Communion by Steve Stred is the second book of an ongoing trilogy – book one was Ritual (which we reviewed here) and the second book starts pretty much where book one finished. This proposed trilogy of books by Stred is dark, brooding and graphic as hell, with Stred giving us a slice after slice of
It is early evening when a dishevelled and terrified twelve year old girl bangs on the door of a middle aged Irish priest. Her father has disappeared and we immediately find ourselves sharing the narrator’s intense anxiety. Conor O’ Callaghan’s first novel, Nothing on Earth, is a Gothic tale set in a barren half built
In the Introduction to Europa28, writer Laura Bates states that ‘women see things differently […] it comes as a shock, because our default setting is to see things through men’s eyes without ever realising we are doing so.’ I am more than inclined to agree. It’s along this premise that we find Europa28, an anthology
Well if you’ve found your way to this review you’re either a fan of Planet of the Apes, Folio Society or a consumer of fiction – well if that’s the case you are in for a mighty fine time. If you’re a space travelling lost soul and discovered this (a message in a bottle if
Dear Laura is one of the finest novella’s that I have read, the stylistic qualities on show are sublime, the prose is taut as if at any moment it’ll snap and whip the reader – maiming them at any given moment. The uniqueness of the story is another masterstroke with Amor dropping us right into
A librarian – Irena and Prince Kai – a dragon, are sent on a mysterious dangerous mission to acquire an old book from Mr Nemo, a well-known collector. Irene and her companion are told they must succeed to realign and stop probable chaos in their world. Irene and Kai are sent on this adventure to
Last Meal In Osaka & Other Stories by Gary Buller is a journey through various interpretations of horror, first we have Swashbuckle Cove which is your more childhood based horror where we are unsure if the things that are transpiring to our protagonists are real or if it is a coping mechanism for grief and
Rym Kechacha worked as a professional ballet dancer with the Northern Ballet before becoming a teacher. She has an MA in Creative and Life Writing from Goldsmith’s University and Dark River is her debut novel. Dark River entwines two parallel stories, both centring on a mother fighting to protect her family from the impact of
Places are never just places in a piece of writing…The Dream House was never just the Dream House. Picture a house. What do you see? The outside? The front door? A picket fence framing its border? Do you see the kitchen table or the wallpaper in the livingroom? The pigeons nesting in the roof? Can
A raw and gritty look into the workings of a modern-day marriage, The Codes of Love is a gripping debut that combines soft, hazy images of the isolated countryside with the overwhelming intensity of love and lust. Hannah Persaud makes us question everything we think we understand about relationships and gets underneath the skin of
