Marvel Action: Avengers #2.1 – Comic Review

Originally published on Set The Tape

The first issue in the new series of Marvel Action: Avengers takes on a tone different to what has come before as Katie Cook takes over writing responsibilities. The series has always read as a children’s book; it’s always been clear that its been designed for younger readers, but it’s still felt somewhat similar to Marvel’s regular superhero books. This issue, by comparison, feels a lot more like a story aimed at youngsters, and in some ways reminded me of the weird kookiness of comics from the 1950s and 60s.

The issue begins with Black Widow calling the Avenger together to tell them that H.R. has ordered them all to take the day off. Yes, apparently the team have a Human Resources department that wants to make sure they get time off and don’t end up having a mental breakdown. How is this not something that comics address more?

Several members of the team clearly don’t know what to do with themselves when told they can’t run around saving the world, but eventually the team heads out to do their own things, leaving Thor alone in Avengers Tower to read his fantasy book ‘Storm Well’. Except, he’s not as alone as he thinks. A miniaturised Ant-Man pops up out of nowhere, causing Thor a fright that ends up with him accidentally breaking one of Black Widow’s porcelain figurines she got for her birthday.

When the two heroes decide that the only way to deal with this crisis is to try and replace the figure before Black Widow finds out they head out to a local flea market to buy a new one. Unfortunately, they’re spotted at the market by Loki, who’s enjoying a cup of coffee and a newspaper, and he decides to make things difficult for his brother.

Now, already this doesn’t sound like the typical set-up for a super-hero comic, and the fact that the villain is not only just chilling out and about in public, but only causes a mild annoyance before being let go really makes it stand out. This is why I was saying it feels like something from decades past. The story feels more like something these characters would get up to on a quiet Sunday afternoon.

None of the characters seem to have any motivation beyond chill and have fun, even the bad guy, whose main motivation behind his actions seems to be ‘this’d be funny’. But you know what? I kind of enjoyed it. There were no world ending stakes, no real danger, and the biggest issue the characters faced was finding the right porcelain doll so they don’t get a disapproving look from Black Widow. The whole thing felt as overly sweet and kitsch as the doll they were trying to find – but in a good way.

It’s not clear if every issue of this new run is going to be similar, with a series of wacky and laid back one-shots instead of arching stories where the heroes have to save the world, but maybe something like this would be fun for a change. Why have another story about costumed heroes beating up the villains to save the world when you can have something that makes you feel relaxed and brings the occasional chuckle? Perhaps this new approach can help Marvel Action: Avengers to stand out from the pack. The fact that the cover for the next issue shows Captain America teaming up with Squirrel Girl has me a little excited to see some wacky high-jinks speaks a lot to how fun this new volume of the book might be.


A great subversion of expectations for an Avengers book, one that is accessible and enjoyable for readers of all ages, but clearly aimed at the younger reader. It draws upon much older comics and recreates the fun and weirdness of titles that came before.

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Marvel Action: Spider-Man #2.2 - Comic Review

Originally published on Set The Tape

The latest issue of Marvel Action: Spider-Man picks up immediately where the last left off, seeing the spider heroes dealing with the aftermath of the Shocker’s attack. The trio have to jump in to prevent the destruction of an apartment building. Whilst this is fairly standard superhero fare it does have a little bit of a surprise when a few of the residents who hadn’t had time to run fall out. Gwen swings in and saves one and I thought to myself ‘Huh, that guy’s hair looks like an updated version of Harry Osborne’s, that’s cool’. Well, surprise surprise – on the next page he introduces himself as Harry Osborne.

If I was going to predict things that would happen in this issue Harry Osborne being introduced would not have been on my list. But this is something that I really like about the Marvel Action: Spider-Man series, the fact that they set things up way in advance, slip unexpected characters in, and talk about big name characters even before we’ve met them, such as the Kingpin being talked about a lot in the last run of the series.

I also like how the series sets up the potential of their being something romantic between Gwen and Harry, with Harry flirting with her superhero persona, and Gwen seeming to not only enjoying it but being distracted thinking about it after. There’s always been a thing about Peter and Harry getting into something of a competition over a woman in the history of Spider-Man, and whilst there’s not been any kind of hint that this version of Peter and Gwen have any kind of attraction perhaps this is indicating that maybe this classic story could be revisited in the future.

The rest of the issue is given over to the furthering of the Miles plot and his growing relationship with Mr Schultz (who is totally and completely still going to turn out to be the Shocker). It was nice to see the two of them getting to know each other a little more, and it was good to see Miles treat the revelation about him being a former convict as nothing that really bothers him. With him being the son of a police officer, and a super-hero, it could have been easy to paint him as being flatly against people with criminal pasts, but the fact that he acknowledges that people can make mistakes in their past and learn from them shows a welcome level of maturity and wisdom.

Issue #2 also manages to fit in a fun fight sequence with a big spider-like robot that takes the heroes through Columbus Circle and down into the subway system. Whilst it’s nothing that is going to wow you or strike you as new and innovative it’s a fun use of different environments taking the fight below the streets, and the drone has a great design that reminded me of the Tachikoma walker robots from Ghost In The Shell.


A great middle issue for a story-line that is giving a much needed spotlight to Miles, and reinventing one of Spider-Man’s more ‘joke’ villains.

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Trollslayer by William King - Book Review

'After fleeing the authorities in the Imperial city of Altdorf, Felix Jaeger swears a drunken oath to dour dwarf Gotrek Gurnisson to record his death saga. In the cold light of day, Felix's worst fears are confirmed as he learns that Gotrek is a Trollslayer - a dwarf doomed to seek out a heroic death in battle to atone for an unknown personal disgrace. Their travels throw them into a string of extraordinary adventures as Felix tries to survive his companion's destiny.'

Trollslayer by William King is the first entry in the popular Gotrek & Felix series, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary.

This book reminds a little of The Witcher series, in that it's a sprawling fantasy epic, where the first book is actually a series of short stories rather than a novel. The stories here were originally penned separate to each other, not really intending to be collected together into a book; Gotrek was even supposed to die at the end of the first story before King fell too much in love with the character to kill him off.

The fact that Trollslayer is a collection of smaller stories than a full novel also means that it's a lot easier to get into, especially if you're not familiar with the Warhammer universe, or not used to reading fantasy fiction. Each one reveals a little more about the lead characters, and helps readers to understand their motivations, especially in the case of Felix.

Probably one of the best stories in the book for Felix is 'Wolf Riders', which sees the reluctant human hero and his Dwarf companion join the von Diehl caravan, a large group from a former noble house, as well as their servants and families, who have been forced from their homeland. The caravan is making its way to the Border Lands to set up a new home for themselves, and Gotre and Felix decide to go along as they're heading that way too. Over the course of weeks together the heroes help to defend the caravan from a number of threats, including Goblin Wolf Riders.

It's also during this time that Felix finds himself falling in love with Kirsten, an assistant to the groups sorceress. Felix develops such strong feelings for the girl that he's willing to break his blood oath to Gotrek in order to stay with her. I won't say what happens, but the fact that Felix clearly continues on with the mad Dwarf indicates that things don't go well for the young couple. Not only is this something of a tragic story, but it seems to help define Felix's character fairly early on, and it might even be something that reinforces staying with Gotrek in the future; after-all, he may fear awful things happening again if he tries to give up on his oath.

'Blood and Darkness' is the longest story in the collection, and reads more like a novella than a short story. It sees the duo come across the remains of a town that has been completely destroyed by an army of beast men, leaving a single child as the sole survivor. The two of them take the girl in and try to get to the next town before the roving band of mutants can attack there too.

What makes this story stand out compared to some of the others is that it spends a lot of time with the villains too, giving over portions of the narrative to Justine, a chaos warrior leading the beast men. This is one of the few times that focus is given to a character other than Gotrek and Felix, and the only time a villain is given the spotlight for extended periods. This would go on to be something that would happen more as the series goes on and begins to feature Grey Seer Thanquol. It's also the first appearance of a character that would go on to return several books later and after many years in the story.

The final story in the book, 'Ulric's Children' is a great story that hardly features Gotrek at all, having him become separated from Felix for the vast majority of it. Instead, we have to follow Felix as he's put into a very scary situation, in a story that plays out more like a horror tale than anything else. It's a chilling story, and leaves the book on a very dark note.

Trollslayer is a really good introduction to both Gotrek and Felix, and the world of Warhammer Fantasy itself. It gives both characters a chance to shine, and lets readers know early on that despite Gotrek being the one to run headlong into danger Felix is no less a capable and valiant hero, even if he hasn't realised that himself yet. The only problem with the book is that it'll leave you wanting to start reading the next one in the series straight away.

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Prophet's Journey by Matthew S. Cox - Book Review

'Althea struggles to adapt to an unexpected twist in her life—not being kidnapped in six whole months. The strange police from the faraway city claim the abilities she thought of as magic are really ‘psionics,’ and say she is far stronger than anyone they have ever seen. Despite their curiosity, they let her remain in the Badlands to protect her from an evil they call corporations.

'Of course, Althea knows all too well how powerful her healing gift is. For most of her life, she’d been a prize taken in raids. Tribes have killed to own her, and she let them. But the Prophet is done being passive. Having a family changes everything. No longer afraid to use her powers to protect herself, Althea refuses to be taken again… even when corporate mercenaries find her.'

Prophet's Journey was something of a difficult book for me to review. When I was offered it it was marketed as the first book in a series, one set in a post-apocalyptic future. It all sounded interesting, and I thought that I was set to delve into this new world. The thing that I found tripping me up several times whilst reading the book, however, was the fact that whilst this is the first of a new series, it's a series that spins out of an existing six book set.

I'm not sure how much of The Awakened series you have to read to get to know Althea and her history, from what I gather the series has multiple protagonists so it's possible that she is only one small part of that series. The biggest issue I found wasn't not knowing about Althea's past or the set-up to her world, as much of this is easily explained during the book; no, what kept drawing me out of the story was when she mentions specific events or people. These were often in relation to something that was happening their and then in the book, something simple, but something that reminded her of a past event. Whilst this kind of thing isn't usually an issue for me, Althea was coming out with names of characters I didn't know so often I felt like I was a little ill-equipped to be reading Prophet's Journey.

Now, I want to make this clear that this isn't a criticism of the book or Matthew S. Cox and his style of writing, but was something that I personally had trouble with. If you've read the other books of his set in this world then I'm sure these references and callbacks would not only be fine, but probably enjoyable. And even if you haven't read the previous books, you might not have the same trouble that I did. I think this is purely down to me. That aside, the book is really good, and tells a good story about a super powered young girl in something of a nightmare future well.

The book begins with Althea living with an adoptive family in a relatively peaceful settlement, and the troubles of her past seemingly over. She's no longer being hunted by various tribal groups or gangs who want to worship her or keep her prisoner for her powers, and in some cases both. She's still getting used to this new way of life, and it very quickly becomes clear how much she's missed out on because of her troubled past when you see how innocent and simple she is. She's not had the education that a lot of people have, and struggles to understand reading and writing, and whilst she's been exposed to some awful things, seems to be completely lost with simple, basic life.

This makes Althea something of an innocent and sheltered narrator, and we see several times over the course of the book that this can lead to some strange results. She can appear naive and dare i say 'stupid' to some people who think that they know better than her simply because they understand the world a bit better, whilst other times her wide eyed innocence can help to melt the hearts of some who wouldn't usually want much to do with her. There are even a few moments where her way of being adds some small humour into what could otherwise be a quite dark and depressing world.

Along her journey Althea meets several interesting characters, some of whom stay with her for longer than others. These include former bandits, subway dwellers who worship old companies and their logos, synthetic people, and even a ghost. Each of these people brings something new into the mix, and helps Althea learn a little more about not just the world around her, but what it means to be a person.

Despite this being a story about a girl trying to get back to her family it's also a story about growth. It shows a young girl who's barely more than a child, and exposes her to new dangers and new ways of thinking. It shows her how other people live and survive in this big, frightening world and helps to inform her own way of thinking, without needing her to give up on her innocence and willingness to try and help people.

Prophet's Journey is an interesting post-apocalypse world, one that seems to merge science fiction and fantasy well, and gives readers a fun and lovable protagonist to show it to us through.

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The Horusian Wars: Divination by John French - Book Review

'Myriad are the cohorts of the Inquisitor Covenant. As he struggles to unpick the plans of the mysterious and deadly 'Triumvirate', he must use every weapon in his arsenal and every resource at his disposal. These are the men and women who follow his iron example, his closest agents, psykers and killers. Every tool is necessary in the war against Chaos and herein are eleven tales of such gifted, devout and sometimes terrifying individuals. Heed their stories, their origins, their bleakest moments and their greatest triumphs. What destiny has in store in the end none can say for sure, all we can do is turn the card and see what fate decrees...

'A truly awesome collection of short stories featuring Inquisitor Covenant. Read about the allies – rogues, agents, psykers and killers – who aid him in his battle against the darkness.'

I still remember one of the first times I came across Inquisitor Covenant, it was when his model was released for the old Inquisitor game. Whilst I only briefly delved into that game he was at the time sadly outshone for me by the Eisenhorn model as I'd fallen in love with that character through the books. However, thanks to some of the amazing novels released from Black Library since then I've come to have a new respect for Covenant and his band of warirors.

Hoursian Wars: Divination is the latest entry into the Horusian Wars series, a set of books that sees Inquisitor Covenant fighting against a faction within the Empire that wants to recreate Horus, a figure invested with the power of the Warp, but that will unite mankind rather than enslaving it to Chaos. Whilst the main series addressed these issues, this new book sets aside the big picture to spend time looking at each of Covenants main allies, giving a short story over to several of them.

'The Mistress of Threads' centres on Viola von Castellan, sister to Covenant's other ally Cleander (who also has a story to himself), and second in line to the von Castellan legacy. Her story immediately stands out as different from the others in the book as it' told through communication logs rather than regular prose, using the Warhammer 40,000 equivalent of letters to tell its tale. Contacted by a cousin of hers, Cressida Syr Morio, she is asked for help to get out of a tricky situation. Cressida and her husband have recently fallen on hard times, and their entire trading operation was on the verge of collapse before a shadowy group called the Cyctos Cartel stepped in to help them.

As can be expected from a shadowy group that comes in to help you without wanting any obvious reward other than 'friendship', there are hidden string attached. My first thought here was that it was going to end up being some kind of criminal organisation that was wanting to use Cressida's company to do something dodgy; and I was right, just not in the way that I was imagining. Over the course of the communications it begins to become clear that the Cytos Cartel are actually a front for a Genestealer cult. Obviously, such a group can't be allowed to stick around, so Cressida uses Covenant's resources to step in and wipe them out. But even this action is told in the form of after-action reports and logs.

The story is a fun little tale where the mystery becomes obvious to anyone familiar with the Warhammer 40,000 universe even before Viola says the dreaded G word, but it's still really fun to see how things unfold. It's also fairly unique as it's one of the few times that I've seen big actions scenes written as dull reports that still come across as exciting.

'Spirit of Cogs' turns attention to Glavius-4-Rho, the former Martian Tech Priest. In this tale Glavius tells a story to Severita, the former Sister of Battle. He recounts a story from his early life, long before he met Covenant and joined his team. Having been summoned to the planet Zhao-Arkkad for his experitise in plasma reactors, Glavius discovers a secret mission by a group of Tech Priests to restore a huge, hitherto unknown kind of titan, to life.

The story is written as part mystery, and part slow burn horror, as Glavius descends deep beneath the surface of the planet to the dig site far below, where the sleeping machine awaits. The secrecy surrounding this project already makes it creepy enough, with the way the chief Tech Priest acts being weird enough to raise questions, but when you discover that the Titan is somehow drawing all sources of energy to it, including simple things like light from candles, it makes the whole place a very disturbing location.

There's no confirmed answers given in the story as to what this Titan is, or why these strange things are happening within it, though the small detail that it's painted purple and has golden metal seems to be a heavy hint that it's tainted by Chaos as it immediately made me think of Slaanesh and the Emperor's Children. The fact that you don't get these answers, however, helps to increase the level of discomfort you get from the story, and makes it one of the creepiest entries to the collection.

'The Father of Faith' might be one of my favourite stories in the collection. It focuses on Josef Khoriv, a former gang member turned Preacher. We get to see some of his past in this story, showing readers the violent and bloody upbringing he had living in a hive city before being seized by a Navy press-gang. It's here that he meets Abernath, a preacher who gives Josef an opportunity to make something more of himself and get him out of the violent and dangerous lower levels of the ship.

Abernath proves to be someone who shows Josef that there's the possibility of more for him than the life he currently knows, and meeting that man would completely change the course of his life forever. So when Covenant learns that Abernath has been arrested for heresy and blasphemy, Joesf is given the chance to try and help him.

The reason why this story stood out to me amongst the others in the book, why it's the one story I thought about most after finishing, is the end. So if you don't want it spoilt for you turn away now as  I have to talk about the final pages of this story. Having accepted his crimes and confessed there is nothing that Josef or Covenant can do to save him, and he is punished accordingly. The two characters discuss this, and Josef makes a request of Covenant regarding Abernath after his punishment. Now, I was expecting this to be Abernath being executed and they request his body so that they can give him a proper burial; but I forgot how horrible the 41st millennium is. Instead, Abernath is butchered, and transformed into a horrifying Arco-flagellant. The scene where Josef goes to collect his former friend and mentor, finding a mindless monstrosity in his place was genuinely heartbreaking, and left me close to crying. It was a stark reminder that there are no 'heroes' in the Warhammer 40,000 universe, and that the humanity of the future is a horrific, and often brutal regime.

These are just a few of the stories on offer in The Horusian Wars: Divinations, and the collection is packed with tales that are of equally high quality. There are stories that are full of action and adventure, deep dives into character's psyche's, mystery and intrigue, and enough exploration into characters pasts that proves that whilst Covenant might be the central figure of the series, each one of his team are well crafted and amazing characters who would be more than capable of headlining a story of their own.

The Horusian Wars: Divination is set for release on April 30th, 2020.

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The Breach by M. T. Hill - Book Review

Originally published on Set The Tape

'Freya Medlock, a reporter at her local paper, is down on her luck and chasing a break. When she's assigned to cover the death of a young climber named Stephen, she might just have the story she needs. Digging into Stephen's life, Freya uncovers a strange photo uploaded to an urban exploration forum not long before he died. It seems to show a weird nest, yet the caption below suggests there's more to it.

'Freya believes this nest - discovering what it really is and where it's hidden - could be the key to understanding the mysteries surrounding Stephen's death.

'Soon she meets Shep, a trainee steeplejack with his own secret life. When Shep's not working up chimneys, he's also into urban exploration - undertaking dangerous 'missions' into abandoned and restricted sites. As Shep draws Freya deeper into the urbex scene, the circumstances of Stephen s death become increasingly unsettling - and Freya finds herself risking more and more to get the answers she wants. But neither Freya nor Shep realise that some dark corners are better left unlit.'

I wonder if at some point this book had the working title of ‘The Steeplejack and the Journalist’, as I think I’ve read those words more in this one book than anywhere else; definitely when it comes to ‘steeplejack’. Joking aside, however, these two characters are definitely the main focus of the book, with little to no other characters making much of an impact upon the narrative mystery.

The Breach sees Freya, a young journalist working at a small publication looking for her big story, stumbling across the beginnings of a mystery when Stephen, a young climber, dies in an apparent drunken accident. It doesn’t take long for Freya to discover that things don’t quite make sense surrounding Stephen’s death. Getting to the bottom of what happened to him becomes something of an obsession for her, eventually leading her into the illegal, underground world of urban exploration, where she meets Shep, a steeplejack.

Shep leads Freya into the world of urban exploration, and the two of them become exposed to something that may have led to Stephen’s death: a mysterious nest hidden deep inside an abandoned bunker.

There’s definitely a sense of mystery to The Breach, as most of the chapters that follow Freya involve her looking for answers in some form or another. Out of the two leads Freya is definitely the audience vehicle. She has a more recognisable life than Shep, and it’s a lot easier to settle into this not too distant future with her. She’s a young adult trying to make her way in the world, to forge her career, but has fallen on some bad luck and some poor decision making, leading her to have to move back in with her parents and to feel dejected with her job. That’s something a lot of people can identify with.

Shep, on the other hand, is something of an outsider. For starters, his work is something that most people would have no experience of, and even if you’re familiar with the term ‘steeplejack’ you might find yourself struggling to explain what the job actually entails. Even in his job Shep’s a loner, never really being able to make friends with his co-workers, and being treated like the weirdo colleague no one wants to talk to. I don’t think we even see him interact with anyone in his life either, there’s no family or friends, he never goes to his home, he just sleeps in his van and hangs out on his own.

Perhaps it’s because of how much of a loner Shep is, but his segments of the book definitely take on a more surreal feel. Thanks to this mysterious nest that he and Freya are exposed to he seems to be going through a series of physical and psychological changes that read as very trippy. Coupled with his already unusual behaviour in the early parts of the book, these bizarre changes makes him read as a very unreliable narrator, and it is never clear if the things in his chapters were actually happening, or some kind of delusion.

Sadly, the book is very light on the ground when it comes to answers. For the vast majority of the book things are happening with no explanation or even hint as to what or why. Shep is falling to pieces, and Freya is losing her mind, but we don’t know why. Yes, there’s a theory presented in the first few pages but then there’s nothing more for three hundred pages. Even right at the end when we get given some more information there’s no actual answer as to what’s happening or why.

I know that this is a type of storytelling, to subject the characters and readers to a series of bizarre events that destroy them psychologically, and to give no answers so as to maintain a sense of mystery and horror, but if I’m honest I don’t find that kind of storytelling to be very satisfying. Sadly, we’re not given anything more than vague hints, and so I left the book feeling like nothing happened and that there was no conclusion.


This is a personal take however, and I’m sure that some people won’t be bothered by these factors and will enjoy the book. The rest of it is good, it’s well written and the characters are fleshed out and engaging. However, how much you enjoy the book will definitely depend on if you like unanswered questions or not.

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A Study In Scarlet: The Sherlock Holmes Children's Collection - Book Review

'After a mysterious murder leaves the police baffled, the world's best amateur detective is asked to investigate. Along with his fellow lodger, Dr Watson, Sherlock Holmes sets about uncovering a quest for revenge that runs far deeper than anybody suspected.'

The Sherlock Holmes stories are some of the most popular and enduring mystery books of all time. They've been published and reprinted dozens, if not hundreds of times, they've been adapted to film and television across the world, and Sherlock Holmes has become one of the most instantly recognisable literary characters. Despite this popularity, however, it can be difficult to introduce new readers to these stories, especially younger readers, due to the age of the books and some of the language used within. This is where the Sherlock Holmes Children's Collection steps in.

A Study In Scarlet is the very first Sherlock Holmes story, and introduces readers to both the titular detective, and his faithful companion Doctor John Watson. It's the perfect gateway into liking Sherlock Holmes, but no just because it introduces these characters; after all, they're so iconic that many people, myself included, start reading Sherlock Holmes stories other than at the start and manage to know who these people are. No, the reason this is the best book to begin these children's adaptations is because time is given over here as to how Sherlock is able to make is amazing deductions.

Quite often Sherlock will outline how he gets to his conclusions, or simply ask Watson to 'use my methods' to encourage his friend to try his hand at getting the answer, but this might not be something that is easy for children to grasp, so having a central part of the book be Watson discovering and observing Holmes doing his thing, and being suitably impressed by it, makes it a lot easier for the younger readers.

The whole book seems to be crafted this way, 'what would be best for younger readers'. The descriptions are much simpler than the original book, with a lot of the language of Arthur Conan Doyle streamlined for a modern reader. That being said, the book doesn't lose much of its character for doing so. It still feels like a Sherlock Holmes book at its heart.

The book doesn't try to change anything that's important, and it doesn't try to shy away from the more gruesome or strange aspects of the original. There are still dead bodies, described in detail, there is still blood, still people seeking revenge. The writers who adapted the book knew that these things were important parts of the narrative, and that children would be okay with them if they are presented in a way not designed to frighten. As such, bodies are described in a detached way, with more detail given over to the smaller details of their clothing or their surroundings; because this is how Sherlock Holmes sees things, and this is what the children need to concern themselves about. They need these tiny details to keep their mind on the mystery, and not be worried about someone having been killed.

Things are also kept somewhat lighter for the younger readers with the inclusion of illustrations. Whilst the original stories in the Strand Magazine had illustrations that were aiming to be realistic, these are very stylised pieces. The people are very angular and have strange proportions, and sometimes don't quite line up properly to their surroundings. Instead of this feeling strange, however, it helps to add to the ease of access to the younger readers.

Whether you pick this book up intending for it to be read by a child, or you're simply looking to get into Sherlock Holmes stories yourself and wanted a mild introduction to the character, this book is perfect to the task. Any child who reads this is sure to be able to get a grasp of the characters and the world that Holmes inhabits, and the ease of reading for adults means that it gives you a good taste of the style of Conan Doyle's mysteries, without getting you bogged down in the writing style of the 1880's.

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The Twisted Ones by T. Kingfisher - Book Review

'When Mouse’s dad asks her to clean out her dead grandmother's house, she says yes. After all, how bad could it be? Answer: pretty bad. Grandma was a hoarder, and her house is stuffed with useless rubbish. That would be horrific enough, but there’s more—Mouse stumbles across her step-grandfather’s journal, which at first seems to be filled with nonsensical rants…until Mouse encounters some of the terrifying things he described for herself.

'Alone in the woods with her dog, Mouse finds herself face to face with a series of impossible terrors—because sometimes the things that go bump in the night are real, and they’re looking for you. And if she doesn’t face them head on, she might not survive to tell the tale.'

Okay, first thing first, if you're in self isolation and want to read this book you should definitely do that, however, if you're doing so in a building that's surrounded by woodlands, maybe give it a miss for a while.

The Twisted Ones is easily one of the creepiest books I've read in a very long time. It follows Melissa, a competent and level headed woman who's roped into clearing out her recently deceased grandmother's house out in the woods of North Carolina. She agrees to do this to help out her ageing and ill father, and to get back a bit at her grandmother, who she assures the reader many times was a bit of a horrible person. The fact that everyone who Melissa meets during her stay thinks the same thing about her grandmother helps make every grumble and bad word said about her feel earned.

The biggest problem that Melissa finds upon arriving, however, is that her grandmother was something of a hoarder. The house is filled with stacks of old papers, boxes of junk, and there's even a room dedicated to creepy dolls; a room that Melissa justly nicknames the 'dead baby room'. Despite having to face the massive mounds of junk and dozens of trips back and forth to the local dump she actually gets on with it well, enjoying spending time with her faithful dog Bongo, and making friends with the motley assortment of neighbours living on an old hippie commune across the road.

Things take a turn, however, when she discovers a strange hill when out walking Bongo, a treeless mound that shouldn't be there. There's also the strange rock carvings that dot the hill, ones that seem to get into her head and mess with her, that add to the bizarreness. When Melissa uncovers a journal kept by her step-grandfather, talking about the strange people in the hill, she begins to think that there may be something even stranger going on. Who are these 'twisted ones' he keeps writing about, are they connected to the strange carvings, and who made the gruesome effigy out of a dead deer in the woods behind the house?

I enjoyed what Kingfisher (the pen name of Ursula Vernon) does with this book. She takes the time to build up Melissa and her task of clearing out her grandmother's house before anything weird or creepy actually happens. She writes the book from Melissa's point of view, and thanks to the casual, somewhat conversational nature to the writing it feels like you're talking to a real person a lot of the time, and it really helps to create a rounded and engaging person. Melissa isn't perfect by any means, she has her flaws, she makes some bad choices over the course of the book, but she admits this. She points out that she'd have been smarter to have run away at the first sign of trouble, and jokes about how she's dumb for not doing so.

I also loved how when Melissa discovers the manuscript made by her step-grandfather where he tries to recreate a creepy old book he read that ties into the events surrounding the house she can't help but fall back onto her job as an editor and begin to pick his writing apart and add commentary about what he should have changed. Some books would go out of their way to create a lead that's perfect or idealised, who can handle the stress and horror around them, but Melissa has to fall back on what she know even when faced with terror because it's what a normal person does.

Kingfisher seems to have a way with making the characters that inhabit The Twisted Ones feel very real and likeable this way, and even those characters that might only be in a few scenes come across like flawed and faceted people, the kind of people you'd meet in real life. I especially adored Foxy, the no-nonsense woman who lives across the road who takes Melissa under her wing and tries to help her with her problems. I had such a clear sense of what she looked like and how she acted from the way she was written, and she was so charming and nice that I'd totally want to hang out with her for a night getting to know her better.

The horror elements of the book are especially well done too, and Kingfisher seemed to prefer to create a slow mounting dread rather than in-your-face horror; which I really enjoyed. There's a sense of things not quite being right for a good while before the 'big' scare moment comes. I'm not going to say what it is, but anyone who's read the book is sure to know the part I'm talking about. The fact that you also realise something in that moment that makes you realise the horror elements were introduced a lot earlier in the book, and have been skirting around the edges really made it uncomfortable.

Whilst the horror does certainly become more of a central focus towards the end of the story I loved that it took its time, that the book let you get to know the characters and the set-up first, means that when it started it just felt so much more uncomfortable.

I also loved that Kingfisher acknowledges the writing of Arthur Machen in the afterwards of the book, noting that element of the book were inspired by Machen's work. I definitely got vibes of his stuff when reading the story, and love that Kingfisher was influenced by it. Hopefully this will also lead to more people checking out his horror writing too.

The Twisted Ones is a book full of great, enjoyable characters that feel real. They come along and charm you so quickly that you'll be a little upset that there's not more of them in the book, but the nature of horror means that Melissa has to be alone for a lot of the scares to feel really frightening. Perhaps a sequel without any of the horror where Melissa just goes and stays with the friends she made to spend time with them could be something Kingfisher could work on in the future; I'd certainly love to read it. The scares and the tension mean that the horror works so well, and will probably put you off staying in the woods for a good while too. A brilliant horror experience.

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Jonathan Ross Comes Out In Support Of Transphobe Graham Lineham

British television host and entertainment personality Jonathan Ross has expressed his support for well known transphobe Graham Linehan.

Linehan, who is best know for creating the comedy shows Father Ted, Black Books, and The IT Crowd, has become a big name in British transphobia over the last few years. His public attack against trans people began in December 2016, when he argued about a trans person being featured on the cover of National Geographic.

Since then Linehan has continued a campaign against the trans community, claiming that he believes gender dysphoria exists, but that he doesn't believe that people can change gender, and that it is 'dangerous' for people to transition.

In 2018 Linehan received a police warning from West Yorkshire Police for harassing a trans woman on Twitter, and was banned from contacting her in the future. Despite this, Linehan released her private details, including photographs of her before she transitioned.

Linehan changed his target to trans children, and in 2019 tried to have Lottery funding taken away from the children's charity Mermaids. When Linehan's followers bombarded the National Lottery with complaints they removed funding from Mermaids. Thankfully, a YouTube streamer, HBomberGuy, raised £265,000 for Mermaids in response to this action. Following this, Linehan was condemned in the Scottish Parliament for his actions.

Recently, Linehan has begun to compile a database of 'gender critical' Irish therapists who are willing to perform dangerous and harmful conversion therapy on transgender children, an action that is illegal in Ireland.

Linehan also appeared on the BBC programme Newsnight, where he publicly compared allowing transgender children to receive hormone blockers is comparable to Nazi's experimenting on people.

Whenever he's called out for his actions online Linehan is quick to respond by getting his followers to attack people. He also frequently gets into arguments with women, shutting down any of their complains, which has led to frequent complaints about misogyny.

Despite this very long and public display of open hate towards a vulnerable minority group, Jonathan Ross has come out in support of him.

Following a tweet from Linehan complaining that some people were trying to encourage him to stop harassing trans people, Jonathan Ross replied 'I struggle to understand the opinions of intelligent men I previously admired - Jon Ronson and Billy Bragg - that strike me as tragically ill informed and depressingly self-aggrandising. I know you are paying a heavy price for this G, but I admire and applaud you.'

It's not clear whether the 'celebrity mate' Linehan referred to is either of the people named by Ross, but both Jon Ronson and Billy Bragg have previously expressed support for trans people.

Many have already come out against Ross and his comments, complaining that his support for Linehan and his views is an approval of transphobia.

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NVK by Temple Drake - Book Review

'HER SECRET MUST BE KEPT FOR ALL ETERNITY.

'Set in the otherworldly megalopolis that is today's Shanghai, Temple Drake's suspenseful first novel blends the gothic, the erotic, and the supernatural as it charts an intense and dangerous affair. One night in 2012, executive Zhang Guo Xing takes a group of European clients to a fashionable nightclub in Shanghai. While there, he meets a strikingly beautiful young Western woman called Naemi Vieno Kuusela. The physical attraction between them proves irresistible, and they embark on an intoxicating affair. But Naemi is not what she appears to be...

'To Zhang's surprise, she veers between passion and wariness, conducting the relationship entirely on her own terms. He feels driven to find out more about her, and is swiftly drawn into a web of intrigue, mystery, and horror. Is she a ghost? A demon? Do the living dead walk the streets of twenty-first century Shanghai?'

It's hard to put a finger on exactly what genre NVK fits into best. There are elements of horror, a lot of romance, and some mystery thrown in too. At it's heart I felt that NVK was a story about people, and even though it embraced the fantastical at times. The narrative follows Zhang, a Shanghai businessman, who meets the beautiful and mysterious Naemi one evening in a bar.

Zhang is a successful, middle-aged man who seems to have everything he could want; he's rich, has a great career, a wife and son, yet there's something about Naemi that enraptures him and makes him want her. Naemi also sees something desirable in Zhang, and the two of them engage in a passionate affair that begins to border on obsession for both of them.

What makes this love story different from others is that the reader is let in on the secret that Naemi is actually hundreds of years old, with the very first chapter being set in the 1500's. It's never actually stated what Naemi is, though there are several theories given forward during the narrative. She has some vampire-like tenancies, but only ever drinks her own blood and not anyone else's, it's also speculated that she might be some kind of blood drinking ghost. Naemi's true identity and her origins don't really seem to matter though, as the book sidesteps giving readers any answers or explanations in favour of focusing on the relationship between the leads.

I have to be honest, I'm not one who loves romance stories, and can sometimes get bored with them, and the main thing that kept me interested during NVK was hoping that I would get to find out what Naemi is, or that the book would take a darker twist towards the end, playing into the hints of horror that were sprinkled throughout. As this never happened, I was left contemplating the relationship between Zhang and Naemi.

I didn't like their relationship. First of all, Zhang is a married man and has a kid, yet seems happy to have a very sexual affair with a woman he thinks is close to two decades his junior. It's even suggested more than once that this is not the first time that he has cheated on his wife. Whilst you never actually see his wife during the book, and it appears that she and Zhang's son are either living elsewhere whilst Zhang works, or that they're potentially separated, the book never comes out and confirms that the marriage is bad or unhappy. As a result, Zhang just seems like a cheater who doesn't care about anyone's happiness but his own. Thankfully, he shows concern for friends later in the book that at least show he has something of a heart.

Zhang also stalks Naemi several times during the book, even before he starts to think that she might be something other than human; as such, you can't even blame him searching for answers as his reasoning. He follows Naemi from her work, stalks her across the city, and even hires someone to dig up information on her. Whilst some people might think that this is somehow romantic, I just saw it as possessive and creepy. He's a man using his wealth and power to get what he wants.

Naemi, at least, isn't some young, impressionable woman who can fall victim to such stalkerish tendencies, and thanks to her centuries of experience proves to be something of a match for Zhang, being just as deceitful and manipulative. She lies to him about her past and who she is, which is understandable, but when she begins faking international trips so that she can stalk and confront Zhang's friends she becomes just as creepy and manipulative

I don't like how the characters act towards each other, I don't like that lies and manipulation seems to be the go to tactic for everyone here, even the side characters. As such, I struggled to connect to anyone and really didn't care about the relationship between Naemi and Zhang. They were just as bad as each other.

This disappointment might come from romance not being my favourite genre, and for being disappointed that there wasn't more focus on the supernatural elements of the story. I'm sure that there will be readers who pick up the book and really enjoy it, because it is a well written piece of fiction. One of the things that I really liked about it was how Temple Drake managed to create moody and atmospheric scenes pretty much all the time. They were able to use Shanghai to craft locations that felt bright and vivid, the playgrounds of the rich and famous; yet also at times it became a dark and brooding backdrop that heightened the sense of horror and the supernatural. It was almost cinematic in its imagery, and you could easily picture these places in your head even if you'd never been to Shanghai yourself.

NVK might not be a book that set my world on fire, but it was still a well crafted and well written story that managed to keep my interest for the most part. Whilst I would have liked it to have gone in a different direction, perhaps this will be something that the writer will explore in future books featuring the character. As is, this is a story that will definitely appeal to fans of supernatural romance.

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Echo Cycle by Patrick Edwards - Book Review

Originally published on Set The Tape

Echo Cycle is a bit of a weird book. It meshes together two very different tones in two interconnected narratives that shouldn’t work, yet somehow Patrick Edwards not only makes it feel right but makes it bloody good too!

Echo Cycle is set in a world where Britain has left the European Union and become an isolationist nation. Whilst Britain has suffered extreme poverty and strife the rest of Europe has come through their own shaky period of upheaval to become a powerful group of nations. Sensing that they can no longer shut themselves away from the rest of the world, a delegation is sent to Rome, the centre of the new European Confederacy. One of the members of this group is Lindon Banks, who visited the city two decades before on a school trip, where his classmate Winston Monk vanished.

When Lindon runs into Winston on the streets of Rome, where he appears to have spent years living rough, he is told a fantastical tale: one where Winston found himself transported back to the year 68 CE, and lived his life in ancient Rome.

These two stories – a crumbling Britain on the brink of collapse after isolating itself, and a teenager magically transported through time to live in ancient Rome – don’t seem too connected on the surface, and it takes a while of reading the book to figure out just how they are. Not just the fact that Lindon and Winston end up meeting and their stories intertwining, but how the history of the Roman Empire, and the rise and fall of leaders and the change of regimes reflects modern politics more closely than you’d first think.

The book also feels incredibly timely thanks to the recent withdrawal of the UK from the European Union. This is where I get personal for a moment, and brutally honest: I think it’s a mistake. I voted against it. I have family from Italy that have lived here for 50 years, and who I’m afraid will be deported. I think the whole thing was motivated by fear, xenophobia, and hate. And Echo Cycle seems to kind of agree with me. It’s not stated what Patrick Edwards thinks of the real world situation, but considering how he paints an isolationist Britain suffering on its own I think he might lean the same way that I do.

Because of these personal feelings Echo Cycle managed to draw out some very strong emotions. I got absolutely angry at the members of the British delegation who were being racist bastards, looking down their noses at people doing so much better than them just because they’re foreign. I felt a great sense of sadness when Lindon spoke about how poor the medical care was, how food was scarce, and power rationed, because that’s something I actually worry about. And the book almost made me cry when he spoke about how the LGBTQ+ community was stamped out in Britain, because I’m expecting something like that to really happen.

The book drew upon all the worst case scenarios about what could happen to Britain in our future. It affected me more that I thought it would. If it wasn’t for the sections where we jump into ancient Rome to see Monk living as a slave or fighting as a gladiator, I think the book might have been too depressing for me finish it. Luckily, the sad parts are fleeting, and the book contains not only magic and mystery to lift you up but a sense of hope too.

I came to see Echo Cycle as a story of survival. It wasn’t just about the survival of a teenage boy dropped into ancient history, literally fighting for his life at times, but about the survival of a nation. It gives the message that despite what we may choose to do, if things go horribly wrong, there’s always the chance for them to be set right again. If Britain suffers alone we can still try to rejoin our neighbours, we can still have hope of a brighter tomorrow. I just hope it won’t take 50 years and magic to get us there.

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John Richter's Disturbing Works Volume Two - Book Tour

I've really come to love anthology books over the last couple of years. They feel like they're quicker to read than full length novels, they usually have a great variety to them, and they can help you discover new readers. One of the best things about anthology books is that they tend to present a range of different authors. This will mean that if there's a particular story or style that you just don't get along with you'll probably find the next story in the book to be different enough to be an improvement. When you come to an anthology that is all from the same author, however, I sometimes get a little worried. I mean, what if I don't like their style or way of writing? That's a whole lot of short stories that could end up being not my kind of thing.

When I came to Jon Richter's Disturbing Works I did have a little trepidation. Not only was this an anthology all from one writer, but one that I've never read before. But I shouldn't have worried one bit. Not only is this easily one of the best anthologies I've ever read, but it's very firmly in my top ten books of the year so far.

As the title may suggest, the stories included in this collection are disturbing, all of them having some kind of horror element to them. What really surprised me the most, however, is how each story seems to draw upon a different type of horror theme; and how they varied so much that I could have easily thought that they came from very different minds. It doesn't take the whole book to realise that Jon Richter is an incredibly talented writer, one that's able to slip into these different styles with ease and produce incredible quality.

'The Pit' is the first of ten stories offered in this collection, and very quickly sets a tone for the whole book. Set in a town where the local council is in negotiations with striking refuse collectors, the town has descended into a toxic nightmare of rubbish and rot. Uncollected waste sits in the streets, decomposing around peoples homes and workplaces. Whilst people have begun to throw their rubbish in the local quarry, nicknamed the pit, it's not doing much to halt the spread of disease and infection. The story is gross. Richter manages to create an atmosphere that's so disgustingly real that even reading it makes you feel a little dirty, almost like you've been infected through the pages. As the story goes on more disturbing things begin to be revealed to the reader, and it makes you truly hope that your own town never has to go through anything like this.

'Polaris' is a great little monster horror story that reminded me a little bit of 'The Thing'. Set at an abandoned mining station in Antarctica, it's filled with creepy atmosphere and haunting visuals as a small group of explorers attempt to track down a mysterious creature that has been killing local wildlife. Despite not getting long with the core cast of characters they're very quickly and very clearly defined, consisting of a pilot, a tracker, a hunter, and a cryptozoologist. The story relies on slow burn and mounting tension rather than in your face horror, and this makes it one of the creepiest stories in the book. As the story progresses we get a few answers as to what might be happening on this remote island, but never get any definitive answers. By the end of the story I was so fascinated with this thing hunting the main characters and just wanted to know more. Of all the stories in this collection this is the one that I wanted longer with. Not just more to this story, but a whole book to itself. Hopefully this could be something that Richter will revisit one day in the future.

'Leviathan' tells an intriguing period piece, written through a series of journal entries. It follows a reporter who has been assigned to follow a record breaking deep sea diving attempt, where a scientist and a rich explorer are attempting to descend deep beneath the ocean in a new submersible. The change in writing style, to one written in journal form, reminded me of Victorian era stories such as 'Dracula', 'Frankenstein', and even a little bit of Sherlock Holmes. 'Leviathan', however, is set later than this, in the mid 1930's. Because of this setting and the focus on travelling beneath the ocean, and the prevalence of tentacled sea creatures, it did bring a little bit of Lovecraft and the Cthulhu mythos to mind. I really enjoyed this story thanks to these nods to other literary styles and settings, and found its slow burn thriller style approach to be incredibly engaging.

Many of the stories in this collection felt like takes on some of the best known horror themes and tropes, and 'Endurance' was quickly identifiable as Jon Richter's version of 'Texas Chainsaw Massacre' or 'Wrong Turn'. Set during an extreme endurance race around a remote mountain, the lead character finds themselves stumbling into the territory of a group of frightening mountain folk. Very much in the vein of the films previously mentioned, they're mutilated, twisted versions of humanity out to hunt, kill, and eat their fellow man for no other reason other than their personal endurance. Despite not being a particularly likeable lead, the battle for survival overrides what comes before, and leads you to start actively rooting for someone who just pages before seemed like a complete arse hole.

These are just a few of the stories presented in the book, and some that jumped out at me as being particularly good. Despite highlighting these ones, I would say that every single on of the ten stories presented here are equally as good. The quality of writing is consistent throughout, with engaging and varied characters, interesting themes and settings, and interesting takes on some of the best loved horror stories. I'm confident in saying that if you like horror this book will definitely make you happy. There may be some stories that you like more than others, but Id find it hard to believe that any of them would fail to keep you entertained. Luckily, there's a whole other volume like this one that I haven't read, but will definitely be checking out now.

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The Hunger by Alma Katsu - Book Review

Last week saw the release of the latest novel by Alma Katsu, The Deep, a frightening new take on the story of the sinking of the Titanic, as well as its ill-fated sister ship The Britanic. Mixing together the supernatural and a real historic event is something that Katsu has some experience with, as her award winning novel The Hunger did just that.

To celebrate the release of The Deep, here's my review of The Hunger once again for anyone that might have missed it.

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'Evil is invisible, and it is everywhere. Tamsen Donner must be a witch. That is the only way to explain the series of misfortunes that have plagued the wagon train known as the Donner Party. Depleted rations, bitter quarrels, and the mysterious death of a little boy have driven the pioneers to the brink of madness. They cannot escape the feeling that someone--or something--is stalking them. Whether it was a curse from the beautiful Tamsen, the choice to follow a disastrous experimental route West, or just plain bad luck--the 90 men, women, and children of the Donner Party are at the brink of one of the deadliest and most disastrous western adventures in American history.

While the ill-fated group struggles to survive in the treacherous mountain conditions--searing heat that turns the sand into bubbling stew; snows that freeze the oxen where they stand--evil begins to grow around them, and within them. As members of the party begin to disappear, they must ask themselves 'What if there is something waiting in the mountains? Something disturbing and diseased...and very hungry?'.'

The Donner Party is a name that brings some very clear images to mind, a group of people travelling across the vast wilderness of America, falling victim to bad weather and poor directions until their only course of action was to resort to cannibalism to survive. Just on its own it's a disturbing and somewhat horrific story, one about the desperate need to survive. Alma Katsu adds a whole new layer of horror to the story with her novel The Hunger when she makes the group the victims of something much more evil.

Katsu mixes together historical fact with fiction, and real life people with her own creations incredibly well. I was familiar with the story of the Donner Party before reading this book, and was able to pick out certain places and people that I remembered, but those that were fabricated were done so with a huge amount of skill. There's no obvious moment where you can tell a person if completely new to this story. Katsu is able to bring a great deal of life to all of the characters in her book, making the factual and fictional feel alive.

The story of The Hunger begins with the wagon train already on their journey west, trying to find a better life, when tragedy hits in the form of a missing child. The mutilated body that they find is only the beginning of their woes, and almost becomes something you forget about as things worsen for the group, not realising that this dead boy hints at so much more to come.

Along their journey the group begins to fracture, falling to infighting and various mishaps, such as broken equipment and lack of supplies. People turn against each other, protecting their own and suspecting all those around them of wanting to harm them. It's a very real and believable set of events, one that highlights humanities ability to quickly turn on itself when it feels threatened. This fractured and disheartened group discover that their own squabbles are far from the worst thing that can befall them on the journey, however, when strange creatures begin to stalk them, picking them off one by one.

The reveal of the supernatural elements in the book is slow, choosing to let readers get to know the characters first, to understand their motivations and personal conflicts before it turns more towards horror. The horror elements are quite subtle too, with often only one or two people seeing what's happened and the rest of the group finding it hard to believe. The fact that there aren't monsters terrorising the entire wagon train or big set pieces helps to make things feel more believable, perhaps even part of the real events. The fact that some of the people who see these outside forces are considered to be unreliable by other members of the group, for various reasons, and that people are beginning to fall into depression and desperate hunger makes you begin to question if certain things are even happening. Maybe it's psychosis brought on from hunger and fever that's really tormenting these people?

The Hunger is not a fun book to read, it's depressing, grim, and creepy. This isn't just because that's what the author set out to do, but because you know whatever happens isn't going to end well before you even open the book. The story is based upon a tragedy, so when characters suffer and die awful deaths you don't feel shocked or outraged, but a sad resignation. There were characters that I liked, that I wanted to see live because they seemed like good, decent people, and seeing them slowly suffer and die felt like it was eroding me away too. You can enjoy the book, take pleasure in the well told story and great characters, but you're not going to finish it with a sense of happiness; unless perhaps at being happy the awful events are finally over.

Alma Katsu merges together historic fiction and horror in a great way with The Hunger, taking one of the best known tragedies in US history and putting a new spin on events. Whether you're familiar with the story of the Donner Party or not, this story is sure to chill you.

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Cursed: An Anthology of Dark Fairy Tales - Book Review

'It's a prick of blood, the bite of an apple, the evil eye, a wedding ring or a pair of red shoes. Curses come in all shapes and sizes, and they can happen to anyone, not just those of us with unpopular stepparents... 

'Here you'll find unique twists on curses, from fairy tale classics to brand-new hexes of the modern world - expect new monsters and mythologies as well as twists on well-loved fables. Stories to shock and stories of warning, stories of monsters and stories of magic.'

Anthology books can be a gamble. The very nature of compiling a book with a dozen or more different authors, with varying styles and takes on a certain subject means that there could very easily be some parts of a book, perhaps even a majority, that won't quite be to your taste. Luckily, readers seemed to have dodged this curse (see what I did there?) with Cursed: An Anthology of Dark Fairy Tales.

The brilliant duo of Marie O'Regan and Paul Kane have once again produced a collection of short stories and poems that not just manage to entertain, but make some bold choices. As the name of the book suggests, there are some stories in this collection that have their roots in the world of fairy tales, and are intriguing reinterpretations of classic stories, whilst some others do something completely different and bring the magic and horror of curses into the modern world.

'As Red As Blood, As White As Snow' by Christina Henry is the first story in the anthology, and draws upon the tale of Snow White as inspiration. If you're at all familiar with Henry's work you'll know that she has a history of taking stories that you know and twisting them into new and interesting tales, such as Red Queen, Alice, and Lost Boys, and this story is no exception. It completely flips two of the central characters, making Prince Charming into a truly frightening villain, whilst the character of the 'wicked' stepmother is actually a caring figure out to help the heroine.

'Haza and Ghani' by Lilith Saintcrow takes the well known Hansel and Gretel and gives it an Indian twist, having the twins run away from home instead of being abandoned, and finding refuge a temple to the Flayed God rather than a witch's home. Despite these differences the story manages to stay true to the themes of the original whilst giving readers something new. Similarly, 'Wendy, Darling' by Christopher Golden uses the character of Wendy Darling from Peter Pan as the basis for what proves to be an incredibly dark and haunting story that also seems to draw upon imagery from the legend of la llorona.

It's not just re-imagined fairy tales on offer here, however, as some of the stories in the collection are completely original and set in more recognisable, modern worlds.

'Hated' by Christopher Fowler takes a very modern look at what a curse could be in the modern world, and how it could affect someone and change their life. It's probably one of the most subtle stories in the book, and doesn't push magic or mysticism in your face. It shows how one tiny thing could go on to alter your life in huge ways.

'Henry and the Snakewood Box' by M.R, Carey takes a somewhat lighthearted approach to the idea of curses, and mixes in some interesting notions about the inner workings of the universe and how time can change. 'Faith and Fred', on the other hand, is a much more haunting story, and would fit right at home in an anthology about ghosts and hauntings, packing in some seriously creepy moments.

These aren't the only stories in Cursed: An Anthology of Dark Fairy Tales by a long shot, and there are some others that I haven't even mentioned that stand out too. The book is packed with great tales, and some amazing authors. Whatever style that you enjoy, or writers that you like, is sure to be met here. The book has something for everyone, and continues the tradition of Titan producing some of the best anthology books around.

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