Geeky Nerfherder 2nd Anniversary & My 2013 Favourites

It's now two years since I started this blog! And big thanks to everyone that visits here and I hope that you enjoy my posts of pop culture geekery.

I'm also on almost all the major social media sites too, although mostly Twitter and Instagram. So if you’re not already following me, but want to keep up with blog posts and other ramblings, here are the links to my profiles on each of these sites:

on Twitter (@GeekyNerfherder)

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And so it's that time of year, where everybody lists all their favourites of the past year, and I'm no different. I have a big love of Sci-Fi and Fantasy, so I'm always going to be biased towards those genres and I'd say it's been another good year for SF&F output too. I've enjoyed the movies I've seen at the cinema this year, including some classic movies re-released on the big screen like 'The Princess Bride' and the 'Indiana Jones' Trilogy, plus once again, there has been a lot of awesome art inspired by pop culture, and I've even managed to bag a few awesome prints this year too!

This year I've 'discovered' the pulps and developed a new found love for the Golden Age of Science Fiction & Fantasy from the 1930's to the 1950's, as well as the movies, books, comics etc that have been inspired by the stories of the likes of Edgar Rice Burroughs, Otis A Kline, Leigh Brackett, Robert E Howard, Kenneth Robeson and more, but most of all, I've been enjoying the awesome illustrated art from that era, which I've been serialising on the blog every Monday (and lots more to come too).

But back to the present day, and here is a list of some of my favourite things from 2013.

Book Review: 'The Locket Thief' by Daniel Patrick

In the clouds above Dalmacia, the Sky Thieves rule. Robbing, cheating, murdering - their airships buzz around the city like wasps around a jar of honey. One ship above all inspires terror. Its captain, Lendon Sora, has found the prey he's been stalking for a decade and is about to claim his bounty.

Down on the surface, Lara DeLarose is oblivious. Bored with her life at the orphanage, she spends her time searching for new ways to cause trouble until one day she makes a discovery that sends her hurtling into the murky world of the Sky Thieves.

I really enjoyed this from Daniel Patrick. 'The Locket Thief' is the first in 'The Sky Thieves' series, and if the rest of the series is as good as the start then it'll definitely be a series to watch.

The story charts the adventures of Lara DeLarose, our young protagonist, from the roof of the orphanage where we first meet her, and as we follow her adventures aboard the airship 'Robin Hood'. Right from the off, you instantly take to the characters and become totally engrossed in the story, set in a believable world of sky pirates and their airships. In fact, I could easily imagine this as something from Studio Ghibli!

By the end of 'The Locket Thief' I'm very keen to see what happens to Lara and those aboard the Robin Hood on their next adventure. Highly recommended!

***** out of 5