New Books (February)

March 1, 2016August 23, 2018 Civilian Reader New Books Adrian Tchaikovsky, AJ Hartley, Alex Stewart, Allen Steele, Andy Remic, Back Bay Books, Baen, Black Library, Brian McClellan, Bryony Pearce, Christopher Charles, Claire North, Corgi, Dan Cluchey, David Annandale, David Baldacci, David Fisher, David Levien, Don DeLillo, Elizabeth Bonesteel, Faber, Gollancz, Grand Central Publishing, Hadley Freeman, Hodder, Jack Sutherland, Jessica Chiarella, Jo Baker, Jo Spurrier, Joe R Lansdale, John Connolly, John Lansdale, K.J. Parker, Katie Heaney, Knopf, Lauren Groff, Lee Kelly, Marc Turner, Mark Andrew Ferguson, Max Allan Collins, Mickey Spillane, Mishell Baker, Mitchell Hogan, Molly Prentiss, Mulholland Books, Noah Hawley, Orbit, Patrick Hemstreet, Penguin, Pierce Brown, Plume, Rachel Dunne, Riverhead Books, SB Divya, Scout Press, Scribner, Shane Kuhn, Simon Kurt Unsworth, Stripes Books, Stuart Stevens, Subterranean Press, Teddy Wayne, Thomas Dunne Books, Tim Lebbon, Titan Books, Tor Books, Tor Teen, Tor UK, Tor.com, Touchstone, Transworld, Victor Pelevin, Voyager, William Shatner, Willow Palecek

Featuring: David Annandale, Jo Baker, Mishell Baker, David Baldacci, Elizabeth Bonesteel, Pierce Brown, Christopher Charles, Jessica Chiarella, Dan Cluchey, Max Allan Collins, John Connolly, Don DeLillo, S.B. Divya, Rachel Dunne, Mark Andrew Ferguson, Hadley Freeman, S.L. Grey, Lauren Groff, A.J. Hartley, Noah Hawley, Katie Heaney, Patrick Hemstreet, Mitchell Hogan, Lee Kelly, Shane Kuhn, Joe R. Lansdale, John Lansdale, Tim Lebbon, David Levien, Brian McClellan, Claire North, Willow Palecek, K.J. Parker, Bryony Pearce, Victor Pelevin, Molly Prentiss, Andy Remic, William Shatner, Mickey Spillane, Jo Spurrier, Allen Steele, Stuart Stevens, Alex Stewart, Jack Sutherland, Adrian Tchaikovsky, Marc Turner, Simon Kurt Unsworth, Teddy Wayne

* Continue reading →

New Books (May-June)

June 2, 2015August 23, 2018 Civilian Reader New Books Ace Books, Aidan Levy, Alexandra Petri, Century Books, Chicago Review Press, Christopher Robinson, Corey Taylor, De Capo Press, Doubleday, Douglas Lain, Ernest Cline, GP Putnam's Sons, Harper Collins, Hodder, Jack Campbell, Jessica Knoll, Judy Blume, Knopf, Lincoln Child, Loren Rhoads, Macmillan, Mark Lawrence, Mat Johnson, Matthew Palmer, NAL, Naomi Novik, Nathan Garrison, Neal Stephenson, Nick Brown, Ron Perlman, Scribner, Spiegel & Grau, Stephen King, Titan Books, Voyager Impulse

Featuring: Judy Blume, Nick Brown, Jack Campbell, Lincoln Child, Ernest Cline, Nathan Garrison, Mat Johnson, Stephen King, Jessica Knoll, Douglas Lain, Mark Lawrence, Aidan Levy, Jason Matthews, Naomi Novik, Matthew Palmer, Ron Perlman, Alexandra Petri, Loren Rhoads, Christopher Robinson, Neal Stephenson, Corey Taylor Continue reading →

The Atlantic Weekly, Stephen King & “Voice”

August 1, 2013 Civilian Reader Uncategorized Atlantic, Atlantic Weekly, Benjamin Percy, Bob Dylan, By Heart, Doctor Sleep, Elmore Leonard, First Lines, Hodder, Joe Fassler, John Sanford, Mick Jagger, Scribner, Stephen King, Susan Choi, Voice

In the current issue of The Atlantic Weekly (July 28th), there is a very good, short piece by Stephen King about opening lines. In the article, part of The Atlantic’s “By Heart” series, King also offers the following opinion on voice. Many bloggers discuss or focus on voice in their reviews (some obsessively so), and I thought this might be of interest to them, as well as readers, of course…

“… for me, a good opening sentence really begins with voice. You hear people talk about ‘voice’ a lot, when I think they really just mean style. Voice is more than that. People come to books looking for something. But they don’t come for the story, or even for the characters. They certainly don’t come for the genre. I think readers come for the voice.

“A novel’s voice is something like a singer’s; think of singers like Mick Jagger and Bob Dylan, who have no musical training but are instantly recognizable. When people pick up a Rolling Stones record, it’s because they want access to that distinctive quality. They know that voice, they love that voice, and something in them connects profoundly with it. Well, it’s the same way with books. Anyone who’s read a lot of John Sanford, for example, knows that wry, sarcastic amusing voice that’s his and his alone. Or Elmore Leonard – my God, his writing is like a fingerprint. You’d recognize him anywhere. An appealing voice achieves an intimate connection, a bond much stronger than the kind of forged, intellectually, through crafted writing.

“With really good books, a powerful sense of voice is established in the first line.”

Stephen King’s Doctor Sleep, a new follow-up to The Shining, will be published in September 2013 by Hodder (UK) and Scribner (US).

US / UK Covers

Also, here is a rather nice photo of Stephen King, which I found connected with this interview with the author over on Parade:

Joe Fassler (the journalist behind the “By Heart” series), inspired by Stephen King’s piece, conducted a survey of some other authors’ favourite first lines, here. Other authors to feature in the “By Heart” series, who have also featured on Civilian Reader, are Susan Choi (CR interview), and Benjamin Percy (interview, Red Moon review).

Upcoming: “The Age of Ice” by J.M. Sidorova (Scribner)

June 30, 2013 Civilian Reader Uncategorized 2013, Age of Ice, Fantasy, Historical, JM Sidorova, July, Russia, Scribner, Upcoming

This looks like an interesting novel. It has already been described as “boldly original and genrebending”, and it will apparently take readers “from the grisly fields of the Napoleonic Wars to the blazing heat of Afghanistan, from the outer reaches of Siberia to the cacophonous streets of nineteenth-century Paris”. Colour me very much intrigued…

The Empress Anna Ioannovna has issued her latest eccentric order: construct a palace out of ice blocks. Inside its walls her slaves build a wedding chamber, a canopy bed on a dais, heavy drapes cascading to the floor — all made of ice. Sealed inside are a disgraced nobleman and a deformed female jester. On the empress’s command — for her entertainment — these two are to be married, the relationship consummated inside this frozen prison. In the morning, guards enter to find them half-dead. Nine months later, two boys are born.

Surrounded by servants and animals, Prince Alexander Velitzyn and his twin brother, Andrei, have an idyllic childhood on the family’s large country estate. But as they approach manhood, stark differences coalesce. Andrei is daring and ambitious; Alexander is tentative and adrift. One frigid winter night on the road between St. Petersburg and Moscow, as he flees his army post, Alexander comes to a horrifying revelation: his body is immune to cold.

The Age of Ice is published by Scribner in the UK, and will be out near the end of July 2013.