Friday, 29 March 2019

Chuckles Weekend Roundup


Welcome to my feature Chuckles Weekend Roundup where I will be looking at what books I've received, anything interesting I've done or bought or watched and other random stuff. I'll be taking a look back at what happened in my blogging world too, sort of like The Sunday Post that some of you do! 

Please note that I'll be visiting your STS/SP as normal, but I don't follow or leave comments on blogs run by Google Plus, or DISQUS as I refuse to join something just to leave comments, and I won't allow DISQUS to follow new people, update my profile or post tweets 'on my behalf'. I am the only one who does that on my social media! I won't comment on any blog that makes me sign in using another account. Sometimes, I have problems leaving messages on blogs hosted by Wordpress-they try to block me because I deleted my account with them but I will persevere as it only happens the odd time!
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What a week it has been. I just got back from the dentist and while it wasn't painful at all, for some reason I kept gagging through the procedure which was awkward and embarrassing! Still, that's me for another two weeks so I can relax again. The last two mornings I'd been out trying to get the fence varnished which is such a slow job. We still have a fair bit of the neighbour's side to get done so I'm hoping to get out early tomorrow and Sunday mornings to get that side finished. We're only doing one coat on their side. Then we have quite a few more days of putting two coats on our side of the fence in both front and back gardens. My dad is as stiff as a board after putting together a cd shelving unit that turned out way more complicated than he expected and took nearly four hours. What is it with these stupid instructions and diagrams that are incomprehensible??!!!
 
On the book side of thing, no new buys to report and I'm feeling too lazy to add anything in today. I haven't read a thing all week as I've just been tired and slothy. After I do this post I'll be trying to catch up with blog comments and visits while my mouth unfreezes enough to have lunch. I feel like (and sound like) Rocky Balboa!  

Chuckles Blogging World
A quiet week with not much blog activity due to getting stuff done in the house and garden.
 
Book Reviews 
 
Matthew Stott-Sixty Six
 
Doug Kelly-Into The Darkness
 
Regular Posts 
I went Around The Blogs to find the best posts from last week to share. Cover Love looked at the Wickit Chronicles, Top Ten Tuesday was about audiobooks and Books From The Backlog looked at the Systemic series.
 
Chuckles Cover Love
 
Around The Blogs With Chuckles
 
Top Ten Tuesday
 
Books From The Backlog
 
Discussion Posts 
 
Chuckles Chuntering
 
Horror Thriller & Apocalypse in Australia

Book Challenges
 
Book Review Backlog Challenge 

Special Posts
 none this week

Film & TV
 My dad and I watched Sasuke seasons 15-17 this week and I rewatched American Ninja Warrior seasons 4-6.

Book Tags/Blog Awards
none this week
 
Currently Reading/Up Next 
I didn't read a single thing this week again which is frustrating. I don't have any plans to read anything specific this coming week.
 
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Thursday, 28 March 2019

Chuckles Chuntering


There hasn't been much evidence of Chuckles on the blog this week, sorry! With a mild spell of weather and nobody buying the empty house next door yet, my dad and I decided to get that side of the new fence varnished to protect the wood a bit and make it look nicer, before anyone moves in. That way the job is done before anyone moving in can moan at us for any mess! As it happens my dad's knee and back are pretty bad at the moment so I decided I was going to stop being a sloth and get most of it done myself, despite being a fat unfit lump! As usual I underestimated the size of the job, thinking I could get the front garden completed in maybe an forty minutes. 

I decided that I'd get up at 7am to get it done. That let me get things done before the mutt two doors down comes out into the garden and barks non stop at anything that moves, and before any of the neighbours come out looking to chat. I had my warm clothes on and mp3 player to distract me. It took me nearly TWO HOURS to get half the fence done! My back seizes up with standing and bending so it was hellish and I kept taking breaks for being out of breath! My dad did the second part in 45 minutes which left me feeling a bit pathetic as well as sore! But the front was done yesterday and completed so that was the main thing I guess. We'll do our side of the front fence at leisure.

Today I was out in the back garden doing the first section of fencing until I ran out of varnish, but it's a quarter of the job done which is a good start. This time I was seated on my footstool which let me get on with it with no issues with aches and pains which made a big difference. It was quite relaxing listening to Highway to Hell and The Wurzels on the mp3 player with only the local squirrel and a few birds coming over to see what I was doing. Another tin of varnish is on its way so if we get a good day of weather next week, it'll be another job done. Again we'll do our side of the fence at leisure but I would like to get it done soon and out the way.

It has just been a really busy week! I've had a pile of other housework to do so I've been too tired to get any reading done at all, which is disappointing. Hopefully in the next few days work will be starting on the replacement fencing and gate, which would be another headache fixed! 

What have you been up to this week?
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Books From The Backlog-Systemic


Books from the Backlog is a fun way to feature some of those neglected books sitting on your bookshelf.  You might be surprised by some of the unread books hiding in your stacks. Go to Carole's blog and add your blog post link in to join in the fun! Hosted by Carole at https://carolesrandomlife.blogspot.co.uk/

This seems like a fun feature and I have been planning to take part since Carole launched this so at last, here we go! I have a TON of unread books to choose from in various genres and I'm looking forward to sharing some of them with everybody. 


Something terrible is breeding in the mountains of northwest China…a virus so infectious, its symptoms so overwhelming that its mortality rate is almost absolute. The “Su flu” as it eventually becomes known, quickly ravages the body of its host, killing it within just days, and worse yet, it’s gone airborne. Just weeks after making its appearance on the world stage – the earth’s population held as its captive audience – the virus has taken that stage and annihilated nearly all its spectators.

Writer and stay-at-home dad John Stevens never considered himself a “prepper” like the ones he’d seen on television. Just a regular guy, married to a regular girl, with a wonderful two-year-old son, life in the suburbs of Chicago is good, and John and his family are living the American dream…that is, until the Su flu strikes.

With mankind suddenly gripped by the worst pandemic in history, will the foresight that led John to prepare some emergency supplies and an evacuation plan be enough for him and his family to survive not just this deadly virus but the chaos that ensues? Or will they succumb to the renegade lawlessness that has turned much of humanity’s remnants into a vicious, scavenging, do-anything-to-survive populace?

As John and his family search for some semblance of the world they once knew, they’ll discover just what they’re willing to do to survive in a grueling post-pandemic world. 

I read this first book in the series in September 2017 and really enjoyed it. I need to catch up with the other books in the series this year.

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Book Review Backlog Challenge March Final Update


Having happily completed catching up on reviews for all the books I read last year I've decided to keep motivated by writing a list of everything I've read this year and have yet to review. Seeing the actual list to be done has really motivated me to get it done so hopefully that will continue right through the year!

JANUARY READS 
1) George RR Martin-A Dance With Dragons part 2 (reviewed Feb 19)
2) Saul Tanpepper-Gameland (reviewed Feb 19)
3) Lady Colin Campbell-The Royal Marriages (reviewed March 2019)
4) Joelle Charbonneau-The Testing (reviewed March 2019)
5) Joelle Charbonneau-Independent Study (reviewed March 2019)
6) Joelle Charbonneau-Graduation Day (reviewed March 2019)
7) A American-Going Home (reviewed March 2019)
8) CJ Tudor-The Chalk Man (reviewed March 2019)
9) Diana Anderson-Premonitions (reviewed March 2019)
10) Lee Murray-Into The Mist (reviewed March 2019)
11) Jay J Falconer-Redfall (reviewed March 2019)
12) Christopher Coleman-They Came With The Snow (reviewed Feb 19)
13) Chris Lowry-Flyover Zombie (reviewed March 2019)
14) MV Stott-66 (reviewed March 2019)
15) Edward Chilvers-Curse of the Forever Rain (reviewed Feb 19)
16) Cheryl L Cholley-Survivalist By Circumstance (reviewed Feb 19)
17) Kealan Patrick Burke-Jack and Jill (reviewed Feb 19)
18) Doug Kelly-Into The Darkness (reviewed March 2019)
19) DJ Molles-The Remaining
20) Bobby Akart-The Loyal Nine (reviewed Feb 19)
21) Bobby Akart-Axis of Evil (reviewed Feb 19)
22) Annie Berdel-Alpha Farm (reviewed Feb 19)
23) Catt Dahman-George's Terms (reviewed March 2019)
24) Adam J Wright-Lost Soul (reviewed Feb 19)
25) Alex Hughes-Clean (reviewed March 2019)

FEBRUARY READS 
1) Jaye Wells-Red Headed Stepchild (reviewed March 2019)
2) Jaye Wells-The Mage in Black (reviewed March 2019)
3) Jaye Wells-Violet Tendencies (reviewed March 2019)
4) Hunter Shea-The Devil's Fingers (reviewed March 2019)
5) Candace Robinson-Quinsey Wolfe's Glass Vault
6) SM Wilson-The Extinction Trials: Rebel
7) JC Eaton-Booked 4 Murder 
8) Greig Beck-Primordia 
9) Sharon Penman-The Queen's Man (reviewed March 2019)
10) Greig Beck-Primordia 2
11) Bruno Miller-Breakdown (reviewed March 2019)
12) Ryan Casey-Into The Dark (reviewed March 2019)
13) Ryan Casey-Blackout (reviewed March 2019)
14) Mildred Abbott-Cruel Candy
15) Amy Cross-The Dog (reviewed March 2019)
16) Leigh Perry-A Skeleton in the Family

MARCH READS 
1) William Meikle-Infestation 
2) William Meikle-Operation Antarctica
3) Matt Shaw-Voyage To Hell (reviewed March 2019)
4) Brad Harmer-Barnes-Tempest Outpost 
5) Thomas E Sniegoski-The Demonists (reviewed March 2019)
6) Suzanne Lazear-The Secret lives of Rockstars 
7) Bobby Adair-Ebola K 
8) JR Tate-Tornado Warning
9) Hunter Shea-Antarctic Ice Beasts
10) Chris Pike-Unexpected World  
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Tuesday, 26 March 2019

Top Ten Tuesday-Audiobook Freebie

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.  http://www.thatartsyreadergirl.com/top-ten-tuesday/

NB: I don't follow or leave comments on blogs run by Google Plus, or DISQUS as I refuse to join something just to leave comments, and I won't allow them to follow new people, update my profile or post tweets 'on my behalf'. I won't comment on any blog that makes me sign in using another account. 

 I don't really read audiobooks so options were limited this week. What I'll do is just share my short audiobook collection with you guys.

1) JK Rowling-Harry Potter 1-7 
Stephen Fry is such an amazing reader of this material, with all the different voices he does. I love his version of Hagrid. I love listening to these books to relax.

2) George RR Martin-A Song of Ice and Fire books 1 and 2
These two were cheap so I picked them up but haven't listened yet. I want the rest of the series but they are still too expensive for my budget.

3) Suzanne Collins-The Hunger Games trilogy
I got the three books for a bargain price of £10 for the set but haven't had a chance to listen to them yet. I loved the books so I hope the narration is good.

4) Rachel Caine-Glass Houses (Morganville Vampires #1)
I hadn't really intended to pick this series up in audiobook but the first one was on sale for just £5 so I figured why not! Not sure when or if I'll get the other books.

5) Stephen King-It
My all-time favourite ever book so I just had to get an audiobook copy. I've heard good things about the narration as well.

6) Roald Dahl-Fantastic Mr Fox/James and the Giant Peach
I got this free with a newspaper many years ago and enjoyed listening to both at the time.

7) The Jungle Book
As a kid I loved this film so my parents bought me the vinyl soundtrack. I got a cd version free with a newspaper but never got round to listening to it.

 8) ZA Recht-Morningstar trilogy
I love this zombie trilogy and the three books were cheap recent purchases.

9) Philippa Gregory-The Other Boleyn Girl
I love this tudor fiction book about Mary Boleyn, her affair with Henry and bitter rivalry with sister Anne. I look forward to listening to this one.

10) Philippa Gregory-The Boleyn Inheritance
I loved this second Boleyn novel even more than the first, with the stories of Jane Boleyn, Anne of Cleves and Catherine Howard.
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Horror Thriller and Apocalypse #1 Australia


I'm a big fan of horror, apocalypse and anything with a thrilling and creepy vibe to it but it can be difficult to find books in these genres that are set in countries other than the US. This series of posts will be about books from these three genres that I've found that are set in different countries-some I've read, some on tbr, some on my wishlist. In the comments section, please tell us about books YOU have read or added to wishlist or tbr for the selected country.

Please, only mentions books in these three genres please! Horror, Apocalypse, Thriller!


When Ellie and her friends return from a camping trip in the Australian bush, they find things hideously wrong — their families are gone. Gradually they begin to comprehend that their country has been invaded and everyone in their town has been taken prisoner. As the reality of the situation hits them, they must make a decision — run and hide, give themselves up and be with their families, or fight back.

The small south-west Australian town of Tillbrook has a secret, one that has been kept for over a hundred years; the Dervish Carnival, which has been there for a century, is run by people who are neither human nor animal, but live in the woods and howl at night. But when David Hampden, a journalist on the downward slope of his career, visits the town with his younger brother, unemployed photographer Paul, that secret is threatened. When Paul is seduced unknowing into their world, David will get him back, whatever the cost. And the cost may be both their lives… and possibly even more.

Carnies is a contemporary Australian supernatural thriller by debut novellist Martin Livings, and is described by the author as "an old fashioned horror novel, harkening back to the days when scary books were fun." Containing equal helpings of horror, action and humour, Carnies is a sideshow haunted house of a novel, with dark twists and turns, sudden drops, surprises, shocks and delights.

So roll up, come to the carnival. You'll never be the same again... if you survive!
 
Ashala Wolf has been captured by Chief Administrator Neville Rose. A man who is intent on destroying Ashala’s Tribe — the runaway Illegals hiding in the Firstwood. Injured and vulnerable and with her Sleepwalker ability blocked, Ashala is forced to succumb to the machine that will pull secrets from her mind.

And right beside her is Justin Connor, her betrayer, watching her every move.

Will the Tribe survive the interrogation of Ashala Wolf?

A deadly influenza pandemic results in the death of more than half of the world’s population.
Governments collapse. Nations cease to exist. Refugees flock to other lands in search of safety and security.
What remains of the Australian Government moves its borders to the south and evacuates the survivors from the northern half of the continent. Australia becomes a smaller country.

But some survivors are left behind. They face a perilous existence.
One such survivor is John Timms, a former outback cop.
Timms embarks on an odyssey that takes him across much of the north. Along the way he encounters other Australians as well as many of the newcomers. Timms finds that he must confront the darkness and violence of the new frontier.

Australia... a vast, sprawling land, filled with perilous terrain and countless dangerous animals... but nothing as dangerous as this...

Deep beneath defence headquarters in the Australian Capital Territory, the last ranking Army chief considers the collapse of his country, and the contingency plan to win it back.

One hundred and fifty miles away, five twenty-something friends returning from a month-long camping trip slowly discover that the world has turned horribly wrong, that a virus has ravaged the entire east coast of Australia.

The dead now walk the land, seeking flesh and blood. Armed with dwindling ammunition, the friends must overcome their differences, utilize their individual skills, and face unimaginable horrors as they fight to reach their hometown...

After a nuclear World War III has destroyed most of the globe, the few remaining survivors in southern Australia await the radioactive cloud that is heading their way and bringing certain death to everyone in its path. Among them is an American submarine captain struggling to resist the knowledge that his wife and children in the United States must be dead. Then a faint Morse code signal is picked up, transmitting from somewhere near Seattle, and Captain Towers must lead his submarine crew on a bleak tour of the ruined world in a desperate search for signs of life. On the Beach is a remarkably convincing portrait of how ordinary people might face the most unimaginable nightmare.   

For Fin, it's just like any other day - racing for the school bus, bluffing his way through class, and trying to remain cool in front of the most sophisticated girl in his universe, Lucy. Only it's not like any other day because, on the other side of the world, nuclear missiles are being detonated. When Fin wakes up the next morning, it’s dark, bitterly cold, and snow is falling. There’s no internet, no phone, no TV, no power, and no parents. Nothing Fin’s learned in school could have prepared him for this.

With his parents missing and dwindling food and water supplies, Fin and his younger brother Max must find a way to survive all on their own.

When things are at their most desperate, where can you go for help?

Tyler Matthews is desperate for change. Sick of his life and plagued by alcoholism, he makes the decision to divorce his wife, sell everything he owns and travel the world to try and find focus and rid himself of his addiction. Eventually arriving on the sun drenched shores of Australia and still plagued by his demons, he has spent all his savings and is facing the prospect of having to return to his old life. It is here that he meets two men with an outlandish story about a horde of sunken drug money in an area known as the Devil’s Triangle – Australia’s answer to its Bermuda namesake and said to be the lair of a terrifying monster of the deep. Offered a share of the fortune if he helps retrieve it, Tyler agrees to go with the men to the location, sceptical and thinking only of prolonging his journey of self discovery.

He will learn, however, that this particular urban legend is real, and they encounter a giant of the seas, the previously thought to be extinct Megalodon which makes its home within the area of the Devil’s triangle.  

A country drive quickly turns into a nightmare for newly-weds Paige and Hal Loche. When you are in the bush, pregnant, and your husband is hurt what do you do? Will you trust just about anyone? When their car gets a flat tire in the Australian outback, it should be a simple job for capable Hal to fix. His wife pregnant, he sets to it. But an accident befalls him, leaving him immobilized. Paige is now their only hope of getting out of the bush.

“How the cruelty of a stranger changes a couple’s life for ever.”

When Paige chances upon a stranger, it seems her prayers are answered. But the stranger doesn’t want to help. She wants something else, and it’s not Paige’s husband. Hal is expendable, piece by piece it seems, but her baby isn’t. What will Paige do to protect her unborn child, and at what price?

Milly has barely spoken to her sister Judith in years. They hardly exchanged a word at their mother’s funeral. They could not be further apart. So when Milly gets an invitation to go on a hiking trip, she hopes it will be an opportunity for reconciliation. Inviting her school-friend Harper along with her for support, the small party head off together into the bush.

What awaits Milly is far from just a bracing hike in the wilderness, but an unexpected encounter with the past. The form it takes is revenge. But who is enacting it against Milly, and why?
Whilst the action in this book comes thick and fast, it is the relationship between the sisters and their mutual friend, Harper, that introduces the true darkness into the story.
 
This book is set in the rugged landscape below Perth in South Western Australia, an area the author has explored in depth. 

Salechii: A Shark Park is supposed to be all about learning to respect and protect sharks, however after a Level-5 Hurricane hits and the sharks get out of their pens, the only lesson learned is how fast can you swim? 

If you are glued to Shark Week, Sharknado, Jaws, or Jurassic Park, Salechii is going to be your new feeding frenzy!

LINKS:
http://www.michaelpryor.com.au/articles/10-australian-ya-dystopianend-of-the-world-novels-not-to-be-missed/  

http://australianwomenwriters.com/2017/07/spec-fic-focus-on-dystopian-and-post-apocalyptic-fiction/ 
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Monday, 25 March 2019

Around The Blogs With Chuckles


We all enjoy snooping and lurking on other people's blogs right? Why not share those entertaining things you found with other readers and bloggers too! Welcome to Around the Blogs with Chuckles, where I take time out to show you some of my favourite blog posts from the previous seven days and link you up so you can check them out. 

This Week!

1) 10 Things Authors Get Wrong About High School 
AJ tells it like it is!

2) Book Review-The Sky So Heavy by Claire Zorn
Greg looks at Australian apocalypse.

3) Book Review-Markswoman by Rati Mehrotra
Mogsy goes fantasy.

4) Book Review-The Last Woman In The Forest by Diane Les Becquets 
Erica looks at a thriller.

5) Mini Reviews 
AJ looks at The Foxhole Court and When The Sky Fell On Splendor.
http://ajsterkel.blogspot.com/2019/03/mini-reviews-foxhole-court-when-sky.html  

 6) Book Review-The Chrysalis by Brendan Deneen
Barb goes haunting...
http://bookertsfarm.blogspot.com/2019/03/creepy-old-house-new-pregnancy-disaster.html 

 7) Book Review-The Homecoming by Andrew Pyper
Mogsy goes horror.
https://bibliosanctum.com/2019/03/24/book-review-the-homecoming-by-andrew-pyper/ 
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Chuckles Cover Love #118-Wickit Chronicles


If there is one thing that makes a great book even better, it is when it has a cover that we love! The cover design is what catches the eye as we browse through a bookstore shelf or check out the Amazon or Goodreads recommendations. The right cover makes me look closer at a book, to read the blurb and maybe make a purchase. A poor cover might mean I never look at the blurb at all.

NB: I don't follow or leave comments on blogs run by Google Plus, or DISQUS as I refuse to join something just to leave comments, and I won't allow them to follow new people, update my profile or post tweets 'on my behalf'. I won't comment on any blog that makes me sign in using another account.   

 This Week! 






















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Friday, 22 March 2019

Book Review: Into The Darkness by Doug Kelly


Winner of the 2013 Goodreads Best EMP novel. Dylan Smith was over a thousand miles from home when an enormous coronal mass ejection collided with Earth. The ensuing electromagnetic pulse devastated the power grids of the world and sensitive electronic equipment. Dylan, and a small group of men, must devise a way to return home through a world in which modern technology was abruptly stripped away. During their long journey home, they witness the civilized world transcend into anarchy and are forced to struggle with the morality of the decisions they make to survive. Into the Darkness is a remarkably convincing portrait of ordinary people facing the nightmare of survival in an apocalyptic world. The story concludes in its sequel, Fade To Black.

My Review: 
Dylan is an information technology consultanton on a two week business trip in Montana with colleagues he knows from other offices in different cities when the solar flare hits. First Dylan sees the Northern Lights and then the transformers explode, sending the power out. Faced with no working vehicles, Dylan, Richard and Kevin decide to buy rafts and use the Missouri river that runs through their cities to get each of them home. It is going to be a long journey and not everyone that they meet can be trusted not to do them harm.

We are introduced to four men at the start of the book but the solar flare which fries the power also fries Henry's pacemaker and kills him. It is that event that convinces Dylan that they need to get moving and try to get home. A colonel at the hotel tells them what to expect in the coming days and weeks and Dylan decides that going by river will keep them clear of roads and most people, giving them a better chance of getting safely home. They are able to get the supplies they need at a sporting goods store beside the river and set out on their journey. I liked the idea of the river trip as something a bit different from just following roads and finding trouble in every town they pass through.

Dylan is Mr Take Charge Guy from the moment the solar flare hits and it is his idea to go by river. kevin is also pretty capable and from the beginning, Dylan toys with the idea of bringing Kevin and his wife to live with his family, thinking about safety in numbers and the fact that Kevin lives in the middle of a city which is much more dangerous to survive in. First they have to get to Omaha and rescue Mary before continuing on to Dylan's home in Kansas City. Dylan decides to reluctantly offer to take in Richard, who lives in St Louis. I liked the Colonel who we meet a couple of times. He is your typical military man and prepper though his men have some real asshats amongst them. We also meet Beth, a young mother with a baby who is also trying to find a way home and the men decide to try and help her.

Richard is the steriotype fat useless loser that you get in a lot of apocalypse books. He eats nothing but junk food, has no clue about anything survival related and gets out of breath after a short walk. It is clear that Kevin and Dylan aren't great fans of him and he is a constant liability on the trip, almost losing the rafts early in the trip by not securing them. He refused to conceal his tent when they camped which of course invited trouble for them all. Every time a bad decision was made, it was Richard who had done something stupid again. It did get a bit frustrating. I get that he was fat and unfit but that doesn't mean all fat people are stupid! I'd have liked to have seen him redeem himself instead of what happened.

There was a reasonable about of action in the book, with the events as they camped along the river, the run in with the military and the dangerous trips into towns to get supplies. There were areas of tension and overall I did like the story well enough. It was how inconsistant Dylan was that did annoy me. At various times on the trip he was happy to shoot people without a second thought when he felt it was called for yet when he confronts the people who neglected and starved his kids he doesn't shoot them? The rancher did not deserve what Dylan did but those hurting his kids got away with it? I found that really annoying. I also didn't like the spiteful comments he made to Mary about her religious beliefs. I think it made him look like a bit of a bully and he should have left her to get on with it if she took strength from it.

Overall I found it a decent and entertaining read but I don't think I'll be reading on with book two as I have other series that I'd want to read before this one. 

Read January 2019
3 stars.
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Book Review: Sixty Six by Matthew Stott


Gently they come, to the man who waits, the children unknowing, of their dreadful fates...

Everyone knows the story in Oldstone. Of the local myth that parents tell their children to make them shiver. Of a headless man who rises from the lake bed every 66 years and takes a child. Takes their head for his own.

When Carl was a young boy, his older brother went missing. Surely the story can't be true? The need to find out the truth will become a lifelong obsession...

Sixty-Six is from the Strange Stories of the Uncanny Kingdom series, one of several Urban Fantasy lines from Genre Reader. This title is exclusive to Insiders, the Uncanny Kingdom mailing list subscribers.

My Review: 
As a child Carl's older brother Mark tried to scare him with the local urban legend about Lakeside House, where the Headless Man of the Lakes waited in the depths of Bassenthwaite. Every 66 years he would come out of the lake and into the house, ready to catch a child and take his or her head for itself. To prove he isn't scared, Carl and his best friend Daddy agree to go into the house and take photos of it to prove they were there. Of course Mark and his friend Berry decide to hide in the basement ready to give the kids a real scare, unaware that the 66 years have passed and the Headless Man is coming home. Berry is found outside covered in blood and babbling incoherantly and Mark is gone.

The events of that summer have haunted Carl ever since and when he comes back to Cumbria for a school reunion, he is determined to speak to both Berry and Daddy about what happened. Carl still has the nightmares and remembers that night after the abduction when a man wearing Mark's head stood outside his house. Carl knows he'll never be at peace until he finds out what happened to Mark and stops the monster. But with Berry still mentally damaged from what he saw that day and Daddy not very keen to revisit the events, will Carl ever find out the truth about Mark?

 I liked the character of Carl as he is just a typical kid who ends up doing stuff that scares him rather than appear weak and cowardly to his big brother. I'm sure that is something that a lot of people can relate to and sadly I still see media stories about these dares leading to tragedy. Carl's childhood is destroyed when Mark goes missing and the nightmares continue for years. I actually liked the character of Daddy, though I did find the name he liked using to be pretty weird when he was just a kid. It is explained in the plot though. Mark is the typical older brother who wants to give the kids a bit of a scare. I think the characters are developed nicely for being a short story and we get to see them as adults as the story progresses-well, with the exception of Mark, of course...

I got this book free from the author for signing up to a newsletter and and it was a good short horror tale. I enjoy reading about places I have actually been to and on a recent holiday a few years ago in Cumbria, my dad and I actually drove past this lake, so it was interesting to see it featured in a book. Sadly I found no mention online of any urban legend or the headless man so I assume that this was an invention by the author for the lake. There is a Lakeside hotel though so perhaps he got the idea from that. It has actually made me curious about going to visit the lake if we are back in the Lake District at some point! It is fun to read horror stories set in the UK whether or not they have any basis in fact and I did enjoy this one. 

Read January 2019
4 stars.
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Chuckles Weekend Roundup


Welcome to my feature Chuckles Weekend Roundup where I will be looking at what books I've received, anything interesting I've done or bought or watched and other random stuff. I'll be taking a look back at what happened in my blogging world too, sort of like The Sunday Post that some of you do! 

Please note that I'll be visiting your STS/SP as normal, but I don't follow or leave comments on blogs run by Google Plus, or DISQUS as I refuse to join something just to leave comments, and I won't allow DISQUS to follow new people, update my profile or post tweets 'on my behalf'. I am the only one who does that on my social media! I won't comment on any blog that makes me sign in using another account. Sometimes, I have problems leaving messages on blogs hosted by Wordpress-they try to block me because I deleted my account with them but I will persevere as it only happens the odd time!
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It hasn't been a very productive week for Chuckles. I've been pretty tired and had a minor viral infection for a few days which seems to have passed now thankfully, but it really affected my concentration. I barely got any reading done and nothing productive was achieved around the house either. Guess I need to write it off as a bad week and look to what I can get done next week. Mind you, I still have that can't be bothered feeling today! I picked up a few books that are part of series that I'm following but not a big spend. I seem to have my book buying under control this year which I'm pleased about.

The saga of the bloody garden fence continues. When we were told we needed to move a portion of the fence, we asked the guy who hired the fence guys to come and see us. With no sign of him four days later, our dentist recommended his own gardener. He agreed to come up at the weekend to look at the job. That was Sunday-no sign of him and no phone call to say why he didn't appear and I'm so pissed off. What is it with these workmen who are just bloody lazy about making a quick phone call to tell you they aren't coming? While we waited, we turned down the original guy who did the work because we hoped this new guy would be more reliable. Now my dad needs to go and tell the original guy we want him back. It's pathetic. Plus our digital TV is refusing to work for the third time this year and we're getting sick of it!

PAPERBACKS/HARDBACKS



Chuckles Blogging World
I'm sticking to my new routine though it wasn't a greatly productive week overall. Today and over the weekend I'll be catching up with the comments you left on my blog, visiting your blogs and getting a few posts ready for use next week.

Book Reviews 

Diana E Anderson-Premonitions (The Farm #1)

Lee Murray-Into The Mist

Jay J Falconer-Redfall

Regular Posts
I went Around The Blogs looking for good blog posts to share. Cover Love went into a bit of Christian fiction this week, Top Ten Tuesday was Spring TBR and Books From The Backlog featured Jurassic Hell.

Chuckles Cover Love

Around The Blogs With Chuckles

Top Ten Tuesday

Books From The Backlog

Discussion Posts
none this week

Book Challenges 

 Tackling The TBR March Update 3

Reading Challenges March Update 3

Book Review Backlog Challenge

Special Posts
 none this week

Film & TV
My dad and I watched Sasuke seasons 11 to 14 in the last couple of afternoons and I've had fun rewatching seasons 1-3 of American Ninja Warrior.

Book Tags/Blog Awards 
none this week

Currently Reading/Up Next 
Ugh, pretty much nothing done this week. I did start Green Eyed Demon, the next Sabina Kane book but I'm just not in the mood for urban fantasy right now so my series catchup challenge has ground to a halt! I might try switching focus and see if I can get the Tudor books read and then on to Fire and Blood.
 

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