Release Date: 04/06/15
Publisher: Bodley Head
SYNOPSIS:
The first book in the exhilarating new fantasy sequence from Joseph Delaney, the multi-million-selling author of The Spook's Apprentice - the inspiration for the movie SEVENTH SON.
Welcome to Arena 13. Here warriors fight. Death is never far away . . .
Leif has one ambition: to become the best fighter in the notorious Arena 13. Here, punters place wagers on which fighter will draw first blood. And in grudge matches, they bet on which fighter will die.
But the country is terrorized by the creature Hob, an evil being who delights in torturing its people, displaying his devasting power by challenging an Arena 13 combatant in a fight to the death whenever he chooses. And this is exactly what Leif wants . . .
For he knows Hob's crimes well. and at the heart of his ambition burns the desire for vengeance. Leif is going to take on the monster who destroyed his family. Even if it kills him.
REVIEW:
I’m a huge fan of Joseph’s Spooks series so when I found out he had a new one out I couldn’t wait to see what he would bring to the fore. Here within this book is a title that works on Joseph’s strengths as his new principle character has strength, smarts and of course a goal within the pages.
The action is wonderful, the dialogue works well and when you throw into the mix prose that keeps you glued from the first page to the last and all round, this new series will delight fantasy fans as much as Joseph’s own. Cracking.
Release Date: 05/06/14
Publisher: Bodley Head
SYNOPSIS:
Girls are dying in mysterious circumstances...They are found dead in their beds, covered in blood, with a look of pure horror on their faces. Worse still, their ghosts are left to walk the earth, just waiting for someone to hear the terror that has befallen them. Thomas Ward is the local spook - it's his job to protect the county from things that go bump in the night. But this is no ordinary haunting, and he finds himself on the path of a dangerous beast that is looking to kill again. He soon realizes this beast is just the beginning. An army of monsters is massing in the north, and it poses a threat to all mankind. This is the first terrifying tale in the Starblade Chronicles, from the bestselling author of The Spook's Apprentice.
REVIEW:
There’s always something wonderful about a brand new series set in an established world and with the passing of his Master, Thomas Ward is now “the Counties” Spook.
Weaving a wonderfully rich opening tale into this established world, Joseph allows Tom to make his own way and errors as he learns to fill the role. It’s definitely a series I’ve had a lot of fun reading and when you’ve driven some of the roads on dark nights, boggarts, spirits and monster can feel all too real. Add to this subtle shades of grey alongside a host of new supporting cast members and all round you’re in for a treat.
Release Date: 02/05/13
Publisher: Bodley Head
SYNOPSIS:
Welcome to the world of Frantz Schmidt: citizen of Nuremberg, executioner of 394 unfortunates, and torturer of many hundreds more. Most unusually for his times, Frantz was also a diarist. Drawing deeply on this exceptional and overlooked record that he kept for over forty-five years, The Faithful Executioner takes us deep inside his world and his thinking. But the picture that emerges is not of a monster. Could a man who routinely practiced such cruelty also be insightful, compassionate - even progressive? Young Frantz enters the trade as the Apprentice, following in his father's footsteps. Later, as the Journeyman, he travels the roads of Franconia, learning to reconcile his desire for respectability with his violent work. After a lifetime working amid human cruelty, tragedy, injustice and simple misfortune as the Master in Nuremberg, Frantz has become a moralist and storyteller, the Sage. And, in the closing chapters of his life, retired now from his role as executioner, he is the Healer, running the large medical practice that he always viewed as his true vocation. The Faithful Executioner is the biography of an ordinary man struggling to overcome an unjust family curse and a panorama of a Europe poised on the cusp of modernity, a world with startling parallels to our own.
REVIEW:
I’m a person who gets curious about history and whilst accounts are easy to come by, its always the ones written by the victors and the shapers rather than from the everyman point of view. That’s the history that really grabs me, I like the everyday items that were used like the bread shovel or butter churn etc. Things that have been passed down and used by many generations. But the history, well a lot of that is oral and as well all know a story never loses anything in the telling.
So it was with great interest that I sat down to read this book written by an Executioner in the 16th Century. Yes its maudlin and contains details that a great many may well not wish to read but it also includes observations of everyday life which helps the reader build up a picture of society as seen by a man from the outside. All in a very interesting read and whilst not for everyone it’s definitely an eye opener.
