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Ellipsis by Nikki Dudley – review

Administrator — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 11:53:10 +0000

Ellipsis is a brilliant debut novel by the co-editor of Streetcake magazine, Nikki Dudley. The novel begins in a dreamlike fashion as Alice, our heroine, pushes a young man to his death in front of a London underground train at Highbury and Islington. The only thing that perplexes Alice about this rather violent act is the fact that the young man, a stranger to her, breathed the words “Right on time” at her as she pushed him under, and he wasn’t referring to the arrival of the train. Having stalked her victim for several weeks, Alice now begins to hang around the home of his family, in search of the reason for his beguiling last message. Of course, Daniel Mansen’s family is suffering in the aftermath of their bereavement, but Daniel’s cousin, Thom seems to be feeling it more than than Daniel’s own brother. However, Thom is further shocked when he discovers a piece of paper in Daniel’s room that details the exact time and place of his death, which would tend to add weight to the theory that Daniel may have committed suicide, along with the fact that his room is bizarrely empty of his possessions. Thom is compelled to investigate further, and discovers that the mysterious woman at the reading of Daniel’s will had personally been invited to attend by Daniel prior to his death… Thom then literally runs into Alice in his front garden, which eventually leads him into inviting her to stay with the family, as she tells him that she’s been having problems with her landlord and can’t go home. The first of many lies that Alice tells Thom is that her name is ‘Sarah’. However, it turns out that she’s not the only liar… As Alice slowly begins to recover from her mental trauma, so Thom gradually becomes more and more unhinged… The title of the novel, Ellipsis, refers to things that are ‘left out’, and thus both Thom and Alice are haunted by the lies of their own families. And both have good reason to be traumatised… Ellipsis is a very stylish, compelling read that will stay with you for a long time, and Sparkling Books have very much lived up to their name in their presentation of this title. Nikki Dudley has a burgeoning literary career that should go on from strength to strength following the publication of the magnificent Ellipsis. I look forward to reading more works by this great writer.

Shoedog by George Pelecanos review

Administrator — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 18:03:01 +0000

Shoedog is George Pelecanos’ third novel, which has recently been republished in the UK as part of the Serpent’s Tail Classics series. Now, I’ve never read a Pelecanos novel before, and have yet to catch up with The Wire, the award laden TV show that Pelecanos wrote for and sometimes produced (BBC2 showed it way too late on consecutive nights), so I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. A drifter, Constantine, hitches a lift with old timer Polk back to his home city of Washington DC. Constantine wants to head south, but Polk has to pick up some money along the way. However, the gangster who owes Polk the money, Grimes, ain’t too keen on paying. As with everything in his life thus far, Constantine drifts into the hold up of two liquor stores along with Polk, after which Grimes promises to pay him his dues. In DC for longer than he thought, Constantine catches up with an old girlfriend (now married with kids), and also makes out with Grimes’ girlfriend, Delia, which probably doesn’t bode too well for his relationship with this mean crime boss… The narration momentarily pauses from focusing on Constantine and Polk to switch to Valdez, Grimes’ henchman, which immediately gives the impression that Pelecanos may have wanted to give a cinematic feel to Shoedog. Certainly, some of the scenes, such as the shooting up of a police car, and the dialogue between the armed robbers, could have come direct from Quentin Tarantino’s 1992 debut Reservoir Dogs, and Pelecanos certainly seems to have been influenced by this earlier movie in his choice of title. While there is an element of mystery to be solved, it isn’t the focus of Pelcanos’ novel. No, Shoedog is more a portrait of a gritty criminal world, rather than a cerebral puzzle. Pelecanos’ new afterword on the writing of Shoedog states that this novel reflects many of his passions, such as shoes and pumped up cars, none of which I share. Indeed, Shoedog was probably a bit too pumped up with testosterone for me, and I didn’t really care for or about Constantine that much. Having written that, if I had experienced Shoedog as a movie, then I probably would have lapped it up.

Born to Run by Christopher McDougall

Administrator — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 18:09:30 +0000

Christopher McDougall, a sports writer for Runner’s World, was frustrated by the large number of injuries that he sustained while running. Born to Run is his account of how his running style was completely rebuilt from scratch from a study of possibly the world’s greatest runners, a Mexican tribe called the Tarahumara. While visiting the Tarahumara, McDougall comes across the strange figure of Caballo Blanco (the ‘White Horse’), who some of the Tarahumara believe to be a ghost… This strange American outcast recruits McDougall to help fulfil his dream of putting on a most extraordinary race in the hellish Copper Canyon (if the snakes don’t get you, then exposure or the local drug runners possibly will…) McDougall, even although he’s previously found it impossible to run even moderate distances, signs up for this incredible endurance race. However, he’s not the only one, as several stars from the world of ultrarunning decide to trust the strange Caballo… And yet, Caballo might have more of a problem persuading the Tarahumara to participate, despite the fact that he’s lived amongst them for many years…

Along the way, McDougall has a great many fascinating asides about life and death in the Copper Canyons, and from the history of ultrarunning. McDougall has some surprising revelations: apparently, women cope far better with running long distances than men do, with many more times of the latter dropping out before the end of a ultramarathon. In addition to this, McDougall convincingly argues that the plethora of modern running injuries may solely be due to the invention of the running shoe in the late 60s. Even more surprising is his argument that the more cushioning a running shoe has, the more likely it is to injure you, and regales us with much evidence that running with less high tech shoes seems to be better. Indeed, many Olympic athletes have benefited from barefoot training, although none of them take it to the extreme that the loquacious ‘Barefoot Ted’ (one of Born to Run‘s great characters) takes it in this book. So convincing was McDougall that I have now taken to wandering around the house in bare feet in order to toughen them up, although I have shied away from running with them unshod as yet… I did seem to run with more spring in my step after this. Having written that, I did pick a minor ankle injury soon after, although this may have been due to my wearing poor running shoes as I hurriedly posted mail on a couple of days… I do have sore knees from running on concrete, so now only run on grass, so many aspects of McDougall’s book appealed to me, especially since my knees were sore from running on the concrete-like grass during the earlier drought this Summer. A few months ago, I saw an extraordinary documentary that showed the Maasai hunting antelope by running after them and exhausting their prey. So, contrary to what seems common sense, i.e. that humans aren’t running machines in the mode of cheetahs say, McDougall convincingly argues that we may indeed have been born to run after all, but that we’re built for endurance running rather than speed. Born to Run is an endlessly fascinating book and an instant classic.

Doctor Who The Glamour Chase by Gary Russell

Administrator — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 18:05:32 +0000

I’ve read a couple of Gary Russell Doctor Who novels before that haven’t impressed me a great deal, but I found The Glamour Chase to be an absolute delight from start to finish. Gary has the characterisation of Matt Smith’s Doctor spot on, and his portrayals of Amy and Rory are very convincing too. The story is very gripping also, with the depiction of a massacre in Little Cadthorpe being especially chilling. Although I’m not sure how the Doctor manages to fall into some sheep dip – he’s not usually that clumsy! Gary Russell has come up with some ingenious monsters for The Glamour Chase, especially the Weave, who seemed to be composed of some form of fibrous material like wool. Admittedly, their practice of shape shifting, which involves the kidnapping and imprisoning of the people they impersonate, is not particularly original, as the Zygons used this same method in the classic series (albeit for more devious purposes). The Glamour itself doesn’t appear to be too dissimilar to the Enamour that featured in Una McCormack’s recent Doctor Who book, The King’s Dragon. However, the fact that the two writers employed such similar devices is most likely down to coincidence, rather than collusion, and besides, both novels have rather different settings and stories otherwise. In the end, it’s a human threat that the Doctor has to deal with. The fact that the human at the centre of it is so likeable and compelling is a testament to how good a storyteller Gary Russell can be when he puts his mind to it.

Three Ways to Capsize a Boat by Chris Stewart

Administrator — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 11:32:43 +0000

Three Ways Capsize a Boat is the latest book from Chris Stewart, of Driving Over Lemons fame. It tells of his adventures as a sailor prior to becoming a farmer in Spain. When Chris is first offered the captaincy of a boat that’s due to sail in the Greek isles, you fear for him, as he’s never sailed before. You fear for him even more so when he ends up in the drink during his first sailing misadventures. However, Chris then signs up for a more comprehensive sailing course, and does gain more and more confidence. Yet when he gets to Greece, he finds that the boat has still not been repaired, and so he has to use his initiative to get things back on course, which he does with aplomb, although the boat does end up with an engine that is rather too combustible… Still, the placid waters of the Greek isles are nothing compared to the torments that Chris faces in his next sailing adventure: following Leif Eiricksson’s epic voyage across the tempestuous North Atlantic, which involves more than a few ‘perfect storms’. With raging seas and plunging temperatures, even the simplest tasks, such as taking a pee, are quite epic… Oh, and then Chris manages to dump his long suffering girlfriend Ana into the drink… Chris Stewart has a reputation of being quite a witty author, although I’m afraid he never threatened to make me laugh out loud. However, this is still quite an engaging book from a man whose other claim to fame is not quite making the grade as the first drummer of the band Genesis. And, for a change, this travel writer actually does some travelling in this book! What’s best about Three Ways Capsize a Boat is Chris’s account of his transition from landlubber to seasoned sailor, so one suspects that this book would appeal most of all to the sailing fraternity.

Doctor Who Nuclear Time by Oli Smith

Administrator — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 16:11:33 +0000

The Doctor lands the TARDIS in a small Colorado town in 1981. Everything looks nice and neat on the surface, yet the Doctor soon discovers that there’s something wrong. For instance, why do these houses have fake TVs and taps with no plumbing attached? It’s not long before the time travellers find out that they would appear to have stepped out onto the set of The Stepford Wives, although even the guys here are androids… Killer androids… While Amy and Rory do everything in their power to avoid being killed, the Doctor attempts to dissipate the explosion of a nuclear bomb without causing an international incident.

I think Nuclear Time would have worked better as a TV episode, as it involves a rather convoluted temporal theory that does not come over too well on the printed page, as it involves the Doctor travelling back over his own timeline. It certainly would have been neat to see the Doctor bicycling backwards! The relationship between Albert, the scientist who invented the androids, and Geoff, the Colonel who kidnapped him to ensure his work was carried out in secret, seems rather oddly informal. Perhaps Oli Smith was trying to avoid the usual cliche of having such characters as antagonists, or it could be that Albert is suffering from Stockholm Syndrome. All the same, their relationship was far more bizarre than Albert’s love for his robotic creation, Isley. The setting of the late 70s/early 80s allows Oli Smith to indulge in some harmless nostalgia, with several references to Star Wars. However, Amy and Rory are pretty much disposed with for much of the novel by being stuck in a burning house, probably because Oli Smith could not have seen them on screen prior to writing Nuclear Time, so he was possibly unsure of the faithfulness of his characterisation of them. Having written that, the character of the Doctor does not really ring true either, especially since Oli Smith spends some time mentioning what effects the temporal disturbance is having on the Doctor’s body. I’m not really used to reading descriptions of what the Doctor’s, say, stomach felt like. Although we have seen the Doctor eating and drinking, his alien body is usually not described in quite so human terms. Much like the adventure itself, Nuclear Time is a bit of a muddle.

Administrator — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 09:35:59 +0000

In addition to our imprint Punked Books, we also have a children’s paperback imprint called Grimoire Books. The first book to be published via Grimoire Books is Stephanie Parker’s The Green King.

Administrator — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 09:28:24 +0000

We at Authortrek.com believe that there is not enough news out there about up and coming writers. So we have created this site so that you can post bulletins and press releases about your latest books and writing successes for free!

Visit Author Success Stories.

Administrator — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 09:21:40 +0000

Authortrek Short Stories is the main method we use to find new writing talent. By sending in your short story here, you could be named the Authortrek Writer of the Month!

Once you have registered on the site, you can post your story. Registration is free. Indeed, access to the whole of Authortrek Short Stories is free.

Each short story will have a voting button. So, once you have finished posting your story, forward the story link to your friends and ask them to read and vote for your story if they like it (i.e., don’t be shy!) The winning author will be named the Authortrek Writer of the Month.

If your story gets over 30 votes, then you may be asked to participate in our new scheme to publish short stories in an anthology, a free copy of which will be sent to each successful author.

So that you can see what short stories on the site will look like, we have published a copy of Guy de Maupassant’s excellent tale The Necklace.

Click here for more details regarding submission guidelines.

Administrator — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 09:13:38 +0000

Punked Books is Authortrek.com’s paperback imprint.

Punked Books publishes both fiction and non-fiction in paperback. Our main aim is to publish good quality commercial fiction in all genres, such as crime & mystery, romance, science fiction, horror, thrillers, and erotica. We’re called ‘Punked Books’, because we want to reflect the spirit of the Indie music labels of the 70s, 80s & 90s, and also because we’re a bit cheeky.

We’re not looking for new novelists at the moment, but authors do have the chance to have a story published in one of our anthologies via Authortrek Short Stories.

Visit the Punked Books homepage. You can also find out what’s happening in the world of Punked Books by visiting our Facebook page or our Twitter feed.