Author: Dan

Dangerous Curves – Larkin Rose (Review)

~ Dan ~ Leave a comment

Lacey is an ex-NASCAR photographer haunted by her memories of a fatal crash. Kip Sellars is a troubled NASCAR driver with a bad reputation and a death wish. The two have almost nothing in common except their mutual contempt, lust, and complimentary backstories (both involving witnessing the brutal death of a loved one in a racing accident).

When they are forced to work together to rehabilitate Sellars’ public image, Lacey and Sellars have no choice but to confront both their traumatic pasts and the undeniable attraction between them.

Continue reading “Dangerous Curves – Larkin Rose (Review)” →

Petit : The Ogre Gods – Hubert Boulard & Bertrand Gatignol (Review)

~ Dan ~ Leave a comment

The giants are getting smaller. Once, they were titanic near-immortal beings, warriors and philanthropists. Now, each inbred generation is smaller than the last, and as they decline physically, they decline morally as well, becoming more brutish, more cannibalistic, and more obsessed with restoring their diminishing size. They rule swinishly over a half-ruined city where humans are food and servants.

Petit is the youngest and smallest of the giants, shunned by his own race and feared by the humans for his violent outbursts and occasional consumption of human flesh. The book follows his growth to adulthood in a decaying society, navigating the brutal ogre court and his own divided nature.

Continue reading “Petit : The Ogre Gods – Hubert Boulard & Bertrand Gatignol (Review)” →

The Nest – Gregory Douglas (Review)

~ Dan ~ Leave a comment

The small fishing community on Yarkie Island leads a peaceful, picturesque existence, far from the bustle of the modern world. Simple, honest folk lead the same simple lives as the generations before them

The only part of Yarkie that isn’t picturesque is the local dump. Here, modern pesticides have created something far worse than the squabbling rats. Something organised, and hungry, and filled with hate.

Continue reading “The Nest – Gregory Douglas (Review)” →

Bone Dungeon – Jonathan Smidt (Review)

~ Dan ~ 2 Comments

After an unjust execution, Ryan returns to consciousness as a dungeon core – a sentient lump of rock with the power to shape its immediate surroundings. Paired with Erin, a celestial fairy, Ryan’s goddess-given task is to challenge adventurers, stocking his dungeon with monsters so that questing heroes can gain experience.

There are complications to this though; Ryan has a magical affinity to darkness (necromantic energy), which is not only totally opposed to Erin’s magic/morals, but also a beacon to higher-levelled evil beings who see him as an ally or a pawn. Living up to Erin’s expectations involves not using the full scope of his power, but living at all means he needs to get stronger, fast.

Continue reading “Bone Dungeon – Jonathan Smidt (Review)” →

Hellboy (2004) – Review

~ Dan ~ 2 Comments

In the last days of WWII, desperate to change the course of the war, occult Nazis open a portal to hell; this is a classic occult Nazi tactic that will doubtless be familiar to you. Although US special forces eventually manage to close the portal before reality itself is unwritten, something still manages to come through.

That something is a juvenile demon, named “Hellboy” by the remaining allied troops. Initially intended to be a world-ending weapon for the Third Reich, the baby monster is instead adopted by a scientist and taken to the US. Years pass, and the demon becomes a vital asset to humanity, fighting monsters as part of the BPRD (Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defence).

In 2004, occult Nazis are nothing but a distant memory, except – surprise! – they’re all still alive and now they’re back to open a new portal to hell and unleash chaos. Hellboy’s attempts to stop them are hampered by both his complicated personal life and the way that everything he does plays right into their hands.

Continue reading “Hellboy (2004) – Review” →

Squelch, Slither, & Slime – John Halkin (Review)

~ Dan ~ Leave a comment

There are reports of new, never-before seen creatures in the South of England. At first, people think little of them, dismissing them as fictional or no more dangerous than ferrets. But the creatures grow, and multiply, and spread, their lust for human flesh increasing every day. As the death toll rises, humanity is forced to confront a new and horrifying idea: we are no longer top of the food chain.

The above description applies equally well to three different books, all by John Halkin, and all having a single-word title beginning with “S”. In Squelch, the menace is large, carnivorous caterpillars and poison-spitting moths. In Slither, hypnotic worms (the reptile-kind, limbless lizards) hunt humans in the sewers. And in Slime, evil hordes of jellyfish are the greatest threat humanity has ever faced.

Continue reading “Squelch, Slither, & Slime – John Halkin (Review)” →

A Hell of an Innocent – Zidrou (Review)

~ Dan ~ Leave a comment
a-hell-of-an-innocent-tome-1-a-hell-of-an-innocent

Twenty-seven years ago, in a sleepy outback town, Lee Duncan was savagely murdered. Everyone knows who did it – her husband Greg.

For decades, he’s been a wanted man. But when his brother makes a deathbed confession to the killing, Greg has to return to his hometown and face the people who have always believed him to be a murderer.

Continue reading “A Hell of an Innocent – Zidrou (Review)” →