Noor A Jahangir was born and raised in Lancashire, England. He grew up in a town very much like Affrington and knew at the age of seven that he wanted to be a writer. Most of his teen years were spent in an Islamic boarding school for boys, set in the Pennine Moors, overlooked by Peel Tower. He is a qualified Muslim scholar, holds an honours degree in English Studies with Media Studies and Creative Writing, a post-graduate Diploma in Management Studies, and is currently studying for his Masters. He works as a senior manager in the non-profit sector. The Changeling King is his first novel. He has previously had four short stories published by various publications, under a number of pen names.

Website: http://www.trollking.co.uk
Twitter: noorjahangir

• NoorJahangir: New blog post! All about how the gothic novel was transformed into an important milestone in genre writing.... http://t.co/NB6xuM47
• NoorJahangir: Thinking of doing my Burnley book launch at Rhode Island. Have to go speak to them first.
• NoorJahangir: My new lastest blog post is up. Its titled Cyborgs and Cyberbodies.... http://t.co/gtFOFTm0
• NoorJahangir: RT @PVBrett: New blog post: I Should Be Writing Interview Part 2 http://t.co/erHM764k
• NoorJahangir: @adampearson_23 yes. Although she wants to make a few changes and then submit a final version

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Blog: http://noorajahangir.wordpress.com

dragon blood    dragon fights    dragons    epic    eridani    fairy tale    fantasy    gillieron    kryllon    merenwen    noor a jahangir    the changeling king    trollking    ya   

A.M. Harte
Latest book: Belonging. Published on October 21, 2011.

Manda Benson
Latest book: The Thirteenth Brigade. Published on June 16, 2011.
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Mark Stewart
Latest book: Legendary blue diamond. Published on April 16, 2012.
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Nerine Dorman
Latest book: Just My Blood Type. Published on June 22, 2011. (4.44 from 9 reviews)
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T C Southwell
Latest book: Demon Lord VII - Dark Domain. Published on June 2, 2012.
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• Just My Blood Type on June 26, 2011
  
  This is Gothic Romance but at the cutting edge. If you're looking for Twilight fan fiction then you better go look somewhere else. If anything, this feels more like the True Blood books and TV serial. The writing is typically excellent, as expected from these two authors, reading flawlessly so that it isn't obvious that it was written collaboratively. The sexiness simmers under the surface for most of the story but never really boils over. There are also questions left unanswered in that Therese seems none the wiser of Xan's true nature, even after her real close encounter with him and we never really learn why her agent set up the meeting. What the story does do is whet the appetite for more. After this brief sojourn into the world of Xan and the Crooked Fang, I sense we are going to see a lot more of the rocker vampire.
  
• Pilgrennon's Beacon on July 06, 2011
  
  Pilgrennon's Beacon is the bleak tale of an autistic child, whose disability was exploited before she was even born. Now Dana is trying to come to terms with the fact that her organic brain is meshed with a computer processor able to communicate with anything giving off a signal, from radio to Bluetooth. Afraid of being lobotomised by curious doctors she goes on the run, only to be kidnapped by a katana wielding sociopath claiming to be her biological mother, pressing her to help locate the mad scientist who stuck the thing in her head. But all is not as it seems. Think Jonny Mnemonic crossed with the Railway Children and you're a third of the way there. The main themes seems to be about ethics in science and about humanity losing what it means to be human, whilst machines becoming more sentient. This is a well written, thought provoking piece, with unexpected plot twists that sustain interest throughout the novel. The author has also thoughtfully included deleted scenes at the end for those who want to go a little deeper. My only criticism is that the action scenes are a little rushed, but overall a very decent read.
  
• Shredder on July 12, 2011
  
  I downloaded this book thinking it was going to be a bit like Smoking Aces or Battle Royale, but it turned out to be more of Predator/Doom styled story, where a group of military tough-nuts are dropped into a situation without adequate intel and find themselves up against a freaky monster/alien. The monster in question here is the Shredder, an alien life-form that is a cross between the molten metal Terminator (2) and Carnage from the Spiderman comics, with the ability to morph into its victims, turn its arms into deadly weapons. The plot isn't deviously complex but it is fast-paced and descriptions of the action are visceral, with over the top violence and gore. I read this in two sittings over one day and it works fine as a quick light read, though it is badly let down by the quality of the writing itself. Its a shame, because it could have done with perhaps another draft, to whip the text into shape and gotten another start out of me in the ratings. All said and done, if you're not too put off by poor sentence structure, cliched dialogue and shallow plots, this is still a fun read to kill a few hours.
  
• Call of the Herald on July 15, 2011
  
  Decent plot.
  
• Wolf Medicine on July 15, 2011
  
  Well written. Will appeal to women more than men.
  
• Tanys Defiant on July 21, 2011
  
  The story follows a half-breed member of the Raven tribe who, along with a few other members, has been captured by trolls. They are taken to the slave pits where Tanys is drafted into a gladitorial match. Her beauty and abilities captures the attention of a ghast sorceror who buys her freedom and appoints her as his blood guard. Things get complicated when she gets caught in a love triangle with his other servant Misha and his ghast wife. The writing style is short and sharp sentences, a style I favor myself. The writing still has some way to go, but the plot is fast paced and the action is relentless. This is an author that show promise.
  
• The Shadowed Path on Oct. 13, 2011
  
  The Shadowed Path follows the attempts of a young man to put a traumatic experience behind him and get some answers as to why things went so badly wrong for him and his companions 4 years ago. The book is heroic fantasy in the vein of the late and great David Gemmell. The book cover features a topless man standing with his back towards the reader holding what seems to be a chain, stretched between his hands, on a black background. Its not the most inspiring of covers and has little to do with the story itself. However, this isn’t really a major concern. The blurb gives a general idea of what the story is about, but again doesn’t really do it justice. The story opens with a prologue, from the perspective of an official viewing a gladiatorial match whilst reflecting on his personal ambitions of rising to the position of a senator. I picked up a distinctively Roman flavour to the setting, although the opening scene is set in an Empire known as Prast. This is the only time that we see events through the official’s eyes and though he is important in an indirect way to the story, the book rarely touches on his story again. In fact, the whole purpose of the prologue was just to highlight that the Waystalkers, a non-human race of beings that serve the Prastian’s as slaves, are unable to take the life of a human, or any creature that has red blood in its veins. Whilst I understand why the author felt that this prologue was needed, I personally feel that he could have done with out it, as the point is driven home several times later on in the book. However, the prologue sets up what happens in the first chapter, when Marcus, a soft, rich boy and the main protagonist is caught in the Shadowland, a twisted jungle that is home to various monstrous creatures and predatory plant life, and then ambushed by Waystalkers who seem to be able to kill humans. If this book had then gone on to chronicle how Marcus survived for four years in this living hell and became the fearless warrior he does then it probably would have been a story worthy of five-stars. But sadly, the book jumps the four most interesting years of Marcus’s life and rejoins him as his ship comes into Prast. The remainder of the book follows Marcus’s attempts to learn what happened in the interim to his father and his mission to confront his step-mother for sending him into the Shadowland and stealing his heritage. Whilst this part of the story doesn’t lack in adventure and twists, the most interesting bits are when Marcus has flashbacks to his time in the jungle. In the end of this, the first volume in the Archwood series, we get an anti-climatic battle with an invading force of the Wur (a Viking like people) that has only a minimal build up before the final chapter sets the scene for the sequel. The characters are likeable and come across as well-defined individuals. Even the roguish Lokan, the split-personality sociopath that is Jinx and the ambitious but fatherly Tycaleas show a balance of light and dark. Marcus seems emotionally detached and yet often rises above the dark memories of the Shadowland to help others. Lokan and Tycaleas seem to be interested primarily in power, riches and pleasures of the flesh, and yet would lay down their lives for Marcus and each other, bound together by their experiences in the Shadowland. Jinx/Sheena is a farm girl who witnessed the slaughter of her parents by creatures from the Shadowland, and through the inaction of soldiers and neighbours. She is also reviled because of the similarities in her appearance to the waystalkers. Now she wants revenge on the son of the man who ultimately is responsible, Marcus. The world-building, despite borrowing terminology from the Romans is good, blending the familiar with the unfamiliar. The descriptions and conception of the Shadowland creatures are vivid and worthy of a Simon R Green story. The waystalkers have a unique culture and way of life, despite resonating in appearance to Navii, though this likeness was not intentional as they were conceptualized well before the Avatar movie was released. The writing and vocabulary are solid, though there is a tendency of revision of sentences as if to drive home certain ideas. The fight scenes are what makes this book stand out and I would describe as Gemmellian in their awesomeness. Fans of heroic fantasy would certainly be pleased with them. Despite the shortcomings in the plot, the world-building, characterization, creatures and fight scenes were enough to lift this book above other debut titles and kept me reading to the end. Would I buy the sequel? There are enough questions raised and left unanswered in this first volume to make me seriously consider reviewing the next one too. Based on the above reasons, I’m giving this book a solid 3 out of 5.
  
• Gamers on Jan. 14, 2012
  
  This is a story about a high school girl that wants to graduate with good results and get her best-friend in the the same University as her. The only difference between this girl and any other high school girl is that she lives in our future when everything is hidden behind layers of augmented reality. Even the world itself is edited and controlled by a government agency. Oh, and everything is a game and can be played. Welcome to LifeGame. Reality starts breaking down when Gabby learns that her personal files, literally her identity has been hacked by dissidents calling themselves the Frags and that the government wants to check what they have altered. Gabby can't let them do this because then they would find out that she has been hacking LifeGame to help her friend improve her scores. The cover art features the face of a young lady with her LifeScore superimposed beneath her left eye. Its quite catchy except for the typography which cheapens the overall impact. The blurb and the opening chapter is intriguing and had me reading the first three chapters even before I had considered reviewing it. The concept isn't a new one, with Hollywood already having given the game world encroaching on reality the big screen treatment, e.g. Tron and the now retro-looking Running Man, amongst other more recent efforts. But Carpenter's take on it is refreshingly modern and applies the rules of Massive Multiplayer Online (MMOs) games like Second Life and Playstation Home, with mini-games adding to an overall score and customisable wardrobe and living spaces as standard. He also captures the obsessive behaviour of MMO players of squirrelling away every spare minute and immersing themeselves in marathon-length sorties into the game world through the addition of LifeScore, with the students seeking every opportunity from brushing their teeth to doing homework to get points. There even is a school league table to show whose currently on top and who is below the required level to qualify for university. The world of LifeGame has its own slang too, just like in the world of Harry Potter, which is a very nice touch, even though some readers may initially find themselves as at a loss to understanding what buffering is. So why didn't this book get four stars? The occasional word mix-up or confusing sentences on their own don't overly take away from this story and the writing and language for most part is good, but the pacing of the narrative and the individual components of it don't quite sync. Also, I found the ending rather unsatisfactory, even though there is still plenty of story to carry on in a sequel, I think it could have been handled better and kept the reader more on edge for the next installment. Another issue of concern, though it doesn't affect how good this book is, is the use of the names of existing or former game developers for school names, especially considering how touchy corporations are about thier IP and branding. Gamers scores a very good 3.75 and I do recommend that you read this book to experience the trippy world of LifeGame.
  
• Gamers on Jan. 14, 2012
  
  This is a story about a high school girl that wants to graduate with good results and get her best-friend in the the same University as her. The only difference between this girl and any other high school girl is that she lives in our future when everything is hidden behind layers of augmented reality. Even the world itself is edited and controlled by a government agency. Oh, and everything is a game and can be played. Welcome to LifeGame. Reality starts breaking down when Gabby learns that her personal files, literally her identity has been hacked by dissidents calling themselves the Frags and that the government wants to check what they have altered. Gabby can't let them do this because then they would find out that she has been hacking LifeGame to help her friend improve her scores. The cover art features the face of a young lady with her LifeScore superimposed beneath her left eye. Its quite catchy except for the typography which cheapens the overall impact. The blurb and the opening chapter is intriguing and had me reading the first three chapters even before I had considered reviewing it. The concept isn't a new one, with Hollywood already having given the game world encroaching on reality the big screen treatment, e.g. Tron and the now retro-looking Running Man, amongst other more recent efforts. But Carpenter's take on it is refreshingly modern and applies the rules of Massive Multiplayer Online (MMOs) games like Second Life and Playstation Home, with mini-games adding to an overall score and customisable wardrobe and living spaces as standard. He also captures the obsessive behaviour of MMO players of squirrelling away every spare minute and immersing themeselves in marathon-length sorties into the game world through the addition of LifeScore, with the students seeking every opportunity from brushing their teeth to doing homework to get points. There even is a school league table to show whose currently on top and who is below the required level to qualify for university. The world of LifeGame has its own slang too, just like in the world of Harry Potter, which is a very nice touch, even though some readers may initially find themselves as at a loss to understanding what buffering is. So why didn't this book get four stars? The occasional word mix-up or confusing sentences on their own don't overly take away from this story and the writing and language for most part is good, but the pacing of the narrative and the individual components of it don't quite sync. Also, I found the ending rather unsatisfactory, even though there is still plenty of story to carry on in a sequel, I think it could have been handled better and kept the reader more on edge for the next installment. Another issue of concern, though it doesn't affect how good this book is, is the use of the names of existing or former game developers for school names, especially considering how touchy corporations are about thier IP and branding. Gamers scores a very good 3.75 and I do recommend that you read this book to experience the trippy world of LifeGame.
  
• Frags (Gamers #2) on Feb. 06, 2012
  
  Frags is the sequel to Gamers, a book I recently reviewed. It continues to follow the adventures of a former high school student as she traverses a post-apocalyptic dystopian world in search for information that will help her locate her friend, Zaela. Gabby, the heroine of the series and her new friend Mouse have joined the Frags, a disparate group of survivors who operate in the wilderness of the GSA. Together they make a break for the Freelands with the hope that others who have escaped the GSA have information on what happens to those who fail in the LifeGame. Gabby sums up this book early on with a statement, 'This is not LifeGame.' This was a big concern for me because I enjoyed the freshness and originality of the artifice of LifeGame. I needn't have worried. The cool skin-web can be upgraded with whatever interface is used in any particular area of the Freelands. The downside is that you have to accept the rules and the reality of each area and as such Gabby and the Frags are constantly running into trouble. The writing is actually a little stronger than the original and the characters are strange and diverse enough to keep the book interesting. Take example the Collector, a man who runs the Game Train, which runs across the length of the Freelands but to ride it you must strike a bargain with the Collector and play the games. If you win, you get off at your stop. If you don't, well, its time to pay the Collector his due. This is a solid 4 stars and I highly recommend the series to young adults and fans of steam and cyberpunk.