Rob Thurman

TOP TEN TUESDAY: Ten Fictional Families I’d like to Celebrate Thanksgiving with

Top Ten Tuesday is a feature run by BrokeAndBookish each week – I’m thinking I might not take part every week but just see if a week takes my fancy. In honour of Thanksgiving (which I know nothing about really because I’m a Brit) this week I’m going to list the ten fictional families I‘d like to celebrate with, these families are going to be from books, films and TV shows and my favourite trope of “Families of Choice” will almost certainly be making an appearance.

The Pevensies – The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis
Sure the Pevensies don’t always get along but they always come together and sharing a special dinner with them, and maybe some other characters like Mr Tumnus and the Beavers, would be nice.

The O’Connell-Carnahan’s – The Mummy and The Mummy Returns
This family is #familygoals. Rick may be the only American in the family so he might have to persuade his wife, son and brother-in-law to take part in Thanksgiving but I’m sure they would and then Ardeth Bay could join in too.

The Baggins’ – The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkein
Whether it would be a small dinner with just Bilbo and Frodo, or if Pippin, Merry and Sam were there too, it would be a great meal because Hobbit’s know their food and how to party. (more…)

REVIEW: Slashback by Rob Thurman

FullSizeRender (95)Cal and Niko Leandros have dealt with monsters and killers in their line of work. But when they were younger they encountered a human killer, a serial-killer. Now twelve years later, a killer with a perchance for skinning his victims has arrived in New York and seems to have a fascination with the Leandros brothers.

I really enjoyed this book – I always feel like returning to the Cal Leandros series is like returning home – a home full of violence and monsters. It’s a world I know well and it’s comforting and easy being around familiar characters.

The action and fight scenes are so well written you can see everything play out in your head like a film. Cal is still his cocky self but there is a slight worry that he isn’t quite half monster/half human anymore and the monster side is taking over – it adds a nice subplot to the main action.

The flashbacks to Cal and Niko’s childhood were great as you see a defining moment in their lives that shaped them into who they are as adults. You see Niko’s protectiveness and how and why he is so in control all the time and then seeing him lose that control is really quite shocking and unnerving.

Naturally I got a lot of emotions about Robin Goodfellow (the guy’s one of my favourite characters ever) – especially the last chapter and I love how that opens things up for other books in the series and the characters themselves.

Slashback is fast-paced, fun and violent. Considering it’s the ninth book in this series it still manages to keep things fresh and interesting and show different sides to characters you think you know. 4/5.

WWW Wednesday – 29 July 2015

WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Taking on a World of Words. It’s a simple meme where you just have to answer three questions:
– What are you currently reading?
– What did you recently finish reading?
– What do you think you’ll read next?

I think it’s a great way to share my recent reads as my reviews are always way behind what I’m actually reading.

So here’s my answers!

What am I currently reading?FullSizeRender (96)
The Hounding of David Oluwale by Kester Aspden
This is a non-fiction book about the true story of David Oluwale, a homeless black man in Leeds who was found dead in the river. It then looks at how and why he ended up there and how the police were involved. It’s a short book but because it’s quite a tough read it’s taking me a while to read it, I do find it interesting though.

What did I recently finish reading?FullSizeRender (95)
Slashback by Rob Thurman
I really enjoyed this book – I always feel like returning to the Cal Leandros series is like returning home – a home full of violence and monsters. It’s a world I know well and it’s comforting and easy being around familiar characters.

What do I think I’ll read next?51wzxNR-D8L._SX323_BO1,204,203,200_
Secret Avengers Vol. 3: God Level by Ales Kot and Michael Walsh
I’ve been really looking forward to seeing how this run of Secret Avengers ends. It’s definitely been one of my favourite comics I’ve read so far – the characters are great, it’s funny, the art is quirky and it’s just a lot of fun. I have a lot of love for this series.

TOP TEN TUESDAY: Top Ten Books I’ve Read This Year So Far

Top Ten Tuesday is a feature run by BrokeAndBookish each week – I’m thinking I might not take part every week but just see if a week takes my fancy. As we are now half way through the year (how has that happened?!) today’s Top Ten Tuesday is the ten best books you’ve read so far this year. If I’ve reviewed the book mentioned, its title will go to my review where you can see me gush even more about it.

The Martian by Andy WeirFullSizeRender (75)
I loved the humour in this book. Mark Watney has such a realistic voice, I can image him being on Mars and being like “Well now what? Guess I’ll grow some potatoes.” All the characters were interesting and flawed and the story was gripping and funny. I cannot wait for the film adaptation – it’s probably one of the films I’m most looking forward to this year.

FullSizeRender (90)Doubletake by Rob Thurman
It was great to return to the Cal Leandros series after so long. Robin Goodfellow was still his usual self – though a little on edge due to family stuff and it was nice to learn more about Nico’s side of the family. I’ve still got more books in this series to catch up on which I’m looking forward to doing.

Secret Avengers by Ales Kot and Michael WalshFullSizeRender (57)
Secret Avengers is a lot of fun. The characters are great, the story’s exciting and fun, and the art is wonderful. If you’re not sure where to start with Marvel comics – give Secret Avengers a go. (more…)