Author: Civilian Reader

New WOLFHOUND CENTURY Covers…

Civilian Reader Covers, Upcoming , , , , , , ,

With the third installment fast approaching, Gollancz unveiled today a new cover style for Peter Higgins‘s excellent Wolfhound Century series. And it’s a pretty striking style, to say the least:

Book 1 – Wolfhound Century

HigginsP-WC1-WolfhoundCenturyUK2015

Book 2 – Truth and Fear

HigginsP-WC2-Truth&FearUK2015

Book 3 – Radiant State

HigginsP-WC3-RadiantStateUK

The new editions are due to be published in April 2015. I may have to buy the first two again, so they look all nice on my shelves… I have shared the cover and details for Radiant State already, but I thought it would be nice to have them all together in one place. You can read my review of Wolfhound Century, here. In case you’ve missed the series, here’s the synopsis for the first in the series:

A thousand miles east of Mirgorod, the great capital city of the Vlast, deep in the ancient forest, lies the most recent fallen angel, its vast stone form half-buried and fused into the rock by the violence of impact. As its dark energy leeches into the crash site, so a circle of death expands around it, slowly – inexorably – killing everything it touches. Alone in the wilderness, it reaches out with its mind.

The endless forest and its antique folk lore are no concern to Inspector Vissarion Lom, summoned to the capital in order to catch a terrorist – and ordered to report directly to the head of the secret police. A totalitarian state, worn down by an endless war, must be seen to crush home-grown terrorism with an iron fist. But Lom discovers Mirgorod to be more corrupted than he imagined: a murky world of secret police and revolutionaries, cabaret clubs and doomed artists. Lom has been chosen because he is an outsider, not involved in the struggle for power within the party. And because of the sliver of angel stone implanted in his head at the children’s home.

Lom’s investigation reveals a conspiracy that extends to the top echelons of the party. When he exposes who – or rather what – is the controlling intelligence behind this, it is time for the detective to change sides. Pursued by rogue police agents and their man-crushing mudjhik, Lom must protect Kantor’s step-daughter Maroussia, who has discovered what is hidden beneath police headquarters: a secret so ancient that only the forest remembers. As they try to escape the capital and flee down river, elemental forces are gathering. The earth itself is on the move.

Excerpt: SIGNAL TO NOISE by Silvia Moreno-Garcia (Solaris)

Civilian Reader Excerpt , , , , ,

SIGNAL TO NOISEA new literary fantasy from Silvia Moreno-Garcia, Signal To Noise is a very good novel, and is a story about love (young and not), music and sorcery. Due to be published by Solaris Books in February 2015, the publisher has allowed me to share this excerpt. I’ll post my review later this week. First, here’s the synopsis:

Mexico City, 1988: Long before iTunes or MP3s, you said “I love you” with a mixtape. Meche, awkward and fifteen, has two equally unhip friends — Sebastian and Daniela — and a whole lot of vinyl records to keep her company. When she discovers how to cast spells using music, the future looks brighter for the trio. The three friends will piece together their broken families, change their status as non-entities, and maybe even find love…

Mexico City, 2009: Two decades after abandoning the metropolis, Meche returns for her estranged father’s funeral. It’s hard enough to cope with her family, but then she runs into Sebastian, reviving memories from her childhood she thought she buried a long time ago. What really happened back then? What precipitated the bitter falling out with her father? Is there any magic left? Continue reading →

Upcoming: THE THORN OF DENTONHILL by Marshall Ryan Maresca (DAW)

Civilian Reader Upcoming , , , , , ,

MarescaMR-1-ThornOfDentonhillUSMarshall Ryan Maresca‘s The Thorn of Dentonhill is the first novel in the Maradaine fantasy series. Due to be published on February 3rd, 2015, by DAW Books, it sounds pretty interesting:

Veranix Calbert leads a double life. By day, he’s a struggling magic student at the University of Maradaine. At night, he spoils the drug trade of Willem Fenmere, crime boss of Dentonhill and murderer of Veranix’s father. He’s determined to shut Fenmere down.

With that goal in mind, Veranix disrupts the delivery of two magical artifacts meant for Fenmere’s clients, the mages of the Blue Hand Circle.  Using these power-filled objects in his fight, he quickly becomes a real thorn in Fenmere’s side.

So much so that soon not only Fenmere, but powerful mages, assassins, and street gangs all want a piece of “The Thorn.” And with professors and prefects on the verge of discovering his secrets, Veranix’s double life might just fall apart. Unless, of course, Fenmere puts an end to it first.

I hope to have more about this author and novel in the near future. Watch this space…

Q&A with CATHERINE BAILEY

Civilian Reader Interview , , , , , , ,

BaileyCatherine-AuthorPicCatherine Bailey is the author of The Secret Rooms and Black Diamonds — both histories of the British aristocracy. She read history at Oxford University and is an award-winning television producer and director, making a range of critically acclaimed documentary films inspired by her interest in twentieth century history. Bailey’s US publisher, Penguin, organised this Q&A…

In THE SECRET ROOMS, you explain what drew you to the story of the Rutland family, that you were researching a book on World War I and asked to see the Rutland archives and when there were obvious gaps in the records you decided to devote your attention on uncovering what the family was trying to hide. What brought you to write about Wentworth House and the Fitzwilliam family, and how did you discover that they also had secrets they were trying to keep buried?

I first saw Wentworth House in the late 1990s when I was researching a documentary film in Yorkshire. The size of the house – the largest in Europe – was breathtaking. Here, it seemed, was England’s forgotten palace. Unlike comparable houses, such as Chatsworth or Blenheim, it was closed to the public. Outside its locality, few knew of its existence. Seeing it for the first time, it looked empty and abandoned. The shutters were drawn; its 18th century façade was black with grime and in a poor state of repair. The image was haunting: I wanted to know what had happened there over the centuries, and what had led to its abandonment.

Over the next few years, whenever I could find the time from my work as a television producer, I researched the twentieth century story of Wentworth House. From architectural journals and newspaper articles, I was able to piece together a narrative. In 1900, the house had belonged to William, the 6th Earl Fitzwilliam, the richest man in Britain. His fortune came from coal. Within a 30-mile radius of Wentworth, tens of thousands of men worked in mines in which he had an interest. The Fitzwilliams had powerful connections; in the first decades of the 20th century, the newspapers listed the names of guests at their lavish house parties. They included Kings and Queens, Prime Ministers and politicians, famous musicians, writers and artists. Later, there was a connection to the American Kennedy family. In 1948, Peter, the 8th Earl Fitzwilliam, had been killed in a plane crash with Kathleen Kennedy, the sister of the President. But the details were tantalizingly sketchy; very little appeared to have been written about Wentworth or the Fitzwilliam family. Particularly intriguing, was a photograph, taken in the 1940s, which showed the landscape around the house blighted by open cast mining. Soon after, the Fitzwilliams had moved out. Continue reading →

Upcoming: New UK Editions of Emily St. John Mandel’s Back-Catalogue

Civilian Reader Upcoming , , , , , , ,

Following in the wake of the considerable, absolutely-deserved international success of Station Eleven [review], Picador Books are re-issuing and re-packaging Emily St. John Mandel‘s previous three novels — The Singer’s Gun, Last Night in Montreal, and The Lola Quartet. All three will be published on January 15th, 2015. As someone who enjoyed Station Eleven immensely, I’m looking forward to trying these. They look quite different to her latest novel…

 

MandelESJ-LastNightInMontrealUK2015LAST NIGHT IN MONTREAL (2009)

Lilia has been leaving people behind her entire life. Haunted by her inability to remember her early childhood, and by a mysterious shadow that seems to dog her wherever she goes, Lilia moves restlessly from city to city, abandoning lovers and friends along the way. But then she meets Eli, and he’s not ready to let her go, not without a fight.

*

MandelESJ-SingersGunUK2015THE SINGER’S GUN (2009)

After shaking off an increasingly dangerous venture with his cousin, Anton Waker has spent years constructing an honest life for himself. But then a routine security check brings his past crashing back towards him. His marriage and career in ruins, Anton finds himself in Italy with one last job from his cousin. But there is someone on his tail and they are getting closer…

* 

MandelESJ-LolaQuartetUK2015THE LOLA QUARTET (2012)

The Lola Quartet: Jack, Daniel, Sasha and Gavin, four talented musicians at the end of their high school careers. On the dream-like night of their last concert, Gavin’s girlfriend Anna disappears. Ten years later Gavin sees a photograph of a little girl who looks uncannily like him and who shares Anna’s surname, and suddenly he finds himself catapulted back to a secretive past he didn’t realise he’d left behind. 

But that photo has set off a cascade of dangerous consequences and, as one by one the members of the Lola Quartet are reunited, a terrifying story emerges: of innocent mistakes, of secrecy and of a life lived on the run.

Novella Reviews: RETURN TO HONOR by Brian McClellan and FIRE WATER by Jaye Wells (Orbit)

Civilian Reader Review , , , , , , , , ,

McClellanB-PM-ReturnToHonorBrian McClellan, RETURN TO HONOR

Vlora takes centre stage

Captain Vlora is a powder mage in the Adran army. Once the favored, adopted daughter of the field marshal, she is now a pariah amongst those she called her family. Her superior officers would like nothing more than to send her to a far off posting and forget about her, but no one is exempt when there is a war – and powder mages are desperately needed.

When a traitorous guard captain goes on the run with information that could harm the war effort, Vlora is sent on his trail. She has three days to find him; she will have to make new friends and test the limits of her skills. Fail, and good soldiers will die. Succeed and maybe, just maybe, she can begin to work her way back into the field marshal’s good graces.

Vlora is a character that has spent most of the Powder Mage series on the periphery: following a moment of indiscretion, she has been ostracised by Field Marshal Tamas’s inner circle. Ever since, she has been suffering under Tamas’s withering contempt, and as Taniel’s popularity grows, so too does her isolation among the troops (powder mage and others). In Return to Honor, which takes place after the second novel, The Crimson Campaign, Vlora is given an opportunity to impress Tamas and perhaps reacquire some of his respect. He tasks her to hunt down a survivor from a battle in the aforementioned novel, to recover the intelligence they believe this traitor has stolen, before he has a chance to sell it to their enemies.

It’s another very good story, too: with Vlora at the centre, we see an alternative perspective on life in the army. The action is limited, but the story is more investigative than war-focused. This is one of the great things about McClellan’s short stories: they do a wonderful job of filling out the edges of the story, away from the battlefront. Return to Honor is a great tale to hold you over until the publication of the trilogy’s finale, The Autumn Republic (published on February 10th). Highly recommended.

Powder Mage Series: Promise of Blood [review], The Crimson Campaign [review], The Autumn Republic

Also on CR: Interview with Brian McClellan; Guest Posts “My Favourite Novel” and “Protagonist Ages in Epic Fantasy“

McClellanB-PowderMageTrilogy

*

WellsJ-PW-FireWaterJaye Wells, FIRE WATER

An early case for Kate Prospero

Rookie cop Kate Prospero only has one more training assignment to pass before she’s officially sworn in to Babylon Police Department. But the veteran cop in charge of the river patrol boat is a salty old guy isn’t happy about playing tour guide to a rookie and seems even less interested in real police work. But while on patrol, they stumble on to what appears to be a floating dirty magic lab. This highly combustible situation might finally be the key to these two unlikely partners finding common ground.

This is the first thing by Wells that I’ve read. And it was pretty good: set very early in Kate Prospero’s law enforcement career, she’s still finding her feet in the role, butting heads with the jock recruits who struggle with the idea of a woman on the force, and therefore don’t take her presence seriously. Not only that, she’s an Adept (magically gifted), which only piles on the prejudices and difficulties she faces on a day-to-day basis. Assigned to accompany a cantankerous, aging police officer on river duty, Prospero finds herself on a case, investigating potion sellers. One thing leads to another, and she finds herself right in the thick of it…

I enjoyed this story — Wells’s prose is very clear and well-composed. The characters are interesting, well-written, and varied. They are familiar types, but don’t feel cliched. The story’s pace is good, unhurried, but not plodding. Overall, I couldn’t say the story excited me overmuch, but it did pique my interest to read the novels (which, thankfully, I have). It reminded me of Stacia Kane’s, M.L. Brennan’s, Kevin Hearne’s, and Jim Butcher’s novels in mood and style (while still remaining disctinct, as do these other authors’ works). If you’ve never read anything by Wells, then I think Fire Water is a great introduction. If you’re already a fan of the author and/or the Prospero’s War series, then I think you’ll enjoy this, too. Recommended.

Prospero’s War Series: Dirty Magic, Cursed Moon, Deadly Spells (Feb.10)

WellsJ-ProsperosWar1to3

UK Competition: STEELHEART and FIREFIGHT by Brandon Sanderson!

Civilian Reader Giveaway , , , , , , , ,

Sanderson-Reckoners1&2UK

Those lovely folks at Gollancz have provided a copy of Brandon Sanderson‘s Steelheart and Firefight for me to give away to one lucky reader in the UK. (Sorry to those of you not from the UK… I’ll try to organise an international giveaway ASAP.) Not sure what the series is about? Well, here’s the synopsis for Steelheart:

Ten years ago, Calamity came. It was a burst in the sky that gave ordinary men and women extraordinary powers. The awed public started calling them Epics. But Epics are no friend of man. With incredible gifts came the desire to rule. And to rule man you must crush his wills.

Nobody fights the Epics… nobody but the Reckoners. A shadowy group of ordinary humans, they spend their lives studying Epics, finding their weaknesses, and then assassinating them.

And David wants in. He wants Steelheart – the Epic who is said to be invincible. The Epic who killed David’s father. For years, like the Reckoners, David’s been studying, and planning – and he has something they need. Not an object, but an experience.

He’s seen Steelheart bleed. And he wants revenge.

I enjoyed Steelheart, and also the short story set between the two novels, Mitosis. I’m really looking forward to reading Firefight.

All you have to do to be in with a chance of winning this action-packed bundle is… leave a comment or email me, and I’ll pick the winner at random on Sunday night. The winner will be notified on Monday morning.

Trailer: ANT-MAN — “Is it too late to change the name…?”

Civilian Reader Upcoming, Video , , , ,

Here’s the trailer for Marvel’s upcoming Ant-Man movie:

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xInh3VhAWs8]

Like Paul Rudd’s character at the very end, I’ve always been a bit on the fence about the name… Nevertheless, this looks pretty interesting. I wonder if/how they are going to tie this in with the rest of the Marvel Cinematic Universe — given Michael Douglas’s age, could we see his character appear in the new Agent Carter TV series? That could be cool…

Ant-Man opens in theatres in July 2015. I’m rather looking forward to it.

Review: SO, ANYWAY… by John Cleese (Doubleday)

Civilian Reader Review , , , , , , , , ,

CleeseJ-SoAnywayAn interesting, if surprising biography

Candid and brilliantly funny, this is the story of how a tall, shy youth from Weston-super-Mare went on to become a self-confessed legend. En route, John Cleese describes his nerve-racking first public appearance, at St Peter’s Preparatory School at the age of eight and five-sixths; his endlessly peripatetic home life with parents who seemed incapable of staying in any house for longer than six months; his first experiences in the world of work as a teacher who knew nothing about the subjects he was expected to teach; his hamster-owning days at Cambridge; and his first encounter with the man who would be his writing partner for over two decades, Graham Chapman. And so on to his dizzying ascent via scriptwriting for Peter Sellers, David Frost, Marty Feldman and others to the heights of Monty Python.

Punctuated from time to time with John Cleese’s thoughts on topics as diverse as the nature of comedy, the relative merits of cricket and waterskiing, and the importance of knowing the dates of all the kings and queens of England, this is a masterly performance by a former schoolmaster.

This biography was not at all what I was expecting. For one thing, Monty Python plays a relatively tiny part in the story. Instead of So, Anyway…, this book could easily have been called “The Road to Monty Python”. Despite this, I found it interesting and, after Cleese moved on to his university days, absolutely engaging. Continue reading →

Interesting Open Road eBook Sale – “Growing Up Magical”

Civilian Reader Random , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

I received the information about this sale from Open Road Media yesterday, and I thought it was an interesting selection of titles. So, I decided to share it here. Click on the image to go through to the publisher’s page:

OpenRoad-GrowingUpMagicalAd

Titles on sale:

I hope to have a couple of excerpts from these titles to share on here in the coming weeks.