Imagine the worlds of R E Howard and J R R Tolkein thrown into a blender, then set stories in it with a touch of Howard, a whisper of Fritz Leiber and, perhaps, a soupcon of Clark Ashton Smith and you have an idea of what William King is up to here. When it works well, the results are truly excellent - it is like being transported back to reading these classics of fantasy when a teenager. Sadly, if not very surprisingly, it isn't all at that standard.
The opening short story is in the really very good category. Guardian of the Dawn introduces the central character, Kormak, his world and his quest. It is punchy and crisply told but manages to sketch a background that hints at… Read more
Customer review from the Amazon Vine Programme(What's this?)
Ford's first Steelhaven book delivered fast paced and exciting action. The action and adventure was sufficiently gripping that it was easy to overlook the flaws - weak character development, too many changes of viewpoint and a fantasy backdrop that never came fully to life - because the reader was bowled along by the multiple frantic plot strands. This - the second book - offers rather less by way of constant action and, as a result, the problems, the same as before, are more obvious.
The action picks up immediately after the first book: the old king is dead and the city of Steelhaven is threatened by not only an invasion of marauding barbarians but internal divisions and… Read more
Customer review from the Amazon Vine Programme(What's this?)
Benjamin Black's (actually Booker Prize Winner, John Banville's) latest novel is one for those who, like he, we presume, have loved Chandler's detective hero and his world and thirst for more.
In this it follows a current trend with new Bond novels from the likes of Sebastian Faulks and William Boyd, new 'official' Holmes from Anthony Horowitz and a forthcoming new Poirot from Sophie Hannah. Where this book parts company from those is that whilst those books are written for an audience that enjoyed the originals, but does not require you to have read any specific story from the original canon, this is effectively a sequel to 'The Long Goodbye'. Do not read this book if you… Read more
