Tag Archives: sci-fi

Reviews from Goodreads in 2012

Digitally looking back to a less complicated time, I found the first reviews I wrote on Goodreads in 2012, when I was aged 19 to 20.

Reviews from Goodreads in 2013

Digitally travelling back to a less complicated epoch, I found old reviews I wrote for books on Goodreads in 2013, when I was but a callow youth of 21.

More Book Reviews from Goodreads in 2015

Delving into the archives of reviews I penned on Goodreads in 2015.

Review: Welcome to Meadowbrook by Cassandra L. Thompson

4 out of 5 stars Trigger Warning: This novel contains themes of death, violence, and abuse. There is a trigger index at the back of the book. Welcome to Meadowbrook is a story of stories, beginning with a short poem by the author on how hotels are liminal spaces, which turns out to be importantContinue reading “Review: Welcome to Meadowbrook by Cassandra L. Thompson”

Another Review: Les Femmes Grotesques by Victoria Dalpe

3.5 stars out of 5 Available from CLASH books, Amazon.co.uk, and Amazon.com This modern, feminist, short Gothic horror fiction collection will bring you out in goose-bumps. A CREAK IN THE FLOOR, A SLANT OF LIGHT –  There were some quirky details that put me in mind of Holly Black’s work. The tale had a delightfully gory legend about three girlsContinue reading “Another Review: Les Femmes Grotesques by Victoria Dalpe”

The Dark Rider part 11 (excerpt)

Warren peeked out. Men in armour, some helmeted, others not, sat in lines along two tables large enough to fill the hall. They were eating and drinking and some were obviously drunk. The only one who looked bored was a masked man lounging in a separate chair against one wall. The chair was covered inContinue reading “The Dark Rider part 11 (excerpt)”

Part 10 of the Dark Rider (excerpt)

“The night was warm, though not as warm as it had been in Warren’s bedroom. The way they followed narrowed, more sand and dust and debris encroaching on the track, until suddenly the dunes fell away to reveal a dried-out moat. On the other side of it, a couple of lights shone in a dark,Continue reading “Part 10 of the Dark Rider (excerpt)”

Part 9 of The Dark Rider (excerpt)

A huge, round rock stood in the middle of the lawn, shaped like the grinding stones used in old flour mills, except this was carved. There were letters around its edge. Warren stared, ringing silence filling his ears. He called out for his father, asking what the stone was for, but there was no answer.Continue reading “Part 9 of The Dark Rider (excerpt)”

The Dark Rider part 7 (excerpt) and some good news…

“The storm rumbled on throughout the night until it was directly over the farm, coughing and bellowing and sending vibrations through the furniture. It had pelted with rain hard enough to sound like lead pellets being shot at a tin roof and hail fell in the early hours. All the family were heavy-eyed and irritable,Continue reading “The Dark Rider part 7 (excerpt) and some good news…”

The Dark Rider: Snow, Time, Bones Part 6 (excerpt)

“I know he’s here. He’s bound to have come after us. Where is he?”     Warren understood. “He’s the school guidance counsellor now. But what are you going to do? You can’t harm him.”     “I can try, look you. He has a blimmin’ body, and bodies have nerve endings!”     “YouContinue reading “The Dark Rider: Snow, Time, Bones Part 6 (excerpt)”

All About the Plentyn-Aderyn

  One of the oldest and most mysterious of the tribes of wandering, outlawed mages roaming Thosea’s Northern wastes, especially in the region of Karak (or World’s End), their favourite haunt being the shimmering, nebulous Hiraeth mountains, which tend to flicker between worlds in response to loud noises. The mages take this odd existence inContinue reading “All About the Plentyn-Aderyn”

All About the Muryans

  The Muryans are an ancient race of beings who came into existence shortly after the birth of Noran’s world (the Empire of Dal-Rhiatah). They first lived in the planet-wide, sentient forest named Panko – before Homo sapiens began – and they had a symbiotic relationship with the plants and trees, and later on, withContinue reading “All About the Muryans”

What and Where are the Hiraeth Mountains?

  Hiraeth is a word in the Old Tongue (and it is a Welsh word on Earth), loosely translated as “homesickness.” This name is fitting as Logan Bartholom spends most of his time wanting and wondering about a home he once had but can no longer remember. This extensive range of mountains in Karak (sometimesContinue reading “What and Where are the Hiraeth Mountains?”

WHO AND WHAT ARE THE HIGH MADRE?

These three prophetesses are the leaders and main teachers of the Kendra, a convent of egoless prophetesses who revere Saint Agrimond, along with the ancient benevolent magic that their world was created with – Foundational magic. Somewhat inspired by the Fates from Greek myth or the three witches from Macbeth, these three women are aContinue reading “WHO AND WHAT ARE THE HIGH MADRE?”

WHO AND WHAT IS ULFRYD SPIRN?

A minor character in “A Dark Heritage: The Nighthunter” who goes on an almost fairytale-style quest and meets an unfortunate end. An apprentice to a travelling merchant, Ulfryd is fourteen years old and having an affair with a girl at an inn when an old song people are singing in the marketplace enters his head,Continue reading “WHO AND WHAT IS ULFRYD SPIRN?”

All About The Kendra

On the continent of Thosea, where magic and the use / teaching of it is still legal, there stands an old, ruined abbey on the banks of the river Eridan. This river is a mysterious remnant of something that poured out of the constellations, and its waters burn like acid, possibly because of its trueContinue reading “All About The Kendra”

All About the Griny-Plinth

These anthropomorphic beings first came to me in a dream. They were eccentric and fascinating, yet dangerous in a concentrated, stubborn, hive-mind sort of way, and they were galloping after me upon tiny, prehistoric horses, trying to catch me. They looked like the Leptictidiums from the non-fiction TV series “Walking with Beasts” – like kangarooContinue reading “All About the Griny-Plinth”

All About the Nephisiati

Throughout the lands of Ossyan, Thosea, and Dal-Rhiatah, stories and myths of the Nephisiati echo down the generations. No one has clapped eyes on them and lived to tell the tale, save for a select few who lost their minds and were institutionalised as a result. In some legends, they look like hideous monsters withContinue reading “All About the Nephisiati”

All About the Selki

Selki are a half-legendary, half-prehistorical terror of the oceans. They are rarely seen, but there are tales of them aplenty among travelling merchants, smugglers, pirates, and other people who make a living on the high seas. There is always someone who returns from sailing with a missing hand or leg who swears it was bittenContinue reading “All About the Selki”

All About The Cetians

The Cetians are an ancient humanoid race that lives in the extreme depths of the White Ocean. Their city is encased inside a gigantic, magical air-bubble, as they mostly breathe oxygenated air. However, they did evolve with gills as well as lungs, although their gills can’t function so well. Their underwater appearance is frightening, theirContinue reading “All About The Cetians”

All About The Forysrhacos

This gigantic and ancient bird is the stuff of myth, prehistory, and legend. Humans from Earth would likely recognise it as The Phoenix, a bird that lays its egg in a nest of flames and is then reborn from the ashes. However, The Forysrhacos (known as “The Foe” in old texts found in the underseaContinue reading “All About The Forysrhacos”

All About The Llewmayn

This type of Ghost has been briefly mentioned towards the end of The Book of Nighthunting, which has just been completed* over here or you can watch the clipshow of it here: [*Edit to add: There may be further entries slotted into it at a later date, but the main structure of it is obviousContinue reading “All About The Llewmayn”

August Update

Still grinding away on social media promoting “A Dark Heritage: The Nighthunter” by reading out excerpts and doing short “character spotlights” using the Face Dance app, as well as spreading it around through word-of-mouth and flyers. What else do you do to promote your work if you have a disabling health condition and you’re aContinue reading “August Update”

IT’S HERE, IT’S HERE, IT’S FINALLY HERE!

A Dark Heritage: The Nighthunter was published by Golden Storyline Books today on Amazon. UK Amazon link here. A little bit of blurbage: “A Dark Heritage is a dark fantasy novel set in a magical world where prehistoric animals coexist with humans and the Dead return as different species of Ghost. Logan Bartholom, Nighthunter toContinue reading “IT’S HERE, IT’S HERE, IT’S FINALLY HERE!”

Fletch’s Story (Excerpt)

The Soul will be discovered in two parts: one at the head, one at the heart. It is as yet unknown to me which parts are responsible for what. Perhaps one is thought and the other, feeling; perhaps one is good, and the other, the Devil’s advocate. Perhaps they are of the same function, thoughContinue reading “Fletch’s Story (Excerpt)”

Damian’s Dream (second edition)

A fantasy / light SF novelette by Han Adcock will be available as a FREE ebook to email subscribers of this website, after January the 25th. It’s been taken out, edited, dusted off, and given a brand new cover: So, what’s it all about? Meet Damian Peters, who gives us a bizarre account of inexplicableContinue reading “Damian’s Dream (second edition)”

Book Cover Idea for Something in the System

A lot of the stories and poems in this collection appeared in online magazines years ago (from 2013 to 2016). They are all humorous (satire, parody, tongue-in-cheek, or just absurd). I am currently still querying this with different independent publishers so it is not yet available. The stories and poems have appeared in Poetic DiversityContinue reading “Book Cover Idea for Something in the System”

Recent map of Ossyan

I still have no idea how I’m going to slot the maps and other artwork I have planned into the finished book, but we shall see how it goes… I highly recommend YouDoodle as an app for sticking bits of different photos and drawings together or just drawing over the top of images. (This isn’tContinue reading “Recent map of Ossyan”

Finding Your Place

Work on the world maps is underway! To start with I have been developing a map for the island of Ossyan using MapHub, which is a free, easy-to-use website. It always gives you real-world maps to work with though, so I’m having to utilise a map of the Wash in England and stick new placeContinue reading “Finding Your Place”

So, it begins…

Albins! as a pair of certain turtles would say should you find yourself suddenly beached on the shores of Thosea. Welcome to the Nightwalks blog, a place where you can glean info about the Empire of Dal-Rhiatah and its surrounding environs, the people who live there, and all kinds of other cool stuff. You’ll findContinue reading “So, it begins…”