Hell is an awfully Big City by D.L. Russell This book was my new year surprise. I didn't know a lot about the author however I took on this book as I thought it might be good to try. To my surprise it did turn out to be a nice short story collection which had some dark tales. D. L Russell shows a flair for the horror genre and I'll be inclined to check his next book featuring Maxwell & Raolo (hopefully to be published soon)!

Buddha's Thunderbolt by Jacob Asher Michael This was one of best historical fiction stories I have read. Jacob A. Michael came up with an intriguing concept combing Arthurian legend with Buddhism to come up with this realistic tale of Merthin & Uther who are the fabled Merlin & Arthur of legend, only in this tale there's no magic and Merlin is a student of Buddhism who might be hearing Gods speak to him. A quirky tale with a flawed narrator made this one of the top debuts of the year for me. (FBC Interview with the author)

Merkabah Rider: Tales of A High Planes Drifter by Edward M. Erdelac This book was a mystical gunslinger book but edged with Jewish mysticism and it was broken into 4 novella sections. Very concise and action packed. Ed Erdelac clearly shows why he's been so successful in the Star Wars universe and makes the sequel stories to watch out for.(FBC Interview with the author)

Sepulchral Earth: The Long Road by Tim Marquitz Tim Marquitz was someone whom I discovered in 2009 with Armageddon Bound. In Sepulchral Earth he's written a dark zombie Post apocalyptic tale which are featured in 4 episodes. Nice opener and with much somber overtones than the Demon Squad series but still a fun read. (FBC Interview with the author)

Tooth and Nail by Craig Di Louie Tooth and Nail was a zombie-military fiction novel, kinda like the Black Company books crossed with The Walking Dead, however I couldn't thoroughly enjoy this one for reasons stated in the review. This interpretation was mine alone and there are people who have loved it. So do give it a try if you are in the mood for some Military Zombie story.

Rhone by John A. Karr Rhone was a book which intrigued me from its description & John Karr didn't disappoint with his dark heroic fantasy tale which was fast paced as well action packed. Quite nice to see an S&S story written with an added SF touch.

Dante's Journey by JC Marino Dante' s Journey is a book whose blurb doesn't do it any justice. JC Marino has written an exuberant tale about morality and life choices one makes in this vivid re-imagining of the original Dante's Inferno. This was another great debut for me and along with Buddha's Thunderbolt will definitely make my year end lists.(FBC Interview with the author)

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There are a few books which I'm currently reading or have read whose reviews will be forthcoming, they are given below

Succumbing to Gravity by Richard Farnsworth – A debut novel involving a fallen heroin addicted angel with the chance to save or sacrifice himself and Humanity. Some books have that X factor which in this book blurb turned out to be the words "Heroin addicted fallen angel". A dark tale with action interspersed in it and quite an emphatic end as well.

Deus Absentia: Risen from Embers by Tim Murphy – Again a debut novel but in this case an alternate history story with the what-if possibility being the birth of Christ never occurred. I always love alternate history books with my favorites being "The Years of Rice and Salt" by K.S. Robinson & Fatherland by Robert Harris. This book also promises to be very exciting.

Magic & Misery By Lincoln Crisler – I got interested in this book after I heard about it from Tim Marquitz. Licoln Crisler's stories are a quirky set. Some of them are out and out horror, one was SF, one was a tale of Irish gods, and the rest follow suit in keeping the readers on their toes. This collection is something which showcases Lincoln's skills and was a good read for me, nothing overtly great but nothing bad either.

The Janus House & other Two Faced Tales by David Barnett– This collection was again referred to me after I liked Angelglass by the author. This collection turned out to be a good one as the first tale was the clear winner with its suspense and shock ending. There's also a small set of tales featuring Dorothy Culpepper & Asif Baig, the British Mulder & Scully as they are a part of the DfEUA [Department for Extra-Usual Affairs]. Besides being funny, these stories really got me wondering that a series featuring this duo would be one worth reading.

Merkabah Rider: The Mensch With No Name by Edward M. Erdelac – The sequel to "Tales of a High Plane Drifter" showcases a similar format of 4 novellas which further reveal the Rider's search for his renegade master Adon & hopefully will showcase more of the mystical nature of the world

Erekos by A.M. Tuomala – A high fantasy book whose blurb got me interested. This book is supposed to be Mythic fantasy which shows how legends and myths are created. The book blurb is detailed and also there's a 20 page excerpt with the link. I'll be reviewing this in the upcoming weeks as well.

The Archer's Heart by Astrid Amara – This book was released a couple of years ago and I picked it up when I was browsing the shelves in a Half-Price bookstore. Turns out that this novel is based on the Indian Epic Mahabharata and has turned the epic on its head by having some of its central characters being gay, now this added a whole new twist to the plot and events occurring in the Mahabharata. A frank take & I'll definitely be discussing more about this in its review.

The Adversary Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse Saga: Book 1 by James Bowman – This book is a monstrous volume at over 1000 pages, however its keeping me glued to it. The setting is Urban Fantasy with a dollop of quest fantasy. The book has a bit of slow beginning however once the action starts does keep going nicely & I'm currently more than halfway through with it. More details in its review.