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Saturday, 11 June 2011

BOOK REVIEW: Legend (David Gemmell)

Book : Legend

Author: David Gemell

Rating: 8.5/10

Recommended Age: 13/14+


Another great book by David Gemell. Set again ,as in Waylander and others of his books, in the medieval land of Drenai and centuries after the events in Waylander.
 It follows the  fight against the Nadir as Ulric the Uniter sweeps through the lands with a hoard of millions. Faced with near certain doom due to lack of troops and training due to bad desicions the biggest fortress in the world  Dro Delnoch is all that stands between  Nadir conquest and Drenai survival. Defending it is hopeless , with less than a quarter of the troops needed and faced with half a million savages  it appears the fortress must fall to the one thing it was built to keep out.

In Desperation the commander sends out a message to the one person who may be able to help. Druss the Legend, Captain of the Axe.


A Hero, undefeated his exploits world renowned. But he is not a young warrior any more  he is a grizzled old man in the mountains to stubborn to die, fighting his own battle against death itself.

Now he travels to Dros Delnoch. He is a symbol of resistance, a hero and with his help Delnoch must stand as long as possible.  With 6 massive walls and a keep if they had the troops there wouldn't be a problem. But now it's just a matter of time  until the Nadir breach the walls. It's a hopeless mission but the longer they last the longer the rest of the Drenai can have gathering and training a proper army.


Druss the legend is not going down without a fight. and the Nadir may find it harder than they thought to enter the fortress with the old Deathwalker there waiting.


But can the Drenai prevail? will they hold back the hundreds of thousands of savages long enough? or will they fail in the first assault?

Druss is fighting the biggest battle of his life with soldiers and farmers alike all fighting to survive and keep the Nadir off the walls.




Another Great book by David Gemell. He is a brilliant writer and all his books that I've read have been gripping and adventurous the whole way through. you don't want to put them down.  Legend is a great book. It is similar in some ways to his other books but what I like about Gemell is that all his stories are connected and similar whilst still being different enough to make each book individual.

This books a great read and look on this site to find more reviews of his books.


Hope you found this review helpful,
The Devonain Book Reviewer

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Thursday, 9 June 2011

BOOK REVIEW: Escape Velocity (Mark Walden) HIVE

Book:  Escape Velocity

Author: Mark Walden

Rating: 7/10

The third book in the series about HIVE, a school of villany where students are encouraged to embrace evil and become the top criminals of the future.
But nowit's in grave danger as the headmaster Dr Nero is kiddnapped by an all new ruthless security force. The most worrying thing is that they new exactly where to find him.

The reason he got captured in the first place was because he was meeting a fellow G.L.O.V.E senior member to discuss a rather worrying discovery: The Renaissance Initiative.

This seems to be a operation aimed at restoring Overlord. an AI who wants to destroy humanity.

With Nero captured and Raven missing presumed dead Number One sneds a replacement headteach. But sending a traitor back to those she betrayed is a risky move and Number One needs one of the students for his plan to succeed.

As Contessa performs a extraction of Otto and his friends Raven returns from the dead and rescues them as they join the long dead father of a fellow student in a mission to save Nero and stop a plan that could destroy the earth.

Breaking into MI6, travelling in a top secret, state-of-the-art submarine.

and trying to stop a physchotic computer with a hatred of humanity taking control of the world's computers, saving Nero from a life of imprisonment.

All part of the chaotic day-to-day life of HIVE.




A great book in a series that is always improving and changing. It answers questions,resolves plots yet introduces new ideas and challenges. Another book in a great series. I recommend buying at least these first 3.

Hope  you found this review Helpful,

The Devonian Book Reviewer.

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Monday, 6 June 2011

BOOK REVIEW: Survival (Chris Ryan) Alpha Force

Book: Survival

Author: Chris Ryan

Rating: 6.5/10

Recommended Age:  12/13-16



Alex,Li,Paulo Hex and Amber are all teenagers on the voyage of a lifetime sailing through the java sea on the Phoenix ,a ship crewed almost entirely by teenagers  investigating the islands and what creatures are on them.

But they are A-watch and have a reputation as the worst watch crew on the ship. Hex and Amber continuously fighting , Li being as lazy as possible and Paulo mucking around all the time. Alex is the only one who does the work but always seeks to distance himself from those around him.

And when their watch leader has a go at them they decide to steal food and hide in one of the small boats for.

Hours later they are in for a shock. They awake  to find themselves adrift in the ocean miles from land, miles from  the Phoenix, the 5 of them are by themselves floating in the sea.

They arrive on a small uninhabited island and must survive. using all of their individual skills they must survive. With Komodo dragons hunting by the water supply,limited food and no idea when or  if rescue will arrive they face the toughest time of their lives.

Then when a komodo bites Hex and modern day pirates turn up there hard lives get even harder.
Can they survive?

read the book to find out.


This is a good book if not exactly in depth. Chris Ryan shows some great survival knowledge but the plot and settings aren't exactly detailed or described in-depth as much as I feel they could be. I would recommended it as it's a great read and Chris Ryan with SAS knowledge makes a survival story that little bit more useful and factual as well as enjoyable.


Hope you found this review helpful,

The Devonian Book Reviewer

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Sunday, 5 June 2011

BOOK REVIEW: The Overlord Protocol (Mark Walden) Hive book 2

Book: The Overlord Protocol

Author: Mark Walden

Rating: 6.5/10


It's not easy being a part of G.L.O.V.E,the global league of villainous enterprises, but It's getting harder for Nero the headmaster of Hive and one of the most senior members  as new recruits threaten the delicate balance and start openly opposing him. One of these people is Cypher, the man is a mystery no one bar Number One has any idea of his true identity and he is constantly seeking to undermine Nero at every opportunity.


Meanwhile Wing has a problem. He has just been informed of his fathers death. Now he travels to Japan for the funeral accompanied by Otto and guarded by Raven and 2 highly trained GLOVE agents.

Suddenly the safe house they are staying in is under attack and slowly they are forced up to the roof. One agent is killed and Raven is missing as dozens of assassins swarm through the building.

On the Roof the other Agent is killed then the identity of the person co-ordinating the attack of them is revealed. It's Cypher!

He climbs out of a helicopter and shoots Wing  then leaves with the body. Otto is facing the remaining assassins alone.

Raven appears and in a difficult battle defeats the assassins and her and Otto escape.

Now they must perform a HALO( High Altitude Low Orbit) jump into a hole in the jungle, stop Cypher  and halt his assassins unstoppable assault on HIVE.

Filled with challenges,traitors, and people who just can't seem to be killed, this book is very good for a adventurous read.



This book is a improvement on the first one and the plot leaves you confused in some places while filling you in in others the whole way through. It's a good read and has plenty of action and surprises to keep the reader interested. I would say that this book would be better for teenagers and kids than adults as It's not a majorly challenging read and isn't overly complicated. that being said even adults would enjoy these books as a change

Hope you found this review helpful,

The Devonian Book Reviewer


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