Shores of Night

The ground was dry beneath Yelena’s paws as she slipped along the back ways of the town in the early morning light. Most of the town still slumbered, unwilling to face the sudden summer heat. Kingsford had been rain clogged for weeks, water soaking everything and the lack of clouds in the sky was welcome, as was the break from the little earth she had dug at the rear of the boys’ garden. During the wet weather she had only ventured out to find food, on most nights returning with her fur all risen in spikes, as if she went out a fox and came back a hedgehog. For the rest of the time she had watched the house and its occupants. The boys’ words had proven correct; their father did not notice her lurking in the tall grass even when he stared out of the window, seemingly looking straight at her. He was a short, round man, with more salt than pepper in his hair though he did not seem unkindly, but bookish and detached from the world. He spent little time at home and the boys, w...

I'm sure it hasn't missed anybody's notice that zombies have become a little bit popular over the last few years, to the point of almost over saturation. In terms of books the big, definitive 'novel' in the sub-genre is probably World War Z, Max Brooks' global account of a zombie epidemic that nearly wipes out the human race.  Having read this book a little while ago and also having read the rather similar Zombie Apocalypse, Stephen Jones' mosaic novel which in some respects take on a similar pattern in its organisation, it made sense to me to put them up against each other (in the words of Harry Hill - Fight!) Starting with World War Z, the first thing to say is that it's a well conceived work, which takes in the sheer scale and suffering of this kind of disaster as it takes apart the human world piece by piece.  Brook's decision to present the work not in real time but as a series of accounts from people across the world is a sensible one, ...

The second volume of the Hadrumal Crisis, Darkening Skies depicts events in the immediate aftermath of the original volume, Dangerous Waters (which I've reviewed already).  The book depicts a period of rebuilding, either literal as buildings are repaired and demenses reconstituted or personal, as new roles are discovered and  settled into. This last is handled skillfully and the writing adapts easily to address the new challenges the characters discover and how they rise to meet them. Corrain, the vengeful captain from the first book, settles into an uneasy existence  as Halferan's Baron, haunted by his past and in many ways caught between his old role and his new one. Lady Zurenne, whilst not exactly burning her wimple gains a new, more conniving edge, using her daughter's new authority as "Lady Halferan" to effectively get what she wants without having to engage in any sort of confrontation.  Other characters are similarly developed, particularly Hosh, a youn...

 The vixen ran. Trees with heavy moss beards flashed past; she squeezed through loops of thorn studded bramble, ducking under ever fruitful vines, heavy with berries, and did not slow. Behind her was the crash of footsteps, the blare of horns. Occasionally there were rough, barely understandable calls as the pack members communicated with each other. Her pursuers made no effort to hide their presence, even though they knew that to trespass so far into the woods was foolhardy. It had a reputation for danger, even malice; there were traps for the unwary and lures to draw you into the trees. Farther in, there were blood oaks, nourished by the obvious, and swarms of gossamers, tiny insects that hung upon the air, awaiting victims to latch onto and feast upon. The forest was truly wild, and formed an ever shifting maze that was impossible to navigate . Even now only the fringes had been mapped, set in a solid shape by landmarks and ink on seers’ parchment. Most of the real...