Reviews

The Weekend Australian: SYDNEY -BASED author and publisher David M. Henley has written a science fiction novel full of fascinating concepts and ideas. The Hunt for Pierre Jnr is set in 2159: the Earth’s climate has long gone haywire and humanity is at a crossroads. The emergence of people with psionic powers such as telepathy and telekinesis threatens the established order. In response, a global organisation, Services, is charged with identifying, segregating and repressing the psis. Extreme measures are implemented in the hope of heading off a psi rebellion.

The focus of the novel is the hunt for an eight-year-old boy, Pierre Jnr. He has been born with unprecedented powers that allow him to take complete control of anyone around him and to erase their memory. An elite team has been assembled to track down the boy, but locating him is one thing, containing and controlling him another. Tracking Pierre Jnr is made possible by the weave, a futuristic version of the web that has come to connect humanity to an unimaginable degree. As Pierre Jnr changes the world around him, the weave reacts. A catastrophic event in Paris generates mass fear and leads to a rapid change in popular will, which brings down the existing leadership and facilitates the rapid rise of anti-psi hardliners. All this occurs within hours, taking the idea of something going viral on the internet to a new level …

The Western Weekender: Readers will be drawn into an eerie, dystopic world in new science fiction novel The Hunt for Pierre Jnr, which heralds a return to the golden age of sci-fi .The book, written by author and publisher David M Henley, has been described as a combination of the style of beloved writer Phillip K Dick and Japanese anime. The Hunt for Pierre Jnr is the first of a bold new trilogy, set in the not too distant future in the year 2159 where society has changed dramatically compared to the world we live in now. … With its futuristic theme and dystopian vibe, The Hunt for Pierre Jnr will be a hit with sci-fi and spec fiction fans who are sure to be hooked on this three-part series. 

The Sydney Telegraph: THIS is the second book in talented fantasy writer Duncan Lay’s Empire of Bones trilogy. Bridge Of Swords, the first in the series, ended in a breath-taking cliffhanger and the action picks up almost exactly where it left off. Led by the reluctant elf-in-exile, Sendatsu, the supposedly magic-less humans struggle to find a way to defend the country they love from their invaders. In this volume, both the humans and the elves begin to discover that past events are not what they have been led to believe. As the humans search for a way to defend their country, events back in the Sendatsu’s Dokuzen continue to unravel. With multi-layered plots and multifaceted characters, Valley Of Shields is an action packed, entertaining read. – Janet Hughes

Galaxy Bookshop:I wanted to squee and do a little dance when I found this little treasure waiting for me at work. After reading the first chapter online a month in advance I was already hooked and itching to sink my fangs into the rest of the story. As the author’s first stab into urban fantasy, I was intrigued to see how she would take on the genre and make it her own. For previous readers of Anne Bishop’s work, this story has many of the same elements as her other works. It’s dark, complex and captivating. It’s not the sensuous epic of the Black Jewels, or mysterious like her Ephemera novels; but holds a darker and wilder note altogether. Read more.

BurnBright.com.au:Anne Bishop has held my attention for many years. She’s had me giggling, crying and just completely enthralled by her Black Jewels series. So you know the drill; see a new series coming out and HAVE to read it.First impressions of Written in Red are quite good. This is a lovely thick book. Cover art in black and white, with a red title. The image of a girl with her head bowed is set within the shape of a howling wolf and placed against a white backdrop. Very effective.Read more.

RT Book Reviews: “INCREDIBLE. This description applies to everything in Anne Bishop’s newest book. The worldbuilding is amazing, the characters are incredibly well drawn and power play between the different groups is engrossing. Top this off with a mystery surrounding the heroine’s past — which is revealed one tantalizing piece at a time — and this novel is one of the best reads of the year!” - Morgan Doremus, RT Editor Read more.

SpeconSpecFic: I hate the word unputdownable. I really do. But I’m going to use it, because that’s exactly what The Iron King is: terribly difficult to put down once the cover is cracked. I shouldn’t be surprised as the series comes highly recommended by none other than George R. R. Martin himself, and it’s easy to see how Martin was inspired by this historical epic. Read more.

Write Note Reviews: I tend not to read a lot of fantasy books, but after reading The Lavender Keeper and being captivated by Fiona McIntosh’s superb storytelling, I had to give The Scrivener’s Tale a go. I’m glad I did – I was soon transported from present-day Paris into medieval Morgravia and swept along with a fantastical adventure. Those familiar with McIntosh’s writing will recall Morgravia from The Quickening series; however, this novel is not a continuation of that series but a stand alone. Read more.

Dark Matter Fanzine: The storyline [ of Winter Be My Shield]is set in a framework of international politics.  The countryside featuring the action in this novel is like a northern country bordering the Arctic Circle, where winter rules and summer is a slush-fest of mud and insects.  I’m not sure what the fascination with snow is for people like Spurrier and Cory Daniells who DON’T LIVE IN THE SNOW, but Spurrier certainly wrote it well enough for me to feel cold.  In spring.  In MELBOURNE.  Read more

Fantasy Book Review:  Last Friday I became one of those guys. You know? Those guys who tear up at the end of a book? I saw a tiny little tear stain the last page of Nightfall and in the two days since that moment I am still thinking about that ending and the whole experience I just went through. I have read hundreds of books over the years, and a few of them have been emotional, but nothing has even come close to extracting the types of emotions that Will Elliott managed to pull out of me. Read more

Dark Matter Fanzine: It must be said that I have read Nightfall with some anticipation after having heard of it’s interesting premise and the high praise for Will Elliott’s first novel The Pilo Family Circus (which I have not yet read, but certainly plan to). Nightfall is a strange novel. Good strange. Comparable, I believe, to Clive Barker’s style of fantastical horror (think Books of Blood) – not as intimidatingly dark, but with similar bizarre elements, characters, landscapes and events. Read more

The Newtown Review of Books: Bridge of Swords  (Part One of Empire of Bones) opens with an Elf thrown from his hidden land, Dokusen, as a result of machinations within his realm concerning the decay of magic and the bitter rivalry between his brutal father, the tyrant at the head of the council, and the equally untrustworthy controllers of magic, the Magic-weavers. His name is Sendatsu. He must leave behind his adored motherless children and his unattainable love, Asami, and seek the reasons for the separation of the two cultures, Human and Elvish, which occurred in the far past. Read More

The Newtown Review of Books:At the beginning of The Dark Divide, the twins’ situations are reversed [ from that in The Undivided ]. In Dublin, Darragh is dealing with the forces of the modern world. He is tried for larceny, conspiracy to commit murder, as well as kidnapping.  Ciaran, a warrior Druid, is there to help. We know that Ren, who has undergone an extraordinary apotheosis, will also be called on to help Darragh as the story continues. Read More