David Watkins's Blog

Les Vacances by Phil Sloman

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Phil Sloman is great at writing realistic characters and then doing unspeakable things to them. This novella is no exception to that rule: Frank and Elizabeth decide to go on holiday to France for a change. Their relationship is strained, especially from Elizabeth's point of view, but is also entirely believable. I won't go into the details of the story here, but I really enjoyed this novella. It is fast paced and by the end, horrific, just as all good (horror) novellas should be.

In short: Sloman is a great writer and if you've not read any of his stuff, then this would be a great place to start.



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A strange book that left me wanting a little more. The writing is strong, characters also, but something about it didn't quite work for me and I'm still not entirely sure what. The setup is slow and deliberate as we get to know the major players and then the story jumps several gears and it turns into a bizarre slasher with a very strange mix of creatures/monsters that are all very entertaining but their motivations are a little weird. Stuart is the one who made the most sense to me - a misogynistic tool of a bloke wanting his ex back and perhaps the story would have been stronger had he been the sole antagonist .

The ending also felt rushed, almost setting up an entire mythology in a few pages.

However, will all that said, I did have a good time with this book. It is wild and inventive, gory and not for the squeamish. This was my first Tim Waggoner book and I feel I haven't started with his best, but it was still a fun read.

They Kill

I flew through this book in a couple of days which is extremely rare for me. It is hilarious, moving, and horrific is equal measure. The anecdotes frequently made me laugh out loud, but then the next section would make me cry. It is hard to believe that this is the normal working practices of junior doctors in the UK, but the book is based on Kay's actual diaries.

There are times when he can slate his colleagues from other departments (especially psychiatry) which detracts from the message, but I think this is a very important books. Every health secretary and shadow health secretary should be made to read it and act on it. The NHS would soon collapse if it were not for the heroic efforts of doctors like Kay.

It's not a perfect book, but it is essential. I cannot recommend it enough.

Volk is an excellent writer and is incredibly knowledgeable about the film and TV industries, as you'd expect from someone who's career has been as long as his. These essays sum up the highs and lows of being a screenwriter, and what is most striking is the issues discussed are still relevant, even though some of the essays are over 15 years old. That's not a long time, obviously, but it seems to be in the film world. Volk's frustrations with studio execs and other clueless types who interfere in film making is palpable, as is his joy when people get what he's trying to do.

This might make it sound like a tough read, but it's not: it's full of humour as well as anger. If you are interested in Volk's work, then you probably already have this. If you are interested in screenwriting as a career - or any other type of writing career - then this is an essential read.

I loved it.

This is a difficult book to give a star rating to. I enjoyed it - very much so in fact - but I also had some problems with it. I don't need to say anything about Stephen King or the plot of this book - if you've read this far, you have a fair idea if its for you or not.

This is short, by King's standards, but I felt it could still have been edited better to make it tighter. There are many sections of bloat that tell us nothing about the plot or the characters - sure some add 'colour' but many just up the word and page count. The character of Jerome is problematic in his 'jive speak' persona. I get he's taking the piss, but still, it was irritating - every time. Holly was the most interesting, but she doesn't really come into it until the last third, which seems a bit late to introduce a new character. Finally, Hodges doesn't go to the police and that decision is more and more unbelievable as the events unfold.

However, all of those problems aside, I flew through this and will read the rest of the trilogy. the various set pieces are really well done and remind you just how good a writer King is.

Wanderers by Chuck Wendig

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This is an excellent book. It's long and detailed, which means it can vary in pace at times. Some of the characters could have been cut without really impacting on the narrative (yes, Rock God Pete I'm looking at you) and much has been made of the politics, especially of the 'bad guys'. I'm not going to get into that here, but the motivations of the far right antagonists was pretty clear and well done (in that boil your blood kind of way).

The sequence with the anal rape was really unnecessary and interrupted the flow of the book. The dominance of the character over the preacher Matt was already well established and this cheapened the narrative a little for me. I also guessed the ending long before it was revealed, but that doesn't matter - this isn't a murder mystery after all.

I've not read anything by Chuck Wendig before, and I strongly suspect this is his 'The Stand' moment, but I enjoyed the book immensely, even if reading it as a global pandemic reaches these shores was not my brightest moment.



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A superbly crafted tale of the apocalypse. Kane has written many, many books and it is apparent in his writing. Sentences flow easily, characters are well defined and relatable, even if they don't have much screen time.

This story is about the experiences of a soldier who is testing a new substance called a SKIN and then he's thrown headlong into the end of the world. The story is told entirely from his perspective and so we go through the full range of emotions with him from confusion, through terror through.... well that would be a spoiler!

In short this is an excellent story, superbly written by Kane. I listened to the Audible version and the narration by Chris Barnes was also excellent. Highly, highly recommended.

Tooth & Claw by Dave Jeffery

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Fast paced slice of werewolf mayhem from Dave Jeffery. I've read a few of his books now and they never disappoint. All you need to know going in to this is an illegal hunt has been organised by some very rich people. Their target: a werewolf. The setup is short and the action never lets up in another winner from Jeffery.



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This is the first blog I've ever written. I hope someone is reading it so I'm not just shouting into the wind, because that would be crazy...

Twitter is currently my self promo tool of choice and there is a wonderful, supportive network of writers on there. Many posts make me laugh out loud and others make me really angry (usually right wing propaganda spreading hate and vile lies).

Lately, I have seen a trend from book bloggers complaining about treatment from authors. It appears that a growing number of them are being threatened and abused by authors who are on the receiving end of a low-star or bad review.

One author sent an email full of the kind of language that shocked me, so it probably would have given my mum an aneurysm. It was decidedly racist and homophobic in tone, all because the blogger hadn't got back to this author. Shocking behaviour - how would this author react to something truly meaningful is anyone's guess.

How do people justify this sort of behaviour? How do they look at themselves in the mirror? Do they wonder why their sales disappear overnight? Do they think about why book bloggers won't reply to their emails or review their books anymore?

This sort of behaviour is simply unacceptable. IF you are an author and you get a bad review, suck it up - it won't be the only one you get, even if you are the greatest living writer (which, let's face it, you're probably not). If you get a great review, brilliant - share it, thank the blogger and move on. Any reviewer worth their salt will give reasons why a book got a bad review. Pay attention and learn from it, even if you don't necessarily agree. Yes it hurts, but it comes with the territory.

Finally, for God's sake, if there is a thread ANYWHERE asking for recommendations on books to read, don't recommend your own. Really, really don't. It is extremely crass.