Upcoming: CALIFORNIA by Edan Lepucki (Little, Brown)

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LepuckiE-CaliforniaUSHurt by Amazon, but Helped by the Colbert Bump?

I’m a huge fan of Stephen Colbert, and I’ve always found his show amusing. A few years back, I believe, he first mentioned the phenomena of the “Colbert Bump”, which saw some authors and musicians enjoying a spike in sales after appearing or featuring on his show. Last night, while checking Facebook, I came upon a mention of Edan Lepucki’s novel, California, having received a bump, too. I’m sad to say I hadn’t clocked the novel before I saw the article – whether this is an example of how well celebrity endorsements work, or just my general oblivious aspect, who knows. Anyway, it sounds interesting, so I thought I’d feature it here. It appears to be another recent example of “literary dystopia” fiction. Here’s the synopsis…

The world Cal and Frida have always known is gone, and they’ve left the crumbling city of Los Angeles far behind them. They now live in a shack in the wilderness, working side-by-side to make their days tolerable in the face of hardship and isolation. Mourning a past they can’t reclaim, they seek solace in each other. But the tentative existence they’ve built for themselves is thrown into doubt when Frida finds out she’s pregnant.

Terrified of the unknown and unsure of their ability to raise a child alone, Cal and Frida set out for the nearest settlement, a guarded and paranoid community with dark secrets. These people can offer them security, but Cal and Frida soon realize this community poses dangers of its own. In this unfamiliar world, where everything and everyone can be perceived as a threat, the couple must quickly decide whom to trust.

A gripping and provocative debut novel by a stunning new talent, California imagines a frighteningly realistic near future, in which clashes between mankind’s dark nature and deep-seated resilience force us to question how far we will go to protect the ones we love.

California will be published in the US in early July 2014, by Little, Brown. It is not available on Amazon, as they continue to strong-arm all Hachette US imprints. I couldn’t find any details about a UK publisher. Here’s hoping it comes to these shores soon, though. It’s available for request via NetGalley. The author is on Goodreads and Twitter.

Below is a still from The Colbert Report, in which the host promoted California, and urged viewers to buy the novel, and also offered the URL to buy the book from Powell’s Books. “We’re going to prove I can sell more books than Amazon,” he said. Oregon Live also had a video clip (US-only, sadly).

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Upcoming: THE SHADOW’S CURSE by Amy McCulloch (Corgi)

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McCullochA-2-ShadowsCurseThe action-packed sequel to The Oathbreaker’s Shadow

I really enjoyed Amy McCulloch’s debut novel, and have been itching to get my hands on the follow-up, to find out what happens next for Raim et al. After finishing The Oathbreaker’s Shadow, I thought I’d figured out a possible upcoming twist, so I really want to know if I was right…

Here’s the synopsis:

Raim is no closer to figuring out the meaning of the broken vow that sentenced him to exile for life. But with his former best friend now a tyrannical Khan who is holding the girl Raim loves captive, he finds it hard to care. Every day, he and Draikh learn more about their powers, but it quickly becomes clear that he will never be able to stop Khareh and free Wadi unless he can free himself from the ultimate taboo of his people. Reluctantly, Raim begins the long journey down to the dangerous South, to find the maker of his oath.

In Khareh’s camp, Wadi is more than capable of devising her own escape plan, but she’s gradually realizing she might not want to. The more she learns about Khareh, the more confused she becomes. He’s done unquestionably bad things, horrific even, but he’s got big dreams for Darhan that might improve their dire situation. What’s more, rumours of a Southern king massing an army to invade Darhan are slowly gaining ground. Only if the Northern tribes can come together under a single ruler will they have the strength to fight the South – but what if that ruler is an impulsive (albeit brilliant) young man, barely able to control his ever-growing power, and missing the one part of him that might keep him sane?

Whoever conquers the desert, wins the war. And the secret to desert survival lies in Lazar, which is set to become the heart of a great battle once again.

The Shadow’s Curse is due to be published in July 2014 by Corgi in the UK and Canada; and on August 15th in Australia and New Zealand.

Also on CR: Interview with Amy McCulloch

Audio Review: “Bonkers: My Life in Laughs” by Jennifer Saunders (Audible / Viking)

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SaundersJ-BonkersPBAn excellent, amusing memoir

“As the steady march of time takes its toll on my memory and the vultures circle, I thought I should have a stab at recollecting how it all happened…”

Jennifer Saunders’s brilliant comic creations have brought joy to millions for three decades. From Comic Strip to Comic Relief, from Bolly-swilling Edina in Absolutely Fabulous to Meryl Streep in Mamma Mia, her characters are household names.

But it’s Jennifer herself who has a place in all our hearts. This is her funny, touching and disarmingly honest memoir, filled with stories of friends, laughter and occasional heartache – but never misery.

From her childhood on RAF bases, where her father was a pilot, to her life-changing encounter with a young Dawn French, on to success and family, the book charts her extraordinary story, including the slip ups and battles along the way.

I have been a fan of Saunders’s ever since I was a kid, and my father introduced me to Absolutely Fabulous. The series, which is excellent and everyone should watch, had a lasting impact on my family’s and my own lexicon. Countless times we have made comments to each other, instinctively knowing its origin. Hilarity ensues, strangers shuffle away. Anyway, I picked up Bonkers, and although it started off a little strangely, I thought it was a brilliant, honest, amusing memoir from one of Britain’s greatest comics.

Saunders takes us through her childhood and education in a something of a monotone, which was a little strange. She speaks with great affection about her parents and family life. I also really liked that she spoke of her tendencies to fantasise and daydream as a child and teenager. I did very much the same thing. After her story moves to her early years struggling as a comic and performer, though, things get far more interesting and amusing. We learn of how and where she met Dawn French, her long-time writing partner and friend. The stories about the early sets in a strip club, the first movie projects, the French & Saunders Show, and – most interestingly of all for me – Absolutely Fabulous. She also speaks of her battle with cancer (which I had no clue about until I listened to this), and her doomed movie project with Meg Ryan. And her amusing work on French projects, and the international stardom she gained from the cult following Absolutely Fabulous gained.

Before my recent bout of memoir reading, I had only ever read biographies about politicians and historically significant individuals (usually for work), so one of the great things about listening to memoirs of comedians is finding out the stories behind some of my favourite TV series and movies. Bonkers is not about dishing the dirt, and Saunders is honest and fair when discussing any difficult or strained relationship. She doesn’t point fingers, pass blame (not that there’s much of that needed), and she’s always respectful to those she’s worked with.

If you are a fan of Saunders’s comedy, then you really should read or listen to this. The audio book is excellently produced, and it was a real pleasure to listen to Saunders tell her story. Recommended.

***

Bonkers is published in audiobook by Audible, and in print and eBook by Viking.

Upcoming US Edition: THE VIOLENT CENTURY by Lavie Tidhar (Thomas Dunne/St Martin’s Press)

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Tidhar-ViolentCenturyUS

I am a big fan of Lavie Tidhar’s The Violent Century. Unusual and gripping, it is one of my favourite novels from last year. [Review.] Until recently, though, it was only available in the UK, published by Hodder and PS Publishing (limited edition). Now, though, Thomas Dunne Books/St. Martin’s Press will be releasing it in the US! It will be published in late February 2015. Mark your calendars!

There is that rather nice new cover, too – I like the way they kept the core elements of the UK cover (Brandenburg Gate, silhouetted fellow in trench-coat and hat, rubble in foreground), but also made it distinct.

Here’s the synopsis…

They’d never meant to be heroes.

For seventy years they guarded the British Empire. Oblivion and Fogg, inseparable friends, bound together by a shared fate. Until one night in Berlin, in the aftermath of the Second World War, and a secret that tore them apart.

But there must always be an account… and the past has a habit of catching up to the present.

Now, recalled to the Retirement Bureau from which no one can retire, Fogg and Oblivion must face up to a past of terrible war and unacknowledged heroism – a life of dusty corridors and secret rooms, of furtive meetings and blood-stained fields – to answer one last, impossible question: What makes a hero?

Interview with GRAEME SHIMMIN

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ShimminG-AuthorPicLet’s start with an introduction: Who is Graeme Shimmin?

I’m spy thriller novelist, and the author of the award-winning novel A Kill in the Morning. I also run a website where I review spy thrillers and advise aspiring authors about writing and getting published.

Your debut novel, A Kill in the Morning, is due to be published in June by Transworld. How would you introduce the novel to a new reader?

A Kill in the Morning is an action-packed, fun spy thriller that has been compared to Robert Harris’s Fatherland and Ian Fleming’s Thunderball – if you like classic spy thrillers, you’ll love it.

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What inspired you to write the novel? And where do you draw your inspiration from in general?

Specifically, I’d had an image in my head for years of hanger doors grinding open to reveal an amazing super-weapon that I could never quite see. Generally, all the classic spy novels I’d read inspired me. When I started writing A Kill in the Morning, all those ideas just seemed to flood out. About halfway through, I suddenly realised how the story had to end and that it was really going to work. I sat back and just thought, “This is the story I was born to write.” It was an amazing moment. I felt like a sculptor, chipping away and finding the sculpture was already there inside the marble.

How were you introduced to reading and genre fiction?

I was brought up reading classic spy thrillers like From Russia With Love, Ice Station Zebra, and The Ipcress File: fast-paced, action-packed and fun. My mum used to take me to the library every Thursday and I worked my way through practically every thriller and sci-fi novel they had, reading two or three a week.

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How do you enjoy being a writer? Do you have any specific working, writing, researching practices?

Being a writer gives me the opportunity to write exactly the sort of thing I like to read, and that’s massively enjoyable – almost like a choose-your-own-adventure!

I try to write first thing in the morning. Get up, have a cup of tea and write for a couple of hours. Writing first thing in the morning whilst still half asleep is good for imagining things. I write at home, mostly, although I have done some good work on long train journeys.

My strategy for research is to have ‘research days’ and ‘writing days’. That avoids getting sidetracked. On a ‘writing day’, if I’m unsure of a fact I just make a note to check it later.

When did you realize you wanted to be an author, and what was your first foray into writing? Do you still look back on it fondly?

I worked in IT for fifteen years. It was very lucrative, but practically everything I ever worked on was cancelled. I realised I wanted to create something lasting. I’d always written a bit, but I resigned in order to write full time. The first page I wrote is still in the novel, but it has been edited a lot.

What’s your opinion of the genre today, and where do you see your work fitting into it?

I’m aware that “Nazi victory” had been used as a setting for several novels, notably Fatherland and that some people feel it “has been done before”, but I think there’s plenty of room for more stories in what is becoming a sub-genre. After all, every story has been done before, and no one criticises a new crime novel because it’s not the first story with a detective in it!

In A Kill in the Morning, the Nazis haven’t achieved “victory”, anyway. Britain and the Soviet Union are still opposing them, but not in open warfare – instead there’s a three-way Cold War. That gave me a lot of scope to write the kind of classic spy story that was written during the Cold War, but with the Nazis as antagonists, and after all the Nazis are the ultimate bad guys!

What other projects are you working on, and what do you have currently in the pipeline?

I’m editing a novel called Angel in Amber at the moment, and hoping to bring that out next year. Angel in Amber is a thriller set in the near future, with Britain trapped between a feuding USA and Europe. It’s written in the same all-action style as A Kill in the Morning.

After that, there will be sequels to A Kill in the Morning. I’ve worked out how the series will continue and I’ve already written the first chapter of the next book.

Also, every month I write a free short story for my friends and the people who like my writing. You can sign up for it on my website.

What are you reading at the moment (fiction, non-fiction)?

The novel I’m reading is Ministry of Fear by Graham Greene. I’m rereading all his spy-related novels to review them on my website. A non-fiction book I’ve been reading is Inside the Third Reich by Albert Speer, as part of my research for the sequel to A Kill in the Morning.

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What’s something readers might be surprised to learn about you?

I have never been a spy! People ask me this all the time, which I think has to be a compliment to the amount of research I’ve done.

What are you most looking forward to in the next twelve months?

Seeing A Kill in the Morning on the shelves in bookshops, and talking to people who have read it.

***

A Kill in the Morning will be published in the UK on June 19th, 2014.

Review: PRINCE OF FOOLS by Mark Lawrence (Voyager/Ace Books)

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LawrenceM-RQW1-PrinceOfFoolsUKA new trilogy and hero, and still just as good…

The Red Queen is old but the kings of the Broken Empire fear her as they fear no other.

Her grandson Jalan Kendeth is a coward, a cheat and a womaniser; and tenth in line to the throne. While his grandmother shapes the destiny of millions, Prince Jalan pursues his debauched pleasures. Until he gets entangled with Snorri ver Snagason, a huge Norse axe man, and dragged against his will to the icy north.

In a journey across half the Broken Empire, Jalan flees minions of the Dead King, agrees to duel an upstart prince named Jorg Ancrath, and meets the ice witch, Skilfar, all the time seeking a way to part company with Snorri before the Norseman’s quest leads them to face his enemies in the black fort on the edge of the Bitter Ice.

Experience does not lend Jalan wisdom; but here and there he unearths a corner of the truth. He discovers that they are all pieces on a board, pieces that may be being played in the long, secret war the Red Queen has waged throughout her reign, against the powers that stand behind thrones and nations, and for higher stakes than land or gold.

Mark Lawrence returns with the first in a great new trilogy set in the same world as his critically-acclaimed Broken Empire trilogy. As long-time readers of the blog will know, I really enjoyed Lawrence’s debut, Prince of Thorns. He is without doubt one of the best new fantasy authors, and if you like your fantasy dark, twisty, and very well-written, then you really do need to give his work a try. Prince of Fools introduces us to a new pair of heroes – Prince Jalan and his Viking companion, Snorri. I really enjoyed this novel. Continue reading →

Books Received (May/June)…

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A quieter couple of weeks, thankfully. This gives me some (miniscule) hope of catching up a little bit…

Featuring: Samit Basu, Joanna Briscoe, Troy Denning, Kevin Hearne, Hugh Howey, Bruce McCabe, Sandra Newman, Karin Slaughter, Anne Thayer, Angus Watson, Louise Welsh

Basu-T2-ResistanceSamit Basu, Resistance (Titan)

Eleven years after the passengers of flight BA142 from London to Delhi developed extraordinary abilities corresponding to their innermost desires, the world is overrun with supers. Some use their powers for good, others for evil, and some just want to smash up iconic monuments and get on TV. But now someone is hunting down supers, killing heroes and villains both, and it’s up to the Unit to stop them…

This actually turned up at my old address in New York (which I left in January 2013…). I still need to get around to reading Turbulence, but I am very much looking forward to catching up and reading this.

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BriscoeJ-TouchedJoanna Briscoe, Touched (Hammer)

1963: Rowena Crale and her family have recently moved into an old house in a small English village.

But the house appears to be resisting all attempts at renovation.

Walls ooze damp. Stains come through layers of wallpaper. Ceilings sag. And strange noises – voices – emanate from empty rooms.

As Rowena struggles with the upheaval of builders while trying to be a dutiful wife to her husband and a good mother to her five small children, her life starts to disintegrate.

And then her eldest and prettiest daughter goes missing.

Out in the village, a frantic search is mounted – while inside the house reveals its darkest secret: a hidden room with no windows and no obvious entrance.

Boarded up, it smells of old food, disinfectant – and death…

Set in a world where appearances are everything, and nothing is as it seems, Touched is unsettling, claustrophobic, and utterly gripping.

Never heard of the novel before it arrived in the mail. Could be interesting. May get to it.

*

SW-Crucible(Denning)PBTroy Denning, Crucible (Arrow)

Han Solo, Leia Organa Solo, and Luke Skywalker return in an all-new Star Wars adventure, which will challenge them in ways they never expected – and forever alter their understanding of life and the Force.

When Han and Leia Solo arrive at Lando Calrissian’s Outer Rim mining operation to help him thwart a hostile takeover, their aim is just to even up the odds and lay down the law. Then monstrous aliens arrive with a message, and mere threats escalate into violent sabotage with mass fatalities. When the dust settles, what began as corporate warfare becomes a battle with much higher stakes – and far deadlier consequences.

Now Han, Leia, and Luke team up once again in a quest to defeat a dangerous adversary bent on galaxy-wide domination. Only this time, the Empire is not the enemy. It is a pair of ruthless geniuses with a lethal ally and a lifelong vendetta against Han Solo. They will stop at nothing to control the lucrative Outer Rim mining trade – and ultimately the entire galactic economy. And when the murderous duo gets the drop on Han, he finds himself outgunned in the fight of his life. To save him, and the galaxy, Luke and Leia must brave a gauntlet of treachery, terrorism, and the untold power of an enigmatic artifact capable of bending space, time, and even the Force itself into an apocalyptic nightmare.

I remain woefully behind on my Star Wars reading. I just couldn’t get into Apocalypse, the final book in the final (I hope) nine-book arc that comes just before this (and Mercy Kill). I hope, at some point, to finish off Apocalypse, in order to get to this novel. It sounds good, and I like the prospect of a stand-alone after so many multi-book stories.

*

Hearne-7-ShatteredKevin Hearne, Shattered (Orbit)

For nearly two thousand years, there was only one Druid left walking the Earth – Atticus O’Sullivan, the Iron Druid, whose sharp wit and sharp sword kept him alive while pursued by a pantheon of hostile deities. Now he’s got company.

Atticus’s apprentice Granuaile is finally a full Druid herself. What’s more, Atticus has defrosted an archdruid long ago frozen in time, a father figure (of sorts) who now goes by the modern name Owen Kennedy.

And Owen has some catching up to do.

Atticus takes pleasure in the role reversal, as the student is now the teacher. Between busting Atticus’s chops and trying to fathom a cell phone, Owen must also learn English. For Atticus, the jury’s still out on whether the wily old coot will be an asset in the epic battle with Norse god Loki – or merely a pain in the arse.

As the trio of Druids deals with pestilence-spreading demons, bacon-loving yeti, fierce flying foxes, and frenzied Fae, they’re hoping that this time… three’s a charm.

This is the seventh book in Hearne’s Iron Druid series. I’ve only read the first two – both of which I very much enjoyed – so I’ll have to get my arse in gear to get caught up.

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HoweyH-SandUKHugh Howey, Sand (Century)

The old world is buried. A new one has been forged atop the shifting dunes. Here in this land of howling wind and infernal sand, four siblings find themselves scattered and lost.

Palmer has never been the same since his father walked out twelve years ago. His elder sister, Vic, is trying to run away from the past; his younger brothers, Connor and Rob, are risking their lives to embrace it. His mother, left with nothing but anger, is just trying to forget.

Palmer wants to prove his worth, not only to his family, but to himself. And in the barren, dune-covered landscape of his home, there is only one way to earn respect: sand-diving. Plunging deep below the desert floor in search of relics and scraps of the old world. He is about to embark on the most dangerous dive of his young life, aiming to become the first to discover the rumoured city below.

Deep within the sand lies the key to bringing his family together – and tearing their world apart.

Still haven’t read anything by Hugh Howey. I am intrigued by the whole Wool saga. I just never got my hands on the first one when I could read it, so it’s fallen by the wayside. This seems to be a standalone, or the start of a new series, so I think I may start with this one.

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McCabeB-SkinjobUKMcCabe, Skinjob (Transworld)

A bomb goes off in down town San Francisco. Twelve people are dead. But this is no ordinary target. This target exists on the fault line where sex and money meet.

Daniel Madsen is one of a new breed of federal agents armed with a badge, a gun and the Bureau’s latest piece of technology. He’s a fast operator and his instructions are simple: find the bomber – and before he strikes again.

In order to understand what is at stake, Madsen must plunge into a sleazy, unsettling world where reality and fantasy are indistinguishable, exploitation is business as usual, and the dead hand of corruption reaches all the way to the top. There’s too much money involved for this investigation to stay private…

This sounds like an interesting thriller. I’ve seen mixed responses from others, but I’m intrigued enough that I’m going to give it a try.

*

Newman-CountryOfIceCreamStarSandra Newman, The Country of Ice Cream Star (Knopf)

A post-apocalyptic literary epic in the tradition of The Handmaid’s Tale, Divergent and Cloud Atlas, and a breakout book in North America for a writer of rare and unconventional talent.

From Guardian First Book Award finalist Sandra Newman comes an ambitious and extraordinary novel of a future in which bands of children and teens survive on the detritus – physical and cultural – of a collapsed America. When her brother is struck down by Posies – a contagion that has killed everyone by their late teens for generations – fifteen-year-old Ice Cream Star pursues the rumour of a cure and sets out on a quest to save him, her tribe and what’s left of their future. Along the way she faces broken hearts and family tragedy, mortal danger and all-out war – and much growing up for the girl who may have led herself and everyone she loves to their doom.

That first paragraph in the synopsis gets rather close to raising expectations rather too high… Nevertheless, this is a novel I’ve known about for a while. It sounds interesting, so I’ll try to get to it relatively soon. In fact, perhaps very soon, as I’m currently experiencing some post-novel What-To-Read-Next indecisiveness…

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SlaughterK-CopTownUKKarin Slaughter, Cop Town (Century)

An epic story of a city in the midst of seismic upheaval, a serial killer targeting cops, and a divided police force tasked with bringing a madman to justice.

Atlanta, 1974: As a brutal murder and a furious manhunt rock the city’s police department, Kate Murphy wonders if her first day on the job will also be her last. She’s determined to defy her privileged background by making her own way – wearing a badge and carrying a gun. But for a beautiful young woman, life will be anything but easy in the macho world of the Atlanta PD, where even the female cops have little mercy for rookies. It’s also the worst day possible to start given that a beloved cop has been gunned down, his brothers in blue are out for blood, and the city is on the edge of war.

Kate isn’t the only woman on the force who’s feeling the heat. Maggie Lawson followed her uncle and brother into the ranks to prove her worth in their cynical eyes. When she and Kate, her new partner, are pushed out of the citywide search for a cop killer, their fury, pain, and pride finally reach the boiling point. With a killer poised to strike again, they will pursue their own line of investigation, risking everything as they venture into the city’s darkest heart.

Relentlessly paced, acutely observed, wickedly funny, and often heartbreaking, Cop Town is Karin Slaughter’s most powerful novel yet – a tour de force of storytelling from our foremost master of character, atmosphere, and suspense.

This is apparently Slaughter’s first stand-alone novel. Which is handy, as I’ve never read anything by the author buy have always wanted to. My series OCD means I would always want to go back to the beginning. This sounds pretty good, though, so I may be able to get to this rather soon. Maybe even next, I still can’t decide what I’m going to read next (currently reading non-fiction only, because I couldn’t decide).

*

Anna Thayer, The Traitor’s Heir & The King’s Hand (Lion Fiction)

Thayer-KnightOfEldaran-1to2

In an epic and mystical tale that resonates with modern times, the young Eamon Goodman goes on a journey of discovery. A journey which sees him taking an increasingly pivotal role in the battle between the rival forces of the king and the master, and takes him from being a young soldier in his home of Edesfield to being a fast-rising hero in the dense and rotten city of Dunthruik.

Under the watchful eye of Lord Cathair, in the loving arms of Lady Alessia Turnholt, and torn between enemy forces, Eamon’s experiences lead him to question the nature and true meaning of some of the most important things in life – love and friendship, loyalty and honour, and who he really is. But will the answers he finds lead him to become true to himself and true to his name? Will they lead him to become a good man?

These could be interesting. If maybe a bit derivative. The author is a lecturer on and scholar of J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis, apparently.

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WatsonA-AgeOfIronAngus Watson, Age of Iron (Orbit)

LEGENDS AREN’T BORN. THEY’RE MADE.

Dug Sealskinner is a down-on-his-luck mercenary traveling south to join up with King Zadar’s army. But he keeps rescuing the wrong people.

First Spring, a child he finds scavenging on the battlefield, and then Lowa, one of Zadar’s most fearsome warriors, who has vowed revenge on the king for her sister’s execution.

Now Dug’s on the wrong side of the thousands-strong army he hoped to join – and worse, Zadar has bloodthirsty druid magic on his side. All Dug has is his war hammer, one small child, and one unpredictable, highly-trained warrior with a lust for revenge that’s going to get them all killed…

Another new grimdark fantasy? Well, yes. And no. It seems to be a fantasy version of the Iron Age, with Britons versus Romans. This could be very cool, in other words.

*

WelshL-ALovelyWayToBurnUKLouise Welsh, A Lovely Way To Burn (Hodder & Stoughton)

It doesn’t look like murder in a city full of death. A pandemic called “The Sweats” is sweeping the globe. London is a city in crisis. Hospitals begin to fill with the dead and dying, but Stevie Flint is convinced that the sudden death of her boyfriend Dr. Simon Sharkey was not from natural causes. As roads out of London become gridlocked with people fleeing infection, Stevie’s search for Simon’s killers takes her in the opposite direction, into the depths of the dying city and a race with death.

A Lovely Way to Burn is the first outbreak in the Plague Times trilogy. Chilling, tense and completely compelling, it’s Louise Welsh writing at the height of her powers.

Actually got this a while ago via NetGalley, but I couldn’t get the PDF eARC to work. It suddenly dropped quite dramatically in price for Kindle, though, so I snapped it up. I’ll get to it pretty soon, I’m sure.

Upcoming: “Kinslayer” by David Guymer (Black Library)

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Guymer-G&F-KinslayerFans have been clamouring for this novel ever since they turned the final page of Nathan Long’s Zombieslayer. Finally, David Guymer brings the story of Gotrek and Felix back to the chronology begun in William King’s Trollslayer! For some reason, I’ve been unable to keep on top of the non-chronological Gotrek & Felix novels (though I do have all three of them, and really need to get myself caught up). I would like to catch up before this is released, in September 2014, but I don’t think I can make any promises.

Nevertheless, Kinslayer, the sixteenth novel in the series, is likely to be one of Black Library’s most anticipated novels of the year. And, indeed, I count myself among those who are eagerly awaiting it. I have been a fan of the series ever since King’s short stories appeared in Warhammer Armies: The Empire and various other venues. (Inferno! magazine! Anyone else read/remember that?)

Kinslayer is also getting a hardcover release, apparently, which will mark it as the first in the series to do so. Here’s the synopsis:

Once heroes and companions on the greatest of adventures, Gotrek Gurnisson and Felix Jaeger have long since gone their separate ways. Felix, married and working for the family business in Altdorf, embarks on a journey north to Kislev when he hears that an old comrade has been captured by the forces of Chaos. Reunited with Gotrek, and other old friends, Felix begins to suspect that he has embarked upon his final adventure. And in the cold north, Gotrek’s doom awaits him…

This cover also has that tantalising (for fans, anyway) tagline: “Book 1 of the Doom of Gotrek Gurnisson”. What does this mean, I wonder? Are they drawing the series to a close in the relatively-near future? Or, will this be a Marvel-esque tease that fails to deliver utterly on what it promises/portents? (See, for example, the various “deaths” of multiple Spider-Men, death of innumerable characters, the brain/consciousness switcheroos, etc…).

Upcoming: “The Doom of Dragonback” by Gav Thorpe (Black Library)

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Thorpe-ToL-DoomOfDragonbackThe Doom of Dragonback is the latest book in Black Library’s popular Time of Legends series. It’s never been entirely clear to me if they follow a particular chronology, like the Horus Heresy series, but I do know that I am a) really interested in a number of the titles in the series, and b) horrendously behind… (Something that is now true for oh-so-very-many series.) Gav Thorpe’s elves novels and Mike Lee’s undead novels, in particular, are high on my to-buy-and-read list.

War with the elves has ended in bloody stalemate, great quakes have broken the peaks, and the enemies of the dwarfs are rising in vast numbers. Far removed from this grief, however, are the dwarfs of Ekrund, great underground city of the Dragonback Mountains, convinced that no foe will ever breach their walls. Amongst them, the Angbok clan continues to mine their gold, until war threatens Dragonback and decisions must be made that could change their way of life forever. Whether by exile or extinction, a great doom is coming…

I found this artwork and synopsis on Simon & Schuster Canada’s website (they handle Black Library’s distribution there). The Doom of Dragonback is due for release in September 2014 (probably sooner from Black Library itself and Games Workshop stores).

Music Interlude: Within Temptation’s “And We Run”

Civilian Reader Uncategorized

One of my favourite bands, Within Temptation last week released their new single and accompanying music video, “And We Run”. It features, rather interestingly (and perhaps unexpectedly) Xzibit. And it’s actually pretty good. The song is from their latest album, Hydra.

WithinTemptation-Hydra