Hallo everyone, miss me? I know it has been a while but I am still alive and am dedicated to telling you about the goings on in everyone’s favourite bookstore, as well as writing reviews which tell you very little of the book and generally involve me insulting anyone who looks at me cross-eyed.

Anyway this shall be a news-centric post today as there are lots of exciting things happening in Pulp Fiction this month.

To begin with, the store will be having a relaunch in June to celebrate the new deli.  It just opened in the store and is run by Paul the deli dude. It’s complete with an array of award-winning cheeses and meats, and Paul’s own cakes which I would quite happily dropkick a shi-tzu for, as well as a vast variety of teas, coffees and some of the tastiest hot chocolate I have ever had. So make sure to pop over for lunch at some point and keep posted for more info about the relaunch.  [Which will definitely include a FLYING SHARK.  Just sayin'.  --ed]

We also have an interview happening with the talented (and rather handsome) author Roy Gill and illustrator (and just as handsome) Paul Mudie on the 23rd of May. It will be conducted by the also-handsome Edinburgh writer Helen Jackson (Though this may be the wrong word for a lady. Pretty? Oh well as long as I don’t get viciously attacked by Bridget-Jones-fanboy feminists again. You know who you are). Roy and Paul will be answering questions on the new young adult book ‘The Daemon Parallel’ on subjects such as their creative processes and how it feels to be tipped for an award before the book was even published (how does that work? Seems vaguely suspicious if you ask me. But nobody asks me, so oh well). There will even be time afterward for people in the audience to ask their own questions. So if you fancy coming along, then book your ticket here.

We are also organising a high tea to be held over the Jubilee weekend. So if you fancy having a tier of cakes, sandwiches and a pot of tea to celebrate (or just really want a big pile of cakes) then keep an eye on here for further updates as they come in.

Hey everyone, Jimbo here being assisted by our newest denizen of Pulp Fiction Robert (he doesnt have a nickname so dont hold that against him. He’s young and innocent and we need to look after him). So he will be helping out with writing this blog. So first things first, the new deli! Over to Rob:

So, after an epic 2 week journey from London, the new Deli fridge has arrived! And with that, our barista Paul can start off Phase 2 of the new coffee shop plan: selling sandwiches, soups, nachos and Italian antipasti! And let me tell you, his sandwiches are deli-cious! Using the best 5 star award cheeses and hams from Italy and Spain, he can make even the most plain ham and cheese sandwich the best meal you ever had this side of Edinburgh!

Back to me (Jimbo) now, a very hungry me though. Really want a sandwich, might demand one in a minute.

Anyway in connection with the deli, on the 16th of May we will be having a relaunch in the store to celebrate our new found deliness! There will be all kinds of things going on, but what things I hear the voices in my head ask? Well that’s going to be a surprise folks. There may be music, there may be poetry and there may even be nudity (not that this has been planned but that has never stopped me before). And as ever, there will be cake. Probably delicious cake.

Rob: Which, of course, will be a lie.

Anyway, here’s one more date to put in your diaries! On the 23rd of May, from 6:30 to 8:30 pm, Roy Gill will be presenting his newly published, bestselling, young adult fantasy book set in Edinburgh: The Daemon Parallel! He will be reading excerpts from his book, and answer all of your questions, so make sure you come with some ready for him! Tell us if you will be coming by clicking on this link!

Well that’s all for us, the rest of my day will be spent punishing Rob for his Portal reference. So until next time folks, ciao for now!

Jack Reacher, a man who I would be willing to question my sexuality for. And then willingly get punched in the face by because that would be the closest thing I would get to physical contact from this living Adonis. Then I would realise that this was stupid and spend the rest of the day nursing a cracked skull and crying into my pillow.

Anyway Jack Reacher is the creation of Lee Child and is basically everything a manly man should be. 6ft 5, an ex army MP and a guy with a strong moral code who travels around America getting himself into all kinds of bizarre situations which can only be solved with his particular way of doing things. Mainly punching and shooting things until they stop moving. The books themselves are incredibly well written and Jack Reacher comes across as more than a lump of muscle with arms and legs. He is a sympathetic and admirable character who does what he does, not because he believes in the law but because he believes in justice. So even if the character he is helping isn’t exactly on the side of the angels you can see why he would go out of his way for them. Of course he is also the strong, silent type who never wastes a word, despite the fact that he is a clever little fellow.

There are roughly a million (17) books in the series, and each one is awesome and a definite read if you like a heart thumping tale of excitement. The stories diverge from helping a woman get away from her abusive husband to stopping crazy hillbilly terrorists from blowing people up on the 4th of July.

So if you need some excitement and a story that is not all bullets and punching then make sure you pick up a Jack Reacher. Totally worth it.

As past readers of the blog knows I am a huge fan of Peter F. Hamilton, and this has not changed after reading the final instalment in his epic ‘Void’ saga. What can only be described as a huge hurricane of adventure, intrigue and dudes punching people in the face with telekinetic fists.

Also spaceships and elephant aliens. Which rock.

Now this is going to be a brief review because examining all the books in detail  would require a lot more patience than I have. Basically if I can sit down for ten minutes to watch daytime TV without feeling the need to bash my brains in with a cushion is a good day for me. What was I talking about? Oh yeah the Void saga.

Ok the plot revolves around the Void (big surprise there) which is basically an entrance to another dimension where people have the power to punch you in the face… with their minds! Also other powers as well, but they come into it later.. However to do this the void devours matter in the real universe. So obviously there are humans that want to go in there and basically spend their time having superpowers and rewriting the basic structure of reality to suit themselves while everyone else thinks that these people are idiots. And to stop these humans there are the hugely powerful Raiel (elephant aliens) who have dedicated their species to stopping the void from devouring the galaxy.  They aren’t likely to treat those who want entry to the void as harmless idiots, more like as target practice.

Now the reason that people know what is going on in the void is due to the dreams of Edeard the Waterwalker. He’s the Hero of the Void and the reason behind people wanting to run to the Void, as he shows them what people are capable of in there.  It’s not clear why people outside the void can hear his dreams, but somehow, they do.  He gradually reveals that the Void grants not just psychic abilities, but the ability to reverse themselves in time to certain points so they are capable of reliving points of their life and changing it to suit their needs or wants (though changing time in reverse to avoid stubbing my toe every time it happens does sound incredibly appealing. Even if it does mean an early end for the universe).

So now that covers the plot, the books themselves are incredibly well written and are awe inspiring in terms of scale and storytelling. It can sometimes be hard to keep track of what is going on, mainly because there is so much happening at any one time. Though Peter F. Hamilton is very good at making sure the reader is not completely lost so for the majority of the series this is not a problem. What I would not suggest however is reading this series before you read his previous trilogy, the Commonwealth saga, which is set in the same universe and contains many of the same characters. A lot of the series can be quite confusing without the knowledge that the earlier books give you, and some parts may not even make much sense. But apart from this I would be happy to say that I now consider the Void series to be my one of my favourite collection of books ever made ever.

So if you fancy a few books that will have you glued to them for a couple of weeks then this is the way to go. If not then what are you doing here? GET OUT OF MY HOUSE!!!!

Right that’s all for now, Jimbo out!

We will have more details soon on the upcoming transformation of our bookstore cafe into an actual coffee shop, but here are some hints:

• wouldn’t it be nice if it were open mornings?
• and had take-out?
• and fast service?
• and food?
• and a courtyard cafe?

Just you wait!

Steve here, mentioning that we’ll be in Glasgow tomorrow, peddling comic books and graphic novels like the pathetic itinerant books peddlers we truly are.   https://www.facebook.com/events/269206793145731/ explains all.

Hey everyone and welcome to a news-oriented edition of the blog today. And when I say news oriented I mean I shall spend two minutes vaguely mentioning things happening in the store and the rest of the time talking about random things which enter into my head whilst writing. So let’s begin then, shall we?

To start off with we have an awesome offer for our thriller books, only £1 each! There are some very nice books in our collection, from Michael Crichton talking about dinosaur armies to other books that don’t talk about dinosaurs, such as Colin Forbes and Clare Francis. If you are looking to bulk up your library with some fantastic tales or need a book to take on holiday then make sure you come in and grab one before they all vanish.

We have also been rearranging the book shelves so we can expand our sci-fi section. Lots of new pulpy science fiction on our shelves and in our window; if you’re looking for some random adventures, or even just some terrible stories to make you laugh, then come check them out. We promise not to judge you on your choice (that’s a lie: Steve won’t judge but I will make up rumours about you behind your back). At the very least you should come in and look at some of the terrible book covers they have, seriously you will question your sanity after a while. Not that this has ever been an issue in the store, in fact you may end up fitting in better!

And talking of books (a subject which does not come up much in a book shop) the David Gemmell awards are going on right now. “Celebrating and rewarding the best in fantasy”, they say. And because we are the best bookstore ever, we happen to have the vast majority of these books in-store, in lovely new hardcovers. So check out the site and see what they have and just assume we have it and that if we do then it’ll be awesome and you should buy it.

Anyway that is all for today, so I shall bid you farewell and speak to you soon. Tell your Mum I said hello (if you know what I mean). Jimbo out!

Greetings folks, welcome to the second part of my look at Ken MacLeod’s ‘Engines of Light’ series, which will examine the ‘Dark Light’.

As anyone who read my last review knows I was terribly excited by the inclusion of stoner dinosaurs. Possibly the greatest literary device ever to be used by mankind! However in this round I will be attempting to talk about the book itself rather than just the stoned dinosaurs.

Anyway this book finds us with our four heroes who have created the first ever human-driven starship in the second sphere universe, in defiance to the alien gods that control their section of the universe. The story follows Matt, a Scottish computer type person (pretty sure they have a proper name for his job but I forgot what it’s called,) who after somehow being catapulted to the other end of the galaxy to an area of space inhabited by humans and other species *cough*stonerdinosaurs*cough* and becoming immortal, ends up involved in a plot to make humans masters of their own destiny whilst helping with the oncoming political revolutions brought about by his past comrade Volkov.  Volkov is, of course, A Russian ex-cosmonaut who dreams of bringing communism to the Second Sphere (pretty sure he is doing it for the chicks though. Chicks love division of labour). So Matt and his anarchist leadings have to try and prevent a war from the heavens before the gods discover that humanity is encroaching on their territory, and a civil war that threatens to end humanity before they even have a chance to fight back…

Unlike the last book which followed two interconnected threads this book has a more traditional story that follows the political ramifications of the first human-controlled starship. Not only this but the introduction of an immortal communist and an immortal anarchist into a society based mainly on a highly corruptible democracy and all the hijinks that ensue from that. With light-hearted moments such as when a woman who is a man and a man who is a woman fall in love to heart racing moments during the inevitable revolution.

It’s a faster-paced sequel to ‘Cosmonaut Keep’, but one that keeps the same style and fully begins to explore the ‘Engines of Light’ universe. So make sure to give it a go, I promise it’s worth your time. Toodles for now. Jimbo.

http://math.boisestate.edu/gas/pirates/web_op/pirates18.html

That’s right, if your birthday is today, you are much much younger than you thought.

Come on by here and I’ll sing you the entire recitatif.

Steve

Hey everyone! It’s been a while, how have you all been? I’ve been good, thanks for asking. Now you are all probably wondering where I have been but that isn’t important. Also according to my lawyers I shouldn’t discuss the particulars until after the court case.

Well anyway today I shall be reviewing the awesome ‘Engines of Light’ series by Ken MacLeod (a name that just screams out for a beard). However as a three part series and I being lazy I will cut this into two different blog posts because its pretty much inevitable that I will end up writing about one particular facet of the book. Outer space dinosaur stoners!

The first novel ‘Cosmonaut Keep’ introduces us to a universe where man lives alongside aliens on the other side of the galaxy, taken there by the ‘Gods’ who are a super powerful group of aliens. Though this premise in itself is pretty epic, it gets even better when you realise that one of the species, the Sauran, are a bunch of hominid dinosaurs that tend to smoke a whole load of marijuana. Seriously, that is just awesome. If there was something that would make a race of dinosaur people even more amazing, it would be making them a race of stoners. Though it isn’t mentioned in the book I can only assume they all wore tie-dye t-shirts and wore socks with sandals because I would lose all faith in humanity if they didn’t. (dinosaurity?) Right now I better get back to the book before Steve thinks this whole blog post is about druggie dinosaurs.

The first book is actually two stories in one, one taking place on an Earth where communist Russia is in control of Europe and is still in the middle of the cold war with America. And the other is almost a fantasy tale with a sci-fi twist which takes place on a planet the other side of the galaxy. Though the stories themselves are very different they complement each other well. One story is set in the future, whilst the other is set… further in the future. The  one that takes place later reveals just enough information to tantalise the reader without giving away too much of the other, such as mentioning names and events which took place that involved characters in the other story.

The first story follows a Scottish programmer and a group of cosmonauts as they follow a ‘build your own spaceship guide’ given to them by bacterial aliens. The second, meanwhile, follows their descendants as they try and piece together what happened and uncover the secrets to space travel, which are kept hidden from humans. The stories themselves are well-paced but never boring, and blend seamlessly together. It becomes a point of pride when you notice them beginning to intersect, and you end up re-reading parts just to make sure you haven’t missed something. The characters are all believable and likeable; even the nasty ones have positive things going for them. And for a book set in the future Ken MacLeod doesn’t overwhelm you with technology, but rather he makes a believable future for humanity. Well, except for the part with the stoner dinosaurs of course.

So all in all a great read, and a must-have for any fan of sci-fi. Tune in again soon for when I review the next book in the series. Until then, peace out!