Monthly Update | March 2010

It's been a much better month in March - 7 books read and a couple more on the go. It's a good job because I suspect I won't have much time in April with the Science Fiction Appreciation Month going on!

Books Read

1. Spellwright by Blake Charlton (Voyager/Tor)
   
2. The Orphaned Worlds by Mike Cobley (Orbit)
   
3. Starship: Mercenary by Mike Resnick (Pyr) (Audio Book)
   
4. 40 Years by Bernd Struben (Strider Nolan Media)
   
5. Silversands by Gareth L Powell (Pendragon Press) (ebook)
6. The Great Bazaar by Peter V Brett (Subterranean Press)
   
7. Starship: Rebel by Mike Resnick (Pyr) (Audio Book)
   

I've read some really good books this past month and have thoroughly enjoyed them all. Although only one review has appeared so far rest assured that the rest are soon coming up :) I'm also in the process of reading Bright of the Sky by Kay Kenyon and re-reading The Engineer ReConditioned by Neal Asher. I've also got Starship: Flagship on the go as I type and I'm on course to do a full week of reviews for the Starship series - really looking forward to pimping this excellent series!

Games Played

1. Final Fantasy XIII
2. Gears of War 2

A change this month with Resident Evil 5 not getting any gaming time (although I still need to finish off the final couple of chapters. One game I've been looking forward to for a considerable amount of time is Final Fantasy XIII, but I just didn't get into it when I started playing. Don't get me wrong - it's a stunning game, but at the moment I don't have the attention span to immerse myself in it for hours at a time, something a game like this deserves. The game that has really grabbed me is Gears of War 2, a third person shooter that is balls-to-the-wall action with some great characters, a great story and excellent graphics. The gameplay rocks too. I've now picked up the first game and also one called Lost Planet after seeing a preview for its sequel, both for a combined bargain price of £13. Nice!

Books Received

A Dark Matter by Peter Straub (Orion)

Horns by Joe Hill (Gollancz)

Terminal World by Alastair Reynolds (Gollancz)

Metro 2033 by Dmitry Glukhovsky (Gollancz)

Chronos by Tom Ciolli (Robertson Publishing)

King Maker by Maurice Broaddus (Angry Robot Books)

White is for Witching by Helen Oyeyemi (Picador)

Spellwright by Blake Charlton (Voyager)

Dead in the Family by Charlaine Harris (Gollancz)

Wolfsangel by M.D. Lachlan (Gollancz)

Under Heaven by Guy Gavriel Kay (Voyager)

Exodus Gate by Stephen Zimmer (Seventh Star Press)

Blonde Bombshell by Tom Holt (Orbit)

The Orphaned Worlds by Mike Cobley (Orbit)

The Authorised Ender Companion by Jake Black (Tor)

The Second Coming by David H Burton (ebook)

Proxies of Fate by Matthew Moses (Pill Hill Press) (ebook)

Timesplash by Graham Storrs (Lyrical Press) (ebook)

Books Purchased

Starship Summer by Eric Brown (PS Publishing)

The Great Bazaar by Peter V Brett (Subterranean Press)

Final Fantasy XIII The Official Strategy Guide (Limited Edition) (Piggyback Interactive)

Plans for April

It's the big one in April, Science Fiction Appreciation Month. I'm really psyched, if not a little nervous, about it. I've got plenty of reviews from myself along with some great guest posts from some of my favourite authors. I've also enlisted some fellow bloggers who will be providing reviews and guest posts on sci-fi books, series and authors that they've enjoyed. Other than that it's going to be reading full-steam ahead - The Desert Spear has just arrived as I type this :)