New Arrivals: Black Friday & Cyber Monday Book Haul

While I haven't been able to read much over the last two months I went just a little crazy during the recent Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales from Reader's Warehouse. Who could resist a 50% discount on books? Definitely not me. At this stage I've pretty much exhausted the entire sci-fi and fantasy section on Reader's Warehouse's site.

I ended up blowing the last of my book budget and ordered a total of 37 books. This is quite possibly my biggest book haul yet. The photo doesn't quite capture how precariously high the stacks were, they were in serious danger of toppling before I got a chance to take the picture.

There should be some seriously good reading amongst these. I'm particularly excited for From a Certain Point of View, The Minders, 10,000 Light-years from Home, Arrival and the Thrawn Trilogy.

Now I just need to find the time to get to them...

On My Radar: Weaponized by Neal Asher

I just spotted the cover for a new Neal Asher novel coming out in 2022. If you are looking for action-packed space opera goodness then Asher never disappoints!

Weaponized by Neal Asher
ISBN: 9781529050035
Release date: 26 May 2022

A bright new future for humanity – or a dark and inescapable past.

With the advent of new AI technology, Polity citizens now possess incredible lifespans. Yet they struggle to find meaning in their longevity, seeking danger and novelty in their increasingly mundane lives.

On a mission to find a brighter future for humanity, ex-soldier Ursula fosters a colony on the hostile planet Threpsis. Here, survival isn’t a given, and colonists thrive without their AI guidance. But when deadly alien raptors appear, Ursula and her companions find themselves forced to adapt in unprecedented ways. And they will be pushed to the very brink of what it means to be human.

As a desperate battle rages across the planet, Ursula must dig deep into her past if she is to save humanity’s future.

The Art of Decoration

Here's a little Halloween flash fiction treat for you. I'm not a writer by any stretch of the imagination, but this story idea just got stuck in my head and had to get out. Even if my writing is atrocious I hope you enjoy it and that it creeps you out just a little...

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It’s all in perfecting the rictus. You have to get the timing just right to capture that sublime sense of terror. The light fading away as hope departs, the grimace of agonised jaw, mouth agape with a final scream as the resin sets. A perpetual scream that nobody will ever hear, but which will resonate to the very core of those who will bear witness. Primal fear made manifest.

Shrill screams echo from the candy-crazed kids weaving their way past the judges as they scribble notes on their scoring sheets. He hates kids. At least they are keeping their distance, sticky paws and all. Once a year. Halloween night. His time to shine. He’ll tolerate the mongrels just this once.

The certificate arrives in the mail a week later. With shaky fingers he peels open the envelope and slides it out. The gold embossed lettering pleases him greatly - Briar County Award for Best Halloween Decoration: Exceptional Realism. A sticky note is stuck to the back - ‘Don’t know how you do it every year. Congratulations!’. Another year, another accolade. Just as it should be.

Crafting the perfect Halloween decoration is an art form. He is a master of his craft. Nobody can do what he does. Nobody compares.

It was time to go hunt for the perfect specimen for next year. True perfection takes so much time...