September 2026 – Everything Is Better With Dragons

Review: The Crooked Medium’s Guide to Terror, by Stephen Cox

The Crooked Medium’s Guide to Terror (The Crooked Medium 2)

True terror is a murderer you can’t stop.

London 1882. A carpenter is killed by a train – an eerie, brutal crime. Flamboyant medium Mrs Ashton and her sapphic partner Braddie seek justice for the widow.

A charismatic new medium takes London by storm. Dock-lass Maisie sees her frightening prophesy of vengeance. A noble family is devastated, but worse is to come.

Outgunned and bewildered, the three confront a deadly conspiracy. They risk losing everything.

A reckoning from beyond the grave.

Giveaway

Win 4 x Signed Books by Stephen Cox (Open to UK Only)

Prize includes – Our Child of the Stars, Our Child of Two Worlds, The Crooked Medium’s Guide to Murder and the Crooked Medium’s Guide to Terror.

*Terms and Conditions –UK entries welcome. Please enter using the Gleam box below. The winner will be selected at random via Gleam from all valid entries and will be notified by Twitter and/or email. If no response is received within 7 days then Rachel’s Random Resources reserves the right to select an alternative winner. Open to all entrants aged 18 or over. Any personal data given as part of the competition entry is used for this purpose only and will not be shared with third parties, with the exception of the winners’ information. This will passed to the giveaway organiser and used only for fulfilment of the prize, after which time Rachel’s Random Resources will delete the data. I am not responsible for despatch or delivery of the prize.

Purchase Links

THe crooked medium’s guide to TERROR

https://www.kobo.com/gb/en/ebook/the-crooked-medium-s-guide-to-terror

Review: The Last Tenant, by Eva Björg Ægisdóttir

Description

When the skeletons of a young woman and a baby are uncovered on
a long-abandoned farm in Hvalfjörður, it is clear they were buried
years apart. West Iceland CID begins to investigate the disturbing
discovery, aware that someone has gone to great lengths to keep the
past hidden.

In Akranes, Karitas, a young single mother seeking a new start, settles
in with her four-year-old son and rents a basement flat from an
eccentric landlord. A cautious sense of happiness returns when she
meets the boy next door.

But when news breaks that a local girl has been murdered, Karitas
must decide who she can trust, knowing that one wrong choice could
place her and her child in danger. Detective Elma is drawn into the
case, forced to navigate long-hidden family secrets to understand a
killer’s motive, while struggling to hold together her increasingly
troubled relationship with Sævar.

Blog Tour Calendar: The Crooked Medium’s Guide to Terror, by Stephen Cox

Cover Reveal: Origin, by Simon Bullock

ORIGIN

Book Two of the Gate Origin Series

Kade Renn and the crew of The Moth have crossed the ancient gate and reached Origin — the dead world at the centre of the network.
They arrive damaged, low on air and cut off from the route behind them. Lira’s breathing system is failing. Vessa is wounded. Nix is carrying heat he cannot shed. And beneath Origin’s ruined surface, old machinery is still responding.

What they find is more dangerous than an abandoned world.
Human field stations. Hand-written warnings. Records from the First Crossing. Evidence that people objected before the first disasters — and that those objections were altered, buried or removed from the history that followed.

The Quiet War did not begin the way the Directorate says it did. Far behind them, Marshal Sorr is tightening a containment net around the damaged route. If it closes, Origin may be sealed again.

Kade does not need to save the galaxy. He needs to keep his sister breathing, keep The Moth alive, and carry enough of the truth home that
no one can bury all of it again.

Some doors weren’t lost.
They were locked.

Book 1 – Driftborn is out now!
Pre-order Origin here

I reviewed Driftborn earlier in the year. I quite liked it. I’m quoted on the back cover for Origin.

Blog tour calendar: The Last Tenant, by Eva Bjorg AEgisdottir

Review: The History of Medicine in Twelve Objects, by Dr Carol Cooper

Description

Discover the fascinating history of medicine, from its primitive beginnings to the life-saving technologies of today. Now in paperback!

In The History of Medicine in Twelve Objects, Dr Carol Cooper takes readers on an engaging, humorous, and sometimes gruesome journey through the 12 objects that have come to define medicine through the ages.

Over the years, with increasingly more knowledge about health and disease, the ways in which doctors engage with sickness have evolved, and so have the tools used to treat patients.

Review: Knit One, Heist One, by Donna Moore

Description

An outrageous blend of cosy crime and biting social satire for fans of Richard Osman, Mick Herron, and Marina Lewycka.

Janus Lodge isn’t your typical retirement community. Sylvia Abercrombie and her knitting-obsessed gang of octogenarians are feisty, foul- mouthed, and fiercely protective of their home. So when a shady developer plots to evict them and build a ‘gentlemen’s club’, they hatch an audacious plan to save their sanctuary – by starting a secret knitwear empire with a scandalous twist. As sales skyrocket, secrets unravel, and Sylvia’s ex-husband lurks in the shadows, the gang must pull off the ultimate heist to protect their beloved Lodge.

Hilarious and heartfelt, Knit One, Heist One is a riotous romp proving that age is no barrier to action.

Review: Writing the Future, ed. by Dan Coxon & Richard V. Hirst

Format: 265 pages, Paperback
Published: September 7, 2023 by Dead Ink
ISBN: 9781915368027

Description

WINNER OF BRITISH FANTASY AWARD FOR BEST IN NON-FICTION 2024

For as long as humans have existed, they have asked: What if?

Science fiction was a defining genre of the postwar era, and its current boom across books, film and TV shows no sign of slowing. Space ships, time travel, aliens and artificial intelligence continue to obsess us, and dreams of the apocalypse haunt our own post-pandemic age. But what is it that compels writers to imagine the future?

Writing the Future gathers some of the best contemporary writers of science fiction, speculative fiction, dystopia and eco-fiction to explain their craft and explore the many worlds upon which our imaginations might land. Authors such as Toby Litt, Nina Allan, Adam Roberts and Una McCormack reveal how to balance scientific research with creative freedom, examine the different forms the written text might evolve into, and offer practical advice on giving life to your own vision of the future.

Whether you’re a reader, a seasoned writer looking to hone your skills, or a beginner who’s just starting out, Writing the Future provides valuable insights into the craft of imagining the worlds of tomorrow.

Featuring contributions from –

Nina Allan
Rachelle Atalla
Anne Charnock
Tendai Huchu
Oliver Langmead
Toby Litt
Adam Marek
Una McCormack
Maura McHugh
James Miller
Adam Roberts
Aliya Whiteley
Marian Womack

Writing the Future — ed. Dan Coxon & Richard V. Hirst – Dead Ink Books

My Review

According to GoodReads I started reading this one in late July 2025 and I finished it yesterday. One year, one month. Nothing to do with the book, I’ve had a busy year, what with becoming a Director of an Arts CIC, having my Brighton adventure, doing work for exhibitions, giving up my salaried job to do self-employed work, and getting evicted. I’ve got another exhibition later this month and I’m no where near finished. Oh, and my cat has discovered windows that open (new bungalow has windows that aren’t just top opening windows); she’s using them like cat doors. I’m writing this while she is climbing out of my office window and walking along the outside window ledge.

And now she’s in the front garden.

Sorry, you didn’t come here to read about Phoenix’s explorations of our new environment. I got distracted.

Back to the book.

This is a fascinating collection of essays on a range of subjects related to writing science fiction. It gets a bit philosophical at times, which was fun, for a given value of fun. I found it stretched my thinking in helpful ways. I enjoyed the spotlight chapters about different authors, especially J.G. Ballard. I thought I’d read something by him, but looking at a list of Ballard’s work, I haven’t. Might have to remedy that.

Aliya Whiteley’s chapter on research and knowing when to stop procrastinating and start writing was helpful for me personally, because I will world build and research for years before actually writing the story (see my current WIP for example) and the image of a time travelling dog using black holes was just ‘brain-sparkle’ making.

I’m pretty certain science fiction writers of all stripes (I tend to mix my science fiction with fantasy – shape shifting alien space dragons, anyone?) will find something useful in this collection.

And now, on to reading Writing the Magic.