A new book, coming soon(ish) from debut author Chris Murray (LOKI - THE DEVIL ANGEL)

Please see below an extract from my debut novel that I am currently working on..... I would love to hear your thoughts, so please leave a comment below....

"The Kiron religion believe that the devil is the chief spirit of evil and adversary of god, temper of mankind, master of hell. God on the other hand is believed to be a supernatural being conceived as perfect, omnipotent, omniscient and the object of worship in monotheistic religions. But god also means any supernatural being worshipped as controlling some aspect of life or who is the personification of a force. So in philosophical terms the devil could easily be a god according to the latter definition, as like god himself the devil does control some aspects of life and is an personification of a force even though bad"....my name is John, I am 34 years of age and I'm a 'Loki' or for a better definition a 'Devil Angel', I of course don't know this yet but over the course of the next 24 hours I will get to find this out real quick! I'm also the only known link between the ancient Kiron & Eikon  sects so I guess I have some sort of deal with the devil? All I know is that I never asked or indeed wanted this life, but something's, I guess, are thrust upon you....this is my story....

Chapter 1

"Put that bloody book down and go and help ya mum with the shopping bags"....this is the last thing my dad told me before he walked out of the house, stinking of alcohol for yet another nights 'bender' with his 'friends', my dad bossed us around a lot, especially mum, who would routinely have arguments with doors and always come off 'second best'.....this night was different though there was a strange smell in the air (a smell I've never come across before), the kind of smell that takes over all your senses until you are paralysed to react. I've always had a keen sense of smell, even from a young age I could always smell things others could not, my mum put it down to me being a 'special boy', my dad put it down to me being a 'loki'. I never really understood what that meant, but what with my dad's aggression and drinking you learnt not to question and came to accept it 'as dads way'.....

(C) Copyright. All rights reserved. @Itsablurbthing

Its 'FRIDAY QUESTIONS' time!

Its Friday which can only mean one thing its time for 'FRIDAY QUESTIONS'.....

1) Are our 'purchasing choices' really influenced by a review? 

2) How much power does a reviewer really have over someone's work? 

Want to get involved? Leave a comment! #SIMPLE! 

Glitter & Trauma, by Emma Kathryn

"Get ready to be illuminated and taken out of the shadows - cuz this is her town and NO-ONE is gonna mess with it!" @itsablurbthing

When you see the word 'superhero', followed by the phrase 'an essential novella for comic book fans' I'm onto it like a dog on a meaty bone!

I love this genre (yes I am a closet comic book geek at heart!) and was over the moon to have a chance to read this short.

As soon as you pick this novella up and start reading it you can just feel the authors love for comic books and dare I say it her love of everything DC radiating from the pages! - it pains me to write that as I am an avid Marvel supporter, however I can appreciate the 'dark side' on the rare occasion!

Story

The story itself is original, vibrant and lends itself to a typical comic book format (i.e. it gets to the action straight away and leaves the reader with no doubt that "this is all about the action"!). If I was to be critical, however, I would say that yes there are typos and the change-up from 1st person narrative to 3rd did frustrate me at times, however, overall for a first short this was a well constructed story - remember even Apple had glitches at the beginning!

Characters

The author has really linked the characters well in this story and the main character of Sarah A.K.A. 'The Illuminator', whilst being instrumental to the core of the action, also has a vulnerability about her that is really reminisced of comic book character's of old - Spider-Man, Superman & to a degree Batman all have a vulnerability to them that allows fans to connect with them on a more 'human' level, which I think is really important in ensuring that the character is believable (or certainly as believable as any superhero truly can be).

I particularly love the relationship between Leech 'I'm a dog on heat' & Patch 'I actually have a dogs name' as this is a classical case of Stud vs Geek, so I would be interested to see how this develops in subsequent stories of the series (hoping and praying of course that there is!).

I feel that, overall, this short has potential and if the correct time and dedication is taken over both the development of the characters, the story and the longevity of any potential series, the author, may, just be onto something!

3/5 (Stars)

MADAGASCAR 3: EUROPE'S MOST WANTED

 

 

"@itsablurbthing: Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted - a predictable storyline maybe, but in 'DreamWorks we trust' - circus lights please! (6/10)"

The above is the mini-review I gave the trailer - I know a measly 6/10 which is not a good start, especially after having to donate one of my own kidneys  in order to afford the cinema tickets (but that's a different review altogether)! Neither-the-less I always remain optimistic, after all this was the 3D version...so, as I sat myself down, looking like the son of Roy Orbison and attracting unwanted attention through my organisation of noisy food supplies, I awaited the start of the film...which, after a considerable amount of adverts, eventually came! So as I sat back, grabbing my straw  and taking a large slurp of drink, I readied myself to be sent on my DreamWorks adventure...

Now, I can't help doing this, like I can't help correcting my son, but I am always fearful for a film maker when they move from the sequel into the unchartered territory of the dreaded 3rd instalment (we all know what happened to the Police Academy & American Pie franchises) and with the relative simplicity of the Madagascar back story how much more can you really do with a bunch of zoo animals that only 'true' objective is to get back to New York City!? Any lingering  worries or doubts regarding this however, soon vanished and I was left with the satisfaction that the characters story was allowed to play out to its natural conclusion, and l believe it is fair to say that the introduction of the circus gave a new level of belonging and happiness to Alex, Marty, Gloria, Melman and the rest of the gang which was a nice touch.  

Story

The story was well played out, with a good pace, although I still don't really understand the switch between the characters being in Africa and then suddenly turning up in Monte Carlo?? - I'm not sure whether I had just blinked too slowly or whether I was too engrossed in ensuring that I had enough cheese on my nacho to satisfy my needs but whatever it was I missed that side of the film which was a shame. 

Characters

Where do I start....the main characters of course are important to the overall 'aspect' of the film, however the secondary characters (i.e. the penguins, King Julien & Capt. Chantel DuBois - who kind of reminded me of my mother-in-law - persistent and would 'have my head' on her wall in an instant!), are the real hero's and for me completely stole the show - the relationship between King Julien and Sonya the bear was especially exquisite! 

I, of course, can't finish a review of a 3D film without mentioning the actual 3D aspect, which I really felt bought this film to life and whilst the techno coloured circus scenes did make me wonder what sort of drug the cinema clerk had slipped into my cheesy nachos I have to admit this certainly made the film even more enjoyable than it would have been in the standard format.

All in all and if I was you reading this review, I would get yourself down to the bank, remortgage your house, use this newly acquired money to purchase a family cinema ticket and take your wife and kids to see this film - after all can you really live the rest of your days NOT knowing if Alex and the gang really made it back to 'The New York City Zoo'?

8/10 (Stars)

THE FOREVER GIRL, by Rebecca Hamilton

“This books’ going to make you run into a corner and explore your dark side!” @itsablurbthing

With Halloween fast approaching, I thought it only fitting to review ‘The Forever Girl’ by Rebecca Hamilton.

Firstly, I’ve got to say, after reading the summary blurb for this book I was as excited as a child in a sweet shop and couldn’t wait to get my hands on a copy of the full version. Not least because of the fact that it was a paranormal fantasy type book but because the summary blurb was so well written that, like a fine red wine, it made me instantly want more!

I’m also not ashamed to admit however, that I found myself being rather sceptical after finding out that this was Rebecca’s debut book; I was hoping for genius but couldn’t help fearing a train crash! I needn’t have worried though as it only took half-way through the first chapter before I was suddenly hit with the realisation that this book was going to be as good as the feeling you get when you take that first big bite of chocolate after a stressful day at work!

Writing Style

I was instantly hooked and bowled over by the natural flow and sharpness of Rebecca’s writing style and her story descriptors really made me feel as though I was being catapulted into the book to actually live out the story with Sophia as opposed to being just another observer. This aspect of Rebecca’s writing really did take me by surprise as I always feel that some debut writers can go overboard with story descriptions and lose the reader in the depths of overzealous ‘scene setting’, which is not at all evident in this book. Rebecca also has an uncanny way in which she uses the end of a chapter to hook the reader into the next chapter - as a reader I tend to book mark at the end of a chapter, however Rebecca’s hook style renders you incapable to do such things!

Characters

The characters are realistic and true to their origins – Rebecca has really put in the effort to research her work thoroughly and this really shows within her characters interactions, back stories and her knowledge of Wiccan. Sophia, the main character, is a character that has a real sense of depth and has that all important ‘longevity’ aspect to her personality – which is so important for a book series (she also has a wicked sense of sarcasm, which instantly attracts the reader to her sense of self-worth).

Story

The story itself is fantastically played out and although, at times, the pace is slightly off key and slows down at points (especially at the beginning of the book), however the fact that this book has a well thought out twist and ending, means that it is certainly worth sticking with. And whilst I agree, in part, to some reviewers reference that this book resembles Twilight, I feel a shot of realism needs to injected here…yes Twilight is a massive franchise and with the last instalment bound for the cinemas very soon, it will, yet again be thrust into the heads and hearts of those that love it, which will mean, unfortunately that yet again books which involve vampires, hints of romance and basically anything that involves sucking a large amount of blood from someone will be stigmatised!

However that being said and even though I am a huge Twilight fan myself (and yes some men are, so don’t knock it – I will still remain at the edge of my cave at night letting out my huge roar whilst beating my chest in a manly manner!), Rebecca has taken a concept, made it her own and build it to a heightened level of Paranormal sophistication.

All in all I would highly recommend this book and will definitely be the first in line when the next one comes out!

4.5/5 (Stars)