Quick Review: DANCING WITH MYSELF by Billy Idol (Touchstone)

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IdolB-DancingWithMyselfVital Idol reading…

“I am hopelessly divided between the dark and the good, the rebel and the saint, the sex maniac and the monk, the poet and the priest, the demagogue and the populist. Pen to paper, I’ve put it all down, every bit from the heart. I’m going out on a limb here, so watch my back.” — Billy Idol

An early architect of punk rock’s sound, style, and fury, whose lip-curling sneer and fist-pumping persona vaulted him into pop’s mainstream as one of MTV’s first megastars, Billy Idol remains, to this day, a true rock ‘n’ roll icon.

Now, in his long-awaited autobiography, Dancing with Myself, Idol delivers an electric, searingly honest account of his journey to fame — from his early days as front man of the pioneering UK punk band Generation X to the decadent life atop the dance-rock kingdom he ruled — delivered with the same in-your-face attitude and fire his fans have embraced for decades. Beyond adding his uniquely qualified perspective to the story of the evolution of rock, Idol is a brash, lively chronicler of his own career.

A survivor’s tale at its heart, this sometimes chilling and always riveting account of one man’s creative drive joining forces with unbridled human desire is unmistakably literary in its character and brave in its sheer willingness to tell. With it, Billy Idol is destined to emerge as one of the great writers among his musical peers.

Billy Idol’s music has been pretty much a constant in my life. His albums were among my father’s eclectic collection; “Dancing With Myself”, “Rebel Yell” and “Mony, Mony” were frequently on tapes he would put together for road trips. So, it was perhaps inevitable that Dancing With Myself caught my eye. It’s a great rock biography, one that charts the rise of not only the author, but punk in general. He was a pioneer of so many styles and quirks that we take for granted today. An essential read for all fans of his music, but also for anyone interested in the evolution of rock and punk music. Continue reading →

New Books (April-May)

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Featuring: Kate Atkinson, Jenny T. Colgan, Sebastien de Castell, Jeffery Deaver, Nelson DeMille, Katie Disabato, Richard Ford, Jonathan Freedland, S.L. Grey, Charlaine Harris, Aleksandar Hemon, Chris Holm, Jason LePier, Duff McKagan, Todd Moss, K.J. Parker, Joe Perry, John Sandford, Stephanie Saulter, Stefan Spjut, Sabaa Tahir, Dan Wells, Robert Charles Wilson Continue reading →

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

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LarkeG-2-DaggersPathThe second novel in the Forsaken Lands series

THEY FOLLOW WHERE THE DAGGER LEADS

Ardhi, Sorrel and the excommunicated cleric, Saker Rampion, stow away on a ship to the Spice Islands. They must return stolen items of great power to Ardhi’s home, but there are ruthless men after this power, men who will kill to possess it.

At home in Ardrone, an army of demonic origin runs amok while Saker’s superiors in the church struggle to quell it. And the young queen Mathilda struggles with the possibility that her newborn child, the heir to the throne, may be linked to the corruption that has erupted throughout the land.

Sorcerers, lascars, pirates and thieves collide…

Reviewed by Ryan Frye

Think of a time when you thoroughly enjoyed the opening installment of a series… It’s probably not too hard a task, and honestly, not all that uncommon. Now, think of a time when you enjoyed the second installment of a series more than you enjoyed the first. For me at least, that’s more difficult. Sure, it happens, but once I’ve mentally checked off Empire Strikes Back, Deadhouse Gates, and… um, The Drawing of the Three, I’m forcing my brain into action, and who needs that? Suffice it to say, the second installment in a series is a tricky thing. That fresh, clean smell is gone, the characters are no longer new and exciting, and often (especially if we’re talking a trilogy) the characters tend to do a lot of moving around so that things are set up for the finale.

Well, The Dagger’s Path just so happens to be a second installment in a trilogy, it also follows a first-in-series, The Lascar’s Dagger, which I thoroughly enjoyed. So how did this second volume fare? Quite well in fact. Continue reading →

Guest Post: “Anarchy Sucks” by Gail Z. Martin

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0061-eWomenNetworkWar of Shadows is the newest book in my Ascendant Kingdoms Saga, tracing the struggle of disgraced lord Blaine McFadden and his convict friends, as they attempt to restore control over magic and reinstate the rule of law in the devastated kingdom of Donderath. It’s the third book in the series, and with rival warlords and rogue mages competing for control over Donderath’s ruins, there’s action and intrigue aplenty.

Underneath this all is a heartfelt conviction, born out of a lifelong study of history, that anarchy sucks.

The suckishness of anarchy seems up for debate. It’s quite trendy these days to loudly announce “we don’t need no stinkin’ government”. Sometimes, the announcement comes from people well-heeled enough to wall themselves in secure enclaves and protect their interests with private armies of security guards. On the other end of the spectrum are live-off-the-land survivalist types who believe that some canned food, a trout stream and several thousand rounds of ammunition are all that’s needed to live the good life. Continue reading →

Review: DAY FOUR by Sarah Lotz (Hodder)

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LotzS-2-DayFourUKThe superb sequel to The Three

Four planes. Three survivors. One message. It seemed like the end of the world… but it wasn’t. This, however, just might be.

The trip of their dreams becomes the holiday of their nightmares…

Four days into a five day singles cruise on the Gulf of Mexico, the ageing ship Beautiful Dreamer stops dead in the water. With no electricity and no cellular signals, the passengers and crew have no way to call for help. But everyone is certain that rescue teams will come looking for them soon. All they have to do is wait.

That is, until the toilets stop working and the food begins to run out. When the body of a woman is discovered in her cabin the passengers start to panic. There’s a murderer on board the Beautiful Dreamer… and maybe something worse.

The Three was easily one of my favourite books of last year. Day Four is the highly-anticipated follow-up, and I’m happy to report that it does not disappoint. Lotz has easily become one of my favourite authors. Continue reading →

Excerpt: THE WATCHMEN OF ETERNITY by Paul Witcover

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WitcoverP-2-WatchmanOfEternityUKHere is an excerpt from Paul Witcover‘s anticipated sequel to The Emperor of All Things, The Watchmen of Eternity. Published this week by Bantam/Transworld Books in the UK, here’s the synopsis:

In the seventh year of its war against France, England faces threats from abroad and at home, from above – and below. Buoyed by a series of military victories on land and at sea, French forces are gathering for their final push across the Channel. In Scotland, Jacobites loyal to Bonnie Prince Charlie plot to restore the Stuart dynasty to the throne. Beneath the bustling streets of London, a subterranean race prepares to rise. And in the realm known as the Otherwhere – home to dragons, demons and gods – civil war has erupted, causing a great and powerful weapon to be cast into the world. That weapon is a clock – a watch, to be precise, of a size to fit comfortably in a man’s hand…a watch with a taste for blood – a mechanism that contains the doom of all that lives.

Daniel Quare, of the Worshipful Company of Clockmakers, was sent by his masters to find that deadly time- piece. But he was not alone in his pursuit: both the mysterious thief Grimalkin and the ruthless French spy and assassin Thomas Aylesford were on its trail. But with the help of Lord Wichcote – an aristocrat of many talents and more disguises – Quare succeeded in seizing the watch. But not for long: Aylesford took it from him – and with it, Quare’s hand. And now the French spy is on his way back to his masters, Lord Wichcote lies gravely wounded and Daniel Quare has vanished . . . which would seem to mean that all hope for the world is lost…

Also on CR: Interview with Paul Witcover

And now, on with the excerpt! Continue reading →

Upcoming: CHILDREN OF TIME by Adrian Tchaikovsky (Tor)

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TchaikovskyA-ChildrenOfTimeUKHot(ish) on the heels of stand-alone fantasy novel Guns of the Dawn, the details of Adrian Tchaikovsky’s first sci-fi novel have emerged! Children of Time is due to be published by Tor Books in the UK in June 2015. To the right is the rather nice cover, and here is the synopsis:

WHO WILL INHERIT THIS NEW EARTH?

The last remnants of the human race left a dying Earth, desperate to find a new home among the stars. Following in the footsteps of their ancestors, they discover the greatest treasure of the past age – a world terraformed and prepared for human life. But all is not right in this new Eden. In the long years since the planet was abandoned, the work of its architects has borne disastrous fruit. The planet is not waiting for them, pristine and unoccupied. New masters have turned it from a refuge into mankind’s worst nightmare. Now two civilizations are on a collision course, both testing the boundaries of what they will do to survive. As the fate of humanity hangs in the balance, who are the true heirs of this new Earth?

Also on CR: Interview with Adrian Tchaikovsky; Guest Posts on “Nine Books, Six Years, One Stenwold Maker” and “The Art of Gunsmithing – Writing Guns of the Dawn“; Excerpt from Guns of the Dawn; Reviews of Empire in Black & Gold and The Bloody Deluge

An Interview with LUCY HOUNSOM

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HounsomL-AuthorPicLet’s start with an introduction: Who is Lucy Hounsom? 

I am a hopeless dreamer who spends half her time in other worlds and the other half inside her own head… which is pretty much the same thing. I used to get told off at school for not listening except when we studied English or wrote poems/ stories. You know that loner you saw squandering their lunch break in the library reading Dragonlance? Yeah – that was me. Before then, I was training to be an actress and a dancer at theatre school and I worked a fair bit in the industry. I can’t imagine being an actress now, but that’s what might have happened had I not discovered how much I loved telling stories. Today I live in East Devon on the shores of the Jurassic Coast, dividing my time between writing and bookselling. And occasionally playing the piano.

Your debut novel, STARBORN, was recently published by Tor Books in the UK. How would you introduce the novel to a potential reader? Is it part of a planned series?

Starborn is the first book in a trilogy called Worldmaker, a traditional fantasy with the flavour of Eddings and Canavan. It’s the story of a young woman called Kyndra who discovers that she (and indeed the world as she knows it) might not be all they appear. After a disastrous coming of age ceremony, she finds herself fleeing her home in the company of two strangers, who take her halfway across the world to a hidden subterranean citadel – the home of the fabled Wielders, who can draw upon the energy of the sun and moon. It’s here she begins to uncover a truth long forgotten by everyone except a fanatical sect living in the depths of the citadel and their mysterious leader – a truth inextricably bound up with her own destiny. Continue reading →

Review: A DANGEROUS FICTION by Barbara Rogan (Penguin)

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RoganB-DangerousFictionA publishing industry whodunnit?

When a glamorous literary agent falls prey to a violent stalker, she discovers that the publishing biz can really be murder…

Jo Donovan always manages to come out on top. Originally from the backwoods of Appalachia, she forged a hard path to elegant lunches and parties among New York City’s literati. At thirty-five, she’s the widow of the renowned novelist (and notorious playboy) Hugo Donovan, the owner of one of the best literary agencies in town, and is one of the most sought-after agents in the business. But all this is about to fall apart, as a would-be client turns stalker, a hack shops around a proposal for an unauthorized tell-all biography of Hugo, and a handsome old flame shows up without warning.

Both a seasoned author and a former literary agent herself, Barbara Rogan knows the publishing world from all angles. Fans of Lisa Lutz and Jaqueline Winspear will adore Jo Donovan and Rogan’s wickedly sharp tale that skewers the dangerous fictions we read—and the dangerous fictions we tell ourselves.

This was a pretty interesting novel. I first heard about it years ago, but only recently picked it up at the Strand Bookstore, in New York (easily one of the most overwhelmingly magical places on the planet…). A Dangerous Fiction is a well-written, interesting novel. There was one main weakness, but I nevertheless enjoyed reading it. It’s a must for anyone interested in publishing, too. Continue reading →

Upcoming: CITY OF BLADES by Robert Jackson Bennett

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I loved the first novel in Robert Jackson Bennett‘s new series, City of Stairs. Not long ago, Bennett’s US publisher Crown unveiled their cover for the sequel, City of Blades:

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Today, though, I spotted the UK cover for City of Blades over on Quercus’s website (below). Sadly, fans of the series will have a bit of a wait — the novel is not due to be published until January 2016.

BennettRJ-2-CityOfBladesUK

Here’s the synopsis (from Goodreads):

The city of Voortyashtan was once the domain of the goddess of death, war, and destruction, but now it’s little more than a ruin. General Turyin Mulaghesh is called out of retirement and sent to this hellish place to try to find a Saypuri secret agent who’s gone missing in the middle of a mission, but the city of war offers countless threats: not only have the ghosts of her own past battles followed her here, but she soon finds herself wondering what happened to all the souls that were trapped in the afterlife when the Divinities vanished. Do the dead sleep soundly in the land of death? Or do they have plans of their own?

Also on CR: Interview with Robert Jackson Bennett; Guest post on “City of Stairs & the Super Tropey Fantasy Checklist”; Reviews of City of Stairs and The Company Man