Quick Review: THE CUTAWAY by Christina Kovac (37Ink)

January 31, 2017January 29, 2017 Civilian Reader Review 37 Ink, Christina Kovac, Cutaway, Media, Most Anticipated 2017, Mystery, Simon & Schuster, Thriller

An interesting new thriller

When brilliant TV news producer Virginia Knightly receives a disturbing “MISSING” notice on her desk related to the disappearance of a beautiful young attorney, she can’t seem to shake the image from her head. Despite skepticism from her colleagues, Knightly suspects this ambitious young lawyer may be at the heart of something far more sinister, especially since she was last seen leaving an upscale restaurant after a domestic dispute. Yet, as the only woman of power at her station, Knightly quickly finds herself investigating on her own.

Risking her career, her life, and perhaps even her own sanity, Knightly dives deep into the dark underbelly of Washington, DC business and politics in an investigation that will drag her mercilessly through the inextricable webs of corruption that bind the press, the police, and politics in our nation’s capital.

The Cutaway follows a television producer, as she investigates the disappearance of a beautiful Georgetown lawyer. Forced to navigate competing ambitions, entrenched Washington mentalities and suspicions, and maybe something deadlier, it’s an interesting look at the relationship and working practices of the media in Washington, D.C. Continue reading →

Interview with MUR LAFFERTY

January 30, 2017January 29, 2017 Civilian Reader Interview Mur Lafferty, Orbit Books, Sci-Fi, Six Wakes

Let’s start with an introduction: Who is Mur Lafferty?

I’ve really tried to get “Mur Lafferty, Space Ranger” to stick as a nickname, but it’s not working yet. So I’m just Mur, long time podcaster and writer or urban fantasy, space thriller, and Christmas stories. I’m a dog person, a wine person, and a Star Wars person.

Your latest novel, Six Wakes, is published by Orbit. It looks really interesting: How would you introduce it to a potential reader? Is it part of a series?

Six Wakes is a locked room clone murder mystery in space where the characters aren’t sure who the murderer is-including themselves. With its use of flashbacks, it’s been called “LOST in space.” (LOST as in the 2004-2010 deserted island tv show, not Lost In Space with the hand waving robot.)

It’s not part of a series yet, but I do have several places I can go with it. Continue reading →

Upcoming 2017… Mulholland Books

January 27, 2017January 27, 2017 Civilian Reader Upcoming Crime, David Swinson, Felicia Yap, Hachette, Kathleen Kent, Matthew Quirk, Most Anticipated 2017, Mulholland Books, Mystery, Richard Lange, Sarah Lotz, Scott Reardon, Stuart Prebble, Thriller

Mulholland Books is one of my favourite publishers, releasing a whole range of excellent thrillers and fiction. Here are a few upcoming novels I’m looking forward to — I’m sure there are more, but these are the only ones I could find information about.

Featuring: Kathleen Kent, Richard Lange, Sarah Lotz, Stuart Prebble, Matthew Quirk, Scott Reardon, David Swinson, Felicia Yap

Continue reading →

Quick Review: WINTER OF THE GODS by Jordanna Max Brodsky (Orbit)

January 27, 2017January 26, 2017 Civilian Reader Review Jordanna Max Brodsky, Most Anticipated 2017, Mystery, Mythology, Olympus Bound, Orbit Books, Urban Fantasy, Winter of the Gods

Is someone killing the gods in New York…?

Manhattan has many secrets. Some are older than the city itself.

Winter in New York: snow falls, lights twinkle, and a very disgruntled Selene DiSilva prowls the streets, knowing that even if she doesn’t look for trouble, it always finds her.

When a dead body is discovered sprawled atop Wall Street’s iconic Charging Bull statue, it’s up to Selene to hunt down the perpetrators. Her ancient skills make her the only one who can track a conspiracy that threatens the very existence of the gods, Selene — once known as Artemis — among them.

Jordanna Max Brodsky’s debut novel, The Immortals was a great surprise last year: it brilliantly blended Greek mythology and crime fiction, imaginatively updating the former. It was one of my favourite novels of 2016. Winter of the Gods builds on the new mythology, and offers the gods a new, deadly challenge. Continue reading →

Quick Reviews: EXTINCTION and FATESPINNER (Black Library)

January 26, 2017January 26, 2017 Civilian Reader Review Aaron Dembski-Bowden, Black Legion, Black Library, Chris Wraight, Extinction, Fatespinner, Sci-Fi, Short Story, Thousand Sons, WH40k

Two new Chaos Marine short stories.

EXTINCTION by Aaron Dembski-Bowden

The Sons of Horus are hunted by their brothers…

The Horus Heresy is over. The traitorous Warmaster is dead, his allies defeated, and the Sons of Horus are a dying Legion, fled now to the furthest reaches of the galaxy… and beyond. First Captain Ezekyle Abaddon, always among the most devoted and bellicose of his brethren, is now set adrift – who will rise to claim the title of Warmaster? Who will lead them in their long war for vengeance? And will that hallowed champion of the Ruinous Powers be able to reunite the old XVIth before they embrace extinction?

This is an interesting short story, continuing Dembski-Bowden’s growing Black Legion story. This one is set shortly after the collapse of the Horus Heresy, and is made up of a series of vignettes: in each, Sons of Horus legionnaires are being hunted down by their former brothers (traitors and loyalist). Abaddon doesn’t feature as much as I had expected, but he makes an interesting appearance at the end. Extinction doesn’t move the story along too much, but it’s a good piece to keep our interest high in advance of the next novel in the series, Black Legion. [If you haven’t already, I’d recommend reading The Talon of Horus, which started the series with a bang.]

Extinction at Black Library, Amazon (UK)

FATESPINNER by Chris Wraight

The Thousand Sons be tricksy…

In the underhive depths of Rigo V, the Sorcerers Ramon and Phaelius of the Thousand Sons seek proscribed knowledge. They are hunted, these witches, by the Rune Priest Thorskir who has tracked them across the length and breadth of the galaxy. At last after an arduous search, Thorskir has found where his prey will be and means to end them. But the plans of those allied to the Great Architect of Fate are not so easy to unbind and a secret lurks beneath Rigo V, one that has been long in the devising, a twist of fate and a plan so foul it is worthy of Tzeentch itself.

This is an interesting story. I’ve always liked the Thousand Sons Legion, and Fatespinner has everything one could want from them: daemons, sorcery, a great twist. Wraight’s writing continues to get better, and this is perhaps one of his best short stories. I would certainly be interested in reading more stories (short or novel-length) featuring Ramon and Phaelius. An excellent, highly recommended story — all fans of WH40k fiction should read it, and it’s a must for fans of Tzeentch and the Thousand Sons.

Fatespinner at Black Library, Amazon (UK)

Review: ALL OUR WRONG TODAYS by Elan Mastai (Doubleday)

January 26, 2017 Civilian Reader Review All Our Wrong Todays, Doubleday Canada, Dutton, Elan Mastai, Fiction, Literary, Most Anticipated 2017, Must Read 2017, Penguin UK, Sci-Fi, Time-Travel

An excellent debut novel, one of the first must reads of 2017

There’s no such thing as the life you’re “supposed” to have.

You know the future that people in the 1950s imagined we’d have? Well, it happened. In Tom Barren’s 2016, humanity thrives in a techno-utopian paradise of flying cars, moving sidewalks and moon bases, where avocados never go bad and punk rock never existed… because it wasn’t necessary.

Except Tom just can’t seem to find his place in this dazzling, idealistic world, and that’s before his life gets turned upside down. Utterly blindsided by an accident of fate, Tom makes a rash decision that drastically changes not only his own life but the very fabric of the universe itself. In a time-travel mishap, Tom finds himself stranded in our 2016, what we think of as the real world. For Tom, our normal reality seems like a dystopian wasteland.

But when he discovers wonderfully unexpected versions of his family, his career and — maybe, just maybe — his soulmate, Tom has a decision to make. Does he fix the flow of history, bringing his utopian universe back into existence, or does he try to forge a new life in our messy, unpredictable reality? Tom’s search for the answer takes him across countries, continents and timelines in a quest to figure out, finally, who he really is and what his future — our future — is supposed to be.

Elan Mastai is the writer of, among other things, The F Word — a movie set in Toronto that I found utterly charming and amusing. When I discovered that he’d written a novel, I immediately tried to get a review copy. I eventually did (thank you, Doubleday!), and I am delighted to report that the novel did not disappoint. All Our Wrong Todays is an endearing, amusing, thought-provoking novel. Certainly, it is one of the year’s first must-reads. Continue reading →

Upcoming 2017… William Morrow

January 25, 2017 Civilian Reader Upcoming Christopher Farnsworth, Don Winslow, Glen Erik Hamilton, Greg Iles, Harper Collins, Matt Richtel, Most Anticipated 2017, Sheena Kamal, Simon Toyne, Thriller, William Morrow

Here’s a little more than a handful of highly-anticipated upcoming novels from William Morrow. I’m sure there will be more added as the year progresses, but these stood out for me at the time of writing.

Featuring: Christopher Farnsworth, Glen Erik Hamilton, Greg Iles, Sheena Kamal, Matt Richtel, Simon Toyne, Don Winslow

Continue reading →

Upcoming 2017… Saga Press

January 25, 2017January 25, 2017 Civilian Reader Upcoming Annie Wu, Catherynne M Valente, Joe Zieja, Kat Howard, Michael Moorcock, Mike Brooks, Mishell Baker, Most Anticipated 2017, R.E. Stearns, Saga Press, Simon & Schuster, Stina Leicht, Witch Who Came in From the Cold, Zachary Brown

I still have a few more of these Upcoming 2017 posts to do. While browsing Edelweiss catalogues, I was reminded of Saga Press novels I was looking forward to, so here are just a few that caught my eye.

Featuring: Mishell Baker, Mike Brooks, Zachary Brown, Kat Howard (x2), Stina Leicht, Michael Moorcock, R.E. Stearns, Catherynne M. Valente, Annie Wu, Joe Zieja

Continue reading →

New Books (January 2017)

January 20, 2017August 23, 2018 Civilian Reader New Books Aaron M. Glazer, Alexander Freed, Barbara Bourland, Brian Platzer, Cassandra Khaw, Charles Stross, Chris Wraight, Corey J. White, Deborah A Wolf, Elizabeth Strout, Emily Ruskovich, Gavin Extence, Graeme Simsion, Jack C. Haldeman, Jared Shurin, Jennifer Kitses, Joe Haldeman, Jordanna Max Brodsky, Julianne Pachico, K.M. McKinley, Mahvesh Murad, Matthew Quirk, Michael Ponsor, Mindy Mejia, N.J. Fountain, Nicholas Eames, Nicky Drayden, Robert Elegant, Sara Blaedel, Sarah Gailey, Steve Rasnic Tem, Susan Dennard, Thomas Perry, Tim Lebbon, Titus Chalk, Zoe Fraade-Blanar

I had anticipated a slow month, but the first couple of weeks of January have seen a flood of new ARCs and eARCs come in, as well as a few that I’ve picked up myself. So, this is the first of probably two such posts this month. Any of the below catch your attention? Have you read any already? Feel free to leave a comment.

Featuring: Sara Blaedel, Barbara Bourland, Jordanna Max Brodsky, Titus Chalk, Susan Dennard, Nicky Drayden, Nicholas Eames, Robert Elegant, Gavin Extence, N.J. Fountain, Zoe Fraade-Blanar, Alexander Freed, Sarah Gailey, Aaron M. Glazer, Joe Haldeman, Jack C. Haldeman, Jaroslav Kalfar, Cassandra Khaw, Jennifer Kitses, Tim Lebbon, Mahvesh Murad, Mindy Mejia, K.M. McKinley, Julianne Pachico, Thomas Perry, Michael Ponsor, Brian Platzer, Matthew Quirk, Steve Rasnic Tem, Emily Ruskovich, Jared Shurin, Graeme Simsion, Charles Stross, Elizabeth Strout, Corey J. White, Deborah A. Wolf, Chris Wraight

Continue reading →

Review: THE LAST MORTAL BOND by Brian Staveley (Tor)

January 19, 2017January 19, 2017 Civilian Reader Review Brian Staveley, Chronicle of the Unhewn Throne, Epic, Fantasy, Last Mortal Bond, Most Anticipated 2016, Tor Books, Tor UK

The highly-anticipated conclusion to the Chronicle of the Unhewn Throne trilogy

DEATH IS NEAR, ARMIES ARE GATHERED, AND THE FUTURE RESTS ON A KNIFE-EDGE

The Annurian Empire is losing a war on two fronts — and it’s unclear who’s in command. Adare is stationed in the thick of battle, calling herself Emperor. However, she can’t hold back the nomadic Urghul forces forever. She needs her brilliant general, Ran il Tornja, but will he betray her again?

Adare’s brother Kaden is the true heir, yet he’ll accept a republic to save his divided people. And he faces something more terrible than war. He’s unmasked Ran il Tornja as a remnant of an ancient race, one that attempted to destroy mankind. The general now plans to finish what they started. Kaden has also discovered that capricious gods walk the earth in human guise — and their agendas may seal the fates of all.

In early 2014, I finally got around to reading Brian Staveley’s first two novels, The Emperor’s Blades and The Providence of Fire. I was blown away — I read them back-to-back, which is something I haven’t done with a fantasy series since Scott Lynch’s The Lies of Locke Lamora and Red Seas Under Red Skies, and Peter V. Brett’s The Desert Spear and The Daylight War. Staveley’s writing, his characters, and the fantastically composed and paced narrative just pulled me through. I was hooked. I still think the two novels are a fantastic example of what modern fantasy can be. (Seriously, go read them.) I had a rather different reaction to The Last Mortal Bond… Continue reading →