Books in the Post! 'Long Overdue' Edition…

As you can see by the pile of books below, it's been a while since I've done one of these posts… :o) This isn't one of those 'Update' posts though as updates have been crept into the last couple of posts and you can have too much of a good/bad thing ;o) Nope, we're all about the books today; check 'em out,

 

This is the shelf where all my comic books used to sit until I realised I wasn't going to read them again (and away they went!) Some of the money that I made off them went on…

'Gridlinked' (Neal Asher) - Because I got such a kick out of 'The Departure' that I figured it was time to give the 'Polity' books another go as well.

'Darkness Weaves' (Karl Edward Wagner) - My hunt for the 'Kane' books is a slow and steady one that pays off every now and then. Two down, three more to go (I think)

'Sharps' (K.J. Parker) - I've never quite managed to 'get' Parker's books and I really want to. I never got round to reading 'Sharps' when it first came out so am going to give it another try after I've got another couple of books out of the way first.

'The Fire Prince' (Emily Gee) - No idea, possibly because the guy on the cover looks really worried.
'Blood & Bone' (Ian Cameron Esslemont) - The only Esslemont book that I didn't have on my shelves, now all I have to do is read them all...

'The Fifth Head of Cerebus' (Gene Wolfe) - I have a weakness for the old 'SF Masterworks' books (the black cover looks a lot nicer than the new yellow one) and I've been meaning to read more by Wolfe.

'Mockingbird' (Walter Tevis) - As above really, only substituting Tevis for Wolfe.
'The Crown of the Blood' (Gav Thorpe) - It doesn't happen often but every now and then I have to buy a book before leaving a bookshop (feel like I've failed somehow if I don't) and 'The Crown of the Blood' was that book a couple of weeks ago. Looks good though and will be saved for those precious moments when I've got time to get stuck into something a bit thicker than normal.

Did I tell you that it was my birthday the other day? I didn't? Well, it was and here's what I treated myself to…

'Revelation Space' (Alastair Reynolds) The last time I read this book (years ago) I was high on morphine (legitimately high, I was in hospital) and had some really weird dreams. No anaesthetic this time, we'll see how it goes.

'Chasm City' (Alastair Reynolds) - Again, it's been years since I read 'Chasm City' and buying 'Revelation Space' got me all interested again.

'The Sentinel Mage' (Emily Gee) - Because I'd already bought 'The Fire Prince' by this point and 'The Sentinel Mage' precedes it.It would have been kind of weird not to buy it...

For some odd reason Patricia McKillip's 'Ombria in Shadow' didn't make it into the picture. It should have done (buying it was the first thing I did once the birthday money cleared in my account)

It has been more of a time for 'books bought' rather than 'review copies received' and I'm happy with that. I'd forgotten how satisfying buying books could be (online or in the store). A few turned up from publishers, mostly because I asked for them (just as satisfying albeit for different reasons) :-)
'Zero Point' (Neal Asher) - As I said above, I enjoyed 'The Departure' enough to want to read more and Tor UK very kindly agreed to help out.
'Jupiter War' (Neal Asher) - Because if I'm going to read the first two books in a trilogy then I would be dumb not to pick up the last one (unless 'Zero Point' is awful but I don't think it will be)

'The Knight' (Pierre Pevel) - I don't know if it's my watching 'Game of Thrones' but I'm really into knights at the moment so the title pretty much sold itself.

A nice load of books to get stuck into then; I can see Asher's books being read first, possibly followed by 'Sharps' then… Whatever comes next :o) Anything there catch your eye?

Books in the Post! 'Anticipated' Edition

Its been a quiet week for books coming through the post; its been a quiet week in general actually with settling down into a new work routine (minutes, lots and lots of minutes...) and not an awful lot of reading getting done. It's not all bad though, I'm halfway through 'She Who Waits' (it has only taken me a year to get this far) and it's an excellent read. Bit gutted that I skipped to the end, to see what happened, but if I will insist on spoiling books for myself... I also managed to get Amazon to pay my bank charges but that's another story altogether :o)

A couple of good looking books have found their way home though and it seems to be all about adding to collections this week. Check em' out...

Ever since Gollancz announced their new Fantasy Masterworks series, I've been waiting to get my hands on a copy of 'Votan', the only book on the list that I'd never heard of. Also, look at the lovely cover; isn't it glorious?

In the second century AD, a Greek nobleman is travelling and living abroad in Germany while carrying on an affair with a military man's wife. When discovered, he takes an emergency business trip to save his life and packs amongst his belongings certain items that lead the people he encounters to think him a Norse God, a fortuitous point of view which he does little to dispel. Forced to keep up the pretence of being a god while staying one step ahead of his lover's jealous husband, Photinus must juggle the severity of his situation with the enjoyment of being a god.

On the strength of that blurb, 'Votan' doesn't look like it has any right to be in a series of 'Fantasy Masterworks' but I'm going to give it a go anyway and see what happens.

'The Drawing of the Dark' was a surprise find whilst on the way home from dropping Sue and the kids off at the station. I'd pretty much stopped collecting the old Fantasy Masterworks ('collection burnout') but the instinct is still there and when I saw 'The Drawing of the Dark' on the shelf I was handing over money for it before I even realised what was happening. I still haven't read anything by Tim Powers, really need to do something about that.

One question before I go, have any of you read 'The Drawing of the Dark'? The only reason I'm asking is because the tagline on the back of this edition reads, 'Myth, Magic and Mystery as East meets West in Mortal Combat'. Is that a fair summary of the book or did the blurb guy get a little carried away...?

Books in the Post! 'Not so much 'in the post...' Edition...

I'm just over a week into the new job (seems to be going well, thanks for asking), right in the middle of a town centre full of book shops that I'd never been in before. That soon changed very quickly and seeing as I have had the mother of all book/DVD culls the other day, I felt a little justified in bringing a few books home with me. If you ever find yourself in Bromley (it could happen) have a look in 'Time Trek', a tiny little comic shop just up the road from Bromley South station. It doesn't just sell comics; if there's a gap on the shelves then the owner seems to have a great habit of filling it with books. You can't argue with that, especially when you come home with books like these...

I can't help but pick up old 'Conan' books, even if I already have all the original tales. Partly it's because of the covers, partly it's because every so often you will find tales from other contributors and I'm very interested in reading these where I can. Mostly it's because I'm really into old books, at the moment, in a strange nostalgic way. Old books are great. They've already been around longer than I have and it's likely that they will still be around when I'm not. I want to be a stop on their journey.
I already have 'Doctor Who and the Leisure Hive' on DVD but couldn't resist picking up a copy of the book for a pound (again, nostalgic memories of marmite on toast and watching 'Doctor Who' as a kid). Don't ask me why I picked up 'The Time Trap of Ming XIII' though. Seriously, I have no idea. I hope it's a good read...

'The Rituals of Infinity' was the final 'Bromley buy', turning up during a speculative peek inside Oxfam. I've more or less read/have all the 'Eternal Champion' books that I want so it's time for a look at some of Moorcock's other sci-fi writing. We'll see how it goes with 'The Rituals of Infinity'. On a side note, it's always really nice to see an old book in as good a condition as 'The Rituals of Infinity'. My edition was published in 1971 but, apart from a slightly faded cover, wouldn't look out of place in a bookshop today given how well it has been looked after. I like that :o)
'Time Bomb' was a lucky win on Twitter but I've read enough of Scott Andrews to know that I'm more than likely in for a bit of a treat here.
I'm at the end of the line with zombie novels, there is nothing new to be said and I find myself wondering if writers are covering the basics well enough for reading zombie fiction to be worth my time. There are a couple of series that I want to finish off though, Dana Fredsti's 'Plague' books being one of them. I am well into 'Plague World' at the moment; you might even see a review this week all being well.

Any of these books catch your eye. Have you read 'The Time Trap of Ming XIII'? If so, can you tell me if my £2.50 was well spent...? All comments welcome ;o)

Books in the Post! 'Reader's Block...' Edition

So last week was a bit of a write off not just for the blog but for reading in general. I've got loads of stuff going on right now but usually I can zone out with a book. Not last week though, out of all the books I picked up I was lucky if I made it past two pages of each, maybe two and a half. I know I joked about it the other week but maybe it really is time for a 'Belgariad' re-read. If I can't even manage that then clearly reading isn't for me any more... ;o)

Luckily some books came through the post, last week, that look like they could give me a bit of a kick start. Maybe... Have a look and see what you think.

I'm not going to say too much about 'The Fourth Gwenevere' as I would totally be repeating the post below this one. To summarise; looks interesting, will be reading.
I always meant to read Tom Pollock's 'Skyscraper Throne' books but somehow never did. 'The Glass Republic' arrived first but I need the first and third books to arrive before I make a serious go of this series *watches for the postman*

Hope: "That's Judge Dredd, you like Judge Dredd Dad..."

I sure do and I'm really keen to see where the 'Chaos Day' plot leads to next. It's not often that Mega City One has a catastrophe that it really might not recover from...

In a world where zombie fiction is increasingly failing to hit the mark for me, Adam Baker has enough about his work to come up with the goods more often than not. 'Impact' could be the book that gets me over this reading issue I have right now. As could 'Smiler's Fair' as well; I read this way back in the day, when it was on submission with Hodder, and I'm looking forward to reading it again. 'Smiler's Fair' really is that good people!

So that's me then and I'll leave you with a promise that this week will see a lot more posts than last week. Should be easy, shouldn't it? See you tomorrow ;o)

Books in the Post! 'Still a little shell-shocked...' edition

I'm so glad that last week is now officially consigned to the annals of history, never to be experienced again. It started off with a job (short term contract) that was pretty dire and with a paycheck to match. You're thinking that it probably couldn't get worse than that, I didn't think so either until I was fired on Friday (for having an interview for another job on the Thursday). The pay was awful but it was better than no pay at all!
Five minutes after I got home though, I was offered the job that I had interviewed for :o) My nerves were shot (gin took care of that later...) but all's well that ends well.

With all of that going on then, there wasn't a lot of time for books last week. It was somehow fitting then that only two arrived. Have a look...

'Aftermath' is the sequel to 'The Remaining' (reviewed Here) and it's a bit more of a slog than I was expecting. Not sure if it's me or if the problems I had with 'The Remaining' have reared their ugly heads again. I'll give it a few more pages and let you know.

'The Relic Guild' though... This is more like it, I'm only a few pages in and already there's no doubt that I'm in for the long haul. Gollancz are clearly doing very well with their debuts this year, have some blurb,

Magic caused the war. Magic is forbidden. Magic will save us.

It was said the Labyrinth had once been the great meeting place, a sprawling city at the heart of an endless maze where a million humans hosted the Houses of the Aelfir. The Aelfir who had brought trade and riches, and a future full of promise. But when the Thaumaturgists, overlords of human and Aelfir alike, went to war, everything was ruined and the Labyrinth became an abandoned forbidden zone, where humans were trapped behind boundary walls 100 feet high.

Now the Aelfir are a distant memory and the Thaumaturgists have faded into myth. Young Clara struggles to survive in a dangerous and dysfunctional city, where eyes are keen, nights are long, and the use of magic is punishable by death. She hides in the shadows, fearful that someone will discover she is touched by magic. She knows her days are numbered. But when a strange man named Fabian Moor returns to the Labyrinth, Clara learns that magic serves a higher purpose and that some myths are much more deadly in the flesh.

The only people Clara can trust are the Relic Guild, a secret band of magickers sworn to protect the Labyrinth. But the Relic Guild are now too few. To truly defeat their old nemesis Moor, mightier help will be required. To save the Labyrinth - and the lives of one million humans - Clara and the Relic Guild must find a way to contact the worlds beyond their walls.

I reckon there'll be a review in the next couple of weeks.

What else am I reading? Well, I'm finishing off Rob Sanders' 'Archaon' (not bad at all) but other than that I can't seem to concentrate on anything for more than a few pages at a time. It might even be time to dig out some comfort reads (it's been ages since I read 'The Belgariad'...) What do you read when you're in a similar spot...?

Books In The Post! 'Brand New Job!' Edition

So long BskyB and hello new job with perhaps not so much money (ok, no 'perhaps' about it) but with a much nicer commute and being able to get home at a decent time. Can't complain really, especially not when the memories of being long term unemployed are still pretty fresh.
As far as the blog goes, I probably won't be able to post as much as I have been but right now I'm enjoying myself with it (even if I can't stay with a book for more than a few pages at a time...) so there will be posts as and when possible.

Books in the post then. Not as many as normal and only one book that I want to read but it's Monday so have a look at what has come through the post over the last week...

My reading is all about Fantasy at the moment so it's really only 'Sword of the Bright Lady' that I want to read. The blurb doesn't look like it's promising anything new but that's ok, I don't want anything new at the moment... ;o)

Christopher Sinclair goes out for a walk on a mild Arizona evening and never comes back. He stumbles into a freezing winter under an impossible night sky, where magic is real -- but bought at a terrible price.

A misplaced act of decency lands him in a brawl with an arrogant nobleman and puts him under a death sentence. In desperation he agrees to be drafted into an eternal war, serving as a priest of the Bright Lady, Goddess of Healing. But when Marcius, god of war, offers the only hope of a way home to his wife, Christopher pledges to him instead, plunging the church into turmoil and setting him on a path of violence and notoriety.

To win enough power to open a path home, this mild-mannered mechanical engineer must survive duelists, assassins, and the never-ending threat of monsters, with only his makeshift technology to compete with swords and magic.

But the gods and demons have other plans. Christopher's fate will save the world... or destroy it.

 

Sounds as generic as it comes but that's fine by me. Not a priority read then but it will be read. 

'Omens' didn't really catch my eye when it was first published and there's no real movement towards interest this time round. I might just skip to the end, to see if my suspicions about the feather on the cover are correct, but that's about it.

'My Real Children' does look intriguing but I'm just not in the mood for intriguing right now (I'm more about spectacle and wild romance, possibly dragons as well). It's being filed under 'maybe another time'... Have a look at the blurb while you're here.

The day Mark called, Patricia Cowan's world split in two.
The phone call.
His question.
Her answer.
A single word.
'Yes.'
'No.'
It is 2015 and Patricia Cowan is very old. 'Confused today' read the notes clipped to the end of her bed. Her childhood, her years at Oxford during the Second World War - those things are solid in her memory. Then that phone call and.her memory splits in two.
She was Trish, a housewife and mother of four.
She was Pat, a successful travel writer and mother of three.
She remembers living her life as both women, so very clearly. Which memory is real - or are both just tricks of time and light?
 
What are you reading right now and should I be reading it? I can't promise anything but I'm in the mood for suggestions and recommendations :o)

Books In The Post! - 'Yawning, always yawning...' Edition

So, teething has hit Elana hard which, in turn, saw Hope wake me up at four this morning so she could climb into bed with me and get some sleep. I wouldn't have minded so much if Hope had gone to sleep straight away but life is never that simple is it...? I can see a whole lot of yawning in the immediate future then :o)

As far as books go though... After a couple of weeks of not many books arriving through the post, last week saw a whole load turn up and a couple of them have been eagerly anticipated. Have a look at the picture and see if you can guess which are which...

Okay, no prizes if you guessed 'The Dark Defiles', I started reading it over the weekend and it is already really hard not to put everything else to one side and just keep reading (that's what the commute is for). Looking forward to seeing if what I reckon will happen, happens. 'The Rhesus Chart' is the other 'pick up and read immediately'; I've been following the 'Laundry' series ever since I started blogging and the promise of a new book never fails to make me do a happy dance (where no-one can see me). All being well, look a review this week.
What else am I definitely going to read? Well, 'Drakenfeld' is a definite read as I seem to be attracted to fantasy detective tales these days. I'm also more than likely going to read 'A Kill In The Morning', purely because of this deliciously pulpy cover (not too sure about the blurb though),

'I don't like killing, but I'm good at it. Murder isn't so bad from a distance, just shapes popping up in my scope. Close-up work though - a garrotte around a target's neck or a knife in their heart - it's not for me. Too much empathy, that's my problem. Usually. But not today. Today is different . . . '

The year is 1955 and something is very wrong with the world. It is fourteen years since Churchill died and the Second World War ended. In occupied Europe, Britain fights a cold war against a nuclear-armed Nazi Germany.

In Berlin the Gestapo is on the trail of a beautiful young resistance fighter, and the head of the SS is plotting to dispose of an ailing Adolf Hitler and restart the war against Britain and her empire. Meanwhile, in a secret bunker hidden deep beneath the German countryside, scientists are experimenting with a force far beyond their understanding.

Into this arena steps a nameless British assassin, on the run from a sinister cabal within his own government, and planning a private war against the Nazis. And now the fate of the world rests on a single kill in the morning . . .

Samit Basu's 'Resistance' won't be read as I really didn't get on with his first book ('Turbulence') at all, couldn't finish it in fact. 'Moth and Spark' might be read, I'm kind of half and half over the whole thing and it's not like there aren't other book that I really want to read...

So what does that leave? Ah yes, J.F. Lewis' 'Grudgebearer', another book that I'm not sure about (will probably give it a go but am not in a huge hurry to get to it). A blurb crammed full of blatantly made up names always makes me wary...

Kholster is the first born of the practically immortal Aern, a race created by the Eldrennai as warrior-slaves to defend them from the magic-resistant reptilian Zaur.  Unable to break an oath without breaking their connection with each other, the Aern served the Eldrennai faithfully for thousands of years until the Sundering. Now, the Aern, Vael, and Eldrennai meet every hundred years for a Grand Conjunction to renew their tenuous peace.

While the tortures of slavery remain fresh in Kholster's mind, most of the rest of the world has moved on. Almost six hundred years after the Sundering, an Eldrennai prince carelessly breaks the truce by setting up a surprise museum exhibit containing sentient suits of Aernese armor left behind, never to be touched, lest Kholster kill every last Eldrennai. Through their still-existing connection with their ancient armor, the Aern know instantly, and Kholster must find a way to keep his oaths, even those made in haste and anger. While Kholster travels to the Grand Conjunction with his Freeborn daughter and chosen successor Rae'en, his troops travel by sea, heading for war. 

Not a bad little haul all in all :o) Have any of these books caught your eye?

What am I reading at the moment? A little bit of everything (again, I'm so flighty with my reading at the moment...) but mostly 'The Dark Defiles', 'The Rhesus Chart', 'Prince of Fools'. I've got some good reading in my very near future...

Books in the Post! 'Can't Seem To Settle On One Book...' Edition

I am not at all sorry for the brief blog silence over the weekend, I was having a great time doing this and that :o)

Saturday was all about going to kids birthday parties and drinking all the beer. I should probably clarify that these were parties that Hope had been invited to, we weren't just trawling the streets looking for kids birthday parties that served booze (that's next weekend) Whoever came up with the idea of dishing out beer, at these things, has my eternal thanks. Nothing wrong with the parties, I just like drinking beer.
Sunday is Father's Day in the UK and was all about me hanging out with my two amazing daughters and amazing wife. It was great; we had sand pudding and ate a vegetable skeleton (seriously, you had to be there).

And today is all about showing off the books that arrived in the post over the last week. Bit of a mixed bag here; a couple that I'm not going to read, one that I've just started and one that I finished on the train this morning...

The blurb crosses its heart and promises that 'The High Druid's Blade' is a stand-alone 'Shannara' adventure but I can't help but wonder if that's possible with a series that has almost been around for as long as I have. Probably won't be giving this book a read for that very reason.
'Skink: No Surrender' looks like it could be fun but not appealing enough for me to add it to the list of books that I've got on the go right now (or in the near future come to think of it). I'm not in the mood for YA and I've never been hugely into mainstream thrillers either. Tough luck 'Skink', I'm sure you will find a good home somewhere... Here's some blurb,

Typical Malley - to avoid being shipped off to boarding school, she takes off with some guy she met online. Poor Richard - he knows his cousin's in trouble before she does. Wild Skink - he's a ragged, one-eyed ex-governor of Florida, and enough of a renegade to think he can track Malley down. With Richard riding shotgun, the unlikely pair scour the state, undaunted by blinding storms, crazed pigs, flying bullets and giant gators.

See what I mean?

K.V. Johansen's 'The Leopard' is a title that I've had my eye on for a while and I made a start on it over the weekend. I'm wishing that I'd paid a little more attention to the list of place names etc but it's looking good so far. 'The Truth is a Cave in the Black Mountains' is the book that I polished off, in no short order, this morning (because it's by Neil Gaiman, self explanatory really). You can expect a review tomorrow, or maybe the day after.

And here's what I'm flipping through at the moment (I can't seem to keep my attention on one more for long...)

'A Game of Thrones' (There was no avoiding it really, not after watching the first two season of the TV show)
'Koko Takes A Holiday' (Reads like a cross between Takeshi Kovacs and whatever your favourite comic was when you were a kid)
'Prince of Fools' (Early days here, just don't want to be the last person to read it this time. Yep, I'm shallow)
'The Golden Barge' (I wasn't impressed reading this last time round, in the 'Time Dweller' collection, but am interested in seeing if this book expands on the tale I've already read)
'Range of Ghosts' (Very slow going, I'm hoping for good things soon)
'The Crimson Campaign' (As awesome as expected, just haven't had the time for a monster read like this over the last couple of days)

You can expect to see reviews for these books in the coming days/weeks then. It's just as likely though that you will see reviews for entirely different books over the coming days/weeks; I have become incredibly fickle with my reading...

See you tomorrow.

Books In The Post! 'Slightly Redundant' Edition...

No, I'm not talking about that kind of redundant (which makes a change). While this contract is coming to an end, I've actually just been offered another job to go to after this one ends; seriously, I got the call about fifteen minutes ago. After being long term unemployed, pretty much all of last year and most of the year before, this is great news and I'll be drinking wine tonight to celebrate :o)

But where was I? Oh yeah, redundant. What do you do if you want to make your 'Books in the Post' update a regular thing but you inadvertently already blogged about the only books that arrived over the course of the last week? If you're me, you say "the hell with it" and post them anyway.

As you can see, I still have an apple left over from my lunch. 

I actually prefer this cover to the Orbit edition although I really shouldn't (I mean, look at it!) but that's still not enough for me to pick it up and read it. Same reason as last time, I am hopelessly behind with this series (ok, I've never started on it) and there's no way I'm going to start a series with the final book. Not after last time...

You can have some blurb though if you like,

The mysterious reappearance of magery throughout the land has been met with suspicion, fear, and violence. In the kingdom of Lyonya, Kieri, the half-elven, half-human king, struggles to balance the competing demands of his heritage while fighting a deadly threat to his rule: evil elves linked in some way to the rebirth of magic.
 
Meanwhile, in the neighboring kingdom of Tsaia, a set of ancient artifacts recovered by the former mercenary Dorrin Verrakai may hold the answer to the riddle of magery’s return. Thus Dorrin embarks on a dangerous quest to return these relics of a bygone age to their all-but-mythical place of origin. What she encounters there will change her in unimaginable ways—and spell doom or salvation for the entire world.

Looking at the blurb... It's not exactly inspiring is it?

You've seen this one already (if you haven't then scroll down the page a little bit). I had a little read of 'Koko' last night and it's pretty good. I've got a couple of books to get through first but 'Koko takes a Holiday' will definitely be reviewed; sooner than you think depending on how I get on with some of the other books that I'm trying to finish.

What else am I reading? I'm about twenty pages off finishing 'The Incorruptibles' (so there will be a review this week then...) and I'm also well into Brian Keene's 'Entombed' as well as Brian McClellan's 'The Crimson Campaign'. If that wasn't enough (and it isn't, clearly) I'm re-reading 'A Game of Thrones' too; I always wanted this blog to be about more than just new books and this seemed like a good place to get started. That's about it for me, what are you reading?

Books In The Post! 'Waiting For That Phone Call...' Edition.

So I had an interview, last Wednesday, that actually went really well; certainly well enough for me to finally consign the 'Mary Poppins' interview to the dustbin of history. Seriously, I did that interview in the style of Mary Poppins being interviewed by the father (what was his name again?) but anyway... I've been promised an update sometime this afternoon and I will likely find out whether I got the job or not; staring at my phone and willing it to ring clearly doesn't work but only because I'm not staring hard enough! *Stares*

While I wait for the phone to ring then, have a look at the books that came in the post over the last few days. There are some good ones there...

Okay, 'Dark Crusade' didn't arrive in the post at all; I found this while mooching around second hand bookshops (waiting for Sue and the girls to get home from Plymouth). I used to have a really old battered copy that got lost while we were living in Gloucester; this copy looks a lot nicer (Frank Frazetta covers make everything look nicer) and officially marks the start of my trying to collect all the 'Kane' books in paperback. We'll see how that goes, I suspect it will take a lot longer to complete than my Fantasy Masterworks collection...

I'm pretty sure you will have already seen a couple of these books before, in blogs that are much better at keeping up to date with the new stuff than I will ever be. The arrival of 'Cibola Burn', last week, prompted me to try and get caught up with the 'Expanse' series and that's what will be happening with 'Caliban's War' and 'Abaddon's Gate'. I need to do an awful lot of reading to get caught up with Kevin Hearne's 'Iron Druid' chronicles as well but... I'm not going to. Nothing wrong with the books, I'm just not feeling any need to keep reading at all so 'Shattered' will be going to a new home very soon I think.

I'm really into dragons at the moment (blame 'Game of Thrones', I'm two seasons in now and am loving every second of it) so 'Splintered Gods' will be read, after I read 'Dragon Queen', as will 'The Tropic of Serpents'. I started reading 'The Incorruptibles' over the weekend and would like to get in early by saying that you really need to be reading this one too, it's looking very good so far.

So what does that leave? It's been a little while since I've read any ghost stories and Joanna Briscoe's 'Touched' looks promising (and short enough to fit in between other reads) so I'll more than likely dip into it this week. Have a look at the blurb,

Rowena Crale and her family have moved from London.

They now live in a small English village in a cottage which seems 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 and a good mother to her young children, her life starts to disintegrate.

And then, one by one, her daughters go missing ...

Look for a review very soon.

And last but not least, 'The House of War and Witness'. Another ghost story that's had a little bit of blog time already (look down the page a bit...) and will be read/reviewed purely because Mike Carey's name is on it.

What am I reading at the moment? 'The Crimson Campaign' is already shaping up to be at least as good as 'Promise of Blood' and I've already mentioned 'The Incorruptibles' as one to look out for. I've also (finally) made a start on 'Range of Ghosts' and that doesn't look too shabby either. What are you reading?

More Books in the Post! 'Post-Interview/Shameless Filler' Edition.

I don't normally do one 'Books in the Post' post straight after another but I've spent most of the last few days preparing for an interview (which went pretty well thank you for asking!) and haven't really done a lot of reading. And, of course, a whole load of books were waiting for for me when I got home last night and I wanted to share :o) After this post I'll go straight back to the 'once weekly' format but in the meantime there's some very cool looking books here; check them out...

There were a whole load of books published last year that I never got round to, purely because I was having me a hiatus and was catching up on other stuff instead. 'The City of Silk and Steel' was one of those books (anyone here read it?) and I've bumped it up the pile, not only because I love Arabian style fantasy right now but also because Mike Carey's name is on the cover. It may not be Felix Castor (still holding out a forlorn hope here) but I haven't read a bad book yet from Mike Carey so am looking forward to reading this and seeing how this combined family effort comes out on the page.
'Poison' is another book that I'm really up for reading and probably should have read sooner, based on how I've found Sarah Pinborough's other books (excellent for the most part). I've got the house to myself tonight so might give it a go then.

Gollancz continue to publish Michael Moorcock's back catalogue and it's the turn of this collected edition of 'Jerry Cornelius' short stories to see the light of day. I will be reading this book, no question about it. The only question is in which edition; I think I may already have this one on the shelf (with a much nicer cover as well).

And then there's the books that I'd never heard of until last night.

I'd never really given it much thought but of course there would be a book that was Philip K. Dick's first, he had to start somewhere didn't he? It's a matter for slight debate but people in the know say that 'Gather Yourselves Together' was the first book written by Dick. I want to read more of his books so will definitely be picking this one up at some point.
I'm not really sure about Mitch Benn's 'Terra' though. I know it's a silly thing but the comparisons to Terry Pratchett have put me off, purely because I don't really find Pratchett that funny any more (not for a long time). Has anyone here read 'Terra'? Have a look at the blurb and see what you think,

No-one trusts humanity. No-one can quite understand why we're intent on destroying the only place we have to live in the Universe. No-one thinks we're worth a second thought. And certainly no-one is about to let us get off Rrth. That would be a complete disaster.

But one alien thinks Rrth is worth looking at. Not humanity, obviously, we're appalling, but until we manage to kill every other living thing on the planet there are some truly wonderful places on Rrth and some wonderful creatures living in them. Best take a look while they're still there.

But on one trip to Rrth our alien biologist causes a horrendous accident. The occupants of a car travelling down a lonely road spot his ship (the sort of massive lemon-coloured, lemon-shaped starship that really shouldn't be hanging in the sky over a road). Understandably the Bradburys crash (interrupting the latest in a constant procession of bitter rows). And in the wreckage of their car our alien discovers a baby girl. She needs rescuing. From the car. From Rrth. From her humanity.

And now 11 years later a girl called Terra is about to go to school for the first time. It's a very alien experience...

I'm half and half with this one, what do you think?

And Simon Ing's 'Painkillers'... I think he has a story in 'The Life and Times of Jerry Cornelius' so I might read that first and give 'Painkillers' a go if I like it. Or maybe not, I have the 'Game of Thrones Season Two' box set in my bag and that takes precedence because Season One was awesome. Any time that is left will be spent on working my way through a growing pile of unread books. Any here that you think I should start with?

Books In The Post, 'Lazy Bank Holiday Edition'

Well, I say 'lazy'... There wasn't a lot of 'laziness' going on seeing as Hope was full of energy and really happy to be on holiday. It was a great three days though and I don't think I read more than a couple of pages of anything over the long weekend. You know what? That was cool as well. I've become really aware that I'm the kind of guy who will finish a book and then pick up another one within seconds; there's nothing wrong with that just as long as you're doing it for the right reason. If you're not then take a step back and enjoy what's going on in real life. There may not be any dragons, or stuff like that, but real life can be pretty magical as well :o)

But the books, the books... Only three books turned up this weekend and that was fine by me as I'm trying to fit in time for the books gathering dust on the shelves. Have a look at what showed up...

'The Mabinogion' is, you guessed it, is another 'Fantasy Masterwork' that somehow found its way to my front door via Amazon. Strange how that happens... As with all the other Fantasy Masterworks, 'The Mabinogion' will be read at some point in the near future. Or the far future, haven't decided yet and right now, to be honest, I'm just enjoying watching the collection slowly take over the shelves... :o)

I've got no interest in reading 'Earth Awakens', in no small part because of the kind of guy Orson Scott Card comes across as. I don't want to support that kind of behaviour so that's the last you'll hear of 'Earth Awakens' here (which is a bit of a shame for Aaron Johnston but I'm sure he knew the score...)

'Cibola Burn' looks like an awesome read though. Seriously, check out the blurb...

The gates have opened the way to a thousand new worlds and the rush to colonise has begun. Settlers looking for a new life stream out from humanity's home planets. Illus, the first human colony on this vast new frontier, is being born in blood and fire.

Independent settlers stand against the overwhelming power of a corporate colony ship with only their determination, courage and the skills learned in the long wars of home. Innocent scientists are slaughtered as they try to survey a new and alien world.

James Holden and the crew of his one small ship are sent to make peace in the midst of war and sense in the heart of chaos. But the more he looks at it, the more Holden thinks the mission was meant to fail.

And the whispers of a dead man remind him that the great galactic civilisation which once stood on this land is gone. And that something killed them.

Looks amazing doesn't it? There's just the small matter of my being two books behind with this series that's stopping me reading this straight away. Sue and the girls are away this week so I might be able to catch up. Alternatively, I might just blow the whole week catching up with 'A Game of Thrones'. It's a tough one...

Books In the Post - 'Broken Toe Edition'

My foot is killing me :o( In an attempt to rescue Elana from hitting the kitchen floor (after being flipped out of her chair by Hope, long story...) I broke my toe; one of the smaller ones but it hurts like a son of a... it hurts a lot. What's really bad is that Hope occasionally forgets what happened and treads on my foot! It was almost worth it though to have her tie a little ribbon around my toe to make it feel better :o) Kids are cute aren't they...?
Last week wasn't the best of weeks then, with that and other stuff going on, but it ended on a good note with loads of sunshine, a barbecue and a whole load of great looking books arriving on the doorstep. I want to read them all! Well, almost all of them... Do you want to see them? Yeah, you do...

The Fantasy Masterworks collection is another two books closer to completion. Not ideal editions ('Lud in the Mist' has a different cover to the one I was expecting and 'Beauty' is an ex-library copy...) but it's the stories I'm really interested in and I want to get round to these sooner rather than later, 'Lud in the Mist' in particular.

It feels like I've been waiting for 'Sworn in Steel' forever, even longer than I waited for 'A Dance With Dragons' (blatantly untrue, just feels like it) Most anticipated read of 2014 then? Quite possibly and one I'll be getting to after I finish reading 'A Promise of Blood'. I'd heard good things about 'The Remaining' which is why I tore through it over the weekend and will be posting my review tomorrow. It's not a bad read at all.

It seems that there are loads of books that I want to read all at once (isn't that a great feeling to have?) and 'Authority' is one of them after I had an enjoyable, if slightly unsettling experience, reading 'Annihilation'. 'Authority' is neck and neck with 'Sworn in Steel' for book that will be read next and it could go either way...
'Station Eleven' though, I'm really not sure about this one (despite the gorgeous cover). Have a look at this blurb and tell me that it doesn't remind you of 'The Stand',

DAY ONE
The Georgia Flu explodes over the surface of the earth like a neutron bomb.
News reports put the mortality rate at over 99%.

WEEK TWO
Civilization has crumbled.

YEAR TWENTY
A band of actors and musicians called the Travelling Symphony move through their territories performing concerts and Shakespeare to the settlements that have grown up there. Twenty years after the pandemic, life feels relatively safe.

But now a new danger looms, and he threatens the hopeful world every survivor has tried to rebuild. 

STATION ELEVEN
Moving backwards and forwards in time, from the glittering years just before the collapse to the strange and altered world that exists twenty years after, Station Eleven charts the unexpected twists of fate that connect six people: famous actor Arthur Leander; Jeevan - warned about the flu just in time; Arthur's first wife Miranda; Arthur's oldest friend Clark; Kirsten, a young actress with the Travelling Symphony; and the mysterious and self-proclaimed 'prophet'. 

Doesn't that remind you of 'The Stand'? It reminds me of 'The Stand' (albeit possibly without the element of horror) and I'm not sure that I want to read 'The Stand' all over again. If I want to do that then I'll just read 'The Stand'. And that's enough of me trying to fit 'The Stand' as many times as I can into three sentences, five is a pretty respectable score I think :o)

I started reading 'Promise of Blood' this morning and I'm already thinking 'why didn't I read this book sooner?' It is amazing, thank you Jared for pointing me at this book. Is it me or does that look like George Lucas on the cover...? I'm kind of half and half on 'Fool's Assassin' (read the other books but it was a bit of a hard slog due to Fitz being, well... Fitz) but can see myself probably reading it anyway, apparently I'm a sucker for hard looking warrior types on a cover.
'Steles of the Sky' will definitely be read but I still need to read the first two books in the trilogy. Time marches on, and blogs change, but I will always be late to the party as far as reading acclaimed books go. I wouldn't have it any other way personally, it's not like there aren't loads of books to read in the meantime :o)

So, have any of these books caught your eye?

Books In The Post (Aftermath Edition...)

Okay, aftermath is a strong word but it kind of felt appropriate after coming downstairs this morning and seeing birthday presents strewn everywhere. Hope turned four yesterday, where have the years gone? It doesn't feel that long ago that Hope was just starting to turn burbling noises into proper words; now she is trying to negotiate sweets for breakfast when I don't let her have chocolate cake...

But anyway... In amongst the debris were some books that turned up en-masse and are demanding room on the shelves. Check them out (apologies for the slightly blurry pic)

I want to read all of them but 'Crown of Renewal' didn't make the cut. Nothing against the book at all; it's the nth book in a series though and I don't have the time to get all caught up, not when there are other books that I want to read first.

The other books though will all be read, some sooner than others. I need a few laughs in my reading so 'The Serpent of Venice' will be read very soon as will 'God's War'; not a funny book at all (from what I've heard) but very well regarded and I want to see what the fuss is all about. The plan is for that to lead on to a read of 'Infidel' in the near future.

And what is that book in the bottom right corner? Would that be an ARC of Mark Lawrence's 'Prince of Fools'? It is and despite my being well behind in reading about that 'loveable rogue' Jorg Ancrath, I am really keen to get into this book. You might have to wait a little bit for the actual review though (I think that people are being asked to hold off reviews until a little closer to the publication date).

What else am I reading/watching? I'm still plodding my way through Stella Gemmell's 'The City' (just enough to keep me going but it's a real slog at times) and I'm halfway through the first season of 'Game of Thrones' (feeling very sorry for Gregor Clegane's horse, everyone else seems to be getting what they deserve though). It's awesome, why didn't you make me watch it sooner...? ;o)

What about you guys? What are you reading?

Books in the Post...

Afternoon all, did you have a good weekend? I did (very busy, playing with the kids) although the clocks going forward caught me out; what felt like a nice lie-in was no lie-in at all, thanks for nothing stupid clocks with your insistence on going forwards...
Anyway, the weekend was also about books turning up in the post and that's what this post is about. The two books that arrived are pretty cool and I fancied showing them off. Check em' out...

Rorqual Maru was a cyborg - part organic whale, part mechanised ship - and part god. She was a harvester - a vast plankton rake, now without a crop, abandoned by earth society when the seas died. So she selected an island for her grave, hoping to keep her carcass visible for salvage. Although her long ear heard nothing, she believed that man still lived in his hive. If he should ever return to the sea, she wanted to serve. She longed for the thrill of a human's bare feet touching the skin of her deck. She missed the hearty hails, the sweat and the laughter. She needed mankind. But all humans were long gone ... or were they?

It's amazing what a well written blurb can do isn't it? I've been looking forward to reading 'The Godwhale' for months and early indications (well, I'm about halfway through the book) are that it will live up to that promise. So far, I've been absolutely captivated by the characters, the world and the premise; long may that continue :o) I've already got plans to read 'Half Past Human' based on how much I'm enjoying 'The Godwhale'. Has anyone else here read it?

In a world where the Plantagenets never fell, Lord Darcy is Chief Investigator for the Duke of Normandy…
Welcome to a world where the Plantagenet kings survived, the laws of magic were discovered and the physical sciences never pursued. In the resulting Anglo-French Empire, a detective like Lord Darcy needs more than a keen mind and an observant eye. Luckily, Darcy can call on the aid of Master Sean O’Lochlainn, forensic sorcerer.

In a world where all the cover art talk tends to focus around the new shiny releases, Gollancz have been quietly going about their business putting gorgeous cover art on older works. Doesn't this cover look lovely? Far better than the one below that I found while having a mooch around on Google...

Oh the early eighties, what a time it was for cover art that didn't quite hit the mark. I much prefer the Golllancz cover which looks a lot fresher, bringing Lord Darcy to the fore instead of hiding him away. I am woefully behind with my Fantasy Masterworks reading (I have a horrible feeling that I promised to do something about that...) so I can see 'Lord Darcy' being an Easter holiday read I think...

Either of these two books tickle your fancy?

The 'Belated Happy World Book Day! / Books in the Post' Post!

Happy World Book Day, for the other day, everyone! Hopefully you all enjoyed what you were reading and supported at least one ‘proper’ bookshop by making a purchase. Don’t worry if you didn’t buy anything, I didn’t buy anything either; had every intention of buying a book (like I need any excuse really…) but the day kind of got away from me and now it’s Saturday… Never mind, there’s always next year (and a whole load of days in-between)

What’s the next best thing though? Coming home to find some awesome looking books already waiting for you of course! Have a look at the picture,

‘Sea Kings of Mars’ was a little treat to myself for passing my college course (go me!) As with the Clark Ashton Smith collection, I’ll be reviewing a short story here and there instead of posting my thoughts on the whole book; look out for those posts kind of soonish. This also seems like a good time to say that I love the term ‘planetary romance’ . Give me a little longer to figure out exactly why but, for now, lets just say it’s a much nicer way of saying ‘pulp’ :o)

But anyway…

The book on the left is a proof of Joe Abercrombie’s ‘Half a King’ and I’ll be reading that very soon (hoping it will whet my appetite to finally read ‘The Heroes’ and of course I’m interested to see Joe’s take on YA)

Out of the three books on display, the one I’m most intrigued by is Josh Malerman’s ‘Bird Box’, a horror novel that Harper Collins are predicting good things for (although they would say that, wouldn’t they?) I love to read a little horror every now and then, especially when it’s someone who isn’t one of the big names already taking up shelf space; the blurb definitely looks interesting…

Most people ignored the outrageous reports on the news.
But they became too frequent, they became too real. And soon, they began happening down the street.
Then the Internet died. The television and radio went silent.
The phones stopped ringing.
And we couldn’t look outside anymore.
Malorie raises the children the only way she can; indoors.
The house is quiet. The doors are locked, the curtains are closed, mattresses are nailed over the windows.
They are out there. She might let them in.
The children sleep in the bedroom across the hall.
Soon she will have to wake them. Soon she will have to blindfold them.
Today they must leave the house. Today they will risk everything.

What do you reckon?

This made my day yesterday.

Although the whole 'boiler possibly producing carbon monoxide' thing did take the shine off the day somewhat (and right at the very end too, we weren't allowed back into the house until half one this morning) Books turn up in the post and sometimes I just have to post about them because I am that excited. No really, I am :o) Take this book for example, a book that I've been waiting for ever since I had an inkling that it was to published.

For thirty years, Area X, monitored by the secret agency known as the Southern Reach, has remained mysterious and remote behind its intangible border– an environmental disaster zone, though to all appearances an abundant wilderness. Eleven expeditions have been sent in to investigate; even for those that have made it out alive, there have been terrible consequences.

‘Annihilation’ is the story of the twelfth expedition and is told by its nameless biologist. Introverted but highly intelligent, the biologist brings her own secrets with her. She is accompanied by a psychologist, an anthropologist and a surveyor, their stated mission: to chart the land, take samples and expand the Southern Reach’s understanding of Area X.

But they soon find out that they are being manipulated by forces both strange and all too familiar. An unmapped tunnel is not as it first appears. An inexplicable moaning calls in the distance at dusk. And while each member of the expedition has surrendered to the authority of the Southern Reach, the power of Area X is far more difficult to resist.

It might not be another 'Ambergris' book, that's ok I can wait, but anything by Jeff Vandermeer automatically jumps to the front of the queue (nudging out of the way all those other books that have jumped to the head of the queue). Vandermeer writes the kind of books that I want to read and he writes them very well indeed, it's that simple.

Just a few more pages of 'Blighted Empire' to read and then I'm ready for 'Annihilation' :o)

Books in the Post (Sleeping Baby Edition)

Trying to type really quietly as Elana has just gone to sleep on me...

After a heavy few days at work (and at home) there was nothing nicer last night than to come home and find a whole load of book parcels waiting for me. Ok, there were at least three nicer things waiting for me but this is a book blog so that's what I'm going to concentrate on ;o) Go on, have a look at the picture...

It's not often that this many books turn up and I want to read them all. Normally some will fall into the 'maybe' or 'just plain never' piles; not this time though, they all look like potentially awesome reads.
For the record, I'm making inroads into 'The Girl With All The Gifts' (you're fooling no-body with that pen name Mr. Carey...) and 'He Drank, And Saw The Spider' (it's good to be hanging out with Eddie LaCrosse again). The most intriguing title in the pile though is Claire North's 'The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August', a title (out in March) that I'd heard nothing of until I opened the package. Here's the blurb,

Harry August is on his deathbed. Again. 

No matter what he does or the decisions he makes, when death comes, Harry always returns to where he began, a child with all the knowledge of a life he has already lived a dozen times before. Nothing ever changes.

Until now.

As Harry nears the end of his eleventh life, a little girl appears at his bedside. ‘I nearly missed you, Doctor August,’ she says. ‘I need to send a message. It has come down from child to adult, child to adult, passed back through generations from a thousand years forward in time. The message is that the world is ending, and we cannot prevent it. So now it’s up to you.’

I've got a couple of new books that I want to read first (as well as all the other well meaning reading intentions that I have...) but I'm definitely going to give 'The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August' a go. Does it grab you at all?

Books in the Post (Unashamedly Late Edition)

This should have gone up over the weekend but I spent a large part of that either holding Elana (to get her to sleep) or having a lightsaber fight with Hope. I was Mace Windu and Hope had been watching ‘Beauty and the Beast’ so she was Princess Belle… With a lightsaber. If the Empire does try to take over I’m sticking with Hope by the way; she may be only three and a bit but she has a mean swing with a lightsaber… And then I had to do some study for an exam that I had yesterday… Busy times :o)
But the books, you spend ages waiting for books and then a whole load turn up at once! Have a look at what came through the door…

I was hoping that ‘The Cormorant’ would show up and it did, I’ve already read a big chunk of it and it’s as awesome as I hoped it would be. I’m aiming for a review later on this week and, the rate I’m going, I think that’s a target that I’ll hit. I’m trying to stop buying ‘Fantasy Masterworks’ off Amazon (really I am) but ‘The House on the Borderlands’ was going for pennies and I couldn’t help myself. This looks like a book to read when the nights are dark and the rain is hammering on the roof like it wants to get in and drown me. Hang on… Most nights are like that at the moment, maybe I’ll pick this up after I finish ‘The Cormorant’.

I really like the sound of the blurb for ‘Twenty Trillion Leagues Under the Sea’ and it also sounds like a good book to break my ‘haven’t read a novel by Adam Roberts’ habit. There are books that I really want/need to read first though so you might have to wait a little while before you see a review here. In the meantime, has anyone else read it?

And finally… One of the things that I love about running a book review blog is the opportunities it offers me to read books that I would have never thought of trying otherwise. I’ve found some amazing books that I’ve read purely because they came through the door instead of off a shelf in the shop. I’m not sure if either of these books will hit those heights but I’m still enjoying that sense of anticipation before I pick them up :o) Have a look at the blurbs…

'Last God Standing’

When God decides to quit and join the human race to see what all the fuss is about, all Hell breaks loose.Sensing his abdication, the other defunct gods of Earth’s vanquished pantheons want a piece of the action He abandoned.

Meanwhile, the newly-humanised deity must discover the whereabouts and intentions of the similarly reincarnated Lucifer, and block the ascension of a murderous new God.
How is he ever going to make it as a stand-up comedian with all of this going on…?

‘Hannibal: Fields of Blood’

Hannibal's campaign to defeat Rome continues as he marches south to confront his enemy. With him is a young soldier, Hanno. Like his general, Hanno burns to vanquish Rome. Never has the possibility seemed so likely but a stealthy game of cat and mouse is being played as Rome's generals seek to avoid confrontation.
Eventually the two armies meet under a fierce summer sun. The place is Cannae - the fields of blood. The battle will go down in history as one of the bloodiest ever fought, a battle in which Hanno knows he must fight as never before - just to stay alive.

I could see myself reading ‘Last God Standing’, although it’s not a priority read at all, but ‘Hannibal’ might be going to a better home in the near future; a place where it’s more likely to be read (and isn’t that what books want more than anything else?) How about you guys, would you pick any of these books up?

Books in the Post (Father Christmas Edition)

How was your Christmas? Mine was pretty awesome thanks for asking :o) I watched ‘Lego Star Wars’ and ‘Spectacular Spiderman’ with Hope (while she wasn’t grinding pink playdough into our green carpet…) and spent a large part of the day cuddling Elana; I couldn’t have asked for a lot more than that really. Except that I did :o) It was Christmas, I had loads of Christmas lists doing the rounds! I am now well stocked up on DVDs, so much so in fact that I might have to cull some of my old DVDs that I haven’t seen in a while…. As things stand right now, you can expect to see posts on ‘Thor’, ‘Captain America’ and ‘Doctor Who: Paradise Towers’ (guilty pleasure time…) You might even see a post on the ‘He-Man and She-Ra Christmas Special’, I didn’t even know there was a He-Man and She-Ra Christmas special…

This post is all about the books though, and not just the ones I got for Christmas either. A few extra books snuck in via the post, a day or so beforehand, and I think they’re all worth mentioning so here goes… Christmas books first then,

‘The Star Wars Vault’ is full of all sorts of goodness , pretty much everything a Star Wars fan could want from the very quick flick through that I’ve had. There will be a more in depth post on this at a slightly later date I reckon. One thing I will say now though is that it’s the heaviest book I’ve ever held; anyone breaking into my house will be met with this book as I can see it working as an effective shield and weapon combined. Thanks to my little brother Chris for getting me this.

Well, there was going to be a 'Fantasy Masterworks picture here but the picture and blogger have apparently decided not to get on with each other; Christmas Spirit only lasts a couple of days I guess :o) What I'll do instead is say that I was given 'Peace' (Gene Wolfe) & 'The Iron Dragon's Daughter' (Michael Swanwick) by my folks (thanks!) and 'The Phoenix and the Mirror' by Sue's folks (thanks!) The rules clearly state (well they don’t but…) that I can break my ‘second hand bookshops only’ rule for Christmas’ and birthdays so there you go. I’ve still to read a full length novel by Gene Wolfe and ‘Peace’ looks like a nice quick(ish) read to address that shortfall, ‘The Iron Dragon’s Daughter’ looks interesting as well (especially after reading 'The Year of the Three Monarchs' and getting a feel for what Swanwick's writing can be like). I actually started reading ‘The Phoenix and the Mirror’ on the way to work this morning (yep, I had to go to work this morning…) and what I’ll say right now is that it’s the book I’ve been looking for without realising it. More on that when I post my review.

And here are the books that snuck in through the post before Christmas. Mark Smylie’s ‘The Barrow’ looks like a lot of fun and I can see it getting bumped up the pile once I’ve finished a couple of others. I know I said I was getting a bit tired of Warhammer 40K fiction but a) ‘Master of Dragons’ is Warhammer Fantasy and b) it’s written by Chris Wraight and I will read anything that he writes. I just need to read ‘The Great Betrayal’ first…

‘The Return of the Sorcerer’ is my admission that I will never find a copy of ‘The Emperor of Dreams’ for a reasonable price and it’s also a way of patting myself on the shoulder and saying, ‘there there, never mind’ :o) I’ll be dipping in and out of this book over the next few weeks.

And that was my Christmas in terms of books! I now need to go away and make some room on my shelves, the charity shops are going to be very happy with me I reckon. What books did you get for Christmas?