I love a good mystery and regularly visit my Sherlock Holmes novels to get my fix along with any British murder/mystery TV show. Which is why, I was very interested in The Bakers Wife after reading the blurb. It was the cover that attracted my attention, I love the it. Even though I'm more at home in the tropics, I could feel the snow squeaking under my feet and the bracing chill of the mist on my face. Erin Healy's bio says that she writes supernatural suspense novels from a Christian worldview. Her books explore what it means to be a spiritual being in a physical world, and a physical creature in a spiritual world. She is an award-winning fiction editor who worked with Ted Dekker on more than a dozen of his stories before their collaboration on KISS and BURN. If you're a fan of Ted Dekker then you should like this book. Good luck to you if you can find a copy of the book in Australian though, I've only been able to find a limited number of the audio book, whi...

This week we is very science heavy since I've been reading a lot of Astronomy and Space articles. But at the end there's an article on writing your first novel. Of special interest this last week is that Tabbies Star is staring to dim again so a lot of telescopes are trained in that direction. If you haven't seen my latest video yet , I discuss Tabbies Star and a possible scenario about what could be happening alone with a novel Pandoras Star by Peter F Hamilton , it's worth a look. There's also my latest articles: Redshirts by John Scalzi | DNF Discover | Ninth City Burning by J. Patrick Black So when it's time to relax this weekend, grab your favourite beverage and enjoy exploring the galaxy with the following articles

I was really excited to read Redshirts it had all the hallmarks of a story I thought would like.   It's a story that pokes fun at some of the Science Fiction tropes, kind of like Douglas Adams Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy or any of Terry Pratchett's Sci-Fi or Fantasy novels. Here are the notes that I took while still reading it:

Want to travel the galaxy, but can't find a spaceship within five light years that you can hitch a ride on? Well, here we'll see how Science Fiction can be instrumental helping you do that and for less than $30 a trip. The towel's optional! With  KIC 8462852 or Tabby's Star in the news again, I thought I'd get cracking and finish editing a video I started months ago.  Here's the results. Enjoy with your favourite beverage, of course. Interested? Click here to get a copy.

This week's breaking news, apart from the new Star Trek Discovery TV series trailer dropping, is the amazingly well preserved dinosaur found in a quarry, by accident! Along with that we look at how science fiction writers are shaping our future, the next mission to Pluto, encasing radioactive material in glass plus much more. So this weekend when it's time to relax this weekend, grab your favourite beverage and have a read of the following articles. Start by reading through my latest three articles: Discover | Ninth City Burning by J. Patrick Black A Quick Look at Revenger by Alastair Reynolds Up and Coming Reads | Far Space by Jason Kent

If you're in the mood for an Apocalyptic Alien Invasions story then this is the book for you. This debut novel by J. Patrick Black, is brought to life by the many narrators of the book, each one represents a different part of the society of Ninth City. Seanan McGuire , author of Magic for Nothing , says that "Ninth City Burning is simultaneously an epic fantasy, a science fiction adventure, a coming of age story, and a delight." Fans of Ender, Harry Potter, Starship Troopers, and manga-style armored mobile suits will find Black’s debut the perfect ticket to a fantastic new world…This thrilling kickoff to an action-packed series will appeal to those who enjoy science fiction mixed with fantasy. –Booklist Have you read it yet? If so catch up with me on Twitter or Facebook and let me know what you thought.

This article started off as an Up and Coming Reads however I was able to read  Revenger   before that post went live, so here were my initial thoughts before reading: We all love a good swashbuckling adventure filled with pirates and buried treasure... so this type of adventure set in space has placed this book to the top of my To Be Read list. Alastair Reynolds is a good old school, Hard Sci Fi writer and I'm very interested to read his version of a space pirates adventure. It splits the difference between Firefly and Chris Wooding’s Retribution Falls novels, albeit with more of an emphasis on the sci in sci-fi than in either of those tall tales. Niall Alexander Tor.com After Reading...

This week we look at exo-planets and the colonisation of space (or if we really need to). Along with the regular reading stuff like how to read 200 books in a year... it's possible. So when it's time to relax this weekend, grab your favourite beverage and have a read of the following articles. You can start off with some of my stuff like: Up and Coming Reads | Far Space by Jason Kent   The Arthur C. Clarke Award Shortlist 2017 Up and Coming Reads | The Collapsing Empire By John Scalzi 

Is it too much to ask a simple pilot to save humanity in its darkest hour? From reading just this one sentence I knew I wanted to read this book. It's looks like a fun space adventure, an easy read on an easy afternoon with your favourite beverage. This will go on my TBR list but if you've already read it I'd be interested in hearing what you thought. Reach out to me on Twitter or Facebook and let me know your thoughts. Far Space is an excellent story for readers looking for high-stakes adventure in outer space. The stakes are high, and the conflicts are human, realistic, and complex. The reader can invest in the story and feel rewarded by a satisfying end. -Judge, 22nd Annual Writer's Digest Self-Published Book Awards

The shortlist for the 31st Arthur C. Clarke Award for science fiction literature was announced this week. As the name suggests the award was originally established by a generous grant from Sir Arthur C. Clarke with the aim of promoting science fiction in Britain. This annual award is presented for the best science fiction novel of the year, and selected from a list of novels whose UK first edition was published in the previous calendar year. This year the Award Director, Tom Hunter said that “The novels on our shortlist this year are fascinatingly diverse, deeply imaginative and a great tribute to the memory of Sir Arthur as we celebrate the centenary year of his birth in 2017.” The winner will be announced on Thursday 27th July 2017. Below are the 6 shortlisted titles which were selected from a list of 86 individual eligible submissions. How many of these books have you already read? Do any of them look interesting to you? Catch up with me on Facebook or Twitter and ...

This week we look at which books to start with if you want to read Lovecraft's works. We also look at some beasts both real and fantastical and many more interesting stuff. So this weekend when you have some time on your hands, grab your favourite beverage and have a read of the following articles. Maybe a Mirkwood Merlot to go with your beastie reads. Start your weekend reading with my latest articles: The Collapsing Empire By John Scalz Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman QuickLook at The Long Way To A Small Angry Planet

I loved John Scalzi’s Old Man’s War series, they were riveting and fast paced stories intertwined with Scalzi’s trademark humour. I started his Redshirts novel which, while interesting I've found hard to finish. However The Collapsing Empire is his entry back into Space Opera and it looks promising. As delightful and easy to read as Scalzi at his best (Redshirts, Old Man's War), with characters who are going to stay with you whenever you have to put the book down ... which you aren't going to want to do Wil Wheaton Want to know more before buying? Check out this interview with the author over at Tor.com:  The Collapsing Empire: The Best or Worst-Timed Title Ever? Also Tor.com is reporting of a rumoured Television Deal Announced for John Scalzi’s The Collapsing Empire . As always if you've read The Collapsing Empire, let me know you think?