NextRead

I am a little behind with my reading pile, which should be no surprise really considering all the marvellous books that there and my reading rate of six books a month. So I might not get through this lot but I’m up for a challenge though it might not be in this exact order.

From last month’s reading pile I have The Ladies of Grace Adieu by Susanna Clarke. I have a feeling that this is going to stay on the shelf though I really should read this before going to see Stardust, which is itself based on a novel by Neil Gaiman, which itself is based on a comic collaboration between Gaiman and Charles Vess. The Ladies of Grace Adieu is a collection of short stories and I’m hoping that it’ll let me into her style gently before tackling the opus that is Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell. Might have to read this is in sips.

I’ve previously mentioned Dead Men’s Boots here and I’ve had to wait a month for it to come near the top of the reading pile and I can’t wait any longer. So this is most likely the next review that is going to appear. The third in a the series featuring the exorcist Felix Castor. Mike Carey appears on camera here. You can find a review of the second book here but you really need to start with The Devil You Know. Thanks to Orbit.

Speaking of exorcists. I do have a soft spot for them. It all started when I spotted The Wine of Angels, which kicks off the Merrily Watkins Mysteries series. Merrily Watkins is a Deliverance Minister (exorcist) and parish priest for the town of Ledwardine as well as a single mother. The other thing that draws me into this series is it’s set a few miles from where I grew up on the English/Welsh border. The horror here is more human in nature even though there are supernatual elements. Phil Rickman has created a cast of strong characters and relationships that are the heart of this series. I’ve got The Ghost of a Smile and Remains of an Altar lined up and the ninth book (The Fabric of Sin) has just come out in Hardback.

Two books from Independent Publishers and both firmly English. Firstly, The Pools by debut writer Bethan Roberts and I think what interested me was ‘Middle England, mid-1980s. The kind of place where nothing ever happens. Except something has happened. A fifteen year old boy called Robert has been killed, down by the pools. And half a dozen lives will come unravelled’. Thanks to Serpent’s Tail.

The second is Gents reissued by The Friday Project. The blurb:

Ezekiel Murphy has been out of work for some time so starts up his new job as a toilet attendant with great optimism and enthusiasm. When his fellow workers have to explain to him why he will sometimes see two men leaving the same cubicle he is both shocked and bemused. And when the council clamp down on cottaging in the area they all support the campaign with gusto. However, one month later, with takings down alarmingly the three attendants find their jobs on the line, forcing a radical and quite surprising rethink.

Gents is a genuinely life-affirming novel which addresses the serious issues of race, sexuality and tolerance with skill and humour. Originally published in 1997, it deserves to be viewed as a modern classic.

The Electric Church I’ve also mentioned before. It’s had a lot of reviews already - here, here and here . If I’m honest I’m a little apprehensive as I’m not sure the hype can live up to the book. The blurb:

The fastest growing religion is The Electric Church, and their army of Monks and assassins slowly convert the populus. Unknown to them, this is actually a death sentence. When hit man Avery Cates is tapped for “conversion” he must find a way to slip under the Church’s all-encompassing radar.

There are a couple of others The Waking, also mentioned here. I’ve got the sequel to the wonderful Already Dead, No Dominion, which I’m also excited about. There is more but I’ve run out of time with this post.

More soon.

Tags: 7/10, reading lists, shelf copy

Title: The Atrocity Archives
Author: Charles Stross
Publisher: Orbit
Published: 2007
Price: £6.99
Shelf Copy

Charles Stross is a very prolific writer but this is my first chance to sample his very active imagination. And what an imagination: we have terrorists, Nazis, horrors from other dimensions, secret government departments, and a techie called Bob who’s just started Active Service.

Stross has created a fully believable world where technology is basis of magic and advanced maths can open holes in the universe. Shh it’s a secret.

Bob Howard is not James Bond thank god but he does have a few gadgets up his sleeve and a beautiful and intelligent girl to save, bad guys to chase and the tentacles of the Lovecraftian horrors to fight off whilst dealing with office politics and an computer audit.

The strengths in The Atrocity Archives are not only the use of ideas, which is both creative and grounded in scientific theory, but also the characterisation of the people in The Laundry (the secret government department).

It’s not really a complete novel. It is two stories bundled together. We have the fuller length ‘The Atrocity Archives’ and the episodic ‘The Concrete Jungle’. ‘The Atrocity Archives’ does all the hard work by setting everything up and ‘The Concrete Jungle’ shows Bob at work. Both enjoyable and I like the additional story as it feels like a bonus tale. And shows the potential of both the format and the character.

There are a few words of warning.

It does get very techie at times. This is partly due to the nature of the character of Bob who is also the narrator but also, I think, that Stross can’t help himself sharing what he knows. And he knows a lot!

It’s not completely polished. There are some niggling rough bits that I’ll forgive as I feel that Stross will get better and better as I work through his more recent works (This novel was written in 1999/2000.) He shows bags of potential and energy which is occasional misdirected. And I hope that he’ll revisit the actual Atrocity Archives in much more detail in a future book as there was a lot left to explore/explain.

Overall, if you’re a fan of occult tales with a techno-thriller twist this is a book for you. And if you’ve enjoyed of the Indiana Jones Nazis’ or Hellboy you’ll enjoy this too. And if anything in this review sparked your interest go get it. You’ll like it.

Tags: Bookshelf, horror, reading lists, shelf copy

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