Skandinavien

Hello!

This week I'm back with an audiobook review, yes you read that correctly. The wonderful author Albion Byrd reached out to me to review his horror audiobook, and I have lots to say! Albion himself is impressively producing the entire audiobook, from writing to recording and it's done brilliantly.

Firstly, let's give a little story synopsis. Skandinavien is an episodic horror audiobook that follows the life of Conrad, who lives a life of solitude in an ancient windmill in a remote area of Scandinavia. What's so interesting about Conrad, is that he has zero memory of being a functional cog in the machine we call society. Conrad's day job is disposing of dead bodies. We follow the story of how important politician Albert Finz winds up on Conrad's autopsy slab. It's a story of discovery, the unravelling of truths, and intense drama. 

The first instalment includes three parts, and predominantly follows Albert and the crooked things he gets up to as a politician. The instalment is 18 chapters long including the beginning and end credits, it's about an hour long and is voiced by Albion and Jane Banks.

The element I enjoyed the most was the sound effects that were added to the narrative, it really made the story feel more intense. It felt like I was listening to a film. This first instalment of the series was a brilliant introduction to the series and it ends with a cliffhanger. I'd like to see more of Conrad in the upcoming parts as his characters fascinated me the most. Equally, it will be interesting to see how Albert winds up dead. 

As a writer myself, I struggle with dialogue and I am in awe of how effectively Albion uses dialogue to push the narrative. It feels natural and every word is necessary. There's a great balance of narrator-to-character dialogue. 

Prior to listening to Albion's audiobook, I had only ever read horror books, however, this has changed the entire experience for me. Listening feels similar to watching a horror film, and I now prefer listening to a horror book to reading one. It makes the atmosphere more intense and brings the narrative to life more.

Since listening, I have reached out to Albion for some extra information about the series. The next instalment is currently in production and will be released in the next six months. I'm very excited to continue following the story. 

You can access Skandinavien via most audiobook platforms!

Skandinavien

Monday 7 November 2022

Faithless (Graphic Novel Review)

I had never read a graphic novel before, with the influence of my housemate I decided to set out and find one. In a little comic book store Dave’s Comics, in Brighton, I found Faithless. An erotic novel about magic and art. I did not know what to expect but wow I was taken on a ride. It was on a whim that I went looking for a comic, I had gone into town for a few bits. I decided to go and have a look, I found this gem amongst the DC selection. 

I was attracted to this comic due to the stunning colours on the cover, after reading the back I found that it was about witchcraft and love. Even with this description, it did not give much away. 

Story by Brian Azzarello.

 Art by Maria Llovet.

Letters by AndWorld Design.

From the first page of the story you are stunned by the art, I could not help but feel excited to read on. The work was so detailed and it was so refreshing to see. Very different feel to reading words on a page, but just as beautiful. I was a tiny bit confused never having read a graphic novel before, I thought I had missed part of the storyline but after chatting to my housemate she explained it is kind of like watching a film and that sometimes like a film a graphic novel cuts scenes. I found myself consumed by the storyline, I really liked the protagonist Faith. She is a bisexual magic artist. I did not intend to buy an erotic novel, it was interesting to read. It did not take away from the storyline just added a little something. I enjoyed the storyline and especially between each chapter there was a title page that had a different quote on each. 

This is volume 1 of Faithless, the first volume of the series made up of 6 chapters which were released separately last year. This Graphic Novel goes under the categories of Erotic Fiction, Comics and Horror Fiction. I see how it goes under the Horror fiction, but it is not too scary just shocking and unexpecting. Some chapters are darker than others. There a few unexpected deaths, quite brutal but the high-quality art really captures the darkness.

At the end of the volume there a few pieces of art, extremely pretty women. This is such a visually pleasing piece of work and I am looking forward to reading more graphic novels in the future. I want to build a collection but of works I adore. I never thought I would enjoy a graphic novel but by god, I do want to read more. I felt like I was so delved into a deep story, but it didn't take long to read. That was quite lovely, I often struggle to find time to read a full book in one sitting yet it was not difficult to read a Graphic Novel in one sitting.

Faithless (Graphic Novel Review)

Wednesday 22 January 2020