Friday 22 January 2010

Great Review For The Basingstoke Chronicles!

It might not have made a splash right away, but my time travel novel The Basingstoke Chronicles has performed steadily since September, and now comes this super review from Bitten By Books. Note the reviewer's fondness for Wells and Verne, two of the authors that inspired my tale from the outset. This makes me happy.

5 Tombstones (Highest Rating)

Lord Henry Basingstoke searches the world over for adventure, spending his time on research and discovery. His wealth and station in life have made the world his playground.
When a corpse is found floating in the Caribbean Sea, Lord Henry and his cronies cannot pass up the challenge to investigate the bizarre mystery. The Enigman is wearing a garment only twenty years old but made from an animal extinct for over nine thousand years.

When Lord Henry reaches the sight, he stumbles across a technology from a distant future that has the power to send them through time. Lord Henry now has the ability to retrace the footsteps of the Enigman and return to an ancient time with a civilization advanced beyond comprehension.

The Basingstoke Chronicles is a novel any speculative fiction fan would enjoy. Robert Appleton’s creative mind runneth over with imagination, and we as readers are the lucky recipients of that creativity . For those of us who long for stories in the vein of Wells and Verne, we now have it with The Basingstoke Chronicles.

The novel has time travel, ancient civilizations, mythical creatures and locations and natural disaster. I could not ask for more.

I felt in the moment with the characters throughout the book. Every discovery made, I was a part of, every disaster averted, I felt relief. This is the kind of book that makes you hope the author has more installments planned in the future. I believe, if continued, it has a great chance to become an epic series. I guess by now you can tell I highly recommend The Basingstoke Chronicles.

http://bittenbybooks.com/?p=17564

Tuesday 19 January 2010

My Top Ten Movies of the Decade

So many to choose from, but ultimately, rather than trying to pinpoint the criteria for what made the "best" movies of the decade, I simply went with my personal faves--cinema experiences that I will never forget. 2000-2009:

1. Lord of the Rings
2. Master and Commander
3. Sideways
4. Gladiator
5. A.I: Artificial Intelligence
6. Spider-Man 2
7. There Will Be Blood
8. Casino Royale
9. Avatar 3D
10. The Bourne Ultimatum

And a few other special titles that didn't quite make the cut:

King Kong
Donnie Darko
Brokeback Mountain
Catch Me If You Can
Cast Away
Up

Here's looking forward to a great moviegoing 2010!