Featuring: Valerie Babb, RJ Barker, Jonathan D. Beer, Scott Eyman, Chris Hadfield, Darius Hinks, J. Robert Lennon, John Sargent, Martha Wells

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Valerie Babb, THE BOOK OF JAMES (PublicAffairs)

A cultural exploration into the life, legacy and enduring impact of basketball legend LeBron James.

No athlete is referenced as frequently in commentaries on Black politics as  LeBron James. The NBA all-star, gold medal Olympian, four time NBA champion, and four-time finals MVP has been a pivotal figure in both the culture and politics of basketball. Despite his unmatched skill, success and popularity, James has never been fully free from the entrenched racism and anti-blackness in American life. His story, of both success and adversity, represents a larger story of how conflicts and tensions off the court always make it into the game and how athletes of color reckon with their ascent to fame while still living in a deeply racist society.

In The Book of James, Valerie Babb examines his evolution from a basketball protégé to social activist.  Every day it becomes more apparent that basketball stardom is just the first step in the evolution of one of the most celebrated presences in modern American culture. This book considers the peaks and pitfalls of his route to this prominence as well as what separates his outspokenness from previous athletes. The Book of James is timely in its examination of his impact on national race discourse.

The result is a unique blend of memoir, biography and criticism that brings into focus the role of athletes in shaping and altering public discourse while simultaneously pushing the boundaries of their sport.

This is the second of two LeBron James biographies out in 2023 — the first is LeBron by Jeff Benedict, which was published back in April. Babb’s biography is out in November, and I decided to read this one first. I got through it pretty quickly, and there’s plenty of very good stuff in here — the discussion of politics, social justice, etc., is very good and well-presented. I was a little surprised, though, at how the book wouldn’t have been changed that much if you’d removed LeBron from the narrative. He seems like a rather thin hook on which to hang this overall discussion. Similarly, I was a little disappointed in the way LeBron is portrayed: as infallible. There is no criticism, and only one instance of hedging to suggest that James has done anything other than masterfully achieved everything, always, through his own brilliance. Never a mistake, never a second-guess, and he has never been wrong. I would be stunned if he thought this about himself, and I think Babb’s points would have had greater impact if she’d incorporated James’s own learning process into the book — he arrived on the world stage at 17! Surely it makes more sense to cover his (and his Four Horsemen’s) growth into their roles as star, business successes, etc.?A missed opportunity. The Book of James is due to be published by PublicAffairs in North America and in the UK.

Follow the Author: Goodreads
Review copy received via Edelweiss

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RJ Barker, GODS OF WYRDWOOD (Orbit)

Ours is a land of many gods, and we are a people with the ability to pick the worst of them.

Cahan du Nahare is known as the forester — a man who can navigate the dangerous Deepforest like no one else. But once he was more. Once he belonged to the god of fire.

Udinny serves the goddess of the lost, a goddess of small things; when she ventures into the Deepforest to find a lost child, Cahan will be her guide. But in a land where territory is won and lost for uncaring gods, where temples of warrior monks pit one prophet against another — Cahan will need to choose the forest or the fire — and his choice will have consequences for his entire world.

The first in a new series by the author of the acclaimed Wounded Kingdom and Tide Child series. This one is already getting some pretty great reviews from the book-press, and as I enjoyed the author’s other work I’m very much looking forward to giving this a try. Gods of Wyrdwood is out now, published by Orbit Books in North America and in the UK.

Also on CR: Interviews with RJ Barker — 2017 and 2020; The Bone Ships Annotated Excerpt; Reviews of Age of Assassins, Blood of Assassins, and King of Assassins

Follow the Author: Website, Goodreads, Instagram, Twitter
Review copy received via NetGalley

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Jonathan D. Beer, THE KING OF THE SPOIL (Black Library)

Delve into the lawless underbelly of the vast city of Varangantua in this fantastic Warhammer Crime novel.

Within the vast sprawl of Varangantua lies the Spoil. It is a broken crossroads, forsaken by the Lex, abandoned by the city’s uncaring masters, where the only choice is a slow death in the manufactories, or a quick one on the street.

And it is in turmoil.

Andreti Sorokin, the gangster king whose vicious rule brought order to the Spoil, is dead, slain in the most brutal fashion.

Melita Voronova, skilled info-broker and reluctant agent of the imperious Valtteri cartel, is tasked with uncovering the mystery of who killed Sorokin, and preventing his fragile alliance of thugs and narco-pushers from collapsing into chaos.

As street-blades clash and gang leaders turn against one another, Melita’s instincts tell her there is a larger conspiracy at work. Someone has created this crisis not merely to disrupt the Spoil, but to overturn the foundations of Varangantua itself.

The latest novel in Black Library’s Warhammer Crime/WH40k series, set in the sprawling metropolis of Varagantua. It is also the first novel for Black Library by Jonathan D. Beer, who has previously written a handful of Warhammer Crime short stories (collected in the various anthologies the publisher has released). As someone who reads more Crime/Thriller/Mystery fiction than any other genre, while also being a big fan of the BL settings, it’s odd that I haven’t read more of their Crime books… I started reading it the day I received it, and managed to get through it quite quickly. It’s an interesting — and good — read, albeit one that made me wonder about the “Warhammer Crime” classification. It felt, just a bit, as though the editors and/or author weren’t willing to allow this to be a crime novel set in the WH40k-universe, as opposed to a WH40k novel that happened to be wearing a bit of crime clothing. Nevertheless, I did enjoy it, and Beer offers readers some very interesting and (as far as I’m aware) pretty original approaches to the setting, expanding our understanding of what life is like in an Imperial megacity. The King of the Spoil is due to be published by Black Library in North America and in the UK, on July 6th.

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Review copy received from author

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Scott Eyman, CHARLIE CHAPLIN VS. AMERICA (Simon & Schuster)

The remarkable, must-read story of Charlie Chaplin’s years of exile from the United States during the postwar Red Scare, and how it ruined his film career…

Bestselling Hollywood biographer and film historian Scott Eyman tells the story of Charlie Chaplin’s fall from grace. In the aftermath of World War Two, Chaplin was criticized for being politically liberal and internationalist in outlook. He had never become a US citizen, something that would be held against him as xenophobia set in when the postwar Red Scare took hold.

Politics aside, Chaplin had another problem: his sexual interest in young women. He had been married three times and had had numerous affairs. In the 1940s, he was the subject of a paternity suit, which he lost, despite blood tests that proved he was not the father. His sexuality became a convenient way for those who opposed his politics to condemn him. Refused permission to return to the US from a trip abroad, he settled in Switzerland, and made his last two films in London.

In Charlie Chaplin vs. America, bestselling author Scott Eyman explores the life and times of the movie genius who brought us such masterpieces as City Lights and Modern Times. This is a perceptive, insightful portrait of Chaplin and of an America consumed by political turmoil.

I’ve never read a book about Charlie Chaplin. I’m not even sure if I’ve seen any of his movies — just endless clips and snippets in other works. However, I am interested in learning more about him, so when I saw this available for review I jumped at the chance. Hope to get to it very soon. Charlie Chaplin vs. America is due to be published by Simon & Schuster in North America and in the UK, on October 31st.

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Review copy received via

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Chris Hadfield, THE DEFECTOR (Mulholland)

THE HUNT BEGINS…

Israel, October 1973. As the Yom Kippur War flares into life, a state-of-the-art Soviet MiG fighter plane plummets to an unexpected landing. NASA Flight Controller and former US test pilot Kaz Zemeckis watches from the ground — unaware that its arrival will pull him into a high-stakes game of spies, lies, and secrets that hold the key to Cold War air and space supremacy.

For within that plane is a Soviet pilot pleading to defect, offering a prize beyond value: the workings of the Soviets’ mythical “Foxbat” MiG-25, the fastest, highest-flying fighter plane in the world. But trusting him is risky, and Kaz must tread a careful line. As Kaz accompanies the defector into the United States, to the military’s most secret test site, he must hope that, with skill and cunning, the game plays out his way.

Rich with insider detail and political intrigue drawn from real events, The Defector is a propulsive thriller from a growing master of the genre, filled with the nerve-shredding rush of aerial combat as it could only be told by one of the world’s best fighter pilots.

This is the second novel in Hadfield’s Kaz Zemeckis series (or the Apollo Murders series). Looking forward to reading it (and the one before, which I have somehow managed to leave unread for far too long). The Defector is due to be published by Mulholland Books in North America and Quercus in the UK, on October 10th.

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Review copy received via NetGalley

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Darius Hinks, LEVIATHAN (Black Library)

‘The dream…. it is a portent… of the end.’

The fortress world of Regium has a proud history, For millennia, it has endured when others have fallen to ruin and damnation, standing defiant in defence of the Imperium of Man. But now it is shaken. Parasitic plagues run rampant, and Regium’s citizens are haunted by dreams of horrific monsters feasting upon their flesh and marrow.

Lieutenant Castamon of the Ultramarines recognises these signs of an impending Tyranid invasion all too well. Rallying his warriors, the battle-hardened veteran launches a strike force to slaughter the xenos in the outer system, before it can reach Regium. But as this new tendril of Hive Fleet Leviathan proves unpredictable and deadly, Castamon and the First Company must harness all their skill, might, and zeal, or face utter annihilation.

The latest novel that chronicles the events of the new edition of Games Workshop’s primary property, Warhammer 40,000. Previous novels that have fulfilled the function of “introduction-to-the-meta-background” have ranged from OK to pretty good. Hinks has a long and excellent track-record with Black Library fiction, though, so I’m expecting this to be better than most of the other new-game-edition tie-in books. Leviathan is out now, published by Black Library in North America and in the UK.

Also on CR: Interview with Darius Hinks (2011); Reviews of Blood of Sanguinius, Revenant Crusade, City of Light, Ghoulslayer, Razumov’s Tomb, and Sigvald

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J. Robert Lennon, HARD GIRLS (Mulholland Books)

Jane Pool likes her safe, suburban existence just fine. She has a house, a family, (an infuriating mother-in-law,) and a quiet-if-unfulfilling administrative job at the local college. Everything is wonderfully, numbingly normal. Yet Jane remains haunted by her past: her mercurial, absent mother, her parents’ secrets, and the act of violence that transformed her life.

When her estranged twin, Lila, makes contact, claiming to know where their mother is and why she left all those years ago, Jane agrees to join her, desperate for answers and the chance to reconnect with the only person who really knew her true self. Yet as the hunt becomes treacherous, and pulls the two women to the earth’s distant corners, they find themselves up against their mother’s subterfuge and the darkness that always stalked their family. Now Jane stands to lose the life she’s made for the one that has been impossible to escape.

Set in both the Pool family’s past and their present, and melding elements of a chase novel, an espionage thriller, and domestic suspense, Hard Girls is an utterly distinctive pastiche — propulsive, mysterious, cracked, intelligent, and unexpected at every turn.

I hadn’t heard about this novel before I spotted it on NetGalley. Sounded interesting, though, and comes with the Mulholland Books stamp of approval (there are very few of their novels that I haven’t liked). Hard Girls is due to be published by Mulholland Books in North America, on February 20th, 2024.

Follow the Author: Website, Goodreads
Review copy received via NetGalley

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John Sargent, TURNING PAGES (Arcade)

Take a peak behind the curtain of some of the biggest publishing moments in the past several decades with forty-year industry veteran John Sargent.

Turning Pages: The Adventures and Misadventures of a Publisher is the well-told story of forty years in the publishing business. For twenty-four of those years, John Sargent ran one of America’s largest publishing companies. Rather than a straight chronological narrative, Sargent uses the best stories of those years to give us an intimate look inside book publishing. In weaving these stories together, he brings the reader with him through triumph and despair, and a very interesting daily life. The reader will meet his odd publishing family, his interesting authors, and the celebrities with whom he worked. Sargent tells the tale of publishing Monica Lewinsky and recounts what it was like to have an author meeting in Buckingham Palace. He takes the reader with him into the Macmillan battles with Amazon, the Department of Justice, and President Donald Trump.

In Turning Pages, the reader will share his occasional pain and seemingly endless joy, from a one room schoolhouse in Wyoming to the Nelson Mandela Foundation in South Africa. Full of humor and grace, this is a book for those who enjoy a good story about a fascinating life. This behind-the-scenes look at some of the biggest moments in publishing over the last several decades is a must-read for every person who loves books and has always wondered about the industry surrounding them.

As someone who long dreamed of working in publishing (but has since drifted away from the industry), I am pretty interested in books about publishing. Sargent has held a number of positions throughout the publishing industry (from a very young age, too), and this memoir sounded potentially really interesting. Hope to read it very soon. Turning Pages is due to be published by Arcade Publishing in North America and in the UK, on November 23rd.

Follow the Author: Goodreads
Review copy received via Edelweiss

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Lavie Tidhar, ADAMA (Head of Zeus)

There is no land without blood — no adama without dam.

In 1946, a young Ruth begins building a new life in Palestine, haunted by the death of her family in Europe and driven by youthful ideals in a land hostile to her presence. Her sister, Shoshana, survives in the Displaced Persons camps of Germany and joins her in Palestine, but dreams of escaping to distant America.

Her lovers, Dov and Israel, die in war and misfortune, and her children try to serve the land Ruth bled for, only to find their own tragic ends or means of escape. As one generation begets another, their lives become entwined into a dark tapestry of secrets and lies, of revenge, forbidden love and murder.

A sweeping historical epic following four generations of a single family as they struggle to hold on to their land and each other.

The latest novel by Lavie Tidhar, another in the same vein as Maror — i.e., more literary and historical. Really looking forward to reading this. (While you’re at it, also check out all of Lavie’s other books.) Adama is due to be published by Head of Zeus in the UK, on September 14th.

Follow the Author: Website, Goodreads, Instagram, Twitter
Review copy received via NetGalley

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Martha Wells, SYSTEM COLLAPSE (Tor.com)

Am I making it worse? I think I’m making it worse.

Everyone’s favorite lethal SecUnit is back.

Following the events in Network Effect, the Barish-Estranza corporation has sent rescue ships to a newly-colonized planet in peril, as well as additional SecUnits. But if there’s an ethical corporation out there, Murderbot has yet to find it, and if Barish-Estranza can’t have the planet, they’re sure as hell not leaving without something. If that something just happens to be an entire colony of humans, well, a free workforce is a decent runner-up prize.

But there’s something wrong with Murderbot; it isn’t running within normal operational parameters. ART’s crew and the humans from Preservation are doing everything they can to protect the colonists, but with Barish-Estranza’s SecUnit-heavy persuasion teams, they’re going to have to hope Murderbot figures out what’s wrong with itself, and fast!

Yeah, this plan is… not going to work.

The highly-anticipated, eighth book in the excellent Murderbot Diaries series! One of my most-anticipated books of the year, I’ll be reading this very soon. is due to be published by Tor.com in North America and in the UK, on November 14th.

Also on CR: Reviews of All Systems Red, Artificial Condition, Rogue Protocol, Exit Strategy, Network Effect, and Fugitive Telemetry

Follow the Author: Website, Goodreads, Instagram, Twitter
Review copy received via NetGalley