Year: 2015

UK Cover: WHEN THE HEAVENS FALL by Marc Turner (Titan Books)

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TurnerM-1-WhenTheHeavensFallUKI shared the US information about Marc Turner‘s upcoming debut fantasy novel, When the Heavens Fall, last month. Now, after the SciFi Now exclusive reveal, I can share the UK details and cover (right). The novel is due to be published in the UK by Titan Books on May 22nd, 2015. Here’s the synopsis:

Shroud is the Lord of the Dead.

Long ago he hid the Book of Lost Souls, a terrifying repository of unspeakable power, able to give its owner dominion over the fallen. For ages this perilous tome has been in the secret keeping of the mages of Erin Elal.

But when the renegade mage Mayot absconds with the Book and takes it deep into the haunted Forest of Sighs to decode its secrets, tendrils of death-magic snake out from its ancient pages. Spirits awaken. The dead rise. And the living face a war unlike any ever waged.

Into this dark vortex are swept four intrepid souls, each with their own agenda, their own cause, their own ghosts:

Luke, the betrayer and bitter former Guardian of Erin Elal, who is coerced into going after the book for his corrupt emperor; Romany, the high priestess of the goddess Spider, Shroud’s greatest rival, whose webs of deceit ensnared Mayot into stealing the Book in the first place; Ebon, heir to the throne of Galitia, who fights for his sanity and his realm against an onslaught of restless spirits; and Parolla, a deadly and resourceful young woman who seeks a direct confrontation with Shroud in order to settle an old debt.

Check back in mid-May for an interview with the author.

Quick Review: HEAD OF STATE by Andrew Marr (Fourth Estate/Overlook)

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MarrA-HeadOfStateUKA British political satire

It’s September 2017, and the United Kingdom is on the verge of a crucial referendum that will determine, once and for all, if the country remains a member of the European Union, or goes its own way. The stakes could not possibly be higher, and the outcome is delicately balanced.

But, unsuspected by the electorate, and unknown to all but a handful of members of the Prime Minister’s innermost circle, there is a shocking secret at the very heart of government that, were it to become known, would change everything in an instant. A group of ruthlessly determined individuals will stop at nothing – including murder – to prevent that from happening.

I have been familiar with Andrew Marr’s non-fiction work for years — his radio show has been a staple in my household for a long time. Therefore, when I learned that Marr had written a tongue-in-cheek political novel, I was very interested to read it. Head of State is an interesting, short novel; well-written and packed with insider knowledge. It was also, sadly, a little uneven. Continue reading →

New Books: March #1

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StrokeTheBooks

Or, “Lordy, 2015 is shaping up to be an incredible year for books…”

Featuring: John Joseph Adams, Richard Beard, Paul Beatty, Patricia Briggs, Col Buchanan, John Connelly, Rjurik Davidson, Joshua Gaylord, Dave Gross, Kazuo Ishiguro, Edan Lepucki, Robert Levy, Tom Lloyd, George R.R. Martin & Gardener Dozois, Stephen Metcalfe, Kristen Painter, Alastair Reynolds, Kim Stanley Robinson, V.E. Schwab, Lavie Tidhar, Marc Turner Continue reading →

Upcoming: THE LIAR’S KEY by Mark Lawrence (Ace/Voyager)

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LawrenceM-RQW2-LiarsKeyUS

I’m a big fan of Mark Lawrence‘s novels. His debut, Prince of Thorns (published in 2011) blew me away, and I blitzed through it in just two sittings. King of Thorns, the sequel, was a heftier beast, but no less good. I haven’t managed to get around to Emperor of Thorns, just yet, but I do intend to do so ASAP. He has since completed his first trilogy and begun a second, parallel trilogy set in the same world and at the same time. The cover for the second novel in this new trilogy, The Liar’s Key now has UK (below) and US (above) covers.

After harrowing adventure and near-death, Prince Jalan Kendeth and the Viking Snorri ver Snagason find themselves in possession of Loki’s Key, an artefact capable of opening any door, and sought by the most dangerous beings in the Broken Empire — including The Dead King.

Jal wants only to return home to his wine, women, and song, but Snorri has his own purpose for the key: to find the very door into death, throw it wide, and bring his family back into the land of the living.

And as Snorri prepares for his quest to find death’s door, Jal’s grandmother, the Red Queen continues to manipulate kings and pawns towards an endgame of her own design…

The Broken Empire trilogy includes Prince of Thorns, King of Thorns and Emperor of Thorns.

The Red Queen’s War trilogy includes Prince of Fools, The Liar’s Key and The Wheel of Osheim (2016).

The Liar’s Key is published in the US by Ace Books, on June 2nd, 2015; and in the UK by Voyager, on June 18th, 2015.

Also on CR: Interview with Mark Lawrence

LawrenceM-RQW2-LiarsKeyUK

Review: KNIGHT’S SHADOW by Sebastien de Castell (Jo Fletcher Books)

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deCastell-2-KnightsShadowUKThe highly-anticipated sequel to Traitor’s Blade

Tristia is a nation overcome by intrigue and corruption. The idealistic young King Paelis is dead and the Greatcoats – legendary travelling magistrates who brought justice to the Kingdom – have been branded as traitors. But just before his head was impaled on a spike, the King swore each of his hundred and forty-four Greatcoats to a different mission.

Falcio Val Mond, First Cantor, with the help of fellow Greatcoats Kest and Brasti, has completed his King’s final task: he has found his Charoites – well, one at least, and she was not quite what they expected. Now they must protect the girl from the many who would see her dead, and place her on the throne of a lawless kingdom. That would be simple enough, if it weren’t for the Daishini, an equally legendary band of assassins, getting in their way, not to forget the Dukes who are determined to hold on to their fractured Kingdoms, or the fact that the heir to the throne is only thirteen years old. Oh, and the poison that is slowly killing Falcio.

That’s not even mentioning the Greatcoat’s Lament…

Sebastien de Castell’s debut, Traitor’s Blade, is one of my favourite novels from 2014 — it was fast-paced, swashbuckling, interesting and well-written. It brought back some of the fun to fantasy, while remaining somewhat (grim)dark. It was with much anticipation, therefore, that I dove in to Knight’s Shadow very shortly after I got my hands on a copy. Right from the start, we learn that this is a far more substantial, ambitious novel.
Continue reading →

Video: “He For She in Science Fiction”

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The video above was put together by Open Road Media, and I thought it was interesting.

The past year has been a crucial one for female writers of science fiction. Discussions in the world of science fiction authors, editors, and fans about women writing in the genre, winning awards, and being recognized in fandom often carried a certain defiant tone, followed by a frustration that women in science fiction still have to prove themselves at all.

In light of the He for She movement, a UN project aimed at encouraging men to speak up for women in a bid of solidarity and support, Open Road Media asked male science fiction authors to discuss how women have been portrayed in science fiction, and their own favorite female science fiction authors.

The video features a great selection of authors (published in eBook by Open Road). Here’s the description from the YouTube page:

“The purpose of a woman” in ’50s science fiction “was to make the man look good,” laments Todd McCaffrey, son, co-author, and biographer to his mother, revered science fiction and fantasy author Anne McCaffrey. He goes on: “And scream when the bug-eyed monsters came in. My mother hated that trope; and she said, you know, ‘If a bug-eyed monster was invading my home, I’d find the nearest frying pan and beat the crap out of him!’”

Along with McCaffrey, Science Fiction Grand Master Samuel R. Delany, Joe Haldeman, Simon R. Green, Ian R. MacLeod, and Ian McDonald discuss how women have been portrayed in science fiction, in light of the He for She movement. These men also share their thoughts about their female role models in the genre; groundbreaking female science fiction authors like Ursula K. Le Guin, Octavia E. Butler, and Andre Norton.

“The most important political problem in the modern world is the position of women…” says Samuel R. Delany. “Something has got to be done about it.”

Wendig’s MIRIAM BLACK Gets New Covers

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Wendig-MiriamBlack-1to3AR

I was rather fond of the original cover for Chuck Wendig‘s third Miriam Black novel, The Cormorant. The first two covers were pretty interesting, too, if a tad on the busier side (above) – all three were done by Joey Hi-Fi. Today, the author unveiled the new covers for the soon-to-be-published Simon & Schuster editions of the series (below), by Adam S. Doyle. They are also very nice (and may well appeal to a wider audience), but I think I still prefer that third Joey Hi-Fi cover…

Wendig-MiriamBlack-1to3SS.jpg

I never got around to reading these novels when they were originally published by Angry Robot Books. These re-issues do give me a good excuse to finally read them. I don’t know anything about the television series mentioned in the top right corner of each of the new covers, though.

Here’s the synopsis for Blackbirds:

Miriam Black knows when you will die.

She’s foreseen hundreds of car crashes, heart attacks, strokes, and suicides.

But when Miriam hitches a ride with Louis Darling and shakes his hand, she sees that in thirty days Louis will be murdered while he calls her name. Louis will die because he met her, and she will be the next victim.

No matter what she does she can’t save Louis. But if she wants to stay alive, she’ll have to try.

Simon & Schuster are re-issuing the first three novels, and have also commissioned three more. The release schedules are: first three eBooks on April 21st, Blackbirds (September 28th), Mockingbird (October 6th), The Cormorant (yet to be confirmed), Thunderbird (2016).

Review: MEMORY MAN by David Baldacci (Grand Central)

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BaldacciD-AD1-MemoryManUSAn engaging new thriller with an interesting new detective

Amos Decker’s life changed forever — twice.

The first time was on the gridiron. A big, towering athlete, he was the only person from his hometown of Burlington ever to go pro. But his career ended before it had a chance to begin. On his very first play, a violent helmet-to-helmet collision knocked him off the field for good, and left him with an improbable side effect — he can never forget anything. 

The second time was at home nearly two decades later. Now a police detective, Decker returned from a stakeout one evening and entered a nightmare — his wife, young daughter, and brother-in-law had been murdered.

His family destroyed, their killer’s identity as mysterious as the motive behind the crime, and unable to forget a single detail from that horrible night, Decker finds his world collapsing around him. He leaves the police force, loses his home, and winds up on the street, taking piecemeal jobs as a private investigator when he can.

But over a year later, a man turns himself in to the police and confesses to the murders. At the same time a horrific event nearly brings Burlington to its knees, and Decker is called back in to help with this investigation. Decker also seizes his chance to learn what really happened to his family that night. To uncover the stunning truth, he must use his remarkable gifts and confront the burdens that go along with them. He must endure the memories he would much rather forget. And he may have to make the ultimate sacrifice.

I have reviewed many of Baldacci’s novels on CR, and loved pretty much all of them. I’ve read all of his novels since The Camel Club, and have also read almost all of his earlier ones. Each new series, each new character has been distinct from previous protagonists. Up until now, though, they have all been very much in the same mould: heroes, strong characters, some might say All-American. In Memory Man, Baldacci has tried something new — and successfully so. This is a very interesting mystery. Continue reading →

Guest Review: THE LASCAR’S DAGGER by Glenda Larke (Orbit)

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LarkeG-1-LascarsDaggerA good start to a new series

Faith will not save him

Saker looks like a simple priest, but in truth he’s a spy for the head of his faith. It’s a dangerous job, and more lives than merely his own depend on his secrecy.

When Saker is wounded by a Lascar sailor’s blade, the weapon seems to follow him home. Unable to discard it, nor the sense of responsibility that comes with it, Saker can only follow its lead.

It will put him on a journey to strange shores, on a path that will reveal terrible secrets about the empire, about the people he saves, and likely lead to his own destruction. The Lascar’s dagger demands a price, and that price will be paid in blood.

Reviewed by Ryan Frye

From the blurb provided above, I honestly had some doubts about reading Glenda Larke’s The Lascar’s Dagger. Buzz words like spies, magical daggers, and empires harboring dark secrets give rise to a few red flags for this reviewer. I’ve never gotten into the whole bad-ass hooded assassin thing. And empires/kingdoms with dark secrets, and sketchy politics have become ubiquitous within the epic fantasy genre. As a result, I try to outright avoid, or at least limit to some degree those genre themes in my fantasy reading. That being said, I’d read some positive reviews of the book from trusted sources, and I had a feeling that I needed to give this book a shot. I’m glad I listened to that feeling. Continue reading →

New Greatcoats Competition from Jo Fletcher Books

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deCastell-2-KnightsShadowUKToday marks the release of Knight’s Shadow, the highly-anticipated follow-up to Sebastien de Castell‘s debut, Traitor’s Blade. To celebrate, Jo Fletcher Books are running a competition on their website.

There is a test every magistrate must take before becoming a Greatcoat – it comes in the form of a puzzle from a very old book called Peritas Aequitum, which literally means Perils of Justice. It’s quite possible that this book was the original text used to train the very first Greatcoats in centuries past.

This puzzle asks the examinee to decide the outcome of a case for which Tristia’s complex laws provide several different — equally valid — legal outcomes. The Greatcoat confronted by this situation is thus forced to render a verdict even though any choice they make is guaranteed to make matters worse…

To be in with a chance to win a copy of the new novel, head on over to JFB’s website for full details on how to win. In the meantime, here’s the synopsis for the novel:

Tristia is a nation overcome by intrigue and corruption. The idealistic young King Paelis is dead and the Greatcoats – legendary travelling magistrates who brought justice to the Kingdom – have been branded as traitors. But just before his head was impaled on a spike, the King swore each of his hundred and forty-four Greatcoats to a different mission. 

Falcio Val Mond, First Cantor, with the help of fellow Greatcoats Kest and Brasti, has completed his King’s final task: he has found his Charoites – well, one at least, and she was not quite what they expected. Now they must protect the girl from the many who would see her dead, and place her on the throne of a lawless kingdom. That would be simple enough, if it weren’t for the Daishini, an equally legendary band of assassins, getting in their way, not to forget the Dukes who are determined to hold on to their fractured Kingdoms, or the fact that the heir to the throne is only thirteen years old. Oh, and the poison that is slowly killing Falcio.

That’s not even mentioning the Greatcoat’s Lament…

I already have a copy of the novel, and I intend to start it ASAP – either next, or next-but-one.

Also on CR: Interview with Sebastien de Castell; Guest Post “Where Writers Get Their Groove”; Review of Traitor’s Blade