NextRead

I’m shocked by the lengths some publishers go to in order to sell a few extra copies. Take the book Stolen by Tess Gerristen, you’d be forgiven for thinking it’s a thriller just as this reader did.

Seemingly the cover should be pink with a kissing clinch rather than black with a smoking gun as it’s more romance than thriller.

I’m surprised that action can’t be taken under The Trade Descriptions Act. And no wonder readers are getting upset. Now I don’t mind books having a bit of a refresh when they’re being re-released in fact it’s probably a wonderful idea but changing its genre at the same time is probably pushing things too far. In fact the confusion has meant her current publisher taking the very sensible step of putting a review on Amazon explaining the confusion.

From the book’s listing on Amazon.co.uk:

Having read the reviews of Stolen, I wanted - as the publisher of Tess’s more recent thrillers as Transworld - to say that STOLEN (previously published as THIEF OF HEARTS), IN THEIR FOOTSTEPS, UNDER THE KNIFE, CALL AFTER MIDNIGHT (gathered together in the anthology Murder & Mayhem), NEVER SAY DIE and WHISTLEBLOWER are not thrillers, but reissues of romantic suspense novels originally published by Mira / Mills & Boon. Recently Mira have changed the titles of some of Tess’s backlist novels to make them more chilling, have called them Sunday Times bestsellers (which is not the case), and even put Harlan Coben’s quote on the front panels - all of which we have asked them not to do, as we felt it might cause confusion among fans.

To avoid confusion in the future, you should note that any books published by Mira are reissues of romantic suspense novels and were first published in the 1990s. The harder hitting serial killer thrillers are published by Bantam/Transworld, and began when we first published THE SURGEON in 2002.

I should add that if you want to talk to Tess about this or other matters, you can do so by contacting her on her website (www.tessgerritsen.com), or via her wonderful blog, or you’ll be able to meet her in person when she tours the UK in January 08 with her new thriller, THE BONE GARDEN.
Hope this is helpful!

Selina Walker, publishing director, Transworld.

Well that’s my second Summer Blockbusting movie that I should have saved myself from. The first was The Simpsons Moive. That was a TV special if ever I saw one. And a bad one at that. I could go on but I’m be wasting words that I could use on something worthwhile.

The second was Transformers: The Movie. Can someone explain to Mr Spielberg that the 80s are over? And what was with all the wank jokes? Oh and we’ll rewrite the cannon so it doesn’t make sense. What a waste of 3 hours.

Movies based on TV series on the whole don’t work. They are what they are and they should on the whole stay there!

Tags: films

Oh wow. These are some that books that are currently taking my fancy and I’ll hopefully laying my hands on. Maybe.

The formatting is messed up - I’ll try to fix it.

First and foremost we have the third book in the Felix Castor series by Mike Carey, Dead Men’s Boots. And I’m gagging for this one having read the first two and I’ve reviewed the second one here.

Then we have a re-issue of Gents by The Friday Night Project. I must admit this is a surprising choice but the good John Self thinks highly of it and anything that is being re-released by a smallish press has to have something about it especially as it’s Scott Pack’s first acquisition.

In the Woods by Tana French came to my attention as it’s surprisingly risen up the New York Times bestseller list (thanks Galleycat). Surprising as it’s been out three months and it’s a non-American debut. It’s out in the UK in hardback now and paperback in November.

Already Dead by Charlie Huston. I’m a little behind on spotting this one as it already has a sequel out and another on the way. Both have been getting some great reviews and who can turn down a series of noir thrillers starring an undead PI.

Joe Hill’s (child of Stephen King) debut novel is out in paperback at the beginning of October. I know you’re not supposed to compare but like father like son?

I’m reading The Atrocity Archives after seeing an advert and then reading the blurb. So far so strange. It’s maths not magic that conjures stuff from the otherside apparently. I like it too. And a sequel is released only a couple of months talk about instant gratification.

The Court of Air is another new paperback release in September. It’s on the radar but I don’t know if it’ll go in the shopping basket. The jury is still out. Any thoughts anyone?

The Road by Cormac McCarthy. Post Apocalyptic America. Should I shouldn’t I?

You can also find a superb round up of forthcoming releases in sci-fi, fantasy, and horror in the latest copy of the marvellous Deathray.

I’ll be back with more next month which is only a couple of days away…

Tags: reading lists

Title: The Good Thief’s Guide to Amsterdam
Author: Chris Ewan
Publisher: Long Barn Books
Published: 2007
Price: 12.99
Bookshelf

I’ve been meaning to get my hands on this book for quite some time. Any book that can survive the fire of Susan Hill has got to be good, right? Yes, definitely. Is it a big blockbusting bestseller? Not really and I don’t think it’s meant to be.

Charlie Howard writes crime novels about a career thief; a career he also dabbles in from time to time. So when someone asks him to steal two monkey figurines he can’t turn it down can he?

Chirs Ewan has created a wonderfully entertaining character in Charlie Howard. He has an English whit and good manners for someone who breaks into houses for a living. And in any detective novel a good main character is a must. The other essential is a mystery and Ewan’s storytelling is compelling and compulsive.

It’s not a blockbuster thank god as there are no big car chases, fire-fighting shootouts, or explosions. Instead he’s built a complex tale from a few simple building blocks with enough false bait to keep you hooked even when you find out you’ve been pulling on the wrong line for quie some time. It harks back to tales where it’s brains that count like the tales of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Colon Doyle and the detective stories of Agatha Christie.

I’d usually be wary of a writer writing about a character who writes but in this case it allows some interesting conversations and some insight into both the main character and the unfolding events. Ewan also manages to capture the spirit of Amsterdam making the city a vital character of the story.

I’d whole heartedly recommend this book for anyone who loves detective stories with a definite English twist and for anyone who loves a great read I’d say you should buy this too. There is loads of potential for a sequel and I personally hope it’s not going to take too long to come. I guess the only to make sure there is is for enough people to go out and buy this book first. What you waiting for?

Tags: 10/10, Bookshelf

Now you’d think that all publicity is good publicity right? But what if the publicity department and other associates seem to have the worst email system in the world? So somewhere were between the sending and replying something happens so that no communication takes place?

This is one publisher in particular. All the others be it big or small that I’ve had dealings with are great in their own way.

Read more »

Tags: reading lists

Title: From A Buick 8
Author: Stephen King
Publisher: New English Library
Published: 2003
Price: 7.99
Shelf Copy

Stephen King has written a lot of books and I’ve only delved shallowly into his deep well. For me the strength of Kings comes from the voice he uses. It has a sense of place and a confidence that makes for a pleasant reading.

This voice is put to good use in From A Buick 8 as various members of Troop D lets a young Ned Wilcox into the family secret about  what the Buick Roadmaster in Shed B could possibly be and like his dead father he has more questions than there are answers.

Several of King’s stories start on a ‘what if …’ and this one is no exception. What if something that looks like a ’54 blue Buick Roadmaster is actually something alien and something to be scared of? King’s starts off with this ‘what if…’ and then explores that idea throughout the novel. The downside of this technique is that there is a fine line between exploration and rambling and King mostly stays on the right side of the line.  

This isn’t the best King I’ve ever read. It’s more subtle than I’d like and more reflective though that is the story from the outset so you have to accept it for what it is.  The horrific moments, such as they are, lack a sense of danger even though you can understand the characters reactions it’s hard to feel them.

Each part of the story snaps into place like a badly formed jigsaw puzzle. Each of the characters is solidly recreated and feels as real as the Buick itself. There is a sense of the extraordinary happening to ordinary people. I’d say if you’re in a reflective mood and thinking about the meaning of life then this is a great read. If you need something with a bit more action you might find it a bit too slow going.

Tags: 7/10, horror, shelf copy

I’m not very good at waiting and patience is never something I’m good at. So I’m wondering how long do you wait before assuming that you’re never going to get a response to that email you’ve sent? I waited a week then sent a follow-up and still nothing. It’s just very disappointing to think that someone has just deleted you or ignored you completely. Then on the other hand you have lovely people that respond excellently, which kind of makes up for it. Anyway I think that’s going to burn away for quite a while.

Susan Hill is back on the blog and talking about the new Vintage Classics. I choose classics more on the quality of the type usually making sure it’s been redone in a clean print rather than the ones that look like they’ve bled into the page.

I’ve been making embarrassingly slow progress reading From a Buick 8 I will finish but it all seems written in first gear. I’m hoping that there is going to be big lightening show in the end…and don’t spoil it for me ;). I want to finish it so I can read my next non-review copy book. I’m trying to have one review copy and one non-review book on the go at the end same time.

I’m just about to start back on sci-fi with Dreaming the Void. It’s been getting some good reviews and it only 600 pages (gulp)

I had a “bugger it” moment in Borders last week and spent money I really don’t have and bought a copy of The Good Thief’s Guide to Amsterdam (a debut from Long Barn Books), Odd Thomas, which I’ve constantly failed to get off ReaditSwapit.co.uk, and finally The Chinatown Death Cloud Peril, which had an excellent review in Deathray and is another debut.

The lovely people at Ebury Press sent me a copy of the debut novel by Julian Clary, Muder Most Fab. I’m really looking forward to it.

I’m afraid I didn’t get past the first 20 pages of Garden Spells a debut by Sarah Addison Allen. I might have been reading a little too far outside my comfort zone.

Otherwise I’ve been doing a typsetting and cover design job that I’ll probably announce properly when it’s done. I’ve got a blog about that sort of thing that you can find here. If you know anyone in need of that sort of thing be sure to send them my way.

More soon

Tags: Magazines, reading lists, Scf-Fi

Interview: Val McDermid, crime novelist | By genre | Guardian Unlimited Books
Val McDermid is spitting blood. Yesterday, the bestselling crime novelist found herself mired in controversy over remarks made by fellow crime writer Ian Rankin, and it is fair to say she isn’t best pleased.In a newspaper interview late last year, Rankin commented that “the people writing the most graphic novels are women”, before going on to specify that “they are mostly lesbians as well, which I find interesting”. These remarks re-emerged on Wednesday during a talk by McDermid and crime writer Denise Mina, at the Edinburgh International Book Festival. McDermid described them as “arrant rubbish”, and went on to say: “I find that statement so offensive, I can’t even begin to start.”

Speaking to McDermid yesterday though, her anger wasn’t directed at Rankin - but at the way the story has been reported. “Ian and I Instant Messaged each other when this story broke and were very amicable,” she tells me. “We are still friends - he danced at my wedding, for Christ’s sake!”

Please do read the rest of it.

I wish Susan Hill was blogging at the moment as I’d love to know her thoughts on this.

During a BBC Radio 4’s PM programme yesterday there was a strange debate about women and violence. I’d need to listen to it again before commenting too much but I’m left with the feeling that women who write about violence shouldn’t and should stick to Miss Marple style mysteries… I think this is a good time to read my first Susan Hill novel and see how she handles it.

Title: Gods Behaving Badly
Author: Marie Philips
Publisher: Jonathon Cape
Published in Hardback: 02 August 2007
Price: 12.99
Review Copy

I hardly know where to start with this stunning debut so let’s start with the illustration. The dust jacket, endpapers and the first few pages all contain wonderful illustrations by Suzanne Dean. They really set the tone for this book. She’s reimaged the art of Ancient Greece for a modern age, which is exactly what Marie Philips does in Gods Behaving Badly.

The Gods of Olympus have been living in North London for the last few hundred years. It’s not easy being a God. Their house is overcrowded and in need of a lot of TLC. They have modern-day jobs (Artemis, Goddess of Hunting/Professional Dog-Walker; Apollo, God of the Sun/TV Psychic; Dionysus, God of Wine/Night Club Manager) and even then they are struggling to make end meet. This is all until they employ a cleaner and that’s when things so wrong.

There is much to admire about GBB. It’s funny for a start. I mean laugh out loud funny though the first time was out of shock so it might have been more of a giggle. It’s clever. Marie has really thought out the storyline. There are so many links and parallels that it leaves wonderful ‘oh’ and ‘ah’ moments. It’s sweet. The characters of Alice and Neil are just the right mortals to show up how ‘bad’ some of the Gods are. There is more but I don’t want to spoil it.

I really can’t think of anything I didn’t like about it. It was a wonderful easy read that managed to be both entertaining and thought provoking. The characters are wonderfully imagined, though I would have liked to have seen a bit more of a few of the Gods as there was so much more I wanted to know about them.

I’d love to see if Marie can manage a sequel – she’s created a wonderful cast and there are so many Greek myths she could draw on. If not I’m looking forward to what she writes next.

This is going to take some beating for Gav’s ‘Entertaining Read of the Year’.

Tags: 10/10

It sometimes comes across that literature is a serious business. I don’t know why it has that particular label when there are such wonderful funny writers out there.

My personal faves (being the ones I’ve actually read) include: Terry Prachett (whose Discworld series turned me on to reading (is that what teachers call it?)), Robert Rankin (though I’ve not read anything my him since The Sprout Mask Replica (has it really been 10 years?)), Joe R Lansdale (though I’ve only had a few chances with his Hap Collins suspense novels – the rest aren’t so funny from what I can find – still a writer I want to read more of), and then I’m a little stumped from my own reading history.

Oh there is Mark Gatiss’s The Vesuvius Club though that isn’t laugh outloud funny unlike Gods Behaving Badly by Marie Philips, which I’m about halfway through. And boy am I enjoying it!

Speaking of funny I do have a couple of humorous novels waiting on the shelves. Sam recommended The Diary of a Nobody so I’ve got that. Matt bought me The Princess Pride for Christmas or was it my birthday? And I got The Eyre Affair from Readitswapit.co.uk. And then I’m stumped are there other humorous novelists that I really should be checking out?

Edit: I meant to say that the other reason funny books where on my mind, apart from GBB, is that the one and only Julian Clary has his debut novel out called Murder Most Fab with a bright pink cover and looks like a laugh.

All this has made me think of funny people who write novels and one I’d make you read if I could would be Flying Under Bridges by Sandi Toksvig.

But that’s my limit on comedians who are also novelists.

Tags: reading lists