My Review for Britannia Rises by Russell Dumper

'The illusion of some level of democracy over there keeps the people satisfied.'

I have had this book on my shelf for a couple of years (sorry Russell), 🙈 but as the second book in the series is out next week, I decided I would read them back to back. Of course I hadn't looked at the synopsis for ages and so I had no idea what I was getting into, and admittedly it did take me a while to get to grips with the characters, the story and the slight weirdness of it all. However, once I'd got all that sorted in my head, I flew through it. 

Britannia Rises starts off a bit slow, but once it gets going the pace really picks up. Before I knew it, I was racing through the pages trying to keep up with the action.. The book is a dystopian take on an alternative view on the monarchy and Britain as we know it. Gone are the days of our adorable Queen, and in steps her son, and more importantly, her grandson who is set to change our country as we know it. All this is in the book, don't worry, I don't think our Royal Family is set to turn rogue just yet!

Full of assassins, spies, terrorists and many dubious characters, this dystopian, sci fi novel will have you wondering whether actually, do we really know what's going on outside of our doors. 

Thank you to Russell Dumper and The Conrad Press for the gifted copy of Britannia Rises.

About the Book

‘Britannia Rises’ tells the story of how, in the near future, the British Empire faces a pivotal crossroads. When the queen dies, her peaceful, prosperous reign comes to an end after more than seven decades. The new monarch must tackle challenges from within his own family and decide how to keep The Empire competitive with their most powerful rivals. The other world powers are looking for any weakness they can find to subjugate Britain and take their place as the most powerful nation on Earth. At the same time, King Alfred must preserve the peace and focus on Outpost, the cooperative programme that will ensure the survival of the human species. Jamie Bayston is a young teacher, embarking on a wonderful life, who has the misfortune to witness a murder that will plunge him into the dark world that exists between The Empire and its struggle to maintain order. He must run and fight to keep himself and his family safe while facing up to the truth that the world he knows is just a small part of what’s really out there.

About Russell (taken from The Spalding & South Holland Voice)

Russell Dumper has followed his childhood dream of becoming an author. “I’ve always loved writing and it has brought be so much joy since I was a small boy. It’s a fire that burns inside of me, a passion that I’ve always had. I have so many more books to write, and I can’t wait to write them,” he said.

His book, Britannia Rises, is set in an alternate near future ruled by the British Empire.

“There are all kinds of characters, twists, links into modern events, action, suspense and surprises galore. “When asked, I describe it as a kind of modern Game of Thrones meeting a James Bond origin story. There are many plots overlapping each other and the main characters are deep and complex,” he added.

The father of two small children, who lives in Spalding, said he had the idea for the story aged 14 or 15.

“It’s developed a lot over the years, as you can imagine, with several rewrites to get to where it is now. It will appeal to anyone who loves thrillers and suspense books, from young adults upwards.

“It’s a story that will make you love and hate the same character. I suspect the full series will be seven or eight books,” said Russell.

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My Review for Timeslayers by Colin Sephton

“There are only two types of being with such power - those who have no vested interest in the contents contained within the artefact, completely ignorant of its contents, of its worth, a rare being indeed; and those born of the Elder God! So, which are you?”

The Book of Consciousness is the book that everyone seems to want to get their hands on, some to make their existence better, some to make others’ existence worse. Ignatius and Indigo are just a couple of humans who stumble upon the reality of demons, gods, dragons and super-beings, and that maybe there really is something beyond the world in which we live.

Once you get past the world-building, who is who and what is what, Timeslayers is a fascinating, thought-provoking read. I actually read it twice, almost immediately. The first time to figure it all out, and the second time to settle down and enjoy the story. In my head, Ignatius and Indigo are a couple of strange eccentrics who just don’t want to be the same as anyone else, and they’re not, they’re really not! Indigo, in particular, has no qualms about killing or maiming anyone who crosses her and her newfound allies. While Ignatius is trying to work out how the universe works!

“Shadows are like doors. Doors to dark prisons.... You should never play in the shadows, you never know who... or what... may be there waiting to cross the threshold of that particular door!”

If you’re a fan of Terry Pratchett or of what the world might consist of outside of our planet, then I would recommend Timeslayers, the debut novel from Colin Sephton. I can’t wait to discover what happens in the next book in the series.

Thank you to Cinnabar Moth Publishing and Colin Sephton for the opportunity to read and review Timeslayers which is published on 7 May 2024.

About the Book

In a Steampunk Oxford, Ignatius and Indigo are both agents for the Union Jacks, a secret organisation. The role of the Union is to protect the British Empire, which is at the height of its powers, and help in its technological advances. They have discovered the existence of the mystical Book of Consciousness written by the creator of the cosmos, the genderless Omnisoul. The book is the history of everything that is, that has been and that will be. The agents are aided by Skye, who accidentally calls forth seven merciless immortals called the Charon.

Known as the Beautiful and the Damned, the Charon are the Infernal Dukes of Hell, created to carry out the will of the Omisoul. But they are tired of their immortality and want to end their existence. Elsewhere, the sorcerer Ragnar of Roc has conjured a hole in spacetime, allowing the draconic Elder God Calabi Ya to re-enter the cosmos from the Ghost Worlds. He is as old as the Omnisoul and wants the book to learn his destiny. The two Union Jacks leave Oxford and are taken on a journey across the cosmos in the great ship Taraka, which sails through space and time. Ignatius and Indigo are mere pawns in the cosmic ocean of fate, carried to fabled places, witness to bloody massacres, and half-willing conspirators in the Charon's plot to thwart the Omnisoul's plan and defeat the protectors of the Well at the Centre of Time.

About Colin

Colin was born in Coventry and worked in the automotive industry for over twenty years before becoming an Engineering teacher. Obtaining his first library card at the age of thirteen, he became an avid reader of Fantasy and the mysteries of the Universe. He has an inbuilt curiosity for lost knowledge and ancient texts that may help to unlock the secrets of consciousness and the universe. Living in Oxford for many years, he has now moved back to his home county of Warwickshire where he enjoys creating and working with his wife on their garden in which he writes and entertains their two grandsons. He has always been an artist and writer and is inspired by the worlds created by Robert E Howard and Michael Moorcock, with the artwork of Frank Frazetta.

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My Review for American Stonehenge (The Adventures of Jimmy and Andrew #1) by Mike Goldstein

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ This is a pretty awesome book and the first in the Jimmy and Andrew adventure series. Jimmy is a young lad who has always wanted a dog, and so, for his ninth birthday, his Dad takes him to the rescue centre and Jimmy chooses Andrew - or rather Andrew, chooses Jimmy!

Written as a children’s book, this will easily entertain and educate adults, too. I certainly didn’t know about some things Goldstein writes about, in particular, the Egyptian history he explains in great detail, through Andrew (yes, the dog)! As we travel on Jimmy’s adventures, if there are words or situations that he doesn’t understand, these are explained to him and consequently, any kids reading the book will learn lots of new stuff too.

I googled American Stonehenge, and it really exists, although in New Hampshire, not Washington State. Something else that I wasn’t aware of but loved reading about.

Think Enid Blyton’s Famous Five, meets Harry Potter with some aliens thrown in and you’ll have a good idea of what you’ll be getting with American Stonehenge. Immerse yourself in Jimmy and Andrew’s world and enjoy the journey. I’m looking forward to the next adventure for them both.

Thank you to Mike Goldstein for a gifted copy, in exchange for an honest review.

 

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My Review for The Book of Sand by Theo Clare

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ I love a dystopian; the world is ending, kind of book and The Book of Sand by Theo Clare didn’t fail to deliver. Written with a parallel timeline, Mckenzie is a teenager, living in the present day in Virginia in the USA. Spider (I couldn’t work out what age Spider was supposed to be), is living in a parallel universe somewhere in a desert, which comprises various countries, states and cities from around the world. He is surrounded by his desert family and they are on a mission to discover the Sarkpont and although they aren’t sure what that is; they know that other families are searching for it too. They also know that if they don’t find it, their quest is over.

We flit back and forth between Mckenzie and the family in the desert, both linked in some way, although it’s a while until we discover how. Seemingly, Mckenzie’s life is just that of a normal teenager’s, although she appears to have some psychotic episodes. So at first, I wondered how this fitted into a fantasy novel and it’s a good chunk of the way through before we discover how the stories merge. 

 

The Book of Sand was fairly lengthy, but it didn’t seem like it. I was hooked from the beginning and couldn’t wait to find out how everything linked together and how it was going to end. Some people may not like this book because of the length, but I couldn’t wait to pick it up, hour after hour, day after day, until I’d finished it. If you’re into fantasy and sci-fi, then I think you’ll enjoy this. Apparently, it’s the first in a trilogy but as Mo Hayder (Theo Clare) sadly passed away last year, I’m not sure whether we will see any further books in the series. 

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House UK for the opportunity to read and review an ARC of The Book of Sand by Theo Clare.

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My Review for Worldlines by Adam Guest

⭐⭐⭐⭐   I reviewed Worldlines by Adam Guest for Online Book Club, and although I thoroughly enjoyed it, I often found myself trying to follow the ‘worlds’ too closely, trying to understand whether there really was the possibility of us occupying several dimensions at once, and this detracted from the flow of the novel.

Worldlines is a sci-fi/fantasy novel about a multiverse rather than a universe, where the protagonist, Gary, gradually realises, with the help of his university professor, that he might be actually existing in more than one world at any given moment. Events are happening around him that he has no memory of and which he cannot explain. With the help of his friends and family, he attempts to discover the scientific background behind what’s going on and whether it could be real.

Wordlines seems to have some sort of science behind them and whether this is based on evidence or just in the author’s imagination is unclear. Regardless of this, it is a well-thought-out and entertaining novel and kept me turning those pages.

It’s difficult to describe the characters due to the nature of the story. For instance, in one worldline, Gary has a girlfriend called Siobhan, however, in another worldline, Siobhan is his best friend, and he has a different girlfriend. I found that the majority of the characters were likeable and added substance to the story. The author’s descriptive writing enables the reader to form a bond with many of them.

The novel focuses a lot on lucid dreaming, and the author does a great job in explaining what this is, whilst still involving the reader in the story. Lucid dreaming enables you to essentially control your dreams, with them playing out the way you want them to. I’m pretty sure that many people who read this novel will have an interest in how they can control their dreams and will research further into this.

I enjoyed trying to work out how worldlines could work whilst I was reading this book and whether living in a multiverse could be a possibility. However, my mind is far from being a scientific one, so I think I just need to accept what I’m reading and enjoy the novel!

For me, the book ended too suddenly. There was no real finality to the last chapter, and I think the author could perhaps have added another chapter to close things down with the main character. In essence, I was left wondering, but perhaps this is the author’s intention and is writing a sequel.

The book would appeal to readers who are interested in sci-fi and fantasy and to those who are curious about the world we occupy. I would recommend Worldlines to Young Adults and upwards. There is no profanity or erotic content and therefore is suitable for all ages.

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