Vision In Blue

You guys know I like my Doctor Who, so when this one came up on Netgalley it was another no brainer... of course I was going to request it. Doctor Who: Myths And Legends by Richard Dinnick For thousands of years, epic stories have been passed down from Time Lord to student, generation to generation. The truth of these tales was lost millennia ago, but the myths and legends themselves are timeless. These are the most enduring of those tales. From the princess Manussa and her giant snake Mara, to the Vardon Horse of Xeriphin, these stories shed light on the universe around us and the beings from other worlds that we meet. Myths hold up a mirror to our past, present and future, explaining our culture, our history, our hopes and fears. A collection of epic adventures from the Time Lords’ mist-covered past, Myths and Legends is an unforgettable gallery of heroes and villains, gods and monsters. I was really excited by this one. The contents page was encouraging, with tales ...

This one was a bit out of the blue, searching through new titles for our February catalogue I came across this cute looking cover and when I was Googling for more information I discovered it was on Netgalley... so of course that was going to get read straight away! Kim Reaper: Grim Beginnings by Sarah Graley Kim is like any other university student trying to get by, she's found herself a part-time job to help make the rent. But it's not quite that simple. When she leaves a lecture the only things she needs to do to get to work is get out her scythe and open a portal there. Kim is a part-time grim reaper. Becka has noticed Kim in class, the beautiful gothic angel has caught her eye and she's hatching a plan to meet her properly. That plan goes slightly awry when she chases after her and ends up in Kim's portal to work. This little mishap leads to all sorts of chaos, one not quite dead cat, one fully dead cat-dad, some vengeful zombies, and a bunch of grim re...

In my spare room I have a bookshelf. They're everywhere in my house, but this one is different. These shelves aren't quite like any of the others. When I first go to bed in a new house I perch on the edge of the mattress and take in my surroundings. If you do that in my spare room you'll see a whole array of books staring straight up at you. To look at them you would say that they were put there for lack of another place to store them, but each of them is there for a reason, my reason. Jokingly, I describe this bookshelf as the most intellectual in the whole house. That may or may not be true, but all I mean is that there's a story to almost every one of them. Those books have been smiled at, cried over and howled at with laughter. These are books that I love, and I would love you to love too. Truth be told, I can't remember the whole story line to a couple of them. There are specific memories though that are just stuck in my brain from when I read them. Peo...

I was surfing Netgalley the other day and spotted a sampler for Dan Brown's new novel Origin ... of course I clicked on "read now". I was unfortunately only privy to the prologue and first chapter (out of 105 chapters I think), but that was better than nothing. It certainly leaves you with a good sense of what to expect in the rest of the book. With a two chapter sample it's very difficult for me to give you any spoilers whatsoever... Edmond Kirsch excelled in the tech world from an early stage, not just that, he excelled at knowledge. The last people you'd expect him to be meeting with are three of the world's leading religious figures. But that's exactly what he's doing behind the closed doors of the Library of Montserrat. What he's about to show them will change the very meaning of what they hold dear. Three days later. The Guggenheim Museum Bilbao. Hundreds of guests are gathered in the most fitting venue for the tech giant's late...

Super Sons Volume 1: When I Grow Up by Peter J. Tomasi. Published by DC Comics. Out 17th October 2017! Synopsis: Superboy (AKA Jonathan Kent) and Robin (AKA Damian Wayne) make their debut in this new graphic novel that collects Super Sons issues 1–5. The two boys long to follow in their fathers’ footsteps. But when the Bat tells Robin he can’t join him on a mission he goes in search of his own, and he’s taking Superboy with him. With Robin’s intel, the dynamic duo go in search of security footage that will help them track down their very own villain… but all doesn’t go quite to plan. At least, I’m fairly sure that flinging Superboy off the side of a building wasn’t quite what the plan entailed. Even so, they manage to secure the footage and find their next clue. Even with the bickering the pair manage to stick together and find the lair of Kid Amazo. Infected with the Amazo virus created by Lex Luthor, Kid Amazo has lost the hero values that his family had… now he wants so...

I like to know a little about a lot of things. At some point you'll find something that peaks your interest and then you've got a research black hole you can fall into. So when I see books like this I'm always interested to see how they approach a subject. Know It All Shakespeare: 50 Key Aspects of the Bard's Works, Life & Legacy, Each Explained in Under a Minute by Ros Barber. The book is set out quite neatly in seven sections that house the 50 key aspects. Each of those sections has a short essay on a specific Shakespeare play as well as a glossary. The pages themselves are set out for multiple factual sections: 3-second Prompts - a one/two line summary of the topic 3-minute Call - key point about the topic 3-second Biographies - profession and timeline of people relating to the topic Related Topics - other sections of the book that are relevant and the main article The trouble with a lot of factual books is the sheer volume of heavy text. This ...

I love picking up things like this on Netgalley, it really cheers me up. I've kind of given away what I think about the book haven't I? Never mind, carry on and listen to my waffle anyway. While I'm a fan of comic books, I'm by no means an expert. I tend to opt for single character titles with a set number of issues. If that says anything about me, it's that I'm impatient. But when I see things that say they're "volume 1" or are stand alone set of team ups, then I do quite like giving them a go. So, Justice League Vs Suicide Squad... I'm going to copy and paste this next bit straight from Netgalley as I don't want to miss any of the talented people... Written by rising star Josh Williamson ( The Flash ) with art from acclaimed illustrators Jason Fabok ( Justice League: Darkseid War ), Tony S. Daniel ( Batman ), Fernando Pasarin ( Justice League ), Howard Porter ( JLA ), and more. What the official blurb tells us... It's the fi...

There's always something fun to be had in the peculiar and curious. Having just finished London Curiosities by John Wade , I can happily say that this book proves my point. I'm honestly surprised that I knew very little of what was mentioned about London considering my penchant for pointless facts and things that make you go "reeeeeeeeeaaaallly?" One of the things I liked was that we're told the myth and local lore behind some of the oddities. But we're also quickly reminded that little, if any, is provable. It's nice to get the insight into the local area and the local people who probably came up with some of the fanciful ideas. I can almost see an old geezer sitting in a tavern/inn/pub, supping on his pint, regaling some out-of-towners with his idea of how the curio got there, as if it were fact. And that image does make me smile. I did have a little niggle about the book, a couple of times areas/monuments are brought up in a later section, a...

Bud Fiske is sent to do a profile of Hector Lassiter, larger-than-life crime writer. In a cantina, the pair find themselves face to face with history... literally. On the table between them is the head of Pancho Villa, and the prospect of a deal worth eighty grand. It sounds like easy money... take the head to a guy. But such a legendary piece of history is never going to be traded that easily. Gun, girls and car chases ensue "on the road to hell with a trunk full of skulls". --- I saw this on Netgalley, I'm always looking for new graphic novels, and the description of this one jumped out at me. That being said, I don't think this was what I expected it to be from the description. Noir, pulp fiction, whatever you want to call it, this book falls squarely in that genre. This is the first time I've ever read anything in that area, which is surprising considering I love crime fiction in general. But I have watched a lot of it... does that count?! ...

An old favourite reimagined is always a complicated beast. Some are good (Danger Mouse), some are bad (Wombles, I'm looking at you... and any of the other CGId shows). So, to Scooby Apocalypse Volume 1 ... Our team of meddling kids come together to fight a very real monster apocalypse. And so far these monsters don't appear to be creepy caretakers in costumes. The idea in this first collection of issues is that the gang come together when Velma realises she needs to blow the whistle on what the company she works for is trying to do. She can't go to the big media outlets, there are too many watchful eyes, but down on her luck reporter, Daphne and her camera man Fred might be her answer. They might not have the ratings anymore, but Daphne is determined, and always after the truth. Meanwhile Shaggy has got a job at Velma's company to train dogs in their smart dog program. Scooby Doo, the original smart dog, isn't up to the same standards and the new intake, a...

I haven't had the urge to read a book in ages... that was until I saw The Four Legendary Kingdoms by Matthew Reilly on Netgalley. I'll admit, I was going into this book biased, I love Matthew Reilly novels. This one just confirmed that feeling. So this one is in the Jack West series, and my horrible realisation is that I had missed one in the series. Yes I know they're numbered and it should be easy to follow them... but I still missed one! So I have no idea what happened in the last book. Honestly though I don't think it meant I lost anything when reading this. Jack West Jnr wakes, head shaved, alone and very confused. As if waking up and not knowing how he got to wherever he was wasn't enough, now he's being charged at by something that's half man, half bull. What sort of dream was this? And if it wasn't a dream, was it a nightmare? The fifth greatest warrior had been kidnapped, and brought to this mysterious place... and he wasn't...

*Massive spoilers everywhere, sorry, not sorry*     I have always been a Harry Potter fan, but I definitely can't claim I'm a Potterhead... I've read the books, I've seen the films, I listened to the audiobooks... but I have too many other things going on to dedicate such a large portion of my spare time to HP like a lot of people on the internet have. I think I've said before that when I watch new films, I like to watch them with my brain switched off... I like to enjoy them as a standalone project (whether they are or not), and not pick them apart or look for the problems. These things were created for us to enjoy, we really should try doing that first. And I do, the first time, then I watch it again, almost certainly with a notepad and pen at the ready. This is going to be a very mixed article, as what was going to be a review has evolved into a bit of a monster. By that I mean, after I read Harry Potter & The Cursed Child I went looking for what ...

Cutting it a bit fine for May new titles... way too many for me to keep up to date with! Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. by Marc Guggenheim & Mike Norton 9781846537226 Any list I make wouldn't be complete without a graphic novel on it. This month I've picked this Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. one, mainly because every girl wants Agent Coulson in her life! This one features Tony Stark joining the team for a top secret mission. The Autobiography Of James T Kirk by David A Goodman 9781783297481 You all know I'm a Star Trek nut so of course this was going to get into the listing... but I have to object to the first line of this one's description. "The Autobiography of James T. Kirk chronicles the greatest Starfleet captain's life"... Erm no, Jean-Luc has that title. But I'm not going to turn my nose up at this one because of that inaccuracy! Breaker by Kat Ellis 9780762459087 After the execution of the serial killer, Bonebreaker, his son Kyle has a...