Toby Frost

The second instalment in the chronicles of Isambard Smith – Captain in the service of the British Space Empire.

Tea… a beverage brewed from the fermented dried leaves of the shrub Camellia sinensis and imbibed by all the great civilisations in the galaxy’s history; a source of refreshment, stimulation and, above all else, of moral fibre – without which the British Space Empire must surely crumble to leave Earth at the mercy of its enemies. Sixty per cent of the Empire’s tea is grown on one world – Urn, principal planet of the Didcot system. If Earth is to keep fighting, the tea must flow.

When a crazed cult leader overthrows the government of Urn, Isambard Smith and his vaguely competent crew find themselves saddled with new allies: a legion of tea-obsessed nomads, an overly-civilised alien horde and a commando unit so elite that it only has five members. Only together can they defeat the self-proclaimed God Emperor of Didcot and confront the true power behind the coup: the sinister legions of the Ghast Empire and Smith’s old enemy, Commander 462.

Reviews

‘Toby Frost writes books that seem to fill a specific niche: that is books for the commuter or the frequently interrupted (system administrators I’m looking at you). You can pick up his books, read a few pages and put them down again without losing the thread of the story and still enjoy an amusing diversion.’ Fantasybookreview

 ‘Set in a universe where the suns never set on a stiff upper lip, this warm-hearted and funny interstellar romp gives the sacred cows of sci-fi a good kicking before racing home in time for tea.’  Dirk Maggs, director of BBC Radio 4’s The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy

Toby Frost

The third instalment in the chronicles of Isambard Smith – Captain in the service of the British Space Empire.

From the depths of Space a new foe rises to do battle with mankind: the British Space Empire is threatened by the lemming-people of Yull, ruthless enemies who attack without mercy, fear or any concept of self preservation. At the call of their war god, the Yull have turned on the Empire, hell bent on conquest and destruction in their rush towards the cliffs of destiny.

When the Yullian army is forced to retreat at the battle of the River Tam, the disgraced Colonel Vock swears revenge on the clan of Suruk the Slayer, Isambard Smith’s homicidal alien friend. Now Smith and his crew must defend the Empire and civilise the stuffing out of a horde of bloodthirsty lemming men – which would be easy were it not for a sinister robotics company, a Ghast general with a fondness for genetic engineering and an ancient brotherhood of Morris Dancers – who may yet hold the key to victory. . .

Reviews

‘What I enjoyed most about Wrath of the Lemming Men was the fact that we’re now on the third novel and following the crew of the John Pym again through their adventures. I know this sounds simple – and it is – but I feel that when I start reading these characters I’m not only whole heartedly enjoying reading about them, but I’m also running through my mind just what they’ll say and do in the situation they’re in. I feel at home when they come on page – Smith, Carveth, Suruk, Rhianna, they all feel like old friends now.’ Walkerofworlds.com

Toby Frost

It’s the 25th Century and the British Space Empire faces the gathering menace of the evil ant-soldiers of the Ghast hive, hell bent on galactic domination and the extermination of all humanoid life forms.

Captain Isambard Smith is the square-jawed, courageous and somewhat asinine new commander of the clapped out freighter John Pym, destined to take on the alien threat because nobody else is available.

Together with his bold crew- a skull-collecting alien lunatic, an android pilot who is actually a fugitive sex toy and a hamster called Gerald-  he must collect new-age herbalist Rhianna Mitchell from the New Francisco orbiter and bring her back to the Empire in safety. Straightforward enough – except the Ghasts want her too and, in addition to a whole fleet of Ghast warships, Smith has to confront void sharks, a universe-weary android assassin and John Gilead, psychopathic naval officer from the fanatically religious Republic of Eden before facing his greatest enemy: a ruthless alien warlord with a very large behind… 

Reviews

‘Toby Frost has created a very entertaining sci-fi comedy romp that openly borrows and sends up some of the most well known science fiction films and TV shows. If you don’t mind poking fun at sci-fi classics, and your nose doesn’t get bent out of shape by that sort of thing, then this is a series for you.’ Walkerofworlds.com 

‘If you are in the mood for a light and funny space opera adventure, then you can’t do any better than Toby Frost’s Space Captain Smith. Very enjoyable and strongly recommended. . .’ fantasybookcritic

Sebastian Beaumont

Thirteen is not a number, it is a state of mind.

Thirteen is the story of Stephen Bardot, a taxi driver working on the night shift in Brighton.  He works such long shifts that he is often driving while exhausted, and it is then that he starts to experience major alterations to his perception of reality.  People start to take lifts in his cab who know things they shouldn’t, and who ultimately may not even be real, although the question of what constitutes reality forms one of the basic themes of the novel.

He regularly gives lifts to Valerie – beautiful, haunting, but terminal – from 13 Wish Road to her ‘positive thinking classes’ at the Cornerstone Community Centre on Palmeira Square.  When he is no longer asked to collect her, he fears that she is dead, and queries this with Sal, one of the night operators.  Her response turns Stephen’s world upside down.

‘But Stephen,’ she tells him, ‘there is no such address.  Wish Road doesn’t have a number thirteen.’

She’s right.  Wish Road’s odd numbers are 7, 9, 11, 11a, 15, 17…  And number 11a looks totally different from the house he thinks of as number Thirteen.  So where has he been collecting Valerie from all this time?  A house that doesn’t exist?

As time passes, the world gets weirder.  People appear (and disappear) who know far too much about Stephen and his past, and who lure him further and further into the twilight world of Thirteen.  But if he asks any questions, he gets hurt.  Ultimately, he decides, for the sake of both his safety and his sanity, he must walk away.

But Thirteen has no intention of letting him go.

Reviews

‘Sebastian Beaumont’s novel Thirteen is the best thing I have read this year and one of the two or three finest books I have come across since the new century kicked in.’
Scott Pack, The Friday Project and former Head Buyer at Waterstones

‘Sebastian Beaumont pulls off two impressive feats in his first novel. He writes a colloquial, first-person narrative that is consistently engaging; and he creates a dreamlike, alternate world without stretching the reader’s credulity or patience.’
Nicholas Clee, The Guardian

‘Stimulating and entertaining.’
Francis King

‘His writing style was crystal clear and effortless and the story was like nothing I’d read before… Well worth a read.’ 
Gary Davison, Paperbooks authors’ blog

Ian Brotherhood

The story is set in a near future Britain in the direst quarter of an unnamed city.  This is a landscape of tower blocks of huge street lamps that turn the world a shade of greyish orange – beneath which all human activity seems suspect – of winding paths and foot bridges over never quiet motorways.

A government initiative to deal with increasing opposition to unpopular council tax rises contracts bands of citizen volunteers to collect payment.  Francine O’Brallahan aka Bulletproof Suzy, a highly intelligent though somewhat violent member of the urban underclass, recruits three other young females, her ‘little ladies’, to exploit the opportunity to earn enough cash to find a better life.

Suzy’s middle class politically correct friend Joanne disapproves of the venture and their friendship is broken. Joanne is found brutally murdered outside Suzy’s tower block not long afterwards.  Suzy and her crew set about finding the killer to exact retribution in the only way that they know, but there are two deadly and ominous complications: as far as the city police are concerned, Suzy herself remains the prime suspect and there appears to be damning video evidence to back up their theory; there is a menacing new gang infiltrating Suzy’s neighbourhood – they’re numerous, sophisticated and armed to the teeth and they’re after Suzy’s blood.

Ian Brotherhood’s debut novel seems destined to become a modern cult classic.  Suzy’s narrative is pacy,  fresh and idiosyncratic and her character is an astonishing creation-perhaps the first significant female anti-hero of the 21st century.

This is a short sharp left hook of a book, and it hits the spot.

Reviews

‘Bulletproof Suzy is certainly not the kind of girl you’d take home to meet the parentals. It is a heady mix, to be sure, and one that easily pulls you right through this, Brotherhood’s debut novel. It’s a fast read and as entertaining as it is brutal.’ 
The Big Issue

‘This is an ambitious, powerful novel from an important new voice.’ 
Jules Horne

‘Brotherhood… demonstrates a unique view and flair for action.’ 
Michael Stotter, Shotsmag