WE ARE THE DEAD is out with authors and bloggers at the moment to help get the word out there.

Gavin Smith, author of the Bastard Legion, wrote a rave review: "Hooked from page one, We Are the Dead rattles along with the pace of a runaway bullet train. Original, engaging, flawed but very-human characters draw us into a world rent by war, a world of brutal occupation, tarnished honour and devastating magics. This is a powerful debut and Shackle is an author to watch.'

Obviously, this blew me away. I thought it couldn't get any better than that. However, Peter McLean author of Priest of Bones, posted this review on Goodreads:

"We are the dead.

One invasion. Six months of brutal occupation. Eight days of blood.

In a world reminiscent of Warring States period Japan crossed with WWII Occupied France, the revolution is coming.

This book has everything you could want from that premise: The Resistance. A Samurai general's disgraced daughter forced to face up to her responsibilities and become a hero. Faceless enemy stormtroopers and sadistic magic SS officers. A single mother forced into the Resistance against her will. Nightmarish genetically-engineered monsters. A teenage terrorist leading a cadre of suicide bombers. The choice between duty and starvation in a civilian reality where the Resistance are every bit as dangerous as the enemy.

Hell, this thing could have been written just for me. It's like Tarantino's Inglorious Basterds crossed with David Gemmell in a quasi-Asian fantasy setting, and it is absolutely splendid. Shackle has come up with something really special here, and I enjoyed it enormously.

We are the Shulka and we are the dead.'

Wow. It doesn't get much better than that, does it? I especially loved the 'Tarantino crossed with Gemmell line.

Finally, today Kate, from the Bibliophile Book Club, posted this:
'It was just stunning. Dark, violent but with ultimately human issues at its core. Survival, family and loyalty woven beautifully through the narrative. Highly recommended for sure!'

I'm a very happy author right now.

I came across a review of WE ARE THE DEAD on www.thebookbag.co.uk today and I was thrilled to say the least. "This is a brilliant and unusual book in which a cast of characters, wholly unconnected to each other, work together to take back their land, their rights and their freedom. This is a book about bravery, about fellowship and about not being a hero."

It was just what I needed to pick me up. Thank you Ruth!

Peter wrote one of my favourite books of last year, PRIEST OF BONES so it made my day to see him tweet he was (a) reading my book and (b) that he's enjoying it...