Thursday 26 July 2018

Minstrel's Bargain: The Prophecy Trilogy Book 1 by Richard Ayre

I'm a sucker for a freebie and this one is free at the time of posting. Horror is not my favourite genre but I give it a try if free. If you're a horror fan and like your blood, gore and torture; you will like this. I gave it 4 stars.



This is the first book in a trilogy and what a start it was. Set in Newcastle of the late eighties, we delve into the world of emerging rock bands and the journalists that report on them. Philip Sturgess is one of those young journalists that write for a heavy metal magazine. He is happy with his life and girlfriend Shelley until he is sent to report on emerging rock group ‘Minstrels bargain’. The tension builds slowly as you realise Kick Bizarre is not your average rock star. The horror that follows comes as a shock, when people start to behave in rather zombie like trances and inflict gruesome acts. This horror novel has enough blood and gore to keep hardened horror fans on their toes. I liked the tension of the writing; it keeps up to the very end as Sturgess’ David takes on the Minstrel’s Goliath. We have seen the plot of good versus evil and a battle for the souls before, but Richard Ayre brings something fresh to the table by setting it in the eighties uk music scene. The writing was good and kept me hooked to the end. Couple of deep breaths now before I pick up the courage to buy the next one.

Thursday 5 July 2018

Dieselpunk Epulp Showcase Kindle by John Picha , Grant Gardiner , Bard Constantine, Jack Philpott, & 1 more

I was vaguely aware of this genre as I had read something by one of the above authors; Bard Constantine, before. I liked his book the Troubles shooter a lot and with this book being free it was a no brainer that I picked it up. The thing with showcases is always that you are going to like some things more than others and they are only snippets of books so in that respect it was a little unsatisfying. But a good sampler that deserves 4 stars.



Want to know what diesel punk is? Well here is your chance to sample some kindred spirits that write in the genre. There are many styles but they all draw their inspiration from 1940 film noir and comic book culture. I’ve read a book by Bard Constantine before and his characters talk like they walked off a Humphrey Bogart movie. John Picha’s Hero Pandora Driver is more like one of the larger than live comic book characters. So all in all a fun mix of styles, subjects and a good coherent sample selection with links to take you to the various authors sites if you like their work. Best off all it is currently free!  I will be checking a few of these authors out.