Latest release from Penguin Books: The Obsidian Throne

Top selling writer J. D. Oswald's fantasy series is reputedly one of the best ever in the history of fantasy writing.

But now with his latest work, J. D. Oswald brings this stunning series to a truly staggering conclusion.

For the Northlands, annihilation is looming.

Will it be utter destruction by the dragons?

Or will it be utter devastation by Queen Beulah?

Either way, things are not looking too promising for the Northlands.

However, beneath the city rests a sectret that the House of Balwen have closely guarded for millennia.

It is a treasure so vast that it is beyond comprehension and beyond counting.

However, in truth only a direct descendent of the original Balwen could open the escape routes from this subterranean cavern.

However, in order to unlock the power of this treasure, Pincess Iowen must needs to claim the Obsidian throne for herself.

At the same time, Errol and Sir Benfro are discovering that their destinies are drawing ever closer together.

In fact the future of all life within the Twin Kingdoms rests in the uneasy hands of these two heroes, unlikely though that might appear.

There must be dreadful betrayals and terrible self-sacrifice. And events will forever change the lives of both boy and dragon.

But who or what will prevail?

This is a perfect conclusion to this stunning series and at only £7.99 for nearly 600 pages will make a wonderful Christmas gift for the fantasy readers in your life.

You can buy it, and the other books in this series, at the That's Books and Entertainment bookshop at this link here https://goo.gl/nYxiYk.

 

Titanic Rose Walsh McLean's Story

Titanic Rose Walsh McLean's Story is a novel by Walden DCaprio Carrington which takes a fictional look at the life of Rose Walsh McLean and the time that she spent on board the Titanic.

We read how Molly Brown has decided to thrown a 16th birthday party for Rose Walsh McLean. This was in the May of 1911.

Rose bumps into Cad Carnegie in the foyer of the venue and on the 4th of July, he proposes marriage to her. She accepts his proposal.

Their engagement lasts until April the following year (1912). At this point the wedding party is making the return crossing of the Atlantic from Europe to the United States of America.

Unfortunately they were travelling on the maiden voyage of the RMS Titanic.

Rose captivates a handsome steerage passenger by the name of Jake Lawnsan. He is more impecunious than pecunious, but he manages to captivate the youthful young fiancee of another man.

When disaster strikes the ship Rose makes the decision to renounce her betrothal to her fiancee and to throw her lot in with Jake.

She remains with Jake as the ship sinks to its watery grave, taking the name Rose Lawnsan when she boards the Carpathia and she makes the return trip to Denver with Molly.

But in the pocket of her overcoat she has the Blue Heart Diamond necklace that Cad had deposited in the pocket.

Many decades later Rose looks at a TV news broadcast that contains a report of the efforts of Brice Bruhaven who is in charge of the attempts to undertake an excavation of the Titanic wreck site.

Rose realises that now she must tell her story and the story of the man she has always loved.

But Rose realises that there is one more thing that she must do.

This is an interesting novelisation of the James Cameron Titanic film.

Fans of the characters will consider this to be a most excellent Christmas gift, as it goes inot more depth than the part of the story depicted in the film.

It is published by The Book Guild at £8.99 and is available from the That's Books and Entertainment book shop. You'll find it to the right of this book review.

Rendezvous With Death

Rendezvous With Death is the latest novel by former lawyer turned novelist Gil Hogg.

A VIP in the form of a British diplomat has been abducted in Pakistan.

At first it is believed that the kidnapping is a terrorist outrage. But then evidence comes to light that this may not be the case, that the disappearance may have been engineered on behalf of a powerful tycoon with vendetta on his mind.

Nick Dyson is a London-based Barrister who decides to accept an  apparently lucrative position as the personal assistant to an old friend of his, Robert Laidlaw who is employed as a Special Envoy to the Middle East, based in Islamabad.

Unfortunately Robert and his wife Emma and also now Nick have made a bitter personal enemy of an influential tycoon who is based in the city of Islamabad, a man by the name of Gerald Macbeth.

Robert suddenly vanishes and his security guard is discovered, beheaded.

Nicks' suspicions are raised and he begins to believe that Gerald Macbeth, and not 'terrorists' are involved in the murder of the security guard and the disappearance of Robert Laidlaw.

He attempts to persuade Emma to escape from Pakistan with him.

But is Nick all that he seems? And who, exactly, are the guilty ones?

Who are the real sinners? Who the really sinned against?

And what dreadful events from the past have reached their bony fingers down to the present day?

This is a fascinating book with more than a few twists and some rather unexpected turns.

It's a welcome addition to the canon of works of Gil Hogg.

It is priced at £8.99 and is published by Matador and is an excellent stocking filler for the mystery novel fan in your life.

You can buy it from the That's Books and Entertainment book shop and gift shop. You'll find the portal to said shop just to the right hand side of this book review.


 

Find a Better Life

You can Find a Better Life. That's the promise of author Brian Fitzpatrick.

Throughout much of his life he felt that there was something that was lacking. Something missing.

He took the decision to dig deeper and to consider a new view.

Brian said: "I went in search of answers and finally found the clarity and contentment I had been lacking."

He decided that he would not merely keep what he had discovered to himself, that he would share it with everyone else who was struggling for answers, for a sense of direction.

There's a good deal of information and advice available to us from all types of sources.

But if that is the case, how is it that worry, tension and stress are always so close at hand?

Brain acknowledges that there are many causes for this, but he believes that the major cause is a lack of personal growth. A common problem, he asserts.

Brian's book will help you to take a step back and take in the wider, broader view. To eschew the temptation to just follow the crowd.

Brian feels that we must ask ourselves some deep and penetrating questions, even if this might make us feel somewhat uncomfortable.

But by following the principles in this book you can Find a Better Life.

It is published by Matador at £9.99 and will be a good Christmas gift for the thinker in your life.

You can buy it at the That's Books and Entertainment bookshop and gift shop, the portal to which is just to the right of this book review.

You can also find some related music that Brian has created in the store. Just search under "Love & Happiness Brian Fitzpatrick."

Little Professor and his Robot Factory

Little Professor and His Robot Factory is a wonderful new book for children -and their parents and grandparents, too!- that takes the reader on a whacky and wondrous journey through the world of science.

Marienne Parry is a retired teacher and she originally wrote The Little Professor and His Robot Factory as part of a lesson she was teaching her class about the world of robotics,

She eventually decided to re-write it as a book for all children.

It consists of three stories that introduce children to the fields of magnetism, electricity and light.

The readers follow the adventures of three of Little Professor's robots who are aided and abetted by their little helper friend, Scooper Man.

Children will learn about what happens when Magnet Man decided, not long after he had been built, to go out into the world beyond the factory to explore things for himself.

But as he is magnetic he attracts lots of metal things to himself, including a car, a gate and various other metallic items. 

In fact, local people mistake him for a weird monster!

Electric Man is a friend of Magnet Man. He can work out sums really, really quickly. so he goes to the local school to help the teacher. But what happens when the children misbehave? You might be surprised!

And then there is their best friend, Light Man. He is a little bit envious of his two friends who have had such big adventures outside the factory, but soon he, too, is having a wonderful adventure all by himself!

Then Light Man hits on the idea of holding a street party with the help and assistance of his friends and Scooper Man, to the delight of the local families!

The book is also charmingly illustrated.

This is a must buy book if you have children up to Primary School age and it is great for self-reading for older children and for parents or grandparents to read aloud to the children.

It's an excellent Christmas stocking filler.

It will be ideal for schools and local children's libraries. It can be bought via the That's Books and Entertainment book shop, which is just to the right hand side of this book review.

Thinking Lies Learning how to Believe in Yourself

Thinking Lies Learning how to Believe in Yourself is the new book from David Hulman.

It is based on and inspired by his own person experience and it is aimed at inspiring people aged 16 to 25 to gain belief in themselves and to go ahead with their lives and achieve their own dreams.

David Hulman points out that 16 to 25 is a period of immense physical and emotional changes for all of us.

He offers nine special techniques and strategies based on intensive research into the fields of numerous theories, psychology, neuro-linguistic-programming and a number of inspirational stories that are designed to help the reader to develop self-belief.

The background to this book is fascinating.

He developed a mental complex at the age of seven, which he called "thinking lies." He could not trust his own thoughts, what he believed or even what he remembered, or thought he remembered.

As he grew up and matured, he came to realise that this mental complex was merely doubt, something that everyone experiences but which, if left unchecked, can stop us from ever reaching our full potential. Which can thwart our attempts to attain our dreams.

David has written this book to enable those aged 16 to 25 to reduce or eliminate self-doubt and to help them attain their goals.

The book is published by The Book Guild at a remarkably decent price of only £7.99 and it will make a fantastic stocking filler for any person aged between 16 to 25.

He also runs a Youtube channel, #HelpFromHulman, in which he gives answers to commonly asked questions.

This book is available now from the That's Books and Entertainment book and gift shop. The portal to enter this bookshop is over to the right of this review.

Shine on, Marquee Moon

Shine on, Marquee Moon is the debut novel of Zoe Howe who is one of the UK's leading music writers.

Although this is her first novel, Zoe has written five non-fiction books on thr world of rock music and she is also a drummer.

The novel tells the story of Sylvie who works as a dresser for a New Romantic band that is currently undergoing something of a 21st century revival.

Sylvie manages to become romantically involved with band member Nick. Nick is a fairly rare bird in the music industry, one might say. how so? He is the least unhinged member of the band and although he is something of a heart-throb, he is a somewhat reluctant heart-throb.

Sylvie and Nick bond amidst the drama, angst, fun and chaos of the tour of the band. They have a shared passion for the highly important album by the group Television, called "Marquee Moon."

Things are going very well for them. Perhaps too well?

 For a secret, a rather dark, dirty secret, at that, could threaten to totally wreck and destroy not only their relationship and blight any possibility of a future for them as a couple, but it could bring about an even wider circle of destruction, too.

The novel is a free flowing excursion through the public and private lives of Sylvie, her fiance Nick, his dog Brando and the other members of the entourage of the New Romantic band Concierge as they toured again.

But what does actually happen when the band is on the tour bus, between gigs? You might be surprised to learn the truth.

And what occurs to Sylvie and Nick and the other extremely well-drawn characters in this novel? You'll want to find out, as you'll be gripped from the first paragraph to the last of this refreshing, highly readable novel.

It is to be hoped that this is the first of many novels by Zoe Howe.

It is published by Matador in paperback and a remarkably affordable £8.99 and will make a most excellent Christmas present for the modern music fan in your life.

It's available from the That's Books and Entertainment bookshop and gift store.The portal to which you will find on the right side of this review.