Archive for the ‘Written Fiction’ Category

I picked up a lot of Alistair MacLean novels as reprints at a local book shop a few years ago and enjoyed a lot of them but there were a few gaps. So when I spotted Floodgate going for 75p in a charity shop I thought I’d fill the gap and give it a go.

The opening is strong enough: terrorists flood Amsterdam airport and later breach other dykes to demonstrate their capabilty. The hero Detective Lieutenant Peter van Effen takes on the job of stopping them – hes well connected, an excellent detective, a master of disguise, a crack psychologist and an explosives expert.

That is the first problem with the book – he’s just too good at everything. Very quickly he’s the cat playing with the mice who are the criminals who don’t realise he’s toying with them till he can get them all in the bag at once. Pretty soon after that all the real jeapordy goes out of the story and soon after that the villains start to get painted as misguided, unfortunates and the victims of others. I kept reading thinking their might be a twist or an interesting climax but when the final confrontation comes with just a few pages to spare its over very quickly and with a whimper rather than a bang.

So Alistair MacLean’s Floodgate will be going to find a new home at a charity shop soon.

It only seems like yesterday that Kim had a new story out but it was all of a couple of weeks ago (just enough time to read an Ian Rankin novel and a couple of history books). Her latest novella, Dark Host, was a Brava finalist and I’ve read a bit of it before so I’m looking forward to it. And as an added bonus I’ve no worries about including the cover on my blog because its very tasteful

Kim Knox Rox my Sox Button - The Unofficial Kim Knox Fan Club

Kim’s now got her very own unofficial Kim Knox fan club. Won’t be too long before she has a has a twitter hash tag all of her own too #kimknox

Demonic Attraction by Kim Knox - Cover Art

…or pant, moan, or make any other vocalisations that might wake the neighbours for three hundred yards.

Kim’s got another story out, Demonic Attraction, and while it’s science fiction and includes aliens from what I’ve read so far its not a remake of Alien but its not for the faint of heart when it comes to naughtiness.

Kim’s saying that it was written under the influence of powerful antibiotics.  Well if thats the case I can see writers of erotic Science Fiction borrowing a line from When Harry Met Sally:

I’ll have what she’s having.

The first thing I remember reading of Kim’s was the start of 7% and Rising. She’s finally finished it and it’s out now. I’ve not had a chance to read the whole book yet but I’m looking forward to it. If you can learn more about 7% and Rising at Kim’s Blog or buy it from My Bookstore and More.

Kim’s first fantasy story (stop sniggering at the back) came out today. I read Nimue’s Price a few months ago before it went to be editor and really, really enjoyed it. If you like your fantasy with a twist or your Camelot a little unexpected I’d recommend it. In fact even if you like your fantasy straight and your Camelot straight out of Le Morte d’Arthur give it a go. You know you want to really.

You can buy it now from My Book Store and More for around $2.50 .

Three blog posts in a day here and several more on Vue News and Disavowed-1010! I didn’t want to finish today without giving Kim’s new book a proper plug…

I’m not going to pretend to be a big reader of romantic fiction. Until I read Kim’s previous story Buying Mackenzie’s Baby I think the last (and only) book that might be classified as a romance was A Town Like Alice by Nevil Shute for GCSE English. However BMB was not what I was expecting and certainly not the cliche that the naked torso covers of many of these novels made me expect. It was more of a modern day story about two people and the complications and deceits their friends and families inflict on them. I’m not going to say it was the best story I’ve ever read but I did really enjoy it.

So I just bought the PDF of her latest story Past Lies and I’m looking forward to reading it. Thank goodness for the Internet – with all the naked torsos on display on the My Book Store and More site I’d have probably been to buy it if it was a real book shop. The heaving bosoms that M&B novels always seemed to feature alongside the manly torsos on the rickety rotating stands in Oxfam shops seem to be absent from their cover art.

So Kim’s (www.Romance Fiction.co.uk) second book, Buying Mackenzie’s Baby has gone to number one on Samhain’s chart.

Which is far more interesting than my having hacked about a third of the pages of the impworks website into Smarty templates.

I have a weakness for historical novels set in the Napoleonic era. I’d not read any of Alexander Kent’s Bolitho books before. Their a good read but somehow they just make me wish C.F. Forester were still writing Hornblower.