Books
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Review: Witchsign by Den Patrick
This is a powerhouse of an opening to a trilogy. It has everything that I look for in a novel. An Empire that is corrupt and that seeks to illuminate those who are different. It feels so very relevant at the moment with a lot of countries becoming more inward-looking and exclusionary not least the UK and it’s a picture of what life could be like and indeed has been like for those who are do stand out. Steiner is a good lad, he works in the Smithy with his father and he fancies the innkeeper’s daughter. He’s probably dyslexic and he feels like he’s being judged most of the…
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Selecting Next Reads
Selecting books to read, how do you do it? My pile of unread books teeters in various places around the very small London house in which we live. My partner sighs with exasperation at me and not a little fondness as I amass more books than I can get through. I absolutely have the intention to read them, but I never have the time to get through as many as I think I should. There are also many books languishing on my kindle that I need to read too. This can lead to me being overwhelmed by choice when I finish a book. I need to know what I should…
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Review: Trail of Lightning by Rebecca Roanhorse
Trail of Lightning defies being neatly boxed into one genre. Its post-apocalyptic urban fantasy and is written by a Native American about Navajo characters and concepts. This was new ground for me as a reader and whilst I’ve read a lot of Urban Fantasy set in the US the vast majority has been written by caucasian writers and The Sixth World feels fresh and different. The world-building is superlative, evocative and immediate and a reason why we need more own voices out there for readers to engage with. The main characters are drawn well and are both compelling and flawed. Maggie is a tracker and a Dinetah monster hunter trained…
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The Resurrectionist of Caligo by Wendy Trimboli & Alicia Zaloga
This debut novel collaboration started life as a letter-writing exercise between two friends who assumed the characters that we find in the novel and what grew out of this pastime. Roger is a struggling student of surgery being somewhat disgraced and most certainly impoverished he has turned to graverobbing to fund his surgical studies. His childhood sweetheart is Sybilla princess of the Royal family and well out of his league. The world that the authors have created feels like a romanticised Dickensian London with added magic and intrigue and as it so happens right up my alley as a reader. The kingdom has fairy magic which makes for some inventive…
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Book Club Reads: The Anubis Gates Tim Powers
This what not a great read for me. It was originally published in 1983 and I felt it hasn’t aged well. Brendan Doyle is the protagonist but I couldn’t like the character at all. A Gary Stu a male wish fulfilment character who yes had a lot of crap thrown at him but also bounces back implausibly to everything. It felt like it relied on racial stereotypes and this made me uncomfortable as a reader. I understand that this was published over 35 years ago but the portrayal of ‘gypsies’ really wasn’t great. There was a grand total of one female character of any importance and she was underserved particularly…
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Girls and Aliens
This was quite the collection, five contrasting stories that featured girls and aliens in often very dark and disturbing ways.
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World Con Round up
somewhat later than I anticipated here is my round up from the later days of world con.
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I’ve been to a marvellous party
Day 2. I think I made it to two panels All the Universe is a stage and Gareth L Powell’s reading. The rest of the time I was soaking up the atmosphere. This is kind of odd as I felt like I’d done a lot more. I interviewed F D Lee who is an absolute star and the podcast for that will be out once I get home. I met lots of people whom I’ve only really ever known online and the sheer joy of putting a face to a handle is awesome. I have also discovered I can network. I hate the word but I went to the orbit…
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Hello from Dublin
I’m writing this in my halls of residence at Trinity College Dublin which is the closest I ever got to attending a decent university. I’m feeling absolutely exhausted right now it has been a long couple of days. Yesterday was all about the travel and the accompanying anxiety of going to new places on one’s own and figuring everything out myself. I also got caught in the mother of all downpours with my luggage as I was doing the final trek to the dorm and briefly felt like a drowned rat. Things vastly improved after a change of clothes and dinner with some friends at a lovely Japanese noodle place.…
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Seven Deadly Swords – Review
Seven Deadly Swords by Peter Sutton a non-linear fantasy novel. Partly set in the time of the Crusades and in various points in history up to 2012 tells the story of Reymond a soldier one among seven that are cursed to return to a new life again and again and fight the others. It’s a little bit Quantum Leap, a little bit Groundhog day and a little bit Highlander. I wasn’t sure what to expect, and Sutton doesn’t give anything away too early. The reader has to earn their knowledge. The main characters are Reymond, Fisher and Mari. The layered narrative is compelling with each chapter crafted to provide some…
