SIREN SONG by Simon D. Smith, self-published, E-book, £1.63

Reviewed by Stewart Horn

Nicholas Robinson is a loser: an erratic employment history, a rented flat in a dodgy bit of London, and his dreams of greatness are becoming less realistic as middle age approaches.  When old school friend Darren Amos reappears and offers him a job, things seem to be looking up – he’s suddenly being overpaid to drive an Aston Martin up and down the M1 and he’s met the woman of his dreams.  Then everything goes crazy and we remember we’re reading a fantasy novel.

This is readable and generally pacey book with an engaging and well-drawn central character, but it’s very much in two sections.  Smith is at his best in the first half of the book, describing Nick’s early years and teenage shenanigans.  The characters were convincingly amoral, the dialogue realistic, the situations nice and tacky, and I was drawn into his life, genuinely wanting to know what happened next.

When the fantasy section kicks in Smith is on shakier ground.  He’s created a new version of the siren myth, spent a lot of time thinking about how modern day sirens might go about attracting victims to their island, and he’s come up with a convincing scenario.  But he’s perhaps too proud of it, and there are some overlong descriptive passages, many of which could be cut altogether without damaging the book.  And the whole book could do with a serious edit.

Nevertheless, he tells an intriguing story, with shades of Lovecraft’s sea-themed stories.

A flawed but enjoyable novel.

BFS member Debbie Bennett has launched her YA fantasy e-book, Edge of Dreams, on kindle and smashwords.

‘ “What do you do when you realise that the bad guys might care more about you than the good ones?”

Ricky’s on the edge of a life of crime. Skipping college to steal cars in the aftermath of his father’s death in action, it’s not surprising that his dreams are vivid and seem almost real.

Calith’s just on the edge of a life. Snatched from Ricky’s world to another place altogether, Calith’s found out that when you’ve grown up with the enemy, it’s hard to make friends.

Then Ricky dreams of Calith and nobody seems more real than this boy from another world, with his multi-coloured hair and temper to match. But are Calith’s motivations all they seem? Ricky’s not sure. Calith’s dark past is coming back to haunt him big time, and when you’re jumping worlds to escape the good guys, something must be wrong somewhere, mustn’t it?

A contemporary fantasy, certified 100% vampire-and-werewolf-free. No elves, faeries, dragons or wizards. Not even any zombies. Anywhere.

No, really – there aren’t. ‘

No e-reader? You don’t need one! Check out free kindle apps where you can download free readers for your PC, phone or whatever gadget you have. Or grab a book via smashwords, where you can get the book in PDF or HTML.

According to TheBookseller.com the opening of the Pottermore e-book shop for the Harry Potter series has been pushed back to the first half of 2012. It was due to open in October 2011.