Review: Manslayer by Nathan Long

Title Manslayer

Author Nathan Long

Year 2007

Stand Alone or Series Gotrek and Felix IX

Pages 416

Reading Time August 02 to 09, 2012

Synopsis

Now back in the Empire following their sojourn overseas, Gotrek and Felix head north, to aid the men of the Empire in their fight against the invading Chaos hordes. Stopping off in Nuln, they meet up with dwarf engineer Malakai Makaisson, who is helping the Imperial war effort by transporting cannons to the frontline on his airship, The Spirit of Grungni. After a series of nasty accidents, it becomes clear that saboteurs are at work - can our heroes find the villains in time to save the day?

Review

The second book written by Nathan Long about Gotrek and Felix. As the previous one I enjoy it and read it quite fast. Gotrek and Felix are back in Nulm but this time the fiends are not the Skav... Beastmen as the officials say. The Skaven don't exist. It was the Beastmen that attack the city. The power of denial is strong on that city. 

Gotrek and Felix arrive to Nuln on their way to the north to fight Archaon. Fortunately they met Malakai Makaison that says that they can save a lot of time going on his airship that is due to leaving in a couple of days. Meantime things don't go as plan and it seems that someone doesn't want the airship and it's supplies to arrive there.

From there Gotrek and Felix try to find who are the culprits that have exploded the cannons, stolen gunpowder and destroyed half the lower part of the city.

This was an interesting reading because Ulrika is back and what a part she had on this tale. I start getting anxious to get my hands on the Ulrika Trilogy Nathan Long penned. The ending is quite good but the final battle isn't as good or difficult (even if the author says by via Felix that it is) as a Daemon or a Dragon or a full scale attack in Beastslayer. 

The epilogue is quite good because we get to see what is happening to Thanquol. That epilogue links to CL Werner trilogy about the skaven grey seer.

Although not as funny or good as William King I think it was a good choice making Nathan Long the writer of the trademark of Warhammer Fantasy even I would vote for CL Werner. 7/10

Review: Adolf in Wonderland by Carlton Mellick III

Title Adolf in Wonderland

Author Carlton Mellick III

Year 2007

Stand Alone or Series Stand Alone

Pages 180

Reading Time 5days 14/09/2011 to 18/09/2011

Synopsis

In an alternate version of the future where Hitler had conquered the entire world during WW2 and developed society into his vision of utopia, an SS officer is on a mission to find and exterminate the last imperfect human on Earth. Following his trail leads the young Nazi to a small town hidden in the middle of the desert; a place that has been cut off from society for so long that it has developed its own strange and disturbing culture. Thus begins Mellick's dreamlike adventure that takes a young descendent of Adolf Hitler's design and sends him down the rabbit hole into a world of imperfection and disorder, where even the laws of reality itself don't seem to apply. A tribute to both Franz Kafka and Lewis Carroll, "Adolf in Wonderland" is a perfect read for fans of the bizarro genre.

Review

This is an interesting story. Nazi Germany meets Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland. Two unnamed soldiers of Nazi Germany are off to search for the last imperfect men. After being knocked out he finds himself in a world of chaos and imperfect. After reading a name on his uniform he thinks that he is Adolf (and other people do to). The book is full of misadventures and strange beings/people. Bizarro fiction at it's best. The writer really is creative and have a lot of imagination and I bet a little twisted mind. 

Bizzaro fiction is not a very easy concept and not very easy type of book to read. I will keep reading a couple more to make my mind of it but so far it's not getting much points in my scale. But you can't judge a genre because of one or two books. 7.5/10

Review: The Mailman by Bentley Little

Title The Mailman

Author Bentley Little

Year 1991

Stand Alone or Series Stand Alone

Pages 320

Reading Time 17/02/2011 through 05/03/2013

Synopsis

Once upon a time, waiting for the mail was filled with warm anticipation. But there's a new mail carrier in town, one who's delivering lethal letters stuffed with icy fear. Now nothing--not even the most outstanding citizens or the most secret weaknesses--is safe from the sinister power of this malicious mailman!

Review

If there is author of Horror that I really feel confortable reading is Bentley Little. This was the sixth book I read. The Association and The Colection are two of my favourite horror books.

Well, if you read any of his books this one follows that thread. Bently Little uses a thing/person of everday and turns it into a evil thing. The association was one of those things. Who could thing a house association could be so evil.

All his ideas, the ones I read, are far different from other horror writers. And that's what so interesting about him. I think in a way he is gem. An hidden gem for that matter.

As you read this novel about this mailman you understand that this is fiction personage but it could happen. Well Maybe. It's realistic enough.

The story begins with the arrival of a new mailman because the last one has commited suicide to the disbelief of everyone. The new mailman (until the very end) you can't understand what he is. I think that's the best part of the novel. From the beginning to the end is an enigmatic character that make you think if he is real or supernatural. From the first moment on he begins to torment all residents, first with only good things on the mail changing to only bad mails at odd hours and other things... As you turn the pages the creeping sensation on your neck begins to rise until the climax at the final confrontation.

The main character and it's family are quite good characters each with it's problems with the mailman and themselves. That gave something more. This was one of the creepiest books I've read. 8/10

Review: Antarktos Rising by Jeremy Robinson

Title Antarktos Rising 

Author Jeremy Robinson

Year 2008

Stand Alone or Series Origins IV - (Part of Series of stand alone novels)

Pages 453

Reading Time 05/05/2013 to 26/07/2013

Synopsis

A phenomenon known as crustal displacement shifts the Earth's crust, repositioning continents and causing countless deaths. In the wake of the global catastrophe, the world struggles to take care of its displaced billions. But Antarctica, freshly thawed and blooming, has emerged as a new hope. Rather than wage a world war no nation can endure, the leading nations devise a competition, a race to the center of Antarctica, with the three victors dividing the continent. It is within this race that Mirabelle Whitney, one of the few surviving experts on the continent, grouped with an American special forces unit, finds herself. But the dangers awaiting the team are far worse than feared; beyond the sour history of a torn family, beyond the nefarious intentions of their human enemies, beyond the ancient creatures reborn through anhydrobiosisthere are the Nephilim

Review

This was an interesting book I read in two settings. The first time I didn't felt connect to it. The second time I read it in a row.

The story unfolds after an apocalpyse that changes earth's climate. Antatartica becomes a green paradise and the north hemisphere becomes frozen.

The timeline in my opinion was a little rushed because everything happened quickly. But to my knowlegde everyone knows the earth crust shall change in the nearby future and nobody knows how fast and how long it will take. So no fault there. Imagination.

This books deals with the aftermath of the before mentioned apocalypse and we follow a two or three viewpoints which help the flow of the story.

This story deals with a race to the Antartica from several countries so they can colonize it. Unfortunaly there are somethings that made me what to stop reading and because of it I won't give 5 stars. First all countries are what we know of them without question. The Americans are the good guys (even if they have to do some nasty things to Good prevail, or as the Tau says "For the Greater Good"). The arabs are suicide guys. The chinese comunism is what we think they are. Singleminded and without feelings. The Russians are what american movies portrait of them when they were under the Iron Curtain. The Europeans are dumb and of course they must follow the almighty american people. And so on. Cliches and cliches that made me sick. 

The Nephilim are an interesting concept, even the christian references to the flood are. But as I said those cardboard characters are quite bland. (I don't know if this is the term for it).

In the end I didnt' enjoy the all reunion thingy... cliche, and for me I read it as a hollywood script where everything ends alrighty... 

But don't get me wrong. Nevertheless it was a good book, apart from the cliches. I shall read Kronos book.

Rating: 7.5/10