NextRead

There’s more. To be honest there is always more. But these look like good reads. I’ve got some and some are waiting on my Amazon.co.uk wishlist.

If is a current theme in my reading it has to be life and death and how to avoid dying. In The Dreaming Void they have several ways of avoiding it from digitising themselves, using bionic enhancements to genetic resequencing. The Electric Church offers the chance salvation set in a world that has enforced Unification tearing down national border and governments though everything may not be as it seems. This looks like a promising debut. Jeff Somers is interviewed here and The Electric Church already has reviews in The Guardian, and Pat’s Fantasy Hotlist plus there’ll be a review in this parish soonish thanks to Orbit.

Speaking of living forever The Waking is a debut thriller where Dr Nate Sheehan is brought back to life sixty four years after his murder in a body from a mysterious donor. A journalist blows the cover on this sensational story which threatens to explose the identity of the donor and unravel the truth behind Sheehan’s murder. It has a great quote from Mo Hayder - ‘Riveting. Think Tess Gerritsen meets Philip K. Dick.’ It also just a great review in SFX. Look for a review here soon thanks to Pan.

There are a few more debuts to mention.

Heart Sick by Chelsea Cain come to my attention via Fantasy Book Critic. And it does sound a little too dark for me so I’m apprehensive about reading it. I’m a fan of crime fiction with pre-Blow Fly Cornwell, and John Connolly a couple of my faves. Though they seem tame compared to the promise here. Getchen Lowell inflicted ten days of psychological and physical torture on the detective who was hunting her before handing herself in. Two years later the same detective needs Lowell’s help to catch killer. Very Silence of the Lambs. They’re be a review of this too. Thanks to Pan again.

Back to fantasy with The Name of the Wind. This debut by Patrick Rothfuss has just won a Quill Book Award in the Science Fiction/Fantasy/Horror category. Not a bad start to a career. There’s a review again on Pat’s Fantasy Hotlist. Aidan Moher seems to be his biggest fan with lots and lots of related posts on his blog including an interview. Part one is here. His review says:

“Fans of typical High Fantasy full of sword fighting, action, huge battles and liberal use of magic may be disappointed in The Name of the Wind, but those looking for a deep, character driven look into the early days of a legend in the making, will find something to be excited about.”

Though part of me is wondering how many starts to new fantasy sequences can one reader take?

I saw a review this morning that had me almost driving to Borders at lightning speed. It was for Something Borrowed by Paul Magrs. It has a fun slightly retro cover. This seems like a sequel to Never the Bride. At least I hope it is otherwise I’ve ordered the wrong one. What got so excited? I’m just going to share the blurb:

“Brenda has had a long and eventful life and she has come to Whitby to run a B&B in search of some peace and quiet. She and her best friend Effie like nothing better than going out for tea at the Walrus and the Carpenter or dinner at Cod Almighty and keeping their eyes open for any of the mysterious goings on in town. And what with satanic beauty salons, more than illegal aliens, roving psychic investigators and the frankly terrifying owner of the Christmas Hotel there are no shortage of nefarious shenanigans to keep them interested. But the oddest thing in Whitby may well be Brenda herself. With her terrible scars, her strange lack of a surname or the fact that she takes two different shoe sizes, Brenda should have known that people as, well, unique as she is, just aren’t destined for a quiet life.”

I know that it’s the execution that makes things work but oh my there is a lot of promise here. The other point is that I want to know how it compares to a novel-in-progress my mate has been writing about a place, Westwell, which has some similar strange things going on. On a slow boat from Amazon.

Here is another series that’s picking up massive speed and due to a recent cover revamp I’m getting swung towards it though ships and dragons aren’t really my thing. Temeraire by debut writer Naomi Novik has just won the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer for best new science fiction writer of 2006. And there are three more available for you to tuck into right now. If you’re quick you can also win a set here if you live in North America.

Speaking of award winners another debut that has been making waves is out in paperback in the UK this week. Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn won the CWA New Blood Fiction Dagger 2007 a prize that The Good Thief’s Guide to Amsterdam probably should have been up for.

The Judges’ comments:

‘This was a novel characterized by its vivid and poetic writing. A superb sense of character with an imaginative treatment of the reasons for and the problems of self-harm.’

There is also a quote from Stephen King on the cover. Looking like she’s an author to watch. On a slow boat from Amazon.

And finally we have The Jennifer Morgue by the prolific Charles Stross. I love the description on its Wiki page ‘The stories are Lovecraftian spy thrillers involving a secret British intelligence agency known as “The Laundry”, which deals with occult events and technology.‘ I loved The Atrocity Archives and I have high hopes for the next episodes. Look for review thanks to Orbit.

There’s more but those will do for now.

Tags: reading lists