the end of the story. Having them given to you on a silver platter before you know what's happening feels almost like cheating.

I loved the characters in this book, and the story is really a character driven narrative at heart. Ed Pender, the over weight, retired FBI expert on serial killers is sharp as a tack and still manages to come off a little Inspector Clousea and I can definitely understand why Nasaw has written other books featuring him.

The Drs Epps and their "houseboy" Bennie don't get a full airing in the development closet. For a team of sexually sadistic sociopaths trying to attain immortality through sucking in the dying breath of their victims, they're obsessed with her ginormas bosoms - which are referred to regularly throughout the story to the point I kept waiting for them to talk - and the collection of the hands of the enemy to ensure Bennie is welcomed to his tribe in the after life.

Holly, the lesbian massage therapist raising her orphaned neice and nephew has a few moments of brilliance but really, beyond being the adult to a soon to be abducted child, she too never really felt fully developed. And Dawson, the middle-aged flower child, hiding a dark secret whose love of Pender risks her very freedom, also didn't seem fleshed out.

Apgard, the islands wealthiest person and his merging with the previously mentioned Drs Epps was a right prick really. I have to say, the ending and in particular his position in the final drama was a very good note to end it all on. I just wish we'd had the opportunity to watch him hang, but unfortunately we didn't get that far.

The novel is well written and thoroughly enjoyable. Very much a summer beach type novel - although maybe not if you're on a Caribbean holiday - and it's one that I think most fans of the Crime/Thriller genre would enjoy.

Prior to 27 Bones, I had never heard of Jonathan Nasaw, but I'm definitely on the look out for his previous two novels.

Leave me a comment wtih your views on 27 Bones if you've read it.

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The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

April 18th 2010 08:21

The Alchemist

The Alchemist, by Paulo Coelho tells the story of a young Spanish Sheppard and his search for his treasure, hidden in the shadows of the great pyramids of Egypt.

Santiago the Sheppard longs for adventure and a gypsy fortune teller and a strange old man in the village provide the impetus for him to sell his sheep and board ship to go to Tangiers. In the market of Tangiers he is robbed and left penniless. By listening to his heart and following the old mans advice Santiago finds his destiny is across the desert.

Joining a caravan Santiago learns many lessons from the camel drivers and the strange English academic travelling to meet the mythical Alchemist, who it is reported has mastered the art of turning anything into gold. The caravan arrives at an oasis and one night, while watching two falcons flying overhead Santiago is gifted with a vision of another desert tribe raiding the oasis.

After the attempted coup, he goes on a journey, leaving behind the newly met love of his life, with the Alchemist. Finishing his journey in the shadows of the pyramids and finding the "treasure" he left his home to seek.

This allegorical novel is a tale of following your heart, listening to your vibes and trusting that life and God will always provide should you act with faith and simply trust.

I love the simplicity of this story. Told in an easy style, Coelho takes the reader on a journey into the hidden depths of the soul. Advising us to listen to our hearts and follow its advice, The Alchemist is the sort of novel that comes along once in a novelist’s life.

It is both a good, well written story and an inspiring journey into following your personal legend no matter the complications life throws in your path.

If you get the opportunity to read The Alchemist take it. Its well worth the couple of hours it takes to read.

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Rockstar by Jackie Collins

April 9th 2010 11:52

Rockstar Cover

Jackie Collins is the mega-selling novelist whose career began with the release of her first novel The World is Full of Married Men back in 1968. Her 27th novel Poor Little Bitch Girl has just been released and is already at Number 1 on the bestseller lists.

Rockstar is Collins at her bawdy best. Set in London, Rio, Paris, New York and Los Angeles, the novel spans twenty years, detailing the rise to Rock Royalty of three Superstars; Bobby Mondella, soul superstar who was washed up at 12 and a superstar again in his early 20's. Kris Phoenix, wild British rocker, once the front man to the Wild Ones now global solo megastar and the young fresh faced Rafaella Le Seer, the daughter of a French Opera Singer, whose childhood and innocence is cut tragically short.

The three main stars are gathered to sing at a charity fundraiser hosted by Nova Citroen, the icy cold wife of record company boss Marcus. Each star has a reason to fear and hate Marcus and his wife. The showdown at the swanky affair in Malibu is thrilling and the ending unexpected.

Collins writes great tales of sex, drugs, rock and roll, adultery and power. I really enjoyed Rockstar. It was an easy to read book that had that "un-put-downable" prose we've come to expect from an author who has sold over 400 million copies of her books around the world.

This is the sort of book you'd take on holiday with you. Easy to read, you can pick it up and read the fast-paced action as you unwind on a beach with a cocktail in hand.

Interesting aside, when I was finishing the novel tonight there is a throw away mention of Kris Phoenix's latest album "Poor Little Bitch Girl". Knowing that the new novel has that title I wonder if Kris, Rafaella, Bobby or any of the other characters in Rockstar will make an cameo.

If you're looking for a light hearted, enjoyable read I highly recommend Rockstar by Jackie Collins. I really hope Rockstar makes it to the small screen one of these days. I think it would make a great miniseries.

For further information on Jackie Collins or her available novels, check out her website:

Jackie Collins Website

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Mortal Danger & Other True Cases

March 26th 2010 04:42

mortal danger true crime ann rule crime files

Mortal Danger & Other True Cases Book Cover

I am a fan of Ann Rule. I have been for a long time. I remember a call centre manager in a small call centre I worked in first loaned me a copy of And Never Let Her Go. The story contained in those pages convinced me that where true crime was concerned Ann Rule was the best writer in the business.

Mortal Danger and Other True Cases, Volume 13 of her successful Ann Rule's Crime Files series is another hit out of the park for the true crime author. Following the same format as the previously reviewed A Rose for Her Grave, this volume starts with a novel length true story followed by several smaller pieces originally written as articles for various True Crime Detective magazines.

The novel length feature Mortal Danger is a harrowing tale of domestic abuse - a theme she carries through most of the stories in the volume - detailing the case of the charismatic John Branden and the object of his obsession Kathy Jewell.

Branden and Jewell met when she went to his clinic after a short illness that continued to spur her belief in healthy living and alternative therapies. Although he was married at the time the two were drawn to each other and after the end of his marriage the two began an affair that was to alter the trajectories of their lives.

Kathy Jewell was a self-sufficient career woman, working as an Airline Stewardess. John Braden was charming, handsome, refering to himself as a Dr and was the answer to her prayers. As their relationship grew John became more and more possessive and Kathy opens up her past and her life under his control to Ann Rule with what it seems no holds barred.

As the years went by and the violence and emotional abuse escalated, Kathy fought to free herself of the man she had once loved. Finally breaking free, her day of terror began as they were cleaning out the gardens of the small cabin they lived in in Oregan. Beaten and raped by the man she had loved it was a miracle she was able to break away as he went in search of his gun. Running to the neighbours house Kathy Jewell was saved and John Braden disappeared off the face of the earth.

Depsite police looking for him he went underground, protected by friends and family, free to continue finding women to support him and devote their lives to the only thing he valued, himself.

As Kathy tried to rebuilt her shattered life, hiding from John, living on a small island under an assumed name, and returning to work for the airline she had worked for for decades, she worried and feared for the next woman who would fall under his spell.

She had every right to worry. In the early years of the new millienium Braden met Turi Bently, a beautiful woman in her mid 60's recently divorced and financially secure. During the courtship phase her new man was everything she had hoped for, a second chance at love, someone who cared for her, loved her and honoured her. Turi was, by all accounts a loving, generous woman who was always there for anyone who needed her. Their whirlwind courtship ended in marriage and for the penniless Braden it must have seemed that all his ships had come in at once.

Almost before the ink was dry on their wedding certificate Braden began to tear at the life and the confidence his new bride had. Convinced the world was going to end and convinced beyond reason that he was the only thing - besides his two daughters - on the planet that should matter to anyone, Braden isolated his new bride from family and friends. The conclusion to their marriage was shocking and left Kathy Jewell racked with guilt.

Articles and features on domestic violence abound in today's media, but to hear this account from a strong, intelligent woman, to be given an understanding into exactly what occured beneath the shingled roof of their Oregan cottage is haunting. It's message of "get out while you can" is singularly important and singularly sad. Based on an eye witness account of the final night in the marriage of John and Turi it appears Turi had discovered what Braden had done back in 1999.

The other stories in Mortal Danger are equally sad, lives lost and others destroyed. Family lefft behind to try and figure out how to move on.

In the second story Written in Blood, a newly married couple with everything to live for are found brutually murdered in their own home. Despite the distance between their home their neighbour claimed to see a man running from the house in the early hours of the morning. To the detectives assigned to investigate, his story seems absurd, and the ammendments and added details tweak their interest. This story is shocking in that it could all have been prevented. The man - who had skipped parole to marry a woman he met while in jail for the murder of his mother many years ago - should never have been released and the scandal that followed destroyed the hopes and dreams of a republican candidate for the Presidency that eventually went to Barack Obama.

If I Can't Have You, tells the story of a young American woman, whose love of travel brought her to the man she felt would love her forever. Leaving family and country behind she settled in Switzerland with her new husband, only to find that nothing was what it seemed. Saddened and depressed, she flies home to America, contacting the American consulate in Bern to request her husband not be allowed to follow her back to the States. A paper work error provides the impetus to allowing a possessive husband the opportunity to fly to America and end the life of a loved daugher and sister in front of hundreds of witnesses at Sea-Tac Airport in Seattle.

Thirty Years Later tells the story of two young women, one 15 the other 28 who met death at the hands of a stranger. When read together the stories bare a remarkable resemblance and it's not until improvements in DNA and Forensic testing that the shocking conclusion is found and one family who have waited for 30 years can bring a sense of closure to the their murdered daughters thoughtless slaughter.

The final tale in this collection, Not Safe at Home, tells the story of a divorced mother who after thirty years of marriage finds herself alone for the first time in her life. Settling into a new home and meeting an unexpected second chance at love, Traia Carr can't help but feel time for her is running out. On the 4th of July weekend her prediction comes true and she is kidnapped by the last person she expected could, or would hurt her, raped and murdered, her body dumped deep in the woods on an Indian Reservation.

Rule's ability to weave prose with clinical details and forensic information is without competition. Standing in a class of her own she seems to have embraced her mission to make sure the victims are not forgotten, their tales and stories are told to live on long after they themselves have passed.

This is another book I bought in an airport newsagents and I couldn't put it down. If you are fan of Rules longer novel length works but are yet to give her Crime Files a go, or simply someone looking for a riveting true crime piece to read I can't recommend Ann Rule or her books highly enough.

For further information on Ann Rule please go here: Anne Rules Website

And if you are anyone you know is suffering domestic abuse, do not be silent and do not hope for a better day. Get out while you can. There are shelters and agencies in your local area - no matter where you are in the world - who can help you. Domestic violence occurs against women, men and children. Do not suffer in silence or think no one will understand.

For further information on Domestic Violence please go to:

Domestic Abuse Hotline for Men and Women

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Queen of Darkness by Anne Bishop

March 23rd 2010 10:35

Queen of Darkness Black Jewel Trilogy Book Three

Queen of Darkness Cover

In Queen of Darkness, Anne Bishop weaves a web as haunting and enticing as anything the Arachnian Queen could weave.

Janelle is now Queen of Ebon Askavi, Witch, the Black Jewel Queen the blood have dreamed of. Her coven the childhood friends who once descended on SaDiablo Hall and never quite went home.

Into this mix come Damon Sadi, slowly recovering - but not as strong as he appears - from his descent into Madness, Damian is discovered at the annual immigration fair by Lucivar and whisked away to the home that now radiates the dark, erotic scent of Witch in all her glory.

Also with Damian is Surreal, a couple of servants and Janelles sister. Their entry into the lives of those who people Sa Diablo hall brings memories to the surface and an innocent love refound.

Unwelcome guests arrive in the shape of Janelles Grandmother, Mother and Step Father. Alexandra, Queen of Challiot demands to see her granddaughter, but refuses to acknowledge the confused child she remembers as the powerful Queen before her.

A murder in Sa Diablo hall and attacks on the Kindred territories under protection of Witch convince Janelle that war is coming. In a tangled web she see's nothing but destruction and vows the territories won't go to war with the enemy. If the enemy arrives the will face Witch in all her dark glory.

Kidnapping, murder and the ever encroaching war awakes the side of Sadi the Blood should never forget and he goes to dance with Dorothea and Hekatah, to buy Janelle the time she needs as to rescue those he loves from the twisted minds of those who shaped the Sadist.

Queen of Darkness is the thrilling conclusion to the darkest fantasy series I've read. Love and light, Shadow and Darkness entwine in an erotic dance that makes this series one of the most beautifully written and realised fantasy's on the market.

Anne Bishop has followed up the original Black Jewel Trilogy with a stand alone novel Tangled Web - which I plan to review in the next month - and a new Kaleer based trilogy. For fans of fantasy and just those who love a great story, I can't recommend The Black Jewel Trilogy highly enough.

Queen of Darkness is Available on Amazon.com

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Heir To The Shadows by Anne Bishop

March 21st 2010 06:13

Heir to the Shadows Book 2 of The Black Jewel Trilogy Anne Bishop

Heir To The Shadows Book 2 The Black Jewel Trilogy Cover

"The blood have waited centuries for the coming of Witch, the living embodiment of magic. But Janelle, the young girl prophecy spoke of, is haunted by cruel battles fought over her future power. For not all the Blood await her as saviour. Some dismiss her as myth. Some refuse to believe. And some would use her, making her a puppet to their whims."

Book Two of the Black Jewel trilogy opens with a comatose Janelle, watched over by Cassandra, the last Black Jewel Queen and Saetan, High Lord of Hell, Cassandra's past consort and the most powerful male the Blood have produced.

Heir to the Shadows moves into the realms of darker magic and political intrigue, as the girl, so badly damaged by those who want her power for their own use, struggles to recover from the attack that concluded Daughter of the Blood.

Sadi, the pleasure slave is also haunted by the night at Cassandras Altar, his memory fragmented from following Witch deep into her own power. Surreal, assasin and whore has taken Sadi away from those who are trying to hunt the rogue down, struggling against the tide as Sadi edges closer and closer to the Twisted Kingdom.

With the spilling of Janelles blood, the streets of Challiott are in a state of confusion as the backlash of her dark, powerful magic has either broken back or destroyed most of the blood who live on the Island Kiingdom. All that remains of Janelle at Cassandra's Altar is a blood soaked rag. The blood of a dark witch pulsing with fear, pain and anger.

Prince Alexander, consort to Janelle's Grandmother delivers the rag to Lucivar and when Sadi escapes from Surreal's protections a clash between the two half brothers leaves one swearing revenge and the other fighting for his sanity amongst the twisted world of the Crystal Kingdom.

Heir to the Shadows shows both a softer and more violent side to the story. The colt-like girl child, recovering from her own journey into the Twisted Kingdom, tentatively reaching out to long-lost friends, wanting to belong but already knowing her power far outstrips anything the Blood has witnessed before. Saetan, who has become Janelles Guardian fights to give the Daughter of his Soul the opportunity to be young and to enjoy friendship and innocence for as long as he can.

And all the while, the missing side of the blood Triangle, The Lover, destroys himself in guilt and fear as he tries to remember a night none of them will ever forget.

When the cloaks fall from Janelles mind, Lucivar sends a warning to Saetan, it is simply and poignant. "She remembers Damian, and she's pissed." It is this warning that brings the memories of the night at Cassandras Altar to a head and creates an opportunity not only for Janelle, but for all who love her to heal, to acknowledge the sacrifices they've all made over the thousands of years they've waited, and most of all to accept and embrace the pull of the darkness that sings through her blood.

Fantasy series invariably have a weak "chapter" and invariably it is the second book. The first setting the story, the third bringing it to a conclusion and the second laying down further groundwork. This, the second book in the Black Jewel Trilogy is not the weak chapter. This series does not have a weak chapter.

The promise held in the words and pages of the first book, flowers into a terrifyingly innocent and erotic beauty in Book Two. This series barrells along at a crack neck pace, never letting the reader down. Anne Bishop in her second Black Jewel Book leaves the audience desperate to reach for Book Three and the terrifying conclusions only hinted at in Book Two.

Anne Bishops Black Jewel Trilogy is available in bookstores and also at Amazon.com. For more reviews check out Heir To The Shadows page at Amazon.

Heir To The Shadows.

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Monstrous Regiment

March 16th 2010 23:33

Book Cover

Terry Pratchett is the King of political observant, comedic fantasy. Turning his attention to the arts of war and politics, the 31st Discworld novel, Monstrous Regiment, is a satrical look at war through the eyes of the last regiment not captured of the Borogravian Army.

Borogravia is a small country, followers of the God Nuggan - rumoured to be dead - who try to live without crossing his abominations. This can be difficult at times as Nuggan finds many things - long hair, jigsaw puzzles, rocks, the colour blue, six buttons, babies - as abominations. An ever changing river form the boundary between Borogravia and their sworn enemy, Zlobenia, and the distruction of the Clacks Towers, forms the crux for this latest war between the two countries.

Borogravia is ruled by The Duchess, a fish-eyed woman not seen in 40 years. Commonly believed to be in mourning for her dead husband, she has been turned into a diety by the Borogravian people, subject to their prayers, their dreams and their hope. It is also commonly believed she has been dead for decades.

Should the Duchess be dead, the rightful heir to the throne is Prince Heinrich, and despite a war that seems to be going in his favour, forces beyond the two countries are working to ensure the right side wins.

Into this quagmire comes Polly Perks. Polly's only brother Paul is missing in action, believed to be held captive by the enemy. In order to rescue her brother Polly chops off her long golden ringlets, and sneaks out in the middle of the night to join the ins-and-outs, a ragtag bunch of new recruits under the guidance of Sergeant Jackrum and Corporal Strappii. Joining Polly - now Oliver Perks - in the ins-and-outs are; Shufti, Lofty, Tonks, Wazza - touched with religion she believes the dead Duchess speaks to her - Maladict - a black ribboner - and Carborundum a troll with long flowing moss and grass on his toes.

Polly and the motley crew move through the Borogravian countryside, using brains and intelligence to survive, despite hostile forces on all sides. The ins-and-outs new commanding officer, Lieutenant Bloom, an overly zealous Rupert - all officers are ruperts Jackrum explains, because they're all named either Rupert or Tristian and were hiding behind the door when they gave out the chins - joins as the new commanding officer and leads the ins-and-outs to The Keep.

The Ins-and-outs sneak into the keep dressed as washerwomen, and come face to face with Zombies, Generals and Ankh Morporks own Sir Samuel Vimes, who has been sent to the Keep by Vetinari to make sure the right side wins the war.

There are many twists and turns in Monstrous Regiment - from coffee addicted to vampires to pregnant soilders to cross dressing Generals - and the humour of the novel is well balanced against the growing knowledge of the futility of war.

The characters are typical Prachett - the Ruperts need guiding and the plebs have all the brains. It was good to see some cameo appearances by some regular City Watch characters and I have to say that Buggy Squires the City Watch's aerial component is starting to grow on me.

Monstrous Regiment doesn't shy away from looking at the bleaker topics we know are associated with war, and it's in the-tongue-in-cheek delivery and the emotional connection to the characters that those sharp edges are dulled.

I really enjoyed Monstrous Regiment. For Practchett fans it's a great read, safe and warm-hearted - unlike the war we partake in - and for those who are new to Pterry and his wonderful Discworld, the novel works as a stand alone story quite easily.

This satrical novel is a great way to spend your commute, your flight or simply a rainy afternoon in front of the fire.

For further information on the Disworld, Monstorous Regiment or any other Terry Pratchett Book go to Terry Pratchett Books

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October 2010

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September 2010

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July 2010

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