Tuesday, October 31, 2017

3 Frighteningly Delightful Spooky Podcasts

It's Halloween time and there is nothing better than listening to spooky stories while snuggled into bed with the covers handy... just in case something goes bump in the night.

Here, in no particular order, are my favourite spooky podcasts to listen to on dark and dreary nights (or whenever I want to go to sleep quickly, for some reason I find them quite soothing...).


I'm sure Lore needs no introduction. Hosted by Aaron Mahnke, the Lore podcasts explores the history and truth behind legends, mythical beasts and folklore. Often truth is far more frightening than fiction. The show has branched out into a TV show on Amazon as well as a book series (which I can't wait to get my hands on). Top notch stuff!


The Anything Ghost show hosted by Lex Wahl shares people's personal encounters with the paranormal. Whether you believe in ghosts or not, these personal accounts are bound to fascinate.


Haunted Places is a relatively new podcast, but boy does it deliver with eerie, haunting narration! The show takes you on a tour of supposed haunted places while exploring the frightening, often disturbing backstory behind the most haunted locations across the world. This show is set to become one of my firm favourites!

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If you have any suggestions for other spooky podcasts feel free to leave them in the comments. I'm always looking for new podcasts to explore.

Now it's time to turn off the lights, crawl under the covers and turn up the volume...

Thursday, October 26, 2017

New Arrivals: Books, Glorious Books!

Over the past couple of months I've been absolutely spoiled with review copies from the wonderful folks at Jonathan Ball Publishers. There are so many great books I don't quite know where to start...


An Echo of Things to Come by James Islington
The Half Drowned King by Linnea Hartsuyker
The Wandering Earth by Cixin Liu
Empress of the Fall by David Hair


First Watch by Dale Lucas
Obelisk by Stephen Baxter
The Tower of the Swallow by Andrzej Sapkowski

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Perhaps I should read them all at once!

Monday, October 23, 2017

Cover Reveal: The Soldier

My hiatus in September was planned to give me some much needed time to devote to playing Destiny 2. Sadly my week-long vacation was far too brief and upon my return to work life decided it was the perfect time to triple my workload and dump a bunch of other stressful things on me. Being exhausted seems to be my new reality, but I'm back... I just need to figure out how to do this again.

One of the most exciting things to happen while I was gone was not one, but two cover reveals for Neal Asher's forthcoming novel The Soldier, the start of a brand new series set in his Polity universe.

It's a tough choice, but I think the US cover from Night Shade Books has to be my favourite. It just screams destruction and mayhem - exactly what you'd expect from a book centering around the Jain and the deadly technology at their disposal.

US Cover

UK Cover

THE SOLDIER by Neal Asher
ISBN: 9781509862368 (UK) / 9781597809436 (US)
Release date: May 2018

A hidden corner of space swarms with lethal alien technology, a danger to all sentient life. Designed to obliterate entire civilizations, it was created by the Jain, a long-dead race, and forces are on the move who’ll do anything to unleash their last secrets. Now the tech is guarded by Orlandine, whose mission is to ensure it stays contained – at all costs. Living aboard a state-of-the-art weapons station, she watches over everything. But she’s hatching a plan to remove the threat forever - by destroying it all.

Meanwhile, humanity’s galactic territories and the alien Prador Empire watch this sector of space with interest, 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 seem and interstellar war is never far away ...

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I can't wait!