Monthly Archives: December 2023

The Hunting Moon

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Susan Dennard. Daphne Press. (352p) ISBN: 9781837840137
The Hunting Moon

The Hunting Moon

The follow up to The Luminaries takes us into the darker shadows of Hemlock Falls and secrets come to light and where everything is not as it seems.

Winnie Wednesday returns as The Girl Who Jumped and/or The Girl Who Was Bitten, you choose but she likes neither of these as both have lots of unanswered questions which add to all the confusion and revelations at the end of The Luminaries.

We find out more about the relationship between the Luminaries and the Dianas, both groups and the spirits, and more secrets about the nightmares are revealed. Though this doesn’t make anything much clearer and adds to the growing pile of questions Winnie has.

Then there is the questions of Jay, troubled and hunky Jay, what dos Winnie feel and what does he feel, what secrets is he keeping?

The Hunting Moon takes the intrigue from The Luminaries and ramps it up all the while developing the relationships between the main players. This increase in the focus on relationships throws out lots of red herrings and possibilities whilst developing The Whisperer.

And that very last chapter left so many unanswered questions and possible answers for where Dad has been the past four years.

Another great read from Susan Denning and now waiting for the the third in the series to see where that takes us.

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The Last Ronin

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Kevin Eastman, Peter Laird. Idea and Design Works. (224p) ISBN: 9781684058419
The Last Ronin

The Last Ronin

The first time I had anything to do with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was the GURPS adaptation in 1986 and found myself tracking down anything to do with them, they were great fun.

This story has all the style and pace of the earlier stories but details a much darker part of the TMNT world and history.

We find ourselves in the future where the Foot clan runs New York from an indomitable tower in the centre, Hiroto Saki controls the city with the aid of an army of Synja when the TMNT return for revenge, but all is not what it seems.

This reveals the outcome of the ongoing feud between the Hamato and Foot clans. Family, lies, deceit, and honour are the important themes that run throughout.

The story unfolds over two time periods and tells the story of how we get to the ‘present’. We see familiar characters return, and the development of new characters throughout this fast-paced revenge tale.

There were practically none of the fast quips and humour that I remember from the early stories but it really works, this is comic storytelling at its best

I really don’t want to give too much of this away but it was an amazing tale from start to finish and if you like the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles at all and want to read a really grown up tale in that universe this is the book for you.

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Shadowhall Academy: The Whispering Walls

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Phil Hickes. Usborne. (224p) ISBN: 9781805314905
Shadowhall Academy: The Whispering Walls

Shadowhall Academy: The Whispering Walls

A really spooky middle grade ghost story brought to you by the wonderful author of the Aveline Jones series, though this one has upped the spooky just a little bit.

Lilian has just started at Shadowhall Academy, a creaking pile in the countryside and Phil leans into the boarding school tropes and has fun with them, there’s the dodgy food, the cold dorms, the cliques, and the cross country runs. Though the run in this book does come with quite a bit of a difference…

Lilian joins up with Maz (Marian), Serena as dorm mates and another new girl, Angela also come in. This is when all the spookiness starts to happen, knocking on the walls at night is just the beginning which for me culminated in a feel of the liver man from the X-Files for a moment. Thankfully it didn’t go that dark

But the house and the grounds are full of the secrets and tragedies of the ancient family that owned the house before it became a school and these are still causing problems now.

Will the new friends be up for the challenges that are thrown their way and be strong enough to look out for each other? Who is the spooky apparition, is there more than one malevolent spirit? Is this all just a Scooby Doo mystery with nefarious humans behind it all?

Well you’ll have to read the book to find out, but it is so well worth a read!

Though this spooky story was wrapped up nicely there are still a lot of unanswered questions, why did the headteacher and librarian return to work in the school after being students at the school together so long ago, what other family secrets are lurking in Mr Bullens office, and what other secrets will Lilian, Maz, Serena, and Angela find?

Really looking forward to the continuation of this series, Shadowhall Academy: The Whispering Walls is released on the 1st of February 2024.

I received this from NetGalley for an honest review.

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2023 and Looking Forward

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New YearWell 2023 has been a year, again…

The first half of the year was mainly taken up with choosing and moving house, and we all know how that can make you feel, nothing much got done there.

Then it was that time of moving in and settling down and finding how to work/live in a new space.

Then in September not only did I go full-time as a bookseller I moved branch. Now there’s three hours travel every day.

Of course I thought I could do things in that time; read, write blog posts, watch shows on my iPad, but of course I tend to listen to music and drop off most trips (thankfully my stop is the end stop of the journey!)

Before that all happened I had a plan to change the style of this blog and relaunch the Indie Bookshops and Indie Publishers websites and this has taken longer than I thought it would due to these changes but this site’s design is now reformatted and up and running properly once more.

This also means that the interview series (authors, illustrators, and bloggers) will start up again in the new year, with the interviews being shared on my Substack and a dedicated Tumblr to collect them all.

So far on the interview series there are 76 author interviews, 11 illustrator interviews, and 1 blogger interview on the blog and gradually being added to Substack and Tumblr. I’ve got about another 24 lined up to get on the blog but I’m always on the look out for more people who would like to be involved.

This year (as of writing) I’ve read 66 books and reviewed 58, so I’ve enjoyed the vast majority of the books I’ve read! Next year I’m going to stop using Goodreads and just use the spreadsheet I’ve got to log my reading with a post on Twitter when I pick up a new book.

The Indie Bookshops and Indie Publishers sites are back up and running again. There is some information on whilst I fine tune the design and the way I want each post to look. Both of these sites are linked from the top right of this blog.

Each of these sites should get at least one stub page for a bookshop or publisher added each week, with more specific lists being developed. For example a list for children’s bookshops, or dark fantasy publishers so that it will be easier to find what you’re looking for.

I’ll also be expanding the Indie Publishers lists beyond just the UK and Ireland and adding publishers from around the world to the website.

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Nimona

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ND Stevenson. HarperCollins. (285p) ISBN: 9780062278227
Nimona

Nimona

Talking to friends about how much I enjoyed the animated show on Netflix they pointed out that the graphic novel it was based on was really good, so of course I had to get it.

I’ve finally got around to reading it as I like having some graphic novels in reserve if I find myself unable to read much else.

I was pulled into the world of Ballister, Nimona, and Goldenloin right from the start with an art style that has so much energy and fun.

Ballister has been set up as a foil to the oppressive Institute and is the Nemesis to the wonderful (?) Goldenloin, when all of a sudden a sidekick falls into his lap in the shape (well one of them anyway) of Nimona.

Nimona and Ballister embark on many a quest against the government that made him into the villain that he never wanted to be, it all feels like one big game but it becomes so so serious.

Nimona is my kind of hero, violent and random but with an underlying pathos which we find more about as the story progresses.

The comic is full of themes of trust, friendship. betrayal but it also looks at oppression, despotism, corrupt government, and manipulation.

This is in a world where science and magic are intertwined and as valid as each other, where old myths dog the memories of government, where fear rules and rulers think power is the answer.

A wonderful story that is an improvement on the show, worthy addition to your graphic novel collection.

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