Bad Luck and Trouble - a review

I'm really getting through a fair few crime novels of late. Recently, I've read Bad Luck and Trouble by Lee Child, which was a twisting, turning and satisfying violent tale (as is to be expected from Mr Child) that sees Jack Reacher (his itinerant, ex-MP hard man/drifter) hook up with his old army unit to try and solve the murder of an ex-member of said unit.

Involving a team, as opposed to the one-man army ethic of previous novels, this story was something of a departure - and a welcome one at that. Most of the ancillary cast did play second-fiddle a little to the uncompromising, larger than life Reacher, but that was to be expected.

The story opens in typical attention grabbing, seat of the pants style with one of reacher's buddies, who he hasn't seen in years, being thrown out of a helicopter over the desert. Why? We don't know yet. Who? We don't know that either. Child is something of an expert at posing such questions early on, and throwing his characters right into the middle of the mix, so that they have to work backwards and forwards to ge the answers.

Child, as always weaves a wonderful tale that is shot through, straight from the barrel of a sig sauer, with numerous plot twists and plot shifts. There's the obligatory betrayal, revealed nicely through the course of the narrative and a very pleasing, cyclic ending.

It's a real page-turner (I can't think of a single novel of his that isn't), with a massive number of chapters (all part of the narrative drive) that produce a kind of staccato bullet fire approach to reading it.

If you've not read a Lee Child book before, I'd suggest picking this one up. It's a nice departure from the norm, is very easy to get into and offers a little insight in Jack Reacher's background.

I look forward to reading Lee Child's next novel, Nothing to Lose, with great interest and anticipation.

The weather is great

The Dark Knight - my review

Well it happened at last. Yes, I went to see The Dark Knight. At 10.45pm no less (we didn't get out of the cinema until 1.30am after all the credits had rolled - I was hoping, misguidedly, for an extra teaser scene - now, that's dedication!).

Before launching into what will probably be a cursory review of my initial thoughts etc (I'll leave the big boys like Empire et al to provide the in-depth analysis, even if some of their tastes have left a bitter tang in my mouth of late... Iron Man, 3 stars only - please...) I think it's just worth stating that I am a huge Batman fan (not unhinged like some, I admit, but I've dug the Caped Crusader since Burton's '89 movie, a love cemented by the genius that is Bruce Timm and the early 90's Batman: The Animated Series) and that I was massively looking forward to this film - I mean seriously looking forward to it. Both my esteemed work colleagues Christian and Newty had already seen the movie (I had to forestall to allow girl friend and friends to come with) and gave somewhat differing reports (both positive, just one that wasn't overwhelmingly gushing).

I must say, it felt like an absolute age from Newty's initial report to sitting down in my cinema seat wedged between my better half, Louise, and my buddy, Mike (who is a giant, incidentally). The overlong ads came and went, the trailers rolled and ended (very brief - there were only two, camouflaged within a swathe of dull generic TV-style ads) and then we had lift off.

From the get-go, there was something different about this movie to everything that had come before it - even Batman Begins (which I still absolutely love). Cue a bank heist and the Joker's gang of clowns are knocking off the Gotham branch. William Fichtner of Prison Break Season Two fame makes a welcome appearance as a mob contact at the bank (it's a mob bank), whilst the Joker et al (though Heath Ledger is just trussed up as one of the goons at this point - though, he's easy to spot) bust up the bank and its employees. There's a nice little twist already as the individual gang members are instructed to kill off one of their counterparts once their part of the job is done in order to increase the take for everyone. What they don't realise is that have ALL been instructed to do this; the Joker effectively plays them against each other and drives off in a School Bus at the end of scene free as a bird and with the entire take. This sting in the tale is indicative of the Joker's MO and is a resurfacing motif throughout the movie - you never really know what's going to happen next and it never feels as if anyone is safe and beyond his anarchic wrath.

Props to the Joker's introduction in the movie. He slides in like a refreshingly, razor-edged slice of fresh air so sharp it could cut through silk. He confronts a bunch of mob bosses (crime, unbelievably, is on the wane in Gotham, partly due to the Bat's heroic efforts and a certain DA by the name of Harvey Dent - Jim Gordon even has a task force made up of mostly kosher cops... well, mostly) and effectively offers his services (after some invasive surgery with a pencil on a plucky henchman who makes the mistake of thinking can oust Mr J). It's dark and dangerous stuff, and I for one was very surprised that this came it at a 12A certificate. Bad choice if you ask me.

Let's make no bones about it, the Joker is a terrorist - pure and simple. He just has some theatrical flourishes that add colour and, dare I say, charm to his madness. He certainly gets most of the best lines (though Michael Caine as Alfred runs a pretty close second). There are no joy buzzers, no squirting flowers or comic gadgets that made Jack Nicholson so much fun to watch in the 1989 Batman, what there is though is substance. It's chaotic and formless, but the flesh and purple suits this character inhabits, that Ledger so gloriously and menacingly articulates on screen, becomes something terrible. His is scary; actually pretty darn unpleasant. He's like a car crash in human form at times; you want to turn away, but you can't. The Joker is a wraith that drifts in and out of the scene and leaves destruction in his wake, physical and mental.

Entropy is a word I've seen used to describe him, and this couldn't be more apt. He's the product of a society that has dissolved into its basest roots, the symptom of all the bad that Rachel Dawes makes reference to in the first movie. 'What hope is there for Gotham when the good people do nothing' - with the Joker unleashed, Gotham will need more than hope; it'll need grit and resolve too. Oh, and a flak jacket wouldn't hurt, either.

After his magnificent introduction (my hat is off to Nolan and co for the excellent script writing and immaculate direction) there follows a stunning game of cat and mouse between the Joker and Batman. The wonderfully honed narrative (which does suffer a little with a tardy second act) flowing around and through them, echoing their later struggle that has so enthralled us fans for decades. This is hinted at towards the film's denouement.

It's tense: relentless in fact. The music really racks up the unease, the notion that the next atrocity is just around the corner. In point of fact, and one of my most favourite aspects on the movie/music, the Joker almost had his own theme/motif - an eerie, bone-chilling splice of strings that had me reaching for a blackboard to rake my nails down just to blot out the sound. It was great, a harbinger for terror, a herald that the man in purple was about to strike. The good thing about the Joker; no punches pulled, no leeway given, no half measures - he's an absolute. There was something darkly gratifying about that, almost laudable.

I could go on about the story - it has more twists than a theme park roller coaster - but that feels like treading ground already trod, so I won't bother. Let's just say I love the fact that the Joker always seems to be one step ahead of Batman and the GCPD combined. What I'd rather discuss is characters. I've devoted a few words to the Joker, and Batman (albeit with a new story arc that fleshes him out somewhat and embraces the desire to hang up the cape that might have manifest in his early career, but that was inevitably ditched in favour of 'The Mission' (which doesn't even get lip-service in the movie - a slight shame) and fighting crime is dark and moody as ever, so I'll move on to another of my favourites from the lore at large...

Ever since the two-part story from Batman: The Animated Series I have been a big fan of Two-Face. Let's just kick off by saying I don't like the Harvey Two-Face appellation - he's Two-Face, plain and simple - Harvey Dent is his other half. The former makes me think of the diabolical Joel Schumacher (may he forever be ridiculed, though his hapless direction did pave the way for Batman Begins, so it's not all bad...) outing with Tommy Lee Jones (ordinarily a great actor, but not so much in this movie) that was Batman Forever.

In The Dark Knight, Aaron Eckhart pulls on the split persona of Dent and he is awesome. Vainglorious, a true-blue champion with a dark and dangerous streak, Eckhart pretty much pulls it all off perfectly. Personally, I lean towards the Timm interpretation of the character with Dent's rage issues manifesting without too much provocation before the transformation. Don't get me wrong, Eckhart has his dark moments, but he's already been pushed pretty far by that point in the movie. Two-Face's appearance, when it eventually comes around, is stunning. He looks great: some combination of make-up and CGI that I'm sure even the late Stan Winston would applaud.

Two-Face comes along a little too in proceedings to be anything other than a slightly tacked on villain, or rather the fitting jagged curve at the end of Harvey Dent's story arc. It would be great to see Two-Face get his own movie. Perhaps, if I'm going to be critical, it would have been better to leave him on the loose. Instead, there's a slightly crow-barred kidnap scene with Gordan's family which is resolved with the Bat knocking Harv off the roof. Would it have been better, if we had to have this scene, for the Dark Knight to talk Harvey down from his madness, maybe give us a chance to see his two sides manifest in true Gollum-style - I honestly don't know. It didn't detract from what was a great performance by Eckhart and the realisation of a complex and wonderful character that washed away the bad stink associated with the Tommy Lee Jones version.

Incidentally, if you're looking for good Two-Face stories look no further than Two-Face parts 1 & 2 from Batman: The Animated Series Season One (the only season that's readily available on Region 2), and Judgement Day, the last episode from Season Four. A little known gem that's available as part of the excellent Batman - The Complete History, published by Titan and written by Les Daniels, is Two of a Kind. This short story is penned and illustrated by Bruce Timm (he was destined to be a Batman god with the first name of Bruce, really, wasn't he...). This is a dark tale that tells of Two-Face's rehabilitation and subsequent, and devastating fall from grace, when he falls in love with his plastic surgeon, only to realise that she is an identical twin...

On to the supporting cast, and you couldn't do much better than Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman and Sir Michael Caine. All three ooze class throughout and are masterful in their respective performances. All three also provide some moments of much needed, genuine levity (such the Joker's lighter moments are often tempered by dark and menacing overtones). Oldman is blistering as Oldman, who sees a glimmer of hope for Gotham in the form of the city's white knight, Harvey Dent. His dreams are shattered, of course, and there's the added stink that surrounds his major crimes unit and the corruption within it. The shadow of Carmine Falcone still looms large it seems.

Freeman as Lucius Fox is part tech-expert extraordinaire, part moral compass for Bruce Wayne as his desire to stop the Joker becomes ever more driven and obsessive. I remember watching an excellent movie from the Batman Beyond series called Return of the Joker in which Police Commissioner Barbara Gordan (it's set about thirty years into the future and Barbara has taken up her father's mantle after ditching the cape and cowl) remarks how 'the Joker tainted us with deception and compromise' and how true it is in The Dark Knight, too. Fox is the only one that sticks to his scruples, even going so far as to lay it on the line to Bruce Wayne that once he'll quit should he continue with a certain facet of his efforts to track and find the Joker (you'll need to watch the movie to find out precisely what that is).

Caine is a joy as always. He gets a lot of great lines (almost as good as the Joker's, as mentioned earlier) and his steadiness is the rock that Batman needs to lean on when the chips are down. Strength and deference emanate from Alfred like a wave, who's pearls of wisdom hold the key to taking the Joker down in many respects. He has a more militaristic feel that's in keeping with the comic book character's background than the doting uncle/butler that's portrayed in the Burton/Schumacher movies by Michael Gough.

In short, this is a stunning film that delivered for me on pretty much every level. I'm very much looking forward to it and subsequent viewings are often necessary, I think, in order to provide a final analysis. My only qualm, why not provide a teaser for a third movie. Even if such a thing never comes to pass (and let's pray it does) we all know as fans that the story goes on, so there's no harm in my mind to leaving things open ended. No Harley Quinn either (despite some pretty convincing web rumours - that'll teach me), which was a bit of a disappointment. Couldn't we have gone back to Arkham and seen the freaks safely ensconced in their cages: Joker, Scarecrow and Two-Face (who may or may not be dead at the end of the film - I'm going for not, and all the blah, blah that follows his apparent demise as smoke and mirrors on the part of Gordan and Batman) glaring out from their padded cells, whilst a blonde, slightly demure, psychotherapist walks past with her clipboard, then roll credits - that would do.

I would ask, if there is to be a third movie, for more cute references to wider Batman lore. In Batman Begins there was the Joker card, of course, but I could have sworn two of the Arkham inmates in the scene where the Bat rescues Rachel Dawes looked just like Oswald Cobblepot (Penguin) and Edward Nigma (Riddler). Deliberate or not, I loved it. Let's have more of that. Disappointing too that some of the GCPD in the movie were simply analogue versions of their comic book counterparts. There was a Detective Ramirez, who could easily have been Renee Montoya, and Detective Stephens who was every inch Harvey Bullock. Come on Nolan et al, don't be afraid to slip these minor characters in on the sly; they're cops after all, they don't mess with the real world milieu you've got going, and they add to the lore and texture that is Batman.

Still, I don't want to end on a negative note, as that would do a disservice to a great, great movie. These are just minor niggles from a dedicated fan.

Favourite moments - too many to name them all, certainly, but the ones that stick in the memory for me are 1: when the Bat-pod 'appears' out of the wreckage of the Tumbler and 2: when the scene juxtaposes between three of the Joker's next intended victims - truly, edge of the seat stuff!

The Dark Knight is a true comic book tour de force that actually uses a lot of non-comic book movie techniques to make it so great (coincidentally, I watched Heat with De Niro and Pacino last night and the similarities were definitely there). This movie is one hard-boiled, relentless freight train of a beast whose two and half hours fly by. Personally, I wanted more. It's dark in name, dark in nature, with a brutal sense of menace that never let's up, but is tempered with the pyrotechnic grandstanding and jaw-dropping stunts that create a definite wow factor throughout. Stunning performances are given by all, and there's absolutely no dead weight - at all.

With the Nolan at the helm, one can't help feeling a certain glow that everything is going to be all right as far as Batman on the big screen goes. Let's just hope he gives us all a third film.

The miracle that is Google image

Occasionally when I need to describe something tangible, a thing or artefact, maybe something architectural or from nature, then I look no further than Google image search.

I use this natty little device a fair bit during the course of my writing. It's great if you've got a pretty good idea of the thing you want to describe but just need something visual to cement the abstract image you've got in your mind.

Of particular use to me is when I want to describe something architectural or natural. What exactly does a gulch look like, for instance? What kind of extra detail might there be on a Roman officer's helmet? So on and so forth.

Once you've got a good idea as to a thing's basic structure and appearance, you can embellish it with the required flourishes. For me that means adding fantasy or sf twists, should I be writing a Warhammer or Warhammer 40,000 piece. If I'm writing a crime story that's set in the real world, well that's fine too - it adds an extra degree of detail to the description, makes it more authentic. It's another facet of research really.

I want to attach a caveat to this, though. Be mindful not to go over the top. There's nothing worse than something which is over-described. Any novel or story, no matter its style or setting should always have something 'happening' in it. Description is static adds flavour and texture, but it doesn't tell a story (at least, not in the sense of a narrative with characters etc). Beware over describing and allowing your narrative to get mired in it, don't be pedestrian. Paint the picture, but then quickly roll the celluloid.

On video gaming

As a writer and editor, I can fully appreciate the need to blow off a little steam now and again. And video gaming is one of my preferred outlets. There's just something cool about getting lost in someone else's virtual creation and button-bashing to my heart's context as I blast and eviscerate my way through hordes of beasties or whatever.

I am a bit of console junky - it's true. I do a bit of PC gaming, too (I like a bit of Dawn of War or Mark of Chaos as much as the next Warhammer fan), but consoles is really where it's at for me. That might change with the advent of DC Universe Online.

Imagine my joy when I heard about this potentially awesome game on IGN. It combines two of my favourite things: video gaming and DC characters (particularly you-know-who...). Casting a look over the formats, it might - should I eschew the PC option - be a good reason to invest in a PS3 (though God of War III appearing on the console could also colour my decision-making on this...). I am seriously anticipating Gears of War II, being a solid fan of the first game (I have a Marcus Fenix staring at me belligerently from my desk as I type), but DC Online - this is something else.

Fighting alongside Batman, Superman and the JLA - yes please.

Battling in downtown Gotham, the heights of Metropolis or visiting the Batcave - sign me up, now.

It sounds too good to be true, doesn't it?

Adding to my joy is the fact that artist Jim Lee is one of the creative directors on the project. I'm a huge fan of Jim Lee's - he's done so wonderful work for DC, my favourite of which being the excellent two-part graphic novel, Hush. (He also, notably, worked on Superman: For Tomorrow - but I have yet to read that.) His work is exquisite and it shows in some of the concepts and fully realised assets shown in the various trailers. Let's all hope that DC produce an art of book on the project - I would be very happy to part with a fair few pounds for that!

The cast of characters for the game is absolutely huge, a fact rammed home by the mammoth asset wall of character concepts revealed in the excellent IGN 'making of' video, which I suggest you go watch at once (well, after you've read the rest of the blog, anyway :-)).

Trailers suggest that this game will be action-based but incorporate all the usual missions and RPG elements that are standard in an MMORPG. There are A LOT of powers available, making for an almost infinite variety of customisation for your own heroes (of course, I'll be going for some kind of Batman clone - I was always a fan of the vigilante types with loads of gadgets and fighting skills to offset the fact they aren't superhuman).

The IGN article has lots of detail on the project, which I won't be reiterating here (in case they slap me for it), so I'll just say I am seriously looking forward to this.

In truth, I am a total online gaming virign (I haven't even activated my Xbox 360 Live account). This all looks set to change with DC Universe Online and Warhammer: Age of Reckoning (another heavy weight MMORPG that I'll be getting into - bye, bye all my free time...). I am very intrigued as to how I'll find the experience and whether or not I'll prefer to the usual arcade action stuff I prefer (I am child of the Golden Axe age of gaming - I remember heading out to the gaming arcade next to Cleethorpes beach in my youth, a pound in my pocket that would last all day - head days...).

I do think that this sort of immersive gameplay (or any gaming, really) is inspirational, perhaps not in the direct sense, but it can put you in the right sort of mood, much like a good book or great film can. You leave the experience buzzing and ready to translate that energy onto the page. It sort of unlocks the corners of your mind where the imagination harvests its best ideas, the part that when unfettered unleashes a creative wave that washes over that blank page and fills it with visceral action or gritty description.

I know a lot of authors are wary of the dangers of computer games, fearing that their lives will be effectively sucked away by them and the writing time table will suffer as a result. Be cautious, I say. Sure, I've lost a few afternoons to Indiana Jones Lego (okay, so this one isn't so much about inspiration as steam venting), Mass Effect or Viking: Battle for Asgard when I could/should have been writing but the gaming blow out helps. It not only clears your slate, it reinvents it and fills it up with a load of other stuff. Just be sensible. This is where discipline comes in. If you can say to yourself, 'I can lose this afternoon, without wrecking my chances of hitting my deadline' then go for it; if not, you have been warned...

Ultramarines ho!

Greetings to all - the powers that be have decreed that I may reveal the nature of the secret project I've been working on for the last month, and here is the skinny exclusively on the blog!

Okay, given the title post, you'd be forgiven for thinking I'm writing a Space Marine book in the style of Thundercats - I'm not.

I am writing an Ultramarines novella. In fact, I've literally just finished it and sent it to my editor. I've been asked not to reveal too much about it (not even the title!) as a Games Workshop 'official' announcement is pending (next week, I believe).

This novella is the first of a kind to be sold by the Black Library and will hit sales stands for its inaugural release at UK Games Day 2008. Afterwards, it will filter in to GW stores.

As mentioned, I can't say much except that it stars the Ultramarines of 2nd Company and some of their well-known heroes.

This has been a great project to work on and I really hope fans dig it as much as I did writing it. I'll post more details after the GW announcement and perhaps an image of the cover.

I'm back!

Howdy folks,

Just wanted to let you know that NickKyme.com is back on the web-waves (or whatever). We have a temporary interruption in service due to some bandwidth issues (it seems that a few people are heading to the site and I need more space to fit them all in - which is great! Please keep it up!).

Anyway, my webmaster has performed the necessary malarky (you can tell how web literate I am, right?) and all is well again (though, I suppose you've already guessed that by now on account of you reading this post).

It's all go at Kyme Towers at the moment (I don't really live in a tower, I just like the way it sounds). The good lady and I are having a new bathroom put in so I've been punted to the bedroom to conduct my writing. It's a little cramped but I've got my station set up and am putting the finishing touches to that 'special' Warhammer 40,000 project I've got on the go. Once that's done this morning (hopefully - just re-reading the text to hone and tweak), I'll be working on the glossary to Honourkeeper, which I've decided to put in due to fans asking me to do so.

After that, it's on to a certain Salamanders short story. I've heard rumblings on various esteemed blogs (the good people of WarSeer and Bolter & Chainsword to name two) that the title for the novel, i.e. Salamanders, felt a little uninspiring and prosaic. I think that's a fair comment. I just want to add that sometimes we poor authors are 'urged' by various Marketing and Sales factions to have titles on our novels that, for want of a better phrase, 'do what they say on the tin' - ergo, first book about Salamanders - let's called it Salamanders. Not very creative, I'll grant you that - I'll see if I can do something about that.

Got to say, I'm desperate to divulge what the secret project is, but I just can't - not yet. Soon as I can I'll post.

Got a few blogs planned for this week. I'll revisit the reading shelf again as this seemed to be popular and I've got through a few more novels since last time.

And (in the style of Columbo), just one more thing - I'm heading out with a small posse to see the Dark Knight tonight (a review to follow if I get time). I can't tell you how much I am looking forward to this movie. Two and a half hours of Batman-related coolness - sounds darn fine to me.

Bring on the Knight!

Just seen the Salamanders colour artwork!

Oh, how could I forget to mention... I had the great privilege of seeing for the first time the finished colour piece done by Wayne England for the cover to the novel.

Wow! It looks great and I can't wait to show it. I've (unfortunately) been told I can't yet, but maybe I can twist a few arms and get a sneaky segment up on the blog for you to pore over.

I'll see what I can do. Watch this space...

Rainy Dayz

Looking forward to a couple of raining days this weekend so I can get cracking in earnest on my latest writing project. Unfortunately, I still can't divulge the details of it, as I've been sworn off doing that for at least another month. Suffice it to say, though, that it's 40K, something of a departure from anything I've done before (and indeed BL), and I'm about two and a half thousand words in.

Weekends are my main writing period, the busy day-to-day of being a commissioning editor taking up most of my time in the week. I do usually hope to get around 500-1,000 words done in an evening (doesn't sound like much maybe, but it certainly adds up and takes the pressure off on the weekends a bit).

So, big session today. I'm aiming to get around 8-10,000 words in over the two days, so the inclement weather with definitely help (saying that, it is extremely muggy right now and the sun keeps poking its head out). Don't get me wrong, I'm not a Morlock, but I do like to write when the weather is bad; it just seems more atmospheric somehow.

To help with that I ordered a couple of CDs that arrived yesterday/today: Aliens and Empire Strikes Back, no less (and for a sweet price, too - always check out the New & Used on Amazon...). I'm a big believer in having some nice atmospheric music playing when I'm writing - hopefully the drama and action of these seminal soundtracks will rub off on me to an extent.

Well, can't sit here blogging all day, there's writing to be done. I've got my obligatory cup of coffee, cranked up the Media Player and plugged in my desk fan. Time to get freaky!

Books on my reading shelf

In non-writing related news, I had the happy occasion the other day to stumble across the excellent Murder at Wayne Manor, an interactive Batman mystery novel currently residing on my reading shelf. This is a wonderful book, replete with evidence pouches, artwork and a story in which you the reader have to piece together the clues and solve the crime! (But not in a dodgy 'choose your own adventure' way.) I'm only one chapter in so far, as I'm just finishing reading Bad Luck and Trouble by the superb Lee Child (and shall be posting a review soon). Not a lot happening in the Reacher report of late, Mr Child (least ways, I don't seem to be getting much by way of emails on the subject)...

In addition to the murder mystery novel, I've also recently purchased a book on Batman forensics. As a huge fan of the Dark Knight (and, yes, I am bursting with anticipation at the prospect of the movie - five star review on IGN today, I cannot wait) and C.S.I (original, not cheesy Miami or dull New York - missed opportunity on the latter, there, for me), this book is absolutely perfect. Hats off to my good colleague Mr Christian Dunn for recommending it. I shall look forward to reading that too.

What else has graced my reading pallet of late? Well, I had the great privilege in my capacity as Black Library editor to read the first half of Mechanicum by Graham McNeill. I can't say too much about this, and I also don't want the blog to be about my editorial antics, so I'll just say: wow!

Okay, onto more recreational ground, I've just finished off All-Star Batman & Robin by Frank Miller and Jim Lee. For those not in the know, I do like the odd graphic novel now and again (as a huge fan of Batman, how could I not). Jim Lee is one of my favourite artists, having done great work on the two-part Hush series, and Frank Miller really needs no introduction, though I'd have to say his Dark Knight Returns made such an impact on me that I'm still feeling its resonance today. Heroes both, to my mind. The All-Star book was great, stunningly visually with a slightly edgier and even unique approach to depicting the Dark Knight as Miller is so famous for. Roll on volume two, says I.

I already mentioned that I'm reading Bad Luck and Trouble, then I have another Child book to read, Nothing to Lose (along with an excellent mini-book detailing some of the author's rationale in creating the character of Jack Reacher - looking forward to the insights in this). Then I have another of my favourite authors, John Connolly, and his latest novel, The Reapers. I did enjoy his previous offering, The Unquiet, though it was quite a slow burner and densely than a lot of his other books (saying that, it did take me about two years to read The Black Angel, on and off). This one, though, looks like it has all the energy and darkness of the Killing Kind (which I rattled through and disturbed myself greatly) and Every Dead Thing. Fingers crossed that it's as great as I hope. Again, hopefully, a review to follow.

That kind of just leaves The Last Days of Krypton. I got this as a freebie (editorial perk), but I must confess that I had considered buying it anyway. I'm not as big a fan of the Superman mythology but I do dabble and this one intrigued me. Set on Krypton it details all the stuff, the internal politicking, the wars, the noble houses etc, that happened before Superman, before the planet's destruction and even the birth of Kal-El. I have high hopes.

Well, that brings this ramble to an end. Thanks for listening (or not). If nothing else, this spate of blogging has helped me get over my profound annoyance at missing last week's episode of House (which the rather poor Channel 5 don't repeat or make available on their On Demand service - what a modern age we live in...). I can only hope I'll be able to gather up the pieces in this week's finale.

There be Space Marines!

Okay folks, here's the scoop. Hot on the heels of Honourkeeper, I have now started my next new project. I can't reveal too much about it just yet, suffice to say that it involves the Ultramarines (though, it's a one-off 'special' thing and has nothing to do with the excellent series by Mr McNeill) and is released at Games Day. It marks something of a new venture for Black Library and for me, as author. I am very excited about it and am currently about 1,000 words in. The synopsis went through like a breeze and I hope to pen another 1,000 words tonight with the bulk of the work coming for this weekend (pray for stormy skies - I find the writing comes much easier when the weather is rain-filled and turbulent).

In other news, I recently submitted my synopsis for a Salamanders short story to go in the forthcoming Heroes of the Space Marines anthology. This has been penned in for a long time, but I've only recently had a chance to plan it given my heroics in finishing Honourkeeper over a month early (and with a full-time job, that's no mean feat).

The story, tentatively entitled 'Unto the Anvil...' is designed to set up a lot of stuff for the forthcoming novel (currently titled somewhat eponymously, Salamanders - does what it says on the tin, I suppose, though I have something more evocative in mind for books two and three if it stretches to a trilogy). The central characters in the short will be the central characters in the novel (plus some additional ones) as will the themes it engenders and the plot threads it leaves dangling. The intention here is to create a story that enhances the experience of reading the novel but is not strictly necessary to be read before the novel (if that makes sense).

In any case, the synopsis has not yet been green-lit (I suspect Lindsey would like me to finish my 'other' project first - and believe me, as soon as I can shout about what that is, I will), so some aspects might change, things could be added, taken away etc. I'll keep the blog posted, as it were.