Notes of Life

Authors: Terry Pratchett & Neil Gaiman
Publisher: Corgi
ISBN: 978-0-552-15984-5

The apocalypse is due to arrive next Saturday, just after tea. The only person who knows how it will end is Agnes Nutter – a long-dead witch whose book foresees the future and impending apocalypse, if in a slightly cryptic way!

The problem, apart from the apocalypse due next Saturday, is that there was a bit of a mix up when the Antichrist was born… which may or may not have been partially the fallen angel Crowley’s fault.

With Heaven and Hell set to battle apocalyptic-style, Crowley and his opposite angel Aziraphale, who have both come to rather enjoy their time on Earth, must find the missing Antichrist and, against the wishes of their superiors, try to stop the apocalypse.

Despite being a story about the impending doom of the end of the world, Good Omens is a book that will have you laughing while you read. I can’t confess to knowing much about Neil Gaiman, but even if I hadn’t seen the cover, I would still have know this was a Terry Pratchett book because his humour runs through it like words run through a stick of rock. The partnership of Pratchett and Gaiman obviously works very well as the writing style is fluid throughout.

I loved the main characters of Crowley (a fallen angel who didn’t so much Fall as saunter vaguely downwards) and Aziraphale (an angel and part-time rare-book dealer). Despite the pair supposedly being on opposite sides (Heaven and Hell) they were practically the best of friends! The cast of characters is quite a vast one… There’s Anathema Device (a descendant of Agnes Nutter, whose life has been decrypting Agnes’s book), Newton Pulsifer (Witchfinder Private), Shadwell (Witchfinder Sergeant – who reminded me, in a way, of Arthur Bryant in Christopher Fowler’s Bryant & May series), the Antichrist and his friends, Mr Tyler (general busybody and chief complainer), the Apocalyptic Horsepersons (who should really be the Apocalyptic Bikers!) and A Delivery Man (who seems to turn up in just the right place when a package needs delivering), plus a whole load more!

The very fact that Good Omens was first published in 1990 and has been re-published a number of times since goes to show just how good this book is. The story hasn’t even aged much in the 20+ years since its initial release, except maybe for the mention of cassette tapes (those things we used to put in a player to play music, only every now and then the damned player would chew the tape up and spit it out!).

I would definitely recommend giving Good Omens a go, whether you’re into fantasy books or not. It’s an excellent read which will have you racing through the book and laughing at the humour. This is definitely one to keep and read again!

Buy Good Omens by Terry Pratchett & Neil Gaiman.

This is the 1st book I’ve read for the What Shall I Read? Book Club.

This is the 9th book I’ve read for the British Books Challenge.

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Please note: I received this book free of charge from Transworld Publishers.

Author: Lauren Kate
Publisher: Doubleday
ISBN: 978-0-857-53164-3

Are you a Lauren Kate fan awaiting the final book in the Fallen series? If so, you’re in for a treat!

On 2nd February Doubleday release Fallen In Love in the UK, a book featuring four new love stories featuring the Fallen characters. Just perfect for this upcoming Valentine’s Day.

Everyone has their own love story and Fallen In Love gives us The Valentine of Shelby and Miles, The Valentine of Roland, The Valentine of Arriane and, finally, The Valentine of Daniel and Lucinda. The four love stories intertwine during a romantic Valentine’s Day in Medieval England to make, essentially, one story.

Fallen In Love is basically book 3.5 of the Fallen series. It happens during the same time-frame  as Passion (book 3), starting when Shelby and Miles land in Medieval England having arrived via an Announcer. Each of the stories is told from a different perspective and so we get to know some of the characters a bit better than we did in the novels of the series.

While Fallen In Love gives us more understanding and insight into the Fallen characters, I wouldn’t say it’s a necessary addition to the series, but it is a welcome one. I think it’s more of a bonus book and one I’m very grateful for! In fact, when I met Lauren Kate at the Passion book launch last year I’d asked her if she’d ever considered writing a book of short stories to go along side the series. Lauren had said that it was a good idea. It turned out that she was being cagey, for the very next day the publishers announced that Fallen In Love would be released this February!

At the end of Fallen In Love, fans are also treated to an exclusive first look at Rapture, the final Fallen book, due for release this summer. I was lucky enough to hear the lovely Lauren Kate read from this at the Passion book launch last year.

Fallen In Love is a must for any Lauren Kate fan!

P.S. – There is also a FALLEN BOOKS app to bring the cover to life, but I can’t yet find it on the Android Marketplace, only on the App Store for iPhones and iPads.

You can read my reviews of the books from the Fallen series via the links below:
1. Fallen
2. Torment
3. Passion

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Please note: I received this book free from Random House in return for a review. However, this has in no way influenced my opinion of the book.

Author: Becca Fitzpatrick
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 978-0857072276

Before I get started, Silence is the 3rd book in a series by Becca Fitzpatrick, and it pretty much picks up where the previous book left off. The first two books of the series are Hush, Hush and Crescendo.

Nora awakes in a graveyard. It’s cold and dark, and she hasn’t a clue what she’s doing there or how she got there. In fact, it turns out she can’t remember the last 5 months. Summer has been and gone, just like her memory.

This sets Nora on a mission to find out exactly what happened to her while she was missing and who kidnapped her, then she can plot revenge!

Of course, fallen angel Patch never seems to be far away…….

As it had been quite some time since I read the previous book in the series, I found myself with my own memory lapse… I couldn’t quite remember what had happened in Crescendo! Thankfully though, just like Nora’s memory, mine started to come back as I read on and it didn’t have an impact on my enjoyment of the book.

Sometimes a series can start lacking by the third book, but this isn’t the case with Silence and the Hush, Hush series. I thoroughly enjoyed it and there’s another book to come yet. I’ve now begun to feel like I really know the characters. Nora is certainly starting to grow up. Of course, we’re also treated to the appearance of past characters such as Vee, The Black Hand and Scott.

Silence is full of twists and turns, along with tension, action, romance and a little humour. The ending leads us nicely to the fourth book of the series, which I believe will be the final book. (I think this was originally only going to be a trilogy) and I can’t wait to find out what happens next.

If you’ve not yet read Hush, Hush or Crescendo, then I would definitely recommend you read this series in order. I don’t think Silence is a book you can jump into without having already read the previous two books.

A must for YA, fallen angel fans.

Buy Silence by Becca Fitzpatrick.

Author: Daniel Polansky
Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
ISBN: 978-1-444-72129-4

Welcome to Low Town.

Here, the criminal is king. The streets are filled with the screeching of fish hags, the cries of swindled merchants, the inviting murmurs of working girls. Here, people can disappear, and the lacklustre efforts of the guard ensure they are never found.

Warden is an ex-soldier who has seen the worst men have to offer; now a narcotics dealer with a rich, bloody past and a way of inviting danger. You’d struggle to find someone with a soul as dark and troubled as his.

But then a missing child, murdered and horribly mutilated, is discovered in an alley.

And then another.

With a mind as sharp as a blade and an old but powerful friend in the city, he’s the only man with a hope of finding the killer.

If the killer doesn’t find him first.

The Straight Razor Cure is a thrilling crime novel with more than an edge of fantasy. It’s edgy and dark with characters showing real presence. The main character, Warden (who’s perspective the story is told from), isn’t a man to trifle with. He’s a drug dealer, ex-soldier and former agent, but he’s got a heart and that’s what sets him on a mission to investigate when he comes across missing girl murdered in a street.

Low Town, the setting, is dark and grim. It’s an apt name for a place full of low-lifes, criminals and poverty. Polansky’s words make it easy to imagine being there, seeing through Wardens eyes.

I was totally surprised to learn that The Straight Razor Cure is Polansky’s debut novel. It feels like it’s been written with complete confidence and I had expected the author to already have a number of novels under his belt. Polansky’s writing style drew me into the story and had me gripped from the very first chapter right until the final page. While it is quite dark in places, Polansky injects some wit and humour in places and I did find myself smiling at times.

I’m very much hoping, at the very least, there will be a sequel to The Straight Razor Cure, if not the beginnings of a series. I’ve come to know Warden and his acquaintances very well and would enjoy reading what’s next for them.

I’d definitely recommend The Straight Razor Cure to those who enjoy crime thrillers and fantasy. Daniel Polansky has a new fan here and I look forward to my next visit to Warden and Low Town.

Buy Low Town: The Straight Razor Cure by Daniel Polansky.

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Please note: I received this book free from Hodder & Stoughton in return for a review. However, this has in no way influenced my opinion of the book.

I was lucky enough to be invited to Lauren Kate‘s book launch by Random House Children’s Books.

For those who don’t know (and if you don’t, where have you been?!), Lauren Kate is the author of The Betrayal of Natalie Hargrove, as well as the Fallen series featuring Fallen, Torment, Passion and the upcoming summer 2012 release, Rapture.

You can read my reviews of the books from the Fallen series via the links below:
1. Fallen
2. Torment
3. Passion

The event was held at Proud in Camden, London last night. Unfortunately, I arrived at the venue soaking wet as our lovely British weather gave a downpour as soon as I came out of Camden Town tube station!

As soon as I arrived I was given a glass of bubbly and an eyeful of two topless male angels (See photo to the right showing Lauren Kate at the UK Passion Launch at Proud in Camden with angel waiters! Photo courtesy of Random House Children’s Books). What a great start to the evening!

Lauren Kate was delightful. She read us the prologue for Rapture, the fourth and final book in the Fallen series I can’t share any of it with you, but I loved it and can’t wait to read the book. I’ve got quite a wait though as it’s not out until next June (right in time for my birthday!). I loved listening to Lauren read and I think she’d be great at reading her own audiobooks.

Breaking News…

On 2nd February 2012 Random House Children’s Books will publish an original novel by Lauren Kate that is connected to her Fallen series. The novel, Fallen in Love, is a collection of four intertwined love stories featuring the Fallen characters we’ve come to love and adore… Miles, Shelby, Roland, Arriane and, of course, Luce & Daniel.

So that’s something to keep us fans going until the long awaited release of Rapture!

Giveaway (Ends midday Sunday, 2nd October 2011 – UK readers only – CLOSED!)

I’d taken my copy of Passion to get signed by Lauren, and, as we were also allowed to grab a copy of Passion at the launch party, I got to have the second copy signed for one of you. Yes, that’s right, one of my readers will win a signed copy of Lauren Kate’s Passion! To be in with a chance of winning, all you have to do is leave a comment on this post. That’s it!

Unfortunately, this giveaway is restricted to UK readers due to postage costs, but my international readers can look forward to another giveaway very soon.

UK readers have until midday on Sunday, 2nd October 2011 to enter the giveaway. A winner will then be chosen at random. (Giveaway entries now closed!).

Thank you so much to Lauren Kate and everyone involved in organising the book launch. I had a wonderful time, with plenty of bubbly top-ups by the gorgeous angels (Do you think I could have my own angel waiter at home?!) and met some lovely people. Thanks to Random House Children’s Books for inviting me.