A Necklace of Souls, by R L Stedman (HarperCollins, RRP $25): Dana is a princess in the hidden Kingdom of the Rose, a sheltered, magical land that allows no war or disease to penetrate its borders. Protected by the Guardian – always a woman of the royal family who pays a terrible price –...
Crystal Venom By Steve Wheeler (HarperCollins, RRP $30) This is the second in the “Fury of Aces” series by New Zealand writer Steve Wheeler. The crew of Basalt are continuing their adventures. Their success so far has brought both blessings and curses. Popularity and fortune vie with jealousy and the pressure of further success....
The Prince of Soul and the Lighthouse, by Fredrik Brouneus (steampress.co.nz, RRP $30): I’m more than a little fed up with the whole vampire craze so I am enjoying the resurgence of interest in the other undead: zombies. Author Fredrik Brouneus has taken the zombie apocalypse theme and given it an awesome southern flavour...
Wool, by Hugh Howey (Century, RRP $30): They say you should never judge a book by its cover and I thought I’d been tripped up by doing just that with Wool. With my recent rediscovery of the joys of knitting, I was taken by the title of this novel, and a quick read of...
The Madness of Hallen By Russell Meek (thekhaladastone.com) The Madness of Hallen is the first instalment of a four- book saga – The Khalada Stone series. The stones themselves hold the memory and power of an ancient warrior leader. Supposedly lost in the mists of time, they have become a legend remembered by few...
Iron Crowned, by Richelle Mead (Bantam Press, RRP $40): Best-selling author Richelle Mead has made her name writing the Vampire Academy novels but this novel is the first in a different series, still in the fantasy realm but minus the fangs. Otherworld is an embattled realm mystically entwined with our world. Shaman-for-hire Eugenie Markham...
Slawter, by Darren Shan (HarperCollins, RRP $16.99): If your kids are like I was growing up and enjoy a good horror, this is the one for them. The third book in horror master Darren Shan’s Demonata series, Slawter works just as well as a stand alone story so don’t be put off if you haven’t...
Day Watch, by Sergei Lukyanenko (Random House $36.99): This is the second book in the Night Watch trilogy, a series of vampire novels set in post-Soviet Moscow. Here, vampires operate under license and Good and Evil are part of a Cold War-like balance of power. The Others walk the streets of Moscow, indistinguishable from everyone else. They...
The Swarm, by Frank Schatzing (Hodder & Stoughton, $36.99): Off the Peruvian coast a fisherman drowns, dragged to his death by a mysterious underwater current. He is not alone. During the coming weeks, thousands like him will die each day — killed at sea and on the beaches by oceans that no longer behave in a way...
The Road to Dune, By Frank Herbert, Brian Herbert & Kevin J Anderson (Hodder, $24.99): In a companion piece to the hugely popular Dune series of science fiction books readers are taken back to the creation of the Dune novels. Brian Herbert, son of the late Frank, and Kevin J Anderson have already told...
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