David Burrows's Blog, page 9

What Makes a Castle Look Lived In? Surprisingly, only a light touch needed.

OK, strange question but walking around Leeds Castle today they had a Flower Festival and it didn't half make the castle feel lived in. Castles are usually cold and sterile but a few flowers made the place seem more vibrant, as though the occupants from the 12th century were just about to pop around for tea (or mead??). Anyway, it was a nice touch. Perhaps a few dragons next time...

With winter looming (for all you Game of Thrones fans) it reminds me of the tradition of decorating halls with evergreen at Christmas (or Yule perhaps). That really brightens even the dullest room.

Goodreads Giveaway - Only 3 Days Left. Hurry, Please Enter.

 

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    Goodreads Book Giveaway
 

   
       
   

   
     
          Legacy of the Eldric
     
     
          by David  Burrows
     

     
         
            Giveaway ends September 21, 2016.
         
         
            See the giveaway details
            at Goodreads.
         
     
   
   


    Enter Giveaway

Reviewing an Old Read: Night Angel Series

The Way of Shadows by Brent Weeks
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I was reviewing some books I've read and thought I'd share this one on the Night Angel Series, staring with The Way of he Shadows.
I enjoyed this book immensely and would highly recommend it. It reminds me of the game - Assassin's Creed and the books may have spun out the game (or is it visa versa?). The characterisation is especially good whilst the tale is very brutal at times. Very gritty and lots of character detail. The thieves are very believable characters and very well developed.

Kylar is brought up in the gutters and dreams of finding a way out. His path crosses that of one of the top assassins and, crazy as it seems, he is smitten with the idea of becoming one.

Good plot with plenty of suspense. As a warning though, Brent Weeks has lots of imagination but reading his books can at times be a challenge. I read a few paragraphs and was left wondering what I'd just read.


View all my reviews

Great Amazon Review for Legacy of the Eldric. Thanks!

5.0 out of 5 stars Legacy of the Eldric is a book that's hard to ...ByYvonne S.on 26 August 2016Format: Kindle Edition
Legacy of the Eldric is a book that's hard to put down as you're led through the twists and turns of the story. Well written with strong characters that develop with the plot. Can't wait to find out what happens next!

https://www.amazon.co.uk/review

Goodreads Giveaway - Celebrating the New Cover for Legacy of the Eldric

 

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    Goodreads Book Giveaway
 

   

       
 
          Legacy of the Eldric
   
          by David  Burrows
     
     
            Giveaway ends September 21, 2016.
       
            See the giveaway details
            at Goodreads.
       

    Enter Giveaway

Legend of Tarzan

OK so I'm a big fan of the novels, but using every unbiased bone in my body I thought this was by the far best Tarzan film I've seen since my childhood. The script wasn't taken from an Edgar Rice Burroughs (ERB) novel which is a shame, but it had all the ingredients of these epic tales. I wasn't a fan of Greystoke, Legend of Tarzan. That dwelt on Tarzan's upbringing with the apes, which was relatively close to the book, but then it deviated hugely from the book when he is in civilisation and that ruined it for me. 

Legend of Tarzan gets it right in my view. Lord Clayton in London is indistinguishable from other lords. But, once in the jungle, he becomes Tarzan and, like the books, he is an immovable force that nothing can stop (Alexanader Skarsgard plays an apt role). All ERB's books have the heroin in dire straights and the hero having to rescue her. Legend of Tarzan uses that theme but brings it up to date with a modern slant that Jane isn't quite as helpless as the villains would like. Margot Robbie is nicely cast as Jane. 

The scenes shot in Africa are beautiful. The CGI is good and the apes play their part well. The tale uses flashbacks into Tarzan's upbringing and I thought that worked well. The story is an adventure and doesn't dwell too much on his past. Instead it's a romp across Africa with diamonds at the heart of the tale. Great stuff.




http://legendoftarzan.com/

Coming Soon New Book Covers for the Prophecy of the Kings

I have just invested in new book covers for my books. Let me know what you think. these are the Kindle versions and may take a few days to appear. All comments welcome

A Tribute to the Fallen: Ghosts and Mayhem.

This is where I had died.I stood overlooking verdant fields that were now alien to me. In my day this was mud, shell craters, barbed wire and death. Even the sky was different, intensely blue and probably crisp on this October day. Ghosts do not feel cold, but I remember it, clutching my rifle which seemed to suck the heat from my hands; white and nerveless, shaking from either cold or fear -- I do not remember. I looked to my left; others were appearing. Friends and comrades that I had known so well in a long forgotten past. Jack nodded, a smile hovering on his lips. I nodded back, a response enacted every year on this Halloween day. My actions were not my own, although this was how it had happened. Ghosts enacting a tearful day. I knew what was to come, but I could not change it. I was in a play and we were mannequin's, our strings pulled by an unseen hand, making us dance to a tune no longer remembered. Corporals dressed the line, there was no sound for ghosts do not hear. Nevertheless Old Frank's mouth formed words I knew so well. Old Frank was his nickname, but he wasn't old. Twenty three, whereas I was a mere youngster having just turned nineteen. We looked up to Frank; he gave the impression of knowing what to do. That I couldn't hear him was a blessing in anticipation of the hell to come. The guns had already fallen silent and the silence was soon to be replaced by the clack of machine guns, the crack of rounds and the cries of the wounded and dying.To my right others were appearing. Why did we dress the line, I pondered? I no longer remembered. It was probably important once, but not now. Then the line was moving and I took a few tentative steps. We were the second rank and the men in front of us, including Frank, blocked our view. We could afford to be brave for that line of soft, yielding flesh was a barrier against the hail of lead to come. Hail of lead. Such an inadequate and over used phrase to describe the reality of war. One throw away line that encompasses all the terror and horror to come. I cried, but tears would not come, the puppet master had not yet decided it was time for tears. What a waste. I had wanted a future; a wife and children and perhaps even grandchildren. A dream far too distant for a nineteen year old boy. All too soon someone fell in the line in front and then another man to my right. It looked as though he had tripped. My eyes were riveted on the men in front of me, praying that my protection would remain. I needed them to absorb the horror. Perhaps this time I would live? I remembered hope and prayers. My eyes flickered to the heavens. It was at this point that Old Frank had sworn, his left arm ripped from his body as something unseen had ravaged his body. A preacher had told me that swearing was a sin. I prayed that Old Frank went to heaven and not hell. Swearing was not too bad, not among all this terror. Please God, forgive Frank and do not commit his soul to purgatory. His blood and flesh had splattered my face and I ducked, as I had done, so many years ago. I remembered the warmth of his blood and a copper taste in my mouth. I spat and wanted to vomit. This was not how war was meant to be. When we joined up we had talked of heroic deeds and how swiftly the enemy would collapse. A gap had formed in the line of men to my front and I could see the barbed wire and beyond that the enemy trench. Terror tore at my heart. I remember I had wailed then, not for Frank but out of fear for myself. I felt the wind of a round buffet my cheek and my wail turned to a scream. That had been close and I looked to my left just as Jack spun on the spot; I watched as he collapsed to the ground; I could almost hear the puppet master's glee as his strings were cut. Jack, a furrier from Blackheath. A man who had comforted me as I had crouched crying at the bottom of our trench last night, so long ago. He had given me his chocolate. Such a princely gift in this time of deprivation and squalor. I crouched as more men in the front line fell. Blood misted the air and again I remembered it's coppery tang. I wiped my eyes, nearly dropping my rifle and having to fumble to hold it firm. I should have dropped it. I should have jumped in a shell hole like some men did. The terror of failure and cowardice outshone the fear of bullets. Why? Bullets are far more deadly; a testimony to the front rank thinning dangerously now to the point that we were the first wave. I could see helmets above the enemy trench and flashes from muzzles. I remembered the sound: the din, the screams and the bangs and the thumps. The slap of something fast hitting flesh. Men to my side fell and I stumbled, thinking that I was hit. I remember the screams of incoherent rage from my remaining comrades, the only act of defiance as we walked to our deaths. The enemy suffered then, our screams must have haunted their dreams. We suffered more though. Flesh against lead. It was a very uneven contest. Simon fell. We had worked at the same hop farm for several summers past. Our summer holiday away from the colourless terrace street we called home. A different life. Cool summer evenings spent outdoors under cloudless skies. Stars rather than shells. I prayed that I was invisible, which I was. I was a ghost and yet terror tore at every fibre of my once body. Memory is a terrible thing. I remember men funnelling towards a gap in the wire. We had been told not to do this. It was a death trap covered by more than one machine gun. Such a terrible weapon where more than one round span bodies around, the puppet master working hard, tugging at strings in time to some forgotten beat. My time was coming. I remember no longer caring. Death was better than this hell. Was I a coward? I still walked forward, but my rifle was forgotten. I was doing my duty, sacrificing myself for my king. I couldn't even claim that. I had been told to advance. I had been trained to do so. Failure and the fear of cowardice still dogging my steps. I spun then as something punched me in the kidney and then the other way as something slapped my right shoulder impossibly hard. The sky and the earth exchanged places and I looked up into a blue sky, a bird winging its way as though fleeing the battle. I should have done that. I should have had the sense to flee. I would have had children and spent my summers working at the hop farm. Life was leaving my body. I remembered the pain fading and night surrounding me.
My thoughts turned to my comrades. We would meet again. Next year.

Brilliant Book Reviews and Many Thanks.

Great fantasy book review site https://sfbook.com/ -- Well worth a visit. My books were book of the month in 2010 which was a great achievement. Made my month :)

Check out my Amazon author page for books 
http://www.amazon.co.uk/David-Burrows/

And

http://www.amazon.com/David-Burrows/

There are alternative book sellers on my website http://davidburrows.org.uk/ as well as sample chapters and much more.

Great Reviews SFBooks.com and Many Thanks. The Prophecy of the Kings.

Great fantasy book review site https://sfbook.com/ -- Well worth a visit. My books were book of the month in 2010 which was a great achievement. Made my month :)

Check out my Amazon author page for books 
http://www.amazon.co.uk/David-Burrows/

And

http://www.amazon.com/David-Burrows/

There are alternative book sellers on my website http://davidburrows.org.uk/ as well as sample chapters and much more.