Author Archive: PaulineMorgan
Tricks For Free (An InCryptid Novel book 7) by Seanan McGuire (book review).
All creators, whether writers, artists or musicians must have visited places that inspired them to produce the next exciting work in their oeuvre. At times, though, that place is hedged round with copyright and the person risks litigation, especially in the United States, if something bad is set in that place. Imagine, for example, a […]
The Ion Raider (book 2) by Ian Whates (book review).
Second books of either a trilogy or a series are notoriously difficult to write, especially if it is accepted that some readers will not have seen the first book. Somehow information needs to be conveyed about the characters that continue from one book to the other, the setting has to be re-established without boring previous […]
Radix Omnium Malum & Other Incursions by Mike Chinn (book review).
Anyone who has heard of Mike Chinn will probably be familiar with either his steampunk versions of Sherlock Holmes or his ‘Damian Paladin’ stories. Since the works of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle are now out of copyright, there have been a number of stories and novels of varying degrees of competence using his character. Mike […]
Witch Creek: A Wildlands Novel (book 2 but book 4 of the ‘Dark Alchemy’ series) by Laura Bickle (book review).
There is something very annoying about cliff-hangers. It is fine at the end of a chapter when to find what happens next is only the turn of a page away or in a TV episode when the next is scheduled for the next week, but having to wait a year to find out what happens […]
Nine Of Stars: A Wildlands Novel (book 1 but book 3 of the ‘Dark Alchemy’ series) by Laura Bickle (book review).
I had always understood that a prequel was something produced after the main action but returning to earlier chapters in the characters’ lives. The ‘Star Wars’ prequel trilogy hit the screens more than ten years after the end of the original trilogy and, however much it is despised, the film ‘Prometheus’ is a prequel to […]
The Red Knight (book 1) by Miles Cameron (book review).
There are publishers from whom you expect quality publications. These are not necessarily of a literary standard as popular books of often well-written with excellent characterisation, plot structure and exciting events that draw the reader along. They may be enjoyable thrillers or pot-boilers that distract for an hour or so and once upon a time […]
The Resurrection Tree And Other Stories by Tony Cooper (book review).
Traditionally, in any collection or anthology, the strongest story is put first. The rationale is that whenever a potential reader/buyer picks up the book and turns to the first page, they will be grabbed by what is on offer and continue with it. For a similar reason, traditionally, the second best story is put last […]
Ashes Reborn (The Souls Of Fire book 4) by Keri Arthur (book review).
It may be understandable to think that writers might have run out of dangerous supernatural or mythical beings to give a make-over to and present them as desirable and sexy, especially those who specialise in erotic urban fantasy. After all, the urban landscape over the last decade or so has been peppered with vampires and […]
You Should Come With Me Now: Stories Of Ghosts by M. John Harrison (book review).
What exactly is a short story? It probably depends on the purpose of a piece of fiction. The concept that it was something that could be read at one sitting is belied by those people who will sit up all night to read all of a three hundred page novel. Competitions often put a limit […]
Scavenger Alliance: Exodus One by Janet Edwards (book review).
There is a school of thought that considers that writing for the young adult market is easy. For a lot of publishers, this is a growing market and the temptation is to persuade established authors to write for it. The problem is that not all, authors and publishers alike, know exactly what a Y/A novel […]
