There can be only one #SPFBO 2016
Last year I took part in the Self Published Fantasy Blog Off (#SPFBO) organised by Mark Lawrence which proved to be very successful (I think) (more details here).
This year sees the return of the competition with 300 entries being received and distributed between the bloggers taking part (10 bloggers with 30 books each). The details for this year, the entrants and other bloggers can be found here. I’ve listed below my entries for the competition and will shortly be doing a separate post that will highlight the book covers for all 30 titles. Following that – I will schedule an introductory post each month with the five books I’m hoping to take a look at for that month – this will be a description of the book. At this stage I will not have read any of the books but simply wish to try and spotlight them. At the end of the month I hope to do a short round up of the books for that month. Last year I had a rather ad hoc approach to the books on my list and the order in which I read them. This year I haven’t quite made up my mind whether to read the books in order or not but regardless my monthly introduction will highlight the books I’m planning to look at. My aim is to check out 5 books a month (although this could go over or under depending on how successful each book is).
I can safely say that last year was a learning curve for me, I approached the SPFBO very much as a reviewer and not as a publisher whittling down a pile of submissions. This year I aim to stick to a certain percentage of reading time for each book before I decide to move on – I want to be as fair as I possibly can to each of the books and give them a fair opportunity but at the same time I intend to trust my instincts and I really do intend to wear a ‘publisher hat’ in order to do so. As it says in the title, and indeed this could be a slogan for the whole competition, ‘there can be only one’ and even though it’s possible I will enjoy a number of the submissions I can only put one book forward – it’s harsh but it’s also the objective. I will also aim to keep notes on each of the books so that I can hopefully provide some form of constructive feedback (although I make no promises in that respect – I will try my best to do so but sometimes when I get caught up in reading my good intentions leave the building). Any book that I read fully will receive a review (I fell down on this area last year and didn’t review a couple of my first round books that I completed – although I did review all 10 of the finalists, which is part of the undertaking the way I see it. Even so, I do like to review the books I complete – this depends on time. If I complete all five books in a given month then perhaps short reviews, for example.
Good luck to all of the entrants and thank you so much for taking part – it wouldn’t be such a great event without all of you and I’m really looking forward to reading the entries this year. We had some really good books last year and I hope the same goes for this year too! Finally, thanks to Mark Lawrence for organising all of this :D.
Let the festivities commence – may the best book win and in the words (almost) of Tolkien:
“One book to rule them all’
My entrants:
Daniel Potter – Off Leash
Jen Greyson – Lightning Rider
R.A. Meenan – Stolen Guardian
Bobbi Schemerhorn – Mechanical Dragons: Fire & Water
Greg Little – Unwilling Souls
F.T. McKinstry – Outpost
Moses Siregar III – The Ninth Wind
Michael DeAngelo – The Fall
Gwynn White – Rebel’s Honor – to be reviewed
Kristy Tate – Beyond the Fortuneteller’s Tent
Wilson Geiger – Ash & Flame
Xina Marie Uhl & Janet Loftis – The Ruling Elite and Other Stories
John March – Vergence
Ros Jackson – Melody of Demons
Jaclyn Dolamore – The Vengeful Half
Douglas Milewski – All the Saints are Dead
Joseph J. Bailey – Soul Stealer
Terra Lorin – Avadonya: Rescuing Pavra
Aidan J. Reid – Pathfinders
Jennifer Ealey – Bronze Magic
Jon Kiln – Assassin’s Quest
Will Collins – A Darker Shade of Sorcery
Peter Ravlich – The Fallen Shepherd Saga
Kat Parrish – Bride of the Midnight King
A.G Stewart – Loose Changeling
Robin Lythgoe – As the Crow Flies
Erica Converso – Into the Sky
Ashley Capes – The Amber Isle
Christina Maharaj – The Tarot Cards
Trip Ellington – Evermage
#artitupwithfriends : Wishes
6 May 2016
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: #artitupwithfriends, 'Wishes, @badaliceshop, @pabkins
For the month of May I am going to try and take part in a daily drawing challenge organised by @pabkins and @badaliceshop. These will only be sketches but if you check out the #artitupwithfriends hashtag you’ll see some really excellent pieces of art! Each day the aim is to sketch or draw using the word for the day. Today is ‘Wishes’ and below is a rather terrible sketch but, oh well…. This is a sinister and sweet themed month. Tomorrow’s prompt is ‘Evil Twins’.
The Friday Face Off: The River King by Alice Hoffman
6 May 2016
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Alice Hoffman, Books by Proxy, The Friday Face Off, The River King
Here we are again with the Friday Face Off meme being hosted by Books by Proxy . This is a great opportunity to feature some of your favourite books covers. The rules are fairly simple and can be found here. Each week, following a predetermined theme choose a book, compare a couple of the different covers available for that particular book and choose your favourite. Simples. This week the theme is:
You Got The Blues
A cover which is predominantly blue
I had no idea how many blue covers were out there! Wow. Just wow!! The book I’ve chosen this week is from an author I really enjoy reading.
Alice Hoffman’s The River King with three covers as follows:
I’m not overly fond of the hands and fishes cover to be honest. The blurred middle cover – I like the yellow font and the layout. I think my favourite, even though it’s more green than blue is the third cover with the swan: This week’s winner:
Join in next week when the theme will be:
Which Witch is Which?
A cover which features a witch and/or witchcraft
#artitupwithfriends : Wicked Fairy
5 May 2016
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: #artitupwithfriends, 'wicked fairy', @badaliceshop, @pabkins, The Broke and the Bookish
For the month of May I am going to try and take part in a daily drawing challenge organised by @pabkins and @badaliceshop. These will only be sketches but if you check out the #artitupwithfriends hashtag you’ll see some really excellent pieces of art! Each day the aim is to sketch or draw using the word for the day. Today is ‘wicked fairy’. This is a sinister and sweet themed month. Tomorrow’s prompt is ‘Wishes’. (This could be either a fairy who has just stolen a fairy cake or just a fairy fairy cake! You decide..
The Silent Army by James A Moore
The Silent Army is the fourth installment of what is turning out to be quite an epic fantasy series by James A Moore. If you haven’t started the series yet then please be aware that this review will undoubtedly contain spoilers for the previous books in the series. Also, if you do plan on starting this series I would strongly suggest starting from the beginning in order to really get a feel for all the characters and their different allegiances.
The conclusion of the last book was incredibly dramatic with the Silent Army rising to defend Canhoon (or the City of Wonders, as it is also known) against attack from the Sa’ba Taalor. At the same time the army of the Sa’ba Taalor are on the move, their strategies are in place and although the events at the conclusion of No.3 caused them a momentary blip nothing is unsurmountable to them. Or at least so it seems. Ruthless, determined and with their Gods constantly feeding them guidance they are a force to be feared and they sweep across the land terrorising and transforming it in their wake.
Meanwhile we become re-acquainted with Andover Lashk and his companions who travelled to The Mounds to find out their secrets and probably found out a little more than they bargained for. Andover is finally coming to terms with his own destiny. He’s changed massively since we first met him and is no longer the quiet and fearful character who was so easy to beat into submission. His companions – Tega, Nolan and Drask have all been equally affected by the Mounds and are also trying to understand what exactly these changes mean for them and the role they will play in the future.
The City of Wonders is also undertaking it’s own personal journey. As well as trying to formulate war strategies and protect all the people that have flooded into Canhoon it seems that the City is experiencing it’s own difficulties in terms of mysterious deaths, riots and poisonings.
It is difficult to review this book without giving too much away. Again Moore manages to pull a number of completely unexpected surprises out of the bag – particularly towards the end of the book – which give a whole new meaning to the war that is taking place. Maybe everything isn’t quite as it first seemed and I’m certainly keen to read on and find out more! I’m assuming (or hoping) that there is more of course.
What I can talk about is the Silent Army which I thought was a great creation. A stone army that can literally melt into or appear out of the stone walls. As an army they are quite formidable, they don’t bleed and they feel no fear – however, the slight drawback is they seem to dance to their own tune. That being said, at the moment their own motivations seem to be to protect the Empress so that makes them a great asset.
I won’t go into too much more detail. I can say that this story seems to become more intriguing with each instalment, in fact this is far from what it at first appeared to be – a story of war driven by the desire to seek revenge.
This is another strong book in the series. On balance, I wouldn’t say it’s my favourite out of the series, it has a little bit of a feel of getting from one place to another place in order for another revelation to be made. But, in spite of that this is still a strong instalment with no shortage of action and Moore is excellent at writing dramatic fight and battle scenes.
I would certainly recommend this series.
