Joe Warren profile
Place of birth: Exeter, Devon
Now living: Exeter, Devon
3 favourite authors
- Iain M Banks
- Terry Pratchett
- Robert Harris
3 favourite books
- Wyrd Sisters
- Lord of the Rings
- The Testament of Gideon Mack
3 favourite films
- Dark Crystal
- Kick Ass
- Star Wars
Joe Warren's 19 reviews
Trolltooth Wars by Steve Jackson (Fighting Fantasy)
This graphic novel tells the story of two powerful and evil sorcerers, Balthus Dire and Zharradan Marr (who once trained together). They go to war with each other and this in turn covers the realm in carnage and pits fantastical creatures such as the Ganjees, Orcs and Rhino-men against each other. The hero, Chagga Darkmane, has to prevent wholes...
9.5/10
The Rise of the Automated Aristocrats by Mark Hodder (Burton and Swinburne)
This is the fourth book in the Burton and Swinburne series of books by Mark Hodder. Following the adventures of The Return of the Discontinued Man. The protagonist duo returns (somehow!) to past events in their lives and a different iteration of a steampunk England. Sir Richard Burton (explorer and geographer) and Algernon Swinburne (poet), alon...
8.8/10
The Pagan Night by Tim Akers (The Hallowed War #1)
The land of Tenumbra was once divided by religion and geography. The Pagan Night sees this land at an age when the North and South are now united under the Celestial Church; the North having forsaken its Pagan past.As a result, gods (now gheists) are driven to madness by a lack of worship and stalk the lands. The inhabitants of the land h...
8.0/10
Rogues by George RR Martin
This collection of 21 original short stories focuses on the scoundrels, thieves and con-men of the fantasy world. The good thing about anthologies is that the pace of the short stories has to be quite snappy in order to get to the action and then on to conclusion of the story; this is certainly the case with Rogues. That being said, this selecti...
7.5/10
The Curious Case of the Clockwork Man by Mark Hodder (Burton and Swinburne)
Sir Richard Francis Burton is the ‘King’s Agent’ in 1861 England. Lord Palmerston is Prime Minister and it is an exciting time of technology and genetically engineered creatures/machines.This is the second novel featuring Hodder’s crime-fighting duo, Burton and Swinburne (a seasoned adventurer and a diminutive red-...
8.7/10
You Are The Hero by Jonathan Green
I am a massive fan-boy for the Fighting Fantasy gamebooks as they are what started me off on the path of fantasy as a genre back in my very early teens. I suspect this can be said of a lot of people.Jonathan Green’s history of the Fighting Fantasy scores very nearly top marks from me due mainly to two main things. The first is the a...
9.9/10
Queen of the Dark Things by Robert Cargill
From reading Dreams and Shadows (Cargill’s debut novel) I went straight in to reading Queen of Dark Things as I was eager to see what had happened to Colby Stevens after the previous novel and I wasn’t disappointed.The story picks up 6 months after the circumstances of the previous book. Colby has developed as a character and ...
9.5/10
Dreams and Shadows by Robert Cargill
I really enjoyed the debut novel from C Robert Cargill. The novel focuses on the lives of two boys, Ewan and Colby. Both boys have a fantastical journey ahead of them, Ewan is stolen by fairies from his parents at an early age by a specialist child stealing fairy (Dithers) and Colby meets a djinn (Yashar) who agrees to grant him wishes which lea...
9.3/10
The Art of Ian Miller by Ian Miller and Tom Wyte
Where do I start with a book review of an artwork collection? I guess by explaining why I decided to pick this book up.I have been a fan of Ian Miller’s work from a young age, I was introduced to his unique style in the pages of Games Workshop’s publications and the Fighting Fantasy books. I was therefore happy to see those cl...
9.5/10
The Gospel of Loki by Joanne M Harris
The concept of this book is very intriguing, the Norse mythology that is so widely known retold from the perspective of the one who brought down Asgard – Loki the Trickster. Will we discover that Loki is actually a misunderstood soul rather than the backstabbing traitor that the original stories portray him as?The story is told thro...
7.4/10
Shadows over Sylvania by Jonathan Green
Shadows over Sylvania is a ‘Path to Victory’ game book of a kind that draws its origins from the triumphant line of Fighting Fantasy novels. Jonathan Green is a veteran of the Fighting Fantasy range and brings his skills to the Warhammer universe to provide an adventure where you are the (anti)hero.The setting of the story is ...
9.0/10
Gotrek and Felix: The Anthology by Christian Dunn (Warhammer)
A group of Black Library authors give their own spin on stories based on and about the iconic characters of Warhammer Fantasy - Gotrek and Felix. Stories are by the authors - Nathan Long (x2), Josh Reynolds, John Brunner, Jordon Ellinger, Ben McCallum, David Guymer, Andy Smillie, CL Werner, and Richard Salter.Gotrek and Felix are probably...
8.9/10
The Heresy of Dr Dee by Phil Rickman (John Dee Papers)
All talk is of the End-time... and the dead are rising. At the end of the sunless summer of 1560, black rumour shrouds the death of the one woman who stands between Lord Robert Dudley and marriage to the young Queen Elizabeth. Did Dudley's wife, Amy, die from an accidental fall in a deserted house, or was it murder? Even Dr John Dee, astrolo...
8.7/10
The Walking Dead: Rise of the Governor by Jay Bonansinga and Robert Kirkman
Based on The Walking Dead graphic novels/comic books and the series starring Andrew Lincoln (Teachers, This Life and Love, Actually) and written/produced by Frank Darabont whose previous credits include The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile, this is a new trilogy of books written by Robert Kirkman and Jay Bonansinga, author of Perfect Vict...
8.4/10
Taft 2012 by Jason Heller
William Howard Taft, 27th president of the United States of America. He was a large and imposing figure who ran the USA from 1909 to 1913. Just under one hundred years later he unexpectedly returns to life and politics.His personality is larger than life and he not only has to deal with modern life but is thrust back in to political life ...
8.0/10
Age of Legend by Christian Dunn (The Time of Legends)
Set in a world of constant war between warring races, where fell vampires prowl dark forests, hordes of beasts lay siege to mighty fortresses and grim dwarf warriors search out ancient treasures. There is no respite from violence and bloodshed but this is a perfect environment to set a compendium of short stories.Black Library presents a ...
8.4/10
The Silent Land by Graham Joyce
A skiing holiday for Zoe and Jake turns disastrous when they both are engulfed in an avalanche. This leaves them a familiar place but with their situation becoming more and more unfamiliar. They discover that the village that they were holidaying in is deserted, no one is contactable, food does not go off and candles do not burn out.A bri...
8.5/10
Thanquol's Doom by CL Werner (Warhammer)
The third book featuring Grey Seer Thanquol as the main protagonist (although not his first appearance in Warhammer franchise books) sees him pitted against the Dwarves of Karak Angkul.Thanquol is the perfect anti-hero, which sees you routing for a cowardly and thoroughly despicable individual. Werner manages to convince you that Thanquol...
8.0/10
ORCS: Forged for War by Joe Flood and Stan Nicholls
This is a graphic novel based on Stan Nicholls’ fantasy world, a prequel to the first book in his series and therefore not an adaptation of any of the novels. It is based in the world of Maras-Dantias and the background is that Orcs, Dwarves and the usual menagerie of fantasy creatures are the natives to this world and humans are the usurp...
7.2/10