Review: Titanborn

Titanborn by Rhett C. Bruno
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

After three decades as a Pervenio Corporation Collector, chasing wanted offworlders and extinguishing protests throughout the solar system, Malcolm Graves doesn't bother asking questions. So long as the pay is right, he's the man for the job. But his latest assignment doesn't afford him that luxury.

A high-profile bombing on Earth has the men who sign Malcolm's paychecks clamoring for answers. They force him to team up with a strange, augmented partner who's more interested in statistics than instinct, and ship them both off to Titan to hunt down a suspected group of extremists: Titanborn rebels who will go to any length to free their home from the tyranny of Earth's corporations.

Heading into hostile territory, Malcolm will have to use everything he's learned to stay alive. But he soon realizes the situation on the ground is much more complex than he anticipated...and much more personal.

While Titanborn at first glance feels very derivative of James S.A. Corey's Expanse series it's actually more a detective noir with sci-fi trappings. I found the characters to be well rounded for the most part and the story intriguing. I'll probably try to get hold of the next book in the series before I make a final decision on it's worth as a whole but I have to say I enjoyed this book and R.C. Bray and his no nonsense gravelly voice were a delight as usual.

Amazon Link

Audible Link

Review: Skeleton Crew

Skeleton Crew by Stephen King
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The master at his scarifying best! From heart-pounding terror to the eeriest of whimsy - tales from the outer limits of one of the greatest imaginations of our time!

In The Mist, a supermarket becomes the last bastion of humanity as a peril beyond dimension invades the earth

Touch The Man Who Would Not Shake Hands, and say your prayers.

There are some things in attics that are better left alone - things like The Monkey.

The most sublime woman driver on earth offers a man Mrs. Todd's Shortcut> to paradise.

A boy's sanity is pushed to the edge when he's left alone with the odious corpse of Gramma.

If you were stunned by Gremlins, the Fornits of The Ballad of the Flexible Bullet will knock your socks off.

Trucks that punish and beautiful teen demons who seduce a young man to massacre; curses whose malevolence grows through the years; obscene presences and angels of grace - here, indeed, is a night-blooming bouquet of chills and thrills.

Skeleton Crew probably isn't the best of Stephen King's short story anthologies, nor is it my personal favourite but it does contain two of (in my opinion) his best, these being Mrs Todd's Shortcut and The Reach.

I love the daring and love once lost in the sci-fi of the first. Not to mention the obvious connections with King's epic Gunslinger series. In the second I love the feeling of a community so close it's almost like family and the satisfaction from staying in one place for your entire life, something I never managed myself.

I can recommend this both as a book to read and hold and the audiobook to listen to on a rainy train journey.

Physical copy

Audible audiobook

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Review: Greetings from Bury Park

Greetings from Bury Park by Sarfraz Manzoor

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Sarfraz Manzoor was two years old when, in 1974, he emigrated from Pakistan to Britain with his mother, brother, and sister. Sarfraz spent his teenage years in a constant battle, trying to reconcile being both British and Muslim, trying to fit in at school and at home. But it was when his best friend introduced him to the music of Bruce Springsteen that his life changed completely. From the age of sixteen on, after the moment he heard the harmonica and opening lines to "The River," Springsteen became his personal muse, a lens through which he was able to view the rest of his life. Both a tribute to Springsteen and a story of personal discovery, Greetings from Bury Park is a warm, irreverent, and exceptionally perceptive memoir about how music transcends religion and race.

After watching "Blinded by the Light" I made an effort to find Greetings from Bury Park and I have to say I wasn't disappointed at all. Sarfraz's autobiography tells a story that I as a white guy growing up around the same time (I'm a year or two older) found enlightening in a way I didn't expect. While I was aware of the growth of movements like the National Front (other racist bigots are available sadly) I could never place myself in the position of an immigrant to this country suffering under their torment. The way he found connection and solace through the music of Springsteen was an absolute delight.

Highly recommended, read it if you can.

Blided by the light: https://amzn.to/3p8QhbR

Greetings from Bury Park: https://amzn.to/3p3S4yJ