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The Editor

Jack Campbell

Jack Campbell

Reviewed on February 28, 2011

Jack Campbell is the pen name of John G. Hemry, a retired U.S. Navy officer. We interviewed him after reading and reviewing Dauntless, the first of the Lost Fleet military SF series.

Win a limited edition film poster and a copy Alan Ginsberg’s Howl to celebrate the new film [closed]

Win a limited edition film poster and a copy Alan Ginsberg’s Howl to celebrate the new film [closed]

Reviewed on February 22, 2011

The film ‘Howl’ about Allen Ginsberg’s most famous poem, the poem that caused huge controversy (resulting in a high-profile obscenity trial) and defined and kickstarted the Beat Generation, is out 25 February, starring James Franco (‘Milk’, ‘127 Hours’). The story of Ginsberg’s masterful poem and the subsequent obscenity trial that ensued, HOWL weaves together 3 [...]

Andrew McGibbon

Andrew McGibbon

Reviewed on February 21, 2011

Andrew McGibbon is a comedy writer, performer, director and producer, as well as a musician. In I Was Douglas Adams’s Flatmate, Andrew McGibbon talks to a close friend or collaborator of legands such as Ernest Hemingway, Sam Peckinpah, Johnny Cash, Tina Turner, Douglas Adams and Morrissey.

Guy Saville

Guy Saville

Reviewed on February 7, 2011

Guy Saville was born in 1973. He has lived in South America and North Africa. The Afrika Reich, published by Hodder & Stoughton on 17th February, is his first novel. After reading it for review, Bookgeeks’ own Simon Appleby asked Guy to tell us more about his literary life and the writing of the book.

Win a signed copy of The Afrika Reich by Guy Saville

Win a signed copy of The Afrika Reich by Guy Saville

Reviewed on February 7, 2011

We have a signed copy of Guy Saville’s debut alt-history thriller, The Afrika Reich, for one lucky reader. There will be a review here on Bookgeeks next week, and it’s great, so why not get entering?

Win a copy of A Sickness in the Family [closed]

Win a copy of A Sickness in the Family [closed]

Reviewed on January 10, 2011

Meet the Ushers. The parents, Ted and Biddy. Grandma Martha. The three kids, William, Amy and Sam. Just a normal, middle-class family gathered around the table on Christmas Day. Until they start dying. Violent deaths. One by one. Is there a curse on their house, as recently unearthed history of witchcraft in the area would suggest? You’ll find out if you win the copy of A Sickness in the Family that we have to give away…

Take part in the great Bookswarm Treasure Hunt!

Take part in the great Bookswarm Treasure Hunt!

Reviewed on November 19, 2010

An Amazon Kindle worth £109, a limited edition Faber hardback worth £100, a set of ten Introducing books worth £70 and many other wonderful books besides. There’s something for everyone in this great festive haul, courtesy of Bookswarm and a number of very generous publishers. To win, you will need to answer a series of [...]

Simon Scarrow

Simon Scarrow

Reviewed on November 11, 2010

Simon Scarrow was born in Nigeria and was raised in a number of countries before settling in Britain. He has published ten Roman historical novels, the latest of which is The Legion, and a quartet of books about Napoleon and Wellington – Young Bloods, The Generals, Fire and Sword and The Fields of Death. A novel for young adults, Gladiator: Fight for Freedom, is published in February 2011.

Win Simon Scarrow’s The Legion [closed]

Win Simon Scarrow’s The Legion [closed]

Reviewed on November 7, 2010

We have a hardback copy of Simon Scarrow’s new Macro and Cato novel to give away – read an extract here on Bookgeeks, and if that takes your fancy, answer a simple question to be in with a chance to win.

An exclusive extract from Simon Scarrow’s new Roman adventure

An exclusive extract from Simon Scarrow’s new Roman adventure

Reviewed on October 29, 2010

We are very excited to be able to bring Bookgeeks readers the first chapter of Simon Scarrow’s forthcoming Macro and Cato adventure, The Legion. Published on the 11th of November, The Legion is the tenth of Scarrow’s Roman novels: Trouble is brewing in Egypt. Rebel gladiator Ajax and his men have been posing as Roman [...]

Five copies of Crescendo to be won [closed]

Five copies of Crescendo to be won [closed]

Reviewed on October 7, 2010

As part of her blog tour, and courtesy of publishers Simon & Schuster Children’s Books, we are very pleased to offer readers a chance to win one of five copies of Becca Fitzpatrick’s new novel, Crescendo, the sequel to Hush, Hush.

Five copies of The Selected Works of T.S. Spivet to be won [closed]

Five copies of The Selected Works of T.S. Spivet to be won [closed]

Reviewed on September 27, 2010

Here at Bookgeeks we’ve been big fans of Reif Larsen’s debut novel, The Selected Works of T.S. Spivet. Simon A reviewed the book when it was published in hardback, we have recently interviewed Reif, and now we are offering five lucky people the chance to win a copy of the lovely new paperback edition, published on 7th October, courtesy of the kind folks at Vintage.

Reif Larsen

Reif Larsen

Reviewed on September 25, 2010

Reif Larsen is twenty-eight, studied at Brown University and has taught at Columbia University, where he is finishing his MFA in fiction. He is also a filmmaker and has made documentaries in the US, UK and sub-Saharan Africa. He lives in Brooklyn. Bookgeeks reviewed his first novel, The Selected Works of T.S. Spivet, which is published in paperback at the beginning of October.

Win Harry Sidebottom’s first three Warrior of Rome novels [closed]

Win Harry Sidebottom’s first three Warrior of Rome novels [closed]

Reviewed on September 10, 2010

Thanks to those lovely folk at Penguin, we have two sets of the first three novels in Harry Sidebottom’s very enjoyable Warrior of Rome series to be won: Fire in the East, King of Kings and the latest, Lion of the Sun. Fans of historical fiction won’t want to miss out.

Five copies of Bad Things Happen to be won [closed]

Five copies of Bad Things Happen to be won [closed]

Reviewed on August 16, 2010

Thanks to the kindly folks at Ebury Press, five lucky Bookgeeks will be getting stuck in to Harry Dolan’s new crime novel, Bad Things Happen, recently reviewed on Bookgeeks by Rob Cox.

Kat Falls

Kat Falls

Reviewed on August 10, 2010

Kat Falls grew up in Silver Spring, Maryland and now teaches at NU, where she is continually inspired by her students’ creativity. She started writing Dark Life as a writing exercise. Knowing that her 12-year-old son loved reading about the ocean, Wild West pioneers and, of course, the X-Men, she combined his interests and created the premise for a story that kept her up nights plotting and world-building.

Win a manuscript page signed by AC/DC’s Brian Johnson [closed]

Win a manuscript page signed by AC/DC’s Brian Johnson [closed]

Reviewed on July 25, 2010

To celebrate the paperback release of legendary AC/DC frontman Brian Johnson’s automotive autobiography, we have a very special prize: a handwritten page from the original manuscript, signed by the great man himself and framed. The winner and four runners up get copies of Rockers and Rollers too…

Kevin Brooks

Kevin Brooks

Reviewed on July 21, 2010

Kevin Brooks was born in Exeter, Devon, and he studied in Birmingham and London. He had a varied working life, with jobs in a crematorium, a zoo, a garage and a post office, before – happily – giving it all up to write books. We asked him about his writing habits and his latest novel, iBoy.

Win a set of Serpent’s Tail Classics

Win a set of Serpent’s Tail Classics

Reviewed on July 18, 2010

One lucky Bookgeeks reader will win a set of Serpent’s Tail’s beautiful new Classics series, comprising: We Need to Talk About Kevin, by Lionel Shriver, Shoe Dog, by George Pelecanos, Devil in a Blue Dress by Walter Mosley, and The Book of Disquiet by Fernando Pessoa.

Read a new Seth Hunter short story, exclusive to Bookgeeks

Read a new Seth Hunter short story, exclusive to Bookgeeks

Reviewed on July 8, 2010

We’re very excited to be able to bring you ‘The Captain and Courtesans’, by Seth Hunter – starring Hunter’s naval hero Captain Nathan Peake, it tells of the Captain’s experiences in transporting a very unusual group of passengers. We’re bringing it to you to celebrate the publication of the third Nathan Peake novel, The Price [...]

Win copies of Andrew Kaufman’s two novels [closed]

Win copies of Andrew Kaufman’s two novels [closed]

Reviewed on July 4, 2010

Thanks to our friends at Telegram Books, we are delighted to give five lucky people the chance to read Andrew Kaufman’s debut novel, All My Friends Are Superheroes, and his new opus, The Waterproof Bible. All My Friends Are Superheroes: All Tom’s friends really are superheroes. Tom even married a superhero, the Perfectionist. But at [...]

Two great historical trilogies to be won [closed]

Two great historical trilogies to be won [closed]

Reviewed on June 19, 2010

Thanks to the splendid folks at Headline, one lucky winner can get two trilogies of great historical novels: the nautical adventures of Nathan Peake, as written by Seth Hunter, and the first three books of M.K. Hume’s King Arthur series.

Andrew Kaufman

Andrew Kaufman

Reviewed on June 19, 2010

Andrew Kaufman was born in the town of Wingham, Ontario, Canada, the birthplace of Alice Munro. This makes him the second best writer in a town of three thousand. He is also a film maker, radio producer and a regular contributor to the McSweeney’s website. We asked him about his cult debut novel and his forthcoming second book.

Three copies of The Folding Knife by K.J. Parker to be won [closed]

Three copies of The Folding Knife by K.J. Parker to be won [closed]

Reviewed on May 30, 2010

We have three copies of The Folding Knife by K.J. Parker to be won – the latest standalone novel from our of our favourite fantasy authors.

Nick Lake

Nick Lake

Reviewed on May 23, 2010

Nick Lake is an editorial director at HarperCollins Children’s Books. His first novel, Blood Ninja, was inspired by his interest in the Far East, and by the fact that he is secretly a vampire ninja himself. Nick lives with his wife in Oxfordshire. We asked him about the genesis of the novel, his writing tips and his Ninja skills.

Win a copy of John Connolly’s The Whisperers plus soundtrack [closed]

Win a copy of John Connolly’s The Whisperers plus soundtrack [closed]

Reviewed on May 16, 2010

Charlie Parker returns in John Connolly’s latest thriller The Whisperers. 5 lucky winners will receive a copy of The Whisperers, as well as a copy of the accompanying limited compilation CD Love & Whispers – the third soundtrack to the novels of John Connolly.

Five copies of Apartment 16 to be won

Five copies of Apartment 16 to be won

Reviewed on May 9, 2010

Thanks to Pan MacMillan we have five copies of one of the most important horror novels to be published in the UK in years, Apartment 16, by Adam Nevill.

Three copies of The Orphaned Worlds to be won [closed]

Three copies of The Orphaned Worlds to be won [closed]

Reviewed on May 2, 2010

Thanks to our friends at Orbit, we have three copies of Michael Cobley’s space opera to give away – get ready to be blasted across the galaxy if you win…

Win a copy of Tome of the Undergates [closed]

Win a copy of Tome of the Undergates [closed]

Reviewed on April 23, 2010

Thanks to the lovely people at Gollancz, we have five copies of Sam Sykes’ debut fantasy Tome of the Undergates to give away – are you feeling lucky?

P.C. Hodgell

P.C. Hodgell

Reviewed on April 16, 2010

P. C. Hodgell is the author of the God Stalker series: God Stalk and Dark of the Moon in the omnibus The God-Stalker Chronicles; Seeker’s Mask and To Ride a Rathorn in Seeker’s Bane. The fifth in the series, Bound in Blood, was recently released. Pat lives, teaches, knits, and falls off horses in Wisconsin, and we asked her about her writing and her inspirations.

Ten copies of Blood Ninja to be won! [closed]

Ten copies of Blood Ninja to be won! [closed]

Reviewed on March 29, 2010

Thanks to the lovely people at Corvus, we have ten copies of Blood Ninja by Nick Lake to give away – it’s got blood-sucking ninjas in it, what more do we need to say? Ten copies are up for grabs, so get entering…

Win Celine Kiernan’s Moorhawke Trilogy – each book as it’s published [closed]

Win Celine Kiernan’s Moorhawke Trilogy – each book as it’s published [closed]

Reviewed on March 24, 2010

First prize is a copy of The Poison Throne now, and copies of The Crowded Shadows and The Rebel Prince sent to you as soon as they are published later in 2010. Three runners-up will receive copies of The Poison Throne.

Celine Kiernan

Celine Kiernan

Reviewed on March 22, 2010

A new interview with fantasy author Celine Kiernan, author of the Moorehawke Trilogy, which started off with The Poison Throne.

Win a copy of Terminal World, by Alastair Reynolds [closed]

Win a copy of Terminal World, by Alastair Reynolds [closed]

Reviewed on March 14, 2010

We have five copies of Alastair Reynolds’ new novel up for grabs, courtesy of the lovely folk at Gollancz.

Tad Williams

Tad Williams

Reviewed on March 8, 2010

Tad Williams’ debut fantasy series Memory, Sorrow and Thorn sold millions of copies around the world and established him as one of the greatest fantasy writers of modern times. His virtual reality saga, Otherland, and his standalone novel The War of the Flowers were published to similar popular and critical acclaim. The third volume of [...]

Brian Thompson

Brian Thompson

Reviewed on March 3, 2010

Brian Thompson was born in London in 1935 and now lives in Oxford. He has written two award-winning volumes of memoir: Keeping Mum (2006), winner of the Costa Prize for Biography and the PEN/Ackerley Prize, and Clever Girl (2007), longlisted for the Samuel Johnson Prize. More recently, he has written two two volumes in the [...]

Merry Christmas from the Bookgeeks!

Merry Christmas from the Bookgeeks!

Reviewed on December 25, 2009

Merry Christmas to our readers from everyone here at Bookgeeks Towers (which only exists in our imagination at the moment, but one day, will bestride the literary landscape like a colossal… well, you get the idea). We hope you have enjoyed our reviews and competitions in 2009, and we look forward to bringing you much, [...]

Win six signed Robert Rankin books including his newest, Retromancer [closed]

Win six signed Robert Rankin books including his newest, Retromancer [closed]

Reviewed on December 21, 2009

We have a Christmas treat in store for you this week: to celebrate the release of his newest book, Retromancer, the lovely, festive-spirited people at Gollancz have given us five (as in five gold rings) sets of the following books, ALL signed by the Robert Rankin: Retromancer (hardback) Hollow Chocolate Bunnies of the Apocalypse (paperback) [...]

Do you feel lucky? Enter to win Clint Eastwood. Icon [closed]

Do you feel lucky? Enter to win Clint Eastwood. Icon [closed]

Reviewed on November 10, 2009

Courtesy of publisher Titan Books, we have three copies of Clint Eastwood. Icon: The Essential Film Art Collection available to win. Clint Eastwood is not just a man; he is a nameless vigilante, a detective, bare-knuckle boxer, Secret Service agent, and Academy Award-winning director. His laconic one-liners can be heard in numerous languages, preceding the [...]

Dave Simpson, author of The Fallen

Dave Simpson, author of The Fallen

Reviewed on October 8, 2009

Ever been held hostage in a dressing room with your parents? Ever been thrown off the bus in the middle of a Swedish forest or abandoned at a foreign airport? Ever been asked to play at one of the UK’s biggest music festivals with musicians you’ve just met who are covered in blood, or taken [...]

Five copies of Fire by Kristin Cashore to be won [closed]

Five copies of Fire by Kristin Cashore to be won [closed]

Reviewed on September 28, 2009

As recently reviewed by Jennie Blake here on Bookgeeks, the lovely people at Gollancz have given us five copies of Kristin Cashore’s Fire to give away to those who can answer a not-too-taxing question. Set in a world of stunningly beautiful, exceptionally dangerous monsters, Fire is one of the most dangerous monsters of all – [...]

Dust of Dreams (Malazan Book of the Fallen), by Steven Erikson

Dust of Dreams (Malazan Book of the Fallen), by Steven Erikson

Reviewed on September 24, 2009

Fans of Steven Erikson should know what to expect by now, and Dust of Dreams, the ninth and penultimate instalment of the monumental, genre-redefining Malazan Book of the Fallen, is in every respect classic Steven Erikson. It’s all here in profusion, from his marvellous strengths – a lyrical, poetically infused writing style that’s a cut [...]

Win limited edition proofs of Stephen Donaldson’s Fatal Revenant [closed]

Win limited edition proofs of Stephen Donaldson’s Fatal Revenant [closed]

Reviewed on August 21, 2009

Fatal Revenant, Book Two of “The Last Chronicles of Thomas Covenant,” begins where The Runes of the Earth ended: Linden Avery watches from a balcony while Thomas Covenant and her adopted son, Jeremiah, ride desperately toward Revelstone. But their reunion has vast consequences which she could not have foreseen. Soon she is betrayed by the [...]

Chris Hannan, author of Missy

Chris Hannan, author of Missy

Reviewed on August 5, 2009

Chris Hannan’s work as a playwright has been produced by the Royal Shakespeare Company at the Barbican (1991) and by Sir Peter Hall at the Old Vic in London (1997) as well as by the National Theatre of Scotland in its inaugural season (2006). He often creates big central roles for women.  The Guardian hailed Elizabeth Gordon Quinn [...]

Ben Kane, author of The Forgotten Legion

Ben Kane, author of The Forgotten Legion

Reviewed on July 31, 2009

Ben Kane was born in Kenya and raised there and in Ireland. He studied veterinary medicine at University College Dublin but after that travelled the world extensively, indulging his passion for ancient history. Now he lives in North Somerset, where he researches, writes and practises as a small animal vet. He is author of The [...]

Competition: Horror Reanimated: Echoes [closed]

Competition: Horror Reanimated: Echoes [closed]

Reviewed on July 16, 2009

A few months ago Mathew F. Riley teamed up with Bill Hussey and Joseph D’Lacey to create and collaborate on the Horror Reanimated blog – a celebration of all things horror. At the end of May we went on a short but sweet Horror Reanimated tour, officially launching the blog, but also celebrating the publication [...]

Geeks in Print…*

Geeks in Print…*

Reviewed on July 14, 2009

We hope you won’t mind normal service being interrupted for a day so that we can give ourselves a little plug. As you may know if you’ve read our biographies, Simon A and Mathew have day jobs working in the new media industry. We work with several publishers and we’re proud to announce we’ve just [...]

Competition: going underground with The Dwarves [closed]

Competition: going underground with The Dwarves [closed]

Reviewed on July 4, 2009

Whatever trends may sweep across the fantasy landscape, most fantasy fans cut their teeth on Lord of the Rings, perhaps with a game of Dungeons & Dragons on the side, and many of us would admit that we love to revisit these classic fantasy tropes. Now we can do that, focusing on the doughty and [...]

Competition: win signed copies of the David Simon classic Homicide [closed]

Competition: win signed copies of the David Simon classic Homicide [closed]

Reviewed on June 10, 2009

David Simon is perhaps best known as the creator the The Wire, widely acclaimed as one of the best TV dramas ever made – but before Simon’s amazing scripts hit TV screens, he made his name by reporting on crime and deprivation in Baltimore, and by writing two amazing books on the subject: Homicide: A [...]

Competition: win a copy of Ben Kane’s The Forgotten Legion [closed]

Competition: win a copy of Ben Kane’s The Forgotten Legion [closed]

Reviewed on June 6, 2009

Roman adventures never seem to go out of fashion: from Conn Iggulden to Simon Scarrow, we are spoiled for choice when it comes to tales of the Roman Republic / Empire and its famous denizens. The latest book in the genre to grace Simon A’s reading pile was Ben Kane’s The Forgotten Legion – it’s [...]

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