REVIEW: Kit Power & Chris Barnes - GodBomb! Audio Book

Genre: Horror

Publisher: Kit Power

Publication Date: 19^th Nov 2015

Length: 5 hours and 56 minutes

MY REVIEW:

A copy of GodBomb!, the audio book was sent to Confessions of a Reviewer by the narrator, Chris Barnes in exchange for an honest review. This is said review. This book is written by Kit Power and published by The Sinister Horror Company.

Confessions of a Reviewer reviewing an audio book? Never! Well yes, I am actually. I am as much an audio book virgin as Chris Barnes is at featuring on Confessions. I have never finished a whole one before. I normally get bored very easily, or fall asleep and wake up as the credits are rolling.

With GodBomb! hitting my joint top spot in my books of 2015, and Chris Barnes being a generally all round nice guy, I decided to give this one a go. I was a bit dubious to be honest because I loved the book so much that I didn’t know how to approach this. I didn’t want it to end up spoiling it for me.

This review is not of GodBomb! itself. If you want to read my opinion on what I thought of the book and the story in general, then check out my review of it here. This review is purely of the audio book and my impressions on how it was put together.

CONFESSIONS OF A REVIEWER TOP FIVE 2015: THE OVERALL TOP FIVE!

Welcome back to the Confessions of a Reviewer’s top five lists!

This is it! The overall top five books of 2015!

Now, if you have been following the posts through the week, you will obviously know that more than five made it through to the top five. So, that left me with a dilemma. Do I now do a top seven, or stick with a top five and bin a couple?

I decided to do neither. I had to be totally honest about how I felt about these books. There were a couple of positions where I just could not split books. I decided therefore, to go with my heart and below is what I came up with.

This list is basically my favourite books of the year. I have had a wonderful year in terms of reading and I have been lucky enough to read some of these before anyone else had a chance to, and for that I am eternally grateful.

I urge you to buy any of these books if you have not already. You will be supporting some great authors and giving them encouragement to continue with their writing and keep us entertained for years to come.

This list is made up of books I have read this year so the books may not necessarily have been published this year.

So let’s get to it and don’t forget to buy buy buy!

CONFESSIONS OF A REVIEWER TOP FIVE 2015: THE HORRORS!

Welcome back to the Confessions of a Reviewer’s top five lists for 2015!

Tonight we have the top five Horrors! My definition of a horror for this list is a novel written by a single author that would obviously fall under the horror genre and, eh, scare me a bit. Some books that I would put in this class will have psychological horror elements in the story, as well as jump out your skin horror elements. To me horror covers a very large range of writing as you will see in my list.

This list is made up of books I have read this year so the books may not necessarily have been published this year.

I have judged these books purely on the basis of how much they entertained me individually. The books will be listed first, with links to reviews and links you can use to buy them. At the bottom of the page you will find all the info you need on the individual authors.

This is a category I struggled to narrow down to just five books so please forgive me for having a couple of joint positions. Plus, it’s my blog so I get to choose. Na na na naaaaah nah!

Also I don’t subscribe to the adage that, if say, first position was a tie, that second position is skipped and the next falls into third.

So let’s get to it and don’t forget to buy buy buy!

SHOW-OFF AND TELL #14 - Kit Power - GodBomb!

#14 in my Show-off and tell is one of my most recent arrivals. I was expecting this one to come and almost sat on the front step watching for the postman to bring it to me, I was so excited to get my hands on it!

It’s the one and only GodBomb! by Kit power.

I, like many others, have been waiting for a long time to have this in my hands for a few reasons. Number one is purely and simply because it is an absolutely superb novel.

Kit Power has written something here that will stay with me for a very long time and he deserves every accolade coming to him for this work.

This is my copy:

GUEST REVIEW: Ken Preston - Joe Coffin: Season One - Reviewed by Kit Power

It gives me great pleasure to host another review from writer, blogger, musician and all round bloody good guy, Kit Power on Confessions of a Reviewer. This is what he thought of Joe Coffin: Season One.

Genre: Horror

Publisher: Ken Preston

Publication Date: 31^st Oct 2014

Pages: 470

KIT’S REVIEW:

I guess we should start with ‘Season 1’, because it’s a concept that can mean different things. In this case, it signifies two things - the first is that you're getting four sequential novel length works in a single package, making this one of the more value for money indie bundles I’ve seen in some time. The second is that, in addition to presenting an overall story arc, this also represents the first part of what is clearly set to be a longer running narrative.

It’s an intriguing concept, and one that Ken Preston goes a long way to selling me on, purely on the strength of this offering. The titular Joe Coffin is a great choice for lead. On the surface, he’s an absolute staple of noir fiction - the huge, hulking muscle, mob enforcer, at home with violence and none too imaginative. What I found clever about this book was that Mr. Preston took the decision to put this character - normally a bit part at best, often played on screen by Henry Rollins - front and centre. In the process, we’re invited behind the eyes of this guy. Preston has a fine line to walk here - after all, Coffin isn’t super bright, nor is he an especially deep thinker - but he does have considerable street smarts and a surprising amount of emotional depth. For me, this was one of the great achievements of this book, and I was quickly taken in by the interiority of the character. To have rendered such a brutal character human enough to care about, without sacrificing any of his propensity for violence or darkness, is a far from easy trick, and I have to commend Mr. Preston for the skill with which he achieves this.

UNMASKING THE RIVALRY

The truth behind the settling of the feud!

So here at Confessions of a Reviewer, I like to stay above the fray. Occasionally little flashes of animosity burst out between rival authors, but I don’t like to get involved. For one thing, I have friends all over the scene, and don’t like to show favouritism, and for another, it’s just childish.

But this one, I can’t ignore. Because they just won’t leave me alone.

Yes, Kit Power and Rich Hawkins have been supposedly ‘feuding’ then supposedly making up for what seems like the last seventeen years, the source of the alleged row all but lost in obscurity at this point. And then they supposedly made up, and are running a joint launch party today. All sweetness and light.

Well, that was the plan.

After this post, who knows?

REVIEW: Kit Power - GodBomb!

Genre: Horror

Publisher: Sinister Horror Company

Publication Date: 28^th Sept 2015

Pages: 186

MY REVIEW:

A copy of GodBomb! was sent to Confessions of a Reviewer by the author Kit Power in exchange for an honest review. This is said review. This book is published by Sinister Horror Company.

OK so I know Kit Power. I worked with him for a while on another website, I have read two of his previous stories Lifeline and The Loving Husband and The Faithful Wife. He has also provided a guest review of a book on this very blog.

I am admitting this because there may be some people who would say I am only doing this review because I know him and think he is a top bloke. Totally untrue. He is a top bloke though! I am a reviewer first and foremost and I think most people who would follow my reviews know that the biggest thing for me when giving my thoughts on a book is honesty. Kit knows this more than most. He knows how I operate and knows that if I thought this book was pure crap, I would say so. By the way he has no idea what is in this review either so at this point in time he is as blind as you are reading it.

INTERVIEW: KIT POWER: PART TWO

Welcome to Part Two of Confessions of a Reviewers interview with Kit Power.

In tonight’s section, Kit starts by answering some specific questions on his new book GodBomb!, continues to talk about his writing and life in general and tackles The Ten Confessions.

It’s Wednesday so grab yourself something tasty snacks and a beer or two to cheer yourself up, sit back and relax, but, most of all………enjoy!

COAR - Moving on to GodBomb! Where did this one come from? What did you want your readers to get out of it?

KP - I had the idea for this when I was nineteen. I even wrote the first chapter, but back then I almost never went back to anything that took longer than a single session to write, so it never went anywhere. Still, it lodged deep down, burrowing away…

Cut to a couple of years ago. I'd written a couple of novella length tales, including Lifeline and The Loving Husband, and a bunch of short stories, and it started to pall for me a bit. After thinking about it for a little while, I realised it was because I was consciously writing “to length”, even coming up with ideas that I knew would fit two to four thousand words, and it felt a bit constraining. I remembered how much fun Lifeline had been because I just had no idea how long it would be or what was going to happen, and I thought “okay, time to jump off a cliff again”.

I mean, my plan had been to write short stories for two or three years, try and rack up four or five pro market sales to prove I could actually write at a professional standard, THEN start a novel. But the muse had other ideas, and the muse is the boss.

As to what I want my readers to get out of it, the same thing I always want: to feel entertained for the length of time it takes them to read the story. Honestly, that's my job, I think, as a writer – to captivate you for the length of the book – to make you FEEL. If I also make you think, that's fine, but if I don't, that's fine too.

INTERVIEW: KIT POWER: PART ONE

Welcome to Confession of a Reviewer’s interview with, in my opinion, one of the brightest talents to come out of the UK for a long long time, Mr Kit Power, author of Lifeline, The Loving Husband and the Faithful Wife and numerous short stories popping up in anthologies all over the place.

In tonight’s “Part One” of the interview, Kit will tell you all a little bit about himself, his rock star alter-ego and his writing in general.

“Part Two”, tomorrow night will see Kit answer some questions specific to his new book GodBomb! due out in September and will also take on the mighty Ten Confessions.

Night three will, as always, have my review of GodBomb! A book that you must must MUST click the preorder button on. It is superb.

Anyway grab yourself some grub and a beer or two, sit back and relax, but, most of all………enjoy!

COAR - So tell everyone a bit about yourself in general?

KP - I'm left handed. Short sighted. Defiantly long haired, though it's getting worryingly thin up top these days. Blue eyed. Often angry. Politically engaged. Perpetually curious. Probably pretty irritating to be around. Kind of awkward with interview questions...

ANNOUNCEMENT: EXCITING STUFF FOR NEXT WEEK AND A TEMPORARY CLOSURE!

Hello everyone. Just wanted to give you a little heads up as to some of the things coming up on Confessions of a Reviewer!

Next Monday 24^th August I have a very special guest blog post to share with you, written by the writer of some of the darkest fiction I have read in years, Keith Deininger.

SOME OF MY FAVOURITE LINKS

I know this is my blog and at the end of the day I want you all to read it and keep coming back to visit me and read my interesting articles, interviews and reviews. But, at the end of the day I am wise enough to know that there are many more sites out there doing the same sort of thing as me.

I like to keep Confessions of a Reviewer as unique as possible and do things slightly differently to some of the others out there. At the same time though, I believe there is room enough for all of us, IF we respect each other enough to get along and help promote and share each other.

That is the idea behind this post. I want to share with you some other sites that I pay regular visits to. These sites are run by some fantastic people, with either a huge knowledge of particularly the horror genre, fantastic reviewing skills or run the websites for their particular presses.

As well as supporting Confessions of a Reviewer, find some time to pay these guys a visit as well. You will find the links on the right hand side of the main page here in case you want to revisit them.

GUEST REVIEW: Federales by Christopher Irvin - Reviewed by Kit Power

I am very pleased to share with you all the first guest review on the blog.

This one comes from author, blogger, musician and all round bloody good guy, Kit Power. If you haven’t already, then you need to check out a couple of Kit’s books, Lifeline and also The Loving Husband and The Faithful Wife.

Kit also has a monthly column he writes for Ginger Nuts of Horror and this is well worth checking out.

I also must publicly pass on a personal thanks to Kit. A few months ago he recognised something in my reviewing and put his neck on the line for me and contacted Jim McCleod who runs GNOH. Jim very graciously gave me a chance and took me on.

If it hadn’t been for Kit taking it upon himself to contact Jim and mention me, and Jim taking me on, I probably wouldn’t be doing what I’m doing today.

Thanks for having faith in what I do Kit. I owe you some beer.

Genre: Noir / Thriller

Publisher: One Eye Press

Publication Date: 4^th March 2014

Pages: 126

KIT’S REVIEW:

‘Federales’ concerns Marcos, a federal police officer working in Mexico City, desperately trying to stay ahead of the corruption and violence. Not a hero. Just a working man trying to make it in an increasingly bleak and desperate situation.

Irvin does a superb job in invoking Mexico. I've never been, so cannot speak to the authenticity of the details, but it certainly felt real to this English gringo – in plain, unfussy prose, the claustrophobic humidity and edge-of-poverty living is vividly evoked. So too the internal desperation and frailty of our protagonist. The alcoholic cop on the edge – wife recently left him, yet – is a staple of noir, of course. Still, it's classic for a reason, and Irvin does a great job presenting the vulnerability of Marcos, the sense of an essentially decent person just worn down beyond the point of no return by brutal circumstance.